New Mandala

For various reasons I didn’t get to Day 3 of the Thai Studies Conference. So I will use this post to open up a general forum for comments, evaluation, critique, suggestions and reports in relation to the conference.

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Here is the full text of a Reuters report on the discussion of The King Never Smiles at the International Conference on Thai Studies.
Banned royal book stirs rare debate in Thailand
Fri Jan 11, 2008 10:19am IST
By Ed Cropley
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s banning of a rare “warts and all” biography of revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej only stokes interest [...]

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This event at the Foreign Correspondents Club next Tuesday may be of interest to New Mandala readers in Bangkok.�
Saffron Revolution: Unfinished Business
A Buddhist Panel Discussion on
What Lies Ahead for Burma
Tuesday, January 15 at 8:00 pm
Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand
Penthouse, Maneeya Center Building
518/5 Ploenchit Road (connected to the BTS Skytrain Chitlom station)
Cover charge for non-members: 300 Baht
In [...]

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Day 2 of the International Conference on Thai Studies here in Bangkok featured the keenly anticipated panels on the Thai monarchy. The first panel discussed some of the monarchy’s key supporting institutions – the abundantly rich Crown Property Bureau, the politically influential Privy Council, and the symbolically potent cult of King Chulalongkorn. The second panel [...]

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