miniZibaldone

Philippine Star  "Super tiny minority" It’s not easy being a member of the opposition when the president enjoys a trust rating of over 90 percent, with a near-total 97 percent in Mindanao. A democracy,  however, needs a functioning check and balance system, which is normally provided by the political opposition.  Even an immensely popular president is vulnerable to the abuse of power and needs a credible opposition to discourage this. Beyond promoting the proper use of power,  the opposition can also help ensure that the annual national appropriation is utilized for the intended purposes, with projects and programs implemented properly. In  short, the political opposition has an indispensable role to play in promoting good governance and making democracy work.  Under the current setup, the opposition in the House of Representatives is also expected to initiate proceedings to remove from office a president, vice president,  justice of the Supreme Cour...

Philippine Star  "Who needs capital punishment?" There’s no need to restore capital punishment. Since May 10 when the outcome of the presidential race became known, police have gunned down 42 crime suspects all  over the country, with eight killed just over the weekend.  Not even during martial law has the country ever experienced such a state-sponsored killing spree targeting individuals suspected of criminal activities, mostly  peddling illegal drugs. The word “suspect” must be emphasized, as everyone in a free society is supposed to be entitled to due process.  Before capital punishment was abolished, it could be imposed for opium trafficking, dealing drugs within 100 meters of any school, or if the drugs caused death. A  life term or death was also possible for diplomats who engaged in drug smuggling, illegal drug manufacturers and financiers, those who employed minors and the  mentally impaired or sold drugs to them, maintainers of drug dens, an...

The Overworked American by Juliet Schor   Naked Economics by Charles Wheelan   Tocqueville's Discovery of America by Leo Damrosch Guanxi (The Art of Relationships) by Roberto Buderi Does Catholicism Still Exist? by James Schall  Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness by Peggy Noonan  Where the Wasteland Ends by Theodore Roszak 

Holidays in Hell by P. J. O'Rourke The Numerati by Stephen Baker   The China Price by Alexandra Harney   The Meaning of Recognition by Clive James The Culture of Narcissism by Christopher Lasch Bad Religion by Ross Douthat The Servile State by Hilaire Belloc Religions for Peace by Francis Arinze

The Ascent of Money: Financial History of World by Niall Ferguson The Ice Finders by Edmund Blair Bolles A Short History of English Literature by Sir Evans China Wakes by Nicholas  Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn How the West Was Lost by Dambisa Moyo Five Germanys I Have Known by Fritz Stern Fool's Gold: The Inside of JP Morgan by Gillian Tett

China’s economy slows down as it reaches its lowest growth rate in 25 years Government figures indicate that growth reached 6.9 per cent in 2015. Growth in investment, a key economic driver, weakened to 12 per cent in 2015. As the government insists on the need to change the country’s development model "at any cost", it focuses on services and domestic consumption in lieu of manufacturing. However, this increases the risk of social instability as well as party repression. Beijing (AsiaNews) – China's economy grew by 6.9 per cent in 2015, the lowest since 1990 (3.8 per cent) following the crackdown against the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement. China's economic growth edged down to 6.8 per cent in the final quarter of 2015, slightly lower than the previous quarter (6.9 per cent). The October-December growth figure was in fact the lowest quarterly expansion since the aftermath of the global financial crisis, when growth slumped to 6.1 per cent in the f...

Chinese stock exchanges still making huge losses by Paul Wang Shanghai losses 3.2%; Shenzhen 4.4; Hong Kong 2.4. Chinese economy "worst nightmare" in 2016. Other Asian markets feel knock on effect. Hong Kong (AsiaNews) - Asia stock exchanges have opened to a shaky start this week following continuing losses triggered in recent days by the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges. In a statement today, the Haitong Research Institute described China as "everybody’s worst nightmare” in 2016. [full text] The China Bubble WALTER RUSSELL MEAD It’s probably bursting, one way or another. And the world hasn’t figured out what to do about it. As China’s stock markets sagged through the early days of 2016, there has been no shortage of follow-up stories in the MSM that try to paint the bigger picture—about how China’s slowdown is having knock-on effects around the world. Here at TAI, we have been following the commodity crash story for some time—and not just as a piece of...

L’Osservatore Romano accuses Charlie Hebdo of “distorting faith” The Vatican newspaper speaks out against the cover of the French satirical weekly, which marks the first anniversary of the attacks on its offices in Paris The Holy See has strongly criticised the illustration on the special issue of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo , which depicts God carrying a machine gun. Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano said the image “illustrates the sad paradox of a world that is becoming so sensitive to political correctness it is verging on the ridiculous”. [link] Losses of over 7%: trading suspended on Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets for a second time in a week by Paul Wang Trading has been suspended on stock markets only 15 minutes after opening. Restrictions for another three months on the sale of shares. Losses on Stock Exchanges in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney. Yuan devalued. [link]

Guanxi (The Art of Relationships) by Roberto Buderi Metapop: Self-referentiality in Contemporary American Popular Culture by Michael Dunne Name-Dropping from FDR On by John Kenneth Glabraith Knightfall by Davis Merritt It Still Moves by Amanda Petrusich

Inquirer  about El Ni ño and tarsier There’s a dark shadow on the holiday season that is now upon us: the fragility of our environment, as underscored by the climate change conference in Paris, the resulting consensus of which is most crucial to the planet. That fragility is brought home to our part of the world by El Niño, which threatens to be severe, as well as a poignant report that the Philippine tarsier is now on the most-endangered list. [...]  The prevailing dangerous times are also particularly illustrated by the recent announcement of wildlife experts that more than half of the primates worldwide are facing extinction as a result of habitat destruction and hunting.  For the first time ever, the list of at-risk species now includes the Philippine tarsier (Carlito syrchta), according to scientists who attended a conference in Singapore last week. [full text] Manila Bulletin   on ASEAN We have long seen ourselves as a nation which asserted its indep...

Inquirer  about  Philippines-China diplomacy Like a good Filipino host, President Aquino avoided mentioning any topic that might upset his guests, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders’ Meeting last week. [...] Mr. Aquino made up for lost time, however, when he took part in a series of summits in Kuala Lumpur the following weekend. Xi wasn’t in attendance, but Chinese Premier Li Keqiang was, and he got an earful. [...] In high-level diplomacy, it seems, the Ecclesiastes principle also holds: There is a time for everything. In Mr. Aquino’s view, the time was ripe for the Philippines to use the language of unmistakable criticism. Hence, he no longer merely “expressed serious concerns,” but criticized China in forthright terms, and seized every opportunity throughout the weekend to do so. [full page] Sun.Star Cebu   on  Sun.Star Cebu In more than three decades of community journalism, Sun.Star Cebu has we...

China Wakes by Nicholas  Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn   A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka   Invisible Republic: Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes by Greil Marcus   Oxford by Jan Morris   How the West Was Lost by Dambisa Moyo   High Tech High Touch: Technology and Search for Meaning by John Naisbitt   Book of Usage and Abusage by Eric Partridge

The Numerati by Stephen Baker   American Slang by Robert Chapman   Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl   Robert Musil and the NonModern by Mark Freed   Levinas and Lacan: The Missed Encounter by Sarah Harasym   The China Price by Alexandra Harney   The Meaning of Recognition by Clive James

Dorothy Day: Friend to the Forgotten by Deborah Kent Lenten Lands by Douglas Gresham A Little Learning by Evelyn Waugh Edmund Campion by Evelyn Waugh Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes Holy Man: Father Damian of Molokai by Gavan Daws Memoirs by Hans Jonas The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien Marie Curie and Her Daughters by Shelley Emling Acquainted with Grief by Thomas Alan Harvey