Why such selective law enforcement?
While I was in Myanmar for a week, there were also the celebrations for the 65th Union Day, remembering events in 1947 which led to independence from colonial rule. In his speech at the occasion, U Thein Sein, the President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, did not only look back, but also into the future, reflecting the new policies of the new government:
- Read more
- 13166 reads
“On hearing her name, I can only think of someone who likes to expose her body”
Tourism in Vietnam is finally getting sexy! Late last year, the powers that be appointed a new “tourism ambassador” in the shapely form of actress Ly Nha Ky, who, as the comment in the title suggests, seems to be more famous for getting her kit off than for her knowledge of tourism or ambassadorial qualities.
- Read more
- 9459 reads
Peace through superior poetry
Ryan Tong and Kosal Khiev are on a mission. Part of new arts collective Studio Revolt, these Asian-American activists – one a youth worker, the other a former refugee and convict recently deported from the US to his native Cambodia – are using poetry to teach orphans the delicate art of self-expression. Ninety kids aged seven to 16, who survive by scavenging from Phnom Penh’s dump sites, are embarking on a voyage of self-discovery through spoken word at local NGO A New Day Cambodia.
- Read more
- 10734 reads
Ska Face
They’ve played for Prince William and Kate Middleton at the royal wedding; in a bathtub in Reading; crammed into a Fiat 500 in Rome, and on board a rather large yacht in Monaco. Not bad, considering Will and the People – heading to Phnom Penh this month to promote their debut album – are barely out of the box.
- Read more
- 8735 reads
Coming back from one week in Myanmar
This is just a brief note saying that I was in Yangon for one week, to attend a Barcamp meeting of about 4,000 computer users of different levels. I will report more, and not only about this meeting. Also about visiting several lakes in the city of Yangon. And also about the impressive political changes taking place since my last visits at the Barcamp meetings 2010 and 2011.
But I would like to take this opportunity to share two pictures - the first I took a few years ago, after take-off from Phnom Penh, and the other before landing to Phnom Penh yesterday.
- Read more
- 4328 reads
Jerry Joseph: Natural Born Thriller
Hard rock has long been known for its diabolical associations, from Jimmy Page’s devout following of ‘The Great Beast’ Aleister Crowley to Keith Richard’s obsession with the occult. But only one man can lay claim to being the inspiration for ultra-violent serial killer Mickey Knox in Natural Born Killers, Oliver Stone’s frenzied study of the relationship between the mass media and mass murderers.
- Read more
- 8437 reads
A very dangerous holiday in Cambodia
In December 1978, under the spectre of an imminent Vietnamese military invasion, the ultra-secretive Khmer Rouge leadership did something fantastically out of character - it cracked the curtains ever so slightly and let three foreigners inside. Only two would leave alive.
- Read more
- 11482 reads
Introducing Jaguar Skills: ninja master of the mix
Bastardising music is nothing new. From the jazz tradition of reinterpreting standards to the DIY ethic of punk, the art of assembling new songs from purloined elements of existing tracks has been around since music was first recorded. But a certain breed of DJ is jacking up the creative bar – and then some.
- Read more
- 14931 reads
MUMMY, I’M BORED!!!
How many times have you heard that perennial whinge during the school holidays? Yet, as all expat parents will know, there is a natural limit to the number of child-friendly distractions even the most resourceful of us can conjure up in and around our beloved Phnom Penh.
- Read more
- 6997 reads
Vote buying in Cambodia? What about lobbying in the USA?
The Phnom Penh Post had reported on 31 January 2012:
A Cambodian People’s Party member found guilty of attempted vote-buying in last Monday’s Senate election had been let off too lightly with a fine and should face legal action, an opposition Sam Rainsy Party councilor said yesterday.
At a hearing of the Battambang Provincial Election Commission last week, CPP member Cheam Pe A was fined US$1,230 after he was caught on tape offering SRP Tuol Ta Ek commune councilor Mok Ra $700 to cast his vote for the ruling party.
Vote buying is bad – hardly anybody will defend it openly, though it is probably being done a lot – and not only in Cambodia.
- Read more
- 4965 reads