Comments

  1. michael says:

    No doubt David Icke will be very pleased!

    Editor note (NSF): Readers who don’t immediately catch the reference will find this instructive.

  2. sam deedes says:

    What are the implications of historian Charnvit Kasetsiri’s calls on the PM to adopt Siam as the country’s name? Details: http://www.prachatai.com/english/node/1184

  3. Sidh S says:

    Thanks Ralph #28 for picking this up. I’ll look forward to your comments. Please do keep in mind that the ‘Thai’ worldview is actually more conciliatory than many people think and I’ve heard many times the wish of the dead and dying that asking forgiveness (“ahosi” right?) from those they intentionally or unintentionally caused pain. I have family and friends who are Deep Yellow and Deep Red, and if we don’t talk politics, nothing as really changed and I love and respect them all the same… Of course, we can also debate that there’s no such thing as a “Thai worldview”, I am also interested to engage in that.

    Re-reading my own comments, I’d like to add that Thai Democracy is not only a “bastard child” of elitist ideals imposed and a military coup d’etat, it is also a child from a broken home as all her main founders passed away in exile (AjarnPridi, King Prajadhibok and FMPibul). An orphaned child, Thai Democracy has had many, many foster and adoptive parents through the years, some love and nurture her, some dislike her and many exploit her. Sounds like a plot of a Siamese/Thai period drama of a ChaoKhun’s household of many wives with Thai Democracy being a bullied, favorite daughter of the ChaoKhun and a minor wife, both whom passed out from the picture too soon. She has phuyais that provide stability and warmth, others scheme her downfall, while others who mean well but had done her more harm than good. Today she must have grown up to be quite attractive as there are many young suitors (both Thai and foreigners) claiming to be her hero, claiming that only they can ‘save’ her… And the story goes on and on… (an eternal optimist, the version I have in mind is not too bad – just recently distracted by a possible nuclear-power Myanmar Junta can easily re-militarize Thai society to a frenzied extreme).

  4. Ann-Claire says:

    point 46#
    I think that you do what you can, when you can- and this changes over time. -going into new areas, in a new way is important.

  5. Thanks Albert and Aiontay,

    I appreciate that some (many?) of these questions will require refinement…and I am all ears in terms of other angles and insights.

    The proportion of questions devoted to each country maps, in a general way, the amount of attention the countries receive on New Mandala and also, in a much cruder way, the populations of the respective countries. I accept that my balance is far from ideal.

    With that in mind if anyone wants to put together a list of “21 questions for Lao Studies”, “44 questions for Cambodian history”, “13 blind-spots in Yunnan”, etc, we would be delighted to publish them on New Mandala.

    Best wishes to all,

    Nich

  6. Albert says:

    A good start, Nich. If going back to the land, on question 1, refers to farming I think the works of human geographers have already answered that question long time ago. If not, a most likely trend would be a new form of “going back to the land is emerging”, perhaps in terms of nostalgia and identity.

    Another thing, it seems these questions are heavy on Thailand and Burma but low on Laos and Cambodia. Perhaps others can add more prescient questions.

  7. aiontay says:

    Just a quick take is that #45 is probably not a good question. After all, would Andrew Jackson recognize an Obama administration?

  8. Kulap says:

    Susie Wong–

    Didn’t the Int’l Rice Research Institute have a big role in developing hybrids? Perhaps more significant in other countries?

    At least initially, IRRI was primarily funded by Rockefeller, Ford and World Bank, I think. Not that any of them are ever given much credit. Mahidol U should be named Rockefeller U.

  9. Robert Vicencio says:

    Would you know how we can get in contact with Professor David P. Chandler?

    Thanks,

    Robert

  10. John Hawkins says:

    A few months ago there was a story on Thai TV news regarding the plight of corn farmers who had been left with a glut of harvested product but no buyer. It seems that the usual Thai buyers had contracted to buy this year’s harvests from Myanmar instead! Furthermore, this latter arrangement had been set up by a past Minister for Agriculture during her term in Mr. Thaksin’s first government.

    I have not seen this in English anywhere; my wife helped me to understand the story when it aired on the news.

    Does anyone have any further information on this?

  11. Jean-Philippe Leblond says:

    Assuming 5 crops per year, the 2000-3000B/rai/crop = 2500*5 = 12 500B/rai/year , which about the same level as that reported in Thippawal Srijantr ‘s case study in the Mae Klong area c 1997 (not contract farming however).

    I thought I had a copy of his thesis but can’t find it. Anyways, in “Profitability and yield gap of sugar cane cultivation in the Mae Klong region” (http://std.cpc.ku.ac.th/delta/deltacp/pubs/sugarcane.PDF ) he says ” Comparing the annual income with other crops and animal productions, it was found that sugar cane yielded less than double rice crops (2,600 baht per rai per year with sell price of 1997 : 3,400 baht/ton ; since then, prices have fluctuated between 5,000 and 8,000 baht/rai), but three times less than baby corn production and five times less than raising diary cows is association with baby corn (Srijantr,
    1998). ” p. 3
    If we use 5000B /yr as a mean profitability of sugar cane: 5000 *3 = 15000B/rai/year for baby corn.

    You’re right that 50B/day is low compared to the min wage of 150B or more. On the other hand, it is much better than what I’ve seen in upland conditions, namely risking loosing 20 000+ B /year in feed maize production, a debt that is all but impossible to reimburse for the typical family without getting wage revenues.
    I wonder how many crops aside from rubber can get you a reliable income greater than the minimum wage in Thailand. Outside irrigated areas, my guess is none.

  12. Ralph Kramden says:

    “For the record, for me, AjarnPridi and King Prajadhibok both deserves equal credit for the Siam/Thailand’s first step towards democracy and the 24th of June is a celebration of both their legacies.”

    I know this is the wrong place, but how about opening a thread on this? I think Sidh is quite wrong, but don’t want to debate it here.

  13. Zodiacguille says:

    I am building the Natal Astrology Chart for Myanmar. And it shows that “M” is the letter key for its new step in History. “M” , I think, was as a key at the very begining of the Nation. “M” is at the begining of its own name, an the change is coming from the north, fron a location with the letter “M”. To complete the Capricorn Natal Chart.
    What do I see for the future of Myanmar: a great future for a new great country with a huge chage: SLOW BUT SURE. The people are realy for the change but in peace. Wtha di I need to complet my work about Myanmar Natal Astrology Chart is: date, time, and place of the head of the country to compare the health because I see as soon as posible that this man is getting an imperceptible illness at the moment. Could you get for me those references?
    Thanks a lot, Prof Guillermo CAPELLAN – Zodiac GUILLE – Argentina –

  14. Dang says:

    Oh dear ,The PM knows so well that if he ever call for an election,he will lose like fish on the sand.All he wants is to be a PM .He is proud of his Oxford degree and good accent which is better than Thaksin.
    He realizes that he can never become PM without support from the army and the privy head.
    He does not care for the voice and lives of the people (specially) the red shirts because they are uneducated ,sold themselves to Thaksin,and most of all these poor people do not understand what is democracy(he actaully means dictatorship).

    8 years of starvation is torturing.It is sad that over 60 years do not teach them any lesson.Perhaps,too old to learn.

  15. nganadeeleg says:

    I know nothing about the financial aspects of growing that or any other crop, but I would also be interested to know about the respective relative proportions of the final sale price that is recieved by the middlemen, processors, exporters, importers etc , and how that compares to the farmers/labourers share, and how that compares to other crops in Thailand, and to the situation in other exporting nations.

    Some quick summary numbers would be interesting, if you have them handy.

  16. jonfernquest says:

    “The Pheua Thai/Thaksin brand still has considerable electoral potency. As the unsuccessful candidate lamented: “even a lamp-post could win for Pheua Thai.”

    You don’t mention the most important fact: these by-elections were small victories in places that Pheua Thai already had locked down cold.

    The importance of the by-election victory according to some is mainly motivation for Red-Shirts getting a second wind after their failed Songkran revolution.

  17. Sidh S says:

    And another good development towards ‘reconciliation’ if true and if offer taken up by Veera:

    http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/147442/pm-invites-veera-to-host-his-tv-programme

    Veera may host PM’s TV programme

    By: BangkokPost.com
    Published: 30/06/2009 at 09:25 AM

    Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is reported to have told PM’s Office Minister Sathit Wongnongtaey to offer Veera Musikhapong, a core leader of the United front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), a spot on the premier’s weekly programme on Channel 11.

    Mr Abhisit’s publicity team reportedly cme up with the idea.

    Mr Veera would moderate the second part of the Confidence in Thailand with PM Abhisit programme which airs every Sunday at 9am.

    His job would be to interview the prime minister.

    The purpose would be to draw attention the red-shirts’ attention to the prime minister’s national programme.

    Through Mr Veera, the red-shirts would be able to directly ask Mr Abhisit questions about theissues which bother them.

    There was no indication whether Mr Veera would accept the invitation.

  18. Susie Wong says:

    Integrity should be important to any person, let alone those holding public office. Now I understand why he needs to use Lese Majeste Law to force respect.

  19. Susie Wong says:

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    From sanook.com
    Brief translation:
    Mark (Abhisit) woos Veera (one of the Red Movement leader) to join him as a host in his television program, “Confidence in Thailand”. The Red stop watching NBT channel after the Red’ program, “Truth Today” was cancelled. Courting Mr. Veera to join Abhisit as a co-host, it is hope to attract The Red Movement People to watch Abhisit’s program.
    Abhisit agrees with this ideas but he is not sure if Mr. Veera will accept the invitation.
    ____________________________

  20. Ril says:

    Check out this racist quote by Lee Kuan Yew:

    “”Three women were brought to the Singapore General Hospital, each in the same condition and needing a blood transfusion. The first, a Southeast Asian was given the transfusion but died a few hours later. The second, a South Asian was also given a transfusion but died a few days later. The third, an East Asian, was given a transfusion and survived. That is the X factor in development.”

    From Lee Kuan Yew: Race, Culture, Genes by Dr. Michael D Barr – http://www3.ntu.edu.sg/lib/ne/lky/raceculturegenes.pdf

    More tyranny exposed at http://leewatch.info/quotes/