Showing 1 - 10 of 14
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.
The more things change, the more they stay the same
News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 06/01/2015
» I'm in the hotels and resorts industry, so most of my staff are local to each hotel's location. The majority of my people have few if any formal qualifications apart from the undying will to work hard and to make something of their lives. As the chief executive, I'm constantly called on stage to make the opening speech at our annual staff parties.
Army must not let history repeat itself
News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 21/05/2014
» Writing an article in the midst of martial law is not the most intelligent thing to do. But I’m going to do it anyway because I believe what I’m about to write is in the public interest.
PDRC’s failure will put courts’ probity to the test
News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 12/03/2014
» From the self-proclaimed uprising of "the great mass of the people" marching like worker ants all over Bangkok to the ever dwindling gathering, confined to a stage in Lumpini Park the size of a small high-school play, the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) is now a mere shadow of what it once was.
The seven business groups' plan provides some hope
News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 07/01/2014
» The ultimate deadlock is upon us. This political chess match pitching the Pheu Thai Party against the Democrat Party and its first cousin the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) is slowly drawing to a potentially gruesome close, involving the shutdown of Bangkok and more lives being sacrificed upon the altar of our deliriously dysfunctional political system.
Charter court proves a worthy adversary
News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 23/11/2013
» I am going to attempt to cut through the legal jargon and make a citizen's interpretation of the Constitution Court's latest landmark judgement. The court's ruling on the draft charter amendment to change the composition of the Senate deemed the proposed changes unconstitutional for basically two reasons. Firstly, the amendment violates Section 291 of the constitution, which governs the correct procedure for charter reform, and secondly it violates section 68 of our constitution which speaks to "intention".
12 more new laws to really improve Thailand
News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 04/06/2013
» These are some new laws I think Thailand would benefit from. Most regular readers will recognise this as a sequel to my previous articles under the same title.
The will of the people shall not be denied
News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 07/05/2013
» Perhaps it shouldn't surprise me that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra would get so much grief from Bangkok's elites, when _ for once in her short political career _ she decided to utter some words (albeit not her own) of actual substance in the so-called "Mongolia Speech".
Section 112 hurts more than helps monarchy
News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 21/03/2013
» Three cheers to the producers of the Thai PBS programme on constitutional monarchy and congratulations to the director and the board of governors of Thai PBS for finally allowing the final installment of the series to be televised. I watched the series with delight and, as a taxpayer who funds the Thai PBS, for once thought my hard-earned cash was put to good use producing an informative programme bringing together differing views from the full spectrum of the intellectual cognoscenti.
Success now comes with a degree in degeneracy
News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 05/02/2013
» Thailand is not a failed state by any stretch of the imagination because the primary institutions of the state _ such as the military, the legislature, and the executive and judicial branches of government _ seem to be, on the surface, functioning well enough.