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  • News & article

    Thailand should emulate Japan's art of adaptation

    News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 03/11/2015

    » I recently embarked on a family holiday to Japan. It was only our fourth visit in 10 years. This time we paid a brief visit to Osaka and Kobe, but in my opinion, the highlight of the trip was my first ride on the Shinkansen, Japan's high-speed train.

  • News & article

    PM needs to send the right message

    News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 28/09/2015

    » The recent discovery of two guardian deity sculptures at the Bangkok City Pillar Shrine is of significance for Thailand, and due credit must be given to the War Veterans Organisation and the Fine Arts Department. I have a penchant for historical and cultural artefacts that tell us more about who we are and where we came from as a nation. We are blessed with such an abundantly beautiful and rich cultural heritage, something which we unfortunately take for granted.

  • News & article

    What's the right kind of love for King and country?

    News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 05/12/2015

    » When it comes to fierce, honest debates, the clashing of opposing ideas and rousing Churchillian speeches, nobody does it better than the British House of Commons.

  • News & article

    Thailand needs a new constitution free from fear

    News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 18/08/2015

    » In the entire history of the world, human beings have come up with some pretty outrageous ideas, like the man who solved the problem of his low ceiling by chopping off his legs. In my view, the Constitution Drafting Committee's (CDC) so-called crisis committee, inserted in the draft constitution, is a far worse idea. The Borwornsak draft constitution has hit a new low, because the crisis committee will essentially attempt to institutionalise military coups. It will seek to legitimise the illegitimate and make lawful what is inherently unlawful, which is an abomination to the very concept and study of law. It is nothing less than constitutional heresy!

  • News & article

    Thailand needs an informed citizenry

    News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 11/06/2015

    » The concept of citizenship is fundamental to the principles of democratic governance. The two go hand in hand. The democratic state can basically be reduced down to the citizen, and citizens can only exist under the auspices of a democratic state. Without delving into political theory, it is this "social contract" which defines the relationship between a citizen and the state.

  • News & article

    The silence is deafening

    News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 07/07/2015

    » What kind of society is the junta creating when the peaceful "New Democracy Movement" protesters, all in their early twenties, are jailed without due process, to have their fate decided on by a military tribunal? Without any doubt the junta's behaviour in this matter is utterly deplorable. But what is soul-destroying is the comfortable silence from certain sections of our society. You can almost hear a pin drop. The leader of the Democrat Party? Not a sound. Venerable statesmen? Not a squeak. Or maybe the rector of Thammasat University would like to voice his objection? Not a single word. Ladies and gentlemen, right or wrong, the only people that have demonstrated any courage at all through this episode are the 14 kids in jail, while the adults hide.

  • News & article

    Setting the record straight on my conservative roots

    News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 05/05/2015

    » On Thursday, the United Kingdom will go to the polls in what looks to be one of the most closely contested general elections in British history.

  • News & article

    Time to redefine Thainess for 21st-century success

    News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 16/05/2015

    » When the government seeks to promote Thainess, what exactly do they mean? I guess every nation has their particular traits, but what are our national traits? And are they traits which we would want to advertise or encourage?

  • News & article

    Thailand's political landscape rivals that of 'Hamlet'

    News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 02/06/2015

    » I was recently invited by the British ambassador to attend a performance of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' organised by The British Council and the British embassy at Chulalongkorn University. I must admit to never having seen Hamlet but I'm glad I finally did because it rather reminded me in parts of what's happening here in Thailand.

  • News & article

    We can learn from Selma marches

    News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 12/03/2015

    » This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery marches which were led by Rev Martin Luther King Jr and many other civil rights activists. These three marches by ordinary American men and women, mostly of African descent, still stand as historical landmarks of the triumph of the human spirit over grave injustice and the dark forces of segregation.

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