May 03, 2014
Apartments in wealthy cities are increasingly out of reach for middle and creative classes
By Shaila Dewan
ANYONE in the market for a luxury apartment in Hong Kong, London or Washington towards the end of last year was in luck. The rents on prime flats were sagging a bit. Billionaires could lock in leases on pieds-a-terre at a slight discount. You might suppose that those savings would trickle down to regular working Joes, but no - middle-market rents in those cities continued their apparently inexorable upward march.
The developed world's wealthiest cities are facing housing crises so acute that not only low-income workers, but also the middle and creative classes, find them increasingly difficult places to afford. Redfin, the real estate website, recently found there was not a single home on the market in San Francisco that would be affordable on a teacher's salary. And that was just for buyers; in many cities, renting is even more expensive.
Saturday, May 3, 2014
Friday, May 2, 2014
Undersea spying and Flight MH370
May 02, 2014
Sophisticated underwater listening systems abound in the seas. It's hard to believe none picked up sound signals from the crash of the Malaysia Airlines plane.
By Joseph Chong For The Straits Times
THE Malaysian government's handling of the loss of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in March has been criticised by many. Much of the criticism, however, is probably unfair.
The event is not only unprecedented, but the Malaysian authorities and the media may well have been recipients of deliberate misinformation from the various authorities involved in the search.
Underwater search capabilities are a very highly guarded area of military expertise. To accentuate the problem, the Indian Ocean is strategic to military planners in the United States, Australia, India, China and Japan. The extent and frequency of (naval) Exercise Malabar involving the US and India are a clear indication of this.
There are good reasons for believing that the black box of the missing aircraft will eventually be found.The British Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia is not only a base for US strategic bombers and nuclear submarines, but it is also home to a hydro-acoustic data acquisition facility. A 150-tonne aircraft crashing into the Indian Ocean at high speed would have registered prominently on hydrophones around the Indian Ocean.
This is probably the reason that the search team is confident of the approximate location of the crash site despite finding no crash debris on the surface thus far. Satellite Doppler calculations appear to be a nice supplementary cover story.
Sophisticated underwater listening systems abound in the seas. It's hard to believe none picked up sound signals from the crash of the Malaysia Airlines plane.
By Joseph Chong For The Straits Times
THE Malaysian government's handling of the loss of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in March has been criticised by many. Much of the criticism, however, is probably unfair.
The event is not only unprecedented, but the Malaysian authorities and the media may well have been recipients of deliberate misinformation from the various authorities involved in the search.
Underwater search capabilities are a very highly guarded area of military expertise. To accentuate the problem, the Indian Ocean is strategic to military planners in the United States, Australia, India, China and Japan. The extent and frequency of (naval) Exercise Malabar involving the US and India are a clear indication of this.
There are good reasons for believing that the black box of the missing aircraft will eventually be found.The British Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia is not only a base for US strategic bombers and nuclear submarines, but it is also home to a hydro-acoustic data acquisition facility. A 150-tonne aircraft crashing into the Indian Ocean at high speed would have registered prominently on hydrophones around the Indian Ocean.
This is probably the reason that the search team is confident of the approximate location of the crash site despite finding no crash debris on the surface thus far. Satellite Doppler calculations appear to be a nice supplementary cover story.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Weather, climate change and China's food security
Apr 30, 2014
The success or failure of China's efforts to ensure food security in the wake of the uncertainties presented by climate change could have ripple effects that go well beyond its own borders.
By John Wong, For The Straits Times
A REPORT issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on April 13 warned that the effects of climate change, such as global warming and rising sea levels, are real. They are posing serious threats to the world's ecosystems, water supply, food security and eventually global economic production and social systems. As IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri put it, "nobody on this planet is going to be untouched by the impact of climate change".
Many of the risks of global warming may be long term and gradual. The long-term impact of global warming on agriculture is supposed to include lower crop yields, a reduction of arable land and a rise in pests and disease. But the actual threat of global warming to agricultural production could be felt sooner through extreme and abnormal weather conditions, which have already occurred in greater frequency.
The world is experiencing more and more natural disasters, from floods and droughts to typhoons. Such natural disasters will inevitably threaten global food security.
The success or failure of China's efforts to ensure food security in the wake of the uncertainties presented by climate change could have ripple effects that go well beyond its own borders.
By John Wong, For The Straits Times
A REPORT issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on April 13 warned that the effects of climate change, such as global warming and rising sea levels, are real. They are posing serious threats to the world's ecosystems, water supply, food security and eventually global economic production and social systems. As IPCC chairman Rajendra Pachauri put it, "nobody on this planet is going to be untouched by the impact of climate change".
Many of the risks of global warming may be long term and gradual. The long-term impact of global warming on agriculture is supposed to include lower crop yields, a reduction of arable land and a rise in pests and disease. But the actual threat of global warming to agricultural production could be felt sooner through extreme and abnormal weather conditions, which have already occurred in greater frequency.
The world is experiencing more and more natural disasters, from floods and droughts to typhoons. Such natural disasters will inevitably threaten global food security.
Maritime disputes call for S-E Asia input
Apr 30, 2014
By John Lee, For The Straits Times
PRESIDENT Barack Obama's visit to Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines is confirmation that America-led bilateral security relationships remain the backbone of peace and stability in the region. Even so, the greater military power and economic weight of countries such as Japan might tempt weaker South-east Asian capitals to stay on the sidelines when it comes to tensions in the East China Sea and adopt a less direct and confrontational approach to keeping Chinese behaviour in check in the South China Sea.
That would be a mistake. Essential to Beijing's "divide and rule" strategy is to convince states that its interests in the East China Sea are unrelated to those in the South China Sea, and vice versa. In reality, South-east Asian states should realise that as far as China is concerned, the latter's maritime claims are indivisible. Known for the creative multilateral diplomacy that only smaller states tend to pursue, it is time that key players within Asean push for a Code of Conduct that prohibits the use of force to settle territorial disputes to cover all maritime regions in the Asia-Pacific, not just the South China Sea.
By John Lee, For The Straits Times
PRESIDENT Barack Obama's visit to Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines is confirmation that America-led bilateral security relationships remain the backbone of peace and stability in the region. Even so, the greater military power and economic weight of countries such as Japan might tempt weaker South-east Asian capitals to stay on the sidelines when it comes to tensions in the East China Sea and adopt a less direct and confrontational approach to keeping Chinese behaviour in check in the South China Sea.
That would be a mistake. Essential to Beijing's "divide and rule" strategy is to convince states that its interests in the East China Sea are unrelated to those in the South China Sea, and vice versa. In reality, South-east Asian states should realise that as far as China is concerned, the latter's maritime claims are indivisible. Known for the creative multilateral diplomacy that only smaller states tend to pursue, it is time that key players within Asean push for a Code of Conduct that prohibits the use of force to settle territorial disputes to cover all maritime regions in the Asia-Pacific, not just the South China Sea.
Confronting China’s water insecurity
TODAY
APRIL 30, 2014
Among the numerous challenges China faces in its quest to become a great power, the biggest, perhaps, is mounting water insecurity. China has 20 per cent of the world’s population but only 7 per cent of the world’s fresh water. To make matters worse, the country’s scarce water resources are unevenly distributed between the south and north of the country.
With rapid industrialisation and urbanisation, the demand for fresh water is increasing at a very fast rate. It is forecast that by 2030, China’s water demand will surpass 800 billion cubic metres. However, China’s supply is severely undermined by worsening water scarcity and pollution.
APRIL 30, 2014
Among the numerous challenges China faces in its quest to become a great power, the biggest, perhaps, is mounting water insecurity. China has 20 per cent of the world’s population but only 7 per cent of the world’s fresh water. To make matters worse, the country’s scarce water resources are unevenly distributed between the south and north of the country.
With rapid industrialisation and urbanisation, the demand for fresh water is increasing at a very fast rate. It is forecast that by 2030, China’s water demand will surpass 800 billion cubic metres. However, China’s supply is severely undermined by worsening water scarcity and pollution.
Obama reassures allies, but doubts over ‘pivot’ to Asia persist
TODAY
APRIL 30, 2014
MANILA — From the elaborate details of a Japanese state visit to the more mundane question of how much face-time to give each of his Asian hosts, United States President Barack Obama’s aides spent months meticulously scripting his four-country tour of the region.
But, as the week-long trip wrapped up yesterday, it was clear that, while Mr Obama scored points with sceptical allies simply by showing up, not everything followed the White House plan.
APRIL 30, 2014
MANILA — From the elaborate details of a Japanese state visit to the more mundane question of how much face-time to give each of his Asian hosts, United States President Barack Obama’s aides spent months meticulously scripting his four-country tour of the region.
But, as the week-long trip wrapped up yesterday, it was clear that, while Mr Obama scored points with sceptical allies simply by showing up, not everything followed the White House plan.
Is Obama or Putin the bigger threat to world peace?
TODAY
APRIL 30
The Ukraine crisis has demonstrated that one person alone can endanger world peace. But that one person might not be Russian President Vladimir Putin who, in reality, only leads a large regional power that, owing to his authoritarian rule and muddled economics, is a long-term threat more to itself than to the world.
No, the lone actor most responsible for threatening world peace might unwittingly be United States President Barack Obama, with his scholarly inertia and apparent disregard for the fate of smaller, faraway countries.
APRIL 30
The Ukraine crisis has demonstrated that one person alone can endanger world peace. But that one person might not be Russian President Vladimir Putin who, in reality, only leads a large regional power that, owing to his authoritarian rule and muddled economics, is a long-term threat more to itself than to the world.
No, the lone actor most responsible for threatening world peace might unwittingly be United States President Barack Obama, with his scholarly inertia and apparent disregard for the fate of smaller, faraway countries.
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