I hope you all enjoyed last week’s video and photo update . Here’s more: There are forty-one children at Future Light Children’s Home . We spent the morning playing games and doing art activities. The kids never grew tired of running around… Read full story >>>

Seasoned Burma-watcher Andrew Selth has, once again, weighed into the debate about whether there is a Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) program in Burma.  His article over at the Lowy Institute’s Interpreter has all of the details. I recommend it Read full story >>>

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva (R) talks with US Democratic lawmaker Jim Webb (L) at the Government House in Bangkok on June 2, 2010. Webb, a strong supporter of engaging Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is visiting South Korea and Thailand during his…

Chindwin: a river that originates in Kachin State. Also a Burmese-language monthly magazine that the National Library of Australia recently added to its serials. Chindwin the river has a geographic bent, flowing towards the Irrawaddy. Chindwin the magazine has a literary and philosophical bent, leaning towards… Read full story >>>

Back in March, Matt Wheeler, Visiting Researcher at the Institute of Security and International Studies, Chulalongkorn University had a short article (PDF) entitled “Understanding Thailand’s political crisis” in Asian Conflicts Reports. Key excerpts: Several aspects of the current crisis bode ill for political Read full story >>>

Thomas Kean from The Myanmar Times has produced a fascinating article on water shortages and water management in Burma.  I draw it to readers’ attention to remind us all that there is more to life, and to New Mandala , than the current crisis in Thai politics.  For those of us… Read full story >>>

Here is an analysis by Ashley South of the upcoming eleciton in Burma. The article concludes: Those inside the country seeking to participate in the elections, are hoping to make the best of a poor set of options. They are surely better placed than exiled politicians and their… Read full story >>>

Thailand has quite a few ethnic minorities. One of these groups are the Mons which have their own distinct culture, clothing and language. They originally came from Southern Burma where they were once rulers of their own kingdom. Due to persecution and wars, they have fled their homeland…

World Policy Journal (Spring 2010) has published a very interesting photo-essay by Thierry Falise titled “On the Run: In Burma’s Jungle Hell”.  It is available here .  It should go without saying but the photo-essay includes some simply superb images of eastern Burma. Read full story >>>

Matichon quotes an anonymous Democrat source as stating that in a meeting of Bangkok Democrat MPs on April 4, which was the 3rd such meeting to evaluate the situation of the red shirt protests, that the feeling of the meeting was of course that if the protesters were able to close the… Read full story >>>

Thus the international community faces another conundrum over Burma. A global arms embargo would help register the widespread concern felt over Naypyidaw’s behaviour, but is unlikely to have any real impact on the situation in the country. In fact, to launch a major initiative of this kind and have it … Read full story >>>

Interview with polyglot Stu Jay Raj… Heads-up everyone: This post is a continuation of Stuart (Stu) Jay Raj: Interview Part One .   Stu, with Cracking Thai Fundamentals and now Mindcraft , you’ve taught the Thai language to expats for some time. … Read full story >>>

PM Abhisit Vejjajiva admits that there has been pressure for him to “take drastic actions” against the red protestors, especially after they took over Rajprasong Intersection, Bangkok’s business central district.” “I also wanted to take that route. But for the sake of national interests, we have to be cautious and to follow … Read full story >>>

PPT on CAPO: A PPT reader who wanted to know about the seemingly sudden appearance of CAPO in the media – the Centre for the Administration of Peace and Order. His research produced some results that we felt that our readers would find the results useful background … Read full story >>>

     My Pics of the Day this week were all taken at the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. Mrs Phanaperson and I stopped over on our way to the UK. Our son and his family are now living and working there. Check out the Pic… Read full story >>>

This is the final part of a New Mandala series.  Readers are warned that some of the content in this series is graphic and there is occasional coarse language.  Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 , Part 4 and Part 5 were published in recent weeks. Downtown Rangoon in March was hot and humid and dirty… Read full story >>>

The Nation ’s recent ‘Red-shirt rallies boost e-commerce’ seems more like a product of spoof site Not The Nation than the newspaper itself. Although it is a short piece, I won’t go through it in full as my statements would be as obvious as remind … Read full story >>>

Appearing like the stone tablet with the Ten Commandments etched on it or like the Stele of Hammurabi from the Ancient Near East, one single amulet stands proud on the dashboard of this taxi. While some Bangkok cabbies love to dangle a dozen or so of these from their rear… Read full story >>>

We recently spoke about the arbitrariness of Thai censorship in this post. TrueMove now takes the issue to a new height with an in Thailand yet unseen “blanket censorship.” Chances are that if you’re using TrueMove GPRS or 3G … Read full story >>>

My Pics of the Day this week are of houses in Phana.  Click on the Pic of the Day tab at the top of the page to see today's image and the ones I have posted previously. Come back tomorrow and the following days to… Read full story >>>