The Places

Press Freedom in China

Reading the English version of China’s People’s Daily on the Internet, one gets the heartening impression that the Chinese government is tackling the growing AIDS crisis head on. Headlines like “Facing AIDS, Silence is Death” and “China Warned of 12 Million HIV Carriers in 8 Years if no Measures Taken” attest to this new openness.…

North Korea: Roll over Kim Il Sung

One wonders how advocates for centrally planned economies still gain a voice. The concept that a relative few on a committee of sorts should be given the power to effectively manage a country’s economy is seen by many as a good thing. The justification for this point of view is largely an emotional one, often…

Peace in Sri Lanka?

Founded in the 1970s and commencing their armed struggle for an independent Tamil state in the north and east of Sri Lanka in 1983, against the Sri Lankan government, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have wrought havoc upon this small island off the coast of India, for the last two decades. A brutal…