Showing 1 - 10 of 10
The silence is deafening
News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 07/07/2015
» What kind of society is the junta creating when the peaceful "New Democracy Movement" protesters, all in their early twenties, are jailed without due process, to have their fate decided on by a military tribunal? Without any doubt the junta's behaviour in this matter is utterly deplorable. But what is soul-destroying is the comfortable silence from certain sections of our society. You can almost hear a pin drop. The leader of the Democrat Party? Not a sound. Venerable statesmen? Not a squeak. Or maybe the rector of Thammasat University would like to voice his objection? Not a single word. Ladies and gentlemen, right or wrong, the only people that have demonstrated any courage at all through this episode are the 14 kids in jail, while the adults hide.
Let's face it, the chickens are coming home to roost
News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 25/06/2015
» No single Thai administration is capable of solving the country's most chronic and deeply embedded problems. Any administration that says it can is talking absolute tosh and insulting the nation's cumulative intelligence.
Thailand needs an informed citizenry
News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 11/06/2015
» The concept of citizenship is fundamental to the principles of democratic governance. The two go hand in hand. The democratic state can basically be reduced down to the citizen, and citizens can only exist under the auspices of a democratic state. Without delving into political theory, it is this "social contract" which defines the relationship between a citizen and the state.
Setting the record straight on my conservative roots
News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 05/05/2015
» On Thursday, the United Kingdom will go to the polls in what looks to be one of the most closely contested general elections in British history.
Only real democracy will solve Thailand's problems
News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 29/01/2015
» In my view, the Yingluck Shinawatra impeachment proceedings were shameful and will go down in history as one of the most horrendous events in modern Thai history.
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.
Give power to the people, say no to Suthep
News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 03/12/2013
» Never in recent memory has Thai politics seen such divisiveness. The air is rife with political propaganda and animosity.
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.
Thailand's formula for success
News, Songkran Grachangnetara, Published on 11/05/2012
» Countless books authored by accomplished people from all types of professions from time immemorial have written about "The Formula for Success" in one way or another. From Machiavelli's The Prince, Sun Tzu's Art of War to Benjamin Graham's Value Investing, these great men attempted to put down on paper their secret for success in their respective occupations. Einstein gave us a general Theory of Relativity but is there a general theory for success? Will someone ever come up with a formulaic expression for success that can be widely applied? And can success really be defined?