This is our new film on Al Jazeera English for the People and Power documentary strand: a global investigation into the serious threats to civil liberties and free speech during Covid-19. Made with great UK film maker Dan Davies (of Black Leaf Films), we show how governments across the globe, focusing on Singapore, Israel, the UK and…
Showing all posts tagged Singapore
Why Western leaders love dictatorships
My weekly Guardian column: Western-friendly dictators can die in peace, knowing they’ll be lauded as soon as they stop breathing. So it was for Singapore’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew, who recently passed away at the age of 91. Tributes poured in from across the globe. Barack Obama called him “visionary” while Australian prime minister…
Why Prism is important; we’re watching the watchers
My following article appears in today’s Guardian Australia: Politicians and journalists ignore public opinion at their peril. Less than two weeks after the explosive revelations by former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden on the creation of a privatised,… American surveillance apparatus, a TIME poll finds a majority of… Americans support the leak, and… Snowden receives a…
Dictatorship offers US help on secrets post Wikileaks
An authoritarian, one-party state offers advice to the US. Thanks, we’ll take your thoughts on-board: Singaporean officials must be more cautious in discussions with U.S. diplomats, the country’s foreign affairs minister said Monday, calling the release of classified documents by WikiLeaks disastrous for American diplomacy. Singapore officials will be less open when speaking with U.S.…
Taking the low road to jail
Arresting a blogger in Singapore for calling somebody a “stupid Malay.” Welcome to the land of thought crimes.