Around Asia

The Week Of November 20

What Does Ignorance Breed?

Why all the fuss over Obama's deep bow?
Conservative commentators in the United States wasted no time in seizing on something that might put President Barack Obama in a bad light.

Many of them are in an uproar over Obama's bow before Emperor Akihito last Saturday. They say it reeked of kowtowing.

Obama greeted the emperor with a handshake and a nearly 90-degree bow before having lunch with him and his wife, Empress Michiko. Obama departed for Singapore afterward.

In contrast to the controversy raging in the United States, many in Japan, however, had only praise for the American president's etiquette.

The American Republican Party And Moron Conservative Pundits

Teaching Music

Music teacher jailed for student sex
A former Ballarat teacher will spend Christmas behind bars for having sex with two students.

Michelle Lynn Dennis, 33, had sex with the boys, aged 14 and 17, while employed as a music teacher at Ballarat High School.

School principal jailed for sex with student

The County Court at Ballarat heard that Dennis sent more than 1300 text messages to the students over a two-year period.

She also sent one of the boys naked pictures of herself and invited one of his friends to have a threesome with them.

Dennis pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual penetration of a child under supervision and one count of sexual penetration of a child under 16.

That Shouldn't Be Taught

Old Spies

'Age Limit for Recruiting Spies Is Discrimination
A state-run human rights agency called Thursday for the state spy agency to remove its age limit in selecting new employees, calling the practice “discriminatory.”

The move is in response to a petition four people in their late 30s filed with the National Human Rights Commission, claiming the National Intelligence Service’s (NIS) recruiting policy that sets the maximum age for job applications at 34 is active discrimination.

The spy agency argued the age ceiling was inevitable given the nature of its activities that require strong physical strength and endurance. But the human rights group refuted it, saying, “Younger age does not necessarily guarantee strong physical strength.”

Need Not Apply

With Allies Like These

ISI helped Mullah Omar to flee from Quetta to Karachi
Fearing that Taliban supremo Mullah Omar might be targetted by US drones, Pakistan's ISI has helped him to flee from the border town of Quetta to the mega port city of Karachi, where he has established a new Shura council.

One-eyed leader of the Afghan Taliban recently found refuge from potential US attacks in Karachi with Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) assistance; the Washington Times reported quoting US intelligence officials.

Who Needs Friends

With No Power What's One To Do?

Fund paid big sum in final days of Aso era
A secret discretionary fund operated by the Cabinet Secretariat paid out 250 million yen in cash to Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura in the waning days of the administration headed by Prime Minister Taro Aso, it was disclosed Friday.

Kawamura's successor in the post, Hirofumi Hirano, told a news conference the money was handed over on Sept. 1, just two days after Aso's Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner New Komeito were dealt a historic defeat in the Lower House election.

The fund can be used at the discretion of the chief Cabinet secretary, and does not require the presentation of receipts.

Hirano's disclosure will likely spur questions over why such a large sum of money was needed when a change of government was imminent. Hirano said he had no intention of investigating details of disbursements made by the previous administration.

Handout Large Sums Of Money


Coming Soon A New Number 3

‘India to be third largest economy by 2050’
India will be the third largest economy in the world after China and United States by 2050, a U.S.-based internationally recognised foreign-policy think tank has said.

An article “The G20 in 2050”, carried in November bulletin of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said, “China, India, and the United States will emerge as the world’s three largest economies in 2050. Their total GDP, in real U.S. dollar terms, will be over 70 per cent more than that of the other G20 countries combined.”
Other main findings include, China will become the world’s largest economy in 2032, and grow to be 20 per cent larger than the United States by 2050. Over the next forty years, nearly 60 per cent of G20 economic growth will come from Brazil, China, India, Russia, and Mexico alone.

OK Not That Soon Don't Be Impatient