Showing 1 - 9 of 9
It's always sunset in our land of exiles
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 30/09/2017
» Either to Dubai or London, Yingluck Shinawatra has gone West and will likely live the rest of her life in exile. Either in an Emirati villa overlooking the Persian Gulf or a London penthouse by the Thames, she may be contemplating the difference between exile and banishment, or between exile and a holiday, but in the end it doesn't matter: She has fled, and her flight means the old power of Thailand has seen off the element regarded as threat. The ghost has been exorcised, the devil purged -- not once but twice, since there are two Shinawatras -- and now the military will charge ahead on their black horses as they gather us up and gallop us off into sunset (not sunrise).
All aboard for a 'Thai-Thai' referendum
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 23/07/2016
» The word "Thai" means "free". But when you repeat the syllable and say "Thai-Thai" (with a dismissive laugh), suddenly it means "fake" -- it means we've bent whatever rule the world has to make it suitable to our temperament, emotion and impulse. For example, when you're not sure if your principle is solid, your stance firm, your democracy authentic, or your coup justified, there's a simple way to shut down the argument: just say it's baab Thai-Thai, "in the Thai way". Then, if everything is not forgiven, at least it's understood.
'Superheroes' fail to rescue democracy
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 26/03/2016
» We thought it would be Batman v Superman: Yawn of Justice. But it turned out to be a cut-rate spectacle performed on a sidewalk by inept actors. We thought it would be a bout between the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) and the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC), a contest of will and superpower. But then it revealed itself to be a badly scripted soap opera executed by elderly actors who read their lines without a wink.
Overhauling our Newspeak vocabulary
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 19/03/2016
» Since we’ll be stuck with the regime for another 20 months or so (a conservative guesstimate) it’s time to update our glossary of post-coup Newspeak. From “mafia” to “public broadcaster” and “Patriotic pop culture”, almost every day we see an exciting addition to the dictionary of surreal meanings in our life under the marvellous junta.
Superheroes of doctored democracy
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 25/04/2015
» This is the week when the draft constitution is being debated and the “citizen-centric” charter proposed by legal superheroes — Iron Menace, Thor-toise, Captain anti-America, etc — are scrutinised. The people will be at the centre of the new era, so they promise. The citizens, or at least “good citizens”, will be empowered to stand up against suit-and-tie crooks while judicial rat poison and ethical vanguards will ensure that Thais are cleansed of evil politics.
The cheers for justice we haven’t heard
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 11/04/2015
» On Tuesday, the country watched Thai heartthrob Mario Maurer taking the greatest risk of his young life.
The iron grip will tighten, so the stars say
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 27/12/2014
» Dear Leader, born March 21, 1954. A Pisces, our Dear Leader was born in the Year of the Snake, and zodiacally destined for valour, patriotism, decisiveness, songwriting talent, unconstitutional dignity, offbeat humour, banana-throwing antics (to the cheers of reporters) and occasional outbursts of temper when those same reporters don't ask him glorifying questions.
To our charter drafters, 'we' means them
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 01/11/2014
» On a radio news show with a pair of boot-licking hosts (no shortage of them), a guest speaker phoned in recently to talk about the future. His future? Mine, yours, ours? Never mind. The guest was one of the oracles to sit on the Charter Drafting Committee (CDC), and he sounded smart, well-meaning, with just a slight hint of the Chosen One's god-given arrogance. Which is the best we can expect from those who are handpicked in dark corridors, plucked like vintage grapes by the generals due to their supposed virtue, intelligence, loyalty, servitude, sycophancy, bloodline — anything except a connection with the Evil One.
Radiohead redux
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 26/07/2013
» Every day Amnarj Sonimsart wakes up at 3am. "That's normal for an 80-year-old," he chuckles. The first thing he does is flick on the TV to catch BBC and CNN; then he checks the stock and oil prices, noting down important fluctuations for later use. At 4.20am _ he states the time with the casual precision of someone who's been following the same schedule without fail for a long time _ his driver takes him from his house in Pattanakarn to the radio station in Lumpini Park ("my daughter forbids me from driving"). At 5.10, Amnarj begins sipping a cup of Ovaltine while scouring the Thai-language newspapers laid out for him, lighting on items of interest and quickly digesting their contents. On the dot of 5.50am, he prepares for a task he's performed for 46 years straight: leaning slightly forward, he gets ready to switch on his mic and go on air.