All this has pundits worrying that the “Axis of Evil” could soon get a new member. Unlike Iran or North Korea, the shadowy ruling junta has no known links to terrorists or terrorist acts. But the state is a rogue: the generals rule with an iron fist, blithely disregard human rights and act downright weird at times (they recently moved the capital to a new site carved out of the jungle, apparently on the advice of astrologers). If this hermit kingdom is building its military potential, thanks to Moscow and Beijing, it could become an unpredictable threat. “We are concerned,” says a State Department spokesperson.
And with good reason. Burma’s dictators have coveted nukes for years. But the Russian deal only came through now because Burma is suddenly flush with cash, thanks to rising prices for its natural resources, oil in particular. What’s most frightening is the regime’s utter incapacity. Experts doubt it can properly run a research reactor, let alone a WMD program. This creates an “unacceptably high risk” of a serious accident or sabotage, says the State spokesperson. So the world may have a new type of rogue on its hands: one that manages to threaten or cause serious damage to itself and its neighbors, not intentionally, but through sheer incompetence. How does one guard against that?
TURKEY: Beyond Borders While president Bush struggles to keep foreign powers from meddling in Iraq, the country most likely to move ground troops in is one of his closest allies in the region. Turkey has been threatening to go after Iraq-based separatists from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) since the beginning of the war. But after the PKK stepped up attacks on Turkish security forces last week, Ankara appears ready to deliver. “Our patience has run out,” declared Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, ordering more troops, tanks and helicopters to the border.
Why risk setting a precedent that could open the door to more foreign intervention in Iraq? The once powerful PKK is now largely defeated, with small forces left in northern Iraq, so that threat seems overblown. More plausibly, with elections slated for July, Erdogan is out to prove his Islamist-rooted party’s nationalist credentials to voters—and to the Army, defenders of the secular traditions handed down by Kemal Ataturk. But Erdogan would do well to remember: Ataturk strove to break Turkey of old, inward-looking habits. It’s not likely he would have signed off on a foreign adventure driven by domestic politics. —Owen Matthews
By the Numbers Japan has long prided itself on being largely free of guns. But a recent spate of gang-related shootings has instilled fear in the public—and spurred the administration of Shinzo Abe to debate whether it’s tough enough on guns. 50,000 Estimated number of unlicensed guns in circulation; in 2006 the police confiscated only 458 weapons 28 Shootings so far this year, twice the number in the same period last year 5 Gun-related homicides this year, compared to one in the same period last year —Akiko Kashiwagi
BOOKS: Easy Listening If we’re generous, we must allow for multiple Shreks. In order of popularity, first there is the Shrek of the movies. Then there is the original “Shrek!,” the children’s book with story and pictures by William Steig, published in 1990. Now there is an audiobook, “The One and Only Shrek,” with the title story and five other Steig tales narrated by Stanley Tucci and Meryl Streep. As drawn by Steig, Shrek is one ugly ogre. That’s the heart of the book’s charm. And Shrek is ugly in a recording. He embarks on his quest for his princess, and soon “he came upon a peasant singing and scything.” It cracks you up only when you say it out loud, but if you’re sitting there with a kid in your lap, it’ll get you every time.
The next line always finished me off: " ‘You there, varlet,’ said Shrek, ‘why so blithe?’ " I meant to merely sample the audiobook, but I wound up listening to the whole thing. How good is good? Let me put it this way: when the lines and the language of a book become part of a family’s catchphrases, that’s a good book. —Malcolm Jones
Anyone Can Win Could the man Asian Literary Prize usher in the next wave of Arundhati Roys? The prize, which will be awarded for the first time in November, is open to novelists throughout Asia, unpublished manuscripts and even works translated from local languages. Of course, opening the doors to any aspiring writer can have its downsides—one of them being the quality of the prose. “It’s astounding the prize accepts unpublished manuscripts,” says David Goodwin, Roy’s literary agent. “They’ll have to make terrific compromises.” But publishers believe the prize could resuscitate Asian literature. “It’s going to raise awareness of Asian writers,” says Dan Watts of Macmillan. And somewhere in all these volumes, there are sure to be a few sheets of paper that stand out. —Kathleen McCaul
Eye on America American country music has always tugged at the heartstrings. But have “cancer country” tunes—songs that use cancer to ratchet up emotion—taken emotional realism too far?
Craig Morgan’s “(I Thought That I Was) Tough” starts out praising a multitalented wife and mother. But then the cancer sneaks up on you: “We sat there five years ago/The doctors let us know, the test showed/She’d have to fight to live, I broke down and cried/She held me and said it’s gonna be all right.”
In the history of songs about death, dying and disease, few rival Rascal Flatts’ “Skin.” “Sarabeth is scared to death/‘Cause the doctor just told her the news/‘Between the red cells and white/Something’s not right/But we’re gonna take care of you’.” In the next verse, the doctor says she has a six-in-10 chance of surviving. If “Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)” made you cry, you’d best steer clear of “Skin.”
Reality Check There may be more than one use for Viagra in the bedroom. Researchers at the National University of Quilmes in Argentina believe the pill could help people recover from jet lag. Hamsters injected with small amounts of Viagra adapted to time-change simulations up to 50 percent quicker than those receiving a placebo. The drug helps the body’s circadian rhythms adjust, which melatonin usually does naturally. But Viagra does it quicker.
