New Mandala

At the last PAD press conference after the Udon clashes Chamlong Srimuang and Sondhi Limthongkul announced that the PAD would now have the right to take up arms to protect themselves as the police would collaborate with pro-government mobs.
This somewhat counters their Ghandi-esque claims, and comes closer to the reality that they are not that [...]

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With both Mizzima News and the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) subjected to recent Distributed Denial of Service attacks it makes sense to draw some more attention to the excellent work of their journalists and editors.�
Earlier in July the DVB carried an outstanding report on the Burmese government effort to modify radios donated by the Chinese [...]

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Sometimes I am a bit slow off the mark…just a moment ago I learned that The Nation is reportedly in dire condition.  Late last week 2Bangkok ran a short piece announcing that the paper is for sale, and that there are rumours of massive staff cuts and other re-structuring.
In response, Fonzi (of Thailand Jumped the Shark fame) has [...]

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The National Human Rights Commission of Thailand has taken leave of its senses. It has written to the Secretary General of the United Nations expressing “the most serious concern and dismay … over the blatant violation of human rights” involved in the World Heritage listing of the Preah Vihear temple. Here is a brief extract [...]

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During the American War, countless Vietnamese fought and died for their nation, and many of the martyrs’ remains have been lost in Laos for the past 40 years. Now, a new generation of soldiers is bringing them back home.
- Extracted from Tran Bien, Tran Hoai and Ho Linh, “Soldiers bring martyr remains back home”, Vietnam [...]

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In the most recent edition of Quadrant, an Australian intellectual monthly, the former Australian Ambassador to Burma 1980-1982, Richard Gate, has a short piece outlining his analysis of the country and its post-cyclone prospects.  Unfortunately it is not available online.�
In a novel twist on the standard presentation Gate compares current conditions in Burma to those [...]

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I am ready to fight the Thais. All we wait for is an order from Prime Minister Hun Sen…We don’t want war – we want peace and development. But we need tourists, and while the Thais do this, the tourists do not come…Thais already have their own problems in their south…Why do they want an [...]

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The attack on a PAD rally by pro-government thugs in Udon Thani is a  disgracefully violent escalation in Thailand’s political standoff. In a democratic system everyone has a right to peaceful protest, and protesters have a right to expect police protection against violent attack. Those responsible for the attack on the PAD rally should be pursued, [...]

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Online security is a concern for almost anyone who runs a website.  There are many potential challenges and, for most of us, only ever limited resources to plough into protective measures.  It is rarely feasible to defend against every conceivable threat.
With that in mind, the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) reports that over the past week it has [...]

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