40 people dead after paraglider drops bombs on festival
(AFP via MSN)
At least forty people have died after a paraglider dropped bombs on a festival in Burma (which the military junta renamed Myanmar). Hundreds of people were gathered in the Chaung U Township for the Thadingyut full moon festival on Monday evening when the military dropped bombs on the crowd, according to a member of the committee that organized the event. 40 people dead after paraglider drops bombs on festival
Horror in Myanmar: Paraglider drops bombs on festival crowd, killing at least 40
(New York Post) Oct. 8, 2025: At least 40 people, including children, were killed and 80 injured after a Burmese military paraglider dropped bombs on a religious festival in Burma’s Chuang U Township. The attack targeted attendees marking the Thadingyut full moon festival, many of whom were protesting the junta’s dictatorial rule. Footage shows the devastating aftermath as survivors search through debris. #myanmar #Burmese #Thadingyut
Myanmar earthquake aftershocks: massive destruction in Burma, Thailand, and China, people trapped (Wild WeatherUS) March 30, 2025: A devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar), killing at least 1,700 people [with many left unaccounted for], injuring thousands, collapsing buildings as far away as Bangkok, Thailand, and prompting urgent rescue efforts amid ongoing aftershocks and a deepening humanitarian crisis. #earthquake#myanmar#bangkok
Videos show water gushing from a rooftop pool and a high-rise building collapse as a massive 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar (Buddhist Burma) and Thailand.
Up to 100,000 are feared dead with dozens still trapped under mountains of rubble after skyscrapers, religious buildings (golden temples), and family homes crumbled to the ground. Read more: thesun.co.uk/news/3410922...
Meanwhile, Israel bombs Beirut, Lebanon
#TheSun #News #Myanmar Subscribe to The Sun: @thesun. Get The Sun's latest news, exclusives, sport, celebrities, showbiz, politics, business, and lifestyle.
Read The Sun: thesun.co.uk. Facebook: thesun. X: thesun. TikTok: thesun. Subscribe to The Sun on Snapchat: 1633225139. #TheSun #News #myanmar #thailand
Theravada Buddhists and visitors enjoy the great Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon, Burma.
Burma: Inside the Protestant Chin ethnic group's armed resistance against ruling junta
Hateful nationalist monk Ashin Wirathu (AP)
(FRANCE 24 English)
France 24 is a French public broadcast service. Since the February 2021 coup in Burma (renamed "Myanmar" by the new military dictators), the Protestant Christian Chin ethnic minority -- one of 135 officially recognized in Burma -- has taken up arms to defend its land, identity and ideals against the all-powerful ruling junta in the Theravada Buddhist-majority country. The team reports.
Read more about this story in this article: f24.my/9p4i.y
Myanmar: How the Chin are fighting the Junta
(DW Documentary) DW is a German public broadcast service. Aug. 8, 2023: After another military coup in Burma (Myanmar) in 2021, the Christian Chin ethnic minority took up arms. The Chin people are fighting to defend their territory, their identity, and their democratic principles against the junta (military dictatorship). In the mountains in the remote west of Burma, a bitter war is raging. The Chin, a primarily Christian minority, still control most of the area after putting up a fierce resistance against the Myanmar military. The resistance fighters train in the mountains along the peaceful Indian border. Hundreds of young people gave up their jobs or studies to join the battle. Although they’re equipped with little more than light weapons, they’re determined to stand their ground. But the civilian population is paying a high price for the war. Thousands of villagers have been bombed by the junta, their homes destroyed. Many have been forced to flee. Nevertheless, the Chin remain committed to the fight to overthrow the military regime. #Myanmar
COMMENTARY
As monks we oppose this bad gov't.
It is not quite correct to call the generals that form the military junta after the coup "Buddhists," they do tend to be Buddhists in name only, as they kill and oppress Buddhist monks and nuns (sayalays), as during the Saffron Revolution when Buddhist monastics stood up against the military dictatorship and were brutally suppressed.
Gen. Than Shwe: Come back, Hillary
That suppression came with the aid and blessing of U.S. presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, who was in the country making deals with Aung San Suu Kyi to fight a proxy war against China and exploit Burma's resources for the U.S. and Western markets.
As Clinton lost in a humiliating defeat to dumb Donald Trump, the whole plan of setting up a fake nominal democracy in the style of America's farcical one-party system (the Money Party with two wings, moderate and extreme-right) fell through.
Aung San Suu Kyi (Time cover)
After the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya Muslim minority and their return, the Myanmar military committed more atrocities against perceived enemies of the junta (military dictatorship).
The Rohingya, Karens, and Chin are just three of the ethnic minorities so suffer at the hands of oppressive military rule in this police state (which has suffered troubles since the British invasion and arising of George Orwell, who was born here and served in the Royal Forces as a soldier who did not want to side with Great Britain. Much of what he wrote in Nineteen Eighty-Four was witnessed and learned in Burma under British rule and applied to England and the West.
Miraculously, Theravada Buddhism survives and is practiced, benefiting from its isolation from Western tourists and outsiders.
While the Burmese people are open to visitors, particularly Westerners, the country's rulers are not interested in anything but the foreign currency tourists bring. So visiting at this time may not be the best idea out of humanitarian concerns.
However, a closed Buddhist country, as for example Bhutan once remained closed, preserves culture. Burma has already been exposed to Western influences: British imperial oppression, the first Western Buddhist monk to be fully ordained being an Irishman more than a century ago who also opposed the British and Christian proselytizers and got in a lot of trouble as a rebel and excellent public speaker. (See the Western Dharma bum Ven. U Dhammaloka).
Then Burma was wooed by its Chinese neighbors, who advanced the corruption of new military leaders out to enrich themselves and their families. Then Burma was made promises by Secretary of State Clinton, promises that fell through, leaving Aung San Suu Kyi in the lurch and disgraced -- and the ASEAN country in turmoil.
Suu Kyi, after years of house arrest, entered government but was such a nationalist and patriot, she could not see the crimes of the real rulers behind the scenes (the junta left in place by Clinton as the country move toward the appearance of parliamentary democracy), the junta attempting to expel or annihilate the Rohingya.
So the world turned against this once great female peace activist who was the greatest hope of the majority of Burmese, as Suu Kyi's father was once a great national hero. She was destined for greatness, restoring the Buddhist country to greatness, but it was not to be. See Burma VJ for a look into the Saffron Revolution and the silly American movie Beyond Rangoon for a hint of what happened that led down this road.
(The Daily Show) Trevor Noah looks at anti-Muslim violence by monks and citizens in Myanmar.
I lost everything for Burma.
The Patriotic Association of Myanmar, abbreviated Ma Ba Tha(မဘသ) in Burmese, is variously translated into English as the "Association for the Protection of Race and Religion," the "Organization for the Protection of Race and Religion," and the "Committee for the Protection of Nationality and Religion." It is an ultra nationalist Buddhist organization based in Myanmar (Burma). Some members are connected to the 969 Movement. In May 2017, the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, which regulates the Buddhist monastics in the country, ordered the group disbanded. The group renamed itself as the Buddha Dhamma Charity Foundation, which government officials have also outlawed, according to government officials. More
Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country is a 2008 Danish documentary directed by Anders Østergaard. It follows the Saffron Revolution against Gen. Than Shwe's military dictatorship in Burma, which the junta of generals renamed "Myanmar." The "VJ" in the title stands for "video journalist." Some of it was filmed on hand-held cameras. The footage was then smuggled out of the country, physically or over the Internet. Other parts of it were reconstructed, which caused controversy.More
Hypocritical monks call for ethnic cleansing of Muslim Rohingyas?
Sayadaw Ashin Ottamathara Dhamma talk, Thabarwa Meditation Center, Thanlyin, Burma (Myanmar, April 2, 2020); Sayalay Aloka, Pfc. Sandoval, Dhr. Seven, CC Liu (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
The Zen-like philosophy of Ven. Ottamasara
Sayadaw Ottamathara (Ottamasara) of the Thabarwa Meditation Center outside of Rangoon, Burma (renamed "Yangon, Myanmar" by the military dictatorship of "Asia's Hitler," Gen. Than Shwe, and his junta's SLORC, which his PR firm renamed the SPDC when then U.S. Sec'y of State Hillary Clinton visited and made quiet backdoor deals, co-opting beloved Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and positioning her in the corrupt ruling party's parliament with its transparent veneer of its in-name-only democracy, assuming she would defeat Trump and ascend to the presidency) gives aDharma talk to the international volunteers, many of them Westerners, concerning COVID-19.
We're scared of SARS-2! What sould we do?
This is an opportunity to work with the government and correct the issues at his massive meditation center in the town of Thanlyin. The ashin ("teacher") teaches that "good deeds" -- mindful charity, detachment (nonclinging), kindness, and seeing things as they naturally (Burmese thabarwa, Sanskrit svabhava) are -- are the keys to happiness and success in life and meditation, even in surviving the pandemic.
In Burma’s Rakhine state, hundreds of new houses have been handed over to families displaced by the state's violence against the Muslim minority Rohingya population crisis in 2017 when many were chased into neighboring Muslim Bangladesh. But none of these homes were for the Muslim minority group. Almost two years on, there’s no sign the 700,000 Rohingyas who fled across the border to Bangladesh will be returning anytime soon. The Burmese government continues to deny its military troops carried out ethnic cleansing and genocide. The BBC's Myanmar (Burma) Correspondent Nick Beake has gained rare access to the affected part of Rakhine state. More
Pope Francis is welcomed at Yangon Airport, Burma, Nov. 27, 2017 (Max Rossi/Reuters)
.
Hey, these Asian Buddhists are funny (SL).
The [current Catholic] pope may not use the term "Rohingya" during his trip to Burma [called "Myanmar" by Burma's lingering military dictators led by Gen. Than Shwe from their newly built semi-underground capital at Naypyidaw]. Here's why.
Pope Francis on Monday arrived in Rangoon, Burma (Yangon, Myanmar) -- the first stop of his six-day trip to Burma and neighboring [Muslim majority, Buddhist minority] Bangladesh.
The pontiff’s visit comes as Burma is being accused of
violently [conducting a genocide and] pushing out hundreds of thousands of minority Rohingya
Muslims. The United Nations and US Secretary of State [former Exxon CEO] Rex Tillerson have
accused the country’s army, the Tatmadaw, of conducting a campaign of
"ethnic cleansing" against the Rohingya.
Don't worry, Dictator Than Shwe, I will not say "Rohingya." I'll call them "Bengalis."
As the pope embarked on his visit on Monday, many were
waiting to see whether he would use the term "Rohingya" to describe
the group. The word is not used in Burma; there, the group is
described as "Bengalis" -- even by former dissident and current face of the country, Aung San Suu Kyi] -- suggesting they are [illegal migrants] from Bangladesh [who came to settle and sided with the Colonial British who were defeated when Burma, like neighboring India, gained its independence].
I call them Bengalis, Mr. Pope. How about you?
The pope has used the word Rohingya in previous speeches
but has been advised by the church’s sole Catholic cardinal in Burma to forgo using the term, so as not to stir up violence in
Buddhist-majority Burma, where Catholics make up approximately 1
percent of the total population.
Despite testimony by refugees pointing to a widespread campaign of rape, murder, and arson, Burma denies any wrongdoing. More
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reporting was used in this story. Listen to an interview with The World Correspondent Jasmine Garsd, who's on the ground in
Bangladesh.
Hmm, did England (the British) steal Buddhist Burma's treasured ruby? (myanmars.net)
The world-famous Shwedagon Pagoda housing the Buddha's hair relics, Rangoon, Burma
Who stole Burma's royal ruby?
Asian Hitler: Dictator Gen. Than Shwe
When Britain [UK] conquered Buddhist Burma [which its current dictator and his military junta -- who secretly rule from their secretive new capital of Naypyidaw after changing the country name to Myanmar, while Aung San Suu Kyi takes all the heat with no political power but a bully pulpit she dare not use for fear of being deposed or assassinated -- control from behind the scenes directing the military to commit genocide on Rakhine state's Muslim minority Rohingya, whom Suu Kyi calls "foreigners" and "Bengalis"], the last king's most treasured possession -- an enormous, priceless ruby -- disappeared. Who took it, where did it go, and where is it now?More
The reign of the last Burmese royals lasted just seven years when King Thibaw Min was defeated in the Third Anglo-Burmese War and forced to abdicate by the British in 1885.
On November 25, 1885 they were taken away in a covered carriage, leaving Mandalay Palace by the southern gate of the walled city along the streets lined by British soldiers and their wailing subjects, to the River Irrawaddy where a steamboat called Thuriya (the "Sun" or Suriya) awaited. King Thibaw was 27 and Queen Supayalat 26.
The Lady who would be queen of Burma
Queen Supayalat never lost her composure and was said to have asked a British soldier by the wayside for a light to smoke a Burmese cheroot [country cigarette].
She was pregnant and accompanied by her husband, their two daughters,
her two sisters, and her mother; the rest of their party followed on
foot.
Our superheroine gone bad
The troops had nicknamed her "Soup Plate," and in the commotion
and haste that attended their abduction, some of the crown jewels disappeared including a large ruby called Nga Mauk that Colonel Sladen had insisted on being handed over for safekeeping.
King Thibaw saw an opportunity in 1911 when King George V visited India,
and he wrote for the return of the Burmese crown jewels.
Tell them you happy, Suu Kyi, we not kill you.
But he only received
a reply that Col. Sladen had died in 1890. Nga Mauk was believed to
have subsequently turned up as the largest ruby on theBritish crown [pure pirate booty from amazing Asia]; it was recognized by Princess of Kyundaung in whose charge the ruby used to be... More
Nobel Peace Prize winner and Burma's titular (nominal) leader Aung San Suu Kyi takes heat for ignoring the nominally Buddhist Burmese Army-led ethnic cleansing of the Muslim Rohingya people of Burma. [The government says the Rohingya are not Burmese but Bangladeshis in the country illegally. It adds that because they are behaving like "terrorists," it is only "clearing" them out when it is in fact conducting a textbook genocide.] Watch full episodes of The Daily Show (free). It airs weeknights at 11/10 Central Time on Comedy Central.
The end of our heroine Suu Kyi?
The fairy Suu Kyi and dragon Than Shwe
Would that it were only a joke, only some friendly ribbing from the Daily Show, but no. The Lady, Aung San Suu Kyi, i sliving up to her Nobel Peace Prize about as well as warmonger Pres. B. Obama. This short summary video is dubbed "Violent Buddhists Target Muslims in Myanmar: The Daily Show."
I don't want to talk about it!
Burma, called Myanmar by the military dictators who still run it from behind the scenes in their new capital of Naypyidaw.
They've abandoned Rangoon (Yangon) and The Lady, now a member of Parliament and the FACE of the country, but NOT its official leader, not by a long shot. B. Obama and former Secretary of State promised to prop up pro-Democracy figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi, who for so long languished under house arrest.
The Myanmar Daily Show with Noah Trevor (Nov. 13, 2015) In a special 2015 Burmese edition of The Daily Show, Trevor examines Myanmar's election of pro-democracy Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi into parliament [as FM not president nor prime minister].
But, Barry, do you think they'll take away our Nobel Peace Prizes? - Nah, not mine. - But you killed people and made wars and signed the Indefinite Detention Act, and stood quiet as... - Yeah, but I got my prize as a payoff before I did anything peaceful. You were actually a hero who's doing nothing now in the face of genocide. Talk to Hillary when she's president (AP).
But Pres. Trump is no source of support, so the military junta, led by Burma's real strong arm leader, a man who is worse than Trump, General Than "Asian Hitler" Shwe.
Suu Kyi's hands are tied. And presumably she has to watch what she says for fear of angering the real movers and shakers who pull her strings, the military junta living royally in Naypyidaw.
She can do little to stop the genocide and ethnic cleansing of Burma's most oppressed ethnic minority, the reviled Muslim Rohingya people of coastal Rakhine State next to formerly Buddhist now Muslim Bangladesh.
But she could be brave enough to speak up for them. Worse than silence she is making excuses, blaming the victims, and purposely turning a deaf ear to their suffering and the cries of the world for her to step up and live up to her Nobel Peace Prize.
We live as kings on embezzled billions while Burma suffers as a Third World country.
The world would prefer silence to statements like, "They are burning their own houses and villages to make the government look bad."
She too closely followed in the footsteps of grand American liar Hillary Clinton, war criminal, failed candidate, personal student of genocidal mentor, war criminal, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
I've got my own problems, Suu Kyi. - H.C.
Hillary Clinton was a right winger until she met husband and notorious liar, husband former Pres. Bill Clinton. Both are attorneys, and both sold out the Democratic Party to push "moderate" to the right. They are more corporate-capitalists than progressives, regardless of what focus groups tell them to say in public. Oh, Aung San, turn it around!
"It is not power that corrupts, but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it." - Aung San Suu Kyi
Oh, Dark Lord, General Than Shwe, am I ready to come to the Dark Side? - Not yet.
Barry, I want to be just like her, like Hillary. - Be careful what you wish for, Suu Kyi!
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