StumbleUpon | atongchan's blog posts

http://atongchan.stumbleupon.com/review/4640677/

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 18:50:46 -0700

different, yes, but I would submit nonetheless eerily similar editorials published today in the International Herald Tribune; from one scared superpower to the next, the future of media and our right to know...

Banned in Beijing: unexpected events
Now China proposes to take the art of censorship a step higher with a bill that would severely fine media outlets if they report on "sudden events" without prior authorization.

"Sudden events" sounds awfully similar to what most of the world knows better as "breaking news," and in most countries it's regarded a core function of the news media. The trouble with suppressing reports of sudden events is that they usually emerge anyway, especially withe the rapid spread of the Internet, and then in a form even more damaging to the state.

Secrecy, patriotism and the press
Over the last year, The New York Times has twice published reports about secret antiterrorism programs being run by the Bush administration. Both times, critics have claimed that the paper was being unpatriotic or even aiding the terrorists. Some have even suggested that it should be indicted under the Espionage Act. There have been a handful of times in American history when the government has indeed tried to prosecute journalists for publishing things it preferred to keep quiet. None of them turned out well - from the Sedition Act of 1798 to the time when the government tried to enjoin The Times and The Washington Post from publishing the Pentagon Papers.

http://atongchan.stumbleupon.com/review/4600869/

Sun, 25 Jun 2006 06:41:55 -0700

thought i'd share a few of the more colourful illustrations encountered on the Sichuan research hunt, from 'Popular Pictorial', published in Chengdu in 1912, at a time of great uncertainty in governance and society, hence the quite acerbic wit displayed in the paper's social commentary; first the unforutnate mah-jongg player, then playgoers paying money only to see the backs of dogs...

this last image is quite an ironically appropriate image for me to encounter as we consider the swiftly widening disparity between rich & poor in contemporary Chinese society. In a bit of schadenfreude the 'baixing', the common people, are depicted eating a large 'guokui' (a sometimes deep-fried pita-like bread filled with meat or more likely vegetables at that time) while rich officials and the elite of Chengdu society look on. to eat 'kui' is to suffer losses; scrawled across the bread, the advice from the elite is for the people to 'eat slowly'...

http://atongchan.stumbleupon.com/review/1884158/

Mon, 22 Aug 2005 23:15:20 -0700

not much stumbling lately, but thought i'd share some images of the trip thus far...

first, a shot from in Dharamshala:

http://atongchan.stumbleupon.com/review/1884156/

Mon, 22 Aug 2005 23:14:40 -0700

some of the monkeys of Darjeeling:

��

��

http://atongchan.stumbleupon.com/review/1884153/

Mon, 22 Aug 2005 23:14:20 -0700

...and scenes from around Darjeeling:

">��

">��

http://atongchan.stumbleupon.com/review/1884151/

Mon, 22 Aug 2005 23:13:41 -0700

...and some from Kalimpong:

">��

http://atongchan.stumbleupon.com/review/1884141/

Mon, 22 Aug 2005 23:13:19 -0700

...and some monks of Gangtok & Kalimpong:

http://atongchan.stumbleupon.com/review/1414027/

Sun, 12 Jun 2005 17:28:40 -0700

Greetings friends, visitors, stumblers new & old - I'm off to India tomorrow then on to China all told for 18 months, so stumbling for me, finding sites and visiting yours will be on hold for at least a short time pending my internet accessa mile in the sky and deep in our globe's most populous countries...

thanks to all, but this is no goodbye, just a jya ne and a zai jian with more to come!

http://atongchan.stumbleupon.com/review/1020691/

Sat, 09 Apr 2005 19:47:36 -0700

great creativity on this sign, whether or not you agree ;)
this was taken by my friend in taipei at the protest against China's Anti-Secession Law...

http://atongchan.stumbleupon.com/review/662737/

Tue, 18 Jan 2005 00:27:42 -0800

some photos from my trip to india last september... may post a few more from winter's china in a bit... :)

a taj minaret reflected...

lotus in taipei

sepia of an ascetic on the move in agra

teapots on display in taiwan

a rainy day in murud

sepia of a banana seller in murud

buddha statue getting some help in ajanta