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Singapore and the Smoke Haze Crisis | Economic and Political Weekly
▻http://www.epw.in/journal/2018/3/commentary/singapore-and-smoke-haze-crisis.html

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Singapore and the Smoke Haze Crisis

Theresa Wong (theresa.wong@gmail.com) is a geographer and independent scholar working at the intersection of research and policy. She has previously held positions at Carleton University, Ottawa, the National University of Singapore, and United Nations Development Programme.

The 2013 and 2015 episodes of smoke haze over Singapore were some of the worst environmental crises in the nation’s history. Severe haze caused by land clearance fires in Indonesia blanketed Singapore for more than a month each time, leading to a dramatic shift in public attention and policies regarding the nation’s engagement with its neighbouring resource-extractive economies. This article reads the development of this crisis through the myth of the “air-conditioned nation,” arguing that it presents an opportunity to reconnect capitalism and regionalisation with their consequences.

In 2013, at the start of the forest clearance season, smoke from burning vegetation in the Indonesian island of Sumatra wafted over to Singapore, signalling the start of what had become a yearly event. Although the “haze” had become a frequent occurrence since the late 1990s, the 2013 event was the city state’s worst. The Pollutant Standards Index shot up to 471, four times above that of previously recorded incidents and way above the limit for healthy exposure. For more than two months, Singapore’s residents lived through a seemingly apocalyptic existence—an eerie orange pall fell over the island, and masked motorcyclists rode into the smoky abyss, eyes watering. People living in the high-rise homes all over the island reported the strange phenomenon of birds and bats making their way into apartments, seeking refuge from the smoke.

#singapour #environnement #malaisie #indonésie

L’opinion de la gauche indienne sur l’accord nucléaire iranien

Lifting the Siege on Iran | Economic and Political Weekly
▻http://www.epw.in/commentary/lifting-siege-iran.html

n 2003, Bush assumed that the US military force would tilt the balance of forces in west Asia towards the US. Things unravelled very quickly. The Arab Spring, which has a much longer history of internal struggles in the various Arab countries, is nonetheless drawn from considerable popular anger against the undemocratic regimes that collaborated with the West. By the time Obama came to office in 2009, US power in the region had declined considerably – its inability to force the issue in Syria is not just a mark of the complexity of geopolitics but also of the weakened state of US influence. US allies in west Asia – Saudi Arabia and Israel – are of course more prone to create instability in the region than to bring peace. If anything it is Iran that will be able to manage some of the deep crises in the region. Out of weakness – political and economic – come the P5+1 to the table in Geneva. The bluster had worn off. The language of ultimatums and military force seemed anachronistic. The Iranians cleverly have Zarif, the former UN ambassador, as their foreign minister – and he brought his long-term memory of previous attempts to the table as well as his genial demeanour. It was hard to caricature Zarif as the scowling mullah, not with Zarif and his boss, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani conducting clever Twitter diplomacy for the world’s press. The advantage was always with Iran.

A brief wrinkle came on the scene when France scuttled the first meeting with last-minute demands for the closure of some of the Iranian reactors. These were not serious objections, because Iran had already suspended work at its Arak reactor and it had abandoned its project to build more centrifuges as part of a process to build confidence for the Geneva meeting. When it was pointed out that Iran had already conceded on these points, France nonetheless objected and the meeting had to be put off for a week. France’s President Francois Hollande went off on a tour of Israel where he pledged to hold the line against a deal and called for Palestinians to forgo their right to return to their land. But France’s effort on Israel’s behalf failed. The deal went through with the other European powers outflanking a tendency for France to revive its old colonial ambitions (bombing raids in Ivory Coast, Libya and Mali seem to whet this appetite).

Saudi Arabia’s sulk did not last long. Its Gulf Arab allies – Kuwait, Qatar and Oman (which had hosted the secret Iran-US talks) – came out for the agreement. The Kingdom had to follow saying, “If there is goodwill, this agreement could represent a preliminary step toward a comprehensive solution to the Iranian nuclear program”. This is indeed an interim agreement. Six months from now the powers will meet again. But they will not be able to roll back Iran’s civilian nuclear programme. Even Israel recognises that. Netanyahu told his Likud Party members that this accord “must bring about one outcome: the dismantling of Iran’s military nuclear capability”. The addition of the word “military” is crucial. It means that Israel accepts Iran’s civilian nuclear programme – something that Tel Aviv had adamantly resisted.

What We Need to Learn from Snowden | Economic and Political Weekly
▻http://www.epw.in/postscript/what-we-need-learn-snowden.html

We knew already that tyrannical states such as China, Tunisia, Libya and Iran did their utmost to monitor internet users. We had no proof that “free” countries did it too.

#stallman #privacy #tyranny #nsa #snowden #gpg #mail

Dans l’influent hebdomadaire de gauche indien Economic & Political Weekly, Stuart Schaar s’interroge sur une éventuelle transition politique plus stable.

Whither the Tunisian Citizen’s Revolt ? | Economic and Political Weekly
▻http://www.epw.in/commentary/whither-tunisian-citizens-revolt.html

All these abrupt turnabouts, confusion among the top leadership, and mass frustrations with the slow pace of paybacks for revolting and overthrowing the old regime, have not helped to stabilise the situation. If anything, the introduction of free electoral politics has given extremists the new possibility of expressing themselves and attempting to enforce new moral standards. Yet, the more unstable the situation, the more Tunisian civil society will turn against the present government and will look for alternative leadership. After all, the population has overcome its fear of those in power, have found a new dignity in collective action, and have asserted its right to express itself freely. In the shadows stands the transitional leader, the octogenarian Béji Caïd el Sebsi, who has attempted to patch together a wide coalition of old Bourguibists, and former members of Ben Ali’s party, the RCD, who held minor positions but who know how to organise a state. If he fails to marshal an electoral coalition, there are others on the sideline willing to jump into the fray and establish a third way. There are many middle class property owners in the country who want nothing more than stability and a chance to reinvigorate the economy so that they once again can enrich themselves.11 They might just be successful in the next elections and we might see the beginnings of more orderly transition to a new Tunisia. The country has many talented people who know how to get things done. They are waiting for their talents to be marshalled and be put to work.12 Whatever happens, we have to remember that the post-revolt transition will be rocky and filled with surprises. After having watched Tunisian developments for more than half a century, I am convinced that the Tunisians will sort out their problems and re-establish a working state. But it will take time to accomplish.13