A disturbing chain of events in Papua New Guinea has led me to wonder about the state of good governance there and whether the best remedy is better functioning institutions or just better leaders. Read more »
A disturbing chain of events in Papua New Guinea has led me to wonder about the state of good governance there and whether the best remedy is better functioning institutions or just better leaders. Read more »
There's a rather breathtaking lack of self-awareness in this Asian Wall Street Journal op-ed from China military expert Richard Fisher. The passage in question: Read more »
Nuclear weapons can change your perspective. Here we are, chewing over the rights and wrongs of a coercive humanitarian intervention in Burma, while North Korea, apparently, inches towards famine. Yet in the latter case, Arms Control Wonk gravely (and correctly) warns that: Read more »
Via Passport, check out Hu Jintao's table tennis form in Japan:
Impressive. So much so that Japanese PM Fukuda said: "I'm glad I didn't play ping-pong with him," Fukuda told reporters. "He's very strategic. I thought you can't be too careful." That makes Fukuda sound a bit suspicious and Hu Jintao sound rather sinister. Perhaps it's all in the translation. Read more »
Andrew O'Neil responds to my earlier observations about his op-ed:
The point made by the director of the US Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance that air drops are one of the least efficient ways of delivering aid is well taken. But let’s face it: we don’t have any good options in dealing with the intractable regime in Rangoon. We should keep two factors in mind:
Read more »
News that ASEAN will lead a ‘coalition of mercy’ to assist the ill-destined people of Burma following the cyclone is an interesting development. Read more »
There's a rather breathtaking lack of self-awareness in this Asian Wall Street Journal op-ed from China military expert Richard Fisher. The passage in question: Read more »
Dallas writes: Read more »
In this debate about Myanmar's reluctance to open itself up to outsiders, we may do better if we separate the offer of aid from the offer of aid experts. The latter have good intentions, but their own set of priorities, which may not coincide with those of the Burmese, either the regime or the people. Read more »
In response to my post about Asia’s failure to launch a serious multilateral response to Burma’s cyclone crisis, The Interpreter’s editor asks whether I have an intrinsic preference for multilateral or unilateral action on this front. The short answer is: whatever works. If you are a villager in the cyclone-ravaged parts of Burma, still waiting for help almost two weeks since the storm hit, you probably don’t care much about the diplomatic arrangements and acronyms behind the aid that you need: you just want it to arrive. Read more »
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