Comments on: “Take a different trek”…to “timeless” Burma

By: aiontay

aiontay — Sat, 05 May 2007 18:29:42 +0000

You could always apply for a grant from Soros for that commando captialist brigade. I’m not up on my thoughts of Soros like I should be, but I think his response would be that for that to work you would need an “Open Society”. Like I said, I’m not up on my Soros philosophy like I should be, but I’m pretty sure it ain’t even close to the regime in place like now, which favors Khun Sa capitalism, which a bit worse than the Thaksin variety.

Also, I think it is the military regime that is generating all those rape stories that are zoning you out, not the Soros foundation. Why direct your ire at the folks reporting the problem, rather than the people causing them?

By: Nicholas Farrelly

Nicholas Farrelly — Sat, 05 May 2007 17:07:26 +0000

Thanks Richard,

The last time I had reason to buy Kyat the going rate was 1340 to the Dollar. The “unofficial” rate does bobble up and down quite considerably.

I am not sure if the “official” rate (like the one given by this conversion webiste) really matters that much – although it is of some academic interest. Buying 6 Kyat to the dollar would, as you know, make visiting Burma a very expensive proposition!

Best wishes to all, and thanks for your comments.

By: Richard

Richard — Sat, 05 May 2007 14:19:54 +0000

I checked your link to current currency rates and gasped, it may have been a year or two since I actually looked and the rates but it seems to me that the Kyat is still much higher than it was not too long ago. This site also gives close to the same amount 1US Dollar (USD) = 6.16260 Myanmar Kyat (MMK), perhaps I am remembering past black market values which I know have declined over the last couple years but hasn't this "official" rate risen dramatically?

By: Jon Fernquest

Jon Fernquest — Sat, 05 May 2007 06:09:21 +0000

Thanks for this example of cheesy journalism in The Advertiser. I read it as a big incentive for someone to do a better job.

Namely instead of painting idiotic rosy pictures that exoticise the pitiful Burmese situation or add to the Soros funded horror story Burma genre, that people inevitably just zone out on after 20 years, like myself, read about the zillionth rape murder in the Burmese jungle, but what good is a story like this going to do after 20 years of these stories over and over again.

An elite commando brigade of baby Thaksin entrepreneurs being carefully raised in the jungle to defeat the evil junta with the forces of capitalism, that would be more becoming of billionaire Soros, after all he’s a businessman isn’t he?…etc, etc…something like that , might provide some hope.

By: Pig Latin

Pig Latin — Sat, 05 May 2007 00:23:11 +0000

Nicholas, The Advertiser is perhaps the worst paper in the country. If one of their journalists went to Burma they would probably try and build a Ray Martin stupa upon finding enlightenment. After building the stupa, the disinformation would continue unfortunately as the resulting articles would be a diatribe of gonzo, erratic confrontation that really they should have gone to Koh Samui.

I say this, and my father is reading it downstairs.