Although reports from the military government paint a rosy picture of Burma as a prosperous modernizing nation, numerous signs indicate that the country�s economy is in dire straits. ... When reading Burma�s state-run newspapers, however, it is sometimes hard to remember that Burma is one of the most impoverished nations on the globe. Leafing through the pages of the regime�s principal mouthpiece, the New Light of Myanmar, the reader is swamped with articles detailing the implementation of countless development projects�including new hospitals, dams and schools�that the ruling generals in Rangoon say lend credence to their mission of building a new and prosperous nation..."