My guess is ASSK left the table in case she might hit the man. The Burmese are a hot blooded race. She’s no angel for goodness sake. If politics is like a poker game, no, she hasn’t got the right attributes of a player.
As for a political leader, the people have made their decision who they want to follow, warts and all, and have stuck with it.
Martin Rathie :
Could you expand on this :
“The interesting thing to note is the number of Huaphan province natives who have been appointed. The shift has been away from the southern Neo Lao Issara veterans to the Viengxay young turks/post-75 generation.”
What implications – if any – for border relations ?
But Les, what is progressive and pro-democracy. Sondhi Lim has had a go a defining this, and comes up with a kind of fascist maoism. If I thought there were progressive policemen supporting the UDD, this would increase my support for them (if I thought them progressive in the first place). Progressive and pro-democracy are terms that, in Thailand at least, get poured into all kinds of vessels.
“If Thaksin and UDD are sincere about wanting grassroots democracy for the people of Thailand there is no question of compromise and “reconciliation”; only insisting on full accountability through the restoration of justice and systemic institutional change. Doesn’t the past 5 years prove anything?”
It never occurred to me that Thaksin could be sincere about wanting grassroots democracy for the people of Thailand. Thaksin has only ever been interested in his personal/family fortune and willing to walk on the people of Thailand to achieve that.
It seems that the UDD wants, not grassroots democracy for the people of Thailand, but a “peoples’ movement” which they can lead.
In short they are both interested in using the people of Thailand to effect their own aims.
It is, as it has always been, up to the people themselves to look out for their own interests. Thaksin knows this and is looking out for his own interests, as are the leadership of the UDD.
But this is no different than the state of affairs world wide. Unless and until the people look after their own interests they will see themselves continuously co-opted in service to the interests of those who do take the time to “look after the peoples’ interests”.
Campbell’s report was better – i.e. more factually accurate, better researched – than Peter Hartcher’s, which appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald, about the same time.
Sensational, but off track. Bouasone still holds a key committee position in the party relating to economics so he hasn’t been left to the vultures to dine on. Bouasone chose to leave high office rather than get thrown from it. One could argue that elder relatives and patrons were equally alarmed with his in-house family embarrassments and sought to actively save face in a drastic way. Also, if Bouasone was such a disgrace to the Party then his photo would not have been shown in the newspapers and on the state television channels during the congress. I also don’t regard Thongsing as some political grim reaper. He has heaps of organizational and administrative experience so it was quite natural to select him. Were you expecting Lengsavad or Douangchai? The interesting thing to note is the number of Huaphan province natives who have been appointed. The shift has been away from the southern Neo Lao Issara veterans to the Viengxay young turks/post-75 generation.
I attempted to review the transcript of Campbell’s report (aired 13/4/10) but it appears to be unavailable in the Foreign Correspondent online archives: http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/archives.htm
Is anyone aware why the transcript has been removed/is unavailable on the ABC site?
Did the ABC decline to post the transcript in deference to the protests of the Thai government following the report?
It would be troubling if this is the case, especially when considered in the context of Akechai’s arrest.
Here’s an Australian who’s very impressed with Najib Razak – Monash University. “Ancora Imparo” indeed! 😛
Dear Education Minister of Australia, please check what doctorates are being offered by your esteemed institutions, otherwise your universities will soon degenerate into the same standard as Malaysian universities.
I wonder if the Philipines late Marcos or Indonesis’a Suharto have Australian PHDs as well? Or perhaps Muammar Gaddafi?
sam deedes 1
Only if you’re inside Thailand Sam, in which case MICT knows what’s best for you.
I understand there’s an email address if you want to write in and complain about it???
Please be aware that the first two links in this post referring to Dr Somsak Jeamteerasakul appear to direct the user to the Thai Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MICT)
I think the greater Thai public is aware and not too concerned about the fact that no political party is ultimately “progressive or pro-democracy.”
They have lived with the system and culture for long enough. At the top and bottom of the pyramid (as in most countries) the bottom line is “what’s in it for me and mine?”
The end result then comes down to voting turn-out, the proportionate or disproportion representation of the political system and ultimately how many arms bearing water-melons or fence-sitters there are in the military.
Off the top of my head all the successful revolutions I can think of have eventually had military support.
The tragedy of many of those revolutions is that the incumbents were often worse than their predecessors.
I see nothing different here.
One self-serving group quickly replaced by another and everyone quickly realigning behind the new regime at the trough in a spirit of “Thai national amity”.
Sadly I feel there are no happy outcomes available for the majority of thai people at this time.
IMO it will take more than two generations of liberal thought and education to shake of the feudal imprint and empower citizens to control their representatives and longer to realign certain non-altruistic imperatives.
Les. You mean a progressive and pro-democracy group like those seen in the Abhisit govt who use censorship, repressive laws, throw opponents in jail, and use the army to protect their position of power? Or some other example of progressive and pro-democracy group?
Just read this … interesting! This calls for comment:
“[Daw Aung San Suu Kyi] did not like what I had to say and at a dinner which followed her seminar in honour of Sir Lesley Glass who had just published his memoirs on Burma, she refused to speak to me or, as I recall, anyone else all evening.”
… backed up by Justin Wintle saying “Such was Suu Kyi’s anger with him that she left the table and sat smouldering in a corner, leaving it to Dr Aris to continue the conversation as best he could”
… suggests that although she is an admirable person, she might not have (or did not then have) the right qualities to be a political leader?
My friend reports that the police in evidence were blatantly wearing either red sleeve bands or bandanas, and were especially welcoming to farangs in attendance.
I think that things like this should cause some concern amongst though who believe that the UDD is a progressive pro-democracy group.
This counter-hypothesis goes too far – running way beyond what there is to support it. Bangkok Post’s choice of the “rebuild the interest and knowledge of the people…’ phrase hardly amounts to compelling evidence for it. Their article is most notable for its near-uniqueness – I can’t even remember the last time the Post even mentioned post-crackdown rallies/gatherings outside Bangkok yet they have been taking place regularly and frequently – where they have been allowed. With that in mind, I note you skip the article’s earlier sentence: “Several political gatherings to re-ignite the pride and rights of the red shirt members in Udon Thani have been prepared since the emergency decree was lifted in December.“
If anything, the evidence points to an ongoing redshirt resilience post the 2010 setbacks – with new UDD Chair Thida moving to get a more widespread local-based bottom-up rather than top-down structure in place and developing. It’s that kind of significant detail that I feel was conspicuously missing from Thitinan’s generalising.
The government’s popularity graph is heading south – with the prospect of more chickens coming home to roost that are expected to accelerate the process e.g. major price rises, worsening inflation and growing dissatisfaction as more corruption scandals emerge. By any normal standards, those factors (combined with non-existent reconciliation) are enough to explain why Abhisit is cutting his losses and announcing a general election.
Whether events/amart/military will actually allow that election promise to become reality still remains to be seen.
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A watching game
I was directed to the MICT by the above links.Although a message read “office closed,please forward mail to 161 Sri Ayuthaya Road”
Interview with Professor Robert Taylor
fenn caro
My guess is ASSK left the table in case she might hit the man. The Burmese are a hot blooded race. She’s no angel for goodness sake. If politics is like a poker game, no, she hasn’t got the right attributes of a player.
As for a political leader, the people have made their decision who they want to follow, warts and all, and have stuck with it.
Bouasone dumped from Lao Politburo
Martin Rathie :
Could you expand on this :
“The interesting thing to note is the number of Huaphan province natives who have been appointed. The shift has been away from the southern Neo Lao Issara veterans to the Viengxay young turks/post-75 generation.”
What implications – if any – for border relations ?
Thitinan on Thailand’s long list
But Les, what is progressive and pro-democracy. Sondhi Lim has had a go a defining this, and comes up with a kind of fascist maoism. If I thought there were progressive policemen supporting the UDD, this would increase my support for them (if I thought them progressive in the first place). Progressive and pro-democracy are terms that, in Thailand at least, get poured into all kinds of vessels.
A watching game
“If Thaksin and UDD are sincere about wanting grassroots democracy for the people of Thailand there is no question of compromise and “reconciliation”; only insisting on full accountability through the restoration of justice and systemic institutional change. Doesn’t the past 5 years prove anything?”
It never occurred to me that Thaksin could be sincere about wanting grassroots democracy for the people of Thailand. Thaksin has only ever been interested in his personal/family fortune and willing to walk on the people of Thailand to achieve that.
It seems that the UDD wants, not grassroots democracy for the people of Thailand, but a “peoples’ movement” which they can lead.
In short they are both interested in using the people of Thailand to effect their own aims.
It is, as it has always been, up to the people themselves to look out for their own interests. Thaksin knows this and is looking out for his own interests, as are the leadership of the UDD.
But this is no different than the state of affairs world wide. Unless and until the people look after their own interests they will see themselves continuously co-opted in service to the interests of those who do take the time to “look after the peoples’ interests”.
One man, the ABC and lese majeste
Campbell’s report was better – i.e. more factually accurate, better researched – than Peter Hartcher’s, which appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald, about the same time.
Bouasone dumped from Lao Politburo
Sensational, but off track. Bouasone still holds a key committee position in the party relating to economics so he hasn’t been left to the vultures to dine on. Bouasone chose to leave high office rather than get thrown from it. One could argue that elder relatives and patrons were equally alarmed with his in-house family embarrassments and sought to actively save face in a drastic way. Also, if Bouasone was such a disgrace to the Party then his photo would not have been shown in the newspapers and on the state television channels during the congress. I also don’t regard Thongsing as some political grim reaper. He has heaps of organizational and administrative experience so it was quite natural to select him. Were you expecting Lengsavad or Douangchai? The interesting thing to note is the number of Huaphan province natives who have been appointed. The shift has been away from the southern Neo Lao Issara veterans to the Viengxay young turks/post-75 generation.
One man, the ABC and lese majeste
I attempted to review the transcript of Campbell’s report (aired 13/4/10) but it appears to be unavailable in the Foreign Correspondent online archives: http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/archives.htm
Is anyone aware why the transcript has been removed/is unavailable on the ABC site?
Did the ABC decline to post the transcript in deference to the protests of the Thai government following the report?
It would be troubling if this is the case, especially when considered in the context of Akechai’s arrest.
A watching game
Both links work for me as well. I’m on a LAN network using Loxinfo.
A watching game
The link works for me in BKK on True (22/3-11)
Some Australians not impressed with Najib Razak
Here’s an Australian who’s very impressed with Najib Razak – Monash University. “Ancora Imparo” indeed! 😛
Dear Education Minister of Australia, please check what doctorates are being offered by your esteemed institutions, otherwise your universities will soon degenerate into the same standard as Malaysian universities.
I wonder if the Philipines late Marcos or Indonesis’a Suharto have Australian PHDs as well? Or perhaps Muammar Gaddafi?
A watching game
sam deedes 1
Only if you’re inside Thailand Sam, in which case MICT knows what’s best for you.
I understand there’s an email address if you want to write in and complain about it???
A watching game
Please be aware that the first two links in this post referring to Dr Somsak Jeamteerasakul appear to direct the user to the Thai Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MICT)
Thitinan on Thailand’s long list
I think the greater Thai public is aware and not too concerned about the fact that no political party is ultimately “progressive or pro-democracy.”
They have lived with the system and culture for long enough. At the top and bottom of the pyramid (as in most countries) the bottom line is “what’s in it for me and mine?”
The end result then comes down to voting turn-out, the proportionate or disproportion representation of the political system and ultimately how many arms bearing water-melons or fence-sitters there are in the military.
Off the top of my head all the successful revolutions I can think of have eventually had military support.
The tragedy of many of those revolutions is that the incumbents were often worse than their predecessors.
I see nothing different here.
One self-serving group quickly replaced by another and everyone quickly realigning behind the new regime at the trough in a spirit of “Thai national amity”.
Sadly I feel there are no happy outcomes available for the majority of thai people at this time.
IMO it will take more than two generations of liberal thought and education to shake of the feudal imprint and empower citizens to control their representatives and longer to realign certain non-altruistic imperatives.
Thitinan on Thailand’s long list
Ralph Kramden – 7
Les. You mean a progressive and pro-democracy group like those seen in the Abhisit govt…
No, strange as it may seem, I meant what I said.
Thitinan on Thailand’s long list
Les. You mean a progressive and pro-democracy group like those seen in the Abhisit govt who use censorship, repressive laws, throw opponents in jail, and use the army to protect their position of power? Or some other example of progressive and pro-democracy group?
Interview with Professor Robert Taylor
Just read this … interesting! This calls for comment:
“[Daw Aung San Suu Kyi] did not like what I had to say and at a dinner which followed her seminar in honour of Sir Lesley Glass who had just published his memoirs on Burma, she refused to speak to me or, as I recall, anyone else all evening.”
… backed up by Justin Wintle saying “Such was Suu Kyi’s anger with him that she left the table and sat smouldering in a corner, leaving it to Dr Aris to continue the conversation as best he could”
… suggests that although she is an admirable person, she might not have (or did not then have) the right qualities to be a political leader?
Thitinan on Thailand’s long list
Arthurson – 4
My friend reports that the police in evidence were blatantly wearing either red sleeve bands or bandanas, and were especially welcoming to farangs in attendance.
I think that things like this should cause some concern amongst though who believe that the UDD is a progressive pro-democracy group.
Bangkok: This is a massacre
[…] the record, I consider the Bangkok Massacre of 2010 precisely that – a massacre. In my opinion the evidence is simply overwhelming – […]
Thitinan on Thailand’s long list
c3
This counter-hypothesis goes too far – running way beyond what there is to support it. Bangkok Post’s choice of the “rebuild the interest and knowledge of the people…’ phrase hardly amounts to compelling evidence for it. Their article is most notable for its near-uniqueness – I can’t even remember the last time the Post even mentioned post-crackdown rallies/gatherings outside Bangkok yet they have been taking place regularly and frequently – where they have been allowed. With that in mind, I note you skip the article’s earlier sentence: “Several political gatherings to re-ignite the pride and rights of the red shirt members in Udon Thani have been prepared since the emergency decree was lifted in December.“
If anything, the evidence points to an ongoing redshirt resilience post the 2010 setbacks – with new UDD Chair Thida moving to get a more widespread local-based bottom-up rather than top-down structure in place and developing. It’s that kind of significant detail that I feel was conspicuously missing from Thitinan’s generalising.
The government’s popularity graph is heading south – with the prospect of more chickens coming home to roost that are expected to accelerate the process e.g. major price rises, worsening inflation and growing dissatisfaction as more corruption scandals emerge. By any normal standards, those factors (combined with non-existent reconciliation) are enough to explain why Abhisit is cutting his losses and announcing a general election.
Whether events/amart/military will actually allow that election promise to become reality still remains to be seen.
PS> While we’re mentioning the Bangkok Post, I’d draw your attention to their report of Bangkok University’s nationwide post-censure poll at http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politics/227673/poll-people-vote-no-for-pm-9-ministers . Those poll numbers don’t add up to good news for Abhisit & Co.