<p><em>My word how things change.</em></p> <p>When I came to Bangkok, I remember there were 3 buildings of more than 7 storeys. One was the tapering triangular structure of the Dusit Thani, which set an aesthetic example which later high-rises studiously ignored. The second was the glass-and-steel Chokchai building, whose construction on Sukhumwit suffered the hiccup of a bankruptcy until the CIA was rumoured to have quietly helped with the financing so it could stick its satellite dishes on the top. And the third was Thai Daimaru at Pratunam, which was so nondescript it has long since been demolished in favour of something much taller and equally nondescript.</p> <p></p>

<p>What can we say about the situation in our country that hasn't already been said? What ideology do we possess that hasn't already made its way across the pages of our history books? There is a very popular video making its way around youtube and facebook speaking of our need to understand our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=544500462260590"><u>history</u>.</a> (The video's laughable use of euphemisms over regicide, genocide, and executions is so vulgar it verges on pornography.) The video tells the story of the sacking of Ayudhya in an attempt to say that the divisions we have today are similar to the rifts that occurred back then, divisions which ultimately led to the early Kingdom's downfall.</p> <p></p>

<p>A 30-year-old resident of the US who was born in Bangladesh was beaten up in the Bronx on the day of the Boston Marathon bombings. A group of 3 or 4 men, described by the victim as Hispanic looking, had decided that the bombing was the work of Arabs. They then assumed that the Bangladeshi looked sufficiently Arab and ‘took revenge’. The Bangladeshi man hadn’t even seen the news at that point and had no idea why he was being attacked.</p> <p></p>

<p>On 28 March 2013, <a href="http://www.prachatai.com/english/category/ekachai-hongkangwan">Ekachai Hongkangwan</a> was sentenced to three years and four months in prison for allegedly violating Article 112 by selling CDs which contained an ABC Australia documentary and copies of WikiLeaks documents. He requested bail while he appealed the case, but this request was denied and he is currently behind bars at the Bangkok Remand Prison.</p> <p></p>

<p>The dust has firmly settled and the dye is fully cast. It has been three years since the eventful months of April and May. The barricades, the speeches, the bloodshed and violence seems like distant memories to some, fresh and painful ones for others. But after three years the only perpetrators that are behind bars are red shirt activists and lèse majesté violators.</p>

<p>Dear Bill,</p> <p>Action stations, old man, just got word that She Who Must Be Obeyed has finally popped her clogs and will be with us in a jiffy just as soon as she clears celestial passport control and Lord help St Peter if he decides to ask her too many questions. (Though I suppose in this case the Good Lord will be handy if needed.)</p> <p></p>

<p>The crisis on the Korean Peninsula is reaching its peak. North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, has threatened to wage an attack on the United States and South Korea using “smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear weapons”. Shuttle diplomacy is now being conducted between key players in an attempt to alleviate the tense situation.</p>

<p dir="ltr" id="internal-source-marker_0.4555932275107084">In his introduction to his wonderful Age of Reason Thomas Paine implores that the reader give his work the same accordance he has given “every man to his own opinion, however different that opinion might be to mine.” It was undoubtedly important to Thomas Paine considering he was writing about religion in a time where apostasy was still considered a grave offense. While the writing was published at the tail end of the European Enlightenment and at the height of the French Revolution, he still felt the need to highlight the necessity of liberty and differences of opinion.</p>

<p>Those readers with no interest in Premier League football may be in ignorance of the controversy surrounding the sudden appointment of Italian Paolo Di Canio as manager of Sunderland. &nbsp;The team’s owners hope that with 7 games to go, he can save them from relegation (they are currently 1 point above the danger zone).</p> <p></p>

<p>On 12 October 2012, the Constitutional Court released a comment in response to petitions submitted by Somyot Prueksakasemsuk and Ekachai Hongkangwan about the constitutionality of Article 112 of the Criminal Code, which mandates that "whoever defames, insults or threatens the King, the Queen, the Heir-apparent or the Regent, shall be punished with imprisonment of three to fifteen years. The comment addressed whether or not Article 112 was in contravention to Article 3 (2), Article 29, and Article 45 (1, 2) of the Constitution (The full comment can be read <a href="http://www.constitutionalcourt.or.th/index.php?option=com_docman&amp;task=doc_download&amp;gid=6908&amp;Itemid=94&amp;lang=th">here</a>). In response to concerns about each of these provisions, the Constitutional Court ruled that Article 112 did not stand in contravention and was therefore constitutional. Given an earlier commentary issued in response to a petition by Daranee Charnchoengsilpakul, in which the Court noted that <a href="http://www.prachatai.com/english/node/2668">a closed trial is compatible</a> with the exercise of the defendant’s rights and liberties, the sum total of the comment was not entirely surprising.</p>

<p>The video shows smoke rising from a burning village. Men, women and children are shown escaping from the ordeal. The military are present but do nothing as the people are assaulted by a variety of projectiles. An on-looking woman eggs on the violence shouting, “Kill them, Kill them!”</p> <p>These are the images that are coming out of Myanmar as of the time of this writing. What was initially dismissed as a local and isolated conflict has slowly revealed itself as increasingly sectarian and religious in nature. Not that sectarian violence is anything new in the country formerly known as Burma. It was one of the underlying themes of George Orwell’s <em>Burmese Days</em> back in 1934.</p>

<p>In a landmark ruling, the Criminal Court on Thursday found Mr Pracha Sangkhom guilty of trespassing on his own property.&nbsp; While noting that the verdict was expected, observers saw the case as heralding a severe erosion of rights and liberties in the country.</p> <p></p>