US based Freedom House, a democracy advocacy group, has downgraded Thailand from being “partly free” to “not free” in its latest global rankings. The Freedom in the World 2021 report released this week assigned Thailand a total score of 30 out of 100 , dropping from 32 out of 100 in the previous survey conducted in 2019. Before, Thailand was deemed “not free” in the years of 2017 and 2018, but then was upgraded after elections were held after 5 years of military rule. But, the NGO has deemed the election process to be flawed. The reasoning for the current downgrade is partly due to the court-ordered dissolution of the Future Forward Party in 2020 and the recent crackdown on pro-democracy groups, which have seen young students being charged with lese majeste, or defaming the monarchy, which is a crime in Thailand. As for the elections that were considered as flawed by Freedom House, the NGO issued a statement explaining their take on the supposedly democratic … [Read more...] about Freedom House downgrades Thailand to “not free”
Democrats house seats
On The Trail: GOP’s tyranny of the minority
Republican lawmakers in Washington and around the country are increasingly embracing measures to limit voting access after losing the highest-turnout election in American history. The party’s embrace of restrictive new measures and rollbacks of popular vote-by-mail and early voting programs that enjoyed bipartisan support just a few years ago is a reflection of the new incentive structure facing the Grand Old Party. Rather than recalibrating positions after an electoral loss to better appeal to the vast middle, Republicans today appear to see more advantage in excluding as many voters as possible from communities likely to vote Democratic. ADVERTISEMENT In Georgia, the GOP-controlled state House this week voted to strictly limit absentee and early voting. In Arizona, the Republican-controlled state Senate approved a measure to remove voters from a permanent absentee ballot list if they do not vote in two consecutive elections. Republicans are working on another measure to … [Read more...] about On The Trail: GOP’s tyranny of the minority
One-Party Power Grab? Why Dems are Rushing to Pass the For the People Act Before 2022 Midterms
In 2019, the GOP shot the For the People Act down in the US Senate. Having gained a slim majority in both chambers of the US Congress following the 2020 elections, the Democrats reintroduced the legislation in early January. Now the bill is heading to the Senate floor. H.R.1: Making 2020 'Emergency Experiment' a New Normal "If you thought the 2020 election ran like a finely oiled machine, you’ll love what Democrats plan next," a Wall Street Journal editorial remarked on 1 March. "In other words, the bill would entrench last year’s emergency experiment, further turning Election Day into Election Quarter." Conservatives argue that the bill eliminates voting rules and barriers aimed at preventing potential voter fraud and ensuring election integrity. Thus, the legislation would make voting by mail without "notarisation or witness signature or other formal authentication (other than voter attestation)" a federal practice. If postmarked on time, late-arriving ballots would be … [Read more...] about One-Party Power Grab? Why Dems are Rushing to Pass the For the People Act Before 2022 Midterms
Van Drew, after flipping parties, bashes bills he once backed
For Rep. Jeff Van Drew Jeff Van Drew Lawmakers demand changes after National Guard troops at Capitol sickened from tainted food New Jersey lawmakers press for SALT cap repeal in next relief package Sunday shows preview: Riots roil Washington as calls for Trump's removal grow MORE (N.J.), swapping party allegiances has also meant reversing course on the top issues moving through Congress. The second-term Republican, who left the Democratic Party last year to protest the first impeachment of former President Trump Donald Trump Trump announces new tranche of endorsements DeSantis, Pence tied in 2024 Republican poll Lawmakers demand changes after National Guard troops at Capitol sickened from tainted food MORE , had supported every one of the Democrats' top nine legislative priorities in the last Congress, most of them before he jumped to the GOP. That list featured some of the more controversial issues Congress considers, including gun … [Read more...] about Van Drew, after flipping parties, bashes bills he once backed
U.S. Congress deals blow to plan to shut Guantanamo prison
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. Congress deals blow to plan to shut Guantanamo prison Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: U.S. lawmakers dealt a blow to President Barack Obama’s five-year-long effort to close the prison camp at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba by omitting a plan to shut the facility from an annual defense authorization bill. U.S. Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told reporters on Monday that the final version of the massive bill will not allow the president to transfer inmates to the United States. “Our language (on Guantanamo) … will not be in,” Levin said. The defense bill, which has been passed annually for more than half a century, is likely to be approved by the House of Representatives and Senate in the coming days and then sent to the White House for Obama to sign into law. Obama has promised to shut the detainee camp since he … [Read more...] about U.S. Congress deals blow to plan to shut Guantanamo prison