"Food shops are closed"

[mardhi]

Its not often something surprises me in Thailand - but the headline from yersterdays Bangkok Post managed to achieve it.

The story was NOT related to anything about Palm Oil (cooking oil, of all things) shortages which seem to have captured the countries attention in a way that Graft, Theft, Murder etc fail to achieve. No, this is the headline and lead story on the first page about the war zone that is currently Libya and where a reported 5,000 Thais are currently working.

If anyone wants to truly understand Thai's read and absorb the headline and then think, hmmm so what mention of the fact that these people are IN a life threatening position with hoodlums and factions riding round with AK47's looting anything they can get hold off. Countless countries are evacuating their nationals quick time by charted aircraft, ferries and even Greek fishing boats for the Chinese (thanks to Greece for providing those - nothing to do with saving the country from going under in its own debt mountain). Britians special forces have had to fly in and rescue 150 Brits stuck in the desert and the largest complaint coming from the Thai contingent? "The food shops are closed" Any further comment is not really needed.....

Cheers
Mardhi

[pacman]

I believe you can tell a lot about a country from its newspapers. And I always read the Bangkok Post, it is a very good paper which surprises me with the revelations it makes about Thailand.

But mostly the exposing of corruption isn't in a lead story, it is detailed in a guest contribution or a letter to the editor. Some of the letters I have read in the Post over the years have been amazing for their frank accounts of corruption of the worst kind.

I came to the conclusion that the Post has some sort of arrangement with the Thai government to carry these articles & letters so they aren't in danger of being shut down. Or their managing editor being arrested & thrown in jail.

But... it isn't all one way, I have seen where they tread very carefully when it concerns a subject close to the governments heart. Or anything to do with the Ruling family.

That's fine, I am a visitor & I wouldn't expect them to bite the hand that feeds them, or rather, bites the hand that allows them to keep feeding themselves.

However the Post have become masters of "Ironic Journalism". That is my own phrase & by it, I mean, when they write about a sensitive topic, they have at times, tackled it from a totally unexpected angle. As they have done with this lovely coverage of Libya.

After all, how can the Post report a story about the suppressed population of Libya rising up to defeat their despotic leader without drawing comparisons to the their own country. Substitute the rebels for the Red Shirts & the story is the same.

So to provide the necessary coverage without drawing the ire of the government, PLUS giving a wink to the cognoscenti & ex-pat population of LOS, they made it a story about food shops.

It is still a subject close to the people's heart so when the story was translated for the government monitors to keep an eye on its major farang daily, the subject of closed food shops made for an innocuous account of this revolution in the making.

I can only surmise that after covering Tunisia & Egypt, the editor was given a reminder to not further incite the locals. I never saw the coverage of those earlier events so that is pure supposition on my part.

Having worked on newspapers & read them every day, I have learnt to read between the lines. I couldn't find a better headline to illustrate my point.

[Tomcat]

It was the food shortage that caused Tunisia and Egypt to erupt in the first place. Algeria and Morroco also have the same problem and my bet is that after Gaddaffi is killed Algeria will topple next.

Food will be a big factor in many problems this year and China could be next for news headlines. Many riots that happen there are not reported. If the harvests are bad this year it could spread much further than the middle east.

[Bumpa STIKKA]

I agree... Food will be the big issue dominating the ability of governments to perform in the next few years.

Way too many people, too many natural disasters and too little food to go around.

It will hurt Thailand but the stability of their populace (despite the odds and headines) and it's well organized small farm machine means that it'll be able to pull through.

Also it has the political and popular will to boot out the fucking foreigners who eat up their resources!