SINGAPORE: THE HIGHER YOU GO, THE BETTER IT GETS?
ALEXANDER KYDONIEFS WRITES – On October 27 of this year Singapore announced that it will usher in its most ambitious building project yet — its first ever ‘super-tall’ skyscraper, overtaking Guoco Tower—that will reach 300 meters (984 feet) or higher. This 63-story project represents a partnership of e-commerce giant Alibaba,…
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JAPAN: CAN JAPANESE YOUTH TRANSFORM GENDER INEQUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE?
AGNES CHONG WRITES – It started over two years ago when the hashtag “don’t be silent” was created by political activist Keio Nojo, as she has made big strides in the fight against gender inequality in Japan. The hashtag was created in response to remarks from Tokyo Olympics chief, Yoshiro…
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IRAN: POLITICIANS, CELEBRITIES AND NEWS OUTLETS SPREAD MISINFORMATION ABOUT JUSTICE SYSTEM’S RESPONSE TO PROTESTORS
HEATHER CREAMER WRITES – News about Iran sentencing 15,000 protestors to death predictably spread like wildfire across various publications and social media outlets. Posts from celebrities, politicians, publications, and other users condemning the action have been seen by millions. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted about it, before deleting it, furthering…
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LMU, LOS ANGELES: FORMER UNSG BAN KI-MOON ZOOMS A CLASS FOR A CHAT
BY THE AMI STAFF – The Asian and Asian-American Studies professor’s ‘Future of the United Nations’ course is not the usual kind of university class. There is no extended lecture, and the enrolled students do much of the talking. That’s because the design for this experimental course empowers them as…
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SRI LANKA: A HUNGER FOR SOLUTIONS TO THE FOOD CRISIS
SAMANTHA LUNDIN WRITES – Sri Lanka declared bankruptcy in July and its people are starving, as the nation state continues to suffer under its worst economic crisis since gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1948. Sri Lanka defaulted more than $51 billion dollars a few months after the Russian…
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SOUTH KOREAN BASEBALL WRAPUP: A HOME RUN FOR THE SSG LANDERS
TRISTIN CLINT WRITES – On November 8 the SSG Landers, of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO), put the final stamp on its incredible season, winning the Korean Series by defeating the Kiwoom Heroes in six games. This marked the fifth championship in franchise history for the Landers, and the first…
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BEVERLY HILLS: GETTING TO THE HEART OF THE HOMELESS VETERANS LOGJAM
ANDREA PLATE WRITES- Remember when President Obama vowed to end homelessness by 2011? Then 2014? The rest, as they say, is history – which tends to repeat itself – or, in the case of veteran homelessness, simply goes on. And on. Last week, the US Vets Initiative — the largest…
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BOOK REVIEW: PAPER BOATS (2017) BY DEE LESTARI — A NOVEL FOR THE TETHERED YOUNG DREAMERS
GABY RUSLI WRITES — Sometimes in our younger, more vulnerable years, we find ourselves roaming the world, trying to find out who we are and what we are meant to do. Set between the Netherlands and Indonesia, Dewi Lestari’s Paper Boats (2017) serves to remind younger Indonesian generations to march to the beat…
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BOOK REVIEW: SOLO DANCE (2022) BY LI KOTOMI – A TANGO WITH DEATH AND QUEER IDENTITY
**Trigger Warning: This article recounts experiences of homophobia, suicide, physical abuse, and rape. BOOK REVIEW EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ELLA KELLEHER WRITES – “Love conquers all” – we are often taught this maxim as children. We are persuaded to believe the very essence of love can solve all life’s problems. Yet, for those…
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CHINA AND THE CIA: INCISIVE NEW BOOK MAKES YOU WONDER
CLINICAL PROFESSOR TOM PLATE WRITES — Maybe the lady intel officer who sought to recruit me for a CIA operation involving PRC espionage on the U.S. West Coast didn’t look the part – though, then again, perhaps she did. Modest in dress, controlled in comportment, she sat with me in…
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SPACEY CHINA: LEAVING THE U.S. ORBITING BEHIND?
ABDULLAH ALHAJERI WRITES – “We too will make satellites.” These are the words of the ever-ambitious Mao Zedong, late leader of the Republic of China — words that have since reigned true. Zedong had dreams of making China the powerhouse of not only Asia but the world. How positively spacey…
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RUSSO-UKRAINE: OH HOW THIS BLOODY WAR GOES ON …
RYAN BYRNE WRITES – With the Russian invasion of Ukraine dragging into its eighth month, Russian military forces are growing more and more desperate to bring a resilient Ukraine to its knees. This has forced Moscow to look beyond its borders for new weapons to bolster its beleaguered military. As…
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NEW ZEALAND: WHERE WOMEN’S RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS
SAMANTHA LUNDIN WRITES – Who runs the country? Women! In the last week of October, when Soraya Peke-Mason became the 60th female representative sworn in among the 59 male representatives, Parliament gained a female majority. New Zealand has a history of pioneering women in politics. In 1893, New Zealand women…
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PHILIPPINES: ANOTHER MEDIA VOICE IS SNUFFED OUT
ALEXANDER KYDONIEFS WRITES – Philippine police officials are scrambling to find the killers of Percival Mabasa, late host of the “Lapid Fire” program on the Philippine DWBL 1242 radio station. On October 4th, at 8:30pm, motor-cycle-riding gunmen killed longstanding Filipino journalist and radio personality Percival Mabasa, known to audiences as…
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U.S. RELATIONS: HIGHLY SENSITIVE INTELLIGENCE ON CHINA AND IRAN AMONG MAR-A-LARGO DOCUMENTS WHILE COUNTRIES FACE THEIR OWN ISSUES AT HOME
HEATHER CREAMER WRITES – Documents with highly sensitive intelligence on Iran’s missile program and China were part of materials recovered by the FBI during an August search of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s home in Florida, according to recent reporting from The Washington Post. Citing at least two sources familiar…
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THE LOST KINGDOM OF THAILAND – WITH ITS LOST GENERATION
PAVIN CHACHAVALPONGPUN WRITES – Thailand has become a “forgotten kingdom.” Despite a myriad of domestic troubles, ranging from the growing absolutist monarchic power, the remaining authoritarian rule, the highly politicized judiciaries, to the heightened legal harassments against pro-democracy youths, Thailand is virtually free from international pressure and sanctions. Even its…
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