More Birds and a Squirrel

Today I saw the source of the strange bell like bird calls - a pair of racket tailed drongos flew by. It was them. But I couldn't catch them on camera. And the Koels were flying by in pairs as well. I guess it is spring.

And the doves. And for Anonymous, and Bird Anonymous, there's even a fuzzy shot of the coucal in the video with its tail. And audio of a racket tailed drongo at the end.

Spring 2008 - 99F and climbing

Suddenly there was a surge of visitors to this site today. It turned out that Google.co.th has What Do I Know? listed second for the search term "First Day of Spring".

That has as little meaning here in Chiang Mai, where it is in the hot 90s (My Computer says it's 99F, but the 30% humidity makes it fine with me), as it does in Anchorage where, according to my computer, it is 22F.

They are all being directed to last April 26 which I dubbed the real first day of spring when the temperature got up to 65F in Anchorage.

I've finally gotten my sense of purpose here - last week actually - and I've been developing lists of outcomes and tasks that relate to the plans the organization wrote as part of getting their grant. It is getting close to the end of the grant and people here are feeling a little overwhelmed with what they all have to do, including writing reports.

One thing I'm contributing is getting them to see that the goals are not just either/or - either you reach the goal or not. Rather, we can look at at how much they've done toward reaching the goal. So, for example, they are supposed to gather information for about ten villages. Rather than saying, "No, we haven't done that" because they don't have everything for every village, I've divided it up into villages. Then for each village we're listing the steps in this process. Set up an intitial meeting, pass out the questionnaires, get official land documents, etc. When they look at it this way, there are two advantages:
1. They can see how much they've actually done as well as what specifically they still need to do. (They know all this, but it is different when it is written down on paper and you look at it.) I've already started with one person to calculate the time he will need to do everything that is left. (At least the things we've identified. It is much less overwhelming than he thought. He's typed it all up in Thai and is already checking things off.)
2. When they report what they've accomplished to the funding agency, they now have all the steps along the way to report. They've been thinking either/or and haven't thought as much about all the work that goes up to getting to complete. So even if some goals haven't been completed, they can show they are 60% or 80% complete with a list of all they've done.

The reaction seems to be pretty positive to this approach. The boss is clearly pleased.

Other activities - I faxed in our absentee ballot applications today. When I asked about using the fax yesterday, E. pointed to a box - she'd just bought a fax machine. So we set it up yesterday evening and I got the forms in today.

Sunday, the organization has a big event up in one of the villages north of here. They have initiated a program of building fire breaks in the mountains with one of the hill tribes that has traditionally used slash and burn agriculture. I'm not completely sure whether the slash and burn techniques will still be used and how the fire breaks contribute. In any case it is a big deal and several people have been out of the office in preparation. I'm trying to arrange for us to stay up there at a small resort Friday and Satruday night where the birding is supposed to be very good. Then we'll get up to the village Sunday morning somehow. Things will work out one way or another.

Swinging Bulbul and White Rooster

I pass this rooster, and his friends, every day when I ride to the office.

And I caught this red whiskered bulbul from our balcony enjoying this swing. He came back for a second round.

Shaking Up the LA Public Integrity Unit

A reader alerted me to a story about the new US Attorney in LA breaking up the public integrity unit there. It's the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section, that along with the FBI, and the local prosecutors that is spearheading the investigations and prosecutions of corruption in Alaska. The LA, unit according to the story, had a long running investigation into Republican Rep. Jerry Lewis. TPM suggests preventing another Republican scandal was the motivation for the breakup.

If someone wanted to end the investigations in Anchorage, you can bet none of our legislators in DC would lift a finger to keep the investigations going.

From LA Observed:

Feds disband L.A. public corruption unit

Kevin Roderick • Bio • Email

New U.S. Attorney Thomas O’Brien redistributed the 17 lawyers in the public integrity unit in Los Angeles among the major fraud and organized crime sections, the Recorder reports. The San Francisco legal paper quotes spokesman Thom Mrozek saying those sections will have a higher mandate to battle corruption. “Our view is that it’s a significant enhancement of the public corruption unit,” he said. “We now have over 70 lawyers who essentially will be able to step up to the plate.” But the Recorder says "many other current and former federal prosecutors are skeptical." The unit is known to have a running probe of Rep. Jerry Lewis over ties with a lobbying firm, the paper says.

Wen Jiabao Speaking Live about Tibet on Al Jazeera

This morning as I was finishing breakfast and getting ready to go to the office, Wen Jiabao, the Chinese Premier's annual news conference with foreign correspondents was broadcast live on Al Jazeera*. After a brief talk, the first question came from a CNN correspondent who asked about Tibet and Taiwan - the two taboo subjects in China. (I'll elaborate on that at the end.) Basically, here's what Premiere Wen said about Tibet, paraphrased from my handwritten notes as I listened to the translator:

Rioters caused severe damage and killed people on the streets. The Governor of the Autonomous Region of Tibet has already addressed this question. The rioters have trashed cars, torched stores, and caused widespread destruction and disrupted public order and public life, causing loss of lives and property for the people of Lhasa.

There is plenty of evidence this was organized and masterminded by the Dalai Clique. The violence and damage refute consistent claims of the Dalai clique that they pursue peace. Their claims are nothing but lies. Lies cannot cover up facts. Strictly, within the constitution and laws, and with restraint, we have moved to protect the people in Lhasa.

Claims that the Chinese Government engaged in cultural genocide are nothing but lies. We are fully capable of maintaining public order in Tibet and at the same time helping to develop the economy of Tibet while protecting the natural environment.

He then turned to the subject of Taiwan and I headed out for the office.

When I taught in Beijing, Taiwan and Tibet were the two subjects that Chinese mostly agree on (and that Japan should make amends for what it did to China in WWII.) They are both parts of China and must stay that way. There are no opposing views that my students were ever exposed to. From the Chinese perspective, the impoverished people of Tibet were virtual slaves to the religious rulers of Tibet and the Chinese liberated them from this tyranny.

Now there are exceptions. There was a Tibetan student who, over dinner after I opened the way, talked about having been sent to boarding school at age 12 and not ever again living at home in Tibet - just back for short visits. There were some Han (the 93% majority of China) Chinese students with us at dinner who had never heard this view of Tibet.

One of my students - I was going to say brighter students, but they were all brighter - said to me later. I've thought about what was said, and thought about how the minority students are treated here and to me it looks like they get treated equally to any other student. I thought about this for a moment and then responded, "Probably you are right. But, remember, they are at a Chinese speaking university, learning about China, not at a Tibetan (or Mongolian) speaking university, learning about their own cultures. The discrimination took place long before they got to the university. Their cultures have been stolen from them. Their schooling has all been in Chinese, not their own language, not from their own cultural perspectives."



*Al Jazeera was much maligned when it first came on the scene as the Arab voice of the news out of Qatar. But as I was looking for the link today, I see that Allied Media Corporation, an Arlington, Virginia public relations company has a whole Al Jazeera page on its site. On most other corporate sites such a page would suggest that Al Jazeera was a subsidiary of Allied Media Corporation. I can't find anything that confirms that and it runs counter to what I've thought was true. Does anyone reading this know the connection? AMC also touts as its clients



I wonder what the folks at Terror Television (www.stopaljazeera.org) would think about that client list and corporate links to Al Jazeera.

Election Traini Wreck

Kyle Hopkins at the ADN blog reports that Judge William Morse has ruled that Dick Traini is termed out and cannot run again for the Assembly. That leaves candidate Elvi Gray-Jackson as the only real candidate on the ballot, but Traini's name will also still be on the ballot. Unless, of course, the Alaska Supreme Court overturns Morse's decision.

So, we will see now whether the voters really wanted term limits or just wanted term limits for candidates they didn't like.

I'm not happy with this whole situation. While I'm not a fan of term limits - I think voters should be allowed to vote for any eligible candidate - it is the law. Rather than stepping down gracefully and following the spirit of that law, Traini chose to challenge the law on a technicality (When is a Term not a Term?) saying his first term wasn't a 'full term' and the Muni contracted attorney agreed with him. Now the judge has said the law does not permit him to run again.

This gets messy for several reasons:
1. His name will be on the ballot. (Muni says it's too late to print new ballots. We still have two weeks. I think they mean it's too expensive.)
2. The Supreme Court could overturn the ruling and say he is eligible. If that happens - and he loses the election - do we have another election?
3. He could get more votes than his opponent. In which case the next Assembly person will have lost the election, but won the seat.
4. The people of my district have only one real candidate to vote for.

But I think a challenge was necessary because:

1. The decision will probably affect the School District and Mayor elections too.
2. The Mayor is planning to run for Senate and if he won, would leave office early.
3. If that happened, the person - Assembly President - filling his seat would be faced with the same issue when he/she ran for reelection the second time.
4. Debbie Ossiander has already served more terms on the School Board and Dan Kendall did it on the Assembly, but no one challenged them. This will give us the final answer on whether this is ok.
5. This was a risk Traini took, knowing he could be declared ineligible, and knowing his incumbency would prevent other qualified candidates from putting their hat in the ring.

So, what the Supreme Court rules will clarify the ground rules. It is unfortunate that the only way this can be done is by challenging a candidate who decides to run for a fourth term (for Mayor a third term.)

So, I'm hoping the people in my district will choose Elvi Jackson-Gray, giving her a mandate to be a good Assembly person, and demonstrating that we believe in term limits, we believe in the law, and that we can elect a strong woman candidate who, because of her years as the Assembly budget analyst, is one of the most qualified candidates to run for the Assembly in a long time. [Yes, I have supported her candidacy with a check.] Doing this will clean up a potential mess that Traini's decision to run, the Clerk's decision to allow him to run, and the Superior Court's decision to not allow him to run have all set in motion. Let's get it behind us.

And the Supreme Court's decision on the appeal will let us know what the rules are for the future and, if Jackson-Gray wins comfortably, won't result in a political mess that will cost the residents of my district all sorts of grief. The Assembly and the people of Anchorage have more important work to get done.

Can we act like adults now? Or are we going to try to make this really messy? Yes, I'm sure there are people who think Jackson=Gray or any liberal candidate means the end of the world, but consider what years of Republican dominance have done to this state. Jackson-Gray on the Assembly will be just fine. Your lives won't come crashing down around you.

Seven Minute Trip to Thailand

OK, here's the video. It's long, Seven minutes or so. I really did cut a lot out. But it gives you a lot more of the sense of being at the Consecration Festival at the Temple last Saturday night.



The last minute is worth waiting for or skipping ahead to.

Nine Inch Nails Free Legal Download

Zohar read the readme file when he thought he was illegally downloading Nine Inch Nails' Ghosts I - IV and learned it was completely legal:

We encourage you to share the music of Ghosts I with your friends, post it on your website, play it on your podcast, use it for video projects, etc. Â It’s licensed for all non-commercial use under Creative Commons.

There may be a good reason for the freebie, which you can get here. I wouldn't know one of their old pieces if I heard it. But I'm guessing their old fans might find this free one different from what they were expecting. I've been listening to it for a while now and I like this album.

ํYou Can Read Thai

Who will be the first to write the English meaning of the pink word on the sign? It's probably much harder than I think, but it's probably much easier than you think. Double click on the picture to enlarge it.

The New Bot - โบสถ

Sunday March 16, 2008 morning.
We went to the consecration of a new Bot at a local Wat in Chiang Mai. I'm embarrassed because I don't even know the name of the Wat. [Later Sunday: I caught the sign at the entrance of the Wat on the video - it's Wat Tham Khaam.] It is right next to the house of one of the people at work who invited us to go. I also found a website that is very helpful as I describe what was going on. Actually, I'm borrowing from
Thaiworldview. I'll italicize the quotes from Thaiworld.

In a Thai temple, the "BOT" (โบสถ์) is the finest building where monks are assembled for religious rites (สังฆกรรม) such as morning and evening prayers, ordination. It is the most sacred part of the temple.

Any Buddhist religious ceremonies cannot happen in a "BOT" until it has not been consecrated. This ceremony is called "FANG LUUK NIMIT" (ฝังลูกนิมิต).

The eight boundary stones ("SIMA" - สีมา) around the "BOT" indicate that the building has been consecrated and can be used for monks religious rites.

Ouan told us last night that these stones were part of the consecration of the new Bot and there were about eight of them. It wasn't completely clear what happens. You can see there is a cloth over a deep (3 meters maybe) hole. He said they didn't get covered with dirt and buried. I'll have to look at another temple to see if I can find them. You could buy gold leaf to cover the stones with. Another way you could donate money was to buy a sword that would be used to cut the ropes. Then you get the sword afterward.
These swords were about $300 each (Baht 9.999) and there were less expensive ones too. Ouan said the whole thing cost Baht 10 million, so they needed a lot of donations over the nine years they've been getting this ready.

Both the "BOT" and the "WIHARN" contain a presiding Buddha image and usually several smaller attendant statues. Some statues are so well known that Thai people come from far away in order to worship them. In Thailand, there are more Buddha statues than inhabitants (60 Millions). Buddha statues follow a precise set of positions. These positions have not changed since centuries.

In front of the "BOT" entrance there are often "NAGA" (นาค). Naga was the serpent who did protect the Lord Buddha when he was meditating. Sometimes Buddhist deities, lotus are built instead of "NAGA".

The inside walls of "BOT" are often covered with beautiful Buddhist paintings. They often represent Lord Buddha's previous lifes ("JAKATA" - ชาดก)

In this case, they portrayed a mix of modern and old activities of people in the village. [Monday: Actually, on checking the video - not yet posted - I realized the murals are in the Wiharn, not the Bot. The Bot has beautiful wood walls.]

There were people from all over at the area. Representatives from other Wats came as well as from the community - such as the local market (traditional Thai market, not supermarket) and schools. There was a parade of sorts, with floats and music, there were several stages where schools and other villages danced, sang, drummed. A group of farmers from one of the villages that my organization works with came for dinner to Ouan's house too and then with us to the fair. Their village has a woman leader - the only one of the 92 villages in their district. Her story could be a whole other blog post.

But the pictures don't capture the feel of the hot evening, the smells, and the sounds. The video, which I hope to edit today, will at least capture the sounds.