“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…
Full Article THAILAND: Generals Should Defend But Not Rule Their CountriesTREVOR 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…
Full Article THE PHILIPPINES: Another Filipino Media Professional MurderedTREVOR 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…
Full Article PHILIPPINES: ‘Third Most Dangerous for Journalists’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…
Full Article NEW ZEALAND: Work Issues Should Not be Reported to Unions?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.…
Full Article POVERTY PROJECT: Measuring Inequality, How Asia Stacks UpTREVOR 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,…
Full Article PHILIPPINES: Governmental Corruption Strikes Again, But Hope RemainsTREVOR 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…
Full Article PHILIPPINES: Poverty Contributes to Child PornographyTREVOR 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.…
Full Article PHILIPPINES: Pacquiao’s Career Continues to Face AdversityHong 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.…
Full Article THE TERRIBLE TYPHOON: The U.S. Steps into a StormTREVOR 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…
Full Article PHILIPPINES: AQUINO NEEDS TO BE MORE PRESIDENTIALLAUREN 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…
Full Article HONG KONG: Hong Kong Journalists Association Awaits ApologyTREVOR ISBELL WRITES – After suffering years of government corruption, public anger in the Philippines has reached a boil and President Benigno Aquino III is finally being forced into action. Facing a massive and well-organized protest over a public works funding scandal, Aquino told the nation he’d do better. Janet…
Full Article PHILIPPINES: Is Aquino’s Replacement of the PDAF Progress or Delusion?LAUREN CHEN WRITES – Gone are the days of handing out flyers or haranguing your friends on the phone to support a worthy cause. Now all it takes to turn out a mega-march is a juicy scandal and populist call to arms on Facebook and Twitter. Filipinos gathered August 26…
Full Article PHILIPPINES: Social Media Slaps Sticky Fingers in ‘Pork Barrel Scam’The artist’s take on his work: “A sense of fusion may emerge from a multiracial society even as each individual culture manifests its own uniqueness. Cultures may clash, but the differences also draw together in a particular way to present perspectives peculiar to the mix, as can be enjoyed in London, New York and Singapore. The spectator who steps back to look at the differences may encounter the experience of an elaborate celebration.” […]
Full Article ART SPOTLIGHT: Kris Soguilon Emphasizes Our Similarities with Pomp, Circumstance and a Dash of SexLAUREN CHEN WRITES – Gone is the fear of being imprisoned for liking an offensive photo on Facebook. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is revising the currently suspended 2012 Cybercrime Law and in the process has dropped the provision penalizing online libel. According to Geronimo Sy, head of the DOJ…
Full Article PHILIPPINES: Bright Future with Broadened Media FreedomBRIAN CANAVE WRITES – A tide of anger is rising between the Philippines and Taiwan after the Filipino Coast Guard shot and killed a Taiwanese fisherman in the strait of the South China Sea separating the two nations. Since the shooting in the middle of May, media in the Philippines,…
Full Article TAIWAN: Death of Fisherman Sparks Tension with Philippines