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P.M. Koizumi Leads LDP to Huge Election Win in Japan Another Mass Transit Proposal -- an Extraordinary One Heavy Rains Continue to Plague North More News on Possible Casinos in Thailand * * * * * * * * * * Just a reminder you can sign-up for free to receive the BangkokAtoZ.com Updates (plain text) e-mail to always know when I add something new to the site or modify it in some important way. A great way to be sure YOU don't miss something of interest, best of all is that this service is absolutely FREE! * * * * * * * * * * This is the last story of the week I'm writing, though I put it in first position. It is a common story, one involving a tragic death, that I've known since midday last Sunday, and a story that has muted me. Some years ago a bar opened in my neighborhood. I met the owner and her first waitress, the waitress then a young lady maybe 20 years old or so, a young lady just as sweet could be. She also was a lady who was a girl who worked in a bar -- but who wasn't a bargirl. Old Asia Hands will understand my meaning, but I'll offer a bit of explanation for those who might not grasp it. There are "bargirls" then there are "bar girls" -- not to be confused. The first is engaged in the flesh trade, the other not. The young lady of whom I write was in the latter category, one of those who never belonged in a bar. Sweet as all get out, she was absolutely resistant to the notion of commercial sex. Last Sunday I was sitting here at my computer at the Texas Lone Staar checking e-mail or some such nonsense when the young lady's husband of some years, a really nice guy, a Squaronian who isn't able to make it here all that often, was in and approached me. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he asked, "You remember Jane?" Of course, I knew immediately of whom he spoke. I got to know her before he persuaded her to leave the bar, and became quite fond of her, Sweetheart that she was. In fact, I met her before even he did. Of course, not knowing anything to be amiss, I made a flippant -- and, as it turns out, stupid -- reply, something along the lines of "Sure! When's that little honey gonna come down to the Square so I can see her???" Or some such. I don't remember, not through the haze. He said, simply and bluntly, "She's dead." As Robot on "Lost in Space" would have said, it did not compute. "Jane??? Dead???" In my stupor, which I know is understandable to you, I made, finally, the unwitty reply, "HUH???" The bereaved Husband looked at me and asked, "You DO remember Jane, don't you?" Of course, I replied, "Sure. Your wife. What in the hell do you mean by 'She's dead'?" "Emphysema, with the additional complication of pneumonia. She had gone upcountry to her family home. She has been sickly since we saw you last 6 or 7 months ago. Her parents called to say she had gone to hospital but that the doctors said everything would be okay. I flew up anyway, and was directly assured by the doctors she would recover after a few days bed rest she would return to normal. She assured me the same. So I flew back -- then hours later, her folks called to say she had died." Jane never smoked anything in her entire life, as far as I know, and neither did her husband. Her husband rescued her from her former job: he's truly one of the guys with a white hat. He educated her -- she was nearing completion of university studies at the time of her death. And she was one of the gals with a white hat: she was utterly devoted to him, and she doted on him in all the years I would of too rare an occasion get to see them together. We foreigners sometimes forget there are drop-dead nice Thai people, too. It merits underscoring. In some ways, the moment I learned of Jane's death -- at her tender age of only 26 years old -- reminds me of Joyce's "The Epiphany," and of the darker works of D. H. Lawrence. Or maybe the Dylan Thomas poem "Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night" is even a better explanation of how I felt:
Dylan -- ironically, given his own relatively early death -- meant Death, of course, by " good night." That night, I told a friend who never met Jane about her passing. He spoke of the unfairness of life. As a footnote, I added that just as Joyce concluded the universe isn't fair, in the moment of my learning of Jane's untimely death, I had to agree with him. And that it would have been far better had I died, at a bit over twice her age, than for her to have died so unforgivably young. I've had a life, and a very good one at that; hers was, really, just unfolding. Nothing noble in that observation, just a reaction. You'll understand I haven't been especially inspired to write much this week. Is this the first time I've encountered the death of a young and innocent person? -- of course not. I remember the 8-year-old killed in a horrific traffic accident involving 8 vehicles that resulted in 14 deaths that I happened upon. Not realizing -- or, perhaps, refusing to accept -- she was dead, I launched into full-bore CPR. (I was a security patrol officer at the time.) I didn't know the dead babe, but I'll never, ever forget her. Of course, my efforts were to no avail. It took a Fire Department Ambulance Service Captain laying his hand gently on my shoulder and saying "Son, give it up. She's gone," for me to accept the reality. I hadn't even heard the Fire Department arrive, so intent I was. The Captain had the sheer compassion to find out who I was and to get a message to me later that the coroner said she was dead on impact. (The Captain had, kindly, said to the coroner that the young security officer first on the scene was having one helluva a time of it. That helped. A lot. But I still see her blonde hair, fair skin, and blue eyes, decades later. But back to Jane. Jane, you were beautiful. Yes, on an unimportant level, I mean you were physically attractive. But I mostly mean you were attractive in your heart. Your husband always told me, when I saw him without you, that you always asked after me after his solo forays to the Square, as I always asked him after you. Why in the name of any god there is you've gone up the chimney in smoke at such a tender age, such a promising age, is utterly beyond me, other than to say, bitterly, "That's life. That's the hand you were dealt." I'm crying as I type this, but I'm imagine you know that, and that you understand. You marked my life in a very happy way. You showed me a goodness I'll never match and will rarely even see. I won't forget. In my own way, maybe a silly way, I love you now, in Death, as I loved you in Life. Perhaps I should dedicate one of my all-time favorite songs, in an appropriate context, to you: Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You." Your Husband is well, far better than anyone could have expected. He told me you have spoken with him. I was glad. In your next life, I pray the Great Lord Buddha sees fit to deal you a bit better set of cards. . . . [Friday, September 16, 2005] * * * * * * * * * * P.M. Koizumi Leads LDP to Huge Election Win in Japan Japan's Prime Minister Koizumi led his party, the Liberal Democratic Party, to a rather astonishing victory in Japan's national elections this past Sunday, which Koizumi called when a faction within his own party revolted recently against his ambitious plan to privatize Japan's postal system, which is effectively the largest bank in the world. Given that this election was a snap one Koizumi called immediately after his party members revolted, it also was a national referendum on his privatization plan. Given that the LDP won 296 of 480 seats (just under 62%) in the the lower house of the Diet, or Parliament, in official results -- some say the true number likely will exceed 300 -- the Japanese electorate has spoken clearly in favor of Koimuzi's daring policy. Koimuzi's previous attempt to privatize the postal system was defeated in the upper house of the Diet last month when 22 LDP members defected on the vote, thereby ensuring the bill's defeat. Koimuzi will be formally reappointed in a special session of the Diet, likely sometime in the first half of next week. While he is expected to reintroduce bills to privatize the postal system, some of his own party members want some details modified. Further, while large numbers of defections seem unlikely, reports in the Japanese press say if as many as just 17 members did so, the Prime Minister's pet project could be defeated again. I've never dealt with the Japanese postal system, but I've known quite a few who have, both Japanese and foreigners. One consistent theme in their remarks over the years has been that the postal system badly needs to be reformed through privatization. Apparently upwards of 2/3's of Japanese voters agree. Koizumi is a popular leader both at home and abroad. Congratulations started rolling in early, as it became clear the LDP was headed for a landslide victory, from foreign leaders, including our own P.M. Thaksin Shinawatra. About the only thing Koizumi does that stirs great resentment in other countries is to visit the shrine to Japan's dead from World Was II -- resentment because among the dead there are convicted, executed war criminals. But that is largely a matter arising from widespread feelings among the Japanese people that their nation wasn't wrong in engaging in World War II nor in the behavior of Japanese troops. However, people in affected countries, especially China and Korea, feel passionately about this issue, though hardly in those two countries alone. Thailand has its own infamous Death Railway, for example. Be that as it may, the spotlight in on the Japanese Prime Minister now, to the point some members of his party are privately saying he should extend his term until the summer of 2007, when the next House of Councillors election will occur, despite repeated promises by Koimuzi to step down no later than next September. Since this is the first time the party has had such a position of strength in 15 years, perhaps his allies will be able to convince him to stay at the helm -- with support from the voters. Developments in Japan always loom large here in Thailand, a major beneficiary of Japanese investment and trade. The countries enjoy a close relationship not only in economic terms, but politically as well. Further, many Japanese live here, and many others holiday here. Not nearly so many Thais are able to visit Japan, given the expense of doing just about anything in the land of Mount Fujiyama. Contributing columnist Richard K. Diran and his Japanese wife recently went on their semi-annual holiday to the Nagoya area to visit his wife's Mother and other relatives. They took her Mother and an Aunt to eat in a French restaurant, where they ate a very modest meal -- to the tune of the equivalent of about US$400!] And Japan is important in stability in this part of the world, something from which the entire world benefits. Like Thailand, Japan is an important ally for the U.S. as well. Congratulations to Prime Minister Koimuzi and the LDP. [Tuesday, September 13, 2005] * * * * * * * * * * Another Mass Transit Proposal -- an Extraordinary One Members of the academic think tank Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment (JGSEE) is reported by The Nation to have made an extreme proposal to help end Bangkok's infamous traffic woes, the report headlined "Call for massive Bus Rapid Transport system to end city’s traffic woes." The basic idea is to develop a rapid transit system using computer-controlled buses, a system far more extensive than the one the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (BMA) is currently developing. The BMA doesn't have authority over many of the streets need for a more extensive system, according to the story (something which greatly surprised me). Here's the sting in the JGSEE proposal: it requires taking up half the road space in the city. It's not clear from the story if that means it would literally close half the streets to other vehicular traffic or if each route would require 1/2 of each individual street along which it ran. Access to the island stations would be via pedestrian tunnels from the curbs. (It occurs to me to wonder why not use footbridges, which I assume are cheaper than tunnels.) But here's the upside to the idea, and a major upside it is: the group estimates such a transport system costs between 22 and 40 times less than Skytrains, rail systems, subways, etc. -- and take far less time to put into place than those alternatives. Though the report didn't say what type of fuel the buses would use, a safe bet is they would be powered by natural gas, given the government's promotion of that alternative in other contexts. Although Thailand has developed by leaps and bounds over the past several decades, it's still quite a ways from First World status (and I mean absolutely no criticism by saying that -- it's amazing how much it has developed in the 11 years I've been here). Though I personally feel alternatives to fossil fuels and buses might be better long-term solutions, perhaps the proposed system might be just the ticket in the short- to medium-term, given the economics of the matter. Leaving aside all the allegations of mismanagement, corruption, and the like, which aren't the point of this story, I have to say that the successive governments here under which I've lived have pursued improving the transportation/traffic situation consistently, for which they are to be commended. First came improving the roadways, everything from widening even some minor sois to building elevated motorways. Then came the much-appreciated Skytrain, and now we have the subway. We've seen the delay or cancellation of several mass transit projects due to cost fears, so a Bus Rapid Transit System is possible, cheaper, effective, and faster to implement, I can see where the relevant authorities well might take a long, in-depth look at the possibility. I came out of my home on a small soi running off Sukhumvit Road near The Emporium at about 6:00 A.M. this past Sunday morning, and inbound traffic was already building -- on a Sunday. And it wasn't a special Sunday, so there wasn't something along those lines to explain it. Everyone is frustrated by the traffic, which appears to many of us to have gotten even worse, at times, than in the pre-economic crash era over 8 years ago. I rarely venture more than a couple of blocks of Sukhumvit Road along a short stretch of it from just east of The Emporium to Sukhumvit Soi 22 -- a distance of maybe a kilometer or so, at most. I can get and do virtually anything I want along that stretch, so there's no need for me to venture further afield, most of the time anyway. And when I do, I sometimes take the Skytrain or subway to the point closest to where I am going. I don't drive here -- as I have observed many times in the past, just crossing a street is to take your life into your own hand, never mind driving! Therein lies another rub: convincing Bangkok drivers -- the report says 55% of the city's driving public drive their private vehicles -- to give up their cherished road space for the benefit of all, and to actually use the various mass transit options. Bangkokians are very vocal in their stances, and it will be a truly hard sell to get them to accept such an idea. ("They'll pry my car keys from my cold, dead fingers, by god!") If the government decides to pursue this idea, we're in for interesting times. [Tuesday, September 13, 2005] * * * * * * * * * * Heavy Rains Continue to Plague North Both major English-language dailies have reports today about the threat of flooding posed by ongoing downpours in Chiang Mai Province in the Kingdom's far north. The Nation report is headlined "Ping poised to break its banks" while the one in the Bangkok Post is titled "Heavy rains cause floods in the North." Various places in the region are under threat, and authorities are warning residents to be ready to evacuate immediately across the area due to possible flash-flooding, especially along the Ping River, which is about ready to burst its banks. Though this is the low season, my guess is that the region is receiving even fewer visitors than usual for this time of the year, and if I'm right, that's certainly not good news for a part of the Kingdom highly dependent on tourist money. On the plus side, Thais are well familiar with this sort of situation, as to have gentle rains over an extended time is almost unheard of; the country will go without a drop of rain, at least in some places, for months on end -- only to be hit by torrential downpours. The extensive deforestation that has taken place in recent decades sure doesn't help matters. We'll know tomorrow or the next day how things develop, but if they keep up into the weekend, I'd say defer travel, if you can, especially if you're here long-term and can go later anyway. [Tuesday, September 13, 2005] * * * * * * * * * * More News on Possible Casinos in Thailand Today's Bangkok Post has an interesting story regarding the effects should the Kingdom decide to legalize casinos, a story with the headline "Location key for casinos." I have long felt that legalizing casinos makes better sense than continuing to forbid them; after all, gamblers can go to Cambodia, Macau and Singapore to take their chances legally. (Actually, I'm not sure if Singapore has already legalized them, but I do know doing so is at least in the works.) Besides, it's common knowledge that there are numerous underground gambling dens here anyway, so I've never understood the downside of legalizing them, thereby being better able to regulate them -- and to increase income for the state. One example will show this. I taught at the University of Macau 1990-94. Classed as a civil servant of the government, which wholly owns the university, I was exempt from any and all income tax -- I didn't pay a thing. Why? -- because the STDM, Stanley Ho's Macau tourism empire, generated roughly half the then-colony's income, making it possible for the government to give its civil servants rather lavish packages. And gambling was at the heart of that public income; upwards of 100,000 punters from Hongkong alone were said to make the short hop on weekends via jetfoil to try their luck. Though Ho no longer has a monopoly, the number of casinos in what is now a Special Administrative Region of The People's Republic of China has more than doubled since I moved to Thailand 11 years ago, with more on the boards. But back to the news story. It makes several points. First, if casinos are legalized, they should be kept away from beach areas so as not to present a conflict with tour operators promoting Thailand as a sun-and-surf destination. Second, it is expected most gamblers who would come here would be Asian, not Western, as Westerners already have other options. Third, people staying away because of last December's tsunami aren't expect to return for more than 2 years. (More about this point in a bit.) Fourth, legalizing casinos here would have the happy effect of keeping Thai punters -- and their money -- in the Kingdom. The government panel currently examining ways to legalize gambling in a couple of years might take note of those ideas. The third point above raises a side issue to the story: the tsunami. An early-warning system is being developed regionally, and the sooner that's in place, the better. I have a Western friend who loves going to an island near Ranong, just off the west coast of Thailand in the Andaman Sea -- but since last December, he absolutely refuses to go anywhere along the Andaman Sea coast until such an early-warning system is in place, tested, and proven to be effective. He now opts for destinations on the other coast with the Gulf of Thailand. The person quoted in the article is absolutely correct that those tourists avoiding Thailand because of the Boxing Day tsunami aren't in a hurry to come back until they believe they will be safe from any future tsunami disaster. Statistically, that logic is arguable, but the fact remains that's how untold numbers of people feel. How can I be so sure? -- well, if you had seen all the e-mails I have and heard people speak about this point, all singing the same song, you'd be sure, too. It so happens I've never been to the Andaman Sea at all, and I'm in no hurry to go there. When a tsunami kills people in another continent -- Africa -- it focuses the mind. But legalizing casinos could help the tourism industry of the Kingdom as a whole, attracting those Asian punters -- some of whom are high rollers indeed -- and boosting domestic tourism, domestic meaning not only people of Thai nationality but also foreigners who live here and also like to play the cards, roulette wheel, one-arm bandits, whatever. Some will ask, "What about the morality of it? Won't people who can't afford it lose their week's worth of grocery money and the like?" Yes. They will, no matter what. Thais, like many other national groups, are famous for their love of gambling. I lost count of the number of people I have personally seen lose every baht they had then have to borrow pittances just to eat until next payday. All the preaching in the world isn't going to deter a determined gambler; gambling is, after all, an addiction. Therefore, morality really plays no part in the debate (though it has always dominated the debate here, to be sure). Then there's conflicting theological angle to consider as well. Do any of us of any particular religious persuasion have a demonstrable, absolute right to dictate to others about such matters? I submit, "No." There's one more argument: it is embodied in the public lottery -- which is already completely legal. I once won 100,000 baht, and the government lottery office deducted the government's 3 or 4% cut right off the top (which was plenty fair by me!). That fact sort of cancels the morality argument, for all intents and purposes, doesn't it? After all, jillions of lottery tickets are sold each and every fortnight already. And those Thais with the financial wherewithal to make their way to places where casinos are legal do so. This is another one of those stories it's going to be mighty interesting to follow. [Tuesday, September 13, 2005] * * * * * * * * * * Enough for one go . . . Until next time -- Mekhong Kurt
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