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Are We Seeking to Understand Before Seeking to be Understood on Lese Majeste ??
Monday, February 6th, 2012
Bangkok
Opinion/Analysis
by Burin Kantabutra
I applaud Thammasat University Rector Somkid Lertpaithoon’s decision to allow academic oriented events focusing on Lese Majeste laws on TU’s campus, in order to preserve the academic freedom which TU was originally set up to protect.
If we hold with Thomas Jefferson that, “We are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may...
Can Yingluck’s Gov’t. Buy Justice, Truth & Reconcilation…?
Friday, February 3rd, 2012
Bangkok/Pattani
Opinion/Analysis by Burin Kantabutra
It’s good that PM Yingluck has been quick to adopt the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s recommendation that victims of political violence must be financially compensated for their losses, as in the case of the four presumed innocent people killed by paramilitary rangers in Pattani’s Nong Chik district a few days...
Nittirat Group’s Lese Majeste Proposals,…. Like Galileo’s- Not Open to Debate?
Wednesday, February 1st, 2011
Bangkok
Opinion/Analysis by
Burin Kantabutra
Galileo was sentenced by the Roman Inquisition for advocating that the Copernican theory that the Earth moved around the sun – not vice- versa, as was the then- prevailing doctrine of the Catholic Church.
Cardinal Bellarmine, the Church’s chief theologian wrote that “to affirm that the Sun is at the center of the universe,…is...
Nittirat Opponents Should Use Reasoning, Not Deny Them a Fair Hearing?
Monday, January 30th, 2012
Bangkok
Opinion/Analysis by Burin Kantabutra
I agree with Democrat party advisor Chuan Leekpai that the Niittirat group of professors seeking to amend our Lese Majeste laws has every right to be heard, and also decry the 1958 Law Alumni Club of Thammasat seeking to deny them that right, e.g. by urging Thammasat University “…to end their duty as professors immediately...
Fixing Flood Management Problems Means More Than Sticking on Band- Aids
Thursday, January 26th, 2012
Bangkok
Opinion/Analysis by Burin Kantabutra
New Industry Minister M.R. Pongvas Svasti wants to restore investor confidence by speeding up dyke construction and establishing a 50 billion baht anti-flood insurance plan before this years’ rains begin to arrive in May.
The minister’s vision should extend beyond his nose, and he should not try to fool us.
The Elephant...
Protect the Monarchy: Yes…, But Why Should We Protect a Specific Law?
Wednesday, January 25th, 2012
Long Live His Majesty The King
Bangkok
Opinion/Analysis by Burin Kantabutra
An unusually high proportion of those in favor of or against reforming our lèse-majesté laws are academics, e.g., those in the Nitirat or Sayam Prachapiwat groups.
That’s truly excellent because they are used to using relentless questioning in search of the truth, using discussion to generate...
Better to Put Appointment of Nalinee on Hold…?
Monday, January 23rd, 2012
Bangkok
Opinion/ Analysis by Burin Kantabutra
Thaksin Shinawatra stressed to Khun Jatuporn Promphan (the Thai Election Commission ruled to disqualify Jatuporn on grounds that he had questionable party membership when he registered his candidacy to contest the July 3 general election) that a Cabinet appointee must be first and foremost, a person with a clean image.
Jatuporn...
The Miltary Must Be Professional
Saturday, January 21st, 2011
Bangkok
Opinion/Analysis by Burin Kantabutra
I agree with new Defense Minister ACM Sukumpol that “politicians lay down policies, but if the policy makers have no power, those policies are meaningless.”
As Mike Mullen, then Chairman, US Joint Chief of Staff, noted:
“Part of the deal we made when we joined up (for military service) was to willingly subordinate our...
What Really Happened and Why in the Case of the Seized Hezbollah/Terrorist Cache of Explosives?
Wednesday, January 18th, 2012
Bangkok
What Really Happened in the Case of the Hezbollah/Terrorist Cache of Explosives?
(….. Besides a clumsily jumbled and disjointed flow of reliable news & information?)…
What Really Happened Was Nearly and Possibly the Makings of Thailand’s Worst Nightmare,…. & Amid Its Own Porous Security Blanket Being Openly Exposed
(Coincidentally, today...
You’re Invited to the Sukhumvit Fair!
Monday, January 16th, 2012
Bangkok
Come and Enjoy the Annual International Fun Fair Organized by the American School of Bangkok.
Fun for all the family!…..Admission is Free!
The Sukhumvit Fair, being held this coming Saturday, Jan. 21st features exquisite international cuisine, spectacular stage performances by students, teachers and famousThai celebrities, fun children’s games and prizes,...
