Chinatown Gets a Street Fair on Soi Nana

By

Chayanit Itthipongmaetee, Staff Reporter

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8 January 2018, 12:07

Scene from the third Soi Nana Craft+Jumble Trail event in 2016. Photo: Cho Why / Facebook

BANGKOK — New art spaces, galleries, bars, cafes and restaurants that have taken over a small alley off Charoen Krung Road will throw a one-day block party later this month.

On Jan. 28, visit Soi Nana for an event combining art, food, drinks and more as the first Chinatown Fair gets underway.

Joining the fun will be darkroom lab Patani Studio, art space Cho Why, neon-lit denizens of Chinese-themed bars Ba Hao, gin-focused Teens of Thailand and the newly arrived Asia Today.

The event will take place 4pm through midnight on Jan. 28 as part of the Thailand Creative and Design Center’s Bangkok Design Week.

Soi Nana is located a few minutes walk from MRT Hua Lamphong – don’t confuse it with the foreign-oriented red-light playground of Soi Sukhumvit 4.

Bannon Tries to Make Amends as Aides Defend Trump’s Fitness

By

Associated Press

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8 January 2018, 10:39

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon steps off Air Force One April 9, 2017, at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. Photo: Alex Brandon / Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Steve Bannon is trying to make amends.

Faced with a growing backlash, President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist released a statement Sunday reaffirming his support for the commander in chief and praising Trump’s eldest son as “both a patriot and a good man.”

Bannon infuriated Trump with comments to author Michael Wolff describing a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower in New York between Donald Trump Jr., Trump campaign aides and a Russian lawyer as “treasonous” and “unpatriotic.”

But Bannon said Sunday his description was aimed at former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who also attended the meeting, and not Trump’s son.

“I regret that my delay in responding to the inaccurate reporting regarding Don Jr has diverted attention from the president’s historical accomplishments in the first year of his presidency,” Bannon said in the statement, first obtained by the news site Axios. Bannon said his support for Trump and his agenda was “unwavering.”

Hours before the statement came out, administration officials used appearances on the Sunday news shows to rally behind Trump and try to undermine Wolff’s “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” which portrays the 45th president as a leader who doesn’t understand the weight of his office and whose competence is questioned by aides.

Chief policy adviser Stephen Miller, in a combative appearance on CNN, described the book as “nothing but a pile of trash through and through.”

He also criticized Bannon, who is quoted at length by Wolff, saying it was “tragic and unfortunate” that Bannon “would make these grotesque comments so out of touch with reality and obviously so vindictive.”

CIA Director Mike Pompeo said Trump was “completely fit” to lead the country, pausing before answering because, he said on “Fox News Sunday,” it was such “a ludicrous question.”

“These are from people who just have not accepted the fact that President Trump is the United States president and I’m sorry for them in that,” said Pompeo, who gives Trump his regular intelligence briefings.

Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said that she is at the White House once a week, and “no one questions the stability of the president.”

“I’m always amazed at the lengths people will go to, to lie for money and for power. This is like taking it to a whole new low,” she told ABC’s “This Week.”

To Miller, “the portrayal of the president in the book is so contrary to reality, to the experience of those who work with him.”

Miller’s interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” quickly grew heated, with Miller criticizing CNN’s coverage and moderator Jake Tapper pressing Miller to answer his questions and accusing him of speaking to only one viewer: Trump.

Tapper abruptly ended the interview, saying: “I think I’ve wasted enough of my viewers’ time.”

Soon after, Trump tweeted: “Jake Tapper of Fake News CNN just got destroyed in his interview with Stephen Miller of the Trump Administration. Watch the hatred and unfairness of this CNN flunky!”

Trump took to Twitter on Saturday to defend his fitness for office, insisting he is “like, really smart” and, indeed, a “very stable genius.” He pressed the case again on Sunday as he prepared to depart Camp David for the White House.

“I’ve had to put up with the Fake News from the first day I announced that I would be running for President. Now I have to put up with a Fake Book, written by a totally discredited author,” he tweeted.

Wolff’s book draws a derogatory portrait of Trump as an undisciplined man-child who didn’t actually want to win the White House and who spends his evenings eating cheeseburgers in bed, watching television and talking on the telephone to old friends.

The book also quotes Bannon and other prominent advisers as questioning the president’s competence.

On Sunday, two days after the book’s release, WikiLeaks tweeted a link to an electronic image of the text. Posting the text of a book without permission would violate copyright restrictions and potentially damage sales. Yet, hours after WikiLeaks tweeted the link, “Fire and Fury” remained No. 1 on Amazon’s lists of hardcover and ebook bestsellers.

Chatter about Trump’s mental fitness for office has intensified in recent months on cable news shows and among Democrats in Congress.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders this past week called such suggestions “disgraceful and laughable.”

“If he was unfit, he probably wouldn’t be sitting there and wouldn’t have defeated the most qualified group of candidates the Republican Party has ever seen,” she said, calling him “an incredibly strong and good leader.”

Trump and some aides have attacked Wolff’s credibility, pointing to the fact that the book includes a number of factual errors and denying that the author had as much access as he claimed.

“He said he interviewed me for three hours in the White House. It didn’t exist, OK? It’s in his imagination,” Trump said Saturday.

Wolff told NBC on Sunday that “I truly do not want to say the president is a liar,” but that he had indeed spoken with Trump for about three hours during and since the campaign.

Trump has repeatedly invoked Ronald Reagan, tweeting Sunday that the former president “had the same problem and handled it well. So will I!”

Reagan died in 2004, at age 93, from pneumonia complicated by the Alzheimer’s disease that had progressively clouded his mind. At times when he was president, Reagan seemed forgetful and would lose his train of thought while talking.

Doctors, however, said Alzheimer’s was not to blame, noting the disease was diagnosed years after he left office. Reagan announced his diagnosis in a letter to the American people in 1994, more than five years after leaving the White House.

Story: Jill Colvin

Malaysian Opposition Names 92-Year-Old Mahathir as PM Choice

By

Associated Press

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8 January 2018, 10:33

A mural of former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed see here in 2015 at an unspecified location. Photo: CK Tan / Wikimedia Commons

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s opposition alliance has named 92-year-old former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad as its prime minister candidate for general elections to boost its chances of wrestling power from a coalition that has ruled since independence.

The announcement Sunday by the four-party Hope Alliance is seen as a major show of unity ahead of polls that must be held by August but are widely expected in the second quarter.

Prime Minister Najib Razak has been struggling with a corruption scandal.

But political analyst Wan Saiful Wan Jan warns that the opposition still faces an uphill battle due to electoral boundary changes and strong support for the government from rural ethnic Malays.

List of Winners for 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards

By

Associated Press

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8 January 2018, 10:31

Laura Dern, Nicole Kidman, Zoe Kravitz, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley — Laura Dern, from left, Nicole Kidman, Zoe Kravitz, Reese Witherspoon and Shailene Woodley pose in the press room with the award for best television limited series or motion picture made for television for "Big Little Lies" at the 75th annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

List of winners for the 75th annual Golden Globe Awards, announced Sunday by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association:

Motion Picture

—Motion Picture, Drama: “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”

—Actor, Motion Picture, Drama: Gary Oldman, “Darkest Hour.”

—Actress, Motion Picture, Drama: Frances McDormand, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”

—Director, Motion Picture: Guillermo Del Toro, “The Shape of Water.”

—Supporting Actor, Motion Picture: Sam Rockwell, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”

—Supporting Actress, Motion Picture: Allison Janney, “I, Tonya.”

—Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy: “Lady Bird.”

—Actor, Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy: James Franco, “The Disaster Artist.”

—Actress, Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy: Saoirse Ronan, “Lady Bird.”

—Screenplay: Martin McDonagh, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.”

—Original Score: Alexandre Desplat, “The Shape of Water.”

—Original Song: “This is Me,” from “The Greatest Showman,” music by Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, lyrics by Benj Pasek, Justin Paul.

—Animated Film: “Coco.”

—Foreign Language: “In the Fade.”

Television

—Series, Drama — “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

—Actor, Drama: Sterling K. Brown, “This is Us,”

—Actress, Drama: Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

—Series, Musical or Comedy: “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”

—Actor, Series, Musical or Comedy: Aziz Ansari, “Master of None.”

—Actress, Series, Musical or Comedy: Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”

—Television, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for TV: “Big Little Lies.”

—Actress, Limited Series or TV Movie: Nicole Kidman, “Big Little Lies.”

—Supporting Actress, Series, Limited Series or TV Movie: Laura Dern, “Big Little Lies.”

—Supporting Actor, Series, Limited Series or TV Movie: Alexander Skarsgard, “Big Little Lies.”

—Actor, Limited Series for Motion Picture Made for TV: Ewan McGregor, “Fargo.”

Golden Globes Red Carpet Transformed by Black Dress Protest

By

Associated Press

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8 January 2018, 10:22

Missi Pyle wears a Time's Up pin as she arrives at the 75th annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2018, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

The highly anticipated wear-black protest at the Golden Globes took off Sunday as soon as the red carpet opened, including A-listers Meryl Streep in a deep V-cut gown and Michelle Williams in an embellished off-the-shoulder look with “Me Too” founder Tarana Burke at her side.

Streep, accompanied by domestic violence advocate Ai-jen Poo, said she chose black to stand in solidarity with others trying to right the power imbalance that leads to sexual abuse.

“We want to fix that and we feel sort of emboldened in this particular moment to stand together in a thick black line,” Streep told the black-clad Ryan Seacrest on the carpet in Beverly Hills, California.

What would Katharine Graham think of all the black?

“I think she’d be over the moon,” said Street, who portrays Graham in “The Post.”

Turning the Globes dark on the fashion front had been anticipated for days after a call for massive reform following the downfall of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and numerous others accused of sexual misconduct in Hollywood, media, fashion, tech, publishing and other industries. The new initiative Time’s Up, backed by more than 300 women in Hollywood, doled out pins intended in part for those who might already have locked in more colorful looks.

Though the red carpet was dominated by black, actors made it their own: Allison Williams provided a pop of orange and silver on the bodice of her black Armani Prive column gown. Singer Kelly Clarkson sported gold at the neck and on one sleeve of her black Christian Siriano dress.

“We’re here because of Tarana,” Williams told E! “Because Tarana started a movement and she planted the seed years ago.” Burke added: “It’s deeply humbling.”

Jessica Biel kept the fairytale alive in a princessy strapless Dior with dainty sheer embellishment. Eva Longoria and Reese Witherspoon power coupled in strong black looks with clean lines — the pregnant Longoria’s tuxedo inspired.

Shailene Woodley donned a silk beaded turtleneck and black tulle evening skirt from Ralph Lauren Collection. Diane Kruger chose a Prada black-dotted tulle gown with a cascading shawl train, edges rimmed in fun metal beading.

Claire Foy of the Netflix series “The Crown” went with a black pantsuit and Tracee Ellis Ross accessorized her black jersey halter dress by Marc Jacobs with a matching headscarf. Catherine Zeta-Jones wore a couture, sheer lace Zuhair Murad A-line gown. Margot Robbie, star of “I, Tonya,” wore a custom Gucci black satin V-neck gown with crystal bow and three-dimensional floral embroideries.

Susan Kelechi Watson, of “This Is Us,” earned some social media attention for a low-cut trouser combo from Monsoori. It sparkled in the night’s top color.

One of the bite-sized stars of “Stranger Things,” Sadie Sink, joined the black protest, paired with Chopard jewels.

And the men? Well, Chris Sullivan wore the traditional black tuxedo and showed off black nail polish.

Not everybody supported the protest. Rose McGowan, who has accused Weinstein of rape, has loudly and persistently called the effort an empty gesture.

Daniel Kaluuya, star of “Get Out,” supported in a black tux from Gucci with a Time’s Up pin on his lapel. He said he feels privileged to stand by the women fighting against the unnecessary evils that are happening in the industry.

Alison Brie, nominated for her Netflix wrestling show “Glow,” wore a long, dramatic strapless top with a sweetheart neckline and pants underneath. She thinks change will come when more women are in power at the top and a lot more listening needs to happen across all industries.

Connie Britton wore a black sweater with the words “poverty is sexist” embroidered on it.

Alfred Molina was among those men who paired their traditional tuxedos with black shirts rather than the typical white ones. So did David Harbour of “Stranger Things,” Nick Jonas and Bob Odenkirk.

“It’s out of solidarity in a way,” Molina told The Associated Press. “I can tell you it’s a very small gesture. Me wearing black isn’t going to change anything, but from small gestures come big ones. I think it’s important to let women know that you listen to them and believe them.”

Kendall Jenner had the social media choir puzzled as to why she was there. She won biggest dress in a huge high-low gown with a long train, nearly swallowing her up. Viola Davis showed off her natural hair in a body-hugging, black velvet custom Brandon Maxwell dress with a sweetheart neckline.

While the sea of black was unprecedented, the color is not a red carpet newbie during awards season.

Emma Stone, among those in black Sunday, wore the color to the 2015 Golden Globes, a stunning trouser look with a studded silver top and a black back bow and train. Nicole Kidman has worn the color to the Globes several times, including a lace column gown with a high slit and a little black choker in 2002, offering a rock vibe from Yves Saint Laurent.

Halle Berry, a presenter Sunday, wore a bustier look with an elegant sheer affect below the waist in 2011.

Story: Lianne Italie

Vietnam Tries Former Oil Executives in Widened Crackdown

By

Associated Press

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8 January 2018, 10:15

A woman cycles past one of the many banners depicting the Vietnamese flag, November 2016 in the streets of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam has begun a major corruption trial against defendants who include a former senior Communist official and a former oil executive the Vietnamese government is accused of snatching from Germany.

Dinh La Thang, a former Politburo member and former chairman of state energy giant PetroVietnam, is accused of mismanagement in a thermal power plant.

Trinh Xuan Thanh, a former chairman of PetroVietnam’s construction arm, is accused of the same charge as well as embezzlement.

Thang is the first former Politburo member to face prosecution in decades.

In August, Germany accused Vietnam of kidnaping Thanh from a Berlin park in an incident that strained bilateral ties.

The trial Monday involves the two men, along with 20 others who are mostly current or former senior oil executives.

Pardoned Leader Says He Dreams of Peru ‘Without Bitterness’

By

Associated Press

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7 January 2018, 13:40

Former President Alberto Fujimori is wheeled out the hospital he was interned, in, Thursday in Lima, Peru. Photo: Miguel Paredes / Associated Press

LIMA, Peru — Former strongman Alberto Fujimori says he spent his first hours as a free man following his controversial Christmas Eve pardon dreaming of “a Peru without bitterness.”

In his first public remarks since being released from a Lima health clinic, Fujimori on Saturday tweeted calls for Peruvians to set aside resentment following President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski’s decision to pardon his 25-year sentence on humanitarian grounds.

“In the first hours of this new chapter of my life, I am filled with dreams I wanted to share,” he wrote in the first of two posts. “I dream of a Peru without bitterness in which we all work toward a higher goal.”

Fujimori added that Peru will become a country that “regains its security and eliminates violence” if special interests are put aside.

The Andean nation’s former president was taken to a clinic following his release from prison. He issued a statement from his hospital bed apologizing to those Peruvians he disappointed during his decade-long rule.

The pardon sent thousands of Peruvians into the streets in protest and has been condemned by human rights activists.

Fujimori was convicted in 2009 for his role in the killings of 25 people, including an 8-year-old boy. He was also later found guilty of having had knowledge of the existence of death squads financed with public money that killed civilians accused of being Shining Path members.

Some Peruvians credit Fujimori with stabilizing the economy and defeating the country’s Maoist guerrillas while others condemn him for permitting widespread human rights violations.

His political legacy has continued through the work of two children who are now among the nation’s most prominent politicians. It remains to be seen whether Fujimori himself intends to have a voice in the South American nation’s polarized politics following his release.

Fujimori’s doctor has said he suffers from heart problems though few details have been provided on his condition. He was released from a clinic in Peru’s capital on Thursday, leaving in a wheelchair in the company of his youngest son.

Coutinho Signs for Barcelona in $192M Deal, 2nd Highest Ever

By

Associated Press

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7 January 2018, 13:29

BARCELONA, Spain — Philippe Coutinho is joining Barcelona after Liverpool agreed Saturday to sell the Brazilian in a deal that makes him one of the most expensive players in soccer history.

Barcelona did not reveal the cost of the deal for the 25-year-old playmaker but a person familiar with the details told The Associated Press that the transfer is worth 160 million euros (USD $192 million).

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly about the deal, which would be a club record for Barcelona.

Coutinho’s transfer cost is only surpassed by Paris Saint-Germain’s acquisition of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe last summer. Barcelona has now reinvested the 222 million euro windfall it received from PSG following Neymar’s world-record transfer to the French club in August.

Barcelona said Coutinho will sign a contract for the rest of the ongoing season and five more seasons. He still needs to finalize personal terms and pass a medical examination.

Liverpool rejected three bids from Barcelona for Coutinho in August and hoped to convince him to stay beyond this season. He even captained the side in recent games.

The Spanish league leaders broke their own transfer record to sign France forward Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund in August for a fee of 105 million euros that could rise to 147 million euros. Barcelona hoped to sign Coutinho at the same time but it has taken until the January transfer window to convince Liverpool to sell one of its most creative players.

Barcelona said in September that it rejected a last-minute offer by Liverpool to sell Coutinho for 200 million euros (then USD $237 million) because it would have been an “irresponsible” financial risk for the club. Five months on, Barcelona has managed to negotiate a cheaper deal.

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said the club tried to keep its prized player, but that Coutinho had wanted to leave for the Catalan club since July.

“He is 100 percent certain his future – and that of his family – belongs at Barcelona,” Klopp said.

Coutinho will arrive bearing high expectations to meet the lofty standards of Barcelona’s long line of skilled midfielders.

Barcelona has been searching for a player with the vision and passing talent of Xavi Hernandez since the Spain great left the club after 17 seasons to play in Qatar 2 1/2 years ago.

Coutinho will rejuvenate a midfield core led by the 33-year-old Andres Iniesta and which includes Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic and Paulinho, who are all 29.

On announcing his signing, Barcelona hailed Coutinho as “a young player with potential still to be tapped.”

Coutinho won’t be able to play for Barcelona in the Champions League since he has already featured in the competition with Liverpool in the group stage. But he will be available for Barcelona’s bid to reclaim the Spanish league title from Real Madrid and defend its Copa del Rey crown.

Originally from Rio de Janeiro, Coutinho made the leap from Brazilian club Vasco de Gama to Inter Milan in 2010. He got a taste of the Spanish league in a six-month loan deal at Espanyol in 2012 before he then made the move to Liverpool in January 2013, where he became one of the Premier League’s most dynamic playmakers.

He scored 41 goals in 152 Premier League appearances for Liverpool, including seven in 14 matches this season.

Signed by Inter Milan at age 16 from Vasco da Gama, Coutinho made his debut for the Italian side two years later with some pundits comparing him to Neymar.

Instead of defending its Champions League title with a new star, Inter was frustrated, with the Brazilian scoring only once the whole season.

Coutinho decided to take advice from his friend, Neymar, and move to Spain instead of returning to Brazil. At Espanyol, he scored five goals in 16 games in his first season and caught the attention of Liverpool.

Coutinho’s transfer is technically the second most expensive of all time as Mbappe has only moved on loan from Monaco to PSG. But there is an option to buy the forward on a permanent deal for 180 million euros at the end of the season in a deal structured to ease the financial burden on the French club this year.

Barcelona plays Levante in La Liga on Sunday, and then hosts Celta Vigo in the Copa del Rey on Thursday. The club has not said when it expects Coutinho to get his first minutes playing alongside Lionel Messi.

Story: Joseph Wilson, Steve Douglas

Trump Says He’s ‘Like, Really Smart,’ ‘a Very Stable Genius’

By

Associated Press

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7 January 2018, 13:13

President Donald Trump speaks during a rally, Tuesday, July 25, 2017, at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Ohio. Photo: Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump felt compelled Saturday to let the world know he’s playing with all his marbles and is among the sharpest cookies around.

In a series of tweets, Trump defended his mental fitness and boasted about his brains, saying he is “like, really smart” and “a very stable genius.” It was the latest pushback against a new book that portrays him as a leader who doesn’t understand the weight of his office and whose competence is questioned by aides.

“Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart,” Trump tweeted from Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, a few hours before a strategy session on the 2018 legislative agenda with Republican congressional leaders and Cabinet members.

And when Trump addressed reporters later, the Ivy League graduate was ready for the question.

“I went to the best colleges for college,” said Trump, who holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania. “I had a situation where I was a very excellent student, came out, made billions and billions of dollars, became one of the top business people, went to television and for 10 years was a tremendous success, as you probably have heard, ran for president one time and won.”

His ire was directed at Michael Wolff, author of “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.” The book draws a derogatory portrait of the 45th president as an undisciplined man-child who didn’t actually want to win the White House, and who spends his evenings eating cheeseburgers in bed, watching television and talking on the telephone to old friends.

The book also quotes Trump’s former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, and other prominent advisers as questioning the president’s competence.

“I consider it a work of fiction,” Trump told reporters, then bemoaned the country’s “very weak” libel laws.

“I don’t know this man,” Trump said of the author. “I guess sloppy Steve brought him in the White House quite a bit and it was one of those things. That’s why sloppy Steve is now looking for a job.”

In one of his morning tweets, the president said critics are “taking out the old Ronald Reagan playbook and screaming mental stability and intelligence.”

He said his journey from “VERY successful businessman,” to reality TV star to president on his first try “would qualify as not smart, but genius …. and a very stable genius at that!”

Reagan died in 2004, at age 93, from pneumonia complicated by the Alzheimer’s disease that had progressively clouded his mind. At times when he was president, Reagan seemed forgetful and would lose his train of thought while talking.

Doctors, however, said Alzheimer’s was not to blame, noting the disease was diagnosed years after he left office. Reagan announced his diagnosis in a letter to the American people in 1994, more than five years after leaving the White House.

Trump, now 71, was the oldest president ever when assuming office. Reagan was nearly eight months younger.

Trump’s chief of staff, John Kelly, who has tried to bring order to a chaotic White House, said he had not seen the tweets until reporters showed them to him just before Trump spoke about noon.

But he said that Trump didn’t appear angry Friday or Saturday. “I thought he would be, frankly,” Kelly said.

As for the tweets: “He feels he can go around the press and get his perspective out by tweeting,” explained Kelly. “That’s kind of why he does it.”

Chatter about Trump’s mental fitness for office has intensified in recent months on cable news shows and among Democrats in Congress.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders this week called such suggestions “disgraceful and laughable.”

“If he was unfit, he probably wouldn’t be sitting there and wouldn’t have defeated the most qualified group of candidates the Republican Party has ever seen,” she said, calling him “an incredibly strong and good leader.”

Trump is set to have his first physical examination as president this coming Friday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

This exam does not typically involve having the president undergo a mental health evaluation, as some Democrats have urged.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., introduced a bill in April to establish a commission that would study if the president is mentally or physically unable to perform his duties. And in August, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., introduced a resolution urging the vice president and Cabinet to have Trump undergo a mental and physical exam to determine if he’s competent. Neither measure has gone anywhere.

In early December, the House voted overwhelmingly to kill a resolution from a liberal Democrat to impeach Trump. Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, said Trump had associated his presidency with causes rooted in bigotry and racism.

To back his claim accusing Trump of high misdemeanors, Green cited incidents such as Trump’s blaming both sides for violence at a deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and his sharing of hateful, anti-Muslim videos posted online by a fringe British extremist group.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said in a statement shortly before the vote that while “legitimate questions have been raised about his fitness to lead this nation,” they argued “now is not the time to consider articles of impeachment.”

Story: Jill Colvin

Voranai: Dude, Stop Being Such a Tease

By

Voranai Vanijaka, Contributor

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7 January 2018, 12:29

Junta chairman Prayuth Chan-ocha poses for a photo Dec. 26 during a trip to Surat Thani province.

When asked if he will stand in the general election slated, perhaps, for November this year, junta leader Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha often plays coy. Asked if he’s setting himself up to become an “outsider” prime minister handpicked by the senate, he evades the question.

And each time, the same demeanor: a dismissive wave and headshake, an exasperated sigh. In his mind, he is the noble statesman pestered by the people, when all he really wants to do is retire into a quiet life. Tend the garden, show the grandchildren how to build model submarines, practice tai chi in Lumpini Park and play a mahjong game or two before hitting the sack.

The way he evades and plays coy, it is as if he’s Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus, hero of the Roman Republic. Cincinnatus was a soldier and senator called out of retirement to save the republic from civil unrest and the scheming plots of nefarious politicians.

“Save us,” cried the people. “Take power. Become our dictator,” they begged. “Only you can save us.” Once he put the republic back on the right track and returned happiness to Rome, Cincinnatus went back into retirement, not overstaying his welcome by even one day. Why? Because he was noble like that. But sure enough, not long after he was gone, those politicians were up to shenanigans again. So once again, the people cried for him, and once again, Cincinnatus took the dictator’s mandate – grudgingly of course, complete with dismissive waves and headshakes, exasperated sighs and all that.

Obviously, the junta leader is unlikely to know who Cincinnatus was. But if he does, surely, he would see his life playing out in his mind. Naturally, he would have the delusions of grandeur to emulate the life of this Roman dictator extraordinaire. After all, was it not the people that begged for him to launch a coup in the first place? Did the people not cheer for his tanks? Sure, it was a small, minority group. But minor details need not get in the way of grand delusions.

Lots of speculation has been made about the landscape of Thai politics following the upcoming election. One burning question is, of course, what will be the junta leader’s role be? Does he want to continue as prime minister? Allow me to answer this question: of course he does. He truly, deeply, madly does. I’m answering this question with profound certainty, but without a shred of hard evidence beyond a strong understanding of human nature. Power is an aphrodisiac, this we should understand. Man has no greater enemy than his own ego, which we should also understand.

Every week for over three years, the general has held court on prime time television and made himself into a reality TV star. Every Friday, he lectures and scolds the kingdom on everything from politics and the economy to everyday vices and virtues, showing us how think nobly and live righteously. That’s every week for over three years, and still going strong. Think of the tireless energy coupled with profound ego it takes for someone to do this. Any man who’s in love with the sound of his own voice, this writer included, can tell you: The general loves playing the role.

Invited to the White House? He loves it. Invited to global conferences with international leaders? He loves it. Traveling down south and up north, greeted by cheering public? Photo ops with Miss Thailand Universe? Loves it. Look at the way he struts and swaggers. Listen to his know-it-all tone and holier-than-thou voice. He loves it all. He truly does. Power is an aphrodisiac, we know this, that’s why in democracy there are things such as limited terms and voting every four years to safeguard against power running amok.

Do not ever assume political actors make rational decisions. Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don’t. That’s why the world is a big, beautiful mess that it is. Political actors are burdened by human nature like everyone else, thus, first and foremost, they act in self-interest, which in turn is dictated by ego. Like anyone else, political actors often make decisions based on that grandest of delusions, an overinflated sense of self-importance.

There is no sweeter nectar, no juicier ambrosia for the junta leader than somehow managing to become an elected prime minister. It would make all his detractors eat crow. It would be righteous vindication. He would shoot his gun into the sky like rocker Sek Loso, yelling for all the stars to hear, “Boo-yah! I told you so!” Barring this scenario, the next best thing is to be handpicked by the senate.

The people of Thailand have had over three years to listen and study the junta leader. More dangerous than even styling himself leader and savior, is the role he takes as the moral compass of the nation, the authority on how to think nobly and live righteously. It is this sort of belief that convinces the junta leader that the country needs him – and will never stop needing him.

That he can’t abandon the country.

It wouldn’t be the first time in Thailand a coup leader was engineered to become prime minister during a time of democracy. In 1991, Gen. Suchinda Kaprayoon ousted the democratically elected government in a military coup. After staging a vote in 1992, five political parties banded together and named the general prime minister. This led to massive public protests that culminated in the “Bloody May” massacre in which soldiers opened fire on demonstrators, killing scores.

So yes, of course, Gen. Prayuth would love to continue as prime minister. A lot of people will help him in this, if for no other reason than it can benefit them. It was just this past Wednesday that the junta leader strode out of a cabinet meeting to announce he was no longer a soldier but a politician. He went on to wax poetic about how Thailand needs a virtuous and ideological political party. See? He teases like a Soi Cowboy go-go dancer.

The only way we might prevent the general from becoming prime minister after the election is through pressure from the public and from high places. Keep his ego in check. Whether from ordinary citizens or people in high places, we all have to make sure to remind the general, each and every day: “Dude, enough is enough.”

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