Myanmar or Burma?

Page One headlines from the New York Times and the Washington Post, May 8, 2008.

It's been nearly a week since the devastating cyclone hit Myanmar in South East Asia. At the start of the week, I heard many mispronunciations of Myanmar ("MY-an-mar" is wrong). It's pronounced"MEE-ehn-mar" or "mee-AHN-mar." There's also been some confusion about the name of the country with newspapers and television stations going back and forth between Myanmar and Burma. Slate has an article about this issue, and the writer goes into origins of the name, and how certain organizations label the nation. http://www.slate.com/id/2191002/?GT1=38001

Regardless of the name or the pronunciation, Myanmar's military regime needs to open the country's doors to receive relieft aid. As of this morning (5/10/08) , the junta allowed one U.S. cargo plane to enter the country with food and other relief supplies. Let's hope for the best.