BANGKOK, Thailand -- Buddhist-majority Thailand gained the release of at least 23 Thai hostages from Hamas, the most foreigners freed as of November 30, after Bangkok boldly began direct negotiations with the Palestinian militant group's representatives in Iran nearly two months ago.

How did Thailand succeed while many of the other foreign hostages have still not been freed?

Thailand's quiet, bold, and direct diplomacy appeared to be a big key to their success.

This Southeast Asian nation had the most foreigners employed near the Israel-Gaza border, so the numbers were in their favor when Hamas decided to include foreign hostages in the releases.

Bangkok meanwhile also networked with United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and others for their freedom.

The October 7 assault into Israel by Hamas killed more than 1,400 Israelis and foreigners, including at least 33 impoverished Thai agricultural laborers contracted to desert zones along the Israel-Gaza border.

Additionally, Hamas seized about 250 hostages -- mostly Israelis -- and imprisoned them in Gaza at gunpoint including about 32 Thais.

At a time when the world seems to be sleepwalking toward nuclear disaster, a new documentary aims to shake us into recognizing the danger - just as The Day After did 40 years ago. 

The director, producers and actors of The Day After will join at a theatrical grand premiere of the critically acclaimed, multi-award winning documentary Television Event in the small city where the original movie was filmed: Lawrence, Kansas -- at Liberty Hall on December 4th at 6:30 PM CT. This event will promote the forthcoming broadcasts on PBS stations coast-to-coast.

Television Event is a movie about a movie! It’s about the ABC broadcast of The Day After on November 20,1983 -- smack in the middle of the hottest period of the Cold War.

https://www.cnn.com/profiles/brian-lowry

Wednesday, November 29, 2023, 1:00 PM

Join us on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People for a webinar with movement leaders on how you can show up and take action for Palestine. There is no more important moment than now to stand in solidarity. With about 15,000 Palestinian people killed by Israel across Gaza, we must continue pressuring U.S. and international leaders and societies to demand a total ceasefire now. Our voices are powerful. We have watched just how the world has shown up in the millions for Palestine these last few weeks. We are more powerful when we move together for our collective liberation.

Hear from Palestinian analysts like Mohammed El-Kurd, Jehad Abusalim, Noura Erakat, and the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR), as well as movement leaders like Aja Monet, Krystal Two Bulls, and Macklemore who are taking a stand on Palestine across movement spaces.  

“Since 1970, Native Americans have gathered at noon on Cole’s Hill in Plymouth to commemorate a National Day of Mourning on the US Thanksgiving holiday. Many Native Americans do not celebrate the arrival of the Pilgrims and other European settlers. To them, Thanksgiving Day is a reminder of the genocide of millions of their people, the theft of their lands, and the relentless assault on their culture. Participants in a National Day of Mourning honor Native ancestors and the struggles of Native peoples to survive today. It is a day of remembrance and spiritual connection as well as a protest of the racism and oppression which Native Americans continue to experience.” — Text of a plaque on Cole’s Hill, overlooking Plymouth Rock, Plymouth, MA

“The Sioux Indians of Minnesota must be exterminated or driven forever beyond the borders of the state.” – Minnesota Governor Alexander Ramsey -1862

Back in September during a roundtable hosted by the Environmental Professionals Network, the executive director of Columbus’s Metro Parks, Tim Moloney, told the audience his “full-time job now is working on RAPID 5 projects”.

A surprising statement for some fans of Columbus’s Metro Parks, which is regarded as a public agency. Surprising because RAPID 5 claims it’s a public/private endeavor – led in part by high-end developers – seeking to connect more people to nature.

The lingering and disturbing question these Metro Parks fans have about RAPID 5 is: Does it have plans for putting ugly condos and soulless retail within the Metro Parks themselves? One RAPID 5 design shows a gondola winding its way through two Metro Parks where passengers can disembark for a brewery that is also within the Metro Park.