<p><em>This essay does not advocate support of coups. It does support more study of coups and the various international conditions that exist when coups are effected. Society needs to gain a more objective overview to understand the coup phenomenon more accurately and not automatically dismiss the sociopolitical realities that exist at the time coups are planned or effected. "The fault is not within the stars but within ourselves..."</em></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><em>****************</em></p>

<div>I was surprised and disappointed at a recent statement opposing plans to site a Halal industrial park anywhere in Chiang Mai. The statement was issued to the Governor in late January by a group of Buddhist monks and laity including the head of the Chiang Mai Sangha and members of the Association of Village Heads of Chiang Mai. </div>

<p dir="ltr"><strong><span id="docs-internal-guid-53064c4f-1112-8fa4-85d4-8b3703dd3c85">Introduction</span></strong></p>

<p>To question “What’s the point of having a military?” will certainly cause a problem. The problem, however, does not belong to those who are high-ranking soldiers. They might have a problem but it is minor. Even if we consider bribes from weapons transactions, it’s still a minor problem. &nbsp; &nbsp;</p>

<div> <p>An academic article just released in the journal <em>Nature Climate Change</em> and reported <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/rising-sea-levels-will-leave-just-the-top-of-161148748.html">worldwide</a> further confirms we are entering a period of human-influenced climate change which will affect the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of this planet for tens if not hundreds or thousands of years. Put simply, melting sea ice in the Arctic and Antarctic does not readily refreeze.</p> </div>

<div><em>Note: <a href="http://prachatai.org/english/node/5694">Aef Thanakorn&nbsp;S.</a> was arrested on 8 December 2015. &nbsp;He was detained in a military camp for seven days, the maximum currently permitted, before being taken to the Bangkok Military Court and formally accused of violating Article 112, Article 116, and the Computer Crimes Act. </em></div>

<p>The presidential candidacy campaigns are heating up in the United States. While the world hears so much about different campaigns to tackle domestic issues, little has been said about the US position in the promotion of democracy on the international stage. In the context of Southeast Asia, the role of the United States in supporting democratization process is crucial; yet it continues to be obscured.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" src="https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1639/24967559496_7ba63b018c.jpg" /></p>

<p>The Thai police have reacted angrily to international coverage of the latest ‘vice’ raid, which is being portrayed as another bumbling bone-headed police farce.</p>

<p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-275b1bc0-af3e-3f67-2019-c1d425c9ec87">For the past three years, as part of a growing trend which has now hit the </span><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/lucky-chucky-thai-spirit-dolls-delight-disturb-034040701.html?soc_src=mail&amp;soc_trk=ma">international headlines</a>, increasing numbers of what appear to be middle class, reasonably well-educated women have been purchasing ‘luuk thep’ – literally ‘angel children’ – cheap plastic Chinese-manufactured dolls which are then considerably marked up in price and blessed, either by Buddhist monks or spiritual</p>

<p>You may not have noticed this, but the escalators on the underground MRT in Bangkok have signs telling you not to walk and to hold onto the handrail.&nbsp; But on the BTS skytrain, they tell you to walk on the left and stand on the right.</p> <p>Certainly the vast majority of passengers seem to be ignoring the signs.&nbsp; This could be the confusion of having different systems in the same city, but I suspect it’s just the regular scoff-law attitude you get round here.</p>

<p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-59fea16f-8289-c40b-1553-c1f3c0ce4706">One of the downsides of authoritarian military dictatorships is that the public has little influence on politically important issues, such as energy policy. No major Thai daily newspaper supports coal, and they regularly carry articles lobbying against a coal-fired future (e.g., see this recent </span><a href="http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/Thailands-power-dilemma-amid-a-climate-of-fear-30267497.html">lead opinion editorial</a> in The Nation).</p>

<p><em>‘Under the new regulation, those wanting to contest MP and Senate elections must not have parents and spouses who are MPs, senators, members of local administrative bodies, or local administrators</em><em>.’ — Newspaper report</em><em> on a new constitutional provision</em><em>.</em></p> <p>It was a whirlwind romance.</p>