Asia Times Online has several great articles out this week on Southeast Asia: – Vietnam could be facing another currency crisis. The Vietnamese Dong may crash due to the governments unsustainable trade and spending deficits. Apparently, things got out of hand as early as late 2007, when Vietnam started printing Dong based off of the […]
–UPDATE (9-20-2009) – DNA test results confirm Top’s death. Indonesian authorities have officially declared Noordin Muhammed Top, suspected terror mastermind of the July Jakarta Hotel Bombings, dead. He was killed in last month’s Indonesian police raid of a house in the central Java town of Solo. The identification was based on fingerprints stored on the […]
Shawn W Crispin has an interesting article in Asian Times concerning the Vietnamese government’s latest freedom of speech crackdown that has specifically targeted bloggers who had publicly expressed anti-Chinese sentiment. Hanoi fears it cannot control the more than two million Vietnamese based blogs, a common source of uncensored news. While a general fear of the […]
I wrote a letter to the “NY Times” in response to Tom Friedman’s column last week, Our One-Party Democracy, in which he says, essentially, that because the Chinese have an autocracy they are better at promoting renewable energy. The “International Herald Tribune” had my letter forwarded from the “NYT” and I had hoped they would […]
I know China’s economic philosophy is different than America’s but was it ever so glaring as a week ago, when it was reported that China “loaned” China National Petroleum Corp. $30 billion for yet more overseas projects? Can you imagine Uncle Sam doing this for Exxon? (Okay, maybe GM, but the terms were a lot […]
– The Philippines will begin a type of visa waiver program to attract Chinese nationals, enabling them to obtain visa’s upon arrival at the airport. These rules were adopted on the recommendation of the Filipino Tourism Department to increase revenue. The visas will allow Chinese nationals on vacation or business to stay in the Philippines for up […]
Indonesia’s military has been busy lately, and not just perusing terror suspects, but in activities one might consider a serious misallocation of resources. The Indonesian Navy has deployed Marines to the barren island of Jemur, one of nine islands in the Riau (Arwah) Archipelago, in response to both the Travel Journal and Osvaja.net listing it as part of the Malaysian […]
While I am not a specialist in green technology, I could not help but be depressed by an article in the New York Times Tuesday about China’s rare earth minerals and metals. The Times and many other papers announced Tuesday that China which “currently accounts for 93 percent of production of so-called rare earth elements” […]
– Malaysia is often sited as an example for the wider Muslim world of how a moderate pluralistic democracy can be compatible with Islam. An article in Forbes explores how moderate Malaysia actually is. First, the article recants the common outsiders view of Malaysia: …the Southeast Asian nation boasted the world’s tallest building, the iconic […]
In an update to Friday’s post on the Myanmar-Chinese border conflict, it appears the Burmese military has successfully routed the Kokang Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) in Kokang, a predominately ethnic Chinese militia in the Kokang region of the Shan State. This attack by central government forces was a violation of the 20 year […]
Relative to my post, There Oughta Be a Law, on energy recovery, see this terrific article from Worldwatch, A Bridge to the Renewable Energy Future, fleshing out this “…largely overlooked but potent way to minimize fossil fuel use and the damage it causes.” On the same subject, see also this from earlier in the summer […]
– Strong 2nd Quarter economic growth was shown in the economies of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Singapore did especially well, recovering from the worst recession in its history. The rebound in these states is attributed to government stimulus, financial reforms, and strong industrial fundamentals. However, exports still drag, largely due to weak […]
In my family, there is the story of how, when one of my aunts sold her house, her sisters, helping her empty the place, found 27 boxes of Fab detergent squirreled away in the kitchen cupboard. In case she should ever run out, and besides it was on sale, you see. Something like this may […]
There’s a very good read, The Great Paradox of China: Green Energy and Black Skies, that appears at “Yale Environment 360.” (I wrote China – Getting Closer here late last month.) What’s the paradox? “China is on its way to becoming the world’s largest producer of renewable energy, yet it remains one of the most […]
There are administrations that have been undermined as a result of disasters, but others have emerged from crises more powerful than before. The difference lies in how disasters and crises are handled. Taiwan is predisposed to earthquakes and storms and is experienced in handling the typhoon season that hits the island at this time every […]