• Column

    [Indonesia Report] Indonesian Hindus celebrate annual Kasodo Ritual

    Indonesian Hindu devotees held annual Kasada Ritual in Bromo Mountain as a form of gratitude on Saturday (Sept 6). Tengger Tribe who live around the mountain brought offerings to be thrown to the Bromo Mountain’s crater. They brought various crops to livestock. Kompas.com reported the event, describing this ritual as…

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  • Column

    ‘I’m Korean,’ says Japanese in China

    “Could you fly over here and help me?” a Japanese friend who runs a sushi restaurant in Beijing cried out over the phone. “Anti-Japanese demonstrators are throwing stones at my restaurant and the Beijing police are ignoring the violent actions against Japanese enterprises in the city!” “How can I help…

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  • Mitt Romney pulls October surprise

    WASHINGTON ― Isn’t politics fun! We’ve been expecting an October surprise, and we got one! The Mitt Romney who demolished President Barack Obama in their first debate of the general-election season wasn’t the same candidate at all who has been campaigning for president for the last six years. Romney was…

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  • Column

    Why US is heading for ‘emotional isolationism’

    LOS ANGELES ― Foreign policy has suddenly surfaced, like a leviathan sea monster, crawling onto the beach of the U.S. presidential campaign. If I were an incumbent American president seeking re-election, I might be worried. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet empire, American…

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  • Column

    Europe’s trial by crisis

    BERLIN ― Some 2,500 years ago, the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus concluded that war is the father of all things. He might have added that crisis is their mother. Fortunately, war between world powers is no longer a realistic option, owing to the threat of mutual nuclear destruction. But major…

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  • Column

    [Indonesia Report] Indonesian mixed doubles win in Taiwan Open

    Indonesian Mixed Doubles, Muhammad Rijal and Debby Susanto won the first gold medal for Indonesia in Taiwan Open Tournament 2012 on Sunday (October 10). Rijal and Debby were favored to take the first place by defeating Hong Kong’s athletes, Lee Chun Hey and Chau Ho Wah. Rijal and Debby finally…

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  • Column

    Graffiti proves to be powerful weapon against dictators

    Graffiti has always been known to be the voice of those who can’t express themselves freely, those who would write or paint something that would leave that everlasting impact, something very Che Guevara-ish. Although graffiti isn’t something really familiar in your typical Egyptian neighborhood, except for some ultras graffiti. But since the…

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  • Column

    Korea can host global golf match

    I spent considerable time over the last three nights staying up till dawn to watch the Ryder Cup. I never left home but the jet lag is huge. The golf competition took place in Chicago time this year. Thus, in Seoul, it began when we normally fall asleep. The Ryder…

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  • Cafe Hayek — a website that educates

    Traditional news media are in decline, the Internet is on the rise, and wandering in the blog fog means going down wrong paths and falling over cliffs, right? Not entirely. There’s hope, no small sign of which is “Cafe Hayek,” an economics-oriented, libertarian website that shines bright, clarifying light on…

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  • Column

    Yet another Gangnam Style headline

    “Asians are more than a maf***ing comic relief you punk a** white boy,” “F*** all the white people to F*** CNN to F*** Hollywood!” Not our words, obviously, but those of the delightfully charming Korean rapper Tiger JK, embarking on a bit of public racism after losing composure at a…

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