Kerry Howley on the situation in Burma:
There has been a lot of talk about how this month's protests are distinct from those of 1988 because “the world is watching,” the Internet changed everything, and the junta can no longer contain information. That’s true to some extent, and it’s breathtaking to see video of Yangon on CNN.But while the world may be watching, I doubt most Burmese are. The country’s communications infrastructure is incredibly limited. . . .
The flip side of this is a system of informal information networks that will be incredibly hard for the junta to shut down. It's getting more difficult for outside news agencies to obtain information as the regime cuts phone lines, but most Burmese people don't rely on those lines anyway.
I've actually been amazed at how much information is getting out about the protests. Friends I know who've visited Burma were virtually unable to use the internet there; cell phones are extremely hard to come by. It doesn't seem to have been hard for the regime, once it decided to today, to shut down communications to the outside. In this respect Burma is very different from other authoritarian East Asian regimes (China, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand), which have embraced modern communications technology and would have a much harder time cutting off news if there were major political disturbances.
Interesting. Small quibble though, the "Pros" should be people like notsneaky who do technical econ blogging. There numbers are low now but hopefully they will increase. Enough of the wonkery, and lets do some math!