World

Thai Court Orders Election-Winning Party To Dissolve In Major Blow To Kingdom’s Popular Progressive Movement

Published

4 months ago

2024-08-11

On Wednesday, a Thai court ordered the dissolution of the kingdom’s most popular political party, dealing a severe blow to Thailand’s thriving progressive movement and threatening further political upheaval.

The Move Forward Party secured a shock electoral victory in 2023, capturing the most parliamentary seats on an anti-establishment reform platform that gained widespread support, particularly among young people dissatisfied with years of military dictatorship.

Thai Court Orders Election-Winning Party To Dissolve In Major Blow To Kingdom’s Popular Progressive Movement

The Constitutional Court in Bangkok ruled on Wednesday that Move Forward should be disbanded in response to a request from Thailand’s Election Commission on the party’s campaign to modify lese majeste, the country’s notoriously severe royal insult statute.

In its unanimous decision, the court accused Move Forward of “undermining the monarchy, ” so “the constitutional court has to inevitably disband the party.”

In January, the same court ordered the party to halt its lese majeste campaign, charging its leaders, including former prime ministerial candidate Pita Limjaroenrat, of attempting to subvert the constitutional monarchy.

Wednesday’s decision goes even further, dissolving the party and barring its executives from politics for ten years, effectively disenfranchising 14 million people who voted for them and raising new concerns about the deterioration of democratic rights in the kingdom.

Move Forward leaders have frequently stated that dissolution will not halt their movement. Pita told the Associated Press last week that they will keep fighting until Move Forward “becomes the last party that joins the graveyard of political parties.”

It is the first of two high-profile, politically charged cases that potentially exacerbate a power struggle between the establishment and progressives. The court will likely rule next week on a petition to remove Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin from office for appointing a lawyer who had previously served in jail to the Cabinet.

Crushing punch.
Move Forward’s election triumph was a significant success for progressive parties and dealt a devastating blow to Thailand’s conservative, military-backed establishment, which has ruled on and off for decades, frequently overthrowing popularly elected governments in coups.

Move Forward was ultimately unable to create a government because it did not receive enough support in parliament for its royal reform agenda, which largely favours the establishment of a democratic system enacted by the former ruling military junta.

Pita resigned as party leader, and it became the primary opposition.

Thailand’s stormy political past has historically seen groups advocating for change clash with the powerful establishment, which includes the military, royalists, and influential elites.

The ostensibly independent electoral commission, anti-corruption commission, and Constitutional Court are heavily stacked in favor of the establishment.

During the election, young people told CNN that they felt like the “forgotten generation” after nine years of living under military rule and struggling to find work or buy a home. “We just can’t see our future in this country,” one young legislator stated.

Wednesday’s decision would reinforce the belief among many young supporters that there is little chance for reform within Thailand’s democratic system.

Progressive MPs have been barred from holding office, parties have been disbanded, and governments have been overthrown. Thailand has had a dozen successful coups since 1932, including two in the last two decades.

This is the second time the court has ordered the dissolution of parties affiliated with Move Forward’s progressive movement.

Move Forward is the de facto successor of the Future Forward Party, which received the third highest number of seats in the 2019 elections. After the poll, Thailand’s Constitutional Court dissolved the party and barred its leaders from politics for a decade.

This drew millions of young people to the streets across the country, igniting a nationwide youth-led protest movement in 2020 that saw the rise of a new generation of young political leaders, many of whom openly criticized the monarchy and questioned its authority and wealth.

Lese Majeste is here to stay.
The verdict could ensure that no party or individual can lawfully argue for changes to lese majeste, also known as Section 112, without violating the Constitution.

The cries for monarchy reform ignited Thailand, where any open debate of the royal family risks imprisonment.

Criticising the monarch, queen, or heir apparent can result in a maximum 15-year prison sentence for each offence, with punishments lasting decades for individuals convicted under Section 112 of the country’s criminal code.

Hundreds of people have been punished in recent years, including Mongkol Thirakhot, who was sentenced to a record 50 years in prison in January for social media statements deemed harmful to the king.

Anyone, including regular citizens, can bring lese majeste charges on behalf of the king, even if they have no direct involvement in the matter. Move Forward promised to cut these major sentences and limit who may file a complaint.

Human rights organizations and free speech advocates have long claimed that the lese majeste law is used as a political tool to stifle critics of Thailand’s government.

Thai Court Orders Election-Winning Party To Dissolve In Major Blow To Kingdom’s Popular Progressive Movement

Many of the people who participated in the protests are now facing lese majeste charges and lengthy prison sentences.

Thai Lawyers for Human Rights reported that 1,954 persons have been prosecuted for participating in political gatherings since the protests began in July 2020, with at least 272 accused for lese majeste.

Arnon Nampa, a prominent activist lawyer, is serving an eight-year sentence for two lese majeste charges.

In May, the death of a young Thai activist in pre-trial custody on lese majeste allegations startled many in the country and rekindled calls for justice reform.

SOURCE | CNN

World

Biden Escalates Ukraine War With Long-Range Missiles

Published

6 days ago

2024-11-18

Geoff Brown

The Kremlin announced on Monday that President Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to hit targets inside Russia with US military long-range missiles is “fuel to the fire” and will exacerbate international tensions.

Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to employ US military long-range missiles to strike deep within Russia has raised concerns about growing tensions, with many fearing that this decision could lead to world conflict.

On Monday, with less than two months remaining in office, President Joe Biden authorized American-provided Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to strike deep within Russia.

“It is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps and they have been talking about this, to continue adding fuel to the fire and provoking further escalation of tensions around this conflict,” said Peskov, the spokesman for the president.

Peskov reminded journalists of a September statement by President Vladimir Putin, who stated that enabling Ukraine to target Russia would dramatically raise the stakes.

It would alter “the very nature of the conflict dramatically,” Putin stated. This would mean that NATO countries, the United States, and European countries would be at war with Russia.”

Peskov asserted that Western countries that deliver longer-range weaponry also provide targeting services to Kyiv. “This fundamentally changes the modality of their involvement in the conflict,” he said.

Ukraine War Escalation

In June, Putin threatened that if NATO permitted Ukraine to utilize the arsenal of its partners to attack Russian territory, Moscow would send longer-range weapons to others to strike Western targets.

“The Westerners supply weapons to Ukraine and say: ‘We do not control anything here anymore and it does not matter how they are used.'” Putin had said. “We can also say, ‘We supplied something to someone — and now we have no control over anything.'” “And let them think about it.”

Putin again emphasized Moscow’s willingness to deploy nuclear weapons if it perceived a threat to its sovereignty.

Biden’s decision will “mean the direct involvement of the United States and its satellites in military action against Russia, as well as a radical change in the essence and nature of the conflict,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry stated.

The new policy has unpredictable consequences. ATACMS, with a range of roughly 300 kilometers (190 miles), can travel deep behind Ukraine’s 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, although their range is modest compared to other types of ballistic and cruise missiles.

President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20, has not responded, but he won the election on promises to stop the conflict, and some people close to him have decried the action as a hazardous escalation.

Missile Decision Sparks Anger

The Military Industrial Complex appears to want to start World War III before my father has a chance to restore peace and rescue lives. We need to lock in those $Trillions. Life be damned!! Imbeciles!” Donald Trump Jr., the President-elect’s son, posted on X

“On his way out of office, Joe Biden is dangerously trying to start WWIII by authorizing Ukraine to use U.S. long-range missiles against Russia,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., on X. “The American people gave a mandate on November 5 against these exact American last decisions.”

Rebekah Koffler, a former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) officer and author of “Putin’s Playbook,” speculated that the stories were a “trial balloon to disrupt Trump” and that Biden may not have authorized the ATACMS strikes yet.

According to Dani Belo, PhD, Director of Security and International Relations at Global Policy Horizons Research Lab, Ukraine’s ability to currently hit Russian territory has the potential to escalate the war with Russia.

However, Donald Trump’s victory is likely to moderate the escalation.

There is speculation that Donald Trump’s administration would restrict military hardware deliveries to Ukraine, putting political pressure on Kyiv to resolve the crisis. This implies Ukraine has no motivation to escalate now and lose its fighting capability in a matter of months.

Russia sees no reason to escalate the situation at this time. Moscow expects that Trump’s administration will try to finish the war soon, so the Kremlin will likely take a wait-and-see approach until the new presidential administration takes office without significantly escalating the conflict. As a result, any escalation is unlikely.

Source: AP

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Trump Shakes Up Pentagon Names Pete Hegseth Defence Secretary

World

A Court Filing Reveals Elon Musk Flatly Rejected OpenAI’s ICO in 2018.

Published

1 week ago

2024-11-15

Salman Ahmad

(VOR News) – Elon Musk, the billionaire and CEO of Tesla, claims in a subsequent court filing that was submitted on November 14 that he was successful in stopping OpenAI from doing an initial coin offering (ICO) in 2018.

According to the filing requirements, this information was disclosed.

Musk and his legal team have claimed that two of OpenAI’s founders, Greg Brockman and Sam Altman, tried unsuccessfully to create a token in early 2018 to help the company grow. To the best of our knowledge, this was the founders’ intention.

Elon Musk accurately described the scenario.

Elon Musk made the remark during the pertinent time period, according to the lawsuit’s accusations.

This, in his opinion, would lead to a significant decline in trust in OpenAI and everyone involved in the initial coin offering (ICO). These statements are extracted from his initial declaration.

A unique project backed by Altman, Worldcoin launched a token twenty-three years ago with the goal of creating digital identification for verified individuals.

Furthermore, the company in charge of token distribution was Worldcoin. Through the use of the token, Worldcoin was able to authenticate individual identities.

When OpenAI was first founded, it was a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating safe artificial general intelligence (AGI).

In this context, the acronym AGI stands for artificial global intelligence. “Musk has continuously voiced concern about the grave threat that these sophisticated systems pose to humanity,” his attorney wrote in the complaint. These sophisticated technologies represent a serious threat to humankind.

“Musk remains apprehensive regarding this threat.” “Musk regards these threats with the utmost seriousness.” “Elon Musk has harbored these concerns for an extended period.”

This led to Musk joining OpenAI’s board of directors and continuing to serve as co-chair of the board. Furthermore, he was appointed to that board of directors post.

Elon Musk contributed $44 million to the enterprise.

OpenAI declared in a March 5th news release that it was imperative that the company adopt a profit-making structure in order to obtain the necessary funding to achieve its objectives. In order to enable OpenAI to fulfill its objectives, this transition was necessary.

According to both the OpenAI statement and the amended filing, Elon Musk advocated for the combination of OpenAI and Tesla to help the artificial intelligence startup with its financial issues.

The aforementioned measures were implemented to mitigate the challenges that the organization was facing at that specific moment. Musk submitted his resignation as an OpenAI employee in February 2018.

He founded his own artificial intelligence company, which he named XAI, in the ensuing years. His efforts directly led to the achievement he achieved.

We are deeply disappointed that our friendship with someone we have always held in the highest respect has deteriorated.

As we started to make significant strides toward OpenAI’s goal on our own, this person, who had previously motivated us to achieve greater heights, abruptly predicted that we would fail, established a rival company, and filed a lawsuit against us, according to the group’s press release.

In August of this year, Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEOs, Altman and Brockman, claiming that they had violated federal RICO statutes, engaged in unfair competition, and committed fraud. OpenAI is the target of legal action taken by Elon Musk.

According to Elon Musk, they have engaged in additional illegal activity. Microsoft was named as one of the defendants in the dispute in the updated complaint, which was submitted on November 14.

It’s being presented as a case at the moment. Microsoft and OpenAI started working together in 2019, and Microsoft committed $1 billion in the partnership.

In July 2023, OpenAI’s native cryptocurrency, Worldcoin (WLD), was made available to the general public. Not too long ago, an article published by The Block disclosed this knowledge. When the market closed on November 15 at 11:36 p.m. Eastern Time (16:36 UTC), the price of a share of WLD was $2.21.

SOURCE: TB

World

Trump Appoints Robert F. Kennedy Jr to Head HHS

Published

1 week ago

2024-11-15

Geoff Brown

Trump Appoints Robert F. Kennedy Jr to Head HHS

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to run the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

President-elect Trump appointed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr) to run the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), sending Democrats and Big Pharma allies into a tailspin.

“I am delighted to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and medicine firms, which have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation regarding public health,” Trump stated in his announcement.

“The safety and health of all Americans is the most important role of any administration, and HHS will play an important role in ensuring that everyone is safe from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to this country’s overwhelming health crisis.

Mr. Kennedy will restore these agencies to gold-standard scientific Research and Transparency traditions, stopping the Chronic Disease Epidemic and making America Great and Healthy Again!” Trump added.

Reactions to RFK Jr HHS Appointment

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) oversees the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Medicare, Medicaid, and the National Institutes of Health.

Kennedy is a former environmental justice lawyer who has recently started an anti-vaccine nonprofit. He ran for president as an independent candidate in 2024 but dropped out to join Trump’s closest circle.

House Republicans have reacted to Donald Trump’s nomination of former presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary.

Chip Roy, a Texas congressman, calls it “great news”. He tells me, “We need disruption throughout the federal government.” He’ll be fantastic at HHS [the Department of Health and Human Services] to do that.”

Roy adds that he expects Kennedy’s candidacy will clear the Senate.

“There’s been a few Kennedy’s in the Senate in the past so maybe there’ll be some legacy there that they will want to move him through,” he speculates.

South Carolina Congressman Ralph Norman concurs with Roy on Kennedy’s confirmation in the Senate: “I believe he was an excellent choice by the president, as have all of them. Kennedy is interested in, and passionate about, the medical industry. He will do a terrific job with it.”

According to Public Citizen, a progressive nonprofit group focused on consumer protection, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “is a clear and present danger to the nation’s health.”

He should not be allowed to enter the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), let alone be appointed director of the nation’s public health agency.”

“Donald Trump’s mishandling of public health policies during the Covid outbreak resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths. “By appointing Kennedy as secretary of HHS, Trump is courting another policy-driven public health disaster,” the organization continued.

Apu Akkad, an infectious disease physician at the University of Southern California, described the statement as a “scary day for public health”.

Meanwhile, pharmaceutical stocks such as Pfizer and Moderna plummeted following news of Kennedy’s nomination for HHS Secretary, as investors considered his potential impact on vaccine sales.

Novavax and BioNTech finished down more than 7%, with almost all losses occurring when word of the selection broke—Novavax shares fell to $7.22, and BioNTech shares fell to $103.56.

Moderna’s stock closed 5.6% at $39.77, reaching its lowest point of the year.

Sanofi’s stock fell 3.4% to $47.82, continuing a weeks-long share price decline that began after the company’s latest earnings report last month.

Pfizer lost less than its competitors on Thursday, closing down 2.6% at $26.02, despite having its sharpest drop of the day immediately following the RFK Jr. announcement.