EDITORIAL : KHALEEJ TIMES, UAE

A feasible withdrawal?

US President Barack Obama’s decision to withdraw forces in numbers larger than endorsed by his military commanders poses several questions.

Has the president done so only to fulfil a commitment for withdrawal pledged earlier? Has Obama, in preparation of a second electoral term, attempted to shift focus on issues of far more importance domestically such as the lagging economy? Is the mood in the White House, post-Osama bin Laden, mistakenly over optimistic?

Only recently did an admission from US Secretary Defence Robert Gates lay to rest any doubts when he confirmed that Washington was engaged in talks with the Taleban. Is the US, by hoping to engage the insurgents politically, conveying a message through the announced reduction of  troops that it does not intend to stay — thus hoping for a more productive dialogue.

Apparently, Obama’s military advisors are not happy with what they perceive as a detrimental and drastic cut down in forces and one that may impact the laboriously achieved gains. The Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, has called it “more aggressive” than advised and riskier. Similar sentiments have been expressed by General David Petraeus, the US Commander in Afghanistan and nominated to head the CIA.

Likewise, though Afghan President Hamid Karzai has welcomed the decision reiterating confidence in the Afghan security forces, many of his officials have contrary opinions. The general sentiment is that a sizeable and hasty withdrawal at this juncture will be disastrous in the face of the existing (in)capability of the national forces. They feel that the foreign forces must stay beyond the 2013 deadline — the date for the  complete exit of US forces — set by Obama and help in training the Afghan forces to boost operational capability and assume responsibility.

Fears of the country regressing into another phase of instability  reminiscent of the post-Soviet withdrawal loom  large.  Following American footsteps, the French President Nicolas Sarkozy has also announced the withdrawal of 4,000 soldiers as part of a phased exit plan on the lines of the US exit timetable.

The insurgent reaction to the announcement is as expected. Denouncing the move as a mere ‘symbolic’ one, the Taleban in a media statement, vowed to continue fighting till the ouster of all the foreign forces from the country. It also accused Washington of giving false hopes to the American people and making baseless claims about victory.

Freshly victorious after Bin Laden, Obama has probably understood the need to address the Afghan war differently.  The mammoth cost of deployment that amounts to $2 billion a week is a mocking reminder in the current domestic economic scenario. On top of it growing disquiet over the feasibility of a war that has incurred a heavy cost in terms of soldiers, lives  has added further  pressure.

It is hoped that a political solution involving all insurgent factions is thought of sooner rather than later ends the current imbroglio.

Ban Ki-moon’s second inning

Ban Ki-moon’s apolitical nature has won him a second-term at the world body. The United Nations secretary-general, however, is apt at real-politicks.

That was squarely evident as he openly came out to support the Arab Spring in the Middle East and Africa. But the fact that he hasn’t been an impediment on the path of major powers’ obsession to lead from the front, thus entailing his office and organisation a mere watchdog status, says it all. Retaining the coveted post and that too unanimously for another term reflects the astuteness and diligence with which the South Korean diplomat has handled the world agenda spanning wars and peace to climate change and recessionary economics.

The soft-spoken emissary, nonetheless, should be credited for strengthening the role and the visibility of the United Nations. His personal intervention in humanitarian crises from Chile to Pakistan and from Honshu to Haiti is, indeed, laudable. Moreover, he has been tactfully dealing with the controversial issue of human rights without making it a personalised agenda.

Aso, Ban’s shrewdness in keeping China and Russia proactively involved and restraining them from exercising their veto power, especially in the case of Libya, is broadly eulogised.

The secretary-general will be poised to assume a leadership role as the resolution for Palestinian statehood is brought before the house. This is the time when a lot of secretarial articulation will be required while dealing with a fundamental issue pertaining the basic parameters behind the creation of a supra-governmental organisation. Whether he follows in the footprints of Dag Hammarskjold and U Thant to exhibit genuine leadership remains to be seen. Though his low-key profile has often been criticised, Ban has been quite vocal on environment and institutional initiatives.

The secretary-general still has to ensure that the lingering debate of reforms at the UN, especially the expansion of the Security Council and the permanent members gets to a logical conclusion. Incidentally, his desktop is heaped with peacemaking issues ranging from the Middle East, to the nuclearised Korean Peninsula. How he manages to make a difference is awaited.

EDITORIAL : THE DAILY OUTLOOK, AFGANISTAN

 

 

Post-Withdrawal Intrusions

The troop drawdown will begin shortly. President Barack Obama an nounced that he was pulling home 33,000 troops from Afghanistan by next summer. The announcement came after months of consultation and reflection over the status quo in Afghanistan and the possible consequences. Pressured by public opinion at home, US president made the decision to give a kickstart to the process of withdrawal, marking the beginning of the end of the US's longest war abroad.

The question on that for Afghanistan is, however, the ability to takeover the mission and manage the troublesome situation in the increasingly violent country.A total of 10,000 troops will leave the war zone by the end of this year - fulfilling Obama's promise - and more than 20,000 additional forces will leave by the summer of 2012. Afghan president Hamid Karzai hailed the announcement and said Afghan security forces will be ready to take over the job from foreign troops. He said Obama had made the right decision. "Today we welcome the decision of U.S. president over the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, this decision benefits the United States and Afghanistan," the president said.

The process begins at a time when Afghanistan undergoes its most violent moments since the US attacked Taliban shortly after the 9/11 catastrophic incident. The country has had great opportunities to rebuild Afghanistan. However, no single party is contented with the fragile achievements.

Though making promising announcements and declarations at certain junctures in the war against terrorism, the coalition forces - making bulk of the international troops stationed here -, the NATO and the ISAF forces are concerned over the post-withdrawal situation in Afghanistan. Gen. David Petraeus, who is leading the US war effort in Afghanistan, and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were clear in stating their public support for the decision Obama announced and said they would do their best to carry it out. But at the same time they warned that the pace of the drawdown, which calls for a third of US forces in Afghanistan to leave by the end of next summer, would create additional risks to the decade-old campaign. "The president's decisions are more aggressive and incur more risk than I was originally prepared to accept," Mullen, the top US military officer, told a House of Representatives committee hearing.

A question that hasremained insufficiently scrutinized is the regional contentious approach towards Afghanistan following the withdrawal. Having made strategic decisions on the post-withdrawal Afghanistan and the regional changes then, the regional and neighboring countries are making stronger efforts to bolster their position to gain the bigger piece of cake. Iran, the main regional critic of the US forces presence in Afghanistan, has frequently struggled to make Afghanistan see the reality from their viewpoint. Frequently calling upon the international forces to leave Afghanistan and advising the Afghan nation to accelerate their pullout, our Western neighbor tries hard to promote its strategic function in the regional - Particularly, the Afghan specific-issues.

Considerate enough to choose the timing, the Islamic Republic has launched an anti-terrorism summit in Tehran. To partake in the summit, the presidents of Afghanistan and Pakistan arrived in Tehran on Friday. Previously, there have been bilateral and multilateral meetings between Afghanistan, Iran and certain regional actors. But there have been no improvements in security situation and the anti-terrorism in Tehran will also not bring any changes. Instead, it shows the rising regional conflicts over the post-American era in Afghanistan. The contentions will rise over the pieces of cake and Afghanistan would surely suffer from it. Alarmed by the withdrawal process and taking over the job, the Afghan government needs strategic plans to take in hand the situation once every one is gone and new battlers enter the scene. Petraeus is right over risks of the drawdown but the worse will appear when drawdown proves immature and is followed by intrusions.

Alignment against the Specter of Evil Forces

It was nearly 10 years ago that the terrorists carried out their vicious attacks on the United States of America, which were orchestrated and plotted in Afghanistan, which was then ruled by the brutal regime of Taliban. The world felt a new security threat but Afghanistan found a new opportunity to begin to get rid of the evil forces that had made it the safe haven for themselves, and shake off the medieval signs.
Many world nations came to Afghanistan with their forces and money to help Afghan people stabilize, reconstruct and develop their country.

In the early years of the first decade of 21th century, Al-Qaeda and Taliban, as the evils of modern world, appeared to have been touted in Afghanistan for good. It was trumpeted as a success story. But it was in 2006 that they begin to resurface and remerge, requiring the international community to refocus on Afghanistan and to go from light foot print to heavy foot print to prevent the comeback of Taliban militants, whose ideology remains diametrically hostile to modern values such as human rights, women's rights and civil freedoms inter alia.

After repeated warnings by the military commanders on the ground that the world would face a resurgent Al-Qaeda and its extremist and destructive allies in Afghanistan, the U.S. president Barack Obama announced an additional 30,000 American troops to be deployed into Afghanistan. On Thursday morning according to Afghan time, president Obama announced withdrawal of US troops by next summer, stating, "We are starting this drawdown from a position of strength." Although he categorically said, "We will have to do the hard work of keeping the gains that we have made, while we drawdown our forces and transition responsibility for security to the Afghan government".

It is to be mentioned that it will be difficult to keep the gains peacefully and permanently if the Taliban militants are not dealt another vital blow to compel them to "break from Al-Qaeda, denounce violence, and abide by the Afghan Constitution", the conditions that should determine the reconciliation process if it is to be effective and successful. The leaders of anti-Taliban political groups and parties have already begun to think how to prevent from the emergence of the specter of a brutal and destructive force, a hard-line Taliban hostile to the values that form today's humanity. It is hoped that the president listens to the voices that call for a dignified peace based on justice. It is also hoped that international community shows patience until this overarching goal is achieved for the sake of Afghans who have suffered and continue to suffer from violence by Taliban tremendously.

EDITORIAL : THE ASHARQ ALAWSAT, SAUDI ARABIA, published in LONDON

Does Tariq Aziz have a television set?

If there is anything piquing my curiosity these days, it is the question: Did Tariq Aziz – Saddam Hussein's Foreign Minister – watch the latest press conference given by [Syrian Foreign Minister] Walid Muallem? And if he did watch this, what is his opinion of the statements made by the foreign minister of the last Baathist regime in our region?
I believe that Tariq Aziz's feelings would be a mixture of pity, sadness, and perhaps schandenfruede, however I asked a prominent Arab figure – who knows both Aziz and Muallem – about what the former Iraqi foreign minister's potential response to this speech would be. He answered "when Aziz looks at Muallem, I expect that he may see a bit of himself in him." He added "these may be different figures in [different] Baathist regimes, but there is no difference in the suppressive and brutal methods that can force a man like Walid Muallem to come out in this manner, or say what he said at this Damascus press conference." My source described Muallem as the man who "returned Syria to Washington with cunning and humour" when he was Syrian Ambassador to the US. Indeed Muallem managed to overcome many a difficult political issue with a light-hearted joke, without this having any consequences on Damasus, or Muallem himself. The source also described Tariq Aziz as being "like silk…smooth, mild, and good-natured" however, according to the source, both men share one thing in common, which is that neither dares to confront their leader with the truth.
My source then went on to tell me – thanks to his previous position and his relationships – that a Russian figure once informed him that prior to Operation Desert Storm, Tariq Aziz requested a meeting with a Moscow official and implored him to convince Saddam Hussein to withdraw Iraqi troops from Kuwait, as Aziz himself was not capable of doing this at the time. This is something that also applies to Walid Muallem, who replaced [former Syrian Foreign Minister] Farouk al-Sharaa. I used to call al-Sharaa, Farouak al-Sharrakh [Faraouk the Shouter] because every statement he made would lead to a Syrian – Arab crisis. Many sources have said that Muallem's way of doing things is no different than al-Sharaa's, particularly with regards to the conflict taking place between the political elite in Damascus.
However today Muallem has come out to top anything that al-Sharaa managed to do as Syrian Foreign Minister, namely Muallem's announcement that "Syria will forget that Europe is on the map" for taking a position opposing the al-Assad regime's brutal suppression of the Syrian people! What is even more contemptible is Muallem's talk about Turkey's position towards Syria, where he said that his country "reaches out to others, however as I said previously one-sided relations are exhausting, and that is a fact of international relations." There can be no doubt that if Tariq Aziz heard such talk he would fall to the ground laughing, despite all of his concerns. Indeed the former Iraqi foreign minister would have no doubt been crying with laughter if he heard Muallem's response to a question about his vision for Syria in three months. In response to this question, Muallem said "we will offer an example of democracy…there will be social justice, equality before the law, and accountability!"
Therefore my source says that what unites Tariq Aziz and Walid Muallem is that both figures cannot reject directives [from above], according to the oppressive nature of Baathism. Therefore, Muallem said what he said because he had no choice, and there is no power and no strength except with the help of Allah.
Therefore, my belief is that if Tariq Aziz saw Walid Muallem's press conference, he would say "we were first…but you are next!" 

EDITORIAL : THE KOREA HERALD, SOUTH KOREA

 

 

Reckless chaebol

The past five years must have been good times for Korea’s chaebol groups. During this period, the nation’s 30 largest business groups saw their number of affiliates more than double. According to data compiled by the Financial Supervisory Service, the figure surged from 500 in January 2006 to 1,087 in April this year. This means the conglomerates added a new member to their fleet of subsidiaries every three days during that period.

These groups owe their rapid expansion partly to the deregulation drive of the Lee Myung-bak government. Lee eliminated or softened various regulations introduced to curb their excessive business diversification. For instance, he abolished the regulation restricting chaebol affiliates’ acquisition of equities in other companies. He also softened the rules on industrial corporations’ shareholdings in financial companies.

Lee took these steps to spur corporate investment in new growth sectors, such as renewable energy, biotechnology, health care, robotics and software. Without doubt these measures have boosted investment in these and other strategically important new technologies.

But an analysis of the 587 newly created affiliates suggests that the top business groups have been more engrossed in muscling into areas that are neither new growth sectors nor their present core business lines.

The tendency of chaebol groups to diversify into areas not related to their main business fields is nothing new. But their recent investment pattern appears excessive. This may be attributable partially to the ascendancy of third- and fourth-generation chaebol offspring to top posts. Many of the newly added subsidiaries were set up by these younger members of chaebol families.

Inexperienced chaebol siblings often start a company without doing their homework, captivated by the impulse to turn their hobbies or interests into a business. Companies established and run in this fashion cannot be expected to make money. Therefore it should not come as a surprise that about 45 percent of the newly established subsidiaries are in the red.

But these companies do not have to worry about their losses because they have sugar daddies ― parent companies that cover their losses. One problem with this practice is that it undermines the interests of the minority shareholders of the parent companies.

A more serious problem is that it distorts competition in the marketplace. Few small and medium-sized enterprises would be able to survive if their competitors are affiliates of big business groups that can rely on subsidization by their parent companies. In this regard it is a cause for concern that many of the newly created chaebol affiliates engage in business areas that have traditionally been the preserve of SMEs.

Another problem with companies run by chaebol offspring is that in many cases they are a channel through which chaebol families transfer their wealth and managerial control to their children without paying gift or inheritance taxes.
To give an example, many business groups have affiliates responsible for maintaining and repairing the computer systems of other subsidiaries. These firms can make money easily through intra-group deals. Since they are profitable, the chaebol children who operate them can make huge capital gains by making initial public offerings of their shares. They can use the proceeds from share offerings to boost their stakes in group holding companies, bolstering their managerial control.

The recent surge in the number of chaebol affiliates would have been seen in a positive light had they been the result of active investment in new technology fields that would power the nation’s economic growth for the next couple of decades. Unfortunately, this is not the case. If big business groups continue to focus on maximizing their private gains regardless of the negative consequences of their behavior, the government may have second thoughts about deregulation.

Household medicines

Controversy is raging over the government’s plan to make general household medicines available at supermarkets and convenience stores.

The Health and Welfare Ministry recently announced a list of 44 over-the-counter pharmaceutical products that would be sold at retail outlets starting August. If the plan goes as scheduled, it will be the first time in Korea that OTC products are sold at places other than licensed drug stores.

The list included 12 energy drinks, four ointments, 15 liquid indigestion drinks and 11 intestinal pills, but no cold medicines or fever reducers.

Health Minister Chin Soo-hee said cold medicines and fever reducers needed to be reclassified to become suitable for sales at non-pharmacy outlets. She said she would push for revision of the Pharmacist Act to include them in what would be termed “freely sellable OTC products.”

The ministry’s announcement came after President Lee Myung-bak scolded officials for failing to follow up on his instruction to address people’s long-standing complaints that they cannot purchase household medicines, including cold medicines and fever reducers, at night, on weekends or on holidays when their neighborhood drug stores are closed.

The ministry’s plan, however, was rejected by pharmacists, who claimed that the list included some items that could be dangerous when taken without the instructions of a pharmacist. The real reason for their objection, however, was that the anticipated sales of the OTC products at retail outlets would dent their incomes.

To offset the expected cut in pharmacists’ incomes, the Korea Pharmaceutical Association demanded that a total of 479 prescription drugs be reclassified as OTC medicines. The demand was put forward under the pretext that doing so would enhance consumer convenience.

Here pharmacists employ a dual standard ― they oppose non-pharmacy sales of OTC products for safety reasons, ignoring consumer convenience, but at the same time, they call for a reclassification of 479 prescription drugs as OTC medicines for convenience reasons, ignoring the health risks for consumers.

The KPA said more prescription drugs would be added to its list of reclassification candidates. It even said pharmacists would not accept the ministry’s liberalization plan unless their demand was met.

The proper term to describe pharmacists’ attitude is selfish. They deserve criticism for their crass disregard of consumer convenience and safety.

Chin assured that the ministry would be able to revise the Pharmacist Act despite pharmacists’ resistance. But this remains to be seen, given their powerful lobby and the presence of pharmacist-turned lawmakers on the National Assembly’s Health, Welfare and Family Affairs Committee.

What worries us is the possibility of the planned reclassification of drugs sparking a fresh conflict between pharmacists and doctors. Past experience tells us that when the two sides clash to defend their vested interests, it is really difficult to strike a compromise. The Health Ministry will have to tread carefully.

EDITORIAL : THE NATIONAL POST, CANADA

 

 

Deregulate housing

Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney may have to raise interest rates on all Canadians to stop a potentially catastrophic housing bubble, even though higher interest rates could abort our still-shaky economic recovery. Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the provincial premiers should stop him, not by telling him how to do his job but by doing their own jobs and setting the distorted Canadian housing sector aright.
Canada's housing sector -far from operating on free-market terms -has been a creature of federal industrial policy since the 1930s, when Ottawa passed the Dominion Housing Act to subsidize housing, kick-start the economy and improve Canada's social values. Home ownership, then as now, was seen by many as a promoter of social stability. In subsequent decades, the federal government added more and more subsidies to the housing sector, bringing us to the situation we face today, where unbridled home-owning has become the single biggest threat to Canada's economic stability.
The remedy for Harper is straightforward: Rather than ignore the distortions in Canada's housing sector and cause Carney to raise interest rates, Harper should systematically peel back the layer upon layer of subsidy that levers our giant housing market into a teetering threat. Each layer that Harper removes will not only act to strengthen the Canadian economy, it will also act to save taxpayer dollars.
The most important way to deleverage housing is a privatization or dismantling of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the juggernaut created in the 1940s to provide housing for servicemen returning home after the Second World War. CMHC has morphed into a gargantuan agency that primarily serves to inflate the housing sector through various programs subsidized through government guarantees. Wind down the CMHC -the private sector is fully capable of performing its functions without subsidy, and without inviting taxpayer risk -and the federal government will be eliminating half a trillion dollars in housing liabilities, the type of risks for Canada that Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac visited on the United States in its catastrophic housing collapse of 2008.
But CMHC is only the largest of the direct and indirect species of subsidy trained on the housing sector. The federal government also artificially boosts home ownership through numerous tax provisions. The First-Time Home Buyer's Tax Credit helps heat up the housing market, as does the Home Buyers' Plan provision for RRSPs. There's the GST New Housing Rebate. And the absence of capital gains tax convinces many to put their money down for a home.
Once in a home, the government can then be counted on to roll out programs that help keep people in them. Subsidies for energy conservation renovations have been a favourite over the years; two years ago, the federal government subsidized renovations of all kinds.
Provincial and municipal governments also use the tax system to entice people with poor credit or inadequate savings into premature home ownership -they offer property tax rebates and various incentives to first-time buyers. More often, the homeowners don't even know that they have been subsidized, as happens through deals cooked up among the province, the municipality, and the real estate developer. These development handouts may be offered as grants or via mechanisms such as "tax-increment financing," which assumes that a new development will incrementally raise the neighbourhood's property values and thus property taxes. Governments then use these presumed future tax increases as justification to help the developer finance a current development that is otherwise unfinanceable.
The biggest distorter of all, however, may come from an undeclared, 100-year war that governments at all levels have waged against tenants. Prior to the Second World War, when tenants were seen as lacking hygiene, as sexually promiscuous, as disease prone, and as alcohol abusers, this war was been fought primarily through health regulations, zoning restrictions and bans on shared accommodations and apartment buildings. The taint against tenants continues today in updated form through governments that levy hidden property taxes on tenants several times higher than the property tax charged home owners, and through governments that charge tenants more for services such as garbage collection.
To boot, rent-control policies act to stream people into home ownership by discouraging developers from building new rental units or upgrading existing ones. Taken in toto, policies from governments at all levels recklessly discourage renters and recklessly encourage home ownership.
Governments don't serve their economies by spurring housing, as the International Monetary Fund discovered in a study conducted following the 2008 meltdown, when the U.S. housing bubble played an outsize role in its greatest economic decline since the Great Depression. Of the 20 housing "busts" that occurred in various countries between 1970 to 2001, the IMF found, a recession followed in every case but one. Worse, the recessions associated with housing busts are deeper and longer-lived than other recessions, and typically lead to "output losses two to three times greater than recessions without such financial stresses."
Neither do governments do homeowners any favours by dispensing housing goodies. The housing busts the IMF described all involved falls in housing prices of 30% or more.
The case could not be clearer for housing deregulation. If Mr. Harper and his provincial counterparts don't deregulate, the entire economy and homeowners in particular are put at risk. If they do deregulate, Canada's housing stock -the chief investment for most Canadians -becomes secure without needlessly dampening the Canadian economy.
? Lawrence Solomon is executive director of Energy Probe and Urban Renaissance Institute and the author of Toronto Sprawls (University of Toronto Press).

Childhood memoirs, profanity and a cane all cause concern

The National Post kicked off Father's Day weekend with a bang last Saturday, with the front-page story: "My Father, His Firebombs and My Messed-up Sixties Childhood." In this and the subsequent four editions of the Post, reporter Peter Kuitenbrouwer recounted what it was like "growing up with a hippie father who was on the run."
This five-part series, sometimes stretching across three pages of the newspaper, proved too much for a handful of readers.
"Since when is the National Post the favoured medium for a memoir?" asked F. McAlister. "Many people have had hard lives; many wonderful Dutch have successfully immigrated to Canada. Everyone has stories of their youths, some sad and some joyful. But they are not material for newspapers. Yet another example of the narcissism of our present society."
Numerous other readers told us they found this series fascinating.
"Thank you for providing a forum for Peter Kuitenbrouwer's reflections on his father, said Ann Aveling. "In an age of dwindling attention spans, it is refreshing to read a sustained exploration of a subject. And thank you, too, for recognizing that Father's Day is about something more than premium beer and barbecue equipment."
"What a remarkable and interesting story Peter Kuitenbrouwer has written," added Geoff Godard. "It evokes the ethos of a time I experienced as a young adult -the pill, drugs, Vietnam war, Prague Spring. I have been moved to tears on several occasions and congratulate [Kuitenbrouwer] on what he has achieved in recreating the story and recounting it so compellingly."
"By examining his family history from the Sixties, Peter Kuitenbrouwer allows us to re-examine that period of political history and perhaps our own complicated family stories," added Elissa Pane. "I believe the editorial decision to run the series on the front page was a good one. It has angered some people, but it has made them think. What more can you ask of the morning paper?"
? Some people rely on canes to help them cope with physical shortcomings. But can they also be used as props? This reader thinks so, com-menting on a photo (shown above) of Jack Layton that ran in our Monday paper.
"What's with Jack Layton's vaudevillian cane?" asked Dolores Bell. "I might understand if he -more than three months after his hip replacement -were still fragile and in need of support, but with the number of times he's photographed brandishing his cane over his head, that can't be the case.
"Is he trying to part the voter waters so he can cross over from Stornoway to 24 Sussex Drive?" she continued. "Is this his Excalibur, the hoisting of which he hopes will convince us that he is our true and fearless leader? Perhaps it's his socialist sword of Damocles, raised as an omen? Whatever he's up to, as it were, it's wearing very, very thin."
? As mentioned in this column last week, the Post strives to avoid offensive language. When it creeps in, readers let us know. Here are three examples.
Monday's paper offered a montage of photos from the MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto, including one of Avril Lavigne in a black dress with a small opening on its side. Although the image of Napanee, Ont.'s favourite daughter was small, one eagleeyed reader found something odd with the image.
"Did your photo editor notice the word tattooed or stencilled on Avril Lavigne's body visible through the opening in her dress?" asked Allan H. Adams. "I guess one ought not be overly shocked by such graceless displays given the current music 'culture,' but I was a little surprised to see that word clearly visible in the photo."
(The photo in question is visible at the bottom of this column, reproduced at the same size it ran in the Post on Monday. Don't worry about being offended, as most readers will need a magnifying glass to be able to read the mystery word, described above.)
The second profanity-related letter concerned the Peter Kuitenbrouwer series described earlier in this column, specifically a photo used in Thursday's instalment. It showed the title page of a prison diary written by the reporter's father.
"Paul Kuitenbrouwer must be laughing . at having slipped [this word] past the Post editors," wrote David Stephens. (The prison diary pictured in the paper was titled: "From the Bowels of the Mother---ing Machine").
The third profanity-related note came over the phone. It concerned the angry reaction from some readers to our recent story on an "expletive-laced book of rhyming verse, Go the f--k to sleep."
"These people should relax," said someone who identified himself only as Dan from Calgary. "It's a real word. They should look it up. By writing you letters about it, they are only drawing attention to the book."

Honouring Mordecai

Mordecai Richler is Canada's greatest claim to literary fame. If he had been born and lived in Toronto, to commemorate his life and achievement, our literati would have called for the renaming of Yonge Street in his honour, or maybe demanded the erection of a huge statue in Queen's Park, featuring the dishevelled genius wryly peering over his pince-nez at a smoked meat sandwich.
Instead, the Montreal political mandarins have decided he is getting a crummy little open pavilion at the foot of Mount Royal -a place for people to come in out of the rain. It's not quite a public toilet -but it's something close to that, since it is frequently used by homeless people.
This is the equivalent of Toronto naming the change house behind an outdoor skating rink after Margaret Atwood. Or Alberta naming the duck blind at an irrigation lake after novelist Robert Kroetsch (who died tragically this week, just short of his 84th birthday).
But then, if Mr. Richler had been born in Toronto or Edmonton, maybe he wouldn't have been inspired to the kind of savage indignation that made him such a household word (and often not in a good way) in his native Montreal.
Mr. Richler's satiric talents were honed to gleaming acuity by the constant irritation he experienced at growing up as a Jew and an anglophone in an environment that was not, let us say, overflowing with the milk of multicultural tolerance and religious pluralism.
Quebec did become more open, inclusive and tolerant over the years. But Mr. Richler and Quebec never established an entente cordiale.
While other Canadian anglos who toughed out the language wars made their peace with the French fact, Mr. Richler fossilized in terms of his Quebec cultural identity. Because he spent so many years in England, he remained psychologically fixed in his adversarial perspective. He never did learn to speak any French at all; or if he did, he kept it well hidden from public exposure.
And his international fame gave him a huge forum for spleen-venting. His brutal attack on Quebec's ethnic nationalism, "O Canada, O Quebec: Requiem for a Divided Country," which first appeared as a New Yorker article, utterly humiliated Quebec's ruling elites. He also appeared on the CBS program 60 Minutes, introducing American viewers to the Soviet mindset of Quebec's language police.
All this explains why -a decade after Mr. Richler's death -the province's nationalists are putting up such a stubborn and petty campaign of resistance against any significant public commemoration of his life in Montreal. By the lights of, say, the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society, Mr. Richler was an outsider who took advantage of the perks Quebec had to offer -the exceptionally satisfying cosmopolitan life he enjoyed in downtown Montreal; his beautiful, bosky retreat in the Eastern Townships -yet who confined his social and cultural life to a circumscribed huddle of anglo friends and admirers.
On the other hand, a park pavilion? That is adding yet another insult to the many already dished out to him in his lifetime. The man is dead. He put Montreal on the map. It doesn't matter whether you liked him or hated him; he was one of us and he achieved great things.
Give the man a street name at the very least, or a building, or a statue (too bad the Ritz Carlton, where Mr. Richler crossed the road from his apartment to drink, is being renovated as condos; a statue in the bar there would have been great).
Quebec's nationalists, separatists and language purists all take great pride in the modern, sophisticated society that francophones have created in Quebec. But if the province truly does want to project an image of pride and confidence, it should not ignore or denigrate the legacy of its great artists.

EDITORIAL : THE NEW ZELAND HERALD, NEW ZELAND

 

 

Relieve shop owners of fake dope dilemma

When Napoleon described Britain as a nation of shopkeepers, he was being far from complimentary. His portrayal was that of mundane people doing a banal job. Fast forward 200 years, however, and things are not so straightforward for New Zealand's shopkeepers. The arrival of Kronic and other synthetic cannabis brands has presented them with the sort of dilemma normally reserved for highly paid chief executives.

Of 67 shops in Auckland surveyed by the Herald this week, most of them suburban dairies, 40 were selling synthetic cannabis. They are doing nothing wrong because it is legal to sell the products to anyone except minors. Yet it is not quite that simple. Nobody knows how safe they are, a situation highlighted by young people ending up in hospital after smoking them.

This has led some shopkeepers to stop selling synthetic cannabis, forsaking a big profit margin in the process. One said, quite admirably, that if he would not sell it to his own son, he could not sell it to someone else's son. Others have taken it from their shelves after enduring customers' wrath.

Yet it remains difficult to condemn the majority who, in choosing to sell the products, are not breaking any law.

Shopkeepers should not have this dilemma. The Government plans to accelerate moves to limit the sale and advertisement of synthetic cannabis.

The real answer lies, however, in manufacturers having to prove their products are safe before they can be sold. With that enshrined in law, shopkeepers could return to a more mundane, but far happier, existence.

Let's consign school balls to history

There is nothing glamorous about being inspected by a sniffer dog. When those subjected to this scrutiny are dressed in their finery, the sense of mortification must run all the deeper. This was the lot of some of the pupils and their dates who attended St Kentigern College's annual ball.

This weekend, those going to the Diocesan School for Girls ball will be subjected to attention from an alcohol and drug detection agency. It is almost as though schools are being forced to make these events such a disagreeable experience that their passing will not be mourned.

If so, they could be excused. The death of a pupil this month after the King's College ball has focused attention on a social custom that has clearly run its course.

The spectacle of teenagers going to considerable expense to look their elegant best and being transported to balls in the modern equivalent of the gilded carriage has always owed more to Jane Austen than the 21st century.

It is something of a mystery that they were not replaced by something more befitting this age many years ago.

If nothing else, the current problems confirm that time has surely come.

Many Auckland principals are clearly at their wits' end, and in no little despair, about the issues at and around balls. Schools have done their level best to educate pupils about drug and alcohol abuse. They have liaised with and tried to dissuade parents planning to serve alcohol at pre-ball and after-ball functions.

Sometimes, this has been to no avail. There is only so much that schools can do with parents who seem as wrapped up in the whole occasion as their children and want to call the tune. Indeed, in some cases, the actual ball seems to have become an intrusion on the pre-ball and after-ball partying.

Clearly, some principals have had enough of this feeling of powerlessness. They have become intent on keeping their pupils out of harm's way in matters they can control. They are also facing the reality that some pupils will use liquor and drugs at these functions. King's College is questioning whether it will continue holding balls. Diocesan is thinking along much the same lines.

Both suggest the annual ball could be overtaken by the graduation ball at the end of the year, which would be attended by parents as well as Year 13 pupils, rather than pupils and their dates.

In this way, it would have a similar feel to the valedictory dinners that are a feature of Australian school life. The appeal of this approach, said the King's College headmaster, Bradley Fenner, was that it encouraged "social interaction without the risks".This is a reasonable and realistic response. Zero-tolerance policies have not worked. Any attempt to impose still stricter rules at balls is sure to be abused. Such have been the controversies over the past few years that they have become a byword for bad behaviour.

Something that had always seemed merely a quaint anachronism is now, fairly or not, thought of more in terms of trouble. And when schools feel the need to go to the lengths employed by St Kentigern College and Diocesan to counter pupils' behaviour, it seems only sensible to consign them to history.

EDITORIAL : AZZAMAN, IRAQ

Minister inspects scores of development projects in southern Iraqi province

Scores of development projects are under construction in the southern Iraqi Province of Missan of which the city Amara is the capital.

“Our ministry is currently implementing 53 development projects of different kinds in the province,” said Minister of Reconstruction and Housing Mohammed al-Daraji.

Daraji was touring the province for a first-hand view of his ministry’s projects which range from new roads to the construction of hundreds of new housing units.

Daraji held meetings with the provincial officials including governor Ali Dawi.

Missan is one of Iraq’s least developed provinces. The minister outlined an ambitious program to develop the province.

He said his ministry’s companies were constructing roads hundreds of kilometers long and building 18 new structures.

The minister also visited Missan’s largest housing project of 405 housing units.

But there has been delays in implementing many of the ministry’s 53 development projects.

The minister said part of his visit was to enquire about the reasons for the delays and how to expedite the reconstruction process.

EDITORIAL : THE RFI english, FRANCE

French press review 

E coli hits Bordeaux, thousands expected on Paris's Rainbow parade after Sarkozy's party blocks gay marriage, sex tourism thrives in Morocco despite French scandal, France rundown military efforts in Afghanistan but not Libya and tributes to Peter Falk.

The E-coli bacteria makes it again to the front pages of the papers as researchers discover a new strain in three patients in Bordeaux.
Le Figaro reports that the outbreak in the Gironde region appeared to have been contracted from organic vegetable sprouts.
The three have since been placed on dialysis as tests are being carried out to determine if the infections are caused by the same strain of E coli bacteria that has killed at least 43 people, most of them in Germany.
Le Figaro recalls that seven children hospitalised in the northern city of Lille contracted the E coli virus after eating frozen hamburgers.

THE BATTLE FOR LIBYA

Libération looks ahead to Saturday’s Gay Pride marches here in Paris, as activists clamour for an end to discrimination.
Thousands of male and female marchers are set to take the Paris streets by storm later today in the so-called Rainbow parade running from Montparnasse to the Bastille.
Left-leaning Libé comments that it promises to be a show of force against the conservative majority which blocked a Socialist-sponsored gay marriage bill.
Libération claims that the ruling party’s position is untenable one year away from the 2012 presidential elections.
The paper argues that there can’t be two categories of citizens – one with a sexual life that is deemed normal and protected by the law while the other is condemned to live in judicial insecurity.
Saturday’s issue of Aujourd’hui en France/Le Parisien headlines on the problem of child prostitution in Morocco. That is where an ex-French cabinet minister allegedly molested boys at an orgy which senior figures knew about but covered up.
Reporters dispatched to the north African country found out that the sexual tourism business is thriving as ever, despite ongoing investigations in Marrakesh and Paris into the sex crime scandals.
Le Parisien regrets that one full month since the outbreak of the sexual exploitation scandal, and ongoing police investigations, there is still no clue yet about the identity of the alleged sex offender.
President Nicolas Sarkozy’s decision to scale down troop levels in Afghanistan starting this year continues to attract comments in the French papers.

Dossier: AfPak news and analysis

La Charente Libre states in an editorial, that the real motives behind the pull out is not as Sarkozy claims, the improvement of security following the death of Osama bin Laden. The problem it claims is that the Libyan surge is squeezing the French army, from its budget to strategic combat capabilities.
La Charente Libre says there are mounting questions as well, about the conduct of the campaign. The paper underlines that Kadhafi showed no signs of quitting three months after the launch of the UN-backed operation to protect civilians.
Nato has just admitted misfires which caused several deaths, with toddlers among the victims.This week, Italy called for a suspension in the campaign in the latest sign of dissent within Nato.
La Charente Libre warns that the military coalition in Libya may be supporting a rebellion backed by Islamist terrorists.
The paper claims that international secret services recently alerted Nato about the disappearance of surface-to-air missiles, including the much-dreaded SAM7 from military launching sites in Tripoli. Their fear is that they may now be in the hands of Al Qaeda in the Maghreb.
And the French papers have been paying tribute to US actor Peter Falk, the gravel-voiced TV detective Columbo who died on Friday at the age of 83.
Le Parisien, Libération and the conservative Le Figaro all have photographs of the unforgettable television series star on their cover pages.
Le Figaro remembers the Los Angeles detective who succeeded in nabbing the criminal just minutes before the closing credits.
Falk was the most famous of police detectives says Le Parisien, in its own glowing tribute.
Libération recalls that Columbo’s loveable “schtick” was the ever-present cigar dangling from his fingers and his wrinkled raincoat, worn regardless of the weather.
I remember him most for his lethal catchphrase “just one thing”.

EDITORIAL : THE BANGKOK POST, THAILAND

 

 

Ensuring a peaceful poll

Fears of a renewed outbreak of unrest in the wake of the July 3 elections persist despite assurances that the army is putting troops on standby to deter any trouble. Such concerns are understandable, given the volatility of the campaign. But any bad behaviour by the competing parties or their supporters during the nationwide voting or in the political manoeuvring afterward will rebound on those causing it. For the sake of the country, the democratic process must be unhindered and allowed to run its course. Any attempt to subvert it could cause immeasurable damage.

If needed, there are proper avenues for legitimate complaints. The Election Commission exists to deal with poll violations, the courts to rule on constitutional and other legalities and the police to keep order. There will be no need for any group to stage rowdy street demonstrations as a pressure tactic _ a post-election ploy that occurs in some countries while coalitions are being formed but one that has no place here.

While not everyone will be satisfied with the outcome, the July 3 election must provide the way out from the turmoil, hate, stress and and misery of the past three years. The wounds need a chance to heal. This means that the country must stop living in the past and in a world where sponsored protest, greed and rabble-rousing activities consume otherwise productive lives. If legitimate grievances are being ignored by the government then orderly and peaceful demonstrations are justified. But not chaos and bloodshed. That is leaving democracy behind and crossing into the realm of anarchy. Those events shamed our nation and must not happen again.

But that is the future. First, though, comes a final week of campaigning which will provide rival parties with the opportunity to talk about policies rather than giveaways, although word of who exactly will be paying for all these populist handouts and their projected impact on the economy would be welcome. Equally satisfying would be a thorough explanation of the steps party leaders intend to take to stop, or at least slow, the spiralling cost of living, bearing in mind that handouts tend to be inflationary. This has become a source of worry to many people who have listened to vague promises without hearing anything specific.

Then there are the big players in the tourism industry who are still trying to get a sense of the direction a new government's policy might take. A good start would be to stop lumping the tourism ministry in with sport. Their biggest fear is another destabilising outbreak of national unrest that could wreak havoc on the hospitality sector. This uncertainty and fear of political turmoil is a concern shared by local and foreign investors and business leaders alike, as it frustrates forward planning. School leavers and graduates are also hoping that stability will follow this election. They are tired of empty pockets and fruitless job searches and many will be voting for the first time.

Just as in the poll of December 2007, when the now defunct People Power Party triumphed, the party winning this election with the most seats in the absence of an outright majority, must get the first chance at putting together a government. But this is easier said than done. The Pheu Thai Party, if it gains the most seats and needs to form a coalition, will almost certainly encounter challenges from potential partners unless it rethinks its controversial amnesty proposal. Surely no one wants a repeat of 2008, when government became obsessed with a single issue to the exclusion of all else.

Let us hope for a high turnout on July 3 and a result that expresses the true will of the people.

EDITORIAL : THE INDEPENDENT, IRELAND

 

 

Varadkar must get tough with DAA

The decision by the board of the Dublin Airport Authority to award a "performance-related" bonus of €106,000 to chief executive Declan Collier represents a challenge to the authority of the Government which must not go unanswered. News of the award comes just two days after the Government's decision to cap the pay of semi-state bosses with the pay of any future DAA chief executive being restricted to "only" €219,000 a year.

So what has been the response of Transport Minister Leo Varadkar to this flouting of the cabinet's authority? One would have expected a robust response from Mr Varadkar, who has developed a reputation as something of a bruiser while in opposition. Unfortunately it seems that in government the minister has lost his edge with the DAA board approving the bonus despite a request from the minister not to pay such bonuses.

The decision of the DAA board to approve the bonus clears up one mystery. Last month, DAA chairman David Dilger abruptly resigned. Apart from the usual guff about needing more time to pursue his "broad range of other interests", there was no explanation provided for his decision.

Yesterday's developments almost certainly provide that explanation. It now transpires that Mr Varadkar met Mr Dilger several times and impressed upon the former DAA chairman his view that bonuses should not be paid to senior DAA executives. Now that the DAA board has gone ahead, in clear defiance of the minister's wishes, and approved the payment of a bonus to Mr Collier, what should Mr Varadkar do?

Firstly, he should attach no credence whatsoever to the DAA board's assertion that, because the bonus only becomes payable at the end of Mr Collier's contract, it somehow doesn't breach the minister's instructions. Delaying payment of the bonus is a completely artificial construct designed to breach the spirit if not the letter of the minister's instructions.

And the delayed bonus isn't, literally, even the half of it. When pension top-ups and other goodies are added, Mr Collier's total package amounted to €612,500 last year, up €44,500 on the €568,000 he was paid in 2009. In other words, in 2010 Mr Collier was paid almost three times the suggested upper limit for any new DAA chief executive. The DAA board isn't so much defying the minister as rubbing his nose in it.

Confronted by such defiance, all the minister could say was that he was "very dissatisfied" with what had happened. Not so much a slap on the wrist as a limp wagging of the finger. If he is to be taken seriously, Mr Varadkar is going to have to be a lot tougher than that.

He should immediately demand the resignations of the remaining DAA directors and if they refuse to go, then he should fire them instantly. It's well past time for Mr Varadkar to either put up or shut up.

Government-imposed restrictions and red tape which hinder the competitiveness of all Irish companies, large and small.

Time to cut red tape

Yesterday's announcement from Tesco that it would create more than 500 jobs over the next 12 months, which will see the supermarket giant open four new superstores and seven smaller 'express' stores, is a welcome vote of confidence in the Irish economy.
While the jobs created by Tesco will be at least partially offset by job losses in smaller, independent stores, the announcement is still good news. If a company of Tesco's size and quality still sees opportunities in Ireland then things can't be all that bad.
Inevitably, the Tesco announcement raised the issue of its purchases from Irish suppliers. This issue is something of a hardy annual for politicians of all parties. Speaking at yesterday's announcement, Jobs and Enterprise Minister Richard Bruton urged Tesco to open its shelves to small Irish producers. Maybe Mr Bruton and his cabinet colleagues should practice what they preach.
Expecting a commercially-motivated organisation such as Tesco to buy from small Irish suppliers for purely altruistic reasons is nonsense. If Mr Bruton wants to get Tesco buying more from small Irish suppliers, then he should remove the

EDITORIAL : THE AUSTRALIAN, AUSTRALIA

             

  

Clues to Labor's future lie in lessons of the past

ADDRESSING the nation for the first time as Prime Minister a year ago yesterday, Julia Gillard paid homage to former Labor prime ministers Bob Hawke and Paul Keating "as the architects of today's modern prosperity".

The trouble for Ms Gillard and her party is that, while they have paid lip service to the legacy of those Hawke-Keating years, they don't seem to have grasped the essence of that success. Nor have they proposed anything to emulate those achievements. Rather, we can now see that in an historic setback for the Labor cause and the nation, the Rudd-Gillard years have been a repudiation of the Hawke-Keating model.

The Labor giants of the 1980s and 90s modernised the economy by tackling overdue reforms such as reducing tariffs, floating the dollar, opening up the banking sector, introducing compulsory superannuation, privatising government assets and pursuing productivity through enterprise bargaining. The Labor governments during that period worked

co-operatively with the union movement through seven national "Accord" agreements to control wages, boost productivity and limit inflation. This corporate model of government was far from perfect, but it delivered a clear message and benefits to working families -- it was a compact that promised high levels of employment and some real wages growth in return for inflicting the discomforts of reform and restraint.

Hawke and Keating understood the aspirations of the mainstream, and rather than lecture voters about what was good for them they flattered the public and involved them in the process. Throughout that period Labor accepted and adopted a market economics approach that saw value in encouraging growth in the economy in order to provide greater opportunities for the least fortunate. Despite the public's high expectations being dashed in the painful recession of the early 90s, Labor's model not only succeeded for over a decade, but also entrenched reforms that benefit the nation to this day. The Coalition under John Howard supported those reforms and then sought to build on them for another decade, particularly through tax reform, prudent finance industry oversight and industrial deregulation. In this sense, Australia benefited from more than two decades of economic policy continuum, through boom and bust, and under Labor and Liberal.

In 2007, Kevin Rudd came to power promising economic conservatism, but he abandoned it in a flash when confronted with the global financial crisis. His infamous essay of January 2009 declared "the great neo-liberal experiment of the last 30 years has failed" and "it falls to social democracy to prevent liberal capitalism from cannibalising itself". When Ms Gillard deposed him, she became not only the nation's first female prime minister, but also the first from Labor's left faction. So, for the first time in the post-war period, we have a Labor government that is not controlled by the pragmatism of the NSW Right. The result is a government that appeals less to the mainstream than it does to the progressive activism of GetUp! and the Greens, and that has allowed its economic management to drift towards the outmoded central planning of big government, which not so long ago was proudly described as socialism.

The policy implications of the Rudd-Gillard era have been profound, and not altogether for the good. Labor has re-regulated the labour market so that it is more rigid than during the Hawke-Keating years. Decades after Labor started the process of privatising government enterprises, Gillard Labor is building a government telecommunications monopoly and actually buying back some of the privatised assets. We have seen massive amounts of public money wasted on unproductive infrastructure in schools and subsidising home insulation.

With no true reform agenda to speak of, Ms Gillard promotes two major new taxes, on mining and carbon emissions, as reform. Properly implemented, through consultation with the states and the industry, a profits-based tax on mining could help to share the benefits of the resources boom. But the issue has been poorly handled and remains unresolved. While this newspaper supports a market mechanism to reduce carbon emissions, Ms Gillard's tax breaks a core election promise. And, crucially, the Prime Minister has failed to convince the electorate that Australia is not moving ahead of our main trading partners, in particular the US and China, thereby penalising ourselves economically for no tangible global emissions gain.

The Weekend Australian worries that for inspiration the Gillard government looks more to the interventionist economies of northern Europe than the practical politics of Hawke and Keating. A year after the new Prime Minister said the government had lost its way, it is becoming clear that, in historical terms, the Labor movement has lost its way. What is needed is a reconnection to the aspirations of the mainstream and a productivity-based economic reform agenda -- so that voters can be taken into the government's confidence and promised some future reward for reforms delivered.

On that first day, Prime Minister Gillard said: "There will be some days I delight you, there may be some days I disappoint you." Sadly for Labor and the nation there have been too few of the former and too many of the latter.

Sort it out in private, guys

UNDER Tony Abbott, front-of-house for the Coalition looks determined, driven and disciplined.

Polling suggests the electorate gets the Leader of the Opposition and knows what he stands for. So it's bewildering to find back-of-house squabbling over the sort of internal issues that ought never to be on the front page. The unseemly fight between Peter Reith and Alan Stockdale for the unpaid position of Liberal Party president is the sort of scrap Labor manages to keep behind closed doors. But today, with 100 delegates in Canberra for the party's federal council, the chill factor is high -- and on public display.

We make no comment on the relative merits of the two candidates, other than to note that Mr Reith has a national profile, a good rapport with the business personalities so crucial to Coalition fundraising and a tough hide from some of the biggest battles of the Howard governments in which he served. None of these necessarily make him the superior choice, but he is an attractive alternative to those who see the past three years under Mr Stockdale, a former Victorian treasurer, as an underwhelming chapter in Liberal history. Four of them, including former foreign minister Alexander Downer, felt strongly enough to write an open letter to Mr Stockdale on Thursday, outlining their concerns about party governance and federal structures, finances and "failures in decision-making in that crucial area".

In Mr Stockdale's corner is retiring senator Nick Minchin, who wrote his own letter warning that Mr Reith -- the hard man of industrial relations under John Howard -- would be a gift for Labor as president. The argument against Mr Reith is that having been a large public figure in the past, he will not know when to shut up and leave it to the elected representatives. Yet, as contributing editor Peter van Onselen writes in our pages today, Mr Reith's conviction could "provide valuable ideological ballast for the parliamentary leader". Given that Mr Abbott reportedly encouraged Mr Reith's candidature, it would seem the two men would work together well in terms of setting the tone of the party, raising money and ensuring there is a smooth and professional operation supporting the parliamentary wing.

The party of Robert Menzies is in dire need of strong organisational leadership -- something that Mr Abbott seems to appreciate. Indeed, the organisation's weaknesses were obvious during the last federal election, when the lack of an effective marginal-seats campaign to counter Labor arguably robbed Mr Abbott of victory. For decades, the Liberals have eschewed the ruthless machine politics of Labor for a looser culture that at times looked more like a gentlemen's club. Unlike Labor, with its drip-feed of funds from its union base, the Liberal Party has struggled to win the funding needed to sustain the organisation between elections. The plus has been that those with ideas, policy and beliefs have defined the party, rather than, as in Labor's case, the apparatchiks of Sussex Street. The negative has been a lack of the highly professional support essential in modern politics.

Our major parties are at different points in the cycle. As we note above, Labor must reconnect with voters, not waste time with internal changes and navel-gazing. In contrast, the Liberals must create an organisation that does not fail its front-of-house members. That's the real challenge for the delegates meeting in Canberra today.

EDITORIAL : THE JAKARTA POST, INDONESIA

 

 

Just another year, Foke!

Traffic gives everyone in the city a headache, including Governor Fauzi Bowo. Foke, as he is popularly known, is facing mounting pressure from the public, particularly road users, who are frequently trapped on the city’s congested roads during peak hours in the morning and evening.

The results of a survey revealed Tuesday confirmed people’s frustration, as 76.61 percent of respondents thought Foke and his deputy Prijanto have done a terrible job reducing Jakarta’s traffic, while 73.2 percent thought the pair was doing a poor job handling problems related to annual flooding.

But, we do not need a survey to know people’s opinion of the city’s traffic. Thousands of road users – frustrated by daily gridlock – obviously give the pair, whose term will end next year, a thumbs-down.

Yes, Governor Fauzi only has one more year to prove he is capable of solving Jakarta’s various problems, particularly the traffic chaos. It is undeniable that the traffic is the capital city’s main problem, as it does not only frustrate road users but also worsens air pollution and causes economic inefficiency.

The governor and the city administration have taken some measures to solve this problem, i.e. preparing for the construction of Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) that will serve the Lebak Bulus bus terminal in South Jakarta to the Hotel Indonesia Traffic Circle in Central Jakarta, attempting to clear a number of roads of on-street parking and going ahead with and expanding the Transjakarta Busway.

Unfortunately, what is being done by the city is just business as usual, which is unlikely to end the already acute traffic problems in the city. Jakarta needs an extraordinary effort to solve this extraordinary problem. And, should the governor come up with a brilliant idea to solve the traffic gridlock, it will be a significant legacy to be remembered by all Jakartans.

But of course we cannot pin all the blame on Governor Fauzi and his administration. Other institutions, particularly the central government, have to support him. It is good that the central government announced Thursday its initiative to design a transportation master plan for Jakarta and its satellite cities, which will be followed by the establishment of the Greater Jakarta Transportation Authority (OTJ).

We welcome the initiative although it is already too late, considering that the city has suffered from this traffic issue for a very long time. We hope that the initiative will be translated and developed by the city administration as guidance for a long-term program of the city’s traffic and transportation system.

But, road users cannot wait too long. Therefore, the city needs to provide a concrete solution to end the long misery of road users.

Hopefully, the central government will come up with a more concrete proposal to solve the problem. And for Governor Fauzi, you still have a year to come up with a solid solution to the problem before you have to deal with people’s critical evaluations if you intend to run for a second term next year.

Plan B, Mr. President?

The temporary suspension of Indonesian labor export to Saudi Arabia to begin in August reflects the outrage many feel at Saturday’s beheading of Ruyati binti Satubi, an Indonesian domestic helper who was sentenced to death for the murder of her Saudi employer.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said he had sent a note of protest and stressed that the ban would be lifted once Riyadh agrees to provide better protection for Indonesian workers.

However, a blanket ban covering all types of workers will cut the incomes of hundreds of thousands of Indonesians who look to Saudi Arabia as their only means of improving their economic wellbeing. Yudhoyono had better have a Plan B to accommodate those who will not be able to go because of this decision, or those who are returning after their contracts end. Such people will add to Indonesia’s growing number of unemployed and underemployed.

The government should have limited its ban to domestic workers only. Such workers are mostly unskilled young women who, because of their poor education, are most vulnerable to abuse. Working in other people’s households, they are completely at the mercy of their employers. Ruyati had confessed to the murder, but as with similar cases in the past, she may have done it after being a victim of endless abuse.

Other workers with higher skills and a better education are not as vulnerable. They can take care of themselves and should understand the laws of the country they work in. If they commit crimes, by all means the local Indonesian embassy should extend assistance and make sure they are accompanied by lawyers in court.

The total ban on labor export to Saudi Arabia is only compounding the government’s poor management of this sector. Indonesia will not only deprive itself of lucrative foreign exchange revenues from the income repatriation, it will also deny its own people of the right to search for better lives abroad. The government must come up with a better strategy to manage the labor export industry, which should include a plan to completely phase out the export of domestic workers and a clear deadline.

There is no job more degrading than working as a domestic worker, who is nothing more than a modern-day slave. Indonesia would do well to phase-out not only the export, but also the profession. The government must improve the education of young women, while creating better job opportunities for them at home and abroad.

EDITORIAL : THE NEW YORK TIMES, USA

 

 

An Unfair Burden

For all of the economic hardship of the last several years, there was reason to hope that the nation could avoid a crushing increase in the number of Americans living in poverty. That hope is fading fast.

In 2008, amid a deepening recession, a Census Bureau measure showed that the number of poor Americans rose by 1.7 million to nearly 47.5 million. In 2009, thanks in large part to the Obama stimulus, the rise in poverty was halted — a significant accomplishment at a time of worsening unemployment. When data for 2010 are released in the fall, poverty is expected to have stayed in check because the stimulus, including aid to states and bolstered unemployment benefits, was still in effect last year.

This year and next are a different story. The stimulus is waning and Republicans are targeting poverty-fighting programs for deep cuts. Obama officials have said that low-income programs will not be automatically cut to fit a preconceived target from the debt-limit talks, but there is no guarantee they will stick to that position.

Exempting low-income programs has been a major feature of deficit deals going back to 1985. Both sides should publicly commit to that now, and take steps to strengthen the safety net. The alternative is unconscionable harm:

MEDICAID Federal stimulus funds for Medicaid — an additional $102 billion to the states over the past three years — run out at the end of June. Long-term deficit reduction will require controlling health care costs. But with the economy weak, there is no excuse for immediate cuts to the joint federal and state health program that is a lifeline for 68 million low-income Americans.

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS In 2010, Congress allocated $56.5 billion to renew expiring federal jobless benefits through 2011 but dropped a $25-a-week supplement that had been added under the stimulus. That reduction could push an estimated 175,000 people into poverty this year.

Another threat is that jobless benefits won’t be renewed — or will be watered down — when they expire at the end of 2011. A recent bill from some House Republicans would let states use federal jobless money for other purposes, denying unemployed workers the cash they need to get by.

FOOD AID Some 44.6 million Americans use food stamps at a cost, this year, of $71.5 billion. House Republicans want to turn the program into a block grant, which would end the guarantee of food aid to all who qualify. The federal Women, Infants and Children assistance program, which helps some nine million low-income people, is also being targeted. Earlier this month, the Republican-controlled House voted to cut $733 million from the $6.7 billion program. That would force WIC to turn away an estimated 300,000 to 450,000 eligible applicants next year.

TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES This $16.6 billion block grant, known as TANF, helps states provide cash to two million poor families, as well as child care and other services. This year, an estimated 700,000 recipients will face reduced benefits, in part because a TANF contingency fund for use during downturns has not been replenished. A $5 billion infusion from the stimulus — used, in large part, to subsidize jobs for TANF recipients — also ended in 2010. Congress did not extend it, cutting off funds for 250,000 jobs.

Much of the real money for deficit reduction will inevitably have to come from popular programs, like reducing payments to Medicare providers, and reining in defense spending. And it must come from tax increases, no matter how much Republicans may wish it otherwise.

Making the poor carry a heavy part of the deficit burden is intolerable.

 

 

Bullying in N.J.; Bargaining in N.Y.

New York and New Jersey, like so many other states, are struggling with big budget gaps and high health care expenses for union employees. The Cuomo administration in New York sat at the bargaining table and worked out a fair arrangement for bigger contributions by workers. Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, by contrast, bullied and postured and got the Legislature to strip unions of collective-bargaining rights on health insurance.

The New Jersey way may produce short-term financial benefits, but it is not a path toward long-term labor peace or effective state management.

Mr. Christie is one of several Republican governors this year to blame the rights of unions — as opposed to the benefits of unions — for their states’ financial woes. By stripping away those rights rather than bargaining, these governors really hope to reduce the political power of unions, which is usually wielded on behalf of Democrats.

He and his allies (including some conservative Democrats) pushed through the Legislature a plan to require substantially higher health insurance contributions from state workers. The plan will allow the state to supersede labor negotiations on those benefits, giving power to a state board to dictate terms over the next four years. For many union workers, health care negotiations were the only leverage they had in preserving basic rights because they do not have guaranteed bargaining on wages and other benefits.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York took a different approach. He told the unions how much money he needed to save and allowed the negotiators for both sides to determine the shape of the cuts, using the threat of layoffs to make sure an agreement was reached. The unions didn’t like it but appreciated the ability to help determine how the cuts would be apportioned between wages and benefits. They can also sleep more soundly knowing that their bargaining has preserved their job security — a reassurance not shared by their counterparts in New Jersey.

New York’s example stands as a rebuke to the bulldozer tactics of Mr. Christie and the other Republican governors.

 

 

Dangerous Imports

The Food and Drug Administration has proposed sensible steps to cope with the dangers posed by a flood of imported food, drugs, cosmetics and medical devices. The trouble is, Congressional Republicans are determined to cut the agency’s budget when it ought to be getting an increase to deal with this worsening risk.

Nearly two-thirds of the fruits and vegetables and 80 percent of the seafood eaten in the United States now come from abroad. Half of the medical devices and 80 percent of the active ingredients in medications sold here are also made elsewhere, often in countries whose regulatory systems and manufacturing standards are weak.

American companies and American regulators screen only a tiny sample of the imports. In recent years, a contaminated blood-thinning drug was linked to 81 deaths in the United States, contaminated pet food killed or sickened thousands of cats and dogs and counterfeit test strips to monitor blood sugar levels posed a risk to diabetics. Those products were made in China, which often resists American efforts to investigate contamination or counterfeiting cases on its soil.

The F.D.A. now wants to move beyond intercepting harmful products that have reached American ports or markets to beefing up its nascent efforts to prevent those goods from ever reaching this country. The agency proposed this week to create global coalitions of regulators and a global database to better identify problems at manufacturing plants and to save resources by consolidating inspection efforts.

That’s all to the good. But the agency needs to clean up its own act in this country as well. Its antiquated computer systems can’t talk to each other, making it difficult for inspectors to determine which imports need close scrutiny. An inspector general’s audit found that the agency has often been slow to recall imported foods contaminated with salmonella or other dangerous microbes.

A new food safety law requires the F.D.A. to inspect 600 foreign food facilities within a year and greater numbers each year thereafter. That will require increased financing. Yet House Republicans have voted to reduce the agency’s budget, and some Senate Republicans are resisting offers by food producers to pay fees to underwrite inspections abroad and in this country because they consider that a tax. Some Republicans would rather adhere to their antitax ideology or insist on steep budget cuts than protect consumers from a clear and rising danger.

 

 

On the Art of Puttering

We are a driven people, New Yorkers. Too much to do, not enough time. We keep lists; we crowd our schedules; we look for more efficient ways to organize ourselves — we get things done when we’re not too busy planning to get things done. Even our leisure time is focused, and there is something proactive about our procrastination. We don’t merely put things off. We put things off by piling other things on top of them. As Robert Benchley once noted, “anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn’t the work he is supposed to be doing at that moment.”

But every now and then there comes a day for puttering. You can’t put it in your book ahead of time because who knows when it will come? No one intends to putter. You simply discover, in a brief moment of self-awareness, that you have been puttering, or, as the English would say, pottering. It often begins with a lost object. Not the infuriating kind that causes you to turn the house upside down while looking at your watch, but the speculative kind. “I wonder where that is,” you think.

You begin to look. Your attention is diverted almost immediately and then diverted again. You move through the morning with a calm, oblivious focus, taking on tasks — incidental ones — in the order they present themselves, which is to say no order at all. Puttering is small-scale, stream-of-consciousness problem-solving. It is setting sail on a sea of random course changes. The day passes, and you have long since forgotten what you were looking for — or that you were looking for anything at all. You feel as though you’ve accomplished a lot, though you have no idea what. It has been a holiday from purpose.