Thailand Voice

The Bangkok Post has an article with the headline “Thaksin looking to World Court”: In a post on his Twitter page on Monday morning, the fugitive former prime minister said:  “I insist I am not in the wrong. If the Thai… Read full story >>>

For some time now, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the last remaining “ceasefire” army in the Kachin State, has been preparing for potential hostilities with the Burmese government. The immediate trigger for KIA preparations is the Burmese government’s effort to force their transformation into a Border Guard Force. Of course,  there … Read full story >>>

Absolutely Bangkok , a website that I would hardly associate with subversive content, was recently blocked by LoxInfo.  There is a fascinating account of the episode available here .  With the current appetite in Thailand for “crackdowns” of various sorts, this is unlikely to be the last time that … Read full story >>>

Thankfully, it is has unblocked it now, but it does show you the perils of these filters. Absolutely Bangkok which was blocked (and is now unblocked) by one Thai ISP has the story. BP: Thai Hotline, the particular organization that was Read full story >>>

Uruphong Raksasad’s Agrarian Utopia ( Sawan Baan Na ) has won another award! At the !f istanbul International Film Festival , which wrapped up on Sunday, it shared the prize with Gigante , by Uruguay’s Adrian Biniez. The two directors split the purse of $15,000. The jury, comprised of Icelandic filmmaker Dagur Kari, Sundance … Read full story >>>

CPJ: Thai media were caught in the middle of a political conflict that entered its fourth year of destabilizing antigovernment street demonstrations and tough government responses. Both sides in the conflict—supporters and opponents of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra—threatened journalists, some of whom were openly aligned to Read full story >>>

At some stage into the future, Burma will have a civilian Government, which will face great challenges. At some stage into the future, the regional and international community will be asked to help in the rebuilding of Burma’s economic and social structures. Australia’s view… Read full story >>>

After the swedish jetfighters , the submarine , the fake bomb detectors … the thai Army is not afraid of ridicule. It’s even a marque de fabrique . And the latest proof is : the air balloon scandal . The Royal Thai Army yesterday came out in defence of … Read full story >>>

And question marks over the health of the country’s revered king, who is 82 and has been in hospital for four months, have amplified the sense of uncertainty. King Bhumibol Adulyadej has been on the throne for 64 years, and has been a vital point of stability as Thailand navigated the turbulence of the vast … Read full story >>>

It has been somewhat amusing to observe the preening Abhisit take credit for the one aspect of government performance over which he has precious little control – human rights, integrity in political discourse and behaviour, civil liberties and administrative competence have all suffered significantly this past year ( as people have noted in … Read full story >>>

As 2009 draws to a close I thought I’d take a look back at Beyond The Mango Juice’s year so far and pick my favourite post from each month. Regular readers will have read most of my picks but there may be one… Read full story >>>

Yesterday, I took my failed Canon MP610 printer to the Canon (Thailand) Service Centre on Sathorn Road. It was a 200B taxi ride including a 45B toll. I rarely take taxis so I did not know the best route. Unfortunately the box was too big for me to take … Read full story >>>

As long-term readers of New Mandala will remember, it is a well-established tradition that we send our Christmas greetings via some lively dancing elves. This year is no different. We only have two elves this time, one of them a repeat … Read full story >>>

The problem is that engagement with Burma has been tried many times before, and always without success. Nor is it the first time the regime has promised to free Suu Kyi, or that Suu Kyi has expressed her willingness to meet the generals. The patterns are all too familiar… Read full story >>>

Google Translate does more than before… Google Translate has added three more items of interest: Translations as you type: Type your text in the main box and the translation appears below. Romanization option: the ability to receive transliteration instead. Text-to-… Read full story >>>

I fancy myself something of a pretty good martial artist. Back in the day when I was younger (okay, okay, MUCH younger) I used to pride myself on my ability to kick very high and with excellent form. It took a long time for me to be able to kick like that… Read full story >>>

The capital’s labour force is still busy constructing the capital’s future – an impressive parliament complex and a presidential house are emerging in anticipation of the 2010 general elections. The total cost of building Naypyidaw remains a mystery, although a local businessman points out … Read full story >>>

£876.65? The highlands meet high fashion?  Any takers ? Read full story >>>

O Nathapon’s romantic drama A Moment in June is in the Southeast Asian competition at Cinemanila 2009, which starts Thursday and runs until October 25. Here’s the lineup for the SEA competition: Bakal Boys , Ralston Jover (Philippines) Jermal , Ravi L. Bharwani, Rayya Makarim and Utawa Tresno (Indonesia) Talentime , Yasmin Ahmad (Malaysia) Woman on Fire Looks for… Read full story >>>

According to a report in The Sydney Morning Herald , a big Australian fashion company that owns iconic brands including Millers and Katies has stopped sourcing products from Burma in response to Australian Council of Trade Unions/Burma Campaign Australia pressure.  The relevant press release is available here .  Trumpeting this … Read full story >>>

At The Sydney Morning Herald Mic Looby , who co-authored the 2001 Lonely Planet guide to Burma, has weighed into the ongoing debate about Burma sanctions.  It is well worth reading in full .  One of the key paragraphs launches a… Read full story >>>

This is the agenda for economic change for Thailand in the wake of the global financial crisis – it is very difficult to separate this from the political agenda for change but, under the current repressive Abhisit regime, it is simply too … Read full story >>>

Long-term readers may recall that I have something of a sideline interest in the unevenness of Western fast food proliferation across mainland Southeast Asia.  Indeed two of my very early New Mandala posts were on this topic (back in the first months:  30 June 2006 and 4 August 2006 ).  In May 2008 I even put out an … Read full story >>>

The northern three Wa divisions are currently on standby and say they expect an attack from the government army in the coming days… – Wai Moe, “ Clouds of war move over Shan State ”, The Irrawaddy , 2 September 2009. Of all of the hundreds of news… Read full story >>>

It is difficult to imagine a scheme more ripe for abuse and inefficiency than this one . If it is true (and one must always be cautious about taking what appears in the newspapers at face value), then five private companies are… Read full story >>>

Some links that have caught my eye of late: The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s [Pitchfork.com] — Via kottke.org Wikipedia Will Limit Changes on Articles About Living People [NYTimes.com] — “Officials…say that within weeks, the English-language Wikipedia… Read full story >>>

The two major threats facing the effort to lift developing Asia out of poverty are the ongoing economic crisis and climate change, according to a speech by the President of the Asian Development Bank, Haruhiko Kuroda. Southeast Asia is one of the most vulnerable areas of the world to the dangers of climate Read full story >>>

Adioso is a promising new site that tracks budget airline fares in Southeast Asia and Australia. The site is still in beta, but some features include: A spare design and an easy-to-use search bar at the top of the site. Once you select your location within the … Read full story >>>