Red shirt protests start tomorrow

by Newley on March 11, 2010

Quick note — this NYT story does a good job of surveying the scene ahead of the upcoming red shirt protests, which are due to start tomorrow (Fri. the 12th) here in Bangkok.

I will, as ever, be blogging here and posting snippets on Twitter. If you see any good articles or have any first hand accounts to share, let me know: newley AT gmail.com

Stay tuned…

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think_piece.tiff

I have devoted numerous posts to Thailand’s ongoing political instability of late, often linking to various media reports. But I realized that I have neglected, in recent months, to point to some of my own stories. So here’s a re-cap:

In addition to filing pieces about breaking news in Thailand for ABC News Radio in New York,1 I am now covering business and economics issues in the region for BNA, in Washington, DC.

I cannot link to my BNA stories here since they’re subscriber-only, but some recent topics I have covered include:

  • Thailand’s Map Ta Phut industrial estate issue2
  • Labor issues and economic governance in Vietnam
  • Asia’s economic recovery
  • How exporting firms in Thailand are using the country’s various free trade agreements

I also recent wrote a recent story for AFP about Thai rice farmers and free trade. You can see the piece on the Jakarta Globe site here. It ran on March 7.

And, finally, I have written a number of fun travel/lifestyle stories for CNNGo.com of late. Here are a few:

(Cartoon via.)

  1. I’ll try to give you a heads up next time a story is due to run. I’ll most likely mention it quickly on Twitter. []
  2. Hence my interest and subsequent posts on the topic here at Newley.com []
  3. You’ll recall that I blogged about the Siam Sunray here a while back. []

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Looking ahead to this weekend’s red shirt protest

March 9, 2010

Bangkok Post: “Govt lowers security net“:
The cabinet is due today to endorse the invoking of the Internal Security Act to cover all of Bangkok ahead of the red shirt rally this weekend.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, in charge of national security, yesterday said the security monitoring committee would forward its recommendation to invoke the law [...]

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WSJ on Map Ta Phut

March 8, 2010

Today’s WSJ has a good piece about the Map Ta Phut industrial estate case. The article looks at not just the economic impact of the stalemate, but of growing environmental awareness in the region.
Give it a read, as this is a very important — and under-reported — story here in Thailand.
Previous posts on the [...]

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What I’ve been reading

March 2, 2010

Eight links that have caught my eye of late:

“Bangkok Under Fire on Immigration Policy” — WSJ
“Why Thailand still uses discredited bomb detectors” — CSM
“FACTBOX — Key political risks to watch in Thailand” — Reuters
“The Mekong: A River And A Region Transformed” — NPR special series
“Typos may earn Google $500m a year” — New Scientist
“Dolly, Rejection [...]

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Thaksin asset ruling: Images from Thailand’s Supreme Court today

February 26, 2010

Thailand’s Supreme Court ruled a few hours ago that Thaksin must surrender $1.4 of $2.3 billion in frozen assets.
Here’s an NYT story with the details:
The Supreme Court on Friday confiscated $1.4 billion in frozen assets from the fugitive former prime minister, Thaksin Sinawatra, after finding him guilty of illegally concealing his ownership of a family [...]

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Thaksin asset verdict: today’s front pages

February 26, 2010

Here’s quick look at the front pages of today’s Bangkok Post and the Nation:
The Bangkok Post went with a photo of the Thaksin family and the headline “CRISIS here to stay.”
It’s below the fold in the (crappy cell phone) image here, but a pull-quote for the lead story1 reads, “Red shirts target not just [...]

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More on tomorrow’s Thaksin asset ruling: NYT and WSJ stories of note

February 25, 2010

Two more stories I wanted to point out as we approach tomorrow’s verdict on ousted ex-Prime Minister Thaksin’s frozen assets.

First, the New York Times has this piece: “Thailand Bracing for Ruling on Thaksin’s Assets“:
It begins:
Friday is “judgment day” in Thailand, with a court set to decide whether to confiscate $2.3 billion in frozen assets belonging [...]

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Anticipation of Friday’s court ruling on Thaksin’s assets

February 23, 2010

I’ll be writing more about this in future posts, but for the time being, I wanted to point out this WSJ story from today: “Thailand Braces for Thaksin Ruling.” It provides a good overview of the anticipation surrounding Friday’s supreme court ruling on Thaksin’s assets:
Thailand’s leaders are bracing themselves for possible unrest Friday, when [...]

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See you next week

February 19, 2010

Quick note: I won’t be blogging here at Newley.com until Tues., Feb. 23. I may, however, be on Twitter over the coming days. So you can look for me there.
See you next week.
Share

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Thai government: GT200 bomb detectors don’t work

February 17, 2010

AP: Thailand: British-made bomb detectors unreliable
Tests conducted by Thailand’s government have found that British-made bomb detectors it bought for a total of $21 million have an accuracy rate of only 20 percent, but they will continue to be used, officials said Tuesday.
Thailand has bought more than 700 of the GT200 devices since 2004 at an [...]

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Where to eat in Bangkok, by Austin Bush

February 16, 2010

Visitors who are new to Thailand and have culinary questions about the Thai capital should check out “Where to eat in Bangkok 2010,” a new post by Austin Bush.
I can tell you from personal experience that Austin has a great deal of knowledge about Thai cuisine, and he has a good feel for what [...]

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Two WSJ stories: New ASEAN hoops league, and NK weapons crew

February 15, 2010

Two Thailand-related stories that I was too busy to post on Fri., but which I wanted to point out:
WSJ: “Long Shot: The New Asean Basketball League Tries to Win Over the Thais.”
Sports has always had its share of lovable long shots, plucky underdogs that fans pull for despite the odds, or even because of them. [...]

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The red shirt movement, the Thai government, and potential protests

February 12, 2010

As we approach the Feb. 26 court verdict in the Thaksin asset case, there has been much speculation — in the local media and from the Thai government — about upcoming Red Shirt protests. What form will the demonstrations take? When will they happen? Will they turn violent?
The Thai government has listed the steps it [...]

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Nine links to share

February 9, 2010

Some So many links to share. So little time. Herewith, several items that have caught my eye of late:

Economist: “Laid-off lawyers, cast-off consultants.“
AFP: “Diehard Thaksin loyalist paints rural Thailand red.”
GlobalPost: “Thailand: Amid coup buzz, Thai army chief heads to Pentagon.”
WSJ: “Last Taboo in English Football: Playing Footsie With Mate’s Mate.”
The Atlantic: “What Makes a Great [...]

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