Thailand Voice

The government may reduce subsidies for sugar and cane farmers later this year in a bid to curb public spending , Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva says. The study showed that subsidising the sugar industry had resulted in significant costs to the public purse. The study also examined the impact of subsidising products such as rice, … Read full story >>>

François Molle, Tira Foran and Mira Käkönen, eds., Contested Waterscapes in the Mekong Region: Hydropower, Livelihoods, and Governance. London and Sterling, Virginia: Earthscan, 2009. Pp. xxii, 426; figs. and maps, bibs. by chapter, index. Two important books on water resources in Asia appeared in 2009. The first is Tushaar Shah, Taming … Read full story >>>

Is this the future? The River Mekong running dry for much of the year, putting at risk the lives and livelihoods of the 50 million people who rely upon the river downstream –there are some fairly grim photos of this available now. One immediate effect of this has been the … Read full story >>>

Anasuya Sanyal in Channel News Asia: Federico Ferrara, assistant professor, Political Science Department, National University of Singapore said: “The dilemma is this – if they take away of his [Thaksin Shinawatra's] money, they are vulnerable charges of double standards and they are likely to give rise to some kind of a backlash.”On the other hand, … Read full story >>>

Talking with people in Thailand who have connections with some of the players in politics, there’s certainly an undercurrent of concern and anxiety that things could turn ugly…The upcoming verdict on the Thaksin assets case is potentially a flashpoint…I think tensions are just so high … Read full story >>>

Here is a screenshot taken in Bangkok, using an ADSL internet line. Asia Sentinel is a web-based Asian regional publication focussed on news, business, arts and culture. The site was launched in August 2006. Headquartered in Hong Kong, it was founded by four (western) senior expatriate journalists ( Wikipedia ). While… Read full story >>>

This is the second review published in the joint Thailand-Laos-Cambodia Studies Group and New Mandala  book review project.  Further information from the TLC-NM book review editor, Michael Montesano, is available here . Ann Danaiya Usher, Thai Forestry: A… Read full story >>>

No Thai films are nominated for the 4th Asian Film Awards. Not sure why. But Thailand is still represented, with film editor Lee Chatametikool nominated for best editing for Karaoke by Malaysian director Chris Chong Chan Fui, who also had Tropical Malady lensman Jarin Pengpanitch… Read full story >>>

Another of the fun day trips you can experience while in Pattaya Thailand is the Mini Siam Park.  Yes it is a little touristy, but most day trips in the area are that way.  This attraction lets you see 100 of the world’s great wonders in miniature. The… Read full story >>>

Thai police arrange seized ivory before a press conference in Bangkok at the National Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division of the police department on Wednesday Jan 20, 2010. Thai police said Wednesday that they have arrested two people accused of dealing in illegal African ivory, a day after an American and a Thai …

April 1981, in the middle of a scorching Burmese summer. Even inside the air-conditioned luxury SUV the heat was almost intolerable for the lanky Great Chairman of the Burma Socialist Program Party. Burmese dictator General Ne Win, with his large entourage of ministers and heavily-armed bodyguards  in… Read full story >>>

Thailand Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, center, speaks with journalists at a UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen, Thursday Dec. 17, 2009. Environment ministers get down to the final hours of bargaining over a climate agreement to put before U.S. President Barack Obama and more than 100 national leaders converging on the Danish capital for a …

Those who pay attention to mainland Southeast Asia’s nexus of environmental, political and strategic issues will find this discussion of the Mekong helpful.  Milton Osborne is, of course, one of the most astute, experienced and historically-aware analysts of regional affairs… Read full story >>>

The Mekong River separates Thailand from Laos in the north eastern region of the country and Phon Phisai (โพนพิสัย ) is a small town nestled on the riverbank of the famous stretch of water. It’s a place I have visited many … Read full story >>>

This year’s climate change negotiations have been something of a travelling roadshow. There have been UNFCCC talks in Bonn in June and August, the first leaders meeting of the Major Economies Forum (MEF) in L’Aquila, Italy in July, a New York summit convened by UN Secretary-General Ban… Read full story >>>

The “Times Online” has unofficially refused to comply with a request by the Thai government to hand over the controversial taped interview with former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to Thailand, which contained parts that are deemed lese majeste, according to the Minister to the PM’s Office Satit Wonghnongtaey… Read full story >>>

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. … Read full story >>>

The Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board has issued a report on Thailand’s social outlook in the second quarter of 2009. The report, which was acknowledged by the Cabinet, covers four major areas, namely the quality of human resources, social…

Recently there has been some interesting discussion starting on New Mandala about strategies for development in Laos. In discussing calls for “alternative options for meeting Laos’ development needs” by those campaigning against the Don Sahong dam, I asked what those development options may be. … Read full story >>>

[Bangkok Post] Cockfighting plan ruffles feathers[Constitution Court judge Jarun Pukditanakul has opposed an Interior Ministry plan to allow cockfighting to be held twice a week instead of every Sunday.The plan had been greeted with enthusiasm by owners of cockfighting arenas in the provinces.Interior Minister Chavarat Charnvirakul signed a… Read full story >>>

A. Daeng (Farmer)               B. Ja (Farmer)               C. Surayud (Privy Councillor) This might help. Read full story >>>

The field research for this book was conducted in 2001-2003. A few years earlier the Lao government stopped issuing export permits for wood resin, although wood resin from Cambodia was still being exported to Thailand via Laos. The argument of the Lao government at the time … Read full story >>>

Tata Young became a Thai star at just 15 years old. Now, Tata Young’s new English album Ready for Love may bring this Thai star International acclaim. Already well known outside of Thailand after the release of her previous English album “I Believe”, Ready for Love should Read full story >>>

On Tuesday, Cabinet decided to invoke the Internal Security Act (ISA) in Dusit district for 4 days (August 29-September 1) – that it is for a set time period and limited geographically is a good thing – but it is very unclear from news articles what invoking ISA means… Read full story >>>

[AP] LA trial in Thai film festival bribery case begins[A filmmaking couple devised an intricate system of bribes to Thai officials in order to land lucrative projects such as the Bangkok International Film Festival, a federal prosecutor said Wednesday during opening statements of their trial.Gerald and Patricia Green… Read full story >>>

The Jordanians may have the glamour , but Thailand’s royals come up trumps on matters green. The environmental blog Grist has a list of the 10 greenest royals . My favourite, Charles, tops the list. He is an endangered species in his own right and deserves the highest recognition. But … Read full story >>>

The hydroelectric construction boom along the Mekong is well documented. So without knowing much more than that there was lots of documentation I went off to Kampot where nearby one of these phenomenal Space Odyssey -esque slabs of concrete is being erected. On the bus to … Read full story >>>

Myanmar government figures for the latest financial year have been released and essentially it’s more of the same. Gas sales to Thailand amounted to about US$2.38 billion, a slight drop on last year’s $2.53 billion, and continued to be by far the largest export earner. However, the volume exported dropped sharply from… Read full story >>>

Thanks to a reader, here is another of our occasional updates on the rattus rattus situation in mainland southeast Asia. IRIN News reports that owls are being recruited to the fight against rats in northern Laos. As in other parts… Read full story >>>

I hope that every one of us will keep our Thainess by eating Thai rice, not farang rice…I thank everyone who has worked on the rice patent issue. – King Bhumibol Adulyadej quoted in “ HM King praises Thai rice patent ”, Bangkok Post… Read full story >>>