Thailand Teacher of the Year - Somprasong Mang-ana

Old Peace Corps buddy Jim Lehman sent me to Wednesday's Bangkok Post to this story on four Thai teachers who were honored on Teachers' Day as the Thai Teachers of the Year. One of them, Somprasong Mang-ana, was my student when I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand in the late 1960s. We got to visit his school for a few days last March. I certainly was impressed and I'm delighted to see that more important people than me were also impressed. Here's a link to the five posts I have labeled Umphang. There are pictures of the school in the last three posts. From the Bangkok Post article:

Awards given to mark Teachers Day today

SIRIKUL BUNNAG

The Education Ministry has honoured four teachers for their teaching spirit and devotion to their work to mark Teachers Day today. The four are Somprasong Mang-ana, director of Umphang Witthayakhom school in Tak; Pol Sgt-Maj Sophon Ritthisarn, a teacher at Wat Chonglarp school in Ratchaburi; Banchong Sombat, a teacher at Nong Rua Witthaya school in Khon Kaen; and Suleela Chanthanu, director of Ban Samnak in Ranong.

Mr Somprasong has been praised for his campaign to provide education opportunities for marginalised children in Tak while Pol Sgt Maj Sophon developed a remote school into a quality one. . .

Mr Somprasong said he chose to work at Umphang Witthaya school in the remote district of Umphang on the Thai-Burmese border because he was determined to help tribal and marginalised children get access to basic education.

''When I first took up my job at the school, there were 398 students and only seven were tribal or stateless pupils,'' said Mr Somprasong.

''I thought those children deserved an education, so I decided to travel to remote villages to persuade parents to send their children to study at my school, which offers free education.

''Now, our school has a total of 845 students, of whom 284 are stateless hilltribe children.''

He donates his 5,600-baht monthly academic entitlement allowance to cover the expenses of poor students. . . .

Kasama Voravan na Ayudhaya, secretary-general of the Basic Education Commission, said the four teachers would each be granted a certificate of honour, a golden plaque, a golden pin and a 300,000 baht cash from Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont on Teachers Day today.

Congratulations to New US Citizens!

Friday morning we went downtown to the Alaska Lands Information Center in the old Federal Building to see our fellow blogger become a US citizen. Go over and congratulate him.



The ceremony was in the auditorium, but first we gathered in the Information Center, surrounded by stuffed animals. I had to think about why I thought this was different from the two bears at the Hilton. I asked one of the Park Service people here where the animals came from. A group of large ones came from a private collection that was going to be thrown away. It was donated. A taxidermist had stuffed a dead otter that had washed up on the beach. The others had been confiscated from illegal hunters. None had been commissioned or paid for. They were there to help Alaskans and visitors become more aware of the wildlife in the state. He said some places - like Denali - have artificial sculpted models. I saw those in Denali, they just aren't the same. He said they were necessary there because they don't heat the visitor center in the winter and the stuffed animals would burst in the cold.

I have to say that while watching the new citizens was wonderful, the ceremony itself was tired. The opening film was full of the Ellis Island cliche pictures of immigrants of the early 20th Century. Where were the faces of immigrants getting off of jets, the immigrants of today? Most of the government officials who spoke seemed like they were the ones who got stuck with this duty. The guy from the National Archives talked about what you could see in the Archives in Washington DC.





Yes, it's interesting, but hardly a top priority for these new Alaskan Americans. He should have left it with the register of the first new citizens in Anchorage in 1916 - beginning with a Dane. The Park Service could have had some slides to go along with the talk on Alaska's magnificent National Parks. The logistics were clumsy. The oath a little stilted. Why are we making an older woman in a wheelchair from a war torn country swear that she "will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by law?"

The George W. Bush videotape was the most sincere and uplifting greeting of all.

Nevertheless, it was the kind of thing Americans should see once in a while. And I suspect the government officials aren't given much time to prepare for this event or resources to do it better. But we really should make this much warmer, better organized, and congratulatory. The last time I went to one of these at the Federal Court it was much better done.

The Oath of Citizenship

I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God. In acknowledgement whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.

Yippee It's Friday

KSKA went on the air in 1978. One of the Anchorage traditions that I've enjoyed, is hearing Bede Trantina's Friday morning, 9am greeting, "Yippee, it's Friday." It's hidden in there between other announcements. The KSKA website says

Trantina was hired as KSKA’s Morning Edition host in 1980 and “Yippee, it’s Friday” became part of her weekly greeting within a few months of getting up at 4:00 a.m. to sign on.

Yippee, It's Friday recorded by AKRaven
[I thought this got posted this morning as I was leaving, and just found it "Your request could not be processed. Please try again. Sorry.]

Rockin Dentist

I was going to be late if I walked, so I grabbed the bike. Part of the bike walk had been covered by the snow plowed off the street. Now, I think riding your bike on the road in the winter is more than tempting fate, but I did two blocks when the traffic thinned out and found the guy with the plow for the sidewalks. The rest of the short trip was easy. And mine wasn't the only bike in the Prov parking lot.



I didn't know I wasn't going to see my dentist. They usually ask and I always say I want to see Mark. They did ask about the hygienist, but not the dentist. Well as Tom worked on my teeth he told me about a great little concert he heard at Girdwood over the weekend. He's a closet guitarist and all was fine. But he hasn't been able to improve the inhouse music in the office. Without the staff, the dentists can't do much, and when it comes to what station is on in the office, the staff rule.

Conflict of Interest - California Supreme Court Judges' Portfolios Deny Citizen Justice

From and AP story in yesterday's Anchorage Daily News

For years, Braxton Berkley was exposed to chemicals while helping build top-secret military planes at Lockheed Martin's storied Skunk Works plant. He says those chemicals made him ill - but his case reached a dead end at the state's highest court.

The California Supreme Court has refused to hear his appeal not on legal merits, but because four of the seven justices cited a conflict of interest because they controlled stock in oil companies that provided some of the solvents at issue in the case.

Conflicts of interest are natural. They occur when our personal obligations conflict with our public or professional obligations. They aren't inherently bad. They are potentially unavoidable. People's public and private lives sometimes, unforeseeably come into conflict. But people whose personal interests and obligations are going to frequently and significantly interfere with their ability to perform their public duties, simply shouldn't run for office.

The California Supreme Court is an example of personal obligations not only conflicting, but totally thwarting what they are there to do. Mr. Braxton's right to appeal has been denied, because the court members have conflicts of interest. Not all cases get accepted by the Supreme Court. But if this case was otherwise accepted and is now rejected because of the conflict of interest, then this is completely unacceptable. Their portfolios are more important than their duty to provide justice.

The article says:

It's common for at least one justice to bow out of a case because of a financial or personal conflict. California Chief Justice Ron George, for instance, recuses himself from cases handled by the prominent law firm where his son practices. In those situations, an appellate judge is temporarily appointed to the Supreme Court to hear that case.

George said the remaining justices decided to dismiss the case because they were concerned that a Supreme Court ruling made with a majority of temporary justices wouldn't hold the same weight as an opinion of the permanent court.

Maybe it would be a better decision. And what happens to Mr. Braxton is also important.

Other options include selling the offending stock or resigning from the bench and postponing the case until there are enough new justices without such conflicts. I realize that is may sound extreme, but overall, we've become much too forgiving to public office holders' needs to make money outside of their offices.

Regular readers of this blog know I usually attempt to lay out as many of the cards as I can and just let the reader make her own opinion. And I can give lots of reasons why there might be good people kept out of office by the various restrictions and disclosure requirements. And I think we should pay our elected officials enough so they don't have to go looking for outside payments. But overall, people whose work or whose fortunes are going to create conflict after conflict simply shouldn't run for office. The work got done before these justices were on the California Supreme court and it will get done when they leave. They aren't indispensable.

Overall, I think it is a great embarrassment that these justices felt it was ok to dismiss Mr. Braxton's case because, well, you know, too many of us have a conflict of interest. You know, it happens. Well it shouldn't.

OK, I shouldn't get quite so righteous from reading one article which may have left out some crucial information. But this is a sore point for me - officials who think they are so important and so indispensable that we should make allowances so that on the side they can make lots of money. On the other hand, I don't see anything wrong with public officials juggling with the schedule to attend significant events in their families.

Backyard Snow Dragon

with thanks to:

www.xtremesled.com/newtemplate/catalog/images
http://www.freewebs.com/doragon15/snake%20eyes.jpg

Jury Got Filled Without Me

I caught the 7:19 bus (well it came at 7:29) and got to court with 15 minutes to spare.






Here's the jury waiting room. It got packed. The 12 jurors called today for Judge Volland were told at 9 that we could have a break til 10. So I went out and walked in the snow.



There were ice sculptures in the town square.





I stopped in the Hilton to warm up a bit and shake off the snow. I know this guy must be tremendously proud of shooting these bears. And I'm sure some biologist could make an argument about it being ok with the balance of nature. But personally I don't understand why he thinks killing this bear and having it stuffed is a great thing.


Well, sure, I remember the thrill of proving my power by breaking windows and other destructive acts, but I got over that when I was nine or ten. I understand it more when they actually eat what they kill. And I'm sure there's a hunting gene or two that helped humans survive when we had to hunt. But I can't help but think its a sign of arrested moral development when grown men spend tens of thousands of dollars to kill magnificent wild animals for trophies. Do you think he has a trophy wife too? (The sign is in the lower left corner of the bear case)






We had to wait until 12:15 before they told us we could go. But the twelve of us (minus one or two who weren't there) were pretty much the only ones left in the waiting room. And this clock. While being on the jury would have been interesting, this wasn't the right time for a three work trial as we're getting ready to head out for Thailand. So I was glad they were able to fill the jury without even calling us into court.




Well, the next bus wasn't for 30 minutes. I figured I could walk home in an hour, so off I went to the bike trail.





I saw a robin several times around the house last winter, but it is always a little strange to see them here in January. The second one was a little camera shy. It is a Robin, right Catherine? It isn't some bird I never heard of is it?


















Well, I didn't quite make it home in an hour. An old friend, PM, skied past me and then looped back and we talked for nearly half an hour.

[double click on a picture to enlarge it]

Frank Prewitt's Book Deal - Bridges to Nowhere

[Update: September 13, 2008. The book is out and I've reviewed it here.]

Someone tipped me off to this, but I forgot to ask permission to use a name. I'll add it later if it's ok.

Makes Prewitt sound like this great public servant doing all this work for the FBI as a great citizen protecting the public interest. It doesn't mention they came to him because of his shady reputation and that there was some sort of plea agreement involved. Doesn't mention the: [from my second post on these trials this summer]

$30,000 loan Prewitt, while Commissioner of Corrections, got from Allvest another firm that subcontracted with the Department of Corrections (I think that's what he said.) Prewitt said he got the loan and paid it back. Stockler: Is there anything in writing? Isn't it true it was a bribe? No. How did you pay it back? I worked for Allvest for four months - $7500 per month. Did you pay taxes on the $30,000? No, it was a loan. But you say you worked for it. No, I was paying him back. So, all of us could avoid paying income taxes by having our employer loan us our pay before, and then we'd repay it by working and not have to pay taxes?

Nor does it mention that he asked to be paid for all the work he was doing for the FBI, but they turned him down. Was getting to write a book in lieu of pay?

Bridges to Nowhere			Nov. 11, 2007
		Author:		James "Frank" Prewitt
		Category:		Non-fiction: History/Politics/Current Affairs
		Description:		As you are reading this, one of the biggest cases of political corruption in U.S. history is unfolding – reaching from Alaska to the United States Congress in Washington, DC. At issue is the high stakes game of taxing and developing a natural gas pipeline from Alaska to the Midwestern United States – and the spin-off, toxic culture of political waste. BRIDGES TO NOWHERE is written by the confidential source the FBI relied on to help uncover an intricate web of bribery, money laundering and criminal conspiracy – with more indictments of major political figures expected soon. The story begins in 2004, when the author finds himself a “person of interest” to a federal investigation. To clear his name, the author agrees to “cooperate” in exchange for leniency over crimes the federal government knew he didn't commit – but could have, if their theory had been correct. As CS-1 (Confidential Source One), the author teams with FBI Special Agent Kepner to expose a sobering and far-reaching network of political corruption. Wired for light and sound, CS-1 embarks on an incredible journey into the world of undercover surveillance and the corrupting influence of money, corporate power and politics. While the events invite serious reflection about our system of government, the actual conspiracies unfold more like a season of Desperate Housewives Go to Washington…political intrigue and provocative crime in a delicious wrap of irreverence. Senator Ted Stevens (Senate Appropriations Chair, President of Senate Pro Tempore) and Congressman Don Young (Resources and Transportation Chair, and 7th ranking member of the House of Representatives) play a pivotal role in this saga. Young, alone, has spent over $400,000 in attorney fees from his campaign funds preparing for the inevitable shoe of indictment to drop. Early '08 promises a season of indictments and scandal in Washington. BRIDGES TO NOWHERE is based on thousands of hours of interviews with “perps” and “persons of interest”, off and on-the-record conversations with agents and attorneys of the Department of Justice, confidential records, transcripts of secret recordings and first hand accounts. Incredibly, every person, every event, every dialogue is real. The author, James “Frank” Prewitt has a law degree from Seattle University School of Law. He is a 34 year resident of Alaska, and has served as the Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Corrections, adjunct professor of Justice at the University of Alaska, Director of the Alaska Psychiatric Institute and an Alaska Assistant Attorney General. He currently has a Government Affairs consulting practice. In addition to working undercover investigations as a Confidential Source, Prewitt provided indispensable strategic consultation to the U.S. Department of Justice on the behind-the-scenes world of contemporary politics and the legislative process.
		Rights available:		All
		Contact:		Diane Nine Nine Speakers, Inc. ninespeakers@usa.net phone: 202-328-6861
		Item number:		5094

[Source: PublishersMarketplace]

The Great Debaters and Atonement

Atonement won the Golden Globe for Best Drama.
[Double Click to enlarge]



This was a good year for movies. All of these are fine movies (well, we haven't seen There Will Be Blood yet). I didn't get a chance to post about Atonement yet, and we just saw the Great Debaters tonight.

Atonement stands out from the others by how it tells the story. American Gangster and Michael Clayton seem to have simply condensed their books into movies that told the basic story but lost the details that made the stories rich. Eastern Promises and No Country for Old Men both told there stories well. But Atonement was a movie. Yes, it was based on a book, but it used the medium of film to tell the story. The camera transcended the words skipping over time and then back to see how we got there. A significant part of the story was conveyed visually. And the story it told was about what happens inside people's heads. About knowing and judging but not knowing and having to live with the consequences. A powerful film.


The others were good films, but didn't take advantage of the medium of film nearly as spectacularly.

The Great Debaters had me shaking my head. It's a good movie. Americans should see it - to remind them if they knew, and to tell them if they didn't - of the history of race relations in the US in the first half of the century. It's a great way to learn about what happened. But the story is such a movie cliche - obscure school wins competition against all comers, and then faces "The Big School". We've seen it with football, basketball, spelling bees, you name it. And I'm not giving anything away because it is obvious what is going to happen from the beginning. The story is how it unfolds. And the actors, the photography, the story, all are done well.

Back to Court Tomorrow at 8am

They called numbers 1041-1079 last night. But tonight they called 1080-1091 and I got snagged. The people who went in today didn't have to be there until 10am, but I have to be their at 8 again.

Judge Volland seems to be doing this differently from how Judge Sedwick did it. I like this better. The jurors don't all have to stick around while they weed people out. But this trial doesn't have all the publicity that ones Judge Sedwick presided over. So tomorrow maybe I'll find out what is going on. As long as I know nothing and I can blog.