Trump awarded Nobel Peace Prize (by kissup)

If you take my job, you have to make war. - OK.

What is a "kissup"? It is one who kisses @$$, that is, kisses up to power to get something. Will this "fine woman," as Trump now calls Nobel Peace Laureate María Corina Machado, be elevated to ruler of her country, Venezuela, by its current president (according to Wikipedia), Don Juan Trump? Kowtow, fawn, and brown nose all the way to the bottom -- that's the way to American Dictator Trump's affection. How happy Nobel Peace Laureate Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Buddhist monk Thích Nhất Hạnh (nominated by MLK Jr.), and other Nobel laureates be to hear it? Former Warlord B.S. Obama must be nonplussed. If Trump were awarded by the Nobel committee, that might show everyone how corrupt the process has become, so corrupted that even he (Obi) got one before ever doing anything to merit it then went on a rampage of abuse of his Pentagon powers: bombing, killing, invading, expelling, all under the veneer of an esteemed and beloved peacemaker who, being Black, couldn't possibly be as bad as the maniacs (Bush and Cheney) he was installed to replace (along with war-loving Biden).

Cartoonists are pro-Trump? (Little Trump Podcast)

• Insurrection Act of 1807
• National Guard (United States)

This weak, ineffectual woman who has no respect in her country, according to Trump, knows how to work it

Time travel is real, gov't knows it (video)

CIA's former child test subject Andrew D. Basiago (ProjectPegasus.net) via Studio 10, Australia; Pfc. Sandoval, Pat Macpherson, Crystal Quintero (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

This man was part of the CIA's eight secret time travel programs

(projectpegasus.net)

(Studio 10, May 23, 2019) Believe in time travel? In the last of Studio 10's open minded investigative week, they speak to Andrew D. Basiago, who claims he participated in various CIA time travel programs when he was a child.

Andrew D. Basiago

He was shown a hologram of the ministry and crucifixion of Jesus (Iseus, Issa). He went in his body to Pres. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address in 1863 and interacted, appeared in a photo, and that photo exists today. The West Coast "jump room" is at 999 Sepulveda Blvd., El Segundo, California (next to LAX), where Basiago interacted with multi-millionaire Howard Hughes.

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Republican John McCain has brain cancer

TheGuardian.com (7-19-17); Pat Macpherson, Seth Auberon (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

I'm so sorry to hear it, senator, so very sorry!

[The sellout and co-creator and co-sponsor (with Joe Lieberman) of the Indefinite Detention Bill (the Orwellian NDAA) traitorous Pres. B. Obama signed and former prisoner-of-war who supported US torture (hypocrite McCain sides with Pres. Bush on torture AGAIN and supports veto of anti-waterboarding bill)] John McCain, the 80-year-old Republican Arizona senator and failed presidential candidate who chose dimwit Sarah Palin as his vice presidential candidate], has been diagnosed with brain cancer. 

• Pres. Obama signs Indefinite Detention Bill into law (ACLU)

I'm always pissed off, grinding my teeth, chewing tobacco, or building a brain tumor.

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A brain tumor known as a [primary] glioblastoma was removed from Republican Sen. McCain along with a blood clot above his eye in a surgery at the Mayo Clinic on Friday, a spokesperson said today.

McCain’s office had only previously announced that the blood clot had been removed from above the 80-year-old’s left eye, leaving out mention of the cancerous tumor.

The Mayo Clinic said in a statement released by McCain’s office: “The senator and his family are reviewing further treatment options with his Mayo Clinic care team. Treatment options may include a combination of [deadly iatrogenic] chemotherapy and radiation [to quickly put him out of his misery]. More

• 

  My daddy can grant us all pardons! lol

  Uh-Oh: Donny Trump Jr. along with candidate Trump's Campaign Manager Paul Manafort to testify before Congress about Russia! (Jared Kushner will just have a private meeting on the matter)

7 Most Egregious Acts in Obama’s Military

Jonah Bennett (kfiam640.iheart.com) edited and expanded by Wisdom Quarterly

Hey, uhhh, don't blame me. I just, uhhh, work for these white folks, mmm, yup (AP).

  

To you, Netanyahu, and the U.S. military

Former U.S. President Barack H. Obama (aka Barry Soetoro) is said to have left a legacy of radical social change in the military.

But aside from major shifts like allowing women in all combat roles and repealing the ban on open transgender service, many cases of rampant political correctness have been memory-holed.

Here are just seven egregious examples of social justice that creeped into the armed forces over the last eight years.

 

1. Handbook tells soldiers not to criticize pedophilia

"I've changed." Now I love power and war.

A proposed U.S. Army handbook from 2012 ordered soldiers not to make any nasty comments about the Taliban or criticize the common practice of pedophilia in Afghanistan.

 

The handbook also suggested that the West’s failure to grasp culture in Afghanistan was partially responsible for the spate of insider attacks. In 2012 alone, insider attacks accounted for 63 deaths of members of the U.S. coalition.

 

The first openly gay U.S. president? Lincoln was closeted, but Barry showed off Michael.

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According to a draft of the document leaked to The Wall Street Journal, the document urges troops to stop “advocating women’s rights,” or bring up “any criticism of pedophilia,” or “anything related to Islam.”

 

Commands to ignore pedophilia in Afghanistan have by no means been limited to the 2012 draft handbook.

 

Rather, The New York Times reported in 2015 that troops have been told repeatedly to ignore cases of pedophilia and extreme sexual assault -- even on U.S. military bases.

 
2.  The Bible disrespects diversity

Christianity vs. Islam: "Your bull$hit is more bull$hit than my bull$hit"!

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Black lives matter...but not to Obama.

In December 2014 the U.S. Army punished Chaplain Joseph Lawhorn for listing Bible verses as an optional resource in a suicide prevention training class. While his training was very well-received, one soldier complained and contacted an outside organization to put pressure on the military.

 

Army Col. David Fivecoat, Lawhorn’s superior, condemned him for supposedly violating Army policy. Fivecoat told him he was to stop mentioning the Bible because it disrespects diversity. More

 

Don't worry. I'll fix our military! (PRI)

Obama to release Chelsea Bradley Manning!

Editors, Pfc. Sandoval, Pat Macpherson, Wisdom Quarterly; RootsAction.org

Hey, F all you all. I'm part of a movement to keep the status quo no matter what (AP).

Look at me. I am the man who sold the world: CIA-groomed stooge B.S. Obama (AP).

.

Stop US torture (freechelsea.com)

We are no fans of the best president we never had, the great letdown that was Obama.

But he has done three good things: made blacks proud, commuted the sentence of Chelsea Bradley Manning, and probably at least one other thing. What's so bad about Obama -- from the left side of viewing the political scene? Let's tell the exiting Obama himself:

Look, I made some mistakes. Ask Michael.

Finally, President B.S. (Barry Soetoro) Obama -- after

• selling us out,
• burning us,
• lying to us,
• serving the military-industrial complex,
• starting more wars than any president in U.S. history (not declared "wars" blessed by Congress but secret wars and kinetic actions, conflicts, and daring others to provoke the US to fabricate a pretext to launch a strike disguised as a retaliation),



The Audacity of Hope Lying

• selling us down the river to the insurance industry and Big Pharma by passing Romneycare in place of a real single payer plan people could afford, then swapping the name out to the Orwellian euphemism (Newspeak) "Affordable Care Act,"
• illegally assassinating/droning enemies and US citizens,
• signing the indefinite detention (NDAA) act,
• continuing the Patriot Act,
• signing off on secret executive acts,
• remaining by and large silent racist event after racist event,
• capitulating to Republicans at every turn and accommodating adversaries as if you worked for them instead of in an adversarial system,
• giving great speeches of sweet lies and soaring oratory,
• delivering great jokes written for you with competence if not actual comedic chops,
• failing to live up to "lawyer," "professor of constitutional law," and "Nobel Peace Prize laureate" titles,
• ...

Obama was great because he was all things to all people and a very convincing liar.

.

Why didn't you help my wife, boy?

-- today commuted the sentence of U.S. military whistleblower Pfc. Bradley Manning now seven years a prisoner going by the name of Chelsea Manning.

 

Manning was previously serving a 35 year sentence in military prison for telling the truth. Now that sentence will be commuted to time served. Manning is expected to be released in May 2017.
 

Thanks, Obama. Too bad you didn't have the guts to do things like this while you were president of the corporation of the U.S. And what about Native American Leonard Peltier , African American Mumia Abu Jamal, or NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden? How about a get-out-of-jail-free card for Julian Assange or Hillary in case Pres. Trump follows through on the "Lock her up!" campaign promise?

.

.

War is peace (George Orwell, 1984)

When Dr. Stephen Greer (disclosureproject.org) asked Obama, "Disclose the presence of extraterrestrials" on the world stage when you're at the podium, after showing him convincing evidence, Obama said he was afraid to defy parts of the government with their own funding and not under his control.

Obama did -- while promising change and transparency -- has done everything the teleprompter writers could dream of having him. And no one could decry him without risking being called a racist.
 

Of course, the Manning commutation may not stand if Republican Speaker Ryan or the new Trump administration can find a way to rescind it. Thanks, Obama. You've shown that the only way for a person to get along in Washington, D.C. is to go along.

"ORANGE is the new BLACK"

Editors, Wisdom Quarterly

Trump next to replace Obama: "Orange is the new Black" (Wisdom Quarterly)

Let the memes begin. As Marilyn Manson reminds us, art's better under right wing nuts.

Happy days are here again, skies are blue and clear again, happy days w/Ritchie Cunningham.

The truth about Hillary Clinton (video)

CC Liu, Seth Auberon, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly (COMMENTARY); Ellen Snortland (PW)

Where does the "moving to the right" arrow come from? Hillary's Goldwater campaign (WB).

.

"Security review" was another lie

Editors, Wisdom Quarterly (COMMENTARY)

The euphemism "security review," as used by soon-to-be-indicted candidate Hillary Clinton, really means "FBI investigation and grand jury indictment."

The head of the FBI has publicly stated that they don't perform "security reviews." They perform criminal investigations.

I'm supposed to be president not Velcro!

Not only is Clinton implicated in numerous crimes and scandals, such as the murder of Vince Foster and "Whitewater," she is the only first lady to ever be criminally charged. Benghazi, a word that as liberals we reflexively roll our eyes at, is a minor problem compared to the crimes committed surrounding Clinton's emails and destruction of government records.

She has repeatedly lied saying she only destroyed Chelsea's wedding photos or emails to Bill, who has publicly stated he steers well clear of for fear of getting caught red handed in yet another scandal of his own.

Guess Hillary really is the Republican "Goldwater Girl" she always said she was (DS).

How many logos did Hillary reject to copy Republican candidate Goldwater? (DS).

.

What was she covering up? Her lesbian sexting with personal assistant and mistress Huma Abedin, who herself is embroiled in questions about financial misdeeds related to profiting from the Clinton Foundation "charity."

Say it loud: "Hillary for PRISON 2016"

The problem with Hillary Clinton is that she is a right-moving war hawk (notice how her H logo points right.

She is a promoter of the prison-industrial complex doing tremendous harm to black citizens by painting them as "super predators."

She is an inveterate liar who hates people while desperately craving power and influence. (At least predatory former POTUS Bill Clinton likes people).

Columnist Charles Krauthammer predicts that current candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be “either indicted, or there’s a criminal referral somehow squashed by the higher ups” for her email practices. Krauthammer said [with relevant remarks at around 4:20], “The ultimate irony is that the reason she embarked on all of this was to hide her communications from the world, from the Freedom of Information Act, from the Congress. That was the point. There’s no other point in doing this. It’s meant to evade subpoenas, inquiries, congressional committees. And now it’s all over the — I mean, everything is out there. We know that 22 of these were extremely highly secret.”

 
She is the establishment's dream candidate who will keep everything rolling the way it is and continue Bush-Cheney-Obama era policies, like the nominal Democrat actual moderate Republican current president.

She is a corporate lawyer, who sat on the board of Walmart, and who continues to defend the rich and corrupt (at one time serving as a lawyer for a drug kingpin, whom she could not successfully defend in court so she got her husband Arkansas Gov. Clinton to pardon him).

Judge Napolitano explains what the FBI has in store for Clinton: Emails, Benghazi,

financial relationship Huma Abedin had with State Dept. and Clinton Foundation.

She is a war criminal who squealed with delight and exuberance at the murder of illegally deposed Libyan leader Qaddafi. It should come as no surprise since she idolizes the brains behind many atrocities, Henry Kissinger. Furthermore, she fully backs American complicity and support for ongoing war crimes in Israel.

We're friends, good friends, suckers.

She is a hypocritical lesbian who fought against same sex-marriage until it became politically convenient to switch, and she is an attacker of women who dared to accuse her political partner and philandering husband of sexual assault (even the cheating he has admitted to). Trump will bring more of this out along with investigator Roger Stone after the primary race is done.

She uses people, engages in financial crimes like Whitewater inside trading, enriches herself through fraud such as the fake charity the Clinton Foundation, and wants for nothing higher than personal power and immunity from prosecution for crimes and misdemeanors, which the Obama administration will likely grant her even if she is indicted. But Obama is likely to go further and prevent formal indictment as he has protected Bush administration officials.

Then there's the email scandal again, leading to federal indictment for the destruction of government records to cover her tracks as a cabinet official.

We need a change. Bernie Sanders offers hope. Green Party candidate Jill Stein has asked him to join her. Vote Andrew Basiago, or go way out and vote Libertarian. We say #ANYBODY BUT HILLARY.

Clinton is so bad that we would sooner vote for Trump. Yes madman Trump, as bad as he is, is far better than Clinton. Let the Republicans have lying criminal Hillary.

Facebook = Fightbook in campaigns against Hillary Clinton
Ellen Snortland (pasadenaweekly.com, June 2, 2016)

As a gung-ho “Hillary Ho,” I have been asked why I am so quiet about my Hillary Ho-ness on Facebook.

I don’t ordinarily engage in comment flame wars, although I have sometimes commented in a private IM [instant message] or two. Some friends have said stereotypical things about Hillary supporters, and I’ve had to let them know that they splashed me with some of the mud they were slinging.

I inform them, “No, I don’t vote with my vagina. It can’t hold a pen all that well…yet.” Who hasn’t wished they had more than two hands? More Kegels — attagirl!

My reluctance to get into nonstop altercations on Facebook is logical. It’s the same reason I don’t attach raw meat to my body when I’m swimming in the ocean with the word “chum” tattooed on my back. I’ve told my friends I don’t have the time or the stomach to comment-fight.

There are people I like, love, and am even related to who are Sanders, Trump, and Clinton supporters that regularly make eye-rolling statements on Fightbook. All of us are doing it!

If I were to spend my time explaining, arguing, and countering these [anti-Clinton] comments, I would absolutely not have a life. My adrenaline would be pumping so hard I’d have to go to rallies and yell insults at opponents! More

Obama meets with S.E. Asian leaders (video)

Seth Auberon, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly; Expoza Travel; Associated Press (ap.org/mail.com)

(Expoza Travel)

 

Travel destination Southeast Asia, a fascinating, atmospheric, and exotic Theravada Buddhist world full of unspoiled nature and cultural treasures.

It is a region where past and present live side by side and unite in a wonderful way. Burma, "The Land Of Golden Pagoda," is now called Myanmar by its military rulers who control the country from the relocated police state capital of Nay Pyi Taw (though the heart of the country is still Rangoon, Mandalay, and unbelievable Pagan (Bagan). It used to be a closed country. So many of its fine religious sanctuaries were left neglected, but they are now gradually being given the respect they deserve. Inlay Lake is home to the Inthas, one of the many tribes that came to Burma from various neighboring countries. Throughout the area are the floating plantations of the Inthas on which tomatoes, cucumbers, and beans are cultivated.

A journey on the Shan State Express provides passengers with a fascinating insight into the life of the Shan people, whose lives are dominated by agriculture. The northwest of Burma is known for its many splendid sacred buildings such as Mingun’s Hsinbyume Pagoda, which was built at the beginning of the nineteenth century. It was constructed according to the architectural rules of Hindu Buddhist cosmology and symbolizes the World Mountain of Meru...

One of Taiwan’s most important centers of arts and crafts is located on the west of the island, Lukang, an ancient and idyllic town full of age-old traditions whose large number of beautiful Buddhist temples is most impressive. In Cambodia about 40 kms north of the current capital, Phnom Penh, is the former capital city of Udong. Today, only the remains of the city’s former splendid buildings indicate that it was the last center of amazing Angkor’s power with hundreds of dwellings and Buddhist jungle temples.

The ruins of Ayutthaya indicate the impressive dimensions of the former capital of ancient Thailand and one of the mightiest royal cities in Southeast Asia.

 

Obama and leaders of Southeast Asian nations are gathering for two days of talks on economic and security issues to forge deeper ties amid China's assertive presence in the region.

Obama welcomes Southeast Asian leaders to SoCal

Sunnylands Historic House, Southern California, where ASEAN leaders are meeting Obama.

We're here to play ball. We want money. Our leaders/countries are for sale (AP).

Celebration in Southeast Asia (flickr.com)

RANCHO MIRAGE, California - Pres. Barry Soetoro Barack Hussein Obama, husband of Michael Obama -- a Democratic president so weak and feckless he may not select a Supreme Court nominee so as not to offend Republicans with a liberal selection that tilts the court in favor of sanity after decades of damage to the nation by mysteriously dead gun-loving hunter Antonin Scalia -- opened a meeting of leaders from a 10-nation bloc of Southeast Asian nations on Monday, calling the landmark gathering on U.S. soil a reflection of his personal commitment to an enduring partnership with the diverse group of countries.

 

(Feb. 15, 2016)

Deception, war, drone-killings, and hypocrisy may have added to rapid aging in office.

.

Obama and leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will spend two days discussing economic and regional security issues.

In brief remarks as the leaders sat around a horseshoe-shaped table, Obama said he became familiar with Southeast Asia as a boy living in Indonesia with his mother. Since becoming president, Obama has made numerous trips to Asia-Pacific countries as part of his policy "pivot" toward the region, with the goal of reassuring allies unnerved by China's assertive presence there while also reaping economic gains for the U.S.

"You and the people of ASEAN have always shown me extraordinary hospitality, and I hope we can reciprocate with the warmth today and tomorrow, which is why I did not hold this summit in Washington," Obama said.

"It is cold there. It's snowing, so welcome to beautiful, warm Sunnylands," he said. Sunnylands is the storied southern California desert estate where the leaders will conduct their talks at a conference center with picturesque views of the snow-capped San Jacinto Mountains.

Southeast Asian Theravada Buddhist novices, Thailand, with candles (flickr.com)

 

Underscoring the relaxed atmosphere, all leaders wore open-collar shirts with their suits. It's the first time the leaders of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Burma (Myanmar), and Cambodia have held a stand-alone meeting in the U.S. China is not an ASEAN member, but its territorial claims over disputed waters have raised international concerns and heightened tensions with some member countries.

Obama said trade between the U.S. and ASEAN had increased 55 percent since he took office. The region is now the U.S.'s fourth-largest goods trade partner. U.S. companies are also the largest source of foreign investment in its member nations, he said.

Obama said he wants to build on that progress "so that growth and development is sustainable and inclusive and benefits all people." Monday's talks will focus on the economy. After a working dinner, the conversation on Tuesday, the summit's final day, shifts to regional security issues, including the South China Sea and counterterrorism.

China says it has a historical right to virtually all of the South China Sea and has built seven artificial islands, including with airstrips, to assert its sovereignty. Taiwan and ASEAN members Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines also claim land features in these potentially resource-rich waters, which are an important conduit for world trade.

Though not a claimant, the U.S. has spoken out against China's conduct and has angered Beijing by sailing Navy ships near some of the artificial islands. The U.S. has argued for the maritime rights issue to be resolved peacefully and is looking for ASEAN to take a unified stance by calling for the disputes to be resolved based on international law. ASEAN has avoided criticizing China by name in joint statements issued at past summits.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade agreement among the U.S., ASEAN members Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam, and seven other nations, will likely be discussed. The pact is Obama's signature trade achievement, one he has sought to sell to skeptical lawmakers as a chance for the U.S. to shape the region's trade rules, not China. Congress, however, must ratify the deal and that outcome remains in doubt.

Terrorism inspired by the Islamic State group is of increasing concern in the region. Eight people were killed during assaults last month in Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, the first major attack there in six years. Police said the attackers were linked to IS.

Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, have all reported citizens traveling to fight in Iraq and Syria, and several small militant groups in the Philippines have pledged allegiance to IS (ISIS).

Violent Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen with businessman B. Obama (AP)

 

Obama also plans to raise issues of good governance and adherence to the rule of law. Human rights advocates have faulted the U.S. for inviting unelected leaders, like Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who seized power in a May 2014 coup. 

Cambodia's Hun Sen, who has used violence and intimidation against political opponents, made his first official U.S. visit during his 31-year tenure as prime minister. More

• Associated Press writer Matthew Pennington in Washington and Jim Gomez in Manilla, Philippines, contributed to this report. Darlene Superville (twitter.com/dsupervilleap).

Obama and Clinton in Buddhist Burma (photos)

Seth Auberon, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly; Telegraph.co.uk; BBC.co.uk, 11-13-14

How can I avoid all the traffic from the imperial leader's visit? Golden stupa sits atop the Buddha's enshrined relics, Shwedagon Pagoda (Rohit_saxena/flickr.com).

Barefoot Pres. Obama and former U.S. Sec'y of State Hillary Clinton tour Theravada Buddhist Shwedagon Pagoda, Rangoon, Burma renamed "Myanmar" by dictator (AP/Carolyn Kaster).

Aung San Suu Kyi welcomes Obama, whose historic visit is meant to show U.S. support for Burma's transition to [the appearance of] democracy. The White House has cautioned that Obama's trip to the former pariah state should not be viewed as a "victory celebration" but as an opportunity to press for urgent action still needed -- such as freeing political prisoners and ending ethnic tension in remote areas (EPA/Khin Maung Win).

• PHOTO GALLERY: Obama in Burma (Telegraph.co.uk)
• Spreading capitalism and sham-democracy to extract resource-rich Buddhist Burma to benefit the West and junta:

Burmese reforms: Obama "confident" of change

Jonah Fisher (BBC.co.uk) edited by Wisdom Quarterly

Can you ask the dictator if he'll sell us the forests? - He doesn't want to hear it. Will you pay more than China is offering us? And will you also buy our blood gems? Package deal or no deal, and we want arms, weapons, bombs, jets. Pres. Obama and Pres. Sein at the regional parliament building in impoverished Rangoon for photo-op (Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty).

  

Obama, watch out for this guy. - Ellen Page

U.S. Pres. Obama has said he is "optimistic" about the political transition process in Burma during a visit to the country -- but added that "change is hard." His comments came after a night-time meeting with Burmese Pres. Thein Sein.

 

Mr. Obama had earlier met Burmese lawmakers, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. In an interview published on Wednesday, he had accused the government of backsliding on [nominal democratic] reforms. The U.S. president is in the military dictatorship's new bunker-dotted capital Nay Pyi Taw, relocated from Rangoon, for the East Asia summit.

 

Gen. Than Shwe, Burma's dictator.

Following the hour-long meeting with Pres. Sein, Obama said that "the democratic process in Myanmar is real" -- referring to the country by the dictatorship's name for Burma. "We recognize change is hard, and you do not always move in a straight line, but I'm optimistic," he added.

 

Pres. Sein, a former general hand selected by the military junta, the ruling dictators behind the scenes under General Than Shwe, whom many call the "Asian Hitler," said the talks had been candid, according to the Associated Press news agency.

In 2010, Burma held elections that replaced official military rule with a military-backed "civilian" government of former-general-turned-president Thein Sein [a man who apparently still does the bidding of Gen. Than Shwe]. More

• Has Myanmar's reform journey ground to a halt?
• Timeline: Reforms in Burma/Myanmar
• What is ASEAN?

• Burma/Myanmar profile
• Burmese reforms stalled - Suu Kyi
• Profile: Aung San Suu Kyi
• Profile: Burma President Thein Sein

Theravada Buddhist monks hold up Burmese and U.S. flags. Burma was a dictatorship for the past half century until last year when a nominally civilian government took office and stunned the world with a rapid rush toward reforms, largely an act (EPA/Nyein Chan Naing).

Students wave flags and try to force smiles as they wait to welcome the arrival of U.S. Pres. Obama at Rangoon International Airport in Burma, which is still a police state with a growing facade of democratic reforms (AP/Khin Maung Win).

Buddhist monks climb outside of massive main stupa, reliquary mound, Shwedagon Pagoda, Rangoon, Burma (Touristing/flickr.com).

Stupa ruins in ancient Pagan/Bagan, Burma near Mandalay (Platongkohphoto/flickr.com).

Asian Hitler?

(US Campaign for Burma) Ellen Page: "Burma, it can't wait 19"