Volleyball team does Singapore proud

At the Gay Games in Chicago earlier this year, a volleyball team fought their to 4th place out of 26 teams from various countries. They also had a great time while there, in the spirit of the Games. Full essay.

From selective wisdom to selective folly: why the future does not belong to bloggers

This is the text of the lunchtime talk delivered at Singapore Management University, on 27 Sept 2006, at the invitation of the Wee Kim Wee Centre. Full speech.

What we've yet to see, hear or speak of

In Hong Kong, unequal age of consent was declared discriminatory and unconstitutional by the Court of Appeal. In India, an open letter is issued to Members of Parliament to repeal the law against "unnatural sex". Full essay.

Lessons from the Thai coup d'etat

What are the risks to a viable democracy that can be discerned from Thailand's failed experiment that ended with a military take-over a few days ago? Full essay.

Who owns the street?

The Substation wanted to hold a big event involving arts performances and civil society groups. It would fill the Substation building and spill out into the garden and Armenian Street. The police killed it with their paranoia. Full essay.

Minister tries to explain censorship of gay expression

Balaji Sadasivan the MICA Minister of State was reported to have said recently that a concert was banned because the organisers would not accept an R21 rating. Was it so? Full essay.

Tell the people that others are singing our praises

The Straits Times tells us that many journalists and delegates to the World Bank/IMF meetings appreciate the good things in Singapore. But are we deluding ourselves about what a wonderful and efficient place this is? Full essay.

Frontline: Hong Lim

Opposition politician Chee Soon Juan and his supporters, prevented from marching to Parliament House and Suntec Convention centre, camp out at Hong Lim Green. Full essay.

Noisy when people throw stones at tinpots

Even the World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz has broken diplomatic silence to call Singapore "authoritarian", adding that "enormous damage has been done" to our reputation. Full essay.

Why I was such a bitch on Tuesday

The Straits Times contacted me for some comments about a story they're working on - gay teens and HIV. I refused to provide any input. Full essay.

Silence serves us poorly

Another person I knew, albeit distantly, died of an AIDS-related illness recently. Silence about HIV and sex is counter-productive, allowing the disease to come ever closer to those who are dear to us. Full essay.

Peaceful Streets

Why don't Singaporeans clamour for freedom of speech and assembly? This is the speech delivered to the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand. Full speech.

CNA: Fifty-dollar men

A shallow, disjointed television documentary about male prostitution in Little India illustrates a more general problem: why our creative industries will have a hard time taking off. Full essay.

The case of Iwuchukwu Amara Tochi

I present here the facts of this drug-trafficking case, and I ask my readers to play the role of jury. Would you have convicted him on these facts? Full essay.