Showing 1 - 10 of 42
Two hats not good
News, Alan Dawson, Published on 07/10/2018
» When Bangkok got too noisy because of all the criticism about cabinet ministers taking advantage by openly playing politics unfairly, the general prime minister escaped to the North on another scrupulously non-political trip to give away money and be photographed with every local personality and housewife within 20 kilometres.
The hand that feeds them
News, Alan Dawson, Published on 03/03/2019
» When the columnists and panjandrums and degree-clutchers come to analyse the state of Thailand in mid- and late May, it's probably this past week that will fascinate them.
Life without populism
News, Alan Dawson, Published on 06/05/2018
» Once upon a time in a land very, very far away with a "government by the people, for the people" there was a plan to fix recalcitrant taxi drivers and make them pick up passengers, politely, and then to reward the drivers with a fare increase. And that plan was carried out in the faraway country, and passengers were happy to reward deserving, hard-working, uncomplaining taxi drivers.
Silence rewarded
News, Alan Dawson, Published on 05/11/2017
» The prosecutor of Pattani province officially dropped the army's charges under the criminal defamation and Computer Crime Act laws against three civil rights veterans who had the audacity to detail 54 incidents of torture in the deep South and publish a book about them, entitled <i>Torture</i>.
The war bringer
News, Alan Dawson, Published on 12/03/2017
» The southern rebellion against the government begins its 58th year tomorrow. It will be the first time the anniversary is marked without any of the original 1960 instigators but in particular it will go on without its primary leader, better called the godfather of the southern conflict.
Prayut fires warning shot
News, Alan Dawson, Published on 11/12/2016
» What a huge surprise it wasn't that authorities went for the jugular of the BBC when perusing foreign news coverage of succession to the throne.
Out of the box
News, Alan Dawson, Published on 20/01/2019
» For kakistocrats who have failed for four years-plus to organise reconciliation, bring back happiness, fight pollution in the air and on the beaches or even to organise so much as a date for an election, our all-male green-shirt regime sure has a lot to criticise about the rest of us.
Independence muted
News, Alan Dawson, Published on 09/12/2018
» The famously annoyable general prime minister was annoyed last week. The country's two largest political parties politely RSVP'd his invitation to a prayer meeting but declined because of the raucous nature of the worship.
Watching the vote
News, Alan Dawson, Published on 11/11/2018
» Foreign and Thai groups want official accreditation to monitor the next general election, whenever it occurs. And the government has instantly invited all such groups to kick rocks.
The good old days
News, Alan Dawson, Published on 09/09/2018
» If you've ever said in support of the coup regime that, yes, it's great that junta and government are dedicated to returning Thailand to those good old days, then you'll be forever grateful to the national police chief and the whole bunch of the unreformed Royal Thai Police.