Earlier today this report came in from The Nation:

“A pro-democracy group Wednesday threatened to organise a mass protest on December 10 demanding the government to call a general election within 90 days.

“Chanapat na Nakhon, chairman of Democracy Lover Network said that labourers from Bangkok, farmers from ten northeast provinces, five southern provinces and six northern province totalling 30,000 people will join the protest at the Democracy Monument.”

This is what the murmurings have been about for some time. People have been mulling over the possibility of the masses coming to Bangkok, and on the surface it looks as if it may happen, although I am skeptical that 30,000 people will turn up, and the report says that this is just a “threat.” Whenever there has been a protest since September 19, the expected number of attendees has always fallen well short of the actual number, but could things be about to change?

“We are purely democracy lovers and we want to restore democracy to the country,” said Chanapat na Nakhon, again in The Nation.

The group are not entirely pro-Thaksin, although you can’t escape the fact that at least some of them are. They are essentially a group of smaller anti-coup factions. They have different ideologies and so I don’t have much faith in them cooperating for a prolonged stretch of time.

The mass protest by up to 3,000 taxi drivers at the end of last week, as covered by Bangkok Pundit, may be a signifier that discontent under the surface is starting to bubble over. The most recent anti-coup demonstration drew around 500 people, and the overall feeling was that these people are not afraid of the military. Likewise, however, the military is at least putting on a brave face:

From the Bangkok Post today: “Political gatherings after the partial lifting of martial law — including a huge rally planned by anti-coup protesters on December 10 — pose no concern for the interim government, Defence Minister Boonrawd Somtat said today.

“The weekly Cabinet Tuesday resolved to lift martial law in Bangkok and 40 other provinces, including the capital’s immediate neighbours. The resolution will take effect after royal endorsement is granted.

“Gen Boonrawd said the government had not made major plans to deal with the rally, as it believes the rally would be held in a peaceful manner.

“‘Once the government decided to lift martial law,’ Gen Boonrawd said, ‘it is brave enough to encounter any consequences that follow.’”

If 30,000 people gather, then I think some major plans to deal with the rally might be necessary. 500 people around Democracy Monument made for quite a congregation; 30,000 will be something entirely different, especially as these aren’t likely to be 30,000 students and academics.

Techno’ tags: Coup, Protest, Martial Law, Bangkok, Thailand

This is the flyer for a party I am organizing with my friend Bill. I didn’t design the flyer, Note from Dude/Sweet did, but I think it looks quite cool and might brighten this place (my blog) up a little bit until it eventually drops off the page. Anyone who wants to come to the party is welcome to do so, for free of course, saving yourself an unprecedented 50 baht. Just go to Worng Disco MySpace nearer the time to get the password. Bill and I will be DJing, and Montonn Jira’s two-piece electronic techno-group will be playing a live set.

Farang beggars are a difficult bunch to fathom. There’s a few of them about, and I don’t just mean the hippie oddballs who sleep on the streets of Khaosan. There are real, non-native beggars out there. The most notorious of these is a Dutchman who sits around BTS stations with a sign declaring that he is 6,000 baht away from having enough money to purchase a plane ticket home. He has been 6,000 baht away for a long time now.

I’ve seen this fellow a couple of times and have always made a point to make eye contact and acknowledge his existence. I have never given him money; he makes enough from kind-hearted Thai students.

Whilst he has a sad, puppy-dog look about his person, there is another beggar whose existence I have only recently discovered (it was yesterday, actually). This man is a whole lot scarier than our poor Dutch friend. He looks like a cross between Doctor Emmett Brown from Back to the Future and Christopher Walken in Envy.

I saw him on the walkway between the Victory Monument BTS station and Center One. I’d say he was mid-forties and possibly British. Our eyes met and I was instantly terrified. He even had one of those plastic cups the Thais use. He was crouched down on the floor with a maniacal fire in his eyes, as if he might start barking and growling at any moment. I’m going to keep tabs on this one and see how he gets on.

He died at the age of 26 from a Tryptizol overdose. He released just three albums, none of which sold more than 5,000 copies while he was alive. He was cripplingly shy, depressed, and recluse. His music was simple, often stark, devoid of unnecessary clutter. His influence has lived on, more than 30 years after his death in 1974, as cited by everyone from Robert Smith to Badly Drawn Boy.

Borrowed from the BBC

If you have never listened to Nick Drake, then you really should. There is precious little material available, but what you can find is a good representation of the romantic and tortured enigma that Nick Drake was, and still is.

This man is Keith Summers. If you’ve been keeping up to date with the Bangkok blogging/online community, then you may have come across the name ‘John Galt’, an alias used by Summers in his online mission to bring down the infamous Stickman.For several years now, Stickman Bangkok has played host to Stickman’s own weekly column, a multitude of readers’ submissions, and various articles written about teaching, visas, and other such subjects. The site has also made regular reference to the seedier side of life in the City of Angels, but my opinions on that are immaterial.

Keith Summers set up his own website, imaginatively named Not Stickman Bangkok. Summers modestly refers to himself as “The Great Galt”. The purpose of his website is to expose Stickman as some sort of evil person. I personally do not care for anything Stick has, or has not, done. None of us are perfect, and as far as I can see Stickman’s life is all swings and roundabouts as it is. Summers’s only motives appear to be to avenge a bad review his friend’s bar received from Stickman, and Stickman’s refusal to publish any of The Great Galt’s submissions.

Summers is hell-bent on ruining Stickman’s life. You can read some detailed insight into the whole charade at Mango Sauce.

The main problem I have with Summers is his ego. He clearly thinks he is the center of the universe. He has an exaggerated sense of self-importance, and comes across as maniacal at times. He is also a terrible writer and largely undermines any valid points he has because he is, more often than not, incomprehensible with his ranting.

His infinite wisdom comes forth in an extract from this week’s column:

“I relate this to the Thais in a number of ways. Certainly, Thai are not aliens. And most certainly they do act with independence, but if you watch them work and visit together, you begin to sense their movements and actions have a lot of unity. You’ll notice that in many ways this group of people will act with one mind. In reality, this kind of an illusion. Their unity is a visual side effect of their customs. I’m not saying they don’t think alike because when it comes to their King they think exactly alike. They all love and revere their King.”

His remarks have often left me dumbfounded. In one of his earlier columns, he shared this with his readers:

“When I was a younger man, I had the good fortune of 2 virgins back in the US. Both were very exciting moments and if I had to do it all over again I would not have changed a thing about it (except for perhaps getting some pictures of the girls). Five years ago, before discovering Thailand, if you would had met me in California and asked me if had any expectations of ever having another virgin I would have probably told you sadly that my expectations for that opportunity again were virtually nil. Little did I know at that time that a little raunchy office banter would lead me to investigate Thailand. That 10 day vacation turned into a complete relocation for me, and unbeknownst to me at the time, some fresh opportunity to yet again, experience a virgin.”

This is a man who criticizes Stickman for his immorality. I have nothing more to say about this, because I don’t believe it’s really worth covering in any great depth. It’s been discussed on enough other blogs if you really want to see the nitty gritty of the affair. I refrained from blogging it until it died down because I didn’t want to further feed Summers’s own ego when he was at his most read.

Stickman’s website is still online, but it has been trimmed, and the owner of the domain has taken a step back from the limelight for the time being.

Techno’ tags: Asia, Bangkok Blog, Thailand, John Galt, Stickman Bangkok, Not Stickman Bangkok