According to this sobering editorial from the NRC Handelsblad of The Netherlands, recent tension between China and the United States is the opening tremor of a tectonic shift in the relative influence of the world’s two top two powers – and that shift strongly favors Beijing. The NRC Handelsblad editorial says in part: According to conservative estimates, it will be less than fifteen years before...

Avatar has turned out to be a politically explosive film. By and large, most writers see the film as a challenge to militarism/corporatism/fascism and a rejection of colonialism that extols the values of indigenous people. Chinese viewers see in the film a challenge to corporate interests that pay off corrupt officials to raze the homes of people unable to defend themselves. Like an earlier article from Germany’s...

On my way to tennis this morning, I was listening to NPR and caught the end of an interesting conversation on an alleged correlation between the Super Bowl winner and the stock market. However, I didn’t catch the name of the professor who had done such a study. Curious as to how my stocks will be doing after tonight’s Super Bowl, I “Googled” the subject and hit the jackpot. The professor is...

There are those in Spain today, laughing at Prime Minister Zapetero’s appearance at America’s annual National Prayer Breakfast. The implication is that as an ‘avowed enemy of Christianism,’ he’s a hypocrite. And by the looks of it, according to right-wing columnist Federico Quevedo of Spain’s El Confidencial the once-coveted visit to Obama’s side isn’t likely...

Should China treat America’s proposed weapons sale to Taiwan as a blessing in disguise? According to this article by a writer with the pen name Young Mao in the state-controlled Global Times, Beijing must use this experience to rally the nation and overcome the long-term policy of the United States to “contain China.” For the Global Times, Young Mao writes in part: Keeping in mind the details...

Here.

File this increasingly popular You Tube in your OOPS!!! file. Here’s a video of a banker caught looking at nude women on hits computer screen on a live Australian newscast. Note the guy at the computer to the left of the reporter’s screen.

Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou While Beijing is angry about U.S. plans to sell weapons to Taiwan, in Taiwan itself, the democratically-elected president of that country has come under attack for failing to acquire more and better weapons to defend the island. In trying to improve ties with Beijing and Washington, President Ma’s version of what Bill Clinton would have called ‘triangulation’ has...

The backlash against decades of American lecturing of Europe about the evils of state intervention into the free market shows no sign of abating. This article by columnist Thomas Fricke of Germany’s Financial Times Deutschland provides fresh ammunition for Germans who want their friends in the U.S and Britain to shut up once and for all. For the Financial Times Deutschland, Thomas Fricke writes in part: What...

From the New York Times’ coverage of hearings related to the repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy related to whether gays and lesbians serve in the U.S. military: On one thing, Mr. Gates, Admiral Mullen and Republicans on the committee agreed: many gay men and lesbians are serving honorably and effectively in the military today, despite a policy that has led to more than 13,000 discharges,...

Continuing with our theme today of global reaction to the latest U.S.-China sparring, this article from Germany’s Die Tageszeitung ponders the question, just how committed to the defense of democratic Taiwan is the United States? According to columnist Jutta Lietsch, whether the U.S. approves the deal to sell $6.4 billion in weapons to what was once called “America’s largest aircraft carrier”...

More chilling than the Chinese sword of Damocles hanging over Washington’s head may be the reaction of other countries, particularly our NATO allies, to the obvious shift of global influence in the direction of Beijing. From NATO ally Poland, Piotr Gillert writes for the newspaper Rceczpospolita: Obama’s attempts to begin a deep and intimate dialog with Beijing can now be called a failure. …...

Impolitic by design? Was she speaking on cue or speaking out of turn? That must have been the question on the minds of Russian officials when they heard the comments of former secretary of state Madeleine Albright, addressing members of the European Parliament last month. Albright, who has been appointed a consultant by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, seems to have ticked off the author of this...

Saddam’s cousin ‘Chemical Ali,’ moments before his hanging: From mass killer to political football. Trying to make sense of Iraq’s political scene is a daunting challenge at the best of times, let alone before a major round of national elections. With the control of the National Assembly at stake and the United States wanting to keep the situation as free of American fingerprints as...

Avatar’s Jake Skully is a man who goes native in a big way: Is he the latest in a long line of Western cultural imperialists? Among the tremendous number of international press reactions to James Cameron’s Avatar, this one stands out for two reasons: First, it was written by the publisher of Germany’s prestigious Die Zeit newspaper. And second, because it goes against the huge majority of views...

Is it even remotely possible that Osama bin Laden is some kind of American tool? As we’ve seen in the past, this is more than mere suspicion on the minds of many Arabs. This article from Algeria’s El Watan, published just after the release of the most recent recording by the terrorist mastermind, once again demonstrates the point – but paints President Obama as an unknowing victim of larger...

If you love great dog stories, enjoy this one.

How patriotic are Russians – and how afraid of the wrath of Vladmir Putin? This news item from Russia’s Vremya newspaper offers some insight into Russia’s nationalistic soul. For Vremya, reporter Sergey Anisimov writes in part: Nizhny Novgorod Christmas ornament manufacturer Ariel has refused several requests from private companies to manufacture Christmas ornaments with the image of Vladimir...

The old joke has been that in China when they walk their dog they really wok their dog. And catsup might have real cat. But no more: From serving it with turtle to stewing it with snake, China has savoured the delights of dog and cat meat for thousands of years. But now, the country known for its experimental culinary traditions could be about to end a centuries-old custom and remove both animals from the menu. In...

Much to the consternation of the United States, there are large numbers of people on the Latin American left who are certain that U.S. forces on the ground in the ill-fated country of Haiti are up to no good. So what is their reasoning in making such a charge? For the El Sol de Mexico, Miguel Angel Ferrer writes in part: Now, however, under the pretext of “humanitarian aid,” the troops have taken...

Why has President Obama fallen short after his first year in office? According to Brazilian newspaper Estadao, it all comes down to a failure to communicate. Estadao’s editorial on the president’s first year in office says in part: Cerebral, averse to confrontation, forgetful that the political polarization of the United States is profound and long-lasting, and finally, imprisoned by the priority...

America, or the entire cinematic world, celebrates next month the centenary of Hollywood’s first movie. The filming in February 1910 of D. W. Griffith’s “In Old California” was considered a cultural landmark. Equally fascinating are the details about the development of Hollywood (situated just 11 kms from Los Angeles) coinciding with the birth of the first movie. Director D.W. Griffith...

There was a time I feared for human civilization because of the rise in cell phone usage. The ubiquitousness of these gadgets – their effect on the manners of ordinary folk who thought nothing of bringing these infernal machines wherever they went, endlessly talking gibberish while impolitely ignoring the rest of the world – caused me a lot of angst until about 5 years ago. It was then I realized...

HAPPIER DAYS: OBAMA AND SARKOZY IN PARIS, JULY, 2008. Now that President Obama’s first year in office is over, French are asking what happened to early hopes for a renewed Franco-American partnership. According to Le Figaro’s Thomas Vampouille, they were frittered away by “a series of small humiliations” – a kind of petty tit-for-tat between the two presidents. For Le Figaro, Thomas...

Would you believe it if someone told you that there is a cinnamin flavored tea that has the full body of a caffeinated tea or cup of coffee if its brewed long enough and also is sweet enough so that it tastes as if it is sweetened — yet it is caffeine and sugar and artificial sweetener free? It does exist: Good Earth Caffeine Free Original. I’m a huge tea lover. It really started when I visited India...