Categories
Misc.

‘There are red lines even in a war as devoid of clarity as Syria’s’

A quote from a New Yorker piece on Syria by Steve Coll.

Categories
Thai politics Thailand

WSJ on Thai Reconciliation Talks

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday:

Thailand’s government has been pushing for a top-level dialog for months to find a way out of its deep-seated conflicts, and grandees such as former British premier Tony Blair and Finland’s former leader Martti Ahtisaari converged in Bangkok Monday for an independently run talk-fest on how the country can move forward.

But there’s a problem.

So far, Thailand’s opposition parties have refused to participate in reconciliation talks, going as far as to accuse Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s government of paying Mr. Blair 20 million baht, or $640,000, for his appearance fee at Monday’s forum – an allegation that both the government and Mr. Blair denied.

There’s more today from the Bangkok Post.

Categories
Misc.

10 Links

  1. The Lasting Power of Dr. King’s Dream SpeechThe New York Times
  2. JustDelete.Me — “A directory of direct links to delete your account from web services.”
  3. Michael Pollan and Amy Harmon ‘talk’ it outColumbia Journalism Review
  4. The Danger of Strategic Distraction — Center for a New American Security’s Shawn Brimley on Syria
  5. WhichFamousEconomistAreYouMostSimilarTo.com — Which famous economist are you most similar to? (Via Fergus Pitt)
  6. How to Make Perfect CoffeeThe Atlantic
  7. As Clear As Mud: CrossFit, Tough Mudders, and the rise of social-physical challenges — Grantland
  8. HowManyPeopleAreInSpaceRightNow.com — How Many People Are In Space Right Now?
  9. In Thailand, Rubber Price Plunge Has Political CostThe New York Times
  10. Video embedded above and on YouTube here: “Martin Luther King – I Have A Dream Speech – August 28, 1963”

(Previous link round-ups are available via the links tag.)