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COMMENTARY / THE VIEW FROM MOSCOW

Oct 16, 2005

Lenin can still save Russia

By Constantine Pleshakov

MOSCOW -- To: Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation

COMMENTARY

Oct 16, 2005

China needs an independent judiciary

By Frank Ching

HONG KONG -- China has performed a miracle over the last quarter century, lifting hundreds of millions of people from dire poverty and turning the country into an economic powerhouse. In the process, Beijing has raised people's expectations not only of a better life but of a fairer society.

COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT

Oct 16, 2005

Havin' a talk with 'God' and his Oval Office cronies

By Roger Pulvers

U.S. President George W. Bush has apparently declared, in a program to be aired next week on the BBC, that God instructed him to "fight the terrorists" in Afghanistan and Iraq.

COMMENTARY / World

Oct 16, 2005

One language isn't enough for any country

By Domenico Maceri

SANTA MARIA, California -- Almost 99 percent of Luxembourg's citizens can speak a second language, according to a European Union survey. At the other end of the spectrum are the British, only 30 percent of whom know a second language. In the case of Americans the figure is only 12 percent.

COMMENTARY

Oct 15, 2005

Statesman test for Koizumi

By Ralph Cossa

TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has demonstrated that he is a brilliant politician. His resounding victory in the Sept. 11 Lower House Diet elections provides him with an opportunity to demonstrate his brilliance as an international statesman as well.

COMMENTARY

Oct 15, 2005

Asia's tough but not impossible journey

By Tom Plate

LOS ANGELES -- Perhaps the prospects of would-be Asian political unity can best be described as a "pipe dream." But even that description might be too optimistic, unless you imagine a water pipe filled with wildly psychedelic substances that are imbibed in huge amounts!

COMMENTARY

Oct 14, 2005

Missile defense will define Japan-U.S. security alliance

By Robyn Lim

The impasse about the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps air station at Futenma in Okinawa caused U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to cancel his forthcoming visit to Japan. So Rumsfeld, fed up with Japanese foot-dragging for more than a decade, will be going to China and South Korea, but not to...

COMMENTARY / World

Oct 14, 2005

Can DVDs help stabilize and unite Asia?

By Eric Teo Chu Cheow

SINGAPORE -- Despite and beyond the copyright infringement issue, the booming "DVD phenomenon" in Asia appears to have a strategic importance to governments and a real psychological value to consumers. In fact, the DVD is replacing the video cassette as the best-selling item on the consumer market in...

COMMENTARY / World

Oct 13, 2005

From national security to human security

By Ramesh Thakur

The suffering and death inflicted by last December's tsunami and Hurricane Katrina shows the need to reframe security in human terms.

COMMENTARY

Oct 12, 2005

New authoritarian ways cross the line

By Hugh Cortazzi

LONDON -- At the recent Labour Party Conference, Prime Minister Tony Blair criticized the British criminal justice system. He said it needed toughening and called for "a radical extension of summary powers to police and local authorities" to deal with antisocial behavior and prevent terrorism.

COMMENTARY / World

Oct 10, 2005

New Delhi gives U.S. the nod over Iran

By Gautaman Bhaskaran

MADRAS, India -- India needs natural gas from Iran and nuclear technology from America. New Delhi chose to give priority to the latter, and went along with the European resolution at the International Atomic Energy Agency asking Tehran to comply with its nuclear obligations. Iran has been asked to sort...

COMMENTARY / World

Oct 10, 2005

America overhauls its Asia-Pacific force

By Richard Halloran

HONOLULU -- Amid plans for a sweeping realignment of United States military services in Asia and the Pacific, the U.S. Army in the Pacific has begun extensive changes intended to turn it into the most flexible expeditionary force that it has been since the end of the war in Vietnam 30 years ago.

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

Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.

What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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

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

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