Uncategorised and other

Thursday linkage: PLA hawks, Obama snooping, Japan's aid policy and more
Why is female sexuality at the heart of some of our most significant global conflicts? Cross-strait liberalisation: In 2012, Chinese tourists to Taiwan numbered 2.58 million;…
Wednesday linkage: Chemical weapons in Syria, climate, North Korea and more
A leaked US State Department cable says Syria used chemical weapons against its own people last month. The Economist on the European Central Bank's 'woefully inadequate'…
Tuesday linkage: Freedom index, aid, one-child policy, Saudi Arabia and more
The Heritage Foundation's annual Economic Freedom Index is out: Australia ranks third. The never-changing face of Saudi Arabia: '...there are few signs that the Saudi monarchy…
China linkage: Bullet trains, Guangzhou protests, SOEs, 2012 review, central Asia and more
Dirk van der Kley is a Research Associate in the Lowy Institute's East Asia Program. For almost a decade, China's SOEs have blocked plans to make wealth distribution more equal…
India linkage: Delhi protests, BRICS, economy, solar and hydro, US-India relations and more
Danielle Rajendram is a Research Associate in the Lowy Institute's International Security Program whose work focuses on India and China-India relations. The gang-rape protests…
Thursday linkage: World population, Laos, Hillary Clinton, Google and more
Global population growth is slowing, and world population may actually start declining soon. A prominent Laotian NGO leader went missing last December, grabbed at a police…
Wednesday linkage: The Simpsons, Han Han, drone delivery, energy and more
The US wants to solve its debt problems by minting a $1 trillion coin? Simpsons did it. Could drones spell the end for courier companies? (H/t Kottke.) Why I love the…
Tuesday linkage: China censorship, Aasif Mandvi, GM food and more
Video of protests against newspaper censorship in China. (Thanks Danielle.) John Gray: 'liberals have seen the Communist experiment as a hyperbolic expression of their own…
Why Australia trembles as America teeters on the brink
Commentary
Why Australia trembles as America teeters on the brink
In an opinion piece in The Age, Mark Thirwell discusses the last-minute negotiations to prevent the US economy from plunging lemming-like over the so-called fiscal cliff and back…
Monday linkage: Driverless cars, Mekong dams, Orwell, 2012 and more
Colleague Milton Osborne tells me The Irrawaddy is now on sale in Burma. Here's a recent piece surveying China's dam building on the Mekong and beyond. A clever cover design…