This week marks the celebration of a “Golden Week” of public holidays in China, during which millions of Chinese people take vacations, many of which will be abroad. Prior to this holiday week, which officially began on October 1, China’s National Tourism Administration publicized a 64-page guidebook on their website, entitled “Guidebook for Civilized Tourism,” […]
White House press secretary Jay Carney offered a sharp rebuttal of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s op-ed in The New York Times recently by saying, “unlike Russia, the United States stands up for democratic values and human rights around the world.” History paints a somewhat different story. In contrast to President Barack Obama’s contention that the […]
I have a commentary piece in today’s San Jose Mercury News that argues: Much of the focus since Nina Davuluri’s crowning as this year’s Miss America has been on the racist attacks on social media directed at this impressive woman who is the pageant’s first winner of Indian heritage. But the real story here is […]
A 60-year-old Maori woman was denied entrance to a public bath house in northern Japan because of her traditional tā moko facial tattoo. Japanese bath houses, known as onsen, typically bar anyone with tattoos to keep away yakuza gangsters, many of whom sport full-body tats. Erana Ta Haeata Brewerton had been attending an academic meeting […]
One person was killed and several others were injured after a day of protests in Cambodia turned deadly Sunday night. Mao Chan, 29, was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene of Monivong Bridge when a faction of demonstrators confronted military police who had spent most of the day shooting smoke grenades […]
Two recent news items out of China have raised expectations that the new leadership in Beijing intends to push ahead with major market-oriented policies. The first is an announcement that a key Communist Party conclave will gather in November to set out an economic blueprint for the coming decade. The second is that Jiang Jiemin, […]
U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has just returned from his second visit to Asia, only two months after partaking in the Shangri La Dialogue back in June, and his second visit to Asia in six months since becoming secretary of defense. Acknowledging the immense human suffering and tragedy that continues to unfold in Syria […]
There are few places in the world that do not afford its citizens basic human rights, or at least a garb of human rights. The Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan (or better known as “FATA”) are one of those areas. FATA are the semi-autonomous areas in the northwest frontier of Pakistan, bordering both the […]
As I watched Secretary of State John Kerry stand before the lectern last Monday afternoon and give an impassioned speech decrying the use of chemical weapons in Syria, I was briefly transported back in time to about two years ago. I was in the Vietnamese town of Gia Nghia in the province of Dak Nong, […]
The idea of being a yakuza (Japanese mobster) is attractive to many men. Belonging to a secret society, making ludicrous amounts of money, having your every whim catered to, controlling others through intimidation, not worrying about diplomacy when dealing with outsiders is oddly appealing to our baser instincts. However, the reality isn’t quite so glamorous. […]
Tokyo Electric Power Co has warned some toxic liquid may have flowed into the ocean, according to an AFP article by Shingo Ito. Around 300 tons of toxic liquid was believed to have escaped from one of the tanks that hold water used to cool the broken reactors. TEPCO workers are scrambling to check for […]
Renewed military tensions in the disputed Kashmir region are once again underscoring how even localized incidents there can subvert important diplomatic initiatives between India and Pakistan. Skirmishes this past January put the brakes on the détente process that picked up steam last year. The current round of fighting has led to a rising chorus in India demanding […]
BANGKOK — Pictured above is Thailand’s “Democracy Monument,” an ironic name for a memorial in a country which has had ten coup d’états since it abolished the absolute monarchy in 1932. Indeed, it was only three years ago when blood and brains were spilled at this very sight which became the center of massive anti-government […]
photo by Getty Images Beijing’s recent actions to extend its naval presence in the South and East China Sea, coupled with a perceived reluctance to solve territorial claims, is seriously undermining security among its neighbors, especially in the Philippines. Last year, in the waters Manila refers to as the West Philippine Sea, China’s occupied the […]
Consider this striking paradox: Just as the Energy Information Administration announces that new shale discoveries are driving record increases in U.S. proved oil reserves and near-record additions in proved natural gas reserves, huge energy companies are reporting sagging production and profits. Royal Dutch Shell, for example, posted a 60 percent drop in second-quarter profits, largely because of drilling […]
