I’m not sure what he is smiling about in the background as they’re taking the journalist away… In many parts of the Middle East, shoe-throwing is one of the harshest gestures one can make. Note that shoe-throwing also made news in 2003 when Iraqis threw their footwear at the toppled statue of Saddam Hussein.
See [...]

There are many “common” phrases used in the world of international politics that we use often put probably don’t fully understand — One of these for me is the term, “Japan passing.” According to the Economist, this phrase has two meanings: (1) that world’s second biggest economy was being passed by in a fast-changing [...]

I’ll leave the election commentary to the professionals (mainly because I’m happy with the results and don’t have much to add to what’s already been said), and instead offer one realization that came to me today. More people voted in Washington, DC than the whole of Alaska (try DC = 225,224 vs. Alaska = [...]

I think it’s despicable to say that there’s a “real America” and the rest of America. It’s divisive, hateful, and completely against the ideals that America tries to stand for. It’s equally dangerous to say that those people who don’t hold the same social/religious views as you are less “patriotic.” Haven’t [...]

Although today’s biggest headlines were in the Middle East and South Asia, as I was scrolling through the headlines about Japan I couldn’t help but notice this lead: Japanese Yen Has Huge One-Day Decline; Helps Market Rally.
Really now. When was the last time you heard a market rally over currency devaluation? Unfortunately for [...]

One of the advantages/disadvantages of living in the United States is that the world tends to take an interest in your “internal domestic affairs.” Several well-known publications in connecting with international polling companies have surveyed global citizens asking who they would vote for. Some of the results are as follows:

Foreign Policy/Gallup: Electoral Map [...]

One of the upsides of the financial crisis (if there are in fact any good points) is that it’s providing a good opportunity for people to learn about economic concepts like interbank loans and credit default swaps.
Need some data? Head on over to amazon.com. The first economic-related book to come up in the [...]

On Saturday the US removed North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism. While Western media highlighted that the announcement was meant to “break a two-month deadlock in the six party talks,” Japanese media is far from pleased with the development. Japanese press expressed particular concern over Japan’s being left in [...]

Below, Palin tries to discuss the bailout package, Russia, the “bridge to nowhere,” the Supreme Court, (not) reading the media, domestic oil. We should all be scared, and I don’t think I can cringe hard enough. She doesn’t even admit when she’s out of her league. It’s complete and utter BS. [...]

According to Japanese press, Construction and Transport Minister Nariaki Nakayama “intends to resign from his post to take responsibility for a series of verbal gaffes he has made since his appointment last week.” Nakayama came under fire for calling the nation’s biggest teachers union a “cancer” in the education system as well as previously [...]

Just a quick update on some of the events that have been happening around the big wide world lately (most will sound familiar unless you’ve buried yourself in a hole for the past week or so):
Georgia/Russia: As expected, “ceasefire” never really means ceasefire, and the saga continues. On the one hand I wonder what the [...]

After months of foot-tapping and nail-biting (wait, who are we kidding), Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda has finally reshuffled his cabinet — that’s the terms for giving under-performing/unpopular ministers the boot. Media has dubbed the move a “last ditch” effort on Fukuda’s part to improve his public approval ratings, but that is of course assuming [...]

Yesterday I wrote on the Takeshima/Dokdo dispute that’s currently driving a wedge between Japan and South Korea. If the US had any sense it would keep the mess at arms-length — but no. Perhaps in response to the ROK’s vehement objection to a decision by the US Board of Geographic Names to change [...]

Present-day international relations in NE Asia are inextricably conflated with ongoing history disputes. It really is quite a headache at times. Although China and Japan appear to have placed some of their differences behind them in favor of building friendly atmospherics and strengthening trade (which isn’t to say they’re on the same page [...]

There are rumors afoot that the 2009 Yaris lineup in the US will include the 5-door hatchback that both Japan and Europe are currently enjoying. That’s probably enough to make any 3-door owner jealous… and now that it looks like Toyota is going to scale back its SUV lineup here in the States, I [...]