An interesting piece in Asia Times Online highlights the recent efforts on behalf of Dean Peroff and Robert Amsterdam to gain observer status for the Singapore Democratic Party, led by dissident Dr. Chee Soon Juan, from the Liberal International.  With the pressures of the economic crisis stirring protests in many countries, the authoritarian rulers of Singapore have clamped down even further on the population with the passage of the Public Order Act (POA), allowing virtually any arrest for any public demonstration.

The SDP's nomination was championed by Dean Peroff, from the international law firm Amsterdam & Peroff. In passing the unanimous motion, Peroff maintained that Singapore's political order was authoritarian, autocratic, run by a one-man system and that SDP's new observer status to Liberal International ...

There is a riveting business story posted at Asia Times Online by Roman Kupchinsky, taking a look at the removal of the allegedly shady RosUkrEnergo trading company - famous for its non-transparent middleman role selling gas between Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Europe - only to be replaced by a new non-transparent middleman trading company, RosGas, also based in Zug, Switzerland.  Dmytro Firtash appears to have his name all over it.  If you have the patience for the details, this is quite a story.

Gazprom spokesman Sergey Kuprianov sharply contradicted the allegation that the company was linked to Rosgas: "It is well known that the only export channel for Russian gas is the company Gazprom Export. The company RosGas which was named today in the ...

What happens when the largest exporter of natural gas in Central Asia (and the fourth largest reserves on the planet) declares its open disagreement with the Russia-led natural gas OPEC?  At the very least, it makes for an energy conference of heated diplomacy when heads of state meet in Ashgabat this week, as the Europeans fight for the Nabucco supply route direct to Europe (the word "bypass" is misleading), while the Russians fight for Gazprom's continued total monopoly over the country's exports.We're always impressed with the sophisticated negotiating techniques of the Turkmen leadership, but we've seen them play this game a couple too many times to get very excited about the possibilities for Europe to compete in a normal market in Central Asia alongside the Russians.  ...

The global credit bubble imploded in 2008. And now we are seeing extraordinary efforts to re-inflate it. But Byron King says we can’t go back to the old system now. Investors today need to protect their wealth with gold and cash. But long-term investors should base their strategy on the future scarcity of energy and mineral resources.

This from Whiskey & Gunpowder:

Lately I’ve been discussing concept of scarcity in the energy and natural resource sectors. In one recent note, I discussed how the idea of scarcity has transformed from a “geological” basis to an “above ground” basis. In another note I discussed how the financial system of the world has broken down. This breakdown has damaged many a portfolio. But I still believe that an investment focus that is based on future scarcity of energy and mineral resources is basically correct.

In the future there will still be profound restraints on

...

This bit comes from Andreas Umland writing in the Asia Times Online: However, in the middle of his long speech, Medvedev also voiced a sharp critique of historical Russian statism, and did not hesitate to hail the adoption of the Russian constitution under Yeltsin, in 1993. He proposed that "Russian democracy should develop further". In its first analyses of Medvedev’s speech, the Western media tended to emphasize a couple of technical innovations proposed by the president for the country's political system, such as the prolongation of the terms of the president (to six years) and the State Duma (the Lower House).

From the Asia Times Online: Without question, the landscape of diplomatic battles has been impacted deeply by the rise of petro-states in the context of ballooning oil prices. The question now arises whether this is just another bubble that will be pricked by the sharp recent fall in petroleum prices. Already, Western media outlets are gloating that the heydays of Russia, Iran and Venezuela are over as oil prices have plummet in response to decreased world demand. There are doomsday predictions that the healthy foreign exchange reserves built up by the petro-states are dwindling and that the next logical step would be a reversal of their policies of confrontation with the US. (...) However, announcing the "fall" of Russia, Iran and Venezuela as a result of the about-turn in oil prices would be naive. A state's power in world politics is not absolute, but relative to the power of other states. ...