New York Times (December 13)
Donald Trump’s choice of CEO Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State looks certain to face opposition, even within his own party. “Why would Mr. Trump choose as his top diplomat a man whose every decision or action would be tainted by suspicion that he’s capitulating to Russian interests or those of the oil industry, having spent his entire career at Exxon Mobil?”
Tags: CEO, Diplomat, Exxon Mobil, Oil industry, Opposition, Rex Tillerson, Russia, Secretary of state, Tainted, Trump
The Economist (July 2)
“It is now a week since voters narrowly opted for Brexit, and the country has seldom looked so wildly off the rails. The prime minister has handed in his notice. The leader of the opposition is struggling to survive a coup. The pound hit a 31-year low against the dollar and banks lost a third of their value, before stabilising. Meanwhile there is talk in Scotland and Northern Ireland of secession.”
Tags: Banks, Brexit, Dollar, Northern Ireland, Opposition, Pound, Prime minister, Scotland, Secession, UK, Voters
New York Times (May 24)
For today’s dictator, “soaring approval ratings are a more cost-effective path to dominance than terror.” While a few violent dictators still remain, there has been a sea change in methods. “A new brand of authoritarian government has evolved that is better adapted to an era of global media, economic interdependence and information technology.” So-called ‘soft’ dictators like Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Peru’s Alberto Fujimori and Malaysia’s Mahathir Mohamad “concentrate power, stifling opposition and eliminating checks and balances, while using hardly any violence.”
Tags: Approval, Authoritarian, Cost-effective, Erdogan, Fujimori, Government, IT, Mahathir, Malaysia, Media, Opposition, Peru, Soft dictators, Terror, Turkey, Violence
Washington Post (October 23)
It’s reassuring to think “that the Islamic State is its own worst enemy, so extreme in doctrine and practice that it will galvanize opposition within the Islamic world.” The “sobering truth” is less comforting. “The Islamic State also has picked up popular support and the allegiance of other militants in countries as far away as Algeria and Pakistan.”
Tags: Algeria, Allegiance, Doctrine, Enemy, Islamic State, Militants, Opposition, Pakistan, Reassuring, Support
Bloomberg (August 28)
With all of Japan’s nuclear plants off line, many now expect the first restart won’t occur until 2015. “Delays are prompting a reassessment of Japan’s nuclear outlook. JPMorgan cut its forecast in a July 28 report to 31 reactors to restart by 2019, down from 42. Two-thirds of Japan’s pre-accident fleet may never resume due to damage, seismic conditions that don’t meet NRA guidelines and local opposition.”
Tags: Damage, Japan, NRA, Nuclear, Opposition, Outlook, Reactors, Restart, Seismic conditions
New York Times (January 29, 2014)
President Obama delivered his sixth annual State of the Union address to Congress. It “acknowledged the obvious: Congress has become a dead end for most of the big, muscular uses of government to redress income inequality and improve the economy for all, because of implacable Republican opposition.” The President’s determination to bypass Congress and do whatever he can to get things done without legislation is realistic: “Mr. Obama should employ every tool in his box to bypass those barriers.”
Tags: Barriers, Bypass, Congress, Determination, Economy, Government, Inequality, Legislation, Obama, Opposition, President, Republicans, State of the Union
Wall Street Journal (December 9, 2013)
Former Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban and the protesters he leads have shown a remarkable “capacity for self-delusion. They dismiss anyone who supports the government as either ignorant or in the pay of Ms. Yingluck and her brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra…. The country will continue to pay the price as Mr. Suthep defies the will of the majority. It’s hard to escape the suspicion that a revolution is coming in Thai politics, but it won’t be one to the opposition’s liking.”
Tags: Government, Opposition, Politics, Prime minister, Protesters, Revolution, Self-delusion, Suthep Thaugsuban, Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra
The Economist (January 7)
Hopes that Bashar Assad might step aside, making room for a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Syria, evaporated after a defiant speech on January 6. The war has claimed an estimated 60,000 Syrian lives. With the opposition determined not to “negotiate a political solution to the crisis until Mr Assad is out of the picture, both sides are still trying for a military victory.” Mr Assad’s “speech provided no reason to believe the bloodshed will end soon.”
Tags: Bashar Assad, Crisis, Diplomacy, Military, Opposition, Solution, Syria
Wall Street Journal (March 3, 2012)
“Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Russia’s paramount ruler since 2000, will reclaim his old job as president in Sunday’s elections. The drama comes in the aftermath…. Anticorruption blogger and activist Alexei Navalny will be in the middle of it.” Amid recent protests, he “has emerged as the charismatic and fresh face of the movement.” Just 35 years old, Navalny works from a small office with a staff of just 11. Yet he is feared by the Kremlin. Navalny remains the only opposition leader banned from state-controlled TV.
Tags: Navalny, Opposition, President, Putin, Russia
Wall Street Journal (March 3, 2012)
“Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Russia’s paramount ruler since 2000, will reclaim his old job as president in Sunday’s elections. The drama comes in the aftermath…. Anticorruption blogger and activist Alexei Navalny will be in the middle of it.” Amid recent protests, he “has emerged as the charismatic and fresh face of the movement.” Just 35 years old, Navalny works from a small office with a staff of just 11. Yet he is feared by the Kremlin. Navalny remains the only opposition leader banned from state-controlled TV.
“Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Russia’s paramount ruler since 2000, will reclaim his old job as president in Sunday’s elections. The drama comes in the aftermath…. Anticorruption blogger and activist Alexei Navalny will be in the middle of it.” Amid recent protests, he “has emerged as the charismatic and fresh face of the movement.” Just 35 years old, Navalny works from a small office with a staff of just 11. Yet he is feared by the Kremlin. Navalny remains the only opposition leader banned from state-controlled TV.
Tags: Navalny, Opposition, President, Putin, Russia
