Showing 1 - 10 of 18
A fond farewell to the poster people
Oped, Roger Crutchley, Published on 08/02/2026
» For a couple of months the streets in Bangkok and throughout Thailand have been decorated with posters of political candidates. But now the Big Day has arrived and soon the posters will disappear. In a strange sort of way, I will miss their presence as they were at least something to look at when stuck in the traffic. They generally appeared to be a cheerful lot, beaming at us with big cheesy grins as one would expect in the Land of Smiles.
Behind the smiles
Oped, Postbag, Published on 23/09/2025
» Re: "Govt denies seizing BBC footage", (BP, Sept 19).
The essence of Thailand in one phrase
Oped, Philip J Cunningham, Published on 05/06/2025
» The glossy brochures tell you it's "The Land of Smiles" or maybe it's just "amazing". Slightly more sophisticated takes suggest the essence of Thailand can be found in its unique expressions of showing consideration to others in the context of a hierarchy.
Painting Pakistan
Oped, Postbag, Published on 30/04/2025
» Re: "India and Pakistan troops exchange fire", (World, April 28).
Thailand's weed legalisation dilemma
Oped, Nuttanan Wichitaksorn, Published on 05/06/2024
» When cannabis or ganja was legalised (the plant was removed from the illicit drugs list) in 2022 by the Prayut Chan-o-cha government, this led to mass confusion whereby the public misunderstood and perceived it as "liberalisation". This resulted in widespread and unregulated cannabis consumption.
Stats don't add up
Oped, Postbag, Published on 08/05/2024
» Re: "Astra jab blood clots 'rare' insists institute", (BP, May 4). One in 10 million in Thailand and one in 100,000 in the UK? How can the National Vaccine Institute possibly reconcile such a large sigma statistical anomaly and claim the risk of vaccine-induced blood clots is extremely rare in Thailand while it is criminally deadly in the UK? Worldwide, young people have been harmed and have died from blood clots -- a phenomenon that has never before been seen in these huge numbers.
How Big Tech controls user behaviour for profit
Oped, Mariana Mazzucato & Ilan Strauss, Published on 02/03/2024
» In a new lawsuit in the US against Meta, 41 states and the District of Columbia argue that two of the company's social-media products -- Instagram and Facebook -- are not just addictive but detrimental to children's well-being. Meta is accused of engaging in a "scheme to exploit young users for profit", including by showing harmful content that keeps them glued to their screens.
The true cost of our 'wars' and 'wreckonomics'
Oped, David Keen & Ruben Andersson, Published on 16/02/2024
» In Constantine Cavafy's poem Waiting for the Barbarians, the much-feared barbarians never turn up. "Now, what's going to happen to us without barbarians?" the poem asks. "Those people were a kind of solution."
Welcome to the really silly season
Oped, Roger Crutchley, Published on 24/12/2023
» It's Christmas Eve and we are well into the Jinger Ben season in Thailand (Jingle Bells to the uninitiated). But in these dodgy times one suspects there might not be too much jingling going on. Nonetheless, considering all the gloomy news of late, a couple of weeks of being a bit daft offers a welcome break. So we might as well make the most of the Jinger Ben jollity, like a lady teller at my bank who was sporting some rather cute rabbit ears.
Might not be human
Oped, Postbag, Published on 23/02/2023
» Re: "Who will be AI's first billionaire?" (Opinion, Feb 20).