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 an amusing Thai sign is here.
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 a smiling Abhisit who lifted the trophy.
The 18-carat, solid gold trophy is being taken to 83 countries on a 138,902km journey around the world and has already been received by more than 30 heads of states or governments.
The trip, which ends on May 4 when the trophy arrives in South Africa, is sponsored by Coca-Cola, a major sponsor of the World Cup.
The trophy will be on display to the general public tomorrow at the Royal Paragon Hall, Siam Paragon, from 10am-8pm.
(Emphasis mine.)
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.
Bloomberg yesterday: Pro-Thaksin Group Considers Bangkok Airport Protest:
Supporters of former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra are considering staging a protest at Bangkok’s international airport, the scene of a 2008 blockade that helped topple the government.
“We are working the pros and cons and we will finalize this in a meeting later” this week, Sean Boonpracong, a spokesman for the group, said by phone in Bangkok today. The protests “will not be like” those organized by an anti-Thaksin group that closed Bangkok’s airports for eight days and helped push the country into recession, he said.
“We will not disrupt, we will not seize, we will not be anywhere near” the terminal building at Suvarnabhumi airport, he said. “It could be at the entrance to the airport.”
The Bangkok Post today: Planned airport rally sparks alarm
Business leaders and analysts offered dire warnings yesterday about the economic impact if airport operations are once again held hostage to Thailand’s ongoing political soap opera.
Thai stocks fell 1.39% yesterday amid reports that red-shirted supporters of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra could rally at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Spokesmen for the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, a group led by pro-Thaksin supporters, insist that the rally, tentatively planned for next week, would not disrupt airport operations or interfere with passengers.
But concern spread quickly that the rally could turn into a repeat of November and December 2008, when Suvarnabhumi Airport was closed for eight days by the yellow-shirted People’s Alliance for Democracy, which forced the resignation of the government led by the People Power Party, the successor to Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai.
And another story from today’s Bangkok Post: UDD prepares airport rally but no blockade
The anti-government United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship is planning to stage a rally on the main road leading to Suvarnabhumi airport next week.
One of the group’s core leaders, Natthawut Saikua, yesterday said the rally was intended to press for progress in the prosecution of the UDD’s political rivals, the People’s Alliance for Democracy, for its extended blockade of the airport in late 2008.
Mr Natthawut said the protest would be peaceful. The group would not lay siege to the terminal and they would not block off the airport’s entrances.
(Emphasis mine.)
Just as I did last year, I wanted to share my notes from the speech that Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva gave at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand event here in Bangkok last night.
Because I’ve been covering the Map Ta Phut industrial estate issue, I took particular interest in Abhisit’s comments on the topic.
The back story, in case you haven’t been following the case: 76 industrial projects worth nearly $10 billion in Map Ta Phut were suspended by Thailand’s central administrative court on Sept. 29, 2009. The order came after complaints about ongoing pollution in the area and allegations that the projects aren’t in compliance with the 2007 Thai constitution. This NYT story provides a general overview.
Most recently, on Dec. 2, 2009, Thailand’s supreme administrative court upheld the ruling after an Abhisit administration appeal. Just 11 of the 76 projects have been allowed to continue. It remains unclear when the rest of the stalled projects will be able to resume.
Here’s what Thai PM Abhisit had to say about the issue during the the Q&A session last night. I have bolded his comments about a time frame for resolving the issue, as well as his thoughts on the foreign investment climate and future enforcement of Thailand’s environmental laws:
The basic problem is this: the constitution says that any project that might have severe environmental or health impact on local communities must follow certain procedures.
What happened with the projects in Map Ta Phut was the government felt that those projects did not have severe environmental or health impact on the local communities, and our judgment on that was not just our own judgment, it was based on the environmental impact assessment that had been made according to our environmental law.
Now, unfortunately our judgment and the administrative court’s judgment were different. The court said that these projects might affect the local communities in terms of health and environment impact severely, so it had issued a temporary order to freeze these projects.
So what we did was that first of all, we said to the private sector who were involved, if they were prepared to voluntarily join the process that you have to go through if these projects were projects that could severely have an impact on the community, then let’s do it, voluntarily. And to do that we have to have regulations and then subsequently laws that would set up this process. We’ve now achieved that.
We’ve got the announcement by the environmental ministry so that you can do the EIA and HIA according to the new standards. You can now have a public hearing and also an independent views being submitted according to the regulations issued by the prime minister’s office. A number of projects have already begun to go through this process, which can take maybe up to six or eight months.
Now out of those projects, in fact the ones that are most affected are the ones that had completed construction or were already in operation. [inaudible number] more are under construction and we’ve identified about 19 that we feel have a good case to put to the admin court to have them released from this temporary order. The rest actually were in the process of seeking approval.
For new projects and new investments all this means is they have to go through a more vigorous process in terms of assessing health and environmental impacts, but the rules are clear.
So what clearly has upset sentiment has been the uncertainty that the current projects are facing because they thought they had gone through all the legal requirements but they have been ruled not to have done so, and they are correcting that.
So it’s something that I think we have now reached a point where there is a clarity about what needs to be done and I think also we are at the point where new investment has to accept higher standards of scrutiny before they get their permits.
(Again, emphasis mine.)
(Image source: AFP via BBC NEWS.)
Six miscellaneous, non-Thailand links that have caught my eye of late:
I’m not sure exactly when Newley.com turned into a food blog, but I’m back with another culinary-centric post.
I wanted to follow up on La Monita, the new Mexican restaurant here in Bangkok. You’ll recall that I wrote about this place back in Nov., before it had opened.
My feeling is that La Monita now offers the best Mexican food in the Thai capital, though there are admittedly only a few Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants here.
You can find La Monita’s Web site here, and they’re also on Twitter (@LaMonitaBkk) and Facebook.
A and I have now eaten at La Monita twice, and while I don’t have any images of the dishes to share, I can tell you this: the owner, Billy, knows his stuff. The food is excellent, and the atmosphere is festive and welcoming.
A few of the standout dishes include:
My suggestion for ordering is simply to ask Billy for recommendations.
Also, for drinks, I’m told that the margaritas are good. I haven’t tried them, but I really enjoyed a different — and new to me — drink: the Michelada, which Billy tells me is a popular beverage in Mexico City at the moment.
Micheladas consist of beer mixed with lime and hot sauce; they’re served in a salted glass. Here’s a WSJ story about Micheladas.
Worth a visit, to be sure.
La Monita Taqueria
888/26 Mahatun Plaza (about 100 meters down, on the left)
Bangkok
Tel. 02-650-9581
If you were excited about the news that Krispy Kreme is coming to Thailand, wait until you hear this: Cold Stone Creamery, an ice cream chain based in the U.S., is also on its way to the Kingdom.
Yesterday’s Phoenix Business Journal has this item:
Cold Stone Creamery has signed a 20-year agreement with Central Restaurants Group Co. Ltd. to introduce the ice cream stores in Thailand.
Scottsdale-based Cold Stone and its parent company Kahala announced the master franchise agreement Thursday calling for 10 stores in the Asian country by 2014. Cold Stone’s first Thailand location is expected to open in February in Bangkok’s Central World shopping complex.
You can find more info about CSC’s offerings on their home page. And here’s more about the chain on Wikipedia.
CSC is known for their enormous, elaborate ice cream concoctions. Check out their “signature creations.”
The chain’s name comes from the process by which the desserts are assembled in the store, i.e. on a cold stone, with ingredients mixed into to the ice cream.
The executive chairman of Thai Airways has resigned following allegations that he, his wife and another executive had flown with almost 400 kg of baggage between Tokyo and Bangkok last November.
Wallop Bhukkanasut, the chairman, said most of the more than 40 pieces of luggage belonged to an unnamed but important person and contained fruit to be donated to a Bangkok temple. He tendered his resignation before an internal inquiry could report next week.
The alleged incident, leaked by Thai staff disgruntled at cost-cutting at the lossmaking national carrier, produced widespread outrage in Thailand.
“His resignation has set an ethical standard for the airline’s executives on responsibility,” Ampon Kittiampon, the chairman of the board, said yesterday.
Mr Wallop has also been accused by Thai staff of ordering his baggage to be delivered to the lost and found baggage office to avoid customs duty, an allegation he denies.
(Emphasis mine.)
Here’s more info from the Bangkok Post and the WSJ.
Here are some of my favorite books, albums, films, and online media from 2009:
Warning: journalism and language nerds only…
The Associated Press Stylebook 2009
Honorable mentions — books not published in 2009 that I discovered this year:
, by Michael Pollan (2007). The author’s motto for healthy eating: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Pollan argues we’re better off eating whole foods (“eat food” — as opposed to packaged, food-like substances) in moderate quantities (“not too much”) consisting mostly of fruits and vegetables (“mostly plants”). Some critics say Pollan over-states claims that processed foods are responsible for increased rates of diseases of civilization, like cancer and diabetes. But I found Pollan’s analysis of American food culture, as well as what he calls “nutritionism” — health claims made my food manufacturers — to be eye-opening.
, by Richard Price (2008) — a detail-rich, atmospheric crime novel about New York City. A helpful antidote to withdrawal from “The Wire.”
, by Scott Smith (1993) — An absolutely top-notch thriller. Well-paced. Harrowing. Note that I haven’t yet seen the movie, but I’d like to.
, by John le Carre (1963). A cold war spy thriller from the incomparable le Carre.
: The Autobiography of the World’s Greatest Footballer, by Diego Maradona (2005) — There’s only one Diego. And this autobiography, while not what I would call full of gravitas, sheds light on Maradona’s personality, and most readers will come away with a more sympathetic understanding of a player who has always courted controversy.
Hold Time
There can be only one: “Avatar” (2009), in 3D. Believe the hype.
This film is imperfect — it’s too long, it’s sappy at times, and the dialogue is often stilted. But it is a moviegoing experience on an immense scale. As the New York Times‘s Manohla Dargis wrote, writer/director Jim Cameron “hasn’t changed cinema, but with blue people and pink blooms he has confirmed its wonder.”
Honorable mentions — films not released in 2009 that I discovered this year:
Again, there can be only one: “30 Rock.” As my friend B puts it simply: Tina Fey is a genius. So is Baldwin. And Morgan. And Krakowski. And — perhaps most of all — Jack McBrayer, aka NBC page Kenneth Parcell. (By the way, the reason Kenneth’s southern accent sounds so legit? He’s from Macon, GA.)
CNNGo/Bangkok — CNNGo launched a few months back, and it’s been serving up some reliably good Bangkok-related travel and lifestyle content.
Honorable mention
The Thai Report — as I mentioned when it debuted, The Thai Report contains links to the biggest news stories from the Kingdom. And I like the simple, Drudge Report-esque design.
Jordan, Jesse, Go! — Join Jesse Thorn — he of The Sound of Young America fame — and Jordan Morris on Jordan, Jesse, Go! It’s a lighthearted podcast about…well, whatever Jordan and Jesse feel like discussing. Frequent topics include TV, films, food, embarrassing and “momentous” experiences, and life in L.A. (Again, thanks to Austin for the pointer.)
And finally, a little self-promotion. (After all, what are blogs for?) Here’s a list — some editor’s picks, if you will — of my favorite Newley.com posts from 2009: