Following earlier statements by Zhou Xiaochuan of the People’s Bank of China in March, China renewed its criticism of the dominant role of the US dollar as a global reserve currency at the meeting of the G-8, The Financial Times reports today. In front of President Obama, the Chinese state councilor Mr Dai unequivocally called for the world to diversify the reserve currency system. The country that holds an estimated 2 trillion dollar in U.S. T-bills clearly doesn’t shy away from using its leverage in the international political arena.
The CIA has established a special unit to investigate economic and financial threats to the United States’ security. The unit sends President Obama daily briefings with an assessment of the economic risks. In March the Department of Defense already organized an economic war simulation. The Pentagon invited hedgefund managers, bankers and economic scholars to assess different scenario’s that might shift the balance of power in the world. Quelle surprise… China turned out to be the smartest economic warrior. Perhaps China’s decision to accumulate over two trillion dollar in foreign currency reserves wasn’t such a blunder after all.
Would a successful Iranian revolution turn the Islam in a gentler, less orthodox, religion? All prerequisites for a revolution to succeed (critical mass, some independent media, money, a rigged election, a divided ruling elite and a sense of revolutionary momentum et cetera) are now present in Iran, according to Gideon Rachman, the chief foreign affairs commentator of The Financial Times .
Since the revolution of 1979 Islamic orthodoxy has been on the rise, not only in Iran but in other countries in the Middle East (e.g. Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Morocco) and within the Muslim community in Europe as well. Both the reformists and the conservatives in Iran today seek Islam’s banner, using religious slogans (“allahu akbar”) and symbolism. Both sides proclaim to be pursuing the ideal of the just Islamic state. But the reformists are fed up with current theocratic, authoritarian rule and want freedom.
If the 2009 revolution were to succeed, will we see more or less burqa’s in the streets of Paris (provided that President Sarkozy does not ban the religious garb from French soil beforehand)?