Showing 11 - 20 of 20
The Cambridge Analytica red herring
News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 21/03/2018
» Facebook is being hammered for allowing the data firm Cambridge Analytica to acquire 50 million user profiles in the US, which it may or may not have used to help the Trump campaign. But the outrage misses the target: There's nothing Cambridge Analytica could have done that Facebook itself doesn't offer political clients.
Secretive Russian billionaire vents to US conservatives
News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 13/03/2018
» It's not every day that a Russian billionaire submits a op-ed piece to the Daily Caller, the conservative US website. When the billionaire in question is as media-shy as Oleg Deripaska, something extraordinary is going on. As the unfortunate recipient of an oversized role in the "Trump-Russia" scandal, he has had enough and is not quite sure how to defend himself.
Australia's turn in the muck of political tribalism
News, Daniel Moss, Published on 22/02/2018
» Australians who thought the disruptions that have led many to view North Atlantic politics with disdain wouldn't reach their corner of the world can no longer ignore reality. The urban-rural divide that drove Brexit and the election of Donald Trump is now reverberating closer to home, and it's not a good look.
Coup against Mugabe is really nothing to celebrate
News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 17/11/2017
» As leader of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe has survived longer than Stalin in the Soviet Union and Mao in China. If it's coming to an end -- which seems likely given his apparent inability to emerge from house arrest after the military took charge -- it's worth reflecting on the mistakes he made to end such a remarkable run.
Brexit parade is in the EU's favour
News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 03/05/2017
» Leaked details of a dinner conversation between UK Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker suggest that the Brexit talks won't just be contentious -- they'll be brutal. At this point, the perception helps Ms May as much as it does the EU leaders. After the June election in the UK, however, Ms May will be at a disadvantage.
There's a reason why populists tend to lose elections
News, Pankaj Mishra, Published on 20/10/2016
» In a democracy, the "people" are the supreme arbiters, and their wisdom speaks through the electoral process. Such is the assumption on which the modern world has been built since God and monarchs began to fade from the scene. Lately, however, the wisdom of the people has felt a bit off-key. In one country after another, from the Philippines to the US, Hungary to India, the people have chosen to boost demagogues, not to mention serial gropers.
Facebook's agenda and worrying hold on the news
News, Farhad Manjoo, Published on 13/05/2016
» Facebook is the world's most influential source of news.
'Happiness' is here to stay
Life, Kanokporn Chanasongkram, Published on 31/07/2015
» Earlier this week, I watched a morning TV news programme showing a video clip of Thai soldiers effortlessly dancing to a catchy luk thung number, after performing slower and more precise movements to Khuen Kwam Suk Hai Prathet Thai (Return Happiness To Thailand) — the theme song of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).
Netanyahu is the only clear loser of the Gaza war
News, Published on 29/08/2014
» Back in 2009, Israel was festooned with election campaign banners that read, "A Strong Leader for a Strong Nation." They were Benjamin Netanyahu's banners, which, even if he had them in stock today, he would not dare use.
Boom days gone, but rubber planters have a point
Published on 27/08/2013
» Protesting rubber growers blocked the Bangkok railway line in Nakhon Si Thammarat on Monday night, forcing at least three trains and their unhappy passengers to return to Hat Yai. The main southern highway also remains blocked in the same province, bringing through traffic in both directions to a complete halt.