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Now
the Tibet blame game begins
Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao on Tuesday assured that "social order" has
all but been restored in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, which
has been scarred by anti-Chinese demonstrations. Beijing is now left
to limit the damage from the high-profile disturbances, and is doing so by
squarely blaming the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader, for not only
instigating the unrest, but also for trying to sabotage China's Olympic dream.
- John Ng (Mar 18, '08)
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China and India: Oh to be different
Once again, with the unrest in Tibet, Beijing has been caught unprepared and
has revealed its inability to deal with dissent and difference, despite the
stated goal of creating a harmonious society. In direct contrast, India's
diverse polity has flourished against all the odds precisely because of its
ability to acknowledge difference. - Pallavi Aiyar
(Mar 18, '08)
Two-horse race for Pakistan's hot
seat
The battle within the Pakistan People's Party, the dominant group in the new
coalition government, is a race between Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of
Benazir Bhutto, and party stalwart Makhdoom Amin Fahim. Zardari carries a lot
of baggage, while Fahim would be the preferred candidate of President Pervez
Musharraf and Washington. The "street-smart" Zardari is up for the fight. - Syed
Saleem Shahzad (Mar 18, '08)
CAMPAIGN OUTSIDER
Checklists for the next big vote
There are weeks or months to go until the next vote that matters for US
presidential candidates, but it's no time to relax - each campaign needs a
to-do list to keep them on the winning path. (Mar
18, '08)
Muhammad Cohen puts
the US presidential campaign into sharper focus
from afar.
Guns? Not me says Viktor Bout
Viktor Bout, the 41-year-old Russian businessman being held on "terrorism
charges" in Bangkok for conspiring to sell "millions of dollars worth of
weapons" to Colombian guerrillas, is innocent, his lawyer vehemently claims.
His reputation for selling guns, guns, guns is being disarmed by his legal
team, which says any attempts to extradite Bout to Guantanamo Bay or elsewhere
are based only on "blah blah blah". - Richard S Ehrlich
(Mar 18, '08)
Khomeini's grandchild breaks her
silence
The outspoken views of Zahra Eshraghi, granddaughter of Ruhollah Khomeini,
the leader of the Islamic revolution in Iran, have put her at odds with
Tehran's conservative hardliners and have drawn a gag order from her own
prestigious family. But the recent mass disqualification of reformists in the
March 14 parliamentary elections and what she feels are "delusions" maintained
by the current regime have moved her to break her silence.
(Mar 18, '08)
SPENGLER
The peculiar theology
of black liberation
US presidential nominee candidate Barack Obama belongs to a Christian church
whose doctrine casts Jesus Christ as a "black messiah" and blacks as "the
chosen people". At best, this is a radically different kind of Christianity
than most Americans acknowledge; at worst it is an ethnocentric heresy. (Mar
17, '08)
India awakes to a Tibetan headache
The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of the Tibetan government in exile based
in India, is reveling in all the attention from the hordes of Western media
people who have descended on his Himalayan township. For now, Beijing's
crackdown on protesters in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, plays into his hands as
a fierce critic of China. But a delicate three-way diplomatic tango is
commencing, involving the United States and China, with India providing the
turf - which can only turn out messy for India, as well as for the Dalai Lama.
- M K Bhadrakumar (Mar 17, '08)
Olympic flame burns ominously
In just a few months, the Olympic torch is due to pass through Lhasa, the
Tibetan capital that has erupted in anti-Chinese violence. Officials in Beijing
are adamant that nothing will stop the torch's progress on its way to the
opening of the Games in August. Which means that whatever it takes, the
protests will be silenced. - Situ Feng and John Ng
(Mar 17, '08)
 CHAN
AKYA
Trust
goes down the drain
The acquisition of Bear Stearns by JPMorgan Chase at a knock-down price of $2
per share means investors cannot trust the reported book value of US financial
firms any more. And if they cannot trust investment banks, can the trust of
commercial banks be really all that higher? The Fed and other central banks
should now understand that the bailers themselves may need to be bailed out in
time. (Mar 17, '08)
My Lai probe hid policy that led
to massacre
The My Lai massacre of as many as 400 Vietnamese civilians by US troops in 1968
has long been perceived as the rogue act of overzealous GIs and a clear
violation of official policy on the treatment of non-combatants. But a newly
obtained document suggests the responsibility for My Lai could be linked
directly to the top US commander in Vietnam, General William C Westmoreland. - Gareth
Porter (Mar 17, '08)
Inflation tests Vietnam's growth
Annual GDP growth of more than 8% combined with economic reforms has helped to
transform and industrialize Vietnam. Now, as striking workers press for higher
pay, the government's success story is threatened by rising inflation, not all
of which can be blamed on global factors. - Andrew Symon
(Mar 17, '08)
IRAN VOTES
A new political space opens
As widely expected, "principalists" - conservatives - have taken the majority
of seats in Iran's parliamentary elections, although reformists have fared
better than anticipated. With some seats going to a second round of polling
over the next few weeks, the United States' anti-Iran rhetoric will further
strengthen the hands of the conservatives. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi
(Mar 17, '08)
Russia throws a wrench in NATO's
works
President Vladimir Putin has made the North Atlantic Treaty Organization an
offer it will find extremely difficult to resist - making Russia a participant
in the alliance's Afghan mission. The pressure is now on the United States to
embrace the idea of Russia becoming a transit route for supplies going to
Afghanistan. The trouble is, Washington knows Moscow will incrementally want a
bigger role for itself and its allies in Afghanistan, and those allies include
China.- M K Bhadrakumar (Mar 14, '08)
CHAN
AKYA
Forget Spitzer, fire Bernanke
While the New York governor resigned for what was essentially a private
matter, the world's central bankers cause greater damage and have proven less
accountable for their actions. Continued debasement of fiat currencies leaves
the financial system unhinged and more prone to collapse.
(Mar 14, '08)
Sri Lanka's Tigers in crisis
A series of military and political defeats has devastated the Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam, producing the most acute crisis of the secessionist group's
33-year existence. Damaging government attacks on the rebels' infrastructure,
and inner turmoil among its leaders, appear to constitute an irreversible trend
that could portend a final collapse. - G H Peiris
(Mar 13, '08)
THE SHAPE OF US POPULISM
Part 2:
Long-term effects of the Civil War
The present deepening and widening financial crisis is laying naked the
wealth-making mechanisms of society's elites while wreaking havoc with the
lives of low-paid workers. It is also making imminent a wave of populist reform
that may extend for several decades. In this are echoes of the New Deal era and
much earlier reactions to economic depressions. - Henry C K Liu
This is the second article in a four-part series
 Part 1:
A rich free-market legacy - for some
'Terror' attack a warning shot for
Beijing
Chinese authorities have linked the foiled hijacking of a plane bound for
Beijing to independence fighters in the remote northwestern Uyghur autonomous
region of Xinjiang, causing much concern about security for the Summer
Olympics. The investigation has revealed a spate of other "terror" plots and
sent a clear message to the government. - Fong Tak-ho
(Mar 13, '08)
Fallon falls: Iran should worry
Admiral William Fallon's resignation as the United States' top commander in the
Middle East removes one of the most outspoken opponents of the George W Bush
administration's hard line on Iran. Defense Secretary Robert Gates immediately
dismissed as "ridiculous" suggestions that Fallon's departure signaled that the
US planned to go to war with Iran, but certainly now "all options" are back on
the table. - Gareth Porter (Mar 12,
'08)
COMMENT
American Icarus flirted with fire
The widespread view is that US CENTCOM commander Admiral William "Fox" Fallon
was sacrificed by the George W Bush administration because he disagreed with
its policies on Iran while also saving the US from marauding Chinese. This is
bunk. Fallon fell because he committed a far worse crime for a military veteran
- he talked out of turn. - Mark Perry
(Mar 12, '08)
 SUN
WUKONG
Guangdong looks
for delta embrace
A rising star of China's Communist Party is looking to create a unified trade
zone incorporating Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong province, a move that would
help his own ascendancy while giving a boost to the Pearl Delta region, where
industry is being eroded by rising costs. - Wu Zhong
(Mar 11, '08)
Why Boeing lost the $40bn tanker
deal
Boeing is still smarting after losing out on a US$40 billion US government
contract to build a new aerial refueling tanker jet, believing it had a more
cost-effective product. But that's not the point. The tankers are not just big
flying bladders of fuel. They are a critical component of the George W Bush and
neo-conservative foreign policy of being able to bomb any country, any time.
Crucially, then, the winning design by Northrup-Grumman and the European EADS
aerospace consortium has a fuel cargo capacity almost 25% greater than
Boeing's. - Julian Delasantellis (Mar 10,
'08)
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THE BEAR'S LAIR
Sorry,
I wasn't
pessimistic enough
Early forecasts of declines in US house prices and of mortgage bad-debt losses
have fallen far short of the mark and a far grimmer picture is developing.
Losses to come are probably large enough to wipe out the banking system and
failure of any one major house could be sufficient to bring down the world
economy. - Martin Hutchinson
Preventing a financial crash
The Federal Reserve has still much to do if it is to pull the US back from the
financial brink. Expanding the range of institutions it deals with would be one
step, reflecting the reality that lending is increasingly separated from banks.
Increasing the categories of securities it accepts as collateral would be
another. - Thomas I Palley
Indonesia plays
power catch-up
Indonesia is introducing a crash program to build power stations after
underinvestment in the sector threatens to hold back the country's economic
growth. The program could result in curbs on exports of fuel such as coal and
gas, while failure to maintain growth could damage the re-election prospects of
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. - Tom McCawley
Strait talk boosts Taiwan
stocks
Overseas investors are buying up Taiwanese shares on the prospects of this
week's presidential elections leading to improved relations between Taipei and
Beijing. - Olivia Chung
Borrowing is a doubtful bargain
Borrowing cash to buy now before things cost more tomorrow is a great idea if
your job is guaranteed for life. Which it isn't. And it's a good idea if you
can pay your bills in the absence of one month's pay, which most folks can't.
The end of the world as we know it is nigh and there is only one thing to do -
buy gold. Or two - buy oil.
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CREDIT BUBBLE BULLETIN
The worst-case scenario - live
The Fed's failure to forestall a run on Bear Stearns indicates that the US
financial crisis has attained alarming momentum, with confidence in leveraged
securities finance possibly irreparably damaged. The worst-case scenario is
unfolding before our very eyes, and it all imparts a bad feeling.
(Mar 17, '08)
Doug Noland reviews the previous week's events each Monday.
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[Re The peculiar
theology of black liberation, Mar 18] Oh Spengler! Do you not realize
that US presidential hopeful, Senator Barack Obama, is no less a unifying
figure because of the fact that he is the very embodiment of the clash between
two irreconcilable cultures: the posture of "black liberation theology" and
mainstream American Christianity? ...
Reverend Dr Vincent Zankin
Canberra, Australia |
| Go
to Letters to the Editor |
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Google eye too
close for comfort
Internet giant Google came across something even bigger than itself when it
used its Street View service to display the interior of a US military base.
Civilians so far seem to be taking a more lenient view of a remarkable
technology that has dark implications. (Mar 17, '08)
Martin J Young
surveys the week's developments in computing,
gaming and gizmos.
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ATol Specials
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The
Gates
Inheritance
By
Roger Morris
(June '07) |
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Syed Saleem Shahzad reports on
the Afghan war from the Taliban side
(Dec '06)
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How
Hezbollah defeated Israel
By
Mark Perry and
Alastair Crooke
(Oct '06)
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Mark
Perry and
Alastair Crooke
talk to the 'terrorists'
(Mar '06)
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China:
The
Impossible
Revolution
By
Francesco Sisci
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The Coming
Trade War
By Henry C K Liu
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A series
by Henry C K Liu
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Sinoroving
Pepe Escobar in China
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Money, Power
and
Modern Art
A series by Henry C K Liu
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Andre Gunder Frank on Uncle Sam and his
shrinking dollar
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By Pepe Escobar with
photographs by Kevin Nortz
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Nir Rosen goes inside the Iraqi
resistance
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Nir Rosen rides with the US 3rd
Armored Cavalry in western Iraq
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