<p>Comments offered by law scholars Nitirat (the Enlightened Jurists) on the&nbsp;Draft Amnesty for Those Who Committed Offences as a Result of the Political Protests and Political Expression of the People B.E…..</p> <p></p>

<p>The Snowden files have revealed that the US National Security Agency has been secretly monitoring the phone conversations of 35 world leaders.&nbsp; So far only one has been identified – the German Chancellor Angela Merkel.&nbsp; Intense media speculation surrounds the identity of the remaining 34.</p> <p>While Germany has been incandescent over this incident, and most national leaders are hoping not to appear on any such list, in Thailand the reaction has been somewhat different.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Human security has been a relatively alien concept due to the overwhelming concentration on the security of nation-state. The making of the “security” discourse in Myanmar is arbitrary. It is arbitrary because it has been shaped and reshaped according to the changing power interests of the Myanmar elite. The state becomes equivalent to the nation. Hence, the security of the nation is equal the regime security.&nbsp;</p> <p></p>

<p>The murder of Jakkrit Panichatikum highlights a number of features about Thai society that might puzzle foreigners.&nbsp; Let me explain these.</p> <p>The plan vanilla facts are that a champion sports sharpshooter was shot dead in what looks like a professional hit in the Bangkok suburbs while driving to the home of his estranged wife and family.&nbsp; A Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle approached his Porsche and the pillion passenger opened fire.&nbsp; He died on the way to hospital, and none of the bullets hit his passenger, a maid.&nbsp;</p> <p></p>

<div>It has been almost two years since the US has shifted its orientation back to Asia. Its foreign policy’s motive is clear: containing the rise of China. The Obama administration has initiated a number of strategies to reassure the stability of the Asia-Pacific region, for instance, stationing 2,500 marines in the northern part of Australia and pushing forward the Trans-Pacific Partnership to assert its influence in the region.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Despite the return of the US in this region, China has designed a strategy to respond to its American counterpart. </div>

<p>Beware!&nbsp; The ASEAN Economic Community, or AEC, will be upon us in 2015.&nbsp; And if Thailand doesn’t hurry up and get ready, it will lose out, and will be overwhelmed by those economic powerhouses who do these things so much better and more efficiently than Thailand, like, er, Lao. &nbsp;Or Myanmar.</p>

<div><span style="font-size: 12px;">Whenever the death penalty issue has arisen, arguments are automatically sparked as the issue is highly controversial. The victims and families probably want the offenders to receive the punishment they thought they deserved, whereas some would argue that the offenders might never truly plead guilty for the crimes they have caused. </span></div>

<div>“We should help each other to analyze what will happen in forestry management. Government regulations are uncertain because Indonesian forestry maps have never been compiled into one. As the result, there are four widely differently versions.”&nbsp;</div> <p></p>

<p>After a year of anticipation, many same-sex couples in Thailand are anxiously waiting for the Civil Partnership Bill to pass.</p> <p>A parliamentary committee and the Justice Ministry’s Department of Rights and Liberties Protection launched a campaign on 18 September 2013 to gather 10,000 signatures to support the bill, as required by the Thai Constitution to ensure public participation.</p> <p></p>

<p>The BBC’s presentation of the recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) caused something of a flap.&nbsp; The report finds a 97% expert consensus on the idea that global climate change is occurring, that it is largely caused by human activity, and if that activity does not change rapidly in quantity and direction, the outcome will be catastrophic.&nbsp;</p> <p></p>

<p>Cambodian politics has never been more interesting. The general election taken place in late July 2013 delivered a rather devastating result for the ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), led by the forever Prime Minister Hun Sen. Having been in power for almost three decades, Hun Sen has become the longest-running elected leader of Southeast Asia. Yet, the latest poll may seem to suggest that the end of the Hun Sen era is nigh.</p> <p></p>

<p>The views on the commercial sex trade attributed to Pol Col Napanwut Liamsanguan have provoked the predictable condemnation from all those misguided social activists, academics and other assorted lunatics who insist on basing their opinions on a rational analysis of the data rather than the Police Colonel’s unsubstantiated prejudice.</p> <p></p>