Trump鈥檚 ironic North Korea threat, Two key reasons many Trump threats have fallen flat, White House chief of staff鈥檚 Mexico comments: 鈥榝ake news鈥�?, Follow Australia and Indonesia to tackle modern slavery, Sanitized Caribbean cruises: At what cost?
A roundup of global commentary for the Oct. 2, 2017 weekly magazine.
A roundup of global commentary for the Oct. 2, 2017 weekly magazine.
The Scotsman / Edinburgh, Scotland
Trump鈥檚 threat to 鈥榯otally destroy鈥� North Korea is ironic
鈥淭here is an unmissable irony in Donald Trump ... addressing the United Nations, set-up after the Second world War to promote global peace and co-operation, with the bluntest of threats to 鈥榯otally destroy鈥� North Korea,鈥� states an editorial. 鈥淭he only moot point is whether Trump intends to achieve that objective with ... conventional weapons, or by nuclear strike.... A strike ... would almost certainly prompt counter-attacks on every territory within range of Kim Jong-un鈥檚 armoury.... If we are unsure of what Trump鈥檚 ... strategy is, we have no idea what his counterpart is thinking.... Trump鈥檚 ... way of dealing with conflict is to ... growl threats.... No-one will back him, but can anyone stop him?鈥�
The Globe and Mail / Toronto
Two key reasons many of Trump鈥檚 threats have fallen flat
鈥淲hen U.S. President Donald Trump spouts nuclear-annihilation threats on North Korea鈥檚 鈥榬ocket man鈥� at the United Nations, bear in mind that who you are listening to is 鈥榖luster man,鈥� 鈥� writes Lawrence Martin. 鈥淏luster man loves the ratings.... But what the record shows is that [he] rarely follows through.... Two things have happened since Mr. Trump came to power to help prevent his worst instincts from overtaking him. One was the appointment of a seasoned national-security team鈥�. The other ... is that some order and discipline has been brought [by his replacing] of Reince Priebus ... with general John Kelly.... [However], just because Mr. Trump has cried wolf again and again doesn鈥檛 mean he will back off all the time.鈥�
The News / Mexico City
Were Mexico comments by White House chief of staff 鈥榝ake news鈥�?
鈥淭he fact that the White House has deployed a permanent terror campaign against Mexico is not a secret...,鈥� writes Ricardo Castillo. 鈥淭he latest onslaught came from a news article in The New York Times ... Sept. 14 quoting White House Chief of Staff General John. K. Kelly comparing Mexico to Venezuela as a failed state.... [I]n Mexico it was a splash still making waves.... [In a meeting with Democrats about unauthorized immigrants who were brought to the United States as children,] Mexico, Kelly allegedly said 鈥榠s on the verge of collapse鈥�.... But over the weekend ... the Mexican Embassy in Washington ... received assurances from the White House that Kelly never said such a thing.... [K]nowing how serious [The New York Times] is, perhaps the best course to follow is the middle-of-the-road 鈥� half truth, half fake news.鈥�
The Jakarta Post / Jakarta, Indonesia
Follow Australia and Indonesia to tackle modern slavery
鈥淎s business leaders gather in New York [the week of Sept. 18] to discuss tackling the scourge of modern slavery, they could do well to follow the example set by the Indo-Pacific, led by Australia and Indonesia,鈥� write Andrew Forrest and Eddy Sariaatmadja. 鈥淥ur two nations ... [led] the Bali Process Government and Business Forum ... [culminating] in ... companies from across the 45 member countries [adopting] ... law ... aimed at preventing and eradicating modern slavery in global supply chains.... The scale of this issue demands a regional solution.... [I]t is the responsibility of business leaders to [keep] their supply-chains ... free.... [T]he responsibility also rests on [the public] to provide the critical eye....鈥�
The Nassau Guardian / Nassau, Bahamas
Sanitized Caribbean cruises: At what cost?
鈥淚n an age when most in the business of tourism are seeking to increase their income by selling authenticity to millennials and baby boomers, it is perhaps puzzling that another rapidly growing industry segment now wants to deliver just the opposite...,鈥� writes David Jessop. 鈥淭he concept involves large cruise lines ... buying or leasing small islands ... and developing facilities on them which they control.... [I]f the companies ... [create] their own sanitized pastiche..., governments and the rest of the industry need to think ... about the implications. This is particularly the case following ... Hurricane Irma..., and the need for populated, authentic islands ... to earn as much revenue from tourism as rapidly as possible to support recovery.鈥�