There is nothing as infuriating as dangerous public policy made on circular logic. The latest example of irrational policies coming out of the Bush administration is the decision to withhold condoms, birth control pills, and other contraceptives paid for by the United States from Marie Stopes International, a British non-governmental organization that operates family planning and reproductive health clinics in impoverished nations.

China has had several food safety scares in recent years, with contaimants found in ingestible products such as toothpaste and petfood.  But the crisis going on now strikes a deep chord with parents both in and out of China:  as of today, four children have died from baby food contaminated with melamine, and over 6,000 have been sickened.  Over 150 babies are hospitalized with acute kidney failure.

Torn up about traveling to China? You're not alone. Human rights, oppressive politics, environmental disasters, con. Incredible food (thanks Kalyn!), a culture so rich it's mind boggling, a nation in a staggering state of change? Pro! Every time I read about travels in China, every time I crack a National Geographic that's got a China feature I think two things. First, WOW, do I need to go to China. Do I ever. And secondly, WOW, China looks difficult and exhausting...I can hardly wait.

The Olympics open today in China to a multitude of emotions, including anger from Tibetan, Darfurian, and Burmese human rights activists about China's role in the conflicts in these countries.

By now many of you have probably read about police officer Jiang Xiaojuan of China who became a national, and then international, hero practically over night. After the devastating Chinese earthquake on May 12, the 29 year-old mother of a 6-month-old son, was called to duty. What she encountered when she reported for duty was babies crying in hunger and that's when her maternal instincts kicked in.

South Asia is going through turmoil -- some inflicted by nature, some by fellow humans. Myanmar's cyclone has mercilessly claimed lives in ways that we can't begin to fathom, no thanks to the Junta and its closed-door policies. Paddy fields in the Irrawaddy Delta have been washed away with bodies, bang in the middle of a global food crisis.

The country of China -- which always seems like an understatement, yes? the land of China? the realm? -- makes headlines every day. Tibet. The 2008 Olympics. The environment. Product recalls. What's less controversial is the food of China. For a window into its many dimensions, I turn to the food blog Appetite for China by professional food writer Diana Kuan who is traveling, writing, and eating her way through China. Her job isn't an easy one.

After weeks of "restraint" and insistence that Tibet was China's internal problem, India was put off this week, just a wee bit. China summoned the Indian ambassador at 2 a m to hand over details of protests that exiled Tibetans were allegedly planning in India. India immediately called off a high-level commerce-related visit to China.

If you live in the United States and you want to get your YouTube fix, you flip on your computer, log on to the site and you're good to go. But if you happen to live in China, you're just as liable to flip on your computer, type in the YouTube address and get an error message and a blank screen.  At first you might think, oh my computer's slow today or something must be going on with the server, but you'd probably be wrong.  That's because China's been blocking YouTube to its citizens for the last several weeks in order to block the viewing of videos of anti-China protests in Tibet.  Many of those protests have become violent and depending on who you believe, they were fostered by pro-democracy pioneers who were set upon and brutalized by the Chinese government or rioting agitators determined to foster unrest and make China look bad, especially during this Olympic year.

The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing is providing leverage for Tibetan, Darfurian, Burmese and Chinese human rights campaigns:

It is hard to know what is actually going on in Burma. The Burmese government has reportedly shut down all internet access and all cell phones. The Daily Mail reports hundreds, perhaps thousands of jailings and adds:

At last count,The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled about 234 products this year -- 154 of them carry the "Made In China" label. The Washington Times reports: The number of Chinese-made product recalls in the United States has doubled in the past five years, according to the nonprofit Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports magazine. Chinese products accounted for 60 percent of the total recalls in the U.S. last year, which numbered 467 — a record.