W hat's wrong with this picture?
The IMF says government coffers lost WELL OVER $100 million dollars in 1996 because
of illegal logging deals involving the highest levels of government and that corruption
costs the nation about 10 percent of GDP.
Now the UNDP and the Ministry of Planning come out with what could be the most depressing
study this year.
The recently released "National Human Development Report 1997" says AIDS
could cost the country up to $3 billion in lost income by 2006 as up to one million
people may become infected with the killer disease. Also, more than 50 percent of
Cambodia's kids are stunted as a result of chronic malnutrition. Keep in mind that
"stunted" doesn't only refer to body size, but more importantly refers
to brain capacities: undernourished kids usually don't develop into geniuses, let
alone computer jocks. So, is it proper to say that 50 percent of the nation's kids
will become brain-impaired adults?
Even worse, 40 percent of the kids of the "well-off" are also stunted because
they're not eating properly.
Meantime, the nation's leaders, all of whom are committed democrats, continue to
squabble about who should run the country. Run the country where? Into the ground?
Is it any wonder the King is depressed?
Net surfers may want to check out a new web page at: http://www.mowgli.net/CAMBODIA.html.
The authors have entitled their site "Cliff notes in the Killing Fields of Cambodia"
and all you have to do is click on the skull to get info & opinions on some of
the big boys around town.
One political analyst who works for the CPP argues that the July events were not
a coup d'etat because "there is no state in Cambodia."
The debate over who has the best pizza in town has been raging furiously for months.
The Cathouse's Meat Lover pizza, recently revamped courtesy of a guest chef who prefers
to remain anonymous, is now Phnom Penh's finest according to several dedicated connoisseurs
of fine Italian cuisine.
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