LOSERS WINNERS
Aviation safety
Thailand has lost face and many landing rights because of UN, US and EU audits of airline safety standards, judged as severely lacking. Here is the simple ticking clock, which the government didn’t or couldn’t combat. In June, the International Civil Aviation Organisation put a red flag — literally — beside the name “Thailand” on its website. Last Tuesday, the US Federal Aviation Administration downgraded its opinion of Thai safety standards from Category I to II. Next Thursday, the European Aviation Safety Agency will probably do the same. In addition to the loss of face, that freezes Thai (mostly THAI) flight plans. The government has explained it is entirely the fault of those darned civilian governments pre-2014, and it will continue to try to fix the problem by next August.
Female ex-premiers
The defendant in the rice-purchase corruption case coming to trial next year asked politely if it would be all right to go to Europe and yak with Members of the European Parliament about Thailand and stuff. The Supreme Court justices explained, politely, hell no, it’s not all right. So she’ll sit home tending her hothouse hydroponics and Facebook wall, both of which are lush and rich in detail — since she doesn’t have an actual job. In an unintentional Orwell spoof, her big brother taped a YouTube New Year greeting wishing for the return of democracy. Immediately our Big Brother (Deputy PM Prawit) answered, told Lord Voldemort na Dubai to, “Cease your political activities” while the country is in transition.
International communications
After a week where he received almost exclusively plaudits for his words on free speech, US Ambassador Glyn T Davies got almost exclusively brickbats and worse for his words on free speech. Royalists (some charged “rent-a-mob”) went on the verbal warpath against Mr Davies’ criticism of the world-record prison sentences for lese majeste and criticising the regime. Some called for the government to expel him, which one can chalk up to ignorance. Prime Minister Prayut Chano-cha thought it very worrisome that a few citizens were criticising the ambassador, and his spokesman demanded that Mr Davies ask him if the US wanted information on the red shirts. Authorities arrested a 60-year-old woman who copied another person’s post on possible military corruption to her Facebook wall. All that even though the US ambassador still hasn’t criticised the lese majeste law, only the recent heavy sentences.
Securities and Exchange Commission
The SEC made its most dramatic market intervention ever, moving against not just “big fish”, but whales of the stock markets. The very top executives of CP All and True Corp were named, shamed and fined for insider trading. While the men can afford 34 million baht in fines as easily as we can afford 34 baht, the naming and shaming part is the key punishment. The Chicken People’s (CP) leader Dhanin Chearavanont wasn’t involved, but his top 7-Eleven leaders, CP All chairman Korsak “I didn’t know anything about it” Chairasmisak and vice-chairmen Piyawat Titasattavorakul and Pittaya Jearavisitkul, were. So was True vice-chairman Athueck Asvanund, who gathered further attention by explaining it wasn’t him but his daughter Areeya trying to exploit information that CP was about to buy Siam Makro in 2013, information common people weren’t allow to have.
Pattaya police
On Sunday night, Wayne Rodney Schneider, 37, had dinner with fellow Australian and business partner Antonio Bagnato, 27. After they returned to his Pattaya home, five masked men jumped him, beat him and tossed him into a van. On Monday, police named Mr Bagnato as the suspect. On Wednesday morning, they recovered Schneider’s body from a roadside, two-metre-deep grave in Sattahip district. Schneider was a big target. He had a hard-man rep, starting with a record of legal run-ins in his home country in drug-dealing cases. That was augmented by a stint in the Hell’s Angels motorcycle club. He had lived by the sword but died by the sward. Within hours of the body’s discovery, police detained one of Mr Bagnato’s American friends as he was on his way to a Cambodian vacation. Instead, officers arranged free room and board at the Greybar Hotel. Mr Bagnato was then arrested as he tried to flee to Australia.
Trans-Pacific Partnership
Four months ago come Tuesday, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha told visiting members of the US-Asean Business Council he didn’t need their TransPacific Partnership. Now, different story. Last week in Japan, Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak asked for Japanese help in getting into the TPP club. What is not clear is why the 180degree turn. It is definitely unappreciated by numerous activists and NGOs who actively — pun unintended — hate the TPP, especially for its friendly views of pharmaceutical patents. It seemed to be as simple as wanting to leap aboard a bandwagon.