December 2004

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December 2004

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Why was there no warning?

29 December 2004

This is not a time for recrimination and finger pointing. It is a time for doing as much as possible to rescue, aid, comfort, and support those in need.

But questions are rightly being asked about why the death toll needed to be so high. The following opinion piece from today's Nation newspaper in Bangkok should serve as a wake up call to many. The article needs no further comment.

THAI TALK: Horrendous failure of our national warning system

Published on December 30, 2004

“Why weren’t we warned?” This question has been echoing around the tsunami-wrecked coast in the South ever since Sunday. The answers, none of which is very satisfactory, are at best evasive.

Based on interviews given by senior officials from the Meteorological Department and the Geological Resources Department, though, the official response could be paraphrased thus:

“The public was not warned because we weren’t sure. Tsunamis have rarely been reported in the Indian Ocean. We’re more familiar with tsunamis in the Pacific.”

Not very convincing. The very rationale for a warning system is to expect the unexpected. That’s what forecasters are there for. That’s what monitoring natural disasters is all about.

A much more tell-tale explanation of the massive failure given by another Weather Bureau official would go something like this:

“Since we haven’t had a tsunami in the Indian Ocean for decades, we were reluctant to issue a warning. Six years earlier, the then director-general of the Weather Bureau issued a tsunami warning for off of the coast of Phuket. One never materialised. A lot of people there condemned him for making a prediction that they claimed could scare off tourists. The public outcry there at the time practically banned him from ever visiting Phuket again. Frankly, we had this very bad memory in mind when we were considering whether or not to issue a warning.”

Tragic but true. Absurd and eerily surreal. A lot of lives could have been saved on that day had the country’s main weather warning agency been operating on a strictly professional basis – and not on the subjective judgement of the officials in charge.

It was out of fear of being subjected to social and political pressure that the government agencies concerned decided to resort to negligence of duty – to expose hundreds of thousands of people to grave danger – in order to protect their own social status. This is just one aspect of Thai society’s currently fast-deteriorating professional standards in almost every field of public service. It is a testament to the erosion of courage and commitment to professionalism throughout the entire country.

The standard procedure, as laid down by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in 1965, dictates that any underwater earthquake with a magnitude of greater than 6.5 must automatically trigger the tsunami warning system. That morning, the seismological monitoring section noted an earthquake initially registering 8.6 on the Richter scale. But bureaucratic inertia and timidity – instead of a clear sense of alertness and emergency management – reigned.

Had the officials in charge that morning been working with a clear-cut, well-rehearsed and properly communicated procedure, a tsunami warning would have been sounded. It shouldn’t have mattered to the experts in charge at the bureau on Sunday morning that such a warning might inconvenience hotel owners or tour operators in the South. They shouldn’t have even worried about possible negative feedback from certain quarters that the agency was overreacting or that it was too quick to push the panic button. They have a job to do, and a very important job it is too, one that concerns the safety of every citizen in the country. They are duty bound – professionally and ethically – to perform their task honourably. Potential public misunderstandings and undesirable political pressure are but some of the basic occupational hazards.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has promised to overhaul the entire disaster-protection system. He discovered just how deplorable the whole warning, rescue and emergency systems were when he went down South himself to supervise the rescue mission earlier this week. He said he learned first-hand that the country had no adequate warning system in place, no back-up communications, no emergency power supplies, no contingency plan to coordinate relief measures. What’s worse, he said that local officials hadn’t even gone on alert. The tsunami had already smashed six southern provinces when he discovered that these bureaucrats wouldn’t even start to respond to the crisis “until I ordered them to”. Why were they awaiting orders from the country’s chief executive? The simple answer, drawing from recent examples – bird flu, Sars, even Bangkok’s horrendous traffic jams – is: they just wanted to save their own butts. That’s how they’ve been trained to think and taught to act.

The PM complained that the Meteorology Department did issue a vague warning (about the earthquake) that “hyped up the series of aftershocks, which generated unwarranted fear that further complicated rescue efforts”. Instead of blaming them for “hyping things up”, the chief executive should have asked them: “What do you need to carry out your usually little-appreciated but crucial task in a more independent and professional manner?” Not only have bureaucratic inertia, budgetary constraints and political interference contributed to this unprecedented calamity, but also the very attitudes towards danger inherent in our social fabric.

In the end, the solution lies in making a conscientious effort to turn Thailand into a real knowledge-based society, one in which disaster monitoring and danger warnings are an integral part of daily life. Let it not be said after this catastrophe, which has touched everybody, passes that official responses simply returned to business as usual – immediate interest, instant assistance, but long-term neglect – because we failed to tackle the “epicentre” of this earth-shaking issue.

Suthichai Yoon

The Nation

How much is a life worth?

28 December 2004

With the death toll now close to 60,000 the Australian Foreign Secretary has said that Australia will lead a Tsunami warning system for the Indian ocean.

The Australians are already party to a warning system for the Pacific. But guess what, the Pacific nations are among the wealthiest nations in the world; Japan, Canada, the USA are all a part of the Pacific warning system.

But the Indian Ocean is surrounded by the nations of Africa, South Asia and South East Asia. The technology existed to warn people to get to high ground. And it requires huge investment to implement, educate, monitor and operate such a warning system; which in itself may only be used once a generation.

This is one investment that should have come earlier; and while the Australian initiative may be for the long term good it looks like a belated assessment that the wealthy nations of the region should have done something earlier.

Death toll reaches 23,000

27 December 2004

CNN's coverage of the Tsunami was awful yesterday with Andrew Brown in Hong Kong being roped in to provide local commentary despite the fact that Hong Kong is 1,500 miles away from the Thai and Malaysia crisis points and further form India and Sri Lanka.

Today the coverage is improved although Larry King needs to learn how to pronounce Phuket. Sadly the international media has largely fixed on Thailand as Phuket's dead includes a large number of foreigners. And guess what, there are phone lines and English speaking people in Phuket so they can be summoned to talk with Larry King. Thailand's dead is now estimated at 1,000. The number of dead in the coastal communities of South Asia is far far greater.

I mentioned Phuket Laguna yesterday; apparently the resort complex has been wiped out.

A friend who flies for Air Asia said that Phuket airport was reopened at about 5pm yesterday and that airlines were running extra flights; she had been called for two extra flights finally getting back to Bangkok at 5am.

I am too far away; and have no internet connection here to be able to provide effective updates.

Killer tsunami waves hit Thailand and South Asia

26 December 2004

I woke this morning to messages from Thailand and India telling me of the massive disaster to hit South East and South Asia last night.

The massive earthquake in Sumatra at around 8am drove tidal waves across the Indian Ocean. The first tidal wave hit Phuket just over two hours after the earthquake.

My first shock is that there appears to have been no warning. There seems to be no effective coastguard.

CBC Newsworld has decent coverage of the disaster. The US networks including the domestic CNN service are predictably ignorant.

The west coast beaches on Phuket will have been the most exposed. The main beach area of Patong, together with Kara and Karon beaches all have beachside roads and beachfront hotel blocks. Phuket airport, which is currently closed, is next to the island's northern beaches. Big resort complexes like the Phuket Laguna are on the waterfront. Their are reports of people in their hotels as waves of water swept into their rooms. Others on the beaches saw the waves approaching and ran.....

One friend in Bangkok still cannot contact on of her holidaying friends. She has been able to contact others after hours of trying. Telephone networks are predictably overloaded.

As I write this it is approaching 2am in Thailand; rescue work has slowed down overnight. Tomorrow the extent of the damage will be clearer.

Meanwhile Sri Lanka appears to have been hit hardest; some of the low lying Maldive islands may have been literally washed away.

Putting sport beyond the law

24 December 2004

Bertuzzi's plea bargain is predictable and is wrong

24 December 2004

Back on March 9 I was in Canada and wrote the commentary reprinted here after Todd Bertuzzi's in game NHL attack on Steve Moore. I wrote then about the failure of authority. How right I was.

Over nine months later and back in Canada the Crown Attorney's criminal cases against Bertuzzi has been plea-bargained.

This is how it looks; one law for the NHL and one law for the rest of us. Assume Todd Bertuzzi had made a premeditated attack on a BC judge; floored him from behind; smashed his face into the ground and broken his neck. What would the sentence be?

It surely would not be the plea-bargained one years probation and 80 hours of community service that the BC Crown attorney agreed to yesterday at the end of which Bertuzzi will have no criminal record..

The crown even changed the court date on one day's notice such that Moore was unable to present his own victim statement in court in front of Bertuzzi.

In September 2004 an Alberta man received 30 days in jail and 40 hours of community service for putting a banana cream pie in the face of the Premier of Alberta, Ralph Klein. Must have been a very unpleasant banana pie.

Moore was treated appallingly on the ice rink; and he was treated equally badly by the courts. He is still the victim. He is still in re-hab. Although he wants to play again, and has been carefully avoiding discussing the NHL administrators, Canucks or other players, he may never be able to play at this level again.

Some of the underlying messages are very disturbing for this sport. Not one person from the Vancouver Canucks has made any effort to call or write to Moore to wish him well. He has had no support from either his own league or his players Union, the latter being more concerned with the current, and possibly season ending, lock-out.

Meanwhile Bertuzzi should be able to play either in Europe or in the NHL if the lock out ends.

It is as though with the NHL in lock-out the leagues hoped that Moore and the memory of the assault on him could be quickly forgotten. The Crown has acquiesced and put hockey beyond the law. The Crown has decided that a court case would be costly for both the Crown and the league and perhaps that a certain amount of violence is an accepted part of this sport.

The Crown is arguing that it got a "good result".

Editorial commentary and letters pages suggest that the Crown got this very wrong indeed. One letter to the Globe and Mail spoke for many - "Dare I say it - I hope the NHL dispute is never resolved."

What do the league and its apologists need to take action to remove the violence form this sport. What if Moore had died from his injuries; what if he was a paraplegic?

When sport is not sporting - and the failure of authority

March 9 2004

Two events in the last week in two great sports played by countries with deep and long sporting traditions make it very clear that these great sports are deeply flawed and that the sports authorities are woefully pathetic when faced by the dollars brought in by media and sponsorship.

Lets start in the great white north, in Canada, where ice hockey is a religion. At its best it is a wonderful, fast, athletic and spectacular sport. At its worst, the NHL, it is like watching a combination of the World Wrestling Federation and the Jerry Springer show on ice.

On Monday night and well away from the game itself, Vancouver's Todd Bertuzzi skated behind Colorado's Steve Moore, grabbed Moore's sweater and punched the back of his head. The Avalanche forward was slammed head first to the ice under the weight of the 245-pound Canucks forward, who slammed down on top of him. It was a premeditated assault; it was designed to do damage; it could have ended Moore's career; it could have taken his life. The Colorado player has a fractured neck, concussion and deep facial lacerations. He will be out for the rest of the season.

Unbelievably the Vancouver general manager Brian Burke told an afternoon press conference that Bertuzzi was "very upset about what happened" and added that "in terms of the incident, he's remorseful and relieved that Mr. Moore's injuries at this point appear, that a full recovery should be possible."

A pool of blood formed around Moore's head as he lay motionless. A stretcher was wheeled out and after 10 minutes the 25-year-old native of Windsor, Ont., was taken off for medical attention.

Now what I would like to hear from the coach is that an assault such as that is utterly unacceptable and that Bertuzzi will never play for Vancouver again.

The NHL announced Monday night that Bertuzzi, who served a 10-game suspension during the 2001-02 season for leaving the bench to join a fight, has been suspended indefinitely without pay.

An in-person hearing with NHL director of hockey operations Colin Campbell will be conducted Wednesday morning at the League's Toronto office.

Sadly the Canucks captain, Markus Naslund, said that "as weird as it seems, I don't think that was Todd's intentions. He obviously gave him a sucker punch, but he feels really awful about it right now."

Give me a break; watch the video. And then explain to the kids watching exactly what Mr. Bertuzzi's intentions were.

The trouble is that Bertuzzi is high profile in Vancouver; sponsors, endorsements, TV and radio fees all generate revenue that the sport needs to cover inflated salary costs.

If the league has balls (pucks??) he will get a one year suspension. I bet he gets 10 to 12 games. And the league will do nothing to stop the fighting because sadly that's why so many of the punters watch. A beautiful and deeply flawed sport.

Christmas Past

18 December 2004

I woke up this morning thinking of Christmas Time when I was a kid. There was always a real tree; we went to church on Christmas morning; we ate too much turkey; there were Christmas crackers, silly hats and bad jokes. I was (still am !) the eldest of three kids; we used to torture our parents by putting on some sort of play or carol service after lunch; even the Queen's speech must have sounded good by comparison.

Indeed I still know most of the words of all the traditional Christmas carols; and the childish rewritten versions; "Good King Wencelas went out in his mini minor; took a double bend too fast and landed up in China!"

My primary school would put on a nativity play; there would be carol concerts. The concerts at my senior school were almost sell out events; the choir would rehearse the whole winter term.

It was a holiday; it was a time for family and friends; it even snowed occasionally.

As a teenager my parents were in Nigeria; the kids would haul out of the English winter to spend 3 weeks in a constant round of days at the pool or beach and partying. My favourite Christmas card read; "Christmas need not always be white; black is beautiful." Hear, hear.

What has happened to the season of peace and goodwill to all men (and women!). Type "Christmas+Warning+2004" onto google and you get : Results 1 - 10 of about 3,560,000 for christmas+warning+2004

Their is a terror alert issued to Australians who may be traveling at Christmas. It wont stop them from traveling; if something does happen the government can say "told you so !"

There are warnings about alcohol, sex, infected turkeys, computer viruses, people are advised to avoid balloons due to latex allergies and be wary of injury from Christmas trees. Office workers are advised not to photocopy bums or breasts (risk of broken glass) at the Christmas Party.

Close circuit TVs have been set up in some Santa grottos to ensure that employed Santa's do not molest children as they make their annual outrageous gift demands!

Councillors in Mottingham, South London, demanded £5m worth of insurance cover before putting Christmas lights up, while in Bury St Edmunds an illuminated Christmas tree was banned in case its low-voltage bulbs electrocuted passers-by.

Many schools no not hold a nativity play, many have no carol service. Instead they will have a winter concert.

A colleague in Canada asked my address the other day so that he could send me a "holiday card"!!! Christmas has been hijacked by the politically correct and by the lawyers.

The UK's Independent newspaper created this wonderful image of Santa:

Picture dear old Santa at home; "The wind caresses the arctic wastes, sneaks under the wood-cabin door and up Santa's robes. He feels every day of his age today. In the mirror his beard looks greyer. The rheumy eyes have lost their sparkle. For the first time ever, he contemplates his deliveries as a duty rather than a delight. The thought of fighting his way through the reindeer-rights protesters and past his little helpers waving placards about their "Scrooge-like" boss dampens his spirits like a layer of sleet. It is hardly his fault the office party was cancelled. Since that incident between two elves on the photocopier, his public liability cover has gone through the roof. No more joggling children on your knee, his lawyer says: too big an insurance risk. And lay off the mince pies and sherry, adds his doctor. Is it just an old man's nostalgia, he wonders, or were Christmases past simpler? When did his presents start to be wrapped with red tape, the sleigh need a licence?" Pulling on his crash helmet, the law forbids him simply wearing a cap' he boldly sets out on his deliveries.

Me; I am going to enjoy the holiday; the tree is up at home; the lights have not fused yet; I will wear a Santa hat on the golf course tomorrow; the caddies always like that ! And I will be on the ski slopes of Whistler on Christmas Day.

Enjoy your holidays wherever you are and whatever your faith. Christmas is a time to hope for peace and goodwill for all people, everywhere.

A very Faye Christmas!

10 December 2004

It is the beginning of the festive season; even in Thailand there are trees, decorations and choruses of "Frosty the Snowman".

Meanwhile in Hong Kong and Taiwan, as part of the preparation for the festive season, my favourite Asian diva, Faye Wong, has graced the covers of Hong Kong and Taiwan's Elle magazine. Christmas Glamour indeed !

Its raining cranes....but there is no peace

8 December 2004

If you had the misfortune to read the Bangkok Post last Monday you might think that all 90 million paper cranes had fallen into the lap of a fifteen year old girl from Narathiwat called Mae-eya Bula.

On page 1 of the Bangkok Post she vows to be sisters with 22 year old Kanittha Srinarak from Udon Thani whose name and mobile number were on a crane found by Ms. Bula.

But on page 2, in a different article, the same reporter tells of a Mae-eya Bula, 15, a Narathiwat resident, who collected a paper carne with the message "I want to kill all militants.

Meanwhile as Ms. Bula was collecting cranes, Arsor Abdul Sorni, the mother of Mauseng Sorni who was shot to death in the Tak Bai protest sat at home. Sorni's body is reported as having a gunshot wound in his back and many bruises. In compensation she had received 100,000 from the government and another 6,000 baht from provincial authorities. A total of US$2,600.

The crane drop, in windy conditions, needed 300 missions in total.

It is certainly a unique approach to appeasement. But it has probably done more to unite the crane-makers than the crane-receivers. The gesture enthralled the Thai public and galvanized them into a crane making frenzy.

But it appears to have done little to give the Muslim south serious political recognition or to redress the Muslim community's long-standing grievances.

Cutting crew takes on reality tv!

8 December 2004

On page 4 of today's Bangkok Post Business Section is a quarter page advertisement under the rather lengthy headline: "BNH Hospital will host the world's first Live Sex Reassignment Surgery ("SRS") performed by Thailand's world-class team of surgeons"

The advert continues to say that the expertise of Thai surgeons will be on display to the world. The event will be held on 9th and 10th of December. The advertisement does not say who the lucky victim (patient?) is or how the surgery will be shown either in the hospital,or to the global audience of whackos who want to see a boy transformed into a girl. This is taking reality tv to new extremes.

While the surgery is in progress there will be supporting music played from Cutting Crew, perhaps including that old SRS favourite, "the first cut is the deepest".

Sex and the Singapore City

8 December 2004

A survey last Sunday in Singapore's Times newspaper revealed (and this is no surprise) that children and sex are low in the priorities of Singapore's married couples.

Which only goes to show that sex and fertility cannot be bought by the government. The Singapore authorities have reacted to all time low birth rates by offering significant housing grants, cash payments, baby-care subsidies, tax rebates for working mothers and longer maternity leave all to encourage an increase in birth rates. There are other priorities in Singapore where the national slogan appears to be "I shop, therefore I am."

But Singaporeans remain focused on career, credit cards, condos, cars and club memberships. Singaporean men appear to be having plenty of sex - in China, Thailand and Indonesia; they are just not having it in Singapore; maybe because they are too tired from their overseas trips or because there is too much pressure at home to conform and perform.

The eight low cost airline flights a day between SIN and BKK have been a bonus for short term travelers to Bangkok and also for Thai girls looking for short term employment in Singapore!

The Singapore government's strategy is simply wrong; people do not use government tax rebates as foreplay. "Dear, isn't it a good time to have sex now as we get a bigger grant." What the government needs to do is create an atmosphere that is conducive to sex!

That means that sex is something people want to do rather than something that the government obliges them to do. Singapore has made only small progress in this direction. You can now see censored editions of Sex and the City; you can read a Singapore version (very tame) of Cosmopolitan. More, much more is needed; liberalise attitudes towards sex; encourage people to enjoy sex at home and just maybe the culture will change.

Among urgent changes needed in Singapore are:

Open up cable tv networks to allow adult channels. Let a couple get into the mood watching some well filmed porn. That must be more of a stimulant than Channel 5 and the local evening news.

License adult shops; let Singaporeans buy adult toys, clothing and accessories; let them liven up their love lives with a little experimentation.

Build new "love hotels" in central and suburban areas. It is hard to make out as a young couple in Singapore in a small condo with the inlaws making dinner outside; the sister playing computer games and the other relatives clacking mah jong tiles. Singaporean couples needs somewhere to go to for fun; themed rooms; clean, nice music, helpful tv channels, and no social stigma attached.

Liberalise web censorship. The best censor is your own judgment and taste.

Stop national service. Two or more years of boot camp does little for male creativity or heterosexuality!

A few thoughts; anyone care to comment !?

Air Asia take flak from the Bangkok Post

2 December 2004

The following is a report in today's travel section of the Bangkok Post; followed by my letter to the editor and travel section (Horizons) editor of the newspaper. It would be equally scurrilous, but quite plausible, that the story and its prominent coverage was a plant from one of the major airlines:

from the Bangkok Post; Horizons: 2 December 2004

Air Asia flight has passengers waiting five hours

Low-cost airlines deliver on fares but they are sadly lacking when it comes to punctuality

"Flight delays are frustrating. Most full-service airlines now cite punctuality to prevent customers from switching their loyalty. We're not sure how well it works but after years of travelling with full-service airline, I've never encountered a flight delay that was unbearable. In most cases airlines inform passengers of flight delays well in advance.

But punctuality is probably not the selling point when it comes to low-cost airlines. You can expect them to be cheap but not necessarily punctual. We haven't heard of a low-cost airlines that guarantees punctuality and cheap airfares.

Recently, a friend of ours was on his way to Ubon Ratchathani. He was booked on Air Asia. The schedule flight time was 1:05 p.m. but passengers only realised when they checked in at Don Muang Airport counter that the flight would be five hours late and would now take off at 5:20 p.m. No other details were given.

As a consolation, each passenger was offered a 70-baht voucher which could be redeemed for a light meal. Of course, 70 baht is nothing considering that most meals at the airport's restaurants are priced higher. It's even worse for passengers who had checked in early by arriving at the airport two hours in advance.

They could have easily taken the bus and arrived in Ubon Ratchathani in that seven hours they were given to kill at the airport."

My letter to the Newspaper:

Sir/Madam,

It is poor journalism and poor judgment to use the pages of the Horizons section of today's Bangkok Post (2 Dec) to air a personal grumble about a 5 hour delay on an Air Asia flight to Ubon Ratchathani.

Flights get delayed on any airline, full service or LCC. Ask the Cathay passengers on CX751 yesterday who turned back to BKK after a piece of the airplane fell off. Air Asia's punctuality is probably as good as any major carrier operating out of BKK; their web site gives the following statistic:

Latest Punctuality for the week ending 28 November 2004

89% of all flights arrived on time

96% of all flights arrived within one hour

You gave prominence to this story through the headline and tag. You allege that LCCs are "sadly lacking when it comes to punctuality". What are your grounds for this allegation? What research have you done. Look at Easyjet: from their website?

ON TIME

Week ending 28 November 2004:

86% of all flights arrived on time

96% arrived within one hour

In the interests of balance reporting did you ask Air Asia to comment on your story. Of course you didn't. Your article damages them and the new LCC industry.

I do not work for AA; I am not in any way involved with AA. But I do believe in fair and balanced reporting. Your article is petty and vindictive.

You were unlucky. Live with it.

Yours faithfully,

Robert Scott

Bangkok

cc: Editor Bangkok Post

Horizons Editor, Bangkok Post

Air Asia

Alfred Hitchcock would approve

1 December 2004

In a scene reminiscent of "The Birds" in Hitchcock's 1963 movie the south of Thailand is about to be dumped on by 80 million origami birds.

Actually the precise number is 80,964,055 origami birds as of last night according to Mr. Yuranant Phamornmontree, the newly-elected Deputy Government Spokesman. How can he be that accurate? The paper birds will be air-dropped on the southern border provinces on 5 December--His Majesty the King's birthday.

In the past week everywhere you look there have been people folding paper cranes. Offices and apartment buildings have collection boxes. Our office has instructions for crane folding on the notice board - in Japanese!

The completed birds are now being collected together at Bangkok’s military airfield, and on 3 December Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will preside over the take-off of 35 military planes, which will take the birds to Surat Thani Province and Hat Yai in Songkhla Province.

On 5 December, the planes will make for the southern border provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, where they will begin dropping the birds from 09.00hrs, completing their mission at 16.00hrs.

Some of these paper birds are huge - with a little extra weight they might drop quickly - the best advise to anyone is to stay indoors until the origami bombing has ceased.

People have rallied behind the idea. Whether it makes any difference remains to be seen.