New Mandala

As a result of the severe hail storm that hit the ANU and other parts of inner Canberra last night there has been some disruption to the New Mandala server. Apologies.

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Clearly there are greater hazards for visitors to Thailand than explosives. Bangkok Post reports:
Heart and circulatory failure, and diseases common in old age generally, are the most frequent causes of death among German tourists, according to the German embassy in Bangkok. … “A lot of people are less inhibited while on holiday than they are [...]

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This marks our 500th post. 
It is a little known fact that New Mandala was born in a Cambodian restaurant in Canberra’s northern suburbs.  Given a creative spark by Ali Jenkins, we decided that a new online collaboration was worth pursuing.  Having worked together since 2001, this was a new and exciting option for us.  Initially we weren’t [...]

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The latest ABAC poll has Surayud’s popularity slipping to 34.8%.  Thaksin’s has risen to 28.8%. The poll was undertaken in Bangkok. I wonder what the figures would look like in Chiang Mai?
According to the Bangkok Post, Surayud has vowed to “fade away:”
“I will take a rest. For me, I am not going to get involved [...]

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Local Practice and Trans-National Dynamics in Mainland Southeast Asia Religions: Historical and Contemporary Patterns.
23-24 February, 2007.
Wat Damnak, Siem Reap
In Southeast Asia, as in the rest of the world, religion has become a more and more salient issue as transnational processes break down traditional assumptions about the modern secular nation state. We invite scholars to take [...]

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What Thai people want is simple: a good, democratic constitution, one based on the 1997 charter that had to be abolished because of the coup, followed by a fair and clean election so that the country can move on. Every sign that the country is moving toward these two goals will be welcomed. Any move [...]

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The Sydney Morning Herald website has a fascinating article and slideshow that updates the story of  a small group of ethnic Kreung and Tom Puon who spent 25 years exiled in the jungles of northeast Cambodia.  According to the article, ”In 1979 they were among a group of 100 villagers who fled into the jungle as the [...]

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There have been reports that a trans-Mekong bridge is to be built at the Chiang Khong – Huayxai border crossing in northern Thailand.
 bridge-too-far.pdf; chiang-khong-span.pdf  [And see UPDATE at the end of this post for other developments in this region.]
This bridge has been on the regional development agenda for some time. When I was living in [...]

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Over at Hugawng Kachin, there is a useful little post with comparative maps of the Burmese army battalions based in the Kachin State in 2006 and 1994 (when the Kachin Independence Organization ceasefire was signed).  In 1994 there were 26 battalions located mainly near Myitkyina and along the north-south trunk route through the southern part of [...]

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Over the past few days, two key articles providing commentary on the coup and Thailand’s troubled democratic journey have appeared in the Bangkok Post.  The first by Nidhi Eoseewong reflects on the troubled relationship between Thai nationalism and democracy. The other by Patrick Jory comments on the post-coup “silence of the intellectual lambs.”
nidhi-thai-nationalism.pdf
jory-on-intellectuals.pdf
Some stimulating weekend reading here. 

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