HAVANA – As news of the death of the "King of Pop" spread last Thursday night, a group of fans and Jackson impersonators gathered in a tiny Havana living room in disbelief. They huddled around a shortwave radio and tuned to Florida stations, hoping someone would say it was all a hoax.

"We're stunned and heartsick. For us, Michael was the sun," said Nestor Hernandez. "All of a sudden, the skies darkened."

VIDEO: Cubans pay tribute to Jackson

For the most part, Michael Jackson's controversies didn't tarnish his fame in Cuba. As Cuba's state-run media is devoid of celebrity gossip, many fans know all about his talent but nothing about his troubles.

After his death on Thursday, Cuban radio and TV hosts paid tribute to the American pop star and his musical creations with scant references to his excesses with drugs, spending or sexual molestation charges.

The daily Granma, published by Cuba's ruling Communist Party, reported on Jackson's death, describing him as a "magnificent talent with a strange personal life," without providing any further explanation.

"Radio Rebelde," the island's main radio station, abandoned regular rush-hour programming Friday morning to run news of Jackson's death and play some of his most popular hits from decades ago while fans called in with accolades and requests.

Several successful recording artists remembered Jackson in interviews with NBC News as a brilliant and iconic performer whose music helped shape the creativity of others.

"Michael Jackson was one of the top musicians of the century, comparable to a Mozart, a genius in everything he touched," said Edesio Alejandro, a prolific songwriter who has composed the scores of more than 36 films.

Cuban percussionist Amadito Valdes, best known for his playing with the Buena Vista Social Club, compared Jackson to Elvis Presley. "Both great performers broke the mold. With Michael, you can talk about the 'before' and the 'after' he came on the pop music scene."

X Alfonso, singer and composer of Afro-Cuban fusion music, said he grew up listening to Jackson. "Every birthday and New Year's Eve party we ever had ended with Michael Jackson's music. Today, it's the same. Everyone in this house danced to Michael's music – from my 4-year-old and 10-year-old kids to my parents and grandparents. And, even though he's gone, we're going to keep on dancing."

SLIDESHOW: Michael Jackson: 1958-2009

New generation puts on red jacket
Hernandez, one of the fans who gathered to mourn Jackson last Thursday, said he's been enamored with the pop star for most of his life. Now 21, Hernandez was just 5 years old when a neighbor introduced him to the "Thriller" video. Instead of being frightened by the dancing zombies, the child began imitating the dancers. "I wanted to become a monster, too," remembered Hernandez.

And he did. When he was 15 years old, Hernandez and some friends formed "Evolución Jackson." What began on a whim has evolved into a dance company that performs Jackson's iconic moonwalk and other trademark dance sequences in community theaters. They buy Jackson's music and videos on the Cuban black market and spend hours going over bootleg copies of old Jackson video tapes to learn his moves.

"We've been studying Michael's dances for six years, and there are still some steps I can't perfect," said Jackson impersonator Omar Ramos. "He was a genius, and now he's gone."

Dressed in a threadbare version of the singer's trademark red jacket, Ramos held a rehearsal of the song "Billy Jean" just hours after learning that the pop star had passed away.  Describing Jackson as "the world's best entertainer," Ramos said, "It's an honor to play him."

The performers plan a memorial concert this Wednesday in Mariano, one of Havana's larger working-class neighborhoods. "No tears will be allowed. Just laughter and dancing," said Ramos.

Click here for more on Michael Jackson

BAGHDAD – No American military vehicles patrolled Baghdad's streets for the first time in six years on Tuesday morning, as U.S. forces in Iraq finished withdrawing from towns and cities to bases in the countryside.

Iraqi army troops and police manned checkpoints in the Shiite area of Sadr City, searching cars for explosives and weapons. They can still call for American support if necessary, but Iraqis are hoping they can cope with the ongoing insurgency alone from now on.

As the midnight deadline for the handover of security in towns and cities drew nearer, Iraqis gathered in a park near the Baghdad Zoo for an outdoor concert to celebrate.  

Pop singers entertained the crowds and there was a modest firework display. For many present it was the first outdoor celebration of its kind in recent memory.

VIDEO: Iraq violence mars celebration of U.S. pullback

In the Shiite slums of Sadr City, many greeted the departure of American forces with optimism. But Fouad Mohsen, who is 40 years old and unemployed, was cautious.

"I'm not too happy because the security situation is not ideal," said Mohsen. "I think the Iraqi forces are 70 percent capable of protecting us."

Taleb, 27, and also unemployed, said he already sees a decline in the security situation compared with just two months ago.

"I don't think it is the right time for U.S. forces to leave the cities," said Taleb, who declined to give his last name. "We still don't think the government is doing enough to help us. There is no work and no money."

Some U.S. troops will remain in the cities embedded with Iraqi forces as advisers or liaison officers able to summon U.S. air and ground support as a rapid reaction force if needed, but the vast majority of the more than 130,000 forces remaining in Iraq will be in large bases scattered outside cities.

President Barack Obama has said that all U.S. combat troops will be out of the country by the end of August 2010. And according to a U.S.-Iraqi security pact, the remaining American forces will withdraw from the country by Dec. 31, 2011.

For Iraqis, Tuesday's withdrawal was a crucial step towards regaining control of their country, but a recent upsurge in violence indicates that insurgents intend to test the all-Iraqi forces arrayed against them.

At least 250 people have been killed in a series of bombings, mainly in Shiite areas, over the past two weeks. And four American soldiers were killed in Baghdad Monday. The U.S. military has not yet released details about the circumstances of their deaths.

A car bomb in a busy market in the northern city of Kirkuk killed at least 24 people on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported, as U.S. forces pulled out of the city and left security in the hands of local forces.

SLIDESHOW: Iraqis celebrate as U.S. combat troops leave Iraqi cities

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Military parade
On Tuesday morning, Iraqis observed the national holiday Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki declared would be known as "National Sovereignty Day." A military parade, the first since the days of Saddam Hussein, was on display for foreign diplomats, American military officers and Iraqi government officials inside the International Zone in the center of Baghdad.

A band played the Iraqi national anthem while small contingents of Iraqi forces marched in front of a viewing stand and two Iraqi helicopters flew overhead. 

It was a modest display, but an important signal to Iraqis that they are now, for better or worse, in charge of their own security inside the country's cities and towns. It was also a signal that American forces are finally on their way home.

VIDEO: Blast kills dozens as U.S. troops pull out of Iraqi cities

One last patrol
For American forces, it was time to go. On Monday, hours before the midnight deadline, a patrol of the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne left its base on the outskirts of Baghdad to enter Sadr City for one last time to deliver monthly payments to Iraqi municipal workers.

Four heavily armed Humvees carrying 14 American troops and our NBC News crew maneuvered carefully through thick traffic and headed towards a mosque which also serves as an Iraqi police station.

When our convoy arrived, the municipal workers, dressed in green jumpsuits, were already sitting outside the door of the police commander's office awaiting our arrival.

As the soldiers established a security perimeter, the patrol's captain and two other troopers exchanged pleasantries with the Iraqi commander. Then they called in the workers so they could receive their monthly salary of $300 for picking up trash and keeping an eye out for roadside bombs and any unusual activity that could indicate the presence of insurgents in the area.

The payments took less than an hour. We were back in the vehicles and on the road again before sunset.

Spc. Jesse Williams from New York said he was happy to be handing the duties over to the Iraqis from now on.

"It means a lot that the work we've done over the years in finally proving to be somewhat successful," he said.  "We're going to be around to help out, but we'll be pretty much in the background from now on."

VOTE: How do you feel about the U.S. troops pulling out of Iraq?

 MOSCOW – When I first heard about the International Medical Leech Center from a colleague, my reaction was probably a typical one for an American: Yuck. Gross.

A breeding center for 150,000 leeches in a small village just outside Moscow did not sound like my ideal location for a story. But when I heard the center's claims that they raise and sell 10 times the number of leeches than the rest of the world combined, curiosity overcame my initial disgust.

Natasha Lepyoshkina is one of the 29 leech breeders at the center, all of whom are women. According to her, the gender choice is no accident. "You need to have patience with the leeches. You have to be industrious and patient. A man couldn't do that," she said. 

VIDEO: Medicinal leeches, fresh blood for Russia's economy

Most of the breeders live in the local village and take shifts on weekends to check on the leeches, lending the center a family-like atmosphere. "They won't ever bite us – they know us too well," said one breeder as I prepared to dunk my hand in a jar full of hungry leeches. (Maybe it was leech breeders who coined the phrase about biting the hand that feeds you?)

The breeders often referred to the leeches as their children. "Just like a child – we raise them and love them, and once they grow up they leave us," said Lepyoshkina, as she prepared a batch of 1,000 live leeches to be shipped from the center. 

A holistic medical treatment
While 10 percent of the leeches are shipped abroad, the vast majority are used within Russian, where hirudotherapy (medicinal treatment involving leeches) never fell out of style the way it has in many Western countries. Leeches were widely used to remove blood from medical patients in medieval Europe, but the practice became less prevalent in the West during the 19 century.

Still, for its proponents in Russia, hirudotherapy is seen as the ultimate holistic treatment.

"Hirudotherapy has a multiple effect," said Dr. Irina Pankova, a hirudotherapist in Moscow's leading clinic. "It battles specific illnesses while also strengthening the immune system … it improves your mood and normalizes your psycho-emotional state."

The leeches are placed on the specific areas of the body during the therapy that patients say is a quick, clean and relatively painless process.

Viktoriya Kazantseva, a patient who allowed us to film her during a recent treatment, visits Pankova's Moscow clinic for lower-back pain therapy twice a year. Each treatment of 10 hirudotherapy sessions (two a week for five weeks) costs about $650.

It is much more than just relief for her aching back, though. "What I get from the leeches, nothing else can give me," she explained as she lay on her stomach and several leeches worked on her back. "It's not just about the illness. It works on your whole organism."

More and more Russians are thinking like Kazantseva, which explains the center's success. Last year alone, the center bred and sold 3.2 million leeches for a profit of about $2 million. And despite the Russian economy suffering due to the worldwide financial crisis, Pankova said that this year her clinic has actually seen a rise in people seeking hirudotherapy.

Leeches have also regained a bit of popularity in Western medicine, mostly being used in reconstructive surgery. Leeches secrete an anticoagulant before they begin to suck, which doctors use to stimulate circulation and relieve blood congestion.

But that specific use is still a far cry from being able to buy leeches in a pharmacy, which I couldn't resist doing in Moscow after having my eyes opened to the world of hirudotherapy.

Now the three newest members of our NBC Moscow team – Bloody, Mary and Vampire's Angel – swim in a jar on my desk, wondering which one of our crew will be next to offer ourselves up as their lunch.

With the warmer weather, Guo Li Yi gets more business repairing bicycles on a Beijing street corner.The 63–year-old from Anhui province talks to NBC News about his life and work in the big city.

VIDEO: Swift business for Beijing bike repairman

"Michael is the first and only international singer who inspired me to learn English to understand his songs," a die-hard Jackson fan wrote on Pantip, the most popular Thai web forum.

Another comment, posted nine hours after the "King of Pop" was pronounced dead, read, "I'm still waiting for news agencies to say they made error report."

A devastated fan said she has been writing a diary to Jackson for years now, and she would continue doing so even after his death.

Like the rest of the world, the Thai blogosphere flooded with Jackson's pictures and lyrics.

Thais got to see the pop legend live for the first time in Bangkok 13 years ago.

Although his infamous crotch-grabbing was considered downright obscene in this conservative society, he mesmerized a crowd of 70,000 people with his legendary dance moves.

Go to any school that year, you would be guaranteed to see students moon-walking to the canteen or practicing crotch-grabbing when teachers weren't watching.

Buzz around Jackson waxed and waned as controversies emerged from his Neverland Ranch. Some mocked and ridiculed the pop legend, while others sympathized with him.

Thais will remember Jackson as a great singer who waved a lot, and wore a black mask all the time during his "Dangerous World Tour" in Bangkok, to avoid breathing polluted air.

Click here for complete coverage of Michael Jackson's death

BEIJING – It's not often that a confessed murderer is feted publicly for her heroism and bravery, but that is precisely what happened to Deng Yujiao in China's blogosphere following her release from house arrest last week.

Deng, a 21-year-old waitress from Hubei Province who fatally stabbed a Communist Party official after he tried to force himself on her, became an Internet sensation in China after she was arrested on suspicion of voluntary manslaughter a month ago.

Chinafotopress / Getty Images Contributor

Deng Yujiao, in white shirt, leaves a local court on in Badong County, Hubei Province, on June 16 after being exempted from criminal charges.

According to the police investigation, two local officials, Huang Dezhi and Deng Guida, were customers at the Fantasy City Bathhouse, a karaoke parlor in rural Badong County, on May 10th when they approached Deng and demanded "special services." (In China, bathhouses are often fronts for brothels.)

When she refused, Deng Guida (who was not related to Deng) allegedly threw a wad of money at her face and pushed her onto a nearby sofa. As they proceeded to attack her, she pulled out a fruit knife and repeatedly stabbed and killed Deng Guida.

Deng immediately turned herself in to authorities and police initially charged her with manslaughter.

However, details of the case soon leaked out on the Internet. Deng told her side of the story to a Chinese newspaper, and the county government went into overdrive to downplay allegations of similar acts of aggression by Deng Guida and Huang Dezhi. 

Chinese bloggers and netizens reacted swiftly. They began to express their outrage over government excess and Ms. Deng's helplessness in the face of unruly government officials.  

A rallying cry against government oppression
Strangely enough, Deng's case is not the first time that an accused murderer has generated such great public sympathy.

A month before the Summer Olympics last year, Yang Jia, a 28-year-old man armed with a knife, entered a Shanghai police station, killing six police officers and wounding three others. A seemingly straightforward case of murder instead became a rallying cry against government negligence and oppression.

Details surfaced that prior to the attack, Yang had sued the Shanghai police for psychological damages because he allegedly suffered a brutal police interrogation after being detained for riding an unlicensed bike.

Soon after the case hit the news in China, bloggers discovered that the lawyer assigned to represent Yang in his lawsuit, also worked for a government office that directly supervised the officers in the accused police station. As a result, his case had been summarily rejected.

Yang was found guilty of murder in the stabbing incident and executed in September. But not before bloggers channeled their frustration and anger into a bevy of angry blog posts and forum discussions, many of which were removed by censors.

It was in this atmosphere of growing Internet unrest toward government corruption and excess that the Deng Yujiao case exploded – there were more than 4 million Internet posts about Deng's plight since her story became public.

On popular forums like Tianya and Sina, people debated the case and criticized the many discrepancies allegedly found in the Badong county police report. At the height of interest in the story, the Associated Press noted that Chinese netizens were dedicating popular love songs to Deng and even writing verses in classical Chinese that honored "how beautiful and fierce" she was.

Attempting to stifle support for Deng, accusations soon arose from local authorities that she was dealing with an undisclosed "mental imbalance," and she was sent to a local mental hospital. In an effort to kill interest and coverage of the sensational story, journalists and citizen bloggers who attempted to interview Deng were manhandled and beaten by "unknown assailants." But the attempts to discredit Deng only further infuriated bloggers who intensified their discussion of the subject and even organized legal representation for her.

One blogger who helped assemble Deng's defense team was Wu Gan, also known online as "Tu Fu," or The Butcher.   Representing a new generation of activist bloggers who have begun to pop up in China, Wu was actually in Hubei for a business trip when the story initially broke around May 13.

Outraged by the specifics of the case, Wu decided to travel to Badong to check on Deng and to assist in her legal case. In true blogger form, he broadcast his every move – from meeting Deng's mother for the first time to assembling her legal team – on a popular online community called Club.kdnet.net, which soon became a hit.

The intense public interest eventually forced county officials to reassess their initial strategy for dealing with Deng, which consisted of the usual combination of discrediting the accused and blacking out the mainstream media. The government made some concessions as it transferred Deng from a mental hospital to her parent's home, where she was kept under house arrest.

Then last week, a Hubei court freed Deng after just a two-hour trial. 

However, the court's formal legal decision was that the defendant was "guilty of intentional injury."  That way, Deng was granted her freedom, and the government was able to save some face with a guilty ruling – but it also wriggled out of a potentially explosive response from the public.

Still, with the muzzling of Iran's Internet and the recent outrage over China's Green Dam censoring software, one has to wonder how long governments can maintain deaf ears to the unruly blogosphere.

UPPER DIR, Pakistan – "The noose around the Taliban is tightening," said 50-year-old Sirajuddin, the leader of a tribal militia based in Dhogbala, a town in the Upper Dir region of Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province. "Our fight will go on to the final victory."

Taliban militants have been pouring into Upper Dir for weeks, fleeing the Pakistan army assault in the adjacent Swat Valley. Sirajuddin, who goes by just one name, said that the army had been bombing the militants' hideouts in the nearby hills and hit some shops in Dhogbala by mistake. The militants then swarmed down from the mountains, raided the shops and stole all the food.

Fakhar Rehman / NBC News

Sirajuddin, the leader of a tribal militia fighting the Taliban.

Sirajuddin, tall and slim with a neatly cropped salt and pepper beard, spoke softly as he explained the militia's determination to go after the Taliban. But his voice rose in anger and his lips quivered when he recalled the suicide attack by the Taliban on his mosque on June 5.

"Those criminals killed 40 innocent people at prayer, just because they would not support them. We had to bury 12 children that day," said Sirajuddin. "Tell me, what was their crime?"  

The next day, after the funerals, 500 villagers gathered at the home of one of their elders and voted unanimously to avenge the deaths from the mosque bombing and go after the Taliban.  Sirajuddin volunteered to give up his job as a laborer and lead the militia.

The Pakistan army recently took us on a two-day trip to Upper Dir to see firsthand the battle between these local tribesmen, who are now backed by the Pakistan army, and the Taliban.

The four-hour drive from a Pakistani army helipad adjacent to the Swat Valley to Dhogbala was treacherous. 

Carved out from the valley's rugged lower peaks, the narrow single lane road zigzagged along the emerald green Panjghor River, which flowed down from the snowcapped mountains of the Hindu Kush. Maple and hazelnut trees hugged the route. Our seven-vehicle convoy weaved in and out of the oncoming trucks as we drove higher and higher through miles of mulberry and orange groves that led straight up to the Taliban hideouts.

NBC News' Fakhar Rehman

A mountaintop view in the Upper Dir region of Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province.

Our driver, who was nervous and ill-tempered for most of the journey, told us afterwards that he had been sure we were all going to die along the way from a suicide attack or a head-on collision.

Dir, once a princely state in British India, is divided into two regions, Upper and Lower Dir, and borders Afghanistan's Kunar Province in the west and extends into the Swat Valley in the south. The estimated 1.9 million people who live in the area make their living from forestry and agriculture.

'Get out of my village!'
When we reached Dhogbala, we met 11-year-old Akhtar Khan. He had his Kalashnikov trained on the surrounding hills as he sat on the roof of a boarded up shop and kept watch. "I quit school," he said. "I am ready to sacrifice my life for my country and fight these people who are giving Islam a bad name. They kidnap and kill and loot and plunder. We want them out of our lands."

Niaz Wali, a 22-year-old laborer, came back from his job in Kashmir to join the fight.  "I am furious over the people who were killed in our mosque," he said. "I say to the Taliban: Get out of my village!"

So far, says Sirajuddin, he and his 500 men have killed dozens of Taliban militants and burned dozens more of their homes and hideouts to the ground.  The Pakistani army has come to help with air support, ammunition and weapons. It leaders say that more and more of the tribesmen are joining in the fight, which has already sent more than 100,000 people fleeing the violence in both Upper and Lower Dir.

"We are doing all we can do," said Sirajuddin. "The army is doing all it can do, too. Now the government must come in and help our people who have lost their homes and all of their possessions."

BEIJING – Wow. People in Iran have the right to elect their own president? Candidates are allowed to participate in TV debates and give speeches to their supporters, just like in the United States? And they are allowed to publicly protest?

This comes as news to many in China who have long viewed Iran as an extremely conservative Muslim country where women have to cover their hair and bodies with scarves and robes. It's mostly known here for leaders who openly challenge the United States and play cat-and-mouse over their stubborn nuclear power policies.

But people in Iran, usually seen as so mysterious and different from China, do enjoy many rights not endowed to Chinese citizens – such as voting and going out on the streets to express their discontent.

So it comes as a surprise to see that China's mainstream media coverage of the post-election crisis in Iran has been fairly thorough. The protests and resulting bloodshed were reported all week in newspapers and on Web sites, with vivid videos and pictures.

There were even articles by academics who had expressed fears that images of protesters would be purposely blocked by Chinese authorities, so as not to trigger memories of the violent crackdown on the student movement in Beijing 20 years ago this month. Apparently their predictions were wrong.

The coverage included a healthy dose of analysis by Middle East experts, discussing the election results and the growing protests. But they did not say much about the events' influence on China, despite the fact China is Iran's biggest oil trading partner, as well as Iran's biggest business partner in Asia.

Chinese Internet users have also engaged in lively debates in virtual chatrooms. After some discussion of actual events, the conversation always seems to switch to questions like: "What is America doing in Iran?" (It seems in China's most active online chatrooms, Uncle Sam is involved in everything.)

"People in Iran should overthrow their Islamic maniac and war provoker Mahmoud Ahmadinejad," said one commenter on the most popular Internet chatroom, Tian Ya. 

That comment received an angry reply: "Oh really? Are you calling on Iranians to overthrow someone elected by themselves? War provoker? Tell me, has Iran in the past few decades provoked more wars than the democratic U.S.A?"

VIDEO: China wants censorship software on computers

That was met by: "It doesn't matter who is the next Iranian president, hardliners or reformers! As long as they keep confronting the U.S., we should support them!"

Another comment stirred some controversy: "Isn't it the same with America? They brainwash their people and shift people's attention with the war in Iraq."

That comment received a sarcastic reply referring to China's own restrictive policies: "Oh yes America brainwashes their people too? How? Do they use the Green Dam [software] to filter content online? Or does their statistics bureau give you fake data? Or do they block the Internet?"

But with the Iranian government now blocking social networking websites like Twitter and YouTube, any jealousy Chinese citizens may have fostered for their right to vote and protest likely switched to deep sympathy. As Chinese citizens, we are all too familiar with censorship.

Click here for complete coverage of the Iranian election crisis

For the thousands of Iranian expatriates who moved to Los Angeles after the overthrow of the shah thirty years ago, the latest chapter in the troubled history of their homeland has them deeply worried and watching closely. NBC News' George Lewis reports.

VIDEO: 'Tehrangeles': Expats in California keep an eye on Iran

As thousands of Iranians openly challenge their government and the legitimacy of their president, NBC News' Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel breaks down the power structure within the Islamic republic.

VIDEO: Power play: Who truly rules Iran?

 

BEIJING – It's a real measure of Hong Kong's autonomy – enshrined in the "one country, two systems" principle contained in its constitutional document under Chinese sovereignty – that certain freedoms and rights not enjoyed in mainland China continue to flourish in the former British colony.

We notice it every time we visit. First, there's the regular assembly of Falun Gong supporters near the Hong Kong Convention Center in Wanchai, right where busloads of mainland Chinese tourists spill out. 

It's always a curiosity to see how the tourists might react to seeing these folks. After all, the Falun Gong is a quasi-religious group banned in China, and authorities spare no effort in demonizing the organization among citizens.

Then, more recently, there are Zhao Ziyang's memoirs, selling out across bookshops in Hong Kong, both in English and in Chinese. The former Communist Party chief was ousted in May 1989 during a power struggle that underpinned the student protests in Tiananmen Square
that year. Under house arrest until he died in 2005, Zhao secretly recorded 30 tapes detailing the inner workings of the Party, and they were recently published in a book format to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown. Of course, the book is not for sale on the Chinese mainland.

And then, of course, there is the Internet. In Hong Kong and unlike in China, we never need to log onto our NBC intranet in order to access certain websites. YouTube plays instantly. The Huffington Post loads easily. And we have yet to see the "error" message so often encountered on the mainland.

So it was with great dismay that last Monday, while we were still in Hong Kong, we learned about China's latest efforts to shore up its Great Firewall.

The Green Dam
Bloggers and news reports quickly spread the news that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) will require personal computer manufacturers by July 1 to include a filtering software in all computers either manufactured here or imported into the country. 

Officials claim the technology is designed to protect Chinese youth. The software, known as the Green Dam Youth Escort, would link the computers with a regularly updated database of banned websites and automatically block access to those sites. 

A predictable outcry has arisen not only from PC makers, who largely do not want to be quoted in the media while expressing their concerns, but also from many of China's almost 300-million strong Internet users, or as they call themselves in China, "netizens."

Popular online chat rooms were flooded with sarcastic, angry comments: "How I educate my kids is my own business! I don't need you to tell me what to do!"  "Why should I buy a computer if I can't browse to porn sites?" "Why don't they monitor our phone calls and internet at home?  When we go out they can use satellite and cameras to monitor us. Oh and they can send bodyguards to monitor us when we sleep – that's the best!"

Skeptics identifying themselves as taxpayers also expressed concern about Green Dam's porn-filtering credibility; amidst reports the contract secured with the Chinese government is worth around $6 million. Testers loaded pictures of three world famous cats – Garfield and two Japanese characters Doraemon and Hello Kitty – to see whether the filter worked. 

The result?  Doraemon – OK. Hello Kitty – OK. Garfield – "This information is malicious! It will be filtered!"

Apparently Garfield is a little too round and a little too yellow. The software deemed him suspiciously nude. "Undoubtedly, Green Dam will inspire a new trend of having sex with clothes on," said one comment on China's biggest Internet chat forum Tianya.

A spokesman from Green Dam's developer, Jinhui Computer System Engineering Co., has refused to reveal what websites are on the blacklists, in order not to "promote these web portals."  But an ad hoc group of bloggers and computer techies has discovered all sorts of key words censored by the software (including the phrase "Falun Gong") and has posted its findings and analysis on Wikileaks. 

Meanwhile, PC users are afraid of possible personal information theft caused by the filtering software. In a survey on China's biggest web portal www.sina.com.cn, over 80 percent of the Internet users voted, "I will not consider installing Green Dam on my computer." They might not take much comfort from a University of Michigan study that found "serious security vulnerabilities due to programming errors" in Green Dam. 

Gay rights groups also publicly protested the application because "homosexuality" is listed as malicious content alongside "pornography." Websites that contain words like "gay" or "lesbian" are prone to being filtered out by Green Dam. 

The uproar from targeted customers is not the only headache Jinhui faces. An American company, Solid Oak Software of Santa Barbara, claims Jinhui stole their programming code to create Green Dam and has sent "cease and desist" letters to Dell and Hewlett-Packard requesting them not to distribute the software with PC shipments. Jinhui denies the accusation.   

On Tuesday, an unidentified official with MIIT reiterated that users had the final say as to whether or not to use the software.  "PC makers are only required to save the setup files of the program in the hard drives of the computers, or provide CD-ROMs containing the program with their PC packages," he was quoted on the front page of the state-run China Daily newspaper. 

The article triggered many reports speculating whether the Chinese government was now backing down from its initial position, but one wonders what the Chinese authorities – no fan of mass movements of any kind – make of Iran's opposition protesters demonstrating against the election results.  Especially in light of the emergence of Internet outlets like Twitter and YouTube in mobilizing Iranians onto the streets.

In the days leading up to the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, authorities here shut down both of those websites, in addition to several others. They're back up and running again, but only until the next sensitive anniversary or an outbreak of mass dissent or unrest like the Tibet riots.

But don't worry.  As elsewhere, Chinese Internet users have long demonstrated a knack for getting around firewalls and filters. 

A good example is Zhao's memoirs, which made it to China on the Internet as a Chinese-language Word Document illegally downloaded everywhere.  As one comment on Tianya said, "The powerful and smart Chinese netizens have already figured out how to uninstall and crush the rogue software into ashes."

How are you covering the story?
The journalists who had visas to cover the elections have now been told that they have to leave the country. And the journalists who have permanent press cards here, such as myself, have been told that we are absolutely not allowed to film in the streets, that it is prohibited.

VIDEO: NBC's Ali Arouzi reports on the ongoing demonstrations in Iran

The Ministry of Islamic Guidance, which looks after the foreign press here, issued these new rules, saying that these demands have come from above.

But we were out today, walking in the streets, without a camera. We were out and we were just observing what was going on.  

How are Iranian officials restricting reporting? 
They have essentially cut off all communication. All mobile phones have been cut off. Text messaging is gone. Internet has become very sporadic – sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. None of these things work.

When we went out in the streets on Tuesday, we couldn't call in to do a phone interview because the mobile phones have been cut off.   

In terms of doing live reports, the Ministry of Islamic Guidance has given us permission to report from inside our office and appear on television from there. But we are not allowed to do any filming outside. No photographs, no video cameras, no mobile phone footage.

There are still tons of students outside using their mobile phone cameras. Several days ago they were able to send images via the Internet, but I don't know if they can right now. That's why we are seeing so few images coming out of here, and I think we'll see even fewer in the days ahead.

How is the government enforcing the rules restricting reporting?
If security forces see someone with a camera outside, they will be arrested within a second. The government has made it very clear that it is illegal right now to film outside. And there are huge numbers of plainclothes security forces on the streets to enforce the rules.

Why were the cell phones one of the first things cut off by the government?
The cell phones have been cut off because they were a tool that the demonstrators were using to communicate with each other and organize rallies and protests – especially by text messaging. Text messaging was the most powerful tool used by the protesters to organize rallies and keep people in the loop about what's going on where.

But text messaging has been completely cut off for about five or six days now. Mobile phone reception keeps coming in and out. Whenever the mobiles get cut off totally like this, it's an indication that the government here is worried about a lot of unrest.

One of the important things to note though is that these rallies that are going on now are being organized via word of mouth. Everybody at every corner will tell you – up there is this rally, down there is this rally, make sure you walk towards that place.

Word of mouth is spreading through Tehran like wildfire.

More on Iran:
Iranian protesters duel in streets, online
Slideshow: Iran elections and reaction
NYTimes Blog: 'Disturbers of peace'
Washington Post: Signs of fraud abound, but not hard evidence

Thailand has been in dire need of some good news recently thanks to political upheaval and the gloomy economic outlook. The surprise birth of a baby panda has cheered the nation.

Officials at the Chiang Mai Zoo in northern Thailand had tried unsuccessfully for years to breed the mammal and were unaware the mother was pregnant. Thailand joins the United States and Japan in a rare club: the only countries outside of China to breed a panda in captivity.

However, the panda cub's parents are on loan from China, making the cub's length of stay limited to only two years, according to an agreement between the two nations. Still, the Thai zoo says it is ready to do what it takes to make sure the panda stays in the country.

Watch NBC News' Warangkana Chomchuen report on the panda below.

VIDEO: Thais cheered by rare baby panda

Just back from Iran, NBC's chief foreign correspondent takes your questions. Click here to read.

 TEHRAN – As the sun began to set, the scene outside the polling station at the Husseiniya Ershad mosque in downtown Tehran was like a big social gathering.

A young bride and groom walked into the polling station to vote together on their big day. And a lot of the women voters in this particular neighborhood turned exercising their political rights into something of an outing.

SLIDESHOW: Iran votes

Some women wore full-length black chadors, the cloak traditionally worn by Iranian women in public. But the majority of the ones at this polling station have been sported brightly colored head scarfs, pulled back to the top of their foreheads or even the middle of their heads, with a lot of hair spray and even heavy make-up. Many have said "Hello" to each other and exchanged phone numbers.

The sense of the election as a social event extended to the opposite sex as well.

Male and female students in this country usually don't have much of an opportunity to meet and socialize. But at the street rallies during the last several nights in Tehran, many men and women were jumping up and down and cheering – together. That kind of interaction is very rare here because unmarried men and women are restricted from mingling with each other in this country.

VIDEO: Poll closing time extended in Iran

So for many of them, the election has been a celebration of what they hope will be newfound political rights, new social freedoms, and an opportunity to express themselves. It's been a rare chance to yell out in front of television cameras and at stadiums their dissatisfaction with the status quo.

The other day, for example, we were at a rally in a big soccer stadium. Theoretically, it was supposed to be divided between half men and half women – but it didn't happen. There were a lot of women on the men's side and vice versa. It was not quite as split as you would normally find in Iranian society. 

Although the authorities have been exercising a great deal of restraint and tolerance – at least by Iranian standards – during the election season, not everything is allowed. If you walked down the street in a mini-skirt, you would be arrested, without a doubt, immediately.

I am not sure whether we'll see the restraint continue after the election. But during this period of political expression, the government has chosen to let the people have their say.

Related links
Slideshow: Iran votes
Fact file: Who are the candidates in the Iranian election?
Video: Dateline's Ann Curry goes Inside Iran

 TEHRAN – I'm outside one of the main polling booths here, a large mosque in downtown Tehran. The polls are supposed to officially close soon. But from where I'm sitting, it's clear that will not be enough time. I am looking at hundreds of people on the steps of this mosque trying to get into to vote.

According to Iranian officials the turnout has been unprecedented. There are estimates that as many as 70 percent of eligible voters have turned out.

VIDEO: Record turnout expected in Iran vote

That could be an indication that many of the young people who have been so inspired by this campaign and came out in the tens of thousands to demonstrate, demand change and protest against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad actually did come out today to vote.

That was always the big question. Whenever you have so many students who are leading a charge, it's unclear if they will actually turn out on voting day. That seems to have taken place today. Many of the people we saw were young people. 

The polling stations we've seen have been very calm and orderly.  Aside from the big crowds, we haven't seen any pushing or shoving. It's been very organized. There is security, but it hasn't been threatening in any way. The security has been mostly in terms of crowd control – from what we've seen.

The average waiting time in line doesn't seem to be much more than an hour. Some people have talked about waiting two or three hours, but the lines that we've seen have been moving fairly quickly.

Iranian state television has reporters in several of the key voting districts, broadcasting live from the polling centers.

The state media are describing it as a celebration of democracy, that the election shows that the Islamic Republic can have a free vote and that it is in line with the principals of the Islamic Revolution. 

So they are celebrating this as a major achievement, but are saying that of course the results are too early to call.

Members of the opposition say that their own internal polling shows that their candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi, is in the lead. However government officials are saying that it is too early to tell and accused Mousavi's supporters, who are claiming to have this data, of trying to influence the vote while it is still in progress.

Related links
Slideshow: Iran votes
Fact file: Who are the candidates in the Iranian election?
Video: Dateline's Ann Curry goes Inside Iran

HAVANA – General Motors may be losing ground to foreign competition at home, but in Cuba the American automaker remains king. 

BANGKOK – Thailand's media is a complicated morass of contradictions.

A constitutional monarchy, the country has draconian laws that restrict and prohibit publishing or broadcasting materials deemed insulting or offensive to the monarchy.

But when it comes to reporting dramatic crimes, especially those involving sex and violence, all hell breaks loose. Crime reporting is so detailed that it tends to the gaudy and salacious, the death of David Carradine being the most recent example of over-the-top coverage.

In contrast, century-old lèse majesté ("injured majesty") laws mean that Thai media most often exercises self-censorship and is extremely cautious when it comes to covering the monarchy, military, judiciary or other politically sensitive issues. The codes say that whoever defames, insults or threatens the monarchy is punishable by a sentence of three to 15 years imprisonment (though royal pardons are usually granted after conviction).

Carradine most definitely did not receive the royal treatment. Thai Rath, Thailand's best-selling daily newspaper, published a grisly photo of the actor on its front page last week. The photo, though pixilated to hide some of his nudity, shows Carradine hanging by rope inside a closet.

Carradine's family was outraged and their lawyer threatened to sue any other media outlet that published the photo. But criticism of the coverage from Thai readers was minimal.

Meanwhile, even comparatively tame reporting on the Thai monarchy can be met with severe punishment. In recent years dozen of Thais and foreigners have been convicted of  violating lèse majesté laws, ranging from an Australian who wrote a couple of lines about the crown prince in his self-published book to a drunken Swiss defacing portraits of the king to local activists and academics engaged in public debate and discussion.

In addition, lèse majesté charges are a convenient device for the powers that be to eliminate political adversaries. (And because the press can't reprint comments or materials subject to lèse majesté, no one actually knows what was said and done to "damage the monarchy.") They are even used for regime change: Citing disrespect for the king was one of the reasons the military used to justify staging a coup against former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006.

It all means that news about the Thai royals consists mostly of items about ceremonies and charity events.

Contrasting this is the crime coverage of the million-plus circulation Thai Rath and several other dailies. Female rape victims are often hounded by reporters for their stories and are asked to recount their attacks in morbid detail. And although rape victims are often identified by aliases, not their real names, their addresses are often published. 

There is not much recourse. Bringing lawsuits is both expensive and complicated, and suing media outlets for liable for publishing personal information is not a part of Thai culture. Instead, we live in a "mai pen rai" or "never mind" culture that opens the door for media outlets to violate people's privacy.

Carradine is not the first person to have his privacy violated by the Thai press, and likely won't be the last. 

In Iran's watershed presidential election campaign, tens of thousands of students, intellectuals and business owners have openly protested against hardline incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in favor of his reformist challenger, Mir Hussein Moussavi. NBC's Richard Engel reports.

VIDEO: Iran election too close to call

BEIJING – Spectacularly sunny and clear skies in Beijing the past two days – and generally most of this year so far – have made residents here (or at least this one resident) appreciative of the Chinese government's efforts to address climate change.

A news report on Wednesday revealed China's plans to produce a fifth of its energy needs from renewable sources, including solar and wind power, by the year 2020.  

China's National Development and Reform Commission – which was the source for the news report – also said Wednesday that it plans to promote the use of 120 million compact energy-saving fluorescent light bulbs with the use of subsidies. That measure alone would help save 6.2 billion kilowatt hours of electricity and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 6.2 million tons, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.

It's just one of a series of steps the Chinese leadership has taken to address climate change.

But the U.S. says China's still not doing enough.

"Even if every other country in the world cut its emissions 80 percent by 2050…China's business-as-usual emissions alone would cause global average temperatures to increase by 2.7 degrees centigrade," warned U.S. Assistant Secretary of Energy David Sandalow earlier this week in a speech delivered in Beijing.

Sandalow was joined by U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern and President Barack Obama's Science Advisor John Holdren on a trip to China this week. They arrived hot on the heels of a series of visits by high-level U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Sen. John Kerry, to discuss energy and climate change.

Special Envoy Stern spoke to NBC News in a TV exclusive about their trip and what the U.S. wants to see more of from China on tackling climate change.

VIDEO: China launches green revolution

TEL AVIV – She sounded subdued on the phone, sad even, and who wouldn't be? All she had wanted was to give a nice surprise to her mother.

So Anat (not her real name), a Tel Aviv resident, threw out her mother's ratty old mattress and bought her a lovely new one. After all, as people age, they need a firm mattress, not a lumpy old one.

But those lumps were not clumps of distorted wool or loose springs. They were dollar bills. A million's worth. 

Over the years, Anat's mother had stashed away American dollars and Israeli shekels in her mattress, and now Anat had thrown away her life savings.

In a panic Anat rushed to the garbage dump but couldn't find the mattress among the 2,500 tons of trash that arrives daily. She rode three garbage trucks to three different dumps and combed them feverishly, looking for her mother's fortune. 

She tried to keep it a secret, fearing others would comb the trash and find it first. But a municipal worker took a photo of her sifting through the smelly debris and sold it to a newspaper, even while he expressed doubt that there could really be a million dollars in one mattress.

But Anat's panic was genuine enough. A radio station broadcast Anat's disaster and pretty soon there were reports of concerned citizens storming the dumps trying to help her, or at least, help themselves to her money.      

The garbage dump manager said his men were trying to help her, and added that she seemed desperate.

But newspapers quoted Anat as saying, "People have to take everything in proportion and thank God for the good and the bad."

YEONPYEONG, South Korea – Ever since Pyongyang conducted an underground nuclear test last month, the 1,500 residents of Yeonpyeong, a tiny South Korean island situated about 2 miles from the maritime border with North Korea, have been exposed to much unwanted attention, both from the press and the military.

It's not that the residents are unaware of the potential tension. They witnessed it firsthand when naval skirmishes broke out in the nearby waters in 1999 and 2002. The first clash left soldiers dead on both sides and offerings of flowers can be found at a statue by the port memorializing the fallen.

VIDEO: A South Korean island on the frontlines of conflict

Across the island, there are reminders of the possible threat from the North: rows of large spikes made out of logs planted on beaches to keep away the enemy, a bunker overlooking the sea, and barbed-wire fences along deserted coastlines.

However, most of the islanders say these are remnants of the past. "They were originally placed for defense purposes, but that was long ago," our guide and innkeeper Young Ok Song said.

Coming for the prized blue crabs
Today, the island enjoys a moderate flow of tourists, who come to fish for mackerel. There are no hotels, only private homes converted into bed and breakfast inns and a handful of karaoke bars.

Many of the visitors also come for the island's prized blue crabs, which are served sashimi-style or in hot spicy soup.

But following heated rhetoric from both sides of the border, tourism has gone down and local fishermen have been forced out of prime fishing waters where they cast their crab nets. "Restricted, restricted," said the captain of a fishing boat drinking with his colleagues. Other fishermen simply refused to talk, blaming the media for hyping the tension.

Kim Jae-hwan / AFP - Getty Images

South Korean marines take part in an exercise on Yeonpyeong on June 5.

Two weeks ago, Pyongyang warned that it would no longer guarantee the safety of ships, both military and civilian, passing through the disputed waters, while the South Korean Navy touted its newly developed high-tech destroyer ship freshly deployed to the area.

Yet despite the war of words, a single passenger ferry service from Incheon port, near Seoul, makes its daily 2-hour journey through the fog-shrouded waters. According to its captain, although the number of passengers has dropped, the route was only suspended once ever due to the political tension.

But as the ferry enters Yeonpyeong's port, you can't help but notice a nearby South Korean naval vessel – a reminder of the volatility just offshore.

VIDEO: A look at North Korea's labor camps

 KABUL, Afghanistan – President Obama's address in Cairo sounded even better in Arabic translation, which after all was the point. 

From my hotel room in Kabul I listened to Obama's speech as it was broadcast on the Arabic-language network Al-Jazeera.  Often accused in Washington and by U.S. military commanders of having an anti-American bias, Al-Jazeera dedicated "special events" coverage to the Cairo speech.  The network, the leading Arab broadcaster, had correspondents posted around the world to gather reaction and ran highlights of Obama's address in every newscast.

Its reporters described Obama's appeal to open a new page in relations with Muslims as a possible "turning point."  The speech will be the focus of Al-Jazeera's Friday analysis program Aktar Min Rai,  "More Than One Opinion," which is similar to NBC's "Meet The Press."   

This is a huge break from the past. Former President George Bush was Al-Jazeera's bête noire. Yesterday, one of the network's guests remembered Bush as "a warmonger" who spoke "in a language of blood and killing."  Another analyst compared the former president to Osama bin Laden.

"I don't see much of a difference between Bush and Bin Laden," he said.  "Both say, 'You are either with us or against us.'"

In contrast, Al-Jazeera described Obama's speech as "honest," "historic" and "deeply respectful." 

I suspect a main reason Obama was so well received was that he – either by design or coincidence – successfully used the tools of Arabic rhetoric: flattery, history and religion. Simply put, Obama translated well into Arabic.

The Cairo speech was peppered with religious references.  This is de rigueur in all important addresses in Arab and Muslim countries.  I lived in Cairo for four years.  Most important meetings in the Egyptian capital begin with an incantation from the Quran. Quoting the holy book, seen by the majority of Egyptians as a literal guidebook to life handed down by God, adds not only an air of importance, but divine gravitas. 

But Obama didn't just quote the Quran, he called it the "Holy Quran," as it is known in Arabic, the Koran al-Karim.  If he had not used the word "holy" and simply said "the Quran," the omission would have been offensive to many listening in Arabic. 

Obama had a similar cultural and linguistic sensitivity when he discussed the "sons of Abraham," which every Egyptian knows refers collectively to Jews, Christians and Muslims, the "people of the book." To stress unity, the president talked of commonalities among the monotheistic faiths and their prophets when he said:

"Too many tears have flowed. Too much blood has been shed. All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear; when the Holy Land of three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together. As in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus and Mohammed – peace be upon them – joined in prayer." 

The key phrase here is what may seem in English to be a throwaway line, "peace be upon them."  The four words are essential.  In Arabic, it is offensive and socially incorrect to mention a prophet by name without following it with the respectful "peace be upon him."  For religious Egyptians, to utter aloud the name of Mohammed or Jesus and not say "peace be upon him" is a form of blasphemy. 

But Obama's highlight, at least in Arabic, was his closing line, "Thank you. And may God's peace be upon you."  Speeches in the Arab world nearly all end the same way.  It went over very well.

Cairo was an astute choice for this address to the Muslim world. Every country in the Middle East has unique strengths.  Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, because of their vast wealth, can often drive sensitive policy and backdoor diplomacy.  Iraq, because of its Shiite holy sites and Shiite majority, is a bridge, often broken, to Iran.  Egypt, home to the Arab world's printing presses and movie studios, sets public opinion in the Middle East. 

It was mainly out of Egyptian tabloids and magazines that the conspiracy theory that the 9/11 hijackers were Jews dispatched by the Israeli intelligence service, the Mossad, and the CIA spread across the Muslim world, a myth Obama addressed directly on Thursday.

If Obama can win over Egypt, and Thursday was a major step in that direction, he will win many hearts and minds in the Arab and Muslim worlds.

 
But the speech was light on details. It was hopeful, but offered no new initiatives.  Simply giving a sophisticated speech isn't enough. 

Thursday, I was racing on bumpy dirt roads from Afghanistan's Kapisa Province so I could make it back to Kabul to watch the president's speech.  I'd spent the day with U.S. troops training Afghan police in a poor farming community. As I pulled into Kabul I was told by a source that three soldiers had been killed not far from where I'd been. 

I called the commander of the American soldiers I'd just left.  Luckily his men weren't involved in the attack. They were fine. But another American convoy – just as Obama was about to speak – had been hit by a roadside bomb in Kapisa and then ambushed with automatic rifles. 

Words will not change the most violent radicals still at war with America, no matter how popular Obama may be in Cairo this week. 

ISLAMABAD –  Pakistanis want to hold President Barack Obama to his word.

"If he does what he says he is going to do, then it will be the beginning of a new era," said Raja Qamar, the cashier at the New Raja Restaurant in Islamabad.

In this simple lunch place in Islamabad on Thursday, a dozen or so diners seemed more interested in eating their lunch then watching the small TV suspended high on a corner wall. The ceiling fans creaked and groaned in a steady hum but were no match for the more than 100 degree heat outside.

When Obama came on the screen, the diners looked up and watched expressionless; most following the Urdu subtitles on the screen – no one stopped eating.

Nasir Mahmood, the restaurant's only waiter, wiped the sweat from his brow with the same brown towel that he wiped the tables. His customers were coming and going – Obama's speech was not enough of a draw to keep them inside. But as he took the lunch orders, Mahmood studied the TV.

"With God's blessing, Obama's speech will be a new beginning," he said.  "I hope the American attitude towards Muslims has changed and it has become good now."

Raja Taimour was paying close attention too and hushed-up his brother when he tried to talk to him. Taimour, a hotel owner, was soft spoken, but had hard words for the president.

 "Any announcement on his part should be implemented immediately, not within a time period such as troop withdrawal by 2012," he said. "This war on terror is intensifying day by day and any time period given could be extended by giving any excuse. So I don't believe anything he says."

When the speech ended, there was no applause inside the New Raja Restaurant, no smiles, no reactions. The customers who had stayed to listen left and others wandered in to be served.  The new crowd hadn't heard the speech and seemed even less interested in hearing about it.

Mahmood, the waiter, showed the new customers a table and took their orders.

"I was impressed by his speech," Mahmood said, wiping his brow. "But the killing of Muslims must stop."

"His speech was excellent," Qamar, the cashier, chimed in. "Now his words must be put into actions, I mean all the killing has to stop."

 
I was thinking, on my last visit to China, how much has changed since I first went there in 1989 to cover the events surrounding the student "democracy movement" in Tiananmen Square.  Today, you can stroll through high-end malls in Beijing in a neighborhood that looks like Beverly Hills's Rodeo Drive on steroids.
 
You can sip a latte at the Starbucks near the U.S. Embassy and watch young Chinese standing in long lines to do the same.  But if you take out your laptop and try to surf the Web there, you'll find that all the sites that might carry any mention of what went on in Tiananmen Square 20 years ago are off-limits.
 
Some things in China have changed and some things haven't.
 
Many Chinese are enjoying a level of prosperity that previous generations never could have imagined.  Young university students are very focused on "making it" in this new China.  The idea of taking to the streets to protest for a greater measure of democracy simply isn't on their "to do" lists.
 
The students 20 years ago had a different set of priorities.  Many of them, eager to use their English, would stop me and discuss at great length how much they admired the U.S. Constitution; its reliance on the rule of law, its separation of government powers and the freedoms contained in the Bill of Rights.  And they would say they wanted the same thing for China.
 
Once, when I was trying to cross a major avenue in the middle of a student march, I literally got swept off my feet by the crowd and was being carried along by the throng. A young woman, about 5 feet tall, named "Mai", who didn't want me to be trampled, went into offensive lineman mode and plowed a way for me to the other side of the street.
 
"Thank you," I said, "I really appreciate that."
 
"Now you're ok," she replied.  "You tell our story."
 
Unfortunately, the story did not have a happy ending as the tanks roared into the square on the night of June 3. Troops of the People's Liberation Army opened fire on the students and blood flowed onto the Avenue of Heavenly Peace.
 
A daredevil NBC cameraman, the late Tony Wasserman, stationed himself in the square that night and captured some Emmy-award winning footage as the troops opened fire.  When the troops advanced on the place where Tony was videotaping, a group of Chinese people grabbed him and hid him in a nearby house.  They wanted to make sure that the documentation of what happened that night found its way to the outside world.

SLIDESHOW: Tiananmen Square, 20 years later

Later, Tony would set up his camera in a hotel overlooking the square and capture that memorable scene of the lone Chinese citizen standing defiantly in front of an army tank. That one picture said it all: an unarmed civilian quixotically defying the power of the Chinese state.
 
The seeds of discontent that led to Tiananmen 20 years ago may be dormant in today's China, but they're still present. There is still massive corruption in the Chinese government, something that really angered the leaders of the democracy movement. There is a growing disparity between rich and poor in China, and considerable displacement of people who have left rural areas for the cities, looking for work.
 
Twenty years ago, the communist leaders of China sent the tanks into Tiananmen because they feared they were about to lose control of the country.  Nowadays, they try to keep their critics at bay by expanding the economy.  But China's recent economic reversals have thrown many people out of work.
 
So, could history repeat itself in China? 

Msnbc.com's Kari Huus recalls the aftermath in Beijing.