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Front Page

February 9, 2010

SINOGRAPH

China-US ties bind and bruise

The temperature of United States-China relations has plunged in the few months since President Barack Obama visited Beijing, with a string of disagreements leading to icy exchanges. While China's efforts to bring North Korea closer to nuclear disarmament talks bring hope that cooperation with Washington can only get better, Beijing's inability to communicate with the world remains a massive stumbling block.
- Francesco Sisci (Feb 09, '10)

Is Business

ASIA HAND

Vietnam as Asia's first domino

Businesses and citizens in Vietnam are showing an increased determination to hold gold or US dollars rather than the local currency, pointing to distrust of the government's ability to handle the economy. History shows that where locals set the lead, foreign sentiment often follows.
- Shawn Crispin(Feb 09, '10)

Hollywood finds a piggy bank in Bollywood

Indian investors seeking to combine a love for movies with profit are turning their attention from the domestic Bollywood market, and its large number of flops, to Hollywood, where their funds will help fill a void left by the industry's usual backers, now reeling from the recession.
- Indrajit Basu(Feb 09, '10)

Blind spots to the right

Yes, the US national debt is rising, at around US$2 million a minute. But ignored by the polemicists on the right, other data, equally accessible, demonstrates that government spending did not bring about the financial crisis and even now is not bleeding the markets dry.
- Julian Delasantellis(Feb 09, '10)

Karachi grinds to a halt after fatal blasts

Pakistan's efforts to rein in its fiscal deficit were dealt a further blow when business in Karachi, the country's commercial center, struggling to recover from a bomb attack last December, ground to a halt again at the weekend after two more blasts killed at least 30 people.
- Syed Fazl-e-Haider(Feb 08, '10)

Hainan fears real-estate bubbles - again

Money has flooded into the Chinese province of Hainan in the few weeks since the central government said it should become an international tourist resort. The sub-tropical island's attractions could certainly lure visitors, but residents with a sense of history already fear a property crash might come first.
- Stephen Wong(Feb 08, '10)

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India papers over cracks

The growing realization within India's policymaking elite that instability in Pakistan is detrimental to India's security and economy has led to optimism in Delhi over renewed India-Pakistan dialogue. However, the countries' conflicting approaches to Afghanistan, a continued atmosphere of mistrust and the precarious state of Pakistan's leadership mean that reconciliation is less likely than renewed conflict.
- Chietigj Bajpaee (Feb 09, '10)
   

Islamabad can't give an inch

The United States has nudged Pakistan and India closer, bending over backwards to reassure each of their strategic importance. But Islamabad stands to lose popular support if it concedes to Indian demands without gaining concessions, while its greatest fear remains militants infiltrating its larger cities and unleashing the type of havoc witnessed recently in Karachi.
- Zahid U Kramet (Feb 09, '10)
   

Operation Breakfast redux

The escalating drone war of the United States in the Pakistani tribal borderlands has ominous parallels with Richard Nixon's secret bombing in Cambodia 40 years ago to destroy a "Bamboo Pentagon", where North Vietnamese communists were supposedly orchestrating raids deep into South Vietnam. Could the US be repeating the same mistakes that brought the Khmer Rouge to power?
- Pratap Chatterjee (Feb 09, '10)
   

Now it's all about Iran sanctions

The window for diplomacy with Iran is all but shut thanks to Tehran's latest flip-flop on its nuclear program, making sanctions seemingly inevitable. Western powers are growing weary of what is seen as Iran's mind games and intransigence. China, though, will not be rushed into doing anything rash.
- Mohammed A Salih (Feb 09, '10)
   

Internet hit by US restrictions

When United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently criticized Tehran for its strict Internet censorship and filtering, she failed to acknowledge that Iranians, including dissidents, have the US to thank for the sanctions that have crippled Internet use in the country.
- Mania Tehrani (Feb 09, '10)
   

COMMENT

Palin and her brownshirts

The genius of former US vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and the Republican right is to tie fears of big business and big government into a package that is presented as creeping socialism. This, along with anti-minority sentiment, attracts the teabaggers' vociferous support. Palin knows that if she did articulate her policies in a clear and intellectually compelling manner, the "plain folks" would turn away.
- Ian Williams (Feb 09, '10)
   

Best of Before

Pakistan's military sets Afghan terms

Pakistan's military establishment, taken fully on board by the United States in the effort to find solutions for Afghanistan, has made clear that its cooperation comes with strings attached. Any Indian role is to be restricted to civilian development projects, and Pakistan will choose its enemies by itself.
- Syed Saleem Shahzad(Feb 08, '10)

Dangerous steps in Iran's nuclear dance

Just days after Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said Tehran's nuclear fuel could be processed abroad, he ordered stockpiles of uranium to be enriched to a high degree domestically. Tehran's dualistic diplomacy is designed to increase Iran's bargaining ability in regards to a fuel deal, while proving a point to hawks in the United States.
- Kaveh L Afrasiabi(Feb 08, '10)

Taliban go-betweens draw up road map

Plans drawn up by Taliban mediators for a political settlement in Afghanistan encourage the insurgency's leaders and the government to reach agreement on key issues, such as the withdrawal of all foreign troops and al-Qaeda. The reaction of the United States to the plan and the vexed issue of a new constitution are the biggest roadblocks, the mediators say.
- Gareth Porter(Feb 08, '10)

India-Pakistan thaw key to Afghan peace

The prospect of the first high-level bilateral talks between India and Pakistan since the 2008 Mumbai attack was raised by global powers when they endorsed a United States-backed plan in London that seeks reconciliation with the Taliban in Afghanistan. Washington sees the key to Kabul as lying in Islamabad, and the key to Islamabad as lying in New Delhi.
- Siddharth Srivastava(Feb 08, '10)

Beijing beefs up cyberwar capacity

Research and development in Internet-based combat, including cyber-espionage, is high on Beijing’s next five-year plan. Given that friction between the United States and China will likely continue, if not worsen, over issues including trade, Taiwan and Tibet, cutthroat competition along the information superhighway could add a new dimension of instability.
- Willy Lam(Feb 08, '10)
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Goat's eye view ... A US marine provides security during a patrol through a town in Farah province, Afghanistan. The marines are searching for Taliban forces as part of Operation Swift Change. (Photo: US DoD)
Goat's eye view ... A US marine provides security during a patrol through a town in Farah province, Afghanistan. The marines are searching for Taliban forces as part of Operation Swift Change. (Photo: US DoD)

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We Hear You

Feedback is invaluable, even if it's negative. Wish there was more of it. Thanks for yours, gmarruzaquicke
Great Notes and Quotes today, January 15, "Them's the brakes". Bravo!gmaruzz
gmaruzz, in case you're right, and the US DoD is fibbing, 'Hot Spot' (not very aptly named) now features some real Afghan snow. PS, click it to view the pic full size.aquicke
the picture "Dreaming of a white", in the home page of January 4th, seems more a fixed camera with a long exposure time (during night) that get the stars moving in the sky during the hours around the North Star (Polaris).gmaruzz
A huge edition for our year-ender. Hope it keeps you occupied for a few days. We're back full-time on Jan 4. Best wishes to all.aquicke
All seems to be working again, as of Saturday. - Editoraquicke
Apologies: ATol is a bit thin today. The atimes.com server is down as of our Friday afternoon, reason unknown, and email is sporadic. - Editoraquicke
Thank you, and welcome gmaruzz. You now have full access.aquicke
Best Wishes to the ATol crew! Keep up the good jpb!gmaruzz
I think the latest poll about what to do in Afghanistan is interesting and certainly timely, but sadly none the options offered would probably work at this point. Not that there are many options after that though.tjohn
In space, nobody can hear you scream. In cyberspace, we CAN.aquicke
Is there anybody out there?aquicke
This is a nice little addition to the site - ATol's version of Twitter!ATAdmin
July 20 ... In orbit. Can you hear me Major Tom?aquicke
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Notes and Quotes

Tea Potty

"We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."
- American journalist H L Mencken (1880-1956).

“Run, Sarah, Run!”
- The
national Tea Party convention endorsing its candidate for the US presidency in 2012.

See the article Palin and her brownshirts

Tipping Points



Re Dangerous steps in Iran's nuclear dance: "Tehran has been in possession of weapons-capable resources for many years without any report of diversion to weapons purposes, so why is there concern now? The answer may lie less with Iran's nuclear intentions than with a US desire for power projection in the Middle East and Persian Gulf." - OVALTINE



Reviews

Look who's come to dinner

books Superfusion by Zachary Karabell

This insightful book examines the alternatives to fearing China's inevitable rise as a super-economy and global political force and asks whether American hostility to making room at the table for an upsetter of the old economic order is more a reflection of its own lost confidence.
- Benjamin A Shobert (Feb 05, '10)

sfbook050210

ReaderViews

Rethinking the India-Pakistan divide

BooksThe Great Divide: India and Pakistan, edited by Ira Pande

rvThis volume weaves together the complex narratives of writers from both India and Pakistan about the state of bilateral relations and the internal political, economic and cultural dimensions of viewing the "other". It provides a stimulating and informative insight into the quarrelsome yet close South Asian neighbors.

- (Dec 8 '09)
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Speaking Freely

Pakistan holds key to Taliban

Confusion prevails around the world about the real affiliations, sponsors and motives of the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Some observers have even gone to the extent of claiming that they are puppets of the United States to be used against regional powers in Central and South Asia. But in reality, Pakistan is primarily responsible for this menace.
- Farman Nawaz (Feb 9 '10)

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