'Occupy'
with Chinese characteristics
Thrilling demonstrations of people power in China create a new challenge for
foreign observers who view protests through the prism of the Tiananmen Square
uprising and of US-adoring and democracy-worshipping dissidents. As the
heated battle last month in Qidong over alleged pollution shows, a new
generation is embracing its own kind of "Occupy" activism, and the Communist
Party hasn't quite figured out how to handle it. - Peter Lee
(Aug 3, '12)
Obama
brings Erdogan into bat The
image the White House used to illustrate United States President Barack Obama's
phone call to Recep Tayyip Erdogan conveyed a simple but blunt message,
according to the Turkish press: "Whack Bashar, Erdogan Bey". However, in
helping overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the Turkish prime minister
is hamstrung by a state of disarray in Turkey's armed forces that he helped to
engineer.
- M K Bhadrakumar (Aug 3, '12)
AN ATOL SPECIAL REPORT China addicted to Hong
Kong's 'opium'
Mainland China has learned much from the ways of Hong Kong to help transform
its own economy over the past three decades. The use of land sales to generate
government income was among them, and that was a mistake.
- Wu Zhong (Aug 3, '12) This concludes a three-part report. Part 1:
The myth of a free Hong Kong economy Part 2:
The rulers of the game
Sacrificing Iran's queen
It is time for Europe's leaders, their currency in its death throes, to
reconsider relations with the United States and calculate the benefits of
looking east to build a Eurasian framework of political and economic
co-operation largely based upon energy and trade. Iran may hold the key card. - Chris
Cook (Aug 3, '12)
Voices stifled in
Cambodia
Cambodian independent radio station owner Mam Sonando was arrested supposedly
over a plot by a village to become an independent state, but his detention was
more likely down to his Beehive Radio's criticism of Prime Minister Hun Sen. As
Cambodians increasingly use new methods to speak out about injustice, the
government has retorted by stepping up repression.
- Rupert Abbott (Aug 3, '12)
India drowns in its own waste
One chance to combat energy-conscious India's waste-disposal problem is to
recycle sewage gases to generate electricity. But with recycling still a
pipedream in most cities across the country, and raw, untreated sewage ending
up in rivers and lakes, that safe solution remains largely untapped. -
Keya Acharya (Aug 3, '12)
SPEAKING FREELY Saudi uprising trumps sectarian
card
The Saudi Arabian counter-revolution against the Arab Spring relied on a
time-honored strategy of exploiting sectarian divisions, with successes from
Bahrain and Yemen to Egypt bolstering Riyadh's confidence that Wahhabi ideology
- not democracy - would be the biggest winner. Fresh anti-regime protests
spreading across the kingdom suggest the regime has overplayed this card.
- Zayd Alisa (Aug 3, '12) To submit to
Speaking Freely click
here
THE
ROVING EYE Obama does Syriana
As Western media finally confirm that the floodgates of US assistance to
Syria's rebels have opened, the conflict is becoming a redux of the 1980s'
Afghan jihad, with Saudi Arabia and Qatar playing the role of Pakistan, the Not
Exactly Free Syrian Army as glorious mujahideen "freedom fighters" and US
President Barack Obama as Ronald Reagan. Similarly disastrous blowback looms
large. - Pepe Escobar (Aug 2, '12)
Budget fears wag Israeli war
dogs
Speculation that tax hikes in Israel are a veiled attempt to create a war chest
for hitting Iran have been dismissed by some critics: it's the talk of war
that's spin, they say, to mask austerity measures. However, right-wing pressure
is growing on the leadership to keep its promises over stopping Iran's nuclear
program, as hawks complain that US sanctions aren't hurting Tehran enough. - Victor
Kotsev (Aug 2, '12)
AN ATOL SPECIAL REPORT The rulers of the Hong Kong
game
In Hong Kong, financial muscle rules, grabbing the best locations - near mass
transit systems or by the spectacular waterfront. That is great for folk
belonging to the city's elite. Behind the facade of all the glitzy malls
though, life is hard for those who are tenants in a rigged market.
- Eddie Leung and Pepe Escobar (Aug 2,
'12) This is the second article in a three-part report Part 1:
The myth of a free Hong Kong economy
Kim Jong-eun comes of age ...
Seven months into his rule and North Korea's Kim Jong-eun is throwing off the
training wheels. He has shown his ruthless streak by discarding his
high-ranking military mentor, and his caring side by marrying a sophisticated
lady. But promoting the image of a powerful head of the family reveals change
in form, not substance. - Leonid Petrov (Aug
2, '12) ... in a Mickey Mouse world
An affinity with the cast of Disney characters promoted by Kim Jong-eun
provides a fascinating glimpse into what is really in store for North Koreans.
The worlds created by Walt Disney and Kim's grandfather, Kim Il-sung, are not
that far apart, and the implant of Mickey Mouse and friends is in line with the
kind of social engineering that the regime continues to embrace. - John Feffer
(Aug 2, '12)
We don't want them, you
take them
The "Not In My Back Yard" sentiment that's fueled Australia's toxic debate on
asylum-seekers is keenly felt in Indonesia, where Canberra has proposed
refugees be processed. Peering through the fences of safely housed, well-fed
refugees enjoying free healthcare courtesy of Australian taxpayers, Indonesians
living on less than US$2 per day may agitate against the proposed "transit
lounge" arrangement.
- Duncan Graham (Aug 2, '12)
Mission
failure: Afghanistan
Afghans closest to the American project - the soldiers, policemen, or security
guards being trained by the US or its allies - are now regularly and in
ever-increasing numbers shooting their foreign mentors down. "Green-on-blue"
violence is historically unprecedented, and sends a message written in blood
that no one in Washington or the US military has the stomach to read.
- Tom Engelhardt (Aug 2, '12)
Labor rights a sore in
US-China relations
A common United States perception is that China's rise has been helped by
multinationals allowing Asian suppliers to bend Western-standard labor rules.
Politicians in Washington have limited scope to halt such violations, helping
to sour the mood towards China. - Benjamin A Shobert
(Aug 2, '12)
Food and Asian integration
The gradual integration of Asia's diverse economies will bring improvements in
certain parts of their economies - and carry risks that existing disparities
will widen. Food security must be at the forefront of such concerns. - Yong Kwon
(Aug 2, '12)
Kabul property boom bursts
A surge in Kabul's population, lots of foreign aid, and demand from diplomats
and international organizations helped to drive a boom in the city's property
prices and make fortunes for local realtors. The military drawdown now underway
means the heady days are over. - Frud Bezhan (Aug
2, '12)
India seeks some light in the dark
The power failure that this week brought half of India to a standstill is the
result of energy shortfalls caused by an addiction to over-consumption, with
gadgets such as air-conditioners now seen as essential by the newly prosperous.
The answer isn't India sacrificing its chillers to swelter in ascetic
discomfort, or modern nuclear plants. An alternative to reliance on hydro-power
and imported electricity is needed, with the sun a glaringly obvious candidate.
- Raja Murthy (Aug 1, '12)
THE
ROVING EYE Where is Prince Bandar?
Saudi Arabia's Prince Bandar "Bush", the presumptive orchestrator of "Damascus
Volcano", the failed attempt to obliterate Bashar al-Assad's inner sanctum, has
dropped off the radar. Has Syrian intelligence bumped him off? Or did the
Iranians get their man in a tit-for-tat bombing in Riyadh, where the prince was
newly crowned head of Saudi intel? As the rumor mills hit overdrive in Syria,
the House of Saud is cloaked in silence. - Pepe Escobar
(Aug 1, '12)
Philippines arms itself with
new pacts
The Philippines, faced with renewed assertiveness by China in the South China
Sea and an ambiguous attitude by the United States to military defense ties,
has forged new pacts with Australia and Japan to hedge its bets. With those in
the bag, it will now auction three contested areas for oil and gas exploration.
- George Amurao (Aug 1, '12)
AN ATOL SPECIAL REPORT The myth of a free Hong
Kong economy
Hong Kong has been hailed as the world's freest economy for more than two
decades. Yet the main sectors of the economy are dominated by a few families,
with limited land availability at the heart of their vast wealth. - Eddie Leung
and Pepe Escobar (Aug 1, '12) This is the first article in a three-part report
WalMart
leads
call for higher pay
in Bangladesh
WalMart, Nike, Gap and other international buyers of clothing from Bangladesh
are calling for increases in garment workers' pay while warning the government
in Dhaka that industrial unrest is threatening their ability to do business in
the country.
- Syed Tashfin Chowdhury
Tashkent's sticky fingers
The recent woes in Uzbekistan of Russian cellphone giant MTS, hit by employee
arrests and a three-month suspension, highlight the perils for foreigners of
doing business in Central Asia's most populous country. - Joanna Lillis
BOOK REVIEW Marketing guru
chooses a tough sell The End of Cheap China: Economic and Cultural Trends that Will Disrupt the
World
by Shaun Rein No longer a mere source of cheap labor, China is becoming the world's most
compelling consumer market. The author not only has stellar credentials to
describe this new reality, and offer advice on how foreign business can cash in
on it, he does so in a clear and highly readable style. It's his spin on
politics that falls flat.
- Muhammad Cohen
<IT
WORLD>
Outlook brighter
Microsoft has called it a day for Hotmail, in spite of its still strong user
base, in the hope of recouping market share lost to Google's Gmail. The new
Outlook.com service will prove popular if at least it can handle spam and the
other evils of modern communications. (Aug 3, '12) Martin J Young surveys the week's developments in computing, gaming and
gizmos.
CREDIT BUBBLE BULLETIN Monetary madness
European Central Bank president Mario Draghi and European policymakers last
week hit the panic button, burning once more those with bearish hedges and
bets. Global monetary injections are ensuring only that more "money" flows to
the global leveraged speculating community. Doug Noland looks at the previous week's events each Monday.
TONY ALLISON (1953-2012)
Asia Times Online's Editor-in-Chief Anthony Allison died on June 20 after a
short illness. We extend our sympathy to Tony's family for their tragic and
premature loss. Obituary Tributes
Tehran
reaches out
to Egypt's Morsi
This is a development that holds the potential to shake up Middle Eastern
politics — Iranian vice-president visiting Cairo. The two countries pulled down
the shutters following the Iranian revolution in 1979 and a dark period
continued right till the end of the Hosni Mubarak era...
- M K Bhadrakumar
The rule of law, freedom of speech, freedom of expression, a high standard of
living, freedom of the press, organization, cleanliness, and opportunity to
earn a decent living is superior and better than the rule of chaos. Hjalmar Ericksson
United States
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copyright and may not be republished in any form without written permission.
Copyright 1999 - 2012 Asia Times Online (Holdings),
Ltd.
Head Office: Unit B, 16/F, Li
Dong Building, No. 9 Li Yuen Street East, Central, Hong Kong Thailand Bureau: 11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua
Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
Thrilling demonstrations of people power in China create a new challenge for
foreign observers who view protests through the prism of the Tiananmen Square
uprising and of US-adoring and democracy-worshipping dissidents. As the
heated battle last month in Qidong over alleged pollution shows, a new
generation is embracing its own kind of "Occupy" activism, and the Communist
Party hasn't quite figured out how to handle it. - Peter Lee
(Aug 3, '12)
The
image the White House used to illustrate United States President Barack Obama's
phone call to Recep Tayyip Erdogan conveyed a simple but blunt message,
according to the Turkish press: "Whack Bashar, Erdogan Bey". However, in
helping overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the Turkish prime minister
is hamstrung by a state of disarray in Turkey's armed forces that he helped to
engineer.
To submit to
Speaking Freely 
THE
ROVING EYE
