Showing 21 - 30 of 31
Surveillance scandal signals a creeping police state
News, Philip J Cunningham, Published on 12/06/2013
» Even before an unlikely freedom fighter named Edward Snowden revealed his hand in the firestorm of a story about massive US government surveillance, Diane Feinstein, Peter King and other congressional mouthpieces for the US security state did their best to turn attention away from the message and onto the messenger.
The sacrifices we make for the promise of wealth
News, Philip J Cunningham, Published on 05/06/2013
» There's a tragicomic story about the power of money to corrupt absolutely. A billionaire comes back home from exile to share the wealth and exact revenge. Purse strings are pulled even before the billionaire's triumphant return, to ensure the people suffer and languish until their once-scorned saviour returns.
Publicity or propaganda, it's all just a matter of spin
News, Philip J Cunningham, Published on 02/05/2013
» When Beijing changed the name of the Department of Propaganda to the Publicity Department, journalists snickered at the transparency of the ploy, since the spin and the information control system remained the same.
An overzealous response to terror can also be terrifying
News, Philip J Cunningham, Published on 23/04/2013
» To follow the drama of the manhunt for the Boston Marathon bomber online through Twitter, Reddit, television, police scanners and news updates was to be inundated with an abundance of almost real-time information.
All crackdowns are not equal
News, Philip J Cunningham, Published on 27/02/2013
» When politicians stake out the high moral ground and announce a crackdown, it can be a smokescreen for business as usual, or it can mean they really mean business.
Fire in the South poses existential threat to the nation
News, Philip J Cunningham, Published on 31/01/2013
» Perhaps one day there will be a monument to all the brave teachers who sacrificed their lives trying to keep alive the light of education in Thailand's strife-ridden southern provinces.
No matter the drama, the joker's out to play
News, Philip J Cunningham, Published on 09/01/2013
» The case of the popular soap opera Nua Mek is unusual because it's not everyday a powerful TV station suddenly self-censors, unilaterally banning its own popular show, without a plausible explanation.
The good, the bad and the BBC's ugly Abhisit interview
News, Philip J Cunningham, Published on 14/12/2012
» A good interview raises more questions than it answers, while a bad one raises more questions about the interviewer than the interview. A mix of both was in play last week when former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was interviewed by BBC news presenter Mishal Husain about murder charges recently levelled against him.
Democracy is the smell of tear gas in the morning
News, Philip J Cunningham, Published on 26/11/2012
» During World War II, American writer EB White was asked to define "democracy". He went on to scribble a few evocative lines about the sights, smells and minutiae that he personally associated with the hard-to-define term, a term that is almost universally heralded as good, but has long been bandied about with abandon.
Be wary of American offers
News, Philip J Cunningham, Published on 15/11/2012
» The highlight of Barack Obama's Thailand visit will be the moment he meets His Majesty the King, an elder statesman who addressed US Congress and consulted with world leaders well before the current US president was even born. It's a new page in a long reign that accounts for one third of the 180 years of bilateral friendship. A sturdy alliance of such duration is a meaningful accomplishment; something to reflect on, savour and celebrate.