Jul 11, 2012
Facebook Wants to Keep You Virus-Free [Facebook]
Facebook Wants to Keep You Virus-Free [Facebook]:
Facebook may be a little lax when it comes to privacy, but it seems to be doubling down on security. The site is now directing users who think their computer might be infected with malware to sites where they can get free antivirus software. More »
Would You Trust Facebook With Your Financial Data? [Chatroom]
Would You Trust Facebook With Your Financial Data? [Chatroom]:
Rumors are flying that Facebook wants to move into the financial services arena, namely paying bills and transferring money. The company will apparently test the idea with an Austrialian bank this year and see how it goes. But is this something we should casually trust Facebook with? More worrying than any concerns about getting hacked (which would probably never be an issue), is Facebook's history with user privacy and what access the company would have to your info. I'm not sure I would ever link my financial data to Facebook. [CNN/Fortune] More »
Most Muslims Want Democracy, Personal Freedoms and Islam in Political Life
Most Muslims Want Democracy, Personal Freedoms and Islam in Political Life: More than a year after the first stirrings of the Arab Spring, there continues to be a strong desire for democracy in Arab and other predominantly Muslim nations. A substantial number in key Muslim countries also want a large role for Islam in political life. Meanwhile, few think the U.S. favors democracy in the Middle East.
Sort by date for legal search
Sort by date for legal search:
You can also use the new sort option in combination with court and time restrictions as well as searching within citing documents. For example, opinions in California courts mentioning "terry stop", opinions mentioning "terry stop" in 2007-2008, and opinions and articles citing Terry v. Ohio.
Posted by: Anurag Acharya, Distinguished Engineer
Ever since we added legal search to Google Scholar, researchers have asked us to make it easy to find the most recent court opinions for their queries so that they can make sure they're up to date.
Today, we're adding an option to sort legal search results by date, the most recent appearing first. To see the latest results for your query, click on "Sort by date" in the sidebar.
Today, we're adding an option to sort legal search results by date, the most recent appearing first. To see the latest results for your query, click on "Sort by date" in the sidebar.
You can also use the new sort option in combination with court and time restrictions as well as searching within citing documents. For example, opinions in California courts mentioning "terry stop", opinions mentioning "terry stop" in 2007-2008, and opinions and articles citing Terry v. Ohio.
Posted by: Anurag Acharya, Distinguished Engineer
All About The Free E-books For Kindle
All About The Free E-books For Kindle:
Are you one of those who loves to read books in their times of loneliness and leisure? Find immense pleasure and contentment in reading any kind of a book from anywhere you get? Then, why not try out reading e-books on your kindle tablet? Amazon Kindle tablets are basically e readers, specially designed to help [...]
For more information please visit our official website - Free Ebooks For Kindle
Are you one of those who loves to read books in their times of loneliness and leisure? Find immense pleasure and contentment in reading any kind of a book from anywhere you get? Then, why not try out reading e-books on your kindle tablet? Amazon Kindle tablets are basically e readers, specially designed to help [...]
For more information please visit our official website - Free Ebooks For Kindle
For those forced to live under canvas, a simple solution to a searing problem
For those forced to live under canvas, a simple solution to a searing problem: In North-West Pakistan, work is underway to improve the living conditions of thousands of families living in a settlement for the internally displaced.
MIGRATION: Human smugglers profit as tragedies multiply
MIGRATION: Human smugglers profit as tragedies multiply:
 | JOHANNESBURG, 11 July 2012 (IRIN) - When Abdo Giro*, a 55-year-old evangelist minister and political dissident from southern Ethiopia, paid smugglers 55,000 birr (US$3,095) to take him from the Kenyan border town of Moyale to Johannesburg in South Africa, he was completely unprepared for the ordeal that lay ahead. |
MALI: Compromise or force in north?
MALI: Compromise or force in north?:
 | DAKAR, 11 July 2012 (IRIN) - After a military coup toppled president Amadou Toumani Touré and rebels took control of northern Mali, regional negotiators are now grappling with a complex political and security crisis requiring the quick formation of a credible government and caution over armed intervention, analysts say. |
BANGLADESH: Floods leave thousands food insecure
BANGLADESH: Floods leave thousands food insecure:
 | BANGKOK, 11 July 2012 (IRIN) - Thousands of people have been left food insecure after extensive flooding, landslides and flash floods in eastern Bangladesh at the end of June. Crops and seed stocks have been badly damaged and it will be three to four months before farmers are able to replant. |
EGYPT-LIBYA: Misery for stranded refugees
EGYPT-LIBYA: Misery for stranded refugees:
 | SALLOUM, 11 July 2012 (IRIN) - Salloum camp in western Egypt about 5km from the Libyan border is home to about 2,000 refugees, failed asylum seekers and third country nationals who fled Libya in 2011 and cannot return to their countries of origin. |
IDP News Alert, 11 July 2012
IDP News Alert, 11 July 2012: Libya: Amid the elections, on-going hostilities continue to displace thousands
North-east India: 6 million internally displaced by monsoon floods and landslides
Russian Federation: Putin questions authorities after thousands displaced in flood wave
Historical resolution confirms joint commitment from UN States on IDPs
North-east India: 6 million internally displaced by monsoon floods and landslides
Russian Federation: Putin questions authorities after thousands displaced in flood wave
Historical resolution confirms joint commitment from UN States on IDPs
Black Gold in the Congo: Threat to Stability or Development Opportunity?
Black Gold in the Congo: Threat to Stability or Development Opportunity?: Renewed oil interest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) could nurture communal resentments, exacerbate deep-rooted conflict dynamics and weaken national cohesion.
Laos Becomes Illegal Ivory Trade Hub
Laos Becomes Illegal Ivory Trade Hub:
Laos has emerged as a hub for the international illicit elephant ivory trade, with large shipments of products made from the tusks of the majestic creatures heading to China, according to a new study released Tuesday.
Based on a survey by wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic, 2,493 pieces of ivory, including jewelry and raw tusks, were found openly on sale in 24 retail outlets mostly in the capital Vientiane, compared to just over 100 ivory items observed in nine shops in 2002, the network said in a report.
Information from vendors in the August 2011 survey indicated that the ivory originated from local elephants in Laos while prices were advertised in U.S. dollars or Chinese yuan rather than in the Laotian kip, clearly suggesting an international clientele, a fact confirmed by most vendors, according to the report.
Recent seizures' data also suggest that Laos may be playing a transit country role for African ivory.
"The seizure of ivory from Africa en route to Lao PDR, which was confiscated in Kenya and Thailand, points to an emerging role for Lao PDR in the international ivory market," the report said.
"Assuming dealers were truthful when stating that ivory for sale in Lao PDR originated from local elephants, this suggests that Lao PDR may be acting as a gateway for African ivory to enter East Asian markets, particularly China, rather than serve as a point of sale for African ivory," it said.
'Totally protected'
Landlocked Laos is situated between the world’s largest ivory traders Thailand and China. The country's dwindling Asian elephants are “totally protected” by the government with no trade in them, or their parts, allowed.
Traffic said that as Chinese and Vietnamese authorities increasingly interdict ivory items through targeted law enforcement actions, it is "very possible" that Laos is now being used as an "alternative terrestrial route" into China’s Yunnan province.
Recently, authorities seized ivory products in the Chinese city of Jinghong, north of Muang Sing, and just 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the Sino-Lao border.
"Laos is playing a more prominent role in the international ivory trade than was previously thought, especially as a conduit for large shipments to China," the report said.
Laos has escaped much of the negative attention its neighbors, especially China and Thailand, have suffered on account of their major domestic ivory markets, carving industries and role in the global illegal ivory trade.
However, data from the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS), a database of worldwide elephant product seizures managed by Traffic on behalf of Parties to CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) implicates Laos as the destination in four large seizures made between 2009 and 2011, totaling more than four tons of ivory, the report said.
"Lao PDR certainly functions as a transit point for ivory heading to China and Thailand, but it may also be emerging as a final destination as the latest Traffic survey indicates a growing market for ivory products."
Enforcement
The report recommends the confiscation of all ivory on sale in Laos, better monitoring of markets, and greater enforcement and prosecution of offenders. It also urges international cooperation to sever the illicit Africa-to-Asia ivory trade chain.
Last month Gabon publicly destroyed its audited ivory stockpiles and sent a strong signal of zero tolerance towards elephant poaching in West Africa.
“While Gabon set an example to the world in destroying its audited ivory, it is vital nothing happens to seized ivory stocks in Asia prior to exhausting all investigative channels,” said Chris R. Shepherd, Deputy Director of Traffic Southeast Asia.
“Countries in Asia must do their part to help African countries shut down the illegal ivory supply chain by finding out how the ivory got to them and who was responsible for bringing it there.”
“Elephant poaching is at crisis levels and demands a coordinated global response.”
Reported by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.
Laos has emerged as a hub for the international illicit elephant ivory trade, with large shipments of products made from the tusks of the majestic creatures heading to China, according to a new study released Tuesday.
Based on a survey by wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic, 2,493 pieces of ivory, including jewelry and raw tusks, were found openly on sale in 24 retail outlets mostly in the capital Vientiane, compared to just over 100 ivory items observed in nine shops in 2002, the network said in a report.
Information from vendors in the August 2011 survey indicated that the ivory originated from local elephants in Laos while prices were advertised in U.S. dollars or Chinese yuan rather than in the Laotian kip, clearly suggesting an international clientele, a fact confirmed by most vendors, according to the report.
Recent seizures' data also suggest that Laos may be playing a transit country role for African ivory.
"The seizure of ivory from Africa en route to Lao PDR, which was confiscated in Kenya and Thailand, points to an emerging role for Lao PDR in the international ivory market," the report said.
"Assuming dealers were truthful when stating that ivory for sale in Lao PDR originated from local elephants, this suggests that Lao PDR may be acting as a gateway for African ivory to enter East Asian markets, particularly China, rather than serve as a point of sale for African ivory," it said.
'Totally protected'
Landlocked Laos is situated between the world’s largest ivory traders Thailand and China. The country's dwindling Asian elephants are “totally protected” by the government with no trade in them, or their parts, allowed.
Traffic said that as Chinese and Vietnamese authorities increasingly interdict ivory items through targeted law enforcement actions, it is "very possible" that Laos is now being used as an "alternative terrestrial route" into China’s Yunnan province.
Recently, authorities seized ivory products in the Chinese city of Jinghong, north of Muang Sing, and just 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the Sino-Lao border.
"Laos is playing a more prominent role in the international ivory trade than was previously thought, especially as a conduit for large shipments to China," the report said.
Laos has escaped much of the negative attention its neighbors, especially China and Thailand, have suffered on account of their major domestic ivory markets, carving industries and role in the global illegal ivory trade.
However, data from the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS), a database of worldwide elephant product seizures managed by Traffic on behalf of Parties to CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) implicates Laos as the destination in four large seizures made between 2009 and 2011, totaling more than four tons of ivory, the report said.
"Lao PDR certainly functions as a transit point for ivory heading to China and Thailand, but it may also be emerging as a final destination as the latest Traffic survey indicates a growing market for ivory products."
Enforcement
The report recommends the confiscation of all ivory on sale in Laos, better monitoring of markets, and greater enforcement and prosecution of offenders. It also urges international cooperation to sever the illicit Africa-to-Asia ivory trade chain.
Last month Gabon publicly destroyed its audited ivory stockpiles and sent a strong signal of zero tolerance towards elephant poaching in West Africa.
“While Gabon set an example to the world in destroying its audited ivory, it is vital nothing happens to seized ivory stocks in Asia prior to exhausting all investigative channels,” said Chris R. Shepherd, Deputy Director of Traffic Southeast Asia.
“Countries in Asia must do their part to help African countries shut down the illegal ivory supply chain by finding out how the ivory got to them and who was responsible for bringing it there.”
“Elephant poaching is at crisis levels and demands a coordinated global response.”
Reported by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.
US Man Jailed for Lese Majeste Freed
US Man Jailed for Lese Majeste Freed:
Joe Gordon escorted by the Thai authorities while being detained. (Photo: freejoegordon.com)BANGKOK—An American sentenced to two-and-a-half years in Thai prison for translating a banned biography of the country’s king and posting the content online has been freed by a royal pardon, the US Embassy said on Wednesday.
Joe Gordon was convicted in December for translating excerpts of the book “The King Never Smiles” from English into Thai. The punishment was a high-profile example of the severe sentences meted out here for defaming Thailand’s royal family, an issue that has raised concern about freedom of expression in this Southeast Asian Kingdom.
No reason was given for the pardon, but US officials have pressed Thai authorities to release the Thai-born American since he was first detained in May 2011. Gordon was freed from Bangkok’s Remand Prison late on Tuesday, said US Embassy spokesman Walter Braunohler.
“We are pleased that His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej granted Joe Gordon a royal pardon, which allowed him to be released from prison,” Braunohler said. “We urge Thai authorities on a regular basis, both privately and publically, in Bangkok and in Washington, to ensure that freedom of expression is protected in accordance with its international obligations.”
Braunohler declined to comment on Gordon’s whereabouts or what his future plans were. Gordon’s lawyer, Arnon Numpa, told The Associated Press he would likely return to America within several days.
Bhumibol, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, is revered in Thailand and is widely seen as a stabilizing force. But Thailand’s lese majeste laws are the harshest in the world. They mandate that people found guilty of defaming the monarchy—including the king, the queen and the heir to the throne—face three to 15 years behind bars. The nation’s 2007 Computer Crimes Act also contains provisions that have enabled prosecutors to increase lese majeste sentences.
Opponents of the laws say that while the royal family should be protected from defamation, lese majeste laws are often abused to punish political rivals. That appears to have been especially true amid the political turmoil that has followed a 2006 military coup.
Many had hoped the administration of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, which assumed power after elections a year ago and has prominent supporters who have been accused of lese majeste, would reform the laws. The issue remains highly sensitive, however, and Yingluck’s government has been as aggressive in pursuing the cases as its predecessors.
Gordon posted links to the banned biography of the king several years ago while residing in the US state of Colorado, and his case has raised questions about the applicability of Thai law to acts committed by foreigners outside Thailand.
In the banned book, author Paul M. Handley retraces the king’s life and makes several allegations regarding royal power in Thailand.
Gordon, who lived in the US for about 30 years, was visiting his native country to seek treatment for arthritis and high blood pressure at the time of his arrest. After being repeatedly denied bail, he pleaded guilty in October last year in hopes of obtaining a lenient sentence. The judge said at the time that the punishment, initially set at five years, was reduced because of Gordon’s plea.
Joe Gordon escorted by the Thai authorities while being detained. (Photo: freejoegordon.com)
Joe Gordon was convicted in December for translating excerpts of the book “The King Never Smiles” from English into Thai. The punishment was a high-profile example of the severe sentences meted out here for defaming Thailand’s royal family, an issue that has raised concern about freedom of expression in this Southeast Asian Kingdom.
No reason was given for the pardon, but US officials have pressed Thai authorities to release the Thai-born American since he was first detained in May 2011. Gordon was freed from Bangkok’s Remand Prison late on Tuesday, said US Embassy spokesman Walter Braunohler.
“We are pleased that His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej granted Joe Gordon a royal pardon, which allowed him to be released from prison,” Braunohler said. “We urge Thai authorities on a regular basis, both privately and publically, in Bangkok and in Washington, to ensure that freedom of expression is protected in accordance with its international obligations.”
Braunohler declined to comment on Gordon’s whereabouts or what his future plans were. Gordon’s lawyer, Arnon Numpa, told The Associated Press he would likely return to America within several days.
Bhumibol, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, is revered in Thailand and is widely seen as a stabilizing force. But Thailand’s lese majeste laws are the harshest in the world. They mandate that people found guilty of defaming the monarchy—including the king, the queen and the heir to the throne—face three to 15 years behind bars. The nation’s 2007 Computer Crimes Act also contains provisions that have enabled prosecutors to increase lese majeste sentences.
Opponents of the laws say that while the royal family should be protected from defamation, lese majeste laws are often abused to punish political rivals. That appears to have been especially true amid the political turmoil that has followed a 2006 military coup.
Many had hoped the administration of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, which assumed power after elections a year ago and has prominent supporters who have been accused of lese majeste, would reform the laws. The issue remains highly sensitive, however, and Yingluck’s government has been as aggressive in pursuing the cases as its predecessors.
Gordon posted links to the banned biography of the king several years ago while residing in the US state of Colorado, and his case has raised questions about the applicability of Thai law to acts committed by foreigners outside Thailand.
In the banned book, author Paul M. Handley retraces the king’s life and makes several allegations regarding royal power in Thailand.
Gordon, who lived in the US for about 30 years, was visiting his native country to seek treatment for arthritis and high blood pressure at the time of his arrest. After being repeatedly denied bail, he pleaded guilty in October last year in hopes of obtaining a lenient sentence. The judge said at the time that the punishment, initially set at five years, was reduced because of Gordon’s plea.
Jul 10, 2012
Prisons Plagued by Overcrowding
Prisons Plagued by Overcrowding:
Cambodia’s prisons are holding almost twice as many inmates as they were designed for, officials say, amid concerns from a rights group that the government is using jails as a “dumping ground” for the impoverished.
Deputy Director-General of Prisons Liv Morv said Monday that there are approximately 15,500 inmates in the country’s 28 prisons as drug-related crime fuel the rise in the prison population.
Cambodia ranks 34th on an index of the world's most crowded prison populations by country. Last year, it placed in the top 25.
According to Liv Morv, Cambodia’s prisons were designed for an inmate population of 8,500. Provincial prisons designed to hold 200 to 300 inmates regularly house 400 to 500 and in some cases hold as many as 1,000.
Many of these smaller, older jails are legacies of French colonization and do not meet modern standards.
Officials say the cramped conditions are affecting inmates’ health.
“They are living in tight spaces,” Liv Morv said. “We need to expand the buildings.”
Expanding the system
He said that building more prisons, such as one currently under construction in western Cambodia’s Pursat province, is the best way to quickly alleviate prison conditions.
“We are expanding the buildings but it does not mean that we want more inmates,” he said.
But Cambodian rights watchdog Licadho, which monitors prisons across the country, is concerned that too many people are being held in the prisons and building more facilities to house a growing number of inmates is not the right solution.
Licadho, which released its new “Beyond Capacity 2012” report on prisons this week, urged Phnom Penh to consider alternative sentencing for minor crimes, such as asking inmates to perform community work or placing drug offenders in rehabilitation centers.
Instead of making more room, Phnom Penh should stop imposing prison time for minor crimes or unpaid fines and allowing mass delays in processing final court verdicts, it said.
“I urge the government to seek different measures to avoid detention,” Licadho President Pung Chhiv Kek said.
Push for reform
In one example noted by Licadho, a Cambodian woman was imprisoned for six months for stealing a basket of vegetables to feed her children.
“Imprisonment shouldn’t be the default punishment for a mother who steals food to feed her children,” Pung Chhiv Kek said.
“The prisons will remain overcrowded as long as they are used as a ‘dumping ground’ for society’s down-and-out. Cambodia needs to implement more alternatives to prison,” she said.
Prison reforms have been discussed by the government, but Licadho officials are dissatisfied with what they call a lack of progress.
“The government has finally begun talking about using community service and other non-custodial sentences,” Pung Chhiv Kek said. “But we have yet to see serious action.”
Cabinet Chief of Ministry of Justice Sam Pracheameanit said that the court is not allowed to provide non-custodial punishment for all light crime offenders.
“The court officials are working strictly to the law. In some cases that are under investigation, the court can continue to detain the suspects,” he said.
Drug problem
A major factor behind the recent growth in prison population has been drug-related crime, Licadho’s investigations found.
Liv Morv confirmed that high crime rates in Cambodia’s provinces are attributable in part to drug- and alcohol-related offenses.
In its report, Licadho found that drug-related criminal arrests were up 163 percent in 2011, despite a modest 2.3 percent increase in the overall population of the Cambodian prison system.
The report also found that 2,747 inmates were held on drug-related charges as of November 2011, up from 1,046 a year before.
The increase came from a yearlong crackdown that has led to a surge in drug arrests over the last year.
“At a time of record prison population growth, the authorities packed an extra 1,700 drug offenders into the system,” said Licadho Director Naly Pilorge in a press release.
“That includes nearly 250 arrested only for drug use,” she said. “There are cheaper and more effective ways of dealing with drug problems.”
Reported by Tep Soravy for RFA’s Khmer service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by James Bourne.
Cambodia’s prisons are holding almost twice as many inmates as they were designed for, officials say, amid concerns from a rights group that the government is using jails as a “dumping ground” for the impoverished.
Deputy Director-General of Prisons Liv Morv said Monday that there are approximately 15,500 inmates in the country’s 28 prisons as drug-related crime fuel the rise in the prison population.
Cambodia ranks 34th on an index of the world's most crowded prison populations by country. Last year, it placed in the top 25.
According to Liv Morv, Cambodia’s prisons were designed for an inmate population of 8,500. Provincial prisons designed to hold 200 to 300 inmates regularly house 400 to 500 and in some cases hold as many as 1,000.
Many of these smaller, older jails are legacies of French colonization and do not meet modern standards.
Officials say the cramped conditions are affecting inmates’ health.
“They are living in tight spaces,” Liv Morv said. “We need to expand the buildings.”
Expanding the system
He said that building more prisons, such as one currently under construction in western Cambodia’s Pursat province, is the best way to quickly alleviate prison conditions.
“We are expanding the buildings but it does not mean that we want more inmates,” he said.
But Cambodian rights watchdog Licadho, which monitors prisons across the country, is concerned that too many people are being held in the prisons and building more facilities to house a growing number of inmates is not the right solution.
Licadho, which released its new “Beyond Capacity 2012” report on prisons this week, urged Phnom Penh to consider alternative sentencing for minor crimes, such as asking inmates to perform community work or placing drug offenders in rehabilitation centers.
Instead of making more room, Phnom Penh should stop imposing prison time for minor crimes or unpaid fines and allowing mass delays in processing final court verdicts, it said.
“I urge the government to seek different measures to avoid detention,” Licadho President Pung Chhiv Kek said.
Push for reform
In one example noted by Licadho, a Cambodian woman was imprisoned for six months for stealing a basket of vegetables to feed her children.
“Imprisonment shouldn’t be the default punishment for a mother who steals food to feed her children,” Pung Chhiv Kek said.
“The prisons will remain overcrowded as long as they are used as a ‘dumping ground’ for society’s down-and-out. Cambodia needs to implement more alternatives to prison,” she said.
Prison reforms have been discussed by the government, but Licadho officials are dissatisfied with what they call a lack of progress.
“The government has finally begun talking about using community service and other non-custodial sentences,” Pung Chhiv Kek said. “But we have yet to see serious action.”
Cabinet Chief of Ministry of Justice Sam Pracheameanit said that the court is not allowed to provide non-custodial punishment for all light crime offenders.
“The court officials are working strictly to the law. In some cases that are under investigation, the court can continue to detain the suspects,” he said.
Drug problem
A major factor behind the recent growth in prison population has been drug-related crime, Licadho’s investigations found.
Liv Morv confirmed that high crime rates in Cambodia’s provinces are attributable in part to drug- and alcohol-related offenses.
In its report, Licadho found that drug-related criminal arrests were up 163 percent in 2011, despite a modest 2.3 percent increase in the overall population of the Cambodian prison system.
The report also found that 2,747 inmates were held on drug-related charges as of November 2011, up from 1,046 a year before.
The increase came from a yearlong crackdown that has led to a surge in drug arrests over the last year.
“At a time of record prison population growth, the authorities packed an extra 1,700 drug offenders into the system,” said Licadho Director Naly Pilorge in a press release.
“That includes nearly 250 arrested only for drug use,” she said. “There are cheaper and more effective ways of dealing with drug problems.”
Reported by Tep Soravy for RFA’s Khmer service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by James Bourne.
Apologies ...
Apologies. for the few Starting Points blog postings which made their way into Burma Monitor today. - John
VIDEO: 'Slum tourism' in Indonesian capital
VIDEO: 'Slum tourism' in Indonesian capital: Tourists are paying money to tour slums in Jakarta but critics are calling for the tours to be stopped, calling them degrading.
BOOK REVIEW : Internet under their thumb
BOOK REVIEW : Internet under their thumb: Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom by Rebecca MacKinnon
United States-based companies happily profit from overseas Internet censorship - most notably in China, At home, Facebook, Google, and government officials exert feudal rule over cyberspace. Author MacKinnon draws on a rich history of classical liberal thought to explore the real threat to digital freedoms. - Geoffrey Cain
United States-based companies happily profit from overseas Internet censorship - most notably in China, At home, Facebook, Google, and government officials exert feudal rule over cyberspace. Author MacKinnon draws on a rich history of classical liberal thought to explore the real threat to digital freedoms. - Geoffrey Cain
Thousands Face Internet Loss as FBI Shuts Off DNS Changer Servers
Thousands Face Internet Loss as FBI Shuts Off DNS Changer Servers:
More than 300,000 people, including many in the US and UK, could lose internet access later as the FBI shuts off servers used by cyber thieves.
(Photo credit: Shutterstock)The FBI seized the servers in November 2011 during raids to break up a gang of criminals who used viruses to infect more than four million victims.
Victims’ web searches were routed through the servers so they saw adverts that led to the gang being paid.
Many machines still harbour the gang’s malicious code.
Domain names are the words humans use, such as bbc.co.uk, for websites. These are converted into the numerical values that computers use by consulting domain name servers (DNS).
When a person types a name into a browser address bar, often their computer will consult a DNS server to find out where that website resides online.
The gang infected computers with malware called DNS Changer because it altered where a PC went to convert domain names to numbers.
Since the FBI raids the gang’s servers have been run by Californian company ISC.
Over the last few months, the FBI has worked with many ISPs and security firms to alert victims to the fact that their PC was infected with DNS Changer. Online tools are available that let people check if they are infected.
This has meant the original population of four million infected machines has been whittled down to just over 300,000, according to statistics gathered by the DNS Changer Working Group.
The largest group of machines still harbouring the infection are in the US but many other nations, including Italy, India, the UK and Germany, have substantial numbers still checking in with the ISC servers.
These servers will be shut down on 9 July.
The result could be that some people lose net access because the PCs that are still victims of DNS Changer will suddenly have nowhere to go when they need to look up the location of a particular domain.
It might take some time for the problems to become apparent, said Sean Sullivan, a security researcher at F-Secure.
“Initially some domains will be cached which will mean web access will be spotty,” he said. “People will be confused about why some things work and some do not.”
Other security experts said it might take time for the remaining infected machines to be cleaned up.
“Reaching victims is a very hard problem, and something we have had issues with for years,” said Johannes Ullrich, a researcher with the Sans security institute.
He expected the impact to be “minimal” because many of these systems were no longer used or maintained.
This article originally appeared on BBC News, and was republished with permission.
More than 300,000 people, including many in the US and UK, could lose internet access later as the FBI shuts off servers used by cyber thieves.
(Photo credit: Shutterstock)
Victims’ web searches were routed through the servers so they saw adverts that led to the gang being paid.
Many machines still harbour the gang’s malicious code.
Global clean up
The gang racked up more than US$ 14m by hijacking web searches and forcing victims to see certain adverts. They managed to do this because their servers were taking over a key web function known as domain name look-up.Domain names are the words humans use, such as bbc.co.uk, for websites. These are converted into the numerical values that computers use by consulting domain name servers (DNS).
When a person types a name into a browser address bar, often their computer will consult a DNS server to find out where that website resides online.
The gang infected computers with malware called DNS Changer because it altered where a PC went to convert domain names to numbers.
Top 10 DNS Changer infections
- US – 69,517
- Italy – 26,494
- India – 21,302
- UK – 19,589
- Germany – 18,427
- France, 10,454
- China – 10,304
- Spain – 10,213
- Canada – 8,924
- Australia – 8,518
Over the last few months, the FBI has worked with many ISPs and security firms to alert victims to the fact that their PC was infected with DNS Changer. Online tools are available that let people check if they are infected.
This has meant the original population of four million infected machines has been whittled down to just over 300,000, according to statistics gathered by the DNS Changer Working Group.
The largest group of machines still harbouring the infection are in the US but many other nations, including Italy, India, the UK and Germany, have substantial numbers still checking in with the ISC servers.
These servers will be shut down on 9 July.
The result could be that some people lose net access because the PCs that are still victims of DNS Changer will suddenly have nowhere to go when they need to look up the location of a particular domain.
It might take some time for the problems to become apparent, said Sean Sullivan, a security researcher at F-Secure.
“Initially some domains will be cached which will mean web access will be spotty,” he said. “People will be confused about why some things work and some do not.”
Other security experts said it might take time for the remaining infected machines to be cleaned up.
“Reaching victims is a very hard problem, and something we have had issues with for years,” said Johannes Ullrich, a researcher with the Sans security institute.
He expected the impact to be “minimal” because many of these systems were no longer used or maintained.
This article originally appeared on BBC News, and was republished with permission.
Mongolia’s 2012 parliamentary election
Mongolia’s 2012 parliamentary election:
Author: Li Narangoa, ANU
A total of 544 candidates from 11 parties and 2 coalitions contested the 76-seat parliament in Mongolia’s 2012 parliamentary election.
Preliminary results show that the Democratic Party received the highest number of votes (approximately 31–32), followed by the current ruling party, the Mongolian People’s Party (approximately 27–28), and the Justice Coalition (11). The Civil Will–Green Party won two seats and independent candidates won three seats.
The 2012 election was epoch-making in many ways for Mongolia, which recently implemented new election laws. For the first time in its history, Mongolia used an electronic voting system to avoid the fraud that had previously occurred during the manual counting process. These measures were meant to achieve an efficient and fair election, but technical problems defeated the hopes of efficiency. The Mongolian People’s Party and eight other small parties petitioned to recount the votes manually, insisting that the traditional system of manual counting would be more accurate. The request seems to stem from their dissatisfaction about the electoral success of the Democratic Party, which had protested against the 2008 parliamentary election results, sparking a riot that caused five deaths. The 2008 riots came as a shock to Mongolians and damaged its image as a country that made a smooth transition to democracy. Mongolian leaders seem to have learned the lesson and are cautious not to repeat the mistakes of 2008 because with investors around the world closely watching Mongolia’s political stability, the country’s economic future is at stake.
In addition to introducing a new election system (a combination of the majority and proportional system of voting) that benefits smaller parties, the new election law also permitted Mongolian citizens living overseas to vote, and introduced a quota system to ensure that no less than 20 per cent of the candidates are women.
From the 35,000 expected overseas voters, fewer than 3000 actually lodged their vote. The overseas voting method may have caused this meagre result: because no postal voting was allowed, voters had to appear at the Mongolian diplomatic posts, and so voters were mainly restricted to the places where Mongolian embassies happened to be located.
Meanwhile, the proportion of female candidates was nearly 32 per cent, well above the quota. At least 10 of them were elected, and 2 are still yet to be confirmed. These figures show a significant step forward and bring up the proportion of female legislators from less than 4 per cent to about 13–16 per cent — an historical high. The main reason for the increase was not the quota system but the increasing disillusionment with the male-dominated corrupt leadership and the perception that female leaders were less corrupt and more principled. Despite unfavourable listing on party ballot lists, four women won the election through the proportional system, which suggests that voters made conscientious candidate choices.
This election is also important for the future of Mongolia socially and economically. While the mining boom is bringing great wealth to the country, it is also creating social inequalities. The wealth is not distributed evenly across the country, but remaining with the small number of people who hold power. The sudden shift from a closed and planned socialist economy to a free market economy occurred without a transparent system of government, and the potential wealth from resources has accelerated corruption in the country. Thus, those with money have become powerful and those with power have accumulated more wealth. The poor have become even poorer because there was no adequate welfare system to look after them after the collapse of the communist system. The presence of foreign mining companies creates another layer of inequality, because local employees are paid less than their foreign (Western) peers for the same job. Mongolian people also consider it unfair that foreign companies own so much of the strategically important copper and gold mine, Oyu Tolgoi, and feel threatened by the possibility that Mongolia might lose its resources to foreign companies, especially to China.
These issues were on the minds of voters on 28 June. The participation rate was at an historical low of 65 per cent. While this shows people’s cynicism about party politics, there is hope that these inequalities will be reversed by having less corrupt leaders. The election campaigns reflected these concerns and the parties variously promised to spread the wealth nationwide and bring about a better quality of life.
The new government will face many social and economic challenges, including distributing wealth equitably across the nation, and using the revenue gained from the mining sector to build a sustainable welfare system, infrastructure and education. Developing the mining industry while promoting the Mongolian traditional pastoral economy and tourism will also be an important issue in years to come. Stamping out corruption and creating a transparent government are crucial to building the sustainable democracy that will maintain Mongolia’s reputation in the world amid growing resource nationalism and the growing economic and political influence of its two neighbours.
Li Narangoa is Professor at the College of Asia and the Pacific, the Australian National University.
Author: Li Narangoa, ANU
A total of 544 candidates from 11 parties and 2 coalitions contested the 76-seat parliament in Mongolia’s 2012 parliamentary election.
Preliminary results show that the Democratic Party received the highest number of votes (approximately 31–32), followed by the current ruling party, the Mongolian People’s Party (approximately 27–28), and the Justice Coalition (11). The Civil Will–Green Party won two seats and independent candidates won three seats.
The 2012 election was epoch-making in many ways for Mongolia, which recently implemented new election laws. For the first time in its history, Mongolia used an electronic voting system to avoid the fraud that had previously occurred during the manual counting process. These measures were meant to achieve an efficient and fair election, but technical problems defeated the hopes of efficiency. The Mongolian People’s Party and eight other small parties petitioned to recount the votes manually, insisting that the traditional system of manual counting would be more accurate. The request seems to stem from their dissatisfaction about the electoral success of the Democratic Party, which had protested against the 2008 parliamentary election results, sparking a riot that caused five deaths. The 2008 riots came as a shock to Mongolians and damaged its image as a country that made a smooth transition to democracy. Mongolian leaders seem to have learned the lesson and are cautious not to repeat the mistakes of 2008 because with investors around the world closely watching Mongolia’s political stability, the country’s economic future is at stake.
In addition to introducing a new election system (a combination of the majority and proportional system of voting) that benefits smaller parties, the new election law also permitted Mongolian citizens living overseas to vote, and introduced a quota system to ensure that no less than 20 per cent of the candidates are women.
From the 35,000 expected overseas voters, fewer than 3000 actually lodged their vote. The overseas voting method may have caused this meagre result: because no postal voting was allowed, voters had to appear at the Mongolian diplomatic posts, and so voters were mainly restricted to the places where Mongolian embassies happened to be located.
Meanwhile, the proportion of female candidates was nearly 32 per cent, well above the quota. At least 10 of them were elected, and 2 are still yet to be confirmed. These figures show a significant step forward and bring up the proportion of female legislators from less than 4 per cent to about 13–16 per cent — an historical high. The main reason for the increase was not the quota system but the increasing disillusionment with the male-dominated corrupt leadership and the perception that female leaders were less corrupt and more principled. Despite unfavourable listing on party ballot lists, four women won the election through the proportional system, which suggests that voters made conscientious candidate choices.
This election is also important for the future of Mongolia socially and economically. While the mining boom is bringing great wealth to the country, it is also creating social inequalities. The wealth is not distributed evenly across the country, but remaining with the small number of people who hold power. The sudden shift from a closed and planned socialist economy to a free market economy occurred without a transparent system of government, and the potential wealth from resources has accelerated corruption in the country. Thus, those with money have become powerful and those with power have accumulated more wealth. The poor have become even poorer because there was no adequate welfare system to look after them after the collapse of the communist system. The presence of foreign mining companies creates another layer of inequality, because local employees are paid less than their foreign (Western) peers for the same job. Mongolian people also consider it unfair that foreign companies own so much of the strategically important copper and gold mine, Oyu Tolgoi, and feel threatened by the possibility that Mongolia might lose its resources to foreign companies, especially to China.
These issues were on the minds of voters on 28 June. The participation rate was at an historical low of 65 per cent. While this shows people’s cynicism about party politics, there is hope that these inequalities will be reversed by having less corrupt leaders. The election campaigns reflected these concerns and the parties variously promised to spread the wealth nationwide and bring about a better quality of life.
The new government will face many social and economic challenges, including distributing wealth equitably across the nation, and using the revenue gained from the mining sector to build a sustainable welfare system, infrastructure and education. Developing the mining industry while promoting the Mongolian traditional pastoral economy and tourism will also be an important issue in years to come. Stamping out corruption and creating a transparent government are crucial to building the sustainable democracy that will maintain Mongolia’s reputation in the world amid growing resource nationalism and the growing economic and political influence of its two neighbours.
Li Narangoa is Professor at the College of Asia and the Pacific, the Australian National University.
Interview with family members of lese majeste prisoners
Interview with family members of lese majeste prisoners:
Prachatai interviewed members of the Network of Family Members and People Affected by the Lese Majeste Law during their public launch at the 14 Oct Memorial on 7 July. Interviewees include Sukanya Prueksakasemsuk, Keechiang Thaweewarodomkul, Pranee Danwattananusorn and Rosmalin Tangnoppakul.
Prachatai interviewed members of the Network of Family Members and People Affected by the Lese Majeste Law during their public launch at the 14 Oct Memorial on 7 July. Interviewees include Sukanya Prueksakasemsuk, Keechiang Thaweewarodomkul, Pranee Danwattananusorn and Rosmalin Tangnoppakul.
Videos of ISIS forum: Reconciliation and charter change
Videos of ISIS forum: Reconciliation and charter change:
On July 3, Chulalongkorn University’s ISIS hosted a forum entitled “Reconciliation and Charter Change: Underpinnings and Scenarios.” The panelists were as follows:
Part 2:
BP: BP plans to uppdate this post to add some comments, but am short for time now.
Comments have been turned on….
h/t Prachatai
On July 3, Chulalongkorn University’s ISIS hosted a forum entitled “Reconciliation and Charter Change: Underpinnings and Scenarios.” The panelists were as follows:
Prof. Dr. Suchit BunbongkarnVideo of the forum has been uploaded to YouTube, the username is isisforum so BP understands it is ISIS who has uploaded them and are below. Part 1:
Chairman of Political Development Council (PDC)
Prof. Dr. Duncan McCargo
Professor of Southeast Asian Politics, University of Leeds
Assoc. Prof.Dr. Panitan Wattayayagorn
Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University
Assoc. Prof.Dr. Thitinan Pongsudhirak
Director of ISIS Thailand
Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University
Moderator :
Dr. Naruemon Thabchumpon
Director of International Development Studies Program
Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University
Part 2:
BP: BP plans to uppdate this post to add some comments, but am short for time now.
Comments have been turned on….
h/t Prachatai
Nida Poll shows Yingluck’s approval rating declines to 64%
Nida Poll shows Yingluck’s approval rating declines to 64%:
Every quarter, NIDA releases a poll on the performance of the Prime Minister and the government. BP blogged on the previous quarter from December 2011 here and the January-March 2012 quarter here.
There is a new NIDA Poll which surveyed 1,227 people nationwide between June 26-29 which was released July 2. The title of the poll is “Satisfaction with the government and the Prime Minister, 3rd poll (between April-June 2012)” (“ความพึงพอใจต่อผลงานรัฐบาลและนายกรัฐมนตรี ครั้งที่ 3” (ระหว่างเดือนเมษายน – มถิุนายน 2555)).
Unlike some polls, NIDA provides full access to survey data methodology so BP has included this at the end of this post (as noted below they have gone for equal geographic distribution by region which doesn’t reflect the population of each region).*
NOTE: All references to Bangkok include references to Bangkok and the surrounding provinces.
1. Satisfaction that the people have towards the Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra (ความพึงพอใจของประชาชนต่อตัวนายกรัฐมนตรี “นางสาวยิ่งลักษณ์ ชินวัตร”). Below is the breakdown by region:
1.1 Previous polls only have the “satisfied” number and BP assumed the remaining were “not satisfied”, but in reality there is the ‘no opinion’ as well. The total figure above is unweighted – see 1.2 below.
Now, the “satisfied” figures for July 2012, BP has found NIDA polls on the performance of former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his government from October 2009-May 2010 and have included those, the October-December 2011, and January-March 2012 (released in April 2012) NIDA polls on the Yingluck government below:
Source: Aug 09-May 10 (DOC); December 2011 (HTML and PDF); April 2012 (HTML and PDF); June 2012 (HTML and PDF)
1.2. To explain the weighted and population fields, the poll surveyed 1,227 people nationwide, but it did so equally by region regardless of the population of that region which resulted in the number of people being surveyed as follows: Bangkok 248, Central 248, North 242, Northeast 245, and South 244.
Mahidol University has a population gazette - used January 2011 figures – which provides the population of each region and so the “Pop” field in BP’s chart above is the percentage of Thailand’s total population which is in that region. For the “Weighted” field, the key figure is the total of 64.1% which is the adjusted figure that comes out when you weigh the July 12 figures by the percentage of the population of each region. This means that Yingluck has a 64.1% approval rating which is a decrease from 71.38% in April.
This is more reflective than the unweighted nationwide figure of 59.98% which you get when you add the July 2012 figures together and divide by 5 with no adjustment made for population.** BP hasn’t adjusted the Democrat figures downwards as BP found no mention in the NIDA source of the geographical breakdown for the previous polls - from BP’s experience with NIDA polls and looking at the survey data from the elections, they were very accurate with their geographical breakdown (see here and here) – so it would be unfair to adjust the Democrat government ratings (they would likely go down slightly given the Democrats do better in the South which has a smaller population than the Northeast). The unweighted figures show a decrease from 68.5% to 59.98%. This is because Yingluck’s biggest decrease in support is in the South (13% of population). She has also suffered decline in support in the North, and the Central Regions although has remained almost the same in Bangkok and the Northeast.
Note: The individual regional figures for December 11, April 12, July 12 are still accurate. It is only the total figures which aren’t reflective.
2. Percentage of people who are satisfied with the performance of Yingluck government in solving various problems (ร้อยละของประชาชนที่พึงพอใจต่อการแก้ไขปัญหาด้านต่างๆ ของรัฐบาลนางสาวยิ่งลักษณ์ ชินวัตร)
2.1 Same as above, we have the figures for August 2009 and May 2010 under Abhisit and then December 2011, April 2012 and July 2012 under Yingluck (with the latter three including weighted scores). Below are the “satisfied” numbers:
BP: So looking at the weighted numbers, satisfaction over government action on “drugs” is the same, the economy is up slightly, the same with corruption and the Deep South. Unsurprisingly, on the political conflict/unity, it is way down.
Now, below you will see breakdown of the above by region and with “satisfied”, “not satisfied”, and “no opinion” -with the total figure not being weighted.
2.2 On drugs/vices
BP: Even in the South, “satisfied” and “not satisfied” are the same. Interestingly, the government gets its highest score from Bangkok (and surrounding provinces)
2.3 On the economy/living costs/unemployment
BP: This is higher than the Isan Poll for the Northeast - 52% in the Isan poll vs 67% here – although this question is broader. It asks not just about the economy, but also about living costs and unemployment. This could explain the difference.
Actually, the result is interesting when you think of the party vote in the 2011 election. Then, Puea Thai got 68% in the Northeast (67% here), the Central Region was 42% (around 44% here), the North was 55% (59% here). The major difference is the South where Puea Thai only got 8%, but gets 33% here.
2.4 On political conflict/unity/protests
2.5 On solving the problems in the Deep South
2.6 On solving Corruption
3. Points for performance of the Yingluck government (คะแนนผลงานโดยรวมของรัฐบาลนางสาวยิ่งลักษณ์ ชินวัตร).
This was one is rather short as NIDA don’t have a regional breakdown so no chart. There has been a drop from 6.24 in December (unweighted) to 6.23 in April (unweighted) to 6.17 now.
BP: You can say a gradual decline, but then if you were to convert in % terms it would be from 62.4% to 62.3% to 61.7% which is well within the margin of error. Hence, there may not have been a decline at all.
*Survey data methodology:
Region: Bangkok 248, Central 248, North 242, Northeast 245, and South 244
Sex: Males 54%; Females 46%
Age:
15-20 (2.53%)
21-26 (12.63%)
27-32 (17.36%)
33-38 (15.48%)
39-44 (14.34%)
45-49 (10.51%)
50-55 (12.96%)
56+ (14.18%)
BP: As with most polls, this seems to under-represent those aged over 56 although not as badly as most polls. This is probably because these people are more likely to be at home and are harder to survey.
Education Status :
Less than Bachelor’s (69.68%)
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent (26.98)%
Higher than Bachelor’s degree (3.34%)
Employment Status:
Students (7.99%)
Civil Servant/state enterprise (12.88%)
Private company employee (20.05%)
General contractor/labor (13.61)
Self-employed (7.91%)
Housewife/house-husband (8.64%)
Trader (14.51%)
Retired (.65%)
Farmers (11.98%)
Unemployed (1.79%)
BP: Again, There are more retired people that this, but this is the nature of most polls (i.e as they are mostly at home and hence more difficult to survey).
Income (monthly):
Less than 5,00 (31.70%)
5,001-10,000 (30.64%)
10,001-20,000 (20.95%)
20,001-30,000 (7.82%)
30,001-40,000 (3.42%)
40,001-50,000 (1.71%)
More than 50,000 (3.75%)
**BP couldn’t find an explanation that NIDA had already adjusted the regional ratings by population. There is mention of the SE Mean figure but the Poll itself doesn’t say that NIDA has already adjusted the ratings and given that the total figure is simply reached by adding up the regional ratings and dividing by 5, BP has to assume NIDA hasn’t. The alternative is that NIDA has adjusted the regional ratings which would be a little bizarre if they did so as the regional ratings are accurate, the only figure you need to adjust is the total.
Every quarter, NIDA releases a poll on the performance of the Prime Minister and the government. BP blogged on the previous quarter from December 2011 here and the January-March 2012 quarter here.
There is a new NIDA Poll which surveyed 1,227 people nationwide between June 26-29 which was released July 2. The title of the poll is “Satisfaction with the government and the Prime Minister, 3rd poll (between April-June 2012)” (“ความพึงพอใจต่อผลงานรัฐบาลและนายกรัฐมนตรี ครั้งที่ 3” (ระหว่างเดือนเมษายน – มถิุนายน 2555)).
Unlike some polls, NIDA provides full access to survey data methodology so BP has included this at the end of this post (as noted below they have gone for equal geographic distribution by region which doesn’t reflect the population of each region).*
NOTE: All references to Bangkok include references to Bangkok and the surrounding provinces.
1. Satisfaction that the people have towards the Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra (ความพึงพอใจของประชาชนต่อตัวนายกรัฐมนตรี “นางสาวยิ่งลักษณ์ ชินวัตร”). Below is the breakdown by region:
1.1 Previous polls only have the “satisfied” number and BP assumed the remaining were “not satisfied”, but in reality there is the ‘no opinion’ as well. The total figure above is unweighted – see 1.2 below.
Now, the “satisfied” figures for July 2012, BP has found NIDA polls on the performance of former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his government from October 2009-May 2010 and have included those, the October-December 2011, and January-March 2012 (released in April 2012) NIDA polls on the Yingluck government below:
Source: Aug 09-May 10 (DOC); December 2011 (HTML and PDF); April 2012 (HTML and PDF); June 2012 (HTML and PDF)
1.2. To explain the weighted and population fields, the poll surveyed 1,227 people nationwide, but it did so equally by region regardless of the population of that region which resulted in the number of people being surveyed as follows: Bangkok 248, Central 248, North 242, Northeast 245, and South 244.
Mahidol University has a population gazette - used January 2011 figures – which provides the population of each region and so the “Pop” field in BP’s chart above is the percentage of Thailand’s total population which is in that region. For the “Weighted” field, the key figure is the total of 64.1% which is the adjusted figure that comes out when you weigh the July 12 figures by the percentage of the population of each region. This means that Yingluck has a 64.1% approval rating which is a decrease from 71.38% in April.
This is more reflective than the unweighted nationwide figure of 59.98% which you get when you add the July 2012 figures together and divide by 5 with no adjustment made for population.** BP hasn’t adjusted the Democrat figures downwards as BP found no mention in the NIDA source of the geographical breakdown for the previous polls - from BP’s experience with NIDA polls and looking at the survey data from the elections, they were very accurate with their geographical breakdown (see here and here) – so it would be unfair to adjust the Democrat government ratings (they would likely go down slightly given the Democrats do better in the South which has a smaller population than the Northeast). The unweighted figures show a decrease from 68.5% to 59.98%. This is because Yingluck’s biggest decrease in support is in the South (13% of population). She has also suffered decline in support in the North, and the Central Regions although has remained almost the same in Bangkok and the Northeast.
Note: The individual regional figures for December 11, April 12, July 12 are still accurate. It is only the total figures which aren’t reflective.
2. Percentage of people who are satisfied with the performance of Yingluck government in solving various problems (ร้อยละของประชาชนที่พึงพอใจต่อการแก้ไขปัญหาด้านต่างๆ ของรัฐบาลนางสาวยิ่งลักษณ์ ชินวัตร)
2.1 Same as above, we have the figures for August 2009 and May 2010 under Abhisit and then December 2011, April 2012 and July 2012 under Yingluck (with the latter three including weighted scores). Below are the “satisfied” numbers:
BP: So looking at the weighted numbers, satisfaction over government action on “drugs” is the same, the economy is up slightly, the same with corruption and the Deep South. Unsurprisingly, on the political conflict/unity, it is way down.
Now, below you will see breakdown of the above by region and with “satisfied”, “not satisfied”, and “no opinion” -with the total figure not being weighted.
2.2 On drugs/vices
BP: Even in the South, “satisfied” and “not satisfied” are the same. Interestingly, the government gets its highest score from Bangkok (and surrounding provinces)
2.3 On the economy/living costs/unemployment
BP: This is higher than the Isan Poll for the Northeast - 52% in the Isan poll vs 67% here – although this question is broader. It asks not just about the economy, but also about living costs and unemployment. This could explain the difference.
Actually, the result is interesting when you think of the party vote in the 2011 election. Then, Puea Thai got 68% in the Northeast (67% here), the Central Region was 42% (around 44% here), the North was 55% (59% here). The major difference is the South where Puea Thai only got 8%, but gets 33% here.
2.4 On political conflict/unity/protests
2.5 On solving the problems in the Deep South
2.6 On solving Corruption
3. Points for performance of the Yingluck government (คะแนนผลงานโดยรวมของรัฐบาลนางสาวยิ่งลักษณ์ ชินวัตร).
This was one is rather short as NIDA don’t have a regional breakdown so no chart. There has been a drop from 6.24 in December (unweighted) to 6.23 in April (unweighted) to 6.17 now.
BP: You can say a gradual decline, but then if you were to convert in % terms it would be from 62.4% to 62.3% to 61.7% which is well within the margin of error. Hence, there may not have been a decline at all.
*Survey data methodology:
Region: Bangkok 248, Central 248, North 242, Northeast 245, and South 244
Sex: Males 54%; Females 46%
Age:
15-20 (2.53%)
21-26 (12.63%)
27-32 (17.36%)
33-38 (15.48%)
39-44 (14.34%)
45-49 (10.51%)
50-55 (12.96%)
56+ (14.18%)
BP: As with most polls, this seems to under-represent those aged over 56 although not as badly as most polls. This is probably because these people are more likely to be at home and are harder to survey.
Education Status :
Less than Bachelor’s (69.68%)
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent (26.98)%
Higher than Bachelor’s degree (3.34%)
Employment Status:
Students (7.99%)
Civil Servant/state enterprise (12.88%)
Private company employee (20.05%)
General contractor/labor (13.61)
Self-employed (7.91%)
Housewife/house-husband (8.64%)
Trader (14.51%)
Retired (.65%)
Farmers (11.98%)
Unemployed (1.79%)
BP: Again, There are more retired people that this, but this is the nature of most polls (i.e as they are mostly at home and hence more difficult to survey).
Income (monthly):
Less than 5,00 (31.70%)
5,001-10,000 (30.64%)
10,001-20,000 (20.95%)
20,001-30,000 (7.82%)
30,001-40,000 (3.42%)
40,001-50,000 (1.71%)
More than 50,000 (3.75%)
**BP couldn’t find an explanation that NIDA had already adjusted the regional ratings by population. There is mention of the SE Mean figure but the Poll itself doesn’t say that NIDA has already adjusted the ratings and given that the total figure is simply reached by adding up the regional ratings and dividing by 5, BP has to assume NIDA hasn’t. The alternative is that NIDA has adjusted the regional ratings which would be a little bizarre if they did so as the regional ratings are accurate, the only figure you need to adjust is the total.
ALKATIRI SEEKS TRANSITIONAL COUNCIL FOR OLD GENERATION AND FRETILIN SEEKING COALITION WITH CNRT
ALKATIRI SEEKS TRANSITIONAL COUNCIL FOR OLD GENERATION AND FRETILIN SEEKING COALITION WITH CNRT:
Despite making claims that FRETILIN would win an outright majority on the recent 7 July national election Mari Alkatiri Secretary General Of FRETILIN is now dealing with a different reality.
According to a senior FRETILIN leader Tempo Semanal is told that FRETILIN has been trying for two days to gain access to the Xanana Gusmao, President of CNRT which got the most votes. This source has informed Tempo Semanal that FRETILIN is trying to open a discussion about how FRETILIN can make a coalition government with CNRT.
FRETILIN seeking coalition so as to gain access to legislative powers to help change the constitution and pass a number of laws.
While Xanana’s allies the PD and Frente Mudanca party leadership have already met with Xanana the day after the election, FRETILIN remains locked out. PD and Frente Mudanca are old allies of Xanana in the previous AMP government. According to some analysts PD and Frente Mudanca have more chance at forming a coalition with Xanana’s CNRT to establish a new coalition Government. This is due to the fact that FRETILIN and Alkatiri have long opposed Xanana’s Strategic Development plan. But according to Tempo Semanal sources within FRETILIN the party's leadership is now looking to push Alkatiri to agree with Xanana's Development plan.
While FRETILIN has increased is Parliamentary seats from 21 to 24 Xanana’s CNRT party has increased more to a total of 30 seats and has moved from second most voted party in 2007 to first most voted party in 2012.
The following is an exclusive interview between Tempo Semanal and Mari Alkatiri conducted on 9 July 2012.
TS: During the FRETILIN campaign for the parliamentary elections you repeatedly called for an end to attacks on XANANA GUSMAO, why has your party changed its policy?
MA. We did not really call for an end on criticism of XANANA. But I do believe that the leaders of our generation need to hand over power to the next generation. We should not just hand over power but also show a good example to the next generation. We need to show a good example, in order to think about the way forward. Sooner or later we have to hand political power and leadership to the new generation. Not only goodwill. It’s not enough. But we need to set a good example. It is about the day-to-day life of practicing politics, and not just about attacking each other as enemies. We are not enemies. Of course we not think in the same way. This is part of the democracy. We have to think about the interest of the people and the interest of the nation.
TS: Is this a new maneuver to save your party?
MA: I am not speaking on behalf of the party. But we came from the same roots and with the same beliefs. And we have the same objectives. This is the point. Parties are important for our democracy. But we need to think of the future of the nation, in such a way we can really free the people from poverty. Our new cause is how to combat poverty and free the people from poverty. I think we (1974 generation) are not more than three to five people. We really need to hand over everything to the new generation.
TS: Do you mean the 1974-generation like Ramos HORTA and XANANA?
MA: Yes. Ramos HORTA and myself are the founders of this nation. The other founders have passed away recently. He is Francisco Xavier do AMARAL. XANANA GUSMAO is a person whom since 1979 to 1999 led the resistance until the end of our struggle. Of course he joined FRETILIN in 1975, and he lead the resistance for more then 20 years. It is s very important to have this generation from 1974 and 1975 to be able to think about the future of the nation without us.
TS: Do you mean you are seeking a coalition between the leadership of the older generation?
MA: I am not looking for a coalition to lead the government. But I am looking for a coalition of good ideas and good will. I am looking for a coalition of objectives or targets.
TS: Is there any response from Mr. XANANA to your proposal? If not what are you going to do to convince XANANA to accept your offer?
MA: I will keep repeating my appeal. Of course I think XANANA is a person of good will. He is also a dreamer for the best of our people. And I do still believe that immediately after the election we will sit together and try to think about it.
TS: If the 1974 and 1975 generation can’t accept your idea what would be the consequences to the founders of this nation?
MA: It means we fail. This is really a failure from our side. And then soon or later our people will reject us.
TS: People are discussing the possibility of coalition between FRETILIN and CNRT in time to prevent the history of 2007. But some do not believe that FRETILIN and CNRT will be able to sit in the same table of council ministers. What are your feelings on this?
MA: I think we can’t really make this kind of equation of the historic leaders to be away from a political power and to support or assist those one going to govern the country. It’s not easy for us to have coalition with every political party. But one thing has to be respected. The winner has to lead the coalition and not the second place party. This is the point if we are to respect the will of the people. The winner is to lead a coalition.
TS: How to prevent the 2007 scenario which FRETILIN was not able make a coalition with any party and the President invited the second most voted party which able to form a coalition to establish a Government. People are arguing that the constitution is vague and there is no time frame set so as to allow people to interpret it according to their own way. What’s your interpretation?
MA: For me my interpretation of the constitutions is clear. The most voted party has to be invited by the President of the Republic to lead the government. If it fails to be able to create a coalition then the President has the opportunity to invite others or the second most voted party to do so. But the President cannot choose the second most voted party before allowing the first most voted the opportunity to establish a coaltion.
TS: So what happened in 2007 was that FRETILIN as the first most voted party was not given the chance to form the government but President called in the second most voted party which was able to form a coalition for government in that time.
MA: Yes. It was unconstitutional.
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Spare us any more hooey about “preventing fraud” and “protecting the integrity of the ballot box.” The Republican-led crusade for voter ID laws has been revealed as a cynical ploy to disenfranchise as many likely Democratic voters as possible, with poor people and minorities the main targets.
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