Showing 1 - 10 of 17
Getting soft power right
Life, Published on 08/01/2024
» After three months in office, the Srettha Thavisin government has raved on about populist policies in the guise of digital wallets and soft power projects that will create income to boost our declining economy. With optimism, we learned that Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Pheu Thai party leader and head of the National Soft Power Strategy Committee (NSPSC), has drafted a budget of 5.1 billion baht to boost festivals and creative industries. It is welcoming news to hear this government is priortising art, music, literature, design, fashion, film, food, games, sports and festivals as essential sources for the creative economy. Where this enormous chunk of budget will come from, like digital wallets, remains to be seen.
Roger Waters faces Argentina, Uruguay hotel ban amid 'anti-Semitism' row
AFP, Published on 16/11/2023
» BUENOS AIRES - A complaint of "anti-Semitism" was filed against Roger Waters in Argentina Wednesday as the former Pink Floyd frontman, on tour, accused "the Israeli lobby" of barring him from hotels in South America.
Rushdie filled with 'foreboding' at Israel-Hamas war
AFP, Published on 20/10/2023
» FRANKFURT - Author Salman Rushdie on Friday urged a "cessation" in fighting between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, saying he was filled with "horror" and "foreboding".
Struggle for survival
Life, Published on 04/11/2021
» In early 2020, just as the Covid-19 pandemic was peaking in China, Sasapin Siriwanij, artistic director of Bangkok International Performing Arts Meeting (BIPAM), departed Thailand for a month-long performance tour in northern Europe. Her trip was quickly interrupted, however, by the rapid spread of the pandemic across the continent. After spending several days in limbo, Sasapin regretfully headed home to Bangkok, where she was compelled by the Thai government to spend a fortnight in self-quarantine. Every arts festival in which Sasapin had intended to participate would soon thereafter be cancelled, postponed indefinitely, or converted to an online format.
At the crossroads of justice and virtue
Life, Chris Baker, Published on 10/07/2020
» The judiciary is the least studied element of the Thai polity. That did not matter much 25 years ago because it played almost no political role. But now the courts bring down governments, exile leaders, dissolve political parties, punish protesters and jail people for thought crimes. This book is long awaited and does not disappoint.
Cher tweets joy as Pakistan agrees to free lonely elephant Kaavan
AFP, Published on 22/05/2020
» ISLAMABAD: Music icon Cher marked "ONE OF THE GREATEST MOMENTS OF MY LIFE" Thursday after a Pakistani court ordered freedom for a lonely elephant named Kaavan, who had become the subject of a high-profile rights campaign backed by the US singer.
Bearing witness
Life, Yvonne Bohwongprasert, Published on 06/03/2020
» Cindy Bishop is no stranger to the human-rights-protection circle in Thailand. The campaign she set up two years ago called #DontTellMeHowToDress has helped raise awareness of sexual harassment and gender inequality in Thailand, sparking dialogue on victim-blaming, among other issues.
Beauty in banality
B Magazine, Chanun Poomsawai, Published on 17/11/2019
» The year 2014 was quite an exciting one for music. On the Top 40 front, we had a handful of inescapable earworms, like Pharrell Williams' Happy, Iggy Azalea featuring Charli XCX's Fancy and Taylor Swift's Shake It Off. Elsewhere, new talents like FKA twigs and Arca came out with their cutting-edge debut albums (LP1 and Xen, respectively). Standing among those high profile releases was Total Strife Forever, the debut record by English musician William Doyle, who at the time went by the moniker East India Youth.
Stereolab is coming back
Life, Published on 13/12/2018
» Legendary British/French indie group Stereolab recently teased at their live return in a post on their website and official Facebook page. The band also announced plans to reissue their classic seven albums.
Art and coup: Four years and counting
Life, Ariane Kupferman-Sutthavong, Published on 23/05/2018
» Tuesday marked the fourth anniversary of the May 2014 coup d'etat. While it continues to underpin the political landscape, the coup also sparked an unprecedented rise in Thai artworks with political messages. A new political art exhibition took place almost every month since May 2014.