Asia & Pacific Archives - Page 140 of 351

Mad Cows, Mad People

by John Feffer, Gavan McCormack | Jul 10, 2008

Just months after taking office, South Korean President Lee Myung Bak’s popularity plunged below 20%. People poured into the streets in unprecedented numbers – in the largest demonstrations in Korean history – to protest against him and his government. His cabinet offered to resign en masse, and he had to sack all seven members of the Blue House senior secretariat. He was forced to abandon key policies such as his plan to build a canal across the full length of the country. And he felt compelled to apologize, twice, for his policy blunders and "lack of communication skills."

Pakistans American Problem

by John Feffer, Zia Mian | Jul 9, 2008

The United States is struggling with Pakistan. The problem is manifold, encompassing a resurgent al-Qaeda, a Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan with bases in Pakistan, and Islamist militancy in Pakistan’s tribal areas and North-West Frontier Province.

The Abduction Narrative of Charles Robert Jenkins

by John Feffer | Jul 2, 2008

This essay originally appeared in Japan Focus.

Japan and the Future of Nuclear Disarmament

by John Feffer, Masako Toki | Jul 2, 2008

Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s entry in the visitors’ book at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum last month may not sound so astonishing or dramatic. His words — “Let the world resolve afresh, from the ashes of this city, to work together for the common mission of peace for this Asia-Pacific century, and for a world where nuclear weapons are no more” — sound like many other entries written in the visitors’ book after people learned the truth of the effect of the use of nuclear weapons against humanity.

Postcard from…Kwajalein

by John Feffer, Andre Vltchek | Jun 23, 2008

Mother Earth’s Triple Whammy

by John Feffer | Jun 17, 2008

This essay originally appeared in TomDispatch, a website run by Tom Engelhardt and associated with The Nation magazine.

South Korea’s Beef with America

by Christine Ahn, John Feffer | Jun 13, 2008

On June 10, one million South Koreans from all walks of life poured onto the streets of Seoul, the nation’s capital, to protest the newly elected President Lee Myung Bak’s deal with the United States to fully open Korean markets to U.S. beef.

Is Pakistan Appeasing the Taliban?

by John Feffer, Sharad Joshi | Jun 13, 2008

In May 2008, in the midst of the ongoing Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, Islamabad concluded at least two peace agreements with Taliban and Taliban-linked groups operating in Pakistan. Although negotiations with the Taliban are necessary for any broad-based peace settlement in the region, these agreements threaten to complicate policy options for Washington and the Hamid Karzai government in Afghanistan.

Preparing for Peace in Pakistan

by John Feffer, Mehlaqa Samdani | Jun 13, 2008

Criticism has been leveled against the Pakistani government’s efforts to hold talks with militant groups. While concerns about the Taliban regrouping remain valid, it is in America’s long-term security interest not only to support the multidimensional peace plans being formulated, but refrain from words and actions that could jeopardize the process.

The Failed Expectations of U.S Trade Policy

by Robert Cassidy, John Feffer | Jun 4, 2008

As the principal negotiator for the landmark market access agreement that led to China’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), I have reflected on whether the agreements we negotiated really lived up to our expectations. A sober reflection has led me to conclude that those trade agreements did not.