Global

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Thailand's U.S.-backed authoritarian leader
seized power six years ago in a military coup but now appears
bewildered, vulnerable and unable to stop two months of street
protests against the government and previously monarchy.

Some people wonder if Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha can stay at the
top, who might replace him, and will bullets be used against the tens
of thousands of peaceful, idealistic youths demanding revolutionary
changes.

Many Thais predict the protesters will not be able to curtail the vast
influence and wealth of 68-year-old King Vajiralongkorn.

"Now it is understood that the country needs people who love the
country and love the monarchy,” the constitutional king said in a
speech on October 16.

Prayuth agreed and recently said, "What the government needs to do is
to protect the monarchy.

"There are millions of people who are loyal to the monarchy, and they
are in all provinces. So please help us defuse the tension."

University students and school children have been blocking afternoon

A Brief History of Fascist Lies is the title of a new book by Federico Finchelstein, the author of a number of books on fascism and populism. Finchelstein both draws distinctions that slot politicians into categories (such as fascist or populist) and points out the overlaps and the shades of gray, the forerunners and the enablers.

Not only have there been politicians who resembled Trump in other countries in recent decades, but the appearance of Trump — I think — depended on the regimes of Bush the Lesser and Obama. And the Trumplike politicians sprouting up today come out of their own countries’ traditions as well as feeding off and feeding into fascist tendencies in the United States.

Trump is supposedly a populist rather than a fascist, because he is elected (even if he cheats?), and because he encourages bigoted violence but has no plan for genocide. Of course he drops tens of thousands of bombs a year on parts of the world not labeled “white,” advances climate collapse, and risks nuclear war, but that stuff can’t make him anything other than “American,” since every U.S. president does those things.

I read this nightmare fantasy in the Financial Times:

The outdated notion that China ‘just wants to do business’ should be completely erased from our understanding of the rising global power’s political outlook. 

Simply put, Beijing has long realized that, in order for it to sustain its economic growth unhindered, it has to develop the necessary tools to protect itself, its allies and their combined interests.

The need for a strong China is not a novel idea developed by the current Chinese President, Xi Jinping. It goes back many decades, spanning various nationalist movements and, ultimately, the Communist Party. What sets Xi apart from the rest is that, thanks to the unprecedented global influence acquired by Beijing during his incumbency (2013 - present), China is now left with no alternative but to match its ‘economic miracle’ with a military one. 

The documentary Hopper/Welles, which screened at the 34th annual AFI Fest (https://fest.afi.com/), is to film history what 1989’s When Harry Met Sally… is to romcoms. It consists of a conversation/interview between two renegade actor/directors who made touchstone movies but were nevertheless Hollywood outcasts. Following a stunning career as a radio and Broadway wunderkind, Orson Welles starred in, co-wrote and directed his first Hollywood feature when he was only 25. That 1941 masterpiece Citizen Kane scored the Best Writing, Original Screenplay Oscar for Welles and Herman Mankiewicz and received eight more nominations, including in the Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor Academy Award categories. But as far as the Tinseltown studio system went, it was all downhill from there in terms of directing for RKO, et al, for poor Orson.

As with many wars around the world, the current war between Azerbaijan and Armenia is a war between militaries armed and trained by the United States. And in the view of some experts, the level of weapons purchased by Azerbaijan is a key cause of the war. Before anybody proposes shipping more weapons to Armenia as the ideal solution, there is another possibility.

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Embattled Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha on
October 22 revoked his mostly ineffectual "serious state of emergency"
in Bangkok, one day after saying he "will do so promptly if there are
no violent incidents."

The Royal Thai Government Gazette published his order which took effect at noon.

Prayuth clamped Bangkok under a "serious state of emergency" on
October 15, extending an existing state of emergency declared in March
to fight the coronavirus.

The emergency edict banned gatherings in public of five or more
people, distributing or publishing data that the government perceived
to be instigating fear or distorting information, and forbid using
public transportation or buildings for dissent.

Tens of thousands of protesters however repeatedly defied the
emergency edict by continuing to gather at daily demonstrations which
began on October 13.

Security forces, enjoying immunity under the emergency edict, could
detain people for 30 days in military camps without access to a
lawyer.

In theory, Europe and the United States stand on completely opposite sides when it comes to the Israeli occupation of Palestine. While the US government has fully embraced the tragic status quo created by 53 years of Israeli military occupation, the EU continues to advocate a negotiated settlement that is predicated on respect for international law. 

 In practice, however, despite the seeming rift between Washington and Brussels, the outcome is, essentially, the same. The US and Europe are Israel’s largest trade partners, weapon suppliers and political advocates. 

 One of the reasons that the illusion of an even-handed Europe has been maintained for so long lies partly in the Palestinian leadership itself. Politically and financially abandoned by Washington, the Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas has turned to the European Union as its only possible saviour.

The nation has less than two weeks left to live in its comfort zone of platitudes. This is by far the most ominous election buildup of my (fairly lengthy at this point) lifetime. What will happen on Nov. 3 and thereafter? Will all the votes be counted? Presuming Trump loses, will he leave office?

Are we approaching the end of our . . . uh, democracy?

A real democracy, of course, has always been a terrible inconvenience to those in power, which is why, in the nearly two hundred and fifty years of the nation’s existence, voting — as well as acknowledgment of certain people’s humanity — has been endlessly gamed, suppressed and denied; and a fragile, racist status quo has managed to maintain itself, wrapped in the lie of “liberty and justice for all.” Perhaps it’s this status quo that’s really up for grabs.

BANGKOK, Thailand -- After the military-backed government used
truck-mounted cannons to blast irritant-laden water at revolutionary
youngsters in the street last week, the protests spread.

“Don’t challenge the Grim Reaper," Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha warned.

"We are just asking people not to do wrong and destroy the government
and people’s property.

"What the government needs to do is to protect the monarchy," Mr.
Prayuth said on October 19.

The regime repeatedly shut down Bangkok's mass transit system during
the protests, stranding thousands of passengers.

That also did nothing to stop the escalating pro-democracy dissent.

Looking increasingly desperate, vulnerable and bewildered, Prime
Minister Prayuth did the unthinkable -- he declared it illegal to post
online any selfies photographed at rally sites.

Protesters and others laughed at what seemed to them to be Mr.
Prayuth's ridiculous response.

Peaceful, nationwide, pro-democracy protests led by tens of thousands
of university students and school children gathered on the seventh