http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-myanmar-army-releases-child-soldiers-20130807,0,7398316.story

I must say, that as I first read this article, I was very glad and relieved to hear of the release of the child soldiers. But as I read on, that sense of happiness and relief diminished more and more.

To be completely honest, I did not think that countries still drafted their children into their armies. I though that was a practice long gone. I could not believe that there may be about 5,000 child soldiers still enlisted in Myanmar's Army. I cannot believe that the army was so desperate as to resort to kidnapping young men and boys to fill their ranks. I was not surprised to hear that Myanmar's society was that of a rebellious one.

I am happy that the U.N decided to intervene in this particular matter. Hopefully, through them, the practice of using children as soldiers will be abolished.

I also wonder what will happen to the corrupt government officials who were behind this egregious scheme. Will they be properly punished for their deeds, or will they get away with this? I think that they will be brought to justice, but that it will be a while due to the obscurity of data.

Also, though I am confident that the U.N personnel are very capable people, I do not believe that the release of every child soldier will be accomplished by the end of the year. This doubt is in part due to the last statement of the article, "Without complete access, it is impossible to assess the situation as far as armed groups are concerned." How will they even be sure that every child was released when they do not even have complete access to the data? Although I am very much hopeful, I doubt that this feat can be accomplished in this short time-span. 

http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-chinese-rock-singer-terrorism-20130731,0,4642558.story

I would like to begin by saying Wu Hongfei's has been quite reckless by spreading these terrorism threats. Criticism is one thing but I feel that she may have crossed the line with the bombing threats. I understand that she might harvest some anger towards the government, but this action seems like it was highly impulsive in nature. As a grown woman I would've thought she would be more responsible and in control of herself.

 It might just be a coincidence that the threats and the bombing happened to coincide, but could she really have been behind it? I do not think so. It is much more plausible that the singer could have been posting these threats for image and publicity.

The next thing I would like to say is that the situation of former taxi  is upsetting. Why hasn't the Chinese government taken action to bring justice to the police officers who have taken away his means of livelihood? I find it very strange that even after eight years, nothing has been done to help him.

Although I can sympathize with Ji's (the taxi driver) anger, it is not right for him to have detonated the bomb in the airport terminal. It is fortunate that many people were not injured.

I would now like to conclude by saying that hopefully something good may come out of these incidents. Maybe people will learn to think before acting rashly. I also hope that the plight of Ji Zhongxing will shed light to the other injustices of the world.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-china-elderly-law-20130729,0,1879951.story

It very much saddened me to find out that familial relationships in China have become so distanced, that the Chinese government had to enact a "visit your parents" law. Although it saddens me to hear how bad the relationships have gotten, I feel that it should be the individual's own choice on whether they would or would not like to visit their parents. Also, many people in China do not even have the money or time to be able to do so.

And frankly, I very much doubt that the reason the Chinese government enacted this measure to maintain filial piety. I agree with the idea that the government may in fact have enacted this measure for financial purposes. I feel that the government is just making things harder for the people while making  things easier for themselves.

I was also shocked to here that there has already been several lawsuits where people have broken this law. In one such case, as stated in the article, a woman has been forced to visit her mother every two months and on major holidays. Since there have already been multiple of similar cases, I feel that there will be many more.

While I feel sad for the elderly who are lonely and are very distant from their children, I feel that this law is slightly ridiculous. Again, I must emphasize the point that I think that it should be the individual's choice to either visit or to not visit their parents, not the government's.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/27/world/asia/japanese-minister-proposes-more-active-military-presence-in-region.html?hp&_r=1&pagewanted=all&

When I read that Japan was trying to reinforce its military capabilities, I was not surprised. Because of the rising tension between Japan and China, I feel that it's only logical for the Japanese to fortify their military. If China ever does attack, or if war ever breaks out, Japan will be left virtually defenseless against their attackers.

But I wonder, how far is Japan willing to go in order to strengthen their defense capabilities? I hope not too far. I feel that government funds should be used mainly to help the general public. Also, I suspect that if they end up focusing too much on their military,  tensions may arise between Japan and other nations. The other nations may become suspicious and skeptical of Japan's true intents.

I also think that the neighboring nations may have adverse reactions to Japan's military growth. Scars of past Japanese aggression still remains raw. I suspect  that the citizens of the neighboring countries may feel that Japan will use its army for other purposes other than pure self-defense. I am glad that Mr.Abe is taking caution as he proceeds.

How will China react? This is one of my bigger questions. If Japan indeed does purchase the Global Hawk and uses it against China, how will China take to this? Will the Chinese see this as a sign of hostility and mistrust, or will they just overlook it as just some trivial matter? Who knows?

In general, I feel that it is a good  for Japan to build its military. I just hope that there will not be any adverse results.

http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-china-indictment-20130724,0,5025701.story

I was very saddened to hear of this egregious event. I cannot believe that a school principal would let 23 students die due to contaminated food.

The next thing that caught my attention was the fact that several media reports lied saying that Meena Devi (the school principal) turned herself in voluntarily. As to why they would do this, I am not sure. Though I do have an inkling of a suspicion that the authors of the reports were in someway affiliated with the school principal. Maybe they were bribed to say it so as to make her look better. Although even if they did, I doubt that anything the authors could have written would have much of an effect.

I am somewhat happy to hear that Devi is now being interrogated in the Chhapra police station.

To hear that Devi urged the children to eat the food despite the complaints, confirms my suspicions that she is guilty. But what could motivate a person to kill over 20 children, I do not know. I cannot think of any reason  that the deaths of these children might be beneficial.

also, after hearing of this event, I wonder what other forms of corruption and mismanagement exist in Indian welfare programs. Could there have been more incidents such as this? If there have been, I hope that they will be uncovered quickly and the perpetrators quickly brought to justice.

I, too, agree with Jayati Ghosh when he says that there is much to be learned from this.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/global-attitudes-reflect-shifting-us-china-power-balance-survey-concludes/2013/07/17/7f51a94c-eeed-11e2-bed3-b9b6fe264871_story.html

As China becomes more and more powerful, mutual tensions between the people of the two nation seems to rise. I very much wonder why. I would think that the the relationship between the two peoples would actually, on the contrary, get better. I would've thought that the two peoples would begin to see each other more as partners and equals and respect each other. But I guess it is somewhat reasonable due to both countries' increasing military capabilities.

I also wonder why the South Koreans and Japanese feel that  relations with the U.S are much more important than relations with the Chinese. I feel that, as neighbors, relations with China would be much more important than relations with the U.S, instead of vice versa. I very much wish that the three Asian nations would put their differences aside and form stronger relationships.

I find it especially strange that some people in European nations foster out-right anti China sentiments. I do not see any valid reasons for this hostility.

I must also include that I too disapprove of the U.S's drone program. I feel that it desensitizes us as well dehumanizes us. I do not find it surprising that 31 out of 39 countries surveyed share my sentiments.

It is also funny to me that the only nation where positive views on the U.S government's record on personal freedom has declined is here in America. I find it strange that other nations' positive views have not declined as well. With all the disclosures of recent U.S government surveillance activity, wouldn't the other nations' peoples feel similarly?

All in all, I hope that things get better for the two nations.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/some-south-korean-pows-still-trapped-in-the-north-60-years-after-armistice/2013/07/13/0e094914-e54e-11e2-aef3-339619eab080_story.html

My first reaction when I read this article was to be highly shocked. I was not able to believe that South Korean pows of the Korean War are still trapped in the North, even after more than SIXTY years.

It is also quite unsettling to hear that at the end of the Korean War, about 80,000 South Korean soldiers were unaccounted for. Most were presumed to be dead, but I wonder how many prisoners of war might still be trapped in the North. This thought came to me because in the article, it was stated that during the prisoner exchange at the end of the war, the North only returned about 8,300 soldiers.

When a few elderly soldiers actually did escape around 20 years ago, I found the stories they brought with them to be highly implausible and strange. As it turns out, during their imprisonment, these prisoners of war were encouraged to marry North Korean wives as means of assimilation. I would’ve thought that these men would be secluded and kept away from other people as a form of punishment. I guess not. To me, this shows how unusual the North Korean Government can be.

It also worries me that there is not much that there is not much the South Korean government can do to retrieve its soldiers. It’s very sad for me to find out that in order to return home, these pows must escape. And in a country as heavily-militarized as the North, this is nearly impossible.

I hope that there will soon be a better way to bring these soldiers back home to the South, where they belong.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-china-air-pollution-20130709,0,1377450.story

It shocks me to discover that life expectancy in Northern China is 5.5 years lower than that of Southern China. It turns out that the government of China actually, maybe unintentionally (I'm not sure), has created 2 experimental groups. In one group (Northern China), the government provided free coal to the people, while to the other (Southern Side), the people were essentially denied central heating, creating two drastic differences in air quality. This leads me to wonder why the government did this. Was it just the result of a strange government policy, or government experimentation?

It also very much worries me that collectively, the 500 million residents of Northern China, have lost 2.5 billion years from their lives. Will the people of America and other nations face the same dilemma that China is experiencing right now? 

The pollution in China is so bad that it results in the closing of highways, cancellation of air flights, and outdoor activities. Also, countless people were sent to the hospital. There have also been studies that have shown that the air pollution contributed to 1.2 million deaths in China, 2010. That's nearly 40% of the global total!

China has sacrificed much for its economic growth, a bit too much for me to be comfortable with.

It is, though, a relief to hear that the Chinese government has been making efforts to better their nation’s environment. But it is quite sad to know that factories are being shut down and that people are losing their jobs because of this effort. Hopefully the end result will be well worth it.

                                     

 Though Cao de Benos grew up and was raised in the Spain, he is now a delegate of North Korea’s Foreign Ministry. I was very surprised when I found out about this. A successful, Spanish technology consultant, is a highly enthusiastic North Korean govt. employee and advocate.

What I am even more curious about is how and why he came to idealize the North Korean communist system. The article says that he first immersed himself in communist ideology when he was just 15 years old. What drove him into communism in the first place? To me, this is highly interesting, though I must admit, I am slightly weirded out.

Also, it is not even as if he is unaware of the bad situation in North Korea. He even readily admits that he has seen the starvation in the North. Yet he is still such a fervent advocate and supporter of North Korea. He even produced self-funded propaganda for Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital, before he was granted an official government job.

 It is also strange to me that even after such a trivial disagreement over a North Korean famine with Andrew Morse, a journalist, that he would resort to such harsh behavior as to ransack Morse’s room and confiscate 32 hours of videotape. Why is this famine so important to Cao de Benos that he would actually take the tape from Morse?

All in all, I find Cao de Benos to be a mysterious and strange person. Much of his role in North Korea is unknown and some people even think him to be a double agent. What an interesting article.

 http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-spain-norkor-20130705,0,2366324.story

First off, I find it strange that Suu Kyi suddenly decided to be honest about her wanting to run for president. I would like to know what caused her to finally admit it when she usually kept quiet about this subject. Though I do not have much knowledge about her character, I find that she is a slightly unpredictable and eccentric woman. I am curious as to how things will play out and how she will act if elected into office. For example, I wonder what she will do about the constitution that was written in part actually to try and prevent her from being voted into office. Will she tear it up and draft a new constitution, or leave it as a reminder to show the people that however big the obstacle, she will overcome it?

It then leads me to think why was the constitution written in part to prevent her presdidency? Is she a bad, corrupt leader, or was it the previous government that was bad and corrupt, and wrote the constitution in order to keep Suu Kyi from obtaining power? My suspicion is that the current constitution was written by the army, for it is the army, that holds 25% of the seats in parliament, just enough to block any constitutional changes.

So, in order to win over the army, she must stroke and placate the generals. Admittedly, this disturbs some of the citizens, but they accept that in order for Myanmar to maybe become a true democracy, the generals must be won over.

http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21579512-running-president-comes-risks-halo-slips