|
|
IT WORLD : A step closer to the final frontier
12 09 2008 The end of the world did not come as scientists flipped the switch on a giant particle accelerator, but Google's quest for world domination continues with a new archive service. Mighty Microsoft meanwhile looks to take a bite out of Apple with additions to its Zune media player.Martin J Young surveys the week's developments in computing, gaming and gizmos.
|
|
|
|
|
THE MOGAMBO GURU : Deployed to the dole line
12 09 2008 The latest report of employment showed that the US unemployment rate is now over 6%. Worse, only in government, education and healthcare is employment rising! Doomed? Doomed!!
|
|
|
|
|
MARKET RAP : A respite, but no reprieve
12 09 2008 The ongoing declines in Asian markets showed a small lull, and some reversal, with Seoul making phenomenal gains and New Zealand also performing well. But the region is by no means out of the woods, with Chinese exchanges plunging to their lowest levels in months. R M Cutler runs his eye over the ups and downs in the week's markets
|
|
|
|
|
CHAN AKYA : Pareto's bazooka
12 09 2008 The roots of Lehman's precipitous decline this week can be traced to the US government's policy actions in the rescues of Bear Stearns, Fannie and Freddie; all of which sufficiently changed the motivation of major market players to essentially invalidate core principles. The resulting food fight is lethal for the chances of a meaningful economic recovery.
|
|
|
|
|
The Tibetan democratic experiment
12 09 2008 Tibet's often romanticized image as an idyllic land of Buddhist brotherhood belies regional, religious and political rifts. Tibet is unique because its nation-building has taken place largely in exile and the Dalai Lama remains an entirely unelected head of state. Without a dramatic shift in voter outlook, religious control of politics seems inevitable. - Denis Burke (Sep 12, '08)
|
|
|
|
|
Grave illness or stroke of genius?
12 09 2008 Kim Jong-il is still a lightning rod for international suspicion and media speculation, as the frenzied coverage of his health problems shows. But the real reason for his absence from a national celebration may be a crafty ploy by Pyongyang to raise the stakes in the ongoing talks on its nuclear program. - Sunny Lee (Sep 12, '08)
|
|
|
|
|
'Dear Leader, get well soon'
12 09 2008 It's better the devil - or in George W Bush's case, the "pygmy" and "tyrant" - you know, than the one you don't. Whatever, if anything, is ailing North Korea's Kim Jong-il, Washington finds the prospect of a power vacuum in the nuclear-capable country to be a worse scenario than Kim's demise. - Donald Kirk (Sep 12, '08)
|
|
|
|
|
SPEAKING FREELY : Wrong friends, wrong enemies
12 09 2008 Few people in American politics have contributed more to provoking possible military escalation with Russia than United States presidential nominee John McCain. If elected, McCain may further infuriate the Kremlin with his belligerent rhetoric and this would prove a very negative approach to the world's second-largest nuclear power. - Andrei Tsygankov (Sep 12, '08)
|
|
|
|
|
Moscow eyes Afghanistan in fear
12 09 2008 Russia has concerns not only over its relations with the West. As important, Moscow fears a Taliban victory in Afghanistan. This is not so much for the galvanizing effect this would have on regional jihadis, but for the economic mayhem that could be caused in Central Asian states. Moscow's planned military maneuvers with Kazakhstan are a preventative step. - Dmitry Shlapentokh (Sep 12, '08)
|
|
|
|
|
Dissension in Pakistan's ranks
12 09 2008 Pakistan's political leaders are on board with the country's "joint venture" with the United States in which for the first time Taliban sanctuaries inside Pakistan will be vigorously attacked. The corps commanders - and even their chief - are not convinced. Heads will have to roll to bring them into step. - Syed Saleem Shahzad (Sep 12, '08)
|
|
|
|
|
US a step closer to Iran blockade
12 09 2008 The new unilateral United States sanctions on Iran's shipping industry are unlikely to have much economic effect. They do, though, indicate the George W Bush administration's intention to escalate pressure on Tehran as a prelude for more serious and dangerous actions, such as a naval blockade to choke Iran's access to imported fuel. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Sep 12, '08)
|
|
|
|
|
Russia and Turkey tango in the Black Sea
11 09 2008 Moscow has welcomed Ankara's proposal for a stability and cooperation pact in the Caucasus - the core of Russian thinking lies in the preference for a regional approach that excludes outside powers, that is, the United States. Effectively, the Black Sea is now a Russo-Turkish playpen. Moscow has also thrown a curve ball by seeking to link Iraq and Iran to this emerging pact. - M K Bhadrakumar (Sep 11, '08)
|
|
|
|
|
Oil for the people
11 09 2008 The United States has an obligation to prevent Iraq's oil revenues from funding another Saddam Hussein, and appropriate mechanisms can ensure normal folk get a cut of the cash too often purloined by autocrats in such resource-rich countries. The poor of Venezuela would appreciate a similar share-out. - Per Kurowski
|
|
|
|
|
Vietnam, Venezuela in oily embrace
11 09 2008 Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, seeking to lessen his country's dependence on oil trade with the US, is drawing Vietnam into his embrace with plans for a series of joint oil exploration and production projects. Vietnam's goals are less hostile, with pragmatism the order of the day. - Andrew Symon
|
|
|
|
|
Civilians ravaged by US-NATO bombs
11 09 2008 Given a shortage of troops, the United States and NATO have dropped 362 tonnes of bombs on Afghanistan in the first seven months of the year. In turn, civilian deaths have tripled from last year, driving people into the Taliban camp and even forcing Afghan President Hamid Karzai to demand a change in US tactics. (Sep 11, '08)
|
|
|
|
|
China's transparency is just thin air
11 09 2008 China's first national regulations on government information openness took effect on May 1, but officials are yet to embrace transparency. A major obstacle is the lack of an independent body to enforce implementation and rule in disputes over information disclosure laws, as Chinese courts are still subordinate to the Communist Party. - Owen Fletcher (Sep 11, '08)
|
|
|
|
|
THE ROVING EYE : Iran-bashing from al-Qaeda's corner
11 09 2008 Al-Qaeda's leadership, in a battle to seduce Muslim hearts and minds, says its top strategic enemy is Shi'ites - be it Tehran or Hezbollah - and not the United States. Winning over Shi'ites will fuel al-Qaeda's objective of a "long war" in which the only winner will be the US military-industrial complex. That's the sorry legacy of 9/11, seven years on. - Pepe Escobar (Sep 11, '08)
|
|
|
|
|
The next peace and false bells on Iran
11 09 2008 Voters in the United States presidential elections being urged to vote for the candidate best prepared to handle the "unavoidable war with Iran" can be dismissed as campaign rhetoric. There is nevertheless a renewed intensity in the drumbeats over Tehran's nuclear program, even though the next chapter in US-Iran relations need not be written in blood: the "next peace" is still a possibility. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Sep 11, '08)
|
|
|
|
|
Tehran feels an Arab sting
11 09 2008 The decision by the United Arab Emirates to open an embassy in Iraq comes in close coordination with other Arab states, aimed at bringing Iraq back into the Arab family and away from Iran. Tehran's role in the region is also increasingly under attack in the Arab media, with the specter of a "nuclear Iran" being raised. Iran in turn is sending mixed signals, including attempts to placate Sunnis in Lebanon. - Sami Moubayed (Sep 11, '08)
|
|
|
|
|
THE MOGAMBO GURU : Robbing the poor of Jeffersonian wisdom
11 09 2008 The poor are being robbed at an ever-rising rate as the government continues to increase excess money and credit. But commodity prices have also not finished rising - and that includes gold! Whee!!!
|
|
|
|
|
Zardari looks to US for cash
11 09 2008 Newly elected Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has rejected the option of International Monetary Fund assistance, with unpleasant strings attached, to revive his embattled economy. The prospect of US cash linked to fighting the "war on terror" is more appealing. - Syed Fazl-e-Haider
|
|
|
|
|
Curbs on oil speculators a diversion
10 09 2008 The US Congress decision to consider curbs on oil-market speculators may indicate a lack of understanding of their role and influence. Restrictions would certainly play into the hands of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and his OPEC colleagues, not to mention American oil marketers. - Andrea Corcoran and Tom Corcoran
|
|
|
|
|
India throws open a $100bn nuclear bazaar
10 09 2008 Indian, United States and other engineering firms are looking at a US$100 billion spending bonanza following the international go-ahead for India to engage in nuclear commerce. One hitch is a law banning private contractors from the field. - Raja Murthy
|
|
|
|
|
Terror fluid plot thickens
10 09 2008 British authorities have hailed the conviction of seven people in connection with an al-Qaeda-inspired plot to down trans-Atlantic flights as a landmark in counter-terrorism. But the trial of the "liquid bombers" has raised the uncomfortable possibility that the world's airline industry was needlessly thrown into mayhem, and that the fight against disaffected British Muslims is not yet over. - Ronan Thomas (Sep 10,'08)
|
|
|
|
|
Hong Kong's middle class warms to Beijing
10 09 2008 Hong Kong's Legislative Council elections on Sunday were not disastrous for the pro-democracy camp, but pro-Beijing figures made inroads into the middle class. Lawyers, doctors and accountants are rejecting the radical road offered by "Long Hair" and "Mad Dog" democrats. - Augustine Tan (Sep 10, '08)
|
|
|
