New Mandala

I’ve been meaning to blog about this for quite a while…
Occasional New Mandala contributor, and ex-ANU researcher, Sarinda Singh has written two reports on trade in natural resources in the border regions of southern Laos and Cambodia. Here is a summary of the reports from TRAFFIC:
Two reports recently launched by TRAFFIC reveal the critical importance [...]

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For those of you interested in the politics and economics of rice seed, there is an interesting discussion going on in the RMAP blog about rice seed in Cambodia. The discussion was kicked off by ANU PhD scholar Maylee Thavat. Maylee writes:
I’m currently writing … a case study chapter on an AusAID funded project in Cambodia, called the [...]

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Over at Rule of Lords there is now a Thai-language translation of Awzar Thi’s essay on the diversion and pilfering of aid by the Burmese junta.  New Mandala readers who prefer their cyclone-related coverage in Thai may find it particularly useful.  And the newest Awzar Thi essay has a great deal of fresh analysis of [...]

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Vanity Fair has an interesting selection of photos taken by Roberto D’Addona on a 2007 trip to a Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) base near the Thailand-Burma border.  D’Addona also provides an account of his brief foray across the border.  Readers with an interest in these issues, and particularly those who have followed recent New Mandala discussions of [...]

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Further to my post about scientific research in mainland Southeast Asia, I thought it was worth drawing further reader attention to the great work done by Thomas Geissmann and his collaborators.  They produce an annual Gibbon Journal which has grown into a substantial undertaking – the last two editions have been 80-pages long.  The content ranges [...]

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The Irrawaddy has a particularly interesting interview with Zarni (of Free Burma Coalition fame).  Dr Zarni is, as some readers will know, currently a Visiting Research Fellow at Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford.

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In one of his many public services, Bangkok Pundit keeps a close eye on things like statements about “websites of concern”.  The Pundit recently highlighted this most recent list of websites that have, reportedly, been identified as containing problematic material.  As a list of sites it makes for interesting (but inconsistent) reading.  For other reporting on these [...]

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New Mandala readers who take an interest in the human rights situation in Thailand will be keen to learn about an innovative blog project.  In the run-up to the appointment of a new batch of National Human Rights Commissioners it is asking for ideas on who should be given the nod.  The current group of Commissioners were appointed [...]

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Macquarie University economist and long-time Burma-watcher Sean Turnell has been interviewed by The Irrawaddy.  The transcript is available here. 

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Faced with this spectacle, this machine of death, hate and madness, one hesitates between sorrow, pity, a desire to see these assassins brought before an international criminal tribunal that could try these kinds of crimes, and, finally, nostalgia for the days when France created and imposed upon the world the right and the duty to [...]

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