Erin Cook

What an interesting story! Intriguing quote from one donor: “They’re isolated by sanctions and their economy is cut off from the world — Vietnam used to be like that, but we opened up, and life here is much better.”

Australian Foreign Minister’s Vietnam Trip Should Promote Rights Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong will travel to Vietnam to meet her counterpart, Bui Thanh Son. It’s critical that Australian policymakers don’t lose sight that Vietnam is also one of the regio...

Vietnam is an important relationship to Australia, but @senatorwong.bsky.social shouldn't lose sight of the fact that Vietnam is also one of the region’s most repressive countries. My take on raising rights concerns, particularly Vietnam’s 170+ political prisoners. 👇
www.hrw.org/news/2025/08...

Protestant posting

I laughed at this one

Myanmar Border Closure Cripples Thai Exports Worth Billions The Myawaddy-Mae Sot border gate has been shut to all heavy vehicles and large goods, as Myanmar’s military government attempts to redirect trade revenue away from ethnic armed groups

#Myanmar junta shuts down primary Thai-Myanmar border/commerical crossing to large vehicles and commercial goods, in attempt to seize trade profits from ethnic armed orgs on border… and blindsiding Thailand www.nationthailand.com/news/asean/4...

Have been very sidetracked watching the Four Corners on the sovereign citizen movement because this guy's house boat is so sick. How do I get into that??

Myanmar announces first phase of general elections on December 28 - DVB Myanmar will hold the initial phase of its general elections on Dec. 28, regime media reported on Monday. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing’s regime outlined a roadmap for the first polls to be held in t...

Myanmar will hold the initial phase of its general elections on Dec. 28, regime media reported on Monday. Min Aung Hlaing’s regime outlined a roadmap for the first polls to be held after he seized power in 2021 english.dvb.no/myanmar-anno...
#WhatsHappeninglnMyanmar
#election

Thailand to Allow Foreign Tourists to Convert Crypto to Baht Tourism-reliant Thailand will relax restrictions on foreign visitors converting digital-asset holdings into the baht to fund their travel expenses and spending while in the country.

A certain 'type' of 'tourist' might be part of the answer for Thailand.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Depraved behaviour from the junta in Mandalay region: 'Among the victims was a woman in her 30s who died alongside her baby as she was being taken to a doctor due to childbirth complications.'
eng.mizzima.com/2025/08/18/2...

Spotify just said I'm in the top 1% of Arcade Fire listeners lately so that surely can't be helping

I love being a WSJ subscriber. Please, sir, what is this?

Exclusive: Myanmar regime using Facebook comments to spread disinformation Leaked documents reveal the junta is stepping up its efforts to use the social media platform for propaganda purposes

The junta in Myanmar is engaging in a coordinated campaign of disinformation on Facebook, creating networks of accounts to post comments supporting the regime & attacking its enemies.

FB's step back from moderation is letting those that carried out the Rohingya genocide use the same playbook AGAIN

The Ozzy and Pope Francis ones right after they died, of my days that's when I knew we were done for

This looks great, I'm going to watch tomorrow

YouTube video by Al Jazeera English How the Dutch manipulated the narrative of colonising Indonesia | Featured Documentary

and also this, from another angle again youtu.be/lRVk9tMFEJI

every Indonesia nerd in the country has had to publicly confess to not being an anime nerd this week

Indonesia celebrates 80 years of independence - ABC listen On 17 August 1945, Indonesian nationalist leaders Soekarno and Mohammad Hatta declared Indonesia’s independence, formally ending 350 years of Dutch colonial rule in the midst of occupation by Japanese...

Sana Jeffrey's on ABC this weekend talking about Indonesian Independence Day (today!) and it is very good www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

High key feels like we're hitting that steep incline part of Malaysia's bonkers politics oscillation

I love this period so so much. Chifley Evatt Chifley Evatt and then here comes big Burton move bitch get out the way

It's a little interesting reading about the Australian response to the Dutch police emergency and historians being like, we think Chifley wanted to do more personally but just didn't for some reason. In the DNA of Labor!

Have hit the point where every footnote is something I already read 😔

Ordering uber eats from the coffee club is deranged

do the charcoal chicken place next

Thaksin confident Paetongtarn will continue as PM, reveals 4 key reasons Thaksin Shinawatra reveals 4 reasons he is confident that his daughter Paetongtarn will continue as PM, despite challenges, including the ethics case and border tensions.

what does he mean by this? 'Thaksin reveals that efforts are being made to send a “special signal” to the Constitutional Court.' www.nationthailand.com/news/politic...

I've been thinking a LOT about the type of stories this one dispels lately with this 'performative male' thing going on. like, the fellas don't read at all OR they do and everyone says they're faking it?? if we want more people reading more books (i do!) then shut up about it!

terminal case of ants in my pants

It's taken me a month to get 10% of the way into a project I have allocated three months for. I'm never going to make it 😭

the 63k iced latte is full on Canberra price. she's a brilliant writer, i'm going to hassle her into doing an essay about how super pumped the scene is now

Christabelle's newsletter this weekend looks at coffee prices in Jakarta and I'm shocked! kopi keliling/Indomaret machine up the back supremacy
avgconsumer.substack.com/p/have-yours...

We Have Tired of Violence - The New Press Named a Best Book of the Year by The EconomistA chilling work of true crime about the midair murder of a human rights activist, set against a riveting political drama in the world’s fourth-largest nat...

We Have Tired of Violence is one of the best, and saddest, books I've ever read on Indonesia. The murder of Munir is not exactly history, as Suciwati shows us. Very much still currentm thenewpress.org/books/we-hav...