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Nuclear bond for North Korea, Myanmar
A recent flurry of high-level contacts between North Korea and military
officials from Myanmar raises the possibility that Myanmar is seeking nuclear
weapons procurements. Whether the visits are related to nuclear or
conventional arms, military industrial development or tunneling
technology, they set off security alarm bells in Southeast Asia. - Norman
Robespierre (Oct 3, '08)
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In North Korea, a port with no joy
It was a happier day in North Korea when former US president Jimmy Carter posed
for photographs with Kim Il-sung in 1994 atop a West Sea dam - one of the
Hermit Nation's proudest achievements. But today, as Donald Kirk reports,
the dam and the harbor it protects are threadbare and sad - apt analogies for
an economic vision gone awry and a nation left to starve.
(Oct 3, '08)
Stormy weather for Taiwan's Ma
Weeks of typhoons and a tainted-milk scare have soured the start of Taiwanese
President Ma Ying-jeou's administration, and battered his popularity. His
original plan was simple: nurture closer ties with China to boost Taiwan's
sagging economy. So far, however, economic progress is shaky, Chinese tourists
aren't arriving and Beijing certainly isn't returning his overtures. - Cindy Sui
(Oct 3, '08)
Blood thickens Japan's political waters
The unstable nature of present-day Japanese politics may stem from a continued
preference for well-heeled hereditary politicians totally out of step with
everyday citizens. Prime Minister Taro Aso's new cabinet is no exception - 12
of its 18 members have prominent political pedigree. A widening income gap may
change all this. - Kosuke Takahashi (Oct 3,
'08)
India and the temples of doom
Horrific temple stampedes have become an all too common occurrence at Hindu
festivals in India, with the trampling to death of 147 pilgrims in Jodhpur on
Tuesday the latest tragedy. Rudimentary or non-existent crowd management
measures exacerbate the problem, yet instead of dealing with the issue,
politicians tap the disasters for political capital. - Neeta Lal
(Oct 3, '08)
India and the US marching on
Wednesday's conclusion of a civilian nuclear deal between the United States and
India has already been described as a "non-proliferation disaster". But for
Washington and Delhi, apart from lucrative business opportunities, the accord
is a major step in a military relationship that could blossom into a fully
fledged alliance. - Jim Lobe (Oct 3, '08)
<IT WORLD>
Milk bad, snow on Mars OK
Customers of a Skype partnership in China have had Internet chat and text
messages intercepted and stored for analysis by the authorities. Key words -
"milk", for example - trigger the intercepts. The unlikely combination of
"snow" and "Mars" is more likely to get through. (Oct
3, '08)
Martin J Young surveys the week's developments in computing, science,
gaming and gizmos.
BOOK REVIEW
Asians one and all
Pan-Asianism in modern Japanese history, edited by Sven Saaler
and J Victor Koschmann
The essays in this book reconstruct the development of Pan-Asianism - the
assumption that Asians should be united - as one of the most important trends
in modern Japanese history. One of the crucial points in the study of
Pan-Asianism is its application and relation to real life, yet this is entirely
ignored by the authors. - Dmitry Shlapentokh (Oct
3, '08)
In
life, or death, Baitullah's fight endures
Reports of the death of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud may be
premature, but they do raise the issue of how his demise will affect the
struggle he has championed against foreign forces in Afghanistan and Pakistani
troops in the tribal areas. If history is any indication, another leader will
quickly emerge to replace the man described as "more dangerous than Osama bin
Laden", and the battle will go even more global. - Syed Saleem Shahzad
(Oct 2, '08)
Wolfowitz up to more mischief?
Former United States deputy defense secretary and World Bank
chief Paul Wolfowitz is embroiled in a geostrategic conflict of interests
through his chairmanship of a US arms-control advisory panel as well as the
US-Taiwan Business Council. At the heart of the matter is a pending US$11
billion arms package for Taiwan. - Jim Lobe (Oct 2,
'08)
Crisis
control fit for the TV age
As the world awaits the next vote on the US bank bailout plan, and fantasy
numbers become an important balance-sheet entry, the real crisis remains
untouched - that Americans think they can adjust economic policies simply on
the basis of what they like. They face a rude awakening. - Julian Delasantellis
(Oct 2, '08)
 ASIA
HAND
SE Asian memo to Wall Street
Southeast Asia is no disinterested bystander as US politicians and bankers slug
out details of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's rescue bill. Strong and
bitter memories remain of the bailout terms imposed from the West during the
Asian financial crisis a decade ago, terms now mocked by actions in Wall St and
Washington. - Shawn W Crispin (Oct 2, '08)
Yen a winner from financial woes
The Japanese currency looks set to strengthen further as investors become
increasingly wary of risky investments amid a global economic slowdown. That
means a reduced willingness to take advantage of the country's low interest
rates. - Kosuke Takahashi (Oct 2, '08)
THE MOGAMBO GURU
The $200 million house of bread
Outrageous claims to the contrary by supposedly clever folk who should know
better, there is No Freaking Way that the US taxpayer will show a real,
inflation-adjusted profit from the bailout of the financial sector. Their time
would be better spent buying gold. (Oct 2, '08)
China tangled up in red, white and blue
China has been a less divisive issue than usual in the run-up to the United
States presidential elections, but in Beijing the leaders are watching
developments closely, having already predicted relations with Washington will
become less volatile, no matter who takes over the White House. - Dingli Shen
(Oct 2, '08)
India aglow as nuclear pact approved
The US Senate has ratified a long-delayed civilian nuclear pact with India,
handing a rare foreign policy victory to President George W Bush and
culminating a three-year debate that raised alarms about a new arms race and
nearly toppled India's government. - Siddharth Srivastava
(Oct 2, '08)
Who pushed Medvedev?
President Dmitry Medvedev started out by improving the public mood in Russia
and invigorating relationships with European leaders. After the adventure in
Georgia, however, Moscow got right back to Cold War paranoia and was again
frozen out by the West. Yet some in the Kremlin are glowing. - Andreas Umland
(Oct 2, '08)
 SPENGLER
Truth,
lies and ticker tape
The world will not end if the US Congress refuses to pass a redrawn financial
sector bailout plan. Unfortunately, nor will it be the end of America's
financier caste, which will live to fleece another day. But when you hear that
there is no choice but a bailout, remember: it just ain't so.
(Oct 1, '08)
CHINA'S DOLLAR MILLSTONE
Gold, manipulation and
domination
For China, the world's biggest creditor nation, to allow successful national
development it must cease having its currency a derivative of the US dollar and
stop relying on a US-dollar denominated trade surplus to finance domestic
development. The historic role of gold and its manipulation tells it as much. - Henry
C K Liu (Oct 1, '08)
This is the fourth part of a continuing series.
 Part 1:
Breaking free from dollar hegemony
Part 2:
Developing China with sovereign credit
Part 3:
History of monetary imperialism
DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA
How forgotten Iraq may
elect the president
The centerpiece of the United States presidential race may turn on an almost
forgotten war in a forgotten country - Iraq, a tinderbox that could explode at
any moment. The war is causing two powerful riptides just below the surface of
American politics. There is Democrat Senator Barack Obama's war, the realistic
disaster that most Americans have now accepted, and Republican Senator John
McCain's war, the symbolic success story that so many Americans still wish was
the reality. - Ira Chernus (Oct 1, '08)
Iran fears nuclear witchhunt
The cash-strapped International Atomic Energy Agency's flip-flops on Iran, now
saying it cannot confirm the absence of a clandestine nuclear program, raise
concerns that the United Nations' nuclear watchdog is under pressure from the
West to tighten the screws on Tehran. At the same time, the longer the nuclear
crisis continues, the less isolated Tehran becomes internationally. - Kaveh L
Afrasiabi (Oct 1, '08)
Sinophobia smolders in Malaysia
A ruling party official in Malaysia has been suspended after an anti-Chinese
tirade in which he described ethnic Chinese Malaysians as devious "squatters"
undeserving of equal rights. Such racism has a long and tragic history in
Southeast Asia, but Malaysia's punitive reaction to the remarks may signal a
new era of multiculturalism. - Hui Yew-Foong (Oct
1, '08)
Bush had no plan to catch Bin Laden
The United States missed the opportunity to catch Osama bin Laden in
Afghanistan in 2001, new evidence reveals, because Washington was obsessed with
starting the Iraq War and failed to allocate enough troops to the task. The
blunder was allegedly compounded by a decision to turn down an offer of 60,000
Pakistani troops. - Gareth Porter (Sep 30,
'08)
Why the US is losing in
Afghanistan
Most of the literature on the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the
"war on terror" focuses on the burden these conflicts place on the US federal
budget. This is a very real issue, but it deflects attention from another key
point: in Afghanistan, the US has consistently failed to provide the financial
and military resources necessary to win the war. - Anthony H Cordesman
(Sep 30, '08)
 SUN
WUKONG
Carrying the can for
China's tragedies
China's swift punishment of officials linked to the tainted-milk scandal and a
recent mining catastrophe may signal a new era of accountability for its
leadership. But with the system still vague, and disgraced officials often
swiftly re-appointed, the concept seems unlikely to fly. - Wu Zhong
(Sep 30, '08)
SPENGLER
US wealth in shrink mode
Leverage is the secret of American wealth, helping to triple over the past 40
years the proportion of wealth held by the average US family compared with its
annual income. With leveraging now broken, the bottom could be a long way down.
(Sep 29, '08)
 CHAN
AKYA
Deaf
frogs and the Pied Piper
The United States financial crisis is being hailed as the death of market
capitalism and has resurrected enthusiasm for socialism, notably as practiced
in various parts of Asia. Choose that route, and Asian governments can yet
manage to heap misery on their unsuspecting populations for years to come.
(Sep 29, '08)
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