Sol W. Sanders As the shale gas revolution begins to ripple through, reordering the world economy, another fossil fuel revolution is in the offing which will again torpedo most conventional wisdom concerning energy. So-called “peak oil”, the end of petroleum exhausted by expanding consumption and diminishing discoveries, the love story of environmental fanatics, has […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com There are clear-cut signs that Chinese and Japanese leaders want to mend fences after the seven month-old row over the Diaoyu-Senkaku islands has plunged bilateral ties to the lowest level since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1972. Masahiko Komura, Vice-President of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) […]
Sol W. Sanders A bitter and unresolved struggle behind the scenes for control of North Korea, the world’s most regressive regime, is the likeliest explanation for Pyongyang’s unprecedented deluge of threats against South Korea, the U.S. and Japan. For heavy hangs the head of Kim Jong-Un, heir to the world’s only Communist monarchy, a […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — It’s long been an economic truism that the United States pays the lions share of the UN budget. Moreover the European Union (EU) countries contribute the largest bloc of dues of the 193 member organization. Well, there’s good and bad news. The USA’s budget assessment is no longer as […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Compiled by Miles Yu, Geostrategy-Direct.com Two key U.S. allies rolled out jet fighters in the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam last week in a joint exercise and show of force. Combat aircraft from Japan, Australia and the United States started the drill codenamed Cope North on Feb. 7 in response to the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Sol W. Sanders TOKYO — Myron Macht, my diminutive friend, deceased alas! gourmet, bibliophile, raconteur – and unfortunately victim of post-traumatic syndrome as a veteran gunner in U.S. bombers during World War II, had a theory. Mike said, only half in jest, that the troubles of the contemporary world were all […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Sol W. Sanders TAIPEI – Annette Lu Hsiu-lien, former Taiwan vice president, proposes a demilitarized settlement of the East China islands flash point between China and Japan. In an interview with WorldTribune, Lu claimed Taiwan actually has the best claim to the Diaoyutai/Senkaku chain of uninhabited islands. Although China seems to […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Shortly after the Security Council unanimously condemned the recent North Korean missile launch and demanded that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea abandon nuclear testing, Pyongyang’s rulers decided to up the political ante. They announced that they are on the verge of a third nuclear test and for good […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, East-Asia-Intel.com The likelihood of an at least small-scale military conflict between China and Japan over the Diaoyu-Senkaku islands has increased dramatically. Latest reports from Beijing say that General Secretary Xi Jinping, who is also commander-in-chief of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), has given orders to deploy more short- to […]
Sol W. Sanders Tokyo – Japan’s new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is racing against time. His recent landslide victory was a vote against the fumbling incumbent Democratic Party of Japan, which was from its inception a collection of diametrically opposed ideological partners. It scooped up leftwing socialists and disgruntled conservatives who left Abe’s “government” […]