AUSTIN SZABO WRITES: You can’t trust your kids once the sun goes down. At least that’s what Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) officials say. The News reports that the Pakistani government has demanded wireless companies stop selling late-night cellphone packages to teenagers, claiming such deals will ultimately destroy the country’s culture. Their logic? Discount…
Tag: Government
VIETNAM: Beautiful Bodies, Uterus Required
YVONNE EPPS WRITES – The next Vietnam beauty may be just around the corner, but the government will only except the most feminine of them all, literally. Based off America’s Next Top Model, the fourth season of Vietnam’s Next Top Model has come under fire after advancing transgendered contestants in…
NORTH KOREA: It’s A Very Hard Sell
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – It seems that some foreigners are growing tired of the international community’s casting of North Korea as the outcast on the block. Hoping to change its undesirable reputation, a group called the Korean Friendship Association (KFA) has been running a YouTube channel focused on portraying the…
NEW ZEALAND: Threat to Net Privacy Appears
E.J. DE LARA WRITES – Imagine any phone conversation, text message or other form of communication people use daily. Now imagine a law that lets Big Brother monitor it all. Throughout June, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key pushed for a new bill that would essential do that — allowing…
TAIWAN: Death of Fisherman Sparks Tension with Philippines
BRIAN 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,…
NORTH KOREA: One Click from the Internet
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES -Simple lack of Internet access is one of the biggest obstacles to solving some of North Korea’s myriad woes. The hermit state has a computer network of its own, but citizens can only access those sites the government has OK’d. Further, the nation’s computers are designed to…
MYANMAR: Blogging For Bloodshed
GABRIELLA CASTRO WRITES – The use of media propaganda to rally support is not a new phenomenon. However, using violent content to incite military backing is somewhat of a contemporary trend. Myanmar is a country that is still ripe with social conflict and unrest within its borders. Sites are…
LAOS: Not Even Faint Praise for the Dams
Resources and Environment has also entered a partnership with the International Finance Corporation to create more sustainable ways to promotes socio-economic development. With this new partnership, the Vientiane Times has reported that Laos has the potential to build more than 100 dams on the Mekong River. Vientiane Times also interviewed…
VIETNAM: Beijing Ultra-Nationalist Acts Like a Bow-Wow
Maritime disputes are heating up between China, Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam, all because of a sign. In February, an international outrage surged when a Beijing restaurant manager refused to apologize after removing a racist sign that excludes citizens of states in maritime disputes with China, and dogs. The sign…
VIETNAM: The Overseas Slander Musical
Who knew that Do-Re-Mi could spell Do-Re-Banned? Two Vietnamese singers in the US have been banned from performing in Vietnam, accused of opposing the mother country with slanderous lyrics. Thanh Tuyen and Tuan Vu, along with a handful of others, were charged with slander for their performances on the latest…
New Zealand: Government Tries to Blow Smoke from Tobacco Dangers
Known for its green and environmentally friendly efforts, the New Zealand government is at it again, trying to enact policies that are not only “good” for the environment, but also good for the people. First Target: Tobacco companies. Influenced by the Australian government’s recent introduction of “plain cigarette packaging,” the…
LAOS: When the Governments Says It Knows Nothing …
In the past two months, the disappearance of Sombath Somphone, a well-known activist and NGO leader, has garnered international media attention. The Laos government is being urged to do a more extensive search on the whereabouts of the missing activist. It’s a very good thing the world media is so…
VIETNAM: If You’re Gonna Blog, Blog Something Nice, Ok?
Sometimes in Vietnam it pays to keep your mouth (or blog) shut. Last month, a Vietnamese court sentenced three bloggers to between 4 and 12 years in prison for allegedly troubling citizens and trying to overthrow the Communist government. You’d think with debt scandals, a slowing economy and inflation expected…
China: Defending His Country
There are a few islands on the northeast side of Taiwan called the Diaoyu Islands, if you’re Chinese. But if you’re Japanese, you call it the Senkaku Islands. Both China and Japan claim the sovereignty of these islands, not only for national dignity but also the rich deposits of natural…