I am glad I am not preparing for meetings in the Kremlin this morning, like Secretaries Rice and Gates are doing this morning. I suspect there will be a curl on the Russian lip when they met Mr. Putin, and the Intermediate Range Missile Treaty and the Conventional Forces in Europe agreement seem ready to […]

“The Web’s a fine and private Place, But none, I think, do there embrace.” -Apologies to Marvel There is not much time this morning. The annual controversy over the Turkish mass murder of the Armenians is in progress, highlighted in this legislative passion-play by the installation of an Islamist government in Ankara. Normally this annual […]

Leaks are part of life here. The back bathroom at my place at Big Pink has been a traditional problem. It is just a shower stall, with quotation pink tile in the 1960s manner. It dos not have the tremendous pressure of the one located above the tub in the real bath, and the controls […]

The verandah of the Repulse Bay Hotel, Hong Kong, circa 1930 Humid again, a little unusual this late in the season. The moisture in the morning air makes me think of South Asia, on the periphery of China. Hong Kong was always my favorite China, but it doesn’t exist anymore, not really. There was something […]

The unseasonable warmth of the last few days is colliding with something cold and dank coming from the northwest. The collision of the air masses has created thick fog this morning, and the cars are piling up on the Beltway. I have to head out that way to work on a big project, so I […]

We need to talk about the String of Pearls, the intricate ring of alliances the circle the Middle Kingdom, and we need to talk about the implications of China’s rise. The world is changing, quickly, and while our attention is on Iraq and how to pay for it, the Chinese are changing the basic landscape […]

I discovered, to my growing horror, that I cannot do it this morning. I am a bit befuddled by the image of the South Korean President crossing the Bridge of No Return at Panmunjong to meet with the Dear Leader on North Korean soil. There was no American General with him. The prospect that Kim’s […]

Senior General Than Shwe It is quiet in Rangoon today. Troops are in the streets, and the golden pagodas are open under watchful eyes. “Quiet” is not quite the right word for it, though. A hundred thousand people were in the streets last week, and there are many more dead than the official count that […]

Shwedagon Temple, Rangoon “It is of a wonderful bignesse, and all gilded from the foot to the toppe,” – Ralph Fitch, 1586, First Englishman to glimpse the Shwedagon Temple. On this June afternoon, the marble floors felt warm on the soles of my feet. The Congressman had sent us away so he could consult in […]

The Strand Hotel, Yangon “It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.”   – Aung San Suu Kyi Roxy Music and Brian Ferry did a song a thousand years ago called “Do the […]