Posts

Showing posts from November, 2012

Obama and 21st century Asia and Kent

If Obama’s first foreign visit when elected in 2008 was Germany then the choice of South East Asia also poses few surprises for his second term. A brief 6 hour visit marked the first Presidential visit to Burma in an attempt to seal the reforms of the last year by Burma’s military government including the release of Aung San Suu Kyi now an MP. And a trip to Thailand reiterated the importance of South East Asia for trade and investment: the latter growing at 11% almost double the pace of China. While the first ever Presidential visit to Cambodia is against the backdrop of encouraging greater democracy and human rights as part of the ASEAN Summit. Perhaps all the more apt given the police crackdown on the Poetic Justice arts exhibition, on the Khmer Rouge and Kissinger’s bombing of Cambodia, by activist Theng Seary. Human rights in Asia And the signing of an ASEAN human rights declaration is designed to encompass the range of Asian governance from the dictatorships of Burma to mo...

Manston collapses. Thanet collapses.

Qatari Airlines removes its investment from Cargolux – the last remaining airline at Manston. No investment for poisoning your citizens. Let KCC and TDC do that for you with your tax-money. Buchanan’s own figures now for Manston: zero passengers and zero cargo. The KLM announcement is a farce – I would urge the public not to lose their money buy buying tickets as the airport will close. You’ve lost money before with EUJet remember? It’s time for corporate manslaughter charges for Infratil. TDC and KCC have failed us and polluted us. Miscellanous points:  Abysmal town planning with the Grange Rd development – it looks like two nuclear reactors failing onto an office block. I’m surprised at Jenner as they’re a good construction company.  The Broadstairs development opposite the Town Hall – again massive overbuild and out-of-keeping with the surrounding area. TDC Planning have failed us.  Pfizer: the site is beginning to develop with pharma companies (and Sittingbou...