Showing 1 - 10 of 42
Conscription panic isn't the debate Europe needs
News, Lionel Laurent, Published on 06/04/2024
» 'The French are all soldiers and must defend their homeland." So decreed the 18th-century law that made military service mandatory in France, until the end of the Cold War banished it to the history books and replaced it with a kind of glorified recruitment day -- which I dutifully attended as a teenager and promptly forgot about. Nobody under the age of 45 in France has forcibly worn army fatigues or picked up a weapon, including Emmanuel Macron.
Democracy's flame still flickering
News, Veera Prateepchaikul, Published on 05/02/2024
» The opposition Move Forward party is doomed after the Constitutional Court last week ruled the party's campaign to amend Section 112 shows it is attempting to overthrow the constitutional monarchy.
Menstrual health and climate crisis
News, Bjorn Andersson, Published on 29/05/2023
» Menstruation is too often treated as a taboo topic and this stigma is pronounced in emergencies, where the challenges of managing menstruation are amplified. Asia and the Pacific are especially vulnerable to climate change, with droughts, floods and extreme storms that will continue to devastate critical infrastructure.
A story of cannabis, my father, and me
News, Zachary Quang Mills, Published on 25/05/2023
» When my father asked me if I had plans on a Sunday evening several months ago, I expected it was going to be his standard way of ensuring we would have dinner together, something we both cherish. When he instead said, somewhat hesitatingly, "So, how about if we smoke pot together?" I thought he was joking. I looked around, fully expecting a camera crew to pop out of our apartment's shadows to capture the shocked expression plastered on my face. "MY father?" I thought to myself, "The man who is supposed to protect me from the world's darkest influences and offerings is saying that he wants to smoke pot with me, his 16-year-old son?"
Will the new industrial policy work?
News, Keun Lee, Published on 27/02/2023
» Industrial policy has returned to government agendas across the developed and developing world. While the US Inflation Reduction Act has shocked America's Asian and European trading partners, the Biden administration's signature climate-change legislation is just the latest in a series of recent policies that seemingly fly in the face of World Trade Organization rules.
When (not) to stand up to the boss
News, Ke Michael Mai, Published on 23/01/2023
» When employees and their bosses hold similar beliefs about when to speak up or disagree at work, they have a better working relationship and this relates to a better performance appraisal for the employee.
Constructive dialogue on S112 needed
News, Paritta Wangkiat, Published on 08/11/2021
» Amid a series of youth protests calling for monarchy reform, one thing I learnt is that what has been lacking is a space for a constructive discussion -- a platform where people, either royalists, proponents of monarchy reform or those with neutral ideas, can have a healthy debate, without being in fear of violating the lese majeste law, or being criticised by left or right political wings that seem to have become more radicalised and lacking in tolerance to differing views.
Weed policy is still hazy
News, Editorial, Published on 22/03/2021
» After parts of the cannabis plant were taken off the country's narcotics list, the commercial prospects of cannabis-related products have become promising. Many business operators, including those listed on the stock market, have launched business plans to cash in on the government's move to partially legalise the once-taboo and criminalised plant.
Clubhouse wins race against old news elephants
News, Atiya Achakulwisut, Published on 23/02/2021
» With the new audio chat application Clubhouse in town, who will still want to read a newspaper? A few hands may be raised. A few hundred or even a few thousand probably.
Thai geostrategic value to woo Biden
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 08/12/2020
» Even before President-elect Joe Biden is officially anointed as the United States' president, a curse has already been cast on Thailand by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who on Dec 3 passed a resolution regarding the ongoing political unrest in the kingdom. Before spreading this false impression far and wide, the incoming Biden administration should pay full attention to the realities on the ground in Thailand, beyond political correctness reserved for a typical human right and democratic struggles. Otherwise, it could lead to unintended consequences on Thai-US relations as well as the US policy towards the region.