CHINA: Piling-on, Mainland Style
Ai Weiwei, probably China’s most famous anti-regime artist, has been facing to blast after blast from the establishment. The list of the most recent round of his critics almost reads like a Who’s-Who in the Mainland Media. They include Hu Xijin, editor of the state-run Global Times; Wang Wen, a…
Full Article CHINA: Piling-on, Mainland StyleINDONESIA: For Love or For Politics?
Politics can make strange bedfellows, as the famous saying goes. Witness the brewing brouhaha in Indonesia, where a high-profile marital union is drawing almost as much attention as a presidential campaign. The upscale marriage is between the son of the country’s president (Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono) and the daughter of a…
Full Article INDONESIA: For Love or For Politics?JAPAN: Trying to Get Those Outsiders to Understand
Language can represent a daunting obstacle to traveling abroad. Kyodo News, Japan’s leading nonprofit news agency, aims to diminish this barrier through the introduction of Japan Portal. According to The Japan Times, the nation’s leading English-language publication, the trilingual website was created to both convey pertinent Japanese issues to foreigners…
Full Article JAPAN: Trying to Get Those Outsiders to UnderstandSRI LANKA: So Now …. Dear BBDO …. Get To Work!
Not that there was any doubt, but it looks as if the truly awful Sir Lankan civil war really is totally, completely, irretrievably over. How do we know? It seems as if the legendary advertising agency BBDO Worldwide, which is known for taking chances but rarely making mistakes, has opened…
Full Article SRI LANKA: So Now …. Dear BBDO …. Get To Work!PACIFIC PERSPECTIVES: The Death of a Great American Professor: A Story of Scholars and Journalists
Scholars and journalists don’t always get along (right, call this Dept. of Understatement). But their need for each other is endless and often deep, even when each side bull-headedly refuses to admit it. Let’s put the matter this way: Journalists are generally scavenger birds of the moment, tweeting their view…
Full Article PACIFIC PERSPECTIVES: The Death of a Great American Professor: A Story of Scholars and JournalistsTHAILAND: The Lesser Majesty of the Law
61-year-old Ampon Tangnoppakul, described by The Bangkok Post as having a “slow walk, bent back, white hair, and blurry eyes, ” has found fame in Thailand for all the wrong reasons.
Full Article THAILAND: The Lesser Majesty of the LawPHILIPPINES: Yet Another Journalist Gunned Down in Mindanao
Two gunmen shot Michael James Licuanan, a Fillipino reporter for Bombo Radyo Cagayan de Oro City, after he finished his evening radio program in Mindanao.
Full Article PHILIPPINES: Yet Another Journalist Gunned Down in MindanaoHONG KONG: ‘Professor of Porn’ Investigates Online World of Casual Sex
Katrien Jacobs, a media professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, has revealed that she has been working “undercover” as “Lizzy Kinsey- scholarly sex machine,” to investigate the inside world of the Adult Friend Finder community.
Full Article HONG KONG: ‘Professor of Porn’ Investigates Online World of Casual Sex
SINGAPORE: ‘PEOPLE’S CHOICE’ AWARD GOES TO BOOK ON LEE KUAN YEW
“Soft authoritarian” or not, Lee Kuan Yew, now 88, remains a figure of great interest in Asia. “Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew,” a 2010 book by Tom Plate, founder of Asia Media, was recently honored at a major Asian book festival as the English-language book of the year.
Full Article SINGAPORE: ‘PEOPLE’S CHOICE’ AWARD GOES TO BOOK ON LEE KUAN YEWFROM DUBAI’S GULF NEWS: Getting a Line on the Man In Line for Saudi Arabia
The Persian Gulf is abuzz over what giant Saudi Arabia will be like under the rule of the new heir Crown Prince Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, according to the Gulf News, a daily English language newspaper published from Dubai. The future of Saudi Arabia seems as enigmatic as the man who will lead it.
Full Article FROM DUBAI’S GULF NEWS: Getting a Line on the Man In Line for Saudi ArabiaJAPAN: Okinawan Newspaper Puts It All on the Record
The relocation of the U.S. Futenma airbase in Okinawa continues to be a pressing issue in Japan’s political discourse. The government has been criticized for its sluggish pace and lack of definitive decisions…
Full Article JAPAN: Okinawan Newspaper Puts It All on the RecordSOUTH KOREA: Launch of 5 TV Channels to Shake Up Nation’s Media
On December 1st, five television channels will be launched simultaneously, beggining what some hail a new chapter in Korea’s media landscape. Four are general broadcasting networks; JoongAng Ilbo’s JTBC, Dong-A Ilbo’s Channel A, Chosun Ilbo’s TV Chosun and Maeil Business’ MBN. And the fifth is an all-news channel, Yonhap News Agency’s news Y.
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: Launch of 5 TV Channels to Shake Up Nation’s MediaPAKISTAN: Well, It’s Worth a Try, Anyway!
A surprising article in The News, a top English-language newspaper in Pakistan, showed the country’s upscale newspaper enmeshed in a very good cause: anti-corruption.
Full Article PAKISTAN: Well, It’s Worth a Try, Anyway!INDIA: Legendary Bollywood Filmmaker Dev Anand Expires
Last Sunday was a sad day for India as Bollywood Superstar Dev Anand passed away at the age of 88 from a heart attack. The film star and producer took his last breaths on December 3rd while in London for a medical exam.
Full Article INDIA: Legendary Bollywood Filmmaker Dev Anand ExpiresPACIFIC PERSPECTIVES: How to Better Understand Asia and the World
A book bag of contemporary gifts that show real smarts December 4, 2011 LOS ANGELES – It has finally hit Washington that Asia will be the major-league playing field for the foreseeable geopolitical future. But why should we complain when Uncle-Sam-comes-lately? Instead, we vow stay ahead of the great global…
Full Article PACIFIC PERSPECTIVES: How to Better Understand Asia and the WorldNORTH KOREA: College Students Get Third Degree on Hurry-up Construction Sites
Pictures taken in North Korea by an American tourist purport to show that the country is mobilizing college students to help finish massive construction projects in time for the nation’s centennial birthday celebration of its late founder Kim Il-Sung, according to Yonhap News Agency, the leading news agency of South Korea.
Full Article NORTH KOREA: College Students Get Third Degree on Hurry-up Construction Sites