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Stephff's cartoons
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Friday, May 16, 2008
 

Carrying, Part 1 - by Zeer, Thairath, May, 2008
On the chair it reads: Reserved for Chai
Under the chair it reads: Chairperson of parliament
Center top: Son's duty, Father's task
The small rat says "For uncle first, I am old already" [Meaning the elder (uncle) should get the chairperson position first as he is older. This refers to political kingpin Newin who was able to place his elderly father in the position of speaker of the house.]

 

Carrying, Part 2 - Poojadkuan, May 12, 2008
It reads: Lerm [nickname of Chalerm] is jealous that Uncle Chai has a good son [Newin] who is holding [advancing] his father to be the speaker of the house.

 

 

Note: Due to popular demand, 2Bangkok will translate the entire Sombat Khong Phudee and post every translated page of this entertaining and illuminating comic starting next week.

 

Arrested art historian dies at detention centre - Bangkok Post, May 15, 2008
A well-known art historian, arrested in Los Angeles in connection with a federal investigation into illegal trafficking of pilfered Southeast Asian art, died early Wednesday of a heart attack at a Federal Detention Centre.
Roxanna Brown, 62, wheelchair-bound was suffering from flulike symptoms severe enough to postpone her initial court appearance...

 
China bloggers cook up quake conspiracies - Times Online, May 13, 2008
 
"Prachatai" website is made inaccessible in several areas - Prachatai, May 15, 2008
More on Website censorship in Thailand
 

 



Oh... Scary! - Kao Lao Ruam Mitr, Matichon, May, 2008
Top, left to right:
Oh… it is scary after reading a report saying that a daughter has been raped by her own father for 24 years
Oh… it is scary after hearing that the government approved a two-baht rise for labor's minimum wage - the two fingers mean victory, not two baht
Oh… it is scary after knowing that who is behind 'Puchai' issue [Puchai means grandfather and refers to Newin's elderly father who was made speaker of the house by his son Newin who is one of the banned TRT executives and considered an canny and Machiavellian politician.]
Bottom, left to right:
Oh… it is scary when a man like Mr. Samak has been denounced as a disloyal person [Samak hangs off the edge of a table that has the words "right wing" on it. Recently, right-winger Samak has been caught up in defending the PPP against accusations of anti-royal bias. The cartoon means that for a quintessential right-winger like Samak to become embroiled in this situation seems incredible.]
Oh… it is scary that nationalism (flag) emerges
Oh… it is scary that a witch hunt is occurring again [The sign reads "October 6" referring to the right-wing coup of 1976. This refers to the great agitation in the Thai-language press to create a situation to have a right-wing coup.]

More Kao Lao cartoons

 
Thursday, May 15, 2008
 

How Thaksin turned from saviour to sinner in a single season - The Guardian, May 14 2008
Fans who failed to question the Thai owner's past are now shocked to see how authoritarian he can be...

 
Vietnam media decry reporters' arrests - AP, May 14, 2008
The arrests of two Vietnamese reporters for their coverage of a bribery, gambling and corruption scandal have led to a highly unusual confrontation between Vietnam's Communist government and the country's state-controlled newspapers...

 
Feather-boa bicycle bandits invade Vietnam's city streets - AFP, May 14, 2008
An exotic and colourful new urban species has invaded Vietnam's crowded city streets, turning heads, slowing traffic and making a lot of noise -- the feather-boa bicycle bandit...
 
Divers find Caesar bust that may date to 46 B.C. - AP, May, 2008
 

Do you agree? - by Arun, Krungtepturakit, May 12, 2008
The general says: Those who agree, raise your hand.
The armband reads: Burma government
The paper he holds reads: New constitution
Behind the general it says: Very good, very good.

 

Bizarre light blub commercial - May 14, 2008
WiseKwai points out the "Bizarre light bulb commercial"

 
Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Thailand museum director indicted in federal probe - AP, May 12, 2008
...Brown, the director of the Southeast Asian Ceramics Museum at Bangkok University in Thailand, is accused of allowing her electronic signature to be used on appraisal forms that were donated at inflated prices to several Southern California museums so collectors could claim fraudulent tax deductions...
The raids followed an undercover investigation by a National Park Service special agent who posed as a collector interested in various artifacts. The agent learned that some of the artifacts managed to pass through U.S. customs because they had "Made in Thailand" labels affixed to them, making it appear they were replicas.
Court documents said the Markells and the agent met more than a dozen times and regularly e-mailed and called one another about antiquities from Southeast Asia. Some of the calls and meetings were recorded, the warrants said.

 

Samak orders hunt for balding mystery man

 

Flags - by Chai Ratchwat, Thairath, May, 2008
Left: This flag is said to be made by farang football fans of Mancity.
Right: This flag is said to be made by Ericson and Mancity football players.

 
 
 
Alleged Thailand perv held without bail in N.J. - Boston Herald, May 12, 2008
A small-time New Jersey actor accused of traveling to Thailand to have sex with underage boys was denied bail yesterday. U.S. District Court Judge Michael...
 
"Worst owner of the season" - Telegraph, May 12, 2008
 
Tuesday, May 13, 2008

I'm a man - May 13, 2008
It reads: Good personality can be built at Robinson – I’m a man

 
Thai fisticuffs on the high seas - Malaysia Star, May, 2008
Two Thai fishermen were allegedly thrown overboard into the South China Sea off the coast of Borneo Island during a fight...
 
A Question Of Attitudes; and Fair Play The Dr Thaksin Way - Guardian, May 9, 2008
...Dr Thaksin's Krazy Guide To Fair Play*: How To Sneak Your Team Into Euro Vase (with a little help from Human Rights Watch)...

 
On the forum: Chidchob info
 

Siemens submits public rail proposal - Bangkok Post, May 12, 2008

Mass-transit costs set to increase - Bangkok Post, May 12, 2008


Thais tailor Beijing bonuses to prevent squandering - Reuters, May 12, 2008
Thailand is offering its athletes big cash incentives for Olympic gold medals -- but will pay out in installments to stop them squandering it...
 
Monday, May 12, 2008


(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)

"Eat Somtam" - May 12, 2008
It reads: Samak moans about the high pork price. We’d better eat papaya salad (somtam).
[This is a billboard for the film Somtam, a comedy and action film.]

 

Self-censoring Thai PM threatens to sue newspapers - Straits Times, May 11, 2008
Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, who has a notoriously combative relationship with his country's press, threatened on Sunday to sue two local newspapers...

 
Shake Girl - May 11, 2008
...The result is a 224-page graphic novel titled "Shake Girl," based on the true story of a Cambodian karaoke performer named Tat Marina who was the target of an "acid attack" after she had an affair with a married man...
 

Junta distributes foreign aid - but with generals' names - The Irrawaddy, May, 2008
International aid boxes distributed to Burmese citizens prominently carry the names of the junta's top generals...

 
Thailand: Press freedom slips in Asia - Sin Chew Jit Poh, May 10, 2008
The state of the press in Southeast Asia is slipping. The findings, based on the report of the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (Seapa), a regional press advocacy group, cited the continuing threats to press freedom across the region with Burma in the limelight.
 

India plans to invest in airport and cable car for Preah Vihear Temple [-An end to the dependence on Thailand's whims?] - The Mekong Times, May 09, 2008

 

PPP plan, to amend the Constitution, could unleash violent mob - Military might have to stage coup - translated and summarized from Krungtep Turakit; Column: News Maker; May 7, 2008

 

CPD warns government about possible coup - Senator raises idea of new CDC being established - translated and summarized from Komchadluek, May 4, 2008

 

Homeland Security in Bangkok launches cyberwar against dissidents - Indy Bay, May, 2008
[Not sure what this is about and the website seems to be blocked from Thailand...]

 

Incoming Thai Interior Min dies of heart failure -officials - Nasdaq, May 10, 2008
[Yet another instance of confusion between Taiwan and Thailand.]
Taiwan's incoming Interior minister Liao Fung-te has died of heart failure 10 days before he was due to take office, his doctors and party officials said Sunday. He was 57...

 
Weekend edition, Saturday-Sunday, May 10-11, 2008
 
Not the Nation: Paedophile caught in country that is not Thailand - May, 2008
 

PM: I didn't say banks on verge of ruin - Bangkok Post, May 9, 2008
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej yesterday denied saying two commercial banks were on the verge of jeng, or bankruptcy, on a TV show which led to a run on the banks. Mr Samak was replying to a question put to him by Democrat MP Korn Chatikavanij during a House meeting yesterday...

Bankers downplay Samak comments - Bangkok Post, May 9, 2008

 


(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)


(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)
Muscle car in Bangkok - May 8, 2008
We wonder who was the young Thai guy roaring along in this left-hand drive 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass with Nevada state plates on the expressway and Weepahwahddee Road...
 
Poachers and Gamekeepers - Prachatai, May, 2008
...Wan suffered a severe identity problem for many years. He had the habit of stepping on people’s toes in night clubs as a clumsy but effective way of engaging them in conversation. This often centred round his plaintive cry ‘Do you know who my father is?’ And although many people were able to tell him, it somehow still ended up in fisticuffs and Wan was repeatedly banned by the courts from night clubs and bars...
 

"This is the one" - ThaiRath, May 4, 2008

Friday, May 9, 2008
 

Ploughing Day - May 9, 2008


Thai academics urge media to stop suppressing the rights to differ - Prachatai, May 7, 2008


Plodprasop flames NDWC's effectiveness - Phuket Gazette, May, 2008
Dr Plodprasop Surasawadee, assistant minister of the Prime Minister's Office, today likened the status of Thailand's National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) to that of an "abandoned toilet"...

Thai kids teach locals a few tricks - Vietname Net, May 8, 2008
Towering over their rivals, students from Striwittaya 2 school, Thailand, dominated play not only in football and basketball but also in sepak takraw (rattan ball kicking), a sport in which both Vietnam and Thailand boast top players...

Those who have long hated Thaksin will now have to endure his nominee, Samak, as PM - Who will be the next PM after Samak? - translated and summarized from Matichon, Column: A Discursive Column, May 2, 2008


From the Finland Declaration to the Nepal Strategy - Regime change through constitutional amendment and ballot - translated and summarized from Phujatkan, Author: Chiewchawana, April 29, 2008

 

Highly regrettable actions on the Prachatai website - translated and summarized from Phujatkan, Author: Surawit Weerawan, May 1, 2008


Worrisome situation - translated and summarized from Krungtep Turakit, Column: Political Developments, April 30, 2008


At last, big plans for SRT - Bangkok Post, May 6, 2008
...The rail network in this country covers some 4,043km, less than in neighbouring Burma, which has around 5,500km. Worse, only 280km of the Thai rail is the double-track system, compared with 200km in Malaysia and 600km in Burma.
Thus it is not difficult to imagine why delays are very common for passengers due to that traffic bottleneck. To arrive at a railway station only to find that the train taking them to their destination will come two hours late, is still possible.
The single track limits the driver to run the train at a maximum speed of 120km per hour. Thus it is understandable for railway officials to envy those working at the Highways Department because roads always come first when policy-makers talk about transport infrastructure...

Government to buy BTS Skytrain for Bt56 billion - TNA, May 5, 2008

Red hot political strategy of the ‘Invisible hand’ - translated and summarized from Matichon; Column: Vipak Haeng Vipak, April 25, 2008



(Photo: Wally Higgins)

Fight club at Lumpini Park - May 2, 2008

Jett of Jettcycles design writes: I just read BANGKOK ELECTRICAL SUPPLY Reprint of The Far Eastern Review, May 1931 and I remembered my late father talking about his early memories of the Bangkok trams. 
My father grew up in the 1950’s and went to school at Assumption boy school on Charoen krung rd.  His family lived in a 1920’s built shophouse on Songwad rd, which is still standing, and he traveled to school by tram on the Bang Kholaem line each day. 
My father had a lot of school-days stories, but my favourite was of the student fights and their unique 1950’s approach to them.
As the school was very strict about fighting, students went to great lengths to avoid getting caught fighting on school grounds.  Instead, they would catch the Silom line tram to Lumpini Park, which was a perfect venue as it was virtually deserted at the time.  But it was on the tram that the tension would mount.  The opposing camps would face off on the tram, silently trying to intimidate the opposition.  Nobody would say or do anything aggressive due to the strict social order at the time.  Plus the students were wearing uniforms bearing the school name.  
At the park it was a different story. The couple would fist fight and wrestle while the crowd cheered on. At this point I would always ask my father “who won?” He would tell me with a smile that no one won, "We would fight until we just ran out of breath."  My father would always assure me that the fighting pair would end on friendly terms, going their separate ways with a smile. He would always end his stories with “that’s how we did it back in the days” 


More: Bangkok Trams (1894-1968) and tramway accounts from famous Thai writers

Two views of the Battle of Koh Chang - May 3, 2008
Battle of Koh Chang
...a decisive victory by the French over the Thai Navy.
The Battle of Koh Chang
The French battle group was forced to withdraw with heavy damage...


Death sign - May 3, 2008
These signs are going up all over town. It reads: Be careful of this danger point. During the festival time, this area had an accident and a death. Project of the traffic accident campaign, Bangkok.


SRT should mimic Indian Railways - Bangkok Post, May 1, 2008
...From a loss-making operation that was near bankruptcy due to high debt, Indian Railways turned to make a profit of 70 billion baht over the past two years, Dr Surapong said. At the same time, passenger tariffs fell by 18%.
The SRT has long been one of the country's worst-performing state enterprises, with accumulated losses of more than 40 billion baht and losses in 2007 alone of 6.27 billion baht.
Of Thailand's nearly five dozen state enterprises, four accounted for 95% of all losses: the SRT, the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority, the SME Bank and the National Housing Authority...

Bangkok Electrical Supply, Far Eastern Review, May 1931
Thanks to Ric for sending this in...
More: Bangkok Trams (1894-1968) and tramway accounts from famous Thai writers

Weekend front pages
Also:
From Friday: PAD rally photos - April 24, 2008


Govt to revive city 'Champs Elysee' project - Bangkok Post, April 26, 2008
Buildings and street furniture will be upgraded to be on a par with those of the Champs Elysee in Paris. The plan is to promote the avenue as a cultural route with upscale shops, including a high-end hotel.
The first phase, costing 1.6 billion baht, is to redevelop buildings and footpaths on the avenue. Important works include the 107-million-baht underground walkway and 487-million-baht renovation works on vintage buildings, and others.
...'I do not reject business and tourism. But this area has multi-layer land use, cultural importance and old community settlements and all stakeholders should be given the right to have a say how they think this area should be developed,'' he said.
Unfortunately, the work plan is handled by a consultant firm, he noted.
''Where are the people, community and stakeholders? This is a very big, crucial area and what the government will do is let a group of experts decide what the area should become,'' he said.
With regard to the original plan, the NESDB had commissioned a group of consultant firms to work out the master plan study in 2002. The group comprised Creative Development Co, SJA-3D Co and A-Seven Company.

Lao's Phongsavanh Bank to open first branch in Thailand - TNA, April 25, 2008

PAD rally - April 24, 2008


Red-light cameras - April 26, 2008
City Hall to delay evictions - Bangkok Post, April 9, 2008
...The community behind the centuries-old fort on Ratchadamnoen avenue sits on a four-rai land plot which is set for expropriation.
Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin has indicated he prefers a compromise to eviction. But the expropriation decree demands prompt eviction of the community, a move backed by the Council of State which was asked by City Hall to look into the legal aspects of the issue.
''We've never wanted to drive them out. In fact, we want to fix their problems,'' said Mr Buddipongse at yesterday's meeting.
Up to 312 residents of the Mahakarn Fort community have fought for 14 years to maintain the community, which has been earmarked for development into a public park.
Community leader Tawatchai Voramahakun said the legal changes would be a solution to the problem.
However, a source said it was against the principle of any law to change the decree to benefit a certain group of people. The fact remained that the community is on public land.

Earlier: The Mahakan Fort community

Delivery of rail cars for the airport link - thaitransport-photo.net, April, 2008
Interesting thread and photos

Thai police drop arms dealer charge - MWC News, April 9, 2008
Police in Thailand have dropped charges against a Russian man, accused of being one of the world's biggest black market arms dealers...

Thai police abandon probe of Bangkok blasts - AFP, March 21, 2008
Thai police have given up their investigation into deadly bombings across Bangkok on New Year's Eve in 2006, saying Friday that they had failed to find any clues to the culprits...

Earlier: Bangkok New Year's blasts


Scenes from Thaksin's return
Yesterday: Sudden billboard: Welcome home, Thaksin - February 28, 2008
Mass transit index page
With various mass transit schemes being revived, the long moribund mass transit sections of 2Bangkok.com are coming to life again. We have made a new index page to start to organize the news that is slowly coming out.

2Bangkok.com Archives - 1999-2008

Things we want to know... Questions from 2Bangkok.com


How to view the Thailand Outlook Channel (ASTV2)
2B in Lonely Planet - September 8, 2007
 

 

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