Left Flank

The caretaker government of Samak Sundaravej has declared a state of emergency, and his opponents are flipping him the bird.

The Election Commission, meanwhile, recommended Tuesday that Samak's People's Power Party be disbanded for election fraud during December elections. If the ruling is upheld by judicial authorities, Samak and other party leaders would be banned from politics for five years.

The commission's ruling stems from charges the against the party's deputy leader, Yongyuth Tiyapairat, who the Supreme Court found guilty of buying votes during the campaign phase of the elections, according to Bloomberg News.

A labor federation for state employees said Monday that 200,000 of its members will go on strike starting Wednesday in support of the protesters, the AP reported. The strike could disrupt train, bus and air service and cut off electricity and water supplies to some government buildings.

All that's needed now is a military coup, once, as The Economist warns, General Anupong Paochinda says enough.

So far, most of Bangkok has gone about its business as normal. After the 2006 coup, foreign visitors treated the tanks on the streets as if they were a tourist attraction. This time, with airports, railways and utilities being targeted by the anti-government protesters, the economic risks may be greater. Singapore and South Korea, which send many tourists to Thailand and invest heavily there, have told their citizens to stay away for now. With the world economy wobbling, this prolonged conflict is something Thailand could badly do without.

Thais don't matter, obviously. But, the tourists! Lack of foreign cash might just end this quarrel soon enough.

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It seems Seoul, Moscow, and Pyongyang have reached a deal on Rajin, and left out the Chinese.

North Korea has agreed to rent out a 52-kilometer section of track to Russian Railways as part of a plan to link East Asia to Europe via the Trans-Siberian Railroad.

The 49-year lease was signed during talks Tuesday and Wednesday in Pyongyang, Russian Railways said Friday. Russian Railways will refurbish the line and build a container terminal at the North Korean port of Rajin.

Construction is expected to begin by the end of the year, Russian Railways said. North Korea and Russia also agreed to study the possibility of upgrading the rail link from Rajin to the Chinese border.

Russian electricity trumps Chinese tourists. I can't blame the xenophobic North Koreans for being practical.

All that outrage last year about Myanmar, yet, in one sentence, what kind of moral indignation can one summon for Sri Lanka?

About 70,000 people have been killed since the war erupted in 1983.

Britain's Foreign Office advises tourists should vacation elsewhere, but others disagree.