Communist Sweeps in the Philippines, Bitcoin Tax, and Ahok Named a ‘Top Global Thinker’: The VICE Evening Bulletin

Indonesia News

Ahok Named One of Foreign Policy’s ‘Top Global Thinkers 2017’
Former Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, who is now sitting behind bars on a blasphemy charge, has been named as one of the world’s most-influential people by the Washington DC-based magazine. FP’s staff said that Ahok’s efforts to resist the tide of rising fundamentalism in Indonesia was the reason for his selection. He shares the list with French President Emmanuel Macron, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, “The Silence Breakers” aka the women who started the #MeToo movement, and others. —Kompas

Bitcoin Profits Considered Taxable Income, Indonesian Officials Say
Indonesia is on its way to ban the cryptocurrency, but not before it taxes the cryptocurrency first. Yoga Saksama, of the Tax Directorate General’s office, said that all Indonesians must pay taxes on all profits made from Bitcoin transactions and investments. —Katadata

Jakarta Is Instagram’s the 8th Most Tagged City Worldwide
Only 17 percent of Indonesians are active users of the photo-drive social media app, so they must be snapping A LOT of photos. The Indonesian capital climbed two spots from last year’s rankings, beating out Istanbul and St. Petersburg. —Coconuts

Indonesia’s Anti-Drugs Chief Wants to Intensify the War on Drugs Even More
National Narcotics Agency (BNN) chief Budi Waseso, a man who once wanted to house drug convicts on an island prison guarded by crocodiles, lamented the fact that his agency didn’t have enough funding to really go after the country’s drug traffickers. With more money, BNN agents could use advanced technology to find drug suspects, he said. —Republika

International News

Southern Thailand Is Under Water
The country’s south was hit with severe flooding after heavy rains washed Nakhon Si Thammarat province. An estimated 1.5 million people were affected by the floods on Thursday, which, in some locations, were more than one meter deep. —Straits Times

Duterte Declares Communist Groups ‘Terrorists,’ Orders Mass Arrests
The Philippines president called communist rebels who have been fighting a decades-long insurgency with the state “terrorists,” and ordered authorities to prepare for a series of sweeps re-arresting rebel leaders previously allowed out on bail to participate in failed peace talks. The terrorist designation still needs court approval, but one justice said the request had an “excellent chance” of being granted. —PhilStar

Golden Triangle Opium Production Down 25%
Farmers and drug syndicates in Myanmar, the second largest source of opium in the world, are shifting away from the flower as prices for for heroin drop. In eastern Shan state, the site of the biggest decline, opium production dropped an estimated 37 percent. But the region remains the center of the region’s methamphetamine trade. —AFP

Malaysian PM Starts Campaigning Along Race Lines as Snap Election Looms
PM Najib Razak told a room full of Umno party members that a win by the opposition coalition would be a “nightmare” for the country’s ethnic Malay majority in a stark bit of racial fear-mongering. Najib has been implicated in the massive 1MDB corruption scandal, a graft case so big it’s tendrils reached as far afield as Hollywood. Najib faces former PM Mahathir Mohamad in the coming election. —Associated Press

Everything Else

I Tried To Join The Illuminati and Got Scammed
I never knew how much I wanted to join the Illuminati until a (very obvious) scammer asked if I wanted in.—VICE

It’s Actually Pretty Easy to ‘Hack’ the Digital Music Industry
The Noisey Denmark office made a terrible song then bought Spotify streams for it as proof.—VICE

How to Be a Functional Workaholic
Does your work day never end? Are you up checking emails before you even get out of bed? Here’s how to work this hard and still stay (somewhat) sane. —VICE

Will Indonesia Hold Its Military Accountable For a Rural Farmer’s Death?
The wife of a farmer allegedly beaten to death by security forces in remote North Maluku province over Rp 25,000 worth of cassava wants justice. But can the courts actually hold members of the military accountable? —VICE