Showing 1 - 10 of 60
Bibi's strategy to keep justice at arm's length
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 03/12/2025
» Israel's prime minister, Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu, has just asked the country's president, Isaac Herzog, to "fully pardon" him of all three charges -- bribery, fraud and breach of trust -- that he has been on trial for since 2020. And the question is: Why did he only ask for it now?
Little sympathy
Oped, Postbag, Published on 11/09/2025
» Re: "Act now, as Suu Kyi is gravely ill", (Opinion, Sept 10). The problem with most activists and this freedom fighter is that they are very good at finding fault in others, not themselves. In a world where charisma trumps character, forgive the pun: Ms Suu Kyi is no exception.
Here's to all the useful ghosts of our history
Oped, Kong Rithdee, Published on 28/08/2025
» Ghosts are useful because they remind us of the unresolved, the unsettled, the unfinished -- in life, love, politics, or history. The film of the moment hitches onto that idea and takes it far, as far as the Cannes Film Festival, and now it has been picked as Thailand's representative for the Oscars.
Unholy identity crisis
Oped, Editorial, Published on 27/08/2025
» Allegations against Phra Alongkot -- the former abbot of the famous Wat Phrabat Namphu in Lop Buri -- have not only revealed a crisis of faith in Thai Buddhism, but have brought the issues of identity theft and impersonation to the forefront.
Journalism is the first victim in a conflict
Oped, Kong Rithdee, Published on 31/07/2025
» In times of chaos, to call for calm seems naïve. "Imagine there's no countries." Sure, John, I know your utopianism was well-intended, but try telling that to the blood-hounding jingoists running rampant online in Cambodia and Thailand.
Bombs don't work
Oped, Postbag, Published on 24/06/2025
» Re: "Trump's MAGA fans upset over possible Iran strike", (World, June 22).
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.
Cracks in the system
Oped, Editorial, Published on 08/04/2025
» The earthquake's impact in Thailand has exposed profound failures in the nation's bureaucratic system, which proved dangerously inadequate in the face of the disaster.
Different kinds of thieves with the same goal
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 18/02/2025
» What's the difference between smash-and-grab raids and protection rackets? Not all that much from the legal point of view, but protection rackets have a lower level of risk and a higher rate of returns.
The popular decimation of India's democracy
Oped, Pranab Bardhan, Published on 18/05/2024
» India's ongoing parliamentary election, in which nearly a billion people casting their votes over a six-week period, should represent an extraordinary exercise of democracy. The bleak reality, however, is that the election appears poised to consolidate a decade-long process of democratic decay, which has included the decimation of liberal institutions and practices and weakening of political competition. After all, the leader who has presided over this process -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) -- remains wildly popular.