First was the Constitutional Court's dissolution of the Thai Raksa Chart Party. Now, the Electoral Commission is weighing in with a plan to disallow the votes of voters who had been unscrupulously "led" or "influenced" into voting for certain candidates.
The apparently Svengali-like figures controlling the minds of voters are politicians of the Thai Raksa Chart Party who, no longer permitted to stand for election, are simply suggesting who, of another not-yet-dissolved party, deserves to get the support once destined for the TRC.
EC chairman Ittiporn Boonpracong has declared that "Laws clearly stipulate that voters must make their choices by themselves" (free of the hypnotic powers exerted by the ex-TRC "politicians"), and that "witnesses" and "evidence" will determine whether it is TRC "campaigners or the candidates who will be held responsible "for taking advantage" of a credulous electorate.
The presumption that "witnesses" and "evidence" can be brought in for the purpose of discounting votes that were cast as a nefarious "shift" from the defunct TRC to other (anti-PPRP) parties is another blow to a fair and open election.
Edward Zile
Better off alone
By leaving Europe, Britain can put a brake on the influx of immigrants and foreign workers without EU scrutiny. It could draw from the vast connections and resources from Commonwealth countries and establish a more flexible trade policy. The loss of privileges from the EU trade bloc may be the beginning of a a new trading era for Britain with the rest of the world.
UK Defence Minister Gavin Williamson told The Sunday Telegraph on Dec 30, 2018: This [Brexit] is our biggest moment as a nation since the end of the Second World War, when we can recast ourselves in a different way, we can actually play the role on the world stage that the world expects us to play.
In a week's time we shall likely see a Brexit, probably a hard exit with no deal. The British government has an uphill task of proving its critics and fearmongers wrong -- that Britain is better off standing on her own.
Yingwai Suchaovanich
Cash trumps clean air
Sitting here in the most polluted city in the world I wonder what the truth is about what is happening. The government knows who owns the land that is being burnt. Army helicopters can help to identify the culprits. Imposing fines would see the burning stop within days.
Why doesn't this happen? There is only one explanation, as for many things in Thailand: corruption. My guess is that many small farmers are supplying corporations which don't care about damage so long as the crop is produced as cheaply as possible. Am I far off the mark?
Pakeha
Chiang Mai
Injustice lingers
Mr Araibi feels safe now that he is an Australian citizen, and Bahrain is happy that its red notice lapsed so justice was served. Alas, the image of a shackled slave and the faint smell of injustice lingers on.
Bali Bob
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