U.S. Media Ingor's Asia as Usual

The one thing that can be said about the American media is that for them most of the world doesn't exist. Conflicts and instability abound in places that could cause wide spread disruption not only in the country of origin but in the wider region yet they ignore them. What a surprise. Americas mainstream media aren't the only ones who participate in this. Blogs covering the political spectrum do it as well. Yet if you were to ask them if they believe themselves to be well informed about the state of the world they would tell yes. So informed that they ignore news from Asia. These are just some of the stories making news in Asia today and have done so in the past and they could have a wide ranging effects on the whole of Asia and its stability.

Suspected separatist rebels have carried out more attacks on Hindi-speaking migrants in a third day of violence in India's Assam state.
In one incident, gunmen shot workers at a brick factory, killing seven. A trader was killed in a separate attack.
More than 60 people have been killed in the state's worst violence in a decade.
The authorities are blaming the attacks on rebels of the United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa), who are fighting for an independent homeland.
An indefinite curfew has been imposed in parts of the state and Indian troops have begun searching Assam's forests for rebel camps.

Workers block Indian road with bodies

January 8, 2007 - 7:09PM
Hundreds of migrant workers have blocked a highway with the bodies of some of those killed in a series of rebel attacks in India's remote northeast Assam state, officials said.
The death toll from three days of violence that started late on Friday was now at 64, mostly migrant labourers from elsewhere in India.
"People have been squatting on the highway at Longshowal village with the bodies of nine of their kin killed by the rebels on Friday," senior Assam minister Pradyut Bordoloi told The Associated Press.

The conflict in Assam has been going on for more than 20 years with thousands dead. Killed by the United Liberation Front of Assam because they simply spoke Hindi. Its the ULFA's belief that the majority Hindi speaking people of India with the consent of the Federal Government is trying to change the demographics of the state of Assam with the intent of driving out the native residents.

URUMQI: Police have destroyed a terrorist camp in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region killing18 terrorists, a spokeswoman said on Monday.
One policeman was killed and another wounded in the gunbattle on Friday in the mountains of Pamirs plateau in south Xinjiang, she said.
The police captured 17 terrorists and are searching for many, she said.
They also seized 22 grenades and material for making 1,500 more.
The training camp was run by the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a group that the United Nations in 2002 labelled a terrorist organisation, she said.
It is believed that more than 1,000 ETIM members have been trained by Al-Qaeda.
The former head of the terrorist group, Hasan Mahsum, was shot dead by Pakistani troops on October 2, 2003 in a joint anti-terror operation along the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The Chinese government has been using President Bush's War On Terror as an excuse for these types of crack downs on the Uygur of this region who ethnic Turks and Muslims. The citizens of Xinjiang see the large influx of Han Chinese as the governments way of making the Uygur's the minority much as they have done in Tibet. The problem here is that the surrounding countries also have large ethnic Turk populations and are majority Muslim and they could see this not only an attack on the Uygur's but an attack upon Islam its self which could led to wider conflict in that part of Central Asia.

DHAKA, Bangladesh: Police in Bangladesh's capital used tear gas, rubber bullets and batons to disperse thousands of stone-throwing protesters who were demanding that coming elections be postponed, witnesses and news reports said.
Organizers said they were set to continue protesting Tuesday.
The clashes Monday injured at least 300 people including several policemen in Dhaka and adjoining areas, the United News of Bangladesh agency reported.
Police declined to comment on the injuries.
The violence came amid a crippling three-day nationwide transportation blockade, imposed by a 19-party alliance led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
The alliance has claimed that the voters' list for the Jan. 22 election has flaws including fake names. The group wants the poll delayed until a problem-free list is available