Showing 4,741 - 4,750 of 4,766
Buffet cabinet and New Thailand
Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 24/01/2012
» About 100 Pheu Thai MPs are lining up, waiting for their turn at a cabinet seat, redolent of a large group of diners eagerly lining up at a buffet table which can seat only 35 people at a time.
Asia in the Year of the Black Water Dragon
News, Published on 24/01/2012
» This is the year of the Black Water Dragon, a Chinese astrological cycle that indicates change, but with a measure of calm, sensibility and prudence. The people and governments of Asia certainly hope that this proves to be the case.
From financial crisis to resilience
News, Bandid Nijathaworn, Published on 24/01/2012
» The development of Thailand's financial sector has been a story of restructuring, adjustment and renewal, following the devastating effects of the Asian financial crisis of 1997.
Thaksin's shuffle tune
News, Saritdet Marukatat, Published on 23/01/2012
» Let's say the average life expectancy of a cabinet is around six months. By the time Yingluck Shinawatra serves her four-year term, the country will have the Yingluck VIII or IX administration.
Migration in 2012: challenging ingrained impunity
News, Andy Hall, Published on 21/01/2012
» At cabinet meetings during Thailand's floods, migration was absent from the political agenda. No specific response was apparently required. Officials reported no "host agency" and neither the Labour, Interior nor Foreign ministries assumed direct responsibility. Law enforcement agencies monitor migrants closely and surely knew how the floods impacted on them, however.
Deserving of top honours
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 21/01/2012
» On screen and in headlines, Iran the provocateur du jour, is causing a stir. As Israel fumes, as Bibi Netanyahu ponders a pre-emptive strike, as the US watches with hawk-eyed severity over Teheran's nuclear ambition, and as an alleged Iran-backed Hezbollah rabble-rouser was arrested in Bangkok and a spectacular arsenal of bomb materials uncovered - as the quivers in Hormuz Strait are felt throughout Earth, an Iranian film cruised past contenders to win the Golden Globe. Worldwide punters now believe A Separation will become the first Iranian title to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Never mind the sanctions, an Iran-scripted drama has had Hollywood (and Washington) in thrall. So catch it now: A Separation is showing on one screen in Bangkok, at House RCA (I hope it'll stay there for a few more weeks.) It won't give you a crash course on the latest nuclear grumble; the politics of the film is smaller in scope yet larger in humanity, for it concerns class, marriage, religiosity, and the heart-aching struggle to uphold justice in the court of God and by the rule of law. At the centre, the film is about a separation of a couple, called Nader and Simin, but at heart this is a complex drama of moral quandaries that inflict bourgeoise Teheranians and speak of other kinds of seperation, physical and spiritual, visible and clandestine, in a society heaving with pride, prejudice and doubt. In short, it's closer to home than the belligerent rhetoric of the nuclear war.
Towards an Asean declaration of human rights
News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 20/01/2012
» A much awaited outcome of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations's commitment to human rights in 2012 will be the finalisation of an Asean instrument on human rights, particularly in the form of a Human Rights Declaration. It will underline the perception and position towards human rights in this region. The drafting process under the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), is now in full swing and is expected to gather momentum leading to a crescendo in the next few months.
Good start to 2012 holds hope for further right steps
News, Published on 18/01/2012
» 'I will be very happy to meet my family," Nilar Thein said over the phone last Friday, just minutes after stepping through the gate of Tharrawaddy Prison. At the time, her family was in fact on the way to greet her, and her husband was in the process of being released from Taunggyi Prison in Shan State.
Banks seek clarity on FIDF debt
News, Parista Yuthamanop, Published on 17/01/2012
» The great flood of 2011 has already cost the country plenty, both in terms of lives and property. Could the next casualty be Thailand's long-term economic health?
Actions last year ensure more perils in 2012
News, Joseph Stiglitz, Published on 17/01/2012
» Last year 2011 will be remembered as the time when many ever-optimistic Americans began to give up hope. President John F Kennedy once said that a rising tide lifts all boats. But now, in the receding ebb, Americans are beginning to see not only that those with taller masts had been lifted far higher, but also that many of the smaller boats had been dashed to pieces in their wake.