Washington Post (February 27, 2014)
“The United States is committed by treaty to defend Japanese administrative control in the Senkaku Islands…．But the United States doesn’t want to get dragged into war over a few crags of rock, either, so Washington is also urging caution to Tokyo.”
Tags: China, Defense, Japan, Senkaku islands, Tokyo, Treaty, U.S., War, Washington
Euromoney (February Issue)
Asia “is seen as the growth engine for private banks, but it is not without its trials.” As regulation increases, costs rise and competition heats up, industry “consolidation among private banks in the region is inevitable.”
Tags: Asia, Banks, Competition, Consolidation, Costs, Growth engine, Industry, Private banks, Regulation
New York Times (February 26, 2014)
Recent cross-border family reunions “reinforced the stark differences: South Korea is an economic powerhouse and democracy; North Korea is the most totalitarian and isolated state on earth. That reality is unlikely to change soon, but when it does, North Korean leaders must be brought to justice” for the atrocities recently disclosed by a special commission of the United Nations.
Tags: Atrocities, Democracy, Isolated, Justice, Leaders, North Korea, Powerhouse, Reunions, South Korea, Special commission, Totalitarian, UN
Financial Times (February 24, 2014)
“Twenty-five years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Europe again echoes to the sound and fury of revolution.” With the overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovich, the Ukraine now has a chance at a fresh start. “This is a moment of immense opportunity–and immense danger–for Ukraine, for the EU and for Russia. More than any single moment since the collapse of the Soviet bloc, the revolution that began in Kiev heralds ‘the hour of Europe.’”
Tags: Berlin Wall, Danger, EU, Europe, Kiev, Opportunity, Overthrow, Revolution, Russia, Soviet bloc, Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovich
Newsweek (February 24, 1964)
Visually the Beetles “are a nightmare, tight, dandified Edwardian-Beatnik suits and great pudding bowls of hair. Musically they are a near disaster, guitars and drums slamming out a merciless beat that does away with secondary rhythms, harmony and melody. Their lyrics (punctuated by nutty shouts of “yeah, yeah, yeah”) are a catastrophe, a preposterous farrago of Valentine-card romantic sentiments….”
Tags: Beetles, Catastrophe, Disaster, Drums, Guitars, Hair, Harmony, Lyrics, Melody, Music, Nightmare, Rhythm, Sentiment
The Economist (February 22, 2014)
“If not championed by leaders who understand its broad benefits,” free trade “will constantly be eroded by narrow economic nationalism. Mr Obama now appears to be surrendering to protectionists within his own party. If he cannot drag Democrats back to their senses, the world will lose its best opportunity in two decades.” Estimates have placed the combined benefit from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) at $200 billion for the U.S. alone and $600 billion worldwide.
Tags: Benefits, Democrats, Free trade, Leaders, Nationalism, Obama, Opportunity, Protectionists, Surrender, TPP, TTIP, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (February 21, 2014)
“Americans are only waking up to the crisis” in the Ukraine, “but they should care how this turns out. The U.S. should want to pull Ukraine into the Western orbit as a matter of human dignity and strategic interest.” If the Ukraine leans toward Europe, it will “join the company of free nations and fulfill the aspirations of its people. A Ukraine tilted toward the corrupt authoritarian regimes allied with Moscow will be a source of regional unrest at best, and part of a revived Russian empire if Mr. Putin has his way.”
Tags: Authoritarian, Crisis, Europe, Human dignity, Moscow, Putin, Regimes, Russian empire, Strategic interest, U.S., Ukraine, Unrest
Washington Post (February 20, 2014)
“North Korea’s camps and methods of political repression rival the worst of the 20th century’s totalitarian crimes: Hitler’s concentration camps and Stalin’s prison system. This is happening not in the 1940s or 1950s but in our own time…. North Korea’s leaders must be held accountable.”
Tags: Accountable, Concentration camps, Crimes, Hitler, Leaders, North Korea, Prison, Repression, Stalin, Totalitarian
Euromoney (February Issue)
“London and Luxembourg are at loggerheads to become Europe’s leading offshore renminbi hub—although they wouldn’t let you know it.” Right now the competition looks evenly matched. “Competition, not cooperation, between the financial centres is spurring on the internationalization of the renminbi. The competition continues. And this is a good thing.”
Tags: Competition, Cooperation, Europe, Hub, Internationalization, London, Luxembourg, Offshore, Renminbi
Chicago Tribune (February 18, 2014)
“Automakers have outfitted their vehicles with cutting-edge technology that goes way beyond the now-common mapping and music options. New cars these days act like smartphones on wheels.” While some new features improve safety, others create dangerous distraction. “Like so much of the digital world, car-borne technology is changing fast. Government watchdogs and corporate innovators should work together to accelerate progress, while keeping motorists safe.”
Tags: Automakers, Cars, Digital, Distraction, Government, Mapping, Motorists, Music, Progress, Safety, Smartphones, Technology, Vehicles, Watchdogs
