(Adapted from “Take a stand” on facebook. Political Psychologists argue that context and perception of environment form as crucial in our political behavior as our values. Looking at my different stances for my two beloved countries, I can see that the above statemet is true.)

2008 Prime Ministerial Candidates:
UK:Nick Griffin or at least the UKIP party. Failing that, David Cameron.

Thailand: Abhisit Vejajiva. He has his faults but he is the only remotely clean, remotely progressive politician.

Abortion:
UK: I support the right to abortion. Morally, I do not believe that a fetus is yet capable of feelings or thoughts. Statistical studies have shown that allowing abortion reduces crime. The emotional, financial and mental strain if raising an unwanted child can wreck lives and damage society.

Thailand:Abortion is a grey area in Thailand. It is still illegal except in cases of rape or life threatening births however abortion clinics do exist.

Affirmative Action:
UK: Affirmative action/positive discrimination is despicable. It is a political football used to pacify groups who otherwise unsettle the government. It is, in essence, a form of bribery.

Thailand:The concept of affirmative action really does not exist in Thailand.

Capital Punishment:
UK: Yes, for crimes such as terrorism, child murder or rape that are verified by DNA evidence. Capital Punishment is still legal but is rarely used.

Thailand: Many Thais do not support capital punishment in Thailand as they believe police and law enforcement agencies are not mature, clean or efficient enough to deliver justice.

Censorship:
UK: None. Censorship is a form of thought Pull out. Too many have died. Whilst the war was noble in its intentions, the prospects for democracy between warring Muslim factions is unlikely to improve. We should go on a one year drive to provide security and infrastructure to Iraq before pulling out completely control and restricts society. Even web sites used by terrorists should be unrestricted, censorship simply forces them to go underground, makes them harder to monitor and allows them to disguise their behaviour. Certain media should carry warnings and watershed times should be used for TV .

Thailand:Censorship is rife. Paranoid junta and rich people at the top have a lot to hide. The masses must be kept uninformed and under mind control. The struggle continues.

Current Administration:
UK: It’s time to go Mr Brown. Labour did do some good things for the economy but they are looking like tired old men. Battered over the Iraq war, battered over immigration and battered over lack of NHS improvement.

Thailand:Surayud and Sonthi claim to be working for the good of the nation. Sonthi has done little except serving his own interests and ensuring the military remain in control visibly or otherwise. Suryud has worked hard but like all the self appointed government, he is old and out of touch.

Education:
UK: Should be free (and is). At university level, should be heavily subsidised. It should not be totally free. A high number of graduates provides benefit for the state, but totally free education can simply encourage lazy freeloaders. We must produce intelligent, productive and educated youth but we must also inject responsibility into them.

Thailand:Education is free by constitutional law up to age twelve. Government schools are damaged by corruption and class sizes are usually over forty. Many believe that Thailand would benefit from smaller classes, modernisation of schools and training and monitoring of teachers. Of course this all costs money and time.

Foreign Policy:
UK: More pressure must be applied to Burma. North Korea must be pressured by all peaceful means possible. We should continue to work closely with all nations in the fight against terrorists.

Thailand:Similar to the UK, except for spats with Singapore.

Free Trade:
UK: Benefits us, may not benefit other countries, particularly less developed ones. We should be careful not to exploit.

Thailand:The previous regime was accused of signing self serving FTAs with America, but little action has been taken since.

Gay Rights:
UK: I have no problem and do not feel at all threatened by what a gay person is, does or wants. The gay community should respect the same laws of decency that hetro couples do, there is no difference. I guess I go against my rightist peers on this one.

Thailand:I believe the age of homosexual consent in Thailand is 18, as with hetrosexual sex . Social attitudes are very tolerant. We could learn from Thailand on this one. (Beware any foreigner who tells you different concerning ages of sexual consent).

Global Warming:
UK: Let’s stand up and take responsibility. One day there will be no oil. Start looking for alternatives and find a way to undo this mess. The state should fund government and independent research tanks.

Thailand:Lip service only. Government spokespeople barely concealed their petty jealousy when UN workers visited Thailand to offer their opinions.

Gun Control:
UK: If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns. However, control should be tight. Full background checks, a waiting period and thorough licence checks. Violent criminals lose the right. It is not necessary or desirable to have the same gun culture as America.

Thailand:Contraband arms deals do happen. At street level, availability of weapons is obvious to anyone walking past a street market but firearms slightly less so. Carrying any form of firearm or explosive without licence is an offense. Laws are strict but enforcement is not. Perhaps changes are needed?

Healthcare:
UK:For all its faults, the NHS is a good thing. A country should not make its people pay for basic health care. Drug companies should all be subject to compulsory licensing, they do not have the right to hold sick people to ransom.

Thailand:The 20 bhat health care scheme has ostensibly been made free, in reality funding has been cut. Thai government hospitals are under staffed, under funded and under trained. Private hospitals are booming. What will the next government do to help?

Illegal Immigration:
UK: A big problem in my country. They should be rounded up and sent home.The issue of human rights does not come into it. Our tiny country is full and we are known as the “soft touch”. All claims of asylum should be scrutinised and checked for fraud.

Thailand:A problem in trafficking and in presence. Neighbouring nations have a number of illegal immigrants, however local authorities are not shackled by political correctness and happily send immigrants back. Thai people put themselves first and are proud of it. How different to Britain.

Marijuana Legalization:
UK: Yes. If we can legalise alcohol, we can legalise weed. Take the money from the dealers and put it towards something worthwhile.Save the police time. There is no evidence to show marijuana use encourages experimentation with other drugs.

Thailand:Unlikely. Some believe that powerful politicians make money from keeping it illegal.

Media Bias:
UK: Fine, as long as we have a truly independent media watch dog with teeth. Politicians and groups with lobbying power or funds should be forced to publicly disclose any investment, payments or conflicts of interest with media groups.

Thailand:All TV channels are owned by the military or the government. Enough said.

Right to Die:
UK: Yes. I don’t want to see someone I love go through endless pain and I don’t believe any other sane person would either.

Thailand:Murky area. Not specifically addressed in Thai law so therefore treated as murder or suicide. Euthanasia also goes against Buddhist principles.

School Prayer:
UK:Yes but not compulsory. We do not have the right to force children to follow a religious path and we should encourage them to choose for themselves.

Thailand:Compulsory at state schools, at least morally and socially. Private schools tend to be guided by the religious beliefs of the owner. Unlikely to change due to the Thai religious psyche. Does this encourage freedom of thought?

Social Security:
UK:The UK is rife with benefit fraud. Social security should be monitored with independent bodies running random checks on scroungers and freeloaders. Unemployed adults in good health should be given a deadline to find work or be forced to explain why to an independent adjudicator. However, SS is an essential part of state care.

Thailand:Exists in theory. SS funds must be paid by the company and for registered workers only. Most poor people in Thailand cannot register or afford to pay. Can any government take the big step to true universal SS?

Taxes:
UK: British taxes represent about thirty percent of a middle class worker’s salary. VAT is 17.5% This is high and is used to fund the NHS and benefits. Such taxes would be lower or expanded in scope if such a portion of them was not used to finance freeloaders, immigrants who have not been approved to reside in the UK and minority groups.

Thailand: Tax returns are complex and usually required to be calculated by the individual. Question marks exist over their usage as the government is not transparent.

Unions:
UK:Should not be given to much power. The Conservative government were right to strip them down. Unions have the right to form and lobby, they do not have the right to enforce socialism on weak governments.

Thailand:Unions exist and have been known to create stirs, but rarely so. They are a force however and are unlikely to go away. In Thailand, this is probably a good thing as unions can pressurise corrupt governments.

War in Iraq:
UK: Pull out. Too many have died. Whilst the war was noble in its intentions, the prospects for democracy between warring Muslim factions is unlikely to improve. We should go on a one year drive to provide security and infrastructure to Iraq before pulling out completely.

Thailand:Thailand sent 443 non-combatant soldiers to Iraq for one year. Two were killed. Few have argued against the withdrawal.

Wiretapping:
UK:Yes. Honest people have nothing to hide and the state have a duty to be pro active in protecting its citizens. A warrant should be issued however.

Thailand:Under the Telegraph and Telephone Act, B.E. 2476. authorities can tap after receiving a warrant. Others face up to five years in Jail. Wiretapping is opposed by many in Thailand as they do not trust the authorities to use it for good.

Mars Hill (aka Paul Burgin) is a member of the Christian Socialist movement and a fellow political blogger. He runs a simple but fun “Twenty questions for a fellow blogger” section in his blog. I persuaded Paul to hit me with the questions. The original is on Paul’s blog here.

What made you decide to start blogging?

I became very interested in the blog of a friend in Korea,and he inspired me to do my own. At first it was mostly about ex-pat life in Thailand, but politics just kept creeping in until eventually I stopped resisting!

What is your best blogging experience?

Having a blog published and plugged on the front page by a broadsheet newspaper out here.It was about Thaksin Shiniwat’s purchase of Manchester City.

And your worst?

Being threatened with legal action over a certain piece. I had written something everybody knew was true but it was a faux pas to say it publicly.

What do you regard as your best blog entry?
I wrote an excoriating piece on the Thai junta’s decision to ban youtube which got quite a bit of praise.

Favourite blogs?

On the Thai side, ‘Bangkok Pundit’ is very prolific, highly informative and very well researched. I don’t always agree with his politics but he is a great blogger. On the home front, I like ‘Pub Philosopher’ and ‘Letters from a Tory’ as we have common political views. I’m also a fan of Neil Harding’s blog and ‘Mars Hill’ because both of you welcome criticism and debate. To me that shows strength of character.

Which do you find more exciting. Thai or British politics?

Thai politics by far. The political system is far less mature out here, so politics is a nonstop soap opera of back stabbing, corruption, scandals and surprises. It’s great entertainment but sadly it does not benefit society.

How do you see things developing in Burma, seeing as you have blogged several times on this issue?

Being so close to the action has reminded me how we should be grateful for the freedom we take for granted. The international media has dropped off but arrests and human rights abuses are still ongoing. Revolution will come, but the people are facing overwhelming odds. It will take time.

How did you end up living in Thailand?

I travelled SE Asia about five years ago and Thailand won me over for many reasons.

Is there anywhere abroad which you haven’t been to, that you would like to visit?

Yes, I’d like to visit Mexico and maybe somewhere in southern Africa.

Is there anywhere abroad you have visited, that you would love to revisit?
Hong Kong. The place is so vibrant and built up yet so safe. I’d also like to go back to Vietnam again to see how it has changed in five years.

Do you have a favourite political figure in history?

I’ve got several I admire. Perhaps my favourite would be a man called Pridi Phanomyong . He led a left wing group that overthrew the absolute monarchy in Thailand and introduced several progressive state systems.

Which political figure has been your greatest inspiration?
It may sound cheesy but it might just be Aung San Suu Kyi. She was bought up to place her moral values over everything else.

Favourite Bond movie?
I only ever saw “The Man with The Golden Gun”!

Favorite Doctor Who?
Sylvester McCoy is the only Doctor I watched more than once. The others were before my time and the later ones just rubbish.

Chocolate, vanilla, or mint?

I’m a vanilla guy.

Which Band, past or present, would you most like to see in concert?

I’ve seen the modern incarnation of Guns N Roses but I’d like to see the original line up. I just missed out on Nirvana, too.

In terms of visiting for the weekend, Oxford , Cambridge , or Barsby, Leics..?

Oxford. Charming place.

Favourite national newspaper?

Telegraph. I’m all about the broadsheets these days.

What would you say your hobbies were?

I’m a big reader and I get through books quickly. Until recently I was into drumming and martial arts, now I spend more time writing and playing with my two year old son. I’m a Southampton FC fan too.

And what would you say were your three favourite songs and three favourite books (Bar the Bible and The Complete Works of Shakespeare)?

These change by the week but right now I’d say:Songs:”Bulls on Parade” by Rage Against The Machine”Laura Palmer’s Theme” by Angelo Badalamenti”Pure Morning” by PlaceboBooks: “The Prince” by Machiavelli”Natural Cures ‘They’ Don’t Want You to Know About” by Kevin Trudeau and maybe “The Art of Fighting Without Fighting” by Geoff Thompson

Drugs in Thailand
Current mood: tired
Category: Life

Drugs in Thailand

It must be easy to do drugs in Thailand. I mean, you’ve got all those full moon parties, backpackers and great night life. The police seem to be pretty easy going. I beat the weed is cheap too. It must be no problem, right?

Think again. No wait, go and read “The Damage Done” by Warren Fellows. Then think again.

Drug suppression and law enforcement

Many social structures in Thailand share some resemblance to their British counterparts. This not just coincidence. Thailand has a long history of scholarly links to England, in the past many members of Thai royalty have received their schooling within British shores.

One area of similarity is law, especially policy on drug suppression and jurisprudence. Yet the enforcement and penalties used by the two nations tell a different tale.

The most obvious difference in drug laws is the death penalty. In Thailand, possession of category one drugs “for the purpose of disposal” carries the death penalty, although this has not been used since 2004. The Narcotics Act is vague about category one drugs, simply stating “dangerous drugs such as Heroin”.

Rehabilitation counselling is also mandatory in Thailand for all categories of drugs, so even a weed smoker would have to attend a course.

In the UK, the maximum penalty is life imprisonment. This is usually reserved for those who carry “class A” drugs with intent to supply. The Home Office is clearer about what drugs are class A: Ecstasy, LSD, heroin, cocaine, crack, magic mushrooms, amphetamines (if prepared for injection). Amphetamines have just been upgraded from class B to class A . I’d be grateful to anyone who can tell me what this drug is graded as in Thailand?

Thailand uses its regular police to fight narcotics traffickers but it has a special office – The Office of Narcotics Control Board – to do so. It also has a money laundering agency (AMLO). To my knowledge the UK has no dedicated office with the exception of Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency. (The UK utilises the Home Office for most of its anti money laundering measures)

Thailand’s Narcotics Act specifies that a “competent official” ( defined as “any official appointed by the minister for execution of the act”, so therefore all police officers I guess) has the right to question, detain, search the premises , search the person, and seize any drugs or any “properties used to commit an offence” when dealing with a drugs suspect. The law also stipulates the officer must act in “good faith”, give his reasons for suspicion and record the event.

The UK law is remarkably similar. The 2005 Drugs Act gives police power to question, search and detain suspected drug dealers, though the PACE (Police and Criminal Evidence) act is clearer about the duties and responsibilities of the officer and also the conditions of the detention area.

Enforcement in practice

On the surface the legal framework seems nearly identical, however in practice, things are different. Firstly, Thailand’s police have faced long and frequent accusations of abuse of power. A foreign teacher was recently arrested and sent to prison for possession of cannabis. He was smoking in his own apartment and was set up by a former girlfriend in a sting operation. He was later told that the cannabis seized from him by police had a ninety five percent chance of being re-sold by the police. I stress this is what I was told, I am not suggesting it is true.

Secondly, due to its proximity to the Golden Triangle and to ethnic resistance groups that supply drugs for weapon funds, Thailand has a greater volume of drug trafficking around its shores. The availability of drugs may be greater, but the frequency of raids and swift punishments is also greater.

Accountability
Thailand has no Police Complaints Commission or anything similar to the UK version. There have been frequent calls for more control or accountability of the police and attempts at reform have been frequent. However, these efforts have always been heavily resisted. Three scholars at Thailand’s top university once published a popular analysis of Thailand’s illegal economy and stated “The police are unlikely to suppress activities with which they are heavily involved” (Phongpaichit, Piriyarangsan, Treerat, 1998)

How many people get busted?

It’s hard to make a statistical comparison of drugs related arrests in Thailand and the UK. The best I can tell you is that in Thailand, the number of drugs related arrests was 215,209 in 2002 , 102407 in 2003 and 58,853 in 2004.

The most up to date figures I can acquire for the UK put the figure at 134,101 for 1999 and 124,345 for 2000.

No doubt the figure for 2002 and the sudden drop in 2003 and 2004 in Thailand jumped out at you. There is a reason for this: War on Drugs.

Thailand’s war on drugs

In 2003 then PM Thaksin Shiniwat instigated the war on drugs. Thaksin claimed to be doing this in response to a speech from His Majesty The King who called for a solution to the methamphetimine problem that had been plaguing Thailand.

Thaksin cut a fantastic speech announcing the campaign as he explained clearly and forcefully that whoever was dealing with drugs, where ever the were, they must be dealt with. He repeatedly explained that funds and resources would be available to eradicate drugs in all districts. The speech was inspiring.

Then the hell began. Over the next three months , two thousand people died. Concerns about the police force were already widespread, now that same force was told to produce results or face the consequences. Suddenly, hundreds of alleged small time drugs dealers were shot dead, each time with a small packet of amphetamine found on their person. The police almost unerringly announced it was “silence killings” meaning one dealer shooting another dealer to prevent grassing.

The scariest thing about the war on drugs was the strength and vitriol behind some of the public speeches concerning the war on drugs and its heavy death toll.

It’s difficult for me to write too much about this. See here for more.

So the message is, if you think Thailand is an easy place to get high, think again. The drug laws are strict, the penalities stricter and the enforcement agencies do not make allowances for foreigners.

It would have been better if they didn’t use American accents though.

(Left to right: Abhisit Vejajiva, Chavalit Yongchaiyudh , Samak Sundaravej)

For those who have only experienced elections in a western country, it’s important to appreciate that Thai elections and political parties are not the same.

On the surface, Thai elections may seem similar to their British counterparts. Indeed the system was modelled on the UK version, the only differences are that Thailand’s upper house is a senate the kingdom uses a mix of ‘first past the post’ voting (about 80%) and proportional representation(the other 20%)

Since the absolute monarchy was overthrown by Pridi and his group in 1932, Thai government has been run by either a junta or a coalition government. Coalition governments may seem like a good idea but they are not. In Thailand at least, coalition governments equate to corporate businessmen looking to engage in power plays, favours and corruption. Party policies are thin on the ground and keep promises even rarer. Party campaigns are done by patronage and advertising, promotion by policy or party vision simply does not happen.

At this point I should mention the only exception to this is Thaksin and his Thai Rak Thai party. TRT actually made some polices and went through with them. They were also the only party (to my knowledge) that gained a full majority in the house (248 seats from 500, but they bought out another party just to be absolutely sure). Too bad they used that for bad rather than good.

So when TRT were dissolved by the Constitutional Court and their executives banned from politics, it didn’t take long for many of the veteran rats to crawl back on the political ship as they sensed the power vacuum. New parties sprang up everywhere, the most notable being Pracharaj Party lead by former Thaksin ally Sanoh Thienteng (who jumps ship whenever his party is not in power) and former PM Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, who apparently thinks that running Thailand into the ground during the Asian Financial Crises makes him an attractive proposition for re-election.*

But the biggest concern for this writer is the re-emergence of Thaksin’s former TRT allies. The execs who were banned from politics have thrown their academic and considerable financial support behind the non executive members who in turn – after several games of political musical chairs – have merged into the People Power Party. (Don’t be fooled, Thai parties use the cool and modern sounding names to hide their utter incompetence and lack of vision).

The PPP purposely chose the man as closely linked with Thaksin as possible his, name is Samak Sundaravej This man is basically Thaksin without the economic prowess or desire for health care. Samak is a former Bangkok governor and like Chavalit, he sees his record of being utterly ineffective as a good resume. His very first speech as party leader was a perfect summary of his – and his party’s – mentality:

[To corruption investigators] “You smack me and I’ll smack you back” (Bangkok Post)

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Thai politics.

The PPP have stormed the north east of Thailand, shamelessly promoting themselves on their Thaksin connections. The PPP rally this week was attended by 3,00 or 25,000 depending on which newspaper you read, and saw supporters holding signs saying “Vote Samak, get Thaksin“. Meanwhile the PPP speakers spent their time outlining not policies, not visions for Thailand, not assurances of clean behaviour but a litany of how great Thaksin was and how he was being bullied by the junta. That was it folks, that was all PPP had to offer.

Already internal splits have begun. Today, PP member Chalerm Yoobamrung threatened to take his ball and go home if PPP did not allow his sons to run for election :

“If People Power does not select me and my two sons – Wan and Duang – as Bangkok candidates, I’ll be ready to leave the party,The bottom line is that it must accept me and my sons as a package,” Chalerm said.

Chalerm said if he left People Power he might join Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, who has suggested he may establish a party. He will talk with Chavalit today.

Source: The Nation

And you thought politicians behaved like adults who cared about their voters.

There is a thorn in the PPP side however. Fromer Junta leader, now self nominated deputy PM, Sonthi Boonyarakin is on a mission to stop PPP. Under the guise of “stopping vote buying” the current government and election agencies are giving PPP a hard time. Their new party advert (surprise! It is simply a promise to bring back Thaksin’s policies) was rejected by the Election Commission without reason. PPP howled in disdain, forgetting the days when TRT dominated TV advertising and the Democrats received less than ten percent of their air time allowance.

The others side of this equation is Abhisit Vejajaiva of the Democrats. Abhisit has handled himself well throughout the coup and the dissolution trial. As I’ve said before, he is a genuinely intelligent, progressive politician. However, he has constantly failed to show the leadership or passion that is required. Abhisit failed to offer genuine policies to counter TRT’s populism, he failed to project himself as the ideal replacement for Thaksin after the coup and he has failed to win hearts or minds in the North East during this election run up.

Some has voiced concerns that Abhisit may be too soft to resist military interference in his government, a further concern Abhisit has never addressed. Thais see youth as a disadvantage in leadership and Abhisit has not offered any response to criticisms that he is too young to lead the nation.

Yet undoubtedly, Abhsiit is the best choice for Thailand. He is the only genuine new breed of politician available (the guy is not even fat and ugly for gooness sake!) and he has taken genuine steps to reduce corruption inside and outside his party. If he does not take this opportunity to steer the Democrats to a clear majority in the house, he will have only himself to blame and Thailand will suffer from another era of weak, greedy, incompetent coalition governments.

Amongst the continuing and tragic genocide in Burma comes two noteworthy political articles this month:

First from the Bangkok Post.

Deputy Prime Minister Sonthi Boonyaratkalin flexed his muscles yesterday by ordering the Interior Ministry to mobilise its grassroots mechanisms to prevent politicians loyal to ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra returning to politics after the election scheduled for Dec 23.

Notice Sonthi’s title has changed from CNS leader to deputy PM. You see , he resigned the former post stating “My job is done” and took up the latter post the next day. That guy must cut one amazing job interview.

His announcement was interpreted by observers as an attempt by the ministry, under Gen Sonthi’s supervision, to play a greater role in overseeing the poll to prevent Thaksin allies from winning.”The Interior Ministry has a duty to bring about national reconciliation to prevent national crisis. If there are mistakes in this election, the [vicious] cycle will return,” he told officials during a briefing at the ministry. Gen Sonthi, when he was the army chief, engineered the military coup that ousted Mr Thaksin from power on Sept 19 last year.

Sonthi’s quote could easily be interpreted as “If people don’t vote in the people I like, I’ll just have to come back and do this all over again”.

He said diverse groups with differing opinions had emerged in society and the ministry’s administrative mechanisms at the grassroots levels such as tambon and village heads must take a leading role in educating people about the importance of national interests that must come before self-interest.

There is a big difference between “diverse groups with differing interests” and “national reconciliation”. The two are by no means mutually exclusive. Sonthi is basically giving us the same message as the previous paragraph I wonder if the irony of the last sentence in this paragraph was lost on Sonthi.

”This will bring the public to their senses and help them decide who they should or should not vote for,” Gen Sonthi said, adding that provincial governors must be in charge of the campaign to educate people in their provinces about the downside of vote-buying and to persuade them to vote for good people.

“This will bring the public to their senses“? In other words: “This will stop the stupid people who don’t agree with me”. And this from a man who reminds us at every opportunity what a patriot he is. The dangers of vote buying are agreed and noble, but what is the difference between vote buying and an unelected junta leader launching a campaign with tax payer’s money to tell them who NOT to vote for?

He said although the Election Commission (EC) was in charge of organising the poll, it still needed the ministry’s support to ensure it was free and fair.

Perhaps he just decided that he was on a roll, and should just disrespect as many people as possible, hip hop gangster style.

Given that the EC’s job description is constitutionally defined as “ensuring a free and fair election” why would they need the ministry’s support? Are they incompetent? If so, surely Sonthi and Surayud should be seeking replacements?

He added that the people’s decision at the ballot box would be final and must be respected, no matter who came into power after the election.

Providing “the people come to their senses” so the “vicious cycle” does not repeat, presumably.

Our second point of interest comes from The Nation:

AEC sees three ways to bring charges

Deposed and exiled prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra can be tried in civil cases even if criminal hearings have to be suspended, graft-busters believe.”But in civil suits, the court can proceed in absentia,” a source with the Assets Examination Committee said yesterday.

The AEC has three major avenues to press charges against Thaksin in the many cases against him.

First he will be charged for holding shares and concessions while serving in office.

Second, Thaksin will also be taken to task for abusing his authority to provide favours to companies owned by his family.

Undoubtedly this is true, but we would surely need some more specifics such as particular laws and offences. The British government will not accept slack investigations.

Finally he will be held accountable for being unusually rich.

I repeat: this is certainly true but it is not evidence. From a British viewpoint, the AEC are working for an unelected government to bring back an elected leader. To even stand a chance of getting extradition, they need to be painfully fastidious in their evidence and investigations.

The AEC plans to wrap up the cases next month and lodge both criminal and civil suits against him. AEC spokesman Sak Korsaengruang said that although the statute of limitations on criminal charges against Thaksin expires in 20 years, the AEC has frozen Bt65 billion of the Shinawatra family’s wealth gained from selling Shin Corp stock.

“Even though the owners of the money are not present, their money is,” Sak said.

Good move. Money is what Thaksin cares about most.

AEC members were answering questions forwarded by 20 supporters from Kamphaeng Phet who offered them encouragement.

This worries me. “20 supporters”? The AEC – great as they are – are a legal team, not a pop group. They don’t need to be “meeting ssupporters”.

This is what we expect from corrupt politicians and their aides, and the implication is always that the “supporters” were paid to be there. We saw this when the former Election Commissioners faced jail. Their supporters were groups of northerners who spontaneously decided to turn up at court to cheer on the blatant and remorseless criminals and subsequently storm the court house to shout obscenities and tell the judges “You don’t love the country”.

I am not saying the AEC are sinking that low but they need to be careful.

AEC secretary Kaewsan Atibodhi said four public prosecutors had left for the United Kingdom to find legal venues to extradite Thaksin and they were confident it was possible to bring him back if their counterparts there cooperate.

This also worries me. Fonzi made a point that I want to disagree with but I can’t. He suggests that the AEC members will simply spend some time in England, meet nobody, do nothing and come back claiming that the Brits won’t extradite Thaksin. It will all be Britain’s fault, the Junta are happy because Thaksin is away, Thaksin will be happy because he gets off free (minus some cash) and the taxpayer’s money is wasted.

The AEC should put minds at rest by giving us some kind of schedule or at least a name of whom they will meet.

Lawyer Noppadon Pattama appeared before the AEC as a witness in the Shin Corp tax-evasion case. The AEC asked him to present a document on the takeover of the Manchester City Football Club by Thaksin. He suggested that the AEC seek the document from the United Kingdom’s stock exchange because the company owning the soccer club is listed there.

More stalling by Nappadon.

*************************

At least it’s not only Thailand that has to deal with media nonsense.

One of my favourite bands, Rage Against The Machine (from now on I’ll call them ‘RATM’) featured on Fox News lately. For those who don’t know or care, RATM are a strongly left wing political rock and rap group. Most of the band served a stint with the highly popular Audioslave.

RATM recently gave a concert where front man Zack gave this speech.

A good friend of ours [Noam Chomsky] once said that if the same laws were applied to U.S. presidents as were applied to the Nazis after World War II [...] every single one of them, every last rich white one of them from Truman on, would have been hung to death and shot—and this current administration is no exception. They should be hung, and tried, and shot. As any war criminal should be.

Yes it was a daft and unfair thing to say but RATM have always gone over the top with their political sentiments. But the obnoxious and worthless FOX News choose to edit and present Zack’s statement as…

“This current administration…… there is no exception they should be hung, tried and shot“

To make things worse, they had Ann “America would be better if women did not vote” Coulter up in the studio. By the the end of the ten minute discussion, Anne and the other speakers had discussed RATM as “threatening to kill the president” “wanting to assassinate the president” and “should be investigated by the secret service….even though I’ve never heard of them” (The last quote was Anne’s)

Ann gave various pearls of wisdom such as “Nobody has heard of them, I had to look on the internet to even see who they are” [Every album they have done has gone platinum Anne, keep up with the youth old girl!] “

“They are losers, their fans are losers and there’s a lot of violence coming from the left“

Yeh, tell that to all the families who have lost someone they love in Iraq, Anne.

Since Anne claimed “These people are animals”, let me share some of Anne’s own comments courtesy of wikiquote.

On the Jersey Girls (9/11 widows group)

These broads are millionaires, lionized on TV and in articles about them, reveling in their status as celebrities and stalked by grief-arazzis… These self-obsessed women seemed genuinely unaware that 9/11 was an attack on our nation and acted as if the terrorist attacks happened only to them… I’ve never seen people enjoying their husbands’ deaths so much.

On Canada:

[Canadians] better hope the United States does not roll over one night and crush them. They are lucky we allow them to exist on the same continent.

On the New York Times:

* My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times building.
o New York Observer article; August 26, 2002* Of course I regret it. I should have added ‘after everyone had left the building except the editors and the reporters.’
o rightwingnews.com; June 26, 2003

On women having the vote:

It would be a much better country if women did not vote. That is simply a fact. In fact, in every presidential election since 1950 – except Goldwater in ‘64 – the Republican would have won, if only the men had voted.

On Richard Dawkins (Author of ‘The God Delusion’)

“I defy any of my coreligionists to tell me they do not laugh at the idea of Dawkins burning in hell.”

For many more pearls of loving Christian Anne Coulter, check out the wikiquote link above.

Even the unedited version of the RATM was unfair and wrong. But at least RATM give us great music, some good politics and genuine activism. What has Anne Coulter given the world besides hate?

RLT is expanding. My origial blog is here
What you see on this page so far is just a few example blogs, but from now on all new entries will be posted here. Watch this space, and welcome to readers new and old.

You wouldn’t think so from reading the other Thai political blogs. Bangkok Pundit, Thailandjumpedtheshark and Jotman all champion Thaksin Shiniwat for supposedly helping the poor. All the above denounce the PAD (People’s Alliance for Democracy, the mainly middle class protest groups who took to the streets to oppose Thaksin) while I strongly supported them. I’m often chastised for happening to have views contradictory to Thailand’s poorest demographics.

I voted Labour in the last two UK elections but I’ll be switching this time.

I’m a strong believer in universal healthcare, free education, regulation of large corporations, religious tolerance (not to be confused with acceptance of extremely violent religious ideologies) and gay rights. However, I am also strongly in favour of strict law enforcement and punishment, tight immigration controls, zero tolerance of vote buyers and sellers and privilege cuts for able non workers.

Does that sound like a Conservative set of values to you?

So where do I stand politically? And where do the other political bloggers stand?
To find out , I took the politics test at okcupid. The answers are in the “agree/disagree” format with four choices. The test does have some questions relevant only to Americans, but others such as “Only literate people should be able to vote” and “Most people are too stupid to know what’s go for them” and “Protest groups only create disunity” are relevant for any nation.

The test results classed me as:

Social liberal (60% permissive) Economic Liberal (26% permissive)
Democrat (26e/60s).

Perhaps scariest of all, my closest famous person in political terms is Hilary “How two faced and fake can one person be?” Clinton!!!!

I was sceptical of these results. So I took another test. This time I went for the politicalcompass.org test. The questions are in the same format, but these ones were longer and had more frequent “stop and think carefully” questions. The results are presented on a four way axis with a careful explanation of the layout. My results were:

So it’s official, I’m centre left. This feels strange, as I’ve always considered myself mildly Conservative.

Perhaps I’ve always believed far left liberals when they label anyone who opposes them as “Conservative” or “intolerant”. Here’s the evidence showing you are wrong.

I’d love to hear from anyone else – especially the other political bloggers – who took these tests. Let me know your score!

(If you’re short on time the ‘world’s smallest political quiz’ is here. I scored the same again).

********************
Burma

I am keeping well abreast of the situation in Burma. It’s constant front page news in Thailand due to the closeness of the countries in geographical, racial and cultural terms. Thailand has been slow to support the pro democracy groups and General Sonthi finally eroded any last remaining shreds of credibility that survived his “Mao” quote by suggesting that the Burmese junta were “defending themselves” from those evil, unarmed, peaceful protesters asking for democracy. What state of mind was Sonthi reflecting in his words? “We dictators all have to back each other up”?

The reason I have not blogged much on this issue is not because I am uninformed or uncaring, but simply that bloggers like Jotman and others have done such a prolific job. Jotman links to a Burmese blogger who suggests a boycott of the Beijing Olympics. I think it’s a powerful and viable idea.

You couldn’t make this stuff up. When people (especially people back home) ask me why I am interested in Thai politics, I frequently point out that it has more twists and turns than an epic movie. This week is just one example.

My friend Sittichai Pookai-yaudom and two other ministers in PM Surayud’s cabinet have been found to have violated a graft law. They have all exceed permitted limits in public share holdings. Sittichai is head of MICT, the office that awards itself the status of thought police and moral guardian for the entire nation. Sadly, it seems Sittichai fails to follow his own superior ethics that he imposes upon Thailand.

In fairness to Sittichai, he has already resigned his post to “show transparency”. Surely real transparency would be taking him to court and asking him why he only “showed transparency” after he was caught? The other two ministers are delivering the usual squabbling, pathetic and remorseless arguments and obfuscation that we have come to expect from greedy politicians.

The complication is that although the three have clearly committed an offence (and credit to the NCCC for actually pointing it out) they are protected from a clause in the new constitution that exempts them from complying!!!!

So there appears to be no punishment. Surayud has given them ‘a week to consider their actions’ and it appears the worst any of them will face is resignation. Somehow, that seems unlikely to bother them given their amassed wealth.

I wonder, if Thaksin was found to have committed the same offence,would he be protected by this clause? Would he simply be given “a week to consider” ?

Welcome to the world of Thai politics.