Showing 1 - 10 of 24
Not even the penguins were spared
Roger Crutchley, Published on 28/12/2025
» Well, we've just about slithered our way through the Year of the Snake. Suffice to say, 2025 wasn't much fun. At least the previous year we had the "Happy Hippo" which kept us vaguely amused in a daft sort of way.
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.
Kingdom of Denmark vs the Shadow Fleet
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 25/10/2025
» Back in the 16th and 17th centuries, two-thirds of the Danish kingdom's income came from taxes paid by every ship passing through the Øresund ('The Sound') Strait, the only exit from the Baltic Sea. Each ship had to declare its cargo -- and if the Danes thought they were undervaluing it, Denmark had the right to buy it at the declared price.
The loveliness of a flying beetle
Roger Crutchley, Published on 20/07/2025
» The recent cricket match between England and India at Lord's was reportedly briefly delayed by a swarm of ladybirds which were bothering the players. It is believed to be the first recorded instance of "ladybirds stopped play". More importantly, swarm is not the correct term for these flying beetles. The collective noun for ladybirds (ladybugs for our American friends) is a "loveliness".
Thai police officer becomes the bee's knees
Roger Crutchley, Published on 20/04/2025
» The feel-good story this week involves a most unlikely hero, a Thai policeman. It is not often that the local gendarmerie are the subject of uplifting news, but that was the case in the Northeastern province of Nakhon Phanom when an alert policeman rescued a woman from a swarm of attacking bees.
Tak Bai injustice
Oped, Postbag, Published on 22/10/2024
» Re: "iCon to face more charges", (BP, Oct 21) & "Expiry of Tak Bai charges 'linked to surge in unrest'", (BP, Oct 21).
Peacetime frigate?
Oped, Postbag, Published on 11/11/2023
» Re: "Sutin backs military modernisation", (BP, Nov 10).
'Insect apocalypse' coming to your neighbourhood
Oped, Adam Minter, Published on 03/08/2023
» An unusually large influx of tiny insects called aphids have been sucking on Dallas-area pecan trees in recent weeks. After they've had their fill, they "excrete" the waste out their back ends and onto cars, driveways and sidewalks. "Texas is covered in a sticky, icky goo," declared a Dallas Morning News headline. Other news outlets offered tips on how to clean up the mess.
Migrating giant honey bees need their rest stops
News, W. S. Robinson, Published on 07/02/2022
» I'll bet you this, from this remote ranch 13,000km from Thailand: there's no buzz filling my favourite Thai mango orchard now.
Stench of anti-Chinese racism is deeply ingrained
Oped, Hsuan L Hsu, Published on 20/03/2021
» Since the arrival of Covid-19, people assumed to be Chinese have been stared at, yelled at, coughed on, spat on, sprayed with air freshener, beaten, splashed with acid, pushed, stabbed, and murdered -- sometimes for simply occupying public space. I have thought twice about spending time in public on days when allergies to cats, pollen or wildfire smoke might make me susceptible to the hazards of "coughing while Asian".