In the 1960s, “The Orient” captured a new interest among the post-World War II Beat Generation as the lures of Zen Buddhism, Indian music, Thai weed and related mind-altering experiences rippled through the hip communities of the West. While young American GIs were fighting the Vietnam War, more peaceable folks were donning backpacks and heading […]
Posted inNorth-South Korea
Moon’s right-hand man former friend to the North
This article was originally published May 14, 2017. Im Jong-seok has now been mentioned as President’s Moon’s possible nominee for the post of unification minister. As US investigators hunkered down last week to investigate whether US President Donald Trump’s election campaign colluded with a hostile government, South Korea’s new president was appointing a right-hand man […]
Posted inAT Financial
Asia Times Financial launches news service, China domestic bond index
Asia Times Financial (ATF) today launched news and index services – notably the Asia Times Financial China Bond 50 Index – to provide expert, fast and accurate narratives about key Asian credit markets. The ATF China Bond 50 Index is a product created by the collaborative strength of Capital Link International and its partners: media platform ATF and […]
Posted inAsia Times Webinar
Free webinar: America, China, and the struggle for global leaders
Register for the “America, China, and the Struggle for Global Leadership” webinar. Hosted by Scott Foster of Lightstream Research (Tokyo) Moderated by Asia Times Editor Uwe Parpart January 19, 2021, 9 am Eastern Standard Time Asia Times’ latest free webinar features Clyde Prestowitz, author of The World Turned Upside Down: America, China, and the Struggle for Global Leadership. Prestowitz, […]
Posted inTechnology
Covid revolution increases the digital overload
Are too many online meetings and notifications getting you down? Online communication tools – from email to virtual chat and video-conferencing – have transformed the way we work. In many respects they’ve made life easier. Without them we could not have made the shift to remote working during the Covid pandemic. But are we now […]
Posted inOpinion
Lessons from the US Capitol siege
While the majority of Americans deplored the events at the US Capitol on January 6, it was troubling to see a YouGov poll indicating that 1 in 5 voters approved of the assault. Their attitudes were buttressed by a significant number of House and Senate Republicans who have egged on the matter by continuing to call into question […]
Posted inAnalysis
How Russia is building its leverage in the Caucasus
A meeting of the leaderships of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Kremlin on January 11, exactly two months after the ceasefire in the 44-day Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, can be seen as a robust push by Moscow to consolidate its diplomatic achievement. The ceasefire has gained traction and this is the opportune moment for Russia to […]
Posted inUnited States
Capitol siege showed white supremacist infiltration in US police
The apparent participation of off-duty officers in the rally that morphed into a siege on the US Capitol building January 6 has revived fears about white supremacists within police departments. These concerns are not new. White supremacy, the belief that white people are superior to other races, has long tainted elements within law enforcement. As I testified before Congress just […]
Posted inOpinion
Rights groups snub Vietnam prisoner over hunger strike
“Only skin and bone, but his mind is very strong.” This is how Vietnamese political prisoner Tran Huynh Duy Thuc’s family described his condition after their most recent visit with him. Thuc has now been on a hunger strike for more than 50 days protesting the authorities’ refusal to respond to his recent legal petitions. […]
Posted inThailand
Strange brew medical weed cooking in Thailand
SUPHANBURI – Thailand’s government is treating for free thousands of patients suffering cancer and other illnesses with an until recently illegal brew of marijuana boiled in coconut oil, a concoction created by Daycha Siripatra who says a mind-reading Buddhist monk helped tweak its recipe. Daycha also teaches the public how to make cannabis oil themselves, […]
Posted inProPublica's USA
Trump debt to overwhelm US economy for decades
This story was originally co-published by ProPublica and The Washington Post. One of President Donald Trump’s lesser known but profoundly damaging legacies will be the explosive rise in the national debt that occurred on his watch. The financial burden that he’s inflicted on our government will wreak havoc for decades, saddling our kids and grandkids […]
Posted inOpinion
The world cannot afford another four years of Trump
Having won over 74 million votes in the 2020 presidential election, there is little doubt that Donald Trump has resonated with a big chunk of the American population. The thousands of people turning out in support of Trump’s false claim of being cheated out of the presidency on January 6 is a testament to that […]
Posted inPakistan
Sherpa team summits winter K2, but climber dies in fall
Triumph and tragedy. Winter K2 has been conquered, but a veteran climber is dead. Former British commando Nirmal “Nims” Purja announced on his Facebook that, “The impossible is made possible.” “History made for mankind, history made for Nepal!” At 17:00 local time, Purja and a team of Sherpas, including Mingma G and Sona Sherpa of […]
Posted inInterview
Race is on to commercialize fusion energy
This is the first installment of a three-part interview Fusion power is moving out of government-run science labs into the private sector. Catalyzed by the public-private partnership methods which created the commercial space industry, fusion startups are attracting increasing interest among investors and accelerating the race to commercial fusion power. Since 2018, the Fusion Industry […]
Posted inNorth-South Korea
Seoul’s retroactive justice dooms North-South reunification
SEOUL – On January 8, a South Korean court found on behalf of 12 former “comfort women” and demanded the Japanese state pay reparations. A related decision is anticipated in March when another suit brought by a separate group of 20 ex-comfort women is to be judged. Given that the Pacific War ended in 1945, […]
Posted inAnalysis
China eyes the big picture on Southeast Asia tour
Eager to project Chinese global leadership amid a fraught presidential transition in Washington, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi wrapped up a five-day tour across four key nations in Southeast Asia. It was a calibrated move to charm China’s neighbors ahead of the Biden presidency, which has promised to restore American commitments to international partners and […]
Posted inAnalysis
How China is controlling the Covid origin narrative
Just over a year has gone by since Covid emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan and the world still has many questions about where and how it originated. The World Health Organisation sent a team to China this week to investigate the origins of the virus — which has now claimed nearly 2 million lives globally — but […]
Posted inIndia
Indian company’s gamble pays off in vaccine race
MUMBAI – For most older Indians, the Poonawalla family is famous for champion race horses at the prestigious Indian Derby in Mumbai. Today, another thoroughbred from the Poonawalla stable is leading India’s critical drive to save lives. The family-owned Serum Institute of India is at the center of the world’s largest roll-out of Covid vaccines. […]
Posted inUnited States
Capitol mob feeds off historic myths of lost power
The alt-right, QAnon, paramilitary and Donald Trump-supporting mob that stormed the US Capitol on January 6 claimed they were only doing what the so-called “founding fathers” of the US had done in 1776: overthrowing an illegitimate government that no longer represented them. This was the start of what they called the “second American Revolution”. This is why […]
Posted inFree Flowing
Soccer needs a handicap points system
Arrigo Sacchi, coach of the great AC Milan sides of the late 1980s, apparently once tried arguing that there was no major tactical innovation in soccer after his perfection of the 4-3-2-1. There’s some merit to that argument, but it forgets that Sacchi only found success by perching himself on the shoulders of past tactical […]
Posted inPakistan
Purja set to conquer winter K2 with Sherpa ‘team’
The last great mountaineering first may be close to surrendering to mankind — albeit, with a catch. According to a report on alpine site alanarnette.com, former British commando Nirmal “Nims” Purja may attempt a winter summit on K2 with a team of Sherpas, thanks to a favourable weather window in the Karakoram range. Purja, who […]
Posted inThe Chain
China’s blockchain network eyes global CBDCs
China’s national blockchain project aims to integrate with global central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). The Blockchain Service Network (BSN), a Beijing-backed initiative that was piloted in late 2019, plans to create a universal digital payment network (UDPN) that incorporates other countries’ CBDCs as part of its 2021 roadmap, according to a January 15 blog post cited by […]
Posted inEssay
Is a US-China war a real possibility?
From China’s perspective, the year of the Rat that started with a state of siege after the announcement of the first massive disastrous epidemic of the modern world, is about to end well. Beijing can look at a series of victories and the disarray of its main opponent and competitor, the United States. China managed […]