Am I being executed?

A Brazilian man executed by firing squad along with seven other prisoners in Indonesia on Wednesday had no idea he was about to be killed until his final minutes, the priest who counselled him has said.

Excerpt:

He was hearing voices all the time,” Burrows told Irish radio. “I talked to him for about an hour and a half, trying to prepare him for the execution. I said to him, ‘I’m 72 years old, I’ll be heading to heaven in the near future, so you find out where my house is and prepare a garden for me.’
“But when they took [the prisoners] out of the cells … and when they put these bloody chains on them, he said to me, ‘Am I being executed?’ ” Burrows said.
“I said, ‘Yes, I thought I explained that you.’ He didn’t get excited – he’s a quiet sort of a guy – but he said, ‘This is not right.’

READ MORE HERE...
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/30/brazilian-executed-by-indonesia-was-hearing-voices-all-the-time

Best Films By Country

Looking to expand your cinematic horizons...Here's a great website to start from...

http://istanbulfilms.blogspot.ca/
 

Is the US Provoking a War between Japan and China?

Ex-Envoy Says U.S. Stirs China-Japan Tensions

Excerpt:

Mr. Chen accused the United States of encouraging the right wing in Japan, and fanning a rise of militarism. 

“The U.S. is urging Japan to play a greater role in the region in security terms, not just in economic terms,” he said during his speech at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Hong Kong. That “suits the purpose of the right wing in Japan more than perfectly — their long-held dream is now possible to be realized.”

The United States has said that, in the event of conflict, the disputed islands are covered by its mutual defense treaty with Japan, a position that China has severely criticized since the latest dispute flared last month. 

Mr. Chen described what he called the intervention of the United States in territorial disputes in the South China Sea — where China has been at odds with another American ally, the Philippines — as a way for the United States to expand its influence and restrain the influence of China. 

“Will these countries misjudge and draw China and the United States into a confrontation?” Mr. Chen asked. “The danger is apparent, and China needs to be aware of that.” 

READ MORE HERE...

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/31/world/asia/in-speech-organized-by-beijing-ex-diplomat-calls-islands-dispute-with-japan-a-time-bomb.html 

Behind the Curtains of Modern Communism

A look at life in 21st century communist countries.  Tomas van Houtryve won Picture of the Year for this photo essay....exceptional work...

See Slide show here...
http://www.poyi.org/69/45/index.php

Open Secret a photo journey by Tomas van Houtryve through modern Laos...
http://www.viistories.com/the-videos/open-secret.aspx

North Korea...

http://www.viistories.com/the-stories/north-korea-secrets-and-lies.aspx

More photos here...

http://cnnphotos.blogs.cnn.com/2012/08/10/behind-the-curtains-of-modern-communism/

The Tiger Cities

 

If you miss Asia or you just want to have a peak into Asian city life, check out these incredible videos...Missing the fast-paced life :(  ----Enjoy.  

Full Screen and headphones recommended...

Shanghai
http://vimeo.com/24019399 

Singapore
http://vimeo.com/39557378
(The last 2 minutes are AMAZING) 

Bangkok
http://vimeo.com/25576589

Hong Kong
http://vimeo.com/31413518

Tokyo
http://vimeo.com/37790190

Seoul
http://vimeo.com/22569989

Burma: Emerging from the Shadows

Unlike Gaddafi and Mubarak, these Generals seem to be playing their cards right.  With deliberate and calculated maneuvers, Myanmar looks to join the global economic community despite their terrible human rights record.  I guess they thought...if China can do it, why not us?  Great article...

Myanmar is winning more foreign friends while international criticism of the current and previous government's abysmal human rights records has all but ceased. Old adversaries in the United States and European Union have scrapped - or are planning to scrap - economic sanctions against the regime, and big-time multinational companies are preparing to lunge into what many seems to believe is Asia's last investment frontier. 

The reforms in Myanmar praised by Western diplomats were made public in 2003 as the "Roadmap to Discipline-Flourishing Democracy". In private, a "master plan" set out how the military would deal with the United States, break away from China's grasp, and keep the generals in power. From ceasefires to the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the regime planned exactly which buttons to press to get the West onside.

READ MORE HERE...
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/NB10Ae01.html

Daily Life in Burma...
http://blogs.sacbee.com/photos/2009/10/daily-life-in-myanmar.html

Fighting Back, One Brothel at a Time

A fascinating look inside the war on human trafficking...

Excerpt:

This town of Anlong Veng is in northern Cambodia near the Thai border, with a large military presence; it feels like something out of the Wild West. Somaly, whose efforts are financed mostly through American supporters of her Somaly Mam Foundation, had sneaked into this brothel and surreptitiously photographed very young girls. With the photographs, she convinced Cambodia’s anti-trafficking police to mount the raid.
It didn’t help my nerves that Somaly, whom I’ve known for years, is fearless. Brothel-owners have fought back ferociously against Somaly: They’ve sent death threats, held a gun to her head and shot up her car.

“We all know that our lives are in danger,” she says, a little too cavalierly. “I’ve never been so happy in my life. They can kill me now.”

When Somaly refused to back off, she said the traffickers kidnapped her 14-year-old daughter and gang-raped the girl with a video camera rolling. The daughter was recovered in a brothel, and Somaly blames herself. It’s a credit to the courage of mother and daughter that they remain steadfast, upbeat and close, and determined to make a difference. These days, Somaly is very careful with that daughter and her other children.


The three unmarked police cars ahead of us pulled up in front of the brothel...

Read full article here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/opinion/sunday/kristof-fighting-back-one-brothel-raid-at-a-time.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss