News that “Pokemon Go” had reached Philippine shores came to me just as I finished hiking up Kuju Volcano, the highest mountain here on Kyushu island. Though the news came alongside reports on many other developments that day -- the opening of the Rio Games, the plan to bury Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani, and Donald Trump’s latest gaffe -- it was the one that excited my peers the most, judging by my Facebook feed.　“Pokemon Go” is the latest iteration of a game that many in my ge

Viewpoints Aug. 25, 2016

Amazon, Lazada, Grab, Uber and the Trans-Pacific Partnership share a common interest in Indonesia. All favor openness and competition in the field of e-commerce. 　The intention to open up the economy is surely to attract more investment in e-commerce. However, it will come at a cost that is not low, as opening up the economy for competition surely will reduce the policy space of the government.　The government needs policy space to regulate for public interest. It remains to be seen how the TPP w

Viewpoints Aug. 25, 2016

Every four-years we have an election that stretches our country thin along the political spectrum. As the left and right poles tug at our beliefs, the social fabric tightens and tensions rise across the country. But after each November, our political divisions slowly fade and the social fabric waves freely once again. This time, however, I’m worried that we may not get that far, I’m worried that we are watching it rip.　　Take a look at the anger foaming over at rallies. The slurs hurled at those

Viewpoints Aug. 21, 2016

Until very recently, few mainstream economists took climate change seriously in projecting growth. Weather is something the polite talk about when they have nothing to say. 　Today, climate change is moving onto center stage.  　Most people equate climate change with global warming. But climate change could be excessive heat, cold, or simply larger variations in temperature that could cause drought, floods, typhoons and other disasters at the same time. The large volcanic eruption like Krakotoa in

Viewpoints Aug. 21, 2016

For almost seven decades, NATO has amply demonstrated its ability to fulfill its core mission of deterring a conventional attack against its member countries. But the threat landscape on NATO’s southern flank is changing, pushing the alliance toward uncharted waters. This week’s NATO summit in Warsaw will amount to a litmus test of the Alliance’s ability to adapt to the new more complex security challenges that it faces.　Since the Cold War, when it was positioned as a bulwark against Soviet expa

Viewpoints July 8, 2016

If the Central Intelligence Agency’s role is to discreetly promote the economic and political interests of the United States, then there’s one country that ought to be awfully disappointing to the agency right now: Saudi Arabia. In fact, if there’s an issue on which America and Russia could potentially agree, it would be the damage Saudi Arabia has recently wrought upon the national and economic security of both nations.　Take Syria, for example. The CIA operation to train Syrian rebels goes by t

Viewpoints April 15, 2016

One does not need to be particularly good at hearing to decipher the dog whistles being used during this year’s election campaign in the United States. Listen even briefly, and you will understand that Mexicans and Chinese are working with Wall Street to forge lousy trade deals that rob American workers of their rightful jobs, and that Muslims want to blow everyone up.　All of this fear mongering is scarier than the usual election-year fare. It is frightening to people in foreign countries, who c

Viewpoints April 3, 2016

One of the most frightening words a patient can hear from a doctor is “cancer.” We know it from the experience of our families and friends, and the millions of Americans who hear it directly from their doctors each year.　In President Barack Obama’s final State of the Union address, he compared the effort required to eradicate cancer to a “moon shot,” summoning the American ingenuity and scientific pursuits that sent humankind to the moon. We believe that it’s time for a full and complete nationa

Viewpoints April 3, 2016

As anyone who steps out of their home knows, it takes money to travel, and the further away from home you are, the more money it takes. We have to keep this in mind when we read about ill-informed news reports about “penniless” refugees and “asylum” seekers who somehow manage to travel halfway across the world with supposedly not a penny to their name!　Hong Kong has recently seen increasing numbers of people from places such as Somalia, India and Pakistan arriving to seek “asylum.” Logic dictate

Viewpoints April 3, 2016

“You come here wanting to hear salsa. I want to hear rock ’n’ roll.” Cuban singer David Rico of the group Aire Libre (Open Air) at Havana’s Yellow Submarine club.　There’s more than musical preference in this young rocker’s assessment of how Americans relate to Cuba in this “new day” branded by President Barack Obama and set to irreverent music by the Rolling Stones. For Cubans hoping to build a society with freedom of speech, assembly and free elections as cornerstones, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfa

Viewpoints March 27, 2016