"Political Turmoil, Military Intrigues, But Also Prosperity and Progress—Astrologers Hedge Their Bets...The tsunami that smashed into several Southeast Asian countries in December appears miraculously to have spared Burma the full fury of its preternatural power... While many outside Burma cast doubt on the regime figures, the generals in Rangoon have a mystical explanation for them: Burma escaped the lethal waves relatively unharmed because they had earned merit with Lord Buddha by building pagodas...Burmese soothsayers saw the Sumatra earthquake as a bad omen and a harbinger of political upheaval, perhaps a change of government. The current year will certainly be a crucial one for the regime, they say. Superstitious nonsense? Not for the overwhelming majority of the Burmese people, including their leaders. It?s no secret that top generals and their wives regularly consult astrologers. Even opposition figures have their astrologers—democratic-minded ones, of course..."