rascott.com  "news, views, travel and an occasional blog"

A little romance in Copenhagen

28 July 2006

Not me, dear reader. Romance is a non starter when traveling with a nine year old. The best conversations that I have are about whether he can have a slushy (tomorrow) and what type of hot dog he wants for lunch.

But we went to Tivoli Gardens last night. It is a fun fair, a park, an entertainment venue for music and variety and in addition offers some 37 restaurants (some are very smart). People go there to stroll, eat and play. It is open until midnight on the long summer nights.

We were thinking about somewhere to eat and were standing in front of some fountains as a young couple came up to us and the guy asked me to take their picture. He had a small disposable camera. I have no idea where they were from; central Europe somewhere. It was hard to tell; he was as pale as she was dark.

Then he whispered to me that he was going to propose. God, the responsibility. I was going to take pictures of his greatest moment to date and do it with a disposable camera.

He went down on his knees; took out the box and the ring; she looked shocked and was in tears. The ring went on her finger and I clicked away as quickly as I could remembering to wind the film on.

I told them to pose properly for one last picture; we shook hands and off they disappeared to celebrate. People were sitting around watching us all. It really was quite touching.

Of course it may all end up on the Danish version of Candid or Hidden Camera; but I think not; it was all too sudden and too unscripted. It was a lovely warm, sunny evening. Good luck to them.

Strange safety tests at new airport

28 July 2006

Two months to go - there are still questions

28 July 2006

With two months to go until Bangkok's new airport opens for business there are still significant doubts about whether the airport will be ready and whether it will be safe.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has questioned the readiness of the new Suvarnabhumi airport for its official opening slated on Sept. 28, citing "high risk" areas in a report sent to Thai aviation authority, media in Bangkok said Friday.

The ICAO report, based on its information collected and observations made between June and early July, identifies 29 high- risk areas, or about one-third of the 93 items on its checklist, while 43 others are rated as medium-risk and the rest low-risk, according to Thai newspaper Bangkok Post, which quoted the ICAO report sent to Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT), an agency under the Transport Ministry overseeing international airports, including Suvarnabhumi.

A high-risk item, as the ICAO defines, is one which "will most probably not be possible to resolve" before the opening date and could delay the opening plan.

Among the high-risk items identified are the "airfield visual aides" including taxiway, apron and airside road signs, lights and markings.

Failure to address them could lead to unsafe ground operations which "may contribute to an aircraft incident or accident", the report says.

Suvarnabhumi is being run under a temporary certificate issued by the Aviation Department of Thailand. Although the Thai authorities are muddling this issue it is apparent that the new airport needs a permanent certificate approved by the ICAO for the Sept. 28 official opening.

The ICAO's report was leaked to press on Thursday, two days ahead of first domestic commercial flights tests, where six domestic airlines will service 20 local flights in and out of the new airport. Suvarnabhumi airport general manager Somchai Sawasdeepon Thursday confirmed the readiness for Saturday's tests. "Everything is ready (for the test flights)," Somchai said.

The airport authorities are confident that all problems identified by ICAO, the United Nations-affiliated agency, would be fixed in time for the official opening.

With the Thai general election on 15 October the airport opening date is an key date for the government's credibility. Could airliner safety be held hostage to political expediency?

Truth in advertising

27 July 2006

I liked Stockholm; but thought I would share the view from our hotel bedroom with my faithful reader. The Esplanade is an OK hotel. Officially four star, on the waterfront; their web site is here.

On the left is the view from the only window in our room. This was all we could see. Now we were on the inside of the building and it was extremely dark; only the outside rooms have a street view or look anything like the picture below which was taken by the hotel. Not that you would know any of this from the web site. Fortunately we were not spending much time in the room and when we were the curtain was pulled shut.

The hotel web site will tell you that: "Extensive refurbishing has taken place over the years, in 1975 showers and WC was fitted in all rooms." It does not tell you that these bathrooms are tiny.

The staff are helpful. But they cant make up for the gloomy room, the stuffy air (yep - no aircon, no fan, and no breeze from outside). A little more honestly on the web site would not come amiss.
 

The French Hot Dog

26 July 2006

One of the most unlikely purchases in Stockholm is the French hot dog. For a country that had a reputation for erotica this is about as erotic as it gets in modern Sweden. 

The baquette has been hollowed out and the top removed leaving a hole conveniently sized for the sausage. Depending on preferences some ketchup, mustard or mayonaisse, or all of the above is squirted into the hole before the firm sausage is carefully lowered.

Another squirt of ketchup around the mouth of the baquette and your dog is ready to be eaten.

Although in this case a photograph was required first. I have no idea why it is called a french hot day !

Mixed messages from Thai politics

25 July 2006

Last Friday was looking good for Prime Minister Thaksin, with the royal endorsement of the October 15 election date. But four days is a long time in politics.

In another surprise, and not just to the remaining Electoral Commissioners, the Criminal Court had handed down a verdict that removed Vasana Puemlarp, Prinya Nakchudtree and Virachai Naewboonnien from the Election Commission (EC) and sentenced them to prison. With bail rejected they are automatically ineligible to hold the prestigious public office. The court sentenced the three election commissioners to four years in jail, revoked their voting rights for 10 years and denied them bail.

This is really rather biarre since the plaintiff was Democrat Party deputy secretary-general Thaworn Senniam who contended the three commissioners failed to uphold impartiality and that their actions favoured the Thai Rak Thai Party. But remember, the Democrats chose not to even contest the election.

Thaksin has lost his allies at the EC. Presumably there jail term will not be too uncomfortable but this seems a poor reward for people who thought they were looking after both their and the TRT's interests. The Thai Rak Thai Party will presumably come under much greater scrutiny from new commissioners in the October election.

Now the royal decree has set a specific timeframe for the election that Thaksin and the TRT cannot disobey. Nor can the other parties. There will be no boycott of this next election.

But what is clear is that the TRT does not control the judiciary and their influence will be key to a clean election.

The Senate will now ask the Supreme Court to nominate candidates to fill up the bench at the EC. The Supreme Court already has 10 candidates on its list, which will be passed to the Senate to appoint five commissioners. The new election commissioners should assume their jobs within a month, which would give them time to organise the new poll.

In the meantime the Constitution Court has still to head the case against the Thai Rak Thai, Democrat and three small parties for violating the electoral laws. This will probably not happen until after the October 15 poll.

Someday all cities should be like this

25 July 2006

Stockholm. One day all cities could (and maybe should) be like this. The city sits on 14 islands where Lake Malaren empties  into the Baltic Sea. Stockholm is not just a beautiful city. It is an all round nice place to visit.

I had heard horror stories about prices. In fact prices are about the same as Hong Kong or  London. High yes, but not excessive. And if you are traveling with a family there are real bargains to be had. For instance, the train from Arlanda Airport into the city is free for children.

In summer time there can be few nicer places to be. The city moves outside. Cafes are all over the streets. There are boats of every description on the canals and in the harbour. The waters are so clear and so unpolluted that people swim happily in the carefully monitored water.

We cruised around the old canals; no one appears to work here. Everyone is out catching the sun. They are lying on rocks, on patios, on jetties and on their boats. There are designer people sunbathing in their designer rocks!

Everyone I have met here speaks English better than most of the English; it is a fluently bilingual nation. TV shows on all channels can be broadcast in English. They have Swedish subtitles but they are not dubbed. How sensible.

The public transport system is clean and efficient. The buses have areas where you can park your pushchair with the kids.

Remember Sweden is something like the 5th largest country by land mass in Europe but has a population of only 9 million. Italy is half the size and has over 60 million. There is lots of space and even the city makes the best of that space. It is very green. The roads are wide. And the traffic (despite complaints from the locals) is really quite light.

And the traffic is so polite. Drivers stop at pedestrian crossings and smile at you to cross. Imagine that in Thailand. And it is an easy and compact city to walk around (at least in summer).

Stockholm has benefited from the one part of Swedish history that I take issue with. Their neutrality in the second world war reflects poorly on a nation that takes its social responsibility seriously. But it did at least mean that Stockholm avoided the wanton destruction that effected so many cities in the second world war. That did not stop the Swedish from carrying out their own destruction of the city centre from the 1950s to the early 1970s with a massive modernisation program in Norrmalm district. This area looks like a 1950s English city centre with a mix of commercial and office building that is square, concrete, functional and drab. The only good news is that this district gives the city a centre that has a distinct urban edge and that looks very different from the surrounding history.

Even now it is not dark until after 10pm; by December that will be 3pm. And the city will be cold and dark. It is hard to imagine how different that must be. But the city has over 70 museums and has a first class infrastructure which probably makes urban life, even in the bleak midwinter, livable.

England, this England

23 July 2006

Welcome to modern day, rather strange England.

Welcome to Gatwick; security announcements everywhere; when you get off the airplane at Gatwick the message is not welcome to London; the messages instead tell you that your baggage will be destroyed if you leave it and your car will be towed away if you park it in the wrong place.

Welcome to London where the railway maintenance depot is now known as the Southwest Trains Train Care centre. They will be offering them therapy next.

Welcome to England where there is no Concorde on display at Farnborough. Instead there is the ugly beast of an A380. We have moved technology from sublime to ugly practicality. Its all rather 1980s. Our imaginations have been dulled. We have gone from fast to fat; from sleek and sexy to the British Home Stores approach to flying.

Welcome to England; where what was great is now forgotten. If the Battle of Britain flight can be preserved for 60 years why not keep one Concorde in flying condition? This was the first time that I have been to Farnborough and not seen Concorde. It used to be the highlight of the show.

Welcome to England. gbp1.50 for a bottle of water. Ouch.

Welcome to England; Minimum subway (underground) fare is now gbp3. Ouch.

Welcome to England; where Europeans have all the jobs. Not a bad thing; it makes the city quite cosmopolitan and gives the British something else to complain about.

Welcome to England; has no one heard of air-conditioning?

Welcome to England; the tabloids are all about Wayne Rooney and the football season has not even started.

Welcome to England; cricket was last year's headline; now it is all a little embarrassing.

Welcome to England; where the transport systems are replacing people with machines and causing havoc. Buying a ticket at Waterloo requires a degree in cybernetics. And being in a queue behind a perplexed group of Americans was not fun.

A bad experience at Subhapruek

20 July 2006

I have been a regular visitor to Subhapruek Golf Course near Bangkok, with the Bangkok Wanderers, the Foreign Correspondents' Club and personally.  But my visit yesterday (19 July) was unpleasant and I do not want to go back there. 

My nine year old boy is staying with me this month for vacation. He does not play golf but is keen to learn. 

I have taken him with me to a number of clubs in Thailand. I get him an electric cart and an extra caddy to drive with him. This way he can watch and learn and also have a day out with me. 

I deliberately went late in the day to Subhapruek to tee off at about 2.15pm when I knew it would be quiet on the course. I asked for a cart and an extra caddy.

The lady at reception (who was incredibly unfriendly which is unusual at this course) insisted that my son would have to pay a green fee. She called the manager who told me that this was policy and how busy the course was. 

The policy is nonsense. And there was no one on the course in front of or behind us. This is all too common in Thailand. A lie to help justify an argument. 

My son was not playing golf. He was there because he cannot stay alone at home - he is nine years old. And coming out with me is a way to get him to learn about golf and hopefully to encourage his interest. 

The total cost at reception was therefore Baht 2,980 plus caddy fees of Baht 440. Add tips for two caddies and this was an expensive game of golf. 

I was so cross. I had ensured that taking my son with me would not delay or concern any other golfers. I was already paying extra for the cart and another caddy. And now they were forcing me to pay a green fee for him to spend the afternoon with me. 

I have always told visitors that Subhapruek is my favourite course in Bangkok. But yesterday they treated a regular customer unreasonably and without any thoughtfulness.

I have written to the course suggesting that one remedy would be for them to issue me with a voucher for a future green fee. I have also proposed that management encourages their staff to be far more flexible in applying "policy".

Sadly, I doubt I will get a response. And I will vote with my feet. There are other places to go.

Killer Pedestrian Crossings in Thailand

19 July 2006

The complacent visitor to Bangkok and the uninitiated traveler needs to know that pedestrian crossings in Bangkok are not what they seem. You will not be safe trying to cross the road even at a marked crossing. You merely represent yourself as an even more dumb target; an incentive to throttle-happy Thais to put their foot down and charge at you.

I have seen the most sane and rational Thai people I know turned into crazed attackers at the site of a pedestrian daring to set foot on their hallowed road.

Not that the Lonely Planet guide will tell you any of this. It should. If you are lucky you will be flashed by the oncoming and accelerating car. In Thailand this means "I'm not stopping" while in other countries it is usually a signal to let people go.

Sadly this is exactly what happened to two European tourists yesterday when they were crushed to death by an excavator as they held aloft road safety flags while crossing a busy road in Bangkok yesterday.

British tourist Gary Thomas Chambers, 28, and his Norwegian girlfriend Hanne Karlsen, 20, were seen waving the flags to alert passing traffic before stepping out onto the pedestrian crossing in front of the Princess Hotel on Lan Luang road in Pomprap Sattruphai district.  They were hit by an eight-wheel truck which mowed them down in the bus lane, crushing them both to death.

Safety flags are the latest, and clearly equally useless safety idea. The flags are placed on the roadside so pedestrians will use them to signal oncoming vehicles to stop; this is part of a government road safety campaign called ''Safe Crossing With Flags''. Of course, none of this would be necessary if Thai drivers showed any courtesy to pedestrians. For such a supposedly polite and respectful society the lack of certain road manners is little short of a disgrace. The flags simply make the target more visible. It is like Canute trying to hold back the waves. Impossible.

The driver has been charged with reckless driving. He claims there was a problem with his brakes. 

What a sad waste of two young lives.
 

Middle East Mess

18 July 2006

My understanding of events in the Middle East is scratchy at best. But the following op-ed from the Washington Post seems to sum up what is happening fairly succinctly.

Hunker Down With History

By Richard Cohen, Washington Post

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

The greatest mistake Israel could make at the moment is to forget that Israel itself is a mistake. It is an honest mistake, a well-intentioned mistake, a mistake for which no one is culpable, but the idea of creating a nation of European Jews in an area of Arab Muslims (and some Christians) has produced a century of warfare and terrorism of the sort we are seeing now. Israel fights Hezbollah in the north and Hamas in the south, but its most formidable enemy is history itself.

This is why the Israeli-Arab war, now transformed into the Israeli-Muslim war (Iran is not an Arab state), persists and widens. It is why the conflict mutates and festers. It is why Israel is now fighting an organization, Hezbollah, that did not exist 30 years ago and why Hezbollah is being supported by a nation, Iran, that was once a tacit ally of Israel's. The underlying, subterranean hatred of the Jewish state in the Islamic world just keeps bubbling to the surface. The leaders of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and some other Arab countries may condemn Hezbollah, but I doubt the proverbial man in their street shares that view.

There is no point in condemning Hezbollah. Zealots are not amenable to reason. And there's not much point, either, in condemning Hamas. It is a fetid, anti-Semitic outfit whose organizing principle is hatred of Israel. There is, though, a point in cautioning Israel to exercise restraint -- not for the sake of its enemies but for itself. Whatever happens, Israel must not use its military might to win back what it has already chosen to lose: the buffer zone in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip itself.

Hard-line critics of Ariel Sharon, the now-comatose Israeli leader who initiated the pullout from Gaza, always said this would happen: Gaza would become a terrorist haven. They said that the moderate Palestinian Authority would not be able to control the militants and that Gaza would be used to fire rockets into Israel and to launch terrorist raids. This is precisely what has happened.

It is also true, as some critics warned, that Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon was seen by its enemies -- and claimed by Hezbollah -- as a defeat for the mighty Jewish state. Hezbollah took credit for this, as well it should. Its persistent attacks bled Israel. In the end, Israel got out and the United Nations promised it a secure border. The Lebanese army would see to that. (And the check is in the mail.)

All that the critics warned has come true. But worse than what is happening now would be a retaking of those territories. That would put Israel smack back to where it was, subjugating a restless, angry population and having the world look on as it committed the inevitable sins of an occupying power. The smart choice is to pull back to defensible -- but hardly impervious -- borders. That includes getting out of most of the West Bank -- and waiting (and hoping) that history will get distracted and move on to something else. This will take some time, and in the meantime terrorism and rocket attacks will continue.

In his forthcoming book, "The War of the World," the admirably readable British historian Niall Ferguson devotes considerable space to the horrific history of the Jews in 19th- and 20th-century Europe. Never mind the Holocaust. In 1905 there were pogroms in 660 different places in Russia, and more than 800 Jews were killed -- all this in a period of less than two weeks. This was the reality of life for many of Europe's Jews.

Little wonder so many of them emigrated to the United States, Canada, Argentina or South Africa. Little wonder others embraced the dream of Zionism and went to Palestine, first a colony of Turkey and later of Britain. They were in effect running for their lives. Most of those who remained -- 97.5 percent of Poland's Jews, for instance -- were murdered in the Holocaust.

Another gifted British historian, Tony Judt, wraps up his recent book "Postwar" with an epilogue on how the sine qua non of the modern civilized state is recognition of the Holocaust. Much of the Islamic world, notably Iran under its Holocaust-denying president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, stands outside that circle, refusing to make even a little space for the Jews of Europe and, later, those from the Islamic world. They see Israel not as a mistake but as a crime. Until they change their view, the longest war of the 20th century will persist deep into the 21st. It is best for Israel to hunker down.

A Wie bit sick

15 July 2006

Michelle Wie cut short her second round at the John Deere Classic, a rather second rate US mens PGA tournament yesterday. Suffering stomach cramps and heat stroke she was loaded into an ambulance on a stretcher, an IV dripping into her arm.

This has again brought out all the 16-year-old’s critics. Including her paying partner from the first two days.

“She just said, ‘I’m going to withdraw,”’ said Jeff Gove, one of Wie’s playing partners. “Which was good because she was holding us up again.”

OK, Wie missed yet another cut on the PGA making her 0-for-5 when she plays with the big boys on the US tour. She hasn’t won on the LPGA Tour yet. Although her record this year is very good indeed with a series of top 5 finishes.

But if she fulfils her potential Wie is the future of the game. She is still a mere 16 years old. She will win. When she does, those people who are harping on her now will be the same ones elbowing their way to the front of the gallery to watch her play.

Or grumbling that she’s winning too much.

Like Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and LeBron James, Wie is one of those spectacular talents who comes around once in a generation. She has a naturally sweet swing that other pros spend hours trying to master, and the length to match the men she was competing with this week.

Instead of learning to win on the junior circuit or staying put on the LPGA Tour, Wie has carved out her own niche. She is only allowed a limited number of appearances on the US LPGA tour. She is too young to be allowed to compete full time. She wants to compete with the best. The surest way to do both is by playing a mixture of men’s and women’s events.

What the moaners miss is that  Wie (just like Tiger) is good for golf.

Played the week before the British Open, the Deere Classic is a smaller tournament that could easily go by unnoticed. Most of the big names are either in Europe or on their way there, leaving a field full of mostly anonymous guys scrambling to climb the money list, including the critical Mr. Gove who got his fifteen minutes of fame by being in the same group as Wie.

For now bringing Wie into the tournament put it on the map. Sure, if she burns out or fails to ever win anything then the invitations will dry up and the sponsors and their invites will move onto the next prodigy.

She does what any event wants, and that’s bring more people.

Joe Ogilvie, the tournament leader understands this.

"They just don't get it," the 32-year-old American told reporters after taking a one-shot lead in Friday's second round at the TPC at Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois.

"There are guys that will complain and I'm sure the majority of women on the LPGA Tour are very angry that Michelle plays on the LPGA Tour sometimes, but they just don't get it.

"If someone has a problem with Michelle Wie getting a sponsor exemption, they don't understand what we're about. Our job is to entertain. That's why we're out here.

"We're playing golf, but at the same time it's entertainment," added Ogilvie who lists the world's two richest people, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, as his idols.

"Sports is to entertain the public. We're not curing cancer out here, we're just trying to get the ball in the hole."

Of course, Ogilvie was not playing with Wie. And it cannot be easy playing golf with her and knowing that all the cameras are pointing at her and not at you. But live with it. That's what happens when you play with Tiger Woods as well. .

She is going to win on the LPGA Tour soon. And as long as she stays interested in the game she will win regularly.  And she will win fare more prize money that the rather tedious Mr. Gove.

Dear George

11 July 2006

rascott.com has traced down he contents of the alleged missive sent in April from caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin to George Bush:

9 April 2006

Dear George W.

Hallo old friend. I bet you are surprised to hear from me. After all, I did just announce my resignation a couple of days ago. And I am planning to take a long holiday; I will be coming to Washington and hope I can stay with you in The West Wing. It has always been my favourite TV series. But those pesky Democrats are as irritating in the USA as they are in Thailand.

Now as you know only too well the media are not our best friend. I know you are doing all you can to help those poor folk in Iraq. Yet the media keeps turning up stories of killing, rape and torture by your troops. This is hardly patriotic.

Its a bit like that in Thailand. The media do not understand that everything I do is for the good of the nation. Sure I had to sell off Shin Corp; but that helps me focus on running the country. And just because I am smarter than they are they get upset that I minimised (rather well if I say so myself) the family's tax cost.

I did win the election on April 2 by a landslide. Of course no other major party participated in the election but that is their choice after all. You would like this approach; no more pointless tv debates with Al Gore or whatever that other chap's name was; you know; the war hero chap.

Of course other people have then stepped in to stop me from being PM. These people seem to have influence outside the constitution. But what really is the difference between being PM and caretaker PM, especially if I can be CPM for a couple more years.

Who is the real protector of democracy here. I stood for election. The rest of Thailand did not.

Enough of my griping - as my old mate Elton John used to sing - I'm still standing. Just like you old friend.

Getting my own Force One was a great idea; thank you for that idea. I would have liked a 747 but then I am not really leader of the free world. I felt a bit guilty about getting an Airbus but Mr. Chirac (I know he is not your closest friend) made one of those offers that you cannot refuse. Maybe I can do a part exchange for a Boeing.

I doubt you hear or read much about what is happening in Thailand. The US newspapers idea of foreign coverage is to tell you about what is going on in Des Moines. Most of the editors think Chinatown is a foreign country. And your intelligence services really are not well named. They couldn't find a WMD if it was sitting in their own back yard.

And the US embassy people in BKK rarely venture beyond Soi Cowboy as they go there expecting to watch Brokeback Mountain.

So you really do need me to tell you what is really going on in Thailand; how I am still in charge and how those old war horses, Mahathir and Lee KW continue to be both role models and mentors. True democrats both.

There is after all little wrong with one party rule if we can still claim to having a fair election.

Anyway old buddy. I hope to see you on the ranch soon. How did you get to name the local town after Cindy Crawford anyway.

Pip Pip,

Your friend in BKK,

TS.

Full moon over Samui

10 July 2006

Strange place, Koh Samui. Twenty years ago there was nothing on the island except as few residents and some cottages. Now there is an airport (albeit it looks like it was built by Disney), hotels of every star, and a main street through Chaweng that goes on for ever and was built without any thought to town planning.

Prices are at least double those in Bangkok. At least the road and the main drag is set back from the beach. The beach is good and the water clear.

Airlines seek Suvarnabhumi delay

9 July 2006

The airlines are beginning to speak out loudly against the proposed end Septemer opening date for the new Bangkok airport, known as Suvarnabhumi.

The three budget airlines, Nok, Thai Air Asia and 1-2-Go, have written jointly to the Transport Minister asking him to be realistic about setting a deadline fro the move. Nok AIr is a subsidiary of Thai Airways so it is fair to assume that Thai has also agreed to this letter.

Meanwhile IATA (the International Air Transport Association) has also issued its own warning that the airport should only begin commercial operations when it is operationally ready.

Meanwhile AoT and the Government seem set on the September 28th opening. The Government has resorted to accusing domestic and foreign media or a hidden agenda in casting doubts upon the schedule.

Me; I go with the experts who run airlines not the government who do certainly have their own agenda.

7 July 2005 - The London bombings one year on

7 July 2006

One year ago today 52 people died and over 700 were injured (some terribly) in a series of four suicide bombings in London. The list of those who died shows just how cosmopolitan London has become; this was not just an attack on London, but an attack on those who enjoy and benefit from a free and open society.

London had been attacked before; the IRA bombings attacked many English cities. But this was different; there was no warning; and the attacks were clearly aimed to do the maximum human damage.

That the attacks happened because of Britain's participation in the removal of Saddam Hussein is beyond question. It is no surprise that the attacks have been on Madrid and London. The Spanish reacted by withdrawing their few troops. The British, predictably, reacted by adopting the we will not be beaten attitude of the Blitz.

What is telling is the new coverage; CNN keeps referring to the 7th July as the day the War on Terror came to Britain. As though this should somehow make the British even more determined to sit beside the USA in their war. The United States, which has not suffered a major terrorist attack at home for more than four years, insists that it is at war. There is something deeply conservative about the USA. George Bush talks war. US foreign and even domestic policy follows on from that. The TV networks talk war. They talk about Iraq and Vietnam in the same breath.

But the British media is more restrained. The BBC is carefully not talking about a war on terror. The events of 7/7 are therefore isolated to that day rather than being part of a drawn out war and without being linked to other events. The British will not shy from a fight. But the common view is that over reaction is wrong. Keep a sense of proportion. Respect the dead and care for the bereaved. And move forward. The British treasure their freedoms and will not countenance unnecessary sacrifices in the name of national security.

The horrors of 7th July 2005 should never be inflicted upon another innocent person again. But we know they will be; they occur every day in Iraq, increasingly in Afghanistan, in Israel and Palestine and around the globe. These horrors are not solved by a state of war; only by dialogue. The war is self fulfilling and for the Americans it is good against evil and cannot end until there is a clear winner.

The truth remains  that the United Kingdom is at least as likely as the United States to be the target of another major terrorist attack. Perhaps it is even more likely, given the alienation of parts of Britain's Muslim community. But freedom remains its own best defense.

Bye bye Becks - arrogance at its worst

3 July 2006

David Beckham resigned yesterday as as England's football Captain. The arrogance of his announcement is astonishing. It was nothing more than another annoying little bit of cheap self publicity.

The best job in English football is given to you and then taken from you by the coach/manager that you are accountable to.

Everything that is wrong with English football was summed up in Beckham's statement. The players have become bigger than the game.

The gathered masses of the fawning press (who live of Chateau Beckham stories) actually applauded at the end of his statement. Ridiculous.

Tied up in the courts

1 July 2006

One of the great frustration of Thai politics is watching how the courts are used to fight out battles that should be kept in private; the latest suit to be launched by caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin is one billion baht lawsuit accusing the Democrat party and four of its high-ranking officials of slander and defamation.

Thaksin’s lawyer Noppadol Meewanna filed the suit in the Civil Court. The complaint names Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, party secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban, and MPs Korbsak Sabhavasu and Thanin Jaisamut.

The suit claims that the defendants made false statements during a March 17 speech which was delivered at a public gathering in Trang, the hometown of former Democrat party leader Chuan Leekpai.

Thaksin’s lawyers claim that Democrat MPs unfairly accused Thaksin of intentionally avoiding tax payments on the multibillion baht sale of Shin Corp to Singapore-based Temasek Holdings and of engaging in contract fraud. Surely not and unthinkable come to mind. Although just how much tax was in fact paid on this transaction?

The lawyers say that during the same event the defendants accused Thaksin of interfering with the functioning of independent organizations, destroying the parliamentary system of checks-and-balances, committing election fraud, ordering extra-judicial killings in the war on drugs and of backing the killings of anti-state authority protestors at Krue Se mosque in Tak Bai, Narathiwat province.

Noppadol says the litany of accusations have damaged Thaksin’s reputation and that a billion baht payment would be fair compensation for the damage he has suffered.

The Civil Court has scheduled a preliminary hearing for December 4. A trial date has been set for December 25.