|
|
|
|
Vertical Divider
TO BAN OR NOT TO BAN
THAT IS THE QUESTION FOR A FLAWED DEMOCRACY THAT IS THAILAND In their own words:
"The Economist has been published since September 1843 to take part 'in a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress'. This mission continues to guide our coverage: we publish it every week in the newspaper." In My Opinion: The Economist is neither left nor right in political leaning while reporting the truth. Their classic liberalism is more appropriately called 'radical centre' throughout their 177 years of publication from their London headquarters. Their reports on Thailand, particularly the monarchy, have always been straight forward and thoroughly objective, but not to the taste of those Thai authoritarians in power. This has resulted in many of the weekly printed issues being banned from distribution in Thailand. Thanks to the internet, subscribers, like myself, can still have digital access, anytime, anywhere. Thailand is a flawed democracy, or a "half-empty democracy", as the Thai media prefer to call it. In the name of national security, sensitive issues must not be discussed and published for public consumption, or they will be banned. However, the decision to ban or not to ban certain articles or publications is left to the discretion of the authority concerned. This will soon make a flawed democracy like Thailand slide down to the level of 'authoritarian regime' in the EIU Democracy Index. The decision to ban or not to ban the recent issues below is case in point. As a printed and digital subscriber, I have not been affected much by this unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress. But as a Thai citizen, this shameful and sad state of democracy in Thailand makes me less proud of my country but more determined to press Thailand forward on the road towards complete all-institutions-political reform in the immediate future. THE ECONOMIST BRIEFING
14 October 2020 
|
Vertical Divider
SOCRATES: "Haven't you noticed that opinions without knowledge are shameful and ugly things? The best of them are blind - or do you think that those who express a true opinion without understanding are any different
from blind people who happen to travel the right road?" From PLATO's REPUBLIC, Book VI 506c Translator: G.M.A. Grube, Revised by C.D.C. Reeve, PLATO COMPLETE WORKS, John M. Cooper, Editor, D.S. Hutchison, Associated Editor, Hackett Publishing Company, Indianapolis / Cambridge, 1997, p.1127
MAKE THAILAND A CONSTITUTION AGAIN!
In 1997 I was elected to represent my province, Suphanburi, as one of the 99 members of Thailand's Constitution Drafting Assembly. I was elected chairman of the Assembly's Public Relations Committee tasked to lay out strategies to involve nation-wide people's participation and helped produced various PR materials including the one above. It was Thailand's 16th constitution that the people help drafted via local town halls and national public surveys. Military interventions throughout history keep us stuck with the present 20th constitution and the people demand a new one. Of course, sooner or later, we will have a new constitution, and then a military intervention, and then the people's protest demanding political reform and a new constitution. It seems like a new normal in our every day political life. This infinite "POlitical VIrus Disease" can be named "POVID∞" (Read "POVID Infinity") The pandemic began in 1932 and no end in sight.......
Will the circle be unbroken? "Will the (vicious) circle be unbroken? / By and by Lord, by and by There's a better home awaiting / In the sky Lord, in the sky ....." ("Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" is a popular Christian hymn written in 1907 by Ada R. Habershon with music by Charles H. Gabriel.) Somkiat Onwimon 30 September 2020 Democracy is an educational process for each generation of population, in the US or anywhere else in the world. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit's 2019 World democracy Index, there are only 22 full-democracy countries in the world, or about 5.7 of the world population.The rest are 54 flawed democracies, 37 hybrid regimes, and 54 authoritarian regimes. The United States is a flawed democracy ranking 25th after 24th Japan, and 23rd South Korea, in the World Democracy Index 2019. (Thailand ranks 68th and a flawed democracy).
The world's top 22 full democracies are in following order: 1.Norway, 2.Iceland, 3.Sweden, 4.New Zealand, 5.Finland, 6.Ireland, 7.Denmark, 8.Canada, 9.Australia, 10.Switzerland, 11.Netherlands, 12.Luxembourg, 13.Germany. 14.United Kingdom, 15.Uruguay, 16.Austria and Spain (equal scores). 18.Mauritius, 19.Costa Rica, 20.France, 21.Chile, and 22.Portugal. The flawed democracy list starts with 23.South Korea (24 in 2016), 24.Japan (20 in 2016), 25.USA (21 in 2016),..68.Thailand (100/hybrid regime/in 2016),...ending with 75.Hong Kong and Singapore. At the bottom-most is North Korea, ranking 167th under the category of authoritarian regime. [Full 2019 Democracy Index] In four short years of the Trump's administration, democracy in America slipped down 4 rankings from full to flawed democracy. Previously in 2008 under President George W. Bush, the US ranked 18th as full democracy. And in 2010, it scaled up one position to 17th full democracy under President Obama. As for Thailand, we are always at the bottom of the flawed democracy ranking. Our flawed democratic behavior never improved. Maybe the new generation will have a better idea. At least I like what I am seeing now. HE IS NOT AFRAID OF COVID-19, SO HE TWEETS:
AN OBESE 74 YEARS OLD MAN, INFECTED WITH COVID-19, FEELS BETTER THAN HE DID 20 YEARS AGO?
Of course, the virus will not tweet back. It's too busy being viral inside his body. His is the body of a 74 years-old-obese man. It's sad to see so ignorant a man leading the greatest country in the world. I do not wonder how his obituary will be written. I only wonder when. I hope it is in time before he drags the country down the 'sh-h' with him.
CNN's Chris Cuomo on Trump:
"What a bunch of bullshit...This president is a walking liar....This man who can do everything do nothing..." (Chris Cuomo, CNN's Prime Time anchor, said on his show at 08:05, 6 October 2020, Bangkok Time.) As the November 3 presidential election nears, increasingly desperate for a second-term win is Donald Trump. A president who fails to win successive second-term victory is generally considered a failure. Ten of the past forty-five presidents have so failed. Donald Trump should not have won even the first term had it not been for the flawed electoral college system provided in the 232-years old constitution. In the 2016 presidential election Donald Trump lost to Hillary Clinton by some 3 millions popular votes and yet managed to win the electoral votes 304-227. This outdated system may help the loser, be it Donald Trump or Joe Biden, win again. This is probably one of the reasons why the American democracy is categorized by EIU's World Democracy Index 2019 as a flawed system. To amend the historic-but- flawed document is not an easy task. There have so far been only 27 amendments since its ratification in 1788. The 27th Amendment was passed on May 5, 1992. Talks of discarding the electoral college system have been on and off for years but never materialized. Though the greatest country in the world in terms of science and technological developments, American society largely remains conservative in socio-political culture. The November 3 presidential election will be a living prove of this socio-political state of the union.If Joe Biden is to win he will only beat Donald Trump by a whisker.
As the globalized world moves forward at a frantic pace in all fronts, America under conservative politics will be left behind, and alone. 
DONALD TRUMP, A PATHOLOGICAL LIAR
Long before Donald Trump decided to run for the US presidential election he had been known to be a dishonest person. He lies very often without shame. The Washington Post fact-checker continues to have a busy day every day, and days ahead. ▶️ IN MY OPINION |
|
Vertical Divider
THE 1,600 YEARS OLD CLASSIC CHINESE LEGEND
FIRST RECORDED AS A SHORT POEM 
หนังสือชื่อ Mulan: Five Versions of a Classic Chinese Legend, with Related Texts เขียนและแปลโดย Shiamin Kwa (Assistant Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Bryn Mawr College) และ Wilt L. Idema (Professor of Chinese Literature Emeritus, Harvard University), Hackett Publishing Company, Inc., Indianapolis / Cambridge, 2010, 136 pages, ISBN-13: 978-1-60384-196-2
|
Vertical Divider
AND NOW IN 2020
MULAN IS A LIVE ACTION DISNEY MOVIE  © 2020 Walt Disney Pictures
For Thailand, beginning September 3, 2020, MULAN (มู่หลาน), Disney's live-action movie, is in theaters near you (with regular COVID-19 social-distancing measures). About 60% of US movie theaters, except in New York and Los Angeles, began opening a week later on labor day weekend.
So the ancient Chinese classic hero, or heroine, is now for the public to love, again. It is the "Poem of Mulan" during the period before the 6th century that started it all. It'll be a good idea to read the original poem of Mulan before seeing the movie. Disney's Mulan came 1,500-1,600 years after the story of Mulan was told in ancient China. In preparing myself for Disney's 2020 Mulan, I read Mulan history book by professors Shiamin Kwa and Wilt L. Idema last year. And I went to see Mulan the movie in a theater in Bangkok just this past Friday September 11, with comfortable regular COVID-19 social-distancing practice. And I enjoyed the movie immensely. Disney's live-action Mulan may be a modern take of an important ancient Chinese legend with necessary attention to modern movie-making and marketing for the new generation of the world's movie goers, but it remains faithful to the original Chinese cultural sacredness of filial piety. I sat through the end credit immersing myself in the three beautiful songs - one in Chinese, and came out of the movie theater with full satisfaction and deeper respect for our eastern cultural tradition of filial piety. For me, the movie is worth a second and third viewing. And especially, for senior citizens - anyone above 60 - like me at 72, SF Cinema in Thailand offers the ticket at half price. A good 200 Baht seat cost me only 120 Baht ($4.00) - with membership card fee and all. Disney+ charges US members an extra $29.00 just to see Mulan online! AMAZING THAILAND! Somkiat Onwimon Bangkok / 9 September 2020 ▶️ POEM OF MULAN●บทกวีเรื่องมู่หลาน●บทวิจารณ์ภาพยนตร์ |
|
Vertical Divider
The Question from a HuffPost Reporter Left Donald Trump Speechless!
คนอเมริกัน ได้ Donald Trump เป็นประธานาธิบดีที่เป็นคนโกหกพกลม ไม่บูชาคุณธรรมและสัจธรรมบกพร่อง เป็นนิสัยประจำตัวที่ไม่ปกปิด แถมเป็นคนไม่ใส่ใจหาความรู้ใส่ตัวเพื่อปรับปรุงคุณภาพตัวเองในฐานะผู้นำประเทศที่ทรงมหาอำนาจที่สุดของโลก คนทั้งประเทศรับรู้แต่ไม่มีผู้สื่อข่าวคนใดจะกล้าถามและติติงต่อหน้า จนกระทั่งเข้าเดือนท้ายๆของปีที่สี่ปลายช่วงดำรงตำแหน่งของเขาก่อนการเลือกตั้งใหม่เดือนพฤศจิกายนนี้ มีผู้สื่อข่าวคนหนึ่งจากสำนักข่าว HuffPost.com website กล้าหาญตั้งคำถามต่อหน้า ณ ห้องแถลงข่าวทำเนียบขาวเมื่อวันที่ 13 สิงหาคม 2020 ที่ผ่านมา ถามว่า "รู้สึกเสียใจบ้างไหมที่โกหกประชาชนมากมายตลอดเวลา?" ไม่มีคำตอบจาก Donald Trump นอกจากจะแสดงอาการตลึงงันเงียบไปชั่วขณะ แล้วชี้เรียกขอคำถามจากนักข่าวคนอื่นต่อไปแล้วปิดการแถลงข่าวฉับพลัน. ⬇️ เชิญอ่านข่าวที่เกี่ยวข้องข้างล่าง ⬇️ LINKS TO REPORTS BELOW ⬇️
|
Vertical Divider
"Why has the pandemic spared the Buddhist parts of South-East Asia? Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam have had only tiny outbreaks...Thailand, a sham democracy overseen by generals...the quality of its health care makes Thailand a popular destination for medical tourism...the government was quick to set up a vigorous covid-fighting task-force." (The Economist, 11 July 2020)
▶️ THAILAND 
วันที่ 6 สิงหาคม 1945/2488 เครื่องบินทิ้งระเบิดแบบ B-29 ของสหรัฐอเมริกา มีชื่อเรียกว่า “Enola Gay” ทิ้ง “ระเบิดอะตอม” (Atomic Bomb)* ลงเหนือเมืองฮิโรชิม่าทางใต้ของเกาะฮอนชิวของญี่ปุ่น สามวันถัดมา วันที่ 9 สิงหาคม 1945/2488 เวลา 11:02 น. สหรัฐอเมริกาก็ทิ้งระเบิดอะตอมลูกที่สองทำลายล้างญี่ปุ่น ครั้งนั้นเป็นระเบิดจากการแยกอะตอม แต่วันนี้มนุษย์ก้าวหน้าสู่การทำลายล้างโลกได้ยิ่งยวดกว่า เพราะจะเป็นระเบิดที่แยกอนุภาคที่เล็กกว่าอะตอม เรียกว่านิวเคลียส นั่นคือระะบิดนิวเคลียร์ หากมนุษย์ทำความเข้าใจต่อเหตุการณ์เมื่อ 75 ปีที่แล้วได้ สงครามโลกครั้งที่สามอันเป็นสงครามนิวเคลียร์ก็อาจหลีกเลี่ยงได้
▶️ 75 ปี HIROSHIMA & NAGASAKI |
Vertical Divider
What's in a name?
Why should the sea south of China be called the South China Sea? As it is surrounded by Southeast Asian countries, shouldn't it be renamed the South East Asian Sea? Then we have the Sea of Japan that does not belong to Japan, and the Gulf of Siam that does not belong to Siam or Thailand. ▶️ SEAS SUPPOSE THEY GAVE A WAR AND NOBODY CAME Donald Trump has proved to the world that the greatest democracy on earth can be fooled into electing a real bad man. ▶️ READ FULL ARTICLE 
When seeing becomes feeling, the visual context gets translated into detailed observations of time and experiences. I endeavoured to render the aesthetic of various moments throughout my life. [Clare] |
|
Vertical Divider
ไม่รู้ว่าประเทศไทยทำอะไรได้ถูกต้องบ้าง
แต่เท่าที่เห็นก็ใช้ได้เลย By Hannah Beech Photographs by Adam Dean July 16, 2020Updated 12:55 p.m. ET BANGKOK 
The Economist (11 July 2020), attempted to figure out the reason why Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam had surprisingly succeeded in fighting off the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of infected cases and fatality rates have been extraordinarily low in these countries.
FAILING TO RENEW VOA FOREIGN STAFFERS’ VISAS
WOULD DEVASTATE ONE OF ITS CORE FUNCTIONS ▶️ The Post's View: It could also put the current VOA foreign employees in danger, if they are forced to return to countries whose regimes disapprove of VOA reports. Thailand, for example, is governed by an autocratic regime that regularly imprisons journalists.... ▶️ THE WASHINGTON POST EDITORIAL MY COMMENT POSTED TO THE WASHINGTON POST ▶️ WASHINGTON POST EDITORIAL ▶️ THAILAND |
Vertical Divider
THE FOUR FACES ON MOUNT RUSHMORE
Mount Rushmore National Memorial Visitor Center, picture credit: © Harpers Ferry Centre, Historic Photo Collection, taken from the book 'The National Parks: America's Best Idea, An Illustrated History' by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns, Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2010, p. 334
American history is full of stories of environmental destruction - cutting down trees, clearing lands for settlers, heavy logging industries, etc. But to carve four gigantic human faces out of a towering mountain top, and destroyed the sacred beauty of the mountain, is not to be forgiven nor forgotten, certainly not by the Sioux native American nation who own and worship the sacred Black Hills.
▶️ READ FULL ARTICLE ▶️ IN MY OPINION MY COMMENT POSTED TO THE WASHINGTON POST
14 June 2020 - A comment to an article on 12 June 2020, "When black people are in pain, white people just join book clubs.I'm caught in a time loop where my white friends and acquaintances perform the same pieties over and over again" by Tre Johnson: I have been observing racism in America since I was 18 attending a senior year at Park Hill High School, Parkville, Missouri. I do not have a book club to join in Thailand but I read books from my own private collections to help myself better understand whatever puzzles me in the news. For the current racial crisis in America my first read is "The American Republic Since 1887", a 2007 Glencoe textbook my son once used in Walla Walla High School. This helps me understand the sense of history in the mind of youth in America today. ▶️ IN MY OPINION READING THE PAIN - JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND
An extended version of my 14 June 2020 comment to The Washington Post ▶️ IN MY OPINION AMERICA NOW AIN'T SO GREAT
▶️ IN MY OPINION |
|
Vertical Divider
A RARE BOOK IN THE LIBRARY
|
Vertical Divider
Thailand: An Introduction to Modern Siam |
|
Vertical Divider
|
Vertical Divider
|
Vertical Divider
|
THAIVISION® is a personal website of Somkiat Onwimon of Thailand. All contents, unless otherwise stated, are SO's sole responsibility. Intellectual property rights are strictly observed under the Berne Convention (1886, 1914, 1979), the World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty (1996), and Thai laws. THAIVISION aims to serve the public in areas of SO's personal interest. Books and literatures are the main sources of enlightenment. World affairs, science, humanities, philosophy and culture are among leading subjects to be explored. Constructive engagement from readers are highly valued. THAIVISION is bi-lingual, ไทย and English. Thai Vitas Co.,Ltd. is the legal owner of THAIVISION and all copyrights therein, excluding other non-copyright and public domain materials. THAIVISION.com is registered with Network Solutions and hosted by Weebly.
(*Header/logo background picture: Park Chong sky, 26 April 2019)
(*Header/logo background picture: Park Chong sky, 26 April 2019)
