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The Great Afghan corruption scam
The United States vociferously denounces Afghan corruption as a major obstacle to its mission in Afghanistan. Missing from this routine censure is a credible explanation of why American nation-building failed there. No wonder. To do so, the US would have to denounce its own role in letting a flood of Pentagon dollars spread corruption, to the extent of hiring a bank well known for its murky past. - Dilip Hiro
(Apr 3, '13)
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Korea crisis dims denuclearization hope
The escalation of tensions in the Korean Peninsula is prompting growing calls for the United States to reconsider its refusal to fully engage Pyongyang and notes that a failure to do so risks driving a wedge between Washington and Seoul. UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, meanwhile, can only state the obvious as he urges calm on all sides.
- Jim Lobe (Apr 3, '13)
Terror makes first marks on Pakistan ballot
The decision of the Pakistan Peoples' Party to call off an April 4 public rally as its lead event for the 2013 general election campaign comes as militants turn threats into terror attacks on supporters of secular parties. The May 11 poll is seen as a vote on whether the country will tackle such extremism.
- Syed Fazl-e-Haider
(Apr 3, '13)
SINOGRAPH
Italy's Internet
politics
menace China
While online debate in China represents a potential training ground for future democratic dialogue, the dangers of Internet politics can be seen in the rise of Italy's "5 Star Movement". The prevailing voices in Beppe Grillo's movement are those most active on the web, and they post the most barbed comments. Such chaotic, volcanic politics only lead masses to seek radical leaders. - Francesco Sisci
(Apr 3, '13)
China signals with Coast Guard overhaul
Beijing has moved to bring separate maritime law enforcement agencies under one governing body. Although the overhaul seems a response to international criticism that poor communication between agencies had stoked internal tensions and worsened territorial disputes, it's more likely aimed at improving response times and bolstering command and control mechanisms.
- Lyle Morris
(Apr 3, '13)
SPEAKING FREELY
Beijing finds soft power in sport
Chinese sporting stars such as tennis player Li Na, hurdler Liu Xiang and basketball player Yao Ming are proving vital tools of soft power as Beijing tries to beat rival superpower the United States at its own game. Just as American athletes like Michael Jordan and Mohammed Ali changed how the world viewed the country, China hopes sporting achievement will develop into greater global influence.
- Jieh-Yung Lo
(Apr 3, '13)
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Buddhism turns violent in Myanmar
Recent violence in Myanmar between Buddhists and Muslims, which has left a reported 43 people dead and more than 1,000 homes and building destroyed, has caused concern over the stability of the country's current democratic transition and raised the specter of a return to direct military rule. - Matthew J Walton
(Apr 2, '13)
Coalition frays on eve of Iran nuclear talks
 China and Russia are increasingly at odds with their other P5+1 partners (the US, Britain, France, plus Germany) on the eve of talks with Iran over the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, according to Javier Solana. The European Union's former top foreign policy official says fears of a spike in energy prices due to additional Western sanctions are driving the rift. - Jim Lobe
(Apr 2, '13)
Korean cloud obscures Almaty
Washington is grappling with "clear and present danger" from North Korean provocations, a fact that is not lost on Tehran, which senses the crisis has handed it additional chips in this week's round of nuclear diplomacy in Kazakhstan. Under the cloud of Korea, there are plenty of indications that the US will let another opportunity for an Iranian endgame pass it by.
- Kaveh L Afrasiabi
(Apr 2, '13) |
Taiwan war games get back their bang
Tensions between mainland China and Taiwan have never been more absent since the island went its own way from Beijing. So President Ma Ying-jeou's decision to re-introduce live-firing of ammunition in annual war-game maneuvers raises several questions. The answers, it seems, have more do to do with domestic issues than a changed perception of the Taiwan's potential foe.
- Jens Kastner
(Apr 2, '13)
Centralized power key to Xi's 'China dream'
After his election, President Xi Jinping cited three precedents for fulfilling the "China dream", all concerned with creating conditions for a "renaissance". Judging from how he has concentrated ministerial responsibilities, in contrast to dictums of late patriarch Deng Xiaoping, he might have added a fourth precedent, the Leninist doctrine of centralizing power.
- Willy Lam
(Apr 2, '13)
Obama walks Mid-East
high wire, eyes closed
US President Barack Obama is walking on a tightrope when it comes to Israel, Palestine, and Iran. As his recent trip to the Middle East shows, he is treading a thick line between reality and fantasy, and his peacemaking balancing act could come crashing down, exposed as a myth.
- Ira Chernus
(Apr 2, '13)
CHAN AKYA
Beyond parody
Who needs parody when the news - such as "Governments borrow to fight debt crisis" - already fills the spot, supported by ill-informed commentators and readers/ audiences? People in the West, emerging from a period of prosperity and "entitlement'' are ill-equipped to deal with this crisis, and hard facts are putting comedy writers out of work.
(Apr 2, '13)
US, China and playful AfPak frogs
US Secretary of State John Kerry is learning bit-by-bit the secrets of the Asian bazaar and the frustrating problem of keeping live toads on the balancing scale. Mollifying Afghan President Hamid Karzai - even if that did not serve US interests - was one thing. Keeping the Big Frog, the Pakistan military, from then upsetting the pan was quite another. And the Big Frog is the one Washington needs the most.
- M K Bhadrakumar
(Mar 28, '13)
Sabah crisis sends wider ripples
Government leaders in Manila and Kuala Lumpur, both facing electoral challenges in the near future, must go carefully in their handling of the fighting in Sabah initiated by a Philippines-based group laying claim to the Malaysian territory, which is home to thousands of their compatriots with many more living in peninsular Malaya.
- Richard Javad Heydarian
(Mar 28, '13)
The Syrianization of Syria rolls on
Syria is overtaking any other part of the world as the paradigm of complete fragmentation of a geographic and political entity. In the race to disintegration of the regime or the main rebel groups opposing it, the fissures may overtake the sweeping (and some say inaccurate) concept of Balkanization as shorthand for failed state.
- Victor Kotsev
(Mar 28, '13)
Iranian people caught in crossfire of duel
Dueling messages between United States President Barack Obama and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei make it clear that the Iranian people are caught in the rhetorical crossfire, as subjects to be wooed and courted but whose economic welfare is not of much concern. - Farideh Farhi
(Mar 28, '13)
The US's other dark legacy in Iraq
Often overlooked in post-mortems of the US occupation of Iraq is the spectacularly poor job the US did in governing the conquered state. From simple water and sewage to the provision and other basic utilities, Washington's knack at fostering corrupt practices has resulted in a failing state apparatus as much doomed by its inefficient foundations as today's woeful security situation. - Joy Gordon
(Mar 28, '13)
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India maps reform
of financial sector
A commission considering reforms to India's financial sector in the wake of the global financial crisis proposes as its main point the setting up of a single regulator to replace numerous competing agencies. The range of dissenting views indicates that haste in implementation could be counter-productive. - Kunal Kumar Kundu
It can happen here
Confiscating customers' deposits in Cyprus banks was not a one-off, desperate idea of a few eurozone officials scrambling to salvage their balance sheets. The stage is been set for depositors in the United States and Britain to suffer a similar fate. - Ellen Brown
REUVEN BRENNER
Faster learning, route to wealth
If students could complete their education a year faster, the many benefits would include increased personal wealth, decreased government spending, and more sustainable entitlement programs.
THE BEAR'S LAIR
'Indigenous' threat to us all
Partial application of ''First Peoples Worldwide'' principles through government regulation is a genuine threat to us all. Replacing competition by co-operation, and resource exploitation by harmony with nature, is a prescription for stone-age existence. - Martin Hutchinson
CREDIT
BUBBLE BULLETIN
Weber's invaluable insight
Europe's Axel Weber questions whether central banks are trying to counter something that is cyclical, when in fact the core issue could be structural - with the result that a lot of stimulus undermines the future. That is in stark contrast to the US view, still held in spite of the evidence of recent history.
Doug Noland looks at the previous week's events each Monday.
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India bypasses
Iran oil sanctions
Last week petroleum minister Veerappa Moily denied the western media reports that India is terminating its oil imports from Iran. The manner in which Moily articulated the denial caught the mind's eye. He said, "These are strategic calls to be taken and we will not cut down imports completely. We will sort out the problems faced by Indian refiners soon."
- M K Bhadrakumar
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[Korean cloud obscures Almaty, April 2, 2013] Washington is indeed taking North Korea seriously, although it says it isn't. So, the crisis in the divided Korean Peninsula might lead to a more flexible approach to Iran and a recognition that its pursuit of nuclear power is for peaceful uses only.
Junzo Nakamura
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