Dive into the archives.
- China-Japan relations change lanes
Until today I have stayed quiet regarding the excitement around the deal between China and Japan to “jointly” develop gas fields in the disputed EEZ region of the East China Sea. I have been cautious because rather than seeing an acceleration of China-Japan relations, I think this deal is simply a matter of changing lanes.
Japan [...]
- The Scramble For…well…Everything
The Scramble for Africa was a quick proliferation of often conflicting European colonial claims on Africa. While imperialism was initially an indirect process, i.e. ruling or influencing the through locals, it ultimately led to outright annexation and centralized control of foreign lands. As borders hardened and “free territory” quickly disappeared, European empires raced to [...]
- Hydroelectric Surprise
With all the talk of alternative energy and whether it is indeed a viable replacement for other conventional sources like coal and oil, one interesting case comes to mind. So readers, without looking in Google, Wikipedia or any other source, what country do you think generates about 60% of all its energy needs solely from [...]
- What Energy Dependence???
With the current primaries and upcoming presidential election, on top of rising oil prices, one favorite phrase of candidates and media outlets is energy dependence and energy independence. Yet, outside of buzz words, how dependent is the US on foreign producers? In fact, since energy independence is secret code for independent of the Middle East, [...]
- DESERTEC
Nature magazine has a fascinating article on meeting the power needs of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa with an ambitious network of renewable energies across the region titled “DESERTEC.” In a word, the Sahara Desert would be peppered with with solar thermal power plants and transmitted through massive grids, in addition to other [...]
- Germany’s Oil Imports
With so much talk about energy and so much focus on the US, here’s a short overview of the situation in Germany. Being at the forefront of alternative energy and in fact the largest producer and user of it, does not mean Germany isn’t largely dependent on oil. About 12% of its overall needs comes [...]
- The Pipeline Game and Ceyhan
Can Turkey help stem Europe’s dependence on Russian energy supply? No link for this WSJ article from earlier this month, but worth reading:
The Pipeline Game
Ceyhan, Turkey—The jetty that juts into the shimmering Gulf of Iskenderun here is the end of the line for crude oil pumped 1,100 miles from the Caspian Sea. This oil [...]
- Malacca Strait pwn3d
An editorial in the Jakarta Post lambasts the Indonesian government over its obstinate policies for protecting the Malacca Strait.
While we fully support the sovereignty of the three countries [Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore], we also want to remind them that all stakeholders in the strait have the right to play a role in ensuring the safety [...]
- Myanmar’s Fuel Woes
In June, I posted on Iran’s censorship of the press after its outraged citizens tourched gas stations after unannounced fuel rationing and price hikes. Iran is a major oil exporter, but has no does not have enough refineries and must import its gasoline.
Iran isn’t the only authoritarian regime with these issues— Myanmar just imposed [...]
- The Arctic Cold War: The Canadian Perspective
My post on Russia’s Arctic claim last month is now hot news as Russia plants a flag on the arctic seabed, Denmark and Norway jostle for claims, and the US brushes off Russia’s claims. What about Canada? The Star has an article on the Arctic “Cold War” and what Canada (and the US) [...]
