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November 28, 2024

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COMMENTARY / WASHINGTON UPDATE

Apr 25, 2004

Bush ads make little dent against Kerry

By Bob Keefe

WASHINGTON -- The continuing reports of tumult and casualties from Iraq and contentious hearings by the Presidential Commission to Investigate September 11th have sucked the oxygen out of the media pipes this month.

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 24, 2004

National security rests on linguistic skills

By Domenico Maceri

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- English is without a doubt the world's lingua franca. It's spoken by more than 400 million people as their native tongue and many others speak it as their second language.

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 24, 2004

Gradual, orderly progress works for H.K.

By Bob Allcock

HONG KONG -- No one doubts that the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in Beijing has the "power of interpretation" for Hong Kong -- it is expressly set out in the Basic Law itself. But there has, nevertheless, been criticism on various grounds.

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 23, 2004

Collins affair rocks Australia

By Alan Goodall

SYDNEY -- Punch-drunk is how one Canberra insider describes the current state of Australia's security intelligence services. Never before in their roller-coaster history have the government's spying and spy-catching bodies been held in such public disrepute.

COMMENTARY

Apr 22, 2004

George Bush needs a new Ear

By Tom Plate

LOS ANGELES -- What did "the Ear" hear on his recent trip to Asia?

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 22, 2004

Bush's blinkered nonproliferation policy

By Brahma Chellaney

NEW DELHI -- Terrorism and weapons of mass destruction (WMD) have emerged as the two most pressing issues in international relations. Since 9/11, the United States has used the two to advance its strategic interests, linking them to reinforce international concerns about a terror-WMD nexus. This has...

COMMENTARY

Apr 21, 2004

U.S., North Korea await change from a reinvigorated Roh

By Ralph Cossa

HONOLULU -- South Korea's political landscape has changed dramatically, and one must assume irreversibly, as a result of the April 15 National Assembly elections. It is clear that the torch has indeed been passed to a new generation. What is less clear is what this means, both in the near and long term,...

COMMENTARY

Apr 20, 2004

Campaigns fail education role

By Ronald Meinardus

MANILA -- Ideally, an electoral campaign in a democracy offers the voter the chance to study the available alternatives before deciding which options are most compatible with his or her individual preferences. In this sense, electoral campaigns should be exercises in political education.

COMMENTARY

Apr 20, 2004

Clash of ideas behind violence

By David Howell

LONDON -- Behind all the horrors and bloodshed of Iraq lies a clash of ideas. In the words of one mujahedin leader when asked to explain his hatred of America: "We do not want their capitalism. We do not want communism. We have our own ideas about how we want our country to be run in a Muslim way."

COMMENTARY

Apr 20, 2004

Hong Kong protesters roll up their sleeves

By Frank Ching

HONG KONG -- The April 11 protest against Beijing's decision to interpret the Basic Law's provisions in a way that makes it impossible for the Special Administrative Region, or SAR, to initiate moves toward universal suffrage marks the first large protest against the central government since the handover...

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 19, 2004

Malaysia gives Islam a chance to shine

By Eric Teo Chu Cheow

SINGAPORE -- The 11th Malaysian general election March 21 was a historic moment in Malaysian politics and a political watershed in the country's history. It may also have been the turning point in the universal Islamic debate over religion and development, especially as these polls constitute the first...

COMMENTARY

Apr 19, 2004

South Korea's youth now in driver's seat

By Tom Plate

NEW YORK -- Veteran Asia-hand Nicholas Platt isn't quite ready to canonize Roh Moo Hyun as a great contemporary Asian leader -- notwithstanding last week's stunning endorsement of the populist president of South Korea in elections that catapulted the progressive, pro-Roh party to the top of the heap...

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.

Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat

By Greg Dvorak

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