<p>I don&rsquo;t quite get this. I don&rsquo;t even understand his name. &lsquo;Mark V11&rsquo;? Is that &lsquo;Mark 7&rsquo; misspelled? Or &lsquo;Mark V+11=16&rsquo;?</p> <p>Anyway, with the insouciant self-exposure of youth, he slags off on the PM on his Facebook page using language that is likely to put off any prospective employer who bothers to check. Then he joins Academy Fantasia, who obviously didn&rsquo;t bother with an internet check.</p>

<p>Who are the yellow shirts? This question is hard to answer, but the scant information provided by economist Abhichart Sthitniramai and political scientist Anek Laothammathat of Thammasat University, shows that on average they have higher incomes than the red shirts.&nbsp; There are more yellow shirts in the social security system, for example, meaning that they work in the formal sector.&nbsp; Even though they may be just employees, they are &lsquo;inside the system&rsquo;, while the red shirts are probably working &lsquo;outside the system&rsquo; as, for example, daily wage earners.</p>

<p>Funny how things coincide. With the bleary-eyed fatigue of watching 2 consecutive early-hours semi-finals, you don&rsquo;t expect all these crowds at Sam Yan underground station. Eventually you twig. The fluffy toy animals, posies of flowers and wedding-thick make-up can mean only one thing.</p>

<p><span style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 14px; font-size: 11px;">BANGKOK &ndash; it has almost become rhetorical these days when people talk about reconciliation. In part, they do not really mean what they preach; the government&rsquo;s genuine intention to bring about peace and unity has been questioned as its proposal was announced while the emergency law is still being enforced.</span></span></p>

<p>An extraordinary political crisis has arisen after a freelance article in the latest edition of Hin Kling magazine exposed the private views of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his aides towards the Thai military command. The article, which bizarrely appears in a magazine more noted for gushing puff pieces on Korean boy bands, quotes a raft of comments from the Prime Minister’s entourage mocking the army’s top hierarchy, though none directly from the PM himself</p>

<p>First of all, I must congratulate Thailand on being chosen to chair the UN Human Rights Council for one year (2010-2011).&nbsp; According to the 15th annual meeting of the Council on 22 June 2010, Thailand&rsquo;s permanent ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Sihasak Phuangkatekaew will chair the Council.&nbsp; Although the chairmanship lasts only one year, while the membership of the Council is for three years, this opens a window of opportunity for crisis-ridden Thailand.</p>

<p>The government is coming under increasing pressure to stop the spread of red shirt support in rural areas. Ever since a major social contract was fractured two months ago, the country has seen a seemingly unstoppable spillage of red-shirt sympathy. </p>

<p>At last, we have seen the full package of the Abhisit regime&rsquo;s reconciliation kit, including the fact-finding committee on the May killings, the committee on constitutional amendments, and the committees on national reform by the Anand and <a href="http://www.prachatai.org/english/node/1898">Prawase</a> duo.</p> <p>So, is this reconciliation with the 90 deaths?&nbsp; Impossible.&nbsp; It&rsquo;s just an attempt to convince na&iuml;ve people into believing that there&rsquo;s reconciliation to isolate the red shirts and others who want true democracy.</p>

<p><span style="font-family: Arial;"><font>15 June 2048</font> </span></p> <p>The 38-year wait for truth and justice for those killed in the political conflicts of April and May 2010 finally ended today with the publication of the final report of the 12-year inquiry headed by former Supreme Court Judge Sawin Niwdeegate.</p>

<p>There has been some recent commentary about Thais posting in English in the blogosphere. While some have deplored the appalling language and personal abuse, drawing sad conclusions about the state of education in the country, others have speculated on what the unrestrained name-calling says about current society. But all have assumed that the posts have been spontaneous and untutored expressions of the emotions of the moment.</p>

<p>The Asian NGOs Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI) expresses grave concern over the failure of certain governments in Asia to appoint members of their national human rights institutions (NHRIs) in accordance with the Paris Principles. The ANNI believes that this illustrates the lack of political will by these governments to strengthen their NHRIs so that these institutions can effectively discharge their mandates of promoting and protecting human rights in their countries.&nbsp;</p> <p>To date, there are at least two (2) NHRIs in Asia that still do not have commissioners: the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) and the Bangladesh National Human Rights Commission. While these NHRIs carry on without commissioners at the helm, human rights violations continue to take place in these countries. Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) was without commissioners for more than one month.</p>

<p>The article &ldquo;<a href="http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/38162/is-this-govt-violating-human-rights-think-again">Is this government violating human rights? Think again</a>&rdquo; by Arie Bloed published in the Bangkok Post on 3 June 2010 raises many important points.</p>