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Kurile
Islands get a name
Russia and Japan are displaying a strong desire to change their relationship
for the better. Yet as Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda prepares to visit
Moscow in December, skies remain overcast. Russia's naming this week of one of
the disputed Kurile Islands will antagonize Japan, while for Russian President
Vladimir Putin, concerns over US missile defense systems on Japanese soil loom
much larger. - M K Bhadrakumar (Sep 11, '12)
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 THE
ROVING EYE
Ground Zero redux
A walk in the dead of a New York night to Ground Zero, where our
post-apocalyptic modernity began 11 years ago is to hear the echoes and sense
the ghosts of when it became evident, even under a thick shroud of
as-yet-unanswered questions, that turbo-capitalism is not only in crisis;
turbo-capitalism, in shorthand, IS crisis.
- Pepe Escobar (Sep 11, '12)
Israel sticks to its guns on Iran
The United States is conducting a large military drill in the Persian Gulf
intended to calm Israeli nerves and give diplomacy a chance over Iran's nuclear
program. While the danger of an Israeli strike on Iran this year appears to
have faded, a new window for attacking Iran will soon emerge for Israeli Prime
Minster Benjamin Netanyahu to ratchet up the threat. - Victor Kotsev
(Sep 11, '12)
Afghanistan overdoses on military
bases
The remarkable number of military bases scattered across Afghanistan makes it
probably the world's most thoroughly militarized country. All that might has
been unable to decisively defeat a rag-tag, minority insurgency of limited
popularity. That is not stopping the creation of yet more outposts, bases and
associated facilities.
- Nick Turse (Sep 11, '12)
Justice at last over Gujarat
massacre
India's judicial process took 10 years to pin down then reach a verdict on
people responsible for mass killings in Gujarat in 2002. One name is notably
missing among 32 who have now received long jail terms for their role in the
Naroda Patiya massacre - that of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi - leaving
him free to pursue his goal of reaching the country's highest office.
- Sudha Ramachandran (Sep 11, '12) |
Treaty offers way out for Tokyo and
Seoul
The pit into which relations between Japan and South Korea have sunk was dug
long before South Korean President Lee Myung-bak made a trip last month to
disputed islets in what many see as a diversion from problems at home. Asian
interests would be well-served with a fresh start, concentrating on the 1965
Basic Japan-South Korea Treaty. - Kosuke Takahashi
(Sep 11, '12)
Keeping Beijing at arm's length
Legislative Council elections are always a channel for Hong Kong people to send
a complex amalgam of messages both to their own city government and to the
central regime in Beijing. The latest vote was no exception, made even more
complicated by the Democratic Party's (and the media's) campaign against
"mainlandization". And the result was a stunner.
- Augustine Tan (Sep 11, '12)
SPEAKING FREELY
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Clinton's strained swan song in China
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's recent visit to China was tense, to put
it politely. While this could be explained by the pending leadership changes in
both Beijing and Washington - with Clinton herself probably set to step down -
there is no doubt Sino-US relations have become highly strained, given the US
"pivot" into China's sphere of influence and America's reluctance to rein in
its increasingly assertive ally Japan.
- Peter Lee (Sep 10, '12)
Beijing steers clear of skirmishes
Beijing can hardly be accused of a sanguine response to calls to arms in China
and the usual display of combativeness from Japan in their 40-year-old dispute
over island sovereignty. That's because ultimately it can count on
carrot-and-stick ploys to persuade Tokyo to keep emotions in check. - Willy Lam
(Sep 10, '12)
 SPENGLER
Can North Korea's
agony find an
end?
Escape from North Korea
by Melanie Kirkpatrick
This author sees hope in the efforts of humanitarian heroes, largely Christians
with their "underground railroad", for "one free Korea", but the efficiency of
Pyongyang's politics of starvation along with the ill-treatment of refugees by
China make this unlikely. Still, her book is a compelling and important case
study of the North Korean tragedy. (Sep 10, '12)
Iran faces its zugzwang moment
"Zugzwang" occurs when a chess player has no good move because every move loses
the game - a position Iran is now in, not because of imminent military attack
(which will not happen), but for economic reasons. Liquidity necessary for
domestic and international trade is almost entirely choked off, yet
"resolution" to Tehran's crisis could merely deepen it.
- Chris Cook (Sep 10, '12)
Canada appeases Israel on Iran
Canada has dutifully bowed to Israel with the startling decision to put Iran on
its list of terror-sponsoring states and sever diplomatic ties. Yet the cold
shoulder should not be viewed in isolation: a whole new season of Iran-bashing
channeled through the UN General Assembly is about to begin. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi
(Sep 10, '12)
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SEPTEMBER 11 REMEMBERED
The day that didn't change a
thing
The attacks of September 11, 2001, "changed everything" for Americans - and, as
it turned out, for many non-Americans - as fear became the guiding principle
for US foreign policy and "homeland security". Yet after Anders Breivik killed,
proportionally, more Norwegians than the Americans who were killed on September
11, the response was very different. And in the US media, the pro-Zionist
diatribes in the manifesto of this white-skinned terrorist got very little
play.
- Michael Robeson (Sep 10, '12)
Japan is not broke
Japan has long given the impression of being bankrupt, even as it backstops
much of the global financial system including the International Monetary Fund.
The country is clearly much stronger than it appears, with lessons the United
States can learn from. - Ellen Brown (Sep 10,
'12)
Unspoken Israeli-Saudi alliance
targets Iran
Officially, Saudi Arabia and Israel are enemies, but shared interests - with
the notable exception of Syria - have resulted in a convergence of policies and
an avoidance on both sides of making too much noise about, say, Israel's
nuclear arsenal, or Riyadh's tacit support of Wahhabist extremism. Most
importantly, both need to keeping Washington in their camps and out of
Tehran's. - Chris Zambelis (Sep 7, '12)
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Silk Road
nears an historic opening
Earnest discussions involving Afghanistan, India and Iran are opening up an
important opportunity for the creation of a "Southern Silk Road" connecting
Iran to Central and South Asia through rail-lines and roads to ports in the
Gulf of Oman. That chance will be wasted if it becomes another boondoggle for
corporations. - Vijay Prashad
India's Eurasia strategy
leverages Iranian port
India's strategic and economic interests are driving its growing involvement in
building Iran's infrastructure in the face of United States wishes to isolate
Tehran. Central to its plans is the development of Chabahar port and its links
north to Central Asia. - Roman Muzalevsky
THE BEAR'S LAIR
Policy for economic decay
A future reissue of Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations could update his
account of the declining fortunes of 18th century Bengal with details of how
the United States followed a similar path to impoverishment, the bitter fruit
of Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's easy-money policies. - Martin
Hutchinson
CREDIT BUBBLE BULLETIN
Diverging like it's 1929
The European Central Bank's "Draghi Plan" and the Federal Reserve's open-ended
quantitative easing in the United States effectively puts "shorts" in the
crosshairs worldwide. The destabilizing effect is all too reminiscent of 1929.
Doug Noland looks at the previous week's events each Monday.
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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
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Karimov
threatens war,
bids for peace
Uzbek President Islam Karimov has a reputation for blunt talking. But his
mastery lies in nuancing his bluntness, such as warning that wars could erupt
in Central Asia over water disputes. It may sound a contrarian trait but then
Karimov is a leader of many parts ... - M K Bhadrakumar
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