2BANGKOK.COM'S
NEWS AND VIEWS
JULY 2004
Old
news
- July 21, 2004
2Bangkok.com monitors
world news to gauge
the media mood related
to Thailand. Here
is something we often
come across--old news.
When iAfrica readers
check the news for
July 21, 2004 they
will find an article
first syndicated a
month and a half ago--only
the headline is changed.
Cambodia
the new Phuket?
- iAfrica, July 21,
2004
With pristine beaches
rivalling Asia's best
holiday destinations,
a five-star hotel,
a reopened airport
and a golf course
in the pipeline, Cambodia's
beach town of Sihanoukville
is poised to jump
into the global tourism
arena...
Cambodia
the new Thailand?
- AFP, June 7, 2004
(Photo:
Nils)
Fish
Phone -
July 20, 2004
Nils sent in this
photo of a mobile
phone store at Kabinburi
Bus Station. He writes:
Maybe the owner's
nickname is 'pla'
('fish' in Thai)?
A
tale of two newspapers:
Thaksin's popularity
-
July 20, 2004
While domestically Thaksin
is at his highest level
of popularity, foreign
editorialists are claiming
Thais are comparing
Thaksin to Mussolini.
Thai
Rak Thai’s popularity
at highest, says latest
survey - TNA,
July 18, 2004
...More that three
quarters of those surveyed
said they were satisfied
with the government’s
highly controversial
war on drugs campaign.
Almost eighty percent
approved of the government’s
One Tambon One Product
programme,while two
out of three people
approved of the 30 baht
healthcare scheme.
Half of the Thai voters
interviewed were confident
that the government
would succeed in suppressing
the illegal drugs trade.
But only 42.1 % thought
the government would
be able to handle the
country’s economic
problems...
The
great Thai media muzzler
- Globe and Mail,
July 19, 2004
The PM's disdain
for any criticism of
his autocratic rule
is bad for human rights
and dangerous for Thailand,
says SAM ZARIFI...
But, increasingly, Thais
are invoking the name
of an earlier, more
infamous, Italian political
figure in comparison...
Also: Something
about a new bio of Thaksin
in English: ('A
New Kind of Leader':
Thaksin: a critical
look - The Nation,
July 19, 2004
...Thaksin is "a
new breed of leader
Thailand has never seen."
And his efforts to elevate
himself and Thailand
onto the global stage
has stimulated an unmet
demand for a "comprehensive
analysis" of Thaksin
for English-language
readers.
...Thaksin routinely
describes his childhood
hardships to portray
himself as the man of
the people who started
from modest rural origins
and rose through struggle.
But there are a lot
of myths in that story,
Baker said. By the time
of his birth in 1949,
the Shinawatras were
one of the most prominent
families in Thailand's
second largest city,
Chiang Mai.
Thaksin also talks of
working at McDonald's
to put himself through
graduate school while
in the United States,
but he bought a Mercedes
which he brought back
to Thailand, Pasuk added.
...In addition to its
portrayal of Thaksin
as a dynamic modern
leader, the book reveals
how he indulges in the
same nationalistic aspirations
as Thai leaders of the
past century, for example,
King Rama V, Field Marshal
Pibun and Field Marshal
Sarit. Like them, Thaksin
endeavours to propel
Thailand toward the
forefront of global
politics...
Thailand:
Happiness on earth
- Straits Times,
July 17, 2004
In case you are interested,
"Happiness on earth"
is the new TAT tourist
slogan for Thailand.
Someone better register
HAPPINESSONEARTH.NET
and HAPPINESSONEARTH.ORG...
'Hierarchical
structure of punishment
in Thailand'
- Asia Security Monitor,
American Foreign Policy
Council, July 1, 2004
Since Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra was
elected in 2001, violence
against environmentalists
and human rights activists
has intensified, reports
the International Herald
Tribune. NGOs in Thailand
are known to be outspoken
advocates for democracy,
playing a vital role
in the passage of a
new constitution in
1997. Since Thaksin
came to power, however,
his brand of law and
order closely resembles
authoritarian repression.
The Bangkok Nation has
published a list of
16 persons it called
"the dead and the
missing," which
include campaigners
against logging, dams
and wastewater projects.
In the midst of this
repression, Ms. Supinya
Klangnarong, has challenged
the fact that Thailand's
largest media and communications
corporation is controlled
by Prime Minister Thaksin's
family and has profited
handsomely since he
became Prime Minister.
The corporation has
sued her for libel,
but she welcomes the
opportunity to publicly
express her opinions
in court. Economist
Pasuk Phongpaichit said
suits like the one against
Ms. Klangnarong have
become commonplace in
Thailand. Thai politicians
do not appreciate pesky
intruders in their elegant
Thai "still water,"
"so attempts are
made to quiet them down."
Ms. Klangnarong said
there is a hierarchical
structure of punishment
in Thailand. "If
you act too much you'll
be killed. If you talk
too much you will be
sued. If you are an
academic, you might
be discredited."
One of Ms. Klangnarong's
main objectives is to
press for the fulfillment
of Article 40 of the
1997 constitution, which
challenges the government's
control of the country's
major television channels.
"We think it is
very dangerous when
one company controls
all the ownership of
communication tools
in Thailand," she
said.
A
tale of two newspapers:
The heckling
- July 14, 2004
Several readers, attune
to 2Bangkok's 'Tale
of two newspapers' feature,
pointed out the dueling
headlines in Monday's
papers. The Post's
article mentions the
heckling and other controversies
halfway through the
article while The
Nation makes the
heckling the main point
of the article.
PM
heckled at opening of
Aids meeting - The
Nation, July 12,
2004
Thaksin accused of
being a liar while pledging
equal medical access
for all.
Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra's controversial
war on drugs, in which
more than 2,500 people
were killed, came back
to haunt him yesterday
on his biggest international
stage yet...
Thaksin,
Annan urge more support
in fight - Campaign
a burden for poor countries
- Bangkok Post,
July 12, 2004
Kicking off the 15th
International Aids Conference
yesterday, Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra urged
international agencies
and donor countries
to provide more support
to developing countries
in the fight against
HIV/Aids.
The prime minister also
promised to do more
than give cheap anti-retroviral
drugs, GPOVIR, to patients.
He said the government
was considering returning
them to live among healthy
people in society...
The
Bangkok Recorder
-
July 18, 2004
Jonas writes: Just
want to inform you that
tomorrow is Dr. Bradley’s
200th birthday, who
is the founder of Bangkokrecorder,
Thailand’s first
newspaper, and was born
on July 18th 1804. We
have some of the original
Recorders online (1,
2),
maybe your readers are
interested.
The
incredible Pyongyang Hotel
- July 23, 2004
Probably the most amazing
derelict building in
the world: The "105
Building" is one
of the boldest buildings
in Pyongyang. From a
distance, it is a dreadful,
if awe-inspiring piece
of architecture. It
reminds one of the following
passage from George
Orwell's book, 1984:
The Ministry of Truth—Minitrue,
in Newspeak—was
startlingly different
from any other object
in sight. It was an
enormous pyramidal structure
of glittering white
concrete, soaring up,
terrace after terrace,
three hundred meters
into the air...The Ministry
of Truth contained,
it was said, three thousand
rooms above ground level,
and corresponding ramifications
below. (from 1984, by
George Orwell, c. 1949)
This Pyongyang building
is not actually a government
ministry or a place
of terror, but the Yu-kyung
hotel. In a strange
coincidence, it is the
same height as the building
in 1984 and contains
the same number of rooms.
Construction of the
building began in 1987
and was abandoned four
years later. Some people
say that faulty engineering
has left it structurally
unsound, and visitors
are not allowed to approach
it up close. (from
this thread).
More on the North Korean
portal
- July 17, 2004
(Photo:
DPRK "Naenara"
site) |
Nils
writes: That North
Korea portal
is great! :-) Did
you notice one thing?
If you register,
you automatically
get your own North
Korean web mail
address! Here's
a sample article
(even more than
the heroic language,
I like the photo
of the beloved leader):
... He was very
pleased to see that
the workers of the
factory who are
boundlessly loyal
to the Party and
revolution are making
brilliant achievements
daily in the herculean
undertaking of building
a great prosperous
powerful nation
and are keeping
the factory and
workplaces clean.
|
Saying
that the workers and technicians
laid a solid material
and technical foundation
which can contribute to
the building of a thriving
nation and, particularly,
they creditably carried
out the honourable tasks
given by the Party by
displaying the unrivalled
self-sacrificing spirit
and popular heroism, he
highly praised their deeds.
He noted that the workers
of the factory could win
a brilliant victory in
the struggle to defend
socialism with unusual
determination at a time
when the country was experiencing
harsh trials. This is
a clear demonstration
of the invincible might
of the heroic Korean workers
who are advancing along
the road of revolution
without any slightest
vacillation come what
may, he added.
Earlier: North
Korean portal - July 17,
2004
North Korea has set up
an NK
portal. You can use
the registration logins
from BugMeNot.
Earlier: U.S.
and S. Korea will be reduced
to ashes - December
23, 1998
One of the first things
we posted on the net was
text from a delightful
North Korean press release.
Pyongyang Metro
- July
22, 2004
Nils writes: Yesterday
I discovered some information
about the Pyongyang metro
(yes, there is one!) Apparently
it's almost kept a secret,
there are essentially
no maps of the network,
people (or at least foreigners)
are not allowed to travel
on it freely, and there's
rumour about another top
secret subway system for
use by political leaders.
What struck me most were
the images of the escalators,
though other views of
this North Korean engineering
miracle are also more
than interesting (station
designs on ground and
underground, socialist
wall murals, trains imported
from the GDR...)
Whether parts of the lines
are really 150m (!!!)
deep (in order to serve
as shelters during an
anticipated nuclear attack),
as stated on the websites,
is up to speculation.
But I have rode the Moscow
subway, which is very
deep, with very impressive
(steep, long) escalators,
but wow, the Pyongyang
escalators look just unbelievable.....
"Journey to the center
of the earth" runs
the caption for one of
the photos.
BTW, they also have trams.
Pyongyang
Subway and Pyongyang
Metro. The other content
of these sites is very
interesting. The second
one is like a '2bangkok.com'
for Pyongyang.
What happens
when newspapers hide their
articles
- July 16, 2004
Interesting story about
the consequences of newspaper
websites removing their
articles from public view
after a week. This is what
Bangkok Post does
now. We have wondered whether
the hiding of Post
articles, coupled with the
general perception that
they have become a government
mouthpiece, has led to any
decrease in readership.
Searching
for The New York Times
- How can the mighty
New York Times, which considers
itself America's paper of
record, be the paper of
record in cyberspace when
its articles barely show
up on Google?
This has to be more than
just a slight irritation
to the Times, because search
engines play a key role:
They collate information,
and on the Internet there's
a whole lot of that, often
too much. (Hence the term
data smog.) In essence,
they act as informational
portals. So if you're trying
to get the dope on your
favorite author, hip-hop
MC or representative, or
learn more about an important
issue dominating the news,
your first stop may very
well be Google.
Sapa
Joke on Silom
- July 10, 2004
On Monday, July 5,
a small procession
made its way down
Silom promoting Ing
Funds. Thanks to Nudchira
for explaining: This
guy is a comedian
who plays Gen. Chavalit
Yongchaiyudh, Deputy
Prime Minister in
"Sapa Joke."
Beside him is another
comedian, who plays
Mrs. Sudarat Keyuraphan,
Public Health Minister,
in the same show.
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(Photo:
2Bangkok.com)
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(Photo:
2Bangkok.com)
|
Sapa
Joke, or the
House of Jokes,
is a popular
show with jokes
about politicians.
Many people
like this program
because the
comedians tell
a lot of sarcastic
jokes. Also
they look like
those real politicians
a lot, especially
Gen. Chavalit.
I think it is
quite similar
to a part of
Conan O'Brian's
show on CNBC,
when they are
teasing Donald
Trump or Donald
Rumsfeld.
Training
on positive
attitude on
'sex' for Thai
journalists
- TNA, July
14, 2004
Some funny typing
errors in this
article...
'Save sex'
was also discussed
at the seminar,
entitled "Journalists
and save sex
in Southeast
Asia",
according to
local media
reports.
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