Internet Disrupted in Myanmar Amid Apparent Military Uprising (netblocks.org) 47
Network data from the NetBlocks Internet Observatory indicate the onset of widespread internet disruptions in Myanmar on Sunday 31 January 2021 (UTC) amid reports of a military uprising and the detention of political leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi. From a report: The telecommunication disruptions beginning approximately 3:00 a.m. Monday morning local time have significant subnational impact including the capital and are likely to limit coverage of events as they take place. Continuing disconnections have been monitored with national connectivity falling initially to 75% and subsequently 50% of ordinary levels by 8:00 a.m. local time. Technical data show cuts affecting multiple network operators including state-owned Myanma Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) and international operator Telenor, with preliminary findings indicating a centrally ordered mechanism of disruption targeting cellular and some fixed-line services, progressing over time as operators comply.
Guess someone didn't lick enought military boots (Score:5, Interesting)
Ok, nothing is easy and there are plenty of shades between colors but to me the excuse of pardoning Aung San Suu Kyi from the responsability with the rohingya crysis because she had to placate the military seems more and more pointless by now.
I for once vote to make the Peace Novel Prize the only one that can be given posthumous and require do do so. Let it be a reflexion of the conduct of an entire life, and don't let them devaluate what it means with acts after the prize.
Or make it revocable. (Score:2)
Make the Nobel revocable. I mean, sure, she might have been right and doing something then might have made the coup happen earlier, but that was classic step-on-dead-bodies politics, not Nobel prize winning behaviour.
As someone from a country which had the experience of a military junta (just for 7 years before my time thankfully) and having served in the armed forces (mandatory of course), I do wonder what can politicians do to restrict the army in situations like these. I mean, no offence, but most career
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Re: Guess someone didn't lick enought military boo (Score:2)
What's more important, a thank you for doing something good in your lifetime, even when you or other recipients screw up at some point in their life and also got a thank you, or protecting an award's image for the award's sake. A posthumous award is like giving a thank you to the next of kin, and sometimes that's the entire point, but sometimes you just weren't able to award someone before they pass.
I don't think the point of a peace prize is to give a nod to the next of kin, or to be self-important and ex
Re:Guess someone didn't lick enought military boot (Score:4, Insightful)
When they awarded Obama the peace prize just for getting elected is when I determined that it didn't mean anything anymore.
I voted Obama, twice. I value the great majority of what he accomplished as president... but there was no reason to award him the Nobel.
Banana Republic (Score:5, Insightful)
Ah, typical of a banana republic: the conservatives lose an election to the liberals, so they declare "massive election fraud" baselessly, then attempt a coup.
Well, a banana republic, and apparently the United States.
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Why the FB and Google icons? (Score:3)
So, slashdot, why does this posting have Facebook and Google icons associated with it? Did Myanmar tell them to do something unsavory?
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I guess someone thought that, in the face of a military coup, the really important thing is which Internet services become unavailable.
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Was thinking Starlink could be ideal for this - although you might want to shield your antenna from any earth-based sources as it would be very easy to jam.
What Trump Attempted (Score:4, Informative)
This is nearly exactly the same playbook as Trump tried to use for a coup:
1. Claim widespread voter fraud after you lost
2. Disrupt the certification of the new government just before it can happen
3. Take control
The only difference is that in the US the military stuck to their oaths and refused to take part... so Trump tried to rile up a bunch of idiots and get them to storm the capitol, which ended in complete failure.
This is a reminder of just how close we came to seeing our democracy toppled at the hands of an orange buffoon.
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I was not suggesting that he told the military to do anything on January 6th (although that is in dispute - but NOT my point here).
I was talking about a few things:
1. Trump (and others) pushing for martial law (and being shot down by advisors):
https://www.theguardian.com/us... [theguardian.com]
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/0... [nytimes.com]
https://www.businessinsider.co... [businessinsider.com]
2. Installing Trump loyalists to positions of power over the military.
This started in July: https://www.politico.com/news/... [politico.com]
But really ramped up after he lost the ele
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Do you know what "coup" means? Let me spell it out for you: " Coup dâ(TM)état, also called coup, the sudden, violent overthrow of an existing government by a small group." (From Britannica).
Nancy Pelosi, in seeking reassurance fr
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The "they" in your quote was from "some Defense Department officials" which aren't named. The full context of your quote and mine is:
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Well, only congress has the authority to declare war...not the President. A Constitutional thing. Use of nukes is a de facto declaration of war...so asking the military what they would do if someone who has demonstrated behavior which is not focused on what is good for the nation, but only themselves is a not a bad idea.
Once war is declared, then the President is granted the power to make decisions regarding use of nukes, etc.
The issue is congress abdicated their power by allowing the president to send US
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Mr. Trump, they noted, is still the commander in chief; unless he is removed, the military is bound to follow his lawful orders. While military officials can refuse to carry out orders they view as illegal â" or slow the process by sending those orders for careful legal review â" they cannot remove the president from the chain of command. That would amount to a military coup, the officials said.
-- https://www.nytimes.com/2021/0... [nytimes.com]
The President can respond to a serious attack on the US without waiting for Congress to declare war. That includes use of nuclear weapons.
Interesting that Pelosi hasn't sought to remove Biden's ability to launch, given his dementia and the clear direction towards starting a war with Iran now that the most peaceful US president of the last 40 years is no longer in office.
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I mentioned the National Guard respecting Congress's wishes about who would keep order on January 6th as an example of how the US military follows civilian leadership.
That stands in sharp contrast to asking the military if they would depose the Commander in Chief.
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Don't forget the bit about cracking down on fake news. Don't we all love that part.
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Very good point - I forgot that one. One of the first things the military in Myanmar did is shut down all news outlets other than its own (which had been spreading lies about the election for weeks).
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But even Trump supporters simply want hands-off government, not totalitarianism. THey want Congress to stop imposing things, but everyone still loves America and it's values. No one wants to replace Federalist Republicanism (not Democracy btw) with some sort of authoritarian nonsense. They just want Washington to wake up to the problems they are causing via the Same Old Shit Different Administration.
No...they want the government to stop imposing things they don't like, but happy to have them impose things they like on others. ie Anti-Abortionists who happily don't want birth control being allowed. Or making it easier to vote if you are likely to vote for the other side. Make healthcare or education easier for most people? Not a big priority for Trump supporters...until they realize it impacts them. And so on.
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US also had this thing called "electoral collage", which actually helped this time.
Whatever the Orange Man said, it was the states that decided the presidential votes. You don't like which way Georgia votes? Too bad, it is their choice and constitutional right. You can protest, you can open lawsuits, however once they are decided, it is over. Yes, they can even ignore the public vote and send in their own electors if the state legislature overrides it.
Just this once, the distributed and partitioned voting s