Category Archives: Asian. American. Asian-American. & More.

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Meme Alert: This Just Fell Out of My Coconut Tree . . .

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The Economist:

United States | The “brat” vote
Is Kamala Harris “brat”?

America’s TikTok election just became more interesting

Jul 25th 2024|new york

“You think you just fell out of a coconut tree?”, begins a viral clip of Kamala Harris. It resurfaced in the days after Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance, but this video has a twist.

The song “Von dutch”, by a British pop star, Charli xcx, begins to rev in the background. Ms Harris’s signature belly laugh rises up. A lime-green filter with the word “brat”—the cover art and name of xcx’s new album—flashes across the screen.

“You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you,” says Ms Harris. The beat drops. Enter supercuts of Ms Harris.

Continue reading Meme Alert: This Just Fell Out of My Coconut Tree . . . →

Arts: For Kids, Arts: Writing, Asian. American. Asian-American. & More., Black & White & Other Colors, Books & Book Reviews, Censorship, Cross-Generational Issues, Culture wars, DEI

Move Over, Ron de Book Banner —Leftie Censors Are Even Worse

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[NOTE: There’s unfortunately too much truth in this report to ignore. One implication is left unaddressed: it points to the increasing importance of independent publishing (typified but not limited to Amazon), OUTSIDE the increasingly hidebound and oppressive “legacy” publishing industry. PS. This report, alas, applies as well to much of Quaker publishing.]

From The Bulwark.com

The Book Banners on the Left

A substantial read: A major report warns that progressive activism is contributing to a chilly climate in publishing.

CATHY YOUNG — AUG 28, 2023

WHETHER THERE EXISTS in American culture a left-wing illiberalism that threatens freedom of thought and expression under the cover of social justice has been a subject of heated debate in the past decade. At a time when right-wing authoritarian populism is on the rise, many people have viewed warnings about illiberal progressivism as a distraction.

Continue reading Move Over, Ron de Book Banner —Leftie Censors Are Even Worse →

“New Normal”, Asian. American. Asian-American. & More., Current Affairs, Europe, Hindus & Hinduism, India, Ireland, Islam & Muslims, NATO, Neutrality, Populism, Putin, Racism, Religious Issues & Conflicts, Russia, Signs of the Times, Southeast Asia

A Midweek Twofer: Ireland In NATO? India Dumping Democracy?? Shakeups In the “I” Countries

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The Guardian

#1- Ireland ‘playing with fire’ for opening debate on military neutrality, says president

Michael D Higgins says government risks burying country in other people’s agendas amid ‘drift’ towards Nato

Rory Carroll — Ireland correspondent — 19 Jun 2023
Ireland’s president has rebuked the government for launching a debate about the country’s longstanding military neutrality and the possibility of joining Nato, saying ministers were “playing with fire”.

Michael D Higgins accused the government of a dangerous “drift” from a cornerstone of Irish foreign policy and said it risked “burying” Ireland in other people’s agendas.

The intervention, made in an interview with the Business Postnewspaper on Sunday, puts a spotlight on a government-sponsored forum on international security, where Ireland’s neutrality will be debated. It also raises questions on the role of the president, who occupies a largely ceremonial post.

Continue reading A Midweek Twofer: Ireland In NATO? India Dumping Democracy?? Shakeups In the “I” Countries →

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“Is it good?” An Asian-American Writer Stands Up for Imaginative Freedom

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From: “Rebecca F Kuang: ‘Who has the right to tell a story? It’s the wrong question to ask’”

The Guardian, May 20, 2023

“If I were a debut writer, I wouldn’t have dared to write this book,” Rebecca F Kuang says from her home in Boston. Then again, she wouldn’t have been able to. Her new thriller, Yellowface, could only have been written by an author familiar with the idiosyncrasies of the publishing industry: its petty politics, its bad faith, its best intentions gone hilariously awry. Continue reading “Is it good?” An Asian-American Writer Stands Up for Imaginative Freedom →

Asian. American. Asian-American. & More., Jail & Incarceration, Minority Rule, Resistance, Royalty, Social Justice, Southeast Asia, Thailand

Gwynne Dyer: Thailand’s Struggle For Democracy

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Another round in Thailand’s quest for genuine democracy

By Gwynne Dyer — May 3, 2023

Thailand’s official emblem

There have been occasional violent episodes in Thai politics and one recent massacre (2010), but the struggle for a genuine democracy has usually been relatively restrained. Maybe that is why it has lasted so long.

In fact, the tug-of-war between the army, the monarchy and the conservative middle class on one side, and the peasants, the students and one billionaire’s family on the other, has acquired a ritual quality. Continue reading Gwynne Dyer: Thailand’s Struggle For Democracy →