520

Yesterday afternoon in D.C. "The Lady" spoke to a gathering of Asia Society members and others at which she was given an award for her values and opposition to the generals over all these years. She was quite amazing. For the most part, she seemed to be speaking w/o notes and her candor was startling. The event is available on C-Span.

This afternoon at 3:00 EDT she'll be addressing Congress, where she'll also be receiving an
award--the Freedom Award, I believe. It'll be available live on C-Span--and on tape thereafter.

She will be in NYC this weekend. Not sure where else her visit takes her.

What an extraordinary woman.

tripplanner001

In addition to DC and NYC, I've read reports of her visiting Indiana and California.

BillT

What no teleprompter? I think there is someone in DC who could take a lesson from her!

dgunbug

I am hoping that USA establishes diplomatic relations with Myanmar as my husband is reluctant to travel there beforehand. It is high up on our bucket list.

tripplanner001

We've never cut off diplomatic relations with Burma. They were downgraded for a while, but we've exchanged ambassadors earlier this year and a lot of sanctions are being lifted or scaled back. That's why I'm choosing to go now.

Kathie

We have now re-established diplomatic relations with Burma with the exchange of ambassadors. But the US relations with Burma are not yet "normalized." We have had sanctions against Burma for a couple of decades. There is talk of loosening those sanctions, and ASSK has come out in favor of dropping the sanctions. It will be very interesting to see how this develops. A country that once moved a a glacial pace in terms of any change has changed by leaps and bounds in the last year.

What a pleasure it has been to watch ASSK's trip to the US!

marya_

...and the trip isn't over. She will be here in Massachusetts next week.

dgunbug

All this is great to know. Now we must decide on Burma or Indonesia for our next trip to Asia. Opinions?

Kathie

Burma. I love Indonesia, and there are endless new places to go there, but Burma is changing so quickly it pays to go as soon as you can. Read my two trip reports and look at the photos at www.marlandc.com

I'm so glad we've been twice. We will be back again.

dgunbug

Kathie - I have read and enjoyed your reports and pictures. Looks like Burma may become a reality for next year!

520

ASSK was on Charlie Rose either last night or Thursday, and once again, was remarkably impressive because of the gentle authority and refreshing authenticity that she seems to exude.

I didn't think Charlie conducted a very good interview, he seemed more intent on getting his questions asked than in listening to her responses, but she stayed within herself and took her time with her thoughtful remarks.

There was an article in the NYTimes today about the lifting of censorship of all media. That's pretty remarkable, too.

Kathie

Yes, the changes in Burma are truly amazing!

marya_

I had the good fortune to be in the back of the room when ASSK spoke yesterday in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A youtube of her talk is available so I am providing it here in case anyone is interested. Given her dignity, grace, and strong center, she has the gift of making a large address feel intimate, so if you feel like keeping company with this remarkable woman, follow the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=...dKennedySchool

Kathie

Thanks, MaryA!