Showing 1 - 10 of 16
An Ithaca idyll with Surin Pitsuwan
News, Philip J Cunningham, Published on 04/12/2017
» During Surin Pitsuwan's visit to Ithaca, New York, this past September, a barbecue party was arranged by long-time family friends who live on the edge of town where the still lush and green rural surroundings could at a glance be mistaken for rural Thailand. Chickens cackled in a nearby coop and birdsong was everywhere in the air.
US hubris has real-world consequences
News, Philip J Cunningham, Published on 23/12/2014
» The Interview is based on a deeply-flawed conceit rooted in American exceptionalism: that a film about the killing a leader for the fun of it is funny as long as the target is unpopular and foreign.
China proved right over Facebook ban
News, Philip J Cunningham, Published on 24/03/2018
» In retrospect, China did the right thing by saying "no thank you" to Facebook. When gregarious internet evangelists come bearing gifts, it is probably best not to take their wares or let them in the door. Give 'em an inch and they'll take a mile -- and trample on national sovereignty, too, if profits and power are at stake.
America first, and Trump unleashed
News, Philip J Cunningham, Published on 26/01/2017
» The Trump administration introduced itself to the nation and the world with a bellicose roar of "America first" and some rather petty falsehoods, establishing a strident, truculent tone.
The idiosyncratic appeal of the megalomaniacs
News, Philip J Cunningham, Published on 30/05/2016
» 'What do you think of Donald Trump? Is it really possible for him to be president?"
Junta’s legacy hinges on applying the law equally
News, Philip J Cunningham, Published on 30/05/2014
» It is easy to imagine a coup d’etat being a terrible bloody affair in countries without a history of coups because the populace would panic, over-react, or misread the signals. But in Thailand there is, oddly enough, a sense of continuity with the interplay of familiar archetypes in such abrupt political change.
Suthep has mastered the art of hard-to-heart talk
News, Philip J Cunningham, Published on 03/03/2014
» To borrow a formulation often used to describe democracy, a peaceful overthrow of a rotten regime is the worst possible option, except for all the others.
Suthep's patriotic vision stuck in an imaginary past
News, Philip J Cunningham, Published on 05/12/2013
» Anticipating His Majesty the King's birthday today, both sides of the political divide have stepped back from the brink, exchanging flowers and hugs on the battle-torn front lines instead of rubber bullets and tear gas.
Time will not weaken Snowden's legacy
News, Philip J Cunningham, Published on 28/12/2013
» Edward Snowden was for a while considered Time magazine's most likely candidate for "Person of the Year", but in the end the editors yielded the man-of-the-year slot to the Pope, the third pontiff so named.
Miyazaki and Aso battle for Japan's hearts and minds
News, Philip J Cunningham, Published on 03/08/2013
» Unresolved issues of history continue to haunt and distort the present, all the more so when hidden from view. Historical controversies need a good airing from time to time, not so much to salvage the past as to save the future from repetition of past mistakes.