Was Thaksin Shinawatra being a ‘royalist’ or a ‘disroyalist’ when (carried away by the spirit of political ‘gift-giving’ as praised/encouraged by Andrew Walker more recently) Thaksin generously rifled Thailand’s National Lottery and gifted bulk of the rifled loot to the Crown Prince? That was Andrew MacGregor Marshall’s story btw.
A big city experience of Thingyan can be very different from the countryside which Rangoonites call taw (the jungle) where excesses are less of the norm as everyone knows everyone else. Even Mandalay is very tame in comparison. Taungbyone Nat Pwe (spirit festival) is quite another story.
Unfortunately given the historical animosities reaching genocidal proportions, racial and religious divide, worse than Northern Ireland where they are at least both white Caucasian and Christian, the future is bleak particularly for the camel with falsified historical claims to the tent, not the Arab.
Amazingly, Vichai has somehow succeeded in further diminishing his credibility, despite the fact that many of us felt he had no credibility left to diminish.
This is the tragedy of Thailand’s royalists. Their only talent is for self-destruction.
Thank you everyone for informing me that the magazine р╕Др╕╕р╕Ур╣Ар╕Кр╕Хр╕зр╕▒р╕Щ referred to in his article was р╣Бр╕Юр╕гр╕з – I suspected that might be the case. Incidentally, р╕Др╕╕р╕Ур╣Ар╕Кр╕Хр╕зр╕▒р╕Щ did write to me around the time the translation was posted offering his thanks for translating the piece.
And Andrew (MM) thank you for your comments and your question re: ‘collateral damage’. I, as you may well have divined, don’t really have anything to add – I believe you answered your own question as well as anyone could hope to. Not the greatest response, I know, but I, like you, worry about my wife and young daughter – the most precious things (or rather, ‘beings’) in my meagre world.
Cheers
BTW: Has anyone had the chance to read through Chris B and Pasuk P’s Thai language version of their Cambridge History of Thailand which, I noticed, was published last month?
Said Iqbal is a former PKS caleg and obviously still close to the party. Announcing his support for Prabowo now that PSK and Gerindra are close to agreeing on forming an alliance for the presidential elections is probably not a coincidence.
PB: I am also interested to hear more stories regarding TAFTA and its impacts on people mobility. Some argued that qualified Thais have long been underpaid in Australia (like most other migrants), while Australian living in Thailand have long enjoyed high salary and good treatment. In my opinion, it will be an
interesting piece of cross-cultural work.
Both communities in Rakhine state needs to learn to live with each other. There needs to be shared goals and vision. There should be more events that bring all residents of Rakhine state together. Perhaps, integrated schools where children learn of each other and events where leaders from both communities should be encouraged.
I am now 62 and as far as I remember Thingyan’s four days (for us big boys in Rangoon City since I was a late teenage boy when I was growing up in Burma) was the period of constant drinking, groping girls and young women in the Mandats, fighting violently with any group of boys and young men getting in our ways, and sometimes ending up in a police cell or the Emergency at dilapidated RGH (Rangoon General Hospital) or both.
[…] The Election Commission can also now amend its regulations to enable it to postpone elections in areas where voters may be endangered. That’s a big deal since the Constitutional Court nullified the results of the Feb. 2 elections for the lower house because voting couldn’t be carried out in all 375 constituencies on the same day. In 28 electoral districts, anti-government, anti-election protesters, under the banner of the PDRC, physically blocked citizens from entering polling places and election officials from transporting ballot boxes to polling stations. Protesters earlier blocked candidates from registering in some southern districts. Nine provinces were not able to hold voting at all. Yingluck’s Pheu Thai Party nonetheless appears to have won handily. […]
” … the cause of murder is not “112тА│; it’s other political ones …”.
Somsak is sounding likes he “knows” the who’s and why’s of murders and assassinations of Red leaders. If Somsak is so sure it is ‘political’, then he must expand. Does Somsak mean political infighting within the Reds? Red leader Kwanchai assassination attempt … then followed by a successful assassinaton of Red poet Kamol, in retaliation perhaps?
Here we must leave alone true Buddhism which is for striving to dissociate oneself with this ever suffering worldly craps.
In stead we will now say about, and only about, Buddhism as written in these columns and countless others. Buddhism which is designed to embrace the luxurious world, confident in its own supremacy and hell-bent on squashing/ eliminating/ exterminating/ de-rooting/crushing/ expunging the rivals (religions of the Christians, Jews, Muslims Hindooos, what-else, etc.) like a morbidly possessive jealous wife/ husband/ partner.
A Brand Buddhism like McDonald or Gucci or Exon-Mobil. With equal propaganda (read BS), exhortations, misrepresentation, full of Pride and Prejudice. That is how you can fit in the Muslim and Hindu extermination/ suppression (like rats!) in Sri Lanka, Thailand, etc., as well as noble promotion of Woman lib. revolution (‘cus me, gender equality) in Buddhism sort of fun. Wouldn’t be surprised the monks in Burma start to ask for 25% seats in the parliament and a limousine and helicopter each for the top dogs.
For the so-called international communities, your careless “West”, their interest is in keeping the Chinese labor camps (on which the economy of today’s world depends) alive and Chinese busy and happy with anything they want from Burma gas, oil, road, rails, copper, teak, rare earth, women, jade, wild animal parts, live animals, anything, and if that involves as tocharian incessantly pointed out to divert he attention of the racist,NAZI Burmese to kill off and do untold cruelty to the economically inconsequential group of people, all they would come out with is hot air and hot air alone.
Remember these (your West) are people who would bomb (even with radioactive war heads)innocent people all around the world and their whole population watch the descriptive video’s and pictures of those acts and awful destruction of the aftermaths as evening entertainment during dinner after stressful double-shift work everyday. Better than the Romans of old days!
Islamic countries as intolerant and overbearing is true mainly for the Zionist ones under the so-called Judeo-Christian coalition- like in most oppressed country on earth under American-propped family of Saud, or Qatar. There are a lot of secular Muslim countries like current day Syria. And Libya was famously secular until the American (NATO?) went in and liberated it. And we now see dear little old British protectorate Brunei going the same way. From secularism to extremism.
So long as the “international communities”, your West, feel that they can tame the Than Shwe monster and walk in and rape the country by giving BS dog-eats-dog system labelled as “Democracy” and keep pumping up the thugs, the arrogance and impunity of racist Nazi committing these pogroms will increase next expending into segments of the Burmese communities not targeted thus far.
Article like this one purporting to do the right thing but without acknowledging the basic fact of the fake nature of “Reform”,a process done so that the “West” can come in and split the loot of the last virgin land on earth with the Chinese, is not really intended to solve the problem. But to reinforce the entrenched despicable status quo leaning to get worse by tacit approval of the existence of “Reforms”.
Then again this is not unique. It is the prevalent current theme, by the “media”, by the academia, by the national and international wannabe do-gooders.
Ajarn Somsak is absolutely spot on in this discussion, with all the points he has raised here – in regards to the complications over the views of the amnesty bill under different Red Shirt factions especially also considering their respective positions over the 112 issue, and the reasons why Mainueng was assassinated.
I can only repeat here that the 112 issue was *at most* only a contributing factor in this assassination, not the main reason.
No, it’s not business or personal. The latter I am well aware of too; many people are. But however complicated his personal life, no one he’s involved with at personal level has the cause (not to say the capability) to do that.
The interview with Wad Ravi has a different meaning than you think or try to put it. I can say this with certainty, because I just spoke at length with Wad Ravi a few days a ago (when we both visited Somyot on the 3rd anniversary of his imprisonment). What he meant is exactly the same as what I’ve been saying in this post. That the cause of murder is not “112”; it’s other political ones.
On the side of the big battalions with no need whatever to disguise himself, yet he lies about his name three times. So much for his courage and credibility.
People have always recognised that the mandats like the floats are organised by the well to do, and simply enjoy the free show although it now costs to “get in”.
Finding love can happen not just at Thingyan but at all year round seasonal fairs and festivals.
Having fun with wild abandon does occur mainly at Thingyan and nat spirit festivals such as at Taungbyone near Mandalay held in August.
Raves when they first appeared in the West reminded me of Taungbyone happening every weekend, and rap of the tradition ofthangyat chanting at Thingyan.
Were Hopkins to have written about the Soviet liberation of Auschwitz in 1945, he might have said “the Soviets are ‘spinning’ this to their geopolitical ends.” The Vietnamese and their Cambodian allies did in fact liberate Cambodia from the clutches of the KR and consigned Toul Sleng to a permanent memory while stopping the atrocities therein. Why can’t western “scholars” recognize this?
Facebook 
Twitter 
Soundcloud 
Youtube 
Rss
Kamol, Rienthong, and 112
Define ‘Thai royalist’ Andrew-M-Marshall.
Was Thaksin Shinawatra being a ‘royalist’ or a ‘disroyalist’ when (carried away by the spirit of political ‘gift-giving’ as praised/encouraged by Andrew Walker more recently) Thaksin generously rifled Thailand’s National Lottery and gifted bulk of the rifled loot to the Crown Prince? That was Andrew MacGregor Marshall’s story btw.
Partitioned love in the dirty lake
A big city experience of Thingyan can be very different from the countryside which Rangoonites call taw (the jungle) where excesses are less of the norm as everyone knows everyone else. Even Mandalay is very tame in comparison. Taungbyone Nat Pwe (spirit festival) is quite another story.
Pathways to peace in Rakhine State
Unfortunately given the historical animosities reaching genocidal proportions, racial and religious divide, worse than Northern Ireland where they are at least both white Caucasian and Christian, the future is bleak particularly for the camel with falsified historical claims to the tent, not the Arab.
Kamol, Rienthong, and 112
Amazingly, Vichai has somehow succeeded in further diminishing his credibility, despite the fact that many of us felt he had no credibility left to diminish.
This is the tragedy of Thailand’s royalists. Their only talent is for self-destruction.
Can we really live together?
Thank you everyone for informing me that the magazine р╕Др╕╕р╕Ур╣Ар╕Кр╕Хр╕зр╕▒р╕Щ referred to in his article was р╣Бр╕Юр╕гр╕з – I suspected that might be the case. Incidentally, р╕Др╕╕р╕Ур╣Ар╕Кр╕Хр╕зр╕▒р╕Щ did write to me around the time the translation was posted offering his thanks for translating the piece.
And Andrew (MM) thank you for your comments and your question re: ‘collateral damage’. I, as you may well have divined, don’t really have anything to add – I believe you answered your own question as well as anyone could hope to. Not the greatest response, I know, but I, like you, worry about my wife and young daughter – the most precious things (or rather, ‘beings’) in my meagre world.
Cheers
BTW: Has anyone had the chance to read through Chris B and Pasuk P’s Thai language version of their Cambridge History of Thailand which, I noticed, was published last month?
The government still thinks it knows best
The following statement was made by Mr. Jho Low’s publicist in relation to 1MDB.
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/clarifying-facts-about-jho-lows-businesses-media-statement
Rallying to Prabowo’s cause
Said Iqbal is a former PKS caleg and obviously still close to the party. Announcing his support for Prabowo now that PSK and Gerindra are close to agreeing on forming an alliance for the presidential elections is probably not a coincidence.
THAINEY: Lives of the Thais in Sydney
PB: I am also interested to hear more stories regarding TAFTA and its impacts on people mobility. Some argued that qualified Thais have long been underpaid in Australia (like most other migrants), while Australian living in Thailand have long enjoyed high salary and good treatment. In my opinion, it will be an
interesting piece of cross-cultural work.
Pathways to peace in Rakhine State
Both communities in Rakhine state needs to learn to live with each other. There needs to be shared goals and vision. There should be more events that bring all residents of Rakhine state together. Perhaps, integrated schools where children learn of each other and events where leaders from both communities should be encouraged.
Partitioned love in the dirty lake
I am now 62 and as far as I remember Thingyan’s four days (for us big boys in Rangoon City since I was a late teenage boy when I was growing up in Burma) was the period of constant drinking, groping girls and young women in the Mandats, fighting violently with any group of boys and young men getting in our ways, and sometimes ending up in a police cell or the Emergency at dilapidated RGH (Rangoon General Hospital) or both.
Thai election by the numbers
[…] The Election Commission can also now amend its regulations to enable it to postpone elections in areas where voters may be endangered. That’s a big deal since the Constitutional Court nullified the results of the Feb. 2 elections for the lower house because voting couldn’t be carried out in all 375 constituencies on the same day. In 28 electoral districts, anti-government, anti-election protesters, under the banner of the PDRC, physically blocked citizens from entering polling places and election officials from transporting ballot boxes to polling stations. Protesters earlier blocked candidates from registering in some southern districts. Nine provinces were not able to hold voting at all. Yingluck’s Pheu Thai Party nonetheless appears to have won handily. […]
Kamol, Rienthong, and 112
” … the cause of murder is not “112тА│; it’s other political ones …”.
Somsak is sounding likes he “knows” the who’s and why’s of murders and assassinations of Red leaders. If Somsak is so sure it is ‘political’, then he must expand. Does Somsak mean political infighting within the Reds? Red leader Kwanchai assassination attempt … then followed by a successful assassinaton of Red poet Kamol, in retaliation perhaps?
Or something else?
Pathways to peace in Rakhine State
Interesting points Pan B.
Here we must leave alone true Buddhism which is for striving to dissociate oneself with this ever suffering worldly craps.
In stead we will now say about, and only about, Buddhism as written in these columns and countless others. Buddhism which is designed to embrace the luxurious world, confident in its own supremacy and hell-bent on squashing/ eliminating/ exterminating/ de-rooting/crushing/ expunging the rivals (religions of the Christians, Jews, Muslims Hindooos, what-else, etc.) like a morbidly possessive jealous wife/ husband/ partner.
A Brand Buddhism like McDonald or Gucci or Exon-Mobil. With equal propaganda (read BS), exhortations, misrepresentation, full of Pride and Prejudice. That is how you can fit in the Muslim and Hindu extermination/ suppression (like rats!) in Sri Lanka, Thailand, etc., as well as noble promotion of Woman lib. revolution (‘cus me, gender equality) in Buddhism sort of fun. Wouldn’t be surprised the monks in Burma start to ask for 25% seats in the parliament and a limousine and helicopter each for the top dogs.
For the so-called international communities, your careless “West”, their interest is in keeping the Chinese labor camps (on which the economy of today’s world depends) alive and Chinese busy and happy with anything they want from Burma gas, oil, road, rails, copper, teak, rare earth, women, jade, wild animal parts, live animals, anything, and if that involves as tocharian incessantly pointed out to divert he attention of the racist,NAZI Burmese to kill off and do untold cruelty to the economically inconsequential group of people, all they would come out with is hot air and hot air alone.
Remember these (your West) are people who would bomb (even with radioactive war heads)innocent people all around the world and their whole population watch the descriptive video’s and pictures of those acts and awful destruction of the aftermaths as evening entertainment during dinner after stressful double-shift work everyday. Better than the Romans of old days!
Islamic countries as intolerant and overbearing is true mainly for the Zionist ones under the so-called Judeo-Christian coalition- like in most oppressed country on earth under American-propped family of Saud, or Qatar. There are a lot of secular Muslim countries like current day Syria. And Libya was famously secular until the American (NATO?) went in and liberated it. And we now see dear little old British protectorate Brunei going the same way. From secularism to extremism.
So long as the “international communities”, your West, feel that they can tame the Than Shwe monster and walk in and rape the country by giving BS dog-eats-dog system labelled as “Democracy” and keep pumping up the thugs, the arrogance and impunity of racist Nazi committing these pogroms will increase next expending into segments of the Burmese communities not targeted thus far.
Article like this one purporting to do the right thing but without acknowledging the basic fact of the fake nature of “Reform”,a process done so that the “West” can come in and split the loot of the last virgin land on earth with the Chinese, is not really intended to solve the problem. But to reinforce the entrenched despicable status quo leaning to get worse by tacit approval of the existence of “Reforms”.
Then again this is not unique. It is the prevalent current theme, by the “media”, by the academia, by the national and international wannabe do-gooders.
Electoral integrity in Thailand
Fascinating stuff. Really looking forward to the follow up articles.
The power of Thailand’s networks
They can’t be proved, or talked about.
Kamol, Rienthong, and 112
Ajarn Somsak is absolutely spot on in this discussion, with all the points he has raised here – in regards to the complications over the views of the amnesty bill under different Red Shirt factions especially also considering their respective positions over the 112 issue, and the reasons why Mainueng was assassinated.
I can only repeat here that the 112 issue was *at most* only a contributing factor in this assassination, not the main reason.
Kamol, Rienthong, and 112
No, it’s not business or personal. The latter I am well aware of too; many people are. But however complicated his personal life, no one he’s involved with at personal level has the cause (not to say the capability) to do that.
The interview with Wad Ravi has a different meaning than you think or try to put it. I can say this with certainty, because I just spoke at length with Wad Ravi a few days a ago (when we both visited Somyot on the 3rd anniversary of his imprisonment). What he meant is exactly the same as what I’ve been saying in this post. That the cause of murder is not “112”; it’s other political ones.
Kamol, Rienthong, and 112
On the side of the big battalions with no need whatever to disguise himself, yet he lies about his name three times. So much for his courage and credibility.
Partitioned love in the dirty lake
People have always recognised that the mandats like the floats are organised by the well to do, and simply enjoy the free show although it now costs to “get in”.
Finding love can happen not just at Thingyan but at all year round seasonal fairs and festivals.
Having fun with wild abandon does occur mainly at Thingyan and nat spirit festivals such as at Taungbyone near Mandalay held in August.
Raves when they first appeared in the West reminded me of Taungbyone happening every weekend, and rap of the tradition ofthangyat chanting at Thingyan.
Reflections on Tuol Sleng
Were Hopkins to have written about the Soviet liberation of Auschwitz in 1945, he might have said “the Soviets are ‘spinning’ this to their geopolitical ends.” The Vietnamese and their Cambodian allies did in fact liberate Cambodia from the clutches of the KR and consigned Toul Sleng to a permanent memory while stopping the atrocities therein. Why can’t western “scholars” recognize this?