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@WebMaster It's an unusual request, but I wonder if you would consider allowing me to serve out @AUSTERLITZ's ban in his stead. He is one of PDF's most valuable members, and it's a shame to see him put in the penalty box as a result of trying to cure @DesertFox's mental illness.

Saudi Arabia has made a conscious decision to lower prices, even at such a cost to itself, in order to maintain market share and simultaneously try and kill higher-cost suppliers (e.g. US fracking operations). As you can see, this game of chicken only works because of the forex reserves that...

Time for a periodic update on the Gulf. --- http://online.wsj.com/articles/oil-price-slide-may-curb-gulf-states-spending-plans-1416792930 November 24, 2014, 2:01 PM ET Oil Price Slide May Curb Gulf States’ Spending Plans By Asa Fitch Lower oil prices are threatening to curtail the spending...

Can you please summarize this in English?

China is part of the Far East, so it's hard to divide them that way. I agree that it doesn't make sense to group China/Far East with Southeast Asia/Indochina, however. Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Myanmar, etc. should probably be separated into a Southeast Asia...

@WebMaster Not sure if you are using XenForo, but if you are, perhaps these might be of interest: Convert Image | XenForo Community Description: The Convert Image add-on will convert hot linked images in messages to attachments. Hot linked images are those images that have been inserted using...

I am confounded and disappointed by this. I have never even implied that you are anti-Semitic, and if we've disagreed on the Israel/Palestine issue, I have at least acknowledged that your position is reasonable, even if I cannot agree with it. I have never criticized your thinking on a...

I'm afraid this is going to be another "agree to disagree" moment. I view tax minimization as a virtue, because I believe in the Robert Nozick school of thought that there is no ethical or legitimate case for confiscating (through taxes) income earned legitimately. Taxation itself is a...

@TaiShang @Chinese-Dragon http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2014/11/19/guest-post-chinas-rule-of-law-is-a-xi-jinping-power-grab/ This article seems to take an exceptionally cynical view of Xi's anti-corruption drive, but I was shocked to read this section: However, an equally significant...

Perhaps I mis-communicated. We have already discussed, among others, the work of William Easterly in showing the deleterious effects of development aid on the emerging markets. Aid has done some good, but what is being argued is whether the development aid is given for good intentions or not...

Sure, there are alliances, but they require close cultural connections, or a unique set of security alignment criteria to succeed. Examples: ANZUS US-Japan defense agreement US-Korea defense agreement US-Taiwan defense agreement US-Philippines defense agreement NORAD Anglo-Portuguese alliance...

Wow, great find. That encapsulates everything that's wrong with the Putin era. 1) No rule of law. Only rule of Putin. 2) He interferes in private business to bolster his popularity. 3) His interference is likely economically damaging 4) He controls the economy through his circle of...

@Black Flag @Chinese-Dragon @vostok @senheiser @AgentOrange Putin is nothing if not adaptable. I thought this article might interest you because it touches on the recent experience of China, the effect of corruption on an economy vs. external issues, and how the sanctions might end up...

@Norwegian It seems that much of this conflict is the result of an arbitrarily drawn line in time; before year X, everything is legitimate, and after that year, all changes that occur are illegitimate. Unfortunately, history moves on, and does not obey such artificial demarcations. The parties...

I agree with you that a formal security alliance is inconceivable, for two reasons: 1) What does China have to gain from such an alliance? China can never overtly support Russian separatist movements in Russian satellite states without inviting the same applied to its own peripheral...

To what event are you referring? It was Putin who left the G20 early. As far as I am aware, the G2 is not a functioning body of any import. You need to work on your understanding of sarcasm, I understand that it's not something German speakers have an easy time understanding. Use your Slavic...

It sounds like you don't need me to answer. I get along very well with Koreans outside of Korea (I have met some great Koreans in the US and Japan), but those are a self-selected group with a more cosmopolitan outlook. Koreans in Korea are a different breed, and indeed, I have had a poor...

That's a fair criticism. Samsung is undoubtedly South Korea's greatest champion, but is also SK's greatest weakness. According to this BusinessWeek article, Samsung accounted for 17% of SK's GDP. That's insane, and makes SK especially vulnerable to a company dominated by a single (corrupt)...

I will have to lean on some of our military professionals to answer for sure (@gambit @SvenSvensonov , any takers?), but the US force is primarily a tripwire for any North Korean attack (that's the polite term, the impolite term is hostage). The number of troops and amount of assets we have...

It's not hard to see why these opinions have emerged, but the tale is told from the US side. Russia is, for the most part, an afterthought in the American geopolitical game. It can cause annoyances in the periphery of our sphere of influence (Europe, Japan), but it's not a credible threat...