MARY GRACE COSTA WRITES– Is killing journalists an act of war? Associated Press president Gary Pruitt believes it is. Last week at the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents Club, Pruitt suggested changes to international laws that would make killing journalists or taking them hostage a war crime, punishable under the 1948…
Category: Philippines
SINGAPORE: Fifty Shades of Trending
ASIA MEDIA STAFF WRITES –The small island city-state of Singapore celebrates its 50th birthday as a nation this August 9th. As we covered in a previous article, there are many commemorative events being arranged for the momentous occasion. It seems Singaporeans are getting into the celebratory mood in their own…
PHILIPPINES: Isn’t It All the Same Love?
MARY GRACE COSTA WRITES – A defaced billboard featuring a same-sex couple in the Philippines has the LGBTQ community in an uproar. Meanwhile, online supporters rush to save the ad with a hashtag and a bit of creativity. Filipino retail giant Bench released a new ad campaign entitled “Love All…
PHILIPPINES: No-Show Aquino
MARY GRACE COSTA WRITES – Filipino citizens turned to social media to voice their frustration with President Benigno Aquino III, who was a no-show at Villamor Airbase when the bodies of fallen members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Special Action Force (SAF) arrived on Thursday, January 29. Aquino…
PHILIPPINES: Pope Francis, Freedom Fighter
MARY GRACE COSTA WRITES – The Sony Pictures hacking scandal and the Charlie Hebdo attacks in France have fueled a global dialogue on free speech. The Holy Father, Pope Francis, addressed the subject during an impromptu press conference on a Sri Lankan aircraft en route to Manila on January 15.…
THAILAND: Generals Should Defend But Not Rule Their Countries
“The United States is an Asian-Pacific nation, and we take our enduring interests there very seriously. We know that America’s security and prosperity are closely and increasingly linked to the Asia-Pacific.” So spoke John Kerry, that peripatetic American diplomat. And so finally, if but for one excellent speech, the secretary…
THE PHILIPPINES: Another Filipino Media Professional Murdered
TREVOR ISBELL WRITES – Filipino media violence has steadily risen ever since November of 2009, when leaders of a political clan and their “private army” massacred 58 people, 32 of which were journalists, in Maguindanao province. Now the problem continues, as media professionals around the country are constantly putting their lives…
PHILIPPINES: ‘Third Most Dangerous for Journalists’
TREVOR ISBELL WRITES – With the deaths of Filipino journalists on the rise, the country’s free press system is in jeopardy. Responding to the killings of 14 journalists last year, President Aquino claims the solution lies in strict law enforcement, gun control and an efficient judicial system. Sadly, none of…
NEW ZEALAND: Work Issues Should Not be Reported to Unions?
E.J. DE LARA WRITES – Unions and the media are not the place to report work related issues. At least that’s the message the Philippines ambassador to New Zealand recently delivered. The New Zealand Scoop reported that during a meeting with Filipino migrants, the Ambassador of the Philippines, Virginia Benavidez, made a controversial statement…
POVERTY PROJECT: Measuring Inequality, How Asia Stacks Up
AUSTIN SZABO WRITES: When you want to know the economics of a country, you usually look at its gross domestic product — the amount of wealth it produced over the course of a year. But GDP tells only part of the story; it leaves out how the wealth is distributed.…
PHILIPPINES: Governmental Corruption Strikes Again, But Hope Remains
TREVOR ISBELL WRITES – The Philippine government suffers from further acts of corruption as an incognito rice smuggler, David Tan, has finally been identified as successful businessman Davidson Bangayan. However obvious his involvement with the rice smuggling has been, Bangayan has yet to be arrested on any smuggling charges. Rather,…
PHILIPPINES: Poverty Contributes to Child Pornography
TREVOR ISBELL WRITES – The sexual abuse of young Filipino children has long been an income source for some of the country’s poorest inhabitants. The country’s National Crime Agency (NCA) stated that “Extreme poverty, the increasing availability of high-speed Internet and the existence of a vast and comparatively wealthy overseas…
PHILIPPINES: Pacquiao’s Career Continues to Face Adversity
TREVOR ISBELL WRITES – With a dominating, unanimous decision victory over Brandon Rios, Manny Pacquiao gives life back to the Philippine Islands after enduring the devastating Typhoon Haiyan. Pacquiao was able to land 223 of his 468 thrown punches, while Brandon Rios was only able to land 113 of his 263.…
THE TERRIBLE TYPHOON: The U.S. Steps into a Storm
Hong Kong – I happened to be in this glorious international city (special administrative region of China) when the terrible typhoon hit the Philippines right in the gut. It was then that one appreciates how the reports of the eclipse of the U.S. role in Asia have been greatly exaggerated.…
PHILIPPINES: AQUINO NEEDS TO BE MORE PRESIDENTIAL
TREVOR ISBELL WRITES – Talk of a possible impeachment of President Benigno S. Aquino is making the rounds among the Philippines citizenry. It stems from allegations that Aquino mishandled funds from a controversial government works project known as the Disbursement Acceleration Program, or DAP. Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago set tongues wagging…
HONG KONG: Hong Kong Journalists Association Awaits Apology
LAUREN CHEN WRITES – After being told it was not only rude, but a security threat to shout questions at a recent economic summit, Hong Kong journalists in Bali, Indonesia refused to keep quiet and had their credentials yanked. According to ABC News, the reporters from Now TV, Radio Television Hong Kong and Commercial…