Partners in Oppression
Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win visited North Korea on Oct. 27 to hold the first high-level meeting since diplomatic relations were severed 25 years ago. When the two countries normalized diplomatic relations in April 2007, the reaction was largely twofold: banal and alarmist. The banal views argued that both authoritarian states were merely re-establishing formal diplomatic relations severed after North Korean agents bombed the Martyrs Mausoleum in Rangoon in 1983, killing several members of the South Korean cabinet.

Talking With the Taliban
Even though the American establishment is still not prepared to consider the possibility that the all-powerful U.S. military could be defeated by a handful of ragtag militants, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen's bold confession to the U.S. Congress that “America might be losing the war” and that “it was time to consider other strategic options” forced a rethink. It was inevitable that, amongst other options, initiating a dialogue with the Taliban would come under consideration.

The Hazards of an Unfree Press
The Chinese government's Oct. 17 decision to permanently loosen regulations on foreign media freedom serves only as a cruel reminder of the official straitjacket all Chinese journalists must wear. While the new regulations guarantee the right of foreign journalists to talk to any consenting interviewee without interference, Chinese journalists remain hostage to the dictates of the state propaganda system despite Article 35 of the Chinese Constitution, which guarantees a free press.