by Sam Roggeveen
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11 August 2009 5:28PM
- Japan's election campaign starts in a week, and the polls look good for the opposition.
- In the midst of much gloom about Japan's long-term future, these stats about R&D spending look encouraging.
- Pushback on my Afghanistan pessimism: readers recommended I read this and this.
- A small victory for transparency: China's bureau of statistics to hold monthly press conferences.
- Introducing Iraq's national symphony orchestra. Also in Iraq, this joke is doing the rounds:
An Iraqi man found a Genie’s lamp quickly he rubbed it and a Genie appears: Master, all your wishes will come true.
The Iraqi man quickly asked for only one wish not three: Make us a bridge from Baghdad to Sweden so all of us can leave. The Genie responded: ask for something reasonable!!! The Iraqi man responded: Oh you are right then I wish that the electricity in Iraq will be fixed.
The Genie quickly responded: hmmmmmm lets go back to the bridge to Sweden. Do you want it one or two lanes bridge?!!
