Clement Tan 陳永強

Russian state TV taps anti-colonialism narrative in India as part of pro-Kremlin media push India, with its relatively neutral position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, has emerged as a key priority for Moscow. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

What was well known Indian opposition politician and author Dr Shashi Tharoor doing on Russian state TV’s India programming? Why are Russian outlets focusing on India expansion?

www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-a...

Macron remarks are notable- some quotes: "We have been incredibly naive in entrusting our democratic space to social networks that are controlled either by large American entrepreneurs or large Chinese companies, whose interests are not at all the survival or proper functioning of our democracies."

RIP Jane Goodall, by all accounts a wonderful woman who loved this Far Side cartoon

There is a certain kind of Army officer who, after the excitement of company command, finds his career stalled, and who perhaps leaves the service as a major in the National Guard filled with bitterness and resentment. He may then dream of one day being in a position to make all the superior officers who failed to appreciate his leadership qualities, his insight, his sheer fitness stand to attention and hear him lay down the law about what it is to be an officer, and threaten to fire those who do not meet his standards. In this respect, and this respect only, on that stage Pete Hegseth was living the dream. In all other respects, however, he was ridiculous...

I did not expect this kind of fire from Eliot Cohen, but he has Hegseth absolutely pegged www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

Apple Daily photo of the Umbrella Movement protesters on the night of 30 September 2014, taken during a rainstorm, published on 1 October 2014, with the cheeky headline “Stand up! Those who are unwilling to become slaves!”

Reuters photo of the Umbrella Movement protesters with thousands packing the road, taken on Admiralty’s Harcourt Road, on 1 October 2014.

1 October 2014, eleven years ago today, Occupy Central and the Umbrella Movement protesters in photos.
It had rained the previous night.
1- Apple Daily, with the cheeky headline “Stand up! Those who are unwilling to become slaves!”
2- Reuters

"Colonel Kim was recognized for delaying the entry of Special Forces troops into the National Assembly by 42 minutes through three instances of withholding or refusing emergency flight approvals."

That detail made me emotional. One person doing what they could, the importance of those 42 minutes!!

Jimmy Kimmel and the Power of Public Pressure Podcast Episode · The Political Scene | The New Yorker · 09/27/2025 · 44m

The successful public backlash against silencing Jimmy Kimmel contains some big lessons on what works in the face of autocracy, as expert Hardy Merriman explains in this fascinating episode with my co-hosts @janemayer.bsky.social @sbg1.bsky.social podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

How Trump’s Case Against Revolution Wind Fell Apart The administration argued in the name of national defense — but Orsted had receipts.

Scoop: Trump lost the legal battle over halting the offshore Revolution Wind project after Orsted, its developer, brought reams of evidence to court alleging the government was lying about military security concerns.

It’s a sign truth can empower companies Trump targets.

Via @heatmap.news

Journalists covering the US are about to realise what those of us covering China have always known: for laws and campaigns in authoritarian society, the ambiguity is the point. That’s why authorities here target “spiritual pollution,” “historical nihilism,” “picking quarrels,” and “soft resistance.”

by karl rove
am i being pranked here

WGA Statement on ABC's Decision to Pull ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ The right to speak our minds and to disagree with each other - to disturb, even - is at the very heart of what it means to be a free people. It is not to be denied. Not by violence, not by the abuse of governmental power, nor by acts of corporate cowardice. As a Guild, we stand united in opposition to anyone who uses their power and influence to silence the voices of writers, or anyone who speaks in dissent. If free speech applied only to ideas we like, we needn't have bothered to write it into the Constitution. What we have signed on to - painful as it may be at times - is the freeing agreement to disagree. Shame on those in government who forget this founding truth. As for our employers, our words have made you rich. Silencing us impoverishes the whole world. The WGA stands with Jimmy Kimmel and his writers.

The following is a statement from the WGA on ABC’s decision to pull ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’

Robert Redford playing a gentle incarnation of death, coming for a frightened old woman in The Twilight Zone episode "Nothing in the Dark" (1962). An extraordinary performance then, terribly bittersweet today

A Farmworkers Visa Promised Her a Better Life. It Was a Trap. Sofi left behind her child in Mexico for the promise of providing him a better life. She ended up a victim of an operation that is alleged to have exploited the H-2A visa program — and the workers it ...

America's H-2A visa program sounded like a way for Sofi to earn money and support her child in Mexico. Instead, she ended up living a nightmare.

@maxblau.bsky.social and Zaydee Sanchez report, with illustration by Dadu Shin for @propublica.org projects.propublica.org/h2a-visa-far...

Significant, on many levels.

The Price of Remission: This Cancer Drug Saves Lives — but Costs a Fortune. I Wanted to Know Why. When I was diagnosed with cancer, I set out to understand why a single pill of Revlimid cost the same as a new iPhone. I’ve covered high drug prices as a reporter for years. What I discovered shocked ...

Cancer drug Revlimid is one of the bestselling pharmaceutical products of all time, with total sales of over $100 billion.

It’s also extraordinarily expensive, costing nearly $1,000 for each pill, even though that pill costs just 25 cents to make.

(Published May 2025)

AfD loses. Badly, and in the first round. It’s just a mayoral election, but Meißen is the heart of Saxony and as the thread points out, AfD invested a lot in this race.

It is remarkable to me that Prabowo Subianto has been cropped from this snap in all media but Indonesian

Cover of THE HIGHEST EXAM: HOW THE GAOKAO SHAPES CHINA, by Ruixue Jia and Hongbin Li, with Claire Cousineau

If you're in need of a book that succinctly and clearly explains China's gaokao to a non-specialist reader, THE HIGHEST EXAM: HOW THE GAOKAO SHAPES CHINA, by Ruixue Jia and Hongbin Li with Claire Cousineau, is the answer.

My WSJ review: www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...

Opinion | Stop Acting Like This Is Normal

Excellent piece by Ezra Klein: if Dems really believe that Trump is creating an authoritarian government they should not continue to fund it. The shutdown is their only leverage right now to draw attention to what is happening and maybe force change.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/07/o...

USTA asks broadcasters to censor reaction to Donald Trump’s attendance at U.S. Open Trump will attend the U.S. Open final as a guest of a sponsor, marking his first appearance since 2015.

This is what happens in authoritarian countries. Fear and cowardice leads to self-censorship.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/660...

The calculated silence of America’s business and finance leaders As Donald Trump has launched a series of blunt interventions in the corporate and financial worlds, he has received little pushback from industry or investors

“The juxtaposition with Mamdani is striking: vociferous criticism of the frontrunner to be New York’s mayor from business leaders, but calculated restraint as the president reshapes the rules of free enterprise in America.”

Business elites demonizing Mamdani are silent on Trump. on.ft.com/47ls0Yq

Adding a parochial note here, but there were questions in Japan as to why Ishiba wasn't taking a more personalist/chummy approach to Trump like Abe had or like Modi was doing, and the reason is that a personalist approach doesn't work either because nothing "works" with Trump

‘Little India’ in Dubai grows as Golden Visa attracts Indian professionals and entrepreneurs Indians are choosing the UAE for its tax-free regime, high standards of living and low rates of crime. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Indian nationals now account for about 40% of the population in the UAE, which now houses the second largest Indian diaspora after the U.S. Even Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan couldn’t resist applying for UAE’s Golden Visa. This is why.

www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-a...

‘Unresolved pain’: Last surviving comfort women in Asia seek closure, 80 years on The issue continues to evoke strong emotions in South Korea and Japan.

80 years since the end of WWII, dozens of surviving comfort women are still fighting for a full apology from Japan — even if they don’t expect any in their life time.

“When I die, everything will be over. What I want is for others to live well, unlike me.”

www.straitstimes.com/multimedia/g...

Tesla sales plunge 40% in Europe as Chinese EV rival BYD's triple Tesla faces a number of challenges in Europe including continued intense competition and brand damage from Elon Musk's political involvement.

Sales of Tesla cars in Europe plunged in July, in the company’s seventh consecutive month of declines, while Chinese rival BYD saw a monthly surge of 225%, data released on Thursday showed.

The middle-aged are no longer the most miserable Youth used to be cheerful. No more

For decades, surveys have suggested that middle age is the low-point of life. But recently, the curve seems to have warped

Student Arrivals to US Continue to Plummet, With Asia Hit Especially Hard Visitors to the US arriving on student visas plunged in July, falling year-on-year for a fourth straight month.

Your occasional reminder -- as arrivals on student visas decrease 28% -- that tuition from foreign students counts as an export, which means that every rejected student visa is going to contribute to the US trade deficit.

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

‘It’s like one day everyone left’: How immigration crackdowns are starting to reshape America | CNN Across the country, more immigrants are slipping into the shadows. There can be unexpected ripple effects.

A mom in Texas feels it’s no longer safe to walk her kids to school.

A grocery store in Virginia lost the butchers at its meat counter.

And at a cherry orchard in Oregon, unpicked berries are rotting in the sun.

How immigration crackdowns are reshaping America: https://cnn.it/4mqI53z

Paul Krugman on Trump's economic house of cards "The thing that’s extra damaging now is the craziness."

"Companies were reluctant to pass price hikes into stores, because they didn't want to make customers mad and lose market share. It's only now really sinking in that this is for real, and so the 'let's eat the tariffs for a while' thing is fading out." — @pkrugman.bsky.social

Still listening: audience strategies of Russia-focused media in exile Journalist Maria Kiseleva unpacks the challenges of reaching audiences from exile amid censorship and disengagement.

How can Russian media outlets in exile measure whether their audience is still listening?

Our Journalist Fellow Maria Kiseleva explores the audience strategies these outlets are adopting in her fellowship project: