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Thein Sein heads to the White House
Myanmar President Thein Sein is poised to receive red carpet treatment today at the White House in Washington even as his army wages war against Kachin inside his country and religious violence scars the Southeast Asian nation. Of more importance to Washington is progress in its ties with Myanmar's military, starting with the navy, and issues of regional security. - Bertil Lintner
(May 20, '13)
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Myanmar needs a new nationalism
The development of violent outbursts against Mynamar's Muslim population has brought Burmese Buddhists to a crossroads in which they need to initiate conversations about the ways in which the Buddhist community should adapt to the reality of multiculturalism without abandoning its distinctive core values.
- Matthew J Walton
(May 20, '13)
THE ROVING EYE
Assad talks, Russia walks
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad wasted a golden opportunity in an interview to explain to the Western public, even briefly, why petro-monarchies Saudi Arabia and Qatar, plus Turkey, have the hots for setting Syria on fire. While he was talking, Russia was walking, sending a message it is ready to go where the Pentagon and others fear to tread.
- Pepe Escobar
(May 20, '13)
Assad counteroffensive reverberates loudly
Steady gains by regime forces by no means indicate they are about to win the Syrian civil war, even as the reversals suffered by the rebel forces and their penetration by ever-more extreme groups prompt international backers to have second thoughts about their support. Meanwhile, the potential for a spillover of violence in the region is growing.
- Victor Kotsev
(May 20, '13)
SPENGLER
Syria's madness and ours
While atrocities in Syria, such as the cannibalism viewable on YouTube, transfix the West, the real horrors of war are still to come in the Middle East. Americans, whose appetite for horror shows little sign of satiation, cannot abandon the region, but should avoid the conflict in the grim recognition that civilizations determined to destroy themselves cannot be prevented from doing so.
(May 20, '13)
Are Kaesong curtains drawn for good?
Those Pyongyang watchers who insist there is a calculated strategy behind its escalation of tensions likely find it hard to explain the rationale behind its closure of the Kaesong industrial complex. In sacrificing the joint complex, Kim Jong-eun hoped to show his steel and scotch a potential source of ideological contamination. But such moves simply open the door to Chinese domination of the economy.
- Aidan Foster-Carter
(May 20, '13)
SPEAKING FREELY
The decline of Malaysian apartheid
Scapegoating of Chinese in the wake of its disappointing recent polls reflects the degree to which the United Malay National Organization, leader of Malaysia's ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, remains invested in perpetuating race-based politics. However, there are clear signs of the demise of that model as desires grow for an inclusive modern nation free of corruption. - Sunil Kukreja
(May 20, '13)
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Fox leads US tiger into China's crosshairs
 "Irritating Japan" is well on its way to replacing "Rising China" as the meme favored by the United States as Abe Shinzo's new nationalism exploits US backing to advance its own goals. Beijing sees "the fox pretending to the tiger's might". Tokyo is pushing bigger game, the weakened US Asian "pivot" itself, into Beijing's crosshairs.
- Peter Lee
(May 17, '13)
Chinese opinion jars with policy on Korea
An unexpectedly significant outburst of anger from China's elite at North Korea's brazen provocations may be enough to require that Beijing try to harmonize public opinion and foreign policy on the issue. If Beijing bows to the public demands and cracks down on Pyongyang this time, it could undermine the government's ability to censor debate on internal issues.
- Niklas Swanstrom and Kelly Chen
(May 17, '13)
THE ROVING EYE
Catfight - and it's US vs EU
Forget about the Pentagon "pivoting" to Asia; nothing compares with the catfight developing between the United States and European Union over a free-trade pact proposed by Brussels, feared by many in Europe, and now pursued with a vengeance by Washington. Much lies in the hands of a European determined to be a personal winner in this transatlantic tussle, whatever its revolutionary potential.
- Pepe Escobar
(May 17, '13)
Aquino secures second-wind mandate
Philippine voters have granted approval to President Benigno Aquino's three-year-old reform agenda. Their by-elections mandate gives his administration enough popular steam to push through measures aimed at sustaining economic growth, deepening good governance, and setting the stage for his favored candidate in the 2016 presidential poll.
- Richard Javad Heydarian
(May 17, '13)
UN asks Westerners: What's bugging you?
The culinary delights of bugs and insects are well-known to Asians for their flavor and nutritional value, but, with notable exceptions, tend to disgust Westerners. They should just get over their reservations, says the UN, as insects are the food of the future.
- Heather Maher
(May 17, '13) |
US-IRAN TIES: A SPORTING CHANCE
Wrestle - in a different way
A distinct relationship that's developed between the US and Iranian wrestling organizations is culminating in the two sides teaming up to try and prevent the sport being dropped for the 2020 Olympics. Politics are easily left aside when the nations' teams hit the mats in a new twist on "ping-pong" diplomacy.
- Garrett Nada (May 17, '13)
DYSFUNCTION TRILOGY
 The phase that launched
a thousand bubbles
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has presided over a thousand economic bubbles. Rather than ushering in investors who could help turn around economies, he and his ilk have created a class of traders who roil asset prices and maximize leverage, but produce no lasting benefits.
- Chan Akya (May 17, '13)
This ends a three-part series.
Part 1: Keynes stole your ship
Part 2: Bernanke stole your pension
Erdogan drags heavy bag to Washington
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan steps into the White House today for a long-awaited meeting with US President Barack Obama. The conflict in neighboring Syria will likely top the agenda, and, as he carries heavy baggage across the threshold, Erdogan will be only too aware that Middle East power games are becoming more complex. - Egemen B Bezci
(May 16, '13)
Where's all
the money gone?
Set foot just about anywhere other than the Chinese, Russian, and Iranian parts of the Eurasian landmass, and you're likely to find some kind of US base, installation, or shared facility. Private contractors have made fortunes off that global garrison, raking in US$385 billion to build and support American bases abroad since 2001.
- David Vine
(May 16, '13)
Gangsters, politics shake hands in Taiwan
An attempt by hundreds of members of a crime syndicate to join Taiwan's opposition Democratic Progressive Party, seemingly designed to manipulate a vote to elect the DPP chairman, has perplexed observers. China is a key suspect to be the hidden hand, as the only outside power with the clout, know-how and motive to generate such harmful press for the pro-independence party. - Jens Kastner
(May 15, '13) |
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China's influence
spreads to Atlantic
A billion-dollar loan from a Chinese firm to Portugal and a free-trade deal between Beijing and Iceland's government have one thing in common - both potentially open the door to increased Chinese influence over the European countries' strategic holdings in the Atlantic Ocean. - Emanuele Scimia
CREDIT BUBBLE BULLETIN
Financial euphoria
At this stage of an inflationary asset market boom, it's perfectly rational to double-down with the "house's money" and play for the spectacular big win, using unprecedented ultra-loose finance and government backstops to accumulate as much financial wealth as possible.
Doug Noland looks at the previous week's events each Monday.
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Democracy lessons
from the Maldives
The Maldives is putting Indian pundits to shame. Not only there is no democracy deficit in the archipelago but the twists and turns of politics there in the run-up to the September 7 presidential elections are becoming intricate and highly competitive.
- M K Bhadrakumar
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The Party of Frankenstein apparently now sees the two-headed Bush-Cheney monster that they created in an entirely different and less favorable light. Payback, as the saying goes, is a canine lady.
H Campbell
Texas
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