Burma (also known as Myanmar) appears to be on a fast track toward openness and democratization, after decades of harsh military rule that left it one of the least-developed countries in the world. Although the military still holds most of the power, President Thein Sein’s new civilian government continues to pursue a broad campaign of political and economic reform, reconciliation, and engagement with the rest of the world. In January of 2012, more than 20 years after withdrawing its ambassador, the United States restored diplomatic relations with Burma. But with change comes challenge, especially for a nation mired in poverty and ongoing sectarian disputes. Collected here are recent scenes from Burma as its people struggle to emerge from 50 years of oppression.

via In Focus – Burma in Transition – The Atlantic.

Notwithstanding the IPO disaster, Zuckerberg and the gang did manage to release a (very Instagramy) slick new dedicated Facebook Camera app a few days later.

Facebook Camera strips the Facebook experience down to a steady stream of your friend’s photos. The app has a number of filter effects and supports batch uploads.  It had reportedly been in development for almost a year and will be run seperately from Instagram (for now, at least). While I welcome most things that make it easier for people to see my photos and vice versa, I’m not sure if I really need a direct link to people’s mirror self portraits and latest vegan organic local quinoa Acai berry wheatgrass lattes.

read the rest @ The News Feed #008 | The Rooster – Spareparts.

There was an eclipse yesterday and in case you missed it, the In Focus blog over at the Atlantic magazine has you covered with a collection of photos of the event.  It was an annular eclipse wherein the apparent diameter of the moon is slightly smaller than the Suns, resulting in a “ring of fire” in the sky.  I love some of the shadows and projections that this ring of fire created.  More photos here.