Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
How times change in Burma. Aung San Suu Kyi is out of house arrest, and drawing huge crowds wherever she goes. She's even receiving state guests, in the mold of a president. Optimism is rife, but needs a little tempering
Reuters reporter visits former conflict area to see Burmese government's campaign to eradicate opium poppies in action. Where poppies thrive not just on cool weather and high altitude, but poverty and conflict
Reporting from the Golden Triangle. Heroin still the main business, but challenged by methamphetamine. Other contraband includes wild animals, weaponry, North Korean refugees. Not to mention the gambling, warfare, murder
Incisive analysis of East Asia balance-of-power dynamics. China's growing power is encouraging "balancing behaviour" by many other Asian countries. US has fine line to tread. Much room for miscalculation, misunderstanding
The struggle for influence between a rising China and a weakened America poses a dilemma for Asian countries such as Japan and the Philippines which have long looked to America as their protector. Is that still the best strategy?
On a June morning in 1946, the 20-year-old king of Thailand died in his bed in the royal palace. The cause of death was a single bullet fired into his head at close range. But who pulled the trigger, and why?
Time to rethink Burma. It's not a morality play, at least not any longer, with The Lady good and the soldiers bad. It's a big country with a complicated history, where the shadows are starting to lift and lots of things are possible
Bizarre story of a US accountant who attempted to overthrow totalitarian regime in Cambodia. Now prosecuted and facing life imprisonment in America despite judge admitting he was not a bad man, just unlucky with his country of birth
Burmese dissident wants deep institutional change, not quick change of leaders. "A parody of democracy could be more dangerous than a blatant dictatorship, because that gives people an opportunity to avoid doing anything about it"
Freelancer in Rangoon nabs an interview with the Burmese democracy leader. She talks about her release from house arrest, life in detention, her bodyguards ("some of them look quite small to me") and talking to David Cameron
Interview with Lee Kuan Yew, now 87. Reflective, vulnerable, still combative. "I’m not saying that everything I did was right, but everything I did was for an honorable purpose"
Interesting exploration of diminishing rate of military coups since Cold War. Armies find it more efficient to subvert governments—as in Mexico, Thailand—without overthrowing them
