Tag Archives: internet

Internet freedom under threat

By admin | March 22, 2011

Written for The Diplomat Internet freedom is under attack in many countries in Southeast Asia. In Thailand, for example, a webmaster is facing prosecution for comments written by other people in an online forum. In Cambodia, anti-government websites have been inaccessible on numerous occasions since January. In Malaysia, meanwhile, a proposed new law would empower […]

Posted in east asia | Tagged | 1 Comment

Indonesia’s threat to BlackBerry

By admin | February 10, 2011

Last month, Indonesian Communication and Information Minister Tifatul Sembiring announced on Twitter his disappointment over the failure of Research In Motion (RIM), the company that owns BlackBerry, to filter pornographic content in Indonesia. He warned that Indonesia would block BlackBerry’s browser if RIM wouldn’t censor access to porn within two weeks. It’s unfortunate that Tifatul’s […]

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Edukasyon, Wika, Teknolohiya

By admin | August 15, 2010

Talumpati sa Luzon-wide assembly of UP students. Agosto, 14, UP SOLAIR. Magandang umaga. Noong Huwebes, Agosto 12, ay Pandaigdigang Araw ng mga Kabataan, kaya pagbati sa inyong lahat. Ngayong 2010 ay pandaigdigang taon ng mga kabataan. Mabuhay ang lahat ng naghahangad ng tunay na pagbabago. May tatlong magkakaugnay na paksa ang nais kong talakayin ngayong […]

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Sex and the Censors in Asia

By admin | July 15, 2010

Part 1: Politics and immorality in Southeast Asia written for The Diplomat South-east Asian governments are increasingly censoring ‘immoral’ web content. Do they have political motivations as well? Last February, the Indonesian government dropped plans to filter ‘bad’ content through its Multimedia Content Screening team after the plan met with strong public opposition. Yet, undeterred, […]

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Seeing and politics

By admin | June 30, 2010

Part 1: postblogism To see is no longer to believe. There was a time when people had to look up into the sky to search for answers about the mysteries of life. We raise our eyes to the heavens looking for clues about our existence. Astronomers and astrologers gaze at the stars and planets to […]

Posted in media | Also tagged | 3 Comments

Swine Flu, Twitter and elections

By admin | April 7, 2010

Last year, the swine flu (AH1N1) pandemic created widespread panic around the world. In the Philippines, the swine flu scare prompted the government to install thermal scanners in airports and government buildings. Catholic church officials discouraged the holding of hands inside churches as a precautionary measure against the spread of the deadly virus, while many […]

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Reflections of an activist/blogger/legislator

By admin | February 16, 2010

*Text of my speech delivered at the Yahoo Philippines forum on social media. I prepared a speech because sometimes politicians talk too much, sometimes bloggers rant too much, and sometimes activists are carried away by their emotions. Since I’m an activist, blogger, and politician, I’m worried that I might speak for more than an hour…. […]

Posted in speeches | Also tagged | 4 Comments

Online and offline activism

By admin | January 12, 2010

In 1995 I joined a protest action to condemn the decision of the French government to conduct nuclear tests in the Pacific. I was only a high school student at that time. We relied on mainstream journalists to document and report the rally. In 2001 I was part of the historic Edsa Dos uprising which […]

Posted in youth | Also tagged , | 8 Comments

The story of Prita Mulyasari

By admin | January 6, 2010

Prita Mulyasari is a 32-year-old mother of two from Indonesia who was recently acquitted of defamation charges filed by the management of a private hospital. The defamation suit was a reaction to an e-mail complaint sent by Prita to her friends and relatives about the bad service she received at Omni International Hospital in Tangerang. […]

Posted in east asia | Also tagged | 1 Comment

Politics: Micro, Small, Medium, Large

By admin | October 28, 2009

We live in a micro nation. We are fond of micro objects, micro concepts, micro activities. National Artist Nick Joaquin once criticized our “heritage of smallness.” He was wrong. What we have is a heritage of micro-ness. In the past, the government encouraged the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Today, the government is […]

Posted in reds | Also tagged , | 7 Comments