I’ve been reading a book about the assassination of Ninoy Aquino, written by former Time correspondent and long-time Philippines watcher Sandra Burton. Burton’s exceptional account in “The Impossible Dream” describes the emotional highs of Ninoy as well as his near-fatalist feelings about the potential for foul play upon landing back in the Philippines, where he’d […]
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Manila and Intramuros
The Philippines is looked over. The visitor to the Philippines from the US is confronted with a large archipelago full of people who are very much aware of your homeland, who you yourself remain distinctly unaware of. All Californians grew up with Filipinos at school and in the neighborhood, but somehow we still looked […]
Burma and Internet freedom: my story for Techpresident.com
Debate Over Role of the Internet in Developing Burma – TechPresident.com “You’re going to an Internet freedom forum in Burma?” a friend of mine asked me. “Is that even legal?” The question didn’t surprise me. Many still imagine Burma as a place where activists and writers meet covertly in doughnut shops, trailed by secret police, […]
Somewhat Helpful Advice for Your Imminent Trip to Yangon
Burma was grossly intimidating to me when I first thought about coming here. Depictions of an entrapped Aung Sang Suu Kyi, bloggers stuck in the gulag for negative thoughts and an incomprehensible monetary system conspired to make me decidedly worried after I booked my first flight to Yangon in 2012. What if I ran out […]
Back to Burma
I’m back in Burma, a somewhat impulsive trip I decided to take when I got an invite to the first ever Internet Freedom Forum for a story — unsurprisingly, more on that later. (It went well). My first trip to Burma was stressful, largely of the self-generated variety. I was worried about getting the visa, […]
Learning to Dive – Tulamben
Learning to dive is deceptively easy, which is apparently a problem in some respects. Oodles of divers put through their paces in blocks of eight in a swimming pool and in a calm sea are awarded their dive certifications in a matter of three days. They are often then convinced they can drop into current […]
Learning to Dive, Or How I Realized It Doesn’t Actually Involve Math – Part One
I was under the impression that scuba diving required mathematical skills. I have always had certain issues with mental mathematics (as diagnosed by highly-paid professionals) and whenever I contemplated taking up scuba diving, visions of me desperately counting backwards on my fingers while 100 feet deep in the wine-dark sea danced into my head. […]
The Eight Stages of Genocide and the Rohingya
The 8 Stages of Genocide Against Burma’s Rohingya Rohingya Muslim’s in Burma’s Rakhine state have now been ordered to adhere to a years-old two child policy by the government, in what authorities claim is an effort to defang ongoing tension between the Buddhist and Muslim communities. In reality, this is ethnic cleansing. And it is ongoing in Burma […]
Self Defense: Faux Mugging, Paranoia, and Headlocks
I have lately been obsessed with the rather murky concept of self-defense, a side-effect of living for quite a while in multiple cities where a statistically not-insignificant number of people are interested in robbing you. I have lived in Washington DC and New Orleans, two of the more notoriously crime-ridden US cities, and then of […]
Things I Ate in Jakarta
As is usually the case when I travel, I ate some things in Jakarta. I regret not taking photographs of the kamping satay and the utterly bizarre but curiously awesome garlic bread, chocolate, and cheese satay the friendly owner pushed on me later in the evening. Nor did I photograph the rather tasty sushi rolls […]