The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution Monday night to give Aung San Suu Kyi the Congressional gold medal, the same award that was recently given to the Dalai Lama to China’s chagrin. The resolution was accompanied by some half-hearted language of condemnation for the junta:
“It is time for the military junta to recognize the will of the Burmese people and open the door for true reconciliation. By awarding Suu Kyi with the Congressional Gold Medal, we send a strong message that enough is enough,” [Representative Don Manzullo (R-IL)] said.
Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy says the junta has made no effort to communicate with them in the past month. As the seeming futility continues, U.N. Special Envoy Ibahim Gambari prepares to deliver a report to the U.N. We can all guess what it will say: They won’t let me back in the country. Any other ideas? Meanwhile apparently the Dalai Lama accused China of “cultural genocide” in an interview with a German magazine. He apologizes for the “unpleasantness” his visit in September meeting with Angela Merkel set off. In a related story, China hates Germany. (And The Missing Peace: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama, continues in San Francisco.) 
Geography buffs the world over have been playing this cool game (or quiz, some might call it) for a while — You are given a city or landmark and asked to place it on a world map. I was wasting some time with and noticed it said, “Taipei, Taiwan (Province of China)”. Uhhh…. I think you mean “Republic of China”. Or was the software written in the People’s Republic, by any chance? Anyway, great game, give it a shot. – Philip Ryan, Web Editor