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Taliban will talk, but no ‘sugar-coating’

The Pakistani Taliban have reacted promptly to the government’s offer of peace talks, agreeing in principle. First, though, they want some key captives released, including a firebrand cleric. In return, the Taliban will release some 250 security personnel they are holding. It’s a tempting offer, but one which Washington will oppose with all its strength, including financial muscle. – Syed Saleem Shahzad (Apr 1, ’08)

Muqtada’s fight puts US to flight

In the United States’ estimation, Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army were ripe for the plucking after months of being harassed by “cordon and search” operations across Iraq. The heavy offensive in Basra was to further – if not fatally – weaken the Shi’ite militia. That Muqtada’s men were more than ready for a fight has the Bush administration scrambling to distance itself from this gross miscalculation. – Gareth Porter (Apr 1, ’08)

Cracks emerge in ‘Dalai Lama clique’

Beijing’s condemnation of anti-China protests in Tibet has incorrectly swept all protesters into the so-called “Dalai Lama clique”. It’s not so simple: some radical groups – such as the Tibetan Youth Congress – have distanced themselves from the Dalai Lama’s “middle-road” approach, and these are the ones Beijing has to observe intently. – Law Siu-lan (Apr 1, ’08)

Iran sees hope in war of words

High-level and at times contradictory comments by United States officials on Iran’s nuclear program heat the pot of allegations against the country without bringing it to boiling point. From Tehran’s perspective, in this war of attrition being fought in the arena of world public opinion, the chips are piling up against the US and its allies. – Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Apr 1, ’08)

A military ‘Walter Mitty’ in Myanmar jungle

In the bad lands of the Thai-Myanmar border, the armed struggle of the Karen rebels has attracted do-gooders and wannabe warriors for decades. Enter Thomas Bleming, a seemingly well-intentioned American who served in Vietnam and in his words “at least nine civil wars and revolutions”. Bleming calls himself “a revolutionary”, but it’s unclear whether his quixotic notions will benefit the Karen cause. – Brian McCartan (Apr 1, ’08)

Bandits shoot blanks to avoid baby boom

In India’s wild Chambal region the notions of fatherhood and manhood are being redefined by a family planning campaign that awards gun permits for vasectomies. Residents of the “dacoit”, or bandit-infested, region love their weapons like children, some might say, and many are weighing whether to bear arms or bear children. – Shuriah Niazi (Apr 1, ’08)

A risk-free revolution

The US Federal Reserve-led rescue of Bear Stearns was a blatant example of moral hazard being rewarded. The US financial system, thought to be exemplified by rough and ready individualists and free marketers, now gleefully accepts the greatest government intervention in the financial markets in at least 70 years. One question – what comes next in this new risk-free model? – Julian Delasantellis

THE BEAR’S LAIR Only the money is cheap

When money is excessively cheap, only the money is cheap. Everything else from assets to business ethics becomes horrendously expensive or unobtainable. Americans can only hope the next US president will appoint a Fed chairman who believes in sound money before they endure a decade of wasted resources and severe recession. – Martin Hutchinson

THE SHAPE OF US POPULISM Part 4: A panic-stricken Federal Reserve

The recent moves by the US Federal Reserve, amid fears of an economic depression, to inject liquidity into the credit market and to bail out banks and brokerage houses are looking more like fixes for drug addicts in advanced stages of abuse. But for neo-liberal market fundamentalists, the fear is not of an economic depression, but the populism that may follow it. – Henry C K Liu

Local pride buffets Bangalore business

The huge success of Bangalore as a business and technological center has sucked in many highly skilled workers from elsewhere in India. Some locals, proud of a region with its distinct culture and language, say the influx leaves them as second-class citizens and the new arrivals – companies and staff – need to be taught respect. – Sudha Ramachandran

THE MOGAMBO GURU : The voyage of the Economic Enterprise

Nowhere in the history of Earth, nowhere even in this entire galaxy, is there an instance of a healthy economic boom that started after the biggest orgy of speculation and debt creation the planet had ever seen. We are done for – except of course for those who steered us into the mess in the first place.