New Mandala

Here is a nice little video from The International Herald Tribune’s Thomas Fuller on road links from Kunming down into Southeast Asia.  Thanks to long-time reader Paul for pointing it out.

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Shah Paung, a Karen journalist who has worked at The Irrawaddy for five years, has a wonderful piece on her decision to accept an offer of refugee resettlement in Australia.  As she writes:
Accepting resettlement was the most difficult decision of my life. However, I know I must not let it interfere with my goal—to continue as a [...]

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Seminar: “Pink Man and Other Adventures in Photography”
Manit Sriwanichpoom
Venue: Sparke Helmore Lecture Theatre 2
The Australian National University
Tuesday 1 April, 2008 5:00-7:00pm
Manit Sriwanichpoom, Thailand’s most internationally established photographer, will talk about the birth and development of his best known series, ‘Pink Man’, the fat Asian man in the obscene pink satin suit who pushes a matching [...]

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This post is part of New Mandala’s series of interviews with academics, activists and writers who contribute to major debates in mainland Southeast Asian Studies.  These interviews are designed to probe the experiences, arguments and ideas that have helped shape the field.  Justin Wintle is the author of Perfect Hostage: A Life of Aung San Suu Kyi, and [...]

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The moon princess (2008) by Sao Sanda (ISBN: 9789749863374, River Books). Sao Sanda is the eldest daughter of Sao Shwe Thaike, the Shan Prince of Yawnghwe. This book contains the author’s recollections of her early life and the history of her country during the mid 20th century. Illustrated with fascinating black and white pictures.
[This post is provided by the [...]

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Some may have read news stories of celebrity chefs pulling out of a Bangkok event at which 50 guests pay US$ 300,000 each to eat a ten-course meal preceded by a trip to a hardscrabble Isan village to witness poverty. Many New Mandala fans will not have had a chance to see the ad for [...]

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There have been some interesting recent comments on asbestos in Thailand. So I am opening up a post specifically on this issue in case there are more contributions. Here are the comments so far (in order of posting):
Mariner.  I was wondering what you guys thought of the front page of the Bangkok Post which reported on [...]

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It is now something of an historical relic but it is still worth sharing.  Regular New Mandala contributor Tim Forsyth snapped this picture on a freeway in Bangkok.

The text reads: Welcome back home former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra from the people of BKK.

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Recent discussions on New Mandala have veered back towards the role of the royal family in Thai political life.  In an effort to keep these productive conversations going Paul Handley has kindly offered his paper for the 10th International Conference on Thai Studies held at Thammasat University, Bangkok from 9-11 January 2008.  It is titled “Princes, Politicians, [...]

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New Mandala readers may be interested in video I have made of the festival of Mien Sports and Heritage, Thailand 2001. (Click on the image below.)

The video is from a festival organized by Thailand’s Iu Mien Association, Samakhom Iu Mien Haeng Prathaet Thai, and held in the village of Pang Khwai, amphoe Fang, Chiangmai Province, [...]

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