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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More on Matt Gross, the NYT, and multimedia travel journalism

February 5, 2010

In Jan., 2009, I wrote a post praising the work of the New York Times’s Matt Gross, aka the Frugal Traveler.
For the last several years, Matt has been combining text, blog posts, and videos to create a unique brand of personality-driven travel journalism for the Times.
Matt has supplied readers — and viewers — [...]

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AFP on political instability in Thailand

February 3, 2010

For a summary of the political situation here in Thailand, I suggest reading this AFP story from today: “Thailand braces for fresh political instability.”
The story includes some interesting quotes from analysts. Such as this, on Abhisit:
The 45-year-old premier came to power in late 2008 when the previous pro-Thaksin government collapsed after protests by the ultra-royalist [...]

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Two quick links: Thailand political risks and arms from North Korea

February 2, 2010

Just quickly, I wanted to point out this Reuters item from yesterday: “FACTBOX-Five political risks to watch for Thailand.” Give it a read.
Also, to follow on the issue of the plane carrying arms from North Korea, Bloomberg had this story Jan. 29 that’s worth a look: “Iran Was Destination of North Korean Arms, Thailand Reports.”
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Map Ta Phut: the big picture

February 2, 2010

Many news stories about the Map Ta Phut industrial estate issue focus on the latest developments — court decisions, the number of suspended cases, latest appeals, etc.
An opinion piece in yesterday’s Bangkok Post is worth pointing out, however, because it provides some analysis and takes a big picture look at the situation.
The piece, [...]

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Suggested weekend reading

January 29, 2010

Some links that have caught my eye of late:

“How America Can Rise Again” — James Fallows in the Atlantic.
“The iPad Big Picture” — from Daring Fireball.
“Apple’s Jumbo Oreo” — Scripting News on the iPad.
“The State of the Union: Just the Policy” — Ezra Klein in the Washington Post.
“Stock and Flow” — Tim Carmody at [...]

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Update: Crew of N. Korean arms plane to be held until Feb. 11, Bangkok Post says

January 29, 2010

An update to my previous post: The Bangkok Post is now saying this:
The prosecution on Friday deferred until Feb 11 a decision on whether to indict the five crew members of a plane which landed at Don Mueang airport with an undeclared cargo of weapons from North Korea.
It was earlier reported that the prosecutors might [...]

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Bangkok Post: Crew of North Korean arms plane to be released today?

January 29, 2010

Today’s Bangkok Post, citing an anonymous source, has this story: “Korea arms plane crew ‘to go free.’”
The first two graphs:
Prosecutors have decided to drop charges against five suspects found last month with 35 tonnes of weapons on a plane from North Korea, a source close to the case has revealed.
The source did not elaborate yesterday [...]

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Reuters: “Are cracks appearing in Thailand’s military?”

January 28, 2010

Given my recent posts on the subject, I wanted to point out a story that Reuters ran yesterday. It’s called “Are cracks appearing in Thailand’s military?”
Here are the first few graphs.
A grenade attack on the office of Thailand’s army chief this month is stoking fears of a worst-case scenario in Thailand’s political crisis [...]

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Front page of today’s Bangkok Post: “Coup, What Coup?”

January 27, 2010

I mentioned yesterday the Jan. 15 grenade attack on the office of Thai General Anupong, and how the incident underscores tensions within the Thai Army.
So I wanted to follow up, just quickly, with a cell phone pic of the front page of today’s Bangkok Post. The story, as you can see, is called “Coup, [...]

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Spotted by Austin in Northern Thailand: bespoke chicken carrier

January 27, 2010

Image credit: Austin Bush.
Excellent post from Austin Bush about running into a guy carrying a bespoke bamboo chicken container in Northern Thailand, near Mae Hong Son.
Check out the full post for the details and another pic.
As Austin says:
I came across the guy above just outside Ban Mae Lana, possibly the most attractive rural village [...]

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Grenade attack on Thai Army general’s office

January 26, 2010

A brief post about a story that has received little international coverage, but which is worth pointing out to Thailand-watchers…
Local media has reported that on Jan. 15, a grenade was fired into the sixth-floor office of General Anupong Paojinda, in the Thai Army headquarters. The attack happened at night, and no one was hurt.
Still, [...]

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“Sciencetific Garden”

January 22, 2010

Let’s end the week on a humorous note, shall we?
A recently spotted this excellent sign at a school in Thailand’s Rayong province.

That’s right, it reads “Sciencetific Garden.”
Science 1. Spelling 0.
I believe that’s a bust of Einstein in the back. And Newton — or is it Bacon? — in the front.
A previous post about [...]

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World Cup trophy comes to Bangkok

January 22, 2010

The World Cup trophy will be on display at Bangkok’s Paragon shopping center from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. tomorrow (Sat.).
Today’s Bangkok Post has the details:
The Fifa World Cup trophy arrived in Bangkok yesterday with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva receiving it in a ceremony at Don Mueang Airport.
“I am glad to touch the trophy,” said [...]

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Red shirt airport rally cancelled

January 21, 2010

A quick follow-up to my post from yesterday: The Red Shirts’ planned rally at Bangkok’s international airport has been called off.
BP has some links to news reports about the cancellation.
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