There has been some action toward progress in the Khmer Rouge trials, and word is coming out that war crimes indictments are to be issued within weeks.

With the mainstream media adept at jumping through the hoops on this topic, it's refreshing to find Global Voices grazing the blog world for perspectives from the inside.

Bloggers like Details are Sketchy and Stan Starygin are providing an inside look at the realities that have been, so far, perpetually disappointing.

Here's the link to the UN's site on the background of the Khmer Rouge Trials, and clicking here will pull up a portal to access info in both English and Khmer.

In last week's update of news from Cambodia I wrote about the government's reaction to a report released by the London-based environmental group, Global Witness.

This week an article out of Thailand titled, "Cambodia Victim of Corruption, Plunder, Impunity" goes a bit further in explaining just why the Prime Minister banned the report, "Cambodia's Family Tree", and leads with a quote from Hun Neng, governor of Kampong Cham Province and Prime Minister Hun Sen's brother:

If (they) come to Cambodia, I will hit them until their heads are broken.

Oh, those smooth talkin' Cambodian diplomats, heh? I'd say someone struck a chord, wouldn't you?

The story ties illegal logging to the tune of $13 million to donor meetings and human rights violations. Worth a read.

The French-language newspaper, "Cambodge Soir" has been closed down permanently after a two-day strike. With fingers pointing at bankruptcy as the cause, it appears more likely that ties to the Global Witness report are responsible.

Not a lot of info available, but we'll keep an eye open for more on this.

Speaking of logging, I'm put in mind this morning of Joni Mitchell's hit from ... what? last month? Nah! ... "Big Yellow Taxi" when she sings:

They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique
And a swinging hot spot
Dont it always seem to go
That you dont know what youve got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

They took all the trees
Put em in a tree museum
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see em
Dont it always seem to go
That you dont know what youve got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot

Okay, maybe a land strewn with landmines and skulls isn't everyone's idea of paradise, but at least that is a completely Cambodian landscape, for good or evil, unlike the far-too-American full-on urban slew of shopping malls this Southern Californian businessman is planning to cover as much of the country as possible in.

His Cambodian-born wife thinks it's a grand plan, apparently, but that might have something to do with the billions her husband expects to make out the venture.

He's sure proud of himself: "I am so proud of what I and my wife are doing for South East Asia.We are helping with jobs and the distribution of wealth. The distribution of goods in the country is not very good as there are not many high quality retail outlets. We will help all the people. Hypermarkets are for everybody."

What a terrifying concept ...

More in the next post.