Deconstructing Thanong Khanthong: First the stars, now the voices inside his head

The Nation:

Thanee has made significant progress in his investigation into the assassination attempt but his investigation is about to hit an iceberg. He will have until the end of October to complete this sensational assassination case - which has further widened the political divide - before going into mandatory retirement.


What progress? Two non-commissioned officers taking the fall. Geez, how many months does Thanee need to investigate this stuff? There is no iceberg except the one playing on Thanong's DVD player while watching a replay of Titanic.


The job of the police chief, Patcharawat Wongsuwan, is at stake. Over the next two weeks the National Counter-Corruption Commission (NCCC) will determine whether Patcharawat was involved in the October 7, 2008 incident in which the authorities used excessive force against yellow-shirted PAD protesters. If the NCCC finds evidence against Patcharawat, he will automatically be suspended from office.


Look at Thanong's sick and twisted logic: The PAD thugs illegally took over government house. The PAD thugs would not allow the police to restore order. The PAD thugs refused to give up their illegal occupation of government house. The police tried to take back government house. The PAD thugs resisted. The PAD got hurt for their criminal behavior. The police get blamed. Chief Patcharawat is a criminal conspirator against the PAD thugs for doing his job. Ergo, Patcharawat shouldn't be allowed anywhere the Sondhi Lim case. ( It could be argued that General Patacharawat is obstructing the case for whatever nefarious reason, but I don't think it has to with the previous crackdown on the PAD.)


So far, Thanee is reporting the progress of the Sondhi case directly to the prime minister rather than to Patcharawat. The police chief forms a formidable trio with his elder brother General Prawit Patcharawat, the defence minister, and General Anupong Paochinda, the Army chief. You might know already that most police officers wear red shirts under their uniforms. The matter became more complicated after it emerged that Suthep has been backing Patcharawat all along. There have been rumours that Patcharawat could be sacked to allow Thanee a freer hand to investigate the case.


More of Thanong's sick and twisted logic: Suthep, Prawit, Patcharawat and Anupong are secret red-shirted Thaksin cronies out to get the PAD while Abhisit and Thanee are independent lovely people out for peace, justice and granola for the peace loving, non-violent PAD and their leader/messiah, Sondhi Lim.


Abhisit's memory will not be short, because during the Songkran festival, when red-shirted protesters attempted to stage a "people's revolution", he narrowly escaped an attempt on his life that could have paved the way for a coup. The assassination attempt against Sondhi followed a similar plot because his death would have created turmoil to justify a coup. You do not have to guess too hard to realise who would benefit most from the coup. The police, the military and the red shirts have packed together and they are ready to take on Abhisit and the Democrats any time.


Who has been arrested and prosecuted for this assasination against Abhisit's life? Thanong, in all his entire journalistic glory, has never provided one shred of evidence that there is a connection between Sondhi's assasination attempt and am attempted coup. And Thanong has never provided one shred of evidence that Thaksin-- in cahoots with the military and police-- was behind any supposed assasination attempts.

Thanong lives in the stars with his astrologer, because now he stretches the imagination and all logic to dream up coup conspiracy theories that have no basis in reality, no basis in any investigative journalistic work, and no basis in any solid criminal investigation.

Put simply, Thanong is listening to the voices inside his head and is just making things up as he goes along.

Thanong's Astrologer: The Insanity Continues

The Nation:


I heard that the people in green uniforms are making some unusual movements in preparation for something big. Many people are also feeling worried about the solar eclipse that will take place on July 22. The solar eclipse is seen by some as a bad omen for countries directly affected by it. Most people also would like to know whether there will be any serious political incidents between now and July 22, and beyond. The country is still in turmoil.


So I decided to consult my favourite astrologer.


"What can we expect from this eclipse?" I asked.


"It's gonna be pretty bad," she said. "It will adversely affect the astrological sign of Cancer. We don't know whether it will hurt Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva or Thaksin Shinawatra, the former prime minister. Both are Cancer. Either could get hit."


"The military is making unusual movements. I smell a coup. Does it have anything to do with the eclipse?" I asked.


"If the military were to stage a coup, they should do it now. The alignment of the stars is on their side. The eclipse on July 22 would be ideal because it is when there is an eclipse over the country. If they wait longer, the timing will slip away," she said.


The astrologer added: "But in the period before or after the eclipse, the water element would create problems. I don't understand why Abhisit has decided to host the Asean summit in Phuket, surrounded by water. His advisers should have consulted the stars first."


---

Let's wait for the solar eclipse to see whether the bad omens will come true. Sometimes we have to give in to the stars in the sky.


It is horrifying that The Nation is actually transforming itself into Not the Nation---and still taking itself seriously. The farce has become the reality. Just when you think the absurdity of The Nation's opinion pages can't get any worse, the editors go and top themselves.

I would love to be a fly on the wall when the foreign sub-editors are going over this stuff. It must be a laugh a minute.

Deconstructing Thanong Khanthong: Seeing Evil Conspiracies Everywhere that He Can't Prove

The Nation

The foreign media, particularly the British ones, have been planted with information from Jakrapob Penkhair and other cronies from the Red Shirt camp over the past three years. They despised the coup. They had doubts with the Thai Palace and accused the Palace of acting behind the 2006 without ever producing any evidence. They did not like the military. They had some reservations over Thaksin Shinawatra. But they believed that at least Thaksin was democratically elected and represented a popular surge in Thailand against the Establishment. So Thaksin was better than them all. That's the pathetic editorial line of the foreign media, some of whom I believe have been bought.

No evidence of plants. No evidence of anybody being bought. The military is corrupt to the core, but the The Nation is always defending the generals for some sick reason.

More than a year ago, Jakrapob had been bragging privately and publicly that one day he would be the chosen one to lead a people's revolution. He is now being charged under the lese majeste law for libelling the Monarchy in his speech to the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand. Jakrapob had painted himself as the leading intellectual force of the Red Movement, presenting Thaksin and the popular support he had mustered from the rural Northeast and North as new politics for Thailand.

Thanong, proving that he is always the crap journalist, doesn't provide when, where, how, why about his charges of Jakrapob claiming to be this great revolutionary leader like Fidel or George Washington. Jakrapob didn't libel the monarchy at FCCT. Anybody can listen to him on video at youtube.

Jakrapob bragged further than one day when the people's revolution would take place, he would stand in front of the people's revolution in a class struggle to bring down the Elite. The Red Shirts played up this theme in a more subtle way by attacking Gen Prem Tinsulanonda, the president of the Privy Council and other privy councillors. They also rallied to quell the bureaucratic policy (amataya thipatai) from Thailand once and for all.

Thanong doesn't provide time, date or place. No quote. No nothing.

“Now that they have tanks on the streets, it is time for the people to come out in revolution,” he told the crowd of supporters from the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD). “And when it is necessary, I will come back to the country

.

“The troops who have already come out can come and join the Red Shirts to help us to get democracy for the people. This is a golden minute. We will make history and there will be no more coups in Thailand.”

What does this prove? Nothing. Thanong thinks rhetoric is the same thing as a coup plot.

Thaksin's troops for a coup did not show up because they were subdued. He had thought that he could uproot the Thai system for good.

Not one shred of evidence that Thaksin was calling for a coup. No evidence that Thaksin military people were subdued. Thanong doesn't offer one shred of evidence of a conspiracy.

The international press, including IHT, Economist and Independent, Times had been writing editorials on a distinct theme that our Monarchy was about to face an end like Nepal.

How many stories comparing Thailand to Nepal? He only cites one story.

I had followed their editorial line closely. I was surprised that they jumped ahead to compare Thailand with Nepal. Conditions between Thailand and Nepal differ sharply. In Thailand, we are blessed with His Majesty the King, whose popularity is unanimously overwhelming. A popular revolt against the Monarchy is out of the question. If the Monarchy were to be removed, it could only occur by a coup from the Military and the Bangkok elite.

Then Thanong shouldn't be worried about Jakrapob and the Red Shirts.

Thailand is not characterised by a class system like Jakrapob has been trying to portray. It is more of a status conscious system. Any Thais, from whatever backgrounds or race, can rise to the cream of the society. Yet the Red Shirt movement has been trying to paint the current crisis as a struggle of a class system to rid of the social injustice that the rural Thais in the North and Northeast have been suffering at the hands of the Establishment.

Thanong is clueless. Informal Sakdina exists in Thailand. If Thanong thinks a rice farmer has the same opportunities and choices in life as a royal blue blood, he is delusional. There is no equal justice, no equal opportunity. People who have money and/or have connections to the palace, military and bureaucracy have carte blanche to do what they, go where they want, get educated where they want want while your average Somchai has no immunity or privileges whatsoever.

I can only say that the foreign media are duped!!!!!

He thinks they are duped because they don't agree with Thanong, and that is the only reason.

They are not observers or reporters of Thai politics, but they are part of the scheme in which their editorials got planted in advance. All the Reddish commentators, who disguise themselves as academics, are also part of the scheme. They are party to this distortion.

I think Thanong makes this type of accusation against the foreign press because he is describing how corrupt the Thai media operates and he thinks every media operation is the same. As far as academics go, he hasn't refuted one Red academic in print about anything they have said or written.

The foreign media have been attacking the 2006 coup, so has Giles Ungphakorn and other self-proclaimed democracy lovers. Yet knowingly or unknowingly, they had become a party to Thaksin's attempted coup on Songran Day to return to power in the people's revolution.

Yes, the foreign media attacked the 06 coup while he and his buddies were defending it from its inception. The Nation is still angry that the international media didn't goose step behind them over the 06 coup. What Thaksin coup? The Nation didn't report any coup attempt on Songkran.

This is double standard because if they did not approve violence or a coup in the first place, they must not be writing in support of another violent and coup plot afterward.

Is Thanong really this stupid? I haven't read anywhere foreign support for any type of coup, whether it be in the past or the present. Thanong can't provide one shred of evidence that the foreign press supported his imaginary Songkran coup.

When the foreign media write about the elite, they don't know who is who in the elite. When they write about the military, they do not differentiate who's who in the military. When they write about the politicians, they do not know who's who among them. They aren't aware about the political realignment that is shifting all the time in Thai politics.

Neither does Thanong. He hasn't never done one piece of investigative journalism explaining all the politicians, elite factions, and players in the police and military. All he does is write cryptically about vague conspiracies that make sense only to himself.

Thaksin had whisked his family out of Thailand well before Songkran Day. Jakrapob was the first to run away on April 13 well before the attempted coup failed. The Reds on the streets got confused. Their leaders never showed up. Thailand one was step away of being pushed off the cliff, not by a class system struggle but by sheer crude power play.

This is a meaningless paragraph and proves what exactly.

Deconstructing Thanong Khanthong: Hysteria, Idiocy and Coup Talk

Will there be a coup? A silent one is already under way

Thanong Khanthong

The Nation


Here we go again. The endless lies and spin of The Nation in full-throated shamelessness.


Had the confrontation continued along its natural course, it could have only led to a physical clash between the PAD and government forces, if not Thaksin supporters. Only bloodshed would have brought political change. Thaksin was also keen to declare a state of emergency. This would have permitted the military to come out of its barracks and put the situation under control. It would also have allowed Thaksin to round up all his political enemies. It was a dangerous end game for both sides.


I love how The Nation columnists regurgitate the military's old talking points. There was no way that violence could have been predicted. I have been following these columnists for years. None of their hysterical predictions have ever come true.

Taking advantage of Thaksin's official trip to deliver a speech at United Nations headquarters in New York, the military, led by General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, staged a bloodless coup. In a way, the coup prevented bloodshed. You have to understand that the Thai establishment, or the phuyai in our country, would never want or allow Thais to kill each other on the streets.

More idiotic spin: The coup was bloodless and it prevented bloodshed. These idiots at The Nation always justify the coup because no blood was shed. They seem to fail to understand that sending tanks through the streets of Bangkok, suspending civil liberties, capriciously disenfranchising 65 million people and incarcerating and detaining political opponents are acts of violence, not politics. Hey, why don't we all commit crimes whenever we feel like it just because the crimes was bloodless? These generals committed treason and got off scot- free, as well as making billions of baht out of it.

Now almost two years have passed since the coup, but we are back to almost the same situation. Thaksin's nominees are back to power under the guise of the People Power Party. The military was badly outwitted in the political field. The Surayud government was good at doing nothing. Thaksin's nominees won the December 2007 election by controlling almost half the House of Representatives.

Thanong really has some balls. Thaksin's nominees won because his nominees controlled the military appointed legislature? The election was managed by the military. They controlled the propaganda. They had control of the executive, the election commission, and the state apparatuses. Right, Thanong, Thaksin was out of the country, but he somehow got the military appointed legislature to call the election for Samak and PPP.

Thaksin's nominees are responsible for creating the political tension this time.

Everything is Thaksin's fault. The editors will sing this tune until they orThaksin dies.

They would like to amend the 2007 Constitution, passed by the country's first-ever national referendum, because they consider it undemocratic or inspired by the military.

The Constitution was written by the military's cronies. That is a fact.

But there are two underlying objectives for the proposed amendment. First, it is aimed at helping the 111 former executives of the defunct Thai Rak Thai return to political power. They have been banned from politics for five years after the Constitution Tribunal found that the executives committed electoral fraud. The Thai Rak Thai was also dissolved. The 111 executives are still the real power movers and shakers in Thai politics.

They ran on amending the constitution. They even ran on pardoning the TRT executives. There is no conspiracy.

Second, the Constitution rewrite is also aimed at nullifying all the agencies or legal bindings created under the previous government.

They were illegal and illegitimate.

This is most critical. For it would help Thaksin escape all of the corruption cases against him. Thaksin must have realised that he would have a slim chance of prevailing in all of these cases. A single court ruling would finish him forever.

This is what The Nation cares about. Getting Thaksin. This is their obsession that supercedes everything else, including the constitution and democratic politics.. Maybe if they are so intent on getting Thaksin, they should have published investigative reports on all his crimes. They have had two years to do it. In all this time, they have no published on report, one article, one opinion proving Thaksin or his cronies guilt regarding any charge pending or unpending.

These two issues are the main focus of Thaksin's nominees at the moment. This represents a "silent coup" through parliamentary means. They will play hardball politics to get the Constitution amended at any cost. This would hasten the dissolution of the House to pave the way for a fresh election and the return of the banned 111 to political power.

This paragraph shows just how stupid and uneducated Thanong is. It is impossible to have a "silent coup" through parliamentary means. There is nothing wrong with amending the constitution. It never ceases to amaze me how much contempt the hypocritical Nation has for parliamentary politics. They love the ad-hoc committees and the Thaksin hating judges, but hate the democratic institutions. In the same column he justifies the military tearing up the constitution while lambasting the PPP for amending it.

The stakes are high for both sides, causing fear that there might be physical clashes along the way. The military has realised that they stepped out too soon in the September 2006 coup to pre-empt the bloodshed. The military has learned its lesson. They will not come out easily this time.

More fear mongering. The military stepped out too soon?

So will the coup happen again? It depends on your definition of a coup. Thaksin's nominees are already trying to stage a silent coup in Parliament by rewriting the whole Constitution to whitewash their past. If this were to happen, it would lead to street demonstrations. And if there were bloodshed on the streets, the military would have no choice but to return to the fore - this time under the pretext of a state of emergency.

The Nation has been spouting this fear mongering line for years. Their predictions have never come true.

Sometimes I wonder about this self-deluded bubble that The Nation's editors live in. They remind me of America's neo-conservatives, who predict that the sky is always falling, yet are always wrong.

Deconstructing Thanong Kanthong: The Nation, the Junta, and Criminal Conspiracy

Thailand takes a step back to square one

Thanong Khantong

The Nation

Excerpt:

From the outset, Gen Sonthi was a reluctant coup leader. On the morning of September 19, 2006 he was still unsure whether he would need to stage a coup to oust the Thaksin government and put an end to the street demonstrations that could have degenerated into bloodshed. Gen Saprang Kalyamanitr told him outright that morning: if he did not stage a coup, Saprang would do it himself.

Gen Sonthi went along with the plan and became a nominee coup leader. He did not have real power, nor did he attempt to assert it. All the arrangements to form an interim government were made without his knowledge. Gen Surayud Chulanont was sent in as prime minister. He had the image of a tough and intelligent military leader who would take on Thaksin and unrest in the South. He was expected to do his job effectively; it would be like a military operation zooming in on targets.

Initially, the coup was intended to remove Thaksin from power and dismantle his political hierarchy, plus his vast networks in the military, the police, the bureaucracy and state agencies. The Assets Examination Committee was formed to go after Thaksin and his family's assets. The military promised to return Thailand to democracy in one year. Within that period, criminal cases against Thaksin, who was accused of massive corruption, would be built up to the extent that the former PM would not be able to return to Thailand. If Thaksin stayed abroad and let Thailand move on, it would be in the interest of everybody.

I think it is fascinating that Thanong outlines a criminal conspiracy to oust the legitimate government. But that part doesn't upset him.


Read on. This is the part that upsets him and his cohorts at The Nation.

But it didn't work out as planned. There were conflicts between the military and Gen Surayud over how to handle Thaksin. Should they get tough with him or should they let things go at their natural tempo? Every time the military sent a signal they wanted to get tough with Thaksin, Gen Surayud would only concur. There was little follow-up action.

When that failed, more criminal conspiracy:

The Sonthi-led military tried to prevent PPP from winning the election. Sonthi was reported to be behind the Puea Pandin Party, a breakaway group from the banned Thai Rak Thai Party. Puea Pandin was formed to counter the PPP in its Northeast stronghold. It had hopes of winning by a wide margin, wide enough to keep the number of PPP MPs below 200 - and PPP confined to the opposition. As it turned out, Puea Pandin was routed in polls in the Northeast. It was outsmarted and outwitted by Thaksin's broad-based network and money. The PPP won almost 50 per cent of the seats in Parliament, making it virtually impossible for the Democrats to form a coalition government. The PPP has gone ahead to bring five other parties, most of which are made up of ex-TRT members, under its wing.

The shamelessness of The Nation never ceases to amaze me.

Thanong and his buddies backed a criminal conspiracy, treason really, to rid Thailand of Thaksin, and now they are upset that the conspiracy failed.

Thanong goes so far to release General Sonthi of any culpability.

Oh, poor Sonthi. Poor Surayud. They were just incompetent puppets. As long as they they had "good intentions" all is forgiven.

I wonder if The Nation will ever investigate and publish who is the real mastermind behind this conspiracy.

Probably not. It has already been rewarded for being a good soldier in this war when Surayud handed over TPBS to their control--where the propaganda war against Thaksin will continue.

Deconstructing Thanong Khanthong: More of The Nation's Elitist Contempt for Upcountry Folk

New charter may lead to a delicate balancing act

Thanong Khanthong

The Nation

Thaksin was half right. He did not mention the 1997 Constitution, which he played a key role in destroying.

The Nation still hasn't written one, not one report on how Thaksin systematically destroyed the 1997 Constitution. Actually, technically, General Sonthi destroyed the constitution September 19, 2006. But The Nation refuses to acknowledge their patron's role in that.

The 1997 Constitution was drafted with people's participation. It was seen as a culmination of the trial and error of Thai democracy since 1932. The underlying idea of this constitution was to provide more stability to the executive branch so it could implement public policies before its term ended. The Constitution was embedded with a check and balance system, with the independent institutions acting as pillars to support the democratic process.

That's right. None of those mechanisms were used before the coup. The coup was the easy way out because the The Nation and its allies in the elite didn't want to do the hard work of actually proving Thaksin's guilt with evidence and didn't want to do the hard work of actually impeaching Thaksin or going through the judicial process. The 1997 constitution was clear regarding impeachment, recall, and criminal procedures concerning going after corrupt politicians.

Thaksin was the first and last elected leader under the 1997 Constitution, which gave him unchecked power as the independent institutions were subdued under his centralisation.

Of course Thanong refuses to spell out how Thaksin subdued the independent committees and checks and balances mechanisms of the 1997 Constitution.

He exploited every loophole in the constitution to strengthen his grip on power.

Neither Thanong or The Nation has not spelled out how Thaksin exploited every loophole.

And he and his party got elected, largely with support from rural voters in the North and the Northeast. He always claimed that he played by the rules in the 1997 Constitution, which he did not write.

Here comes the contempt for the khon ban nok.

At issue, which has not been adequately discussed, was a political divide between the Thais who eat khao suay (normal rice) and the Thais who eat khao niew (sticky rice). The khao suay eaters represent the urban voters; the khao niew eaters rural voters. Their interests are not the same. Thaksin chose the khao niew eaters to win him the election. He gave them populist policies and at the same time enriched a small circle of big businesses with ties to government and the stock market.

Is Thanong a journalist or a liar? Thaksin won the majority of voters in Bangkok and the Central regions also. The only region he got thrashed was in the South. Is the entire South made up of wealthy and middle class elitists who are part of Thanong's imaginary khao suay crowd? Is the North, Northeast and Central region made up entirely of ignorant hicks? I like khao suay and don't like khao niew, and I surely don't subscribe to his moronic analysis.

The Thai elite and the Thai middle class were shocked by the disparity between the content of the 1997 Constitution and its practical outcome.

They were shocked because for the first time in Thai history they weren't able to dictate the outcome.

The role of Parliament was downplayed. With 377 MPs, Thaksin did not have to show up at Parliament at all. During his six-year reign, he held parliament in contempt because the opposition could not lay a finger on him and the MPs under his control never broke ranks to vote with their consciences. He appeared in Parliament a dozen times at most. The opposition could not grill him because it could not muster enough votes to open a quorum.

Thanong obviously resents the fact that his side was the losing side and there was nothing he could do about it. Yes, I understand this frustration, but you don't have coups because you are a loser who can't win elections.

In other words, the Thai elite and the Thai middle class resented the fact that the lower house was completely taken over by ban nok (which has a negative connotation for rural folk) MPs.

Absolutely.

In the Senate, the situation was similar. The elite and the middle class realised that by requiring senators to come from the election, the 1997 Constitution favoured rural voters, who voted in the wives, children, relatives and cronies of their MPs.

More bigotry.

Both the lower house and the Senate came under the control of ban nok representatives who were swayed by money politics.

More bigotry. Thanong is an idiot. Is there not corruption in Bangkok or the South?

And when Thaksin muzzled the media, the elite and the middle class felt they had no more room. The 2007 coup was partly a reflection of this urban/rural divide.

The media wasn't muzzled. The media, as usual, was cowardly. Again, The Nation still hasn't done one report on how Thaksin muzzled them or Manager or any other media group. Any journalist under the last constitution had the right to sue the government for violations of civil rights. How many journalists did that? Another idiotic argument that the so-called journalists at The Nation like to make is that the government would use advertising from state enterprises as a carrot and a stick to get its way with the media. Why in the hell would a media outlet compromise its integrity by taking money from the government in the first place? Why would any media outlet have government money as part of its business plan? If the Thai media had any balls it would not take a dime of government revenue so that its independence wouldn't compromised.

So when it was necessary to write a new constitution, the elite and middle class felt that voting at the ballot box did not equate to democracy in strict terms. They went on to draft the 2007 constitution to hand back power to bureaucrats, to provide balance against politicians elected by rural voters.

Did this work in the past? No.

Of course, the 2007 Constitution is a setback to democracy if you are a purist. But it is a product of another phase of Thai political development, which seeks to create equilibrium by balancing out the interests of urban and rural voters. It is not a perfect constitution. We might revert to the old days of short-lived coalition governments and a lack of stability. But bear in mind that the Japanese are changing their prime minister once every two years now, and they are still doing all right.

Basically, this idiot is saying that the constitution should be written so that the elite have a disproportionate amount of power in relation to the poor masses, because the elitists at The Nation know everything and if you don't subscribe exactly to their moronic political agenda, you are just a dumb upcountry hick who should be politically disenfranchised.

Deconstructing Thanong Khanthong: Thaksin's Republican Guard and Pimping for Abhisit

Tribunal delivers its deathblow, but TRT refuses to die


Thanong Khanthong


The Nation


On September 19 of last year, the military struck Thaksin Shinawatra down with a bloodless coup. On Wednesday, the Constitution Tribunal followed up by hammering the nails in his coffin. Can we be sure that Thaksin is dead?


The spectre of Thaksin will always haunt Thanong. He won't be able to survive without his main boogeyman.

If you were a fan of horror movies, you would never believe that a zombie is dead until it really dies. Even though a giant nail is pierced through its heart, a zombie always comes back to life to haunt you and grab your throat when you drop your guard. Thaksin, too, will refuse to die.

The Nation needs Thaksin the unstoppable zombie. It needs an enemy it can blame all of Thailand's problems on.

For the moment, Thaksin and his 110 republican guards are in disarray. They had anticipated that the axe would fall, but they had never thought that it would chop off all of their heads in a massacre on the eve of Visakha Puja Day. The "Red Army" and PTV threatened to strike back if the Thai Rak Thai Party were to be disbanded.

Thanong really knows how to kick people when they are down. Isn't calling a Thai a republican the highest form of treason?

In the end, members of the Red Army were so tired and sleepy that they could hardly raise their fingers. They were worn down by a marathon 11-hour reading of the landmark verdicts by the Constitution Tribunal judges. It was not until 11.45pm that the rulings on Thai Rak Thai were brought to a conclusion. Chaturon Chaisang, Phongthep Thepkanjana and other Thai Rak Thai members listened patiently to the verdicts in the courtroom with their pale, zombie-like faces.

Now he calls them zombies. Republican zombies. Zombie republicans.

In one fell swoop, the Constitution Tribunal dissolved the Thai Rak Thai Party for alleged election fraud and ended its nine years of existence. It also handed down a 6-3 verdict to ban all 111 executive Thai Rak Thai members from politics for five years. Any attempt to disrupt law and order had to be put on hold because a few minutes later the country would observe Visakha Puja Day, the most auspicious and sacred day on the Buddhist calendar.

He doesn't need to use the word "alleged" anymore. Yesterday, Suthichai was angry that some people were making claims that violence would break out if they didn't get their way and causing unncessary panic, yet his columnists keep inferring that these imminent threat rumors or true over and over gain. There is no evidence that Thaksin supporters put off disrupting law and order because of Visakha Puja Day.

The Democrats were spared the wrath of the Constitution Tribunal's rulings. They put up a strong legal defence over alleged election fraud. You have to give the full credit to Chuan Leekpai, the former party leader. If you read his defence statement, you would feel mesmerised by his eloquent and persuasive argument that the Democrats never committed any wrongdoing. In the end, the Democrats were cleared all the charges in a unanimous decision.

The Nation can't help but salivate over the prospects that the Democrats will come back to power. Even with Thai Rak Thai out of the picture, what do the Democrats offer? After all this time, I still don't know what it is that they stand for just in terms of public policy.

On the contrary, the Thai Rak Thai Party fought a half-hearted legal battle, knowing darn well that they would be sent to the scaffold. Err ... the executive board did no wrong. If some members of our party did hire the three small parties to run in the April 2 election, then please do not blame all of us. But the money trails would not lie. General Thamarak Isarangura and Pongsak Ruktapongpisal were deemed by the judges to have financed the other three political parties, which distributed the money to their candidates to stand in the election so that the election, boycotted by the Democrats, Chat Thai and Mahachon, could fulfil the constitutional requirement.

I agree, Thai Rak Thai was screwed.

If you read the verdicts of the Constitution Tribunal, you will find that they carry very harsh statements against Thaksin and his Thai Rak Thai as if the judges were denouncing the Thaksin regime themselves. Thaksin and his Thai Rak Thai were deemed to have posed a danger to democracy through their corruption and cronyism. Most importantly, the rulings will become a benchmark for other courts to refer to when cases against Thaksin and his family concerning their assets go to trial.

Why was the court making political statements that had no bearing on the jurisprudence?

Why would a case about election fraud have anything to do with the tax and land cases?

With the Constitution Tribunal's verdicts, the Thai political landscape has been dramatically altered with a tsunami-like force. Abhisit Vejjajiva, the young leader of the Democrats, is most likely to become the next prime minister of Thailand barring any other accidents. The Chat Thai and the Mahachon parties stand to become natural allies in the forming of the new government.

Abhisit will become leader only because his political opposition was wiped out in a coup. Ironically, those politicians who make up the bulk of the other parties are notorious for corruption in the past. Nice to know that Barnharn, Snoh and Sanan will become Abhisit's natural allies in the new government. I wonder what all the moralists are going to say about that.

But we shall see how the 200 former MPs of Thai Rak Thai in the North and Northeast, Thaksin's political bedrock, transform their role. Chaturon insisted that although Thai Rak Thai no longer exists, the Thai Rak Thai Group (Klom Thai Rak Thai) would continue to fight for its ideology. The Thai Rak Thai's republicanism will not die easily. Earlier, Chakraphop Phenkhae, a key member of the Thai Rak Thai Party, gave an interview during which he said that he joined Thai Rak Thai because he could not accept the sakdina (feudal) system.

My guess is that the old Thai Rak Thai MPs will be formidable. Maybe not if Thanong keeps referring to them as republicans. Thanong, a notorious Chakrinista, won't allow republicans to exist amongst our borders if he can help it, especially since he thinks he is a reincarnation of King Naresuan, or at least a modern incarnation of his character in the King Naresuan movie.

Will Khunying Pojaman Shinawatra enter the political scene like Hilary Clinton to revive the dead soul of the party? But she would have to think twice because the legal case against her purchase of land in the Ratchadaphisek area is hanging over her neck. Boonklee Plangsiri or Dr Surapong Suebwonglee, the two confidantes of Pojaman and Thaksin, might volunteer to carry the flag.

Why kind of wife would Pojaman be if she stole Thaksin's thunder and emasculated him by creating a new party and running for PM? I doubt Boonklee or Dr. Surapong would do the surrogate thing.

There will be two remaining stumbling blocks to overcome before Thailand can return to democracy. First, the new constitution must be approved. Second, the new election must be held in due course, the sooner the better. Hopefully, there will be no bloodshed between now and then. You must have a keen eye to distinguish the bad guys from the good guys, or the Red Army from the Blue Army.

Again, here we go with the non-existent threats of violence.

If time is allowed to run its course, the junta will have no choice but to return power to those they can trust most so that they have an excuse to return to their barracks. The junta and the Democrats share a common enemy in Thaksin.

This is a very telling statement. He is basically admitting that there was a conspiracy to get rid of Thaksin between the junta and the Democrats. Of course, this doesn't phase Thanong. He is incapable of recognizing that the crimes of his allies are just as bad if not worse than what the Thaksinistas did.

But earlier, we got the impression that some elements of the junta would like to linger in power by banking on the political bases of Somsak Thepsuthin and Dr Somkid Jatusripitak. Now this will never happen because Somsak and Somkid have also been barred from politics.

Now they are putting all their cards into the Democrat Party basket. Actually, this is smarter than trusting Somsak and Somkid, who only care about their political careers.

Suddenly, Abhisit looks like the only choice around. Now it is time for him to prepare himself by learning from the past mistakes of his predecessors, charting out his own political destiny, healing the wounds of the badly divided country, reaching out to the poor, who have been the bedrock of Thaksin's populist policies, and making Thailand a proud nation again in the eyes of the international community.

Funny how things work out. The Democrats were impotent when Thai Rak Thai was in power.


Now that Thai Rak Thai has been eliminated by a coup, the Democrat Party, a perennial minority regional power party with close ties to the junta, is now poised to win the next election.
Mathematically, I don't see how they can pull it off, but with the military in its corner, anything is possible


Thanong can't contain his glee concerning the new ascendancy of the Democrats, because he doesn't believe in democratic politics. Why should he care about democracy when his political allies can be put into power through boycotts, coups, and court decisions?

Deconstructing Thanong Khanthong: Wahh! America is Picking On Little Thailand Wahhh!

OVERDRIVE

Adelman spin the latest attack in the 'war from outside'

Thanong Khanthong

The Nation


Kenneth L Adelman has emerged almost out of nowhere to establish himself as the number one enemy of the Kingdom of Thailand.

He has set up a website, www.usaforinnovation.org, to defend US intellectual-property rights. If you visit the website, you'll find all the wonderful things he has to say about Thailand, from the country's alleged violation of US intellectual-property rights to his campaign against the Thai military regime.

I've actually read the website. I admit that there is some spin that is not flattering to Thailand, but it is hardly a declaration of war. Much of the criticism against Thailand is true.

Adelman urges readers to sign a prepared letter addressed to US President George W Bush to protest what he calls the "attack on American jobs".

I agree that this is a little far-fetched. When Thailand steals US intellectual property et al, it affects jobs in America. But I wouldn't call it a deliberate attack on American jobs.

"The removal of election provisions, the threatened kidnapping of American tourists, the abrogation of American assets and the latest compulsory licenses of American medical innovations are proof that Thailand's government is going in the wrong direction," read the letter.

Bangkok Pundit mentions the whole kidnapping thing at his blog. I can't disagree with the rest of the statement, because it is truthful. Thailand has been going in the wrong direction ever since the coup.

He also urged those visiting his site to call upon the US ambassador to Thailand and tell him to "stop the Thai theft and censorship of American innovation".

There is nothing wrong with this statement. The US ambassador, Ralph Boyce, is a Siamophile who cares more about pleasing the Thais than he does about representing the interests of the United States.

This kind of stuff makes you raise your eyebrows. Has anybody heard about a Thai threat to kidnap American tourists? You need to phone the Tourism Authority of Thailand to ask about the existence of a covert operation to kidnap American tourists in exchange for free US medical innovations. Then you also have to ask Krirk-krai Jirapaet, the Thai commerce minister, about his dark plot to abrogate American assets through his attempt to pass amendments to the Foreign Business Act.

I agree that the kidnap thing is far fetched. Again, see Bangkok Pundit. I think the part about the Thai government's dark plot to steal foreign assets through changes in the FBA is true. But, at the same time, foreign investors should never trust the Thai government when it comes to protecting their assets. The Thai government won't protect the assets of the poor, why should it give a damn about foreigners?

You have to pinch yourself to make sure that you're not watching "Spiderman 3".

So who is Kenneth L Adelman? He is the executive director for USA for Innovation. He currently serves as a member of the Defence Policy Board. Under president Reagan, he was director of the US Arms Control and Disarmament Agency from 1983 to 1987. He served as deputy US representative to the United Nations in the early 1980s, and as assistant to former defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld from 1976 to 1977.

Since his background has been in the field of defence, with close ties to hardcore American conservatives, you must wonder why he dislikes the Thai military regime so much. Don't they belong to the same species - more power and higher military budgets?

Adelman is a right-wing Reagan/Bush Republican. Yes, I agree, that is a good reason to despise him. But that doesn't make his arguments about Thailand any less true.

Also, Thanong makes a good point. You would think that the Thai military would be his natural ally. He was at the Defense Department when Thailand was at its darkest point in history. I'm surprised he wasn't buddies with all the corrupt Thai generals back then.


But wait a minute, his bio says that he is senior counsellor at Edelman Public Relations. Do you know why now?

Thaksin Shinawatra, the ousted prime minister, hired Edelman Public Relations to represent him and to help prop up his international image. The Nation earlier reported that he signed a public-relations contract with Edelman in a deal worth US$300,000 (Bt10.3 million).

The term "senior counselor" really means nothing. Adelman is what you call a rain maker, a former official who can get top clients because of his past work in government service. He gets a fancy title and he brings in clients. That is it. I seriously doubt that Adelman has anything to with the running of Edelman and probably has no relationship with Thaksin. But, just to prove how lazy and incompetent Thanong is, I have to ask, instead of speculating on the Adelman, Edelman, Thaksin connection, why doesn't he pick up a telephone, call them for comments, and actually verify if they all are working together. But, you see, this is how lazy and incompetent Thai journalists operate: Speculation, innuendo, conspiracy--but no fact checking.

Edelman Public Relations was responsible for most of Thaksin's media exposure with CNN, Time magazine, The Wall Street Journal and the like earlier this year when he launched a PR blitz to boost his international image.

Again, this may or may not be true, but Thanong is too lazy to actually verify this as true. And the reason why Thanong's editor doesn't call him on his lazy bullshit is because his editor is just as lazy and incompetent as he is. At any real newspaper in a civilized country, an editor would actually force his reporter to verify his facts. But, because this story is about bashing America, and America doesn't defend itself in the Thai media, the Thai media normally just prints whatever it wants.

When Edelman wrote an article to attack Thailand in the Washington Times earlier this month, charging that the country was on the verge of becoming another Burmese-style regime, Korbsak Sabhavasu, a senior member of the Democrat Party, came out to expose the sinister link. He charged that Thaksin was behind the campaign to tarnish the image of the Thai government at a time when Thailand was having problems with the US over trade issues, particularly patent coverage of US pharmaceutical products.

Korbsak, a wacky conspiracy prone member of the anti-American wing of the Democrat Party, made an accusation without actually calling anybody in the US to verify his conspiracy.


Afterward, on Sunday, Noppadol Pattama, Thaksin's lawyer, came out to reveal that Thaksin had decided to terminate his contract with Edelman.

You would think that this means Thaksin doesn't want anything to do with this mess.

But a US official told me that USA for Innovation's campaign has nothing to do with the US government. "It is just a private warning group [that represents US pharmaceutical companies]," she said. She did not believe that Thaksin was behind USA for Innovation's campaign.

Again, Thai journalists are so ignorant about the outside world that it really is frustrating. A "non-profit" shell for the pharmaceutical industry run by a has been Reagan era official has nothing to do with the US government. Thais need to understand that a lobbyist is not an agent of the US government. A lobbyist lobbies for its particular interests. There are thousands of different lobbies, ranging from NRA(the gun lobby), the AFL-CIO(the unions) to the NAARP(old people's lobby). Some lobbyists are good, some are bad, and some are really evil. Most foreign countries have lobbyists. But Thailand, for some reason, doesn't think it needs one, because Thais are under the delusion that their diplomats are world class and can handle the big PR game. To Washington, Thailand is small potatoes. If Thailand wants to be treated with any significance, it needs to grow up and hire a lobbyist like everybody else.

That's fine. On second thought, you may not want to link the ousted prime minister with every attack against Thailand from abroad as that might not be fair to him.

No, Thanong psychologically needs to blame Thaksin for all of Thailand's problems, because without Thaksin, who will Thanong blame? Uh Oh. Maybe it is time to shift blame from Thaksin to the US.

However, since the beginning of this year US for Innovation has been issuing a series of press releases to denounce Thailand's stance on intellectual-property rights. It has also launched ThaiMyth.com to publicise the alleged deceit of the Thai Public Health Ministry's policy on patent protection.

Thanong doesn't actually refute anything on the website. If Thanong was an actual journalist in search for the truth, that is what he would do, search for the truth.

Eventually, Thailand had to pay the price, as the US government finally downgraded its trade relations with Thailand by placing the Kingdom on its Priority Watch-List. In doing so, the US cited its concerns over Thailand's lack of progress on intellectual-property rights protection, as well as the impending amendment of the Foreign Business Act, the impending introduction of the Retail Business Act, the capital control measures [to limit speculation on the baht] and the compulsory licensing of US pharmaceutical products.

The truth is that Thailand has been slacking in all areas of enforcing the law concerning IP and now it finally has to pay the piper for all that slacking.

If you read between the lines, the downgrade of Thailand's trade status has more to do with the Thai Public Health Ministry's move to enforce compulsory licensing on drugs to deal with Aids.

This is bullshit. See, Thanong can't acknowledge that Thailand steals US IP outside the realm of the Aids drugs.

By the way, former US President Bill Clinton applauded Thailand's stance on compulsory licensing on drugs to treat Aids.

Again, another lie. I have not seen Bill Clinton actually say that he supports Thailand's moves on compulsory licensing.

However, I am not defending the Thai Public Health Ministry's position on compulsory licensing nor do I try to protect the poor track record of the military regime. Those issues would require more space than afforded by this small column.

More lies. Thanong is a right-wing nationalist who routinely rants against foreigners. See below. More of the same.

But at the moment, the campaign against Thailand, which is coming from overseas, is harsher than the country's sins. We have not only faced a war in the South and the spectre of civil war arising from political turmoil, but we have also faced a larger battle from the outside.

This is laughable. Having a coup and ripping up the constitution is a bigger sin than anything a foreign country has done to Thailand. Also, the FBA, the change in the visa laws, the confiscation and nationalization of iTV, the tourist scams and growing violence against foreigners is not exactly Thai hospitality at its best. And the attacks from the outside and the inside are all self-inflicted.

We are at loss over how to deal with YouTube, the US drug firm Abbott, or a dubious organisation like the USA for Innovation. We are very innocent in the New World Order, which calls for us to embrace free trade and to open up our country without any restrictions. It also tells us to abide strictly to protect intellectual and patent properties.

The outsiders set the rules - freedom of expression by YouTube, free trade by the US, high drug costs by pharmaceutical companies - we only have to follow.

Increasingly, we'll face more and more people like Ken Edelman, who has hardly ever set foot in Thailand, but who is willing to crush us to the ground with his black heart.

Now I love these last three paragraphs. They all say Thailand is a victim of big bad America. Thailand can do no wrong. Thailand has no responsibility for its own actions or its role in the world. Wahhh, US led globalization is going to destroy Thailand. Wahh, YouTube is evil and out to get our king. Wahhh, US pharmaceuticals wants to deprive Thais of their free medicines.

Instead of crying like a little girl and blaming everybody else for Thailand's problems, he should be calling for the country to saddle up and get its shit together. This is the year 2007. It is time Thailand grew up and acted like the ancient civilization that it is.

Deconstructing Thanong: Worries about Thailand's Economic Competition

OVERDRIVE


Thailand's growth worsening as competitors reap the benefits


Thanong Khanthong


The Nation


Thailand is now trailing all other countries in the region in terms of economic growth.


This is a worrying trend and it has been occurring over the past two to three years. If this continues, emerging nations will soon catch up with Thailand, with higher living standards.


I think the trend started recently. Overall, Thaksin's economic record was fairly good. Surayud's economic polices have been a failure.

To make matters worse, Thailand is now grappling with political turmoil. It will take another year before things return to normal. It will be another lost year. In the meantime, Thailand is getting bad press. Business and investor sentiment concerning Thailand is very poor. They are saying that if Thailand does not put its house in order soon, investment capital will go elsewhere.

Everything is true and the bad press Thailand is receiving is well-deserved. But I don't think we are at a crisis point yet. Thailand is not in a recession and it has an enviable employment rate.

Let's take a look at the Asian Development Bank's latest report. The report shows Thailand has the slowest projected growth rate in the region. The Kingdom is expected to register economic growth of 4 per cent this year and 5 per cent in 2008. In Malaysia, however, those numbers are 5.4 per cent and 5.7 per cent respectively. Indonesia is also doing better with 6 per cent and 6.3 per cent respectively. The Philippines is expecting growth of 5.4 per cent and 5.7 per cent respectively, compared with 6 per cent and 5.5 per cent for Singapore, 5.4 per cent and 5.2 per cent for Hong Kong. But keep an eye on Vietnam. This star of the region is expected to grow by 8.3 per cent in 2007 and 8.5 per cent in 2008. It is taking in a lot of investments - investments that used to pour into Thailand in the late 1980s and early 1990s. India is also on the rise, expecting growth of 8 per cent this year and 8.3 per cent next year. The report says that China will continue to defy the economic bubble theory with projected growth rates of 10 per cent in 2007 and 9.8 per cent next year.

Of all the these economies, Thailand had the biggest head start in the 1850's. Yet it is still a 3rd world country instead of being a powerhouse like Korea or Japan. And now all the neighboring countries that were held back because of war and socialism are taking off. What lesson can Thailand learn from this? Liberalization and rule of law are good; socialism, crony capitalism and corruption are bad. Thailand's problem is not economic. It is political, because so many conglomerates, bureaucrats and banks only work for themselves and their allies rather than for the greater good.

In order to re-emerge, Thailand will need to attract a huge amount of foreign investment or undergo massive restructuring. But there are no signs that we have a game plan on how to position ourselves in the next 10 years. At the moment, the export sector and revenues from tourism are the only engines helping to prop up Thailand. Domestic consumption, investment and government spending are sluggish.

There is a vision problem. There is an incompetence problem. There is a horrible bureaucracy problem. There is a corporate finance problem. There is a tax problem. There is a service problem. It is not difficult to reform these problems, but those with political power don't want to give up their feudal privileges nor do they want to empower people to take over their own economic destinies.

Looking back, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries benefited from a global currency realignment following the Plaza Accord agreement in 1985. That set the stage for an appreciation of the yen. This forced Japanese companies to relocate their operations overseas to remain competitive. Japanese manufacturers chose Thailand and other Southeast Asian nations for their manufacturing bases.

At that time, countries like Russia, China and India had not yet opened up their countries for investment, so the capital flooded into Thailand and other Southeast Asian nations, helping to create an Asian miracle story. Thailand has been an export-led nation ever since, following the East Asian Economic Model. Economic and financial liberalisation followed suit. Investments and exports held the key to driving growth.

But matters took a sharp turn in 1991 and 1992 when Russia, India and China started to embrace an open-door policy to welcome foreign investment. China has been most successful in attracting foreign-direct investment. Foreign companies realised the huge potential of China's gigantic domestic market apart from its cheap labour for export manufacturing.

The problem is easy to diagnosis in Thailand. The government bureaucrats and the capitalist elite don't to open up the economy because they are incapable of competing. The government has been protecting them from real competition for decades. In other words, Thailand doesn't really have an open door policy that says "welcome to Thailand, please do business, and keep your profits." Instead, it has the policy of "welcome to Thailand, please do business until we can screw you out of all your money, snicker, snicker, snicker, then go home."

A recent article by Merrill Lynch, "The Gross Prophet" (April 12, 2007), is interesting. It compares the challenges facing Thailand and Malaysia as they go forward. Both face the challenges of how to maintain their attractiveness as investment destinations while global investors and companies have abundant alternatives.

"Malaysia and Thailand were net beneficiaries during the decade the transitional economies needed to progress up the learning curve, as early investors and trading partners. Then in the last five years, as the transitional economies became emerging markets, they allowed world economic growth to remain resilient at 5 per cent a year, despite lacklustre growth in the developed economies. This was good for Malaysia and Thailand, as they are export-dominated economies, which are also rich in natural resources.

Why is Thanong lumping Malaysia with Thailand? In terms off service, transportation, liberalization, political stability, and government policy towards foreign investors, Malaysia beats Thailand. On the other hand, Thailand beats Indonesia and the Philippines. But Thanong is right. Before Thailand was the king of Southeast Asia, but if the Philippines and Indonesia ever get their acts together, along with the rise of Vietnam, Thailand will be in big trouble,

"But going forward the bad news is, these (transitional and now emerging) countries are now competing against Malaysia and Thailand for trade, commerce and investment. Some of the new players have enormous populations (China and India it goes without saying, but also Pakistan, Bangladesh and Vietnam). Others have small populations but untapped natural resources that they are keen to exploit (Kazakhstan and Mongolia)." Already, Malaysia and Thailand have been overshadowed by the excitement of these new places. Their stock markets have received less weighting as a percentage in the Morgan Stanley Capital International Index (MSCI). Malaysia enjoyed a peak in May 1995, with a weighting in the MSCI of 16.2. Now its weighting is 4.5 per cent. Thailand has faced a similar situation, with an MSCI weighting of 10.1 per cent in June 1995 and now 2.2 per cent. This implies that other emerging markets have been taking away the investment that would have otherwise gone to Malaysia and Thailand.

Compete or die.

The two neighbours need to do something to improve their attractiveness, as global changes unfold before their eyes. Unfortunately, Thailand has not yet started to rethink its future or how it plans to compete in the years ahead. Singapore laid down its economic plan for the global economy four or five years ago. Malaysia has also taken several steps to improve its attractiveness. Vietnam has done an excellent job in opening up. But Thailand - facing an ongoing political crisis - has to pull itself together quickly and mobilise all its resources in order to make sure it's going in the right direction.

Thailand has all the potential in the world. It is truly the suvarnaphumi. But the bureaucracy, the military and the anti-foreigner capitalist elite want to protect their interests. The last thing they want is Thailand to liberalize its economy and political system. They want to keep the poor disenfranchised, stupid and powerless.

But Thanong will never talk about this, because he is part of the Thai elite that wants to maintain its feudal, social and economic privileges.

Deconstructing Thanong: The Nation's Number One Right-Wing Reactionary Gets Hystertical

OVERDRIVE

Disrespect for monarchy a direct attack on heart of nation

The Nation

The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Ministry had no choice but to block access to YouTube after its owner, Google, refused to remove a video clip that insulted His Majesty the King. The ICT Ministry approached Google to protest about the film clip, but strangely enough, they were told that the company had no policy about content deemed offensive in this country.

The ICT had no choice? The choice could have been to do nothing and simply ignore it. By making a fuss, it just made the issue more well-known and widespread.

Why the hell should a private foreign company have policies about what is offensive in Thailand? That is just stupid.

Julie Supun, head of global communications for YouTube, was quoted in the International Herald Tribune as saying that the Internet presented "new and unique challenges". She added that the company was "disappointed" that the site had been blocked in Thailand.

"We are currently looking into the matter," Supun said in a statement on Wednesday. "YouTube reaches a wide global audience and strives to provide a community where people from around the world can express themselves by sharing videos in a safe and lawful manner."

Excuse me, what law is YouTube referring to - its own? Or that of Thailand? Instead of removing the controversial clip, YouTube acted as if it has every right to carry any clip sent in without any regard for laws or issues culturally sensitive to people in other countries.

F---ing unbelievable! Thanong actually thinks the entire world should roll over for him and his belief system. King Bumibol is not a God. He is a man. He is a head of state. In liberal democracies and other free societies, heads of state can be criticized and reported on, even mocked. Thanong actually believes that liberal democracies show bow down before ancient feudalism in the name of cultural sensitivity and Thai political correctness.

As bilingual blogger Tom has pointed out, the Thai media and Thai academia have no problems criticizing and mocking the sacred cows in the West. Also, the Thai media has no problems reporting on and lampooning the happenings of the royal families of other countries.

YouTube understands that freedom of expression has its limits, and a cost. It is quick to remove any pornographic videos submitted by users, but when it comes to a video clip insulting His Majesty, it allows the freedom to run wild without any respect for Thai law or the feelings of the Thai people.

Again, typical Thai double standards and hypocrisy. Youtube has always banned porn. On the other hand, it encourages lampooning and political speech. And why the hell should Youtube care about the feelings of Thai people when the entire Thai entertainment industry, especially on TV, makes a mockery of Thai culture with its horrible soap operas and idiotic game shows.

Plus, central Thais and the Thai-Chinese who own and control the entertainment industry have no problems mocking people from Isaan, transsexuals, gays, hill tribe people, poor people, mentally retarded and physically disfigured people. What about their feelings?

Hypocrites like Thanong have sympathy for the richest and most powerful in our society, yet has never said a word about the feelings of the poor and powerless.

I have now come to believe that we can't avoid World War III. That's because we have so many arrogant people in this world - like the people at YouTube - who like to see things through their own glasses. How many wars or killings have happened in the past because people insulted the values and religious beliefs of others?

Why doesn't this idiot Thanong ask this question of his own government?

World War III over a stupid video? Give me a break. The British Royal Family has survived a thousand years from endless lampooning.

And you don't see the Catholic Church waging world-wide jihad against those who wrote and produced the movie, The DaVinci Code.

It is only Thanong and crazy Al Qaeda terrorists who believe in going to war over stupid shit like this.

However, it was reported yesterday that the anonymous user who posted the video clip has withdrawn it from YouTube. But the damage has been done.

The Thai people worship the Lord Buddha and revere His Majesty. This is an established fact. Wherever you travel in this country, you'll confront these two lasting images, intertwined with each other as ultimate symbols of virtue. You can't imagine a Thailand without Buddhism and the monarchy. Without these two pillars, Thailand would be reduced to ashes.

Not all Thais worship Buddha and not all revere the king. It is not an established fact. If it was a fact, there would be no need to have lese majeste laws in the first place. As for the Buddha, he was not a God. He was a man. He made it clear not to worship him as a God. So Thanong basically says that Thais should worship the Buddha as God which was against his own wishes. Now you tell me, who is disrespecting the Buddha, when you ignore his own request?

Thailand reduced to ashes without worshiping the Buddha and feudalism/monarchy? Thanong really is a fanatic on the level of Osama Bin Laden.

A Swiss man has recently been sentenced to 10 years in prison because he was caught vandalising images of His Majesty the King while drunk. He knew about the lese majeste law, however he might have been under the influence of alcohol when he took the risk to break it.

This case was widely covered by the international press, which mostly had sympathy toward the Swiss man and criticised Thailand for keeping the most draconian lese majeste law on earth. Thais, however, looked at this case differently - most believed that the man was lucky not to have been trampled to death on the spot for his wild acts. I now have sympathy for the Swiss man and believe he will receive a pardon - after serving a brief time in prison for a crime he has confessed to.

The Swiss man should have been punished, but only for being a public nuisance and for vandalism. Also, how many Thai politicians who have taken the oath of loyalty from the king have gone on to rob the country and kill political opponents?

Did any of these crooks serve time for dissing the king and violating their sacred oaths? Of course not.

It is only when you do something stupid like get drunk and destroy a picture is when you get punished for disrespecting the king.

Some time in May of last year, several months before the coup, a middle-level government official told me he was shocked by an underlying force at work to undermine the monarchy.

"In the past, whenever Interior Ministry officials or the police learnt about even the slightest activity to undermine the monarchy, they would get their act together and act fast. But now nobody is doing anything. They know that the monarchy is being undermined, but they are more interested to keeping their positions," he said.

What does it mean to "undermine the monarchy?" Having an illegal coup undermines the monarchy and Thanong was all for that.

Thaksin Shinawatra, then prime minister, had already used improper language on a number of occasions when referring to His Majesty. Then, he accused a "charismatic person beyond the constitution" as playing a behind-the-scenes role to undermine his electoral mandate. It was no secret that the "charismatic person" Thaksin referred to was General Prem Tinsulanonda, president of the Privy Council. The institution of the monarchy was drawn into this conflict with Prem by implication. One of the reasons that General Sonthi Boonyaratglin staged a coup to boot Thaksin out of office was because the former premier had been disrespectful to the monarchy. The matter has not ended.

There is no law against attacking Prem. Also, there hasn't been a case filed against Thaksin for lese majeste yet, so how could there be a coup in the name of protecting the king when after six months no charges have been filed against Thaksin for lese majeste.

Now, remnants of the previous regime still openly challenge the monarchy. They have set up www.tmctoday.com to mobilise a signature campaign appealing to His Majesty to dismiss Prem, who they allege to be the mastermind behind the coup. This campaign clearly shows disrespect toward His Majesty. Again, the police have been slow to react.

More BS from Thanong. I don't recall Prem ever becoming a member of the royal family or becoming king. Attacking Prem and attacking the king are not the same thing. In fact, I think it is disrespectful to both Prem and the king by making the connection.

It is a tit-for-tat game. Last year, a campaign was launched to garner signatures to oust Thaksin. Now it is the turn of General Prem to face a similar campaign, aimed at confusing the political situation and dividing the country further.

I feel sorry about the present state of Thailand. I want the country to maintain its status as a Buddhist state and a Kingdom forever. Unfortunately, there are forces, from the outside and some from elements inside the country, trying to - intentionally or unintentionally - reduce us to a pagan, republic state.

I feel sorry for the present state of Thailand also, because a jamook like Thanong actually has a job as a journalist.

What is Thanong going to do if Thailand ever has a monarch who is a complete screw up? He just going to sit back and allow it?

I think it is interesting that Thanong and many right-wing royalists believe in the sanctity of an unelected monarchy and state religion, yet have no respect for a diversity of view points, democracy, free expression and political freedom.

If they really believe in absolutism, why don't they just have the courage to advocate going back to sakdina and an absolute monarchy because that is obviously what they want, and Thanong's last sentence seems to support this point.

Deconstrucing Thanong: Is Thai anti-foreigner sentiment a fallacy or the truth?

OVERDRIVE

'Tribune' reporter's fallacy: Thai anti-foreigner sentiment

The Nation


During an interview yesterday, a German executive working in Bangkok told me he was rather concerned about a front-page article on Thailand published the other day by The International Herald Tribune.


The article, "Famed Thai hospitality showing signs of strain: Foreigner-driven growth is re-evaluated" (March 21, 2007), painted a rather gloomy picture on what it perceived to be a shifting sentiment inside Thailand. It portrayed a changing Thailand, which was not only embracing economic nationalism but was also expressing its suspicions toward foreigners.


Thomas Fuller, the correspondent who wrote the article, interviewed several Thais and his subjects all expressed their doubts toward foreigners in one way or another. I am quite amazed by the thrust of this article, which claims that the Thai people have become anti-foreigner only seven months after the coup. This is rather funny. How can the interim government and military leadership persuade the general Thai public to change their feelings toward foreigners in such a short time?


However, the German executive said that when this kind of article is published and read internationally, the people who read it no longer feel confident enough to visit or do business in Thailand. Now Thailand is not only competing against neighbouring countries for investment and tourism, it also has to be aware that countries in the Middle East - Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates - are opening up their countries and attracting visitors from Europe and elsewhere. It also takes less time to fly from Europe to the Middle East than it does to the Far East.


Thailand needs to do a lot of explaining. The German executive told me that contrary to the prevailing negative perception, it is still easy to do business in Thailand.


Let me say this. Thais in general welcome foreigners. They welcomed foreigners in the past, they welcome them now and they will continue to welcome them in the future. Foreigners have contributed to Thailand's economic growth, though some of them have tried to take advantage of us - child sexual abuse or unfair labour treatment, for instance. This should not be unexpected.


Unfortunately, I must say that it is far more convenient for foreigners to visit Thailand and do business here than it is for Thais to travel abroad and do business in other countries. It is not easy for the average Thai citizen to get a visa to the United States, Europe or Japan, but we can't complain because nobody is listening to us. Our voice is not loud enough.


Even now, it is definitely easier to do business in Thailand than it is in China. But I guess China knows what it is doing and writes its own rules, so no foreigner would dare complain. Besides, they dare not bash China because they know how the Chinese can respond in kind.


Probably, it is convenient for them to bash Thailand. The Thais do have a high level of tolerance toward foreigners.


I have never read an article in any foreign media outlet calling for Vietnam or China to set a timetable for a return to democracy. Most foreign articles now praise the economic opportunities in Vietnam and China. Is Singapore now enjoying more democracy than Thailand? Several foreign articles have been attacking the process to draft the new constitution in Thailand, but they have hardly reported on China's charter. Has anybody cared to read the Chinese or the Singaporean constitutions?


It is difficult to compare the different political systems of the countries in this region. Yes, Thailand is in a big transitional mess, but over the medium term, it should emerge all right. But in the meantime, can we fully claim that countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Burma, Brunei, Hong Kong, China are enjoying more democracy than Thailand?


The Surayud government and the military leadership might have shot themselves in the foot by introducing a series of bad policies or by giving some stupid interviews. However, I don't think they have been able to influence the average Thai to become anti-foreigner like the International Herald Tribune tried to suggest. And I don't think they are deliberately drawing up policies to go after foreigners. They are just incompetent. And they have an agenda to go after the remnants of the Thaksin regime. That's all.


The Bank of Thailand erred on the 30 per cent capital controls, but this technical measure has nothing to do with the Surayud government. Yet this measure was the start of the downfall in its confidence index. The Commerce Ministry has to revise the Foreign Business Act because of the political ramifications of the Temasek-Shin Corp deal. One of the reasons that the Thaksin government was toppled was because the Shinawatra family sold off Shin Corp to Singapore. Shin Corp also held sensitive assets such as iTV and Shin Satellite. To prove that Thaksin Shinawatra was wrong in selling off iTV or Shin Satellite to Singapore, the military leadership, for political reasons, has to build up a case against it.


When Singapore learnt that the Surayud government might move against the Shin Corp deal, its authorities sent out a message that Singapore should not be singled out. They also signalled that there should be a level playing field in Thai business law.


This led the Commerce Ministry to work on the amendments of the Foreign Business Act to create this level playing field, although the amendments were not a priority policy in the first place. When the Cabinet approved the draft amendments, foreign investors and foreign businessmen were scared off. And they characterised the 30-per cent reserve requirement and the amendments to the foreign business law as being Thailand's attempt to turn inward.


If Temasek had announced that it would dispose of iTV and Shin Satellite from the outset, it would have helped reduce the pressure on the Surayud government since Temasek had made it known that its original intention was to acquire Advanced Info Services.

The last four paragraphs are disturbing. Read them closely. Basically, Thanong is saying that Singapore is being punished for doing business with Thaksin, but because it can't look as though Singapore is being singled out for punishment, the rest of the foreign investor community must be punished also as they capriciously re-write the law in order to get Shin back.

So please, bear with us while we nationalize a multibillion dollar company and punish the parties involved because of their politics. Also, he is saying if Singapore had given back the companies gratis then the government would have not pursued this road of action. This is some sick shit. But I give Thanong some credit for actually laying the conspiracy out for us.


I am writing this column because I feel sick and tired of the growing Thailand bashing. Yes, we are in a mess. Yes, we are living in the aftermath of a coup. Yes, we make lots of mistakes. Yes, we need time to resolve our problems. But we don't deserve this bashing because the country has yet to overcome the political divide, which is the root of all the uncertainty.


The irony of this piece is that Thanong is the most hostile to foreigners out of all the columnists at The Nation. I have pointed this out for the last eight weeks or so since I have started my blog.

I think he has a point that the foreign community holds a higher standard for Thailand than it does for other Asian countries. But is that such a bad thing?

In typical Thai fashion, Thanong is saying, please don't criticize Thailand, leave us in peace so that we can pretend that we are a democracy when we are not, pretend that we have an open economy when we don't, act as if we are hospitable to foreigners when we only want their money. He wants Thailand's critics to be silent, so that Thailand can continue to treat foreigners like crap and self-destruct from its own political absurdities and contradictions.

Regardless, I think the frustration foreigners have with Thailand is that it continually pretends to be something that it is not.

I've said this a million times here. Stop pretending. Embrace the truth.

If Thais are hostile to foreigners, so what? If Thais want to close off their economy to investment, say so. If Thais only want to exploit foreigners for their money, don't pretend that Thailand is a hospitable country.

But Thais want to have their cake and eat it too. They want the benefits of liberalization without the actual liberalization. They want the tourism money without the tourists. They want to be known as being friendly and hospitable without being friendly and hospitable. They want Thailand to be known as a liberal, progressive democracy without the democracy or political freedom.

On the flip side, I think many foreigners are realizing that there is quite a disconnect between the fantasy of what Thailand ought to be and what Thailand is, and most Thais can't stand it when people actually point out this discrepancy.

Of course, when people's expectations are being unfulfilled, there is disappointment. That is the nature of life in all circumstances. I don't have children, but I can understand parents who have kids who screw up. They may get angry, they may get frustrated, but they only feel those things because they care enough to be concerned.

I don't think that is bashing. It depends on how you frame it. It could also be called love when you are concerned enough to act when something that you cherish and care about is descending into a spiral of self-destruction.

One could either become resigned, accept the status quo and mai pen rai everything away or speak out and take a stand for its potential and greatness.

To me, there is more to loving Thailand than just wearing a yellow shirt on Monday and slapping a "I love Nai Luang" bumper sticker on the back of my car and bowing and scraping before the puuyai like a brainless robot.

Last thing, Thanong has yet to learn a valuable lesson: No country has ever transcended its problems by attacking its critics.

Deconstructing Thanong: Has He Given Up on Democracy in Thailand?

OVERDRIVE

Emerging democracy needs to work in a Thai context


Not long ago I had dinner with a top banker. We discussed politics, which has been keeping Thailand from moving forward.

The banker said: "In China, politics is not a problem. The Chinese leaders are only discussing national development. If politics becomes a problem, they deal with it quickly and decisively."

In other words, the Chinese take you to jail and beat the holy crap out of you.

Now China has racked up more than US$1 trillion (Bt35.6 trillion) in foreign exchange reserves. Its leaders are embarking on a global campaign to buy up strategic assets critical to China's long-term growth. China's leaders are everywhere - in Africa and South America - doing their shopping and establishing new contacts.

"It is very difficult to stop them. You know, they come with money," an ambassador from a Latin American country told me the other day.

Shortly after Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont's rise to power, a Government House official told me a similar story. "Thailand is not moving anywhere because our politics are horrible. Look at China, there is stability over there. Its leaders can focus on building the nation with new physical infrastructure and development projects. In a few years, China will become a superpower to be reckoned with."

China had to go through many horrible growing pains to get where it is, and will still go through more. Thais have an aversion to growing and to pain. The greatest feature and weakness of the Thai character is its commitment to mediocrity. If there is no commitment to greatness, then things will never change, but at least you can live a comfortable life if you play by simple rules.

We all know that China is a communist regime, but everybody takes its political system for granted. Insofar as there is stability and explosive growth potential, foreign funds and investors keep pouring their money into China.

The Chinese believe in working hard, they set goals, and they believe in producing measurable results. All these qualities are anathema to the Thai character, which isn't bad, but just creates a different type of social dynamic.

Foreign funds, investors, media outlets and even global democratic leaders nowadays do not question when China will embrace democracy. They know that if they were to poke their noses into China's internal affairs, they would be sharply rebuked with something like "You'd better mind your own business". Case closed.

China is an ancient mature society with a respected past. The Chinese have the wealth, power and prestige, so they can thumb their noses. What does Thailand have? There is nothing that Thailand produces that creates respect for Thais. Thailand hasn't produced any social, economic or cultural achievements to make it significant to anybody. Is sex capital of the world a notable achievement?

Back to Thailand, I am often disturbed by foreign analysts, media and outside watchers, who conveniently pick on Thailand. They rush to impose Western-style democracy on Thailand, yet they hardly dare to criticise China, whose political system is far more repressive.

Thanong is a liar. Nobody has imposed democracy on Thailand. Thais are the ones who overthrew the absolute monarchy in 1932. If it doesn't want democracy, then it should go back to an absolute monarchy. If you don't like the Crown Prince, elect a new king. Again, China is an ancient civilized country that deserves respect and admiration. What has Thailand ever done?

Over dinner at a Western ambassador's residence, I heard a Thai diplomat ask her counterpart whether Singapore was enjoying more democracy than Thailand. "Is Singapore a democratic country? I don't think so," she said.

First, Singapore adopted many good things from the British. Second, Singapore is run by the Chinese. Third, Singapore isn't xenophobic. Fourth, Singapore doesn't have an inferiority complex with the West. Fifth, Singapore is considered a Western developed country.

Again, what has Thailand produced except a world renowned sex industry?

Again, few outsiders would dare to pick on Singapore's political regime. On the contrary, they praise Singapore's high competitiveness in global rankings.

Singapore is an impressive country. Thailand is not.

Ever since Thailand experienced its latest military coup, it has a difficult story to tell the world. Outsiders are looking at us with suspicious eyes. Yes, we do love democracy and we hate military dictatorship, but the path towards democracy has not been smooth since 1932. To be frank, we are far from realising the democratic ideals that we have borrowed from the West.

Absolutely agree. But the Thais have nobody to blame but themselves for this. And when Thais get that that their failures are their own responsibility rather than blaming everybody else, maybe they can grow into a mature society.

Dr Anek Laothamatas, a well-known political scientist, is quite realistic when he discusses Thai democracy. At a recent seminar, he said democracy puts a demand on individuals to make informed choices and to bear responsibility for society as a whole. But Thais are more used to the patronage system. Their instinct is to look to a leader. From his observations, Anek does not think Western-style democracy is suitable for Thailand. We have to find ways to fine-tune our own democracy.

Maybe the first place to start is to stop perverting the word democracy. Before any Thai speaks of democracy, he should be forced to take a course on it, because I have yet to meet one Thai who knows what the word means. The word "democracy" is not a cute marketing slogan to impress the farang with. The word has value and meaning to western civilization. To Thais, it don't mean shit, which is why there has been 17 coups.

When Thaksin Shinawatra was in power, everybody - every agency, organisation and institution - rushed to him to get a piece of the action. In no time, Thaksin, under the guise of an elected leader, became the ultimate benefactor of this gigantic patronage system.

Whose fault was this? Thaksin would have been nothing without Thais willingly kow towing at his feet. You can't blame Thai sycophancy on the farang.

He was blessed with the 1997 constitution. He got a chance to become Thailand's greatest leader ever. As I have repeatedly said, if his regime was less greedy and less arrogant by 25 per cent, Thaksin would have survived.

More Thanong bullshit. If all the people in the agencies and institutions who were sworn to protect the constitution had done their duties, the Thaksin problem could have been contained. Perhaps if The Nation didn't cower in fear of Thaksin and his cronies, maybe that could have made a difference. Had the Thai Rak Thai Party policed its own, maybe the problems could have been nipped in the bud.

Thai democracy was given a chance to prosper under Thaksin's rule, but he screwed it up badly. Much worse, he tried to create a police state and invited the military out of the barracks by pitting them against each other. The military, which has been removed from politics since the tragedy in May 1992, said "thank you". In the meantime, his regime was so corrupt that when the September 19 coup took place, the Thais accepted it as a fait accompli.

What a bunch of horse shit! Blame Thaksin and never take responsibility. That is The Nation's only song and dance. The people who were supposed to enforce the law failed Thailand.

Thaksin didn't invite shit. The military broke the law. No, not everybody accepted the coup. Thanong is a liar.

We are back to a learning curve for democracy again. Dr Chai-anan Samudvanija, another well-known political scientist, drew a rather bleak picture of the future of Thai democracy. The military will have a strong influence on informal politics, he said, and bureaucrats will get their act together to reclaim their lost power from the Thaksin era.

And this won't change until long after the succession has been taken care of.

The new constitution might retract several democratic ideals that were present in the 1997 constitution. The current military rulers will still try to pull the strings from behind the scenes. Thaksin and his cronies will be defending their court cases over the next two to three years. The chain of unpleasant events ahead can be traced back to our patronage system that we have yet to overcome. Instead of pushing for more democracy, Thaksin tried to take advantage and push the patronage system to its farthest limit.

More blame Thaksin bullshit. Funny, Thaksin is gone. Guess what? The problems have only gotten worse with the coup. And now the monarchy and the military want to go back to 16th century economics and politics. Guess who is to blame? The Nation, the rest of the Thai media, and the worthless Thai academy.

In the meantime, who is to blame for the current political mess?

You Thanong are to blame, because you have no integrity and no shame, two things that are at the root of many of Thailand's problems.

Thanong Khanthong