Global

BANGKOK, Thailand -- After 15 years as an international fugitive ousted in a coup, homesick billionaire ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned on August 22, allowing the Supreme Court to sentence him to eight years for corruption and send him under heavy security to Bangkok's grim Remand Prison.

Hours later, in a backroom choreographed arrangement which is still playing out, Parliament ended a three-month deadlock and elected the candidate of Mr. Thaksin's extended party to be prime minister, politically inexperienced real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin, 60.

Mr. Thaksin's spectacular return may have been in expectation that Mr. Srettha will somehow grant him leniency.

Mr. Srettha, relatively unknown to the public, said he will "improve the living conditions of all Thai people."

The prime minister-elect's name needs the king's endorsement before he can take over.

Mr. Srettha secured the prime ministry only by including, in his 11-party coalition, two political parties -- the United Thai and Palang Pracharath -- linked to the most recent 2014 coup.

Realizing that I’ve been taking something for granted — one grain of infinity — is never an abstraction. It generally happens by whack and wallop.

Oh yeah, the knee. The knee. It’s kind of important.

A crucial part of the realization process is acknowledgment. Maybe even learning something. So, pardon the details I’m about to reveal, but I’m trying to figure out what I may have just learned these past few days, even as I call out to the universe: “Enough!” I don’t want any more life lessons for a while. (Come on, I’m only 77.)

So what happened was, my long-time buddy, Malcolm — we’ve been best friends since 1967 — came to town for a visit last week. Wow, cool. Two long-time-ago hippies on their own in Chicago. The world felt wide open. And I was host. However, the day of his arrival — as I lay in bed that morning — my right knee woke me up with a piercing poke in my consciousness. No, not again!

 
Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, a global cold war has also kicked in.
 
As a strong ally of Washington and the home of a massive constituency of Russian,
Ukrainian and East European Jews, it was only natural that Tel Aviv would be at the heart
of the global conflict.
 
When the war began, Israel was then ruled by an odd coalition, bringing together right,
center and left political parties.
 
These parties were aware of the electoral importance of Israeli Russian Jews, who mostly
arrived in Israel following the collapse of the former Soviet Union in the late 1980s and
early 90s.
 
The sizable and rapidly growing constituency is largely anti-Moscow, as opinion public
polls have demonstrated.
 
These demographics, in addition to Israel's loyalty to Washington, complicated the Israeli
position.
 
On the one hand, Israel voted in favor of a United Nations resolution in March 2022
which condemned Russia. In response, Moscow expressed complete “disappointment” in
Israel.
 
Additionally, Israel opened its doors to Ukrainians and also Russian Jews who wanted to