1. “Dr Cohen, “nature” and “culture” are not the same things.”
Thank you for the redundant reminder, Mr. Montesano, for something that was not stated,
and given my scientific background (as well as knowledge of Asia), I am quite capable of examining all the factors that scientists currently believe arise to ‘culture’ and cultural differences, which start from genetic (DNA homology and allelic traits) all the way up to nature (environmental influences) and physiological and psychological factors in between the molecular level and the environmental level.
You posit a synonymy that was never stated,
or in fact, inferred.
Individual genetic and ethnic genetic traits, and natural (and non-natural) environment all lead to differences in anatomy, phylogeny, function, physiology, psychology, reasoning and emotions and levels of emotions in humans, the latter three obviously restricted to humans as plant can’t think and the evidence on thinking in non-human mammalian primates (monkeys, gorillas and oranguntans)
is inconclusive.
Culture is indeed impacted by environmental factors, obviously, but Mr. Montesano, being a Social Scientist and expert on Thailand, cannot be expected to understand the underlying genetic, allelic, biochemical, physiological and psychological traits that impact ethnicity, culture and human emotion, beyond the importance of nature which, as I state exhaustively impacts, but is not synonymous with, culture. You posit a statement that was not made, and unless you are prepared to engage in a discussion on how genetics (DNA) impacts human phylogeny and ethnic cultural traits which leads to ethnic and cultural differences, in comparison to convergent evolution and how that gives rise to common cultural cultural traits in different environments, then you have no basis to discuss culture and nature from an analytical and scientifically-based context.
I think you’re failing to recognise that tanslation scholars operating under
a Derridanian approach well understand that the notion of dissemination in and of itself “problematizes the singularity of that kind of signifier of lack, and the totality of the linguistic system structured with it as its center … therefore, dissemination neither presupposes nor posits a symbolic order” (Sakai & Solomon, 2006 pp. 47–48). Though I agree they’re oversimplifying a bit.
Dear Bethany, I think we’re all now agog to hear your suggestions for “creative thinking and problem solving” in the current situation. Please enlighten us.
I read “р╕Бр╕ер╕╡р╕вр╕╕р╕Д” and, never having read that kind of gossip before, found it interesting and titillating. Thanks for all the good work you’ve done. You usually furnish references for your statements, perhaps it is understandable why such rumors cannot be attributed … but still they’re only rumors.
I can imagine that a really totalitarian country in a similar position, North Korea for instance or Bahrain or Saudi Arabia, has the same sort of rumor mill. But the people really concerned by such rumors are such a tiny minority … although Suthep might have taken their fears as his cue to grab power … even the Royal Thai Army seems to be walking away from him/them.
They did endorse the election, right ?
I can’t imagine a country with a mixed economy can be run on that basis. Giles Ungpakorn cannot either, and I think he makes a cogent argument for his case.
1. Dr Cohen, “nature” and “culture” are not the same things.
2. I think that Ms Ong’s review bears more careful reading than Dr Cohen has devoted to it. The real import of her point about the Balfour Declaration is that LKY’s understanding of the document appears to differ in a significant respect from that taught to students in Singaporean state schools. The implication of what she writes is that an “A-level” candidate in Singapore who relied on LKY’s understanding of the document would not receive full marks for her or his answer.
3. “Nina Ong” has been in touch with me, in my capacity as NM’s book review editor, to say that Dr Cohen’s manner of argumentation on this site leaves her convinced that it is not in her interest to respond directly to what he has written about her review.
Thus it seems end result is: ‘Silence of the …. er …. goats’ is the conclusion to this Ramkhamhaeng-shooter-captured-by-the-Reds-but-unharmed-turned-over-to-police-and-conveniently-forgotten. Yes?
Now I remember there was an incident, during the Year2010 Reds rampage, pointed out by one StanG pertaining to a videoclip of ‘dead-Reds-that-moved’, e.g. fake-dead-Reds for the purpose obviously of inflating the Reds casualties (even at that time perhaps those Reds had the omniscience about the Bht 7.8 million dead victims compensation that would be forthcoming). I mention this because maybe maybe this Reds-capture-of-a-shooter-at-Ramkhamhaeng was just a big hoax, staged for the benefit of Nostitz? It is possible you know … very possible. (no discredit meant to Nostitz of course).
What a grand idea! And I don’t mean in the sense of a grand narrative like, say, democracy, which can never be good simply by being a grand narrative. I mean grand for revealing the base ideas of paid and retired academics who oppose a rather nasty alternative to the democracy grand narrative. Obviously they shouldn’t do this. Just troop off to the cells and re-education camps to better understand knowledge as power and forget the steel bars, leg chains and guns.
As an aside, Japan also has one of the world’s lowest prisoner rate at 54 per 100,000 people. That has the 18th highest prisoner rate at 381 per 100,000.
All the Scandinavian countries have very low rates, and those have had socialist parties involved in in governance for many decades with almost free health, education and guaranteed minimum income for everyone. Much of Europe is in the same category of low prisoner rates.
The highest primer rate in the world is the United States at…716 per 100,000.
The USA has the highest prison population in the world. Ever.
Even China has a lower rate at somewhere between 120 and 170 per 100,000; Iran at 284, and; India at 30.
I believe I have disagreed with you in the past, but I am compelled to say I am in 98 % agreement with your comment above; I do differ with you about the “declining West” part (I would not let the West sink quite just yet) but I concur with your analysis of Singapore, and that a dispassionate examination of the event by PM Lee Hsien Loong will take place (if it hasn’t already), and there will be training sessions for civil servants and others on how they will approach any future disturbances. And you are correct, that is how Singapore maintains peace and harmony, and has mostly done so since Independence more than 40 years ago (I can speak with some authority as I lived there prior to, and after, Independence). Of course, the Per Capita GNP of Singapore wasn’t $ 43,000 USD per annum in 1965.
Japan has a CM where the emperor has extremely limited influence, if any. It’s anti-militarist constitution also severely limits the role of the military, to the extent it (the constitution) disallows for declaring war.
It also has an extensive health care system that is for the most part free AND effective. Its pension scheme also takes care of the elderly as few other countries do.
There is however, contrary to popular views, rising poverty in Japan. While it is not as widespread as in the USA where according to government statistics 50,000,000 are living below the poverty line, it is nonetheless worrisome.
( One of the sleights of hand the major capitalist countries [in particular the USA] have pulled on the world is to convince it “free market economy is synonymous of individual freedom” )
Still though Japan is a far more equitable a society than Thailand.
One of the other sleights of hand within the framework of democracy is, the more people that can be pulled up out of poverty the more chances they will vote for the status quo, as they benefit from preserving it.
Thailand has left behind so many, and so often intervened militarily to bring democracy or its movements to a standstill again and again, it has in a sense forced itself (the middle class and up and its enforcers) to believe it must remain with one foot in its feudal past.
Those in power behind the scenes and with the most wealth are also between a rock and a hard place regarding education.
The more they develop better education for the rural folk and less fortunate in general, the bigger the risk for them these more educated people will see through the BS and want a more modernized and equal society.
The more educated they are the less likely they will be to work for meager wages eking out a living.
In theory education is fine but in reality when poor families send their kids to till the fields and work in sweatshops (or worse) to help the family unit survive, there is little time and energy left for study.
And as we know many diplomas, even the ones gotten from the official schools are fake, in part to raise national statistics and in part because people have succumbed to reality of few being able to shake off their social origins.
Free education is almost meaningless when few can afford even “free”.
I prefer not to reply to your provocation by replying to insult with insult. But I will write about Thaksin.
I do not recall referring to Thaksin in any way as an individual of high calibre and admirable personal characteristics. IMO the wealthy families in Thailand (since we are speaking about Thailand) could not possibly have accumulated the wealth they have by being altruistic and benevolent. Nor he.
The difference in a nutshell is, Thaksin’s politics did help some of the rural poor for example, through the health care scheme and local investment incentives (You know this so detailing it will be boring)
Put the 30 (a number) wealthiest families under the same scrutiny as Thaksin and it is surely going to lead to the same results, or worse since many of these super rich families have been sucking the nation dry for their own benefit since long before Thaksin.
But there is also the judicial process by which people who have done wrong can be brought to justice. A court and a kangaroo court only only are unacceptable but by being dubious possible leave room for innocence where there might not be any.
We also know the crooks allied with those in power (as mentioned in the article) will rarely stand trial because the judges live n the same neighborhoods and send their kids to the same school and benefit from the same (in)justice system.
Those in the countryside have in a sense a choice between two ‘major’ options:
1) vote for someone and a party that does a little bit for them to raise them up slightly out of their economic plight (giving them [sometimes false] hope) and;
2) vote for those who are in large part responsible for their poverty and want to to make sure they do not develop a voice and ask for anything more at all.
I think in this sense Thaksin becomes the evident choice.
People have grown tired of occasional charity coming their way, especially as they have started to realize they too deserve some of the country’s wealth.
The flow of information spreading more freely throughout the country also helps to make people aware they have been hoodwinked for about three quarters of a century of modern-day Thailand.
A couple of decades ago statements like “soldiers did not kill anybody, people ran into the bullets” would have far more effect. Today it just shows are arrogant and ignorant Suthep is to believe a statement like this would still be believed.
And if the middle class and up do believe it, as opposed to just repeating it as propagandistic cliche, they are far stupider than the rural folk.
Most people’s comments here are little more than a trotting-out of prejudices, and the kind of bitter opposition mentality typical of the declining West. The Singapore government is smarter than you are. It is quite reasonable for them to express strong disapproval of the behaviour which tore the place apart. But they will also be doing a dispassionate analysis of what happened, what its likely causes were, and what measures might be taken to lessen the likelihood that this kind of violence will erupt again. How else do you think that Singapore has become such a peaceful place?
By chance I found this interesting report. Unfortunately I can not find the soure anymore.
Santa Claus beaten up during Bangkok protests
Santa Claus has become one of the latest casualties of the anti-government protests in Bangkok. While moving between shopping centres, Santa Claus was attacked by a gang of protesters. “I was moving from Central to Paragon when a group of Bangkok middle class mob attacked me.” Fortunately the thick coat avoided heavy injuries from the baseball bats he was beaten with. “We thought he was a red shirt and so we had to attack him” argued on of the gang. Some kids were worried whether they still will get presents. “My parents have been demonstrating for the last month. I hope that Santa Claus will not be angry and still give me the latest I-phone”. Suthep, the chairman of the peoples council for the purification of Thailand from Thaksinism commented on this issue: “ Currently it is not advisable to wear red while in Bangkok. The people are so upset about the Thaksin regime that they will attack anything that represents it”.
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Review of One Man’s View of the World
1. “Dr Cohen, “nature” and “culture” are not the same things.”
Thank you for the redundant reminder, Mr. Montesano, for something that was not stated,
and given my scientific background (as well as knowledge of Asia), I am quite capable of examining all the factors that scientists currently believe arise to ‘culture’ and cultural differences, which start from genetic (DNA homology and allelic traits) all the way up to nature (environmental influences) and physiological and psychological factors in between the molecular level and the environmental level.
You posit a synonymy that was never stated,
or in fact, inferred.
Individual genetic and ethnic genetic traits, and natural (and non-natural) environment all lead to differences in anatomy, phylogeny, function, physiology, psychology, reasoning and emotions and levels of emotions in humans, the latter three obviously restricted to humans as plant can’t think and the evidence on thinking in non-human mammalian primates (monkeys, gorillas and oranguntans)
is inconclusive.
Culture is indeed impacted by environmental factors, obviously, but Mr. Montesano, being a Social Scientist and expert on Thailand, cannot be expected to understand the underlying genetic, allelic, biochemical, physiological and psychological traits that impact ethnicity, culture and human emotion, beyond the importance of nature which, as I state exhaustively impacts, but is not synonymous with, culture. You posit a statement that was not made, and unless you are prepared to engage in a discussion on how genetics (DNA) impacts human phylogeny and ethnic cultural traits which leads to ethnic and cultural differences, in comparison to convergent evolution and how that gives rise to common cultural cultural traits in different environments, then you have no basis to discuss culture and nature from an analytical and scientifically-based context.
Private: More creativity needed in defence of democracy
I think you’re failing to recognise that tanslation scholars operating under
a Derridanian approach well understand that the notion of dissemination in and of itself “problematizes the singularity of that kind of signifier of lack, and the totality of the linguistic system structured with it as its center … therefore, dissemination neither presupposes nor posits a symbolic order” (Sakai & Solomon, 2006 pp. 47–48). Though I agree they’re oversimplifying a bit.
Private: More creativity needed in defence of democracy
Dear Bethany, I think we’re all now agog to hear your suggestions for “creative thinking and problem solving” in the current situation. Please enlighten us.
Exclusive: Suthep is Thaksin’s proxy
I’m certainly not anti-red but I might be attempted to attack the 100% unadulterated consumerist idol that santa claus is in Thailand.
And of course as such he is guaranteed safe passage through any “middle class mob” in Thailand.
Private: More creativity needed in defence of democracy
Those in the ADD are fascists presumably in the same way as those in р╕Бр╕Ыр╕Ыр╕к are democrats.
Reflections on the king’s speech
I read “р╕Бр╕ер╕╡р╕вр╕╕р╕Д” and, never having read that kind of gossip before, found it interesting and titillating. Thanks for all the good work you’ve done. You usually furnish references for your statements, perhaps it is understandable why such rumors cannot be attributed … but still they’re only rumors.
I can imagine that a really totalitarian country in a similar position, North Korea for instance or Bahrain or Saudi Arabia, has the same sort of rumor mill. But the people really concerned by such rumors are such a tiny minority … although Suthep might have taken their fears as his cue to grab power … even the Royal Thai Army seems to be walking away from him/them.
They did endorse the election, right ?
I can’t imagine a country with a mixed economy can be run on that basis. Giles Ungpakorn cannot either, and I think he makes a cogent argument for his case.
Reflections on the king’s speech
Thailand’s in worse position than the per 100k statistics indicate RA. A lot of the countries who imprison more souls/100K are tiny. If you look at the ratio of % of the world’s prison population to % of the world’s population for any given country … Thailand is third, right behind Russia and the USA.
Review of One Man’s View of the World
1. Dr Cohen, “nature” and “culture” are not the same things.
2. I think that Ms Ong’s review bears more careful reading than Dr Cohen has devoted to it. The real import of her point about the Balfour Declaration is that LKY’s understanding of the document appears to differ in a significant respect from that taught to students in Singaporean state schools. The implication of what she writes is that an “A-level” candidate in Singapore who relied on LKY’s understanding of the document would not receive full marks for her or his answer.
3. “Nina Ong” has been in touch with me, in my capacity as NM’s book review editor, to say that Dr Cohen’s manner of argumentation on this site leaves her convinced that it is not in her interest to respond directly to what he has written about her review.
Private: More creativity needed in defence of democracy
This is the first time ever that I’m feeling like I should recommend someone to join the Yellow camp. They would just love this stuff.
Ramkhamhaeng: A view from inside the stadium
Still ‘nada’? nothing?
Thus it seems end result is: ‘Silence of the …. er …. goats’ is the conclusion to this Ramkhamhaeng-shooter-captured-by-the-Reds-but-unharmed-turned-over-to-police-and-conveniently-forgotten. Yes?
Now I remember there was an incident, during the Year2010 Reds rampage, pointed out by one StanG pertaining to a videoclip of ‘dead-Reds-that-moved’, e.g. fake-dead-Reds for the purpose obviously of inflating the Reds casualties (even at that time perhaps those Reds had the omniscience about the Bht 7.8 million dead victims compensation that would be forthcoming). I mention this because maybe maybe this Reds-capture-of-a-shooter-at-Ramkhamhaeng was just a big hoax, staged for the benefit of Nostitz? It is possible you know … very possible. (no discredit meant to Nostitz of course).
Private: More creativity needed in defence of democracy
What a grand idea! And I don’t mean in the sense of a grand narrative like, say, democracy, which can never be good simply by being a grand narrative. I mean grand for revealing the base ideas of paid and retired academics who oppose a rather nasty alternative to the democracy grand narrative. Obviously they shouldn’t do this. Just troop off to the cells and re-education camps to better understand knowledge as power and forget the steel bars, leg chains and guns.
Reflections on the king’s speech
Agree, RA.
A real CM, limited militarism, good healthcare, more education, more equitable etc.
And the question is: how they got there? Achievements, sadly, in the end, speaks for itself.
Reflections on the king’s speech
a spelling error: THAILAND has the 18th highest prisoner rate in the world at 381 per 100,000 people.
The 18th highest out of 223 listed countries.
Reflections on the king’s speech
As an aside, Japan also has one of the world’s lowest prisoner rate at 54 per 100,000 people. That has the 18th highest prisoner rate at 381 per 100,000.
All the Scandinavian countries have very low rates, and those have had socialist parties involved in in governance for many decades with almost free health, education and guaranteed minimum income for everyone. Much of Europe is in the same category of low prisoner rates.
The highest primer rate in the world is the United States at…716 per 100,000.
The USA has the highest prison population in the world. Ever.
Even China has a lower rate at somewhere between 120 and 170 per 100,000; Iran at 284, and; India at 30.
The Little India riot – another view
I believe I have disagreed with you in the past, but I am compelled to say I am in 98 % agreement with your comment above; I do differ with you about the “declining West” part (I would not let the West sink quite just yet) but I concur with your analysis of Singapore, and that a dispassionate examination of the event by PM Lee Hsien Loong will take place (if it hasn’t already), and there will be training sessions for civil servants and others on how they will approach any future disturbances. And you are correct, that is how Singapore maintains peace and harmony, and has mostly done so since Independence more than 40 years ago (I can speak with some authority as I lived there prior to, and after, Independence). Of course, the Per Capita GNP of Singapore wasn’t $ 43,000 USD per annum in 1965.
Reflections on the king’s speech
Japan has a CM where the emperor has extremely limited influence, if any. It’s anti-militarist constitution also severely limits the role of the military, to the extent it (the constitution) disallows for declaring war.
It also has an extensive health care system that is for the most part free AND effective. Its pension scheme also takes care of the elderly as few other countries do.
There is however, contrary to popular views, rising poverty in Japan. While it is not as widespread as in the USA where according to government statistics 50,000,000 are living below the poverty line, it is nonetheless worrisome.
( One of the sleights of hand the major capitalist countries [in particular the USA] have pulled on the world is to convince it “free market economy is synonymous of individual freedom” )
Still though Japan is a far more equitable a society than Thailand.
One of the other sleights of hand within the framework of democracy is, the more people that can be pulled up out of poverty the more chances they will vote for the status quo, as they benefit from preserving it.
Thailand has left behind so many, and so often intervened militarily to bring democracy or its movements to a standstill again and again, it has in a sense forced itself (the middle class and up and its enforcers) to believe it must remain with one foot in its feudal past.
Those in power behind the scenes and with the most wealth are also between a rock and a hard place regarding education.
The more they develop better education for the rural folk and less fortunate in general, the bigger the risk for them these more educated people will see through the BS and want a more modernized and equal society.
The more educated they are the less likely they will be to work for meager wages eking out a living.
In theory education is fine but in reality when poor families send their kids to till the fields and work in sweatshops (or worse) to help the family unit survive, there is little time and energy left for study.
And as we know many diplomas, even the ones gotten from the official schools are fake, in part to raise national statistics and in part because people have succumbed to reality of few being able to shake off their social origins.
Free education is almost meaningless when few can afford even “free”.
Reflections on the king’s speech
I prefer not to reply to your provocation by replying to insult with insult. But I will write about Thaksin.
I do not recall referring to Thaksin in any way as an individual of high calibre and admirable personal characteristics. IMO the wealthy families in Thailand (since we are speaking about Thailand) could not possibly have accumulated the wealth they have by being altruistic and benevolent. Nor he.
The difference in a nutshell is, Thaksin’s politics did help some of the rural poor for example, through the health care scheme and local investment incentives (You know this so detailing it will be boring)
Put the 30 (a number) wealthiest families under the same scrutiny as Thaksin and it is surely going to lead to the same results, or worse since many of these super rich families have been sucking the nation dry for their own benefit since long before Thaksin.
But there is also the judicial process by which people who have done wrong can be brought to justice. A court and a kangaroo court only only are unacceptable but by being dubious possible leave room for innocence where there might not be any.
We also know the crooks allied with those in power (as mentioned in the article) will rarely stand trial because the judges live n the same neighborhoods and send their kids to the same school and benefit from the same (in)justice system.
Those in the countryside have in a sense a choice between two ‘major’ options:
1) vote for someone and a party that does a little bit for them to raise them up slightly out of their economic plight (giving them [sometimes false] hope) and;
2) vote for those who are in large part responsible for their poverty and want to to make sure they do not develop a voice and ask for anything more at all.
I think in this sense Thaksin becomes the evident choice.
People have grown tired of occasional charity coming their way, especially as they have started to realize they too deserve some of the country’s wealth.
The flow of information spreading more freely throughout the country also helps to make people aware they have been hoodwinked for about three quarters of a century of modern-day Thailand.
A couple of decades ago statements like “soldiers did not kill anybody, people ran into the bullets” would have far more effect. Today it just shows are arrogant and ignorant Suthep is to believe a statement like this would still be believed.
And if the middle class and up do believe it, as opposed to just repeating it as propagandistic cliche, they are far stupider than the rural folk.
The Little India riot – another view
Most people’s comments here are little more than a trotting-out of prejudices, and the kind of bitter opposition mentality typical of the declining West. The Singapore government is smarter than you are. It is quite reasonable for them to express strong disapproval of the behaviour which tore the place apart. But they will also be doing a dispassionate analysis of what happened, what its likely causes were, and what measures might be taken to lessen the likelihood that this kind of violence will erupt again. How else do you think that Singapore has become such a peaceful place?
Exclusive: Suthep is Thaksin’s proxy
By chance I found this interesting report. Unfortunately I can not find the soure anymore.
Santa Claus beaten up during Bangkok protests
Santa Claus has become one of the latest casualties of the anti-government protests in Bangkok. While moving between shopping centres, Santa Claus was attacked by a gang of protesters. “I was moving from Central to Paragon when a group of Bangkok middle class mob attacked me.” Fortunately the thick coat avoided heavy injuries from the baseball bats he was beaten with. “We thought he was a red shirt and so we had to attack him” argued on of the gang. Some kids were worried whether they still will get presents. “My parents have been demonstrating for the last month. I hope that Santa Claus will not be angry and still give me the latest I-phone”. Suthep, the chairman of the peoples council for the purification of Thailand from Thaksinism commented on this issue: “ Currently it is not advisable to wear red while in Bangkok. The people are so upset about the Thaksin regime that they will attack anything that represents it”.
Exclusive: Suthep is Thaksin’s proxy
I’m lovin’ it. Bravo,Andrew.