Author Archives: admin

Koreans Alarmed by Rising Crime in the Philippines

By admin | December 7, 2014

Written for The Diplomat The Korean embassy has issued a statement expressing alarm over the reported spike in crimes victimizing Korean tourists and businessmen residing in the Philippines. It cited the killing of a Korean businessman last July and the abduction and killing of a Korean college student in Manila last March as examples of […]

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10 Happy things activists always love to do

By admin | December 2, 2014

Written for Bulatlat 1. Journeying to the countryside to live with peasant and IP communities. Nature tripping, mountaineering, and political field work plus more. Tourism is fun but an activist explores the rural not just to celebrate and document geography but to study the condition of the masses. He is not there to feitishize the […]

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Laos’ Internet Law Undermines Free Speech

By admin | November 25, 2014

Written for The Diplomat The government of Laos has signed an Internet law that claims to support the growth of the Internet but actually contains numerous contradictory provisions that undermine free speech and other citizen rights. When this was reported almost two months ago, the concern of many was the broad and vague cybercrimes enumerated […]

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Why Malaysia Reduced Its Fuel Subsidy

By admin | November 8, 2014

Written for The Diplomat Malaysia’s decision to slash fuel subsidies has led to an increase in the price of petrol products, which in turn angered many consumers but was applauded by economists and credit rating agencies. Prime Minister Najib Razak defended the government action by citing the need to balance the budget. He said the […]

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It’s the 21st century and you are still afraid of the Left?

By admin | November 5, 2014

Written for Bulatlat According to some intellectuals and their disciples, it is foolish to join the Left or become a Leftist in the 21st century. They sarcastically remind activists that the Berlin Wall already fell in 1989 and it was followed by the disintegration of Soviet Russia in 1991. In response, we should assert that […]

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What We Can Learn from the Music Videos of Lupang Hinirang

By admin | October 28, 2014

Published by Manila Today We grew up singing the Philippine national anthem; in fact we can only recite the beautiful prose of Lupang Hinirang if we quietly sing it. Today, when the use of LCD projectors is already common, we sing and watch the national anthem in schools, movie theaters, public halls, and government buildings. […]

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Are you dating an activist? Take the quiz

By admin | October 26, 2014

Written for Bulatlat He had you at “power to the people!” and then he said he wanted to “occupy” your heart, and that you are his 99 percent. Yet you find his world quite exotic, his vocabulary sometimes confusing, although he seems sincere given his passionate determination to fight for his beliefs. Indeed, it is […]

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Myanmar Insists Reforms Are Working

By admin | October 19, 2014

Written for The Diplomat Myanmar is changing and changing in the right direction. These were the exact words used by Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin when he spoke at the United Nations General Assembly of world leaders in New York on September 29, 2014. He declared that “positive changes” and “winds of change” have […]

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Generation X: The Bridge Generation

By admin | October 1, 2014

Written for Manila Today Two generations have dominated and are still dominating the early years of the 21st century. To borrow a few terms from American pop sociology, these are the baby boomers (our parents) and the millennials (our children). We stand in between these two generations which are separated by half a century. We […]

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Jokowi’s First Week as Indonesia’s President-Elect

By admin | September 26, 2014

Written for The Diplomat Aside from reaching out to his political opponents, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo spent his first week as Indonesia’s president-elect thanking volunteers and asking netizens to choose the members of his Cabinet. Jokowi was proclaimed winner on July 22 by the Electoral Commission after he received 71 million votes, or 53 percent of […]

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