<p dir="ltr"><em>A highly respected conservation organisation in the UK, the RSPB, just released a planning document which provides a close-to-zero target for UK greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. However, Thailand is still locked into a coal future, despite clean coal being illusory and despite encouragement by the International Energy Agency (IEA) to embrace more solar. According to the World Bank, a similar attitude across Asia would end the world.</em></p> <p></p>

<p dir="ltr"><em>Thai kindergarten children have been taught discipline by wearing military uniforms, drilling, and practicing Nazi salutes in any other country should have immediately triggered a rescue operation by social services, involving psychiatric care and deprogramming. In Thailand, however, the central administration has praised the school.</em></p> <p></p>

<p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-4e981652-dcab-30c5-5842-8256fd3d45e8">Renowned Thai academic and social commentator Nidhi Eoseewong’s column titled </span><a href="http://www.prachatai.com/english/node/5874">What’s the point of having a military?</a>, originally in Thai on <a href="http://www.matichon.co.th/news/2227">Matichon Online</a>, stirred up a veritable hornet’s nest of interest in both the Thai mainstream and English alternative media.</p>

<p>John Draper discussed a Wikileaks cable.&nbsp;</p> <p></p>

<p dir="ltr">Dear Former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva,</p>

<p dir="ltr"><strong><span id="docs-internal-guid-38463b5f-5725-cf83-bb08-07ce4601d4ec">Foreword</span></strong></p>

<p>As the global climate crisis worsens, the actions of the leader of the G77, now 134 countries, will go down in history. The representing of members' economic interests and the coordination of member countries as a negotiating bloc is the main purpose of the G77 and the main concern of its chair. Global climate change will strip billions of dollars from the G77 members' economies. But, fusion will replace all the world's nuclear fission reactors and make medium-to-large coal power plants obsolete.</p> <p></p>

<p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-3cb7fe9c-2805-9f43-062c-ec9d80cf08e4">That General Prayuth Chan-ocha, the supreme military dictator of Thailand, has instructed his cabinet to read Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s book, </span>The Governance of China, because its reforms apparently suit Thailand’s conditions, is a revelation, one recently reported by noted Thai journalist <a href="http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1460541191">Pravit Rojanaphruk</a>.</p>

<p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-d4288dfe-dfe8-a8b7-481b-1963702aea06">Today, April 5, is the birthday of Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya, the eldest child of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit. Unfortunately, this is also the week Ubolratana Dam, named in honour of the Princess, ran dry, the first of the royal dams to do so in living memory.</span></p>

<div id="contentsContainer"> <div id="contents"><br /> <p id="E13" is="qowt-word-para" qowt-eid="E13"><span id="E22" is="qowt-word-run" qowt-eid="E22">On February 23, the NCPO published an infomercial attached to </span><span id="E23" is="qowt-word-run" qowt-eid="E23">The Nation</span><span id="E24" is="qowt-word-run" qowt-eid="E24">. </span><span id="E26" is="qowt-word-run" qowt-eid="E26">Februuary</span><span id="E28" is="qowt-word-run" qowt-eid="E28"> 23 is admittedly some time ago.</span></p> </div></div>

<p>The fourth paragraph of Article 50 of the Draft Constitution states that the general purpose of Thai education is to create good and disciplined students who are proud of their nation, which has been <a href="http://www.prachatai.com/english/node/5933">criticised</a> by the group Education for the Liberation of Siam over the definitions of ‘good’ and ‘disciplined’.</p>

<p>The <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/research/2016/02/annual-report-201516/">2015/2016 Amnesty International Report</a> Thailand analysis is, as you might expect, critical of the military regime. In response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a <a href="http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/media-center/14/64840-Thailand&#039;s-comments-on-Amnesty-International.html">press release</a> which lamented the fact that the Amnesty International (AI) report “only presents issues of concern” and “does not consider the particular context of Thailand”.</p>