~C4Chaos

A Post-American Debate in Dubai?

Here is another case in point that the 2008 presidential election is not just for Americans alone.

"Here's a crazy idea that's being discussed by the rulers of the Persian Gulf city-state of Dubai: What if they were to invite Barack Obama and John McCain to come to the desert oasis for a presidential debate?

"Yes, I know: This is America's presidential campaign, not a traveling roadshow to be shared with foreigners. And if the candidates can't even agree on a schedule of town meetings out in the American heartland, why should they travel to a sheikdom that's 7,000 miles from Washington -- and a short boat ride from Iran?

"But the idea of a Dubai debate is appealing, not least because it would link the epochal 2008 campaign with a world that cares passionately about where America is heading. The United States is unpopular abroad these days in part because of a perception that we're arrogant -- that we don't care what the world thinks. An overseas debate would help change that perception." [read more]

A U.S. presidential debate in Dubai would send a signal that we're in the midst of a post-American world. Too bad that the chances of it happening are slim. I find the Obama campaign's excuse to be very shallow and disheartening.

"Obama's aides similarly are cautious. They note that the Democratic candidate will be traveling soon to Iraq and Afghanistan and that he'll be doing a lot of thinking about the Middle East. But they worry that a debate overseas might offend some American voters. "While these issues are exactly the sort that ought to be dealt with seriously and comprehensively in the course of this campaign, we think it preferable and most appropriate that they be discussed in front of an American audience," says Obama spokesman Bill Burton."

Granted, some American voters may be offended. But overall this is good for America and the world. Heck,  CNN and Youtube could cover this for all American audience, including audience around the world.

What about you? What do you think about a U.S. presidential debate in Dubai?

It's Getting Hot, Flat, and Crowded in Herre!

Yesterday I watched Thomas L. Friedman's keynote address on BookExpo 2008 America. Friedman presented his upcoming book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution - and How It Can Renew America.

"People say to me: How can we afford to transform our whole economy in order to prevent climate change when climate change could turn out to be a hoax?

"To which I say: If climate change is a hoax it is the most wonderful hoax ever perpetrated on the United States of America because transforming our economy to clean power and energy efficiency to mitigate global warming is the equivalent in training for the Olympic triathlon. If you make it to the Olympics you have a much better chance of winning because you have developed every muscle. If you don't make it to the Olympics you're still healthy or stronger, fitter and more likely to live longer and win any other race in life. And like the triathlon you don't just improve one muscle or one skill but many which become mutually reinforcing and improve the health of the whole system." [watch the video of Friedman's keynote]

Exactly. I'm now looking forward to reading Friedman's book.

And speaking of energy efficiency, here is an excerpt from Friedman's NYTimes article, The Power Green.

"Because a new green ideology, properly defined, has the power to mobilize liberals and conservatives, evangelicals and atheists, big business and environmentalists around an agenda that can both pull us together and propel us forward. That’s why I say: We don’t just need the first black president. We need the first green president. We don’t just need the first woman president. We need the first environmental president. We don’t just need a president who has been toughened by years as a prisoner of war but a president who is tough enough to level with the American people about the profound economic, geopolitical and climate threats posed by our addiction to oil — and to offer a real plan to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels." [read more]

Now check out who's greener, Obama or McCain. Ok, Nader looks green too.

The Rise of China in a Post-American World

It was a perfect afternoon in the Emerald City. Most people were out, almost naked, by the lake soaking under the sun. Me and ~myWife spent the afternoon lying on the grass, reading under a tree.

I opened my copy of The Post-American World and picked up where I left off: China. 

"To get a sense of how completely China dominates low-cost manufacturing, take a look at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is one of the world's largest corporations. Its revenues are eight times those of Microsoft and account for 2 percent of America's GDP. It employs 1.4 million people, more than GM, Ford, GE, and IBM put together. It is legendary for its efficient--some would say ruthless--efforts to get the lowest price possible for its customers. To that end, it has adeptly used technology, managerial innovation, and, perhaps most significantly, low-cost manufacturers. Wal-Mart imports about $18 billion worth of goods from China each year. The vast majority of its foreign suppliers are there. Wal-Mart's global supply chain is really a China supply chain.

"China has also pursued a distinctly open trade and invesment policy. For this among many reasons, it is not the new Japan. Beijing has not adopted the Japanese (or South Korean) path of development, which was an export-led strategy that kept the domestic market and society closed. Instead, China opened itself up to the world. (It did this partly because it had no choice, since it lacked the domestic savings of Japan or South Korea.) Now China's trade-to-GDP ratio is 70 percent, which makes it one of the most open economies in the world. Over the last fifteen years, imports from the United States have increased more than sevenfold. Procter & Gamble now earns $2.5 billion a year in China, and familiar products like Head & Shoulders shampoo and Pampers diapers are extraodinarily popular with consumers there. Starbucks predicts that by 2010 it will have more cafés in China than in the United States. China is also very open to international brand names. whether of goods or people. Foreign architects have built most of the gleaming towers and grand developments that define the new China. And when looking for the man to direct China's debut on the world stage, the Olympic opening festivities, Beijing chose an American, Steven Spielberg. It is inconceivable that Japan or India would have given a foreigner such a role."

Speaking of China, nowadays, whenever China is mentioned in the mainstream media, often we only either hear about its unprecedented economic growth or its global environmental impact. But China is comprised of more than a billion people and we rarely get a glimpse the human faces behind its economic boom. Enter, FRONTLINE's documentary, Young & Restless in China.

"An intimate look into the lives of nine young Chinese, coming of age in a society that's changing at breathtaking speed." [watch it here]

Here's a preview.

I watched it on TV last night. It's another superb documentary from FRONTLINE. The documentary provided the viewers an intimate perspective on how young people from different social status are affected by China's rapid economic growth. I almost got teary-eyed watching the program. Why? Being an immigrant worker myself who grew up in a developing country, I could relate with some of the characters in the documentary.

If you want to understand the human side of the rise of China, the FRONTLINE documentary is a must-see.

Fareed Zakaria GPS Is Very Interesting

I'm in the middle of reading Fareed Zakaria's latest book, The Post-American World. Obama is reading the book too. My attention is focused not only on the excitement of national U.S. politics but equally with the current state of geopolitics. Zakaria is an excellent tour guide when it comes to geopolitics and foreign issues. So It's good to know that he has a new program on CNN called Fareed Zakaria GPS (Global Public Square).

"Fareed Zakaria GPS is an hour-long program that takes a comprehensive look at foreign affairs and the policies shaping our world. Every week we bring you an in-depth interview with a world leader, as well as a panel of international analysts who examine the major global developments of the week. As always, Fareed's emphasis is on new ideas and innovative approaches to solving the world's toughest problems."

I missed the pilot episode but the video is available online. You can watch it here. The first interview is with Tony Blair talking about faith, religion, globalization, and his conversion to Catholicism. Nice. Not only that. The roundtable discussion is very insightful too. This new show looks informative, intelligent, substantial, worldcentric, and very promising.

The Second World Matters in a Post-American World

I've been watching a lot of Charlie Rose conversations lately. Last night Parag Khanna was on the program discussing his views in his book, The Second World - Empires & Influence in the New Global Order. Very informative and insightful discussions on geopolitics and global economics. Check it.

In general, Khanna's view is a complement to Fareed Zakaria's Post-American World. His book has been on my reading list for a while now. This interview jacks it up on top of my list.

I resonate with Khanna's and Zakaria's perspectives because they look at politics from the point of view of other nations rather than from an American-centric viewpoint (like some of our political leaders and political pundits who are stuck in partisan ideologies). Also, their views, though critical of U.S. foreign policies, are not anti-American. They are raising the awareness of the public and key people in leadership positions to shift their perspectives to a more world-centric, global, and less self-centered view of things. It's good to know that Parag Khanna is an advider to Barack Obama.

I'm looking forward to reading Khanna's book. In the meantime, let's all wave goodbye to hegemony :)

Music Transcends the Borders of North Korea

Music Transcends the Borders of North Korea

Last night I watched Christiane Amanpour's Notes from North Korea. In her own words, it is the "holy grail of assignments."

"...when CNN asked me to cover the historic trip of the New York Philharmonic to Pyongyang at the end of February, I jumped at the chance. After months of negotiations, the North Korean government agreed to the orchestra's demands for playing Pyongyang, which happily for us included bringing in a large contingent of journalists. I was under no illusion that we journalists would have free run of the place -- far from it. However, any access is better than none, and any time is better than never, even in the dead of freezing North Korean winter."

The reporting was tightly controlled but it was still fascinating peek at a country and its people under communist rule. My favorite part of the program was a feature on New York Philharmonic's  historic concert in North Korea. The music and the emotional reaction of the performers and audience sent shivers up and down my spine.

Here's a video of the historic concert. New York Philharmonic rocks!

 

Music is indeed a language that transcends barriers. Hopefully, this is a good start at breaking those barriers as well.

The Post-American World

Yesterday I went to Barnes & Noble to check out the book, The Post-American World. I got interested with this book after watching Fareed Zakaria on Charlie Rose. But since the book is still in hardcover it's a bit pricey ($25 bucks in store). So I opted to just order it from Amazon, saving me more than $10. How very American of me ;)

I'm looking forward to reading this book to have more detailed understanding of Zakaria's thesis: the Rise of the Rest. Growing up outside of the U.S. and having had an experience living in Europe, my gut feeling tells me that Zakaria's thesis is very sound. But the devil, as they say, is in the details.

That said, my first impression on this book is favorable. Other political books are too politically divisive, too much engaged in partisanship, too conservative, too liberal, too American-centric, or too anti-American. What I like about this book is that it's neither American-centric nor anti-American. It does critique American leadership (i.e. GW Bush's failed foreign policies) but all in all it's a constructive criticism of U.S. foreign and economic policies, as well as a peek on what's happening around the world. Coming from someone who is constantly exposed to international issues (Fareed Zakaria is editor of Newsweek International) this book looks promising.

But I'll withhold the rest of my praise or critique until I've read the book. Will post my review soon.

For those of you who have already read it, feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.

4,000 in Bush's War

In the legendary Battle of Thermopylae 300 brave Spartans (including their King) sacrificed their lives to protect their homeland from invading forces. It's the most famous defensive suicidal mission in history. The death of 300 Spartans may have been tragic, but over the course of history those 300 deaths served a grander purpose: glorification of resistance to tyranny and a symbol of courage against overwhelming odds. 

Now contrast that with the confirmed 4,000 dead U.S. soldiers in the Iraq war. How will their deaths be remembered and perceived by the next generation? And we're only talking about American soldiers here. Mallika Chopra almost gave up counting at 282. PZ Myers just lamented on this same issue.

"Once, four dead in Ohio could stir us. Now, four thousand dead, a hundred thousand dead, it doesn't matter … we have all become dead inside."

I wonder how Bush's War would go down in history. Here's a clue. This documentary is a must-see.

FRONTLINE: Bush's War  -- "From the horror of 9/11 to the invasion of Iraq; the truth about WMD to the rise of an insurgency; the scandal of Abu Ghraib to the strategy of the surge -- for seven years, FRONTLINE has revealed the defining stories of the war on terror in meticulous detail, and the political dramas that played out at the highest levels of power and influence.

"Now, on the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion, the full saga unfolds in the two-part FRONTLINE special Bush's War. Veteran FRONTLINE producer Michael Kirk draws on one of the richest archives in broadcast journalism -- more than 40 FRONTLINE reports on Iraq and the war on terror. Combined with fresh reporting and new interviews, Bush's War will be the definitive documentary analysis of one of the most challenging periods in the nation's history."

Why the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election Matters, Globally

Roger Cohen has another insightful op-ed at the New York Times. His opening paragraphs succinctly illustrate why the 2008 U.S. Presidential election matters.

"An Italian member of the European Parliament is not the first person you expect to meet in Charleston, South Carolina, but there was Monica Frassoni last week following the twists and turns of a remarkable U.S. election.

"When I inquired what brought her to Dixie, Frassoni, a Green, responded: “We’ve learned that a good or bad U.S. president can make the difference between war and peace. A good or bad Italian prime minister makes no difference at all.”"

Exactly! Cohen continues with his assessment of America's continuing role as a major player in geopolitics.

"To imagine that a European Union plagued by self-doubt and existential uncertainty (where are Europe’s borders?), or a China of treacherous internal contradictions, can become powers of influence equal to the United States within the next half-century is implausible. America must work closely with them, but inspiration and leadership are unlikely to come from them.

"Turbulent global markets following the lead of Wall Street have given the lie to the “decoupling” theory. Where the American economy goes, the world tends to follow. As for Pax Americana, it’s the unsung success story that gives pessimistic pontificators the time and luxury to postulate its demise."

Read more.

I'm currently in Ireland right now and the media here is covering the U.S. election very closely, in print and on TV. I think Cohen is right on the money, even as the 21st century says goodbye to hegemony.

And that's why I find this election both exhilarating and disheartening. Because when everything is said and done after this election, we're back to ignoring the rhetorics and following the money.