News and Views - May 2005
(Photo: starwars.com)
Krabi:
Wookie home planet - May 30, 2005
Above is a still from Revenge of the Sith showing a section
of the film that was partially shot in Thailand.
Also interesting: Episode III Easter Egg Hunt - Ships
Aplenty - Opera
Cameos - Battleground
Bits
Revenge of the Sith in Thailand
- May 11, 2005
Apparently 'additional photography' on Revenge of the Sith
was filmed in Phuket: ...Shooting on soundstages in Australia and
Britain with additional photography in China, Thailand, Switzerland,
Italy and Tunisia, Lucas thrusts viewers into pitched battles in looming
caverns... (Hollywood
Reporter, May 6, 2005)
From Episode
III Cast & Crew:
THAILAND SHOOT
Production Services Provided by Santa International Film Productions
Co., Ltd.
Production Manager - Piya Pestonji
Location Manager - Somchai Santitharangkul
Director of Photography - Ron Fricke
Camera Assistant - Teera Boonsri
Key Grip - Surat Thongwang
Does anyone know what was shot and what the footage
is used for in the film?
On the forum: Phuket
is the Wookie home planet? and a planet called 'Utapau'
- May 12, 2005
Star
Wars grips the nation - The Nation,
May 17 , 2005
All tickets for the opening day of the year's most anticipated
movie have already been snapped up through bookings...
An informed source said that some of the background shots for scenes
in the movie were filmed in Thailand.
Shots of mysterious tree-covered peaks jutting from a lagoon might
appear very familiar to people in Thailand, he said.
Sanam
Luang lit by 1 million candles - TNA,
May 22, 2005
Bhokhin insisting that the new
parliament at Thai Melon land is the best deal
- translated and summarized by Wisarut Bholsithi from Manager
Daily, May 26, 2005
Bhokhin has explained his own reasons why the new parliament at
Thai Melon land is the best deal.
1) Good transportation
2) No need for more land expropriation
3) Wide area to accommodate thousands of demonstrators
Note: This controversy has split public opinion. Some like
the new parliament at Thai Melon land while the others have shown
strong disapproval. Some contend Thai Melon land is chosen because
it is very close to the golf courses--deal-maker places.
And from Matichon, May 23, 2005: Even the Harnsawat family
(supporters of TRT) oppose the new parliament at Thai Melon land.
It is thought that the area is too smelly due to the fact that the
Harnsawat family runs meatball factories around the Rangsit-Pathum
Thani area.
Earlier: A tale of two newspapers:
Bhokin and the new parliament building - May 13, 2005
|
'Pasaya'
- May 27, 2005
A Marilyn Monroe-themed "entertainment" venue on
Ratchadapiesek Road.
'How we defeated a boiler
room' - May 12, 2005
[Interesting talk at the Australian-Thai Chamber of Commerce...]
Australian-Thai Chamber of Commerce Topic: "HOW WE
DEFEATED A BOILER ROOM"
Guest Speaker: Khun Sutham Siribunyawat, Managing Director
of Sukhothai Inter Law and Business...
The BCCT and Austcham are delighted to welcome Khun Sutham
Siribunyawat, LL.M., Barrister-At-Law, Managing Director of
Sukhothai Inter Law, as guest speaker at this Special Luncheon...
The following is a brief summary of an article that appeared
in the 14th March 2005 issue of the Bangkok Post.
Sukhothai Inter Law and Business first filed a THB 33.08 million
claim against International Asset Management (IAM) in August
2002 with the Southern Bangkok Civil Court. The court ruled
against IAM in December 2002 and in March 2003 directed that
THB 11.7 million held by IAM in a Thai bank account be remitted
to the court and ultimately to the plaintiffs (12 Australian
investors). Although only 30% of the investors original investments
were recovered the case represents a precedent for the Thai
legal system...
|
(Photo: 2Bangkok.com) |
PM
suggests cabinet members to read 'Time Traps' book -
TNA, May 11, 2005
To ensure his cabinet understand and realize how to manage time
efficiently, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has suggested its
members to read a book titled “Time Traps: Proven Strategies
for Swamped Salespeople” written by Todd Duncan...
More on country names
- May 16, 2005
Cormac Bracken writes to note the differences in the country names
mentioned in the Post yesterday:
Holland or the Netherlands - different things, Holland is a subset
of the Netherlands.
America or the United States - different things, America is a continent,
two continents in fact.
Britain or the United Kingdom - different things, Britain is a subset
of the United Kingdom.
Switzerland or Helvetia - different languages, English and Latin.
Germany or Deutschland - different languages, English and German.
Sweden or Sverige - different languages, English and Swedish.
Japan or Nippon - different languages, English and Japanese.
Earlier: Siam
proposed as Thailand's 'second name' - Bangkok Post,
May 13, 2005
...He said many countries have two or more names, such as Holland
or the Netherlands; America or the United States; Britain or the
United Kingdom; Switzerland or Helvetia, Germany or Deutschland,
Sweden or Sverige, and Japan or Nippon.
The campaign was aimed at reminding Thais of the auspicious name
of Siam, which was granted by King Rama IV and means an ancient
country of people of all races and religions.
Siam was renamed Thailand in 1939 on the order of former prime minister
Field Marshal Plaek Piboonsongkhram who wanted this country to appear
modern to the world, despite many objections to the change at the
time.
Thailand most 'car-indulgent'
in Asia--poll - Bangkok Post, May 11,
2005
..."Thailand was among the highest in the AI which was further
evidenced by the fact that a quarter of Thai consumers indicated
that their plans to buy an additional car, making the country one
of the most `car-indulgent' in the region,'' said Chantira Luesakul,
the managing director of ACNielsen Thailand...
'Nationalism'
trumps unions - The Nation,
May 12, 2005
A labour journal article has outlined the main
issues preventing Thai workers from forming labour unions, chief
among them that nation's image supersedes their needs for better
working conditions.
Labour Focus, a quarterly labour journal published by the non-governmental
organisation Campaign for Thai Labour Programme, also cited other
factors such as rhetoric that factories are extended families and
that "Thai-ness" is being held up as an antithesis to
collective bargaining. The article is the result of a survey of
union leaders and workers over recent years.
Other perceived obstacles are threats of factory relocation abroad,
especially to countries with cheaper labour like Vietnam, China
and Indonesia, the slow and costly process of labour court hearings,
and claims by employees that they already have adequate ethical
standards...
Performance
Artists Arrested in Rangoon - The Irrawaddy,
May 12, 2005
Three Burmese performance artists were arrested on May 6 and
went on to spend four days in police custody after putting on a
public show in the capital, Rangoon.
According to sources, Chaw Ei Thein, one of Burma’s leading
woman artists, Htein Lin, an experimental artist regarded as a performance
art pioneer and a third unnamed artist were arrested on suspicion
of their work being politically motivated. Their performance is
understood to have involved setting up a stall and selling traditional
medicines priced according an obsolete monetary system...
Mainly concentrated in the two largest cities of Rangoon and Mandalay,
the modern Burmese art scene is notable not only for its almost
unrivalled creativity, but also its ability to confuse and unsettle
traditionally minded government departments...
'Oddball
rodent' in Laos takes scientists by surprise -
NYT, May 12, 2005
...They are definitely not rats or squirrels, only vaguely like
a guinea pig or a chinchilla. And they often show up in Laotian
outdoor markets being sold for food. There, visiting scientists
came upon the animals and determined that they represented a rare
find: an entire new family of wildlife...
Who
could be behind Rangoon bomb attacks? - The
Irrawaddy, May 13, 2005
...A former explosives expert who planted bombs for a Karen rebel
group told The Irrawaddy that although a network of operatives existed
they didn’t have the ability to plant bombs in busy Rangoon
supermarkets. For a start, they didn’t have the bombs, he said.
Karen, Shan, Karenni and other groups based along the Thailand-Burma
border are anyway in disarray. They lack not only organizational
and operational sophistication but also co-ordination. It is hard
to imagine that they could plan a coordinated attack in Rangoon
without being detected by a watchful regime.
In Rangoon, the most commonly accepted theory is that former military
intelligence officials could be behind the attacks. Yet the entire
intelligence apparatus has been dismantled, intelligence chief Gen
Khin Nyunt is under house arrest and his subordinates are in jail—“I
don’t believe former MI agents are a significant force,”
said a senior Rangoon diplomat...
Grantha - May 16, 2005
Something about Grantha,
sometimes mentioned as the inspiration for the Thai script.
Quiet
Please (Online Cartoon) - The Irrawaddy,
May 12, 2005
[This cartoon is commenting on the death toll in the bombings in
Myanmar.]
DEMOCRATS
AT A CROSSROADS: Party mulls membership fees -
The Nation, May 13, 2005
...The party is rumoured to be facing financial problems due
to the withdrawal of support from business leaders following their
election defeat in February...
Police
investigate abduction of seven - The Nation,
May 13, 2005
[Do not miss the description of the strange collection of people
living together.]
New
species of mammal found in Borneo - The
Independent, May 8, 2005
Scientists believe they have found a wholly new species of mammal
deep in the heart of one of the richest, least studied and most
endangered wildlife areas on earth...
A tale of
two newspapers: Black May 13 years later
- May 18 , 2005
The two papers start with different ages for the person quoted.
The Nation states "hundreds" of people disappeared
while the Post reports "missing could be as high as
50." The Nation article concludes with quotes that relates
Black May to the present day saying Thailand is now a "capitalist
dictatorship" and also has a separate editorial (see
below) accusing Thaksin of leading Thai democracy down a 'blind
alley" and even weaving in the airport scanner scandal. The
Post concludes its article with a call for an amnesty law
and cautiously notes that state officials were accomplices in most
cases.
|
BLACK
MAY REMEMBERED : One woman's plea for justice
- The Nation, May 17 , 2005
...A 71-year-old woman yesterday pleaded with authorities
to determine the fate of her son, who disappeared after the
Black May incident in 1992.
Yesterday was the 13th anniversary of the incident.
"I am an old woman and I want to perform a funeral for
my son before I die," Sangwian Phomuang said.
Sangwian said she and scores of her son's surviving relatives
could not bring the incident to a close, because authorities
had still not concluded their reports on what had happened
to the hundreds of people who disappeared following the pro-democracy
uprising...
State Enterprise Labour Association general secretary Somsak
Kosaisuk said a dictatorship still existed in this country,
but had transformed itself into a "capitalist dictatorship".
In this system, he said, capitalists had taken absolute control
over the country.
"But money is used as a weapon instead of guns,'' he
said...
More: 'A
tale of two newspapers' archives
|
Mum
still hopes to see missing son
- Bangkok Post, May 18, 2005
...As a mother in her late 60s, Sangwian Phomuang says
her only hope is to find her son who disappeared in the 1992
Black May uprising, either dead or alive...
According to the Interior Ministry, a total of 38 people went
missing on that day on top of the 44 killed on the streets
of Bangkok. However, civic groups said the number of the missing
could be as high as 50. They believed the authorities at the
time had disposed of the bodies of some slain protesters to
hide the real casualty figures...
" Although the number of missing people here is not large
compared to in other countries, the severity of the problem
is that none of them has ever been found.'' In other countries
some of the missing were found dead, he said, but that was
"better'' than not finding them at all, Mr Jaran said...
Mr Jaran said in some other countries there was a law that
encouraged kidnappers to surrender in exchange for reduced
penalties. If Thailand had a law like that, it would be easier
to trace missing people.
Pibhop Thongchai, adviser to the Campaign for Popular Democracy,
said disappearance cases here remained largely unsolved because
state officials were either the culprits or their accomplices
in most cases.
|
Coming
full circle from Black May - The
Nation, May 17, 2005
...Thaksin came to challenge Thais’ clamouring for reform,
defy the legitimacy of the Green Flag spirit and probably expose
the nation’s true identity. In the space of four years, the
fight for political transparency and civil liberty has became, once
again, a back-to-the-wall job. And Thaksin’s great escape from
the share-concealment scandal was not as significant as the empathy
or even cheers that greeted it. All of a sudden, the belief that
we need a good system in order to have good politicians was shattered
by the ancient doctrine that a leader’s survival and that of
the country were inseparable...
Nothing is as damning as our political system’s pathetic response
to the Suvarnabhumi Airport bribery scandal. The government is blaming
the media for “ruining” the country’s reputation...
(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)
Phahonyothin-Wiphawadirangsit
Road intersection work - May 10, 2005
More flyovers for the intersection near Central Lat Phrae. It appears
this project may even correct the traffic flow and once again allow
traffic to travel straight through on Phahonyothin Road.
(Photo: 2Bangkok.com) |
Bathroom sign
- May 10, 2005
Restroom placard near Kanchanaburi at one of the outdoor gas
station bathrooms. |
(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)
Above: Billboard with a rather
Orwellian slogan for Thaksin's AIS on Sathorn Road
Confused
by my nationalism? You’re a traitor! -
The Nation, May 11, 2005
...Adviser: Very true, sir. Thanks to you, the Thai people now
understand their patriotism better. That you will open the door to
cheap foreign products will help our nation’s strength in the
long run. Your penchant for international brandnames will also inspire
our local manufacturers.
There might be just one little problem, though, sir. Some people are
asking why you have not been similarly open when it comes to foreign
competition in the telecom market.
Prime minister: People who say things like that don’t love the
country, and should hang their heads in shame. Do they really want
a big, solid local firm that is the core of our economy to be threatened
by foreign competition?...
A tale of two newspapers: Bhokin
and the new parliament building - May 13,
2005
Compare and contrast the articles about the parliament building location
in the English-language and Thai-language press. Note that Wisarut
has also preserved the way these articles are written in Thai, beginning
with a summation and then the summation expanded upon with many details.
Bhokin
land row - The Nation, May 13, 2005
House Speaker Bhokin Bhalakula was slammed yesterday for taking
it upon himself to decide where the new Parliament building should
be without waiting for the committee responsible to reach its conclusions.
He said the best place for the Parliament building was the site of
a bankrupt textile factory in Pathum Thani province. The land belonged
to Thai Melon Textile Co on Rangsit Road, in Klong Luang district.
Democrat Party deputy leader Jurin Laksanawisit, a committee adviser,
said Bhokin should not have voiced his opinion before the panel came
up with its conclusion.
He said that land was no more suitable than the plot in Kiak Kai in
Dusit district or Ordnance Department land in Nonthaburi.
"Why would we buy that land and build the new Parliament there?
It has no dignity. The land was seized by a bank because the business
created non-performing loans,’’ he said.
Bhokin said he asked Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit about
extending the Skytrain to that location, and linking with the Chiang
Rak expressway. The land would cost Bt3 billion and construction another
Bt5 billion.
Bhokin insisting that the new parliament building will be at Thai
Melon land - translated and summarized by Wisarut Bholsithi from
Manager Daily, May 12, 2005
Speaker Bhokin said he agrees with Premier Thaksin that the new National
Assembly will be on land which is used to house the now-defunct Thai
Melon Textile factory. The budget for the new National Assembly will
be at 15 billion baht and completed in 3 1/2 years. The next step
is to get approval from the Parliament Committee before bidding by
the end of this year.
However, Democrat Deputy Head Jurin strongly opposes the proposal
by both Bhokin and Premier Thaksin to relocate the National Assembly
to the former Thai Melon Textile in Rangsit since it costs too much
and it is within a factory area which is totally unfit for a National
Assembly. Even the researchers from both Mahidol University and Chulalongkorn
University prefer the Kiakkai area.
House Speaker Bhokin told the press that he agrees with Premier Thaksin's
proposal to relocate the National Assembly to the land belonged to
the defunct Thai Melon textile. It would take 10 billion baht for
construction and 4-5 billion baht for landscaping on 600 rai of land
He will wait for the final decision from the Parliament committee
about this issue so they can call a new bid by the end of 2005 and
construction can start in 2006--after the laying corner stone in early
2006--an auspicious year of the Diamond Jubilee [the 60th anniversary
of The King's ascension to the throne].
After opening the new parliament, they will return the former Parliament
building to the Royal Household Agency. House Speaker Bhokin also
discussed with MOTC about the extension of the red line commuter to
the new national assembly and the new ramp linking the National Assembly
to Chaing Rak Expressway. They will set up new offices for 500 MPs
and 200 senators at the same complex while inviting the Supreme Court
and Constitution Court to work in the same place as the National Assembly.
However, Deputy Head of the Democrat Party (MP Jurin) strongly opposes
this plan since they found that it costs too much--3.4-3.5 billion
baht land purchase is just the tip of the iceberg. Furthermore, the
Thai Melon Textile land has a very bad history. It is the land of
bankrupt firm and a flood-prone area.
Democrat Deputy said that while Kiakkai has only 120 rai of land and
the Pakkret ordinance has only 265 rai of land, they are much superior
to the Thai Melon textile land. The land expropriation at Pakkret
ordinance is nearly complete. Chula Researchers also said Kiakkai
land is the best while Mahidol said Kiakkai area and Pakkret Ordinance
area are second only to Pasak Jolasit Dam (proposed by former speaker
Uthai). Even MP Jurin has to agree with the results from Chula and
Mahidol.
Also: 'A tale of two
newspapers' archives
A tale of two newspapers: Dengue
fever
Thailand
has no new dengue fever strain
- TNA, May 10, 2005
...However the health minister Dr. Suchai Charoenratanakul
dismissed public fears that a new stronger strain of the disease
has hit Thailand.
...''We have more people infected than two years ago, but there
is no need to be alarmed. It is just a normal cycle of the endemic,''
the Thai health minister told journalists on Tuesday.
...''The Heath Ministry has closely followed the outbreaks,
and I insist there is no new strain,'' he said.
Health officials are setting up surveillance teams, dubbed ''Mr.
Dengue Fever'', to monitor dengue fever outbreaks, house-to-house
across the country.
“Local health officials are on the alert so the public
should trust the measures the government has taken against the
disease,'' he said...
Also: 'A tale of two newspapers'
archives |
Dengue
fever spreading as virus mutates
- The Nation, May 10, 2005
Changes in the genetic makeup of the dengue virus are suspected
of being the main reason why the disease is more virulent this
year, with at least 10 deaths reported in the past five months.
The Disease Control Depart-ment is waiting for results from
tests on virus samples taken from dengue patients to confirm
the theory...
After an urgent meeting yesterday the Public Health Ministry
issued a nationwide dengue epidemic alert. A so-called war room
is being set up to fight the epidemic...
If virus tests currently being conducted showed a significant
genetic change in the dengue virus, urgent “maximum measures”
would have to be carried out in the epidemic area, at the source
of the infection, said Dr Kitti Pramatpol, head of the department’s
dengue fever control division.
... “Only small genetic changes to the virus have a significant
effect on an epidemic pattern and the virulence of the disease,”
Kitti told The Nation... |
Chaophraya River - May
6, 2005
Old woodcut showing a view looking south down the Chaophraya River
toward Wat Arun.
Toilet
Bowl Restaurant - May 6, 2005
A restaurant in Taiwan...
Iraqi
sandstorm photos - Snopes, May 6, 2005
Changes
to Samui airport plan - Bangkok Post,
April 27, 2005
[We were interested in the series of odd, unrelated paragraphs in
this article.]
The Aviation Department is revising plans for Koh Samui's second
airport after Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit visited
the site and saw that a mountain would block a runway.
If approved, the second Samui airport would be built on 2,000 rai
of land in the Phru Na Muang area. It would cost about 500 million
baht excluding land expropriation costs.
Kasem Chankaew, head of a team conducting the feasibility study,
said the Aviation Department had assigned Kasetsart University's
environmental college to study the possibilities of the project
by focusing on necessities, the location and size of the airport,
the number of flights, environment and noise pollution.
The island's current airport, belonging to Bangkok Airways, a private
firm, is deemed too small.
Anusorn Wongwisuthivej, a tourism business operator and former Thai
Airways International pilot, said the island needed one more airport
as Bangkok Airways' facility could accommodate fewer than 350,000
tourists per year. This year the island expects 920,000 visitors.
More on Ring road/ring
rail projects
'The
Regime's Bombing Theories-How Ridiculous Can They Get?' -
The Irrawaddy, May 16, 2005
Are Burma's military rulers going completely out of their minds?
After their initial and completely unsubstantiated claim that four
rebel groups were behind the Rangoon bombings they now come out
with the even more outlandish claim that the bombers were trained
'in a neighboring country by an internationally known organization
of a superpower'...
Thailand
surprised at Myanmar fingerpointing over bomb blasts -
AFP, May 16, 2005
Thailand expressed surprise Monday over military-ruled Myanmar's
accusation that the kingdom may have supplied explosives used in
Yangon bomb blasts that left at least 19 people dead...
Thai
military plane leaves to evacuate Thais from Myanmar following bomb
blasts - AP, May 7, 2005
[Despite the quick assigning of this event to disgruntled minority
groups, Thai officials are taking the bombings as a very worrying
breach of decorum in the strict state. It is likely that Thai officials,
many of them intimately connected with business dealings with the
Myanmar military, want to make sure there is no Thai entanglement
during this time of high stress. This period began last year with
the bizarre ousting of Khin Nyunt and continues with the building
pressure on Rangoon's upcoming heading of ASEAN.]
A military cargo plane was on its way Sunday to evacuate Thai
citizens from Myanmar's capital after three bomb blasts--one at
a Thai trade fair--killed 11 people and wounded 162 others, officials
said...
Earlier: Three
killed, More Than A Dozen Wounded in Rangoon Bomb Blasts - AP,
May 7, 2005
Also: Dreams
of a Rat Hole - The Irrawaddy, April 2005
What Would Jesus Drive?
- WSJ, November 25, 2002
Peter Leonard writes: There's a funny
article on the WSJ website discussing a campaign against SUV's
in the US. The writer uses Bangkok as an example of a polluted city,
and I think he's trying to say it would be better if everyone drove
SUV's here.
...It's no coincidence that the environment in the United States--home
to millions of SUVs--is getting better all the time, while in Bangkok,
where motorbikes are the norm, the air is so polluted that many
people wear masks while outside. And although the world's poor would
rather endure dirty factories than starve, those of us in wealthy
nations needn't make that choice...
Myanmar
may decide to pull out of ASEAN chairmanship, Thai official says
- AP, May 4, 2005
TV
show scrapes bottom of barrel in bringing Asia to Japan -
The Japan Times, May 8, 2005
...On last week's show, they asked people in South Korea, Taiwan
and Thailand for ideas to cure hiccups. They also looked at a Korean
custom called "Black Day," when people who don't have
boyfriends or girlfriends eat bowls of black noodles in remorse...
Google's proxy defeats Thai web censorship
- May 6, 2005
Google' s new Web Accelerator
is also a proxy that appears to defeat Thai
ISP blocking of various websites. At least for now...
Thai
prostitution displaces students - Thailand campus cancels housing
- The Journal, May 5, 2005
The Style Club and Karaoke, part of the Hin
Nam Sai Suay hotel, is a haven for prostitutes. Some Webster-Thailand
students are housed in the hotel.
Prostitution is pushing students out of one of the two official
housing complexes utilized by Webster Thailand (WUT) students.
John Maxwell, director of operations, said the school has officially
cancelled its contract with the Hin Nam Sai Suay hotel where it
housed students for four years due to the blatant prostitution which
takes place in the "Style Club and Karaoke," located in
front of the hotel.
"The karaoke situation at Hin Nam has always been a problem,"
Maxwell said...
'26th birthday bridge 1909'
- May 3, 2005
This is the bridge on Phaya Thai Road near Sra Paduma Palace (now
under the Skytrain route). Photos of the bridge statues being moved
for the recent bridge widening are here.
Labour
Museum at Makkasan - April 29, 2005
Wisarut points out this Thai-language article about the Thai Labor
Museum.
Earlier: Thai Labour Museum reopens
Thai
cardinal proud to have helped choose Pope -
TNA, May 3, 2005
The head of Thailand's 300,000-strong Roman Catholic community
has expressed his pride of being among the cardinals who helped choose
the latest pope.
In an interview to Thailand's Catholic media, Cardinal Michael Meechai
Kitbunchu said that helping participate in the Catholic history by
being among the 115 cardinals who elected Pope Benedict XVI was a
personal experience of great value...
WORLD
PRESS FREEDOM DAY: Thai On-Line Crusader Fights Silent Battle
- IPS, May 3, 2004
...'Prachatai' was born
out of the frustration Somkiat and a few like-minded journalists felt
about the emerging pro-establishment bias in the Thai language media...
Right Hand
Drive Cadillac Conversion Information - May
3, 2005
Nothing to do with Thailand, but interesting. Thanks to Dave Milam
for pointing out this link...
Phuket Air in Holland -
May 2, 2005
Koen writes: I was going to fly to Amsterdam with Phuket Air when
my sister in Holland alerted me to this news.
Briefly it explains that Phuket Air no longer has permission to land
at Schiphol Airport and 100s of passengers are stranded. I've checked
the Bangkok Post, Nation & Phuket Air website, absolutely nothing
about this...
19:15, May 2, 2005 - The story appears on
TNA: Netherlands
bans Phuket Air from flying Bangkok-Amsterdam route
Bumrungrad on 60 Minutes
- April 29, 2005
Concerning the recent story about Bumrungrad being profiled on 60
Minutes (Bumrungrad
gets its '60 Minutes' of fame, The Nation, April 27, 2005),
Loren points out: You can actually watch
the story on the CBS news web site.
The last time Thailand's medical tourism was profiled in the New
York Times, outraged lawyers wrote to the editor warning people
that is would be nearly impossible to sue for malpractice in Thailand.
Annual
Thai-US military exercise begins - TNA, May
2, 2005
Thailand and the US have officially begun their annual joint military
exercise at an army base in the northern city of Chiang Mai...
Bridging the communications
divide - Bangkok Post, May 2, 2005
The Non-Formal Education Commission is expanding a plan to create
a written language for the Pwo Karen by using a Thai-based script,
despite doubts over its worthiness expressed by an expert working
with the ethnic group.
...The scheme has already turned out 200 charts of transcribed letters
and instructions on pronunciation, 100 copies of a dictionary containing
288 entries with descriptions in Thai and English, and language curricula
for school-aged Pwo Karens, according to Anong Chuanont, another commission
staff member working on the project.
..." In fact, written languages that most Karen use to communicate
globally are the Burmese and Mon,'' Mr Surapol said, noting that a
similar attempt at Khao Lek village in Si Sawat district of Kanchanaburi
20 years ago failed.
"We should not create a new linguistic culture for ethnic minorities.
It will stop them communicating with one another. It will not help
preserve their language and instead pose problems for them,'' Mr Surapol
said...
Whisky
giants slammed over sales in sleazy Thai bars -
Sunday Mail, May 14, 2005
Scotch whisky giants Chivas Regal and Johnnie Walker were yesterday
accused of cashing in on the sleazy sex trade in Thailand. The global
brands are raking in cash from sales in brothels and their brands
are even used to advertise the sex clubs...
Big Brother
Big Brother
`not Thai enough' - Bangkok Post,
May 17, 2005
...The programme has drawn criticism since it began, but became
an even hotter issue over the weekend after some viewers complained
to Khao Sod newspaper about the behaviour of the two contestants who
``acted like lovers''. They were seen holding hands, touching and
hugging each other and were often seen lying together on the sofa
or sharing a blanket in bed.
...Dr Panpimol Lortrakul, a child psychiatrist, raised concern over
scenes involving love relationships since it could cause copycat behaviour
once the programme is broadcast to mass audiences.
...Ladda Thongsupachai, director of the Cultural Surveillance Centre
under the Culture Ministry, said she has kept a close watch on the
programme from the start.
" We realise the risk of the programme. Since it is a reality
show, anything, including sex, could happen. And even though Toto
has been voted out, we still need to be watchful of the contestants,''
she said.
House panel shocked by `Big Brother'
- Bangkok Post, May 18, 2005
The House committee on religion, arts and culture will invite the
producer of the reality TV game show Big Brother-Thailand to explain
the ``improper behaviour'' of two contestants...
"I don't understand why they dared to express their love openly
before the cameras, or if they were told by the producer to do such
a thing in order to get the top TV audience rating,'' Lt Kuthep said.
..."Thai society can't accept a reality programme like this because
it does more harm than good to society,'' he said. ``Why did the Thai
producer import the concept of the programme from a foreign country?''... |
