Showing 1 - 10 of 20
Scandals confirm what we already know
Oped, Voranai Vanijaka, Published on 07/05/2018
» Thailand has no shortage of national scandals; one after another in less than six months, starting from November of last year. It began with junta leader Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha berating a fisherman down south for daring to matter-of-factly ask him tough questions. Next came deputy junta leader Gen Prawit Wongsuwon flashing his posh taste for luxury watches, which supposedly were borrowed from generous friends.
Is Thailand a failed state?
News, Voranai Vanijaka, Published on 27/04/2014
» One morning last week I drove out of my soi onto Witthayu Road. Making a U-turn in front of Lumpini park I was stopped by a People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) guard on a motorbike. Other guards on motorbikes stopped traffic on all sides.
Victory for Suthep, of sorts
Voranai Vanijaka, Published on 23/01/2014
» Ratchaprasong shopping street, Lumpini Park camping bonanza and Asoke/Ploenchit/Silom music festivals, none of these may seem much of a threat to the Thaksin Shinawatra political machine.
By shortcuts we fall
Voranai Vanijaka, Published on 06/02/2014
» The blanket amnesty bill and the rice-pledging scheme, the lies and the secrecy -- given its poor performance and shady practices, the Pheu Thai government should be brought down.
Don't 'Thai' to me
Voranai Vanijaka, Published on 21/11/2013
» It is reported there is a new English slang term being used by people in Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore. The phrase is "Don’t Thai to me". It means don’t lie to me or cheat me.
Thais 'who do nothing' not the real problem
Voranai Vanijaka, Published on 19/12/2013
» Through the eight years of the Thai political divide, people have expressed self-righteous and narrow-minded attitudes, ignorance and intolerance with impunity.
Amnesty: crime without punishment
Voranai Vanijaka, Published on 08/08/2013
» In Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment, young Rodion was getting away with murder. However, his guilty conscience eventually compelled him to surrender to the law. The story is of course fictional, and someone being compelled by their conscience to surrender would be a rare exception in real life.
A bridge too far
Voranai Vanijaka, Published on 02/05/2013
» If there’s a problem, throw money at it. The money won’t solve the problem, but it will make a few important people richer and possibly happier. Then we just pretend that the problem is solved - until it collapses, killing four people and injuring 45.
UDD can bring us change to believe in
News, Voranai Vanijaka, Published on 19/05/2013
» The accusation is often made that Thailand can never change. However, over the past six years, propelled by political crisis, there have been many changes, which some some would say are for the better. Some would argue the opposite, but at the end of the day it is up to the Thai people to steer the direction of change.