Author Archives: admin

Thailand Opposition Behaving Badly

By admin | September 26, 2013

Written for The Diplomat It seems Thailand’s opposition politicians are getting desperate. Last month, 57 members of parliament belonging to the opposition Democrat Party were evicted from the session hall after they repeatedly protested the ruling of the presiding officer. When parliamentary police officers were called in to escort the MPs out, they forcibly resisted, […]

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Public space and resistance

By admin | September 18, 2013

Written for Bulatlat When Third Word dictators are ousted, many people celebrate the emergence of a democratic space in society. After years of repression, there is suddenly a micro explosion of multiple freedoms in the streets, in schools, in workplaces, and in the press. Interestingly, it proves that public space is not inherently democratic. It […]

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More Religion, Less Science for Indonesian Students

By admin | September 15, 2013

Written for The Diplomat Indonesia has recently pilot tested a new curriculum in over 6,000 schools which instantly drew controversy after it removed science, English, social sciences, and information technology (IT) as separate subjects in favor of Bahasa Indonesia, nationalism and religious studies. The reduction of subject load is meant to give students more time […]

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Politics of Helping

By admin | September 10, 2013

Written for Bulatlat Aside from being sexual and social animals, we are also ‘helping’ beings. Giving aid to a neighbor in need is considered an ethical duty. Volunteering in charity houses, community shelters, and churches once in a while is equated with doing good. We honor individuals and groups whose mission is to extend assistance […]

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False Transparency

By admin | September 3, 2013

Written for Bulatlat Beware of politicians who like to insert the keywords ‘transparency’ and ‘good governance’ in their speeches. They are the same people who also use deceptive slogans such as ‘sustainable economy’ and ‘inclusive growth’ to justify the imposition of anti-poor economic policies. These are agreeable political concepts – who would openly oppose them? […]

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Decree 72: Vietnam’s Confusing Internet Law

By admin | August 31, 2013

written for The Diplomat Vietnam is often accused of being an enemy of media freedom because of its notorious record of jailing dissident bloggers and blocking social networks. Its new Internet decree, which purportedly contains several provisions that ban the sharing of online news stories, could be added to the list of its crimes against […]

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Rallies and timezones

By admin | August 25, 2013

Written for Bulatlat Because of varying time zones, it is almost impossible to organize synchronized global protests. Realtime uprisings in the global village are actually done in a continuum. Let us assume for example that today is the Global Day of Action Against Evil. It is 12 noon in Manila and 1pm in Tokyo but […]

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LGBT Politics in Southeast Asia

By admin | August 23, 2013

Written for The Diplomat Is Southeast Asia becoming more tolerant towards its LGBT community? Consider these recent developments in the region: A Singaporean politician admitted on Facebook that he is gay. A Malaysian transgendered person was appointed political secretary in Penang State. Two government ministries in Vietnam and some legislators in Thailand have publicly endorsed […]

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Are Myanmar and the Philippines Guilty of Genocide?

By admin | August 20, 2013

Written for The Diplomat It is common for unpopular governments to be accused by their enemies of committing serious human rights violations such as murder and kidnapping, but it is not often that genocide is included in the charge sheet. Even notorious dictators who are assumed to be guilty of committing the most heinous crimes […]

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Beyond Internet Activism

By admin | August 17, 2013

My first column for Bulatlat The opposite of internet activism is not street activism but no-activism. Online petitions and political hashtags are indispensable in the campaign for change while non-action is a convenient option that only serves the interest of status quo. Internet activism is sometimes equated with impotence but at least it exists. There […]

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