From the independent news and opinion site The Irrawaddy, ALEX LAZAR WRITES: Aung San Suu Kyi is treating the press in Myanmar poorly, and that may impede her efforts to democratize the conflict-wrought country. But is Suu Kyi’s apparent authoritarian streak mere caution? Expanding civil liberties too forcefully could bait…
Full Article MYANMAR: THE MEDIA MYSTERY OF AUNG SAN SUU KYI
COURTESY OF THE NEW YORK TIMES…WRITES SOMINI SENGUPTAAUG: The United Nations HAS named Alison Smale, a veteran correspondent and editor at The New York Times, as its most senior official in charge of shaping the 193-member organization’s global public image. As the next under secretary general for global communications, Ms.…
Full Article UNITED NATIONS: VETERAN WOMAN JOURNALIST GIVEN TOP GLOBAL INFORMATION POSTING
SAVANNAH NUNEZ WRITES — Anime geeks, video game fanatics, cosplay creators and the like flocked to the Los Angeles Convention Center once again to celebrate the 26th Anime Expo this past July. The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation produces the annual event which features panel discussions, live concerts…
Full Article LOS ANGELES: ANIME EXPO CELEBRATES ITS 26TH YEAR OF BRINGING JAPANESE CULTURE TO THE US
COLUMNIST TOM PLATE WRITES — Recall Shakespeare’s Falstaff – that boastful cowardly knight – and imagine him cavorting at golf resorts on the dime of a dodgy career driven by money borrowed from wherever. Yes, imagine President Donald J Trump as a Falstaff rather than as, say, an unhinged King…
Full Article ONE COLUMNIST’S VIEW: THE POWER AND THE DANGER OF DONALD’S TWEETS
FORMER WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL DAVID STOCKMAN WRITES – Most of the Donald’s tweets amount to street brawling with his political enemies, but occasionally one of them slices through Imperial Washington’s sanctimonious cant. Indeed, Monday evening’s 140 characters of solid cut right to the bone: The Amazon Washington Post fabricated the…
Full Article DAVID STOCKMAN ON DONALD’S TWEET TECHNIQUE: GOOD FOR NOTHING … OH REALLY?
Pictured above – in triplicate no less!- is well-known Prof. Hans Schattle of the Political Science Dept. of Yonsei University, one of South Korea’s best and always one of Asia’s top-rated universities. The picture was snapped during a recent Wednesday night class in the Life Science Building on the gorgeous…
Full Article LMU/LA: SKILLFULLY SKYPING SEOUL
ALEXIS CRUZ WRITES – October in a U.S. election year often unveils some scandal. This year is no different, except the scandals have gotten weirder and this time Qatar is in on the mischief. According to emails leaked by Wikileaks, in 2012 Qatari representatives sought a 5-minute meeting with Bill…
Full Article QATAR: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Money
KATIE TRINH WRITES – Norwegian newspaper, Aftenposten, posts Nick Ut’s photo of “Napalm Girl” on their Facebook page. However, within hours, Facebook removes the photo because the image violates the company’s standards on nudity. Pulitzer Prize recipient, Nick Ut, photographed the Vietnam war with hopes of stopping the war…
Full Article VIETNAM – Facebook Censors the “Napalm Girl”
MARY GRACE COSTA WRITES – The Philippines and the United States have enjoyed a decades-long marriage, but there’s trouble brewing in paradise. Many people didn’t take Philippine President Rodrigo “Rody” Roa Duterte seriously when he said he was considering cutting ties with America and cozying up to Russia and China.…
Full Article PHILIPPINES: DEAR AMERICA, IT’S OVER, SINCERELY DUTERTE
SABRINA VERDUZCO WRITES – In the smartphone showdown between Samsung and Apple, iPhones have the global upper hand, but in South Korea, Samsung has been reigning supreme. So it is no surprise that the consumer safety recall of exploding Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones has sparked a panic. Videos of…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: FOR ONCE, NORTH KOREA ISN’T TO BLAME FOR AN EXPLOSION
DYLAN JOSEPH WRITES – American-style football has come to China. On October 1, more than 11,000 Chinese fans turned out to watch the Qingdao Clipper take on (and defeat) the Guangzhou Power. It was the first big match for the China Arena Football League (CAFL), and league owner Marty Judge…
Full Article CHINA: AMERICAN FOOTBALL SCORES BIG-TIME IN BIG DEBUT
JESSICA LEGASPI WRITES–On October 3rd, The Washington Post released an exposé entitled “In Your Phone, in their Air,” on Chinese villagers suffocating on the pollution produced by neighboring graphite plants, resulting in the industry falling under strict scrutiny. The exposé was written by Washington Post writer, Peter Whoriskey, and was…
Full Article CHINA: CHOKING ON THE DUST OF ECO-FRIENDLY INDUSTRY
RYAN DAO WRITES — After a long 12-year hiatus, the legendary king of monsters makes his triumphant return of the silver screen with “Shin Godzilla” (“Shin Gojira,” or internationally known as “Godzilla Resurgence”), a modern-take on a classic Japanese icon. “Shin Godzilla” is the 29th installment in the Godzilla franchise…
Full Article JAPAN: GODZILLA’S TRIUMPHANT RETURN
STELLA CHENG WRITES – When news broke that Taiwan had not been invited to a United Nations meeting on civil aviation last month, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen expressed strong dissatisfaction and regret. Since Tsai was inaugurated in May, relations with mainland China have grown more ambiguous, affecting the smaller country…
Full Article CHINA: MISS PRESIDENT, IT IS TIME TO GIVE THE WORLD AN ANSWER
YANISA LELAPINYOKUL WRITES – Shawatida “First” Kuptawatin – internet star, noodle restaurant owner, and a transgender woman – is taking a stand against Thailand’s strict social class system. In a September 6 Facebook live video (2 million views and counting), First talks about dealing with rude customers at the restaurant…
Full Article THAILAND: FIRST TO DISCUSS THE TABOO?