Category: Politics & government

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[531] Of oui versus non

The European Union is in such a mess right now. One would believe that the main pillars of the Union would strongly support the roof. Apparently, that is not so.

Right now, the French are having a referendum to ratify a new EU Constitution that would bring EU members closer. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on which side one stands, according to the April 30th issue of The Economist, 20 polls revealed that France is set to reject the European Constitution. Add in the error, result could go either way. Wikipedia as usual provides a fine explanation of the drafted Constitution.

The final result will be as close as 2000 US presidential election. Whatever the result maybe, I do hope it will be an oui.

I do think the formation of the EU and the subsequent activities to strengthen a central government takes away the autonomy each member enjoys. I prefer a decentralized system while idea of a super state scares me. Somehow however, charms free-flow of capital and labor is too great to resist. Of course, in the EU, free-flow of labor does not quite exist yet given that the newcomers are currently being barred from the Schengen zone. Still, sooner or later, it will be a reality and hence reestablishing the great free trade era prior to the 1930s.

The reason why I support a stronger European Union is that I would like to see a counterweight to Pax Americana; I admire the US as much as I admire any other great civilizations in the past. Fact is however, a unipolar world will never be safe.

Another main reason why I support the EU is because of ASEAN. If Europe one day is united under one banner, perhaps ASEAN should pursue almost the same path as the EU is taking right now.

From purely economic point of view, the use of a single currency will lead to an explosion of trade between members of a single-monetary zone. Of course, setting a uniform interest rate will be hard but unification could be done stage by stage. For instance, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand could be the first to use a single currency. These three countries have about the same rate currently and they’re neighbors. And then, if situation improved in the Philippines and Indonesia, then they could be included in the zone. And when others progressed (which is going to take a very long time), they could be invited to use a single currency.

Later, with a population size similar to Europe, perhaps ASEAN would have a bigger role to play on the world stage. And then, we all could play World of Warcraft and kill Onyxia together, including all fractions of the horde too.

p/s – My favorite city is now San Francisco. New York falls to the second rung.

Captured the city skyline from Municipal Pier. The Transamerica Pyramid is clearly visible while the Russian Hill to the left. (or right-side of the photo. I’m still confused about which side is the right/left on a picture.)And I can’t believe that I walked all the way from a Caltrain station south of San Francisco to the Marina Boulevard up in north San Francisco.

pp/s – Star Wars, I love. Go to the cinema, you must! Watch all the episodes again, I will!

ppp/s – I learnt that the UN World Environment Day will be celebrated in San Francisco from the 1st till the 5th of June.

Banners seen in the photos are almost omnipresent in San Francisco. Too bad I didn’t have the time to hang around the city longer. Else, I would certainly want to check it out.

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Economics Environment Politics & government Pop culture Sci-fi

[524] Of The Economist and oil

Exactly a year ago, Paul Krugman wrote an article entitled The Oil Cunch. He started off with:

Before the start of the Iraq war his media empire did so much to promote, Rupert Murdoch explained the payoff: “The greatest thing to come out of this for the world economy, if you could put it that way, would be $20 a barrel for oil.” Crude oil prices in New York rose to almost $40 a barrel yesterday, a 13-year high.

Rose almost to $40 per barrel; about a year later, it is hovering more or less above the $50 per barrel benchmark. There was a time when lots of people thought $50 per barrel has too much fantasy in it. Now, nobody dare to question the $60 level too much.

The Economist latest edition has oil has its main focus. From one of its articles, it is clear than the team at The Economist doesn’t approve the plan to drill ANWR. The magazine bills such action as “This is mad”, or was it “This is madness”.

I agree so much that this is madness. Drilling the nature reserve in Alaska won’t alleviate the current crisis. The drilling return on investment won’t come immediately and by the time the extraction hit full speed, given the increasing global demand and little sign of slowing demand in the near future, oil from ANWR won’t be able to make a noticeable impact. It won’t make a lasting impact at all.

Believing the act of opening ANWR would relax the oil price is similar to believing one is Superman; able to stop a speeding bullet train by standing in the middle of the track, head to head.

The only solution is renewable energy. Or nuclear. We need to act now. Oil won’t last forever; renewable will.

p/s – I’ve come to a conclusion that The Economist is environmentally-friendly.

pp/s – can you feel it?

Because I do.

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Politics & government

[521] Of they finally gave up

But, oh come on. Don’t give up. Please satisfy those rightists’ gut. Else, they’ll keep using absence of evidence doesn’t mean absence of WMD. Logically valid but pathetically unconvincing given the parameters of the real world.

LOL! Several years after the invasion, no WMD yet. And oh, the post-Kuwait weapon doesn’t count because the argument is, the old Iraqi regime had disposed of the WMD, or at least lost the capability to produce any decent weapon before Bush made the false allegation.

The war has some positive externalities I agree but still, the invasion is illegal. In retrospect, it was amusing seeing Collin Powell presenting doubtful proofs at the Security Council. However, despite the fact Americans were being lied to, quite a number of them reelected Bush into the White House.

Ah, the real world. It couldn’t get any better.

p/s – OMFG! I have to get a copy of Time. (Via).

Fair use

Ann Coulter – undoubtedly, my most hated female figure related to politics – is on the Time magazine. Unfortunately, she is an alum of my school…Go Blue, I supposed. It would have been fantastic if she had attended OSU. I’m just glad that Republican is an endangered species here on campus. Else, who knows who Michigan might produce next.

To hate her, you have to read and listen to her raving. If you’re at least in the center of the political spectrum, trust me, you’ll quickly turn into a left temporarily for the duration of your read. When I first saw her, I said to myself, “who is this? This is worse than O’Reilly!”

I’m off to Borders. Probably I could read it on my way to the airport later today, while listening to my Micro Zen. Micro Zen is sexy, did I tell you that?

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Politics & government

[513] Of good luck Japan

I’d suppose, Japan should forget its dream of a permanent seat in the United Nations. According to AP, China has just voiced out its strongest statement against Japan’s bid for a greater role in the United Nations. Veto against Japan is now almost certain.

The United Nations should simply abolish veto power. It allows the interest of the few to outweigh the will of the majority; it’s undemocratic to say the least.

Besides the veto issue, it’s kind of weird however to see Japan not giving any ground to China, despite the importance of courting the dragon. If I were Japan, I would do what China wants and then do away with the China’s pride later. But hey, it seems to me that this irrationality is the Japanese nationalists’ undoing.

Well, a nationalist does what a nationalist does – most are myopic as usual. Perhaps we can’t really blame China if the Japanese’s bid fails.

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Economics Humor Politics & government

[510] Of Michigan’s deficit

I was browsing for some jobs somewhere. There, I saw a position at the Michigan’s House of Representatives. The job description is as follow:

Job Qualifications
Interns should display an interest in politics/public policy, exhibit ample written and oral communication skills, maintain the ability to effectively convey ideas in a diplomatic manner, and be adept in working with diverse groups of people and perspectives.

Job Description
Interns would be responsible for assisting policy analysts with research pertaining to the following legislative issue areas: energy and technology, labor and industry, economy, transportation, education, mental health, banking, criminal justice, family and children services, environment, agriculture, tax and healthcare. We are flexible about times, days and the number of hours worked each week;

The catch line however:

however, given the state’s nearly $1 billion budget deficit, interns cannot be paid.

Somebody is actually using the deficit as a reason not to pay. Pretty hilarious, to me at least.