The debate over building a Muslim community center so close to where terrorists claiming to act in the name of Islam killed more than 2,700 people has attracted the intense views of political and religious leaders, victims’ families and pundits.
Many of them expressed a welter of mixed feelings in interviews this week on street corners, in stores and in mosques: Some said they felt embittered or hurt by criticism of the project, and of Islam in general, yet understood opponents’ misgivings. » More in this New York Times article - By Paul Vitello - Published: August 19, 2010

President’s Role
“As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as
everyone else in this country,” President Barack Obama said during an annual White House iftar dinner, marking
the breaking of the daily fast in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. “That includes the right to build a place of worship
and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan in accordance with local laws and
ordinances.”
“It is not his role as president to pass judgment on every local project,” White House deputy press secretary Bill Burton said in an e-mailed
statement. “But it is his responsibility to stand up for the constitutional principle of religious freedom and equal treatment for all Americans.” More from this Bloomberg article - By William McQuillen - Published August 16, 2010

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• The New York Times - Learning Network - Democracy in Action -
  Overview | Students consider words that reflect their knowledge and opinions about democracy. They then work in groups to research countries that have recently transitioned to democratic forms of government. Their learning is further enhanced by reflecting on what has transpired in these countries to date. Go to this Building Society and Law Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - The Fight for Human Rights -
  Overview | Students explore the concept of human rights by developing and defending their own ‘Bill of Human Rights’ and by writing a reflective essay that compares their notions of human rights and the protection of them to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Go to this Law and Building a Healthy Society Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Resources for Teaching the Constitution -
  Go to this Building Society and Law Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Responding in Kind -
  Overview | Students explore events in which people choose kindness in the face of cruelty and write personal essays about their own experiences. Go to this Building Society and Law Lesson.

• Famous Trials - The Trial and execution of Socrates in Athens in 399 B.C.E. - Law and Society lesson.
  Why, in a society enjoying more freedom and democracy than any the world had ever seen, would a seventy-year-old philosopher be put to death for what he was teaching?
  Historical chronology (events) leading up to the Trial - interview about the trial- By Journalist I.F. Stone.
  
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Democracy in Action -
  Overview | Students consider words that reflect their knowledge and opinions about democracy. They then work in groups to research countries that have recently transitioned to democratic forms of government. Their learning is further enhanced by reflecting on what has transpired in these countries to date. Go to this Building Society and Law Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - The Fight for Human Rights -
  Overview | Students explore the concept of human rights by developing and defending their own ‘Bill of Human Rights’ and by writing a reflective essay that compares their notions of human rights and the protection of them to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Go to this Law and Building a Healthy Society Lesson.

Public shaming of the accused and the condemned has been a long
tradition in China — one that the Communist Party embraced with
zeal during episodes of class struggle and anticrime crusades.
Although public executions have been discontinued, provincial cities
still hold mass sentencing rallies, during which convicts wearing
confessional placards are driven though the streets in open trucks.

The public response, at least on the Internet, has tended toward outrage, with many postings expressing sympathy for the women.
“Why aren’t corrupt officials dragged through the streets?” read one posting. “These women are only trying to feed themselves.” But much of the anger has been directed at the police, who are a focus of growing public mistrust. Although corruption among the police is rife in China, the disdain has been further heightened by a series of widely publicized episodes involving the torture of detainees, suspects who mysteriously died in custody and innocent people jailed on trumped-up evidence.
One man spent 10 years in prison for murder after the police extracted his confession — only to be freed when his supposed victim turned out to be alive. »The full New York Times article By Andrew Jacobs - Published: July 27, 2010

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• The New York Times - Learning Network - The Fight for Human Rights -
  Overview | Students explore the concept of human rights by developing and defending their own ‘Bills of Human Rights’ and by writing a reflective essay that compares their notions of human rights and the protection of them to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Go to this Law and Building a Healthy Society Lesson.
• The Learning Foundation - "Did Li Qingyou Break the Law?" - Simplified Mock Trial Lesson -
  Li Qingyou's statment: "Our mentality was that when Chairman Mao waved his hand, we would move, and whatever he said, we would do.
  - We took their money, gold, silver, and things and gave it to the government."
  - Pin Dueng was one of the landowners described as ’rich’ in Li’s statement, and has accused Li of stealing his things and has brought the case to court. Go to this Simplified Mock Trial.
• World Wise School - Worksheet - Students will learn to identify and modify generalizations -
  This activity introduces students to the difficult concept of generalization so that they will challenge generalizations made about people... Go to this Building Society Lesson.

"In Thailand, the monarchy is not only a symbolic institution. It is the pillar of national security," said Pirapan Salirathavibhaga, a former judge. "Whatever is deemed as affecting the monarchy must be treated as a threat to national security."

Global Voices Advocacy (GVD), has already criticized the government's policy on curbing freedom of media and called Thailand an "Internet Desert" approaching leaders' paranoia in Burma and North Korea.
Human rights groups have voiced their concerns about the arbitrary use of lèse-majesté. They say they believe the law has been employed as the government's weapon to silence the opposition.
The murky investigation/prosecution process has also added up to the intensity of fear. Nobody really knows about how many sets of blacklists the Thai authorities have been making. Who is indeed responsible for cases involving the violation of lèse-majesté law? The police? The DSI? The MICT? The Foreign Ministry (for the crime committed outside Thailand)? Or the Immigration Office?
The punishment is also getting harsher since the state authorities have defined the threat to monarchy so closely with the concept of national security. The full Asia Sentinel article Written by Pavin Chachavalpongpun, who is a Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. This is his personal view.
Published JULY 22, 2010

image source Tolerance.org

• World Wise School - "How Accurate is It?"
  Overview | This activity introduces students to the difficult concept of generalization so that they will challenge generalizations made about people...Go to this Building Society Lesson Worksheet.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring Bias in the News -
  Overview | Students look for biased words in news articles, suggest synonyms, then rewrite the sentences to demonstrate how word choice can alter meaning. Go to this Media and Building a Healthy Society Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Keeping It Quiet -
  Overview | Students consider ways in which countries use censorship to control information. Go to this Law and Society Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - When the News Ignites a Fuse -
  Overview | Students examine news stories and images that have incited violence in the past to put into historical context recent news coverage. Go to this Media and Building a Healthy Society Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - News or Propaganda? -
  Overview | Students discuss objectivity and press responsibility. Go to this Media and Building a Healthy Society Lesson.

BANGKOK — Thailand's ailing democracy faced more uncertainty
Thursday after a constitutional court shut down the political party of
former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and barred him and 110
other party executives from politics for five years.

"I think the polarization we have seen is going to deepen,"
"Now we have not just the disenfranchisement of Thai Rak Thai executives but also the vast majority of the electorate. Their party has been taken away. There is a gaping hole now."
"What we could be seeing very soon, I fear," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University, "is an emerging military dictatorship." - Quotes from: Thailand facing uncertainty after court ruling - By Seth Mydans International Herald Tribune Published: May 31,2007.

Looking Back - October 6, 2006
Prinya Thaewanarumitkul, one of the country's leading constitutional lawyers, (said) the practice of coups in Thailand is a bad habit that needs to end. "If we didn't have this coup the Thai people could have learned more about democracy and politics and about how to develop," - Quote from: News Analysis: Democracy, Thai style - Ban the politicians - By Thomas Fuller International Herald Tribune Published: October 6, 2006

• A Learning Foundation Lesson - Go to the Lesson: Compare and Contrast the above statements and stories.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Examining Military Coups Around the World -
  Students will consider military coups and their aftermaths, research famous coups... illustrating those events, and write letters from the perspectives of ousted leaders examined during class. Go to this Law and Society Lesson.

BEIJING — The new regulations were issued weeks after the authorities conceded that the confession used to erroneously convict a farmer for a murder was based on torture. The case came to light only after the supposed victim turned up alive and the defendant had spent 10 years in prison. It has provoked national outrage.
Several lawyers said that they were curious to see the extent to which the regulations would be carried out, pointing out that China often fails to abide by its own rules and regulations.
The larger problem, legal experts say, is the disconnect between China’s stated desire for the rule of law and the Communist Party’s insistence that the judicial system serve the party. » The full New York Times article - By Andrew Jacobs - Published: May 31, 2010.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - The Torture Question -
  Overview | Students will research the recent history of torture in the U.S., examine opinions about whether torture is ever justified, and engage in a debate on the issue. Go to this Law and Society Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - A Question of Punishment -
  Overview | Students examine their own understanding of capital punishment as well as the recent reversal by some conservative politicians in their public stance on the death penalty. Through discussion and research, students explore the nuances of the debate surrounding capital punishment. Go to this Law and Society Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Science in the Court Room -
  Overview | Students reflect on their opinions about the use of DNA databases in criminal investigations. They then generate a list of questions they have about DNA and its importance, prepare and give brief presentations, and then further discuss their positions on how DNA information should be collected and used by police. Go to this Law and Society Lesson.

Thailand is copying the self serving tactics Mao used to purge his political rivals

Editor | Fifty years since the "Cultural Revolution" and China is still recovering from the damage, while Thailand is copying the mistakes.
Blocking elected governments using vindictive and biased courts, a malicious self serving media, a menacing military, and a street gang that was above the law and hijacked the airports to lead to Abhisit's artificially installed government, foreshadows the chaos that followed Mao's revenge. (Editor comment posted 10/26/2008).

Li Qingyou: "Our mentality was that when Chairman Mao waved his hand, we would move, and whatever he said, we would do. We never realized where it would all lead."

"The movement, which Mao had asserted would ensure permanent revolution, was in fact launched mainly to purge his political rivals. These included Deng Xiaoping (later to become Chinese leader) and the moderate Liu, whose liberal economic policies had undermined Mao’s authority and called into question his ability to run the country day-to-day after his introduction of the catastrophic Great Leap Forward in 1959. » The full Times Online article.

Wang Guangmei and her husband Liu Shaoqi before his fall from grace and her public humiliation by Mao's Red Guards... In 1966 he was stripped of the presidency, and the following year both were consigned to jail where he was to die, and from which she was not to emerge until 1978... She died on October 13, 2006, aged 85.

• "The Constitution Tribunal is illegitimate and the case is completely political,” said legal expert Kanin Boonsuwan, who helped draft the 1997 (Thai) Constitution. “Judicial powers have gone too far already; the judges are abusing their power and independence. This is not only about dissolution, but the future of democracy in Thailand."
  Many legal experts see the dissolution case as a sham. Indeed, many wonder how a body created by those who overthrew Thaksin has any right to terminate political parties for allegedly attempting to overthrow democracy. And especially to do so for violating a constitution the junta leaders discarded? - The Rise of Thailand’s Third Branch - By Daniel Ten Kate - The Asian Sentenel

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• June 2010 update:

  Ousting Abhisit May Not End Protests Over 'Autocratic Rulers'

  The current constitution, written after the 2006 coup, set up a Senate in which almost half the members are appointed. It also offered amnesty for generals such as Army Chief Anupong Paojinda, who helped oust Thaksin and (was) calling for parliament to be dissolved.
  "Abhisit may resign or dissolve parliament, but that doesn't necessarily get us anywhere," said Prudhisan Jumbala, a lecturer at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University. "Nobody can implement the rule of law without the cooperation of society, and neither side trusts the authority of the state."
  The conflict underpins a split within Thailand's 67 million people over the extent to which the country's leaders should be elected. » The full Bloomberg article - By Daniel Ten Kate.

• World Wise School - Worksheet - Generalizations: How Accurate Are They?
  Overview | Students will examine how generalizations can be hurtful and unfair, and they will devise ways to qualify statements so they avoid stereotyping other people. Go to this Building Society Lesson.
• A Learning Foundation Lesson - Compare and Contrast -
  Mao's use of power with that in Thailand being used against deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and anyone associated with him. Go to this ESL, Law and Society Lesson.

Swiss Justice Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf told a news conference on Monday, “He’s a free man.”

Ms. Widmer-Schlumpf said the American authorities had rejected a request by her ministry for records of a hearing by the prosecutor in the case, Roger Gunson, in January 2010, which should have established whether the judge who tried the case in 1977 had assured Mr. Polanski that time he spent in a psychiatric unit would constitute the whole of the period of imprisonment he would serve.
“If this were the case, Roman Polanski would actually have already served his sentence and therefore both the proceedings on which the U.S. extradition request is founded and the request itself would have no foundation,” the Swiss Justice Ministry said in a statement. » The full New York Times article - By Nick Cumming-Bruce - Published: July 12, 2010

Looking Back:

Is Polanski Case Nearing Its End? That could happen, for instance, if the appeals court were to find that the judicial system had been tainted by a newly described series of potentially improper contacts between the original judge, Laurence J. Rittenband, who is now deceased, and various people associated with the case. Or it could find that the judge — as Mr. Gunson is said to have testified — had made a promise that should now be kept, to give Mr. Polanski a sentence too short to qualify him for extradition.
That the appeals court is now demanding a first-hand look at Mr. Gunson’s testimony indicates that the justices, at the very least, believe that its claims could have bearing on Mr. Polanski’s fate. The Full New York Times article » By Michael Cieply.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Putting the United States' (and other countries') Appeals Process on Trial -
  Overview | Students (examine the Roman Palanski case) and analyze the United States' current appellate process, with a critical eye focused on possible inequities within the system(s). Go to this Law and Society Lesson.

Chiranuch was released after paying a Bt300,000 (US$9,269) bond and spending four hours in jail. The arrest was made under the Computer Crimes Act for not quickly removing public comments from her website that were deemed offensive to the monarchy. The website has become home to serious dissent and discussion of the situation in the country, which has been wracked by political turmoil, rallies, strikes and violence since former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in a royalist coup in September of 2006. » The full Asian Sentinel article.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Keeping It Quiet -
  Overview | Students consider ways in which countries use censorship to control information. Go to this Law and Society Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Democracy in Action -
  Overview | Students consider words that reflect their knowledge and opinions about democracy. They then work in groups to research countries that have recently transitioned to democratic forms of government. Their learning is further enhanced by reflecting on what has transpired in these countries to date. Go to this Building Society and Law Lesson.
• The Learning Foundation - "Is the Thai Constitution credible?"-

  Anti-government demonstrators broke into the country's parliament building Wednesday, keeping a promise to intensify protests unless Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva dissolves parliament.
  On Tuesday, Abhisit spoke on television saying the rallies violated the constitution. The full CNNN article » By Kocha Olarn, CNN

  Overview | Students consider what makes a law good. Go to this Updated Law and Society Lesson.

Image source By Barry Blitt.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Examining Military Coups Around the World -
  Students will consider military coups and their aftermaths, research famous coups... illustrating those events, and write letters from the perspectives of ousted leaders examined during class. Go to this Law and Society Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Democracy in Action -
  Overview | Students consider words that reflect their knowledge and opinions about democracy. They then work in groups to research countries that have recently transitioned to democratic forms of government. Their learning is further enhanced by reflecting on what has transpired in these countries to date. Go to this Building Society and Law Lesson.
• The Learning Foundation - Making Good Laws: "Is the Thai Constitution credible?" -
  Go to this Building a Healthy Society and Law Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - The Political is Personal -
  Overview | Students explore their own personal political philosophies by identifying events, people and experiences that have helped shape their beliefs and writing an essay. Go to this Building Society and ESL Lesson.
  

To complete her cross-examination, prosecutor Sarah Carr, 16, had one final question for Andrew G., 17, the defendant in a recent case at the youth court in Colonie, N.Y.: "Didn't you know it was wrong?" Andrew nodded shyly, eyes averted. He knew that stealing a $4.97 Star Wars action figure from Wal-Mart was not only a petty crime but also a geeky one in the eyes of his high school peers, some of whom were serving on the jury. From the story - A Jury of Their Peers By Jeremy Caplan - Time Magazine

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring the Youth Court System by Engaging in a Mock Trial -
  Overview | Students learn about youth courts and explore the system further by engaging in a mock youth court trial. Go to this Law and Society Lesson

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring What It Takes to Become a Well-Informed Citizen -
  Overview | In this lesson, students explore education requirements for different professions, and define the skills and knowledge that adults use in their everyday lives. Go to this Building Society Lesson.

Image source By Barry Blitt.

Obama needled – well, lambasted – the US Supreme Court for a recent decision he said would “open the floodgates for special interests, including foreign corporations, to spend without limit in our elections.”
Sitting right in front of the president – robed in sober black, hands folded in their laps – were six of the justices, including three who had made it possible (in Obama’s words) for American elections to be “bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities.”
Obama’s mention of the campaign finance decision caused Associate Justice Samuel Alito’s expression to go dark as he shook his head and appeared to say “Simply not true.”
“The court’s legitimacy is derived from the persuasiveness of its opinions and the expectation that those opinions are rendered free of partisan, political influences,” former New Jersey Supreme Court justice Peter G. Verniero told the New York Times. “The more that individual justices are drawn into public debates, the more the court as an institution will be seen in political terms, which was not the intent of the founders.” The full Christian Science article » By Brad Knickerbocker.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Justices for All -
  Overview | In this lesson, students examine the role of Supreme Court justices in the American political process. Students will research the qualities of the current Supreme Court justices and write opinion papers evaluating the current justices and recommending future nominations. Go to this Law and Society Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Courting Controversy? -
  Overview | In this lesson, students learn about the confirmation of Supreme Court justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. They then examine a number of individual issues from different ideological and philosophical perspectives. Go to this Law and Society Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Judges on Trial -
  Overview | In this lesson, students investigate how different branches of government affect or aid the appointment of a Supreme Court justice nominee and the responsibilities of a judge. Go to this Law and Society Lesson.

“He’s come to the conclusion that if judiciary or the military want to knock him out, they can,” said Hasan Askari Rizvi, an analyst in Lahore. “But he wants to fight back. That has given him a new lease on life, but his basic problem remains the same.”
The most serious of those vulnerabilities has always been his strained relationship with Pakistan’s military, a powerful institution whose leaders have ruled the country for about half of Pakistan’s 62-year history.
Strangely, Mr. Zardari’s weakness may serve him in the end. The army seems to have less appetite to re-enter politics directly, having seen its reputation badly tarnished during Mr. Musharraf’s years of military rule. A weak civilian leader, on the other hand, presents no threat to its power. More in this New York Times article »By Sabrina Tavernise

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Investigating Nations That Are Transitioned to Democratic Forms of Government -
  Overview: Students consider words that reflect their knowledge and opinions about democracy. They then work in groups to research countries. Go to this Law and Building Society Lesson.
• A Learning Foundation Lesson - Compare and Contrast the Pakistan experience with Thailand. -
  Prinya Thaewanarumitkul, one of the country's leading constitutional lawyers, says the practice of military coups in Thailand is a bad habit that needs to end. "If we didn't have this coup the Thai people could have learned more about democracy and politics and about how to develop," From: News Analysis: Democracy, Thai style - Ban the politicians - By Thomas Fuller - International Herald Tribune. Go to this ESL Law and Society Lesson.

While the military and court installed Abhisit Vejjaiiva government celebrated the 2006 military coup and the 2007 constitution they created under martial law, Thaksin Shinawatra, the ousted prime minister, told 20,000 people who rallied at Bangkok's Democracy Monument by video-link:
"Today is a very significant day, the day we got our first constitution 77 years ago," he said.
"If the red shirts win the election, we will bring back the 1997 constitution and amend it and throw out the 2007 constitution.
Thaksin was sentenced in his absence under that constitution to a two-year jail term in a conflict of interest case and has been living in exile. The full » BBC article.

(AFP) image credit this article.

The Thai Election commission voting statistics showed 67% of Thai's did not vote for this constitution.

"Ultimately, the notion of a constitution being replaced by military force is—from the perspective of human rights, justice and the rule of law—an absurdity," said the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). "While government propaganda in Thailand may persist in trying to give the appearance of a decent and harmless coup, the effect of removing the paramount law of a country by force is to make clear that the country is lawless.... Thus the country has devolved, in legal and institutional terms, to an extremely barbaric point that will have lasting bad effects for generations." The full article - Daniel Ten Kate - The Asian Sentinel

• The Learning Foundation - Making Good Laws -
  Go to this Law and Building a Healthy Society Lesson."Is the Thai Constitution credible?"
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Examining Military Coups Around the World -
  Students will consider military coups and their aftermaths, research famous coups... illustrating those events, and write letters from the perspectives of ousted leaders examined during class. Go to this Law and Society Lesson.

Image source

(Unless) Timothy Geithner, the secretary of the Treasury, can persuade legislators otherwise, one of the great bank lobbying campaigns will have succeeded, in large part because some companies that buy derivatives from banks have been persuaded that their costs will rise if needed reforms were made.
Until the beginning of this decade, that was true in the corporate bond market, where actual trades were kept confidential. That made it easy for bond dealers to charge big markups when they sold bonds to customers.
After regulators forced timely disclosures, the bid-ask spreads — the difference between what customers paid when they bought bonds and what they could get when selling them — declined significantly. The result was smaller profits for bond dealers, and better returns for bond investors.The full article » Keeping Derivatives in the Dark By Floyd Norris, New York Times.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - A Plan for Recovery -
  Overview: Students examine the "who, what, where, when, why and how" of the proposed stimulus plan for the U.S. economy; they then write their own proposal outlining how stimulus funds might benefit their community. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring the Impact of Keynesian Economics During a Recession -
  Overview: Students define and examine the role of Keynesian economics during recessions and depression, then write a memo to President Obama advising him on how to put Keynesian principles into practice. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson.

WASHINGTON (AFP) –

Myanmar is due to hold its first elections in two decades on November 7, but the vote has been widely condemned by human rights campaigners and the West as a sham aimed at putting a civilian face on military rule.
The country has more than 2,000 political prisoners, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who are barred from standing in the polls under widely criticized election rules.
President Barack Obama will give US backing to the creation of a UN inquiry into alleged war crimes by Myanmar's military rulers, a senior administration source said Wednesday. More in this AFP article - Published August 18, 2010

First image source - Aung San Suu Kyi (R) and US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell (L) - Burmese military - image source.

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• The New York Times - Learning Network - Democracy in Action -
  Overview | Students consider words that reflect their knowledge and opinions about democracy. They then work in groups to research countries that have recently transitioned to democratic forms of government. Their learning is further enhanced by reflecting on what has transpired in these countries to date. Go to this Building Society and Law Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - The Political is Personal -
  Overview | Students explore their own personal political philosophies by identifying events, people and experiences that have helped shape their beliefs and writing an essay. Go to this Building Society and ESL Lesson.

Chinese authorities say .. arrests are part of the Communist Party’s latest anticorruption campaign--
But analysts say that prominent corruption cases in China are often the outgrowth of power struggles within the Communist Party, with competing factions using the “war on corruption” as a tool to eliminate or weaken rivals and their corporate supporters.
Those caught in the party’s campaigns are usually humiliated and denounced for taking bribes, leading “decadent lifestyles” and, sometimes, for taking multiple mistresses. The full New York Times article » By David Barboza.

• A Learning Foundation Lesson - Compare and Contrast -
  China's use of "corruption allegations" with that in Thailand being used against deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and anyone associated with him.
  There have been 17 military coups in Thailand all claimed they did so to combat corruption. Go to this ESL, Law and Society Lesson.
• The Learning Foundation - What makes a law good lesson plan -
  Over half of Thailand's provinces were under martial law, controlling freedom of speech, press and assembly, during the referendum to pass the 18th Thai Constitution. Martial law persisted up to and including the referendum, and stayed in force up to and during the parliamentary elections in December 2007. "Is the Thai Constitution credible?"
• The Learning Foundation - "Did Li Qingyou Break the Law?" - Simplified Mock Trial Lesson -
  Li Qingyou's statment: "Our mentality was that when Chairman Mao waved his hand, we would move, and whatever he said, we would do.
  - We took their money, gold, silver, and things and gave it to the government."
  - Pin Dueng was one of the landowners described as ’rich’ in Li’s statement, and has accused Li of stealing his things and has brought the case to court. Go to this Simplified Mock Trial.

Background: In 2003, four lawyers from China's most prestigious university set up a non-governmental organization to advance the rule of law and constitutional rights. Knowing only too well official sensitivities, they promised that it would be not ‘critical' but ‘constructive' and work scrupulously within the law.
For his part, Xu-Zhiyong, (one of the founders said) "We helped the weak uphold their legal rights and promote the rule of democracy. This could have upset some vested interests. Since the progress of society will not be smooth, this was not unexpected. We cannot predict the outcome of the hearings. Our biggest obstacle has been an unreasonable system, the lack of independence of the judiciary and the inability of public interest firms to get legal status." the Full Asian Sentinel article » By Mark O'Neill.

Original photo and article: As lawyers here discover, there are limits to China’s embrace of judicial reform.
The Constitution, which includes guarantees of free speech and human rights, is unenforceable in court.
Judges routinely ignore evidence, making determinations based on political considerations.
And when it comes to vaguely defined offenses like “subversion of state power” or the invoking of “state secrets” laws, even the best-trained lawyers are powerless to defend the accused.
Last week, China’s justice minister gave a speech saying lawyers should above all obey the Communist Party and help foster a harmonious society. To improve discipline, the minister said, all law firms in China would be sent party liaisons to “guide their work.” NYT article: "Arrest in China Rattles Backers of Legal Rights" - Photo Greg Baker/Associated Press article - By Andrew Jacobs.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Understanding the Quest to Protect Human Rights -
  Overview: Students explore the concept of human rights by developing and defending their own "Bills of Human Rights" and by writing a reflective essay that compares their notions of human rights and the protection of them.  Go to this Law and Society Lesson.

• The Learning Foundation - Simplified Mock Trial Lesson - "Did Li Qingyou Break the Law?" -
  Li Qingyou's statment:"Our mentality was that when Chairman Mao waved his hand, we would move, and whatever he said, we would do. Go to this Simplified Mock Trial.

Update:The opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which Chen once led, urged the government to free him immediately.
"It is no longer necessary to detain former president Chen after the verdict. We demand his immediate release to ensure his full legal rights" during the appeal, the party said in a statement.
"There are many flaws and disputes which violated the due process during the first trial, including prolonging his detention and switching the judges," the DPP added. "We hope the mistakes will be checked during the second trial."
Under Taiwanese law, a life sentence is automatically appealed. The full AFP article »

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Most people in Taiwan have seen the image of former President Chen holding his handcuffed wrists above his head last November and shouting “political persecution” when he was arrested on corruption charges.
So a scene in a skit last month performed in front of more than 200 of the island’s judges and prosecutors — some involved in deciding Mr. Chen’s fate in his coming trial — came as a surprise. A prosecutor acting in the skit held her wrists together over her head and yelled, “judicial persecution.”
(Taiwan does not have jury trials which would allow the accused to choose whether judges, who are appointed by the government, or ordinary people, selected as a jury, should decide their guilt or innocence.
Chen Shui-bian has asked the court to drop the charges against him citing the behaviour of the prosecutors and judges shows they have already decided his guilt and he will not be given a fair trial.)
Based on this » New York Times article - By Keith Bradsher.

• The Learning Foundation - Go to "Judging the Judges" - Simplified Mock Trial Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring the Youth Court System by Engaging in a Mock Trial -
  Overview: Students learn about youth courts and explore the system further by engaging in a mock youth court trial. Go to this Law and Society Lesson

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Evaluating How DNA Databases Are Used to Solve Crimes -
  Overview: Students reflect on their opinions about the use of DNA databases in criminal investigations. They then generate a list of questions they have about DNA and its importance, prepare and give brief presentations, and then further discuss their positions on how DNA information should be collected and used by police.  Go to this Law and Science Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Analyzing Media Coverage of Crime -
  Overview: Students will compare the coverage of two crime stories, analyzing both for objectivity, language, emotional impact, and local and national dissemination. Go to this Media and Law Lesson.

Six jurors are working with three judges to hand down a verdict for 72-year-old Katsuyoshi Fujii, who has been charged with murder in the fatal stabbing of a 66-year-old neighbor in May.
With the arrival of a jury trial, Japanese will have a chance to play a bigger role in doling out justice, Bar Association President Makoto Miyazaki said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.
"A more transparent and fair criminal justice system serves everyone's interests," he said.
"With the change, trials will become more democratic," Justice Minister Eisuke Sato said. "We hope to achieve a justice system that is speedier, more accessible and reliable." From this Boston Globe article » By Mari Yamaguchi.

Related lessons:
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring the (American) Youth Court System by Engaging in a Mock Trial -
  Overview: Students learn about youth courts and explore the system further by engaging in a mock youth court trial. Go to this Law and Society Lesson.
• WWS - World Wise School- Is That a Fact? -
  Overview: Understanding the difference between fact and opinion is critical to our ability to examine our reactions to events and people. Stereotypes and prejudices are often based on opinions that are perceived as facts. Go to this Building Society Lesson Worksheet.

• The Learning Foundation - Simplified Mock Trials -
  Go to "What to Teach" - The Simplified Mock Trial.

Ireland (Britain and Denmark are) warning its nationals to "be extremely careful" when browsing at Bangkok's international airport Suvarnabhumi (pronounced "sue-WANNA-poom").
"We have received reports that innocent shoppers have been the subject of allegations of suspected theft and threatened that their cases will not be heard for several months unless they plead guilty and pay substantial fines," says an Irish government travel advisory. It tells shoppers to keep receipts to avoid "great distress." The full AP article » By Jocelyn Gecker.

Some of the 350,000 stranded tourists - Original Image and article DailyMail UK (Nov/2008)
The (military and court created) Abhisit government's deputy prime minister Suthep Thaugsuban says (the 8 day) blockade of the two airports "caused no damage to aviation" so charges are baseless. the full article »

BANGKOK July 6 (AP) - Opposition members in Thailand's Parliament called Monday for the resignation of the foreign minister after police filed charges against him for alleged involvement in demonstrations that climaxed with the seizure of Bangkok's airports last year.
Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya and 35 other leaders of the "Yellow Shirt" movement face criminal charges including illegal assembly, attempts to stir unrest, and breaches of aviation law and terrorism for the eight-day siege of Bangkok's two airports in November and December.
The full AP article » By Ambika Ahuja.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Understanding the Quest to Protect Human Rights -
  Overview: Students explore the concept of human rights by developing and defending their own "Bills of Human Rights" and by writing a reflective essay that compares their notions of human rights and the protection of them...  Go to this Law and Society Lesson.
• The Learning Foundation - Lesson Plan - "Is the Thai Constitution credible?"
• The Learning Foundation - "It's my country/I can do what I want!" - Simplified Mock Trial Lesson Plan.

The court cases come at a time when countries in the region are looking increasingly toward China as a political and economic model and questioning the democratic and humanitarian values of the West.
In recent years, China has become a major donor and investor in Cambodia in projects that do not place the kinds of demands on governing and management that generally accompany assistance from Western nations and aid organizations.
“We have been fearing all along that Cambodia’s government is looking eastward toward China and Vietnam as models,” with their strong central governments and intolerance of dissent, said Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights.
Together with land seizures that are driving tens of thousands of people from their homes, analysts say these actions demonstrate a sense of impunity in a government that has resisted efforts to strengthen the rule of law in Cambodia. From this New York Times article » By Seth Mydans.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Understanding the Quest to Protect Human Rights -
Overview: Students explore the concept of human rights by developing and defending their own "Bills of Human Rights" and by writing a reflective essay that compares their notions of human rights and the protection of them...  Go to this Law and Society Lesson.

Looking Back - July, 2009

Thailand's royalist leaders are beginning to learn the consequences of deposing a legitimately elected government, with red-shirted protesters at their gates and violence intensifying even during Songkran, the keenly-awaited Thai new year festival, a time when Thais traditionally splash water on each other with great abandon. (continued after the picture...)

Were the royalist, anti-Thaksin forces used mobs of yellow-shirt clad demonstrators (yellow is the color of the Thai king) to enforce their will, this time Thaksin's red shirts are upping the stakes in the battle for power.
It is questionable whether the Democrat Party government headed by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva can survive and, even if he goes, whether peace can be restored.
"The protesters are going against the establishment, not just Abhisit," Bloomberg quoted Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute for Strategic and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. "We have this brinkmanship and confrontation that appears now untenable."
Read the complete Asian Sentinel article.

Related BBC article: Army pressure ends Thai protest

• The Learning Foundation - Making Good Laws: "Is the Thai Constitution credible?" -
  Go to this Building a Healthy Society and Law Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Examining Military Coups Around the World -
  Students will consider military coups and their aftermaths, research famous coups... illustrating those events, and write letters from the perspectives of ousted leaders examined during class. Go to this Law and Society Lesson.

The mourners lashed out at the prosecutors and the conservative media who had relentlessly pursued accusations of corruption for the past year, after Mr. Roh had left office. Most also accused the sitting president, Mr. Lee, of guiding or at least encouraging the investigations. In Mr. Roh’s native village, Bongha, his supporters trampled a funeral wreath sent by the president.

“It has become a bad political habit for presidents in South Korea to try to gain support by punishing the former president,” said Kang Won-taek, a politics professor at Seoul’s Soongsil University. “What happened to Roh Moo-hyun shows that it is time to break this habit.”
But political experts, and even many average Koreans, say that their nation’s struggle to shed its authoritarian past was never finished, and that investigation of Mr. Roh highlighted at least two other legacies: a powerful presidency and a justice system with few checks and balances, especially on its prosecutors. The full article » By Martin Fackler

Judging the judges - Compare and Contrast the experiences of former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and Thailand's treatment of Thaksin Shinawatra and his suppporters -

Thailand - 8/12/2008 - The former prime minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, skipped a court appearance Monday and announced he was seeking refuge in London, leaving behind more than $2 billion frozen by the generals who ousted him from power two years ago.
He said that in Thailand he had been the victim of a “political assassination” and said that his enemies had used dictatorial powers to persecute his family. “My family and I were continually treated unfairly, without justice or truth,” he said. in this New York Times article » By Jane Perlez (IHT)

Editors Note - 6/6/2009: Thailand's "normal" rule of law has been overthrown and rewritten 17 times, on average every two and a half years, since the country became a constitutional monarchy 75 years ago.
The current military and court installed government of Abhisit Vejjajiva has ordered prosecutors to pursue cases against Thaksin supporters who claimed he had seized power illegally and he should call a new election.
But no prosecutions have been filed against the group, which helped Abhisit take power, by hijacking both Thailand's international airports stranding over 300,000 tourists for weeks in December last year.

Abhisit claims his actions show “This is to signal to the world that our country has returned to normal,” Abhisit told reporters in Bangkok. “We will maintain the nation’s peace and order by using existing laws.”
More about the credibility of » Thailand's military constitution.)

A Learning Foundation Lesson - Compare and Contrast justice in South Korea and Thailand - Go to this ESL Law and Society Lesson.

Geoffrey Nice was the principal prosecution trial attorney in the case against Slobodan Milosevic in the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. Pedro Nikken was president of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and is an executive committee member of the International Commission of Jurists.

---

"In the Quiet Land, no one can say
when the soldiers are coming to carry them away.
The Chinese want (gas); the French want the oil;
the Thais take the timber; and SLORC takes the spoils...
In the Quiet Land....
In the Quiet Land, no one can hear
what is silenced by murder
and covered up with fear.
But, despite what is forced, freedom's a sound
that liars can't fake and no shouting can drown."
From In The Quiet Land - Written by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

“The state of emergency was not an emergency,” said Paul Quaglia, director of PSA Asia, a Bangkok-based security and risk assessment consulting firm. “It was always in place for political reasons and the economic drivers finally forced Abhisit to climb down.” From this Bloomberg article » By Suttinee Yuvejwattana and Daniel Ten Kate.

Editors Note: Thailand's "normal" rule of law has been overthrown and rewritten 17 times, on average every two and a half years, since the country became a constitutional monarchy 75 years ago. More about the credibility of » Thailand's military constitution.)

About 300 Afghan women, facing an angry throng three times larger than their own, walked the streets of the capital on Wednesday to demand that Parliament repeal a new law that introduces a range of Taliban-like restrictions on women, and permits, among other things, marital rape.
"Whenever a man wants sex, we cannot refuse," said Fatima Husseini, 26, one of the marchers. "It means a woman is a kind of property, to be used by the man in any way that he wants."
One provision makes it illegal for a woman to resist her husband's sexual advances. A second provision requires a husband's permission for a woman to work outside the home or go to school. And a third makes it illegal for a woman to refuse to "make herself up" or "dress up" if that is what her husband wants.

---

The cleric, Mohammed Hussein Jafaari, (answered) "This law was approved by the scholars. It was passed by both houses of Parliament. It was signed by the president."
He said it was between professionals and nonprofessionals; that is, between the clerics, who understood the Koran and Islamic law, and the women calling for the law's repeal who did not.
The religious scholars, Mr. Jafaari conceded, were all men.
Mr. Jafaari said that what was really driving the dispute was the foreigners who loomed so large over the country.
"We Afghans don't want a bunch of NATO commanders and foreign ministers telling us what to do."
The full New York Times article - By Dexter Filkins

• The Learning Foundation - "An Afgan Woman's Rights"- What makes a law good lesson plan. -
Students decide if a law approved by the scholars, passed by both houses of Parliament and signed by the president makes it a "good law" and discuss if the claim by the cleric, Mohammed Hussein Jafaari, that it is foreigners making the dispute in the country.
Writing assignment based on this statement: "NATO commanders and foreign ministers involved in Afganistan have a right (or no right) to speak out about these laws."

Last year it was the yellow shirt (PAD) movement which closed down the airports, took over Government House and forced political change.
The army (that staged the 2006 coup overthrowing the elected government of Thaksin and supports Abhisit) did not react in this way when they were on the streets, but it seems clear the prime minister, or his military commanders, have decided to bring this to an end. Read this BBC article By Alastair Leithead.

• The Learning Foundation - "Is the military created Thai constitution credible?" - What makes a law good lesson plan.

• The Learning Foundation - "It's my country/I can do what I want!" - Simplified Mock Trial Lesson Plan.

The legal difficulties in Asia related to inconsistent interpretation and implementation of the law, David Maund, managing director at Alvarez & Marsal, a debt-restructuring consultancy explained. "That tends to be an issue particularly in places like the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, India and China," he said. Read The full International Herald Tribune article »By Umesh Desai and Andrew Marshall for Reuters.

Learning Foundation Simplified Mock Trials:

• Two related cases: The Case of "Finishing too Late" - A Contract Dispute, and Appealing a lower court opinion/ "The Road Builder vs The Sales Company"
• "Freezing Bus Fares" Appealing a lower court opinion
• "The 18th Thai constitution?" - What makes a law good lesson plan.
• "It's my country/I can do what I want!" - Simplified Mock Trial Lesson Plan.

The son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas, the Democratic senator from Illinois sealed his victory by defeating Republican Sen. John McCain in a string of wins in hard-fought battleground states — Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Iowa. » read more

• The New York Times - Learning Network - History in the Making -
Overview: Students explore the social history of the United States to better understand why the election of Barack Obama is historic from a variety of perspectives. Go to this Building Society and Law Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Educating Youth on Voting and the Electoral Process -
Overview: Students create voter education campaigns to raise awareness of and interest in the government for future voters. Go to this Building Society and Law Lesson.

Most South Korean Web portals and online news sites have discussion boards where users can post uncensored, anonymous comments. Some news articles attract hundreds of feedback entries, ranging from thoughtful comments to raving obscenities.
The police reported 10,028 cases of online libel last year, up from 3,667 reported in 2004. "Yellow journalism" spread through the Internet and picked up by newspapers (is pervasive).
So many teenagers are addicted to online games that the government runs "Internet rescue" boot camps to help them rehabilitate.
Under a new edict from the Education Ministry, teachers must spend more time teaching online ethics, starting in primary school. Read the IHT Article » By Choe Sang-Hun

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Talking Trash -
Examines how online anonymity grants teens license to gossip:
Students will consider their own experiences with online message boards and chat rooms, discover how teens are using the Web to talk about people in their lives. Go to this Media, Law and Health Lesson.

• Three related Learning Foundation Simplified Mock Trial cases.
- "I can say what I want!"
- "I was just protecting my kid"
- "News vs Gossip"

As advanced science (communications and international agreements) play a larger role in courtrooms across the country (and the world) judges who earned degrees in English, the humanities (or only Law as in Thailand) face the daunting task of making informed decisions about some very technical disputes. Read the entire article Judges get crash course in sciences - By Mike Baker - Associated Press Writer.

"... This is a problem for Thailand. They ignore the scientific evidence. The judge, the attorney, the police... I think they don’t know much about forensic science, especially DNA...." read the rest of the Interview with Dr. Porntip - Foreign Correspondent.

• WWS - World Wise School- Is That a Fact?
Overview: Understanding the difference between fact and opinion is critical to our ability to examine our reactions to events and people. Stereotypes and prejudices are often based on opinions that are perceived as facts. Go to this Building Society Lesson Worksheet.

• The New York Times - Learning Network  Learning About Cell Renewal Throughout the Body -
Overview: Students learn about the latest research on cell and tissue renewal. They then explore the various internal body parts and systems examined in these studies.  Go to this Science Lesson.

• The Learning Foundation - Simplified Mock Trials - "What to Teach" - Simplified Mock Trial.

Thailand 2006 - In the most bizarre case, a junta-appointed court dissolved Thai Rak Thai for trying to gain power through unconstitutional means even as it upheld administrative orders from the generals who tore up the constitution when they took power. The decision essentially gave legal legitimacy to coups.
Many political analysts in Thailand accepted the court decisions at the time under the belief that they would be one-off measures to get the country through the political crisis. But then the military-appointed assembly took another step by permanently changing the constitution and the law to reflect the dubious legal interpretations. Read the Asian Sentinel Article »
The military then wrote its own laws to prosecute Thaksin Shinawatra, the ousted prime minster. Thai courts protected the military from prosecution for the coup.
Thaksin gave up on getting justice in Thailand and returned to exile in Britain. More in this New York Times article.

• A Learning Foundation Lesson - Using these examples Compare and Contrast: the rule of Law in Pakistan and Thailand - Go to this ESL Law and Society Lesson.

Musharraf led the coup in 1999 that overthrew prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, who was exiled until his return to Pakistan this year. Sharif along with Zardari, the husband of assassinated leader, Benazir Bhutto, are now coalition partners in the recently elected Pakistan government. Image source and 1999 coup report - BBC

No previous Pakistani leader has been impeached. The military will not let him be persecuted, it said, quoting a senior army officer it didn't name. Pakistan's military is seeking to broker a deal to let President Pervez Musharraf make an "honorable exit" and retire with immunity from prosecution, the Sunday Times reported.
(There have been 4 coups since Pakistan was founded 60 years ago. but the military has controlled the country for most of that time.) More on this subject - Bloomberg.com

Related - Learning Foundation - Simplified Mock Trial lesson Plans:
• "It's my country/I can do what I want!"
• "Is The 18th Thai constitution credible?" - What makes a law good?

Thailand - The former prime minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, skipped a court appearance Monday and announced he was seeking refuge in London, leaving behind more than $2 billion frozen by the generals who ousted him from power two years ago.
He said that in Thailand he had been the victim of a “political assassination” and said that his enemies had used dictatorial powers to persecute his family. “My family and I were continually treated unfairly, without justice or truth,” he said. » in this New York Times article - By Thomas Fuller - Published: August 11, 2008.
Update | Thailand’s Political Drama Continues - Interview from The Asia Sentinel.

---

Zardari Image source

Pakistan - Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of the slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, now sits at the pinnacle of Pakistani politics. It is a startling comeback for a man who, though never convicted here, spent 11 years in jail here on corruption and murder charges as one of Pakistan's most ostracized figures.
Zardari's sudden revival is a reminder of how Pakistan has veered between military rule and civilian governments that have been dogged by allegations of corruption, and how those cases can be prosecuted — or wiped away — depending on the political wind.
"They always come to me through legality," Zardari said. "They always have a legal reason. After all, Christ was tried. It is not that they didn't give him a trial. They did. How good the trial was, that is another thing."
» The full New York Times Article - By Jane Perlez - Published: Tuesday, March 11, 2008

• A Learning Foundation Lesson - Compare and Contrast the rule of Law in Thailand and Pakistan - Go to this ESL Law and Society Lesson.

• The Learning Foundation - Making Good Laws: "Is the Thai Constitution credible?" -
  Go to this Building a Healthy Society and Law Lesson.
• The Learning Foundation - Who chooses the way a country is governed? -
  "It's my country - I can do what I want!" - A Simplified Mock Trial Lesson Plan.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Examining Military Coups Around the World -
  Students will consider military coups and their aftermaths, research famous coups... illustrating those events, and write letters from the perspectives of ousted leaders examined during class. Go to this Law and Society Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Evaluating How DNA Databases Are Used to Solve Crimes -
Overview: Students reflect on their opinions about the use of DNA databases in criminal investigations. They then generate a list of questions they have about DNA and its importance, prepare and give brief presentations, and then further discuss their positions on how DNA information should be collected and used by police.  Go to this Law and Science Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Analyzing Media Coverage of Crime -
Overview: Students will compare the coverage of two crime stories, analyzing both for objectivity, language, emotional impact, and local and national dissemination. Go to this Media and Law Lesson.

Youk Chhang was 14 when the Khmer Rouge seized power, and like many teenagers, he was forced into hard labor in the fields, with food and death his twin obsessions.
"There were all those people my age, just little kids, naive, innocent."
Read Article » By Seth Mydans - International Herald Tribune

"They're us, and we are them," Youk Chhang said in an interview in his small office in Phnom Penh where photographs of both victims and killers hang on the walls. "They are the evil side of us. Crimes are committed by human beings, by people just like me."

• The New York Times - Learning Network - The Killing Fields -
Documenting Ethnic Division and Ethnic Cleansing Throughout Modern History
Overview: Students learn about ethnic divisions in the West African nation of Ivory Coast and research instances of ethnic cleansing in many nations throughout history. Students then create global history textbook entries that explore, compare and contrast these historic examples. The Killing Fields Go to Law and Society Lesson.

Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama told reporters that if Bin Laden were found during his watch, he would bring him to justice in a way that wouldn't allow the terrorist mastermind to become a martyr... "and to assure that the United States government is abiding by basic conventions that would strengthen our hand in the broader battle against terrorism," he said. Read this UK Press article »

Making a Case - Compare and Contrast: Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Investigating the Charges Against Saddam Hussein -
Overview: Students share opinions about human rights. They then research the specific charges in the case against Saddam Hussein, and propose an argument for or against the accused. Go to this Law and Society lesson.

The jury unanimously found the defendant guilty of the assault of a 70-year-old woman during an attempted burglary.
But in a passionate closing argument, the defence counsel urged leniency, saying the defendant had taken his victim to hospital and turned himself in, said Korean news agency Yonhap.
After a two-hour deliberation the jury recommended a suspended sentence of 30 months and 80 hours' community service, and the judge agreed. Read this BBC Article »

More Background: This initial learning process has been facilitated by the South Korean government, which is running commercials about jury service and conducting mock trials. Read the IHT article » By Thaddeus Hoffmeister.

• Related Lesson The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring the (American) Youth Court System by Engaging in a Mock Trial
Overview: Students learn about youth courts and explore the system further by engaging in a mock youth court trial. Go to this Law and Society Lesson.

• The Learning Foundation - "What to Teach" - Simplified Mock Trial Lesson Plan.

Chat room image Florida online reading - selling newspapers image source newscopy.org

A Newspaper that looks for possible stories from Thai web site bulletin boards, blogs, and chat-rooms picked up the story spreading about Lek who had claimed her teacher had stolen her hand phone.

The newspaper called her mother for an interview.
Lek’s mother told the Newspaper that Ms Lawson hated her daughter and took her hand phone to punish her.

The Thai Newspaper printed a story: Headline News - "Teacher abuses kid"
The story added that the school in which the teacher taught was very bad and should be closed until the government investigates.

The same day, a parent of a student from the school sent the newspaper article to the head of the school.
He translated the article for Lek's teacher, Ms lawson, who became very upset.
"That's not true!" She said. "They lied!"
"Don’t they need any evidence to show what they print is true?"

The Newspaper said it was just passing along stories that interested readers and the damage to Ms Lawson and the school were their own fault not the Newspapers.

• This is the third of three related Learning Foundation Simplified Mock Trial cases:
- "I can say what I want!"
- "I was just protecting my kid"
- "News vs Gossip"

Noppadol Pattama, the Shinawatra family lawyer, told reporters that Pojaman made the decision to return "a couple of days ago" and that she was now ready to fight the charges against her.
Thaksin faces charges in the same cases as his wife; both cases were brought after investigations by a special committee formed by the (military) junta that removed Thaksin from power. Read Article » By Thomas Fuller - IHT

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Analyzing Media Coverage of Crime
Overview: Students will compare the coverage of two crime stories, analyzing both for objectivity, language, emotional impact, and local and national dissemination. Go to this Media and Law Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Understanding the Quest to Protect Human Rights.
Overview: Students explore the concept of human rights by developing and defending their own "Bills of Human Rights" and by writing a reflective essay that compares their notions of human rights and the protection of them.  Go to this Media and Law Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Analyzing the Substance and Credibility of Newspapers
Students share opinions about the factors that influence their decisions about which newspapers to read. They then analyze the tone, content and perspective of major newspapers and rank them based on personal criteria. Go to this Media and ESL Lesson.

• Related Thai stories - Rumor Nation - The Asian Sentinel and "But rumours sell." - The Bangkok Post
• The Learning Foundation - Simplified Mock Trials
- The Case of Slanted News
- "News vs Gossip"

Oscar Pistorius asked the Court of Appeal to examine qualification to compete while using of an assistive device, not only in solely biomechanical terms.
"These have always been my legs. I train harder than other guys, eat better, sleep better and wake up thinking about athletics. I think that's probably why I'm a bit of an exception."
There are many disadvantages to sprinting on carbon-fiber legs, Pistorius and his coach said. After a cumbersome start, he needs about 30 meters to gain his rhythm. His knees do not flex as readily, limiting his power output. His grip can be unsure in the rain. And when he runs into a headwind or grows fatigued, he must fight rotational forces that turn his prosthetic devices sideways, said Ampie Louw, who coaches Pistorius.
My legs allow me to run, but to win I face the same challenges as every other Olympic runner, and I am asking the Court of Appeal to overturn the decision of the I.A.A.F, so I can compete in the 2008 Olympics.

Background: The coup leaders used state power for political ends, manipulated the rule of law to suit their needs and kept martial law in place in certain provincial areas up until Election Day. With the interim government’s popularity sinking, the military-appointed legislature waited until a few days before the election before quickly passing 64 laws as a parting gift to anyone who still held illusions that the junta respected democracy.
One of those laws passed at the last minute was the Internal Security Act, which gives the military sweeping powers to detain people, wiretap phones and declare emergency rule. Read article » By Daniel Ten Kate - Asian Sentinel.

(AFP) image on right from article on Thai voting.

“I think what we’re seeing over these past couple of years is that the Thai elite has become disillusioned with democracy because Thaksin opened up the possibility that the poor can have some say in politics, and they don’t like that,” said Giles from Chulalongkorn University. “To develop democracy, civil society will have to push against the Thai elite. It’s going to take some time to educate the elites about the benefits of democracy.” Read Article »

• The Learning Foundation - "The 18th Thai constitution?" - What makes a law good lesson plan.

• The Learning Foundation - "It's my country/I can do what I want!" - Simplified Mock Trial Lesson Plan. Editor's note: This case is based on the conflicting opinions about who chooses the way a country is governed.

• Related Lesson: The New York Times - Learning Network - Explore the positives and negatives of democratic governments and dictatorships - Go to this Building Society Lesson.

Southeast Asia’s leaders again show how toothless their organization really is. Read Article » Burma Gets Away With It Again at ASEAN - The Asian Sentinel

"In the Quiet Land, no one can say

when the soldiers are coming to carry them away.

The Chinese want (gas); the French want the oil;

the Thais take the timber; and SLORC takes the spoils...
In the Quiet Land....

In the Quiet Land, no one can hear
what is silenced by murder

and covered up with fear.

But, despite what is forced, freedom's a sound

that liars can't fake and no shouting can drown."
From In The Quiet Land By Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Understanding the Quest to Protect Human Rights.
Overview: Students explore the concept of human rights by developing and defending their own "Bills of Human Rights" and by writing a reflective essay that compares their notions of human rights and the protection of them...  Go to this Law and Society Lesson.

Youk Chhang was 14 when the Khmer Rouge seized power, and like many teenagers, he was forced into hard labor in the fields, with food and death his twin obsessions.
"There were all those people my age, just little kids, naive, innocent."
Read Article » By Seth Mydans - International Herald Tribune

"They're us, and we are them," Youk Chhang said in an interview in his small office in Phnom Penh where photographs of both victims and killers hang on the walls. "They are the evil side of us. Crimes are committed by human beings, by people just like me."

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Learning about the Legacy of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia
Overview: Students learn about the Khmer Rouge regime that ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979 and how the regime's legacy of genocide and other crimes against humanity continues to impact the country today. Go to this Law and Society Lesson.

Thailand’s military-appointed legislature this week proposed — and then abruptly withdrew — two bills that would have made it illegal to criticize the king’s senior advisors.
Many saw the bills — supported by military men, judges and, surprisingly, some journalists — as expressly designed to protect Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda, a former army chief and prime minister that analysts and critics alike suspect of masterminding the September 2006 overthrow of Thaksin Shinawatra in a military coup. Read Article » By Daniel Ten Kate - The Asian Sentinel

Related Lessons: • The New York Times - Learning Network - Fight for Your Rights
Overview: Students will create role-plays based on recent situations (like the above Thai story) involving free speech at Columbia University and then write informed fictional letters to the editor. Go to this Law and Society Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Writing Challenging Questions for Today's World Leaders
Overview: Students learn about Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's controversial invitation to speak at Columbia University. They then work in pairs to research and write provocative interview questions to ask other contentious world leaders (like those in the above Thai story) for class presentations.   Go to this Law and Society Lesson.

State lawmakers across the United States are adopting broad changes to criminal justice procedures as a response to the exoneration of more than 200 convicts through the use of DNA evidence.
"It's become clear that eyewitnesses are fallible," said Lieutenant Kenneth Patenaude, a police commander in Northampton, Massachusetts, and an expert on witness identification. - Read Article » By Solomon Moore.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Evaluating How DNA Databases Are Used to Solve Crimes
Overview: Students reflect on their opinions about the use of DNA databases in criminal investigations. They then generate a list of questions they have about DNA and its importance, prepare and give brief presentations, and then further discuss their positions on how DNA information should be collected and used by police.  Go to this Law and Science Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Analyzing Media Coverage of Crime
Overview: Students will compare the coverage of two crime stories, analyzing both for objectivity, language, emotional impact, and local and national dissemination. Go to this Media and Law Lesson.

Although the findings do not change the relationship of Homo erectus as a direct ancestor of Homo sapiens, scientists said, the surprisingly diminutive erectus skull implies that this species was not as humanlike as once thought. Article source: A pair of fossils shakes up the human family tree By John Noble Wilford - International Herald Tribune

 "Creation or Evolution?" by David Ross
• World Wise School - Learning to identify and modify generalizations. This activity introduces students to the difficult concept of generalization so that they will challenge generalizations made about people... Go to this Lesson Worksheet.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Investigating and Discussing Darwinism ... (Explaining Life’s Complexities)
Overview: Students learn about theories of ’intelligent design’ in evolutionary science...  Go to this Science Lesson.  

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring Driver Safety for Teenagers
Overview: Students use the Internet to investigate safe driving practices and technologies, and then "publish" a manual of safe driving for teenagers. Go to this Building Society Lesson.

• Have students read and discuss the: Parent-Youth Safe Driving Contract.  

It began with an impassioned, 5,000-word letter on one of China's most popular Internet bulletin boards, from a husband denouncing a student he suspected of carrying on an affair with his wife.
Immediately, hundreds joined in the attack. "Let's use our keyboard and mouse in our hands as weapons," as one person wrote, "to chop out the heads of these adulterers, to pay for the sacrifice of the husband." Within days, the hundreds had grown to thousands, and then tens of thousands, with total strangers forming teams to hunt down the student's identity and address, hounding him out of his university and causing his family to barricade themselves inside their home. Read Article » and The keyboard as weapon - By Howard W. French for The New York Times.

Related Lesson:
Li Qingyou's statment:"Our mentality was that when Chairman Mao waved his hand, we would move, and whatever he said, we would do.
• The Learning Foundation - "Did Li Qingyou Break the Law?" - Simplified Mock Trial Lesson.
• Compare and Contrast - Local Thai Media news - The Bangkok Post.

A Malaysian Federal Court said Joy, now age 41, who was born to Muslim parents and began attending church in 1990, should seek permission to renounce Islam from Islamic Shariah courts. Joy, however, has refused to seek the Shariah court's permission, saying she is a Christian and should not be bound by Islamic laws.
As far as is known, only one person has ever been allowed to leave Islam in Malaysia. An 89-year old woman named Nyonya Tahir who converted to Buddhism in 1936 had her decision accepted – 69 years later ‑ in 2006, after she had died.
From: Doing the Impossible: Quitting Islam in Malaysia - By Imran Imtiaz Shah Yacob - Asia Sentinel

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Understanding the Quest to Protect Human Rights.
Overview: Students explore the concept of human rights by developing and defending their own "Bills of Human Rights" and by writing a reflective essay that compares their notions of human rights and the protection of them...  Go to this Law and Society Lesson.

• WWS - World Wise School Lesson - Students will recognize that a single observation can be misleading.
Young children often make assumptions and judgments about people based on quick impressions. For example, a little girl noticing a house with peeling paint and an unkempt yard told her aunt, "I bet the people who live in that house are ugly." The girl had somehow learned to make assumptions about people she had never met based on her perception of their possessions. Go to this Building Society Lesson Worksheet 

• The Learning Foundation - Compare and Contrast - Buddhism which relies on the direct observation of one's personal experience and on honing certain skills in order to gain true understanding and wisdom, with the importance of continually testing and questioning assumptions made by Socrates.
Ask students if the Buddha and Socrates agreed?