The World's Plaidiest News Source

Japanese Island Hijinks (part 1)

Summary: Holy hibachi! Japan is in a Pacific pinch, my friends! A collision between a Chinese fishing boat and Japanese coast guard vessels in September near the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands north of Taiwan set off a firestorm of diplomatic fury by both countires…only to be followed in November by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev pissing off Japan by visiting the disputed island of Kunashira in the Kuril island chain north of Hokkiado. Damn! Battered from both ends! But these territorial squabbles centering around Japan have repercussions far beyond the borders of these dink-ass islands. In this plaid-cast, the Avenger high-lites some of the deeper ramifications of these Pacific geo-political problems.

Related Stories:
Sino-Japan dispute overshadows summit
Japan Besieged From North and South by Island Claims
Japan recalls ambassador to Russia as tempers rise over island dispute
Japan Summons Envoy to Russia Over Kurile Islands Dispute

Keywords: Japan, China, Russia, Senkaku, Diaoyu, Kuril, Kunashira, Hu Jintao, Naoto Kan, Dmitry Medvedev, APEC, ASEAN, G20, India, Manmohan Singh, Asian Axis of Democracy

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Everybody Loves ASEAN!

The big annual Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit was held in Hanoi Vietnam on Oct 29/30, and an array of international stars were in attendance!!! Everybody wants to do business with ASEAN! From China to Japan to India to Australia to Russia, all major East Asian and Pacific regional powers want a piece of the action. On top of that, the East Asia Summit (EAS) now takes place directly after the ASEAN party, and it focuses on regional stability/defense issues…a group that includes the Russians and Americans too! Damn! ASEAN is the Asian shizzle!

Bottom line: As Asia’s star continues to rise and they become the center of international action, ASEAN is becoming the anchor for trade and regional stability…a combo EU and UN, but for East Asia!

Related Stories:
ASEAN Leaders Meet in Hanoi Amid Tight Security
Asian military ties warm at Hanoi defence meeting
ASEAN summits push forward community building
China woos ASEAN to counter US power
ASEAN-Russia relation expected to rise new height
Gillard attends ASEAN summit

Keywords: ASEAN, ASEAN + 3, EAS, East Asia Summit, China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Australia, India, Hilary Clinton,

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Pissed Off Pakistan Gets Paid

Let?s finish up this plaid Af-Pak mini-series with a final furious summary and chaotic catch-up of current events. In the last 2 weeks, the Pakistanis re-opened their border to allow NATO supply lines to resume running through their territory, AND the US just wrote Pakistan a $2 billion check for foreign aid?.what a coincidence! NOT!

The Avenger also tries his best to empathize and explain the reasons why the Pakistanis are so passionately pissed at the US/NATO?and offers several succinct scenarios which have arisen since the NATO invasion of Afghanistan which have served to totally tank US/Pakistani relations.

Related Stories:
Pakistan resists US push to expand terror fight
Pakistan aid: US offers $2 billion more -- but attaches conditions
Pakistan Reopens NATO Afghan Supply Line
Making love to a cactus: U.S.-Pakistan relations at a dangerous moment

Keywords: Pakistan, US, Afghanistan, Taliban, Afghan Taliban, Pakistani Taliban, NATO, drones

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Af-Pak Insanity: Borderline Chaos, Part 3: Problems (continued)

Originally posted 11.09.2009

Synopsis: For the final installment of this three-part series on the calamity and chaos that is the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area, the Plaid Avenger talks about the particular problems of note that are causing the consternation for the world.  The Pashtuns in this border region have been fired by the friction/hatred between Afghanistan and Pakistan, blowed up and and bombed by the Soviets, and further manipulated by the Pakistani ISI….all of which have helped spawn the birth of the Taliban, which is now the group fighting the US/NATO as well as the Afghan and Pakistani governments too. This Taliban monster is now out of control and split into two different factions which are separately challenging the existence of both Afghanistan and Pakistan itself. Learn the how, when and why is this angst-ridden Avenger rant!

Related Stories:

Keywords: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Taliban, Al-Qaeda, Pashtun, Afghani Taliban, Pakistani Taliban

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Af-Pak Insanity: Borderline Chaos, Part 3: Problems

Originally posted 11.08.2009

Synopsis: For the final installment of this three-part series on the calamity and chaos that is the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area, the Plaid Avenger talks about the particular problems of note that are causing the consternation for the world.  The Pashtuns in this border region have been fired by the friction/hatred between Afghanistan and Pakistan, blowed up and and bombed by the Soviets, and further manipulated by the Pakistani ISI….all of which have helped spawn the birth of the Taliban, which is now the group fighting the US/NATO as well as the Afghan and Pakistani governments too. This Taliban monster is now out of control and split into two different factions which are separately challenging the existence of both Afghanistan and Pakistan itself. Learn the how, when and why is this angst-ridden Avenger rant!

Related Stories:

Keywords: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Taliban, Al-Qaeda, Pashtun, Afghani Taliban, Pakistani Taliban

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Well, the battle for the heart and soul of this country is on, but no one outside Burma seems to be able to do a damn thing about it! Why not?

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