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Olli, I think the former deputy prime minister rose to prominence during the SEA Games because of his previous role as foreign minister. It is common knowledge that HAGL and the Yunnan Construction Company were two big contributors to the Games infrastructure. Somsavad had to help facilitate their assistance because of his prior experience. However, we also know at the presidential level important links were in action during this period. One could note that Somsavad at times did style himself a bit like Hun Sen and Thaksin by presenting himself to the media at fund-raising and ground-breaking events frequently. The former deputy prime minister made golf trendy for Lao VIPs when it was previously regarded as a capitalist luxury. As people in the region know, lots of business is discussed out on the fairways and thus this certainly didn’t disadvantage the leading patron of Lao golf. This also enabled Somsavad to cultivate links with the Koreans, Japanese and others. Remember it is a two way path and many investors came seeking Somsavad out for market access or commercial influence. We also need to realize that these foreign players were also targeting other members of the Party elite. The nuts and bolts of this matter comes down to the interaction between the investors and the entourages supporting the leaders who normally execute the fine details of these private business arrangements.
Just realized I made a big error. Mr. Bounpone who heads the Economics, Technology and Environment Committee of the NA is not related to Dr. Thongloune (surname is Sisoulath, not Sisoulith). Bounpone is a deputy for Salavan province and served in the previous legislature. He was born in Savannakhet. He studied economics in the USSR. He worked in the finance department for Savannakhet in the 1980s. He came to work in Vientiane Capital in the late 1990s. Bounpone became a member of the provincial party committee. Then in 2010 he entered service at the National Assembly.
hi ja san ra, your words
“Frankly sayin’ i never ever heard about “tsapi ot tsahku” words in my entire life till now.” make me amazed and shocked me yeah really.
i would like to ask you, have you ever spoken kachin dialect? if yes, then it will amazed me more regarding why you do not know the words ‘tsapi and tsakhu’.
Tobias, just a follow-up question: How come that Somsavad had achieved this specific profile – the foreign investment expert – in both domestic and international media?
I recall his striking media visibility during the SEA Games in 2009.
I never said Dr Schweitzer was Gabonese, neither did he, nor did the Gabonese. Again your analogy is wrong. Rousseau started off as a ‘Genevan’ and then ended up Swiss, but considered himself French. He also spent time in Italy, as Schweitzer spent time in Gabon. We are talking about nationality, changes in geography and cultural, linguistic and literary preferences, for which neither Italy nor Gabon apply at all. We are not talking about, for example, French Pieds-Noirs, born and raised solely in Algeria which was under French Occupation and considered literally French soil, even if most inhabitants were Arab or Amazigh (Berber), many Pieds-Noirs identified as Algerians, especially with the way they were treated by General De Gaulle. Ken, your argument carries no weight.
No doubt I should have written ‘Genevan’, and then appended a paragraph to explain why Rousseau couldn’t be called ‘Swiss’.
The fact that he spent part of his life in France no more justifies calling Rousseau French than the fact that Schweitzer worked for part of life in Gabon makes him Gabonese.
Somsavad Lengsavad will take up an advisory role like all other previous senior statesmen. Naturally he will maintain influence through his network of proteges, relatives and friends like all Lao leaders. However, Lengsavad’s role in national infrastructure projects has often been exaggerated due to the ignorance of outsiders commenting on Laos. For example there was the report about Lengsavad’s nephew being linked to the Phonesack Group. The investigators failed to mention that many Lao leaders had links to Phonesack and Lengsavad was definitely not the highest. There are many players engaging with the Chinese and other investors. Most of them are not visible in the press, unlike Somsavad. For example the current Minister of Mines and Energy should really get as much exposure but he doesn’t. Is this discriminatory reporting? Every foreign investment project is meant to pass through foreign affairs, planning and investment, public security/home affairs, labour and social welfare. All the ministers of these portfolios have influence, however, the foreign media loves to concentrate on the Chinese-speaking Lengsavad. Laos is much more complex than one man.
Do you have any informed ideas on what happens to former Deputy PM Somsavat Lengsavad under the new administration?
Where does this leave his standing and his network, and what implications are there regarding his (former) role in promoting major investment projects?
Not so unfortunate as your error, Ken. The Republic of Geneva into which Rousseau was born was an ally of Switzerland and not yet incorporated into Switzerland; therefore he was born in Geneva, not Switzerland. Rousseau, who became a Roman Catholic, wrote as much from France as he did from Switzerland, and he is buried in France. Nobody was robbed except perhaps you, of your certitude. Is Dr. Albert Schweitzer Alsatian, German or French (or Swiss) ? He was born in Alsace, German at the time, but wrote in French, considered himself French, and in later years, spent time in Switzerland. This I can attest to, as my cousin, a Plastic Surgeon, accompanied Schweitzer to Gabon. I think the larger point of the article was the relationship between non-human and human primates, not where Rousseau most contributed to the French Enlightenment.
[…] The mayor has gained prominence for his tough tactics on criminals and also notoriety for his crass jokes about violence in the country. Yet he remains the leading candidate as Filipinos consider his candor as a welcome […]
France has produced many more philosophers than Switzerland, so it particularly unfortunate that the author robs Switzerland of its own Jean-Jacques Rousseau and arrogates him to France without the approval of the Swiss government.
With respect to the question contained in your title. The certain answer is a very resounding, “Yes”. Not only is recognizing humanity in all primates (if not all animals, in fact) an indication that our formation was justified, it is mandatory, in order to justify our continued existence as human beings. I see no benefit to Earth and its myriad inhabitants, if we cannot see humanity in primates, and from the look of things, there is a discrete portion of humanity that is totally blind to “humanity”. I suspect “Perhaps, however, the lack of respect that we show for Neanderthals, who are much closer to us than orangutans, suggests we should not expect too much”..is in fact correct, but it is the path that counts, right ? No point waiting for God, oh ?
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Jakarta left all at sea by island clash with China
[…] “Jakarta left all at sea by island clash with China,” New Mandala, April 5, 2016, http://www.newmandala.org/2016/04/05/jakarta-left-all-at-sea-by-island-clash-with-chi…. Post Views: […]
Jakarta left all at sea by island clash with China
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Orangutans and ‘non-human’ rights
Excellent piece.As Peter Singer argues we should not respect and give rights to forms of life on the grounds that they are not the same species as us.
Ceremony and pomp in Papua
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[…] July 2014, after Indonesia’s presidential election, Richard Robison and I anticipated that Joko Widodo (“Jokowi”) would have a hard time delivering on the simultaneously populist and reformist rhetoric of his campaign. We thought that […]
A look at Laos’ future leaders
Olli, I think the former deputy prime minister rose to prominence during the SEA Games because of his previous role as foreign minister. It is common knowledge that HAGL and the Yunnan Construction Company were two big contributors to the Games infrastructure. Somsavad had to help facilitate their assistance because of his prior experience. However, we also know at the presidential level important links were in action during this period. One could note that Somsavad at times did style himself a bit like Hun Sen and Thaksin by presenting himself to the media at fund-raising and ground-breaking events frequently. The former deputy prime minister made golf trendy for Lao VIPs when it was previously regarded as a capitalist luxury. As people in the region know, lots of business is discussed out on the fairways and thus this certainly didn’t disadvantage the leading patron of Lao golf. This also enabled Somsavad to cultivate links with the Koreans, Japanese and others. Remember it is a two way path and many investors came seeking Somsavad out for market access or commercial influence. We also need to realize that these foreign players were also targeting other members of the Party elite. The nuts and bolts of this matter comes down to the interaction between the investors and the entourages supporting the leaders who normally execute the fine details of these private business arrangements.
A look at Laos’ future leaders
Just realized I made a big error. Mr. Bounpone who heads the Economics, Technology and Environment Committee of the NA is not related to Dr. Thongloune (surname is Sisoulath, not Sisoulith). Bounpone is a deputy for Salavan province and served in the previous legislature. He was born in Savannakhet. He studied economics in the USSR. He worked in the finance department for Savannakhet in the 1980s. He came to work in Vientiane Capital in the late 1990s. Bounpone became a member of the provincial party committee. Then in 2010 he entered service at the National Assembly.
Would you like Tsa Pi with that?
hi ja san ra, your words
“Frankly sayin’ i never ever heard about “tsapi ot tsahku” words in my entire life till now.” make me amazed and shocked me yeah really.
i would like to ask you, have you ever spoken kachin dialect? if yes, then it will amazed me more regarding why you do not know the words ‘tsapi and tsakhu’.
A look at Laos’ future leaders
Tobias, just a follow-up question: How come that Somsavad had achieved this specific profile – the foreign investment expert – in both domestic and international media?
I recall his striking media visibility during the SEA Games in 2009.
Malaysia’s political polarisation
Those who are interested can now access a recording of this panel discussion via our SoundCloud profile:
https://soundcloud.com/newmandala/sets/counting-cost-1mdb
Orangutans and ‘non-human’ rights
I never said Dr Schweitzer was Gabonese, neither did he, nor did the Gabonese. Again your analogy is wrong. Rousseau started off as a ‘Genevan’ and then ended up Swiss, but considered himself French. He also spent time in Italy, as Schweitzer spent time in Gabon. We are talking about nationality, changes in geography and cultural, linguistic and literary preferences, for which neither Italy nor Gabon apply at all. We are not talking about, for example, French Pieds-Noirs, born and raised solely in Algeria which was under French Occupation and considered literally French soil, even if most inhabitants were Arab or Amazigh (Berber), many Pieds-Noirs identified as Algerians, especially with the way they were treated by General De Gaulle. Ken, your argument carries no weight.
Orangutans and ‘non-human’ rights
No doubt I should have written ‘Genevan’, and then appended a paragraph to explain why Rousseau couldn’t be called ‘Swiss’.
The fact that he spent part of his life in France no more justifies calling Rousseau French than the fact that Schweitzer worked for part of life in Gabon makes him Gabonese.
A look at Laos’ future leaders
Somsavad Lengsavad will take up an advisory role like all other previous senior statesmen. Naturally he will maintain influence through his network of proteges, relatives and friends like all Lao leaders. However, Lengsavad’s role in national infrastructure projects has often been exaggerated due to the ignorance of outsiders commenting on Laos. For example there was the report about Lengsavad’s nephew being linked to the Phonesack Group. The investigators failed to mention that many Lao leaders had links to Phonesack and Lengsavad was definitely not the highest. There are many players engaging with the Chinese and other investors. Most of them are not visible in the press, unlike Somsavad. For example the current Minister of Mines and Energy should really get as much exposure but he doesn’t. Is this discriminatory reporting? Every foreign investment project is meant to pass through foreign affairs, planning and investment, public security/home affairs, labour and social welfare. All the ministers of these portfolios have influence, however, the foreign media loves to concentrate on the Chinese-speaking Lengsavad. Laos is much more complex than one man.
A look at Laos’ future leaders
Tobias:
Do you have any informed ideas on what happens to former Deputy PM Somsavat Lengsavad under the new administration?
Where does this leave his standing and his network, and what implications are there regarding his (former) role in promoting major investment projects?
Orangutans and ‘non-human’ rights
Not so unfortunate as your error, Ken. The Republic of Geneva into which Rousseau was born was an ally of Switzerland and not yet incorporated into Switzerland; therefore he was born in Geneva, not Switzerland. Rousseau, who became a Roman Catholic, wrote as much from France as he did from Switzerland, and he is buried in France. Nobody was robbed except perhaps you, of your certitude. Is Dr. Albert Schweitzer Alsatian, German or French (or Swiss) ? He was born in Alsace, German at the time, but wrote in French, considered himself French, and in later years, spent time in Switzerland. This I can attest to, as my cousin, a Plastic Surgeon, accompanied Schweitzer to Gabon. I think the larger point of the article was the relationship between non-human and human primates, not where Rousseau most contributed to the French Enlightenment.
Orangutans and ‘non-human’ rights
Mea culpa, alas. And even if the Swiss government authorized the expropriation, it would not be proper historical practice.
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[…] The mayor has gained prominence for his tough tactics on criminals and also notoriety for his crass jokes about violence in the country. Yet he remains the leading candidate as Filipinos consider his candor as a welcome […]
Orangutans and ‘non-human’ rights
France has produced many more philosophers than Switzerland, so it particularly unfortunate that the author robs Switzerland of its own Jean-Jacques Rousseau and arrogates him to France without the approval of the Swiss government.
Orangutans and ‘non-human’ rights
With respect to the question contained in your title. The certain answer is a very resounding, “Yes”. Not only is recognizing humanity in all primates (if not all animals, in fact) an indication that our formation was justified, it is mandatory, in order to justify our continued existence as human beings. I see no benefit to Earth and its myriad inhabitants, if we cannot see humanity in primates, and from the look of things, there is a discrete portion of humanity that is totally blind to “humanity”. I suspect “Perhaps, however, the lack of respect that we show for Neanderthals, who are much closer to us than orangutans, suggests we should not expect too much”..is in fact correct, but it is the path that counts, right ? No point waiting for God, oh ?