The Economist today had an article on a case involving Microsoft's alleged refusal to turn over documents stored on a foreign server to FBI. The article can be found here (archived here). According to the Economist: SUPPOSE FBI agents were to break into the postbox of an American company in Dublin to seize letters which might help them convict an international drug dealer. … [Read more...] about Privacy, National Security, Human Rights, Social Value, Whatever – It’s Whatever the West Says
culture
The Mirage that is Japan …
I came across an article in Asia Times on Japan's WWII surrender that I thought was very well written. It is important because within that surrender lay the seeds of today's historical revisionism. But more important than that, it is a good case study on what Japan is NOT. Too often, many in the West think of Japan as this enlightened, modern, forward-looking, peace-loving … [Read more...] about The Mirage that is Japan …
Revisiting “Tiger Mom”, and where “Individualism” failed (with a Sleeveless Pineapple)
Recently, I had an interesting debate about the "Tiger Mom" culture in Asia, against the backdrop of a Chinese American mother who criticized the Tiger Mom's suppression of children's "autonomy". So, since we had lively discussions of this subject here, … [Read more...] about Revisiting “Tiger Mom”, and where “Individualism” failed (with a Sleeveless Pineapple)
Alternate View from Xingjiang
It seems that every time Xingjiang is in the news it is when something bad has occured. Doesn't anyone question why there are no good news out of Xingjiang? I will be honest here, I really hated the mainstream western press portrayal of events in that region of China. The general narrative is that China invaded and colonized that region. Today, the native people there faced … [Read more...] about Alternate View from Xingjiang
Enjoy this short scenic video of Xian
Yuanfan Zhang - CEO and founder at Alibaba - recently shared a video with Overseas Chinese World Affairs Forum on facebook about Xi'an, his hometown, that I found entertaining. I had visited China's ancient capital Xi'an in 2008 and found it to be a beautiful city and thought I'd share it here. Enjoy! … [Read more...] about Enjoy this short scenic video of Xian