Today’s Bangkok Post reports: Thammasat University has banned the use of the university’s compound as a venue for any activities related to the lese majeste law. The move came amid growing public discontent against the Nitirat group, comprising seven Thammasat law lecturers, which has proposed an amendment to Section 112 of the Criminal Code, better […]
Archives for January 2012
Thailand Government and Twitter Censorship
The AP reports today: Thailand is welcoming Twitter’s new policy to censor tweets in specific nations where the content might break laws. Technology minister Anudith Nakornthap said Monday the new policy was a “constructive” development. The Southeast Asian country routinely blocks websites with content deemed offensive to the Thai monarchy. Jon Russell has more at […]
Fashion Commentary from Yingluck’s India Visit
And now for something completely different… Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, as you may know, is visiting India. While the trip has geopolitical implications — especially for India — a couple of stories in the Indian media on an altogether different topic have caught my eye. India’s Mail Online has run two dispatches — so […]
Thailand’s New 50 Baht Note
For what it’s worth: There’s a new 50 baht note in town. Here’s a snap of one I came across recently in the wild: For reference, here’s what the old bill looked like: According to this Jan. 12 press release (link is a PDF file) from the Bank of Thailand (BOT), new versions of the […]
8 Links
Some Thailand-related, some not: Southern Farmers Vanquish the Clichés — The New York Times Marginal revolutionaries: The crisis and the blogosphere have opened mainstream economics up to new attack — The Economist New, darker portrait of legendary American — AP on a new book about Jim Thompson by Joshua Kurlantzick Once Hidden by Forest, Carvings […]
Two Economics-Related Stories Worth Reading: the iPhone Economy and the Emergence of Dual Gilded Ages
Two economics-related stories I suggest checking out: 1) This New York Times story by Charles Duhigg and Keith Bradsher, which was the toast of Twitter yesterday, is worth a read. It’s called “How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work.” You’re probably familiar with many of the concepts here — higher labor costs and fewer […]
NY Times on Thailand’s Supply Chain Issues Following Floods
A recent New York Times story says: KHLONG LUANG, Thailand — The floodwaters receded weeks ago from this sprawling industrial zone, but the streets are littered with detritus, the phones do not work and rusted machinery has been dumped outside warehouses that once buzzed with efficiency. Before Thailand’s great flood of 2011, companies like Panasonic, […]
STRATFOR: “A Hezbollah Threat in Thailand?”
Global intelligence firm STRATFOR has this report: On Jan. 12, Thai authorities arrested a man they say was a member of the Lebanon-based Shiite militant group Hezbollah who was plotting an attack in Bangkok. In uncovering the plot, Thai police cite cooperation with the United States and Israel going back to December 2011. Bangkok is […]
Details on Thailand Cabinet Reshuffle from AP
The AP reports: A firebrand ‘Red Shirt’ leader charged with terrorism over the movement’s 2010 protests was appointed Wednesday to Thailand’s Cabinet, and a second appointee is a businesswoman blacklisted from certain U.S. financial transactions. Worth a read.
TIME: “Vague Terrorism Alert, Arrests Put Bangkok on Edge”
TIME has this story, which sums up the situation: Last Friday, just hours after the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok warned on its website of a “possible terrorist threat” in tourist areas of the Thai capital, Thai security officials arrested a Lebanese man suspected of being a member of Hizballah, the Iranian-backed militant group. After three […]