Behind The Smile

I never realized it, but Disneyland was modeled on Thailand. Or Pattaya. Minus the sleaze and the corruption. I guess that is what makes Disneyland so boring.

Not The Nation has a very to the point and funny article about stupid Thai lese-majeste laws. The law will be expanded to include lese-majeste accusations. Be sure to read it. Sad enough, I guess the actual cause of it all is that young man who refused to stand up in the movie theatre during the playing of the anthem. That upset some narrow minded bigot. Don’t these people have a life?

There’s lots of helicopters flying over Bangkok again lately. They either come from the South, from the direction of Hua Hin, or are going there. Well, I am far from worried, but I do wonder what is going on behind the scenes these days. Trouble is brewing, it seems, with several political parties  maybe being dissolved, amendments to the constitution and things like that.

Why is it that a pickup truck full of workers can drive around the country just fine, but I have to wear seatbelts when I drive around in Bangkok? It makes no sense to me.

The Olympic Flame of Shame will soon arrive in Bangkok. And it will be accompanied by those Chinese thugs we saw in Paris and London and elsewhere. Of course the Thai government has promised the Chinese full co-operation to maintain order and to maintain good relations with the big bad neighbour in the North. The Japanese and the Indians will have nothing of these thugs.

Some people filed a complaint of lese majeste against Bangkok based BBC correspondent Jonathan Head. And a Thai couple faces the same accusation for not standing during the royal anthem. I’ve never been forced to stand for the royals of my own country.

In a feudal society, only those at the very highest level can get away with two murders, a missing businessman, tens of thousands of expelled workers, a stash of stolen jewels and not have the case solved in 18 years. Via Asiaticus.

That horrible Lumpini night market is being redeveloped. Finally. That horrid night market was an eyesore and an attraction for the lower classes. It’s good that Thailand’s wealthiest investor will lease out that land so it can be turned into yet another soso hi-so shopping mall for those of us with more discerning tastes than the plebs that visited that nightly yard sale.

The Thai visa system is rather Byzantine, to say the least. If ever there will be a free trade pact between ASEAN and the EU it should include free movement of people. Alas, that is a pipedream. For now we will see fat old farang queuing up at variousd embassies with their petite girlfriends. In return, it will remain difficult for white guys to figure out what visa to get to live in Thailand. That there is a website, thaivisa.com, devoted solely to the subject is testimony enough.

Castrati, or boys without balls, used to be very popular in 19th century Europe, they were known for their beautiful voices. If only the dimwits in power in Thailand had realized that, they could have started a trend and formed the Sunee Saengerknaben choir with all those boys who had their balls cut. It would have been a great export product and fantastic promotion for the country. It’s too bad those militant homos stopped the practice.