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Monthly Archives: September 2007

Myanmar’s ‘Citizen Journalists’

28-Sep-07

Geoffrey A. Fowler, in the Wall St. Journal: “As Myanmar’s regime cracks down on a growing protest movement, ‘citizen journalists’ are breaking the news to the world.”
At 1:30 yesterday afternoon, a cellphone buzzed with news for Soe Myint, the editor in chief of Mizzima News, a publication about Myanmar run by exiles in New Delhi.
The […]

Myanmar: Military Fires on Protesters

27-Sep-07

CNN.com:
Myanmar’s security forces fired automatic weapons into a crowd of anti-government protesters, after attempts to clear them from the streets on Yangon, reports said Thursday.
A Japanese national was shot and killed by the military junta, the Japanese Foreign Ministry told CNN.
There are claims by dissidents that four protesters were shot on Thursday.
At least 100 […]

News from Myanmar (Burma): How to Follow the Events Online

26-Sep-07

Bangkok, 3 p.m. — Things are heating up next door in Myanmar, the country formerly known as Burma. AP/CNN says that police have now begun cracking down on protesters.
Here are a few online news resources for those of you who’d like to follow the events:
– A Google news search for Burma or Myanmar is […]

Myanmar: Government Warns Protesters

25-Sep-07

Reuters (”Myanmar junta threatens action against protesters“):
Fears of a repeat of 1988’s bloody crackdown by Myanmar’s ruling generals grew on Tuesday after the junta threatened action against monks at the centre of the biggest anti-government demonstrations in nearly 20 years.
The Burma Campaign UK said its sources in Yangon had reported soldiers being ordered to […]

Protests in Myanmar

24-Sep-07

Here’re some recent accounts of the ongoing protests next door in Myanmar.
New York Times (”Monks’ Protest Is Challenging Burmese Junta“):
The largest street protests in two decades against Myanmar’s military rulers gained momentum Sunday as thousands of onlookers cheered huge columns of Buddhist monks and shouted support for the detained pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu […]

Salon.com’s Ask the Pilot on the Phuket Plane Crash

21-Sep-07

In today’s Ask the Pilot, a Salon.com column, the author tackles “wind shear, aging planes and the safety of budget airlines.”
(Image via Airliners.net.)

Phuket Plane Crash: More Info

20-Sep-07

Here’s more info on Sunday’s plane crash in Phuket. 89 of 130 people on board were killed, many of them foreign tourists.
AFP: “Thai crash officials probe system problem, foul weather”
AP: “Authorities struggle to identify more than 30 victims of the Thai plane crash”
And a Wikipedia page has been created; it contains the basic facts:
One-Two-GO Airlines […]

Football Team Management 2.0

17-Sep-07

Springwise.com:
Quick update about MyFootballClub, which we wrote about when they launched in May. The venture, which hopes to harness the wisdom of crowds to manage a professional league soccer team (or football club, if you prefer), has just reached its target of 50,000 members. If all members follow through and pay their GBP 35 […]

Plane Crash in Phuket, Thailand

16-Sep-07

NYT/AP:
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — A passenger plane filled with foreign tourists crashed Sunday as it tried to land in heavy rain on the island of Phuket, splitting in two as it was engulfed in flames, officials said. At least 66 people were killed.
The budget One-To-Go Airlines was carrying 123 passengers and five crew members […]

Ecuador: “Pay us not to drill for oil”

15-Sep-07

From Foreign Policy’s blog, Passport:
In a unique environmental scheme, Ecuador’s government is asking developed nations to pay $350 million for them NOT to drill for oil in a major field in the heart of the Amazon. The sum represents about half of the estimated revenue that Ecuador would receive from drilling in the Yasuni […]

File Under: Stories from a Small World

14-Sep-07

My little brother C is studying in Buenos Aires this semester. So when A and I heard that our pal G — an American friend who used to live here in Bangkok — would be passing through Argentina, I put G in touch with C faster than you can say carne asada.
Hence, this excellent […]

Indonesia: “Rattled by Earthquakes”

13-Sep-07

CNN.com:
JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) — Less than a day after being rocked by a deadly earthquake, people on the Indonesian island of Sumatra were jolted again Thursday morning by a pair of powerful tremors that prompted the Indonesian government to issue additional tsunami warnings.
Residents in other Indian Ocean nations also were put on notice about […]

New Blog on Baseball and Asian Culture

12-Sep-07

Speaking of notable new blogs, Asia-watchers and baseball fans alike will want to check out the recently-launched East Windup Chronicle, “A Journal of Sports, Art, Politics, and Culture from the Pacific Rim” (with a heavy emphasis on baseball).
My pal Aaron and his friend Jackson, writing from South Korea and Taiwan, respectively, have been discussing […]

French-Fry Encrusted Hot Dogs in Korea: Redux

11-Sep-07

Phil, author of the fantastic Cambodian food blog Phenomenon, has turned his attention to Asian food in general with a new site called The Last Appetite. And I’m pleased to see that my musings regarding the French fry-encrusted hot dogs I encountered in Korea have inspired him to do a little more digging. Don’t miss […]

Belgium: “Time to call it a day”?

11-Sep-07

The Economist:
A RECENT glance at the Low Countries revealed that, nearly three months after its latest general election, Belgium was still without a new government. It may have acquired one by now. But, if so, will anyone notice? And, if not, will anyone mind? Even the Belgians appear indifferent. And what they think of […]