New York Times (October 9)
“The International Criminal Court will examine the destruction of religious sites as a war crime” for the very first time. The particular case involves the destruction of religious sites in Timbuktu, but will carry greater implications. “The case against Mr. Mahdi in the International Criminal Court strengthens hope that members of the Islamic State will, one day, also face justice for their cultural and religious crimes.”
Tags: Cultural crimes, Destruction, ICC, International Criminal Court, Islamic State, Mahdi, Religious sites, Timbuktu, War Crime
Washington Post (October 7)
“It’s time to hold America’s gunmakers accountable.” It is “profoundly misguided that one of the least accountable industries in the United States involves enterprises selling products that kill people.
Tags: Accountable, Enterprise, Gunmakers, Guns, Misguided, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (October 7)
“Nine and a half of every 10 of the world’s consumers resides somewhere other than America, so arrangements like the TPP that break down obstacles to trade and investment are crucial to prosperity at home. The question is whether this TPP is the best the U.S. can do.”
Tags: Consumers, Investment, Obstacles, Prosperity, TPP, Trade, U.S.
Bloomberg (October 6)
“The prevailing gloom about Japan is overdone.” Though it hasn’t been perfect, “Abenomics is working…the record to date is good by any country’s standards—and by Japan’s, little short of remarkable.”
Tags: Abenomics, Gloom, Japan, Overdone, Prevailing, Record, Remarkable
Chicago Tribune (October 5)
“Computer software now governs virtually every aspect of our lives, from cars to kitchen appliances…. But computer software can deceive us, and this was the disturbing message from the recent Volkswagen scandal, where the German carmaker fitted millions of cars with software that could outsmart emission-control testing.” This new era demands “a code of ethics, a Hippocratic oath, for our computer engineers and the software they create.”
Tags: Appliances, Cars, Computer engineers, Emissions, Ethics, Scandal, Software, Volkswagen
Financial Times (October 5)
Amidst continuing outflows, emerging markets are much better placed than before the 1997 Asian currency crisis. “Record levels of reserves” should give “troubled countries a window for reform.” Reserves stand roughly 10 times higher than the past crisis. “While no amount of reserves can withstand the loss of market trust, money does buy time. Using reserves to offset capital flight allows central banks temporarily to avoid the classic EM crisis response of tighter monetary policy amid a recession to protect their currency and avoid imported inflation.”
Tags: Asia, Banks, Capital, Crisis, Emerging markets, Market, Monetary policy, Outflows, Recession Inflation, Reform, Reserves
New York Times (October 4)
Vladimir Putin is again “on the move.” This time it’s Syria. “Once again, American foreign policy analysts can’t agree on whether he’s acting out of brilliance or desperation.”
Tags: Analysts, Brilliance, Desperation, Foreign policy, Putin, Syria, U.S.
The Economist (October 3)
“Shell’s retreat from the frozen north shows the new realities of ‘big oil.’” Shell announced its withdrawal from exploration in the Chukchi Sea where it had already invested $7 billion on a single exploratory well. “The decision boiled down to costs, financial and reputational. Most big oil firms face similar pressures” and appear likely postpone costly Arctic drilling.
Tags: Arctic drilling, Big oil, Chukchi Sea, Exploration, Reputation, Retreat, Shell
Los Angeles Times (October 1)
“Today’s mass shooting at an Oregon community college brings us once again to the national crisis that we, as a democratic society, keep proving we’re incapable of resolving.” The numbers don’t seem to “matter because, within the framework of the nation’s sick approach to gun violence, the dead never seem to count.”
Tags: Crisis, Dead, Gun violence, Mass shooting, Oregon, Society, U.S.
Wall Street Journal (October 1)
The peak car theory that millennials no longer want cars cars “may seem plausible given recent history: tepid new-car sales, fewer miles driven per capita and shrinking gasoline use. In reality, it’s poppycock.” This temporary phenomenon merely “reflected a lack of jobs and money.” Today, that’s changing. “The forecasts of peak car look to be about as accurate as those of peak oil.”
