Ma Thein Shin – Chapter (5)

(Direct translation of late Naing Win Swe’s “Ma Thein Shi Si Pote Pay Bar”.)

(On 6 January 1966 General Ne Win’s Revolutionary Socialist Government stupidly prohibited the civilian populace from transporting, storing, distributing, and trading of 460 basic commodities including the staples such as rice, peanut-oil, and salt. Hta-nyet (jaggery) was one of those restricted commodities and a large scale smuggling trade of Hta-nyet had developed overnight in Middle Burma where most of it is produced.)

Whenever I had to work with Conductor Mya Own I used to drink cheap palm liquor once the train turned back from Kyauk-pan-daung towards Taung-dwin-gyi. Once the train was well past Kywe-wa hill it slowly turned nearly perpendicular and started running towards Gaung-hti hill.

“Hey, Yin Maung, working for the Railways is like walking on the tight rope strung between two deep cliffs. If you fell your body would be broken into many pieces, do you understand? What we’re doing here like taking money from the smugglers is dangerous job, you know that. But we are human and we have to eat if there is something to eat. It’s not our fault at all and they shouldn’t blame on us for doing what we’re doing.”

“Ha. ha, they can’t blame us for eating when someone is putting into our mouths. Yin Maung, you should never think about when you will lose your job or when you will be jailed. You can go crazy just by worrying about. We’re working for Railways because we’re bad and we’re corrupt. We must take bad money. That’s right, we must take bribe from the smugglers. Only problem is everyone knows we’re corrupt and taking bribe money. But we are honest and we do not hide our corruption, ha ha ha!”

I agreed with Mya Own’s philosophy of taking bribe money honestly from the smugglers without giving them a trouble. “Yes, yes, you’re right, we’re right!” agreed me totally. By then train had left the Indaw-gyel Station and Mya Own was so drunk he couldn’t even wave his flag to signal the driver. By the time train departed Nyaung-doe Station he was so drunk he started vomiting once or twice. Then he started dancing and singing aloud in his guard compartment.

Sarsour-sans-Clit Calling For Jihad Against Trump

(Joel Pollak’s article direct from The BRIETBART on 06 July 2017.)

Linda Sarsour Calls for ‘Jihad’ Against Trump Administration: Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian-American anti-Israel activist who helped organize the nationwide Women’s March the day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, called for “jihad,” or holy war, against the Trump administration last weekend.

Sarsour was speaking in Chicago at the annual conference of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), a group that the Investigative Project on Terrorism notes was an “unindicted co-conspirator” in a terror-funding prosecution, and was “created by members of the Muslim Brotherhood” in the United States in the early 1980s.  

ISNA has been described as “the largest umbrella group of Muslims in North America.” President Barack Obama met with ISNA’s president in 2015, despite the group’s controversial views and alleged ties to radical movements. Quoting the Prophet Muhammad, Sarsour said: “A word of truth in front of a tyrant ruler or leader, that is the best form of jihad.” She then added:

Ma Thein Shin – Chapter (4)

(Direct translation of late Naing Win Swe’s “Ma Thein Shi Si Pote Pay Bar”.)

(On 6 January 1966 General Ne Win’s Revolutionary Socialist Government stupidly prohibited the civilian populace from transporting, storing, distributing, and trading of 460 basic commodities including the staples such as rice, peanut-oil, and salt. Hta-nyet (jaggery) was one of those restricted commodities and a large scale smuggling trade of Hta-nyet had developed overnight in Middle Burma where most of it is produced.)

Year 1969

As a train clerk I used to do the day-to-day jobs of selling tickets and checking tickets on the train for the passengers and their cargo only. But now I was forced to do the horrible jobs of searching and arresting people and their cargo if they were transporting the general commodities strictly prohibited by the military-controlled Socialist government.

I also had to work with many train conductors. Whenever the alcoholic conductors San Yee or Mya Ohn or Chit Swe were on the trains the smell of hard liquor was unavoidable in the Guard Car. Especially the days with Conductor San Yee happily went through real quick.

“Hey, Yin Maung, listen to me! Actually, we should all be living like that three monkeys on the match box. Have you ever seen Three-monkey match box before? Nope, how could you have seen it? You must be only a baby back then. Like that three monkeys from the match box, one closing its eyes and another one blocking its ears and the last one shutting its mouth, we should behave. Aren’t we? I say, what you know?”

“Say it in Burmese?”

“I’m a bit drunk and I want to say by English. Can’t you know?”

He then almost fell asleep sitting while kept on saying Can’t you know …… Can’t you know. The train jolted and I fell on him. I tried to take a sip out of my glass as I leaned on him.

North Korea Test Fired First Nuclear-Capable ICBM

(Jack Kim’s article direct from The REUTERS on 04 July 2017.)

North Korea said on Wednesday its newly developed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) can carry a large nuclear warhead, triggering a call by Washington for global action to hold it accountable for pursuing nuclear weapons.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Defense Department said it had concluded that North Korea test-launched an ICBM on Tuesday, which some experts now believe had the range to reach the U.S. state of Alaska as well as parts of the mainland United States.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the test, on the eve of the U.S. Independence Day holiday, represented "a new escalation of the threat" to the United States and its allies, and vowed to take stronger measures.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the test completed his country's strategic weapons capability that includes atomic and hydrogen bombs and ICBMs, the state KCNA news agency said. Pyongyang would not negotiate with the United States to give up those weapons until Washington abandons its hostile policy against the North, KCNA quoted Kim as saying.

Ma Thein Shin - Chapter (3)

         (Direct translation of late Naing Win Swe’s novel “Ma Thein Shin Si Pote Pay Bar”.)

(On 6 January 1966 General Ne Win’s Revolutionary Council's Socialist Government stupidly prohibited the civilian populace from transporting, storing, distributing, and trading of 460 basic commodities including the staples such as rice, peanut-oil, and salt. Hta-nyet (jaggery) was one of those restricted commodities and a large scale smuggling trade of Hta-nyet had developed overnight in Middle Burma where most of it is produced.)

Year 1968

Next days I would find her at her usual waiting place underneath the big Banyan tree.

She would sit at the seat by U Kaung Zone’s Shop and look out for me as the train came in. Even in the blurry-dawn I could detect the shadows of smiles on her happy round face. But once she was on the train she wouldn’t wait for me at the doorway. Instead she would avoid me by disappearing inside where the passengers were once I came up to her car.

I would just end up at the doorway while grudgingly smiling at her. From among the passengers she would turn her face a bit and try to catch a glimpse of me. If I caught her looking at me and winked back at her she immediately turned her face away from me.

When the Train stopped at her station she would just rush off among the disembarking passengers. Only when she was at distance she would turn round and sort of smile at me and then disappear.

Ma Thein Shin - Chapter (2)

           (Direct translation of late Naing Win Swe’s novel “Ma Thein Shin Si Pote Pay Bar”.)

(On 6 January 1966 General Ne Win’s Revolutionary Socialist Government stupidly prohibited the civilian populace from transporting, storing, distributing, and trading of 460 basic commodities including the staples such as rice, peanut-oil, and salt. Hta-nyet (jaggery) was one of those restricted commodities and a large scale smuggling trade of Hta-nyet had developed overnight in Middle Burma where most of it is produced.)

Year 1967 

It was dawn and still the thin mist had shrouded the early morning. I was standing at the doorway of a passenger car and looking for Nyo Nyo at her usual waiting place by U Kaung Zon’s Shop as the big train slowly entered Myo-lu-lin Station drowned in the mixture of pale darkness and bright light.

Back then I myself even didn’t notice the strong attachments started forming in my heart. Some days if I didn’t find her in that usual spot underneath the big banyan tree I always felt something missing inside of me.

She also would stand up from the seat underneath the banyan tree and look up at the train as if she was searching for me as the train came. And whenever she saw me her little round face would lighten up as if she was really happy even though she tried to hide that once she noticed I was happily looking at her too.

Even after loading her baskets onto the train she wouldn’t disappear inside the train. She would pretend to be busy moving her baskets here and there as if she wanted me to see her that she was already on the train.

Wang Jianlin Makes Aggressive Moves In Hollywood

(Ryan Faughnder’s article direct from The LA TIMES on 30 September 2016.)

China’s richest man, Wang Jianlin, has been on a buying spree in Hollywood. His media conglomerate, Dalian Wanda Group, has aggressively expanded into the U.S. film industry. The company, which already owns the nation’s second-largest theater chain and a major U.S. film producer, recently signed a deal to invest in Sony Pictures movies.

Now, Wanda is in talks to buy the iconic Dick Clark Productions, producer of the Golden Globe Awards, in a deal that values the company at about $1 billion. And Wang, 61, may just be warming up. The brash executive has proclaimed his desire to acquire one of the six major Hollywood studios and vowed to “change the world where rules are set by foreigners.”  Wanda recently was in talks to buy a 49% stake in Paramount Pictures until parent company Viacom  Inc. scuttled the sale.

But not everyone is happy about Wang’s ambitious plans, which have sparked heightened concerns among some lawmakers that a company closely aligned with the Chinese government could wield too much control over the content and distribution of American movies.

U.S. Supreme Court Reinstates Trump’s Muslim Ban!

(Staff articles from The GLOBAL TIMES and BREITBART NEWS on 26 June 2017.)

SCOTUS is making Trump happy again.

The US Supreme Court on Monday announced that it has decided to allow President Donald Trump's controversial revised travel ban to go into effect in most instances and will review it in fall.

The decision, immediately seen as Trump's partial victory, blocks the actions of lower federal courts that had put the president's executive order barring US entry from six majority-Muslim countries in the Middle East and Africa completely on hold.

As a result, people who do not have a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States would be denied entry once the order takes effect within 72 hours. Those who can show they have a relationship to a person or entity will be allowed to enter the United States.

Ma Thein Shin - Chapter (1)

(Direct translation of late Naing Win Swe’s novel “Ma Thein Shin Si Pote Pay Bar”.)

Year 1969

It was a foggy winter morning. The big train standing in thick mist seemed to be afraid of leaving the safety of the warm Station. But it had to go. It blew a lot of smoke and reluctantly began the journey. It turned on the front spotlights but the pale beams shorn just a short distance ahead in the fog.

Gradually gaining speed the train appeared to slowly overcome its fears as if its blood were now boiling. Once the dim lights of Taung-dwin-gyi station were well behind it the train squeezed out a long blow of single horn as if it was cheering up itself to travel deep into the foggy darkness ahead.

Immediately the train appeared to think that the sound of its own horn was the cheers from the surrounds and it became excited and now it was madly rushing into total darkness.