Showing 1 - 10 of 59
Joking aside, it's time for a quick groan
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 28/08/2022
» The news has been rather gloomy lately and it feels like an appropriate time for some light relief. What better than to check out which jokes from stand-up comedians were voted the funniest at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe which concludes tomorrow. Unfortunately this year's offerings are either not particularly funny or I can't understand them. Perhaps I'm getting too ancient to appreciate modern wit. Anyway prepare yourself for a few quick groans.
City life is no fairy tale
News, Editorial, Published on 04/04/2022
» After years of waiting, Bangkok voters will go to the much-anticipated gubernatorial election on May 22 to pick one of 17 candidates to tackle a myriad of problems the capital has been facing.
There have probably been better years
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 26/12/2021
» Well we've just about scraped through the Year of the Ox. It was a strange time, rather like living in a vacuum, not entirely sure what would happen next. Nothing could have been worse than 2020, but 2021 wasn't far off. At the start of the year there was hope that the cloud of Covid could be shaken off and we would all become happy folks in the Land of Smiles again, but it didn't quite work out that way -- it's the hope that kills you.
Green consumer taxes can work
Oped, Published on 30/04/2021
» Many governments, aiming to foster a green and inclusive post-pandemic recovery, have embraced the slogan "Build Back Better". So far, policymakers have focused on increasing public spending in ways that address climate and environmental challenges while also creating jobs. But fiscal conservatives worry that the rising tide of red ink will drown economies in debt and lead to a financial-market backlash.
Don't worry, be happy … like the Finns
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 28/03/2021
» For the second year running Thailand was ranked 54th in the UN-sponsored World Happiness Report which covers 149 countries. It seems that although we have not quite descended into the depths of Les Miserables, Thai people are not exactly dancing in the streets with joy either. However, considering the Covid situation, one suspects there's not one country in the world that is particularly happy.
What the 'Pimrypie' sensation foretells
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 22/01/2021
» While it became a storm in a teacup, the recent phenomenon involving YouTuber and online retailer Pimradaporn "Pimrypie" Benjawattanapat yields longer-term implications and meanings. Pimrypie's charity drive for Children's Day that provided solar panels and electricity to underprivileged kids in a far-flung village of Omkoi district 300 kilometres from Chiang Mai spoke volumes about the structure and shortcomings of Thailand's paternalist state and what needs to be done to tackle it.
Happiness gap in the Land of Smiles
Oped, Worawan Chandoevwit, Published on 13/01/2021
» How happy are people in the "Land of Smiles?" Not too happy. In fact, the Thai people's spirit was at its lowest last year, and things don't look much brighter in 2021.
SEZ plan ignores local ideas of development
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 18/05/2020
» On May 12, Kaireeya Ramanya, a young girl from a sleepy fishing village in Songkhla's Chana district, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. This is a task that the 17-year-old -- who staged a sit-in protest against a mega-development project known as the Southern Economic Zone (SEZ) -- had never dreamed of doing.
Why a teen girl in Korat cried all night
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 10/11/2019
» It is always uncomfortable to read about hard-working people who are taken advantage of by unscrupulous characters. This appears to be the case with "Orm", a 15-year-old girl in Korat who had been making krathong floats for tomorrow's Loy Krathong festival, only to be arrested and fined for alleged copyright infringement.
Feet of clay
Life, Patcharawalai Sanyanusin, Published on 19/08/2019
» Late last month, many Buddhist followers in Thailand were delighted with the news that four phra farang, or Western monks, were granted samanasak or honorary ecclesiastical titles by HM the King.