Terminal 21 is just what Bangkok needs: Another shiny, glassed-in, over-air-con’d retail space to forget about whatever crisis is currently crippling other parts of Thailand. Meh.
Maybe a billionaire who expects the abject poor to be content with their lot – via a combination of skewed Theravada Buddhism, re-sacralisation and unending indoctrination – could be just the ticket.
Taib Mahmud’s $5million dollar a year ‘Cyber-war Campaign’ has conceded a humiliating defeat, with the final demise of the site ‘Sarawak Reports’.
Sarawak Report(s) was part of a vicious network of internet sites, set up by the crooked UK-based production FBC Media, in a hired attempt to undermine this blog and to attack the opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.
By adopting a virtually identical name to our own, FBC clearly hoped they could confuse web-surfers into reading their pro-Taib propaganda, instead of our research into Taib’s 30 years of corrupt government.
However, there is little evidence that readers were in fact fooled but this costly exercise. The site never dared to publish the handful of comments it received for its stories, which were little more than dreary ‘puff pieces’ praising Taib’s ‘progress and development’ policies.
The site also carried a permanent section devoted to attacking the Editor of Sarawak Report and family members.
@Billy Budd, “Given that all kings rule by divine right (that’s why they’re kings not mere mortals) the nation was lucky to have someone with evident concern for his nation and it’s people.”
I wonder where his “evident concern for his nation and its people” is when he signed the Royal assent to validate the law that sends people who criticise him to jail.
I fail to see his evident concern lies where his military came out and shot his people who protested for the very democracy that he and his army stole from them.
There are many more incidents where I wonder where his evident concern is, but I am too lazy to cite them all….
Like Finding Nemo, the deification of any human being is a fantasy.
We are all mere mortals.
Succession is a real problem, but so has been some of the poor decisions/ramifications of a certain person at the apex of this whole place, a place where the vestiges of absolute monarchy have crept back in and now stand tall – see lese majeste.
Too much?
I thought Red Saurs/76/Wat grounds/Death Sqauds/”The nod” too much too.
The Bhutanese Monarchy is following the propaganda model set by Thai Monarchy very closely. Nowadays Bhutanese people are so addicted and fanatical to their handsome King they never really cared how underdeveloped their country is.
This kind of gross national happiness drivel would sound convincing IF Bhutan is already a developed country where everyone has access to quality healthcare and education like Iceland, Switzerland, Canada, Norway, Denmark, New Zealand etc. Then Bhutan can say okay, we are already a developed country, but we don’t want to be so industrialised like Japan, South Korea etc. Then that would make some sense. But when most of its population still live in this underdeveloped lifestyle, babbling this kind of ‘gross national happiness’ is blatant drivel, imho of course.
I’m going to stick my neck out here.
I think absolute monarchies are an outmoded institution and modern societies (where they are given a choice and a balanced education) prefer rule by committee with all the ensuing difficulties.
The monarch in question came to rule in turbulent times, unexpectedly and at the mercy of machievellian advisers and adversaries. The “Nation” has always been at the mercy of factionalism and tyrannies both great and petty. The king ascended the throne with powerful military enemies and his faction intrigued their way from survival to security to ascendence to what we see now. Given that all kings rule by divine right (that’s why they’re kings not mere mortals) the nation was lucky to have someone with evident concern for his nation and it’s people.
I believe that the current problems stem more from a perceived succession crisis than from the activities of a man in a past era. I do believe that for thai society to survive in the modern world the institution needs to modernise and modify it’s role; but this applies also to the arms of the state, political parties and big business too if an equitable state is to be arrived at. There lies the challenge. Right now it seems to be down to a choice between one controlling dynasty or another. -old-style- and that is really no choice at all, is it?
The KIA doesn’t have the resources to guard, protect, feed and care for captured SPDC troops.
I could be wrong, but the most likely outcome after the cameras were turned off was the captives being shot into a grave that they themselves dug. Such is the nature of guerrilla warfare.
For those who find that fact abhorrent, what do you think the fate is of captured KIA troops. We already know that the SPDC routinely commits gang rapes and murder.
How about we turn all the guns in Burma on the right target – the generals at Naypyidaw? It seems the POWs were treated well by the KIA in the video. I heard someone say in Burmese, “Don’t be afraid, you’ll be alright”. I’d say that’s an excellent start.
Admittedly it’s easier said than done especially across an ethnic divide, but something really worth a try is wherever possible to fraternise with the Tatmadaw rank and file, through pamphlets or simply through a loudhailer when facing each other across the trenches and bunkers.
Give the Burmese troops a pleasant surprise that there is no racial hatred as such on display. Make them see the common enemy, their generals who treat their own men and their families little better than the ethnic rebels. Tell them it’s high time they turned their guns on their cruel oppressive overlords. It’s an advantage that many Kachin speak Burmese whereas most Burmese can’t speak a word of Kachin.
It may seem like quoting a heretic to the Christian Kachin, but this is what Trotsky, the architect of the Bolshevik victory in 1917 had to say:
An insurrection is in essence a struggle not so much against the army as a struggle for the army.
Hopefully this is dawning on the Burman majority today.
Since the Kachin are very unlikely to win this war just on purely mathematical terms (they may be able to fight the enemy to a standstill) unless they can realistically expect a Western invasion or aerial attacks on the Tatmadaw as in Libya (an even more unlikely scenario given the geopolitical position of Burma) this war may smartly and beneficially be transformed into a ‘battle for hearts and minds’ . Call it a very high risk high stake psy-ops in turning the tables on Than Shwe. If successful the numbers are no longer against the Kachin or any other minority group, or the unarmed Burmese opposition for that matter. Good luck.
I will just repost my comment, Vichai, because you have not answered it in any way.
I’m not a Thai and Vichai is. However, it is the most presumptuous arrogance on his part to define the priorities of the Thai people as a whole and it is a piece of sheer and despicable opportunism to use the flood tragedy to do so.
Tarrin#15
‘Back to the podcast, all of the guess seems to be looking into one direction except Charnvit in my opinion, who was talking about monarchy being a part of building a “modern nation” and being the “center” of the nation (if that’s what he means) then I can see a huge irony there. Thailand is far from being modern, our law is ambiguous and people still retort to using violence to settle things. The lese majeste law was so backward and it was threating the fabric of what is called a civilized nation.’
I totally agree with your point here as we can witness “the main pillar”
rebuilding the nation back to absolute monarchy- be it Privy Council, LM law, prostration, not to mention 24hour propaganda. If only the “pillar” could come to terms with people’s right- DEMOCRACY.
The warm and fuzzy image of Bhutan as a benign and idyllic kingdom ruled by an enlightened and benevolent monarch is more a western and Thai elites projection than the actual reality in a country which recently carried out a brutal expulsion and ethnic cleansing against 16% of its entire population – men, women and children, many of whose families had been living in Bhutan for generations.
Starting in the late 1980s, the Bhutanese government enacted draconian discriminatory citizenship laws directed against ethnic Nepalis living in Bhutan, that stripped about one-sixth of the population of their citizenship and paved the way for their forcible expulsion.
“After a campaign of harassment that escalated in the early 1990s, Bhutanese security forces began expelling people, first making them sign forms renouncing claims to their homes and homeland. “The army took all the people from their houses,” a young refugee told me.”
“As we left Bhutan, we were forced to sign the document. They snapped our photos. The man told me to smile, to show my teeth. He wanted to show that I was leaving my country willingly, happily, that I was not forced to leave.”
“Today, about 108,000 of these stateless Bhutanese are living in seven refugee camps in Nepal. The Bhutanese authorities have not allowed a single refugee to return. In 2006, the US government, seeing an impasse, offered to resettle 60,000 of the Bhutanese refugees. Processing has been slow to start, and the first refugees are not likely to depart until March.”
If it was NOT clear to Tom Hoy, or the others who continue to hold their breath waiting for Amsterdam-Thaksin to do or say whatever, the flood victims of Thailand (as well as other countries) have other priorities.
Send your donations or whatever . . . Amsterdam-Thaksin could wait.
Have been twice to this place since its opening. I like the food court on the fifth floor where my favourite veggie foods cost less than the ones at Paragon or MBK. Once you are inside the building, you forget we have floods crisis in the country.
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Interactive map of Burma
The map also doesn’t show the Karen in the Delta – nevertheless it’s useful.
Glittering amidst the crisis
Terminal 21 is just what Bangkok needs: Another shiny, glassed-in, over-air-con’d retail space to forget about whatever crisis is currently crippling other parts of Thailand. Meh.
Rice mortgage scheme underway
ABC TV report on the scheme is here: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-10-16/the-price-of-rice/3573812
Nation, Religion, King – Episode 3
Wait a minute. Maybe we’re not thinking straight.
Maybe a billionaire who expects the abject poor to be content with their lot – via a combination of skewed Theravada Buddhism, re-sacralisation and unending indoctrination – could be just the ticket.
Nation, Religion, King – Episode 3
Thank you for a voice of reason, CT.
The Sarawak Revolution!
Extracted from, “Down but not out: Najib and Taib to launch 2nd wave media warfare“, Sarawak Report, Malaysian Chronicle, 14 October 2011.
Nation, Religion, King – Episode 3
@Billy Budd, “Given that all kings rule by divine right (that’s why they’re kings not mere mortals) the nation was lucky to have someone with evident concern for his nation and it’s people.”
I wonder where his “evident concern for his nation and its people” is when he signed the Royal assent to validate the law that sends people who criticise him to jail.
I fail to see his evident concern lies where his military came out and shot his people who protested for the very democracy that he and his army stole from them.
There are many more incidents where I wonder where his evident concern is, but I am too lazy to cite them all….
Nation, Religion, King – Episode 3
Now I see your angle, Billy.
Like Finding Nemo, the deification of any human being is a fantasy.
We are all mere mortals.
Succession is a real problem, but so has been some of the poor decisions/ramifications of a certain person at the apex of this whole place, a place where the vestiges of absolute monarchy have crept back in and now stand tall – see lese majeste.
Too much?
I thought Red Saurs/76/Wat grounds/Death Sqauds/”The nod” too much too.
The emphemeral mandala
The Bhutanese Monarchy is following the propaganda model set by Thai Monarchy very closely. Nowadays Bhutanese people are so addicted and fanatical to their handsome King they never really cared how underdeveloped their country is.
This kind of gross national happiness drivel would sound convincing IF Bhutan is already a developed country where everyone has access to quality healthcare and education like Iceland, Switzerland, Canada, Norway, Denmark, New Zealand etc. Then Bhutan can say okay, we are already a developed country, but we don’t want to be so industrialised like Japan, South Korea etc. Then that would make some sense. But when most of its population still live in this underdeveloped lifestyle, babbling this kind of ‘gross national happiness’ is blatant drivel, imho of course.
Nation, Religion, King – Episode 3
I’m going to stick my neck out here.
I think absolute monarchies are an outmoded institution and modern societies (where they are given a choice and a balanced education) prefer rule by committee with all the ensuing difficulties.
The monarch in question came to rule in turbulent times, unexpectedly and at the mercy of machievellian advisers and adversaries. The “Nation” has always been at the mercy of factionalism and tyrannies both great and petty. The king ascended the throne with powerful military enemies and his faction intrigued their way from survival to security to ascendence to what we see now. Given that all kings rule by divine right (that’s why they’re kings not mere mortals) the nation was lucky to have someone with evident concern for his nation and it’s people.
I believe that the current problems stem more from a perceived succession crisis than from the activities of a man in a past era. I do believe that for thai society to survive in the modern world the institution needs to modernise and modify it’s role; but this applies also to the arms of the state, political parties and big business too if an equitable state is to be arrived at. There lies the challenge. Right now it seems to be down to a choice between one controlling dynasty or another. -old-style- and that is really no choice at all, is it?
One observation, ten questions and much to ponder about the new Kachin war
The KIA doesn’t have the resources to guard, protect, feed and care for captured SPDC troops.
I could be wrong, but the most likely outcome after the cameras were turned off was the captives being shot into a grave that they themselves dug. Such is the nature of guerrilla warfare.
For those who find that fact abhorrent, what do you think the fate is of captured KIA troops. We already know that the SPDC routinely commits gang rapes and murder.
It’s a war with no rules, and no mercy.
Amsterdam in Bangkok
Tom Hoy: It might also be presumptuous of you to assume Vichai N is Thai.
What does Colonel Jeru have to say? 🙂
One observation, ten questions and much to ponder about the new Kachin war
Hkanhpa,
How about we turn all the guns in Burma on the right target – the generals at Naypyidaw? It seems the POWs were treated well by the KIA in the video. I heard someone say in Burmese, “Don’t be afraid, you’ll be alright”. I’d say that’s an excellent start.
Admittedly it’s easier said than done especially across an ethnic divide, but something really worth a try is wherever possible to fraternise with the Tatmadaw rank and file, through pamphlets or simply through a loudhailer when facing each other across the trenches and bunkers.
Give the Burmese troops a pleasant surprise that there is no racial hatred as such on display. Make them see the common enemy, their generals who treat their own men and their families little better than the ethnic rebels. Tell them it’s high time they turned their guns on their cruel oppressive overlords. It’s an advantage that many Kachin speak Burmese whereas most Burmese can’t speak a word of Kachin.
It may seem like quoting a heretic to the Christian Kachin, but this is what Trotsky, the architect of the Bolshevik victory in 1917 had to say:
An insurrection is in essence a struggle not so much against the army as a struggle for the army.
Hopefully this is dawning on the Burman majority today.
Since the Kachin are very unlikely to win this war just on purely mathematical terms (they may be able to fight the enemy to a standstill) unless they can realistically expect a Western invasion or aerial attacks on the Tatmadaw as in Libya (an even more unlikely scenario given the geopolitical position of Burma) this war may smartly and beneficially be transformed into a ‘battle for hearts and minds’ . Call it a very high risk high stake psy-ops in turning the tables on Than Shwe. If successful the numbers are no longer against the Kachin or any other minority group, or the unarmed Burmese opposition for that matter. Good luck.
Amsterdam in Bangkok
I will just repost my comment, Vichai, because you have not answered it in any way.
I’m not a Thai and Vichai is. However, it is the most presumptuous arrogance on his part to define the priorities of the Thai people as a whole and it is a piece of sheer and despicable opportunism to use the flood tragedy to do so.
The emphemeral mandala
But does the Bhutan people has equal rights? Proper Healthcare? Happiness is good and dandy, but welfare is fundamental to a human’s well-being.
This Happiness index reeks of scam to fool the people of their rights.
Jigmy didn’t impress me much when he visited our country.
Glittering amidst the crisis
[…] Click to see some great photos of the shopping space […]
Nation, Religion, King – Episode 3
Tarrin#15
‘Back to the podcast, all of the guess seems to be looking into one direction except Charnvit in my opinion, who was talking about monarchy being a part of building a “modern nation” and being the “center” of the nation (if that’s what he means) then I can see a huge irony there. Thailand is far from being modern, our law is ambiguous and people still retort to using violence to settle things. The lese majeste law was so backward and it was threating the fabric of what is called a civilized nation.’
I totally agree with your point here as we can witness “the main pillar”
rebuilding the nation back to absolute monarchy- be it Privy Council, LM law, prostration, not to mention 24hour propaganda. If only the “pillar” could come to terms with people’s right- DEMOCRACY.
The emphemeral mandala
The warm and fuzzy image of Bhutan as a benign and idyllic kingdom ruled by an enlightened and benevolent monarch is more a western and Thai elites projection than the actual reality in a country which recently carried out a brutal expulsion and ethnic cleansing against 16% of its entire population – men, women and children, many of whose families had been living in Bhutan for generations.
Starting in the late 1980s, the Bhutanese government enacted draconian discriminatory citizenship laws directed against ethnic Nepalis living in Bhutan, that stripped about one-sixth of the population of their citizenship and paved the way for their forcible expulsion.
“After a campaign of harassment that escalated in the early 1990s, Bhutanese security forces began expelling people, first making them sign forms renouncing claims to their homes and homeland. “The army took all the people from their houses,” a young refugee told me.”
“As we left Bhutan, we were forced to sign the document. They snapped our photos. The man told me to smile, to show my teeth. He wanted to show that I was leaving my country willingly, happily, that I was not forced to leave.”
“Today, about 108,000 of these stateless Bhutanese are living in seven refugee camps in Nepal. The Bhutanese authorities have not allowed a single refugee to return. In 2006, the US government, seeing an impasse, offered to resettle 60,000 of the Bhutanese refugees. Processing has been slow to start, and the first refugees are not likely to depart until March.”
Here’s a link to the Human Rights Watch report quoted above: http://www.hrw.org/news/2008/01/31/bhutans-ethnic-cleansing
Another link to a New Statesman piece on Bhutan’s ethnic cleansing:
http://www.newstatesman.com/world-affairs/2008/02/bhutan-ethnic-rights-refugees
And a link to the Wikipedia article on Bhutan”s ethnic cleansing:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutanese_refugees
Amsterdam in Bangkok
If it was NOT clear to Tom Hoy, or the others who continue to hold their breath waiting for Amsterdam-Thaksin to do or say whatever, the flood victims of Thailand (as well as other countries) have other priorities.
Send your donations or whatever . . . Amsterdam-Thaksin could wait.
Glittering amidst the crisis
Have been twice to this place since its opening. I like the food court on the fifth floor where my favourite veggie foods cost less than the ones at Paragon or MBK. Once you are inside the building, you forget we have floods crisis in the country.