Showing 1 - 10 of 11
Try snail mail
Oped, Postbag, Published on 21/01/2026
» Re: "90-day puzzle" & "Ninety-day riddle", (PostBag, Jan 15 & 16).
Be wary of the TikTokalypse on the radar
Oped, Todd G Buchholz, Published on 31/01/2025
» When the United States president, Congress and Supreme Court are all in a tizzy at the same time, the topic under discussion is usually a global meltdown or, at the very least, income taxes. Today, the concern is dancing cat videos. In his first day back in the White House, Donald Trump launched a strike against the Court and Congress by signing an executive order to pause the ban on TikTok, earning applause from the Chinese-owned company. TikTok's online content creators are relieved, too, for many warn that a ban (or a forced sale to a US company) would devastate them. I call it the TikTokalypse.
Thailand's spreading rot of irregularity
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 19/07/2024
» The rot in Thailand's institutional makeup has become so deep, dense and widespread that it can be found nearly everywhere there is controversy. Newly elected Senator Keskamol Pleansamai is the latest case in point. Just about everything that comes with her meteoric rise to the Senate spurs accusations of irregularity and impropriety.
The toxic legacy left by the Green Revolution
Oped, Jayati Ghosh, Published on 15/02/2024
» There are more than 390,000 identified plant species in the world, but just three -- rice, maize, and wheat -- account for roughly 60% of the plant-based calories in our diets. The dominance of these three grains is largely the result of major technological breakthroughs, particularly the development of high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of rice and wheat during the Green Revolution of the 1960s.
Prospects at home and abroad in 2024
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 05/01/2024
» Overlooked but deeply consequential, 2024 will be the first time in a decade that Thailand is ruled by a civilian-led government. Whatever frustration and disenchantment that arise this year, memories must not run short. Thailand suffered deeply under the coup-backed regime of Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha. Seeing his back is politically good riddance, and having Srettha Thavisin as a thoroughly civilian and pro-business prime minister bodes well for the country. Yet Mr Srettha has his work cut out to boost the economy, address constitutional reform, restore Thailand's international standing, and stay in office into next year amid the global economic slowdown.
Give govt a chance
Oped, Postbag, Published on 12/09/2023
» Re: "Betrayal of voters", (PostBag, Sept 9).
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.
Tough times ahead for MFP and Pita
Oped, Chairith Yonpiam, Published on 03/06/2023
» As the old powers play hardball, the road to Government House for the Move Forward party (MFP) leader Pita Limjaroenrat remains rough. The MFP won the most votes, 14.4 million of them, in the May 14 election, but its fate still hangs in the air.
Black women justices do matter
Oped, Antara Haldar, Published on 24/03/2022
» In an October 2013 address at the University of Cambridge Faculty of Law lecture theatre, I showed students a "class photo" of the United Kingdom's Supreme Court and challenged them to "spot the difference". It wasn't a case for Sherlock Holmes: of the 11 justices, all were white, and only one was a woman -- the solitary, if indomitable, Baroness Hale.
Thailand's holding pattern till next poll
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 10/09/2021
» Thailand's recent no-confidence debate in parliament started with a bang and ended with a whimper. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and five other cabinet members who were grilled by opposition MPs for pandemic mishandling, budget irregularities and overall mismanagement and incompetence sailed through the parliamentary vote based on the coalition government's strength in MP numbers rather than the merits of its governance.