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Thailand in the News Week Ending 03/13/10

Talen — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 20:49:25 +0000

A Sea of Red in Bangkok

Picture Courtesy of The Nation

Obviously the only news this week is all surrounding the weekend march to Bangkok by the Red shirts. The Red Shirts have descended on Bangkok in large numbers and they will be heard. Thaksin may be the impetus behind the Red shirt movement and the Red shirts are happy to have him as a poster child but it’s their very real grievances against the government that’s brought them to this point. The Bangkok elite have dismissed the rural Thai people for far too long and now the Reds are making sure they can’t be ignored.

The movement leaders have claimed that this will not be a violent protest and hopefully that is the way this weekend plays out but I am willing to bet the government won’t let this transgression pass easily. The courts have already put out an arrest warrant for the head of the Red shirt movement but I doubt very seriously the police or army will be able to carry out such orders in the midst of a sea of Red shirts.

Here is hoping that the protests remain peaceful and all my friends and fellow bloggers in Bangkok stay safe and sound.

For the most up to the minute news on the Bangkok protests please check out the following sites.

The Bangkok Post

The Nation

Richard Barrow Live Updates Via Twitter

Thailand in the News Week Ending 03/06/10

Talen — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:59:55 +0000

Thailand Refuses Sister of the Dalai Lama

Thailand has refused to grant a tourist visa to the sister of the Dalai Lama for fear of angering China, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.

Jetsun Pema, the younger sister of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, who like her brother lives in India, was due to take part in a three-day cultural show in Bangkok beginning Friday until the Thai embassy in New Delhi refused her.
Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to Thailand’s foreign minister said:

We support the cultural show but in the case of the Dalai Lama’s sister we have reserved our right to reject her visa application along with her husband’s because we don’t want to get involved in international politics.

The 69 year old sister of the Tibetan monk was due to give a speech on Buddhist education for Tibetan exiles that the Ministry feared would touch on Chinese politics in the region.

It’s quite sad that as independent as Thailand would like to think it is, it is really just another of China’s lackeys in this oppression of the Tibetan people. You would think that the Thai government would have learned some invaluable lessons from the Japanese during their occupation of the Kingdom and why bowing to such governments only serves to make you weak in the eyes of the world. Then again the handling of the whole Thaksin debacle has really left no doubt as to the toothlessness of the Thai government.

Getting Out the Vote

In what is probably the most important news this week FHM Thailand is in dire need of readers to select a winner in Thailand’s Girl Next Door Contest. They’ve narrowed the field down to the top ten and now need to find the winner. This will be a very tough job, as you can see they field is literally littered with beautiful Thai women. Remember, voting is a right and a privilege and should always be taken seriously. In these important and dark times your vote counts now more than ever.

We need to show support for FHM Thailand as it’s the only true source of unequaled and unbiased political discussion in the Kingdom. Alright, that was a lie. I don’t know what they write about because I still can’t read Thai…even if I could I would still be too distracted by the pictures to care. Speaking of which:

Thailand Tourist Visa’s Free Again

Talen — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:19:34 +0000

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports have asked the government to extend the tourism stimulus measures for another year and yesterday deputy government spokesman Watchara Kannika confirmed that the the measures will be extended from April 1, 2010 and go through to March 31, 2011.

The free tourist visa measure was set to expire on March 5, 2010 and it looks like it still will and there will be a period of 3 weeks where the tourist visa will again be charged for before the April 1st stimulus measures start.The good news is that coupled with the free tourist visa initiative each foreign tourist will also be granted $10,000 of free riot insurance which will cover their trip in the event that things get dicey on the political front. The insurance policy provides for payments of up to $10,000 in the event of death, injury, and/or trip inconvenience, and will only cover people in possession of a 60-day tourist visa.

The Riot insurance was first instituted last year between the months of May and October when many foreign tourists complained that they couldn’t buy trip insurance due to Thailand’s ongoing political instability. The trip insurance will cost the Thai government $1.00 per tourist or about 15 million dollars over the next year.

Full measures cited in this stimulus package include:

Visa fee exemption for foreign tourists.
Helping state agencies hold seminars and field trips in the country to boost domestic spending.
Cutting the electricity consumption guarantee fund for hotel operators.
Reduced aircraft landing and parking fees.
Providing free-of-charge riot protection insurance worth US$10,000 for each foreign tourist.
Allowing business operators who organize domestic seminars, training courses and tourist destination trips for employees to deduct the cost for tax purposes.

The Ministry of Tourism and Sports noted that tourism was down by 3% from 2008-2009 and they feel that continuing the stimulus measures will help bring tourism numbers back up to where they are expected to be for 2010. It’s estimated by the Ministry that 15.3 to 15.5 million foreign tourists will visit Thailand in 2010.

All in all some very good news to anyone visiting the Kingdom of Thailand this year for an extended stay.

Thailand in the News Week Ending 02/27/10

Talen — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 18:01:01 +0000

Thaksin, Thaksin, Thaksin…

This was most probably the most boring week in Thailand news since the coup back in 2006. Everyone had Thaksin and the Supreme Courts verdict on their mind, and everyone wrote about it as well. As I suspected when I wrote last weeks news wrap up, the Courts only took a portion of Thaksins frozen assets, a little more than half, and all parties involved saw it as a win for their team. Thaksin, of course, is showing some protest to the verdict but only enough to help draw attention to himself and his cause…returning to Thailand.

Even if they would have taken all of Thaksin’s frozen assets it wouldn’t have come close to putting a dent in his actual worth. You can bet he has accounts all over the world in countries that have no problem hiding his assets for a small price. What was taken in Fridays verdict was only a fraction of Thaksin’s actual worth.

Now the real game begins for all involved. Thaksin has been biding his time through a court case where he was tried, convicted and sentenced to two years in jail, through a divorce from his long time wife , to limit her exposure, and now through the asset seizure that has been in the courts for over a year. What is the next step for Thaksin?

Now that these minor annoyances are out of his way you can bet Thaksin will be concentrating on the one thing that stands in his way of holding a political seat in Thailand again, the two year jail sentence handed down some time ago. Thaksin is smart, he has leveraged neighboring Cambodia to be closer to his beloved red shirts and by doing so he has reinvigorated the red shirt movement and made sure he has a base to operate from in case things don’t work through diplomatic channels concerning his return to Thailand.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you’ll not only see Thaksin return to Thailand but you will see him hold political office again as well. With all other matters settled that jail term is the only thing standing in Thaksin’s way, but not for long. There won’t be a coup attempt for the same reason there was no violence on Friday when the verdict was read, because Thaksin is smart and he knows that any violence will leave him with a stain he won’t be able to wash off.

No, Thaksin is smart and he has a lot of money at his disposal. Look for him to start making diplomatic inroads to the courts and prosecutors soon. It’s nothing for a politician of any country to make a sweetheart deal after they have been convicted. Not long ago the Mayor of my city was charged, tried, and convicted of embezzlement. Instead of appealing the case she made a deal where she would see no jail time, she would make restitution, and the kicker? She would receive her pension for the rest of her life. You can look for the same with Thaksin and sooner rather than later.

Within the next two years (give or take a day) you will bear witness to Thaksin’s triumphant return to Thailand. He will most probably do little to no actual jail time at all ( he may even appeal the case, and win), he will pay a hefty fine and he will most likely be barred from politics for a short period of time…at least until he can manipulate the right persons to pardon him.

Thaksin has played the culture of Thailand like a fine violin. He knows what the government fears and he is the puppet master in this show of saving face and heading off violence. Thaksin has proven again and again that the current sitting government in Thailand is toothless and weak when it comes to dealing with him and you can bet he will use this soft white underbelly to worm his way back into the political heart of the country.

Thailand in the News Week Ending 2/20/10

Talen — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 05:39:51 +0000

Bangkok Braces for Thaksin Court Verdict

Photo Courtesy AP/Sakchai Lalit, File

The big news this week is the coming verdict in the Thaksin Shinawatra Supreme Court case. The Supreme court has been deciding whether or not to confiscate Thaksin’s fortunes which have been frozen for some time due to corruption allegations. The issue at hand for the Supreme Court is to determine if the money Thaksin made during his reign as Prime Minister was made by illegally using his influence in business dealings for himself and family members.

Many countries have posted warnings and advisories to travelers and expats alike that Bangkok is not the place to be in the coming week due to the likelihood of violence centered around the verdict to be handed down by the Supreme Court next Friday.

With the uproar of the red shirts and thousands of police and army personnel taking to the streets of Bangkok before the verdict comes down it would seem the Supreme Court holds Thailand’s future in the balance at this critical time. There are many that believe the court will decide to confiscate all of Thaksin’s fortune but it might not be that simple. The Supreme Court is in the hot seat and no matter what the decision, there is sure to be many upset with the verdict.

The Supreme Court has no doubt heard from all sides in this matter from the government to Thaksin’s people and it’s a sure bet that everyone involved wants their pound of flesh. As for Thaksin he has long made the arguement that the bulk of his fortune was made prior to becoming Prime Minister. This may leave the door open for the Supreme Court to take a higher road and piss off everyone involved.

The court has to decide if Thaksin is guilty of corruption, and if so, how his family business, Shin Corp, profited from the illegitimate business deals associated with the case. Thaksin is a savvy business man and always has been, so his point that not all the money is from his time as Prime Minister of Thailand is a legitimate claim. This gives the Supreme Court a face saving get out of jail free card that they very well may use.

It is very possible that when they hand down the verdict this coming week that they will only seize a portion of Thaksin’s assets and relinquish the balance to the ex Prime Minister. Of course this will upset everyone in the government and all of the red shirt protesters but probably not enough for violence to erupt. The red shirts wouldn’t be happy with such a verdict but they would still claim it as a victory for their deposed leader. The government on the other hand can close the case on a large portion of the Thaksin saga without losing face.

As the world watches Bangkok this week with anticipation of the verdict on Friday we can only hope that the Supreme Court has done it’s job well, taking into consideration not only the law but the impact this verdict will have on the kingdom. It may be less a case of finding against Thaksin than a case of finding for Thailand.

Thailand in the News Week Ending 02/13/10

Talen — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:00:32 +0000

Thailand Refuses Dalai Lama

Photo Courtesy Reuters

Even thought the Dalai Lama practices Tibetan Buddhism, a different branch of the religion from the Theravada Buddhism the Thai’s practice he is still a very revered Buddhist figure in Thailand. Even so he is now on the list of those not allowed entry to the country.

His last visit to Thailand was in 1993 for a solidarity meeting among Nobel Peace laureates, but things have changed much since then, and for reasons only known to the Thai government his visa applications have been refused since then.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see why this revered Buddhist figure has been denied entry. From causes he supports such as Democracy in neighboring Burma and the release of long time political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi from Burmese jail to the long arm and influence of China who fears the man and his words.

China has done much through the years to curtail the Dalai Lama’s travels through the world spreading his words of peace and continually reminding the world of Chinese occupation of what should be an independent Tibet. China has used it’s power and influence throughout the world to bully governments into keeping the lone Buddhist monk Quiet. China even went as far as to warn the United States not to confer upon him the Congressional Gold Medal stating that it would seriously impact U.S. – China relations.

Thailand for it’s part has stated “generally, we don’t allow anyone to use Thailand as a base country to do any political activities or instigate violence in other countries.” Which is the easy way of saying we have way too much trade with China to jeopardize diplomatic relations between the countries. As it stands China has made sure that most of South East Asia is off limits to the Dalai Lama.

It never ceases to amaze me that one of the largest nations on this earth with all their military might turn into a bunch of quivering pussies due to the power one Buddhist monk wields with words alone. China has come a long way in the past 100 years and yet they are still an ass backwards country in the eyes of the world.

TAC to Begin Selling iPhone in Thailand

Rumors have been circulating for a while about a second iPhone carrier for Thailand and it seems that Total Access Communication, the second largest carrier in Thailand, has won the bid and will begin selling iPhones within the next month.

Norway’s Telenor company who is a majority owner of TAC has declined comment on this news but sources close to the company say that finishing touches are going on towards advertising and web sites dedicated to the iPhone.

True Move the original carrier of the iPhone has sold about 100,000 units in the last year and project a further 120,000 units this year. With the emergence of non voice services the market will become very competitive again as voice services are already saturated in Thailand.

Another carrier in the mix to watch out for is Advanced Info Service ADVA.BK who failed to make a deal with Apple to sell the iPhone but hopes to find another way to offer the iPhone to the Thai market.

This could be very good news to consumers because with increased competition iPhone prices and plan pricing may drop, but this is Thailand so prices could easily go the other way as well. 3G is still another consideration as it is limited throughout Thailand and the iPhone capabilities won’t be able to be utilized everywhere yet.

A New Guinness Record?

Photo Courtesy Pattaya Daily News

Well, the folks at Ripley’s Believe it or Not in Pattaya are hoping so. On Sunday February 14th, Valentines day, they held what they hope is the worlds largest speed dating festivity.

A total of 1076 people showed up to participate in the event which beats the previous held record in Germany by 129 couples set back in 2008.

This event was the largest ever undertaken by Ripley’s which took up 168 square meters of the Royal Garden Plaza’s ground floor. Thai’s and foreigners were in participation to set the record with the oldest participant being 52 and the highest educated holding a masters degree.

The participants spent 3 minutes getting to know one another before a bell signaled them to move on to the next person and a further 3 minutes. Impression cards were filled out and hopeful matches made by information filled out on the cards.

While the Guinness World Record was definitely one goal of the event the much bigger goal was to promote Pattaya as a tourist destination and it seems they did a good job.

If you want to be more technical about it, Pattaya has probably held the record for speed dating for a very long time but I don’t think any speed dating records or confirmations have been kept on soi 6 in years and I believe they would be disqualified anyway due to the fact that they are paid professionals.

Thailand in the News Week Ending 02/06/10

Talen — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 21:19:09 +0000

GM Spending Bailout Money Overseas

General Motors announced this week that they would be spending 455 million dollars, that’s 15 billion baht to you and me, retooling their plant in the Tayong Province of Thailand. Now, I’m all for companies expanding their businesses in Thailand and providing work for Thai citizens but not at the expence of the American tax payer.

GM is probably the worst run company on the planet and their executives still have their heads up their collective asses concerning the crap cars they manufacture. The fact remains that since the United States Government bailed them out they still continue to lose money because they have no clue how to build cars in the 21st century. They have lost out globally to Ford, Toyota, Honda and anyone else that can put a lawn mower engine on a set of wheels and call it a car…namely Kia.

When is enough enough? When do the American citizens get their money back? General Motors will spend this money in South East Asia and mark my words they will close down that plant inside 2 years. GM cannot compete in the global economy and throwing good money after bad is a sure sign they still don’t know what they are doing. If anyone out there has a different opinion let me remind you that GM has spent the last two years working on a hybrid car called the Chevy Volt and and every shred of literature they have put forward is based on non existent technology. As usual they are ten years behind the times and still bleeding money, fortunately for them it’s not theirs.

Cobra Gold 2010

Cobra Gold began their yearly exercises this week sponsored by U.S. Pacific Command and the Royal Thai Supreme Command, the three-week exercise includes a command-post exercise, a series of medical and engineering civic-action projects and joint and combined field training. The exercise continues to serve as a venue to build interoperability between the United States and its Asia-Pacific regional partners.

The command-post exercise focuses on training a Thai, U.S., Singaporean, Indonesian, and South Korean coalition task force. The exercise also includes Japan participating within a United Nations Force staff. A team composed of representatives from Brunei, Chile, China, Germany, Laos, Mongolia, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Vietnam will observe the command-post exercise at the invitation of the Thai government.

Among Cobra Gold 2010’s objectives is Pacom’s rapid deployment of a joint task force and subsequent coordination with U.N. forces, with the aim of improving Pacom’s ability to conduct multinational operations and increase interoperability with partner nations, officials said.

In addition, officials noted, the military-to-military relationships developed during Cobra Gold exercises underscore a combined capability to face myriad issues in the Asia-Pacific theater, including terrorism, transnational threats, and humanitarian-assistance and disaster-relief efforts.

Bar girls across Pattaya are breathing a collective sigh of relief as this years high season just didn’t cut it. Pattaya will welcome the Soldiers with welcome arms and make sure they are well taken care of. While the exercise is only 3 weeks there will be a lot of guys milling around town for liberty…just make sure they get back to their posts before lights out ladies.

No More Free Tourist Visa’s to Thailand

Talen — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:53:34 +0000

Update: Thailand’s tourist visa’s free again until 2011

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok have confirmed that tourist visa fees will be reinstated as of March 5, 2010.

Thailand’s tourist visa fee’s were removed last year in a bid to revive travel and tourism to the kingdom. Since June 25, 2009 all tourist visa’s from anywhere in the world were free and will remain free until March 4, 2010.

Apparently the Foreign affairs Ministry, who oversee the Royal Thai Embassies and Consulates worldwide, believe that Thailand tourism in 2010 will be booming, or at least that is the hope. While there has been some grumbling across the net due to this news you can hardly blame the ministry as they said last year this would only last until March of 2010. Apparently some people can’t get over the fact that they will once again have to pay the princely sum of $35 to enter the country again on a tourist visa.

The Thailand tourist visa allows for a maximum stay of 60 days with extensions available at local immigration offices.

Passport holders of the following countries may enter and stay in Thailand without a visa for a maximum stay of 30 days for purpose of tourism only. This can be extended by 7 days at a local immigration office or 15 days by crossing a land border:

Australia, Austria, Belgium, *Brazil, Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chili, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Qatar, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel,. Italy, Japan, Kenya, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Lao, Luxembourg, Macao, Malaysia, Monaco (effective 26 Oct 07), Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, U.A.E., U.K., U.S.A., Vietnam.

List of countries whose nations may apply for visa at the Immigration checkpoints for the purpose of tourism for the period of not exceeding 15 days (Visa on Arrival)

Bhutan, China (including Taiwan), Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, India, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Maldives, Mauritius, Oman, *Peru, Poland, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine.

If you are not a passport holder of the above countries or you are going to go Thailand for other purposes than tourism, you need a visa.

List of countries whose nationals are exempted from visa fees:

Rep.of Korea, Malaysia, *Philippines, Singapore, Tunisia.

More info can be found in the Thai Visa section.

Thailand in the News Week Ending 1/30/10

Talen — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 13:00:45 +0000

Thailand to Ask U.S. to Take it Off Piracy Watch List

This week the powers that be in Bangkok suggested that they would once again ask to be taken off the piracy watch list by the United States, fat chance.

All you have to do is walk around Bangkok or Pattaya for 5 minutes to realize the proportion of pirated items in Thailand is a huge problem for companies world wide. The day a hit movie hits the theaters it’s also on sale on the streets for 100 baht note. And movies are just the tip of the iceburg, clothing, music and everything else under the sun gets copied as soon as it hits the market and is on sale to you on the streets of Thailand within days.

Although there are highly publicized raids on markets and shopping centers throughout Thailand these raids usually net a very small amount of pirated goods and the sellers are back at it within 24 hours. Just this week in Pattaya Mikes Shopping Mall was raided and a total of 101 bags, 47 wrist watches, 35 shirts and 10 hats with a combined street value of around 20,000 Baht were confiscated. Anyone else with half a clue could have found 20 times that amount in the same mall just casually perusing the outside vendors and those on the first floor. Seems the vendors had an inkling that the man was coming.

Until Thailand owns up to it’s piracy problem and actually does more than make a modest show of doing anything about it they will be on the piracy watch list for a very long time. And that’s good news for you and me because you can find some decent quality pirated goods at a very good price, especially when you are talking about video games.

Filmmaker Oliver Stone Still Irrelevant

Ever since his hit film JFK was released the self proclaimed conspiracy theorist has been giveing lectures world wide on the assassination of American President John F. Kennedy. And this week found Mr. Stone expounding on said conspiracy to a host of 300 Thai high school students who were no doubt bored to death.

Stone was in Bangkok as part of a series of talks facilitated by the Vienna-based International Peace Foundation. Who, no doubt, couldn’t procure anyone more interesting to speak. While I’m all for a good conspiracy and the JFK assassination is the mother of all conspiracies, Oliver Stone is just way too far out there for anyone with an actual brain in their heads. Aside from the fact that his film on the assassination fudged some very real facts and created new characters out of thin air and is widely regarded as being a bad speculation as to actual events, who actually cares anymore?

JFK is more relevant today than Oliver Stone is and that’s saying something considering the former has been dead for 47 years! Maybe if Stone would stop boring Thai students to death and found a good movie to make the studios might give him some money and he might make the news again for something other than a long dead conspiracy.

13 nations vow to save tigers

This week a dozen nations including Thailand and Russia met in Hua Hin, Thailand to discuss the wild tiger population throughout Asia. The nations which also included China, India, and Myanmar vowed to join together and double the population of wild tigers by 2022. The plan includes cracking down on poachers as well as limiting the building of roads and infrastructure in the tigers natural habitat.

Tiger numbers in the wild have plummeted because of human encroachment and poaching. From 100,000 at the beginning of the 20th century, the number of tigers today is less than 3,500. Hopefully this pact between the nations holds up and is much more than a diplomatic meeting. These beautiful creatures need to be preserved and it will take a multi-national collaboration to make that happen.

Thailand in the News Week Ending 01/23/10

Talen — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 22:06:45 +0000

2 Men in California Indicted on Ivory Smuggling Charges

Two Thai nationals were finally indicted in Federal court on Tuesday for a large scale ivory smuggling operation discovered in 2006. Moun Chau, 50, and the owner of a California doughnut shop arrested in 2006 when customs officials discovered 4 African ivory tusks in a shipment bound to him that was labeled toys. His Accomplice Samart Chokchoyma, 36, was apprehended in Thailand after the Royal Thai Police started an investigation on the smuggling.

Unfortunately people still want to buy ivory and as long as there are buyers out there then this will be an ongoing struggle to keep the elephants alive and the smugglers in jail.

Apparently they were selling the tusks and art carved from ivory tusks on Ebay. Ebay has since stopped the sale of ivory on it’s site since January of 2009, a little late but better late than never.

Another Elephant Electrocuted in Pattaya

Picture Courtesy Pattaya Daily News

What is it going to take to stop this madness and get these poor animals off of city streets?

Mr. Uay Yuirum [61], stated that on the day in question, as he was riding his elephant Pung Saegjaun [50] in the rain to the Nern NaJomtien Elephant Camp in Sattahip, for her monthly check at the back of the elephant camp, he felt a surge of electricity through his leg and was thrown of his elephant onto a grass verge at the side of the road. At the same time as he was thrown, he felt his elephant shudder before she fell by the side of a high voltage electricity post.

The story goes on to tell of the poor mahout’s woes because he bought the aged elephant for 800,000 baht and still owes 700,000 baht for the now dead beast. Yes, we should feel sorry for those using and abusing these poor animals now.

Apparently the elephant stepped on an exposed grounding rod on the side of the street, which leades to my second big pet peeve when it come to Thailand…Qualified electrical work and electrical standards…THERE ARE NONE. An exposed grounding rod should not electrocute anything but the way Thai electricians do work they most likely ran a feeder to it and put it on the circuit instead of grounding it. I would bet more people die in Thailand yearly from faulty electrical work than in highway accidents, I could be wrong but I bet I’m not far off.

Thailand really needs to get it’s act together concerning both the treatment of elephants and their electrical standards. Maybe Thailand should go back to third world status until it can figure it all out.

There has been no new news from the Bangkok based Chang Yim-Smiling Elephant project that was to buy elephants from the mahouts and get them off city streets. After an initial purchase news has faded. The one place you can help is by going to the Friends of the Asian Elephant site and making a donation to help get Thailand’s elephants into a safe and secure habitat where they are well taken care of.

Site news: Thailand Event Calender Added

After struggling to keep track and track down information on upcoming events in Thailand I finally broke down and added a calender to the site. You’ll be able to look up everything from Thai festivals to rock, blues and jazz concerts as well as all the other big events going on in Thailand. The events are color coded and it should be easy to find out what is going on and when.

You can hover over events for a brief description or click on the individual events and be taken directly to the organizers home page or another page describing the event.

I’ll be adding events as they come up and as dates become available so hopefully it becomes a useful tool.

Thailand in the News Week Ending 01/16/10

Talen — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 18:27:05 +0000

Bangkok Sinking

Anyone that has been in Bangkok after a decent storm can tell you that it wouldn’t take much to sink Bangkok, but now scientists are warning that large sections of Bangkok might have to be abandoned by the middle of this century unless severe action is taken.

Bangkok’s canal systems were used to move the majority of traffic through the city but that has largely given way to roads that support the estimated 12 million Bangkok residents. According to researchers subsidence and lack of urban planning have resulted in the already low lying city sinking a further 2 cm – 5 cm a year.

Add in the rising sea levels and the coastal erosion along the gulf of Thailand and researchers are saying that Bangkok could be looking at regular flooding reaching the 2 meter mark.

It’s been a problem that authorities have known about for decades but initially sediment compression was seen as the main factor, now research has shown that the crust of the earth is depressing in Bangkok caused by tectonic events that are beyond anyone’s control. Much of today’s problems started in the 1980’s when industry was getting stronger and their need for water saw water being drawn from underground aquifers faster than it could be replaced which causes subsidence.

There have been many solutions offered but researches say it will take more than one solution to fix the problem. Solution’s have ranged from building dikes around Bangkok’s important infrastructure such as Suvarnabhumi Airport to the much more aggressive proposal to build a massive 100km long dike right across the Gulf of Thailand from Hua Hin to Pattaya.

These solutions don’t come without social and economic repercussions for Thailand’s fishing communities and the short term costs for such construction will be tremendous and hard to get the government to back.

Mid century sounds a long way off but it’s not as far into the future as experts would like. One small rain is enough to completely flood Chinatown for a whole day now, as pictured above. I have a feeling the answer won’t come easy for this one and when it does come it will be expensive and not just in terms of money.

Prime Minister Wants Less Reliance on King

Courtesy Getty Images

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has said his politically divided nation would be better off if it stopped relying on the widely revered king to intervene in times of difficulty.

This past week when the Prime Minister spoke before the foreign correspondents of Thailand he was quoted as saying:

the country had struggled at times of crisis to solve problems, in which 82-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s role had been critical, crucial, vital.

Now what I’m saying is that it would be better if we can all resolve these issues without having to rely on His Majesty’s interventions, even though they are always within the framework of the constitution. It will take time.

Very interesting. This doesn’t sound like he wants to relieve a burden from the aging King but more like he wants to see the Monarchy give way to government, his government. Correct me if I’m wrong but one of the very real fears of the Thaksin led government was that people saw him trying to gain much more power and it was said by many that Thaksin at some point would seek to exclude the Monarchy from government by whatever means necessary.

Shouldn’t Prime Minister Abhisit’s words be seen as a Lèse majesté violation? Certainly the Prime Ministers own party has used a much less stringent standard when applying the same law to political opponents, journalists and bloggers. I would think seeking to rely less on the Monarchy is surely an insult to said Monarchy.

Abhisit had also said during the meeting that a new advisory board on the Lèse majesté laws would create “clarity” which would see many cases that have been pending with the police and Attorney General cleared.

If Prime Minister Abhisit really want’s to do something for the betterment of all Thai people he would seek to repeal Thailand’s archaic Lèse majesté laws and then there wouldn’t be a need for advisory boards and or the clearing of pending cases.

Five charged over Thai-Saudi jewel mystery

This past week saw a a very old crime come back to life with new charges leveled at Thai police officers involved.

20 years ago an unassuming Thai janitor working in a Saudi palace sought to commit the crime of the century, he did and he was caught soon afterward. The man stole jewelry valued at over 20 million dollars and smuggled it back into Thailand.

The thief was caught and most of the jewelry was recovered and returned to the Saudi’s. Unfortunately this is Thailand and Thailand is known for it’s fake gem scams, the Saudi’s soon found this out when most of the returned jewelry was determined to be fake including one incredibly rare blue diamond.

The years following the heist havee been full of intrgue and assassinations all related to the original crime and the subsequent fallout. Thai-Saudi relations have hit rock bottom costing Thailand billions of dollars in trade as well as a serious loss of face.

This week 5 Thai police officers were charged with murder related to the jewelry heist and the 20 year old case is once again in the news.

For an excellent article of this incredible case so far you might want to check out Timeline of the Blue Diamond Affair over at Jotman.com

Thailand in the News Week Ending 01/02/10

Talen — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 10:42:17 +0000

New Year’s Day road deaths 37% higher than last year

New Years day in Thailand saw the usual carnage on the roads with 686 road accidents killing 70 people and injuring 737, bringing the casualty count for the long holiday to 238 deaths and 2,725 injuries from 2,510 accidents.

The death toll was 37% higher than last years toll with accidents edging in at 50% higher than last year. More than half of all the accidents were related to drunk driving and speeding.

From The Nation:

Most accidents involved motorcycles at 84.9 per cent and occurred between 4pm-8pm. Checkpoints stopped 715,516 vehicles and arrested 69,515 motorists, with the main offence being not carrying a driver’s licence at 23,006 cases, followed by bikers not wearing a helmet at 21,195 cases.

While Yasothon was the only province still to report no accidents, Nakhon Si Thammarat had the most at 83 followed by Phetchabun at 82 and Chiang Mai at 80.

Chanthaburi and Ayutthaya were the most deadly at 10 deaths each, while Phetchabun had the most injuries at 99 followed by Nakhon Si Thammarat at 98.

The government began the seven-day safe driving campaign on Tuesday to reduce road casualties by 5 per cent from the last New Year break, which had logged 367 deaths and 4,107 injuries in road accidents nationwide.

Uthairat also said the Excise Department had arrested 277 roadside shops for selling alcoholic drinks without permission and had revoked 26 liquor licences for selling booze during times and at venues that were prohibited.

The checkpoints seem to be getting more than a fair few drivers off the road but I think Thailand will have to double or triple the amount of checkpoints next year to make any discernible impact in the numbers. The best advice I can give is stay off the roads of Thailand during the New Years holidays because the odds are against you.

More North Korean Refugees Arriving in Thailand

While the outrage over the repatriation of the Hmong refugees back to Laos continues more North Koreans flee to Thailand. Many North Koreans fleeing their country take the long and dangerous over land route through China and Laos , finally crossing the Mekong into Northern Thailand.

Thai immigration Authorities stated they have taken over 1000 North Koreans into custody during 2009 which was a marked increase over the 400 in 2008. If caught during their journey to Thailand the North Korean refugees would be returned to their home country by both China and Laos. Thailand holds a different view on these poloitical refugees.
Police superintendent Sutham Chatarsa says:

they come to Thailand because, unlike in China and Laos, they will not be sent home, where they could face execution.

We don’t have the policy to send them back to North Korea,” he said. “We want to take care of them until they are accepted into a third country. It’s not the same as people coming from Cambodia or Laos. North Koreans come here because of political problems. So, we want them to get to a third country.

Diplomats from 12 natins met in Thailand last year to discuss the situation and raise awareness to the plight of North Korean refugees. It was noted that North Koreans caught fleeing by other countries such as Laos and China faced abuse before being returned and it was concluded that pressure needed to be put on China and other countries in the region to give these refugees legal status.

Thai authorities expect the number of refugees from North Korea to grow in the coming years and this issue needs to be addressed now before more problems arise.

Jazzman Rice Ramping up Production

The Louisiana Company that claims to have re-produced Thailand’s famous Jasmine rice is in the news again claiming that by 2011 they will be producing as much as 63,000 tons of the rice which would account for as much as 18% of 2009 imports.

Thailand was initially upset with Jazzman and they conducted tests on the rice to see if the company had violated Thailand’s patent on the Hom Mali rice which is the Thai name for Jasmine rice. The concluded that the jazzman rice was of an inferior Chinese variety.

Question is…will it matter? Most Americans don’t understand the differences between rice and if Jazzman can get the rice production back on par to what it was before hurricane Katrina struck the region then Thailand could lose a very big share of the American Market.

American rice farmers will never produce any amount of rice to rival Thailand’s production but they may be able to produce just enough of a strain close enough to take away some serious market share.

Outrage Over Hmong Repatriation Misplaced

Talen — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 12:09:31 +0000

Picture courtesy AFP

The Hmong Came to Thailand as refugees from Laos in 2004-2005 and they have remained in Huay Nam Khao refugee camp in Petchabun Province guarded by the Thai military until this past Thursday when 452 of the Hmong refugees were among the first to be repatriated back to Laos.

Cries of outrage have echoed across the blogoshpere and through the world news outlets about Thailand’s great injustice about how Thailand refused U.N. access for interviews with the refugees, about how the Thai army wouldn’t reveal their screening process and of course how the Hmong have legitimate protection concerns and Thailand isn’t protecting them.

This isn’t going to be one of those articles.

The United States, Australia, Canada and Australia all condemned the forced repatriation as well as the U.N., who recognized the Hmong’s refugee status. The aforementioned countries also offered the 4,400 Hmong refugees resettlement in their respective countries. So here’s the question, why haven’t these countries resettled the Hmong? Why hasn’t the U.N. stepped in and asked that the Hmong be handed over to them for resettlement in another country?

This situation didn’t just begin on Thursday, this has been an ongoing concern for 4 years. These countries and the U.N. couldn’t figure it out in that length of time? Of course they couldn’t, because they never had any intention of resettling the Hmong. While they cry about abysmal conditions in the refugee camp and they disagree with Thailand’s assessment that the Hmong are economic and not political refugees they didn’t take the time or the diplomatic initiative to do anything about it.

The U.N. and the United States are the last entities that should be crying foul with their abysmal records of refugee treatment. Has everyone forgotten the Cuban refugee crisis of the 80’s in the United States when Fidel Castro figured out how to relieve his over populated prison cells? The problem was Castro not only released his prisoners on America but normal everyday Cuban citizens saw this as their chance as well and boarded anything that would float for America.

The United States had their own Abysmal refugee camps in Miami where murders happened daily and basic necessities were scarce. The United States not only forcible repatriated thousands of Cubans, which went against their own dictate they also patrolled the waters off of Florida and fired warning shots across the bows of boats filled with refugees heading to America. To add insult to injury they forced these boats to return to Cuba where many of these refugees were imprisoned and killed. Not to mention that many of these boats that were returned had a staggering death rate due to starvation and dehydration due to lack of food and water. Where was the U.S. outrage then? Where was the U.N. then?

Picture Courtesy Reuters

When I hear of the U.S. State Departments outrage over the Forced Hmong repatriation I have visions of Elián González being forcibly repatriated to Cuba by armed Force. While the Elián González incident is a little different than the Hmong I think the picture clearly shows how The United States saw fit to repatriate a child. The family weren’t cooperating with the U.S. State Department and refused to hand Elián González over but they weren’t exactly armed insurgents that needed to be raided by a heavily armed tactical squad.

The real outrage shouldn’t be targeted at Thailand, it should be targeted at the real cause of all the Hmong’s problems…The United States of America!

Most people reading about this situation will have no clue that the United States are the sole cause of the Hmong peoples persecution which led to this point in the first place. During the Vietnam War the CIA recruited and paid the Hmong to fight alongside American troops in a secret war to halt communism in Laos and keep Vietnam from using Laos as a site for the Ho Chi Minh trail. The communist government of Laos didn’t take too kindly to this and the Hmong have had a rough ride since.

Many thousands of Hmong have made it to the U.S. and resettled but those left behind were forgotten by the U.S. government that now so strongly condemns Thailand for not cleaning up the mess that they made

Picture courtesy some smartass

The U.N. are just as responsible for the Hmong situation although they always like to claim that they are working on the problem. There hasn’t been a more ineffective or inefficient organization since the U.N. was created so there was no doubt that they would provide no real relief for the Hmong. The U.N. has proven time and again that they are inept at helping any citizens of the world and that is clearly evident by their inaction’s in Africa.

Thailand has housed, clothed and fed the Hmong refugees for 4 years and the Thai claims that they are economic refugees isn’t a blatant disregard for the Hmong’s political situation, which can’t be denied, it is a very real concern. Thailand has to deal with thousands of illegal Lao and Cambodian workers yearly. They are taking jobs from Thai citizens and it has become as big a problem as illegal Mexican immigrants in America.

It also has to be noted that Thailand is the country that will have to deal with the political and diplomatic ramifications of this situation and it’s inevitable fallout with it’s neighboring countries.

Diplomatically this has been a nightmare for Thailand especially considering the current strain on relations with Cambodia. Thailand has had an agreement with Laos for several years now to repatriate the Hmong and the Lao Government has guaranteed Thailand that the Hmong will not be persecuted. Thailand has held off from repatriating the Hmong for 2 years because various nations and the U.N. have promised relief that never arrived. Should Thailand now forget that agreement and cause more diplomatic strife for itself?

Thailand shouldn’t become the worlds whipping boy when no one else has stepped up to do anything about the situation. Furthermore the eyes of the world should more importantly be focused on Laos and America. Laos, to make sure that the Hmong are treated fairly and America because the United states government should be taking responsibility for the actions that led to the persecution of the Hmong in the first place.

The U.S. government created this situation with the Hmong and the U.S. government should be the one to solve this problem, not leaving it for others to clean up as they always do. The U.S. State Departments press release of outrage should be seen as exactly what it is, just words. Once again the United States has successfully transferred responsibility onto another country and then attacked the diplomatic decisions of that country.

If you still need to feel outrage then you should consider directing it at those who created the problem and those that stated they would resettle the Hmong but didn’t. I know diplomatic lines between various countries can take time but 4 years was more than enough time to help the Hmong. Those countries and the U.N. that are now expressing outrage should be ashamed, they talk a good game but when it comes down to it they did nothing.

Will the world now be watching Laos, the United Nations and the United States or will it be easier to keep their anger focused on Thailand?

Thailand in the News Week Ending 12/26/09

Talen — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 21:10:26 +0000

Have a Safe and Happy New Year

With the end of the year being upon us and New Years just days away I wanted to highlight just one news story this week pertaining to possible unrest in the major tourist destinations of Thailand.

Thailand’s acting police chief stated Friday that there were intelligence reports that show their are plots out there to cause unrest during the New Years celebrations.

The Nation online quoted Prateep Tanprasert as saying that there are groups of ill-intended people planning to provoke violence in tourist destinations across the country including Chiang Mai, Phuket, Songkhla, Pattaya and the capital Bangkok.

He did not elaborate on their objectives or detailed plans. The police chief said he has ordered all police stations in risk areas to take strict security measures to ensure peace and order. He also said he will call a meeting of senior officers at the metropolitan police bureau to discuss security plan in Bangkok during the New Year celebrations.

If you are in Thailand and planning on taking part in the New Year celebrations just keep this news in mind and keep any eye on your surroundings. If you are spending the evening in a club, disco or hotel try and take a few mental notes as to where the exits are and what the safest route out of the building will be.

Obviously your safety should always be taken seriously and beyond threats such as this you should always make note of exits and escape routes because fires are not an uncommon thing in Thailand.

You hear about various groups making plans every year to disrupt the festivities and for the most part all it is all just hot air used as a tactic to scare people from enjoying the holidays. Don’t let these terrorist threats keep you from having a great New Years celebration, but do keep in mind that your personal safety is up to you so don’t take it lightly and make sure to keep an eye on your surroundings.

Also remember please DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE. Have a safe holiday, live to tell the tale and enjoy next years festivities as well.

Thailand in the News Week Ending 12/19/09

Talen — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 01:13:11 +0000

Thailand Making Plans for War?

An opposition leader this week accused the government of Planning military actions against Cambodia due to the recent strain between the two countries. Apparently the plans are a worst case scenario in case Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen and Thaksin Shinawatra took any action deemed to violate Thai sovereignty. The main fear is that together Hun Sen and Thaksin will establish a government in exile for Thaksin on Cambodian soil.

Pheu Thai MP Jatuporn Prompan said the military option was suggested in a confidential paper Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya sent to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on November 16 as a guideline for handling the conflict with Cambodia in a worst case scenario.

“Preparation of a military option is equivalent to preparing for war against Cambodia,” Jatuporn said.

“The end game is the normalization of relations rather than regime change,” Jatuporn quoted Kasit as saying in the leaked paper.

The paper called Thaksin “a major threat to the government”. The fugitive expremier is using a twopronged strategy to topple the government: cooperation with Hun Sen and activity by the Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship.

Thailand has already employed several diplomatic measures against Cambodia since Hun Sen appointed Thaksin as his and the Cambodian government’s economic adviser. The two countries downgraded relations in late October, Thailand scrapped a maritime deal with Cambodia, and Phnom Penh rejected Bt1.4 billion in loans from Thailand.

Cambodia has also rejected Thai demands to remove Thaksin from his position and extradite him to Bangkok.

Jatuporn said the Pheu Thai Party obtained Kasit’s confidential paper from a Foreign Ministry official. He distributed it to reporters during a press conference at party headquarters.

The paper suggested the government to get rid of the “major threat” (Thaksin) and bring an end to cooperation between Thaksin and Hun Sen.

It listed three possible scenarios in the diplomatic row between the two countries. Thailand could prevent Thaksin and Hun Sen from worsening the situation simply by refusing to respond to them and trying to find an influential figure or country able to persuade Cambodia to back down.

Second, if the conflict does increase in intensity, the Thai government would step up retaliation while remaining sensitive to its effect on ordinary people and the national interest.

Third, in the worst case, such as a violation of Thai sovereignty or anything resembling the establishment of a government in exile for Thaksin, Thailand would cut diplomatic relations and resort to using military force.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry yesterday would not deny the existence of the document and its content but said it would set up a committee to find whoever leaked the document to the opposition party.

The ministry will consult the Office of the AttorneyGeneral about taking legal action against Jatuporn under the Information Act of 1997, said ministry deputy spokesman Thani Thongpakdee.

While this doesn’t bode well for relations between the two countries one has to wonder why the Thai government keeps playing directly into Thaksin’s hands. By continuing to play Thaksin off as a threat to the Kingdom they are giving him the legitimacy he needs to look powerful to his constituents. If the government would ignore Thaksin he would disappear from the headlines. Thaksin needs this exposure to keep him in the forefront of the of the peoples minds and lend credence to his cause.

If Thaksin should take action in some form against the Thai government then they should speak to the matter with strong language but continually reacting to Thaksin makes them look weak and indecisive. Hopefully this will all blow over and Thailand will continue with a diplomatic tact but if more news like this comes to light then diplomacy may be harder to come by for these neighboring countries.

Thai Christmas Carols

Harrison George wrote a great post this week over at Prachatai entitled Thai Christmas Carols. In the article he laments the oriental capitalism surrounding Christmas and suggested some new words for the old standards that are over played this time of the year. I’ll leave you this week with some of his new Christmas Carols Thailand style.

(to the tune of ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’)

Oh little town of Buriram,
How still we see thee lie.
Above thy bribed complicity
Newin Chidchob rides high.

Yet in his dark dreams shineth
The everlasting fear.
Despite his guiles and all his wiles,
He may not make Premier.

(to the tune of ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’)

O come all consumers,
Spend in exultation,
Spend till your credit cards
Are a-all maxed out.
Glory to Mammon, in the highest.
O come let us go shopping.
O come let us go shopping.
O come let us go sho-opping,
Ti-ill we drop.

(to the tune of ‘Hark! the Herald Angels Sing’)

Hark! the exile Thaksin sing,
Phuea Thai is just the thing.
Keep the faith and win the polls.
Bring him back and save his gold.

Joyful will the nation rise
When he frees Cambodian spies.
With th’angelic voice proclaim
‘He will be PM again’

Lo! there’s Thaksin in the pink,
Glory to the video link.

(to the tune of ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’)

God rest ye merry PAD,
Let nothing you dismay.
Remember you can always mob
If things don’t go your way.
With party leader Sondhi Lim,
You’ll always win the day.
With a threat to shut down Suvarnabhumi,
Suvarnabhumi,
With a threa-eat to shut down Suvarnabhumi.

(to the tune of ‘Deck the Halls’)

Deck the streets with reds and yellows,
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la.
’Tis the time to club your fellows,
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la.
Don we now our riot gear,
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la.
And cause mayhem far and near,
Fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la.

(to the tune of ‘O Tannenbaum’)

O Abhisit, O Abhisit
How do you get away with it?
With choir-boy grin and PR spin,
You somehow always seem to win.

Your Foreign Minister’s a joke
And Newin soon will go for broke.
Your party’s going to flop, I fear,
You’ll barely last another year.

(to the tune of ‘Once on Royal David’s City’)

Once in loyal Pa Prem’s city
Stood a house on Soi 32,
Where the Privy Council met in secret,
Making plans to have another coup.
Who was there, the state betraying?
No one knows. Pa Prem’s not saying.

(to the tune of ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town’)

Oh you’d better not march,
You’d better not squat,
’Cause if you’re a Red,
You’re gonna get shot.
ISA is coming to town.

They’ve been making a list.
They know what you think.
And if you think wrong,
Then you’re in the clink.
ISA is coming to town.

They know who’s DAAD.
They know who’s UDD.
They know who’s wearing red or pink,
So wear pink and you’ll stay free.

Oh, you’d better not whinge,
You’d better not moan,
Keep your thoughts to yourself,
So they’ll leave you alone.
ISA is coming to town.

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