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COMMENTARY

Nov 16, 2004

Locals foot bill in sports stadium scam

By Doug Bandow

WASHINGTON -- Not long ago Washington, D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and the city's political elite held a triumphant press conference announcing the return of baseball. League officials began counting nearly a half billion dollars in public subsidies.

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 15, 2004

Last gasp of U.S. hegemony

By Kevin Rafferty

HONG KONG -- Sometimes it is difficult to fathom the mind of Mr. Market. After the Congress Party won the Indian election, the stock market plunged. After U.S. President George W. Bush's re-election was confirmed, markets everywhere were almost dancing with joy, seemingly oblivious to $50-a-barrel oil...

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 15, 2004

Work cut out for Australia and Indonesia

By Eric Teo Chu Cheow

SINGAPORE -- John Howard ensured his control over Australian politics for the next four years on Oct. 9 when he swept to an impressive fourth term as prime minister and his Liberal Party-led coalition increased its lead over Labour in both Houses. Howard's victory was attributed to the recent good performance...

COMMENTARY

Nov 15, 2004

Risks could Americanize Chinese behavior

By Frank Ching

HONG KONG -- It's a dangerous world out there and, as China is finding out, it's getting more dangerous by the day. Beijing was shocked last month when terrorists believed to be linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist organization kidnapped two Chinese engineers working on a dam project in a tribal area of...

COMMENTARY

Nov 15, 2004

Loyal vote for pork politics

By Keizo Nabeshima

On Nov. 5, the Tokyo District Court sentenced Muneo Suzuki, a former Lower House member of the Liberal Democratic Party, to two years in prison for bribery, misreporting donations and perjury. Suzuki, who once served as state minister in charge of development in Hokkaido, was a key member of the LDP's...

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 14, 2004

'Dirty bomb' threat rising

By Alan Goodall

SYDNEY -- The day terrorists start blackmailing democratic governments with homemade "dirty bombs" is closer than people think. World leaders must act now to prevent such a demonstrable nuclear catastrophe.

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 14, 2004

Strategy maximizes Iraqi civilian deaths

By Andrew Mack

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- The stunning revelations that postinvasion Iraqi deaths are three to 10 times higher than any previous estimates will be a major embarrassment for the Bush administration.

COMMENTARY

Nov 14, 2004

Asia won't go back to being an also-ran

By Brad Glosserman

HONOLULU -- I am often asked why our think tank is located in Hawaii. Apart from the sun, sand, sea and surf, there is a very good reason: The world looks very different from Honolulu. We're parked in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Tokyo is a lot closer than Washington, D.C. When we look out over the...

COMMENTARY

Nov 11, 2004

China pushes for new order

By Glyn Ford

LONDON -- A new Chinese diplomacy is emerging from Beijing. Traditionally reactive to global events, China now sees itself forced to take on a proactive role in world affairs. The revolutionary phase of Chinese foreign policy is dead; now pragmatism has taken center-stage.

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 11, 2004

'Uniter' needs bipartisan foreign policy

By John Barry Kotch

SANTA FE, New Mexico -- The ballot counting goes on in New Mexico, the battleground state closest to Northeast Asia and U.S. Democrats' last stand, but to what avail? With the presidential election already decided, only the political arithmetic remains.

COMMENTARY

Nov 10, 2004

Dealing with the nuclear-threat hydra

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON -- The U.S. government has named Iran and North Korea as rogue states. Iran is accused of seeking to develop nuclear weapons and breaching the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). North Korea may already have a few nuclear devices and has announced its withdrawal from the NPT. The two states...

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 9, 2004

Neocon lessons for Democrats

By Michael O'Hanlon

WASHINGTON -- As Democrats comb the 2004 election results for lessons, one should be obvious: we need bolder, newer ideas, particularly in this post-9/11 world in the realm of foreign policy. Just as neocons have provided much of the spark and intellectual energy behind modern-day Republicanism, Democrats...

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.

Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.

By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

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