Month: April 2013
DUBAI: In Praise of the Newspaper, in This Digital Age
TOM PLATE WROTE the following for a leading newspaper in United Arab Emirates — the Khaleej Times. It is one of the most influential daily newspapers of the Gulf States and Arabia. The following essay appeared in a special edition of that newspaper celebrating its 35th anniversary. “THIS IS AN…
TOM PLATE WROTE the following for the lead newspaper of Dubai, United Arab Emirates — the Khaleej Times. It is one of the most influential daily newspapers of the Gulf States and Arabia. The following essay appeared in a special edition of that newspaper celebrating its 35th anniversary. “THIS…
MURAKAMI MAKING BOOK
Haruki Murakami was born in Japan during the post–World War II baby boom. Although born in Kyoto, he spent his youth in Shukugawa (Nishinomiya), Ashiya and Kobe. His father was the son of a Buddhist priest, and his mother the daughter of an Osaka merchant.[8] Both taught Japanese literature. Since…
JAPAN: Marketing Magic of Murakami
JEREMIAH FAJARDO WRITES – Aided by a veil of secrecy, Haruki Murakami’s latest novel has infused new life into Japan’s declining publishing industry. Born in 1949, Murakami has been a key figure in the nation’s modern literary sphere, having won numerous awards in Japan as well as abroad. According to…
BANGLADESH: Full Court Press Is Next?
KIARA BRAMASCO WRITES – A top editor at Bangladesh’s Amar Desh newspaper has been arrested and at least one human rights group says he’s being tortured in police custody. The international Committee to Protect Journalists, meanwhile, has called on the government to stop its official harassment of the Dhaka daily.…
PAKISTAN: Social Media Becomes Cricket
JESSICA GADOMSKI WRITES – Candidates running in next month’s election are obviously vying for votes. But some candidates, like Imran Khan, are bringing the competition into the 21st century. Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) political party recognized early on that social media could influence the election. PTI began reaching out…
KUWAIT: A Turn for the Worst?
NICOLE SABA WRITES – A new media law has been drafted in Kuwait, severely restricting both freedom of the press and freedom of speech. This law will let the government regulate both traditional and social media, including, but not limited to: blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and any other online forums. Though…
PHILIPPINES: Web Tyranny in the Social Networking Capital of the World
LAUREN CHEN WRITES – The Philippines, nicknamed the “Social Networking Capital of the World,” must watch out. Not only for stealth advertising, but for violating the supposed-to-be suspended Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. Facebook dominates Filipino Internet as the country’s most visited website, even more popular than Google. Further, the…
PAKISTAN: Musharraf Admission Drones On
LIZA HERNANDEZ WRITES – During a recent CNN interview, former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf admitted that his government made a secret deal with the United States that allowed drone strikes to occur in Pakistan. In the interview, the former president stated that permission was given to execute drone strikes “…only…
MYANMAR: Friend or Foe?
ALEXANDRE GUIRAUD-COINTREAU WRITES – In Myanmar, laws are changing, media companies are moving back to the country, and daily private newspapers are being published. But there is still a long way to go before this country can achieve a truly Western style press. Publishers are faced with new issues every…
MALAYSIA: Time to Say Good-bye?
MARLENA NIP WRITES – The Malaysian elections are fast approaching and judging from current public opinion polls, it looks like Malaysian citizens are shoving the national party out the door. This could be a historical election if the opposition party is able to take the reigns on Malaysian politics. The…
CHINA: Heritage of Destruction
LEXIE TUCKER WRITES – Many Chinese Buddhists are up in arms over the planned destruction of buildings in a well-known ancient temple in the city of Xi’an. Last month, these Buddhists urged an investigation into the matter and various media sources reported that several buildings in Xingjiao Temple were to…
VIETNAM: Going to the Birds?
YVONNE EPPS WRITES – Vietnam is counting its chickens. In response to 11 deaths in China from a new strain of bird flu, Vietnam’s Ministry of Health is gearing up to fight the disease, even though there are no reported in-country infections yet. As reported by Vietnam News and Voice…
TAIWAN: China Sings its Way into Taiwanese Media
BRIAN CANAVE WRITES – Recently a Chinese singing competition, “I Am a Singer”, captivated social, television, and news media attention in Taiwan. “I Am a Singer” features seven Chinese, Taiwanese, and Hong Kong singers — former stars, whose stars had faded — who vie for another chance to make it…
JAPAN: THE LATE GREAT ARTIST TAWARA YUSAKU
Thanks to the brilliant recent book “UNIVERSE IS FLUX,” by John Teramoto with Stephen Addiss and David Rosand, our art spotlight goes to the late Tawara Yusaku, whose Tawara’s artistic vision was highly influenced by Buddhist concepts of cosmology and space. See the stunning sample above. As the book’s authors…