Kiss and tell

31 August 2004

Imagine, and it is quite frightening to do so, a debating panel that includes Monica Lewinsky, the cigar afficiando, Rebecca Loos, football fan, and Max Clifford, money grabbing parasite. They were together on stage in a debate on kiss and tell reporting hosted by the Edinburgh Television Festival.

Ms Lewinski was paid gbp 400,000 by Channel 4 for an exclusive interview; she famously used to give Bill Clinton blow-jobs in the Oval (oral) office. Ms Loos, who remember is only alleged to have had sex with Mr. David Beckham, was apparently paid gbp 800,000 for her story.

Mr. Clifford who gets a large percentage for arranging kiss and tell stories for his clients,  asked Ms Lewinsky "Did the money help you get off your knees and move on?"

Ms Lewinsky handbag designer.

Ms Loos is still drumming up publicity and hoping to become a television personality.

Over 330,000 misguided votes

31 August 2004

One of the biggest questions to emerge from the Bangkok governor election was how could 330,000 people vote for Chuwit. The man has basically got rich through immorality and he survived by bribing authorities.

He entered politics because his interests were threatened. He is alleged to have masterminded the illegal and wilful demolition of the Sukhumvit Soi 10. When he was charged he countered with revelations about bribes paid to senior policemen to protect his massage parlours.

His clash with the police seems to have given him some form of heroic badge; he is open about his past; he is an effective self publicist. But these are hardly redeeming features. He is another tycoon turned politician in order to protect his own interests. 

Is he truly reformed? Is he really going to bring a new credibility to Thai politics. He says he will fight the General Election with his new First Thai Nation party next spring. That may be a truer test of his intent.

In the meantime he has announced that the Sukhumvit Soi 10 site will be developed as a community centre, library and public park rather than the hotel that was originally proposed. Seeing will be believing.

Is this Howard's end?

30 Augustl 2004

The Australian prime minister, John Howard, yesterday called a general election for October  9.

At the heart of the campaign will be Australia's support of the US led war in Iraq, an issue that has already brought down the Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Maria Aznar and which may yet bring down Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair.

Mr. Howard's main advantage may be the opposition leader. Mr. Latham is a bruiser. It may be that the Australian electorate  like him as a check to Howard's Tories but may think he is unelectable as a leader. On the other hand Australia has already had three terms of John Howard; a fourth may be one too many.

It is likely to be a bruising battle; Mr. Latham will enjoy it that way. Sadly it is also likely to be a negative campaign with accusations of lies and deceit. Most Australians are probably more forward looking and would rather the campaign focused on education, healthcare, security, interest rates and taxes.

The polls have the Labour party leading. But they also led four years ago at the start of the campaign.

The good news is that it only last six weeks. The US could learn a lot from the Australian electoral system.

A new version of the Nigerian scam

27 August 2004

This is a new spin on the Nigerian scam letters that regularly get circulated to companies and individuals offering large rewards for use of your notepaper, logo and bank accounts.

The following arrived in my email today from chinedubb@netscape.net. The spelling and the capital lettering are his. Do not reply to such letters; however sympathetic you may feel (not) or however greedy you may be (for greedy read 'really really stupid').

Singapore's political and economic expediency

26 August 2004

In 1965 the Chinese separatists in the city of Singapore led by Lee Kuan Yew were allowed to secede from Malaysia without issue. Singapore had previously been a part of the sultanate of Johore. It was now an independent sovereign state.

Meanwhile for fifty years (1895-1945) Taiwan was under Japanese rule; a rule which, in fairness, gave Taiwan an infrastructure and education levels that leap-frogged the economic clout of a small island over its mainland neighbour. It also explains in part the lack of connection with the mainland and Taiwan's stronger relations with Japan.

There are many Taiwanese that believe in independence just as many Singaporeans did in 1965. Yet last weekend in his National Day address the Singaporean Prime Minister (Lee Hsien Loong) said that Singapore would not recognise a claim for Taiwanese independence.

His comments won immediate endorsement from Chinese authorities. "We have noticed that Lee Hsien Loong has reaffirmed Singapore's adherence to the one-China policy and its resolute opposition to 'Taiwan Independence,'" said Kong Quan, spokesman of the Chinese Foreign Ministry here Wednesday.

"This stance is in conformity with Singapore's interest and the consensus of the international community, and is conducive to regional peace and stability," Kong said.

Lee had visited Taiwan in July; a visit he described as private but which earned a very frosty reprimand from China. In response he said that "I regret that my visit to Taiwan has caused this severe reaction from China, which affected relations." 

Singapore established diplomatic relations with China in 1990, and like other states in South-East Asia has in recent years courted Beijing as its economic and military muscle has grown. But Singapore also has longstanding, if unofficial, ties with Taiwan. The two countries have strong trade and investment links, and land-scarce Singapore also has an agreement to train some of its armed forces in Taiwan. Prime Minister Lee has decided which side of the Taiwan Straits he is supporting but in doing so he betrays all those who believe in independence and self determination.

There are many Malaysians who regret the separation of Singapore. There are many who think this should be reversed. Mr. Lee could do well to remember the history of his small and privileged city state.  

Without appreciating the irony while his son was busy putting political and economic expediency before human rights his father and Singapore's elder statesman was arguing that Hong Kong's days as a leading centre for international commerce are numbered.

In comments made at a meeting in Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew reportedly said Hong Kong, unlike Singapore, would be powerless to guide its own destiny. He said Hong Kong would eventually lose its unique trading status and would be overwhelmed by the rest of China.

He also said Hong Kong's residents would also have to compete with mainland Chinese for jobs and contracts its own people would otherwise have won automatically.

Isn't that exactly what would happen to Taiwan under the one China policy that his son has just affirmed.

Six and out

26 August 2004

Candidate number six has been hit for six by Bangkok's feeble minded Election Commission.

Leena Jungjunya would not have won the governor election. She would have received a few votes form family and friends. But she has been disqualifed by the Election Commission for breaching Article 57 of the Electoral Law.

Article 57 forbids candidates from soliciting votes by providing entertainment.

What happened: Ms Jungjunya turned up at Siam Square riding on a truck with members of a dance troupe; girls; transvestites; a normal Bangkok crowd ! They did a little dance routine and sand along to her campaign song. The EC have determined that this was a form of favour given to the public in the hopes of getting their votes.

Now surely to be a favour such a performance would have to have economic value; a concert or a public movie; something that you would otherwise pay to attend.

No one would pay to watch Ms Jungjunya and her troupe. Fabulously in her defence she argued that the girls were not dancing; that is was the truck that was wobbling from side to side.

In a campaign with more than its share of dubious characters Ms Jungjunya was harmless fun. The EC may have wnated to prove that they did have some influence but they picked the weakest and easiest target. They will not dare to challenge the big candidates and their respective backers.

Pathetic.

The questionable legacy of Deng

26 August 2004

China celebrates this week the 100th anniversary of the birth of Deng Xiaoping who died 7 years ago. He is widely exalted in China for embracing modernisation and prosperity but judgment should be tempered.

After Mao's death in 1976 Deng survived a power struggle with Mao's widow and the Gang of Four to become paramount leader in 1978. He was a moderniser. He said that "too get rich is glorious." With this theme however comes greed, corruption and the abuse of power.

No honest evaluation of his place in history can ignore his role in the Tiananmen Square massacres.

But he was also the first Chinese supreme leader to visit the United States. He also visited Japan twice restoring relations that were embittered after the second world war. He set out the blueprints for the return of Hong Kong to the mainland and is the author of the "one country, two systems" formula that governs relations between Hong Kong and the mainland.

The trouble with Deng's economic miracle is that he has created two China's: the money-worshiping China, and the other, left-behind China, with widespread rural poverty.

Meanwhile China' leaders remain antagonistic to the slightest democratic movement and wary of the influence of Hong Kong. In the late 1980s and early 1990s communism was collapsing around the world. It was saved in China by the army, a propaganda campaign and the rapid forgiveness of western nations who wanted a part of China's economic miracle and access to that massive market.

It was Deng who revised the nation's assessment of Mao to be 70% good and 30% bad. In time there may be a similar re-assessment of Deng's leadership.
 

Was it Peng or was it Deng?

22 August 2004

The man long dubbed as the Butcher of Beijing for his role in the Tiananmen Square massacre is trying to move the blame to a dead leader. For fifteen years it has been assumed that it was Li Peng, then the Chinese Premier,  who declared martial law and ordered in the tanks to clear the square in Jine 1989.

Now he says he was simply carrying out the wishes of paramount leader Deng Xiaoping.

Peng made his comments in the unlikely named Chinese magazine "Seeking Truth" where he talked of the serious political disturbances that took place that year. It was the leaked Tiananmen Papers that revealed that Li formally moved at a meeting on 2 June 1989 that the square be cleared.

It is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Deng who died in 1987. I am not holding my breath but how wonderful if would be if China is sufficiently confident about its place in the word that it could now investigate and admit the truth of that night and make restitution to the families who continue to grieve.

Making Vietnam an election issue

21 August 2004

The US election campaign is turning nasty and we can expect some good old fashioned mud slinging over the next 3 months.

The Democrats are very upset about a series of TV ads sponsored by the Republicans that question Kerry's Vietnam war record. Indeed Kerry has had to produce a series of quickly produced advertisements to counter what are clearly damaging claims.

But is is Kerry and his advisors that have made his war experience the centre piece of his campaign for the White House. Kerry's speeches, TV ads, interview, the entire Democratic convention were all focused on Vietnam. After all he did win 5 medals.

But then, and his campaign does not mention this, Kerry became a war protester leading Vietnam Veterans Against the War. Kerry wants to be seen as a strong president in a time of war. His Senate record is much more of a pacifist.

But if Kerry makes his war record the central theme of his campaign then he has to expect it to come under scrutiny.

Try this recent exchange: Vice President Dick Cheney zinged Kerry recently for advocating a "more sensitive war on terror." At a rally in Flint, Michigan, Kerry's running mate, John Edwards, accused Cheney of distorting Kerry's words. Then he added this: "He's talking about a man who still carries shrapnel in his body. He's talking about a man who spilled his blood for the United States of America." Democratic senator Tom Harkin went further, calling Cheney a "coward" for not having joined the military or served in Vietnam.

Kennedy never sold himself based on his war record or the shrapnel in his body. He never needed to.

Worse still Vietnam was over 30 years ago. Kerry is selling himself as a hard man based on something that happened a generation ago. The Democrats complain that Kerry was there and that Bush used family influence to avoid the Vietnam conflict.

But Bush has been the Commander in Chief for almost four years now. The voters can judge him based upon his actual performance not based on historical anecdotes. Bush fails on a judgment of his last four years. What happened 30 years ago is frankly not relevant.

John Kerry has asked the US Federal Election Commission to stop the critical advertisements. The Democratic Campaign announced on Friday that it had filed a legal complaint against Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (SBVT) for "violating the law with inaccurate ads that are illegally coordinated with the Bush-Cheney presidential campaign".

It asked the Federal Election Commission to warn the SBVT and the Bush campaign against "further violations" and oblige them to "repay their illegal contributions" as well as imposing a maximum fine.

The Bush campaign denies any connection to SBVT; but secretly must be enjoying the fight. Bush has refused to condemn the advertisements. And to be honest why should he. Kerry made his 30 year ago war record the cornerstone of his campaign. Now he needs to have the confidence to stand by that record not to hide behind legal suits. That's the trouble with having a high flying lawyer as his running mate.

Bangkok's shut down

20 August 2004

As part of a continuing effort to make Bangkok less and less fun the government is enforcing new closing hours for department stores, malls and supermarkets. I hope someone is doing the mathematics that reflect the fuel tax savings offset by a slowing down in the economy and a reduction in inbound travel and spending.

The legislation looks overly hasty and the consequences ill-considered.

Department stores (eg Central) and malls will close at 8pm. Superstores (eg Tesco/Lotus and Carrefour) will close at 10pm. Your local 7-11 can stay open late, for the moment as this is under review.

Petrol stations will close at midnight. And the city will plunge into darkness at 10pm as the outdoor billboards are turned off.

 It is however the lifestyle of many Bangkok residents to relax at a mall or store after college or after work. Many malls have food halls that are regular and busy meeting places. The upmarket food hall at Central Chitlom is one very popular place for evening dinner for shoppers and non shoppers alike.

What will happen? People will be laid off; incomes will be reduced due to shorter working hours; traffic will deteriorate as people have no reason to stay in the malls/stores and will go home earlier.

The Finance Minister, Somkid, is also proposing new taxes on big fuel users as well as new sin taxes for all "unnecessary" goods such as cigarettes, liquor and massage parlours. He said (and you have to love this) "people who cannot bathe themselves must pay heavier taxes".

Why stop there; why tax the smokers and drinkers and massage guests. How about coffee taxes; golf course taxes; movie taxes; restaurant taxes. The government is after all not proposing to tax cigarettes because smoking them will kill you but because they are a soft target.

There has also been a suggestion that TV networks should also close down earlier in the evening.

We are moving ever closer to a national bedtime!

Missing the opportunity for change

18 August 2004

The opportunity for significant change does not come often; changes in control or in leadership are often the best opportunity for new government, management of leaders to make their mark; to start to shape events and behaviour in a particular direction.

A change of political leadership in Singapore was an opportunity to loosen the restrictive ties on local media and reporters. But as the following article reports it looks, sadly, like business as normal.

Singapore may be trying to become the pink capital of Asia; a cultural center and even a late night party town, but the city is driven by big business. And big business flourishes where there is transparency, creativity and entrepreneurism.  That is supported by a modern, talented and fearless media. Sadly Singapore's media is more China Daily than Washington Post.

Singapore must drop 'out-of-bounds' censorship
By Michael Backman

Asia Online - The Melbourne Age
August 13, 2004

What is Singapore? A country or a child-care centre? That is a question Singapore's new Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, might do well to reflect on.

Singaporeans are sophisticated, well travelled and rich - yet the rules governing their media belong to another era. When it comes to local media, Singaporeans are fed a diet of mush and only the occasional solid.

Why? Singapore is no longer threatened by communism. The battle was won long ago and it's time to loosen up. Media freedom today is a business issue. Media that doesn't simply report but also scrutinises promotes better corporate governance in government and business. The threat of media exposure is a powerful one. But not in Singapore.

Defamation laws and anti-racial vilification laws can deal with libel and racial vilification in the media, but Singapore maintains a system whereby practically every media outlet ultimately is controlled by the Government, is licensed annually and is subject to unwritten and vague "out-of-bounds" (OB) markers - topics that the Government doesn't like canvassed in the media. And in the event these OB topics are discussed in the media, the Government promises retribution.

Last year, I fell foul of these mysterious markers. Information Minister Lee Boon Yang said in a speech that I had "crossed the line" and sought to intervene in Singapore's domestic politics. I'd written a column on media regulation in Singapore, published in the local, Government-linked Today newspaper.

Dr Lee's definition of what constitutes politics seems unique. Not that he's defined it, of course.

Earlier this year, another of my columns was published in the Today newspaper. It was about the high salaries awarded to Singapore Government ministers. I wrote that I felt those high salaries were justified. The piece received the relevant OKs from the information ministry and was published. This made clear something else about Singapore's OB markers. You only actually cross one if what you say differs from the Government line. From that, I deduced that it's not me that's political, it's the OB markers.

In the absence of written guidelines, I suspect that Dr Lee really wanted me, to put it crudely, to kek sai. In Hokkien this means to "hold shit", that is to hold in a bowel movement, a local euphemism for self-censorship.

OB markers that are not spelt out demand that people think within a certain mindset and their nefarious nature means that people err on the side of caution. OB markers contribute to the problem of the lack of creativity and entrepreneurship in Singapore, the very problem that the Government always complains about.

Look at the case of AirAsia, Asia's first budget airline and the most significant development in East Asian aviation in decades. Where did AirAsia originate? Not in Singapore with its excellent, Government-built aviation facilities, but in Malaysia. And so on this, as in many matters now, Singapore is dancing to a Malaysian tune.

OB markers encourage people to think only inside the box, to avoid being courageous and daring - the very attributes that we associate with Lee Kuan Yew, particularly in the early years. Singapore needs more people with the courage and the daring of a young Lee Kuan Yew, not just in politics, but in business and in all aspects of life. But what has happened to those attributes? There is far too much cowering in Singapore, particularly by its journalists.

But the greatest threat posed by the Government's OB markers is to the rule of law.

Singapore has become as rich as it is because it has a strong rule of law. The rule of law requires that laws be written down, that they are precise and that they are gazetted.

But the Singapore Government's OB markers are nebulous. They are not written down. They are not transparent. And they are applied in a discretionary manner. They are absolutely contrary to the rule of law. They offer a sample of the sort of legal chaos that reigns in China and Indonesia.

The views of foreigners particularly are targeted by the Singapore Government for censorship. But surely foreigners have a right to comment on Singapore, in Singapore. They have a right to be part of the national debate. Why? Because foreigners have invested billions of dollars in Singapore. Those billions might not buy the right to vote, but they buy the right to express an opinion. Taking foreigners' money but not allowing them a voice betrays a lack of self-confidence on the part of the Government.

Uncodified OB markers threaten Singapore's reputation as a place that observes the rule of law. And they threaten its prosperity. The Singapore Government's needless, exquisite sensitivity on this makes the world laugh at Singapore. That is a great shame because in so many other areas the Singapore Government has done so well.

At the very least, if the Singapore Government must have OB markers, it should clearly spell out what they are and enshrine them in law. Better still, it should get rid of them. In a global world built on information and knowledge, countries, and particularly little countries, that demand that thinkers kek sai, will end up with a sai economy.

If Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong wants to demonstrate that "generational change" really is under way in Singaporean politics as he claims he does, then one of his first acts ought to be to drag Singaporean media law into the 21st century. But so far, the signs are not good. On Tuesday he reaffirmed the existence of the Information Ministry, when it should be abolished. And the incumbent was reappointed as Information Minister.

Dirty politics or dirty laundry

18 August 2004

Hong Kong's Legislative Assembly elections are on September 12th and the Democrats are expected to enjoy strong support much to the alarm of the mainland authorities.

However, in a massively patriotic gesture the Dongguan authorities have taken it in themselves to reduce the Democratic threat in Hong Kong by arresting candidate Alex Ho in his hotel room last Thursday for allegedly hiring a prostitute. He was reportedly held without access to a lawyer or his family until he signed a confession.

He was also told that if he signed a confession he would be released on Monday. If he did not then he would be prosecuted for rape. He signed; but was not released and was sentenced to six months of labour re-education without trial.

Ho is a sales manager for a clothing company; he made regular business trips to Dongguan.

Dongguan is about 40 miles north west of Hong Kong. Ho's wife was allowed to meet with her husband at the prison facility on Monday and Tuesday of this week. His wife told his colleagues in the Democratic Party that police stormed into his room, forced him into the bathroom and beat him up. She added that when he came out of the bathroom, there was a woman standing in the bedroom and officers were filming the incident.

If he remains in prison on September 12th his name will be removed from the ballot paper under Hong Kong's election laws.

In China, anyone convicted of hiring a prostitute can be jailed for up to two years, but reports say a fine is a more usual penalty.

The truth is out there somewhere; it is not uncommon for Hong Kong men to have second wives and mistresses in China. The world's oldest profession is a massive industry in China despite occasional crack downs by the authorities.

Ho could have been fined and sent quietly back to Hong Kong to face a potentially wrathful spouse. Instead, whatever the truth of the circumstances, this looks like either a heavy handed honey-trap of one of Hong Kong's higher profile democratic candidates or at least a deliberately harsh punishment.

Early nights in Bangkok

17 August 2004

Bangkok's fun city is into a period of 1am closing for all bars and nightclubs. And raids on these clubs continue; last week Bangkok police raided a night club called Q bar at 12.15am to perform urine tests and check passports.

As always the police were accompanied by a large TV and media contingent; presumably tipped off in advance.

According to local press reports more than 50 plainclothes and uniformed policemen, under orders of Deputy Interior minister Pracha Maleenont, closed the American owned bar on Sukhumvit soi 11 for the remainder of the night, stopped customers from leaving and administered urine tests to 373 people. The raid was over by 3am.

Apparently two people were found to have "purple urine" meaning that they had taken drugs but police were performing further retests to see if they had taken illicit or prescription drugs.

Of the 373 people tested, 104 did not have passports with them as required in Thailand, and were taken to a police station where they were fined and released.  

A police sergeant-major was quoted as saying "We do random checks at a different bar every Friday. It's by the orders of the police commander and policy of the government to be strict about drugs. We did the raid last night because the minister requested it... he ordered us to make arrests, and he's in command, so we had to make the arrests."

A few thoughts:

If you want to stay out late, drink, party, dance and generally have a good hassle free time then head for Singapore. Bangkok' bar and club industry is hurting; significant increases in license fees; early closing; police raids and the dampening effects of the rainy season all take their toll.

The police are quite entitled to carry out drug raids. But, and I can tell you this from personal experience, standing in a queue for a couple of hours with a few hundred people waiting for your turn to fill the plastic container is not an ideal way to spend the evening. Meanwhile TV cameras and press photographers are happily snapping your picture.

Bar washrooms are not known for their size or comfort You will be watched over while you piss to ensure that their is no tampering with samples. Taking a piss while being watched by the law is no fun. You really need rubber gloves and wellington boots. Then you have to present you sample to the doctor to test. And however innocent you are there is always the smallest fear that the tylenol that you took earlier will lead to a positive test.

Q Bar is one of Bangkok's more upscale nightclubs. Bed Supperclub is another that has been raided in the past. So the raids are not restricted to the more notorious parts of town such as Nana Plaza.

Taking ID with you at night time is probably mandatory now. At a minimum a copy of your passport and the page with your Thailand visa/entry stamp.

You have been warned and you know what to expect. If the lights come up and the exits are closed expect to be there for a couple of hours; chat to your friends; relax; piss in the container; go home and write about it later !!

This season's footie forecast

14 August 2004

Well, dear reader, it is mid August, 30C, beach holiday season and of course time for the new football year to start. And that means it is time to make predictions:

Premiership Champions: Arsenal. Now that Vierra is staying they look very strong. They may get distracted by Europe but they have genuine depth and talent in their squad.

Second: Chelsea. - Not experienced enough to win anything yet. The new manager will make fewer changes than Ranieri and the team will get some big results. But as always with Chelsea that will throw away some silly points against the unglamorous teams of the division.

Third: Manchester United - too many injuries. Ronaldo is talented but too hot headed. Alan Smith was a good buy.

No one else is there; the battle will again be for fourth place. Maybe Middlesborough or Newcastle. But no one else has the quality or depth for a top three finish. Oops - no mention of Liverpool. Baros has lots of confidence after the European championships but the loss of Michael Owen makes Liverpool look even less like Liverpool. Will Gerrard stay? I doubt it.

Relegated: Crystal Palace, Portsmouth and West Brom. I think Norwich will be OK.

Managerial Changes: Bobby Robson will retire, I said this last year as well. Souness will be replaced at Blackburn. Terry Venables will turn up somewhere.

A few extras:

Arsenal want European success. Expect that to be a real focus for Wenger and at least a semi final.

By season end John Dykes on Star TV will admit that Gerry Armstrong is both ex Tottenham AND Watford!!

Mourinho's self aggrandisement will get irritating. But the press conferences at Chelsea will be fun for a while at least.

West Ham should bounce back to the Premiership. Watford may be good for a play off spot this year...oops we lost at home to Burnley - I take that back. Another long season !!

Enjoy the game.

Searching for the Olympic spirit

10 August 2004

Growing up I remember the mounting excitement as the Olympics came around every four years. I could recite where the games were held and I watched them with all the enthusiasm of a David Coleman commentary; who can forget "Juantorema opens wide his legs and shows his class?" The joys of live broadcasting!

This year though I have been struggling to summon up any interest. Maybe because the TV coverage in Bangkok will be in Thai and hard for me to watch; maybe because the Games seem dominated by doping scandals and security fears; maybe because the Olympics have lost so much of their magic.

The Olympics used to be the pinnacle of amateur sporting achievement. Now we have millionaire basketball and tennis places and professional athletes all competing. Now so many existing records are in doubt due to allegations of drug use. The 17 day long Games are a massive commercial event that was irrevocably tarnished by the crass commercialism of the Atlanta Games.

But maybe the Greeks are about to salvage the reputation of the Games. This small and historic nation failed to be awarded the Games in 1996 and 2000. Eight years ago Athens had no facilities and antiquated infrastructure, The Games have rejuvenated the city and the nation. People said they would be ready in time. It is a huge, huge project. 11,000 athletes, 5,500 officials and hangers on, the world's media, massed ranks of tourists all descending on the city.

There will be many questions over the cost - is this coming together of nations really worth the cost. The security cost in this post 9/11 world is five times the cost of Sydney 2000. But then if the Games are not held then the bad guys are starting to win the war. The basic concepts of the Olympic spirit and of competition remain values that should be dear in a free world.

In Greece they have a word - kefi, it is pronounced "keh-fee." It means an irrepressible joy, a transcendental ebullience, an utterly profound sense of satisfaction in the moment: kefi is that state of heart, if not of mind, that moves one to smash plates in sheer happiness. It is a spirit of mind and soul understood only by the Greeks and which has been exported by the Greek diaspora all over the new world.

Searching for inspiration

6 August 2004

It is rare that I am lost for words but I am genuinely short on inspiration right now and am struggling to find worthwhile subjects to write about or even to get interested in.

I have given up writing about Iraq. The place is simply a mess; it is too depressing; the allied forces should never have been there; now they are there we should be getting them home as quickly and safely as possible.

I have given up writing about deceitful politicians. Blair will survive because he is the best leader that the Labour party has; but he has lost an irreparable amount of domestic and international respect and he will not recover from that. His is a tarnished leadership and that means that he cannot lead elsewhere; which makes the Sudan refugee crisis all the more depressing because a stronger Blair would have taken action.

I have given up on England's football management. We all know what FA stands for and their executives certainly lived up to the title. What a shambles. And now the alarm bells will be truly ringing as Ms. Alam will tell all to the Sunday tabloids. It is all too depressing.

I have given up getting exercised over the links between business and politics in Thailand; over the lack of transparency and over action that ignores human rights and the Thai Constitution. Thailand is the way it is because the people elected a populist Prime Minister. It is up to the people to make change happen when and if they believe it is necessary.

I have given up writing about Tung Che-hwa and the pro democracy movement in Hong Kong. One country and two systems did not even survive for ten years post handover.

The English football season starts tomorrow and I cant even get excited about that.

There is nothing personal to write about in my blog - I worked; I went home and I slept do not exactly make for exciting reading !

The airline industry in Asia is relatively quiet; expect to see new routes from Bangkok later in the year.

I could write about my 81 at Muang Kaew last week; but that's only worth telling you about if I can start to do it consistently.

So forgive me for writing so little at the moment; and forgive me for writing so little that is interesting !

Split democrats open way for Pavena

4 August 2004

The entry of former Bangkok governor Bhichit Rattakul into this year's August 29 election for Bangkok governor will hurt Democrat Party candidate Apirak Kosayodhin's chances.

Apirak was previously seen as one of the two front runners in the campaign alongside "independent" Pavena Hongsakul.

The governing Thai Rak Thai party have given their support to Pavena who is also likely to pick up most of the female vote.

Chalerm Yoobamrung and massage-parlour tycoon Chuwit Kamolvisit are also likely to get good support but both have questionable backgrounds and voters may decide not to trust them.

Bitter rivals to contest the Asian cup final

4 August 2004

It will be a night for strong nerves and huge security in Beijing on August 7 when Japan and China face off in the final of the 2004 Asian Football Cup.

Throughout the tournament Japan have been relentlessly booed in China, while Japanese fans have been the target of abuse and pelted with plastic bottles. There is lingering resentment among many in China over Japan's military invasion and brutal occupation of parts of the country from 1937 to 1945.

The Chinese crowd behaviour has been intimidating and sometimes ugly and bodes ill for the 2008 Olympics. On the other hand the Japanese team and supporters are victim to their nation's politicians and to a glaring inability to say sorry.

The tournament has been spoiled by amateur theatricals. There is nothing worse that watching a player fall like a tree and roll around in feigned agony simply to get another player sent off. Both Bahraini and Chinese teams were guilty of that in the semi finals with Japan and Iran both reduced to 10 men. Let's hope for better in the final. It is a game that will need a strong referee and great discipline from both sides. 

Bangkok's unsung Taxi drivers

1 August 2004

Bangkok's taxi drivers have historically been given a bad rap for not putting on meters and for driving scruffy old taxis.

But the truth is now rather different. Taxis are metered by law. One or two will want to try and set a fare; but this is rare. There are fleets of new locally made Toyotas. Now the newer cars are almost all in town. The old jalopies are at the airport. Not the ideal first site when you arrive in the city.

The taxis are invariably clean; the drivers are mostly courteous and generally are fairly aware of how to get around town; not always easy.