<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div>Seth Mydans article is is the first one I have seen in a major newspaper -- including the <i>Bangkok Post</i> and <i>The Nation</i> where the reporter actually has talked with northeasterners. His article deserves to receive wide attention, but I am sure it will be dismissed not only by PAD but also by the media in Bangkok as being by just another misguided <i>farang. </i>This would be very unfortunate.</div><div><br></div><div>His findings confirm my own previous analysis based on my own research in the Northeast that (1) that northeasterners are sophisticated (not stupid as Sondhi claims) voters; (2) that they have supported Thai Rak Thai/PPP not because they do not recognize the flaws in the leaders (Thaksin, Samak, or Somchai), but because this party (parties?) is the only one they see as advancing their interests as distinct from the interests of the Bangkok (and urban) middle class; and (3) that since they have come to recognize that they are politically significant, they are not going to retreat back to being compliant peasants in a Thai hierarchical system.</div><div><br></div><br><div apple-content-edited="true"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><div>Charles (Biff) Keyes</div><div>Emeritus Professor of Anthropology and International Studies</div><div>Department of Anthropology</div><div>Box 353100</div><div>University of Washington</div><div>Seattle, WA 98195-3100</div></div><div><br></div></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"></div></span><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"> </div><br><div><div>On Oct 13, 2008, at 12:10 AM, <<a href="mailto:justinm@ucr.edu">justinm@ucr.edu</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div><br>Forwarded from Dr. Pattaratorn Chirapravati.<br>Thanks,<br>justin<br><br><br><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/13/world/asia/13thai.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref">http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/13/world/asia/13thai.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref</a><br><br>______________<br>Dr. Justin McDaniel<br>Dept. of Religious Studies<br>3046 INTN<br>University of California, Riverside<br>Riverside, CA 92521<br>951-827-4530<br>justinm@ucr.edu<br>_______________________________________________<br>Tlc mailing list<br>Tlc@lists.ucr.edu<br>http://lists.ucr.edu/mailman/listinfo/tlc<br></div></blockquote></div><br></body></html>