Showing 31 - 40 of 8,563
Turkey is swiftly heading towards a regime of terror
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 12/11/2016
» 'In Turkey, we are progressively putting behind bars all people who take the liberty of voicing even the slightest criticism of the government," wrote author Orhan Pamuk, Turkey's first Nobel Prize winner. "Freedom of thought no longer exists. We are distancing ourselves at high speed from a state of law and heading towards a regime of terror" that is driven by "the most ferocious hatred".
'Bob' Halliday gone, but his light lives on
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 03/06/2017
» Bob told me many stories from a time when I hadn't even been born: During the Oct 14, 1973 student uprising, the authorities suspected he was a spy. When the Oct 6, 1976 massacre took place and the stench of blood was still fresh at Thammasat University, he surveyed the wreckage and bemoaned the state of the country he had adopted as his new home. Some evenings he reminisced on how he had lived through several dictators and prime ministers, hijacked or elected, overthrown or incapacitated -- he talked about Richard Nixon, Thanom Kittikachorn, Tanin Kraivixien, Thaksin Shinawatra, Prayut Chan-o-cha, etc. It didn't matter what happened, he'd say, as long as he could prowl produce markets in search of the perfect durian -- the caramelised Holy Grail of the fruit he adored above all else, the fruit that, as he'd say, made him "slobber like a mastiff".
Send in the clowns
News, Postbag, Published on 27/11/2016
» The State Enterprise Policy Office urges State Railway of Thailand (SRT) land development as a quick solution out of debt (BP, Nov 25). Who does it think it is kidding? The SRT is a bottomless pit as its debt piles up deeper and deeper due to inept management, lousy service, filthy, antiquated rolling stock, the inability to maintain any normal scheduling, and free rides.
Laughing off the fear
Sunday Spotlight, Published on 03/07/2022
» When Taha al-Baskini won a part in a new play about soldiers who reunite after dying in combat, his costume was already in his closet. His onstage camouflage pants were the same ones he had worn as a militia fighter during Libya's most recent civil war a few years ago, when an airstrike injured al-Baskini and killed several of his comrades as they defended their city.
US Defense Secretary Mattis resigns over Syria pullout
AFP, Published on 21/12/2018
» WASHINGTON: US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis resigned on Thursday, leading a chorus of protests at home and abroad after President Donald Trump ordered a complete troop pullout from Syria and a significant withdrawal from Afghanistan.
'Racist' headline irks
News, Postbag, Published on 03/05/2021
» Re: "Thais tested for 'Indian strain'", (BP, May 1).
Bangsamoro referendum a breath of fresh air
News, Published on 19/02/2019
» On Jan 21, voters in the Mindanao autonomous region in the Philippines voted overwhelmingly in a referendum to become a part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, a self-administered area to be created for Mindanao's Muslims.
Is it time for the United States to dump Saudi Arabia?
News, Published on 05/02/2016
» After the recent execution of Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr by Saudi Arabia, the Middle East once again risks devolving into sectarian chaos. A mob torched the Saudi Embassy in Tehran, prompting Saudi Arabia and a number of its Sunni allies to break diplomatic relations with Iran.
Suicide attack in Baghdad kills at least 38
Reuters, Published on 15/01/2018
» BAGHDAD: Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at a busy street market in central Baghdad on Monday, in back-to-back explosions that killed at least 38 people, Iraqi health and police officials said.
Religious fervour serves no god well
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 07/04/2018
» Aformer rock musician has embraced the role of online preacher and denounced, above other things, rock music. In fact, he objects to most kinds of music, deeming it against Islam. Weerachon "Toh" Sattaying, once the high-pitched frontman of the band Silly Fools (love the name), has over the past six years quit his former lifestyle and became a born-again Muslim. Bearded, skull-capped, fiery-eyed and charismatic, Weerachon runs a dry-aged beef business and hosts an online religious programme that has cultivated quite a following.