JAKARTA (JP): Social workers have been undervalued in

JAKARTA (JP): Social workers have been undervalued in
Indonesia. Under Soeharto the ministry of social affairs was
viewed as incompetent and unimportant. Social workers were given
"Band-Aid" work -- they nursed the symptoms of poverty rather
than treating its causes.

2. 4Yomiuri -- Bureaucratic resistance intolerable
1 x 42 36pt Optima Bold

Resistance to Koizumi's reform intolerable

TOKYO: The biggest force of resistance against reforms has
turned out to be bureaucrats in Kasumigaseki, as expected.

In their review reports submitted Monday to the government
secretariat for the promotion of administrative reform on public
corporations under their jurisdiction, ministries and agencies
turned their backs on reforms, reflecting their desperate efforts
to defend the corporations and the vested interests they
represent.

3. 4US -- Why US changed tack on China's nuclear forces
1 x 35 36pt NCSB

Why U.S. altered stance on PRC's nuclear arms

By Louise Branson

WASHINGTON: In an apparently dramatic change in policy, the
United States is planning to tell Chinese leaders that it will
not object to Beijing's build-up of its small nuclear deterrent.

Two key reasons seem to underlie the Bush administration's new
thinking as reported in The New York Times.

Firstly, the move appears designed to overcome Chinese
objections to the U.S.' plans to build a "Son of Star Wars"
missile shield, and comes as President George W. Bush is
scheduled to visit China next month.