Beijing will strive to become a world-class cultural center by the year 2020. As the capital, the city has never lacked the capacity to erect symbolic structures, but buildings alone do not make a cultural center. Yet what is particularly noteworthy about the proposal is the construction projects involved, such as the restoration of the ancient wall towers at the southeastern and southwestern corners of the old outer city wall. Dongcheng district government will also spend 800 million yuan ($126

Dec. 30, 2011

Mass rallies to protest the high-handed political tactics of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin illustrate public discontent with his long-standing grip on power.It can be said that the contradictions plaguing Russia have come to the fore 20 years after the collapse of the former Soviet Union.Demonstrations began immediately after an election for the State Duma earlier this month, as protesters claimed there had been vote-rigging and called for the election to be held again. An image of alleg

Dec. 30, 2011

The Noda Cabinet a week ago endorsed the fiscal 2012 budget to be submitted to the Diet. The general account spending will drop 2.2 percent from the fiscal 2011 initial budget to 90.33 trillion yen ― the first fall in six years.Spending for social welfare will fall 8.1 percent to 26.39 trillion yen. That for public works, defense and education/science will fall, respectively, 8.1 percent to 4.57 trillion yen, 1.3 percent to 4.71 trillion yen and 1.9 percent to 5.40 trillion yen.But one should no

Dec. 30, 2011

The annual rite in which Thailand’s parliamentary reporters give new nicknames to politicians is a tongue-in-cheek affair. Nonetheless, with the theme this year reflecting the overall poor performance of all politicians, the funny nickname event is not simply much ado about nothing.For instance, House Speaker Somsak Kiatsuranont has been given the nickname “Fake gavel from Dubai”, implying the connection with Thaksin. Somsak used to be known as a “gavel master” for his effective control over the

Dec. 30, 2011

The Mayans were wrong. The world won’t end in 2012, but at times it may feel as if it’s about to. Such is Asia’s lot as Europe’s debt debacle and the U.S.’s political paralysis fuse, presenting challenges for leaders from Beijing to Jakarta. In a less chaotic time, this might have been Asia’s big moment. News this week that Japan and China will promote direct trading of yen and yuan without using dollars is a case in point. An eastward shift of power and capital would seem to be a given as Bruss

Dec. 29, 2011

Here’s a trend to watch in the coming year: the rise of new economic powers.China, India and Brazil are in the ascendancy, as the economies of United States, Europe and Japan continue to stagnate.China and India are the two most populous countries in the world, together having about 37 percent of the world’s population.With 780 million workers, China has the world’s largest workforce. India is in second place, with 478 million. Both countries together have about 40 percent of the planet’s workfo

Dec. 29, 2011

Christmastime is a season of gratitude. Whether it’s because we reflect upon the birth of the Christ child or the blessings of the past year, the holiday often prompts a sense of appreciation and thankfulness, as well as the tradition of gift-giving.And this year, the season of giving and receiving gifts comes in sharp contrast to a succession of months pervaded with a sense of entitlement.An entitlement mentality ― a sense of being owed something for nothing ― settles in when people interpret w

Dec. 28, 2011

A silver lining in the dark cloud of the deficit reduction supercommittee’s failure is that it gives Americans another chance to do the right thing to control health care costs. To save money, we must move beyond administrative fiat and put patients first.The problem is illustrated by the “sustainable growth rate” legislation to control physician payments by Medicare. The sustainable growth rate has been repeatedly countermanded by Congress, an issue that might have been addressed by the superco

Dec. 28, 2011

We are witnessing the decline and fall of the investment-banking profession as we have known it for the past 40 years. The evidence is everywhere. The increasing regulations on Wall Street ― as required by the Dodd-Frank law and still being written by the Federal Reserve, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission and others agencies in the U.S. and Europe ― will require the remaining companies to increase their capital, curb their risk-taking and reduce t

Dec. 28, 2011

Dec. 27, 2011

In cultural commentary about the American economy, one company at a time always seems to be the goat. Everything it does is interpreted as evil. In the 1950s, it was General Motors. GM’s CEO, Charles “Engine Charlie” Wilson, became a national figure of ridicule for telling a congressional committee, “What’s good for General Motors is good for America.” Except that he actually said, “For years I thought that what was good for the country was good for General Motors and vice versa” ― which is quit

Dec. 27, 2011

The scary decline of relations between the United States and Pakistan ― the world’s most dangerous nuclear-armed country ― is illustrated by the perilous plight of one man.Husain Haqqani was, until recently, the savvy and energetic Pakistani ambassador to Washington, dubbed by Bloomberg “the hardest working man in DC.” His job was thankless: trying to maintain ties between two countries that deeply distrust each other.Pakistan’s military disliked Haqqani because of his long-standing opposition t

Dec. 27, 2011