Time for Change: Campaign for an Independent Green Thanet MP and Ramsgate Mayor

Operation Momentum of course the US war in Laos from 1961 rather than Labour's path to taking over UK soon. The Laos war the subject of an excellent book by Joshua Kurlantzick of the Council on Foreign Relations: "A great place to have a war, America in Laos and the birth of a military CIA". As an aside surely UK could do with more thinktanks on Asia as it grows in importance such as CFR - USA active with EastWest Center, Asia Society and Milken Institute, Marshall Center, Brunnings and so on that provide a degree of impartiality beyond just the military and foreign office. UK only really has Asia House and Chatham House. The Kurlantzick book though is interesting in that it combines in one place much of the available literature and research on Laos. If Laos was little known in the 1950's - although both Eisenhower and Kennedy spent more time on foreign policy there than Berlin or Cuba as the wider Vietnam war began to spiral out of control -then it's sti...

With PM Prayut of Thailand meeting PM May on 20th June just a week after POTUS Trump's visit to UK surely there are some key issues that could get lost in translation in UK. Not just UK in its traditional role as a safe haven for ASEAN politicians of any shirt colour from South Vietnam to former PM Yingluck now with a 10 year UK visa for 6 months residency. But also the Watermelon Politics of East Kent - green on the outside and red on the inside - gain momentum as Kent conservatism veers into stagnation: * UK new ivory and wildlife polices - and impact on Thailand tourism (UK's 1M visitors the largest non-Asian group) whether Surin elephants or buffalo and tigers * Expanding Thai and UK tourism: each c.35M visitors and Thai tourists 3rd highest UK spenders after Gulf tourists * Isaan silk - too long a stranger to fashionistas and UK high st even with the sterling efforts of Jim Thompson - Victoria Beckham with David Beckham football and fashion ambassador and Ramsgat...

Yes. Why not? A quite extraordinary series of foreign policy triumphs by POTUS Trump especially on North Korea. Even with the last-minute nerves of the Singapore Summit off then on again, in just over 6 months we’ve had more movement on North Korea because of POTUS Trump than in the previous 6 decades. From the pre-Xmas insults of Little Rocket Man and Dotard and missiles aimed at Japan and Guam and Hawaii we have the biggest breakthrough on the Korean peninsula since Inchon. A united Korea sports team at the Winter Olympics and Kim JongUn's sister's rare travel to South Korea. The North Korea and South Korea presidents meeting at Panmunjon DMZ and each travelling over the DMZ line. A peace treaty to end the war of 1953 being drafted – UK too as a participant in the 1953 war with countries such as Thailand and even Cuba on the allied side for the first UN police action. South Korean propaganda loudspeakers aimed at North Korea turned off. Discussions on a rail ...

What an astonishing series of events over the last few months with POTUS Trump policy on North Korea. From the Little Rocket Man and dotard, fire and fury insults at the start of the year with missiles aimed at Guam and fortunately mistaken missile alerts in Hawaii (relevant for improved Pacific Resilience with yet another volcano erupting?) the thaw has begun. A United Korea sports team at the Winter Olympics with Kim Jong-Un’s sister meeting South Korea’s President and VP Mike Pence – or at least sat near him in the bleachers- astonishing enough. And shattering the ice of a Korea frozen since 1953, the North Korean and South Korean presidents meeting at the Panmunjon peace village on the DMZ and stepping onto each other’s land before more detailed discussions. Then new State Dept Secretary Mike Pompeo returning with 3 American prisoners held in North Korea. And the North Korean timezone adjusted by 30 minutes (or should that be 70 years?) to correspond with South Korea’s. ...

You'd think so from the Bank Holiday Weekend carnage of a knife death in Liverpool, a gun death in London and a drive-by shooting. Redolent of the Sawdust Caesars of Mods and Rockers Bank Holiday gang violence in East Kent in the 1960's but now violence and drugs and deaths more prevalent. And the National Crime Agency reports a doubling of knife crime in the last 3 years in Hertfordshire and Warwickshire and Cambridgeshire. The Sunday Times front pages reporting: "Knife crime epidemic hits the shires” and “City drug gangs bring bloodshed to counties" with knife crime up 20% in London yet 86% in Essex and 274% in Norfolk. Perhaps from low levels, but even so a concern if you're now more likely to be stabbed in Bedford than Liverpool. And an increase in acid attacks as big city gangs take over smaller town dealers. As an aside having worked on tourism and regeneration in Liverpool a great British success story from the days of hubcaps and heroin thefts....

People occasionally wonder about the One Essex Court fraud in my MP manifesto: progressing to court latest letter below. I must say how awful the UK courts are. I'm fortunate to have witnessed it. You couldn't make it up and if anyone had told me I simply would not have believed them. For a very simple bog-standard lawyer and Bar fraud - they actually literally confessed it's astonishing. The note below is the almost end result of years of effort and delays. A few random points stand out: 1. You have no chance as a defendant refuting even the most absurd allegations (should the public set aside say 10% of salary for lawyers as ATM's?) - the latest is I live in Thailand, for fun I'll dig out the town name - whilst standing as UK MP. I know you couldn't make it up. But then you go through the rigmarole of denying it etc. Any sign of an apolgy or anyhtugn else? Forget it. Rather the courts and judges - as lawyers themselves - are outrageously biase...

Following on from my previous article on the Tick Tock for Uncle Tu and Thailand: http://lovekentloveramsgate.blogspot.co.uk/2018/03/tick-tock-for-uncle-tu-in-thailand-and.html It's been refreshing to see UK Deputy Ambassador to Thailand Margaret Tongue too busy even for a Ferrero Rocher chocolate egg this Easter probably saved from the Ambassador's party, chaperoning Transport minister Khun Pailin around Asia Rail (nice orchid Khun Pailin - a vase of Kent Orchids on display in the new UK embassy in BKK too?). With the largest ever land sale in Thailand of c.$600M of the UK embassy, Margaret must be able to afford a new Panasonic fridge or two full of chocolate and orchids for Thai development projects? Kentish wine nestled in next to the champagne? Certainly the UK's BKK embassy must be busy across ASEAN with the convulsions within Myanmar of a new President last month Win Myint and Aung San Suu Kyi's handling of the Rohingya/Bangladeshi genocide and diaspora. ...