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Earthquake open thread

by FarEasterner
Wed Sep 12th, 2007 at 12:49:19 PM EST

I just received a letter from friend in Jakarta:

I was sitting at my computer on the 15th floor of the Hyatt hotel
earlier this evening when the building began to sway and make noises.
Turns out that an 8.2 magnitude earthquake occurred Southern Sumatra,
about 425 miles from Jakarta where I am staying.

Nothing fell except my laundry line and nothing broke. There have
been after shocks but I haven't noticed them.

Hope there will be no many victims as last time in December 2005 but extent of damage appear very slow.
Quake triggers tsunami in Indonesia; 7 dead

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP): A massive earthquake killed at least seven people, injured 100 and triggered a small tsunami in western Indonesia, authorities said. Warnings for destructive waves were issued across much of the Indian Ocean region.

The 8.2-magnitude quake off Sumatra island badly damaged buildings along the coast and could be felt in at least four countries, with tall buildings swaying as far as 2,000 kilometers away.

It was followed by a series of strong aftershocks.

At least seven people were killed in three Sumatran towns, Felix Valentino, an official from the Social Affairs Department, told the news portal detik.com.

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Earthquake open thread | 7 comments (7 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Earthquake open thread (4.00 / 5)

I wanted to add that as evening in Asia falls earlier than in Europe there are not many opportunities to discuss irrelevant topics like this:
Reuters: Russia PM nominee a low-key technocrat

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin stuck to his habit of choosing virtually unknown technocrats as prime minister on Wednesday by nominating Viktor Zubkov.

With his choice of the 65-year-old, who is head of the Federal Financial Monitoring Service, Putin confounded expectations the job would go to a heavyweight candidate who would use it as a stepping stone to becoming president in 2008.

Instead, Putin kept everyone guessing about whom he wanted to be his successor by giving the job to a man regarded by most analysts as a transitional figure.

by FarEasterner on Wed Sep 12th, 2007 at 12:53:17 PM EST

Re: Earthquake open thread (4.00 / 4)

Another startling news, Japanese PM resigned over Afghanistan:
The Guardian: Bold populist who seemed an ideal PM

A third generation conservative politician with bold, populist policies and a modern, telegenic appeal, Shinzo Abe seemed an ideal fit to the post of Japanese prime minister.
He even seemed up to the onerous task of succeeding the flamboyant Junichiro Koizumi, whose more than five years in the post had made him the longest serving Japanese PM in three decades.

However, while Mr Koizumi rode out a series of scandals and slumps to repeatedly win back the Japanese public's affections, Mr Abe's prime ministerial trajectory plotted a resolutely downward course. He failed to last even a year.
....
It was a foreign policy issue - Mr Abe's desire to extend Japan's support role for US-led forces in Afghanistan - which eventually undid him, with the opposition threatening to block the legislation in the upper house.

So now Indian communists can do the same with another Bush friend - PM Manmohan Singh - and pull out his shaky chair.

by FarEasterner on Wed Sep 12th, 2007 at 01:13:54 PM EST

Re: Earthquake open thread (4.00 / 3)

Elections of new LDP chief are fixed on Sept 19th, the question now will new PM call for low house elections or not? Abe's rival - former hawkish foreign minister Taro Aso is considered favourite. New elections may well bring end of LDP rule.
Time: After Abe's Exit, Will Japan Retreat

Abe's resignation spells the end of an attempt among more conservative members of the LDP to loosen the bounds of postwar pacifism and forge a true military alliance with the U.S.But the aging Japanese public was more worried about the state of its economy and failing pension system than the war on terror, which was never popular in Japan, and concerns grew that the country had become too close to the U.S. Abe never adjusted his priorities, and he paid the price at the polls. Though he said that the LDP would still fight to renew the Afghanistan bill, insiders have suggested the party may withdraw the bill in the face of opposition from the DPJ and the public. If that happens, Japan will likely return to the arms-length relationship it had with America for most of the Cold War, and the country, consumed by domestic fears, could turn inward. In the end, Abe's "beautiful Japan" may turn out to be the old Japan.

by FarEasterner on Wed Sep 12th, 2007 at 01:32:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Earthquake open thread (4.00 / 2)

As if the "old" Japan wasn't "beautiful". They get paid to write this nonsense?

Oye, vatos, dees English sink todos mi ships, chinga sus madres, so escuche: el fleet es ahora refloated, OK? — The War Nerd

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Sep 12th, 2007 at 05:37:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Earthquake open thread (4.00 / 5)

imco this is not nonsense M, it is propaganda -- and my bet is someone got paid very big bucks indeed to write those very calculated phrases, designed to instil contempt for (maybe also fear of) Japan in Anglo readers.

the country, consumed by domestic fears, could turn inward

to tell the truth, I wish more countries when consumed with domestic fears would 'turn inward' -- if the American history of 'invade somebody and kill a few thousand civilians to make ourselves feel better' is the alternative. what country is more consumed with domestic fear than the visqueen/duct-tape happy, Arabs-under-the-bed, security-mad Amurkans? can we spell "projection and transference"?

well maybe that's a bit too psychological, but anyway, can we spell "a very thinly disguised way of taunting 'Nyah Nyah, Japan is a Sissy'"?

and maybe also a not so thinly disguised jab at an old scar, i.e. Perry's "gunboat diplomacy" (i.e. armed invasion) which "forcibly opened" (can the patriarchal sex-memes get any more blatant) the "old" isolationist Japan? surely that violation of national sovereignty has not been forgotten, nor the more than half century of US occupation of Okinawa, and all these taunts imho draw on those memories to add spin and sting (and implicit threat) to Anglo descriptions of Japan as "old," "inward turning," and "isolationist."

... blue-skying off into Anglosphere media generally... this reflexive contempt for any/all nonwhite, nonwestern cultures is not far below the (white) skin anywhwere in Anglocentroid media... recently the Scottish Sunday Herald decided to run an article on "affordable plastic-body cars in India" using a photo of -- guess what -- an inanely grinning (white) toddler in a toy plastic car. footnote. subliminal message is not very subliminal: grownups drive great big powerful wasteful expensive metal automobiles, third world people are toddlers who get cute wittle toy cars to play with? to be fair it might have been the 'liberal' US website that tacked the stupid image onto the story and not the SH, but either way, the arrogant concescension drips off of it. to my jaundiced eye anyway.

and my eye is pretty durn jaundiced lately...

The difference between theory and practise in practise ...

by DeAnander (de_at_daclarke_dot_org) on Thu Sep 13th, 2007 at 08:04:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]

India and Russia are talking love. Again. (4.00 / 3)

First it was Masha Arbatova, TV and Hello personality and popular author who came up with her radical (as usual) idea: Marry Indian, save Russia

Indian men promise to be the ideal spouses for Russian women, affected as they are by a high male death rate owing largely to unhealthy lifestyles. That is the opinion of Maria Arbatova.
"The import of eligible bachelors from India is my big geopolitical idea," she told RIA Novosti news agency.

India can be of help now that Russia has come to grips with its formidable demographic problem, Arbatova said during the launch of her latest book A Taste of India at the 20th Moscow International Book Fair recently.

Hindustan Times in yesterday's editorial doubted Ms Arbatova expertise (she is happily married to Indian businessman few year ago after "25 year of keeping marrying Russians") as she obviously knows only metrosexual men, not real Indians.

But the Russian feminist who's tried to overcome the knotty problem proffers the opinion that Indian men make ideal husbands. They are crazy about their children and family, she coos.
Now clearly, the poor dear has not had a close encounter with the average Indian .. macho man. So if the Russian lovelies think that your average Jat babu is going to sit around changing diapers and turn out blinis by the dozen, they should think again.
If the idea is to increase the population, they'll soon find that there are many more Dimitris running around than Tatyanas, given our touching preference for the male gender.
And if any Russian bride thinks she will be getting back from a hard day's work and putting up her feet with the old Stoli and catching up on Tolstoy, she's in for a bit of a vigorous workout at the hands of the desi spouse.

Opposite view was expressed by influential The Tribune in today's editorial, which askes male Haryanvis and Punjabis (these 2 states have the worst sex ratio in India) to book their tickets to Moscow and don't wait for setting up of ministry of overseas marriages by indifferent government.

by FarEasterner on Fri Sep 14th, 2007 at 11:02:11 AM EST

Incompetent Economist (4.00 / 4)

As Jerome and others fairly offten these days quote London based magazine the Economist I found too many wrong assumptions in its article on Indian politics.
The Economist: Early elections for India?

After more than three years of political stability under a Congress-led government, India is bracing itself for the possibility of early elections. Fierce opposition to the controversial Indo-US nuclear deal on the part of the government's communist allies has in effect reduced the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) to a minority government. The Left parties insist that the deal, which aims to lift a three-decade US ban on sales of nuclear fuel and reactors to India, would compromise India's sovereignty and prevent it from pursuing an independent foreign policy.

After this introduction Economist comes with what interests its readers: prospects for business in India. Its diagnosis is strange.

For businesses, the prospect of early elections is bad news... Until the impasse over the nuclear deal, the main tension always was between the economic liberalism of several leading Congress figures--notably the prime minister, Manmohan Singh--and the leftist populism of many government supporters. But while the UPA's alliance with the Left has hindered its ability to implement progressive economic reforms, the relationship has also provided stability. If the government were to fall, the prospects for coherent, pro-business policymaking would become even more uncertain in the short term.

I don't see why Congress government which is so cosy to all sorts of big money was so successful in "liberal, progressive reforms" and anti-American leftists are not? Last days Indian newspapers have published lengthy reports on investigation of birthday bash by one local Congress minister in small Himalayan state. Omitting accusations and purges like I did not dance with the girls it was interesting to see the list of invitees - besides government officials and party friends there were industrialists, media moghuls and wealthy Indian emigrants. Now this minister, stripped of transport and tourism portfolio vows to come back to power and become chief minister of this state, urging poor people who come to his rallies vote for him. How typical for Congress party - mislead poor voters and forget them after elections. And Economist article mention this fact in article but not as utter failure of Congress government but as matter of disinterest of electorate in nuclear deal with US:

The politicians also know that they cannot fight an election on an issue such as the nuclear deal, because it means little--if anything--to the majority of voters in a country where 862m people live on less than 50 US cents a day. As ever, the most likely election themes would be the woes of the farm sector and rising food prices.

Then Economist quotes very flawed results of recent poll by CNN-IBN tv channel and Indian Express, 2 most pro-American media outlets in India:

According to a survey in early September by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, the UPA would increase its seats from the 222 it won in May 2004 to 267. Meanwhile, the BJP-led coalition, the National Democratic Alliance, would win 133 seats, compared to 189 in 2004. The Left parties' number of seats in the national parliament would fall to 43, down from 59.

This results is nothing but preference of editors and owners of these media, not the people. Economist could be better to check the history of CNN/Indian Express polls, whether their predictions were the right ones at least once. I can say - never. They were always wrong, predicting 300 seats for BJP in 2004 and failed to predict Mayawati victory in UP this year and so on and on and on. Why this pollsters go wrong? See above, how many people live on less than half dollar a day. If they ask their own wealthy friends or make telephone SMS surveys that does not mean India think so.

At the end, the Economist predicts bright future for Congress like this:

For Congress, which ruled on its own for decades after independence, there is no shortage of potential coalition partners that could provide the votes it needs for a majority in parliament. The most obvious one is the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), a caste-based regional party in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

This is exaggeration (one of many) as Mayawati would quickly put her foot at Manmohan and Sonia Gandhi neck, demanding PM chair for herself. There is no prospect for stable Congress - BSP partnership at all, it's just a fantasy of pro-American media.

And that leave you with question - how you can make business decisions if you read such crap as Economist to have knowledge of local developments?

by FarEasterner on Fri Sep 14th, 2007 at 11:34:59 AM EST

Earthquake open thread | 7 comments (7 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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