Just the day after being anointed the US deputy sheriff in Asia Gillard in her comments about the Israel and Hamas escalation implicitly supported the Israeli assassination of the Hamas leader Ahmed Said Khalil al-Jabari. In her comments about the escalation, Gillard condemned repeated attacks by Hamas on Israel, but was silent on the Israeli assassination of the Hamas leader. Government assassinations are both against international law and Australian Government policy. However Gillard’s silence over the matter, just like her silence over numerous US drone assassinations in Pakistan over the last few years seems to indicate a change in Australian foreign policy. It is apparent that any breach of international law by either the US or Israel will always have the tacit support of the Australian Government even though some actions may be wrong and against any sense of moral ethics and international law. Now we live in a world were state assassination of people, even their own citizens without trial is acceptable.
Category: Murray Hunter
Murray Hunter has been involved in Asia-Pacific business for the last 30 years as an entrepreneur, consultant, academic, and researcher. Murray is now an associate professor at the University Malaysia Perlis. He’d been also a visiting professor at a number of universities and regular speaker at conferences and workshops in the region. Murray is the author of a number of books, numerous research and conceptual papers in referred journals, and commentator on the issues of entrepreneurship and development in a number of magazines and online news sites around the world.
We are now into Hillary Clinton’s 2nd day of “blitzkrieg” in Australia where she is showing her potential presidential charm and vision of dividing up the world just like the “axis” powers tried to do during WWII. Hillary now wants to “outsource” US cooperation with India to Australia so the US can work to clean up the mess in Pakistan created by clandestine missions and murder of innocent people with their drones. Hillary can’t afford Pakistan asking why the US is giving assistance to its rival India, so she innovatively came out with the “outsourcing and encirclement of China” by proxy plan. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her Defense Minister Stephen Smith seemed thrilled to be called upon to play “deputy sheriff ” again, and agreed to increase US marine numbers stationed in Australia from 400 to 2,500 by 2014.
Just one week after winning a second term Barak Obama is about to make a trip to Thailand, Burma, and Cambodia to bolster support for US competition in the region against China. Normally such a trip to countries like Burma where there is still a long way to go in human rights and economic reforms would not be made by a US President. However Long standing US government principles are being tossed aside in the interests of increasing US influence in the region, reminiscent of the “Cold War” days of the 1960s. Obama has put the new Chinese Administration on notice that his coming term will be one of competition in winning the ‘hearts and minds’ (read handouts) of the nations surrounding China.
Entrepreneurship and economic growth? South-East Asian governments are developing policy on the misconception that entrepreneurship creates economic growth Throughout the South-East Asian region entrepreneur creation has almost unquestionably been seen as a viable policy instrument…
Although Australia is listed in the top 10 least perceived corrupt countries in the world by Transparency International, an ongoing bribery case involving the companies Securency International and Note Printing Australia, which are jointly owned by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is causing embarrassment to the Australian Government. The RBA is Australia’s central bank and as such is responsible for money supply and the setting of interest rates, an integral part of any country’s monetary policy. Consequently the banker to the government other banks must not just act with integrity, it must be trusted as an institution beyond reproach if the financial system and public are to maintain confidence in the institution.
The Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard released a long awaited white paper Australia in the Asian Century yesterday, which has been “wowed” by the Australian media. The white paper basically affirms that Australia’s future lies with Asia and consequently immense economic opportunities exist for Australia to grab. The paper hinges the nation’s strategy of becoming a competitive force within the region through skills development, innovation, infrastructure, the tax system, regulatory reform, and environmental sustainability. However before a nation can become a competitive force, it must have an accepted place in the region. On this key strategy the White paper does little more than make a “rally call” to Australians to come out and make it happen.
The Islamic business revolution in Southern Thailand There is a revolution going on in Southern Thailand and I’m not talking about the insurgency. Cities like the notorious Hat Yai, a sexual playground for Malaysian…
With the exception of Singapore, which can be considered a developed city-state, most members of ASEAN are still developing nations, with a few still in the under-developed phase of growth. In addition, there is great…
Missed Opportunities: Inward Focus on Domestic Issues and Parochialism May Lead to a Start-up Delay or “Watered Down” ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015 ASEAN potential as a major trade player Although the pundits…
Educating South-East Asia’s rural population to develop ideas and create new business models with appropriate technologies “You say it best when you say nothing at all” – Ronan Keating The writer was lucky enough to…