Global

BANGKOK, Thailand -- In a stunning decision which tosses Thailand's government into a scramble for leadership, The Constitutional Court on August removed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin for an ethical violation after he appointed a convicted criminal to his cabinet.

"I'm sorry that I'd be considered as a prime minister who is unethical, but that's not who I am," the toppled prime minister Srettha said after the court's ruling.

The judges focused on his appointment of Pichit Chuenban, who had been busted for contempt of court for allegedly attempting to bribe a court official with thousands of dollars in a paper bag, and was imprisoned for six months in 2008.

After 19 days of outrage about Mr. Pichit's appointment was expressed in local media and among opposition politicians and their supporters, he quit the cabinet.

The Constitutional Court's final verdict also resulted in Mr. Srettha's entire cabinet of ministers transforming into temporary caretakers.

That change is expected to slam the economy because decisions about investment and other financial issues may be delayed until a new cabinet is installed, according to analysts.

After the Democrat in the White House decided not to run for reelection, the vice president got the party’s presidential nod -- and continued to back the administration’s policies for an unpopular war. As the election neared, the candidate had to decide whether to keep supporting the war or speak out for a change.

 Hubert Humphrey faced that choice in 1968. Kamala Harris faces it now.

 Despite the differences in eras and circumstances, key dynamics are eerily similar. The history of how Vice President Humphrey navigated the political terrain of the war in Vietnam has ominous parallels with how Vice President Harris has been dealing with the war in Gaza.

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 For millions of liberals, during the first half of the 1960s, Hubert Humphrey was the nation’s most heroic politician. As the Senate majority whip, he deftly championed landmark bills for civil rights and social programs. By the time President Lyndon B. Johnson put him on the Democratic ticket in 1964, progressive momentum was in high gear.

On October 25, Israeli politician Moshe Feiglin told Arutz Sheva-Israel National News that “Muslims are not afraid of us anymore.” 

It might sound odd that Feiglin saw the element of fear as critical to Israel’s well-being if not its very survival. 

In actuality, the fear element is directly linked to Israel’s behavior and fundamental to its political discourse. 

I stroke the unknown . . .

Bear with me as I finish my short walk. I was ambling through my neighborhood the other day, wielding a pair of walking sticks, “forcing myself,” you might say, to enjoy the beautiful afternoon but actually just plodding forward, in a hurry to get back to the house and be done with this bit of exercise.

But then, oh so briefly, I paused in my hurry-upness, took a deep breath and continued slowly, deliberately on my way. Suddenly I was no longer in a pointless hurry, but, my God, surprisingly awake and present in this beautiful moment of sky and grass and sidewalk concrete. I felt the air fill my lungs and revered every step I took, knowing that one of them — someday — would be my last.

BANGKOK, Thailand -- The Constitutional Court on Wednesday (Aug. 7) expelled from politics Thailand's most popular opposition politician Pita Limjaroenrat, plus 10 his executives, and dissolved their Move Forward Party (MFP) for repeatedly demanding the king's powerful legal protection against libel be weakened and "reformed."

U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, warned this Buddhist-majority, U.S. military ally in Southeast Asia on Aug. 2:

“If the Move Forward Party is dissolved, this decision will effectively disenfranchise millions of voters who called for progressive change and democratic reform.

“This action threatens to undermine Thailand's commitment to democracy and human rights, shared values that have anchored our bilateral partnership for over 190 years,” Sen. Cardin said in a letter to Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa.

"I urge the Thai government to respect the will of its people and uphold the democratic values that have long been the foundation of our enduring alliance," Sen. Cardin wrote.