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Sep 26, 2012
Asia's super-rich to grow up to 3 million
Asia's super-rich to grow up to 3 million: The number of super-rich people in Asia may approach 3 million, with a stock of wealth equal to US$16.7 trillion, by 2015 thanks to resilient economies against the backdrop of a global slump, accordin .....
Singapore's growth to stall without foreign labour
Singapore's growth to stall without foreign labour: There are limits to the growth of the local workforce in Singapore, and this will in turn hold back economic growth for the country unless foreign workers continue to be allowed in, the Ministry of Tr .....
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Thai princess visits restive south to offer support
Thai princess visits restive south to offer support: Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn is in Thailand's deep south to offer moral support to people of all faiths and religions, 4th Army Region Commander Lt-General Udomchai Thammasarote .....
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Thai media 'study trip' a gov't bribe?
Thai media 'study trip' a gov't bribe?: If you were a journalist and were "somehow" invited on a week-long "study-trip" sponsored by the Thai Parliament and funded by taxpayers' money - to England, France and Belgium - and which includes di .....
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Yudhoyono touts blasphemy ban at UN
Yudhoyono touts blasphemy ban at UN: Indonesia is calling on the United Nations' member states to adopt a legally binding instrument to ban blasphemy against religious symbols and to promote dialogue between different faiths, civilisatio .....
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Viewpoint: Consequences of pandering to Pakistan extremists
Viewpoint: Consequences of pandering to Pakistan extremists: Ahmed Rashid on the risks of pandering to Pakistan extremists
Indonesian entrepreneur who made batik chic
Indonesian entrepreneur who made batik chic: The Indonesian entrepreneur who made batik fashionable
Uyghurs Eye Leadership Change
Uyghurs Eye Leadership Change:
Uyghurs abroad are watching China’s upcoming leadership change for signs of improvement in policies toward their homeland in the west of China, but there may not be much room for optimism, some exile Uyghurs say.
Chinese President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao, and other members of the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo Standing Committee are due to give up their posts in a once-in-a-decade switch-up of the party’s top echelons, making way for a new leadership generation almost certain to be led by current Vice President Xi Jinping.
The dates of the 18th Party Congress have not been announced, but in the meantime, members of China’s mostly Muslim, Turkic-speaking ethnic minority Uyghur group living abroad are contemplating what the leadership change could mean for their homeland in the Xinjiang region.
Next week in Germany, the East Turkistan Union in Europe will host a meeting, supported by the exile World Uyghur Congress, for members of the overseas Uyghur community to discuss the impact of the leadership change on Xinjiang, where Uyghurs say they are denied economic opportunities and subjected to political control and persecution.
Uyghur scholars and activists will explore “rare opportunities” for improvement in policies in the region, the WUC said in an announcement about the conference, which will coincide with China’s National Day of October 1.
But many are keeping their expectations low.
“I’m not optimistic about change in China’s leadership if Xi Jinping is made president,” WUC spokesman Dolkun Isa told RFA.
“Every time there is a new leadership change in China, they promise improvement—in human rights, in the economy—but it is just talk. In reality, we haven’t seen any improvement.”
Alim Seytoff, president of the Washington-based Uyghur American Association, said he hoped that China’s new leaders would reform current hardline policies.
“We are not optimistic, but it is time for China to change its brutal, heavy-handed rule,” he told RFA.
Xi Jinping
“We do not know whether Xi is going to be a reformer,” Alim Seytoff said.
“But because of his background and because his family suffered during the Mao era, we believe he should be more sympathetic to the plight of the Chinese people, as well as the plight of Uyghurs. So we would hope that he would have more lenient policies.”
Xi is the “princeling” son of liberal-minded former Vice Premier Xi Zhongxun, who was purged from the ruling Chinese Communist Party ahead of the Cultural Revolution.
The elder Xi was known for having tolerant views toward China’s ethnic minorities and said to have a close relationship with Tibetan exile leader the Dalai Lama, leading some to speculate that his son could have a more open attitude toward Tibetans, Uyghurs, and other ethnic groups.
But Xi Jinping, whose wife is a practicing Buddhist, has followed Beijing’s routine line on Tibet, promising to “smash” ethnic separatists who aim to split the country.
On a visit to Turkey in February, Xi urged the Turkish prime minister, who has accused China of committing “genocide” against Uyghurs, not to support Uyghur separatists and said China had made great strides to raise the living standards of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang.
Regardless of Xi’s attitude toward ethnic tolerance, any real change in policies toward Uyghurs and Tibetans would require a major shift in China’s minority policies to allow meaningful self-governance in the designated “autonomous regions” of Xinijang and Tibet, Dolkun Isa said.
“China needs to completely change its minority policy, including toward Uyghurs and Tibetans. They call them autonomous regions, but in the past 60 years we have not seen autonomy.”
On paper, China’s constitution and regional ethnic autonomy law guarantee rights for ethnic minorities, including self-government in Xinjiang, which was home to two short-lived East Turkestan republics in the 1930s and 1940s.
But China’s leaders have failed to uphold the guarantees for ethnic rights and so far have not exhibited any signs indicating they will do so, Dolkun Isa said.
“The ideology is not changing. They have the same ideology, and the same strategies,” he said.
Dolkun Isa said for real change to be seen in the region, the current leaders in Xinjiang, regional chairman Nur Bekri and party secretary Zhang Chunxian, would have to be replaced with representatives elected by Uyghurs.
“If a new, more democratic leadership came to power, then Zhang Chunxian and Nur Bekri should removed and the Uyghur people should have the opportunity to elect the Uyghur representatives they want.”
Economic development
In recent years, under those two leaders, Xinjiang has pushed economic development that Uyghurs say has brought more benefits to Han Chinese than Uyghurs.
Dolkun Isa said the economic progress was confined to urban areas and has not reached the 80 percent of Uyghurs who live as farmers. Instead, economic policies have been an excuse to bring in Han migration from inland China, he said.
In 2009, following riots in the regional capital of Urumqi that was the worst ethnic violence China had seen in decades, Beijing’s leaders held a conference in Urumqi, attended by Xi and other Politburo members, announcing new plans to invest in Xinjiang as a solution to the unrest.
In coming years, China is expected to promote more investment in the region, but Dolkun Isa said he feared the benefits would not go to Uyghurs.
“There could be some economic development, but the benefits do not go to the native Uyghur people,” he said.
Alim Seytoff said that Uyghurs in Xinjiang would welcome economic development and investment in the region, but it should benefit Uyghurs and not only Han Chinese in the region.
“Our hope is that if China wants to invest in and develop the region, the benefits should be proportional,” Alim Seytoff said.
‘Cultural genocide’
Instead, current policies in the region including the encouragement of Han migration to the region are “a form of cultural genocide” aimed at eliminating the language, culture, and religious beliefs of Uyghurs, Alim Seytoff said.
“Our hope is that when Xi Jinping becomes president he will reconsider this policy, and instead allow Uyghurs and Tibetans to keep their identity – their language and religious practices – and be who they are. They are not Han Chinese, and they do not want to be. They do not want to be assimilated."
He warned that rising unrest in Xinjiang would only worsen under more of the same hardline policies under the next generation of China’s leadership.
“The government believes its hardline policies are working, but in fact … they are backfiring, and it’s important for the Chinese leadership to realize that. Without a fundamental review of these policies, the government is only sowing the seeds of hatred and violence.”
Reported by Rachel Vandenbrink.
Uyghurs abroad are watching China’s upcoming leadership change for signs of improvement in policies toward their homeland in the west of China, but there may not be much room for optimism, some exile Uyghurs say.
Chinese President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao, and other members of the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s Politburo Standing Committee are due to give up their posts in a once-in-a-decade switch-up of the party’s top echelons, making way for a new leadership generation almost certain to be led by current Vice President Xi Jinping.
The dates of the 18th Party Congress have not been announced, but in the meantime, members of China’s mostly Muslim, Turkic-speaking ethnic minority Uyghur group living abroad are contemplating what the leadership change could mean for their homeland in the Xinjiang region.
Next week in Germany, the East Turkistan Union in Europe will host a meeting, supported by the exile World Uyghur Congress, for members of the overseas Uyghur community to discuss the impact of the leadership change on Xinjiang, where Uyghurs say they are denied economic opportunities and subjected to political control and persecution.
Uyghur scholars and activists will explore “rare opportunities” for improvement in policies in the region, the WUC said in an announcement about the conference, which will coincide with China’s National Day of October 1.
But many are keeping their expectations low.
“I’m not optimistic about change in China’s leadership if Xi Jinping is made president,” WUC spokesman Dolkun Isa told RFA.
“Every time there is a new leadership change in China, they promise improvement—in human rights, in the economy—but it is just talk. In reality, we haven’t seen any improvement.”
Alim Seytoff, president of the Washington-based Uyghur American Association, said he hoped that China’s new leaders would reform current hardline policies.
“We are not optimistic, but it is time for China to change its brutal, heavy-handed rule,” he told RFA.
Xi Jinping
“We do not know whether Xi is going to be a reformer,” Alim Seytoff said.
“But because of his background and because his family suffered during the Mao era, we believe he should be more sympathetic to the plight of the Chinese people, as well as the plight of Uyghurs. So we would hope that he would have more lenient policies.”
Xi is the “princeling” son of liberal-minded former Vice Premier Xi Zhongxun, who was purged from the ruling Chinese Communist Party ahead of the Cultural Revolution.
The elder Xi was known for having tolerant views toward China’s ethnic minorities and said to have a close relationship with Tibetan exile leader the Dalai Lama, leading some to speculate that his son could have a more open attitude toward Tibetans, Uyghurs, and other ethnic groups.
But Xi Jinping, whose wife is a practicing Buddhist, has followed Beijing’s routine line on Tibet, promising to “smash” ethnic separatists who aim to split the country.
On a visit to Turkey in February, Xi urged the Turkish prime minister, who has accused China of committing “genocide” against Uyghurs, not to support Uyghur separatists and said China had made great strides to raise the living standards of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang.
Regardless of Xi’s attitude toward ethnic tolerance, any real change in policies toward Uyghurs and Tibetans would require a major shift in China’s minority policies to allow meaningful self-governance in the designated “autonomous regions” of Xinijang and Tibet, Dolkun Isa said.
“China needs to completely change its minority policy, including toward Uyghurs and Tibetans. They call them autonomous regions, but in the past 60 years we have not seen autonomy.”
On paper, China’s constitution and regional ethnic autonomy law guarantee rights for ethnic minorities, including self-government in Xinjiang, which was home to two short-lived East Turkestan republics in the 1930s and 1940s.
But China’s leaders have failed to uphold the guarantees for ethnic rights and so far have not exhibited any signs indicating they will do so, Dolkun Isa said.
“The ideology is not changing. They have the same ideology, and the same strategies,” he said.
Dolkun Isa said for real change to be seen in the region, the current leaders in Xinjiang, regional chairman Nur Bekri and party secretary Zhang Chunxian, would have to be replaced with representatives elected by Uyghurs.
“If a new, more democratic leadership came to power, then Zhang Chunxian and Nur Bekri should removed and the Uyghur people should have the opportunity to elect the Uyghur representatives they want.”
Economic development
In recent years, under those two leaders, Xinjiang has pushed economic development that Uyghurs say has brought more benefits to Han Chinese than Uyghurs.
Dolkun Isa said the economic progress was confined to urban areas and has not reached the 80 percent of Uyghurs who live as farmers. Instead, economic policies have been an excuse to bring in Han migration from inland China, he said.
In 2009, following riots in the regional capital of Urumqi that was the worst ethnic violence China had seen in decades, Beijing’s leaders held a conference in Urumqi, attended by Xi and other Politburo members, announcing new plans to invest in Xinjiang as a solution to the unrest.
In coming years, China is expected to promote more investment in the region, but Dolkun Isa said he feared the benefits would not go to Uyghurs.
“There could be some economic development, but the benefits do not go to the native Uyghur people,” he said.
Alim Seytoff said that Uyghurs in Xinjiang would welcome economic development and investment in the region, but it should benefit Uyghurs and not only Han Chinese in the region.
“Our hope is that if China wants to invest in and develop the region, the benefits should be proportional,” Alim Seytoff said.
‘Cultural genocide’
Instead, current policies in the region including the encouragement of Han migration to the region are “a form of cultural genocide” aimed at eliminating the language, culture, and religious beliefs of Uyghurs, Alim Seytoff said.
“Our hope is that when Xi Jinping becomes president he will reconsider this policy, and instead allow Uyghurs and Tibetans to keep their identity – their language and religious practices – and be who they are. They are not Han Chinese, and they do not want to be. They do not want to be assimilated."
He warned that rising unrest in Xinjiang would only worsen under more of the same hardline policies under the next generation of China’s leadership.
“The government believes its hardline policies are working, but in fact … they are backfiring, and it’s important for the Chinese leadership to realize that. Without a fundamental review of these policies, the government is only sowing the seeds of hatred and violence.”
Reported by Rachel Vandenbrink.
Aquino reforms leave potholes
Aquino reforms leave potholes: The gloom dominating the Western economic story tends to obscure what is happening in the Philippines. Growth is healthy, inflation and interest rates are stable, public debt is low, and genuine progress has been made against official graft. Even so, compared with elsewhere in Southeast Asia, President Benigno Aquino's reforms look less brilliant. - Richard Javad Heydarian
Qatar: Rich and Dangerous?
Qatar: Rich and Dangerous?:
The first concern of the Emir of Qatar is the prosperity and security of the tiny kingdom. To achieve that, he knows no limits.
(Photo credit: Shutterstock)Stuck between Iran and Saudi Arabia is Qatar with the third largest natural gas deposit in the world. The gas gives the nearly quarter of a million Qatari citizens the highest per capita income on the planet and provides 70 percent of government revenue.
How does an extremely wealthy midget with two potentially dangerous neighbors keep them from making an unwelcomed visit? Naturally, you have someone bigger and tougher to protect you.
Of course, nothing is free. The price has been to allow the United States to have two military bases in a strategic location. According to Wikileak diplomatic cables, the Qataris are even paying sixty percent of the costs.
Having tanks and bunker busting bombs nearby will discourage military aggression, but it does nothing to curb the social tumult that has been bubbling for decades in the Middle Eastern societies. Eighty-four years ago, the Moslem Brotherhood arose in Egypt because of the presence of foreign domination by Great Britain and the discontent of millions of the teaming masses yearning to be free. Eighty-four years later, the teaming masses are still yearning.
Sixty-five percent of the people in the Middle East are under twenty-nine years of age. It is this desperate angry group that presents a danger that armies cannot stop. The cry for their dignity, “I am a man,” is the sound that sends terror through governments. It is this overwhelming force that the Emir of Qatar has been able to deflect.
A year after he deposed his father in 1995, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani established the Al-Jazeera television satellite news network. He invited some of the radical Salafi preachers that had been given sanctuary in Qatar to address the one and a half billion Moslems around the world. They had their electronic soapbox and the card to an ATM, but there was a price.
The price was silence. They could speak to the world and arouse the fury in Egypt or Libya, but they would have to leave their revolution outside of Qatar or the microphone would be switched off and the ATM would stop dispensing the good life.
The Moslem Brotherhood, that is a major force across the region, dissolved itself in Qatar in 1999. Jasim Sultan, a member of the former organization, explained that the kingdom was in compliance with Islamic law. He heads the state funded Awaken Project that publishes moderate political and philosophical literature.
How Qatar has benefited from networking with the Salafis is illustrated by the connections with Tunisia where Qatar is making a large investment in telecommunications. Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafiq Abdulsalaam was head of the Research and Studies Division in the Al Jazeera Centre in Doha. His father-in-law Al Ghanouchi is the head of the Tunisian Muslim Brotherhood party.
Over much of the time since he seized power, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani has followed the policy of personal networking, being proactive in business and neutral on the international stage. The Emir is generous with the grateful, the Qatar Sovereign Wealth Fund bargains hard in the board room and the kingdom makes available Qatar’s Good Offices to resolve disputes.
Qatar’s foreign policy made an abrupt shift when the kingdom entered the war against Qaddafi. The kingdom sent aircraft to join NATO forces. On the ground, Qatari special forces armed, trained, and led Libyans against Qaddafi’s troops.
The head of the National Transition Council Mustafa Abdul Jalil attributed much of the success of the revolution to the efforts of Qatar that he said had spent two billion dollars. He commented, “Nobody traveled to Qatar without being given a sum of money by the government.”
Qatar had ten billion dollars in investments in Libya to protect. The Barwa Real Estate Company alone had two billion committed to the construction of a beach resort near Tripoli.
While the bullets were still flying, Qatar signed eight billion dollars in agreements with the NTC. Just in case things with the NTC didn’t work out, they financed rivals Abdel Hakim Belhaj, leader of the February 17 Martyr’s Brigade, and Sheik Ali Salabi, a radical cleric who had been exiled in Doha.
If Qatar’s investments of ten billion dollars seem substantial, the future has far more to offer. Reconstruction costs are estimated at seven hundred billion dollars. The Chinese and Russians had left behind between them thirty billion in incomplete contracts and investments and all of it is there for the taking for those who aided the revolution.
No sooner had Qaddafi been caught and shot, Qatar approached Bashar Al-Assad to establish a transitional government with the Moslem Brotherhood. As you would expect, relinquishing power to the Brotherhood was an offer that he could refuse. It didn’t take long before he heard his sentence pronounced in January 2012 on the CBS television program, 60 Minutes by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani.
The Emir declared that foreign troops should be sent into Syria. At the Friends of Syria conference in February, Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani said, “We should do whatever necessary to help [the Syrian opposition], including giving them weapons to defend themselves.”
Why would Qatar want to become involved in Syria where they have little invested? A map reveals that the kingdom is a geographic prisoner in a small enclave on the Persian Gulf coast.
It relies upon the export of LNG, because it is restricted by Saudi Arabia from building pipelines to distant markets. In 2009, the proposal of a pipeline to Europe through Saudi Arabia and Turkey to the Nabucco pipeline was considered, but Saudi Arabia that is angered by its smaller and much louder brother has blocked any overland expansion.
Already the largest LNG producer, Qatar will not increase the production of LNG. The market is becoming glutted with eight new facilities in Australia coming online between 2014 and 2020.
A saturated North American gas market and a far more competitive Asian market leaves only Europe. The discovery in 2009 of a new gas field near Israel, Lebanon, Cyprus, and Syria opened new possibilities to bypass the Saudi Barrier and to secure a new source of income. Pipelines are in place already in Turkey to receive the gas. Only Al-Assad is in the way.
Qatar along with the Turks would like to remove Al-Assad and install the Syrian chapter of the Moslem Brotherhood. It is the best organized political movement in the chaotic society and can block Saudi Arabia’s efforts to install a more fanatical Wahhabi based regime. Once the Brotherhood is in power, the Emir’s broad connections with Brotherhood groups throughout the region should make it easy for him to find a friendly ear and an open hand in Damascus.
A control centre has been established in the Turkish city of Adana near the Syrian border to direct the rebels against Al-Assad. Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah al-Saud asked to have the Turks establish a joint Turkish, Saudi, Qatari operations center. “The Turks liked the idea of having the base in Adana so that they could supervise its operations” a source in the Gulf told Reuters.
The fighting is likely to continue for many more months, but Qatar is in for the long term. At the end, there will be contracts for the massive reconstruction and there will be the development of the gas fields. In any case, Al-Assad must go. There is nothing personal; it is strictly business to preserve the future tranquility and well-being of Qatar.
This article by Felix Imonti was originally written for Oilprice.com and was republished with permission.
The first concern of the Emir of Qatar is the prosperity and security of the tiny kingdom. To achieve that, he knows no limits.
(Photo credit: Shutterstock)
How does an extremely wealthy midget with two potentially dangerous neighbors keep them from making an unwelcomed visit? Naturally, you have someone bigger and tougher to protect you.
Of course, nothing is free. The price has been to allow the United States to have two military bases in a strategic location. According to Wikileak diplomatic cables, the Qataris are even paying sixty percent of the costs.
Having tanks and bunker busting bombs nearby will discourage military aggression, but it does nothing to curb the social tumult that has been bubbling for decades in the Middle Eastern societies. Eighty-four years ago, the Moslem Brotherhood arose in Egypt because of the presence of foreign domination by Great Britain and the discontent of millions of the teaming masses yearning to be free. Eighty-four years later, the teaming masses are still yearning.
Sixty-five percent of the people in the Middle East are under twenty-nine years of age. It is this desperate angry group that presents a danger that armies cannot stop. The cry for their dignity, “I am a man,” is the sound that sends terror through governments. It is this overwhelming force that the Emir of Qatar has been able to deflect.
A year after he deposed his father in 1995, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani established the Al-Jazeera television satellite news network. He invited some of the radical Salafi preachers that had been given sanctuary in Qatar to address the one and a half billion Moslems around the world. They had their electronic soapbox and the card to an ATM, but there was a price.
The price was silence. They could speak to the world and arouse the fury in Egypt or Libya, but they would have to leave their revolution outside of Qatar or the microphone would be switched off and the ATM would stop dispensing the good life.
The Moslem Brotherhood, that is a major force across the region, dissolved itself in Qatar in 1999. Jasim Sultan, a member of the former organization, explained that the kingdom was in compliance with Islamic law. He heads the state funded Awaken Project that publishes moderate political and philosophical literature.
How Qatar has benefited from networking with the Salafis is illustrated by the connections with Tunisia where Qatar is making a large investment in telecommunications. Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafiq Abdulsalaam was head of the Research and Studies Division in the Al Jazeera Centre in Doha. His father-in-law Al Ghanouchi is the head of the Tunisian Muslim Brotherhood party.
Over much of the time since he seized power, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani has followed the policy of personal networking, being proactive in business and neutral on the international stage. The Emir is generous with the grateful, the Qatar Sovereign Wealth Fund bargains hard in the board room and the kingdom makes available Qatar’s Good Offices to resolve disputes.
Qatar’s foreign policy made an abrupt shift when the kingdom entered the war against Qaddafi. The kingdom sent aircraft to join NATO forces. On the ground, Qatari special forces armed, trained, and led Libyans against Qaddafi’s troops.
The head of the National Transition Council Mustafa Abdul Jalil attributed much of the success of the revolution to the efforts of Qatar that he said had spent two billion dollars. He commented, “Nobody traveled to Qatar without being given a sum of money by the government.”
Qatar had ten billion dollars in investments in Libya to protect. The Barwa Real Estate Company alone had two billion committed to the construction of a beach resort near Tripoli.
While the bullets were still flying, Qatar signed eight billion dollars in agreements with the NTC. Just in case things with the NTC didn’t work out, they financed rivals Abdel Hakim Belhaj, leader of the February 17 Martyr’s Brigade, and Sheik Ali Salabi, a radical cleric who had been exiled in Doha.
If Qatar’s investments of ten billion dollars seem substantial, the future has far more to offer. Reconstruction costs are estimated at seven hundred billion dollars. The Chinese and Russians had left behind between them thirty billion in incomplete contracts and investments and all of it is there for the taking for those who aided the revolution.
No sooner had Qaddafi been caught and shot, Qatar approached Bashar Al-Assad to establish a transitional government with the Moslem Brotherhood. As you would expect, relinquishing power to the Brotherhood was an offer that he could refuse. It didn’t take long before he heard his sentence pronounced in January 2012 on the CBS television program, 60 Minutes by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani.
The Emir declared that foreign troops should be sent into Syria. At the Friends of Syria conference in February, Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani said, “We should do whatever necessary to help [the Syrian opposition], including giving them weapons to defend themselves.”
Why would Qatar want to become involved in Syria where they have little invested? A map reveals that the kingdom is a geographic prisoner in a small enclave on the Persian Gulf coast.
It relies upon the export of LNG, because it is restricted by Saudi Arabia from building pipelines to distant markets. In 2009, the proposal of a pipeline to Europe through Saudi Arabia and Turkey to the Nabucco pipeline was considered, but Saudi Arabia that is angered by its smaller and much louder brother has blocked any overland expansion.
Already the largest LNG producer, Qatar will not increase the production of LNG. The market is becoming glutted with eight new facilities in Australia coming online between 2014 and 2020.
A saturated North American gas market and a far more competitive Asian market leaves only Europe. The discovery in 2009 of a new gas field near Israel, Lebanon, Cyprus, and Syria opened new possibilities to bypass the Saudi Barrier and to secure a new source of income. Pipelines are in place already in Turkey to receive the gas. Only Al-Assad is in the way.
Qatar along with the Turks would like to remove Al-Assad and install the Syrian chapter of the Moslem Brotherhood. It is the best organized political movement in the chaotic society and can block Saudi Arabia’s efforts to install a more fanatical Wahhabi based regime. Once the Brotherhood is in power, the Emir’s broad connections with Brotherhood groups throughout the region should make it easy for him to find a friendly ear and an open hand in Damascus.
A control centre has been established in the Turkish city of Adana near the Syrian border to direct the rebels against Al-Assad. Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah al-Saud asked to have the Turks establish a joint Turkish, Saudi, Qatari operations center. “The Turks liked the idea of having the base in Adana so that they could supervise its operations” a source in the Gulf told Reuters.
The fighting is likely to continue for many more months, but Qatar is in for the long term. At the end, there will be contracts for the massive reconstruction and there will be the development of the gas fields. In any case, Al-Assad must go. There is nothing personal; it is strictly business to preserve the future tranquility and well-being of Qatar.
This article by Felix Imonti was originally written for Oilprice.com and was republished with permission.
Qatari emir: Arabs must intervene in Syria
Qatari emir: Arabs must intervene in Syria: Sheikh Hamad says Security Council has failed, hours before twin bombings strike army headquarters in Damascus.
CLIMATE CHANGE: New urgency to rethink dam projects
CLIMATE CHANGE: New urgency to rethink dam projects:
 | JOHANNESBURG, 26 September 2012 (IRIN) - The massive hydropower dams built on the Zambezi River, the largest river system in Southern Africa, not only supply power to major economies in the region but also help mitigate annual floods. But as electricity demands grow and rising global temperatures affect rainfall patterns, the dams will be unable to meet energy needs or control floods, warns a new study. |
NEPAL: Community forest value untapped
NEPAL: Community forest value untapped:
 | KATHMANDU, 26 September 2012 (IRIN) - Government oversight is preventing local communities from reaping economic benefits from forests they have spent decades re-generating, activists say. |
NIGER: Agencies scramble to repair schools after floods
NIGER: Agencies scramble to repair schools after floods:
 | NIAMEY, 26 September 2012 (IRIN) - The government of Niger and aid agencies are scrambling to clean and repair thousands of schools that were damaged in the flooding from rains in July and August, which displaced over 500,000 people and killed over 80, in an effort to return children to school as soon as possible. |
SYRIA: Towards governance in rebel-held areas
SYRIA: Towards governance in rebel-held areas:
 | BERLIN, 26 September 2012 (IRIN) - Citizens are taking control of services in rebel-held areas of Syria. In al-Bara, a village in the rural northwest, dustmen are collecting rubbish. If there are power line problems, an electrician does the repairs. If someone is accused of theft, he has to stand trial, and if found guilty, he is sent to prison. |
Tuk-tuk project drives Somali IDPs in search of self-sufficiency
Tuk-tuk project drives Somali IDPs in search of self-sufficiency: Mohamed fled to Galkayo in northern Somalia's Puntland three years ago. Today, he drives a tuk-tuk as part of a UNHCR income-generation project.
Nearly 2 Million Displaced After India Floods
Nearly 2 Million Displaced After India Floods: Flooding has killed at least 18 people and displaced nearly two million others in India's northeastern Assam state.
Military and disaster relief teams have launched rescue and relief operations delivering food and medicine and moving others to higher ground.
The state's disaster management officials say hundreds of relief camps have been set up across the to assist flood victims.
Sixteen of the Assam's 27 districts have been affected by the floods, but rising levels in the ...
Military and disaster relief teams have launched rescue and relief operations delivering food and medicine and moving others to higher ground.
The state's disaster management officials say hundreds of relief camps have been set up across the to assist flood victims.
Sixteen of the Assam's 27 districts have been affected by the floods, but rising levels in the ...
Vietnam Could Become World's Biggest Rice Exporter
Vietnam Could Become World's Biggest Rice Exporter: This year, Vietnam may surpass Thailand as the world's biggest rice exporter. For the long-term, the country is increasing its rice quality and plans to tap into the China market.
Long ranked second in terms of rice exporters, Vietnam is expected to export around seven million tons of rice this year. Estimates put Thailand at around 6.5 million tons.
Nguyen Van Don, general director of rice exporter Viet Hung, says thanks to Thailand's high price guarantee for farmers, ...
Long ranked second in terms of rice exporters, Vietnam is expected to export around seven million tons of rice this year. Estimates put Thailand at around 6.5 million tons.
Nguyen Van Don, general director of rice exporter Viet Hung, says thanks to Thailand's high price guarantee for farmers, ...
Study: US Should Re-Evaluate Pakistan Drone Strikes
Study: US Should Re-Evaluate Pakistan Drone Strikes: A study by two leading U.S. universities is criticizing the U.S. administration’s use of drone strikes against militants in Pakistan as counterproductive. But Washington considers the strikes crucial to its war against terrorists
The report titled “Living Under Drones" is based on nine months of research and more than 130 interviews with victims, witnesses, experts, and media reports.
Conducted by Stanford/New York University, the study says drone strikes targeting militants in ...
The report titled “Living Under Drones" is based on nine months of research and more than 130 interviews with victims, witnesses, experts, and media reports.
Conducted by Stanford/New York University, the study says drone strikes targeting militants in ...
Stranded Ethiopian Migrants Return From Yemen
Stranded Ethiopian Migrants Return From Yemen: Almost 300 stranded Ethiopian migrants returned on Tuesday from Yemen. Thousands more remain stuck in nearby countries, though, after they went abroad illegally for economic reasons.
A charter flight by IOM, the International Organization for Migration, carried 275 Ethiopian migrants back to Addis Ababa on Tuesday morning. These migrants had crossed the borders illegally and were stranded in Yemen.
IOM assists with the return and reintegration of migrants worldwide, and has ...
A charter flight by IOM, the International Organization for Migration, carried 275 Ethiopian migrants back to Addis Ababa on Tuesday morning. These migrants had crossed the borders illegally and were stranded in Yemen.
IOM assists with the return and reintegration of migrants worldwide, and has ...
Syrian-Americans Offer Weapons Channel to Rebels
Syrian-Americans Offer Weapons Channel to Rebels: The challenge for Syria's revolution is to identify and support opposition forces whose goal is a democratic, multi-ethnic for a future Syria
Obama Calls Human Trafficking 'Slavery,' Announces New Measures
Obama Calls Human Trafficking 'Slavery,' Announces New Measures: After his speech to the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama used an appearance at the Clinton Global Initiative to announce new efforts to help crack down on human trafficking.
Calling the fight against human trafficking "one of the great human rights causes of our time," Obama announced new steps to deal with a problem he called "barbaric and evil" with no place in a civilized world.
"It is a debasement of our common humanity. It ...
Calling the fight against human trafficking "one of the great human rights causes of our time," Obama announced new steps to deal with a problem he called "barbaric and evil" with no place in a civilized world.
"It is a debasement of our common humanity. It ...
In Turkey, Religious Schools Gain a Foothold
In Turkey, Religious Schools Gain a Foothold: As parents wait to collect their children from Mehmet Akif Middle School, one father appears deeply concerned. Recent announcements regarding newly Islamized curricula — ostensibly for training imams and other clerics — caught many parents by surprise.
"They will say, 'put a headscarf on your child,' and she'll have to wear a longer dress. They will try to bring more backwardness into their lives. Nobody wants this," he says. "We want our children to be ...
"They will say, 'put a headscarf on your child,' and she'll have to wear a longer dress. They will try to bring more backwardness into their lives. Nobody wants this," he says. "We want our children to be ...
Election Day Starts Now: In Critical Swing States, Early Voting Expected To Exceed '08 Levels
Election Day Starts Now: In Critical Swing States, Early Voting Expected To Exceed '08 Levels: 
The election could be won or lost weeks before Election Day thanks to early voting that has now spread in one form or another to more than half the states. With early voting kicking off Thursday in the critical swing state of Iowa, and with more swing states following close behind, including Ohio next Tuesday, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will be banking real votes long before the frenetic final days of the campaign.
"I am forecasting in this election cycle that about 35 percent of the vote will be cast before Election Day," George Mason University professor Michael McDonald, who researches early voting behavior, told TPM. "We know 78 percent of all votes in Colorado were cast prior to Election Day in 2008, and it probably will be around 85 percent in 2012. The election will essentially be won or lost before Election Day unless it's a tight, narrow, razor-thin margin."
With more than one-third of the votes nationwide expected to be cast early, Romney's already shrinking window to erase President Obama's current lead in public opinion polls before Election Day is closing even faster. While the presidential debates, for instance, remain Romney's last best hope to shake up the current dynamics of the race, many voters will have already cast their ballots before all the debates are held. Time is running out.
The prevalence of early voting in 2012 -- either via in-person early voting or no-excuse absentee voting -- continues the modern trend. Some 30.6 percent of the electorate voted early in 2008, but the percentages were much higher in battleground states like Florida (51.8 percent), Nevada (66.9 percent), and North Carolina (60.6 percent).
Ohio, where Obama is surging in public opinion polling, is poised for the biggest boost. Recently the Obama campaign successfully blocked the state in federal court from eliminating three early voting days. But the bigger news is that election officials, for the first time, are sending every single registered voter in the state an absentee ballot request form. According to RealClearPolitics, the Romney campaign is forecasting that the changes will spike the early voting rate from 25.2 percent in 2008 to 45 percent this year. Absentee voting begins on Oct. 2, the day before the first presidential debate.
"How many of you have already gotten your absentee ballot applications?" Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) shouted at an Ohio rally on Tuesday before Romney took the stage. "The best thing we can do right now is bank votes, so vote absentee!"
One exception where the rules have moved in the opposite direction is Florida, which cut its number of early voting days from 14 to eight. The effects of the change are still unclear, however, especially as individual counties might offer longer voting hours.
Democrats dominated early voting in 2008 thanks to high enthusiasm among the base, an unprecedented ground game, and a huge cash advantage over John McCain. This time around, Republicans say things will be different: They have vastly improved resources thanks to stronger fundraising and more assistance from outside groups.
The Romney campaign says it has met many of McCain's 2008 grassroots benchmarks weeks ahead of schedule. Among the stats cited, officials say they've knocked on one million more doors already than in the entire '08 campaign and made seven times as many phone calls as Team McCain volunteers had at the same point in the race. Conservatives groups and Republicans also ran successful early voting programs in victories across the country in the 2010 elections, though it should be noted that the midterm electorate is demographically much more conservative than the expected presidential electorate.
For its part, the battle-tested Obama campaign is counting on its own turnout operations to counter the expected advantage in late advertising dollars from Republicans and their allies.
"By encouraging our supporters to vote early, we can focus our resources more efficiently on Election Day to make sure those less likely to vote get out to the polls," Obama campaign spokesman Adam Fetcher said in an e-mail. "While Mitt Romney and his allies are counting on big ad buys full of false attacks in the final weeks, we've made early investments in battleground states -- where we've been registering folks and keeping an open conversation going with undecided voters for months -- to build an historic grassroots organization that will pay off when the votes are counted."
There are early indications in first-to-vote Iowa that the Obama campaign's work may be paying off. While the GOP has made gains in voter registration since 2008, Democrats have made five times as many absentee ballot requests, a figure that is alarming some state Republicans.
Former Iowa Republican Party chair Craig Robinson, who now observes politics in the state closely as editor of The Iowa Republican blog, said Romney's early vote efforts in the Hawkeye State so far fall far short of where John McCain's were four years ago.
"There was quite a bit of mail being sent out," Robinson recalled Tuesday. "The McCain campaign was fundamentally sound. I don't have evidence of that yet from the Romney campaign."
Robinson said he's seen no early vote mailers from the Romney campaign so far. He fears Romney has missed the boat on early voting, leaving the Democrats to bank perhaps thousands of votes weeks before Election Day.
"I'm wondering what the Romney victory effort is doing in terms of early voting," he said, "because I've seen some numbers that are big for Democrats and I'm wondering have they neglected it too much? Is it too late?"
Additional reporting by Evan McMorris-Santoro
The election could be won or lost weeks before Election Day thanks to early voting that has now spread in one form or another to more than half the states. With early voting kicking off Thursday in the critical swing state of Iowa, and with more swing states following close behind, including Ohio next Tuesday, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will be banking real votes long before the frenetic final days of the campaign.
"I am forecasting in this election cycle that about 35 percent of the vote will be cast before Election Day," George Mason University professor Michael McDonald, who researches early voting behavior, told TPM. "We know 78 percent of all votes in Colorado were cast prior to Election Day in 2008, and it probably will be around 85 percent in 2012. The election will essentially be won or lost before Election Day unless it's a tight, narrow, razor-thin margin."
With more than one-third of the votes nationwide expected to be cast early, Romney's already shrinking window to erase President Obama's current lead in public opinion polls before Election Day is closing even faster. While the presidential debates, for instance, remain Romney's last best hope to shake up the current dynamics of the race, many voters will have already cast their ballots before all the debates are held. Time is running out.
The prevalence of early voting in 2012 -- either via in-person early voting or no-excuse absentee voting -- continues the modern trend. Some 30.6 percent of the electorate voted early in 2008, but the percentages were much higher in battleground states like Florida (51.8 percent), Nevada (66.9 percent), and North Carolina (60.6 percent).
Ohio, where Obama is surging in public opinion polling, is poised for the biggest boost. Recently the Obama campaign successfully blocked the state in federal court from eliminating three early voting days. But the bigger news is that election officials, for the first time, are sending every single registered voter in the state an absentee ballot request form. According to RealClearPolitics, the Romney campaign is forecasting that the changes will spike the early voting rate from 25.2 percent in 2008 to 45 percent this year. Absentee voting begins on Oct. 2, the day before the first presidential debate.
"How many of you have already gotten your absentee ballot applications?" Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) shouted at an Ohio rally on Tuesday before Romney took the stage. "The best thing we can do right now is bank votes, so vote absentee!"
One exception where the rules have moved in the opposite direction is Florida, which cut its number of early voting days from 14 to eight. The effects of the change are still unclear, however, especially as individual counties might offer longer voting hours.
The Romney campaign says it has met many of McCain's 2008 grassroots benchmarks weeks ahead of schedule. Among the stats cited, officials say they've knocked on one million more doors already than in the entire '08 campaign and made seven times as many phone calls as Team McCain volunteers had at the same point in the race. Conservatives groups and Republicans also ran successful early voting programs in victories across the country in the 2010 elections, though it should be noted that the midterm electorate is demographically much more conservative than the expected presidential electorate.
For its part, the battle-tested Obama campaign is counting on its own turnout operations to counter the expected advantage in late advertising dollars from Republicans and their allies.
"By encouraging our supporters to vote early, we can focus our resources more efficiently on Election Day to make sure those less likely to vote get out to the polls," Obama campaign spokesman Adam Fetcher said in an e-mail. "While Mitt Romney and his allies are counting on big ad buys full of false attacks in the final weeks, we've made early investments in battleground states -- where we've been registering folks and keeping an open conversation going with undecided voters for months -- to build an historic grassroots organization that will pay off when the votes are counted."
There are early indications in first-to-vote Iowa that the Obama campaign's work may be paying off. While the GOP has made gains in voter registration since 2008, Democrats have made five times as many absentee ballot requests, a figure that is alarming some state Republicans.
Former Iowa Republican Party chair Craig Robinson, who now observes politics in the state closely as editor of The Iowa Republican blog, said Romney's early vote efforts in the Hawkeye State so far fall far short of where John McCain's were four years ago.
"There was quite a bit of mail being sent out," Robinson recalled Tuesday. "The McCain campaign was fundamentally sound. I don't have evidence of that yet from the Romney campaign."
Robinson said he's seen no early vote mailers from the Romney campaign so far. He fears Romney has missed the boat on early voting, leaving the Democrats to bank perhaps thousands of votes weeks before Election Day.
"I'm wondering what the Romney victory effort is doing in terms of early voting," he said, "because I've seen some numbers that are big for Democrats and I'm wondering have they neglected it too much? Is it too late?"
Additional reporting by Evan McMorris-Santoro
Quinnipiac/CBS/NYT: Obama Opens Up Significant Leads In Ohio, Florida And Pennsylvania
Quinnipiac/CBS/NYT: Obama Opens Up Significant Leads In Ohio, Florida And Pennsylvania: 
President Barack Obama now claims leads in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania that suggest the three states are no longer battlegrounds, according to a slate of new polls out Wednesday.
The latest swing state polls from Quinnipiac University, CBS News and the New York Times show Obama holding leads of 10 points in Ohio, 9 points in Florida and 12 points in Pennsylvania. Fifty-percent of likely voters in Ohio and Florida approve of the job Obama is doing as president, compared with 47 percent who disapprove in each. The president's approval rating is at 51 percent in Pennsylvania, while 45 percent disapprove of his job performance.
In all three states, 51 percent of voters prefer Obama over Romney to preside over the national economy — a policy area over which the president has seized the upper-hand in the last month. About 60 percent of voters in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania say Obama understands and cares about their problems, while similarly large majorities say Romney does not.
Obama's consistent advantage among women voters has spanned virtually the entire campaign, but the gender gap has swollen considerably in the three states. The president holds commanding leads among women voters in Ohio (25 points), Florida (19 points) and Pennsylvania (21 points). Romney holds single-digit leads among men in all three states.
The PollTracker Average currently shows Obama leading in Ohio (6 points), Florida (4.4 points) and Pennsylvania (7.8 points).
The polls were conducted Sept. 18-24 using live phone interviews with 1,162 likely voters in Ohio, 1,196 likely voters in Florida and 1,180 likely voters in Pennsylvania. Each sample has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
President Barack Obama now claims leads in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania that suggest the three states are no longer battlegrounds, according to a slate of new polls out Wednesday.
The latest swing state polls from Quinnipiac University, CBS News and the New York Times show Obama holding leads of 10 points in Ohio, 9 points in Florida and 12 points in Pennsylvania. Fifty-percent of likely voters in Ohio and Florida approve of the job Obama is doing as president, compared with 47 percent who disapprove in each. The president's approval rating is at 51 percent in Pennsylvania, while 45 percent disapprove of his job performance.
In all three states, 51 percent of voters prefer Obama over Romney to preside over the national economy — a policy area over which the president has seized the upper-hand in the last month. About 60 percent of voters in Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania say Obama understands and cares about their problems, while similarly large majorities say Romney does not.
Obama's consistent advantage among women voters has spanned virtually the entire campaign, but the gender gap has swollen considerably in the three states. The president holds commanding leads among women voters in Ohio (25 points), Florida (19 points) and Pennsylvania (21 points). Romney holds single-digit leads among men in all three states.
The PollTracker Average currently shows Obama leading in Ohio (6 points), Florida (4.4 points) and Pennsylvania (7.8 points).
The polls were conducted Sept. 18-24 using live phone interviews with 1,162 likely voters in Ohio, 1,196 likely voters in Florida and 1,180 likely voters in Pennsylvania. Each sample has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
National Journal September 26, 2012 (Clickable) Headlines
Wednesday, September 26, 2012 | Last Updated: 07:39 AM:
This post has been generated by Page2RSS
Wednesday, September 26, 2012 | Last Updated: 07:39 AM
Pandora Pushes Internet Radio Act During Recess
Elahe Izadi8 minutes ago
The House bill was introduced by Reps. Jason Chaffetz , R-Utah, and Jared Polis , D-Colo., and by Sen. Ron Wyden , D-Ore. in the Senate. In...
The House bill was introduced by Reps. Jason Chaffetz , R-Utah, and Jared Polis , D-Colo., and by Sen. Ron Wyden , D-Ore. in the Senate. In...
Todd Akin Pains GOP
Reid Wilson16 minutes ago
Todd Akin is one of the most conservative Republicans to win a Senate nomination this year. But it sure sounds like he's reading off a script...
Todd Akin is one of the most conservative Republicans to win a Senate nomination this year. But it sure sounds like he's reading off a script...
New Romney Ad Brings Focus Back to the Economy
Matt Vasilogambros6:39 a.m.
Down in several polls and criticized by some conservatives for losing focus, the Romney campaign is trying to get back on its economic message...
Down in several polls and criticized by some conservatives for losing focus, the Romney campaign is trying to get back on its economic message...
Obama Has 6-Point Lead in New Bloomberg Poll
6:32 a.m.
President Obama is seeing more good polling numbers, this time from the latest Bloomberg National Poll , which finds him ahead of Mitt Romney...
President Obama is seeing more good polling numbers, this time from the latest Bloomberg National Poll , which finds him ahead of Mitt Romney...
Will Health Rebate Checks Help Obama?
Margot Sanger-Katz6:00 a.m.
For many insured Americans, the first tangible benefit of President Obama's signature health care law recently landed in their inbox: a check from...
For many insured Americans, the first tangible benefit of President Obama's signature health care law recently landed in their inbox: a check from...
Polls: Obama Holds Big Leads in Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania
Steven Shepard3:00 a.m.
President Obama now holds his largest leads to date in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, according to three new CBS News/ New York Times /Quinnipiac...
President Obama now holds his largest leads to date in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, according to three new CBS News/ New York Times /Quinnipiac...
Influence Alley
Pandora Pushes Internet Radio Act During Recess
8 minutes agoThe House bill was introduced by Reps. Jason Chaffetz , R-Utah, and Jared Polis , D-Colo., and by Sen. Ron Wyden , D-Ore. in the Senate. In short, it would direct the Copyright Royalty Board to...
Two Polls Show Nelson Leading Mack by Double Digits
3:01 a.m.Two new polls in the Florida Senate race show Sen. Bill Nelson , D-Fla., leading GOP Rep. Connie Mack by double-digits, adding to the growing perception that Nelson is pulling away from his...
Poll: Brown Holds Double-Digit Lead Over Mandel
3:00 a.m.A second poll in the course of two days shows Sen. Sherrod Brown , D-Ohio, holding a double-digit lead over his opponent, GOP Treasurer Josh Mandel .
Casey Holds More Narrow Lead in Pennsylvania
3:00 a.m.Sen. Bob Casey , D-Pa., holds a narrow lead in his bid for a second term, according to a new Quinnipiac University/ New York Times /CBS News poll released Wednesday.
This post has been generated by Page2RSS
Spain Protesters Encircle Parliament
Spain Protesters Encircle Parliament: Thousands besieged Parliament as Spain’s two largest regions posed challenges to the country’s leadership.
Land disputes in Cambodia focus ire on Chinese investors - The Washington Post
Land disputes in Cambodia focus ire on Chinese investors - The Washington Post
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — When China’s President Hu Jintao visited Cambodia this year, Tep Vanny, a 32-year-old housewife fighting eviction from her family home in central Phnom Penh, set off down Mao Tse-Tung Boulevard to try to deliver a plea for help to the Chinese Embassy.
Among thousands of residents in the Boeung Kak Lake district of the capital whose land has been targeted for redevelopment by a Chinese-financed real estate company, Tep Vanny carried a letter explaining the “sadness and suffering” caused by the project — which has turned Phnom Penh’s biggest lake into a barren, arid expanse of sand — and begging the Chinese leader to “intervene for a fair resolution of our land dispute problems.”
Dive into the Great Barrier Reef with the first underwater panoramas in Google Maps
Dive into the Great Barrier Reef with the first underwater panoramas in Google Maps: Today we’re adding the very first underwater panoramic images to Google Maps, the next step in our quest to provide people with the most comprehensive, accurate and usable map of the world. With these vibrant and stunning photos you don’t have to be a scuba diver—or even know how to swim—to explore and experience six of the ocean’s most incredible living coral reefs. Now, anyone can become the next virtual Jacques Cousteau and dive with sea turtles, fish and manta rays in Australia, the Philippines and Hawaii.
Starting today, you can use Google Maps to find a sea turtle swimming among a school of fish, follow a manta ray and experience the reef at sunset—just as I did on my first dive in the Great Barrier Reef last year. You can also find out much more about this reef via the World Wonders Project, a website that brings modern and ancient world heritage sites online.
At Apo Island, a volcanic island and marine reserve in the Philippines, you can see an ancient boulder coral, which may be several hundred years old. And in the middle of the Pacific, in Hawaii, you can join snorkelers in Oahu’s Hanauma Bay and drift over the vast coral reef at Maui's Molokini crater.
We’re partnering with The Catlin Seaview Survey, a major scientific study of the world’s reefs, to make these amazing images available to millions of people through the Street View feature of Google Maps. The Catlin Seaview Survey used a specially designed underwater camera, the SVII, to capture these photos.
Whether you’re a marine biologist, an avid scuba diver or a landlocked landlubber, we encourage you to dive in and explore the ocean with Google Maps. Check out our complete underwater collection, featuring a Google+ underwater Hangout from the Great Barrier Reef. And you can always explore more imagery from around the world by visiting maps.google.com/streetview.
Posted by Brian McClendon, VP of Google Maps and Earth
(Cross-posted on the Lat Long blog)
Get up close and personal with sea turtles at Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef
Starting today, you can use Google Maps to find a sea turtle swimming among a school of fish, follow a manta ray and experience the reef at sunset—just as I did on my first dive in the Great Barrier Reef last year. You can also find out much more about this reef via the World Wonders Project, a website that brings modern and ancient world heritage sites online.
At Apo Island, a volcanic island and marine reserve in the Philippines, you can see an ancient boulder coral, which may be several hundred years old. And in the middle of the Pacific, in Hawaii, you can join snorkelers in Oahu’s Hanauma Bay and drift over the vast coral reef at Maui's Molokini crater.
The Catlin Seaview Survey team on location on the Great Barrier Reef, encountering a manta ray
Whether you’re a marine biologist, an avid scuba diver or a landlocked landlubber, we encourage you to dive in and explore the ocean with Google Maps. Check out our complete underwater collection, featuring a Google+ underwater Hangout from the Great Barrier Reef. And you can always explore more imagery from around the world by visiting maps.google.com/streetview.
Explore more underwater images
Posted by Brian McClendon, VP of Google Maps and Earth
(Cross-posted on the Lat Long blog)
Sep 25, 2012
Anti-Islam film bounty condemned
Anti-Islam film bounty condemned: The Pakistani PM's spokesman condemns a minister's $100,000 reward for the killing of the maker of an amateur video mocking Islam in the US.
Bridge to better growth for Bangladesh
Bridge to better growth for Bangladesh: Bangladesh seeks support for its largest infrastructure project
Sri Lanka shuts displacement camp
Sri Lanka shuts displacement camp: The last residents leave Menik Farm, as Sri Lanka closes what was once one of the world's largest displacement camps.
Slum tourism: Patronising or social enlightenment?
Slum tourism: Patronising or social enlightenment?: Patronising curiosity or social enlightenment?
Floods destroy Pakistani homes
Floods destroy Pakistani homes: Tens of thousands of people are made homeless by monsoon flooding in the Pakistani provinces of Balochistan and Sindh, officials say.
INTERVIEW : Exit democracy, enter tele-oligarchy
INTERVIEW : Exit democracy, enter tele-oligarchy: Philosophy professor Danilo Zolo observes the disingenuousness of "humanitarian intervention", even of the word "humanity" itself in the era of globalization. The "Age of Rights" has seen widespread violations of the greatest "right" of all, to life itself, as the great powers, if they are not actually dropping bombs, ensure the further decline of the masses into poverty. - Claudio Gallo (Sep 25, '12)
Karachi in the grip of extortionists
Karachi in the grip of extortionists: Kidnapping for ransom and protection rackets by the "bhatta mafia" are endemic in Karachi, leading to calls from fearful shopkeepers for the imposition of a night curfew in the southern Pakistan port city. As extortion runs out of control, the Taliban have been demanding a slice of the pie. - Zofeen Ebrahim(Sep 25, '12)
PNG state-owned enterprises slammed for ‘poor quality, high cost’ to nation
PNG state-owned enterprises slammed for ‘poor quality, high cost’ to nation:
Air Niugini … one of the state-owned enterprises in Papua New Guinea criticised in the new report. Image: PMC archivePacific Scoop:
Report – By Malum Nalu in Port Moresby
A new study released by the Asian Development Bank has painted a damning picture of state-owned enterprises in Papua New Guinea, saying they have become a liability rather than an asset.
The report highlighted that PNG SOEs absorbed an estimated K700 million in direct government transfers during the financial years from 2002-09, against which they generated a net profit of K500 million – of which only K23 million was paid to Treasury in the form of a dividend.
The PNG SOEs are Air Niugini, bemobile, Motor Vehicle Insurance Ltd (MVIL), National Development Bank (NDB), Eda Ranu, PNG Ports Corporation, PNG Post Ltd, PNG Power Ltd, Telikom PNG Ltd, and Water PNG.
The bank study, “Finding balance, benchmarking the performance of state-owned enterprises in Papua New Guinea”, assessed the impact of the SOEs on the PNG economy as well as those of five other Pacific countries – Fiji, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Tonga.
The findings of the study revealed that while PNG’s SOEs had produced net profits that were in the upper range of the SOE portfolios in the six Pacific countries benchmarked, they had done so at a substantial cost to the government in terms of ongoing fiscal transfers and other subsidies.
Painfully, this is at a cost to the poorer segments of the population due to the generally poor quality of the services provided and limited range of delivery.
“By absorbing large amounts of scare capital on which the (SOEs) provide very low returns, crowding out the private sector, and diverting public funds that could otherwise be invested in such high-yielding social sectors such as health and education, SOEs act as a drag on economic growth,” the report says.
Lack of accountability
“A chronic lack of accountability has allowed the SOE portfolio to be governed extra legally over most of 2002-11.
“Indeed, of all of the countries participating in this benchmarking study, PNG has demonstrated the lowest level of transparency in the management of its SOE portfolio over the past decade.
“This has begun to change with a notable improvement in disclosure and oversight since late last year.”
Minister for Public Enterprises and State Investments Ben Micah and IPBC managing director Thomas Abe both described SOEs as liabilities to the government at last week’s PNG Advantage investment conference in Port Moresby.
Malum Nalu is a senior journalist with The National daily newspaper and publishes his own PNG blog.
Air Niugini … one of the state-owned enterprises in Papua New Guinea criticised in the new report. Image: PMC archive
Report – By Malum Nalu in Port Moresby
A new study released by the Asian Development Bank has painted a damning picture of state-owned enterprises in Papua New Guinea, saying they have become a liability rather than an asset.
The report highlighted that PNG SOEs absorbed an estimated K700 million in direct government transfers during the financial years from 2002-09, against which they generated a net profit of K500 million – of which only K23 million was paid to Treasury in the form of a dividend.
The PNG SOEs are Air Niugini, bemobile, Motor Vehicle Insurance Ltd (MVIL), National Development Bank (NDB), Eda Ranu, PNG Ports Corporation, PNG Post Ltd, PNG Power Ltd, Telikom PNG Ltd, and Water PNG.
The bank study, “Finding balance, benchmarking the performance of state-owned enterprises in Papua New Guinea”, assessed the impact of the SOEs on the PNG economy as well as those of five other Pacific countries – Fiji, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Tonga.
The findings of the study revealed that while PNG’s SOEs had produced net profits that were in the upper range of the SOE portfolios in the six Pacific countries benchmarked, they had done so at a substantial cost to the government in terms of ongoing fiscal transfers and other subsidies.
Painfully, this is at a cost to the poorer segments of the population due to the generally poor quality of the services provided and limited range of delivery.
“By absorbing large amounts of scare capital on which the (SOEs) provide very low returns, crowding out the private sector, and diverting public funds that could otherwise be invested in such high-yielding social sectors such as health and education, SOEs act as a drag on economic growth,” the report says.
Lack of accountability
“A chronic lack of accountability has allowed the SOE portfolio to be governed extra legally over most of 2002-11.
“Indeed, of all of the countries participating in this benchmarking study, PNG has demonstrated the lowest level of transparency in the management of its SOE portfolio over the past decade.
“This has begun to change with a notable improvement in disclosure and oversight since late last year.”
Minister for Public Enterprises and State Investments Ben Micah and IPBC managing director Thomas Abe both described SOEs as liabilities to the government at last week’s PNG Advantage investment conference in Port Moresby.
Malum Nalu is a senior journalist with The National daily newspaper and publishes his own PNG blog.
All the ingredients for genocide: Is West Papua the next East Timor?
All the ingredients for genocide: Is West Papua the next East Timor?:
West Papua National Committee (KNPB) secretary-general Mako Tabuni … bled to death from untreated wounds. Image: West Papua Media.Pacific Scoop:
Analysis – By Jim Elmslie
Allegations that Australia is funding death squads in West Papua have brought the troubled province back to Australian attention.
Blanket denials by both Indonesian and Australian governments – standard policy for such reports in the past, no longer cut the mustard.
The killing of Papuan activist Mako Tabuni by Indonesian police was for Jakarta a legitimate operation against a violent criminal shot while evading arrest. That Tabuni bled to death from his untreated wounds while in police custody did not rate a mention.
The Australian response was more measured. Foreign Minister Bob Carr took the allegation that Tabuni had been assassinated seriously because the partially Australian funded and trained elite anti-terrorist organisation, Densus 88, was accused of playing a role in the killing.
For once there was a direct Australian connection to the human rights abuses that have been happening in West Papua for decades. Australian taxpayers may indeed be helping to fund Indonesian death squads. Carr called on the Indonesians to make a full inquiry into the affair.
The Indonesian response was to appoint Brigadier General Tito Karnavian as Papua’s new Police Chief. This sends the clearest possible message that Jakarta intends to deal with the Papuan separatists’ insurgency with lethal force, rather than diplomacy and negotiation.
Many activists have been arrested and a concerted effort is underway to break the back of the urban based, non-violent Papuan rights organisations, such as Tabuni’s KNPB (Komite Nasional Papua Barat).
Independence favoured
Most Papuans would favour independence over Indonesian occupation.
This is a recipe for ongoing military operations, repression and human rights abuse as the Indonesian military and police hunt down “separatists”.
This seems to suit most players. West Papua is the Indonesian military’s last zone of exclusive control after the loss of Aceh and East Timor.
It is a fabulous prize to control as extensive (legal and illegal) logging, huge mining projects and massive development funds provide rich pickings for those in control, while incoming migrants are drawn in by economic opportunities unavailable elsewhere.
It is really only the Papuans who are suffering in this massive free-for-all.
The plight of the Papuans is slowly but surely seeping into the global consciousness. While modern technology allows West Papua’s riches to now be exploited, it also allows the stories and images of Papuan suffering to emerge. Increased Indonesian militarisation and repression only exacerbate this trend.
New East Timor?
This is the same trajectory that East Timor’s long struggle for freedom followed: an overwhelmingly dominant military on the ground but a growing sense of outrage within the international community, especially in the Western nations.
This led Indonesia to be treated almost as a pariah nation and underpinned East Timor’s rapid shift to independence in the wake of Suharto’s fall.
While no other nation supports West Papuan independence, except Vanuatu sporadically, and the rule of the Indonesian state appears unassailable, a dangerous dynamic is developing.
As the situation in West Papua deteriorates, human rights abuses will continue, with the very real prospect of a dramatic increase in violence to genocidal levels.
The ingredients are there: stark racial, religious and ideological differences coalescing around a desire for Papuan resources and Papuans’ land, on one hand, and independence on the other. Indeed many Indonesians, as well as the Indonesian state, already view Papuan “separatists” as traitors.
This should rightly concern Australians (and New Zealanders): the country is in a quasi-military alliance with Indonesia through the 2006 Lombok Treaty.
Australia is a player, albeit minor, in these events. When there is a divide in the opinion of the political, military and bureaucratic elite, and that of the wider population, as occurred in Australia over Indonesia’s occupation of East Timor, the majority view tends to eventually prevail.
Papuan sympathy
And the majority view, formed by such programmes as the ABC 7.30 Report, is moving to one of sympathy for the Papuans and antipathy towards Indonesia for what many see as a re-run of East Timor’s disastrous occupation.
This does not bode well for relations between the two countries.
Indonesia runs the risk of having its widely heralded democratisation process stained by the Papuan conflict.
There is also the fact that while West Papua remains a military zone the Indonesian army will continue to be unaccountable and largely outside of civilian control, stymieing anti-corruption efforts not just in Papua but through out the country.
The consequences for the Papuans are abundantly clear: no basic rights and a life lived in fear.
While there are no quick or easy solutions to this conundrum, one choice is manifestly clear: does the answer lie in more words or more bullets?
Jakarta has so far rejected meaningful dialogue in favour of a beefed up security approach.
Strained relations
Australia, and Australians, should forcefully criticise this as being against our own, and Indonesia’s (let alone the Papuans’) long-term interests.
If the West Papuan conflict continues to follow the East Timor trajectory this problem will continue to grow, relations will become strained and tensions rise.
It is worth remembering that Australia and Indonesia very nearly came to blows over East Timor. Let us learn from the past and encourage, and promote, meaningful dialogue between all parties.
Jim Elmslie, Visiting Scholar, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at University of Sydney. This article was first published in The Conversation.
Disclosure Statement: Jim Elmslie does not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has no relevant affiliations.
West Papua National Committee (KNPB) secretary-general Mako Tabuni … bled to death from untreated wounds. Image: West Papua Media.
Analysis – By Jim Elmslie
Allegations that Australia is funding death squads in West Papua have brought the troubled province back to Australian attention.
Blanket denials by both Indonesian and Australian governments – standard policy for such reports in the past, no longer cut the mustard.
The killing of Papuan activist Mako Tabuni by Indonesian police was for Jakarta a legitimate operation against a violent criminal shot while evading arrest. That Tabuni bled to death from his untreated wounds while in police custody did not rate a mention.
The Australian response was more measured. Foreign Minister Bob Carr took the allegation that Tabuni had been assassinated seriously because the partially Australian funded and trained elite anti-terrorist organisation, Densus 88, was accused of playing a role in the killing.
For once there was a direct Australian connection to the human rights abuses that have been happening in West Papua for decades. Australian taxpayers may indeed be helping to fund Indonesian death squads. Carr called on the Indonesians to make a full inquiry into the affair.
The Indonesian response was to appoint Brigadier General Tito Karnavian as Papua’s new Police Chief. This sends the clearest possible message that Jakarta intends to deal with the Papuan separatists’ insurgency with lethal force, rather than diplomacy and negotiation.
Many activists have been arrested and a concerted effort is underway to break the back of the urban based, non-violent Papuan rights organisations, such as Tabuni’s KNPB (Komite Nasional Papua Barat).
Independence favoured
Most Papuans would favour independence over Indonesian occupation.
This is a recipe for ongoing military operations, repression and human rights abuse as the Indonesian military and police hunt down “separatists”.
This seems to suit most players. West Papua is the Indonesian military’s last zone of exclusive control after the loss of Aceh and East Timor.
It is a fabulous prize to control as extensive (legal and illegal) logging, huge mining projects and massive development funds provide rich pickings for those in control, while incoming migrants are drawn in by economic opportunities unavailable elsewhere.
It is really only the Papuans who are suffering in this massive free-for-all.
The plight of the Papuans is slowly but surely seeping into the global consciousness. While modern technology allows West Papua’s riches to now be exploited, it also allows the stories and images of Papuan suffering to emerge. Increased Indonesian militarisation and repression only exacerbate this trend.
New East Timor?
This is the same trajectory that East Timor’s long struggle for freedom followed: an overwhelmingly dominant military on the ground but a growing sense of outrage within the international community, especially in the Western nations.
This led Indonesia to be treated almost as a pariah nation and underpinned East Timor’s rapid shift to independence in the wake of Suharto’s fall.
While no other nation supports West Papuan independence, except Vanuatu sporadically, and the rule of the Indonesian state appears unassailable, a dangerous dynamic is developing.
As the situation in West Papua deteriorates, human rights abuses will continue, with the very real prospect of a dramatic increase in violence to genocidal levels.
The ingredients are there: stark racial, religious and ideological differences coalescing around a desire for Papuan resources and Papuans’ land, on one hand, and independence on the other. Indeed many Indonesians, as well as the Indonesian state, already view Papuan “separatists” as traitors.
This should rightly concern Australians (and New Zealanders): the country is in a quasi-military alliance with Indonesia through the 2006 Lombok Treaty.
Australia is a player, albeit minor, in these events. When there is a divide in the opinion of the political, military and bureaucratic elite, and that of the wider population, as occurred in Australia over Indonesia’s occupation of East Timor, the majority view tends to eventually prevail.
Papuan sympathy
And the majority view, formed by such programmes as the ABC 7.30 Report, is moving to one of sympathy for the Papuans and antipathy towards Indonesia for what many see as a re-run of East Timor’s disastrous occupation.
This does not bode well for relations between the two countries.
Indonesia runs the risk of having its widely heralded democratisation process stained by the Papuan conflict.
There is also the fact that while West Papua remains a military zone the Indonesian army will continue to be unaccountable and largely outside of civilian control, stymieing anti-corruption efforts not just in Papua but through out the country.
The consequences for the Papuans are abundantly clear: no basic rights and a life lived in fear.
While there are no quick or easy solutions to this conundrum, one choice is manifestly clear: does the answer lie in more words or more bullets?
Jakarta has so far rejected meaningful dialogue in favour of a beefed up security approach.
Strained relations
Australia, and Australians, should forcefully criticise this as being against our own, and Indonesia’s (let alone the Papuans’) long-term interests.
If the West Papuan conflict continues to follow the East Timor trajectory this problem will continue to grow, relations will become strained and tensions rise.
It is worth remembering that Australia and Indonesia very nearly came to blows over East Timor. Let us learn from the past and encourage, and promote, meaningful dialogue between all parties.
Jim Elmslie, Visiting Scholar, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at University of Sydney. This article was first published in The Conversation.
Disclosure Statement: Jim Elmslie does not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has no relevant affiliations.
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