The situation in Bolivia seems to get more complicated by the day.
“Thousands streamed into the Bolivian capital, La Paz, on Tuesday as Indian protests against the ruling elite gained force even after President Carlos Mesa offered his resignation.
The critical highway to the highlands, where the international airport is situated, remained cut off by roadblocks, [...]

“Taiwan wants to do high-volume mass production…….Once you want to go to high volume, you have to go China. Once you go China, you have to kill other competitors to become even bigger.”
Mason Su, Iwill General Manager
Iwill manufactures the most powerful small computer in the world.

I remember it was not so long ago that people imagined China was so, so far away. Now this kind of news is almost daily.
“Media and publishing group Bertelsmann on Tuesday announced the first big Sino-foreign wholesale book distribution business in China, as overseas investors seek new ways to get access to the country’s book-sales [...]

Nathan’s Registan continues to be one of the most reliable sources of news and analysis, to the extent that he is now being blocked from inside Uzebekistan itself. Among links you kind find there is one to the appropriately named Radio Silence. You can also access an on the ground report of the refugee situation [...]

Karimov has unsurprisingly rejected calls for an independent international investigation into events in Andijan. This article on Mosnews gives some analysis and background.

Read more… or Read more right here… »

Nathan at Registan, as usual, has [...]

This is becoming more and more preoccupying:
Thousands of Shiites, many waving Islam’s holy book over their heads, protested the U.S. presence in
Iraq on Friday after the detention of several supporters of a radical cleric, while Sunnis shut down places of worship elsewhere in a show of anger over alleged sectarian violence against the minority.
Again, this [...]

Reuters is reporting that Uzbek troops have now ‘retaken’ Kara-suu. Mosnews (citing the BBC) say the rebel leader Bakhtiyor Rakhimov has been arrested. Who Rakhimov is, and what he actually represents is far from clear.

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[...]

“We have already captured around 100 bandits. Some of them are already confessing”Uzbekistan Interior Minister Zakirdzhon Almatov

Despite plenty of evidence to the contrary Uzbek government officials continue to dismiss eyewitness reports that soldiers opened fire on civilians during last weeks protests in the eastern town of Andijan.
Not a single civilian was killed by government forces there,? Prosecutor General Rashid Kadyrov said.
Registan notes that Kyrgyzstan has opened a refugee camp in [...]

Each one unhappy in its own way.
For some particulars on the American system, this recent article from the New Yorker.
Key quote: “That?s how a doctor makes money, [Roberta Parillo ... a financial-disaster specialist for doctors] told me. It?s a war with insurance, every step of the way.”