Showing 1 - 10 of 22
Have we solved the floaty-bag problem?
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 17/02/2023
» The United States has been having "a bit of a floaty-bag problem over its airspace", as South Africa's Daily Maverick news site put it.
Thailand's Big Brother is upping the ante
Oped, Thana Boonlert, Published on 06/08/2022
» In the late 18th century, British philosopher Jeremy Bentham visited his younger brother, Samuel, in Russia, who arranged unskilled factory workers in a circle so that he could supervise them. Inspired by this principle, Bentham developed "the panopticon", an inspection tower surrounded by cells. Its uniqueness was that it enabled a watchman to monitor prisoners without them knowing they were being watched.
Khashoggi and MBS's blunderers
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 03/03/2021
» If Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, were a burglar, he wouldn't be George Clooney in Ocean's Eleven. He'd be a cartoon burglar in a carnival mask and a top with black-and-white horizontal stripes, carrying a sack labelled "SWAG".
Don't call AI bigoted
Life, James Hein, Published on 06/11/2019
» Despite what some claim, Artificial Intelligence is not racist. Google built a system to detect hate speech or speech that exhibited questionable content. Following the rules given, it picked out a range of people with what some try to claim was a bias toward black people. Wrong. The AI simply followed the rules and a larger number of black people and some other minorities, as defined in the US, were found to be breaking those rules. It didn't matter to the machines that when one group says it, it isn't defined as hate speech by some; it simply followed the rules. People can ignore or pretend not to see rules, but machines don't work that way. What the exercise actually found was that speech by some groups is ignored while the same thing said by others isn't. As the saying goes, don't ask the question if you're not prepared to hear the answer.
The glue doesn't stick
News, Postbag, Published on 16/06/2019
» The excuse that the "skewed scales must have been due to poor glueing during its making" offered by the director of the Chumpholphonphisai School in explanation for the controversial Wai Kru flower arrangements as reported in the Bangkok Post's June 15 edition, is priceless.
Point of view
Business, Published on 27/10/2018
» On Oct 24, the S&P 500 registered a month-to-date return of -8.8%, the worst monthly showing since February 2009 (the bottom of the financial crisis), wiping out the entire year-to-date gain.
Khashoggi saga packs punch
News, Maysam Behravesh, Published on 12/10/2018
» The disappearance and possible murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has cast a long shadow over Saudi Arabia's global image. If the Saudi government did in fact kill or kidnap him, the crime would have significant implications for Middle East politics.
Putting hearts and minds in Thai-US ties
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 24/07/2018
» The international rescue of 12 boys and their football coach in Chiang Rai earlier this month quickly permeated into the conference room of the Thai-US dialogue in Washington DC last week. The feel-good atmosphere jump-started the much-needed dialogue between the region's oldest allies.
Random thoughts from Trump's nation
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 26/06/2018
» 'Iknow Bruce Lee. Aargh...aargh...aargh…!," screamed a black driver in front of me at the intersection near the Marriott Hotel in Rockville, Maryland.
Help the poor, PM
News, Postbag, Published on 22/05/2018
» If this government is unable to win over the poor, it is almost guaranteed that the "Burn, Bangkok, Burn" party will return to power and who knows what lame brain policies Thaksin Shinawatra will come up with.