30 May 2007, the day when the tribunal court decided to rule out Democrat from all charges, and found Thai Rak Thai (Taksin’s party) guilty of all charges. It results in the Thai Rak Thai party disbanded and 111 key party members, Taksin included, banned from political activities for 5 years.

What does this mean to the future of Thai democratic and foreign investment?
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One thing you can’t say about BKK, it’s not dullville central :0)

Today the High Court Judges will pass judgement both the Thai Rak Thai and Democratic Party, and this ruling could have serious consequences for the stability of Thailand. His Majesty has already warned the judges last week that the future stability of the country rested on the fairness of their decision.

Obviously this could turn nasty or be as peaceful as the Coup, but BK Metblogs will be there with camera and hopefully be able to update you as the news comes in.

Anyone else planning on being in the area?

Update
Bangkok Pundit has a live feed of what is going on.

A recent request for top places to see in BKK got me thinking that we should really do a post on the subject. Whilst the official guide books, such as Lonely Planet and others seem to list the usual haunts, what about the not so famous places that we all love about BKK?
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Censorship is bad, no matter who tells you otherwise. The OpenNet Initiative is helping countries determine what is censored for them and how their country is looking from a censorship and surveillance point of view.

So, having issues getting to your favourite site, check out the OpenNet’s URL checker to see if someone had deemed it so bad, that you won’t get to see it,

Current Filtering in place for Political Content

Copyright of image rests with the OpenNet Initiative

Bangkok’s nickname is the city of angel, which seems to be quite ironic name to me anytime I happen to travel pass the infamous slum Klongteuy.

Slum Klongteuy is arguably the largest slum in the city. It is full of any possible society problems you can imagine , although I would say the biggest problem is about the “little one”, child abuse.
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ICT has decided to call off the plan to sue YouTube after it received an official letter from Google promise to remove all offended video clips to the Thai monarchy.

Despite many offended clips can still be found on the site, the minister has said to be happy with the apologetic, sincere gesture from Google.

Unfortunately, it seems the scandalous case has led to the build up of the new cyber censorship.

To simplify it, this controversial bill is designed to deal with 2 related issues:
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Thailand’s National Legislative Assembly approved a controversial law this week which could seriously effect how Thailand’s internet users use the web. The main effect of the bill is to outlaw any attempt at bypassing government censors to access any of the thousands of sites that have been censored due to their moral or political purposes.

This single law could put Thailand in the same category as China and Burma with regards to censorship and the lack of a democratic right for free speech.
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Not sure this would work, considering the whole marketing campaign has been pretty weak, but tonight at 7pm Bangkokkers are asked to turn out all nonessential lights, by Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin.

“These include billboard lights, decorative lighting at department stores and in shopfront windows, and some lights in households. There will also be extra police on duty to prevent crime.” ‘

‘Switching off one million 36-watt light bulbs for 15 minutes will mean a reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases by as much as 4,800 tonnes,” the Governor added.

Update
Wow you go Bangkokkers, really show them (hint, sarcasm at work). I’m currently looking at downtown Silom with every billboard still on and most buildings with their lights on.

There’s a joke amongst the Do-Gooders in Thailand. The one’s who actually want to bring innovation, a balanced living, and a country first instead wallets first attitude to governing. They tell this joke to lighten the mood when no matter what policies or change they try to implement are faced with the “cloud of darkness.”
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Reports are coming in that a “bomb” has exploded in the city.
The bomb shattered a telephone booth outside the Chitrlada Palace, “It was intended to make a loud noise and cause chaos. It was not aimed to destroy life,” Police Lieutenant General Adisorn Nonsi told TiTV television.

Obviously details are sketchy at the moment, it is unclear about the size of the explosion and who was behind it, but already Police are saying it is the work of people trying to cause distress and panic.

Will update this story as proper reports are received