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Lawyer Pushes for Move Forward Party Dissolution Over Article 112
The Move Forward party, which won the most seats in Thailand’s General Election on May 14th is now facing new legal challenges as political parties wrangle for power in the Kingdom. Eight days after Move Forward won a historic victory an establishment lawyer submitted a legal complaint to the Election Commission
Attorney Theerayuth Suwankaesorn filed a legal protest with the Election Commission encouraging the body to ask the Constitutional Court to rule on whether Move Forward’s proposal to modify article 112, the lese majeste or royal insult legislation, which punishes insults of the king and other members of the royal family, weakens the monarchy.
“The party’s plan could erode, damage, or undermine the key national institution,” Mr. Theerayuth told reporters on Monday, having earlier filed a complaint against the leaders of Future Forward, the party that preceded Move Forward. According to him, a verdict against the party might lead to its dissolution.
The complaint, which has not yet been formally accepted by the Election Commission, comes just hours before Move Forward’s leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, and the leaders of seven other parties are set to sign an agreement to continue negotiations to form a government following the May 14 election.
Move Forward’s pledge to push for changes to the lese majeste law, also known as Article 112, has emerged as a key dividing line between different political parties as it attempts to form a governing coalition with a coalition of eight parties that won 313 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives.
While pro-democracy parties won the election, they face inherent challenges since the constitution, which was passed in the aftermath of a military coup in 2014, permits the unelected 250-member Senate to vote alongside the lower house to select a new leader. That means Mr Pita’s alliance is still short of the 376 votes needed in parliament to become Prime Minister without the approval of the Senate.
Many members of the Senate, including allies of caretaker Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s pro-military establishment and other conservative parties, have opposed Mr Pita’s candidature for the top job.
The Bhumjaithai Party, which placed third with 70 seats, has already ruled out backing Mr Pita for prime minister, stating that it will not support a candidate from a party that plans to modify Article 112. The conservative Democrat Party has not yet discussed its position on Pita’s quest for prime minister, but it opposes altering the law banning royal insults, according to party spokesman Ramate Rattanachaweng on Monday.
The Election Commission has 60 days after the vote to produce official election results and certify 95% of the lower house seats, according to the law. The new parliament’s first session must then take place within 15 days. The deadline is now set for late July.
Chaithawat Tulathon, the secretary-general of Move Forward, said over the weekend that he was optimistic the party could win over some senators, adding that an agreement to be signed by the parties in a briefing slated for 4.30pm local time on Monday will influence Senate members to vote for Pita.
The push to directly change laws affecting the monarchy breaks a long-standing taboo in Thailand, where even the suggestion of disloyalty to the palace in the past has been grounds for the military to stage a coup, leading to a series of deadly street protests that have slowed Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy.
While there are differences of opinion within Mr Pita’s alliance, deputy party leader Sirikanya Tansakul told local media over the weekend that Move Forward’s desire to modify the law isn’t a deal breaker. Support for the party’s plan to modify Article 112 would not be a criterion for entering its coalition, she said, and Move Forward will keep its promise to offer the modification for debate in parliament.
Another lawyer filed a complaint with the Election Commission earlier this month, alleging that Mr Pita violated election rules by owning stock in a bankrupt media business. Mr Pita has stated that he is unconcerned by the claim, which could result in his disqualification as a member of parliament, because the shares are part of an estate he administers and he does not directly own them.
Meanwhile, senator Khunying Porntip Rojanasunan said on social media on Sunday that demonstration (UFTD) in front of parliament to persuade senators to vote for Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat as prime minister could backfire.
Khunying Porntip stated on her Instagram account that she was speaking out as a former state official, senator, and Thai citizen.
She stated that, while many of Move Forward’s objectives presented to the public prior to the election sounded reasonable if they could be implemented, one thing the party should not touch is the monarchy.
However, the UFTD, which arranged the march in support of Mr Pita, had already stated ten requests during an event on Thammasat University’s Rangsit campus on August 10, 2020. According to Khunying Porntip, the requests indicated their hostility against the monarchy.
She claimed that the planned march on Tuesday demonstrated that those behind the UFTD intended to tread on the hearts of Thais who support the royal institution.
“Do not underestimate the power of people who can come out to protect the royal institution,” warned Khunying Porntip.
She stated that while the Move Forward Party could win the election, it could not claim to represent the majority of Thais.
Khunying Porntip claimed that it was the anti-monarchy elements backing Mr Pita who would deprive him of the chance to become Prime Minister.
Thailand’s Senators Oppose Move Forward Party’s PM Candidate
Thailand’s Senators Oppose Move Forward Party’s PM Candidate
News
Trudeau’s Gun Grab Could Cost Taxpayers a Whopping $7 Billion
![Trudeau's Gun Grab](https://www.chiangraitimes.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Trudeaus-Gun-Grab.jpg)
A recent report indicates that since Trudeau’s announcement of his gun buyback program four years ago, almost none of the banned firearms have been surrendered.
The federal government plans to purchase 2,063 firearm models from retailers following the enactment of Bill C-21, which amends various Acts and introduces certain consequential changes related to firearms. It was granted royal assent on December 15 of last year.
This ban immediately criminalized the actions of federally-licensed firearms owners regarding the purchase, sale, transportation, importation, exportation, or use of hundreds of thousands of rifles and shotguns that were previously legal.
The gun ban focused on what it termed ‘assault-style weapons,’ which are, in reality, traditional semi-automatic rifles and shotguns that have enjoyed popularity among hunters and sport shooters for over a century.
In May 2020, the federal government enacted an Order-in-Council that prohibited 1,500 types of “assault-style” firearms and outlined specific components of the newly banned firearms. Property owners must adhere to the law by October 2023.
Trudeau’s Buyback Hasn’t Happened
“In the announcement regarding the ban, the prime minister stated that the government would seize the prohibited firearms, assuring that their lawful owners would be ‘grandfathered’ or compensated fairly.” “That hasn’t happened,” criminologist Gary Mauser told Rebel News.
Mauser projected expenses ranging from $2.6 billion to $6.7 billion. The figure reflects the compensation costs amounting to $756 million, as outlined by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO).
“The projected expenses for gathering the illegal firearms are estimated to range from $1.6 billion to $7 billion.” “This range estimate increases to between $2.647 billion and $7 billion when compensation costs to owners are factored in,” Mauser stated.
Figures requested by Conservative MP Shannon Stubbs concerning firearms prohibited due to the May 1, 2020 Order In Council reveal that $72 million has been allocated to the firearm “buyback” program, yet not a single firearm has been confiscated to date.
In a recent revelation, Public Safety Canada disclosed that the federal government allocated a staggering $41,094,556, as prompted by an order paper question from Conservative Senator Don Plett last September, yet yielded no tangible outcomes.
An internal memo from late 2019 revealed that the Liberals projected their politically motivated harassment would incur a cost of $1.8 billion.
Enforcement efforts Questioned
By December 2023, estimates from TheGunBlog.ca indicate that the Liberals and RCMP had incurred or were responsible for approximately $30 million in personnel expenses related to the enforcement efforts. The union representing the police service previously stated that the effort to confiscate firearms is a “misdirected effort” aimed at ensuring public safety.
“This action diverts crucial personnel, resources, and funding from tackling the more pressing and escalating issue of criminal use of illegal firearms,” stated the National Police Federation (NPF).
The Canadian Sporting Arms & Ammunition Association (CSAAA), representing firearms retailers, has stated it will have “zero involvement” in the confiscation of these firearms. Even Canada Post held back from providing assistance due to safety concerns.
The consultant previously assessed that retailers are sitting on almost $1 billion worth of inventory that cannot be sold or returned to suppliers because of the Order-In-Council.
“Despite the ongoing confusion surrounding the ban, after four years, we ought to be able to address one crucial question.” Has the prohibition enhanced safety for Canadians? Mauser asks.
Illegally Obtained Firearms are the Problem
Statistics Canada reports a 10% increase in firearm-related violent crime between 2020 and 2022, rising from 12,614 incidents to 13,937 incidents. In that timeframe, the incidence of firearm-related violent crime increased from 33.7 incidents per 100,000 population in 2021 to 36.7 incidents the subsequent year.
“This marks the highest rate documented since the collection of comparable data began in 2009,” the criminologist explains.
Supplementary DataData indicates that firearm homicides have risen since 2020. “The issue lies not with lawfully-held firearms,” Mauser stated.
Firearms that have been banned under the Order-in-Council continue to be securely stored in the safes of their lawful owners. The individuals underwent a thorough vetting process by the RCMP and are subject to nightly monitoring to ensure there are no infractions that could pose a risk to public safety.
“The firearms involved in homicides were seldom legally owned weapons wielded by their rightful owners,” Mauser continues. The number of offenses linked to organized crime has surged from 4,810 in 2016 to a staggering 13,056 in 2020.
“If those in power … aim to diminish crime and enhance public safety, they ought to implement strategies that effectively focus on offenders and utilize our limited tax resources judiciously to reach these objectives,” he stated.
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Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding, But Still Accounting 48% Search Revenue
![Google](https://www.chiangraitimes.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Google-2.webp)
Google is so closely associated with its key product that its name is a verb that signifies “search.” However, Google’s dominance in that sector is dwindling.
According to eMarketer, Google will lose control of the US search industry for the first time in decades next year.
Google will remain the dominant search player, accounting for 48% of American search advertising revenue. And, remarkably, Google is still increasing its sales in the field, despite being the dominating player in search since the early days of the George W. Bush administration. However, Amazon is growing at a quicker rate.
Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding
Amazon will hold over a quarter of US search ad dollars next year, rising to 27% by 2026, while Google will fall even more, according to eMarketer.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the forecast.
Lest you think you’ll have to switch to Bing or Yahoo, this isn’t the end of Google or anything really near.
Google is the fourth-most valued public firm in the world. Its market worth is $2.1 trillion, trailing just Apple, Microsoft, and the AI chip darling Nvidia. It also maintains its dominance in other industries, such as display advertisements, where it dominates alongside Facebook’s parent firm Meta, and video ads on YouTube.
To put those “other” firms in context, each is worth more than Delta Air Lines’ total market value. So, yeah, Google is not going anywhere.
Nonetheless, Google faces numerous dangers to its operations, particularly from antitrust regulators.
On Monday, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that Google must open up its Google Play Store to competitors, dealing a significant blow to the firm in its long-running battle with Fortnite creator Epic Games. Google announced that it would appeal the verdict.
In August, a federal judge ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly on search. That verdict could lead to the dissolution of the company’s search operation. Another antitrust lawsuit filed last month accuses Google of abusing its dominance in the online advertising business.
Meanwhile, European regulators have compelled Google to follow tough new standards, which have resulted in multiple $1 billion-plus fines.
![google](https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2014/10/12/12/38/google-485611_960_720.jpg)
Pixa Bay
Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding
On top of that, the marketplace is becoming more difficult on its own.
TikTok, the fastest-growing social network, is expanding into the search market. And Amazon has accomplished something few other digital titans have done to date: it has established a habit.
When you want to buy anything, you usually go to Amazon, not Google. Amazon then buys adverts to push companies’ products to the top of your search results, increasing sales and earning Amazon a greater portion of the revenue. According to eMarketer, it is expected to generate $27.8 billion in search revenue in the United States next year, trailing only Google’s $62.9 billion total.
And then there’s AI, the technology that (supposedly) will change everything.
Why search in stilted language for “kendall jenner why bad bunny breakup” or “police moving violation driver rights no stop sign” when you can just ask OpenAI’s ChatGPT, “What’s going on with Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny?” in “I need help fighting a moving violation involving a stop sign that wasn’t visible.” Google is working on exactly this technology with its Gemini product, but its success is far from guaranteed, especially with Apple collaborating with OpenAI and other businesses rapidly joining the market.
A Google spokeswoman referred to a blog post from last week in which the company unveiled ads in its AI overviews (the AI-generated text that appears at the top of search results). It’s Google’s way of expressing its ability to profit on a changing marketplace while retaining its business, even as its consumers steadily transition to ask-and-answer AI and away from search.
Google has long used a single catchphrase to defend itself against opponents who claim it is a monopoly abusing its power: competition is only a click away. Until recently, that seemed comically obtuse. Really? We are going to switch to Bing? Or Duck Duck Go? Give me a break.
But today, it feels more like reality.
Google is in no danger of disappearing. However, every highly dominating company faces some type of reckoning over time. GE, a Dow mainstay for more than a century, was broken up last year and is now a shell of its previous dominance. Sears declared bankruptcy in 2022 and is virtually out of business. US Steel, long the foundation of American manufacturing, is attempting to sell itself to a Japanese corporation.
SOURCE | CNN
News
The Supreme Court Turns Down Biden’s Government Appeal in a Texas Emergency Abortion Matter.
![Supreme Court](https://www.chiangraitimes.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Supreme-Court-1.webp)
(VOR News) – A ruling that prohibits emergency abortions that contravene the Supreme Court law in the state of Texas, which has one of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the country, has been upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States. The United States Supreme Court upheld this decision.
The justices did not provide any specifics regarding the underlying reasons for their decision to uphold an order from a lower court that declared hospitals cannot be legally obligated to administer abortions if doing so would violate the law in the state of Texas.
Institutions are not required to perform abortions, as stipulated in the decree. The common populace did not investigate any opposing viewpoints. The decision was made just weeks before a presidential election that brought abortion to the forefront of the political agenda.
This decision follows the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that ended abortion nationwide.
In response to a request from the administration of Vice President Joe Biden to overturn the lower court’s decision, the justices expressed their disapproval.
The government contends that hospitals are obligated to perform abortions in compliance with federal legislation when the health or life of an expectant patient is in an exceedingly precarious condition.
This is the case in regions where the procedure is prohibited. The difficulty hospitals in Texas and other states are experiencing in determining whether or not routine care could be in violation of stringent state laws that prohibit abortion has resulted in an increase in the number of complaints concerning pregnant women who are experiencing medical distress being turned away from emergency rooms.
The administration cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in a case that bore a striking resemblance to the one that was presented to it in Idaho at the beginning of the year. The justices took a limited decision in that case to allow the continuation of emergency abortions without interruption while a lawsuit was still being heard.
In contrast, Texas has been a vocal proponent of the injunction’s continued enforcement. Texas has argued that its circumstances are distinct from those of Idaho, as the state does have an exemption for situations that pose a significant hazard to the health of an expectant patient.
According to the state, the discrepancy is the result of this exemption. The state of Idaho had a provision that safeguarded a woman’s life when the issue was first broached; however, it did not include protection for her health.
Certified medical practitioners are not obligated to wait until a woman’s life is in imminent peril before they are legally permitted to perform an abortion, as determined by the state supreme court.
The state of Texas highlighted this to the Supreme Court.
Nevertheless, medical professionals have criticized the Texas statute as being perilously ambiguous, and a medical board has declined to provide a list of all the disorders that are eligible for an exception. Furthermore, the statute has been criticized for its hazardous ambiguity.
For an extended period, termination of pregnancies has been a standard procedure in medical treatment for individuals who have been experiencing significant issues. It is implemented in this manner to prevent catastrophic outcomes, such as sepsis, organ failure, and other severe scenarios.
Nevertheless, medical professionals and hospitals in Texas and other states with strict abortion laws have noted that it is uncertain whether or not these terminations could be in violation of abortion prohibitions that include the possibility of a prison sentence. This is the case in regions where abortion prohibitions are exceedingly restrictive.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which resulted in restrictions on the rights of women to have abortions in several Republican-ruled states, the Texas case was revisited in 2022.
As per the orders that were disclosed by the administration of Vice President Joe Biden, hospitals are still required to provide abortions in cases that are classified as dire emergency.
As stipulated in a piece of health care legislation, the majority of hospitals are obligated to provide medical assistance to patients who are experiencing medical distress. This is in accordance with the law.
The state of Texas maintained that hospitals should not be obligated to provide abortions throughout the litigation, as doing so would violate the state’s constitutional prohibition on abortions. In its January judgment, the 5th United States Circuit Court of Appeals concurred with the state and acknowledged that the administration had exceeded its authority.
SOURCE: AP
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