Kremlin warns against wrecking Russia with democracy | Reuters

Posted by Matt in October 26th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Russia, Chaos, Chief Of Staff, Chief Political Strategist, democracy, Deputy Chief Of Staff, Economic Development, Flirting, kremlin, Liberal Reforms, Reuters, Russia, Surkov, Vladislav

The Kremlin’s chief political strategist warned in an article published on Monday that Russia risked collapsing into chaos if officials tried to tinker with the political system by flirting with liberal reforms.
Kremlin Deputy Chief of Staff Vladislav Surkov said it was clear Russia was falling behind in many areas of economic development and that the [...]

The coming war for water | GlobalPost.Com

Posted by Matt in September 21st, 2009 | no comment

Published in Conflict, India, War, Water, 1950s, climate change, Coming War, Cubic Meters, Economic Development, Flash Point, Glaciers, Himalayas, Human Health, Impediment, India Pakistan, Kashmir, Populations, Rivers, Strife, Subcontinent, Threshold, United Nations, Water Shortage, Water Supply

Kashmir’s mighty rivers are a source of strife on the subcontinent.
Battles over water are already mounting in number around the world, according to Peter Gleick, an expert at the Pacific Institute. But Kashmir could be the most dangerous flash point. According to a recent United Nations report, Pakistan’s water supply has dropped from about 5,000 [...]

Global Economic Meltdown – Why We’re Screwed | Political Unrest

Posted by Matt in July 15th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Geopolitical, Academia, Blogged, Dark Days, Days Of Winter, Economic And Social Development, Economic Development, Flock Browser, Global Economic Meltdown, Global Meltdown, Moving, Political Unrest, Political Violence, Professor Davies, Prolonged Period, Revolutions, Short Period, Signs, Turmoil

Here’s how professor Davies put it, in that special language of academia:
“Revolutions are most likely to occur when a prolonged period of objective economic and social development is followed by a short period of sharp reversal. People then subjectively fear that ground gained with great effort will be quite lost; their mood becomes revolutionary.”
Since those [...]

Bad Economy Could Cause China Crackup

Posted by Matt in December 1st, 2008 | no comment

Published in China, Economy, Challenges, Currency, Dollar, Economic Development, Economy China, Extent, Financial Crisis, Global Economic Growth, Global Financial Crisis, International Financial Crisis, Jintao Hu, Journalist, Momentum, Partner, Ruling Communist Party, Will Hutton, Writing On The Wall, Yuan

Don’t believe me? Here is what President Jintao Hu said over the weekend at a party meeting:
“In this coming period, we will starkly confront the effects of the sustained deepening of the international financial crisis and pressure as global economic growth clearly slows. … Whether we can turn this pressure into momentum, turn challenges into [...]

Photo Essay: For China’s Polluting Factories, a Change of Address

Posted by Matt in November 9th, 2008 | no comment

Published in China, pollution, Ceramics Industry, Change Address, Change Of Address, China Factories, Earth, Economic Development, Photo China, Photo Essay, Polluted Places, Porcelain Tiles, Sculptures

Breakneck economic development has turned China into one of the most polluted places on Earth, and the country’s ceramics industry is hardly blame free. In the ceramics capital of Foshan, entire factories that produce everything from glazed sculptures to porcelain tiles have been relocated in an effort to clear the air.
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Chinese torture

Posted by Matt in June 5th, 2008 | no comment

Published in China, Europe, China, Chinese Torture, Contempt, Cue, Decline, Defence Spending, Economic Development, European Union, Freedoms, Hegemon, Olympic Summer, Peaceful World, Rulers, Ties, Two New Publications

The European Union may find dealing with the Middle Kingdom trickier than it expects
IN THIS Olympic summer, expect to hear a lot about the century of China’s rise and America’s decline. That sounds like good news for the European Union, and all who dream of a “multipolar” order in which European wealth counts as much [...]