IV. International
(6-15-09)
.
The Dalai Lama
accused China of imposing a “death sentence” on Tibet as
he arrived in Paris for a visit that once again chilled
Franco-Chinese relations.
.
The global economy may
have stopped its dramatic free fall, but data from
Asia-Pacific regions (6/10) underscore what
economists have long been cautioning that a return to
actual growth is months off, and once it arrives, it
will be feeble.
. In Japan,
orders for machinery slid 5.4% in April from
March, much more than analysts expected. Factory in
Malaysia is down 11.4% from a year earlier. Exports
from the Philippines were down 35.2% from a year
earlier. South Korea and Taiwan have recently reported
similar disappointing data.
.
US and allied officials who have tracked development in
South Asia have grown increasingly worried over the
rapid growth of the region’s more mature nuclear program
in part because of the fear that weapons could fall into
the hands of terrorists.
.
US Treasury Secretary
Tim Geithner urged Chinese leaders to keep up massive
stimulus spending on big infrastructure projects as well
as find new ways to entice their consumers into spending
more of their notoriously high personal savings and
boost flagging global demand.
.
He refrained from making forceful statements on the
single thorniest economic issue between the 2 countries:
Chinese alleged manipulation of its currency. He raised
the economic issue within the context of a broader
discussion over a number of structural changes China
was encouraged to make as its economy matures.
. He urged
China to shift its economy away from relying too much on
overseas sales to one that fuels growth more from
domestic demand, as is in the US. Such a shift could
begin to balance out the massive US trade deficit with
China and relieve US consumers from their role as the
principal drivers of global demand.
.
A national funeral for
Roh Moo-hyun who killed himself by jumping off a cliff
brought huge number of South Koreans (estimated
at 180k) into the streets of Seoul 5/29 to weep, wail
and condemn the current president (Lee Myung-bak) for
shaming him into suicide.
.
Many in the crowd decried his politically-motivated
prosecution. When corruption and democracy often go hand
in glove, there is a long history of ex-presidents and
their families coming under criminal scrutiny from
prosecutors loyal to their new leader.
.
Since his death, prosecutors have halted their
investigation of the former president and his family.
Former president Kim Dae-jung, a winner of the Nobel
Peace Prize in 2000 and longtime political ally of Roh
attended the service and offered to make a sympathy
speech. The government rejected the idea. Kim suggested
that Roh had been hounded to death by prosecutors who
had no real evidence.
. North Korea
is turning a deaf
ear to the world by moving another long-range missile to
a launch-pad, after launching one over Japan in April.
DOD Secretary Robert Gates told officials at a meeting
in Singapore that he understands the game of
brinkmanship North Korea is playing.
. NK leaders
have said this year that they want to be recognized as a
nuclear power, but the US (South Korea and Japan) would
never allow it. In both missiles and nuclear bombs, NK
appears to be making progress but still has a long way
to go before it will have reliable bombs that can be
consistently delivered by long-range missiles.
. NK is
unique among the world’s nations in that it periodically
threatens its neighbors with nuclear weapons and
missiles but also relies on them for food to help feed
23 million people. On average the country needs about 1
million tons of imported food a year.
.
Aung Sun Suu Kyi
urgently needs medical attention in Rangoon (Burma or
Myanmar) prison where she is being held, her party
said. Closing arguments in her mock trial were delayed
until the end of last week (5/29).
.
She was treated for dehydration and low blood pressure
in early May, a few days after an American intruder
(John Yettaw) was arrested for sneaking into her house.
The military dictatorship accused her of harboring him.
If found guilty she could spend as much as 5 years in
prison! (What else is new in the military’s modus
operandi?)
.
In her courtroom
appearance, she appeared pale and weak, according to
observers. The government had said earlier that a team
of doctors was taking care of her. The international
community is outraged that the military junta is using
this incident as pretext to keep her detained through
next year’s elections.
. Pakistan
stepped up offensive against the Taliban, putting a
$600k price on the head of a firebrand rebel (cleric
Maulana Fazlullah) who master-minded a 2-year uprising
in NW’s Swat Valley to enforce Sharia Law.
. Anti-US
sentiments has been increasing in Pakistan, especially
in regards to across-border and reported drone
strikes which Pakistanis perceive to cause
unacceptable civilian casualties; 85% do not
support US strikes even if coordinated with the
government of Pakistan and Pakistan’s Military ahead of
time.
.
The CIA considers the Predator the most effective tool
available in a conflict in which the US military is
barred from conducting offensive operations on land or
in the air. Pakistan has accepted US money, weaponry and
limited training, but has rebuffed further US efforts to
assist its forces.
,
Since last fall,
Predator drone attacks have eliminated about half of 20
US-designated ‘high value” al Quaeda and other extremist
targets along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan.
.
About 1k miles to the
SW, engineers in India are designing cruise
missiles to carry nuclear warheads relying partly on
Russian-missile design assistance. It is also trying to
equip its Agni ballistic missiles with such
warheads & deploy them on submarines. Its rudimentary
missile-defense capability is slated for a major upgrade
next year.
.
Former Indian government officials say efforts are
underway to improve and test a powerful thermonuclear
warhead, even as the country adds to a growing array of
aircraft, missiles and submarines that launch them.
India first detonated its atomic bomb in 1974.
.
Not long ago banks pursued customers with offers of
additional free cards and promises of ever-higher
spending limits. Now Indians are reporting that these
credit limits are being abruptly reduced or these cards
blocked. Many cannot get cash advances.
. Sri Lankan
military’s assault
against the Tamil Tiger rebels last month shows clear
signs of heavy artillery shelling, according to
helicopter inspection of the site by independent
journalists, interviews with eyewitnesses and
specialists who studied high resolution satellite
imagery from the war zone, contradicting government
assertions that areas of heavy civilian population were
no-fire zones.
.
Military leaders claim
they are among a few in the world who can say they have
successfully vanquished 3 decades of terrorism by
military means. They argue that if the US has the right
to fight terrorism, Sri Lankans do not need or want
lectures about how to conduct a war against domestic
insurgents.
.
US DOJ is looking at whether to seek criminal charges
against Getabaya Rapakasa, its defense secretary who is
a US citizen, and Sarath Fonseca, its army commander and
a US legal resident who holds a green card. Taimls
against Genocide filed a 1k-pagereport with the US
Attorney-General detailing alleged bombings,
disappearances and other attacks.
.
Rep Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
has reintroduced the Filipino Veteran Family
Reunification Act, benefitting the children of
Filipinos who fought with US troops in WW II. The
children would be exempt from quotas that have delayed
receipt of immigrant visas to the US, keeping family
members apart.
.
Japanese are snatching up hybrid cars, solar
panels and energy-efficient TVs, wooed by government
incentives to battle a recession while conserving
energy.
.
Fears are growing that Thailand may be gripped by
a severe outbreak of Type-A (H1N1) influenza as the
number of confirmed cases jumped sharply 6/12 by 43 to a
total of 89.
.
Some 26 legislators-elect from 9 winning parties,
including the current Indonesian House of Rep
Speaker Aguong Laksono, may lose their seats after the
Constitutional Court annulled announced the election
results.
.
Members of 2 casino dynasties (Venetian Macao
Complex and City of Dreams) are set to
challenge Las Vegas Sands Corp an unproven turf in
Asia’s gambling capital.
.
A vigil marking 20 years since the Tienanmen Square
massacre has been held in Hong Kong, the only
part of
China to commemorate the event!
