A 14-day lockdown and Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Durian Grey
Even in quarantine, there’s no stopping General Prayut Chan-o-cha from empty rhetorics that smell like passing gas.To prevent the smell from seeping through your screen, we shall not quote the general from the 7 July PR stunt, but discuss the psychology of the setup.In a video conference, national leaders preferContinue Reading
Vaccine civil war: Sinovac VS mRNA
11.6 million-plus doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, or around 4.4 percent of the population: 6.4 million Sinovac.4.7 million AstraZeneca.160,000 Sinopharm. A vaccine civil war ensued over the past few months: Sinovac versus mRNA (specifically Pfizer and Moderna). Thais pushing for mRNA are called nation-hating Three-hooves. Thais whoContinue Reading
Welcome to La La Land
The tragic fire at Ming Dhi Chemical’s factory on 5 July (3am) in Soi Kingkaew, Samut Prakan Province, proves Thailand’s failure past, present, and likely future. PAST The factory was set up in 1989, producing foam and plastic in an area surrounded by other factories and not much else. ConstructionContinue Reading
Doctor Boon VS General Prayut: the tragedy of vaccine shenanigans
Sinovac is a forgone conclusion. The government will stick with it come hell or high water. But Sinovac isn’t the only problem. The government promised 10 million doses of Siam BioScience’s AstraZeneca per month. But, at this point, we only get five million doses. There’s no explanation as to why.Continue Reading
Culture 101: when saving faces is more important than saving lives
There’s a conspiracy to allow Thailand’s medical professionals to possibly die to save the faces of the Kingdom’s ruling generals. The hashtag #ฉีดPfizerให้บุคลากรการแพทย์ (give Pfizer to medical professionals) is top trending. In addition, there’s an online campaign hunting for signatures for government submission. The news media reported a leaked governmentContinue Reading
10 delicious quotes that might make you laugh or cry, or both
On 30 June, Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul explained the delay in vaccine procurement: “I want to announce a missing person. We are ready to sign the Term Sheet with Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but we can’t contact Janssen Select Company. Is this our fault? We are speeding things up. InContinue Reading
The sexualization of a global pandemic
We didn’t want another article about Lisa Blackpink, really. But then again, even our first two articles this week weren’t really about Lisa. As per usual, they are a critique of Thailand’s cultural mindset. The Facebook Page “ไทยรู้สู้โควิด” (literal translation: Thais know/fight COVID) has 3.4 million followers. The page belongsContinue Reading
Good VS Bad Doctors: every profession is noble, but not every professional act nobly
Doctoring is a noble profession, as is soldiering. In fact, street sweeping, garbage collecting, advertising, engineering, teaching, and yes, even politicking are all noble professions. Of course, every profession is noble, but only if one performs one’s duty with integrity. It’s not what you do, but how you do it.Continue Reading
Feudal patriarchy: why Thailand is a dysfunctional family
On 28 June, Senator Kobkul Arpaporn Na Ayutthaya posted: “Every day, the COVID-19 situation worsens. Even though the Thai healthcare system is among the best worldwide, the reason is the Thai people. No discipline (do not follow the rule). No moral (selfishness). No knowledge (ignorant of the speed, gravity, danger,Continue Reading
“Prayut, get out” is easy to sayHow to get Prayut out, that’s the question, na ja
Outside of the hardcore nationalists/traditionalists, General Prayut Chan-o-cha’s public support is dwindling fast. But it doesn’t mean a thing if we, the people, can’t get our proverbial shit together. From the so-called Salims (non-hardcore) to the so-called Three-hooves, at this point in the history of the Thai Kingdom, one thingContinue Reading