August 3, 2025: Humanitarianism is the hardest word, simply because if you want to really advocate it, you need to be consistent.
As tough as it is, wars make it a lot tougher.
If you cry for Cambodian patients needing Thai medical care, for example, you have to cry for the countless innocent children and women slain, injured, starving and displaced in Gaza as well. And you need to do it as vocally and in the same “heartfelt” manner as in the Cambodian case.
And if you cry for Gaza, you have to cry for the innocent people affected by the war in Ukraine as well. And if you cry for the Ukrainian civilians, you have to condemn governments that refuse to condemn the Israeli leadership, too. If you condemn Donald Trump for ignoring the plight of Gaza victims, you have to condemn Joe Biden and his entire White House without exception.
There’s more. Condemning the Russians or Israelis or the Hamas requires you to question the idea of drug patent, too.
On and on it goes.
Genuine “humanitarianism” takes political or ideological leanings out of the equation. Otherwise, it’s abusing, not advocating.
That’s why you have to be extremely, unambiguously and unbelievably consistent if you want to use “humanitarianism”, one of the most used, most distorted, least understood and least respected words in the dictionary.
Picture can tell thousand words, and video more so
August 2, 2025: If the past had as many cameras as the present, the world’s history as we know it would likely never exist.
Thailand is using photo and video content to show who was right and who was wrong in the armed conflict with Cambodia. In this age, that can be the best move possible.
Both countries have been trading charges, accusing each other of being the aggressor. But any government can fake accusations or stories. Who targeted civilians or who accidentally bombed villagers can now be better shown through a poor man’s smartphone.
Thailand has been on the offensive when it comes to photo and video evidence, inviting not just local reporters but also foreign journalists and diplomatic representatives to see real things and recorded content with their own eyes. The onus is on the Phnom Penh government to produce a similar kind of evidence.
Don't celebrate too early
August 1, 2025: Impact of the Trump tariffs on America and its trading partners is a slow burn, so any celebration is premature.
Economists have agreed that the greatest fear, a potential disaster, has receded. But they said both pro-Trump Americans proclaiming victory and countries cheering lower-than-expected US tariffs have to wait and see.
Ben May, Director of global macro forecasting at Oxford Economics, was quoted by BBC as saying that US tariffs still had the capacity to "damage" the global economy in several ways.
"They are obviously raising prices in the US and squeezing household incomes," he says, adding that supplies and demands around the world would change chaotically when one of the largest economies ends up importing fewer goods.
Sometimes good news is actually bad news that manages to avoid worst-case scenarios. Nations that had expected higher tariffs may be glad, but sooner or later farmers will protest, employees will lose their jobs and unprepared companies will collapse.
Daily updates, and opinions on, local and international events by Tulsathit Taptim.
