News and Views - April 2007 (Photo: 2Bangkok.com) Songkhla billboard - April 25, 2007 Above: The 11th Haad Samila Kite Competition, 2007 - February 16-18, 2007 at Sa Bua kite field, Samila Peninsula, Songkhla - High-flying, beautiful, creative kites giving a loud noise invited to join the competition. On the forum: Scoop vindicated? Left: Original story from August 9, 2005 "Not a miracle" - Thairath, April 21, 2007 The caption reads: Not a miracle: Photo of students of Ban Nongsanoh School, Smphur Chaingsaen, Nakornpathom. These photo are taken one after the other. Above, the background did not have so much light and the lower, the background was black and there was a circle that looks like Jatukamramathep [the popular amulet]. It is thought that this photo was put together with another one to make this image. [Newspapers like Thairath and Daily News often feature photos with anomalous or ghost images on their front pages.] Thailand's car ownership reaches 31 per cent - EARTHtimes.org, May 2, 2007 About 14 million Thais, or 31 per cent of the population over the age of 20, now own a car, media reports said Thursday. According to a recently released regional survey by Nielsen Media Research, Thailand ranks fifth worldwide... (Photo: 2Bangkok.com) Buddhist billboard - April 5, 2007 For about a month, these billboards, designed to influence public opinion over the constitution, have been on display around Bangkok. This one reads: Buddhists, let's support the new constitution to 1. name Buddhism as the state religion 2. specify that His Majesty must a Buddhist upholder of all religions Note the mega bridge and outer ring road bridges in the distance. State religion 'like suicide' - The Nation, May 5, 2007 Making Buddhism the national religion in Thailand's new constitution would be like "committing a double suicide", well-known Indonesian journalist Goenawan Mohamed said in Bangkok yesterday... Constitution pamphlet - May 4, 2007 Right: The cover reads: Let’s participate in the drafting of the constitution. Committee for public relations and dissemination, Constitution Drafting Assembly. Government says IP arrests up 25% last year - Bangkok Post, May 3, 2007 Puangrat Asvapisit, director-general of the Intellectual Property Department, said it was not fair for Washington to downgrade Thailand to its Priority Watch List (PWL) due to failure to suppress IP violations. ''As a matter of fact, the number of arrests improved notably last year,'' Mrs Puangrat said yesterday... About "Hi-So (Leena)" - April 28, 2007 GWR reports: Channel 3 had a news segment about this woman tonight. I can't tell you much about her because it's all in Thai. She's a woman lawyer who likes to help poor accident victims. The segment was about her help for a woman whose son had been killed doing tanker repair. There was still fuel in the tank when he set to work! Hi-so Leena also likes to model her own rather bizarre range of beauty products. I've actually seen some of this stuff on sale in supermarkets and being advertised in ladies soap opera magazines. The packaging design is flat-out 50s and then some. Just like this extremely gaudy website... Leena is a flamboyant lawyer who ran for Bangkok governor and was disqualified. Thai horror - Sunday Mail, April 29, 2007 ...Gordon McCarry, 24, piled into the back of a refuse truck in Pattaya at high speed, severing the 50-year-old worker's legs. The man, who had been standing behind the truck picking up a bin, died in hospital 24 hours later... Unfinished buildings attract little interest - Bangkok Post, April 30, 2007 Bangkok city plan needs a rethink - The Nation, April 28, 2007 Thai Navy fires Exocet Missile at Defenceless Target - Pattaya City News, April 28, 2007 DVD burners seized in Bangkok piracy raid - Business of Cinema, April 28, 2007 Eleven persons were arrested and 140 DVD-R burners seized during an operation in the Bangkok suburb of Nondhaburi conducted by the Royal Thai Police... IA sells Gaya-Bangkok tickets to Thai pilgrims, cancels flight - Indian Express, April 26, 2007 A scheduling glitch by Indian Airlines had over 100 Thai pilgrims stranded in Gaya for over a week last month, leading to a diplomatic embarrassment that has resulted in Indian Ambassador to Thailand Vijay Latha Reddy writing to the Civil Aviation Ministry to take measures to avoid such a situation again. The airline has now been asked to explain... ATM trickster takes 'winnings' - Bangkok Post, April 28, 2007 What would you do if you had received a call on your mobile phone from the operator of the brand you use, saying you're the lucky winner of the 60,000-baht second prize?... King Of Thailand Gets A New 737-800 - Airliners.net, April 21, 2007 What happened to Movieseer.com? - April 21, 2007 Thailand's Movieseer.com can been offline since April 15 (at least). Don notes: The Movie Seer website has been down all week. Have you heard why? The times are always wrong -- except strangely not for the three Siam Square theaters and The Emporium -- but it was a useful list of what was on in town. On Friday we called the Movieseer office and an anonymous worker said they did not know the site was down. When asked if they were still in business they said yes. Complete timetable of railways in Thailand in English - April 21, 2007 Dr. Volker Wangemann writes: The great work is done. After two long months I've finished now the new EXCEL-file with the title "COMPLETE TIMETABLE OF RAILWAYS IN THAILAND." This is a very big and long file(1.45 MB and 185 pages in a printer friendly version)! For the first time ever the railway enthusiasts and the normal passenger now will have in his own hands a complete timetable which then will show every passenger train in Thailand with every station/stop,line and timings. It was a real ambitious project, as you couldn't get a complete timetable in Roman characters in Thailand from the SRT before. I do hope that the readers of your side will make a lot of use of these timetables and I do hope that the like the work... (Photo: 2Bangkok.com) Songkhla billboard - May 3, 2007 The billboard reads: Songkhla Administrative Office - Nawapon Bunyamani, chairman of Songkhla Administrative Office - Supports the use of 2005 five-billion-baht budget for a project improving the landscape of Khao Kao Seng in Tambon Khao Roop Chang, Songkhla’s Amphur Muang New Delhi: Public interest groups hold rally to back Thai govt - pharmabiz.com, April 26, 2007 TRT's Chaturon to address BCC - April 28, 2007 May 7 - SPECIAL BCCT LUNCHEON Guest Speaker: KHUN CHATURON CHAISANG, Acting Leader of Thai Rak Thai Party Topic: "The Future Direction of Thai Economics and Politics" on Thursday 10th May 2007... Khun Chaturon received his bachelor's degree and Master's degree both in Economics, from State University of New York at Buffalo and The American University, Washington D.C, respectively. Khun Chaturon served as Deputy Minister of Finance from 1996 to 1997 and Minister to the Prime Minister's Office from 2001 to 2002. From February to October 2002 Khun Chaturon was Minister of Justice and from 2005 to 2006 he was Minister of Education. He was also Deputy Prime Minister from 2003 to 2005. Khun Chaturon was Deputy Leader of Thai Rak Thai Party from 2001 to 2006 when he became Acting Party Leader. BCCT Information Services http://www.bccthai.com Shitdisco on playing Thailand: "They asked us how long we wanted to go for... two months!" - drownedinsound.com, April X, 2007 So what does a festival in Bangkok look like? Lots of crusty white dudes and over privileged gap year students called Cynthia monging about on pills to the dance-rock revolution? “Actually, It was a real indigenous crowd at the festival – 10,000 people watching our stage. It’s a bit daunting - it was the biggest gig we’ve ever played, and I ran around not sure what to do with myself, and during the set I naturally managed to fall over.” Anti-alcohol ad - April 28, 2007 Anti-alcohol ad at Phan Phiphop Lila Bridge. It reads: Khlong Khu Muang Doem Liquor [illegible] POR OR Team campaigns against alcohol to celebrate His Majesty’s birthday. We support anti-alcohol campaign. Law needed to be issued immediately! [Not sure the law they are referring to.] By Jaras Pichakorn School and Jaras Pichakorn Vocational School, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. (Photo: 2Bangkok.com) Thai film survives the Singapore Snip - Bangkok Post, April 20, 2007 Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul's "Syndromes and a Century," features scenes of a monk playing a guitar and another monk playing a game... Earlier: Free Thai Cinema Movement Petition (Photo: 2Bangkok.com) "Grievance Center - Royal Thai Police" - April 21, 2007 Above is one of the many billboards around town that are part of a police public relations campaign. It reads: Grievance Center - Royal Thai Police - Threatened? - Not getting justice? - Inform clues about drugs, vice, influential [persons], crimes at P.O. Box 1234 - email: jaray@police.go.th, rongmuang Bangkok 10000 or inform [by calling]: 1194 - General information... Royal Thai Police (Photo: 2Bangkok.com) Be careful! - May 1, 2007 Sign at Songkhla beach: Be careful! Pine trees might fall. Songkhla Municipality Male Order Business - The Irrawaddy, April 30, 2007 Journalist Cindy Tilney takes readers into the world of Burmese male sex workers in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where many young Shan migrant workers, usually heterosexuals, earn money as "bar boys..." Time's info on King rebutted - Bangkok Post, April 26, 2007 ...In an email to Time yesterday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat pointed out that the King played no part in the Sept 19 coup that toppled the Thaksin Shinawatra government... Gulf sea level 'unlikely to rise' - The Nation, April 23, 2007 Chomsky on the Thai coup - April 11, 2007 Austin writes: I found this story about Chomsky commenting on the coup... US ready to train Thai forces if asked - Bangkok Post, April 20, 2007 "In The Name Of The Devil - I'm Just one dust in Thailand." - April 19, 2007 This blog lists 2Bangkok under "Taboo Link." It's better than being under the "Poor Link" section like Manager is or "Amateur News" like Matichon. Mercury hits 44C in Tak as Thailand has its hottest day in 47 years - The Nation, April 26, 2007 Ten steps to close down an open society - HuffingtonPost, April 24, 2007 Last autumn, there was a military coup in Thailand. The leaders of the coup took a number of steps, rather systematically, as if they had a shopping list. In a sense, they did. Within a matter of days, democracy had been closed down: the coup leaders declared martial law, sent armed soldiers into residential areas, took over radio and TV stations, issued restrictions on the press, tightened some limits on travel, and took certain activists into custody. They were not figuring these things out as they went along. If you look at history, you can see that there is essentially a blueprint for turning an open society into a dictatorship... What do Democrats.com have against poor people in Thailand getting affordable medicines? - HuffingtonPost, April 25, 2007 On Tuesday Ellen Shaffer, a public health activist, was send a message from Bob Fertik, from Democrats.com, a group that supposedly supports the democratic party and liberal causes. It called upon Ellen and thousands of others who received the same message to "Stop the Outsourcing of US Jobs to Thailand," saying " Thailand has been taken over by a military regime hostile to good American jobs in our science industries," and then linked to this page, which sends anti-Thailand emails to Congress... (Photo: 2Bangkok.com) Me ... Myself - April 27, 2007 Official website - Also here and here Pantip raid - Komchadluek, April 25, 2007 Mr. Paiboon Watanasiritham, Deputy P.M. and Minister of Social Development and Human Security takes the police to investigate Pantip Paza after he was informed there were pornographic VCDs, but the owners found out and ran away--on April 23. Constitution in the newspapers - Daily News, April 25, 2007 Right: The new draft constitution and explanation has been printed in Thai-language newspapers in recent days. A tale of two newspapers Kowit purged from position of police chief - Bangkok Post, April 25, 2007 ...NS chairman Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin said Pol Gen Kowit was bitter and dissatisfied over his second transfer and said he would no longer attend CNS meetings. ''In this case, I have to propose the appointment of Pol Gen Seripisuth as a new CNS member without the need to wait for Pol Gen Kowit's resignation,'' Gen Sonthi said. Seri confirmed as police commander - The Nation, April 25, 2007 ...Kowit was content with the move. He was prepared to follow any lawful orders. "I feel no stress or worry. It's fine by me," he said. Sonthi reportedly wanted Kowit - a close friend and a classmate in their military academy years - to continue to hold the PM's Office post until his retirement in October. Sonthi and Surayud reportedly resolved their differences over this. Bird flu warning sign - April 25, 2007 Right: This sign on Sukhumvit Road reads - Don’t be careless about bird flu. Contact district office or call 1555 to inform us of abnormal death of poultry. Thai tuna ad - April 25, 2007 City woman convicted of keeping girl as house slave - Bangkok Post, April 25, 2007 A Bangkok businesswoman was yesterday sentenced to seven years in jail for keeping a girl from Buri Ram province as a slave. It is the first time in Thai legal history that the anti-slavery law has been enforced, despite widespread slave-like labour in sweat shops and private households... (Photo: 2Bangkok.com) Fiscal policy may end Thai 'chaos' - Gulf News, April 24, 2007 ...The military-installed government's initial decision to terminate populist schemes created by Thaksin Shinawatra, the ousted former prime minister, had created hardship for rural Thais, Chalongphob admitted. "Monies that should be going to the grassroots were not going there, and therefore they have been severely affected," he said... King moves to prevent hailstorms - Bangkok Post, April 25, 2007 In Cambodia: Singing Tree Cafe - April 21, 2007 Michael writes: I stumbled upon your website while looking for information on the issue of the temples being overrun by hordes of tourists (BTW, the link to the German Conservation Project did not work). Anyway, touché for both sites on Thailand and Bangkok. I was wondering if it is possible to add us to the restaurant section on your links - Please see here for our (draft) website - singingtreecafe.com Memorial - April 21, 2007 Right: "We fight" - The memorial - Cremation ceremony for the officials who died in government security operations in the year 1987 Found on Somsak's work blog. "Sorry, Asian only lah." - April 2, 2007 Amusing ad from True Visions for their Asian movie channel... Shan tradition rules in a northern Thai town - The Irrawaddy, April 5, 2007 Inform the Royal Thai Police - April 6, 2007 From a flyer handed out in Bangkok: In trouble, in danger Treated unfairly Inform tips of vice and crimes Please contact: Complaint Center Royal Thai Police Patumwan, Bangkok or jaray@police.go.th P.O. Box 1234 Rong Muang, Bangkok, 10000 Tel: 0-2251-2891 Hot line center: 1194 Bangkok residents contact the Metropolitan Police Bureau Provincial residents contact Provincial Police Office Complaint Center - Royal Thai Police It is the duty of the Royal Thai Police to keep the society in peace, promote justice and serve the public. We do our duty with patience, honesty and efficiency. To understand people's problems relating to police work, the comprehensive complaint center is established. Objectives 1. To offer people more opportunities to submit complaints and problems resulting from police's operation or negligence in carrying out their duty; 2. To receive information and hints about people's problems, unfair treatment, vice, crimes and other illegal activities; 3. To promote justice, offer services and solve people's problems in a fast and transparent manner; 4. To offer people a chance to express their ideas about police's operation; 5. To be used as a tool to examine police's operation; and 6. To bring back people's confidence and build a good image of the Royal Thai Police. Establishment of Complaint Center 1. The Royal Thai Police: The Office of the Inspector-General set up a complaint center, controlled and supervised by inspectors. The center is open for people nationwide. 2. The Metropolitan Police Bureau: A complaint center was set up at the Metropolitan Police Bureau to receive complaints about problems in Bangkok. 3. Provincial offices: A compliant center was set up at each provincial office to receive complaints in the province. Asean facing volatility similar to financial crisis: Thailand ... - The Brunei Times, April 6, 2007 Market volatility is similar now to the Asian financial crisis a decade ago, Thailand's Finance Minister Chalongphob Sussangkarn yesterday said... Red faces after porn comics ordered off shelves - Bangkok Post, April 6, 2007 ..."At first I thought they were just common cartoon books until I saw my children engrossed in reading them for the whole day," said Mrs Panee... Shophouses: Reviving the distinctive face of Bangkok - IHT, March 20, 2007 Newley points out this interesting article on shophouse renovations. "Bangkok Post" daily acts as voice of Zionist lobby in Thailand - Islamic Republic News Agency, April 4, 2007 The Thai daily Bangkok Post affiliated to Thailand's Zionist lobby has been acting as the voice of Tel Aviv in the major developments of the Middle East and world of Islam... The media experts of Southeast Asia believe that the Bangkok Post editorial is in line with the goals of the media centers associated with Zionists aiming to make Iran give up its inalienable international rights... Senator Lieberman and four others rap Thailand compulsory licenses on non-AIDS drugs - HuffingtonPost, April 2, 2007 Senator Joe Lieberman and four democrats (Menendez D-NJ, Lautenberg D-NJ, Carper D-Del, Feinsten D-CA) in the Senate have asked U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab to rough up Thailand over its plans to issue compulsory licenses on drug patents for diseases other than AIDS, TB or malaria... Bangkok Vice: Buddhas, Boxers, and Bar Girls - Slate, April 2, 2007 [Another breezy bloggish entry on a trip to Thailand masquerading as a travel article...] ...Speaking of gay Buddhist dwarfs... 'No fight in Thailand policy' effective immediately - Asian Journal, April 5, 2007 ...Ermita said this was not the first time that Thai boxing authorities had allowed Filipinos to fight even without GAB's permission. Ermita said GAB had issued an "urgent appeal" to all licensed managers and promoters "not to place the lives of their boxers at severe risk by violating GAB policies, for the safety of Filipino boxers..." Thais blamed for tragedy - ABS CBN News, April 3, 2007 Former WBC youth flyweight champion Lito Sisnorio died of head injuries in Thailand early Saturday morning because Thai "mismatchmakers" choose to import inferior opposition for blood-thirsty local fans to enjoy a massacre by a hometown fighter... Boxers Named - Fighting Illegally in Thailand - BoxingScene.com, April 3, 2007 ...Buhain noted that despite having suspended eleven people last year “there are still unscrupulous people going around looking for Filipino boxers who become punching bags in Thailand” and he would seek the help of the NBI in rounding up the guilty parties and making sure they are prosecuted. Historian wants country called 'Siam' - The Nation, April 3, 2007 Pongthep backed over coup question - The Nation, April 3, 2007 ...The test asked: "If you are a judge and you were invited by coup makers to work for them for a salary more than you receive now, will you accept the work or not and why?"... Plan unveiled to secure future of Thailand's tsunami-hit Andaman region - ADB, April 3, 2007 An ambitious masterplan was formally rolled today that will provide the tsunami-hit areas of Thailand's Andaman Coast with a sustainable medium development strategy to strengthen more short-term recovery efforts... Darkie toothpaste - April 3, 2007 [Thanks to Don for pointing this out...] BMA outsmarted by jokers at taxi stands - The Nation, April 2, 2007 "Khunnatham Nam Thai" ("Morals Will Lead Thailand") - April 3, 2007 ADIntrend has examples and comments on the new patriotic ads showing on Thai TV. Also mentioned in this Nation article. Thai king pardons Swiss man jailed for royal insult - AFP, April 12, 2007 CNS members visit renowned fortune teller - Bangkok Post, April 2, 2007 Suspected drug dealers - Daily News, April 13, 2007 The polices arrested suspected drug dealers at the "Living Room" building in Dindaeng. Two others (bottom) were shot dead. Diplomat's blog backfires over sex talk - Metro, April 11, 2007 A British diplomat abroad has become embroiled in a sex scandal after his attempts at blogging backfired. Ian Proud has been accused of being a regular in Bangkok's red-light district - and of being part of a British Embassy elite sipping gin-and-tonics while locals struggle and starve... Right: The original title given to the piece as it appeared in Metro. The Nation's triumphant announcement of the blog: NATION WEBLOG Chief of British Embassy's political Division blogging and the blog itself "Exclusive video clip of Sanam Luang clash" - April 2, 2007 The Nation is trying to stream a grainy cellphone video of "clash" at Sanam Luang (apparently on March 23). However, their servers are so inadequate, you probably will not be able to see it. You can also get it via this address and then save the page. GET vs Krungthep Thanakom - April 18, 2007 A reader forwards this interesting press release and adds: The company's website is www.honuatech.com.  Honua is the new name of the company in America, but contract was signed as Global Environmental. CONTACT:  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Shani Yamada Global Environmental Technologies Voice: 808-523-3140 Fax: 808-523-3122 Krungthep Thanakom Company Goes to Trial in USA Managing Director Testifies that Krungthep Thanakom Company is Private Honolulu, HI, USA --April 15, 2007-- For Immediate Release The Krunghtep Thanakom Company, Ltd. will go to trial in Honolulu, HI, USA against Global Environmental Technologies, “GET.” GET has filed suit in the United States Federal Court aging alleging breach of contract.  GET alleges that it signed a USD 4.3 million purchase order agreement with Krunghtep Thanakom to replace Bangkok’s aging medical waste incinerators with environmentally safe autoclaves and a pyrolysis system.  According to GET, the existing Bangkok incinerators were not compliant with current environmental standards, and the Krunghtep Thanakom Company and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration wanted to replace them. Mr. Amorn Kitchawengkul, Managing Director of the Krunghtep Thanakom Company is appearing in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA to represent Krunghtep Thanakom.  The trial is scheduled to start on April 17th and Mr. Kitchawengkul arrived in Hawaii on April 11th. GET alleges that Krunghtep Thanakom signed the purchase order agreement on October 21, 2003.  GET further alleges witnesses saw the governor of Bangkok, as the representative of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s 99% ownership of the Krunghtep Thanakom Company, direct Mr. Kitchawengkul to sign the purchase agreement. GET alleges that prior to the contract signing the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and Krunghtep Thanakom were represented interchangeably to GET.  Mr. Kitchawengkul has testified that Krungthep Thanakom is a private company.  He also testified that Krungthep Thanakom is 99.98% owned by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.  This clearly highlights the need to determine whether Krungthep Thanakom is a private or public entity.  GET is interested to learn of this determination, because if the Krungthep Thanakom Company is found to be public, then the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration may become responsible for any damages awarded to GET. Setbacks for investors - Foreign developers on Samui suspend work - The Nation, April 11, 2007 ...Property developers from the UK and Scandinavia have announced the sale of nearly Bt6 billion worth of their projects on Koh Samui, following a new city plan and a lack of clarity in the amended Foreign Business Act. Research by the Agency for Real Estate Affairs indicates the new city plan on Koh Samui will mandate that property projects cannot be constructed higher than 150 metres above sea level. As a result, British and Scandinavian property developers planning projects higher than that must suspend them... Mafia in khaki prey on bus passengers - Bangkok Post, April 15, 2007 Tourists, migrants searched, held, forced to part with money to secure own release... The racist legacy of a name - Bangkok Post, April 19, 2007 ...While the inclusive Siam is more in line with our pluralistic society, the word Thailand gives ownership to only the ethnic Thais while alienating other ethnic groups as ''the outsiders''. This is why we see the hill peoples in the North and along the western borders as non-Thais, although their ancestors probably lived here long before ours. The same with the ethnic Malay Muslims in the deep South. Because we see them as outsiders, we feel they are not entitled to have the same rights. We feel it is perfectly alright to treat them as we see fit. We think it is okay to impose the secular culture on the pious Muslim communities, to evict forest dwellers from their ancestral homes, to exploit their natural resources at our whim, to subject migrant workers to back-breaking work with little pay, or to keep their children from receiving an education. Because we have been brainwashed to believe that we ethnic Thais are sole owners of the land, we feel indifferent to other ethnic groups' sufferings. In the process, we have become tacit accomplices in the exploitation. Old phone card from 1998 - April 20, 2007 It reads: 44 years of TOT... Long distance public phone in the rural area. Asian celebrity vloggers robbed in Thailand - send2press.com, April 17, 2007 The three members of the popular online show Huge In Asia (www.hugeinasia.com) were robbed of their camera and film equipment yesterday in central Chiang Mai, the trio claims. Local officials have not yet identified any of the culprits but say that an investigation is underway... "A mean conman is in town" - April 20, 2007 Michael Rastrup Smith writes: I am a correspondent of Danish National TV, TV2 Denmark, based in Bangkok. I earlier did a 45 mins. TV documentary on a very nasty Danish conman Mogens Christensen, who operated out of Thailand. He left, but now he is back again setting scams up in Bangkok, so I decided to make a warning on my weblog. Fried spiders of Skuon - April 20, 2007 Nils writes: Fried spiders of Skuon... I have seen those vendors with their plates myself in 2000 when our pickup stopped for a short rest on the way from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh... Here, here and here Also: A link from that "In the name of the devil - I'm just one dust in Thailand" blog led me to this: Bangkok Post: Interesting Opinion Piece Against Making Buddhism the State Religion Belgian gooses Thai lady in Pattaya restaurant - Pattaya Daily News, April 17, 2007 Thaksin's pet project scrutinised - Bangkok Post, April 16, 2007 ...Executives of its units, such as the Thailand Knowledge Park (TK Park) and Thailand Creative and Design Centre (TCDC), were paid as much as 200,000-300,000 baht a month, he said. ...Since it was set up in 2004, budgets of more than five billion baht had been allocated to the organisation, which had spent nearly three billion baht. Half of that went into executive salaries, said the source... Thai Rak Thai's farming projects 'struggling' - Bangkok Post, April 16, 2007 ...Fish farming ponds in ponoh schools lay abandoned, and herds of cows and goats had fallen to half their original number when first introduced, the source said. The source cited a lack of understanding of people's traditional livelihoods as the main reason for the failures. The projects were initiated by the ministry with little account for people's needs, he said. ''We gave them catfish, cows, and the like. But they showed little interest in raising them. ''When they raise goats, they just let them roam free and feed themselves instead of doing what we have instructed them to do in a systematic way,'' the source said... Pardon by Thailand's King a wise, far-sighted decision - China Post, April 16, 2007 ...It is heartening to see that even Thailand's king, who enjoys a status comparable to a deity in his own country, is open-minded about facing criticism from his compatriots and foreign guests alike. This stands in stark contrast to our President Chen Shui-bian, who routinely accuses his critics of being traitors, communist sympathizers and Beijing's fellow travelers. We have grown tired of hearing President Chen denounce his critics for "bringing down Taiwan," rather than face up to the genuine problems often pointed out by his critics. It is also unsettling to hear our government officials blame foreign criticism on ineffective lobbying, rather than addressing the real reasons why foreign friends have criticized us. While our Thai friends may be pondering what to do with a legal legacy that dates back to the turn of the 20th century, our own government is constantly coming up with new ways to punish its critics, such as prosecuting newspaper reporters for leaks of state secrets, demanding the closure of a cable television network, and pursuing libel actions against reporters. We hope that political leaders of all stripes in Taiwan will eventually realize the futility of attempting to silence their critics, as well as the greater benefits that come along with freedom of speech and the press. Thais tepid about changing name back to Siam - Bangkok Post, April 17, 2007 [One of the humorous comments in the petition: "Siam is shorter to write. Thailand is too long and wastes ink."] Historian Charnvit Kasetsiri says he has not given up in his bid to change Thailand's name back to Siam, despite a lukewarm public response to the idea. Mr Charnvit launched his campaign online at www.petitiononline.com/siam2007 two weeks ago, seeking public support to have the name Siam restored in the new constitution... More successful seems to be the Free Thai Cinema Movement Petition Thailand investment curbs backfire, set stage for rally in baht - Bloomberg, April 2, 2007 Decent and safe Songkran at Khao Sarn Road - TNA, April 8, 2007 ...Police said business operators along Khao Sarn Road had decided to celebrate the water splashing festival April 12-15 and that the organisers wanted revellers to wear Thai dress. They are also asking women refrain from wearing 'revealing' clothing as in past festivals... Asian tourists turn away from Thailand amid political uncertainty - AFP, April 7, 2007 Asian tourists have begun turning away from Thailand, official statistics show, prompting concern that holidaymakers might be avoiding the kingdom because of its continuing political woes... Ambitions for top UN job soured Thai relations with neighbor - ToTheCenter.com, April 1, 2007 [Thanks to Danny for pointing this out...] But the newspaper was not approving what the then Thai government did during the race, and said, “However, ties took a nosedive after the two countries... Defining balance in Thai academic studies - The Nation, April 2, 2007 ...A boycott may or may not be a good idea. But the call for this boycott signals something important. The theme for the conference is transnationalism and the erosion of borders in the world. One border  could be the line between what can be said inside and outside the country.