G21 ASIA: China today faces much the same problem that former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev faced. Freedom works -- open and democratic societies are flourishing. Dictatorships also work to a large extent -- North Korea is proof that, if a government is willing to take the necessary measures, dictatorships can survive even the most severe privations. But the middle road does not work. Trying to make people half free inevitably leads to demands for further freedom from the populace alongside demands for more curtailing of freedom from elites (especially military elites)... BRIAN CARNELL "China's Religious Dilemma"


DAY ONE: It is nice of the rich to be so concerned with our morals, particularly as, if their wishes were granted, they would be relatively worse off; they would be paying for their principles with a poorer quality of life. There is no economically sophisticated society in the West with a comprehensive taxation system where the rich, the resourceful and the educated have not been net gainers; this is particularly true in taxation regimes where sales taxes are favoured over taxes on income and wealth... KEVIN CAREY "Tax"


RADIOACTIVE: We the people, who are the true owners of the broadcast media's airwaves are supposed to evaluate and thus allow these large corporate entities to continue making the millions of dollars they do on things like Super Bowl commercials and paid political advertising. In exchange, they are supposed to donate FREE time to service the public interest. Do we monitor our national resource? Do they do what they is supposed to do to serve our interests? Hell, naw! ... RADIO RAHEEM "Understanding Media"


RECOMMENDED DAILY REQUIREMENT: In my "Working the Web" column which just expired at AndoverNews.com after two -plus years, I harangued against those damned pop-up advertising windows. If we used them now, I'd be laughed out of Internet-Pundit land....JULES SIEGEL & ROD AMIS "Kibbitzing a Magazine"

RDR 04.01.00: AL DUNSMUIR, THOMAS HART & ROD AMIS. "G21 Weekend Update"

RDR 04.03.00: NINA VON ALTENDORF itemizes the many types of "Female Intelligence."

RDR 04.04.00: WOLF DE VOON says that men should learn to stop competing, if they want to succeed romantically... "New Games"

RDR 04.05.00: JULES SIEGEL explains "Why Republicans Should Love Feminists."


RDR 04.06.00: ED CANTARELLA & LADYB gives us a Point/Counterpoint on "Chat Rooms."

RDR 04.07.00: LIONEL ROLFE sees the future of Los Angeles "In Defense of Rail"

VOX POPULI: From: Dee H., (No City Provided,) Nova Scotia, CANADA

I have read this weeks MOIA article with some dismay. This piece of inappropriate **** properly belongs on AFF. (All Fantasy F****ers!) If this is representative of Wolf DeVoon's friends & you plan to publish more of their thoughts I, for one, have no interest in reading it. Could we stay on track as IT professionals with thought provoking comments to make about our virtual, or real, world --- or am I looking for another list to subscribe to?... MORE OF YOUR LETTERS

MY GLASS HOUSE: What is so mystifying is that "suddenly" this little piece of turf at the fringe of the "popular, hip and trendy" Internet should even be considered a place worth *wanting* to lead and shape.

So the question which has been rattling around in my brain all weekend and making me lose more sleep is: What is best for the G21?...ROD AMIS "New Power Generation"

G21 LATIN AMERICA: Andres Oppenheimer tells us that shoe shine boys in Mexico pay a small monthly fee to a PRI-sponsored union. In return, they get legal protection, distinctive jackets, T-shirts and caps and other benefits that might seem small to anyone but a shoeshine boy. When the party calls for the faithful to come out and show the flag, all the shoeshine boys will be there -- if they want to keep their privileges...JULES SIEGEL "Three Score and Ten for Mexico's Ruling Party"

MEMOIRS OF THE INFORMATION AGE: In the course of asking a visitor's question about who gets interviewed it dawned on me what I had been doing: finding fascinating characters who might have interesting things to say if only they'd been asked. The point of my site is, I ask...."Three Questions: The Tom Mangan Interview"

G21 EUROPE: The referendum on the Good Friday Agreement, essentially a vote for peace, was opposed by roughly one third of the Irish electorate. Yet that was at a time when hatred was the acceptable face of Ulster politics. Nowadays, or at least very recently, the bigoted views espoused by the Reverend Ian Paisley and his Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) are less supported and receive less press attention, the Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams spends almost every day in discussion with Unionists, and Trimble, a man who just five years ago marched with Paisley as an Orangeman, has granted numerous concessions to Republicans, risking the wrath of his own Party, in return for peace... AL DUNSMUIR "The Ghost of Churchill"

POWERSSOUND: New releases over the past few weeks have included stellar material from the vaults. Scott Hamilton, who was still wet behind the ears when he joined Concord 22 years ago, can be heard on a mellow collection called åBallad Essentials.' The dozen tracks have been assembled from releases dating from 1977 to 1995. These all are from sessions in which Hamilton was leader... BOB POWERS bids farewell to the late Charlie Byrd, reports that The Hudson Project is a dinger, and never heard a sour note from Hamilton's tenor sax. "Scott Sounds Mellow"

TABLOID HART: Tabloid Hart to Puffy: Put down them weapons, Fool! Start using the tool that any man with half a brain should be using with a hot Babe like Ms. Booty-Call! Otherwise, you'll see a lot of us stepping up to take your dang place!...THOMAS HART "Dubya's Education Speech: HO-HUM"

MONTHLY PLANETARY MADNESS: Bold, irreverent, saucy and sassy Aries roils our juices for most of April. As the first sign of the western zodiac, Aries cajoles Initiation (smack the lips while amidst beginnings) and goads the guileless initiative needed to enact Initiation (whoop and dig into frisky, risky beginnings). I click my heels and swing the tassels that adorn the horns popping-out of my Aries brow. ...JENNIFER BLUE "APRIL"