http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/asia/ en-us Mon, 28 Dec 2009 22:01:40 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416537/posts The Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) yesterday announced its withdrawal from the Hmong camp in Huay Nam Khao, Phetchabun province, after operating there for nearly four years. The reason, they say, is the Thai military's restrictions and coercive tactics. The withdrawal is a further embarrassment for the Abhisit adminstration, which recently suffered a bruised image due to the Navy's inhumane push-back of the Rohingya boat people. Gilles Isard, MSF's head of mission in Thailand, said the Thai military's scare tactics to pressure ethnic Lao Hmong to accept a forced return to Laos and its intensifying restrictions on MSF's activities, such as... Bangkok Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416537/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 22:01:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416191/posts Amateur footage shot in Tehran shows protesters cornering members of the Basij militia and taunting them. They can also be heard telling the militia to chant and denounce the Supreme Leader before they let them go. (snort) >B-) BBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416191/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 13:13:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415994/posts Thailand has begun deporting a group of about 4,000 ethnic Hmong back to communist Laos, despite international concerns for their safety. Thai officials said unarmed soldiers began closing a camp for Hmong refugees in northern Phetchabun province. Thailand describes them as economic migrants. The Hmong say they face persecution in Laos because they sided with US forces during the Vietnam war. The UN had urged the Thais to call off plans to deport them. BBC World News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415994/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 01:13:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415229/posts U.S. rights activist crosses into North Korea - reports Jon Herskovitz, Reuters December 26, 2009, 4:00 pm Send SEOUL (Reuters) - A U.S. human rights activist trying to raise global attention about the suffering of the North Korean people has crossed into the reclusive state, other activists and South Korean media said on Saturday. There has been no comment from North Korea, which usually arrests foreign border crossers on site, or from U.S. officials. Activists told Reuters that Robert Park, 28, had crossed into North Korea from China on Friday, while South Korea's Yonhap news agency and the Kukmin Ilbo... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415229/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 10:09:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406767/posts A dramatic deterioration in Asian security could push Australia to acquire nuclear weapons, a strategy that it abandoned four decades ago, a new study says. But Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) analyst Dr Rod Lyons says such a decision certainly isn't close nor is it inevitable. He said the 2006 Switkowski report on nuclear power suggested it would take Australia at least 10 years and probably 15 to bring the first civil reactor into service. "It's true that Australia might be able to conduct an emergency nuclear weapon construction effort in rather less time, especially if it were to focus... Nine News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406767/posts#comment Sun, 13 Dec 2009 21:15:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406786/posts Five foreigners were detained and their foreign-registered aircraft impounded after it landed in the Thai capital Saturday with tons of war weaponry on board that originated in North Korea, Thai officials said. Air Force spokesman Capt. Montol Suchookorn said the chartered cargo plane originated in North Korea's capital Pyongyang and requested to land at Bangkok's Don Muang airport to refuel. Government spokesman Panithan Wattanayakorn confirmed the seizure and the arrests, saying the weapons included "missiles, explosives and tubes." He told The Associated Press that the material was being transferred to a Thai military facility but provided no further details. MSNBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406786/posts#comment Sun, 13 Dec 2009 22:16:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2401766/posts OK, this is confusing: but this is the LINK to the original Japanese language article from the conservative/trustworthy South Korean "Chonsun Ilbo" daily newspaper website in Korean which reported from a Russian news agency just a little while ago.The headline is 北朝鮮デノミ：「住民騒乱を懸念、軍が戦闘準備」 ("North Korean Currency Devaluation: Worries Over Uprising By North Korean People; North Korean Army Goes on Sub-War Status") Chosun Ilbo News, Seoul, S. Korea (original in Japanese) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2401766/posts#comment Mon, 7 Dec 2009 01:34:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400954/posts LOS BANOS, Philippines (AFP) – Asian rice farmers typically do not fly around the world on holidays or own big-engine cars but scientists say they have an important role to play in helping cut the world's output of greenhouse gases. While much of the globe's focus in the climate change fight is on the burning of fossil fuels and the logging of rainforests, water-logged rice paddies are also a major source of global warming-causing methane. > About 10 percent of the methane comes from rice farming, while other sources include the flatulence of cows and decomposing landfill garbage dumps. Wassmann... AFP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400954/posts#comment Sat, 5 Dec 2009 14:55:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2399402/posts NORTH KOREA'S MOST CONTROVERSIAL STANDUP COMIC PERFORMS ATTHE PEOPLE'S SHACKOF LAFFS. BY BRIAN AGLER AND LUKE BURNS - - - - Hey everyone, it's great to be here in Pyongyang! This really is a beautiful city. No one does concrete like you guys. Clap if you like poured concrete. Swell. Are there any marine biologists in the audience tonight? Any marine biologists? No, because marine biology does not serve the greater interests of the socialist state! Well, I just flew in from the DMZ and boy, are my arms tired ... from digging tunnels underneath South Korean fortifications! Let me... McSweenys http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2399402/posts#comment Thu, 3 Dec 2009 16:23:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2398604/posts CHICAGO – Illinois environmental officials will dump a toxic chemical into a nearly 6-mile stretch of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal Wednesday to keep the voracious Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes while an electrical barrier is turned off for maintenance. The fish, which can grow to 4 feet long and 100 pounds and are known to leap from the water at the sound of passing motors, have been found within a few miles of Lake Michigan and there is evidence they might have breached the barrier, designed to repel them with a non-lethal jolt. Environmentalists fear the... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2398604/posts#comment Wed, 2 Dec 2009 18:26:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2393938/posts Obama hits a rough spot Published: 25/11/2009 at 12:00 AM Newspaper section: News President Barack Obama of the United States has hit the one-year political wall hard, and it especially showed during his recent trip to Asia. In the year since Mr Obama was elected, both the excitement of the polls and the expectations have worn off. As with all democratic leaders, election hullabaloo has been replaced by reality. Not all promises can be achieved quickly, or in the way they were presented in a free-wheeling election. In some ways, Mr Obama has been brought down to Earth, and his... Bangkok Post, Thailand http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2393938/posts#comment Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:05:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2393222/posts US eases Taiwan’s fears over China TAIPEI, Nov 24 — The United States has moved quickly to reassure Taiwan, less than a week after President Barack Obama’s visit to China, by sending a senior diplomat to Taipei to allay fears that the island’s interests have been compromised.Raymond Burghardt, chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto US embassy here, flew into Taipei on Sunday, just five days after Obama met Chinese President Hu Jintao last Tuesday. “President Obama did not in any way change our long-standing position on Taiwan,” Burghardt told reporters after meeting Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng... The Malaysian Insider (in English) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2393222/posts#comment Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:24:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2393146/posts Pyongyang, November 23 (KCNA) -- In order to put an end to confrontation and conflict in the Korean Peninsula and ensure its lasting peace and stability it is indispensable to terminate the state of ceasefire between the DPRK and the U.S. and establish a peacekeeping mechanism. Rodong Sinmun Monday says this in a signed commentary. Recalling that recently a group of warships of the south Korean forces perpetrated such unpardonable criminal act as opening fire on a patrol boat of the Navy of the Korean People's Army on routine guard duty in the waters of the north side in the... KCNA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2393146/posts#comment Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:21:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2393120/posts CHINESE "LEADER": "I'M NOTICING EACH OF YOUR PLANS TO SAVE MONEY INVOLVES SPENDING EVEN MORE MONEY." For the second time in two months, Saturday Night Live performed a skit mocking President Obama. Last month's SNL skit featured the president's lack of accomplishments. The most recent Obama skit ridiculed specific Obama policies such as "Cash for Clunkers," huge deficit spending, debt owed to the Chinese, and the stimulus plan's lack of tangible results (jobs). THE FREEDOM POST http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2393120/posts#comment Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:30:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2393081/posts If you have been following what America's right-wing bloggers and radio talk-show hosts have been saying about President Barack Obama's just-concluded trip to the Asia-Pacific, you would be under the impression that Obama was not treated by officials in that region as the leader of the world's only remaining superpower and the largest and most advanced economy.... Top Stories Pittsburgh.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2393081/posts#comment Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:36:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2393072/posts Former Vice President Dick Cheney gave an interview to conservative talk radio host Scott Hennen today, in which he slammed President Obama's "fundamentally harmful" bow to the Japanese Emperor during his trip to Asia. In the interview, Cheney says that when the President bows to a foreign leader, "our friends and allies don't expect it and our adversaries perceive it as a sign of weakness." "I think it's fundamentally harmful and it shows in my mind that this is a guy, a president, who would bow, for example, who doesn't fully understand or have the same perception of the U.S.... TPM Live Wire http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2393072/posts#comment Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:28:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2392822/posts Leslie H. Gelb, a former New York Times columnist and senior government official, is author of Power Rules: How Common Sense Can Rescue American Foreign Policy (HarperCollins 2009), a book that shows how to think about and use power in the 21st century. He is president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations. The Asia trip was not worth Obama's time. Leslie H. Gelb on why the president should shake up his foreign policy team—and make sure the deals are done before he leaves home. President Obama’s nine-day trip to Asia is worth a look back to fix two... thedailybeast.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2392822/posts#comment Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:15:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2392734/posts Obama's foreign policy attitude may be change, but it's not the one America hoped for!Saturday Night Live's opening skit was a mock press conference between China's Hu Jintao and President Obama. It perfectly highlighted the failure of Obama's Asia trip to strengthen U.S. overseas relations. But just as it was with Obama's bow to the Japanese Emperor, these scenes are not all jokes and giggles. The issues behind the humor are very serious with potentially dramatic negative consequences for the United States and the maintenance of world peace. Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Brit Hume summed the problem up well:... Flopping Aces http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2392734/posts#comment Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:23:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2392557/posts 11/23/2009 US Foreign Policy Obama's Nice Guy Act Gets Him Nowhere on the World Stage By Gabor Steingart AP US President Barack Obama is back in the US after an Asian trip that produced few results. When he entered office, US President Barack Obama promised to inject US foreign policy with a new tone of respect and diplomacy. His recent trip to Asia, however, showed that it's not working. A shift to Bush-style bluntness may be coming. There were only a few hours left before Air Force One was scheduled to depart for the flight home. US President Barack Obama... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2392557/posts#comment Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:40:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2392566/posts Obama’s Fundamental Misconception [Gordon G. Chang] The best the defenders of President Obama’s trip to Asia can say at this moment is that the resounding chorus of criticism is premature. Of course, no presidential visit can be fully assessed until months — and sometimes years — after the event.But the president has united the political spectrum against him for his abandonment of human rights as a central element of the American dialogue with China. The New York Times gently put it this way this weekend: “The American president must always be willing to stand up to Beijing in defense of... The National Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2392566/posts#comment Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:51:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2392459/posts GAZING from the Great Wall of China last week, US President Barack Obama appeared to be making the most of one of the perks of White House occupancy -- a private guided tour of Asia's most spectacular tourist spot. White House aides exulted that choreographed pictures of this moment would make front pages around the world. Yet an experience Mr Obama declared to be magical turned sour as he returned home to a domestic revolt that is fanning Democratic unease. It was not just that the US media have suddenly turned a lot more sceptical about a president with... The Australian (Australia) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2392459/posts#comment Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:15:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2392252/posts Barack Obama's first visit to Asia since his inauguration was one of the most disappointing trips by any U.S. president to the region in decades, especially given media-generated expectations that "Obamamania" would make it yet another triumphal progression. It was a journey of startlingly few concrete accomplishments, demonstrable proof that neither personal popularity nor media deference really means much in the hard world of international affairs. The contrast between Asia's reception for Obama and Europe's is significant. Although considered a global phenomenon, Obamamania's real center is Europe. There, Mr. Obama reigns as a "post-American" president, a multilateralist carbon copy of... Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2392252/posts#comment Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:57:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2391981/posts Sitting here in Singapore as President Obama went through China and flew home from his 8-day trip to Asia, it is perhaps easier to see the true truth of his trip—it’s deep failure.... Business Week http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2391981/posts#comment Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:20:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2391972/posts Obama Blunders Through Asia Undoing Bush's years of deft diplomacy. by Ross Terrill 11/30/2009, Volume 015, Issue 11 Much dire rhetoric has been unleashed in liberal quarters about the damage done by George W. Bush's foreign policy. The alleged damage, however, is not evident in Asia. When Ken Lieberthal, a respected China specialist and Democratic loyalist, spoke at Harvard early this year, I asked him to name a single year in memory when Washington had as good relations with India, Japan, and China as under Bush. He changed the subject. The White House stated as Obama left Asia for home... Weekly Standard http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2391972/posts#comment Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:03:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2391585/posts US President Barack Obama, back from a tour of Asia, called Saturday for the United States to produce more goods to sell across the Pacific, touting trade as a way to revive the troubled US economy. Facing rising unemployment and slipping poll numbers, Obama assured the public that creating new jobs back home was his top priority on the week-long tour that took him to Japan, Singapore, China and South Korea. "I traveled to Asia to open a new era of American engagement," Obama said in his weekly radio address, recorded while he was in Seoul. "Above all, I spoke... France 24 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2391585/posts#comment Sat, 21 Nov 2009 18:25:58 GMT