In Rural Thailand, an Unappeased Opposition Bides Its Time

Posted on September 5, 2010 at 2:49 am in

Thai Government oppostion

Justin Mott for The New York Times – Image source
Prisoners accused of burning municipal hall in Udon Thani left a courtroom after pleading not guilty.

Thai protesters have returned home, but reconciliation efforts have fallen flat:

In Bangkok, nearly 500 kilometers, or 300 miles, to the southeast, a sense of normalcy has covered over the wounds of the red shirts’ long occupation of the city center, which ended on May 19 with a military assault in which about 90 people died.
(In the provinces), home to many who protested in Bangkok in April and May, critics of the government have retreated into silence.
In a prison interview here, Natthayot Phajuang, a red shirt leader who is serving a six-month sentence, said the continuing detentions were making it difficult to find common ground.
“If he wants people in the country to love each other in harmony again,” he said of Mr. Abhisit, “he shouldn’t use prison to separate us.” » The full New York Times article – By Seth Mydans – Published: August 31, 2010


  • Would prime minister Abhisit’s party, which hasn’t won a nationwide poll since 1992, be in power if their “yellow shirted” supporters had not hijacked the airports and held them hostage for 8 days in 2008 stranding hundreds of thousands of travelers?
  • None of the yellow shirts have been convicted for shutting down the airport, including Kasit Piromya, the current foreign minister who took part and reportedly said the protest was “a lot of fun.” » The full New York Times article. – By Thomas Fuller.
  • Abhisit’s Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban says (the 8 day) blockade of the two airports last year “caused no damage to aviation” so charges are baseless. » The full Bangkok Post article..
  • Is Thai law biased? Thai Supreme Court rulings are based on the military created constitution.

Thailand’s army-backed government is now wielding overwhelming surveillance, imprisonment, censorship and other “state of emergency” powers across much of this Buddhist-majority Southeast Asian nation. The United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, commonly known as the Red Shirts, acknowledge that they have been strangled and are struggling to stay alive. Thousands of cameras are to be installed all over Bangkok, making it probably the most heavily surveilled city in Asia.
“The government’s use of terrorism charges to go after Red Shirt leaders, as well as Thaksin, is inappropriate for what was mostly a peaceful political movement that did not target civilians,” said the Belgium-based International Crisis Group on July 5.
The emergency decree, described by the ICG as “draconian,” conveniently also” grants officials immunity from prosecution,” the ICG said. » The full Asia Sentinel article – By Richard S. Ehrlich – July 8, 2010


  • WWS – World Wise School – The Blind Men and the Elephant -
    Overview | Students will develop sensitivity to others’ points of view.
    – Students will understand the importance of having as much information as possible before coming to conclusions. Go to this Building Society Lesson Worksheet.
  • 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 – Democracy in Action -
    Overview | Students consider words that reflect their knowledge and opinions about democracy. Go to this Building a Healthy Society and ESL Lesson.
  • The New York Times – Learning Network – Examining Military Coups Around the World -
    Overview | Students 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.

China and the world economy

Posted on September 4, 2010 at 3:49 am in

In China’s Success, a Need for Change

Unable to sell at home all that it produces, China exports the rest.
This template has powered 30 years of headlong economic growth that has catapulted China past Japan to become the second-largest economy, after the United States. But it is a formula that Beijing readily agrees is unsustainable: China needs to rely more on household spending, especially as its export prospects are darkening as the West tightens its belt to purge excess debt…. Continued after the image.

China and the world economy

Zhou Tianyong, a professor at the Central Party School in Beijing, which trains rising
Communist Party officials, has long argued that China needs steady but far-reaching political changes.
Shifting gears will be difficult, he contends, because of the habits China has formed and the entrenched interests that have built up.
And there is the rub. Does the Communist Party have the will to remove some of the power and wealth it has bestowed on its favorites? » The full New York Times article – By Alan Wheatley – Published: August 30, 2010


  • The New York Times – Learning Network – Examining Key World Economies and Comparing Their Current Volatility -
    Overview | Students review key economic terms and ideas necessary for understanding world economies. They then research the economies of countries in the Group of 8 (20) and present how their economies have changed over the past five years and how the relationships among these countries affect each other in light of world events. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson.
  • 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 – Comparing the 1929 Stock Market Crash to Today’s Wall Street Crisis
    Overview | Students use resources from The New York Times to compare the circumstances under which the Great Depression came about to the circumstances of the current economic crisis. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson.

China’s Communist siege of Changchun in 1948

Posted on August 31, 2010 at 4:17 am in

China Is Wordless on Traumas of Communists’ Rise

CHANGCHUN, CHINA
In what China’s history books hail as one of the war’s decisive victories, Mao’s troops starved out the formidable Nationalist garrison that occupied Changchun with nary a shot fired. What the official story line does not reveal is that at least 160,000 civilians also died during the siege of the northeastern city, which lasted from June to October of 1948.
“Changchun was like Hiroshima,” wrote Zhang Zhenglu, a lieutenant colonel in the People’s Liberation Army who documented the siege in “White Snow, Red Blood,” a book that was immediately banned after publication in 1989. “The casualties were about the same. Hiroshima took nine seconds; Changchun took five months.” » The full New York Times article – By Andrew Jacobs.

Communist siege of Changchun

Shiho Fukada for The New York Times
As a soldier, Wang Junru had to drive back hungry civilians. He was 15 when the Communists forced him to join a militia for teenagers. Later, he joined 170,000 other soldiers ordered to drive back hungry civilians. “We were told they were the enemy and they had to die,” he said. – Original image source.

  • 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.
  • The Learning Foundation “Did Li Qingyou Break the Law?” – Simplified Mock Trial Lesson -
    Red Guard, Li Qingyou’s statement: “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.
  • The New York Times – Learning Network – The Second Draft of History -
    Overview | Students draft entries about a recent historical event for a history textbook using two specific sources of information. They then compare their entries and examine the differences. Go to this Media and ESL Lesson.

The Right to Practice Religion in America

Posted on August 16, 2010 at 9:11 am in

Religious Rights

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

The U.S. Constitution

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


  • 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.

The Rights of the Acccused in China

Posted on August 1, 2010 at 9:05 am in

BEIJING — The Chinese government has called for an end to the public shaming of criminal suspects

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.

Public Punishment

Image source – China Daily, via Reuters
Police officers watched over prostitutes during a public parade in 2006 in Shenzhen, in Guangdong Province in southern China

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


  • 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.

Martial Law in Thailand continues to choke-off dissent and cover-up the past

Posted on July 17, 2010 at 9:17 am in

The worst part of censorshipselling news

  • Thai Academics Shut Down

    Thai academics are being intimidated out of speaking
    out on a large scale, according to University World
    News, a London-based publication for academics. In
    an article by Yojana Sharma, published on July 11, the
    publication said that “broadcasting freely is no longer a
    simple and safe matter since the government
    crackdown against Red Shirt protesters in May.”
    “When Thai newspapers quote English-language newspapers they distort the news. I explained to my listeners that
    Thai newspapers don’t give the right translations,” said Suda Rangkupan, a lecturer in linguistics at Bangkok’s
    Chulalongkorn University.
    “Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn described Red Shirt broadcasters as a “threat to national security”. But Suda said only the radio stations that supported the democracy movements were closed whereas those run by the pro-government Yellow Shirts were still open even though they were also community radio
    stations. » The full Asia Sentinel article – Written by Yojana Sharma – Published July 12,2010

  • Bangkok: International Media under Fire

    Although nearly a month has passed since the Thai
    government forcefully ended the Bangkok protests by
    the Red Shirt followers of deposed Premier Thaksin
    Shinawatra, the conflict persists. Now the Thai
    authorities and segments of Thai society have opened
    up a new flank. They are on a collision course with the
    foreign media.» The full Asia Sentinel article -
    Written by Haseenah Koyakutty – Published June 15,2010

  • Protest by disabled vendors dispersed
    A protesting group of 200 disabled lottery vendors – including a number of blind sellers – gathering yesterday near the Government House were dispersed by police under the state of emergency, although their demonstration was peaceful. » The full Nation article – Published on June 9, 2010
    Protest by disabled vendors dispersed Image source
  • May 18 | Thai Media joins government in spreading hate –
    (International Herald Tribune) – A constant crawl at the bottom of television screens, which started running in March on two government-owned stations, makes the case that “malevolent” protesters are hurting the country and should go home. And an advertisement implores, “Thais should love each other because we all live in the same country.”
    “The Thai people love peace but when we go to war, we are not fearful,” read one of the dozens of messages exhorting people to oppose the protest movement that has paralyzed parts of Bangkok for more than seven weeks.
    At the same time the government has shut down an opposition television station and at least 420 Web sites affiliated with the red shirt movement.
    Officials are also accusing red shirts of trying to overthrow the monarchy, an incendiary charge that protest leaders reject. » The full International Herald Tribune article By By Thomas Fuller.

Fighting intolerance image source Tolerance.org


To the Rescue! – Learn first aid responses to a variety of emergency scenarios

Posted on July 11, 2010 at 9:23 am in
Act F.A.S.T.
  • FACE
    Ask the person to smile.
    Does one side of the face droop? 
  • ARMS
    Ask the person to raise both arms.
    Does one arm drift downward?
  • SPEECH
    Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence.
    Are the words slurred?  Can he/she repeat the sentence correctly?
  • TIME
    If the person shows any of these symptoms, time is important. 
    Call 911 or get to the hospital fast. Brain cells are dying.
    More from – Stroke.org
  • Warning signs of a stroke Image source

CPR Saves Lives Image source

“The thing that’s killing people is inaction,” said Dr. Michael Sayre of Ohio State University, who headed the association’s team that drafted the new recommendations.
Sayre said people not trained in CPR should do two things when they encounter an adult who has suddenly collapsed: first, call emergency services; and second, begin pushing “hard and fast” in the center of the person’s chest.
This is necessary to maintain vital blood flow, according to experts. Chest compressions should continue until emergency medical services responders arrive, Sayre said. Read Article » By Will Dunham – Reuters


  • The New York Times – Learning Network – Understanding Medical Responses to Emergencies
    Overview | Students review their understanding of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. They then learn about other types of medical responses to common emergency situations and evaluate the importance of CPR. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.
  • The New York Times – Learning Network – To the Rescue!
    Overview | Students learn about the trial of an automated cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) machine. They then investigate and role play first aid responses to a variety of emergency scenarios. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

Tibetans lose interest in playing by China’s rules and Bejiing is striking back

Posted on July 2, 2010 at 3:58 am in

Even prominent figures are taking a stand and Bejiing is striking back

BEIJING — Karma Samdrup and his two younger brothers were the kind of Tibetans who put the Chinese Communist Party at ease. Vaunted environmentalists, they were pillars of their community who steered clear of politics. Even better, Mr. Samdrup had become a rich philanthropist and planned to donate part of his immense Tibetan art collection to a state-run museum…. (continued after the picture)

Playing by China's rules
Karma Samdrup, shown in December 2008, is a wealthy Tibetan who prospered within the Chinese system. In a sign that Mr. Samdrup’s case has reached the highest echelons of power, the two books about him were recently banned by government censors in Beijing. » image source.

Mr. Pu says the legal process against his client has been flawed. He was not allowed to see Mr. Samdrup for six months, and it was only on the eve of the trial that the two were allowed to meet. Their entire 30-minute exchange, he said, was videotaped by the police, making a frank exchange nearly impossible.
During the hearing on Tuesday, according to the lawyer, Mr. Samdrup pleaded not guilty and told the court his interrogation had been accompanied by daily beatings from the police and fellow prisoners. He also said he was drugged with a substance that made his eyes and ears bleed, all part of an effort to force him to sign a confession. His wife estimates he lost at least 40 pounds in custody.
Although the trial is closed to the public, Ms. Woeser said many Tibetans were nervously awaiting news of the proceedings, which continued Wednesday.
“People are very angry, but they are also afraid,” she said. “The feeling is that if someone as influential as Karma can be taken down, none of us is safe.” » The full New York Times article – By Andrew Jacobs – Published: June 23, 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. Related background on: Torture in China
  • The New York Times – Learning Network – Splitting the Motherland?
    Overview | Students learn about the issues surrounding Tibet’s struggle for independence since China’s invasion in 1950. They then write dialogues discussing the issue from opposing points of view. Go to this ESL, Law and Society Lesson.

Bet on Private Sector for Recovery Could Prove Risky

Posted on July 1, 2010 at 9:10 am in

The world’s rich countries are now conducting a dangerous experiment.

They are repeating an economic policy out of the 1930s
— starting to cut spending and raise taxes before a recovery is
assured — and hoping today’s situation is different enough to assure
a different outcome.
The parallels to 1937 are not reassuring. From 1933 to 1937, the United States economy
expanded more than 40 percent, even surpassing its 1929 high. But the recovery was still
not durable enough to survive Roosevelt’s spending cuts and new Social Security tax. In
1938, the economy shrank 3.4 percent, and unemployment spiked.
We are left to hope that we have absorbed just enough of the 1930s lesson. » The full New York Times article – By David Leonhardt – Published: June 29, 2010.

Its a puzzle Image source

  • The New York Times – Learning Network – Examining Key World Economies and Comparing Their Current Volatility -
    Overview | Students review key economic terms and ideas necessary for understanding world economies. They then research the economies of countries in the Group of 8 (20) and present how their economies have changed over the past five years and how the relationships among these countries affect each other in light of world events. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson.
  • 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 – Comparing the 1929 Stock Market Crash to Today’s Wall Street Crisis
    Overview | Students use resources from The New York Times to compare the circumstances under which the Great Depression came about to the circumstances of the current economic crisis. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson.

Drip by drip, discontent is revealed – - Compare and Contrast: Iran and Thailand

Posted on June 12, 2010 at 1:37 am in

Iran

Across Iran, Anger Lies Behind Face of Calm

A medical school professor recently picked up a green marker to write notes on a white board for his students, and then with a smile chose another color, saying he might otherwise be arrested for using green, the color of the political opposition.
The vanguard of the new political elite is now the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which oversees Iran’s nuclear and missile programs and has extended its control over the economy and the machinery of state. It has improved its ability to control the street, to monitor electronic communications and keep tabs on university campuses, and its alumni head the government’s security organs. » The full New York Times article – By Will Yong and Michael Slackman – Published: June 11, 2010

Iran protest AFP/File

The security services made clear in the days leading to the anniversary that anyone taking to the streets would be dealt with harshly. On Friday, people in Tehran reported receiving a threatening text message on their cellphones.
“Dear citizen, you have been tricked by the foreign media and you are working on their behalf,” the message read. “If you do this again, you will be dealt with according to Islamic law.”
The people are more aware than before, but they stay quiet on fear of death,” said an 80-year-old woman as she sat in her kitchen frying onions for a rice dish. “They have killed so many of the young and the well intentioned. Even the shah did not kill like this. They rule the people at the tip of a spear, but the people don’t want them anymore.” » The full New York Times article – By Will Yong and Michael Slackman – Published: June 11, 2010


Thailand

Thailand’s martial law will continue for another three months, Abhisit’s military-backed government decided

“The government’s use of terrorism charges to go after Red Shirt leaders, as well as Thaksin, is inappropriate for what was mostly a peaceful political movement that did not target civilians,” said the Belgium-based International Crisis Group on July 5.
The emergency decree, described by the ICG as “draconian,” conveniently also “grants officials immunity from prosecution,” the ICG said. » The full Asia Sentinel article – By Richard S. Ehrlich – July 8, 2010


‣ Would Abhisit’s party, which hasn’t won a nationwide poll since 1992, be in power if their “yellow shirted” supporters had not hijacked the airports and held them hostage for 8 days in 2008 stranding hundreds of thousands of travelers?


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.

Police expect 80,000 protesters


  • A Learning Foundation Lesson – Similarities and differences between Iran and Thailand – Go to this ESL Compare and Contrast 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.
  • 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.

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