Real-Time: PAD Vs. The State

High Noon in Bangkok. May 31st, 2008, may turn out as just another difficult day in the difficult history of the kingdom of Thailand. Or May 31st is going down in history as another Day of Reckoning:

Front lines on both sides had hardened since Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej’s surprise announcement in morning to stop the PAD protests and go forward with the amendment of the charter. Riot police went into position, PAD formed own lines of guards.

Oldest thread is at the bottom, newest thread at the top of the page:

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May 31, 2008 | Filed Under Politics | 4 Comments 

Bangkok: Help For Burma Soon To Run Dry

Over at Bangkok’s old international airport Don Mueang you will not only find the old international passenger terminals as dark and eerie as a ghost town. You’ll find new life at the revived domestic terminal – and you’ll find a trace of life at Cargo Terminal 3: Welcome to the U.N. World Food Program’s staging area to reach Burma’s victims of Cyclone Nargis.

While filing this small report it’s exactly four weeks to the day since Cyclone Nargis devastated the Irrawaddy Delta. And it’s a week to the day that U.N. General Secretary Ban Ki Moon inspected mountains of relief supplies destined for Burma at Don Mueang’s jam-packed Cargo Terminal 3.

Not too soon though that terminal will be as empty again as a ghost hall. “We’re not getting any new supplies,” says a Belgian U.N. coordinator. Hundreds of tons of instant noodles, mosquito nets and water purifiers still wait to be loaded on board the gigantic Russian Illushin 76 transporter to be flown to Rangoon. But new supplies seem to run dry.

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May 31, 2008 | Filed Under Politics, Society | Leave a Comment 

Prachatai Explores The 29 Websites

You know the issue and what’s at stake. Over at Prachatai they did all the hard work and update you on Thailand’s infamous new blacklist – yes, the Democrats’ opening of Pandora’s Box. Prachatai takes you by the hand and updates you on each questionable website. And concludes that that list is more of a political blacklist.

The verdict? You know who’s Prachatai, but is it that simple? “Prachatai has explored the websites, including its own, alleged to have lèse majesté content, and has found that almost none of them have anything to do with lèse majesté. Instead, it turns out that most of them are not in favor of the Democrat Party itself.”

Prachatai researched the front-runners and tail-lights alike. Did myself a little clicking. Prachatai quotes “This video has been removed due to term of use violation.” But surprise. Nope, I’m not surfing via proxy. Nothing to hide. But some stuff is still accessible and you must wonder what kind of effort has been put into the making of those videos.

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May 30, 2008 | Filed Under Politics, Society, Tidbits | Leave a Comment 

Time To Confess

Time has come to confess. Not an easy decision. It was my best kept secret. Since I was made aware of the very object of my deep affection I had jealously tried to guard to myself. I hid my growing addiction from everybody’s eyes. Until recently, when I had lunch at downtown Emporium with a friend. Judgment Day had arrived.

The heck with it, I quietly told myself. Full of relish to finally share my so pleasing little secret. And what a freeing experience the coming-out was to be. I grabbed my object of affection and told my friend: “See that TV there?” Hanging above us from the ceiling was a large Samsung TV screen. “Yes …?!” he said, not sure what to expect. Me: “I show you my telepathic powers.”

And wush, out of nowhere, as if switched off by a magic hand, the TV screen went black. My friend didn’t know what to think. How the hell … “Telepathic powers,” I smiled. And it was finally then, for the first time after months and months of covert hidden enjoyment, that I let somebody in on my object of affection: I showed him the black little gadget TV-B-Gone. A tiny little remote control to switch off any TV. Whatever brand. Anytime. Anywhere. Just point & click.

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May 29, 2008 | Filed Under Just Do It!, Sports & Fun | 4 Comments 

Energy Saving In Bangkok? Peanuts

Pain at the pump? Worried about 40 baht for the liter of benzine? Naa, this is nothing. Take comfort in the brave Europeans. Try Amsterdam or Oslo, where a liter of 95-octane unleaded will set you back around 70 baht a liter. This May ‘08. Who knows about tomorrow. See? Gas is still too cheap here. That’s why nobody here is protesting against pump prices. Makes much more sense to protest for or against a new charter.

Instead of complaining, better envy the Brits where gasoline is taxed at roughly 65 percent, allowing the government to earn even more and do even more for the community, such as installing more CCTV cameras. Those cash coffers are bursting. For the citizen’s benefit.

As explained here, the high pump prices are less a problem of supply and demand but of investing/institutional demand. But the new global inflation starts biting everyone. We even hear the insanely overpaid expat with the outrageous contract complaining. The wait though for the bubble to burst can be tiresomely long. Better start saving energy and money right here and now.

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May 28, 2008 | Filed Under Just Do It!, Society | Leave a Comment 

TTT: Brilliant Thai Ads

Thais seem to be born with a gene akin to shopping. Shopping is a highly advanced form of life in the Land of the Unworried. When a Thai doesn’t shop he or she is thinking about what to shop next. Which leads us to the topic: Somehow you have to promote all those good things people shall buy. Right. We’re talking about Thai advertisers. They’re some of the best in today’s highly paid dream factory of marketing and branding.

Ok, there’s the common Thai ad making cheap fun of others. Ridiculousness and the hyper katoey are other common features. But there’s the much grander world of globally recognized Thai advertisers. Recently, in Miami, the Clio Awards festival was held – the ad world’s version of the Oscars. The whole ad world is there. And Thai advertisers creamed off Silver Awards.

One could write a dissertation about the virtuosity and visuality of Thai creative directors. Let’s keep it simple. They’re good. They’re damn good. It’s not the nightly soap opera worth watching. It’s those ads inbetween that are worth watching. And you wouldn’t believe it: Whereas non-Thais consider it a deprivation of personal freedom to be exposed to ads, most Thai people love to watch them.

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May 27, 2008 | Filed Under Culture & Arts, Fashion & Style, Money & Shopping, TTT - Top Thai Things | 8 Comments 

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