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9 May 2008
The events now unfurling inside the dictatorship of Burma are shocking and impossible for even the most callus to ignore. In a country enjoying the benefits of friendly relations with its neighbors - especially, perhaps, Thailand whose own generals and politicians and border business barons are bearing the fruit of sleeping with the Burmese devil – one would think that prosperity and privilege accomplished by the powerful might be enough to entice them in cases like the latest cyclone tragedy to for once relax their iron grip and allow international aid and volunteers into the country. But Burma’s government has been so secretive and repressive over its incumbency that it knows that allowing such aid to enter the country will not only save lives, but certainly provide more graphic photographic material to the outside world that the people of Burma are being treated worse than rats in a cage. This is the government that Thailand has constantly supported, the government now making a farce out of a constitutional drafting process, and that laughs in the face of human rights violations it and neighbors perpetrate. 23 April 2008 Is Skype a liberator for freedom or of hate speech? "Nigger!" For sure these examples are individual hate speech, and can quickly be found on one Skype cast or another almost on a daily basis. As well, many Skype users find it amusing to crowd casts with interruptions in the form of noise and music or gibberish just to be a pain in the bottom. Skype is being used to air all kinds of speech, polite, controversial, easy-going and serious, confrontational and nasty. Some of it, in fact, is similar or the same as Howard Stern puts up on Sirius satellite after the United States government stopped him from using garbage on the public media. There are serious questions about what many deem to be a lack of censorship on Skype, while on the other hand such lack of censorship does provide an avenue for the rest of us to see exactly what people are willing to try to get away with once they become anonymous and irresponsible – that is, once they have the opportunity to say whatever they wish in a public forum, knowing they face nothing in the way of serious consequences, how far will Skype users go to abuse their privileges, violate all kinds of moral and ethical standards – and possibly many laws – just to demonstrate a new kind of freedom that millions of users around the world have now learned to depend on for live call-ins and online free video among registered Skype subscribers? Apparently, people will go and have gone a long way. Abusive speech is common on Skype, with the offending hosts or speakers telling those offended to drop dead or buzz off! What they say and how they say it mans, apparently, nothing – because there are no consequences. Freedom lovers need not be jerks, abusing profanity nuts or ignorant uncaring sleazy people to run a Skypecast or be on one. But asking people to be decent and respectful, and as a result honorable and themselves respected, today is often like whistling upwind.
20 April 2008 Bias Against Israel or Open Forum For Facts and Opinions? 2 April 2008 Another Kick For Thaksin Fans, Another 'Plus' For Thailand's Image With Thailand always seeming to worry about foreigners and other irresponsible Thais damaging the country's image (Takbai, Octobers 6 and 14 notwithstanding), one would think that perhaps Thailand's nominee People Power Party members of Palriament might have enough common sense to conduct themselves peacefully and with a certain degree of decorum. Ah, such is apparently not to be. Today in Parliament's lunch room, a pro-Thaksin MP by the name of Karun Hosakul up and kicked fellow MP Ajarn Somkiet Phongpaiboon of the Democrat Party (also member of Thailand's People's Alliance for Democracy). Fortunately the former Korat Rachabhat University professor suffered onlya glancing blow. The incident was much less severe than an earlier instance when his fellow government servant, Dr. Kraisak Choonhavan (formerly Thailand's Senate Foreign Relations Committee head) who was caught offguard at an anti-Thaksin gathering and was kicked full-force by a pro-Thaksin fan who felt kicking the older much less imposing gentleman was the way to conduct politics in the Land of Smiles. One wonders who is smiling. Certainly Samak. Certainly Thaksin. Certainly Newin. The ilk all. Yes, they are enjoying the fruit of their labors, an undermining of Thailand's weakened democracy and replacing it with self-serving violent interests. Foreigner confidence? Why? 28 March 2008 Barbarians in Parliament? With Thaksin's carbon copy party People's Power now in Parliament, it has already set Gusiness records in sheer scope and depth of corruption and stupidity. Wait a minute. No, perhaps records WERE NOT set. AFter all, in Thaksin's first year in office, his Parliament President was also found guilty by the Supreme Court... read... This incident was closely replicated in February 2008 under the Amazing Samak government when its own Parliament President Yongyuth Tiyapairat overwhelmingly entering office, in a 307-167 vote split right along party lines, was declared guilty of buying votes in the 23 December 2007 national elections. Yongyuth got red-carded, but despite this was still made Parliament Speakre. Now his entire party finds itself facing down the muzzle of a long barrel because the latest Thai constitution calls for party dissolution if any of its exucites si found guilty of election fraud. While party officials and membes are, of course, protesting possible dissolution, opposition critics are pointing out the fact that PPP quickly rushed to appoint the crook knowing that he was already found guilty by investigators. Opposition critics also indicated in a televised program on 27 Mrch 2008 that they would welcome one party dissolution after another, thirty or more, to get rid of the cheats. 23 March 2008 It's easy to be condescending from time to time and dismiss people because of what they do or say. But it's tough to appreciate their better qualities when they go ahead and start talking seriously about changing their country's entire constitution beause its provisinos on electoral fraud threaten their party's very existence. The current Thai charter calls for party dissolution if its executives are found guilty of voting fraud - such as the PPP's recently ousted Parliament President because there is quite some evidence that he and his wife paid off local officials in Chiangmai/Chiangrai to canvass votes on behalf of the PPP. Probably the most surprising element in this case is not that the official got caught, but why ten or twenty others did not. Surely there was other cheating. But in Thailand, sadly perhaps in most other countries as well, there is a great deal of cheating, rigged in favor of those seeking to safeguard their own interests. If they are part of the ruling elite, so to speak, then they will rig the elections - the way they are held, counted and ratified - to make sure no one rocks their boat. That the Thai government treats its charter with such distain as to draft a new one any time a political party or the ruling elite feels it needs to underscore the fact that it is in power and intends to remain in power is a tragedy. Under this kind of constitutional protection, the Thai people face only continued enslavement and lies. Tourists and foreign/Thai investors may have a heyday, but itis over the graves of those seeking freedom. 20 March 2008 Tibet, China, Burma and Thailand Today Thai prime minister Samak Sundaravej is invited to present himself and the Thai government, its policies and proposed future at the American Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Conrad Hotel. It will be an event largely devoid of much use for the business community since Samak has shown himself, as more than one academichas said, to bea "bare-faced liar." Samak's predessor in the liar department - Thaksoin Shinawatra - some time ago, while still PM, was invited by the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT) to speak. That even had to be held without this editor because there is no ned to ingratiate yourself to liars, cheats, even killers in some aspects. Kissing up to this type of character is hardly the way to improve yourself. That's theoverall opinion, anyhow. Today's Samak speech is likely to follow a well-wheeled rut. No transparency into what is really going on, no facts about the southern insurgency, no apologies for insultling all westeners as Samak did recently,l no regrets for his havnig played a pivotal role in the 6 October 1996 massacre at Thammasat University in Bangkok. As well, there is likely to be no useful insight provided by Samak except perhaps the impression that he is likely to leave in the minds of most of those who attend that this guy is a carbon copy of George W. Bush. There seems to be a dumbing-down of world leaders these days, in all too many countries and in far too many situations. The world community at large is being manipulated and used and that long-ago promised Nirvana, Englightenment, Second Coming and Liberation sort of seems to have bene put on the back burner. Can mankin save himself from himself? Not with people like Samak, Chalerm and others at the helm. Or George W. Bush, the Burmese junta, Chinese anti-Tibetan autonomy rulers and characters around the world who are finding that they can generally do what they want without much ni the way of meannigful consequences falling on them. We can blame part of this on the American example under the Bush administration, but even well before that. The Iraq War is a farce, a very sick one, and it seems as if the Bush-Cheney duo (Wanted in Vermont for crimes against humanity!), will get off the hook - unlike the 500,000 +/- Iraqis who have paid the price. Much of what happened can be blamed on Israel, Americna policies in the Middle East, lack of real moral compass on Bil Ladin's part and that of his supporters and other Muslims around the world. I use the general term Muslims rahter than "fascist Muslims" because for a moral compass to be working you have to act when injustices are carried out - act not just against thost you traditionally have differences with, but against those in your own grouping who do the wrong thing, who take innocent lives, who persist in labeling others evil when they do their own evil but attempt to absolve themselves in the name of whatever god they claim, falsely, to be worshipping. 18 March 2008 See our YouTube video below on that 'F' word on Skype.
17 March 2008 The Samak Sundaravej-Thaksin nominee government has been making a fine art of issuing some of the most unbelievably stupid comments one could possibly imagine that really belong in a comic book rather than in real life - but that's Samak. The same issue also carried another silly report credited to Thland's no. 2 police chief Adul Saengsingkaew. He indicates that the probable reason - the Thai police really have to be astute to figure THIS out - is that the Thai media don't have much to report on so to accommodate their need for headlines, southern terrorists are bombing cars and making troubleand carrying out attacks so that they will appear on frontpages, etc. Hogwash? Nah, that hardly describes the depth of absence of human decency and innate personal character of the curren tgovernment in the Land of Smiles. Total discregard for human life, decency, no respect for anyone, ah...didn't the people vote these clowns into office? Just when we thought no one in the world could possibly eclipse Geore W. Bush, Samak pops up again from a bloody history he helped create and now finds himself mocking those who thought he would have met his just deserts by now. But apparntly not. Wonder ewhat tomorrow's headlines will bring? 5 March 2008 Samak Sundaravej, host of inciteful "Armored Car" radio ultra-rightist program during the 6 October 1976 massacre of students and citizens at Thammasat University who brazenly told both Al-Jazeera and CNN that only one student and not 46 were killed that fateful-for-democracy-in-Thailand day, now finds himself about to sit down with an ousted police chief, a genuine "Mr. Clean," who doesn't take a lot of silly false charges without answering back. 27 February 2008 Human Rights Violator Returns - Unbowed? Thaksin Shinawatra, the man who made prime minister Samak Sundaravej possible and who brought a Thai Rak Thai clone back into power with the 23 December 2007 elections, is heading back to Bangkok on a Thai flight from Hong Kong tomorrow morning. While he says that he is steering clear of politics (a big pile of BS if there ever was one), a planeload of politicians is today flyig into Hong Khon just to make sure Thaksin is not lonely when he flies into Bangkok tomorrow. Talk about people who are grateful for their jobs! Buying loyalty does work. There is more than one opinion about this secretive egomaniac among foreigners. Some even think Thaksin was and will be good for the country. It proves anyone can have an opinion. But if you dig below the surface at all, you will discover an uncaring demagogue who will do anything to anyone to get his way. He must also be gloating, not just at his return to a sea full of welcome arms, but because an old political ally turned foe is back in the paddock - Barnharn Silapacha. Thailand's future is not looking very peaceful. The difference between former field marshal Thanom Kittikajorn and Thaksin is that one has been a military dictator while the other a selectively benevolent one. 26 February 2008 Mr. Jakraphob: 23 February 2008 Now that the Samak government has indeed stepped into Parliament, the sulking no longer needs to be maintained but a high degree of care does. Neither Samak nor Chalerm, the Interior Minister, are exactly famous for human rights concerns. In the latter's case he is known for being violent anyhow and has raised his children the same way. In Samak's case, his penchant for expousing ignorace during interview with the foreign media and then trying to claim "No damage was done. I have a right to say what I believe." This was his infamous quote to both al-Jazeera and CNN that only one person died on 6 October 1976 when in fact there was a massacre and dozens were killed by government-instigated protectors of Thailand's values. The Red Gaur and Village Scouts were given training and weapons and told to kill. With Thaksin's record 2,500 killed [notwithstanding his BS story and the same for Samak that the victims were merely killing each other off - when in fact the police had a much more credible motive to kill them]. But will the Thai authorities ever lead a just investigation? Not on your life! Let's wait and see whose family members get killed in the coming new drug war. Let's see how Burmese Thai authorities act in carrying out the dictates of who many view as heartless dictators. 22 February 2008 Will Samak Apologize? [No.] From: http://www.egs.edu/resources/hegel.html Hegel followed the Greek philosopher Parmenides in believing that what is rational is real, and what is real is rational. This is his rational structure of the Absolute, and must be regarded in conjunction with his idea that the Absolute must be seen as pure Thought, Spirit, or Mind, in a process of self-development, governed by the logic of dialectic. The dialectical method is the notion that the conflict of opposites creates movement or progress. The dialectical method is often studied in terms of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis, although Hegel seldom used this teminology. The thesis is a primary idea, whose incompleteness gives rise to an opposite or conflicting idea, or antithesis. The synthesis is a third term which arrises from the conflict between the first two, overcoming the opposition by reconciling the truth found in both the thesis and antithesis. This synthesis becomes a new thesis, inspiring a new antithesis and synthesis, and continuing an evolution of intellectual or historical development. Hegel argues that this dialectical develpment describes the movement of Absolute Spirit toward an ultimate goal. Reality is the Absolute in a process of dialectical unfolding, manifesting itself in nature and history as it develops. In The Phenomenololgy of Mind Hegel traces the manifestation of the Absolute through the stages of consciousness, self-consciousness, and reason. The issue at hand in Thailand seems still to be the relentless need by right-wing power groups, controlled by greedy individuals, to oversee how things in Thailand are run, how they are perceived, and how they are commented upon. In short, there appears to be a promise of more of the same in terms of violence, oppression, vested interests, double standards, temperamental outbursts, political police-backed kidnappings as in the Somchai case, and in regard to the announced new battle of the war against drugs, more extrajudicial killings – this time supervised by an Interior Minister known for being violent and for protecting his violent children – most noteworthy of whom, by the way, has recently been sneaked into government coffers as a secretary to a deputy health minister. There are those who cite Thaksin in a way that makes it appear that he was a savior of sorts, a boon to Thailand. Listening to Thaksin’s propaganda and being given little access to opposing viewpoints, most observers might feel some sympathy for Thaksin, the TRT and the Thai people who worship the former premier. But keep in mind that the people of Germany also loved Hitler, and the people of Italy loved Mussolini, and that the people of Thailand once loved one corrupt politician after another who literally bilked them dry. 17 February 2008 Empty threat to Bangkok visitors? One of the things that Thai people in general have been famous for is a certain lack of regard for public safety. This can be seen in the way Thais park vehicles, obstruct supermarket aisles with carts while they talk to friends or dream of the future, in the crowded sidewalks throughout the country that should be permitting pedestrians by but only allow vendors – with appropriate payments to local police. 12 February 2008 Money Doesn't Always Take First Place Vitoon Chatipatimapongse, former Nakhonratchasima provincial administrator, found himself in second place on 10 February in provincial administrator elections and temporarily out of a job that he had earlier resigned from to run in the election. With what appeared to be a well-funded campaign, Vitoon had basically occupied Lady Mo rotunda and many of the streets of downtown Korat with posters and speaker-blasting announcer trucks, to no avai - or at least not enough. Known for grandstanding and for being politically ambitious, Vitoon now will have to revamp his strategies and map out a new approach to a job he no longer has. 10 February 2008 One wonders why police in Thailand don’t migrate to the easy-to-use-computerized traffic ticket systems found in many other countries. Relatively inexpensive and simple, they save a lot of time all around and move drivers on while their wrongdoings are settled via payment of an official fine or an appearance in court where things are then settled. Yet, one may not wonder so much as such a system would skirt around the ability of police to go on ‘fishing’ expeditions and bilk motorists out of money, or otherwise cause huge inconveniences in forcing drivers to get their licenses back at a local police station after paying a fine there or bribing someone off. 9 February 2008 Multi-Talented Or Ignoring Their Assigned Portfolio? Reports today from the Thai Public Relations Department indicate that the new Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama has indicated how the unrest in the south of the country will be dealt with. As well, Suwit Khunkitti, the new deputy prime minister and industry minister, has said that he and his party will propose how the government should handle the events in the south. If common sense is employed, one may wonder why the Industry Minister and Foreign Minister both have spoken out very clearly about the south and how it should be handled, and yet Thailand’s Interior Minister, Chalerm Yubamrung – the man who has expressed regret for his family’s bad public image but strangely not for his family’s bad behavior – and who has responsible for internal security of the nation, has not been heard of regarding the unrest in the Muslim-populated region. Surely this minister has some ideas of his own. One wonders why they have not been heard, except through the mouths of other ministers. A sign of divisiveness? 9 February 2008 Why No ASTV on State-Run Media? Although it is amazing, on the one hand, to see how so many, Thais and foreigners alike, pay homage, in effect, to the corrupt Thaksin administration and its fledgling clone the PPP, on the other hand not being exposed to opposing viewpoints in the media, except perhaps for an occasional Bangkok Post or the Nation Group article, it is really no wonder that lack of information exists in the analytical mind and a great deal of sympathy for Thaksin and the former TRT party and its officials exists. After all, if you are being spoon-fed propaganda for such a long time and haven't seen much else in the way of some 'bones' with 'meat' on them, then you can only get a favorable impression of a corrupt regime that has yes, helped some of the poor in the past but if Pak Mun is any example whatsoever, also ignored the interests of the poor and local villagers in northeast Thailand and proceeded with hugely expensive and environmentally damaging projects. And what has new Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said of such large infrastructure projects? "I don't care what the environmentalists say." And this is from a quasi-democratically elected national leader who claims to be independant from Thaksin but who could not even have gotten close to the nation's top job unless he could be used by Thaksin to once again seize the reins of power in the Land of Smiles.
8 February 2008 Several comments about US President George W. Bush's telephone call to newly elected (23 December 2007) Thai prime minister Samak Sundaravej have appeared online and in the press, generally in the tone of chastising both of them. A few comments were in suport of the president and the prime minister, and the call, but one wonders just what prompted it. The Treaty of Amity, US arms sales to Thailand, American commercial interests and the self-declared War on Terror obviously dominate US-Thai interests, and any thought that Bush was phoning Samak to urge Thailand to begin paying attention to human rights concerns, for once, would be wishful thinking at best. Thai society, if anything, is comprised of an overall ethic of non-involvement, or getting things over with and on to the next thing without raising a fuss, rocking the boat or pissing anyone off. It's a nice way of looking at things - if it worked. But it doesn't more often than it does. A well-known American academic in Bangkok decades ago once observed, "Thailand has the best philosophy of life, and the worst practice." Those words have not lost much of their accuracy in today's Thai society. Will protests begin once again? Will Thailand’s streets once more become the scene of one group of Thais confronting another? The answer is invariably yes. The reconciliation or national unity principles being bandied about under nationalist guises are merely appeals to sing off the same sheet and forget the larger issues of greed and corruption. Those new ministers in the Samak/Thaksin government are hardly “good and innocent” as Samak has recently said. When you consider the current plight of Thailand’s poor, forgiving Thaksin and other corrupt politicians seems a grave error indeed. Another is not to watch ASTV News 1 to get another view of reality here in the Land of Smiles.
3 February 2008 Poor Samak! Looking considerably the worse for wear, newly-elected Thai prim eminister Samak Sundaravej has been looking a bit haggard recently as he leads Thailand into 2008, pending, of course, on His Majesty's conferral of position as head of government - which is not expected to be delayed any further unless Samak does a fourth, fifth or sixth reshuffle of the new cabinet, over which he really has very little control. Imagine being relected premier and having to wait for the OK of a former prime minister before any cabinet choices are approved. Not a great way to lead the country, riding the coattails of a former premier that one of Thaksin's old coalition partners Banharn Silapacha swore up and down he would never parter with again. Apparently having egg all over your face in the LOS does not mean much.
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