February 2006 Archive

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced a House dissolution on Friday evening after being granted an audience with His Majesty the King. Thaksin entered the Chitralada Palace at 5 pm to be granted the audience and left the palace shortly before 6 pm.

The prime minister then went to the Thai Rak Thai party head office and told reporters there that he had received a royal command to dissolve the House of Representatives.

The prime minister make the formal announcement of the House dissolution at 8.30pm on nationwide TV. What is telling is that Thaksin has felt the need to call an election at this time. Thaksin won a landslide majority at Thailand's general elections on 6 February 2005. Thaksin's party, Thai Rak Thai ('Thais Love Thais'), took 377 seats, nearly four-fifths of the seats in the House of Representatives. His working majority is huge and a vote of no confidence is a waste of breath.

Government House is reported as saying that Thaksin wants the snap election to be held as soon as possible on either on April 2 or April 9 (not April 1st as one wit has already suggested).

The snap election could be the most effective option for Thaksin and his Thai Rak Thai Party to survive the current wave of opposition. Firstly no dissident TRT members will be able to elope to another party and stand for election with another party; the constitution requires 90 day membership of a political party before an election. So potential defectors will need to stay loyal to remain in parliament and in power

TRT is also likely to maintain and fund its strong support from voters in rural Thailand. Yet TRT may win no seats in Bangkok; which is the economic heart of Bangkok. It is a strange system where the government of the nation is not elected by the people who are at the heart of Thailand's economic growth.

What Thaksin will do is unclear. Will he remain as leader. Can he be a three term Prime Minister. He is already Thailand's first two term Prime Minister.

Thaksin had yesterday rejected a rumour he would dissolve the House of Representatives and call a snap election by May. 24 hours is a long time in politics.

Most importantly of all; the bars will all be closed the night before and the night of election day so that we may all vote wisely and soberly!

The Americans once again have their heads buried in the desert sand. Anywhere in the Middle East is Arab and they are all bad appears to be the recurrent theme.

This deal has been rumored for months. Quite simply a UAE company, Dubai Ports World (DPW) an established international port operator, is in the process of acquiring, for a friendly bid of $6.8 billion, the ports business of the British company P&O. As part of the deal, the Arab company would acquire the responsibility for running ports in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New Orleans and Miami.

There were two companies bidding for British based P&O. One was DPW of Dubai; the other was the Ports Authority of Singapore. The bidders represent two of the biggest and most successful port managers in the world. The Singapore company backed about two weeks ago refusing to match DPW's acquisition bid.

The UAE is made up of seven emirates that operate with a fair degree of independence from the central government. Dubai has a gigantic expat population and the form of Islam practiced there is very tolerant. The UAE remains one of America's few allies in the Middle East.

Many foreign companies, including ones from Singapore and China, operate U.S. shipping terminals. Even so, government agencies — not the companies — remain in charge of inspecting cargo and ships. The dock workers are generally unionized longshoremen. Security remains in the control of the home country.

Many of the Dubai firm's top executives are American, and the firm has worked with the USA at other ports.

So what next; there are airlines, including foreign ones, that lease gates and even whole concourses at major US airports. Saudi Arabian Airlines and Emirates, an airline based in Dubai, pay to use available gates at New York's John F. Kennedy. And always, the federal and local authorities handle security. It works just about the same way in ports.

The bipartisan uproar in the US is verging on the hysterical. For a nation, that has since 1992 preached the benefits of globalisation, it appears to be re-writing the rules such that Americans only can be trusted to run global business. Sorry. That doesn't work for the rest of us.

It should also be noted that Dubai is a model port city. It's an ultra modern state that is a centre for global trade. If anyone knows how to run an efficient port, it's Dubai.

DPW already operates some of the busiest terminals in the world, including three in Hong Kong, four in China, and more in Europe, South America and Australia.

President Bush has not unreasonably saked "I want those who are questioning it to step up and explain why all of a sudden a Middle Eastern company is held to a different standard than a Great British company. I am trying to conduct foreign policy now by saying to the people of the world, 'We'll treat you fairly.'"

This is a straightforward commercial transaction. The ports were already controlled by a foreigner. Nothing has or will change. US protectionism is looking increasingly racist. This will not help it sustain a credible role in the Middle East.

The story of the day comes from the Bangkok Post who report on page 4 that "a large Caucasian man was found hanged from a billboard structure in central Bangkok yesterday in what police are speculation was a suicide"

The man was 185cm tall and weighed 120 kg. He was not small. Yet he was found hanging form the billboard structure with a plastic bag over his head. He had no identity papers and only 230 baht in his packets.

The police colonel at Lumpini station is quoted as saying that "we suspect suicide, partly because Westerners usually kill themselves like this".

So no chance of foul play in this case. Already solved and quickly swept under what would need to be a very large carpet !

There are many good people in Thailand. There is also, as in most countries, the usual sample of thieves and bad people. Today was a day of dealing with both. Recovering from flu I was in bed for the morning and went to work at lunchtime.

In a change from my normal routine I stopped at Starbucks below Robinsons at the Silom Center. I had three bags; one was my aluminum briefcase. I put them down by the counter and was placing my order as a colleague walked into the store. We had plenty to talk about. I looked across at my bags. The briefcase had gone.

The Starbucks people were a little slow to get moving but were helpful. My colleagues scoured the store looking. The Starbucks staff took us to the back of he store where we watched the close circuit tv replays. They have four cameras in the store.

Sure enough. A guy walks in from the Robinsons entrance. Walks to the street exit. Looks around. Comes back into the store. Stands behind the two of us. Looks straight at the camera as he makes (or fakes) a phone call. Then he looks at the bag, takes two steps to his right, picks it up and leaves into the department store. Mere seconds later I look around and see the bag is missing.

We printed out pictures of the thief. Accompanied by a colleague to translate and by one of the Starbucks staff off we went to the Bangrak police station. There are plenty of police but the boxing is on TV and that is a priority. English is not spoken there. Strange as this is a major tourist area. We reported the theft and got a police report.

When I came back to Centrepoint in the evening they had received a phone call from security at the MBK mall who had found my case. With a friend again translating we went to collect it. The people there were very helpful and sympathetic. The case had been found in a public telephone booth outside MBK. They said they thought it may be explosive; strangely that had not stopped them from opening it; finding a Centrepoint receipt and calling the apartment.

Sadly the thief had taken everything that he thought had a cash value; my mobile phone, a small camera, my two passports, pens etc.

Be careful around Silom; theft from Starbucks is say their staff quite common. I am trying not to let this asshole ruin my week or make me more unhappy here. These are all material things that can be replaced. I hope he gets what is due to him.

The Stans are a series of nations in Central Asia that have emerged from the rubble of the old Soviet Union. Each are now making their mark and here is a quick guide.

Uzbekistan; Uzbekistan sits on the old Silk Road with cities such as Samarkand, Tamerlane's imposing capital; Bukhara, the revered place of pilgrimage; and Khiva, the remote and isolated oasis. The Silk Road linked China to Europe and these cities still have signature Central Asian Islamic architecture with tall, arched portals, bulbous turquoise-blue domes, minarets resembling smokestacks or lighthouses -- all covered in beautiful tile and bearing gorgeous Arabic inscriptions from the Quran.

Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe all rolled into one developing package slightly larger than California. Independent since 1991, the country seeks to gradually lessen its dependence on agriculture while developing its mineral and petroleum reserves. The country has a young population of approximately 27 million.

Turkmenistan; Has oil and large gas reserves. Capital is Ashgabat. The country shares a long border with Afghanistan. Visitors are mainly hardy souls looking to profit from the country's gas reserves.

Kyrgyzstan; capital Bishkent; not a large country. Picturesque scenery; the Stans' equivalent of Nepal or Switzerland. This is a mountainous country with a predominantly agricultural economy. Cotton, tobacco, wool, and meat are the main agricultural products, although only tobacco and cotton are exported in any quantity. Industrial exports include gold, mercury, uranium, and natural gas and electricity. Kyrgyzstan has been fairly progressive in carrying out market reforms, such as an improved regulatory system and land reform.

Kyrgyzstan was the first CIS country to be accepted into the World Trade Organization. The population is just over 5 million.

Tajikistan; capital Dushanbe; bordering China and Afghanistan. Again on the Silk Road; mountainous, treacherous and slowly opening up to visitors! 7 million people.

Kazakhstan; The country's biggest promise today lies below the waters of the Caspian Sea, on Kazakhstan's western border, where oil and gas reserves make the country potentially the richest of the republics in the region. For now, however, Kazakhstan is experiencing energy shortages that make life difficult in Almaty, a surprisingly cosmopolitan city, as well as in the remote countryside. The country also has big coal and uranium reserves. The capital is Astana. The country has long, long borders with Russia and China and was used extensively by the Russians to test atomic weapons as far away from Moscow as possible, other than Cuba!).

Afghanistan; freed from the Taliban by the BBC's world affairs correspondent, John Simpson, Afghanistan remains in near anarchy.

Pakistan; the only one of the Stans that is a cricketing nation. Pakistan had the great advantage of being British empire not Russian Empire. That might have not seemed such an advantage at separation in 1947. The separation in 1947 of British India into the Muslim state of Pakistan (with two sections West and East) and largely Hindu India was never satisfactorily resolved, and India and Pakistan fought two wars - in 1947-48 and 1965 - over the disputed Kashmir territory. A third war between these countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. In response to Indian nuclear weapons testing, Pakistan conducted its own tests in 1998. The dispute over the state of Kashmir is ongoing, but discussions and confidence-building measures have led to decreased tensions since 2002.

Azerbaijan; not really a Stan this country lies on the other side (West) of the Caspian Sea. Like the Stans it gained its independence in 1991.

If you're looking for oil, good caviar or a jumping-off point for a trek into the Caucasus Mountains, this small country sandwiched between Russia and Iran on the Caspian Sea may be just the place. Baku is one of the region's more lively cities, a boomtown again after years of Soviet stagnation. The rest of Azerbaijan, however, remains largely underdeveloped, with a barren mountainous landscape and poor infrastructure.

One day after a government senator suggested that all Thai teenager girls carry condoms the government has announced its annual thou shalt not have sex on Valentines Day decree.

Social Development and Human Security Minister Wattana Muangsook has announced that big brother will be watching out for over sexed teenagers on Valentine’s Day, by strengthening measures and patrolling areas around Bangkok.

Mr. Wattana revealed that the Ministry has asked the police to check Identification cards of motel customers to see whether they are over 18 years old. He said that dormitories will be strictly inspected, as they can also be used as a gathering place for teenagers. Dormitories in Bangkok are obviously more fun that my old school dorm!

He also asked for cooperation from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration in turning on lights at parks around the city and inspecting all vans running in Bangkok. The minister asks all passenger van operators to open curtains for inspection, adding that the measure is aimed at preventing prostitutions in vans, as earlier reported by media. This apparently relates to a 2005 story where a bunch of Junior-High school children were caught "red-handed" having sex on the rear-seats of their schoolbus.

The Social Development and Human Security Ministry has no policy to support or celebrate Valentine’s Day as it is not significant in terms of religion or Thai tradition.

While the SDHSM may not want to celebrate Valentines Day Thai teenagers have embraced the occasion. Thai lovers are expected to spend 960 million baht on gifts and romantic dates on Valentine’s Day, according to a local research company.

The Nigerian scammers never seem to give up. This one which arrived in my yahoo email today is particularly unpleasant as it purports to take advantage of an individual family's misfortune. There is no Atlantic Bank in Nigeria.

From:Mr.Michel Duku, Atlantic Bank Ltd, No.97 Abiola Ave, Ikeja, Lagos Nigeria. Good day, This letter may come to you as a surprise since it is coming from someone who you don't know. However, we decided to contact you based on a business transaction that will be very beneficial to both of us. I am a member of staff of Atlantic Bank here in Ikeja Lagos,Nigeria.I am writing following an oppurtunity in my office that will be of benefit to both of us. In my department we have the sum of US$8.4m (Eight million four hundred thousand dollars) in an account that belongs to one of our foreign customers Late Mr. Morris Thompson, an American who unfortunately lost his life in the plane crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 which crashed on January 31 2000, including his wife and only daughter. You shall read more about the crash on visiting these websites. http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/02/01/alaska.airlines.list/ Since we got information about his death, we have been expecting his next of kin or relatives to come over and claim his money, because the Bank cannot release the funds unless somebody applies for it as next of kin or relation to the deceased, as indicated in our banking guidelines. Unfortunately,we learnt his supposed next of kin being his only daughter died along with him in the plane crash leaving nobody with the knowledge of this fund he has in our bank.It is therefore upon this discovery that I and two other officials in this department now decided to do business with you and release the money to you as the next of kin and beneficiary of the funds, for safe keeping and subsequent disbursement since nobody is coming for the money, and we don't want this money to go back into Government treasury as unclaimed bill. We agreed that 20% of this money will be for you as our foreign partner, while the balance will be for me and my colleagues. I will visit your country for the disbursement according to the percentages indicated above, once this money gets into your account. Please be honest to me and trust is our watchword in this transaction. You will open a new bank account where these funds will be remitted. Please note that all necessary arrangement for the smooth release of these funds to you has been finalised. We will discuss much in details when I receive your response. The funds transfer will be done under a legitimate bank transfer process.I will send you an application letter which you will send to the bank here. Hence Mr.Morris Thompson is a foreigner,a citizen of Nigeria can not put claims or inherit these funds,this is the reason I contacted you as a foreigner. If you are interested send your reply immediately to my private e-mail address,-(michelduku59@hotmail.com) Please include your telephone and fax numbers for better communication between us. Very Respectfully, Mr.Michel Duku.

Bangkok is caught up in the annual pre Valentines Day condom frenzy as our benevolent government decides that all Thai teenagers are going to have sex for Valentines Day ! Which, incidentally, means that they will all be having more fun that your correspondent!

Senator Rabiabrat Pongpanich yesterday addressed the Programme for Appropriate Technology in Health (Path) seminar about the Pop! Condom project in which students sell condoms to other students.

She proposed that free condoms be given to Thai teens instead of letting youngsters sell condoms to their peers. Remarkably she said that ''Society is changing today, and I do agree with the idea that every teenage girl should carry condoms with her wherever she goes,''

Every teenage girl should carry condoms !!! Sorry Madam Senator; but not every teenage girl is that promiscuous !

Thai Air Asia was until tow weeks ago 51% owned by Thailand's Shin Corporation. Thai Air Asia, with nine 737s operating domestic and international routes from Bangkok has revolutionised flying in Thailand and drastically reduced the costs of domestic air travel. Thai AirAsia was set up as a 50:49 per cent joint venture between Shin and Malaysia’s Air Asia. The remaining 1% was held by the Thai CEO.

Now, however, its Air Transport license is under threat. The Aviation Department of the Government of Thailand has sent a letter to the airline asking it to review its shareholding structure after Temasek Holdings became the largest shareholder in Shin Corp, which owns a 50-per-cent stake in Thai AirAsia.

TAA is now looking for new Thai partners to maintain its Thai-majority ownership in order to keep its aviation licence. The airline is saying that there are two potential candidates but he declined to name them.

Temasek’s 49.6-per-cent stake in Shin Corp pushed Thai AirAsia’s foreign ownership above the 49 per cent limit, putting it in breach of the Foreign Business Act. This disqualifies the airline from holding a licence for aviation services in the Kingdom. To remain eligible for the licence, the airline, which was launched in 2003, must ensure that Thai nationals or Thai entities own at least 51 per cent of its shares.

When signing the share-purchase contract with Shin Corp, Temasek said it had no plans to sell any Shin-owned businesses. However, it is clear that it will now have to sell down a part of its interest in TAA.

Curiously Temasek also holds shares in the two Sinagpore based low cost carriers; Jetstar Asia and Tiger Airways. Air Asia for its part has always complained at the lack of access to Singapore airport and the favouritism shown to the local carriers.

Market watchers have said Temasek might sell some Shin units, including the satellite, radio, tv and airline interests, to recoup part of its massive investment and that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s family could end up buying them.

Temasek has already spent Bt73.3 billion for a 49.6 per cent stake in Shin and plans to spend Bt79 billion more for the remaining shares. It also plans to spend Bt122 billion to snap up more AIS shares.

In the meantime TAA continues to fly while its ownership issues are resolved. Do not doubt that some of the local Thai owned competitors are enjoying a little mud slinging at this time. They have always argued that TAA's ownership by the Thaksin family gave the airline unfair privileges. Maybe the paying field ahs just been leveled.

Update: The Nok Air plane had in fact taken off and declared engine trouble ten minutes into its flight. It returned to Bangkok and overshot the runway on its emergency landing. Four passengers were slightly injured as they evacuated down the emergency slides.

The global Islamic uproar about a series of originally Danish cartoons deemed by Moslems as offensive is alarming, in large part because it says how little the west understands Islam and more tellingly how little Islam understands the west. In the west there is a tolerant tradition where Christianity can be criticised and ridiculed. It's part of our culture. One viewing of Monty Python's Life of Brian shows how much humour there is in religion. It does not indicate an intolerance of faith; it is simply that faith may be challenged. Why is it that Islam should be a privileged exception?

Would I publish such cartoons. No. In the same way that it would be wrong to publish anti-semetic material. But the response, if any, should be proportionate. ANd it has not been.

For instance in Syria thousands of Syrian demonstrators stormed the Danish embassy in Damascus today and set fire to the building in protest against caricatures of Islam's prophet.

No newspaper in this country has published the Danish cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad in ways that have angered many Muslims across the world. The Guardian believes uncompromisingly in freedom of expression, but not in any duty to gratuitously offend. It would be senselessly provocative to reproduce a set of images, of no intrinsic value, which pander to the worst prejudices about Muslims. To directly associate the founder of one of the world's three great monotheistic religions with terrorist violence - the unmistakable meaning of the most explicit of these cartoons - is wrong, even if the intention was satirical rather than blasphemous. Their most likely effect will be to encourage Islamist extremism, already finding fertile ground in Iraq. The volatile context of this issue, with its echoes of the furore over Salman Rushdie's book, The Satanic Verses, cannot be ignored.

Back in 1989, when Ayatollah Khomeini issued his notorious fatwa authorising the murder of the British author, the doom-laden phrase "clash of civilisations" had not been uttered. But since the 9/11 attacks, through to and beyond last July's London bombings, it has become part of all our lives. In this country concerns about Islamophobia have been accompanied by increased sensitivity to the feelings of Muslims. Issues such as Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan are now viewed to a large extent through the prism of Muslim sensibilities - too much so, for some. The extraordinary unanimity of the British press in refraining from publishing the drawings - in contrast to the Nordic countries, Germany, Spain and France - speaks volumes. John Stuart Mill is a better guide to this issue than Voltaire.

Yet it takes two civilisations to clash, and debate about the images cannot exclude discussion of Muslim reactions from Indonesia, Pakistan, Gaza or Luton. For the protests, boycotts, flag-burnings and bomb threats seem out of proportion to any slight, real or imagined. It was the editor of a Jordanian magazine who asked (rhetorically) what created more prejudice against Islam, these poor caricatures or pictures of a masked Iraqi hostage-taker slashing the throat of a victim live on camera, or a suicide bomber blowing himself up during a wedding ceremony, acts carried out by fanatical extremists in the name of jihad.

Diplomatic action against Denmark by Saudi Arabia, Syria and Libya - none of them famous for their free press, vibrant democracy or toleration - is a bit rich. It was revealing to hear Prince Nayef, the Saudi interior minister, call on the Vatican to halt publication of the cartoons, anachronistically assuming a role in European secular life for a supranational religious authority. State-controlled newspapers in these and other Arab states, including Egypt, print anti-semitic, not just anti-Israeli, cartoons and articles that would not have embarrassed the Nazis. Iran's president is a Holocaust denier. In many Arab countries reactionary clerics set a tone that is followed by governments fearful of Islamist opposition. Not all those sympathetic to the insurgency in Iraq or resistance in Palestine are comfortable with the theological justification of suicide attacks on civilians. Nor is it clear that Arab opinion-formers care about the genocidal attacks on black Muslims and Christians in Sudan or the bombing of churches in Pakistan.

The UN's Arab Human Development Reports have devastatingly exposed the shortcomings of societies which centuries ago made huge contributions to science and thought but in too many ways are now intellectually stultified, uncreative and unfree. Freedom of expression as it has developed in the democratic west is a value to be cherished, but not abused. And it is above all a universal value. Insults, in cartoons or elsewhere, are best ignored, not punished - and not incorporated into a culture of victimhood and intimidation.

Less than 5 months before Bangkok's new airport is due to open there remains great confusion surrounding Bangkok's airport policy. The new airport was due to replace the existing Don Muang airport. But Suvarnabhumi will quickly fill and the phase 2 expansion has been put on hold.

Therefore the Transport Ministry has proposed that Don Muang airport continue to serve low-cost carriers, chartered flights and private planes to ease air traffic at Suvarnabhumi. It would also host a maintenance centre for heavy aircraft.

China has banned the film Memoirs of a Geisha. Many cinema goers may be relieved at avoiding a sleepy two hours.

Just days before the film’s release, officials have ordered cinemas to remove it from their schedules. Government leaders felt that the sight of two of China’s biggest stars (Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi) playing the roles of Japanese geishas could provoke popular anger. There have been articles and internet commentaries attacking Zhang Ziyi for embracing, worse still, falling in love with, a Japanese man. The Chinese censors had already required the removal of a scene when Zhang (as Sayuri) has her dress torn off by a Japanese man.

Other than that scene the movie had passed inspection by SARFT, the Chinese film regulator, and the Shanghai Film Dubbing Studio had begun its work. Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi had agreed to dub their own roles in the Chinese version.

The film had been set to debut in China on February 9th. But at a much higher level than the state censor the film has been banned. The ban is not due to the film's political content. Sadly the ban is based upon racial prejudice and cultural superiority. Website have criticised Zhang, who was called a traitor, a whore and an indignity to her nation. China's government apparently feel the same way.

Surely it would be better to sing the praises of Chinese actresses taking the lead role in a historical Hollywood movie.

The movie is of course already widely available on the Chinese streets (for about US$0.80) as a pirated DVD that sells for about 80p. Go see the film and make up your own mind. This is art and entertainment. It is not politics and nationalism.