Maria> Saul: No sweat over Burma/Thailand...

Saaaaaul, noo problem! Those kind of mispreceptions happends - it only make you more human! I thought first that I might have "picked" the wrong country since I did the map in a hurry. :) Actually in feb. when we were in Thailand for my friends wedding we went to relax couple of days close to the boarder towards Burma. You sense the years of opression at the Thai side...
:(

It would be really intressting to follow how the "evil countries/regimes" develop during diffent epochs. Countries like Algeria are now "acceptable" in the west while countries like Russia always are seen with scepticism (from the "western world" atleast...)

If I had to pick three "evil regims" they would be as follows;

1) Equartorial Guinea > from desperate poor to mean selfserving billion dollar dicator
"the president exerts almost total control over the political system and has discouraged political opposition. Equatorial Guinea has experienced rapid economic growth due to the discovery of large offshore oil reserves, and in the last decade has become Sub-Saharan Africa's third largest oil exporter. Despite the country's economic windfall from oil production resulting in a massive increase in government revenue in recent years, there have been few improvements in the population's living standards."

(world police)

2) Western Sahara > the forgotten Palestine!
"Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal."

(world police)

more...
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0759052.html

3) Bruma - What we know is enough to act! but then oil usually has the last word in democracy fights...
"Despite multiparty legislative elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party - the National League for Democracy (NLD) - winning a landslide victory, the ruling junta refused to hand over power."

(world police)

Reg. Western Sahara there is every year a film festival in the desert to bring the world and some hope to this tormented people. It some awesome spanish that organize it. I would love to go next time... To be apart of that somehow...

: m