Rumor that Thaksin is working for Cambodia
This is just something I heard, so don’t quote me on this, but there is a rumor that Thaksin is working for the Cambodian government. He’s apparently advising them on how to manipulate the stock market – something that he’s been very good at in the past.
I congratulated Thaksin on his Facebook page, but maybe that’s just a rumor.
You can keep up-to-date with all the current rumors via Google and Thaksin’s Twitter updates.
Teenage girl admits to floating Krathong with 7 different men
If you’re familiar with the current obsession by the Thai police to arrest anyone on suspicion of spreading rumors to manipulate the stock market – as if rumors and speculation were not an inherent factor in market trading anyway – then this article in Not The Nation will amuse:
AYUTTHAYA – Police are currently questioning a 17-year-old girl who floated krathong with at least seven different men at the water’s edge last night. According to witnesses, beginning at 6:45pm, Achara “Noon” Latharatchung, who was wearing a short denim mini-shirt and tiny halter top, floated a krathong with her current boyfriend, 19-year-old vocational student “Rip”.
She was then seen again at 7:45pm at the same location with her English teacher floating another krathong. Then at 9pm her father, younger brother and grandfather all took turns floating krathong with her by a khlong near their home. Around 11pm, Noon’s neighbours say they heard her ex-boyfriend “Nui” demand she come out from her house and float a krathong with him as his new girlfriend watched. Despite initial resistance, she agreed.
Finally, on her way home hours later, a taxi driver, who had been working all night and not floated a krathong yet, allegedly took a detour to a nearby ricefield where they floated a krathong in the paddies. According to police, although all the acts were consensual, they have warned Noon to be more careful in the future.
Not the Nation is satirical by the way. In reality the Thai police do not need to work within the law to arrest anyone for anything. It takes me back a few years to when they arrested Thai actress Nong Nat for making a porn film with a Japanese actor in Singapore. She was held in a private screening room with several officers who watched the movie and asked her detailed questions about her “offences”.
They seem to be perfectly happy to take kickbacks from thousands of go-go bars and clubs that provide special services to customers. Funny that.
Thai rice more important than 3G
It’s good to see Thailand is setting it’s sights on innovation in hi-tech markets. Aside from doing it’s best to screw up the economy the Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Theera Wongsamut reports today that “A DNA test of the new US fragrant rice strain known as Jazzman shows it is developed from a Chinese strain and is inferior to Thai Hom Mali fragrant rice when cooked.” Notice the nice mix of fact and opinion there.
Well, that’s great news isn’t it? Of course we knew it must be inferior to Thai rice because it’s an American product and has a reference to “Louisiana” on the label. “A direct rip-off of Thai rice,” I hear you say. But no:
The DNA test, conducted at a laboratory of the state rice research centre in Ubon Ratchathani, found Jazzmen was a product of the genetic engineering of a Chinese strain.
You know, Thailand has to keep a watch on the US because they’re always ripping off Thai products. It’s not like Thailand copies any American (or European for that matter) products, like music, films, brand names, designer labels, electronics, food and drink, pharmaceuticals – absolutely not.
Meanwhile, we have confirmation from the government to further set back plans to auction 3G licenses. They told TOT Plc to start again with its costly plan for its mobile broadband service. That’s probably a good thing because 3G is just so old-fashioned these days. It’s not like widespread fast internet access would provide greater opportunities for education, business and the economy anyway.
How to be environmentally unfriendly
I find it strange that there has been so much effort by various environment groups to further damage Thailand’s fragile economy by forcing the court to halt what they call “potentially harmful industrial projects”. The industry along the Eastern Seaboard provides a significant proportion of Thailand’s export GDP and also employs tens of thousands of people.
This narrow-minded approach is typical of pressure groups of course, but is also a great example of the “not in my backyard” mentality. Anyone who has visited Bangkok, for example, will soon realize that Thais don’t care much for their surroundings. Bangkok must be one of the filthiest cities in the World; traffic pollution, water pollution, accumulated street food, rats, cockroaches, stray dogs, incessant noise, public works that never seem to get finished, construction that never ends – it’s all here. But nobody cares or does anything about it.
Meanwhile, PTT Exploration & Production has just plugged a two-month-old oil well leak in northwestern Australia and extinguished a fire that broke out on the rig two days ago. It only made the papers a few days ago when a fire broke out. Before that nobody cared because it wasn’t news – or perhaps because it wasn’t in Thailand? The environmental damage has been enormous. PTTEP has estimated that up to 400 barrels of oil a day were seeping into the ocean, which probably means it was a lot more.
But it’s in Western Australia, so mai pen rai. More pictures here.
Flickr Photos
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