Everyone is getting excited about the Beijing Olympic opening ceremony containing “faked” bits. Well, who remembers the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, when the Olympic flame was lit by a flaming arrow? In this video you can see that the arrow flew far over the cauldron which was supposed to contain the flame; the cauldron was actually [...]

East Asia, New Zealand, Photos, Religion, World | 3 Comments »

I don’t have time to do a full analysis of the situation in Burma, but other people can do it better anyway. So for a late contribution to International Blogger’s Day of Action for Burma I will link to the best information and analysis I have found: General Wikipedia has all the latest news with [...]

Catastrophes, East Asia, Failed states, Mercenaries, World | 7 Comments »

The new Government Building in Apia, Samoa, built by the Chinese. Source: Flickr. Guest Post by Eric Flis Part 1 – Introduction and Overview Part 2 – Economic Vulnerability Part 3 – Pandemic Vulnerability and Future Paradise Eric is a member of AIPIO (Australian Institute of Professional Intelligence Officers) and is currently studying for his [...]

Development, East Asia, Guest Posts, Pacific | No Comments »

China’s rise… The rise of China is generally thought to be one of the greatest potential threats to the dominance of the US. China’s massive economic growth, increasing military spending and engagement with rogue states and opponents of the US is a cause for concern. …and fall? But Chinese manufacturing is a vital part of [...]

East Asia, Terrorism | 7 Comments »

FP Passport reports that the US is considering expanding its alliance system with Australia and Japan, to eventually include India.  The new trilateral arrangement would include the most powerful democracies of the Asia-Pacific, and would be a step towards modernising the old US-led system of bilateral alliances, which dates back to the Cold War.  However: [...]

East Asia, Energy, UN | 12 Comments »

Australian SAS reinforcements have been sent. 100 or so soldiers landed in four military flights in Dili yesterday. 5000 civilians fled to IDP camps last month, following violence in Dili. They join 25-29,000 still living in camps after last years fighting. The Age has an article about China’s “charm offensive” in Dili. An example of [...]

East Asia, Failed states, Pacific, UN | 5 Comments »

Literally – Libertarianz leader Bernard Darnton’s website, FreeSpeech.org.nz is banned in China. Surprisingly, so is Pacific Empire. Bernard’s blog Section 14 has been very critical of China, but China is not often mentioned on this little blog. Test your own URL at the Great Firewall of China website – the results might shock you. It [...]

East Asia, Free Speech, New Zealand, Politics | 14 Comments »

When I saw the AP headline “Boyish US Envoy Becomes Hearthrob in China,” I knew immediately who it was about. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia, Christopher R. Hill – chief nuclear negotiator with North Korea -made a brief visit to Wellington last year, and one of my lecturers arranged a roundtable discussion with [...]

East Asia, US | 6 Comments »

“Minor Scale,” a simulated US nuclear explosion. PC asks whether the North Korean test was faked: The DPRK have every reason to lie, to bluff and to bluster, and none whatsoever to tell the truth. The test does indeed seem very small, with most estimates less than one kiloton. From what I can tell, these [...]

East Asia, World | 1 Comment »

An evil regime In 1987, Sun-Ok Lee, a North Korean materials supplier, was charged with negligence and imprisoned without a trial. Lee’s husband and son were also imprisoned. She spent seven years in an underground cell, working 18 hour days in an ammunition factory, and sleeping in a filthy cell shared with ninety other prisoners. [...]

East Asia, World | 4 Comments »