Showing 1 - 10 of 23
It's the economic history, stupid
Oped, Iker Saitua, Published on 14/01/2026
» Every year, I walk into a first-year lecture hall in Bilbao at the University of the Basque Country (EHU) and watch shoulders slump. The title of the course I'm teaching -- "Economic History" -- draws a similarly dejected reaction from my students: "Meh." "Boooring." "What's this even for?" Some call it "the history class", as if it belonged to another century.
Artists resist repression in Thailand, US
Oped, Sally Tyler, Published on 08/12/2025
» In late August, two seemingly unrelated events occurred in Thailand and the US. The Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC) altered a major exhibit it had recently opened and, a few weeks later, the comedian Jimmy Kimmel was temporarily taken off the air by the ABC television network. These events are linked as forms of artistic repression and perhaps more concerning, as examples of the growing use of intermediary censorship by authoritarian regimes.
Thai diplomacy is now in need of a reset
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 24/06/2025
» For the record, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has committed the most damaging diplomatic blunder in Thailand's modern history. The leaked 17.6-minute audio clip of a phone call between her and former Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen was not just embarrassing -- it was devastating, not only for her but for the Thai people and the country.
The economy is waiting to hit an iceberg
Oped, Chartchai Parasuk, Published on 20/03/2025
» This is not a scene from the 1997 film Titanic. On the evening of April 14th 1912, a small Canadian fishing boat, skippered by a French-Canadian captain called "Jacques-Chai", approached the Titanic wanting to convey a very important message to Captain Edward Smith. The message was that there was a sea of icebergs, one was particularly big, about 200 miles ahead.
Pedestrian roulette
Oped, Postbag, Published on 30/01/2025
» Re: "Rider told to report over crossing crash", (BP, Jan 28) & "Police summons motorcyclist who hit Korean on crossing", (Online, Jan 27).
Nuclear warning
Oped, Postbag, Published on 18/01/2025
» Re: "New plan prepares for nuclear power", (Business, Jan 14).
Scales of justice
Oped, Postbag, Published on 02/11/2024
» Re: "Official's absence under review", (BP, Oct 30) & "No justice for Tak Bai", (Editorial, Oct 30).
Irony takes centre stage at Olympics
Oped, Slavoj Žižek, Published on 08/08/2024
» Two big cultural events this summer, the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics and the release of Deadpool & Wolverine, both offer dazzling spectacles saturated by irony. But that is about all they have in common, and by analysing their differences, we can better appreciate the profoundly ambiguous nature of irony today.
Handout blowback
Oped, Postbag, Published on 26/04/2024
» Re: "Phumtham plays down BoT warning on handouts", (BP, April 25) & "The thorny issue of digital wallet funding", (Business, April 25).
Only the young can change Thailand
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 09/06/2023
» If the past two decades of Thai politics has been about populism and colour-coded conflicts between the yellow-shirted pro-establishment forces against the red shirts aligned with ousted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the foreseeable future will likely be about structural reforms and a generational clash between the age-old established centres of power against young Thais who are rising up to determine their country's future directions. It is unsurprising that only younger Thais can change Thailand because their old compatriots have too much at stake and too many vested interests in the entrenched and deeply embedded status quo.