Showing 1 - 10 of 13
Hedgehoppers in search of good news
Roger Crutchley, Published on 01/02/2026
» Being the very first day of February it would have been nice if there was some good news worth celebrating, but unfortunately nothing immediately springs to mind. Cheerful news is an increasingly rare commodity these days. It all seems to be gloom and doom and hardly portends a joyful 2026. It can get a bit wearying grappling with news reports featuring contradictions, cover-ups and cock-ups, often accompanied by half-truths, prevarications and porky pies. But this is the world we now live in.
A missing item in the rural soundtrack
Roger Crutchley, Published on 18/01/2026
» As usual at this time of the year I have been enjoying life in the Northeastern province of Chaiyaphum for several weeks. However on this visit there was something slightly different which I couldn't immediately put my finger on. It took a few days before realising I was not being woken up by the usual early morning chorus of roosters or chickens of any sort.
What would happen if Khamenei falls?
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 05/01/2026
» The demonstrations began again in Iran last week, only two years after the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement convulsed the country for months. However, the current protests are potentially much broader than that episode because they are driven by the collapse in Iran's currency, the rial (now 1,420,000 to the US dollar), and the explosive rise in the cost of living.
In Isan it's all just a matter of taste
Roger Crutchley, Published on 24/08/2025
» There has been too much depressing news lately so let's lighten things up a bit. There was an article in the Post a few weeks ago concerning a shop in Khon Khaen that is serving ice cream heavily topped with grilled chicken. I haven't tried it and to be frank have no intention of doing so, but by all accounts it is going down very well amongst people in Isan.
It seemed a good idea at the time
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 27/11/2022
» The annual elephant festival in Surin attracted more than the usual attention last week after featuring an attempt to enter the hallowed Guinness Book of Records. Alas, the only record achieved was that hundreds of student "volunteers" roasted in the sun, exposed for hours to high temperatures reaching 39C.
A country so different to anywhere else
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 22/08/2021
» The dramatic events in Afghanistan inevitably sparked memories of my own brief experiences of the country more than 50 years ago while on an overland trip from London to New Delhi and beyond.
Democracy is default mode of civilisations
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 30/07/2021
» At first I was going to write about the "Arab Problem", because there is not a single functioning democracy in the Arab world. This week's presidential coup in Tunisia has probably ended democracy in the one country that actually achieved it during the "Arab Spring" of 2010-11.
Lessons from Pimrypie
Oped, Editorial, Published on 13/01/2021
» Government offices can draw lessons from the Omkoi district office of non-formal and informal education regarding the "drama" of a charity project by popular YouTuber and online retailer Pimrypie.
Come live with me
Life, Pongpet Mekloy, Published on 10/02/2020
» Imagine yourself shuffling out of your bedroom in the morning to find the girl next door sitting on your favourite sofa chatting on the phone. On the other side of the large living room, another neighbour is working on his laptop. At the dining table, a familiar couple are enjoying breakfast. In the kitchen, somebody's cooking a cheese omelette.
Thai street eats? No, it's 7-11, 24/7
News, Sirinya Wattanasukchai, Published on 08/11/2018
» Last week, in a bid to show a strong commitment to nurturing its version of street food business, Singapore launched a months-long "Our SG Hawker Culture" exhibition at its bustling Tiong Bahru Market.