Slavery, Genocide, Abuse: The Dark Side of Asia’s ‘Tiger Economies’
From declining worker protections to violent labor trafficking and ethnic cleansing, the dark underbelly of Southeast Asia's "tiger economies" is on full display this year.
Articles by Walden Bello
China’s Offering a World Bank Alternative — and U.S. Allies Are Signing Up
Beijing is only too happy to offer an alternative to Western-dominated international finance. What's more surprising is that leading Western economies are signing up.
Washington Frets as Beijing Steps Up Multilateral Initiatives
Source: TeleSUR English
“With friends like this, who needs enemies.” This must be what Washington policymakers muttered to themselves following the decision of London, Paris, Rome, and Berlin to join a new development bank proposed by Beijing.
The anger in Washington most likely mounted when its main Pacific allies, Japan, Australia, and South Korea, also gave strong indications that they would join the bandwagon. By the end of March, more than 35 countries are expected to be enlisted as founding members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
The US Military Just Plunged Philippine Politics into Crisis
Source: Foreign Policy In Focus
Early in the morning of January 25, commandos belonging to the Special Action Force of the Philippine National Police crept into the southern town of Mamasapano — a stronghold of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The elite Seaborne Unit had come for Zulkifli Abdhir, a Malaysian bomb maker better known as “Marwan.”
By the end of the morning, dozens lay dead.
The episode has severely discredited the administration of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, jeopardized decades of progress on peace talks with Moro separatists, and underlined the perils for developing world governments that put themselves at the beck and call of Washington.
How the Left Failed France’s Muslims
In a different world, Cherif and Said Kouachi might have become progressive activists. But where the left abdicated its outreach to marginalized communities, the Islamists moved in.
How the US-China Deal Subverted the Lima Climate Talks
Before the UN Climate Change Conference even began in Peru, the US and China had already made a climate deal.