New Mandala

At the 2009 Thailand Update earlier in the month I made a presentation about the online manifestations of Thailand’s political conflicts.  This is an issue that I have been quietly working on for some time now.  My particular focus has been the Thai language component of the online debate(s).  The audio of the Thai Update [...]

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The Red Shirts held their fundraising concert at Khao Yai on Saturday, November 15, preparing for their big push to oust the government. In contrast to other news sources, I would put the number of Red Shirts there at about 50,000 to 60,000. The atmosphere was generally very festive, relaxed and happy. There were very few [...]

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From the Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers:
It has come to our attention that their is still continuing debate around the issue of the French Culture Minister,
Frédéric Mitterrand, and his admission that he paid for sex with male sex workers in Thailand. We have seen attacks on him from both the left and the right [...]

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Heralded by a truck of dancing teens singing about their love of Jesus, a few thousand people marched through Siam Square early this evening [Sunday 15 November]. Smiling for cameras, including the one held by this observer, they blocked one full lane of traffic headed towards Phloenchit Road. What made their demonstration intriguing is that [...]

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True to form, the good folk at Liberal Thai have put together a Thai-language translation of Richard Lloyd Parry’s interview with former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.  It remains incomplete (with only the first 6 pages of the 12 page interview) but a note at the bottom suggests that the full version will be available soon.

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New Mandala has been sent the following draft letter by a contact in Bangkok. It was written by a diligent officer in Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its authenticity cannot be verified but it raises issues that may be of interest to some readers.
The Editor
The Times
Dear Sir, I must protest in the strongest possible terms about your [...]

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Thaksin’s interview is a violation of the monarchy, which is the country’s core pillar and a highly respected institution. It is unacceptable and should have never taken place…Thaksin has also chosen to make a move when the entire nation is joining in wishing His Majesty the King a full recovery and good health. I wonder [...]

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The full transcript of Richard Lloyd Parry’s interview with former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is available here.  It makes for explosive reading.  There is so much in the interview that will be of interest to the average New Mandala reader that all I can do is suggest that you digest it in full.  Thaksin [...]

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A review of Yos Santasombat (2008), Flexible Peasants: Reconceptualizing the Third World’s Rural Types. RCSD, Chiang Mai University.

[This review appeared recently in Chiang Mai University's Sangkhomsat, 20 (2).]
Like many scholars who study contemporary rural society, Yos Santasombat is seeking to define a new type of peasantry. The challenge appears formidable, not the least because, as [...]

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He’s not the King yet. He may not be shining [now]…But after he becomes the King I’m confident he can be shining … it’s not his time yet. But when the time comes I think he will be able to perform.
- Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra quoted in Richard Lloyd Parry, “Ousted [...]

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