Getting closer to moving day... It's weird to know this is probably the last Sunday night I will be in this town, ever.

China
Actress Bai Ling had to chose: Star Wars or Playboy? She chose the latter.

Maybe she was distraught over proposed American limitations of Chinese underwear. Or American plans to manage China's Peaceful Rise. Or more Chinese censorship.

Have Tibetans given up on independence?

Korea
Andrew Lankov predicts the Sunshine Policy will cause the swift collapse of North Korea. But is Beijing playing along? So much for Casino Connectivity.

The 'Stans
Allegations of a ficticious kidnapping in Pakistani. (The Japanese girl on a leash story doesn't add up, either.)

Newsweek claimed Americans desecrated the Koran at Gitmo. Afghans rioted. Newsweek lied, Muslims died. (OK, technically, Newsweek printed incorrect assertions due to faulty fact checking, but that doesn't rhyme!)

Maybe a marathon will make them happier.

Never ending trouble in Uzbekistan.

In the 1990s, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan tried to kill local dictator/thug Islam Karimov with five suicide car bombings in one day. The fifth was at the same place at the first, as the terrorists figured he would try to comfort the wounded (he did, and almost died). If a day like that doesn't make your local Soviet President-for-Life psycho-tough, nothing will.

South West Asia
Liberals Against Terrorism links to Brooding Persian on Iranian Nukes. And AIPAC's view, too.

Now that Operation Matador is over, what happened on the Iraq-Syria border?

Blast from the Past
From 1990: Map of the former Soviet Union. From ten days ago: America's Buddy Vietnam.

Geek Notes
Software Patents are bad. So is WITI. Remember my idea to fight online poker comment spam? Like it? Goodroi sure doesn't.