iPolitics
Just beneath the surface, there are troubles aplenty in the Land of Smiles
Month: January 2014
Thailand on the Brink: Appearance and Reality in the Land of Smiles
In response to the rising violence which has attended the Bangkok Shutdown movement, on January 21st the beleaguered Thai government imposed a state of emergency. Armed with sweeping new powers, for the next 60 days state security agencies may impose curfews, detain suspects without charge, censor media, ban political gatherings of more than five people and declare areas off-limits.
With what amounts to a declaration of martial law, Thailand’s fledgling democracy has taken a debilitating hit, and the festering political confrontation which began with a coup in 2006 has deepened disturbingly. A military intervention has been mooted.
Five ways the Snowden affair has disrupted world politics
Globe and Mail
Thanks to Ed Snowden, 2013 was a “Napster Year” for government secrecy and world order.
The Snowden Affair: 2013 as a “Napster Year” for Government Secrecy and World Order
When historians look back at the first few decades of the 21st century, 2013 will almost certainly be seen as a game-changing year.
That judgement can in the main be attributed to a series of disclosures made by American fugitive Ed Snowden, formerly a low level CIA employee and National Security Agency sub-contractor whose flight and subsequent revelations have given rise to sensational reverberations across the globe.
According to Snowden’s principal journalistic collaborators, Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras, the material released so far is barely the tip of the iceberg relative to what is yet to come.
As we await the jarring geopolitical screech that will undoubtedly attend the next set whistles to be blown, it is perhaps worth reflecting on some of the larger, longer-term implications.