November 12, 2007: Islamic radicalism has fizzled in Indonesia. There are still Islamic radicals, but they have shifted from terrorism to arguing over what Islamic ring tones should be allowed on cell phones, or whether prayers should be said in Indonesian, rather than Arabic.

November 11, 2007:The security situation has improved in East Timor, but the economy has not. Most people have no jobs and many are still living in refugee camps. Prospects are not good.

November 4, 2007: In Papua, villagers rioted after a tribal chief collapsed and died during a scuffle with police. Several rioters were killed or wounded by the police. Most Indonesians are Malay, while the largely tribal peoples of Papua are Melanesian. The two groups do not get along, partly because the Malays are better educated and organized. Most of the Papuan tribes want more autonomy, or even independence. But the tribes have many feuds with each other, which makes it easier for the national government to maintain control of the region (which is the western half of the island of New Guinea.)