Do the right thing: Obama and the South Korean FTA

ARTICLE: South Korea Trade Pact Is Revived by Obama, By EDMUND L. ANDREWS, New York Times, November 19, 2009

Good sign. Having paid his dues to the fears of the American middle class, Obama quietly does the right thing on the South Korean FTA.

The stimulus was worth it

ARTICLE: New Consensus Sees Stimulus Package as Worthy Step, By JACKIE CALMES and MICHAEL COOPER, New York Times, November 20, 2009

The emerging consensus on the correctness of pursuing the stimulus.

Mainstream Iranian cleric attacks government

ARTICLE: Cleric Wields Religion to Challenge Iran's Theocracy, By MICHAEL SLACKMAN, New York Times, November 21, 2009

This is a big and very positive sign for the opposition in Iran: a key cleric, once seen as Khomeini's successor, is now using faith to attack the government.

EU picks anonymous president

ARTICLE: E.U. picks first full-time president, By Edward Cody, Washington Post, November 20, 2009

Not too surprising, but still disappointing: The EU picks as its first president some anonymous Belgian minister.

As the sub-headline says: clear sign the EU is nowhere near ready to play serious global role.

So we have the overtapped US, barely there EU, and "rising" China that works its ass off to avoid taking any responsibility for anything.

This is the state of global leadership.

Life in Ethiopia

OP-ED: Ethiopia, Malnutrition and Climate Change, By BJ√∏RN LOMBORG, Wall Street Journal, NOVEMBER 15, 2009

Embedded within is mini portrait of your average Ethiopian orphan, living on the margins of an extended family that, while it tries, simply cannot meet his or her needs.

(Via WPR's Media Roundup)

Four likely Afghan scenarios

POST: What If We Fail in Afghanistan?, by Steve Coll, Think Tank, November 16, 2009

My guess? All four would happen in varying degrees (which I assume to be Coll's intent in spelling them out separately).

Good read.

(Via WPR's Media Roundup)

Tom around the web

+ The Atlantic Wire linked Obama's sensible decision on the trials.

+ Eeben Barlow's Military and Security Blog linked the TED video.
+ So did Classical Values.
+ So did Power and Control.
+ The TED video has 4 diggs here.
+ ocmpoma's catalog linked the Pop!Tech video.

+ Aodto's Blog linked Islam is now overwhelmingly Asian, not Arab.
+ Frenos & Contrapesos cited Tom on Deng Xiaoping.
+ Coming Anarchy linked Why America's War on Drugs Will Wane.
+ So did zenpundit.

+ Internet Anthropologist Think Tank linked Reject the Taliban's 'offer'.
+ Petit Garçon的Blog reprinted 'What Obama Won't Say on His Trip to China'.
+ Sam Roggeveen quoted Tom on America's legacy.
+ endecast cited Tom on the SysAdmin.
+ zenpundit linked Remember, Hirohito was the bad guy, not Harry.
+ Roy Mitsuoka reprinted 'When the Iranian Clergy Switch Sides'.
+ on the life of a new author... linked Losing my mind.
+ globalpolitikultur talked about Core/Gap.
+ Crossfit Bolling (Unofficial) reprinted 'Seven Reasons to Give Thanks That the World Didn't End This Year'.
+ World in Motion talked about Tom and Neo-Marxism.

+ ShrinkWrapped wrote about Tom and enlisting other countries to contribute to global order.

+ There's an article covering PNM in Chinese floating around at many places. First place I saw it.

Favre as enemy combatant

ARTICLE: Detainees at Camp in Iraq Use Favre To Tease Wisconsin Soldiers, By Jay Sorgi, Newsradio 620, Nov 19, 2009

Naturally, Favre becomes a weapon of choice among our enemies in the War on Terror. Like a lot of Islamic terrorist recruits, Favre suffered a midlife crisis and then turned against his adopted homeland, seeking its destruction. I expect the International Criminal Court to eventually step in and indict Favre for his many crimes against Wisconsin's humanity.

(Thanks: John Thorne )

Tailgating Northwestern v Badgers at Evanston

Pregame

Al Qaeda tries another door on Saudi Arabia

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA: "Saudis and Yemenis versus jihadists: A bloody border; Trouble on the frontier between Saudi Arabia and Yemen is getting out of hand," The Economist, 7 November 2009.

Saudi Arabia's AQ branch announced earlier this year that it was moving across the border into Yemen to take advantage of the growing instability there, thus birthing the new Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

So the House of Saud faces the usual problem: spray in one apartment and find they move over nearby into the dirtiest one.

Per capita income in Yemen is one-tenth that of Saudi Arabia.

GPS's impact on farming

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY: "Agriculture and satellites: Harvest moon; Artificial satellites are helping farmers boost crop yields," The Economist, 7 November 2009.

Fascinating description of how GPS allows farmers--even in less developed economies--to start managing their fields in a much more discrete manner. Good example: customized seed packets and fertilizer premixed by providers according to exact needs presented by predetermined zones--measured hectare by hectare via satellites.

France is considered the leader in applying this technology (precision farming).

Seven Reasons to Give Thanks That the World Didn't End This Year

David Hughes

Economic meltdown? Social anarchy? World War III? Go humbug yourself. Our foreign-policy analyst looks back on the 2009 fears that weren't, so we can all count our global blessings this holiday season.

Continue reading this week's World War Room column at Esquire.com.

When economics gets ahead of politics: beats the hell out of the alternative

LEADERS: "So much gained, so much to lose: Over the past 20 years economic freedom has outpaced political liberty. Neither should be taken for granted," The Economist, 7 November 2009.

Logic very much in my vein: economics has raced ahead of politics since the Wall fell, disappointing the democracy-now! types.

Does the slo-mo movement toward political pluralism negate the link between economic liberty and political liberty? No. Economics has made globalization nearly global, but politics remains stubbornly local. That gap defines danger as globalization moves forward, but this isn't 1914 by any stretch, because we no longer live in a globalization forced through colonialization.

For now, America remains the key guarantor of the system (which I argue is overwhelmingly of its modern creation), but the trick is, as the rest rise, the U.S. naturally loses relative power.

So the key remains: helping emerging pillars migrate toward more stable political systems, because authoritarian systems are too often tempted by the need for external villains, whereas democratic societies are usually satisfied with hating themselves (Big government! Big business! Big anything!).

But no question that much has been accomplished since the Wall fell: "the greatest leap forward in economic history," along with a host of "chaotic freedoms" both good and destabilizing in terms of sheer individual-level connectivity.

When the Iranian clergy switch sides

ARTICLE: Future Perfect, By Geneive Abdo, Newsweek , Nov 18, 2009

This fits nicely with the mullahs-have-lost-power scenario unfolding. Khamenei has so sold his soul to the Revolutionary Guard that the clergy are slowly coming to the conclusion that the faith would be better served detached from the government.

When this happens, a major portion of the clergy then switch over to the green movement and we get a Poland/Solidarnosc scenario that moves with great power.

(Thanks: jjennings)

But the general says Chinese consumers are dangerous...

POST: Gen. Casey to geeks: China's middle class worries me, By Thomas E. Ricks, The Best Defense, 11/18/2009

Wow, now we listen to army lifers for geopolitical and geo-economic analysis.

(Thanks: waveman850)

Some of China's air is improving

ARTICLE: Beijing's Air Is Cleaner, but Far From Clean, By MICHAEL WINES, New York Times, October 16, 2009

Good sign on China: efforts to curb local air pollution are helping.

Truth of any nation on the climb: local pollution skyrockets until per cap income gets to a level when the additional externalities finally get addressed. Thus, virtually every major city in the Old Core was far more polluted in the past than today.

Same will happen with China.

The downside of CT scans

ARTICLE: Radiation Overdoses Point Up Dangers of CT Scans, By WALT BOGDANICH, New York Times, October 15, 2009

Once Emily navigated her way out of chemo and the CTs (catscans) proved her clean, we were surprised at how quickly the diagnostics were dialed back down.

At first, we suspected a cost issue, but the docs said no, it's really a matter of trying to limit radiation exposure. Em had about a dozen CTs, but once the docs said we were in territory where other signs would present themselves faster, the CTs were discontinued.

Not easy to take as a parent, because you get addicted to the information and reassurance of the tests, but I admired how well the decline of their frequency was thought out by the docs.

The key question we learned to ask everybody: "How will this test affect the course of our care?" If no good answer was had, then you had to challenge the test.

Exxon: closing stations in U.S., opening ones in P.R.C.

MARKETPLACE: "Exxon, Prospecting for Growth, Flips the Switch on Chinese Plant," by Russell Gold, Wall Street Journal, 12 November 2009.

Exxon plans to open 750 station on the mainland in the near term, "even as it is selling all of its company-owned stations in the U.S."

Exxon, a true supermajor, doesn't just compete upstream for reserves, but likewise downstream for retail markets.

The ID as connectivity deliverer

WORLD NEWS: "India Taps Executive For Role In ID Plan," by Amol Sharma, Wall Street Journal, 10 November 2009.

The corporate chieftain (from Infosys) picked to run the show says the roadblocks aren't technological but political.

The goal is to get the poor and disadvantaged better access to government services and anything that requires proof of identity.

It is a huge census effort, really, to include biometrics, so Nandan Nilekani, the leader in question, spends a lot of time enlisting the support of players from all sorts of relevant sectors (banking, telecoms, regulators, agencies of all gov levels, etc.).

Here's the key subtext for India as a whole:

Mr. Nilekani's appointment--and performance as a cabinet-level minister--is being watched closely to see whether the management and technological expertise that has established India's information technology and other service industries as world class, can reform and rejuvenate India's notoriously labyrinthine and corrupt bureaucracy.

If Nilekani does well, the hope is that other gov execs will consider government stints.

For now, Nilekani is a non-stop PPT roadshow, complaining that "the amount of time you need to invest to push an idea in government is really high."

Preaching to the choir, my man.

If we pay to fight global warming, who holds the money?

ARTICLE: Biggest Obstacle to Global Climate Deal May Be How to Pay for It, By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL, New York Times, October 14, 2009

Little wonder on this one: can you imagine states turning over a trillion a year to some international organization? Imagine the waste, fraud and abuse potential on that one.