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STRIFE IN SYRIA
Why the regime won't fall
President Bashar al-Assad has done the math and realizes his regime won't fall
as long as the protests don't convulse the urban middle classes. Turkish
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu appeared of the same opinion during his visit
to Damascus, implying there's no reason for Ankara to interfere as long as
Assad stops killing people and introduces reforms.
- Pepe Escobar (Aug 12, '11)
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No
kisses, Mr Davutoglu?
An initially unsmiling Davutoglu has made it clear that Turkey seeks a larger,
more public and internationally mandated role in Syria, albeit
Damascus-sanctioned. "Big brother Turkey" has every reason to seek stability
and democracy in the country - regime change, for the Turks, would be a
nightmare come to life.
- Sami Moubayed (Aug 12, '11)
Myanmar a passage for India
While India's rapprochement with Myanmar's military junta in the 1990s was
criticized as undemocratic, the "Look East" policy has borne fruit with Delhi
now Myanmar's fourth-largest investor and rising as a challenger to China's
growing regional influence. However, simmering anger at the policy has been
reignited by India's arms sales to the junta amid its escalating conflict with
ethnic insurgent groups. - Francis Wade (Aug
12, '11)
A foolish consistency
Challenging the orthodoxy on Myanmar in Western policy circles is necessary to
improve conditions of the country's diverse peoples, especially since
opportunity for positive change under the new administration may well prove
ephemeral. - David I Steinberg (Aug 12, '11)
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Speaking up for Beijing in Hong Kong
In the eyes of Hong Kong's  pan-democratic
camp, China's top official for Hong Kong affairs, Wang Guangya, has violated
unwritten guidelines on Chinese interference by accusing the civil service of
retaining colonial subservience and by suggesting desirable qualities of the
next leader. Unfortunately for democrats, some of his "meddling" actually makes
sense.
- Kent Ewing (Aug 11, '11)
Media's malaise reflects
financial crisis
America's markets are tanking while old Europe struggles to prevent newer
members from dragging the eurozone down. But all United States media can do is
broadcast loudmouths shilling for "Tea Party" extremists and denouncing
"leftists", while British media - whether targeted at the upper crust or the
hoi polloi - are still shaped by one man. - Donald Kirk
(Aug 12, '11)
How Pyongyang's propaganda backfired
North Korean efforts to paint the South as an impoverished victim of American
colonialism backfired in spectacular fashion following the visit from Seoul of
glamorous student activist Im Su-gyong in 1989. What was planned as a major
propaganda coup instead exposed the wealthy, free society in the South. With
even small interactions having a cumulative effect, it's counter-productive
that exchanges are so rare today. - Andrei Lankov
(Aug 12, '11) |
Balochistan caught in spiral of
violence
A report by Human Rights Watch on resource-rich Balochistan province says "the
Pakistani security services are brazenly disappearing, torturing and often
killing people because of suspected ties to the Baloch nationalist movement".
In response, Balochis are targeting Shi'ites and Punjabis. The violence is
escalating into all-out war, recreating the situation in 1970-1971 that
culminated in the birth of Bangladesh. - Amir Mir
(Aug 11, '11)
Unrest ripples across the region
Strife-torn Balochistan is a key component of the regional rivalries centered
in Afghanistan. These create further friction in the already-deteriorating
relations between Pakistan and the United States, while Iran and India also
have reason for concern as the province slips into anarchy.
- Abubakar Siddique (Aug 11, '11)
Pride and prejudice over China's
carrier
The low-key launch of China's first aircraft 
carrier on Wednesday, expected to be named the Shi Lang, belies decades
of speculation that the vessel will fundamentally alter the balance of naval
power in the Pacific. While Beijing insists the heavily armed,
gas-turbine-powered giant is solely a "scientific research and training"
vessel, it can't help but show pride in this first step towards great naval
power status. Taiwan has been quick to respond. - Craig Guthrie
(Aug 11, '11)
 SUN
WUKONG
When a pyramid is not an olive
China's top research center has come up with a study showing that by 2009, 37%
of urban residents had become middle-income earners, significantly advancing
the country from a "pyramid" to an "olive-shaped" social structure. Critics
have been quick to point out flaws in the report's methodology, while those
catapulted into the "middle class" can only lament, "Show me the money." - Wu
Zhong (Aug 11, '11)
 BOOK
REVIEW
In search of a way out
No Exit: North Korea, Nuclear Weapons, and International Security
by Jonathan D Pollack
With the belief that the how and why of the North Korean nuclear impasse must
begin with the country's system and its history, the author consults Cold War
archives, interviews and technical history, among others, to weave together the
evolution of the Hermit Kingdom and its nuclear program. It's a useful
narrative with a detailed, beyond-the-Beltway overview.
- Shiran Shen (Aug 11, '11)
THE ROVING EYE
My minaret is bigger than yours
Saudi Arabia is to spend US$1.23 billion on a building over one kilometer in
height. Yet the towering achievement of the House of Saud has got to be what it
has in store in terms of criminalizing any possibility of dissent in the
kingdom, while at the same time maneuvering to ensure that Sunnis get to
monopolize power in Syria. - Pepe Escobar (Aug
10, '11)
North Korea nears age of affluence
North Korea will emerge as a member of the elite club of strong and prosperous
states by 2012, overcoming United States sanctions and a lack of international
aid, says Pyongyang's unofficial spokesman. A major factor in the success is
how founding father Kim Il-sung's leadership skills have lived on in current
leader Kim Jong-il and heir designate Kim Jong-eun. - Kim Myong Chol
(Aug 10, '11)
THE ROVING EYE
US shocked and awed by the
Taliban
 It's
tantalizing to indulge the conspiracy theories surrounding the downing of a
Chinook that claimed the lives of 19 United States Navy SEALs from the same
unit that killed Osama bin Laden. More constructive is to realize that the
Taliban missile that brought down the helicopter underscores the harsh truth
that the "new" Afghan strategy is a failure. - Pepe Escobar
(Aug 9, '11)
The secret world of North Korea's new rich
Bourgeois bosses of "state-run" firms thriving in North Korea's black economy
are frequenting the sushi bars and burger joints popping up in Pyongyang, while
the designer clothes of their daughters belie reports of looming famine. The
emerging merchant class views top politicians as parasites, doomed to be
consumed in a conflagration of the regime, but their own existence in
post-reunification Korea is hardly assured. - Andrei Lankov
(Aug 9, '11)
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The
pain to come
for Chinese exports
Robust growth in demand for Chinese exports looks set to withstand current
tribulations in the American and European economies in the next few months, but
the outlook thereafter is bleak. Exporters must find new markets to reduce the
pain. - Olivia Chung
MARKET RAP
Asia slides further
With the exception of the Australia All Ordinaries, all Asian equity markets
continued to tread a downward path, albeit with significant gyrations.
Short-term indicators are steadily poor and the markets not quite technically
overbought.
R M Cutler runs his eye over the ups and downs in the week's markets.
REUVEN BRENNER
A youthful solution
Instead of increasing the age of retirement and taxes, and cutting health and
social security to fix weakness in the United States economy exposed by China
and India, the solution could be to let bored students spend a year less
"delaying real life".
Facebook under attack
Notorious hacker syndicate Anonymous has vowed to "destroy" Facebook, in an
attack on November 5. The shady group added the world's largest social network
site and its fan base as a target after recent hits to online retailer Amazon,
PayPal and the Church of Scientology.
Martin J Young surveys the week's developments in computing, science,
gaming and gizmos.
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CREDIT BUBBLE BULLETIN
Destabilizing speculation
Speculation plays an integral role in our unstable global markets with ''the
gilded age in global leveraged speculation" incited by the collapse of the
mortgage/Wall Street bubble. Whether this bubble has now burst - or just
suffered a setback - is the critical issue.
Doug Noland looks at the previous week's events each Monday.
(Aug 9, '11)
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Asia Times Online fund
A fund has been established for the family of Syed Saleem Shahzad - his wife
Anita, two sons aged 14 and seven, and daughter aged 12. Asia Times Online's
Pakistan bureau chief was killed in May. For details of the bank account number
to which donations can be sent, please click
here. Please note that payment can no longer be made via Paypal.
Tributes to Saleem
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India
identifies with
US-Saudi stance on Syria
The stage is being set for India to join the Western bandwagon on Syria after
making the pretense of an independent stance such as the visit by a Special
Envoy to Damascus.
- M K Bhadrakumar
Simon says buy bonds
The Fed cares about banks; enough to give them the green light to spark one of
the most spectacular bond rallies of all time, piling in with everything thay
had. Blink and you would have missed it.
- David Goldman
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[Re Pyongyang plays on
Moscow's desire, Aug 12] What does it profit North Korea to exclude
Russia from the "suspended" six-party talks in Beijing? The answer is plain as
the nose on one's face: the political and economic returns are one giant-sized
goose egg.
Nakamura Junzo
Guam
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