SPENGLER
CHAN AKYA
ASIA HAND 
SUN WUKONG 
THE 
THE 
HENRY C K 
SINOGRAPH Francesco Sisci
Stupid
Yahoo
India seeks a new direction
India's regional foreign policy, largely underscored by a relationship with the United States that has now been usurped by Pakistan, is at a crossroads. A high-level Indian visit to Afghan President Hamid Karzai is recognition that new thinking has become necessary, though it might be too late as Karzai looks to forge an alliance with Islamabad.
- M K Bhadrakumar
(Mar 11, '10)
Is Business
Reko Diq at melting point
The Pakistan government is seeking to attach copper smelting to the US$3 billion Reko Diq copper and gold mine project in Pakistan's impoverished Balochistan province. The finances don't make sense, according to would-be miner Tethyan Copper.
(Mar 11, '10) Locks turn in Nabucco door
Agreement by the Turkish parliament to taxation and transit terms for gas coming into the country from Azerbaijan mark a significant step forward in plans for the Nabucco pipeline serving Europe. Suggestions that Iranian gas will be a necessary part of the project are also being shown as smoke and mirrors.
(Mar 11, '10) China lassoes its neighbors
The China-ASEAN Free-Trade Area, which came into effect in January, should boost China's trade with its neighbors. It will also likely erode Southeast Asia's industry and agriculture. Smaller economies in the region are already paying what will be a big price for a bad deal.
(Mar 11, '10) Job creation squeezed
Private-sector jobs are the lifeblood of a sound economy, yet the US administration is raising taxes on business owners, monopolizing credit and increasing business regulations. If this continues, the giant sucking sound of jobs heading overseas will only grow louder.
(Mar 11, '10) 
THE MOGAMBO GURU
Debt doom ahead
US Congressional Budget Office figures, tinkered to show how horrendously large the national debt will become, indicate that the United States economy will be 71% bigger within 10 years. If everything costs twice as much by then, why not? And the only people better off will be those who are buying gold now!
(Mar 11, '10) ATimes.net
Iran seeks help from a friend
During his flying visit to Kabul, President Mahmud Ahmadinejad trumpeted the fact that Afghan and Pakistani intelligence had cooperated with Iran in the capture of militant leader Abdolmalik Rigi. Iran wants to extend this multilateral cooperation to the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking. This would involve closer cooperation with the United States and foreign troops in Afghanistan, and therein lies the problem.
- Kaveh L Afrasiabi
(Mar 11, '10)
China-US ties strained like never before
This week's United States House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing over the Google incident in China has shed much light on the conventional logic that has kept Washington and Beijing engaged in recent decades. The issues now facing the US and China are straining relations like never before, leading many Americans to wrestle with whether it makes sense to even be in a relationship with Beijing.
- Benjamin A Shobert
(Mar 11, '10)
US, Indonesia in a tentative embrace
Indonesia is weighing the benefits of a new strategic partnership with the United States ahead of President Barack Obama's visit later this month to his childhood home. While deepening economic and security ties could put Jakarta at the forefront of the US's re-engagement with Southeast Asia, many Indonesians fear the US has a "predatory" agenda.
- Sara Schonhardt
(Mar 11, '10)
India's cyber-defenses full of holes
Despite being a software superpower, India lags behind nations such as China in the security needed to protect critical networks from a cyber-warfare strike. An attack could cripple government offices and disable India's electrical and communications grids, while dealing a blow to myriad internationally outsourced operations and a corporate sector that has yet to wake up to the threat.
- Indrajit Basu
(Mar 11, '10)
DISPATCHES FROM AMERICA
Premature withdrawal in Iraq
A chorus of the usual Washington suspects is singing ever louder for the Barack Obama administration to alter its plans to get all American troops out of Iraq by the end of 2011. Basing their arguments on their ability to divine the future, what they forget is that after the US invasion, Iraq descended into a monumental bloodbath - in Washington's presence, on its watch.
- Tom Engelhardt
(Mar 11, '10)
Sri Lanka locks horns with UN
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon have had a "frank exchange" over the UN's plan to set up a panel to examine Colombo's human-rights record in defeating the Tamil Tigers. Domestically, this plays into the hands of Rajapaksa as he is adept at whipping up nationalistic groups that do not take lightly to what they see as foreign interference.
- Amantha Perera
(Mar 11, '10)
COMMENT
Not funny, not profound, just stupid
The arrests this week of "Jihad Jane" in the US and seven others in Ireland over a plot to kill a Swedish cartoonist have prompted a return to the hypocrisy and general humbuggery set off by a Danish newspaper's publication of a series of anti-Muslim cartoons.
- Allen Quicke
(Mar 11, '10)
Best of Before
China has a Congo copper headache
China's US$9 billion barter deal to develop infrastructure in return for concessions on copper and cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo was seen as a win-win for Chinese companies and the African nation. But the project has fallen foul to the impoverished but resource-rich nation's Western creditors, setting China on a roller-coaster ride that could yet derail the "deal of the century".
(Mar 10, '10)Marjah fears return of warlords
Now that Afghan and Western troops have pushed the Taliban out of the Marjah area, locals fear the return of the warlords who once terrorized them. One notorious strongman is already preparing to resume control. If he and others like him do regain influence, it could lead to the return of the insurgents.
(Mar 10, '10)China assesses its gold strategy
A key issue addressed by Chinese leaders at the National People's Congress this week is whether to let the country's currency rise to help restructure the domestic economy and rebalance the global economy. An important factor will be the role gold will play within the basket of China's reserves.
(Mar 10, '10)
Latest Posts
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Here are the notes I sent to the CNBC producers for tonight's show: On Corporate Bond Spreads: 1) Corporate spreads are at post-collapse lows, but mortgag ...
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(Mar 09, '10)
Where Will the Jobs Come From? Not Small Business, Not Venture Capital, Not (Much) Manufacturing
Pardon my gloom, but it's not clear to me where an employment recovery will come from--at least in the United States. All the indicators we have show that emplo ... -
It's going to be tough for the S&P to break above its present range. Last month we saw the equity market show extreme sensitivity to news from the Fed ...
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Greek Math
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(Mar 05, '10)
More Trouble from Commercial Real Estate
Over at Forbes Online, James Kaplan of the research firm Audit Integrity observes: The 20 banks on our list ...exhibit the following alarming levels of risk: ...
We Hear You
Stand by, devotees of The Mogambo Guru. He's back!
Nice shot today.
Feedback is invaluable, even if it's negative. Wish there was more of it. Thanks for yours, gmarruz
Great Notes and Quotes today, January 15, "Them's the brakes". Bravo!
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.
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).
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.
All seems to be working again, as of Saturday. - Editor
Apologies: ATol is a bit thin today. The atimes.com server is down as of our Friday afternoon, reason unknown, and email is sporadic. - Editor
Thank you, and welcome gmaruzz. You now have full access.
Best Wishes to the ATol crew! Keep up the good jpb!
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.
In space, nobody can hear you scream. In cyberspace, we CAN.
Is there anybody out there?
This is a nice little addition to the site - ATol's version of Twitter!
July 20 ... In orbit. Can you hear me Major Tom?
July 19 ... Countdown to launch is progressing smoothly ...
All comments made via full text pages before Jul 17, are about to be deleted. Sorry - there is a glitch that needs fixing. Thurlow, thank you.
New site looks fantastic, I'm looking forward to it kicking off in earnest.
Happy July 4, to all the people at corePHP, from us in Hua Hin.
What, only 3 Readerviews stars for atimes.net?? Rafa, I am disappointed.
Time is now very tight, people.
I really like how the site is coming along. I think we are making good progress.
I love this widget!
Forum is up and running quite smoothly. A few minor glitches can be fixed later - as soon as atimes.net is done!
To corePHP: Well done on the forum/comments thing, it's working fine now, thanks. And kudos for the fix of the Customize widget - it looks good.
Hi there, Rafa
Getting close, guys. One last push please!
Testing posting to We Hear You.
It doesn't get any better than this. ATol is God's answer to Rumppert Mudrock.
Notes and Quotes
Masterminds for dummies"Regime" is a government you don't like. "Terrorist" is a person you really don't like (you can't define terrorism but you know it when you see it). Now we bring you "mastermind". He's the terrorist who has just been killed or captured.
The 2002 Bali bombing had enough "masterminds" to make one's head spin. The latest, Dulmatin (pictured), was killed in a police raid in Jakarta on Monday. Others named over the years by "reputable" media and security services as "mastermind" of the bombing, according to a quick web search, include Abu Bakar Bashir, Hambali, Noordin Top, Imam Samudra, and Azahari Husin.
Never mind the dictionary, which says a mastermind is "a person who originates or is primarily responsible for the execution of a particular [act of terrorism]": it's so much more pleasant to believe they're all masterminds when you "get" them. If you're embarrassed about the plethora of Bali "masterminds", call the guy "one of the masterminds", like some of Tuesday's news reports - it's oxymoronic, sure, but it retains the drama and feel-good factor.
Tipping Points
Re Beijing seeks a shift in geopolitics
" ... Although Latin America has deep cultural and ethnic links to Europe, it also has an important number of indigenous populations with Pacific and Asiatic links. So Latins are much more friendly and receptive to China, and that was shown by the increasing trade that rescued ostracized Argentina after the 2001 crisis, and the favorable view of China as international actor, which raises hopes of a friend to balance European and US abuses of power in Latin America. I live in Argentina ... China is growing a very positive image in Latin America. At the same time, the US and Europe are getting worse day by day." - marraco
Reviews
Counter-insurgency, then and now
A Question of Command by Mark Moyar
Counter-insurgency thinking is once again in the limelight, just as it was 50 years ago, which is why this timely perspective will find audiences in and out of the military. The bulk of the book comprises nine case studies ranging from the American Civil War to the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The author has done a great deal of research, though points of disagreement are inevitable.
- Brian M Downing
(Mar 05, '10)
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Speaking Freely
Courts mar India-Pakistan truce
As India and Pakistan begin bilateral talks, the Pakistani judiciary is posing uwarranted hurdles for diplomatic normalization. The issues of missing persons, restarting corruption inquiries against President Zardari and of solid proof to prosecute terrorists are all being raked up by high handed Pakistani courts at the wrong time to hinder regional peace.
(Mar 9 '10)
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