Neuer/New Blog

Hallo liebe Leute,

da das mein Blog über meine Zeit in Thailand war und ich schon lange wieder in Europa bin, gab es keine weiteren Einträge. Jetzt bin ich in Berlin und dachte, dass ich mich mal wieder an einem Blog versuchen werde. Da der Name nicht mehr wirklich passt, hab ich einen neuen erstellt, der sich allgemein mit politischen Themen befassen wird (So der Plan). Den Link zu “Kein Politik Sprech” findet ihr [hier]!

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Hello folks,

this was my Thailand Blog and since I have left Thailand for quite some time now, I haven’t worked more on it but now I decided to start a new blog about more general political topics. It will be in German for now but check it out anyway at this [Link]!

Men in Black!

Hello to yet another report on the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand (FCCT)!

Yesterdays topic:  “View from the Trenches”: The Dramatic End to the Red Shirts’ Rally – Cameramen and journalists discuss their first-hand experiences.

Before the whole thing started I talked to the Burmese CNN reporter John Sanlin. You might have seen this video where a Thai caught by the army said he was a CNN reporter. John was standing by and came to the army to say that he wasn’t from CNN. The controversy was that he interfered at all and didn’t just let the Thai guy get away with it to be free. It was even rumored that John was working with the army the whole time of the conflict telling them about red shirt movements. What did he say to that? Yes, he did go to the army and said this Thai guy was not from CNN and he even called his boss to confirm that. At the comment that he worked with the military, he was only laughing. I could also feel some anger towards to the people who pretend to be journalists to save their skin. They make the job even more dangerous as so many journalists were injured or even killed.

The first hour we were watching video footage by two BBC correspondences Alastair Leithead and Rachel Harvey, German freelance journalist and blogger Florian Witulski (vaitor), Brad Cox, Andrew Buncombe, Marc Westhoff, and pictures by Masuru Goto.

I won’t write much about the videos here because you had to see it and most of them are available in the internet. The videos were except from BBC unedited but powerful nonetheless. It was really from the front line with pictures of people being shot, people shooting on both sides, dead bodies, fire, explosions etc. Try youtube with the above mentioned names.

While showing Florian Witulski’s video he commented on the breaking of the bamboo-tire-barricades. Unlike the comments of BBC or other media, he said it took the army more than an hour to break it because they were afraid of bombs and advanced pretty cautious. He had also the most (sad-)funny footage of a guy running out of the burning  Central World with bags of stolen stuff.

Brad Cox told us that he was standing right next to Fabio Polenghi when he was shot and a bullet also streaked his leg at the same time. Might have been the same bullet, might have been only the same shooter. He also told us that Fabio’s family would like to find the memory stick with all his material which disappeared. If anyone knows anything about the whereabouts of this stick you should talk to the FCCT.

The most impressive pictures in Marc Westhoff’s footage: Red Shirts caught an army sniper, handcuffed him and beat him up badly. His footage was not biased towards the reds being only violent because he also showed a lot about what happened in the safe-zone temple (forgot the name just now).

Then the video and picture session was ended and the moderator read a note by Dan Rivers in which he said that CNN always tried to be unbiased and that they report from every conflict in the world in the same manner. “Yellow Shirts” claimed that he was only showing the good red side and never showed reds with guns . He never declined that also some reds were violent.  I have to say that I actually never read an article of Dan…

Then the panel started and was mostly concerned with the Men in Black, Black Shirts etc.

Todd Ruiz (he spoke also for Olivier Sarbil) started and said that he personally saw 12 armed militia in the red camp and heard only about 30 more in total. He refused the numbers of 500 which some reporters gave out such as BBC or Dan Rivers. The camp mostly had families with grandmothers, children etc. He also stated that most of the MIBs were actual members from the military and they are back in their barracks now.

Marc Westhoff had another story about the MIBs: He interviewed a red shirt who was saved by Men in Black from a dangerous spot with firing. He said these men had M79 grenade launchers and other sophisticated weaponry you dont even get on the black market. They were definitely not from the Se Daeng Borderguard but highly trained speacial forces.

Brad Cox has never seen any weapons except molotov cocktails, self made grenades or slingshots. Red people got a bad reputation because of a few, was his argument.

Question: How was the attitude of soldiers towards the red shirts?

Answer by nick Nostitz (freelance photographer): Some soldiers were afraid, some were shooting at random people, some sympathized with the reds and if they were shooting then only way over the heads, some didn’t want to be there at all.

Nirmai Gosh (Straight Times) gave a comment that he also saw only primitive weapons and that the movement is in the underground now. No one knows who is red or not. He was sure that many reds escaped to Cambodia and that a more violent conflict with terrorist acts is to come.

Then a Russian guy came to the mic and talked for 5 minutes. It’s funny that sometimes I completely black out and just don’t get what people are saying. But I guess this guy didn’t have a lot to say anyway 😉

A rich guy from Siam Society talked about his two apartment houses in the area and what he experienced for two months. He was even the landlord of Dan Rivers. He stated that there were at least 40 black shirts only around his buildings. They were threatening to burn all the slums around his house he said. The panel and the moderator were not entirely sure about his views and neither was I.

An interesting (rethoric) question of a volunteer worker for a human rights organization: Where are the 400 detained people and where are the over 100 people who just disappeared? (422 people are detained right now)

Todd: Instead of a distinction with MIBs and Reds we should call them men with guns and men without guns. The number also does not matter because already a small number can ruin the peaceful idea of the majority.

Nick Nostitz: How can you classify a movement which has a peaceful and a violent part at the same time?

To wrap it up: Everyone had a different perception of the black shirts. For me there is no singular black movement or one coordinated united group of violence. There were highly trained forces and people just with hand guns. Some were wearing black, some not. The only similarity of these different “pockets of the MIBs”  was their common use of violence.

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[Deutsche Uebersetzung gerne auf Anfrage]

A day of missed opportunities…?

Hello again,

On Saturday, I decided to get to the Lumphini Park in the middle of Bangkok to relax a bit and see whats still left of the clash between Red Shirts and military (nothing). It was a nice day, so I packed my book and went on; I was as reading the Alchemist by Paolo Coelho. But before I could enter the park, I girl stopped me to ask a question about where to find the embassies and she wanted to find the area were they fought. I told her that she was standing exactly on the spot h where the big barricades with the bamboo and tires used to be. We talked a bit, she just arrived and was teaching at a high-school in Bangkok for a year with 20 other girls from the USA. It was a nice chat and we came to the conclusion that we both don’t know many people in Bangkok and that we should be friends. Then, the funny thing happened since we just said goodbye and went our ways. No numbers, emails etc. Afterwards, I was really wondering why this conversation in the middle of the street ended in such a way. And as I said, since I don’t know so many people, it would have been nice I guess. (They say mapenlai in Thailand for these things)

Maybe it was a sign. After that I walked through the Lumphini Park and it’s really beautiful there with lakes and lots of grass and little temple-like buildings (forgot my camera of course…next time). I sat down at a nice spot by the lake and started watching the catfish in the water with occasional big reptiles passing by. While sitting and watching I was also finishing my book the Alchemist. It deals with the travels of a shepherd who becomes an alchemist by travelling the world and listening to soul of the world and the signs of his heart. A very fitting book for travelling in a strange country myself. I felt so calm after finishing it and was strolling barefooted through the park to let the sun shine on me.

I even forgot about the “missed opportunity” and in the end Bangkok is full of them so that you can disregard a few 😉

Ps. After coming home I wrote about Lumphini Park in facebook and a friend in Bangkok (Justin) wrote back: “Careful you don’t step on a body.” He was right because people here tend to forget about the horrible things which happened not so long ago at this so beautiful park and they cleaned up nicely…

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Ein Tag der verpassten Möglichkeit…?

Hallo mal wieder,

am Samstag habe ich mir vorgenommen Bangkok wieder ein wenig besser kennenzulernen und in den Lumphini Park zu fahren um ein wenig im Grünen zu entspannen. Ich wollte auch sehen, was von den Kämpfen zwischen Rothemden und Militär noch übrig war (nichts). Es war ein sehr schöner Tag, also Buch eingepackt und los. War gerade Der Alchemist von Paolo Coelho am lesen. Bevor ich aber den Park betreten konnte, hielt mich ein Mädchen an, um mich nach dem Weg zu den Botschaften zu fragen und wollte auch wissen wo die Kämpfe stattfanden. Ich sagte ihr, dass wir genau auf der Stelle stünden wo die großen Barrikaden mit den Bambusstöcken und Reifen aufgebaut waren. Wir unterhielten uns ein wenig, sie war gerade in Bangkok angekommen und wird für ein Jahr, mit 20 anderen Mädchen aus den USA, Aushilfslehrerin an einer Schule in Bangkok sein. Es war eine nette Unterhaltung und da wir beide kaum Menschen in Bangkok kannten, kamen wir überein doch Freunde zu werden. Dann passierte aber etwas komisches, denn wir verabschiedeten uns und gingen unserer Wege. Ohne Nummer oder Email ausgetauscht zu haben… Danach dachte ich mir, wieso diese Unterhaltung mitten auf der Straße in einer solchen Weise endete. Und wie gesagt, da ich wirklich noch nicht so viele Leute hier kenne, wäre es wirklich nett gewesen. (Sie sagen mapenlai in Thailand in solchen Situationen)

Vielleicht war es ein Zeichen. Danach wanderte ich durch den Lumphini Park und es wirklich ein wunderschöner Park, mit seinen Seen, Graßanlagen und den kleinen tempelähnlichen Gebäuden (hab natürlich wieder meine Kamera vergesse, aber das hole ich nach). Ich setzte mich an einer schönen Stelle an den See und schaute den Katzenfischen  und den gelegentlich vorbei schwimmenden (recht großen) Reptilien im Wasser zu und las dabei auch mein Buch Der Alchemist zu Ende.

Es handelt von einem Hirten, der einen Traum von einem Schatz hat und darauf hin eine große Reise beginnt. Er hört auf die Weltenseele und die Zeichen seines Herzens und wird ein Alchemist. Ein sehr passendes Buch für mich, der in unbekannte Ländern umher reist. Ich fühlte mich so ruhig nachdem ich ausgelesen hatte und lief noch ein wenig barfuß durch den Park und ließ die Sonne auf mich scheinen.

Ich vergaß sogar die “verpasste Möglichkeit” und am Ende ist Bangkok voll davon, da kann man auch mal eine auslassen.

Ps. Nachdem ich Heim kam, schrieb ich über den Lumphini Park in Facebook und das ist was ein Freund hier in Bangkok antwortete: “Sei vorsichtig, dass du nicht auf irgendwelche Leichen trittst”. Er hatte in der Hinsicht Recht, dass die Menschen hier solche Dinge viel zu schnell vergessen, die erst vor zwei Wochen hier passiert sind und sie haben ja auch schon wieder alles blitzeblank sauber gemacht…

A small lesson in Thai culture…

Yesterday evening, there was a again a discussion by the Foreign Correspondence Club of Thailand (FCCT) with the topic “Thailand in the Eyes of Others” – How does foreign media see Thailand.

Guests were:

– Dr Sumet Jumsai – Architect, artist and social commentator
– Kraisak Choonhavan – Deputy Chairman of the Democrat Party, former senator and expert in foreign relations
– Pana Janviroj – Chief Operating Officer of the Nation Group
– Somtow Sucharitkul – Composer, author and social commentator

(see program here)

The panel started with Somtow who was the most moderate of the four. He began by expressing his anger about the balance of foreign reporting and why Thai people are offended by it. Then, he gave three reasons why people think articles are biased or wrong:

• personality of journalists (dumb, paid,…)
• cultural bias (they don’t get the core of the conflict)
• “war of revisionism” (only propaganda by Thaksin)

On a funny note: He sounded exactly like the character Stewie of the cartoon series Family Guy. Couldn’t stop thinking about that 🙂

The next speaker was Sumet. He is a “veteran” artist and architect and very well respected in Thailand. For myself, I have to say that I rather disliked him since he was very offending and cynical, making jokes about everything and everyone. His speech in the beginning contained mostly jokes about the foreign journalists who he thought are stupid and only meeting in Soi Cowboy (red light). He, then, talked about the red shirts and their behaviour of starting the violence or using children as shields (This really happened when one father held his baby on the barricades with soldiers on the other side  and it was widely exploited by the media, however, only one example of a stupid father). One of his best comments was that not even the Nazis would have done these things (big uproar). What would the world be without the Nazis? No one to compare with…In the end he said, he hated all the academics who romanticise the red movement and don’t see it as the violent mob.

Kraisak, the MP of the Democrats which lead the government, came next.I just give his ideas in bullet points since not much to analyse there, only that he was very cynical…

• He gave an example that he was called several times in the middle of the night by foreign journalists who asked him why is your government controlled by the military. Then getting angry about all the ignorant journalists as of course the government was not installed by the military.
• He shifted then to the military massacres in the South done by the Thaksin government.
• Declined the last FCCT invitation since the reds were camping outside and he was sure they would have lynched him.
• Thaksin put two oil trucks at Ding Daeng to blow them up.
• No one mentioned that everything happened shortly after the government froze the money of Thaksin.
• Reds thought that this is a romantic revolution.
• Made fun of journalists who don’t speak Thai and couldn’t understand the speeches on the stage which were only violent talk.
• Complained about the roadmap of Abhisit because debates with reds could have only resulted in violence and he would not run an election campaign in the North were he would be “shot by M79”.
• About Seh Daeng: he was a gangster, no loss since there are enough Generals, nobody admits that he was a red shirt
• No fan of Abhisit either since he couldn’t handle conflicts like war on drugs or war in the South

Pana, CEO of the conservative Nation Newspaper. I found him a bit boring and he lost me many times in his speeches I have to admit. He talked about the Western press which doesn’t sympathize with the Thai people and where only democratic values count. This whole conflict is a proxy war by Thaksin and Thai educated people are not stupid and see the cause of inequality. Thailand is a failed state since the police doesn’t work and all the military can do is shoot.

Then the Q/A session followed and the discussion drifted a bit into a ridiculous mess but as always the questions are more important than the answers.

Q. Are foreign journalists biased? They were at the front line while Thai journalists were “playing soap opera”

The panel was evading the question, sure that in the end Thai journalists reported from the scenes.

Q (by member of Swedish embassy): 1766 Freedom of Speech was introduced in Sweden. This right doesn’t exist to protect the opinion of the government or the political correct opinion. Comment?

Now followed the most hilarious and then in my eyes the only useful comment of the whole evening.

Sumet: “You have free sex in Skandinavia as well” (why was he that offending?). Then he compared freedom of expression to a painter pissing on Jesus and only the Muslim complained as Jesus was also his prophet. (that was a comment on Twitter by _bm concerning this comment: “you can be upset at the free sex quote, but if the only thing you see from a western country are copulating backpacker … #nosurprise” )

Somtow instead sincerely commented on the fact that a country needs all opinions to be heard that the citizens can form their own opinion.

Q: It is the Thai elite preconception that no farang (foreigner) can understand the Thai culture. Comment?

Somtow: He is a victim of that preconception since he lived mostly in foreign countries. (I thought at that point that Abhisit is also very western. Does he understand it then?)

Q: Was CNN and other foreign media incapable of doing their job? If yes, why are they still allowed to work in Thailand.

Panel can’t give a coherent answer to that one.

Q: If Thailand is so uniquely impenetrable for foreign media, how can Thai know about other countries?

Somtow: Who said it is?

Suddenly a new guy entered the stage and started talking about his own experience living in the area occupied by the red and that he has never seen anyone shoot a gun (the pictures and videos said different I’m afraid).

Q: English man lived among the red shirts and he heard only “hitleroesque” brainwashing on stage and a lot of guns and other weapons in the red camp. Why did no other reporter see that? (and why are there almost no pictures of that?)

Q: Complained about Thai media coverage and that Thai journalists spied out red camps for the military. (there was also a question about code of ethic…)

Q: Many Thais felt insulted and raped by the international coverage. Why has no Thai government ever addressed the topic of the international image of Thailand.

Q: How much money does Thaksin have.

With all these question which I thought interesting to hear, the panel was incoherent and lost me in the end. Still, in most of the comments, especially by Sumet or Kraisak, you could feel this hatred and cynical attitude towards the red and the foreign media.

That was the “small lesson in Thai culture” which showed how stuck the minds are on both sides (although no red speaker was on the panel). The conflict goes deeper and I, as a farang, who only studied Thailand and South East Asia only for a short while still has to learn a lot.

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[wer eine deutsche Übersetzung wünscht, melde sich bitte]

Food Crisis is over!

Alo,

Every night when I come home from work at around 6, there is a very nice market, exactly next to my house, where they sell everything from clothes to food and it’s never the same. Yesterday, I bought these incredible nice cakes and eating these gave me the happy time mode! MHHHH! Today, they had very good  spring roles.

On other occasions I can order something at the little restaurant in the basement of my house and they bring it to the room. My own room service 😉 However, the best thing is actually the little Italian bistro a fellow resident (Luca with is Thai wife) has just opened this week on the roof right next to the pool. He simply decided on the spot to open it, put a fridge and a cooking place up there and, now, every night they give out a different special meal. Yesterday it was magnificent lasagne and today chicken breast with mashed potatoes and salad. Another MHHH.

The food crisis is over for now!!

Another quick note for the Eurovision watcher people. Tonight, it is the Semi-Final in Oslo and the first song is from the Lithuanian band Inculto with their Song ” Eastern European Funk” (watch here). Love the song and want it to win (it won’t).

Tomorrow, I will do some catastrophe tourism in the city center…

See ya

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Alo,

jeden Abend wenn ich gegen 6 von der Arbeit nach Hause komme, gibt es einen kleinen Markt direkt vor meinem Haus. Dort wird alles von Kleiderbügeln über das buddhistische Äquivalent von Rosenkränzen bis zu Shampoo verkauft. Natürlich gibt es aber auch Essen in rauen (und oft rohen) Mengen und es sind immer andere Stände. Gestern habe ich diese super leckeren Kuchen und Teilchen gekauft und die haben mich eindeutig in den Glücklich-Modus versetzt! MHHHHH. Heute gab es tolle Frühlingsrollen zum frühabendlichen Snack.

Zu anderen Gelegenheiten kann ich mir auch etwas in dem kleinen Thai Restaurant im Erdgeschoss bestellen und die bringen mir das sogar aufs Zimmer. Mein eigener Zimmer Service 😉 Das Beste aber ist das kleine italienische Bistro, das ein Hausmitbewohner, Luca, und seine Frau auf dem Dach direkt am Pool eröffnet haben. Er hat sich ganz spontan dazu entschieden, einen Kühlschrank und eine Kochmöglichkeit da rauf geschafft und bietet jeden Abend kalte Getränke und ein Spezialmenü an. Gestern gab es Lasagne und heute Hühnchenbrust mit Kartoffelbrei und Salat. Wieder MMMMMMHHHH

(Info am Rande: mein Rechtschreibprogramm meinte, das Wort “Hühnchenbrust” und bot mir statt dessen Hühnchenfriedhof an. Echt schön 😀 ).

Die Essenskrise ist also erstmal vorbei!!

Eine weitere kleine Anmerkung für Eurovision Gucker Leute. Heute abend findet das Halbfinale in Oslo statt und den ersten Auftritt hat die lithauische Band Inculto mit ihrem Song “Eastern European Funk” (man sehe das Video hier). Finde das Lied einfach klasse und will dass es gewinnt (was es nicht tun wird).

Morgen werde ich ein wenig Katastrophen Tourismus absolvieren…

Bis bald!

Curfew and Censorship in Capital

Hello again,

Yesterday was the big Champions League day: Bayern vs. Milano. I was looking forward to this game for quite some time.

First problem: curfew

Normally, I would go out and watch the game in a bar with other people. Cheering, clapping, drinking, having fun in a group…But there is a problem. Since last week, there happens to be curfew in Bangkok and half the country – so no cheering, clapping, drinking, having fun in a group. I could understand it on the first day when the clashes were over because they wanted to keep the violent protesters down. But this was Wednesday and it’s weekend now. They even extended the curfew until Tuesday! Everything is calm now and if there are more terrorists, they won’t be restrained by a curfew. So, I wonder about the reasoning right now?! No one is allowed to leave home from 9pm until 6am (heard rumors about 1000€ fines). I don’t even want to think about the costs this means for the economy. Today, a taxi driver told me that he has only half the income of a normal day…

Second Problem: Internet censorship

I could see the game of Bayern-Bremen in the German national cup last week during streaming a video in the internet. It’s not the best quality but at least one option to watch German football here. I thought, it would be that easy again to watch the Champions-League in the internet but I was mistaken. All the program or pages I tried didn’t work. Sometimes, there was a red Thai writing I couldn’t read (should have made a screenshot).  Maybe, that was just a coincidence but it was a bit frustrating altogether. The emergency committee (CRES), deciding most of the measures right now, announced last week that it will control all public TV channels for the time being. Does that mean that also all streaming sites in the internet are banned? It’s still not working right now.

It is certainly weird living in a country where this is possible and I’m not talking about the Champions League game any more…

By the way, in the end I found a stream which showed the game. However, after 20 minutes the stream was suddenly blocked by admin…the quality was horrible anyway. Finally, I listened via audio stream and it was a crappy game anyway since Bayern played poorly against a too powerful Inter team. 2:0 😦

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Guten Tag liebe Leute,

gestern war nun der große Champions League Abend: Bayern-Milano. Darauf hatte mich schon seit langem gefreut.

Erstes Problem: Ausgangssperre

Normalerweise würde ich so ein Spiel irgendwo mit anderen Leuten in einer Bar schauen (bekannt oder nicht). Jubeln, Klatschen, Trinken, Spaß in der Masse…Aber da gab es ja leider ein kleines Problem. Seit letztem Mittwoch hat die Regierung jede Nacht in Bangkok und halb Thailand eine Ausgangssperre verhängt-also kein Jubeln, Klatschen, Trinken, Spaß in der Masse. Ich konnte die Maßnahme ja am Mittwoch verstehen, da mit Brandstiftung und Scharmützeln mit militanten Demonstranten echt noch Chaos in Bangkok herrschte. Aber jetzt ist Wochenende und die Sperre soll noch bis mindestens Dienstag andauern! Alles ist ruhig im Moment und wenn es noch Terroristen gibt, dann werden die sich bestimmt nicht von einer Ausgangssperre aufhalten lassen. Ich frage mich also wirklich nach der Begründung für diese Verlängerung?! Keiner darf von 21 bis 6 Uhr das Haus verlassen (hörte Gerüchte über 1000€ Strafe). Ich will erst gar nicht an die Kosten der Wirtschaft denken. Ein Taxifahrer erzählte mir heute, dass er im Moment nur die Hälfte der normalen Einnahmen hat…

Zweites Problem: Internetzensur

Ich konnte mir letzte Woche das Bayern-Bremen DFP-Pokalspiel im Internet über streaming anschauen. Es war nicht die beste Qualität, aber es war die einzige Möglichkeit deutschen Fußball hier zu sehen. Natürlich dachte ich, dass es wieder genau so einfach sein wird auch die Champions-League im Internet zu sehen, aber ich wurde eines besseren belehrt. Alle Programme oder Seiten, die ich probierte, funktionierten plötzlich nicht mehr. Manchmal bekam ich eine rote Thai Schrift, die ich natürlich nicht lesen konnte (hätte ein Bild machen sollen). Vielleicht war es alles nur Zufall, aber es war eindeutig frustrierend. Das Notfallkomitee der Regierung (CRES), das über diese ganzen Maßnahmen bestimmt, verkündete letzte Woche, dass es auch das komplette Fernsehen für die nächste Zeit durch sie kontrolliert wird. Bedeutet das auch, dass alle streaming Seiten im Internet geblockt werden? Es funktioniert auf jeden Fall immer noch nicht…

Es ist doch seltsam in einem Land zu leben, wo dies alles möglich ist und auch gemacht wird. Und ich rede nicht mehr über das Champions-League Finale.

Apropos Champions-League: Am Ende hab ich sogar einen stream gefunden, der das Spiel übertragen hat. Allerdings gab dieser stream auch noch 20 Minuten auf und war plötzlich vom Admin geblockt…die Qualität war sowieso grausam. Schlussendlich hörte ich mir den Rest des Spiels in der Audioübertragung des WDRs an. Es war dann sowieso ein schlechtes Spiel und Bayern hat gegen ein überragendes Inter-Team 2:0 verloren.

Getting out…at least for a few hours!

Hallo,

Today, we went to an amusement park with roller-coasters and big pools coming with artificial waves. Maybe it is not the right time to go to an amusement park and scream while going down the roller-coaster but we needed the time off. Especially, Steffi and her boyfriend Justin (it was also his birthday) enjoyed the distraction since they are very committed to the red cause and follow the news all day.

It was next to the fun part also cultural education. They have an “African Adventure” there where you go with a boat and look at typical African animals and life-style. It began with puppets of half naked Africans climbing trees to get to the coconuts, followed by topless African woman dancing to weird music. After some elephants and tigers , African people where shown that hunted white people with a stick in their hand, then burning their 70s style vehicle, to finally crucify and burn them alive. I hope, at least, they don’t teach that at school any more… 😉

The best comment came then from Frank which is a friend of Justin‘s: “When you think about it…it is really racist that, in King Kong, a black gorilla is kidnapping a white woman”, after passing a gorilla with a weird puppet in his hand.

Since I’m home (and because of the curfew, I’m here to stay), I am watching da internet for news on Thailand. Can be consuming. I should eat something…

Edit: As always, a lot of new stuff in the Link-Section…
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Hallo,

heute ging es in einen Vergnügungspark mit Achterbahn, riesigem Wellenbad und allem drum und dran. Vielleicht ist es im Moment nicht die richtige Zeit einen Vergnügungspark zu besuchen, aber wir brauchten diese Auszeit. Besonders, Steffi und Freund (der auch nebenbei Geburtstag hatte) konnten etwas Ablenkung gebrauchen, denn die beiden machen kaum etwas anderes als den ganzen Tag dem Konflikt zu folgen.

Neben dem Spaßaspekt hatte das ganze aber auch einen Bildungswert. Im Park gab es ein “Afrikanisches Abenteuer”, wo man in einem Boot eine Sicht auf die afrikanische Tierwelt und den typischen life-style werfen kann. Die Tour begann mit Puppen von halb nackten Afrikanern, die irgendwelche Früchte von einem Baum pflücken wollten, gefolgt von barbusigen Frauen, die zu seltsamer Musik Bewegungen machten. Nach einigen Elefanten und Tigern, wurden Afrikaner gezeigt, die böse weiße Männer mit Holzlanzen jagten, dann deren 70er Jahre Tropenauto anzündeten und schlußendlich einen Weißen kreuzigten und verbrannten. Ich hoffe inniglich, dass sowas wenigstens nicht mehr in der Schule gelehrt wird… 😉

Der schönste Kommentar des Tages kam von Frank, einem Freund von Justin, nachdem am Ende der Tour ein großer Gorilla mit eine seltsamen Puppe in der Hand überragte: “Wenn man darüber nachdenkt, ist es wirklich rassistisch, dass in King Kong ein schwarzer Gorilla eine weiße Frau kidnappt.”

Seit ich daheim bin (und da bleibe ich wegen der Ausgangssperre auch), bin ich das Internet nach neuen Neuigkeiten über Thailand am absuchen. Ganz schön zeitraubend. Ich sollte mal etwas essen…

Edit: Wie immer viel Neues in der Link-Section

Still here and alive!

Hey,

At the moment, the motivation to write and analyse has left me with the violence happening all around me. I will write more in the future and for now I’m safe and sound at home.

This night from 8pm until 6am, there was a curfew, so no one could leave their home. And this was extended for three more night, today.

My work will be definitely closed until Monday.

On the bright side, I still have electricity…see you.
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Hey,

im Moment hat mich die Motivation verlassen, etwas sinnvolles über die Krise zu schreiben, mit der grausamen Geschehnissen um mich herum. Ich werde aber sicher bald wieder mehr schreiben. Im Moment zählt, dass es mir gut geht und sich keiner Sorgen machen braucht!

Letzte Nacht gab es eine Ausgangssperre, die auch in den nächsten Nächten bis zum Wochenende anhalten wird.

Mein Büro ist auf jeden Fall bis Montag geschlossen.

Aber ich habe noch Strom, also alles jut…bis bald.

Nothing new on the horizon…

Hey,

today was a kinda boring day because my weekend got prolonged by at least two days. The government bestowed us with two additional holidays because parts of Bangkok are still war zone and my office is actually in this zone, at the edge but still inside.

It seemed a bit calmer today but a deadline given by the government was passed without any consequences again. The protesters were told to leave or else…they stayed. It wouldn’t be the first time that even government-friendly newspapers would write about the PM as laughing matter (read here on Bangkok Post). I don’t think that all the red-shirts are saints but it is the government who uses deadly force against people mostly with slingshots or even unarmed. As a guy on Twitter said it, there was no injured or dead soldier yet (edit: there was apparently one dead soldier since Thursday), but over 20 dead protesters and over 200 injured (including para-medics and journalists). Massacre?!

So, while the situation is at a stable deadly level (at least not deteriorating), I’m sitting at home finishing my nice fantasy-novel (The Lords of Winterfell) and watching 30 Rock with Tina Fay and Alec Baldwin (quite funny).

Yesterday, there was a nice party with Thai BBQ on the rooftop with some residents who invited me. They were either models from all over the world working in Bangkok, singers/music players from the Philippines or older residents. I haven’t figured out what the older residents are doing in Bangkok but they sure love a good dice game with a cold beer next to them 😉

I guess the evening brings more fantasy and 30 Rock. Tomorrow finally, I get a fridge in the morning. It’s incredible how you can miss a fridge at constant 40°C…

Edit: Lots of new stuff in the link-section
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Hey,

heute war eher ein langweiliger Tag, weil mein Wochenende um zwei Tage verlängert wurde. Die Regierung spendierte uns zwei zusätzliche Feiertage, weil Teile Bangkoks immer noch eine unkontrollierte Kriegszone sind und mein Büro befindet sich genau in dieser Zone, am Rand aber immerhin.

Es war alles etwas ruhiger heute, aber eine Frist der Regierung die besetzten Gebiete zu räumen, ist wieder konsequenzlos verstrichen. Die Demonstranten sollten nach Hause gehen, oder sonst…sie blieben. Es wäre nicht das erste Mal, dass sogar regierungsfreundliche Zeitungen, den Premier Abhisit zur Lachnummer abstempeln würden (der geneigte Leser klicke HIER). Ich glaube ja auch nicht, dass alle Rothemden Heilige sind, aber es ist die Regierung, die Soldaten mit scharfer Munition gegen Leute einsetzt, die meist unbewaffnet sind oder mit Steinschleudern um sich schießen. Wie einer auf Twitter treffend feststellte: Bisher sind keine Soldaten verwundet oder getötet worden, dafür über 20 Zivilisten tot und über 200 verwundet (darunter Journalisten und Sanitäter). Massaker?!

Während die Situation also auf einem stabil tödlichem Level bleibt (wenigstens wird es nicht schlimer), sitze ich zu Hause und lese Fantasy (die Herren von Winterfell) und schaue 30 Rock, mit Tina Fay und Alec Baldwin.

Gestern gab es auf dem Dach eine kleine (Grill-)Party der Anwohner, die mich auch einluden. Es waren entweder Models aus aller Welt, die in Bangkok arbeiten, Sänger/Musiker aus den Philippinen oder ältere Anwohner. Bei den Älteren weiß ich noch nicht wirklich was die in Bangkok machen, aber ich weiß, dass sie jeden Tag ihr Würfelspiel mit einem gewissen Bierkonsum verbinden 😉

Ich denke mal, dass dieser Abend heute nur noch mehr Fantasy und 30 Rock bringen wird. Morgen werde ich endlich einen Kühschrank bekommen und ihr glaubt nicht wie man einen Kühlschrank bei konstanten 40° C vermissen kann…

EDIT: Einiges Neues in der Link-Sektion

Smoke over Bangkok!

This is what can be seen from my rooftop: a big column of smoke…
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Das kann man von meinem Dach aus sehen: eine große Rauchsäule…

But I also prepared something funny sunburny:
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Ich habe aber auch etwas lustiges sonnenbrandiges im Petto: