Taiwan’s Tricky Sticky Status
Summary: Holy crap! The US is selling $6.4 billion bucks worth of arms to Taiwan….and China is pissed! This must be the beginning of WW3 and the end of the world! NOT. This arms deal, and China?s reaction to it, is a regular occurrence that has been happening for 60 years. The bigger story is why it is happening, and for that we need to understand the Taiwanese/Chinese relationship, and how the US got in the middle of the mess in the first place. The Avenger outlines how Taiwan got into this strange ?non-state? status, and how that relates to US/Chinese relations. Time for a Taiwanese tango!
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Keywords: Taiwan, US, China, Ma Ying-jeou, Chen Shui-bian, Chiang Kai-shek, Mao Zedong, Henry Kissinger, Richard Nixon, Taiwan Relations Act
Hatoyama Hijinks Causing Chilly Relations for Uncle Sam
Synopsis: The Plaid Avenger is alerting you to the small rift that is forming between Japan and the US….the two economic titans that have also been extremely tight security/military allies since World War 2. The new center-left Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is quietly been busy courting stronger Asian alliances at the expense of the historically US-centered Japanese foreign policy. This is done mainly to help fix the flailing Japanese economy by expanding Japanese economic ties to Asia…but this change in economic focus also affects the Japanese/US security relationship, which is currently melting down over the issue of the strategically crucial US military bases in Okinawa. The Avenger suggests we are witnessing the beginning of a new era of US/Japanese relations which has repercussions for the entire Pacific Rim.
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Keywords: Hatoyama, Obama, Japan, US, Okinawa, Asia, China, Xi Jinping, India, Singh, ASEAN
Specifically Pacific President
Summary: US President Barack Obama had a busy month of Asian persuasion in November. He went on his first Asian tour since taking office, meeting with Japanese, Chinese, and Korean leaders, but also stopping off in Singapore to meet with APEC and ASEAN. As soon as he got home, he hosted the Prime Minister of India at the first official White House dinner. All of these moves reflect a serious attitude shift of Obama, the US, and the entire world to the overwhelming importance of Asia in this century….as an historic shift from the Europe/US/Atlantic-centered economy towards a Pacific-centered world is underway. And the US don?t want to get left behind!
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Keywords: Barack Obama, Pacific, Asia, ASEAN, APEC, Yukio Hatoyama, Hu Jintao, Wen Jiabao, Lee Myung-Bak, Manmohan Singh, US, China, Japan
Diplomatic Dalai Diss to Save 6-Party
Synopsis: The venerated Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, is hanging out in and around Washington DC this week….but will NOT be meeting with US President Obama. Why the diss from the world’s most popular politician to the world’s most popular buddhist? Ah….there is always more going on behind the scenes in the international intrigue game of politics! The Avenger explains why the US cannot meet with the Lama right now, so as not to piss off the Chinese….specifically as Chinese Premier Wen Jaibao is concurrently visiting North Korea to re-start the 6-Party talks with Kim Jong-Il. US reliance on China’s money and political influence, as well as what the hell the 6-party is, are elaborated on as well.
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A Shift to the BRIC
- World
- International Organizations
- East Asia-Pacific
- European Eurasia
- South Asia & Central Asia
- The Americas
Synopsis: The Avenger has his plaid panties in a bunch about a serious global shift that started during the big G-20 in Pittsburgh last week: a move to more representative economic and political power on the world stage. Listen as the plaid one explains the background of the G-20 evolution, and the impacts of the most recent G-20 party….specifically for the BRIC countries….as they redistribute voting power in global institutions like the IMF and World Bank. Gee golly, its G-20 genius!
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BRICs stand by demand for bigger share of IMF votes
Keywords: BRIC, G-20, G-7, G-8, IMF, World Bank
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Issue 2: Battle For Burma
Well, the battle for the heart and soul of this country is on, but no one outside Burma seems to be able to do a damn thing about it! Why not?
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