Thursday, January 31, 2008
Japan National Training Center (NTC) opens
New training center fuels dreams of gold@asahiThe NTC's total cost, including expenses to purchase the land site, was about 37.4 billion yen, according to the sports ministry.The indoor training facility can be used by athletes in up to 10 sports, from gymnastics and judo to table tennis.The judo facility is twice the size of the famed Kodokan, the headquarters of judo in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward. The
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Censorship: alive and well in 'democratic Thailand'
John Unpakorn (brother of "Coup For the Rich" author Giles) and Supinya Klangnarong have been charged along with others for leading the protest against the NLA. The aim of the protest was to disrupt the legislative process that would enact the latest incarnation of the ISO commands: a set of laws that give considerable undemocratic powers to the military.
Take look here to see just how dangerous the protest leaders look.
And on the subject of the "Coup for the Rich" book, the book has been "requested" withdrawn by the new government and "investigated" for possible lese majeste. Too bad the book is available for free download here. Read it and decide for yourself.
I'm cheering both Unpakorns all the way.
Take look here to see just how dangerous the protest leaders look.
And on the subject of the "Coup for the Rich" book, the book has been "requested" withdrawn by the new government and "investigated" for possible lese majeste. Too bad the book is available for free download here. Read it and decide for yourself.
I'm cheering both Unpakorns all the way.
Monday, January 28, 2008
And it goes on....
Over a month after the election and after much power brooking, bargaining and sedition, Samak was finally confirmed as PM today. His name will be submitted for royal approval.
One question remains: how will the new parliament form legislation without the senate? As the senate is not due to be confirmed for some time, are the new MP's unable to do anything before then?
A month late parliament. A lower house without an upper house, it all seems a mess.
One question remains: how will the new parliament form legislation without the senate? As the senate is not due to be confirmed for some time, are the new MP's unable to do anything before then?
A month late parliament. A lower house without an upper house, it all seems a mess.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Why Zhang Xizhen is so wrong
A report in the printed edition of The Nation today quotes an "expert in Thai politics" from an international school in China as saying
".....Thailand should not aim to become a fully fledged democracy but rather an "authoritarian democracy" like Singapore, Malaysia and China...."
Zhang Xizhen also goes on to say....
"There should be no full democracy for Thailand, because after 1992 some said that Thailand could be called a democracy, but it didn't work well,"
"Unfortunately, the people, either common people or politicians, have no conscience. That's why there are many kinds of electoral fraud, assassinations and vote buying."
TN states: "The Singaporean or Malaysian model offers stability while being free of political abuse, Zhang claimed."
Let's put aside both the fact that Zhang may have been misquoted and the cons of representative democracy. I still find myself in full disagreement with Zhang. In fact I find his comments preposterous.
Firstly, I don't believe in "authoritarian democracy" anymore than I believe in a "cold sun" or a "shallow ocean". "Authoritarianism" - in the sense that Zhang uses the term - and "democracy" are mutually exclusive (as opposed to right wing democracy, which is viable and different). Neither Singapore or China are democratic in the popular understanding of the term.
His quote on 1992 I find equally absurd. Zhang seems to imply that one tragic setback implies democracy is not viable. In fact, every country that struggles towards a mature democracy has suffered setbacks. The first British working class who demanded the vote suffered everything from kangaroo courts to broken windows and violent murder in their struggle to win suffrage. The Philippines had to go through decades of uprisings, civil unrest and martial law to get to where they are now and of course the struggle of Nigeria is being broadcast to the world.
All these countries are at different stages of democratic development, but the path seems to be the same for all of them.
In greatly simplified terms we have:
1) Elitist rule, followed by .......
2) Some division of power to the upper class bourgeois.
3) Some power passed to the middle classes.
4) Universal suffrage marked by an unstable corrupt government.
5) A semi stabilised but often inefficient and corrupt government.
6) Slow steps to transparency, sparked by greater awareness amongst the electorate leading to greater power sharing and independent checking bodies.
Each of these stages are punctured or often initiated by struggle and set backs. They may be peaceful, violent or extremely violent. The struggle may be en masse, individual or seditious (such as the Thai military's popular tactic of visiting the wives and children of suspected communists in their homes). We all have suffered or will suffer our own versions of Thailand's Black May, even England. It just happened a long time ago for us because we our democracy is older.
I don't think there is any example of a democratic country that has not seen a pattern of behaviour similar to the above before becoming mature.
So why then, does professor Zhang cite one example of such an event - not to overlook the truly tragic nature of the event and the terrible loss of life that occurred - as evidence that democracy will not work in Thailand?
I also find it remarkable that Zang states: "either common people or politicians, have no conscience". Whilst sentiment towards the later may be universal, I think that declaring Thailand's common people as "having no conscience" is not only untrue, it's remarkably insulting. Thailand's common people may not be fully aware of the behaviour of politicians however this is not due to a lack of conscience. It is due to manipulation, media controls, certain parts of Thai culture and in some cases lack of education. That last point is nothing to do with stupidity of lack of conscience.
Let's look at his last claim again:
"The Singaporean or Malaysian model offers stability while being free of political abuse, Zhang claimed."
Free of political abuse? Not according to the Asia Sentinel or anyone else with rudimentary knowledge of Malaysian politics. Singapore is often cited as an example of a happy, undemocratic society, but in my opinion this is because it is the exception to the rule. Whilst there may be some degree of truth in this, human rights such as media freedoms and civil rights are curbed in the nation state.
Quite how Zhang arrives at the conclusion that less democracy equals less abuses is beyond me. Perhaps his line of reason is that if people don't have to vote, politicians don' have to waste their precious money trying to buy votes.
Perhaps the biggest shocker for me was the penultimate detail supplied by reporter Pravit:
"He said legislation like the Internal Security Act, passed by the junta-appointed parliament late last year, would play a "very important role" maintaining "stability"."
Yes, I'm sure it will. This is after all, one of the reasons why there were protests outside NLA offices when teh bill was being approved. The ISOC passes massive powers to the military and restricts a lot of freedoms for everyone else.
And finally:
Human rights, he said, should be controlled by the government.
Perhaps Zhang is not aware of Samak's human rights record.
".....Thailand should not aim to become a fully fledged democracy but rather an "authoritarian democracy" like Singapore, Malaysia and China...."
Zhang Xizhen also goes on to say....
"There should be no full democracy for Thailand, because after 1992 some said that Thailand could be called a democracy, but it didn't work well,"
"Unfortunately, the people, either common people or politicians, have no conscience. That's why there are many kinds of electoral fraud, assassinations and vote buying."
TN states: "The Singaporean or Malaysian model offers stability while being free of political abuse, Zhang claimed."
Let's put aside both the fact that Zhang may have been misquoted and the cons of representative democracy. I still find myself in full disagreement with Zhang. In fact I find his comments preposterous.
Firstly, I don't believe in "authoritarian democracy" anymore than I believe in a "cold sun" or a "shallow ocean". "Authoritarianism" - in the sense that Zhang uses the term - and "democracy" are mutually exclusive (as opposed to right wing democracy, which is viable and different). Neither Singapore or China are democratic in the popular understanding of the term.
His quote on 1992 I find equally absurd. Zhang seems to imply that one tragic setback implies democracy is not viable. In fact, every country that struggles towards a mature democracy has suffered setbacks. The first British working class who demanded the vote suffered everything from kangaroo courts to broken windows and violent murder in their struggle to win suffrage. The Philippines had to go through decades of uprisings, civil unrest and martial law to get to where they are now and of course the struggle of Nigeria is being broadcast to the world.
All these countries are at different stages of democratic development, but the path seems to be the same for all of them.
In greatly simplified terms we have:
1) Elitist rule, followed by .......
2) Some division of power to the upper class bourgeois.
3) Some power passed to the middle classes.
4) Universal suffrage marked by an unstable corrupt government.
5) A semi stabilised but often inefficient and corrupt government.
6) Slow steps to transparency, sparked by greater awareness amongst the electorate leading to greater power sharing and independent checking bodies.
Each of these stages are punctured or often initiated by struggle and set backs. They may be peaceful, violent or extremely violent. The struggle may be en masse, individual or seditious (such as the Thai military's popular tactic of visiting the wives and children of suspected communists in their homes). We all have suffered or will suffer our own versions of Thailand's Black May, even England. It just happened a long time ago for us because we our democracy is older.
I don't think there is any example of a democratic country that has not seen a pattern of behaviour similar to the above before becoming mature.
So why then, does professor Zhang cite one example of such an event - not to overlook the truly tragic nature of the event and the terrible loss of life that occurred - as evidence that democracy will not work in Thailand?
I also find it remarkable that Zang states: "either common people or politicians, have no conscience". Whilst sentiment towards the later may be universal, I think that declaring Thailand's common people as "having no conscience" is not only untrue, it's remarkably insulting. Thailand's common people may not be fully aware of the behaviour of politicians however this is not due to a lack of conscience. It is due to manipulation, media controls, certain parts of Thai culture and in some cases lack of education. That last point is nothing to do with stupidity of lack of conscience.
Let's look at his last claim again:
"The Singaporean or Malaysian model offers stability while being free of political abuse, Zhang claimed."
Free of political abuse? Not according to the Asia Sentinel or anyone else with rudimentary knowledge of Malaysian politics. Singapore is often cited as an example of a happy, undemocratic society, but in my opinion this is because it is the exception to the rule. Whilst there may be some degree of truth in this, human rights such as media freedoms and civil rights are curbed in the nation state.
Quite how Zhang arrives at the conclusion that less democracy equals less abuses is beyond me. Perhaps his line of reason is that if people don't have to vote, politicians don' have to waste their precious money trying to buy votes.
Perhaps the biggest shocker for me was the penultimate detail supplied by reporter Pravit:
"He said legislation like the Internal Security Act, passed by the junta-appointed parliament late last year, would play a "very important role" maintaining "stability"."
Yes, I'm sure it will. This is after all, one of the reasons why there were protests outside NLA offices when teh bill was being approved. The ISOC passes massive powers to the military and restricts a lot of freedoms for everyone else.
And finally:
Human rights, he said, should be controlled by the government.
Perhaps Zhang is not aware of Samak's human rights record.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
The fallout
Potjamon Shinwat pleads not guilty and tells the court:
"The defence requests 90 days to gather evidence and await the readiness of the codefendant to jointly fight the charges, expected some time in May"
You could be forgiven for wondering why Potjamon didn't do that during her stalling of months and months when due to testify to the AEC, when these charges were first raised.
Potjamon also confirmed Thaksin will return in May and The Nation suggests Thaksin wants to become a monk.
This wouldn' t be the first time a controversial Thai PM/dictator returned as a monk. It also isn't the first time that politicians have suddenly become remarkably relaxed about corruption charges following requested "reconciliation" meetings with Prem. In the case in question, the former CNS chief also assures us that there were no meetings between himself and Potjamon. The press just made it up.
"The defence requests 90 days to gather evidence and await the readiness of the codefendant to jointly fight the charges, expected some time in May"
You could be forgiven for wondering why Potjamon didn't do that during her stalling of months and months when due to testify to the AEC, when these charges were first raised.
Potjamon also confirmed Thaksin will return in May and The Nation suggests Thaksin wants to become a monk.
This wouldn' t be the first time a controversial Thai PM/dictator returned as a monk. It also isn't the first time that politicians have suddenly become remarkably relaxed about corruption charges following requested "reconciliation" meetings with Prem. In the case in question, the former CNS chief also assures us that there were no meetings between himself and Potjamon. The press just made it up.
Monday, January 21, 2008
plan for Singapore Sports Hub
Singapore Sports Hub Consortium, Led By Dragages Singapore Pte Ltd, Selected as Preferred Bidder For Sports Hub Project@SSCLocated on a 35ha site in Kallang, the Sports Hub will include the following facilities:• A new 55,000-capacity National Stadium with a retractable roof;• A 6,000-capacity indoor Aquatic Centre that meets world tournament standards;• A 3,000-capacity multi-purpose arena
Saturday, January 19, 2008
National unity: it's what they all care about
"We can talk........for the purpose of social reconciliation."
CNS Chief Anupong Paochinda after Potjamon Shinwatra suddenly decided to return to Thailand to clear charges against her.
"If he were a convict, he would surely face a life sentence or worse, because everything he has done has been premeditated,"
Snoh Thienthong during the anti-Thaksin protests
"I want the country to move ahead following a turbulent period."
Pracharaj leader Snoh Thienthong after weeks of negotiating for the right to some of the most lucrative cabinet posts in the new government headed by a confessed Thaksin nominee.
"My party's utmost concern is forging national reconciliation in order to restore normalcy as soon as possible"
Puea Pandin leader Suwit Khunkitti, after weeks of negotiating for the right to some of the most lucrative cabinet posts in the new government.
"Conflicts in the past should not be kept forever but they should be set aside so that everything can be done for the sake of the country"
Chart Thai leader (and one of Thailand's worst PM's ever) Banharn Silipa-archa after weeks of negotiating for the right to some of the most lucrative cabinet posts in the new government.
Aren't we lucky that so many powerful people have nothing but greed and lies national unity at heart?
CNS Chief Anupong Paochinda after Potjamon Shinwatra suddenly decided to return to Thailand to clear charges against her.
"If he were a convict, he would surely face a life sentence or worse, because everything he has done has been premeditated,"
Snoh Thienthong during the anti-Thaksin protests
"I want the country to move ahead following a turbulent period."
Pracharaj leader Snoh Thienthong after weeks of negotiating for the right to some of the most lucrative cabinet posts in the new government headed by a confessed Thaksin nominee.
"My party's utmost concern is forging national reconciliation in order to restore normalcy as soon as possible"
Puea Pandin leader Suwit Khunkitti, after weeks of negotiating for the right to some of the most lucrative cabinet posts in the new government.
"Conflicts in the past should not be kept forever but they should be set aside so that everything can be done for the sake of the country"
Chart Thai leader (and one of Thailand's worst PM's ever) Banharn Silipa-archa after weeks of negotiating for the right to some of the most lucrative cabinet posts in the new government.
Aren't we lucky that so many powerful people have
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)