The appeal of Burmese reporters Wa Lone & Kyaw Soe Oo has been rejected by the Burmese Supreme Court & they are to remain in jail for the duration of their seven-year sentence for reporting on a massacre of ten Rohingya men. In an almost comical understatement, Reuters says the case “has raised questions about the country’s transition to democracy.” The transition to democracy in Burma was always a fiction maintained so the gold rush of foreign investments in the neoliberal economy would not again become subject to sanctions as they were after the military crushed the 1988 uprising. Every aspect of the Burmese capitalist economy is controlled by the military. To overcome economic stagnation, the generals allow neoliberal investment policies but still maintain control of the economy lock, stock, & barrel. Most foreign investments are joint venture projects with the military. A sham transition to democracy was part of that process with Aung San Suu Kyi playing a role as champion of democracy while colluding with the generals.