Showing 1 - 10 of 17
Banned bets
Oped, Postbag, Published on 24/10/2025
» Re: "Anutin bans poker, sports gambling nationwide", (BP, Oct 23). So, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has banned gambling again. The prohibition specifically aims at poker and other similar sports-themed card games. The Ministry of Tourism and Sport earlier classified poker only as a sport? Well, it's not, is it -- it's a card game that is invariably played for money, unlike many others, such as bridge, which are not.
Betting on the wrong horse
Oped, Editorial, Published on 11/08/2025
» In times of economic challenge and amid simmering border tensions with Cambodia, Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, who doubles as interior minister, has quietly overturned a 67-year-old ban on poker, reclassifying it from gambling to a recognised sport. The sudden move, which happened without public consultation, has sparked criticism and fuelled suspicion about the government's true priorities.
Paper bags, patriotism and mushy peas
Roger Crutchley, Published on 10/08/2025
» One of the more thought-provoking stories of the week was an unnamed Thai hospital being fined after it was discovered private files on patients were being used to make paper bags for popular street snacks. Apparently some people at the business entrusted with destroying the files instead took them home and made paper bags out of them.
More of the same
Oped, Postbag, Published on 18/04/2025
» Re: "Trump has eye on chip, drug tariffs", (Business, April 16) & "The dollar correction is finally here", (Commentary, April 16).
Report cards in
Oped, Postbag, Published on 12/04/2025
» Re: "Phuket beach inspected", (BP, March 13).
NK troops sent to the Ukraine: cannon fodder?
Oped, John J Metzler, Published on 24/10/2024
» The rumours were true. The apparent dispatch of elite North Korean military units to fight alongside Russian troops in Ukraine appears at first surprising but actually is quite logical given the historic and comradely ties between Pyongyang and Moscow. After all, North Korea's isolated Kim Jong-un regime has forged increasingly close ties with Vladimir Putin's Russia and the cash-strapped North Koreans have shipped more than eight million 122mm and 152mm artillery shells to Russia during in the past year.
A magical weekend at Yasgur's Farm
Roger Crutchley, Published on 18/08/2024
» Every year there are anniversaries marking significant events from the past and they always serve as uncomfortable reminders that I am getting a bit old. A classic example is this weekend with the 55th anniversary of the Woodstock Festival. Now that's scary. Surely it couldn't have been that long ago?
Why do gamblers love to bet on football so much?
News, Aaron Brown & Richard Dewey, Published on 13/02/2023
» Billions of dollars will be wagered on the Super Bowl today, spotlighting the popularity of betting on football. A big part of the appeal is the scoring system, which was developed nearly 150 years ago by the "father of football," Walter Camp, and is unique among the globally popular team sports.
Ukraine War a risky game of Mother May I?
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 17/08/2022
» 'This obviously does not happen because of a thrown butt," said British Defence Minister Ben Wallace. But the Russian Ministry of Defence insisted that the explosions that destroyed at least eight warplanes at Saki Air Base in Russian-occupied Crimea on Aug 9 were due to "a violation of fire safety requirements".
Russia is stuck in a vicious circle while it plays bluff
Oped, Manlio Graziano, Published on 03/06/2022
» The Russian war in Ukraine is a calamity -- for the people suffering through it, for Ukraine, for Russia, for China (which needs stability to develop faster than its competitors), and for most of the world (due to the resulting energy and food crises).