New Mandala

It’s a question that is always worth asking - but, according to Suthichai Yoon, this question is becoming harder to answer for many in the Thai “middle class”.  
Suthichai’s piece in today’s The Nation tries to sum up the current state of Thai politics using the device of an “intimate conversation” with his friend, Daeng.  From Suthichai’s perspective, “Daeng typifies [the] [...]

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Setting the stage for a year of abundance and prosperity for the kingdom and its people, Thailand’s royal soothsayer Thursday predicted a year of ample crops and rainfall in the Royal Ploughing Ceremony to herald the beginning of the rains and rice-growing season.After ploughing a symbolic furrow around Sanam Luang, the royal parade ground in front of Bangkok’s [...]

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Many New Mandala readers will be aware that over the past few weeks a movement has formed to campaign against the censorship of Thai cinema.  These efforts have received a considerable amount of coverage. 
The catalyst for the current protests is the censorship of Apichartpong Weerasethakul’s new film, Syndromes and a Century (the Thai title is: [...]

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