Showing 1 - 10 of 64
Can Thai passports' power get a lift?
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 19/09/2023
» At the first cabinet meeting last week, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin announced one of the government's priorities -- improving the power of Thai passports. It is a headline goal that will require extraordinary efforts to achieve. Upgrading a national passport to a higher level involves numerous factors -- economic, socio-cultural, and political -- as well as the general optics of the partnership countries. After all, the large number of visitors to a country is not an indicator of how powerful its passport is. A country might be given more visa-free accessibility and be popular for foreign passports, but its own passport's power can still be low.
Watch Apple TV's Extrapolations for the science, not the story
Life, Published on 10/04/2023
» Hollywood has long mined global warming to create terrifying scenarios of apocalyptic futures. Some of these aren't very realistic. Others are all preaching and no teaching. But the new Apple TV series Extrapolations takes a different, more science-steeped approach -- the episodes cascade through the future of this century, using real scientific projections and computer-generated special effects to show how global warming might play out under the most likely scenario.
Thailand's Big Brother is upping the ante
Oped, Thana Boonlert, Published on 06/08/2022
» In the late 18th century, British philosopher Jeremy Bentham visited his younger brother, Samuel, in Russia, who arranged unskilled factory workers in a circle so that he could supervise them. Inspired by this principle, Bentham developed "the panopticon", an inspection tower surrounded by cells. Its uniqueness was that it enabled a watchman to monitor prisoners without them knowing they were being watched.
Curses and blessings
Life, Patcharawalai Sanyanusin, Published on 01/08/2022
» Thailand has been hit with the sixth wave of Covid-19 and fears are abound that August will see a surge of new cases as well. Many doctors are predicting that the number will peak around the end of this month.
Wild Wild Web's pandemic of lies needs a vaccine
Oped, Wasant Techawongtham, Published on 11/12/2021
» We have all encountered false information spread on the internet before.
How can we win World War C?
Life, Kanokporn Chanasongkram, Published on 04/10/2021
» It has been almost two years since a cluster of pneumonia cases were reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. The cause would later be identified as a novel coronavirus that has spurred this ongoing pandemic.
US-Thai Cobra Gold drills wither at 40
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 17/08/2021
» The 40th iteration of Cobra Gold (CG), which ended last week, was supposed to be the best year ever for the four-decades-old Thai and US joint military exercises. But it was not to be. Blame it on the Covid-19 pandemic or the menace of smartphones and social media spreading fake news about the true nature of the region's largest multinational military exercise.
Give the homeless fair treatment
News, Editorial, Published on 06/06/2021
» Tomorrow is D-Day for the much awaited state mass Covid vaccination programme. After receiving the first batch of vaccines from AstraZeneca, the government -- which had been attacked for its shambolic vaccine management during the past two months -- seems to be in the driving seat.
Can 'green bonds' kill rush hour?
News, Published on 05/05/2021
» Of all the post-pandemic futurology going on at the moment, the idea of using green bonds to facilitate the death of city rush hours will have few objections from weary commuters.
Public needs antiviral meds
Oped, Editorial, Published on 01/05/2021
» Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Thais have been gripped by fear. For months, these worries -- which have been intensified during the kingdom's third wave of infections -- have been about the government's slow vaccination rollout. Now the public is getting more anxious, following concerns over a possible shortage of favipiravir, an important medicine used to treat Covid-19 patients with moderate to severe symptoms.