ricefieldradio's JumboTweets
- Any opinions on this - The court said that to scrap the 2007 constitution it would have to go to referendum. What if the referendum asked the simple question. "Are you in favor of reinstitution the 1997 constitution as only Constitution of Thailand and making minor changes to sections that are problematic. yes/no".
I believe that question would pass by a landslide but would it be allowed? - The provision that the Constitutional Court should be under the scrutiny of the Supreme Court in the new constitution didn't have anything to do with another of their rather contentious decision decisions. Or did it?
- Community Radio in Thailand will suffer a similar fate if frequencies are auctioned to the highest bidder.
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AMARC URGES SPECTRUM FEE ROLL BACK IN INDIA
May 14th, 2012, Bangalore, India. The Asia Pacific Board of the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) is deeply concerned at the recent spectrum fee hike imposed by the Government of India. One of the milestones of the Community Radio Guidelines of 2006 was the creation of a distinct three tiered radio policy - public, private and community - based on the promise of inclusiveness and equity. As a result of these guidelines, India became the first country in South Asia to have a distinct policy for community radio which took sides with the excluded and marginalized. By raising the spectrum fee from Rs 19,700/- per annum to Rs 91,000/- per annum (USD 1690), the policy would appear to defeat the purpose of providing a voice to the voiceless and blurring these distinctions.
As a global network committed to media democratization and strengthening the voices of the excluded through community radio, AMARC supports the Community Radio Forum of India's (CRF) stand that the hike will "choke the rights of communities to voice." Further, it goes against the spirit of the citizens' fundamental right to speech and expression as enshrined in Article 19 Clause 1 Sub Clause A of the Indian Constitution.
As a result of the hike, "genuine and grassroots communities will be excluded and community radio will be a mockery of the stated policy objectives of the government of India."
A recent rapid assessment survey conducted by the AMARC International Secretariat indicates that the movement towards reducing spectrum fees is gaining ground across the world. Countries like Australia, Canada, Denmark, South Africa, and Uruguay do not levy a spectrum fee, while in countries like Bangladesh, Colombia, and Nicaragua the amount ranges from USD 150 to USD 480.
AMARC urges the Government of India to urgently enable an inclusive and truly participative community climate in India by taking steps that will revoke the spectrum fee hike as well as end other restrictions like the ban on news.
Ashish Sen, President
Suman Basnet, Regional Coordinator
AMARC Asia Pacific
Through service to members, networking and project implementation, the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC), brings together a network of more than 4,000 community radios, Federations and community media stakeholders in more than 130 countries. The main global impact of AMARC since its creation in 1983, has been to accompany and support the establishment of a worldwide community radio sector that has democratized the media sector. AMARC advocates for the right to communicate at the international, national, local and neighbourhood levels and defends and promotes the interests of the community radio movement through solidarity, networking and cooperation.
- It's comical that the only people that don't want Thaksin back are the PAD who won't run in an election, Democrats who can't win an election and some Farang that can't vote in an election.
- Problem with unwanted DM's from @socialoomph.
We use, or used to anyway, @socialoomph to send out a single message when someone followed us. Over the last few days this message has been sent, sometimes numerous times, to our followers. We first removed the message but it still was sent out. We then tried to delete our @socialoomph account with no luck and the DM's are still being sent.
We realize that this is annoying to our followers and also troubling for us. This is what to do if you get as pissed as we have been over the last couple of days.
SocialOomph
A significant portion of the auto-DMs are sent out via SocialOomph, simply because they are one of the popular Twitter tools. Fortunately SocialOomph has made it easy to stop these unwanted direct messages.
There’s a simple process to follow with @optmeout:
Follow @optmeout
Wait for them to follow you back
Send @optmeout a DM
Unfollow @optmeout
- The first AMARC training conference in Tunisia reinforced the development of associative radios In Tunisia
Gafsa, Tunisia, March 15th, 2012. From March 12 to 14, more than 60 representatives from Radio 6, the first Tunisian community radio, Mines radio (Sawt el Manajem) of Gafsa, the three R Internet radio from Rgeb, and other production groups projects from Kasserine and other towns gathered with radios and production groups representatives from Morocco, Libya, Egypt, Palestine and Jordan as well as with civil society groups representatives from Gafsa during the first training conference on associative radio in Tunisia.
The conference took on a highly interactive form on the initiative of participants, turning it into a space to share experiences and practices and paying tribute to the accumulated experience by the associative and community radios world movement of the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters’ network.
The topics tackled included the evaluation of the legislatives progresses in regards to freedom of expression in Tunisia since the democratic revolution and in the lights of the international standards and the challenges of the insufficient progresses regarding the facilitation of the establishment of citizen associative radios both in terms of access to equipment and in terms of getting radio broadcasting licences.
Participants also tackled practical topics linked to content development in accordance with associative radios mission, women’s participation, the definition of the programming, strategies in order to ensure the radios’ durability, deontology code of ethics’ elements and furthered as well the reinforcement of relationships between radios and Internet radio production centers and with other countries of the region and the world.
The first AMARC training on associative radio in Tunisia, organized by radio Sawt el Manajem and AMARC, with the support of Tunisian production groups and radios allowed the concretization in plans of action the debate of the Arab Spring and Community Media, held on March 9 and 10 in Tunis, and relied upon the support and participation of the Community Media Network from Jordan (CMN), International Media Support (IMS) and with the financial support of Oxfam Novib, UNESCO and EED.
Through service to members, networking and project implementation, the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC), brings together a network of more than 4,000 community radios, Federations and community media stakeholders in more than 130 countries. The main global impact of AMARC since its creation in 1983, has been to accompany and support the establishment of a worldwide community radio sector that has democratized the media sector. AMARC advocates for the right to communicate at the international, national, local and neighbourhood levels and defends and promotes the interests of the community radio movement through solidarity, networking and cooperation.
- Launch of Seven Arab Spring Community Radio Stations
Tunis (March 11)- The Amman-based Community Media Network launched today Aswatona a program supporting community radio in Arab spring countries. Contracts were signed during on the second day of The AMARC conference on Community Radio and the Arab Spring in Tunisia for the establishment of seven radio stations.
Agreements were reached with Yemen Times, The Tunisian Union of Free Radios, Sawt Al-Manajem Radio in the Tunisian town of Qafsa, Palestine News Network from Bethlehem, Palestine, Shabab Libya Fm and Al Andalus Institute and Horytona radio in Egypt.
Daoud Kuttab, director general of Community Media Network said that Aswatona is the dream of Arab peoples seeking to have their independent voices heard away from governmental or commercial monopolies. “Our project will sensitive the public to the importance of community radio and will provide a vehicle for local staff and volunteers to experiment with this concept.” We will work on creating strong popular support which will encourage the creation of enabling legislative amendments. In addition we will create community radio nucleus stations to broadcast via internet and satellite within the coming months to be followed by FM broadcasting in countries that will allow it.”
For his part advocate Mohammad Quteishat the supervisor of the advocacy said that efforts to raise awareness will parallel radio establishment. “We will work with civil society, legislature and freedom of expression activists to create an enabling environment that will support changes in laws to be in tune with international criteria.”
Aswatona is a program funded by the Swedish Agency SIDA for three years. In addition to the stations and the advocacy component it will include workshops, an annual conference and the creation of online resources and forums on a website aswatona.org
Community Media Network is a not for profit organization established in 2006 in Jordan. It runs Radio al Balad and AmmanNet website.
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For more details please contact Daoud Kuttab +962795577646 or email: dkuttab@ammannet.net
- Tune in to the International AMARC-WIN Broadcast for International Women’s Day on March 8!
Montreal, March 6, 2012. The Women’s International Network of the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC-WIN) will organize the 8th annual International Women’s Day Broadcast Campaign. The theme of this year is “Women Empowerment and the Struggle against Climate Change and for the Democratization of Societies.” The webcast will start at 1:00 AM GMT, Thursday March 8th and will broadcast at http://www2.amarc.org/?q=es/node/370.
AMARC-WIN believes that women can be active agents of change when they can express themselves. They should take on leadership roles in leading their countries and communities towards long-term sustainable development, fight against climate change and democratization of their societies.
In the road to Rio+20, AMARC-WIN would like to build on its local capacity and expertise to generate more support for Women’s active participation in sustainable development processes, against climate change and democratization of societies. Through the international broadcast campaign, we hope to stimulate discussions about women’s role in ameliorating their livelihoods, in shaping long-term sustainable community development and to confront the crisis created by climate change. We hope that this multilingual broadcast campaign will contribute to the discussion on these issues and in identifying practical as well as long-term solutions.
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To see a more detailed schedule and for further information, visit our website: http://www2.amarc.org/?q=node/351. Community radio producers from Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Africa, Europe, North America and Latin America and the Caribbean will participate in this broadcast campaign. Radio stations around the globe are invited to download the audio files from the AMARC-WIN 8 March website and broadcast them in their radio stations.
The AMARC Women’s International Network is a large assembly of women communicators working to ensure women’s right to communicate through and within the community radio movement. AMARC is an international non-governmental organization serving the community radio movement, and linking more than 4,000 community radios in over 130 countries. AMARC aims to support, defend and promote the interests of community broadcasters through solidarity and international cooperation. For further info http://www.amarc.org
- Correction - Thai journalist, Chiranuch Premchaiporn @jiew to present final defense in online freedom case - Interview on http://ricefieldradio.com on the half hour for the next week.
This case is very important to Journalism and free speech in Thailand and Ricefield Radio, an FSRNews affiliate station, is proud it could use it's contacts to put Chiranuch and Free Speech Radio News together for this as well as their first interview.
Please RT. - Thai journalist, Chiranuch Premchaiporn @jiew to present final defense in online freedom case - Interview on http://ricefieldradio on the half hour for the next week.
This case is very important to Journalism and free speech in Thailand and Ricefield Radio, an FSRNews affiliate station, is proud it could use it's contacts to put Chiranuch and Free Speech Radio News together for this as well as their first interview. - Army slams anti-monarchy scholars
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/276777/army-slams-anti-monarchy-scholars
Perhaps 112 shouldn't be changed at the moment but the Army chief should be changed immediately. - @thai_intel
BTW, I'm not anti-monarchist but I am anti the use of the monarchy as a tool and feel that that use is as much if not more of a crime as some of the crimes people have been sentenced for.
IMHO, the problem is not the Monarchy, it's the use of the Monarchy by interest groups that is the problem. The Monarchy is part of what makes Thailand, Thailand. It should be preserved as it's a big part of history and culture.
What needs to be found is some common ground that can protect the monarchy while at the same time allowing the freedom to express all sides of the issue. If there is a LM law then you and I should not be able to lay charges against each other because we think it will benefit our view. Charges should only be brought forward by some entity of the Monarchy, possibly the Royal Household Bureau. This way it could ensure the protection of the Monarchy while cutting all the political use of the law to almost zero.
The penalties are way too severe as well and should be adjusted to fit with a modern society. You can kill someone and be out of jail way before someone sentenced on, say, an SMS message to an individual. This shows the law is just too out of date.
With all the major players jockeying for position it's not likely that much will be done in the near future and the use of the LM law will continue to be abused.
- "The Fix - Soccer and Organized Crime" by Declan Hill. Great book and very interesting. If you love soccer it may well change the way you look at the game, so be warned. Some very interesting parts and comments on Thailand as well.
A recommended read. - The logic of it all. Lets keep Bangkok dry.
From the Weather network.... "The Bangkok municipality government and water conservancy bureau have estimated that the total volume of floodwater flowing into the city from the north has surpassed 400 million cubic meters. However, the Bangkok's water discharging capacity is only around 30 million cubic meters per day."
The BMA and the WCB should do some math. The have a net influx of 370 million cubic meters per day. They are doomed no matter what hair-brain propeller and barrel scheme they come up with or the number of pumps they are going to use. It's time to get some hip waders and a snorkel.
- AMARC Asia Pacific Bangkok First Training Forum Postponed to 11-13 December 2011
November 2nd, 2011, Kathmandu.
The AMARC Asia Pacific Community Radio Training Forum for Enhancing Impact of Community Broadcasting has been postponed. It will take place from 11-13 December 2011 at the Ambassador, Sukhumvit, Bangkok, http://www.amtel.co.th/. It was originally scheduled to be held from 17-19 November 2011. This decision has been made in consultation with stakeholders in Thailand and in view of the devastating floods affecting Bangkok in recent weeks.
Ashish Sen, President of AMARC Asia-Pacific has said that the recent environmental upheavals in Thailand as well as in the entire sub-region has increased the urgency for promoting roles of community radios in disaster risk reduction and relief work. “AMARC will work closely with community broadcasters in Thailand for sharing expertise and will address the issue of disaster management through community radio as a primary concern during the Training Forum,” he said.
The ‘training of trainers’ event is hosted by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission of Thailand (NBTC) and is supported by AusAid, Commonwealth of Learning (COL), Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), UNESCO, UNICEF, EED, Oxfam-Novib, and South East Asia Press Alliance (SEAPA). Regional and national partners such as the Australian Indigenous Communications Association (AICA), Association of Community Radio Broadcasters of Nepal (ACORAB), Media Monitor Thailand, FMYY-Japan, National Federation of Community Radios (NFCR) of Thailand, and the Blue Diamond Society, Nepal will be leading various training workshops in the Community Radio Training Forum.
The capacity building event will offer opportunity to more than 150 community radio broadcasters of Asia Pacific region to systematize their experiences, to network with and learn from international trainers and experts and to define strategies to increase the effectiveness of their interventions. Participants will review strategies for setting up community radio stations, promoting community participation, program production, production technology, and advocacy strategies for improving conditions for the development of community broadcasting. Utilizing training workshops and hands on demonstrations the Training Forum will promote gender sensitivity, strengthen community broadcasting for poverty reduction, and enhance the capacity of community radio stations to address climate change and disaster management. In addition to explaining concepts and principles, the Training Forum will include practical subjects such as research techniques, script writing, interviewing, editing, and using digital recording and computer based editing.
Sharing of ideas and learning of skills will be based on specific thematic streams of workshops so that broadcasters can directly apply their learning to address the concerns of the communities in the Asia-Pacific region such as food security, good governance, empowering women, improving literacy, generating employment opportunities, improving local governance, and promoting the rights of the marginalised. The Training Forum will organise six thematic workshops and participants will be enrolled into specific workshops during the entire period of the Forum. For latest updates, please visit http://www.amarc.org/index.php?p=thailand_Forum_EN.
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AMARC is an international non-governmental organization serving the community radio movement in over 130 countries, and advocating for the right to communicate at the international, national, local and neighbourhood levels. AMARC has an International Secretariat in Montreal. It has regional sections in Africa, Latin America and Asia Pacific and offices in Johannesburg, Buenos... <<<<<< N.B from Jumbotweet: auto-truncated at 4K characters on index page - Click here or on the "view" link to see entire jumbotweet! http://www.jumbotweet.com/ltweets/view/8750 - WTF is up with the Nation? Does the right hand have a clue about what the left is doing. I check their headlines once a day but seldom read the articles as most of the time they are total junk and biased as hell offering more of a chuckle than any substance.
So today I pull up their web-page and what do I see as a headline but, "Who's really in charge here?", an article about how Yingluck is taking orders from Thaksin and overshadowed by Chalerm. They go on to quote a "Newspaper article" no wonder these guys are a laughing stock. Hello!!!!!! You are a newspaper, granted with few reporters worth much but a newspaper none the less, write your own stories.
But that's not all. The very next headline is, "Yingluck's drive to reduce drugs scourge by 80%." , which is an exact opposite of the first headline and it's "Drug Scourge", BTW
I know things are bad at the rag and I hope one day it will eventually get what it deserves, bankruptcy, but in the meantime how about some decent reporting.
- @Rajprasong_News
Just got our ballots this afternoon from the Thai Consulate in Vancouver as the Mail strike is over.
In the documentation, inside the package, they say the ballot papers have to be back to them by the 20th of june problem is they were postmarked the 23rd of June which makes that an impossibility.
I took a close look at the papers themselves and I could not find anything irregular about them, except for the almost invisible PTP logo. As I said before I didn't think it would be a problem anyway as they were #1 and it wasn't. The paper marked fine with ink and I didn't see any change over the couple of hours before we sent them off.
I'm not sure how the Consulate will handle this and I'm hoping that there will be an exception because no one's vote in Canada will count if they don't allow time to get them in.
That's the update on voting in Canada.
- @thethaireport
From the Meteorological office
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Warning
"Heavy Rain, Flash Flood and Strong Wind-Wave"
No. 11 Time Issued : June 27, 2011
The monsoon trough lies across Laos and the upper part of northern Thailand while the rather strong southwest monsoon prevails over the Andaman Sea, Thailand and the Gulf of Thailand. Abundant rain with isolated heavy rain is likely in the North, the Central and the East. Excessive rainfall is likely in the North and the East, people in the risky areas along foothills and waterways should beware of flash flood during 1-2 days. The areas include Mae Hong Son, Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Phayao, Nan, Phrae, Uttaradit, Tak, Sukhothai, Nakhon Nayok, Chanthaburi and Trat.
The wind-waves in the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand are likely 2 meters high. All ships should proceed with caution.
The advisory is in effect for Thailand from 27 June 2011
Issued at 04.00 p.m.
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Should continue for a while yet weather report is for around 70% chance of rain for a week yet.
7-day Summary
Widely scattered to scattered rain and heavy rainfall in some areas during the first half of the week then widespread rain with heavy to very heavy rainfall in several areas. Flash floods occurred at Tak, Phayao and Nan provinces on 26 Jun and land slide at Lampang province on same day.
- The perfect song for the Next Democrat rally. I was looking up lyrics and I totally forgot about this Jefferson Airplane classic that is so... Well... Damn appropriate.
Somebody to love......
When the truth is found to be lies
And all the joy within you dies
(Chorus)
Don't you want somebody to love
Don't you need somebody to love
Wouldn't you love somebody to love
You better find somebody to love
When the garden's flowers, baby, are dead
Yes, and your mind, your mind is so full of red
(Chorus)
Your eyes, I say your eyes may look like his
Yeah but in your head, baby
I'm afraid you don't know where it is
(Chorus)
Tears are running, they're all running down your breast
And your friends, baby, they treat you like a guest
(Chorus)
- Today the Bangkok Post ran an article by none other than PM Abhisit.
Amnesty for Thaksin and the 91 deaths
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/243708/amnesty-for-thaksin-and-the-91-deaths
It’s a blatant attempt to sway voters. He derides Thaksin as a convicted criminal. badgers Yingluck and says we will have to pay for it out of our pockets. If he's not re-elected with a majority. I suppose he has forgotten about the fighter jets, blimp and assorted stuff for the military that must have been paid out by the tooth fairy on his watch.
Now that I've ranted a bit back to the main idea of this post. As the Bangkok post seldom put comments that go against its ideal of free and fair media censorship, I've decided to post here and there. Bet it's not going to get posted there, as usual.
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Mr PM Abhisit it's nice that you can write this little piece for us
You mention problems with the TRT government's systemic corruption, abuse of power, disregard of the parliamentary system and refusal to submit to checks and balances". Could you clarify something for us. Would that be the same systemic corruption, abuse of power, disregard of the parliamentary system and refusal to submit to checks and balances that your government is just as guilty of.
I'd like to add, if I can, that writing a Newspaper piece for political gain is even more concerning to the country, as say cooking on TV. I hope they paid you well for your work.
- There is something wrong but not as wrong as with the Democrat's campaign, which it is likely related to their denial of the popularity of their opponents. They have totally overestimated their support and underestimated that of their opponents. They are now embarking on a huge payola for votes campaign, from reports received and mudslinging. This is also exactly why the people are not supporting them. People are tired of the finger pointing but will take their money ( but not vote for them), IMHO.
If the Democrats along with the PM and his Deputy had of come out prior to the campaign and said that they had made some serious mistakes in dealing with the Reds and this cannot happen again. That they now know they have to address their grievances in a democratic manner with their involvement in an open environment, they would likely not be standing in a whole at the moment.
The Democrat campaign planners are totally responsible for the position they are in. If you remember the polls in 2007 they had the PPP behind the Democrats. The polls now have the PTP ahead and I'll even go out on a limb and say that, if the polls are not manipulated, that PTP will win a slight majority.
- @terryfrd @mithuna_khon @SteveInCM
Having problems posting to Twitter so hope you don't get too many posts.
Thanks for taking the time to look into this and reply. Please don't take my further comments personally as I always appreciate your input.
If the "Original piece contained language referring to 'protecting the monarchy' 'lese majesty'" Then why do not all pieces containing language referring to 'protecting the monarchy' 'lese majesty' have their comments taken down or why was the original piece given so much weight on the website if it was known that it would have a backlash. In fact before the comments were removed on the original piece there were none to my recollection that even hinted at LM or the Royal family.
They were all negative to be sure but they were all directed at the Army Chief and the action he took that appeared to be trying to sway the election with veiled threats and a hint of intimidation to the Media.
The follow up stories were one sided. Not allowing comments by readers did not allow for balance.
As you know I moderate on a small forum. I agree that at times it's a thankless job but in all honesty if you allow comments at all you can't pick and chose the articles that you allow comments on and you have to be neutral in your moderation allowing all sides to have their say.
If I have one real problem with the Post comment section it's that the moderation is varied from day to day and hour to hour. There obviously is more than one moderator and their views on moderation and politics also vary greatly. Most of the commenter know what time of the day or night to post comments to get the best chance of being posted.
As Anyways, thanks again Terry
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