Showing 41 - 50 of 76
Art helps us see through the fog of war
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 16/08/2014
» Her mother is Christian. Her father is Muslim. What is she?
All we can do is learn from Gaza's grief
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 19/07/2014
» ‘This twilight war involved two entire communities, two peoples, two tribes, two nations, fighting each other without a frontline, neither one really made any distinction between civilians and soldiers… Relations between Israelis and Palestinians became so thoroughly politicised that after a while, there was no such thing as a crime between them, and there was no such thing as an accident between them — there were only acts of war.”
Anger must not give way to bloodlust
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 12/07/2014
» The strangest thing I saw online this week was someone calling for a Buddhist theocracy — in Thailand. For Buddha’s sake, that’s rich. I thought Buddhist fundamentalism is a fad confined to certain parts of Myanmar and Sri Lanka. The benevolent lotus has been plucked from the serene pond and cast into the fires of rage and vengeance. Ta tor ta, funn tor funn — an eye for an eye — that’s the message of the week. If someone slaps you on one cheek, don’t offer him the other: you cut off his head in the town square and hold it up as the blood-lusting crowd cheers.
Mindanao offers lessons for South
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 05/04/2014
» There are signs of uncertainty. No, not the red-shirt rendezvous on Utthayan Road or the summit of the Suthep Thaugsuban-led movements at Lumpini Park, both happening with egoistic drum rolling today. As usual, Bangkok politics has the kind of narcissism and surreal influence that monopolises the headlines and consigns other struggles — more real, more fatal struggles — to the attic of our attention. If the way forward is decentralisation, let’s start by at least trying to look further afield than Bangkok’s face-off and the oratory salvoes of Mr Suthep and Jatuporn Prompan.
Losing land is bad, but don't lose your head
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 16/11/2013
» Maps are back. Or precisely, the interpretative wildcard that accompanies maps.
Silly 'Arab' soap opera lights the fires of mistrust
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 24/08/2013
» The Middle East becomes a scene of a great romance. The people are cool. The camels are cute. The sky is blue, boundless, and the smooth ridges of the sand dunes are as seductive as the chiselled face of the beardless Muslim sheikh, whose handsome head is wrapped in a chequered keffiyeh.
The al-Qaeda clip is fake, the rest is real
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 03/08/2013
» Egg-headed detectives and armchair Sherlocks had a blast last Saturday. Magnifying glasses in hand, they quickly deduced that the three bearded men holding a Kalashnikov in one hand and a photo of Thaksin Shinawatra in the other were not real al-Qaeda assassins, as they claimed to be in a YouTube clip.
Our man in Ramadan
Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 29/07/2013
» In a recent episode of a television show he's hosting, Mohammad Shareef takes his viewers on a tour of Bangkok's Chinatown. After walking around and showing us the area's attractions _ in a similar format to most variety programmes on Thai TV _ Mohammad proceeds to the show's next highlight: an ancient mosque in the middle of the capital's Chinese neighbourhood, where the host joins the congregation in an afternoon prayer. The muezzin's call, the Koran recital and the solemn rite in the mosque are all parts of the programme.
Keeping talking will stop the bullets in South
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 20/07/2013
» Like watching a child carrying an expensive crystal glass into a minefield, we watch the 40-day violence-free period in the deep South with bated breath.
Fasting our way to peace in the South
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 29/06/2013
» We have dubbed them the "Ramadan Demands", which quickly burst into "Ramadan Row". The Islamic fasting month is two weeks away, but the BRN's 7 + 4 demands have already stoked frustration and impatience from the Thai authorities - "I stand firm the conditions are unacceptable to us," said outgoing Defence Minister Sukumpol Suwanatat - and the word "Ramadan" has in the past week become associated with a range of confused notions, from the continuation of strife to the elusive hope for peace.