A few interesting things today.
First, viagra sales are booming in Kashmir, because men who are either shell-shocked and emotionally distraught, or alternatively have been tortured through electrocution or fire to their genitals, have been unable to maintain erections. Viagra is illegal in Pakistan, but it hasn't stopped chemists (drug stores) there from doing a roaring trade. Too bad Pfizer's patent runs out soon.
Probably the world's most famous Russian surname belongs to the guy who invented the AK-47, Mr Kalishnikov. He has been attending an exhibition in Germany of AK-47s. As a servant of the Soviet Union, he has not made a kopek out of sales of the weapon. Kalishnikov said he was inspired to invent the weapon when Soviet troops in WW2 complained that the Germans had automatic weapons but they didn't. He says he wishes instead he'd invented a better lawnmower.
On a much more serious, and sickening, note....In my hometown of Perth in Australia, an Aboriginal man who had been smoking marijuana and drinking whiskey in a park all day was found guilty of raping an 8 month baby. Medical examinations of the baby indicate she will never bear children and always have incontinence problems. Query: what kind of sick bastard would ever do such a thing, but also how my country has let its indigeneous inhabitants reach a point that some of them - or at least one of them - could think that such a thing was acceptable. The man was sentenced for 18 years. I'm guessing he'll die in gaol.
Speaking of prisons, Amnesty International published a report on Laos gaols. Torture is systematic, and one man was reported to have been detained for 18 years without knowing what he was charged with. Another man described how guards stood on his feet for 5 hours and now he can't walk, and that every time he showers they knock him around the head with steel bars. I had planned to go to Laos at some stage to check it out, but its now off my holiday list.
The Congo war looks set to be concluded. Since 1998, no less than 7 nations armies have been fighting each other in the jungles of the Congo, a long-lasting after shock from the Rwandan genocide. Many Hutus who were involved in the genocide are in the jungle, supplied by two of the armies, and hunted by the other two. A peace deal was signed in South Africa, brokered by Thabo Mbeki (South Africa's president) and Kofi Annan. Whether it will hold up remains to be seen. no one really seems to be capable of restraint in the Congo, especially since many of the foreign armies are getting rich from exploiting the locals and stripping the natural resources of the country.
Finally, the annual conference of ASEAN (the Association of South East Asian Nations) is going on in the sultanate of Brunei. ASEAN has always had a policy of not interefering in each other's domestic issues. Despite this, terrorism is the hot topic at the conference. The two other significant things are that North Korea has told observer the US that it is willing to resume talks over weapons of mass destruction, and that Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand will resume relations despite thier armies engaging in a proxy war through guerillas on the Thai-Burmese border. For those who don't know, Burma is run by a military government (it used to be called SLORC, but it changed its name, if I recall correctly, when a New York media consultancy told the government it sounded too James Bond villain-esque), who have held power despite Nobel prize winner Suu Kyi winning power in the late 80s. Since the US has done some good in the world by getting rid of the Taliban in Afghanistan and is going to attack Iraq, they might think about liberating the people of Burma next.
