Showing 141 - 150 of 217
Postbag: TIP reports not gospel
Published on 21/06/2014
» Today we will hear about Thailand’s Tier in America’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report. Never forget the TIP report is also a programme. America makes demands under TIP and countries, including Thailand, ignore their own sovereignty, and comply. TIP demands that countries change laws, speed up justice (a conflicting thought), and set aside special treatment for one class of victims that the US can never find enough of. Every TIP report whines about the need to find more victims and prosecute more traffickers and then throw away the key. But the Somaly Mam expose in the Bangkok Post on June 1 and around the world has shown us that this issue has suffered extreme exaggeration by those who need funding and by media who benefit from sensational stories. Read a few blogs about trafficking and you too will quickly learn that “facts” about trafficking often defy common sense.
Postbag: Get rigorous with rice
News, Published on 19/06/2014
» I have no problem with Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha checking rice stocks to see how much corruption, if any, there was in implementing Thaksin’s rice plan. I would suggest that: (a) The National Statistics Office work out a rigorous sampling plan, posted on the internet after all godowns have been sealed, so that we can get a reliable and accurate picture quickly and cheaply. (b) Both the protesters and Pheu Thai be invited to send official observers to join the inspection teams, and they sign off on or register objections to each godown’s results. Thus, neither side will be able to contest the results, and we can quickly prosecute any guilty parties.
Asset fairness
News, Published on 09/06/2014
» The National Anti-Corruption Commission will compare the assets of ex-prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra and four ex-ministers to what they had when they took office to see if they might have illegally benefited from Thaksin’s rice-pledging plan; this comparison has been standard procedure for all cabinet ministers.
Claims are oxymoronic
News, Published on 08/06/2014
» As a Thai alumnus of Australia, I detest that Sirilaksana Khoman has included me in her statement denouncing the Australian government and praising the coup leaders. She claims to represent “We, the Alumni of Australia”, but where did she get the authority to speak under that name?
Going global, buying local
Life, Peerawat Jariyasombat, Published on 06/06/2014
» Shopping and travelling are very different activities that somehow get along swimmingly. Looking for new things to buy can be an experience as exciting as the journey itself. And many tourists, particularly those who don’t travel often, regard shopping as the primary priority on any trip.
Copying UK a mistake
News, Published on 23/05/2014
» When Thailand decided on their version of democracy, they obviously chose the UK version of it.
War on people trade ‘making progress’
News, Ploenpote Atthakor, Published on 16/05/2014
» The omission of the fisheries issue from a recent hearing of a powerful US House committee on human trafficking has given Thai authorities a brief respite from claims that our record in fighting human trafficking is wanting.
Postbag: It’s time for justice
News, Published on 03/05/2014
» Re: “Transparency: Stop intimidating NACC”. And “PM lawyers threaten to sue NACC” (April 30, 2014).
Postbag: Righteous errors
News, Published on 01/05/2014
» A news report in Tuesday’s edition contains the following: "...righteousness, not winning, remains the [Democrat] party’s top priority".
Postbag: Democracy champs
News, Published on 15/04/2014
» My reading of the Thai press, in particular of the Bangkok Post, differs from that of J.C Willcox (BP, April 13). I see support for democracy in its pages.