Thailand Live Monday 6 Dec 2010

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Thailand Live Monday 6 December 2010

News, Bits and Tweets

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Related topic: Thailand Live Sunday 5 Dec 2010

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HM the King grants public audience on his birthday

BANGKOK (NNT) -- His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej granted an audience with the Prime Minister, Cabinet members, senior officials, and other people on the occasion of his 83rd birthday anniversary.

His Majesty the King, accompanied by Her Majesty Queen Sirikit and other royal family members, proceeded from Siriraj Hospital to the Grand Palace for the royal function scheduled on His Majesty's 83nd Birthday Anniversary.

People from all walks of life, most of whom in pink shirts, waited along roadsides to greet His Majesty the King. Loud chants of “Long Live the King” could be heard along the entire route when the royal motorcade went pass the crowd.

The gathering at the Amarindra Winitchai Throne Hall paid tributes to His Majesty the King, starting with His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, on behalf of the royalty; followed by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Parliament President Chai Chidchob, on behalf of Cabinet members, government officials and the Thai people. They all expressed their appreciation for His Majesty's appearance and for his great kindness and benevolence towards the Thai people.

Supreme Commander General Songkitti Jaggabatara also paid tribute to His Majesty and led the King’s Guards to take their oaths.

On this occasion, His Majesty the King delivered a speech to the audience, reminding Thais to never forget their duties and be conscious in performing them.

-- NNT 2010-12-06

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Many tourists head up north to feel the cold breeze

CHIANG MAI (NNT) -- Cold weather has drawn many tourists to northern provinces of Thailand, especially Chiengmai, where the mercury has reportedly dropped another two to three degrees.

Winter in the North has arrived early this year. The temperature at the top of Doi Inthanon dropped to 8.8 degrees Celsius this morning. Thousands of tourists from across the country have made their ways to visit Chiengmai, given the long holidays have already begun. According to the Meteorological Department, temperatures will drop further in the North in the next few days, adding that high-pressure mass buildups from China still covers many parts of the region.

The Department has warned holidaymakers to be more careful, particularly those who need to drive, adding the presence of intense fog will affect drivers' vision. Following speed limit and using fog light are also advised for safety reasons.

-- NNT 2010-12-06

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Grand festivities

By The Nation

Bangkokians flock to the Chao Phraya to enjoy fireworks and river procession

Millions around the country revelled last night at extravagant celebrations for His Majesty the King's 83rd birthday, while people in Bangkok flocked to the banks of the Chao Phraya to enjoy firework displays and floating lanterns on hundreds of well-lit boats that cruised up and down the river.

His Majesty granted a special public audience in the morning at the Amarinthara Winitchai Throne Hall in the Grand Palace to inner and distant members of the royal family, the military, the Cabinet and high-ranking officials, who extended HM best wishes on his birthday.

In his speech, the King urged all Thais to do their duty to the best of their ability - for the sake of peace, security and happiness.

His Majesty thanked well-wishers for their blessings on his birthday after HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn read out a statement in honour of the King.

"I would like to thank all of you for gathering here to give me sincere birthday wishes," His Majesty said.

"Our country has been prospering and peaceful for a long time because we adhere to our nation and join hands to perform our duty by giving the utmost priority to public interests.

"All of you who are gathering here - and all Thais from all sectors - should seek a clear understanding of your duty and perform your duty to the best, with caution and awareness.

"Being careless and imprudent can lead to mistakes and damage [to duties] in one's responsibility. When one becomes senseless and unreasonable, one can become forgetful and afraid and can abuse his or her authority. This is very dangerous. This kind of practice can lead to downfall to oneself and to the country.

"As a result, I would like to ask all of you to be prudent and to keep your determination to perform your duty in line with your reasons for the sake of peace and security and sustainable happiness of our people," the King said.

The traditional official candlelight ceremony attended by the Cabinet and senior government officials at nearby Sanam Luang was as grandiose as ever. Local ceremonies were held simultaneously at city halls in all 77 provinces and at private functions. The auspicious time of 7.29pm was set up for the commencement of ceremonies, which ended with "Hail the King" and the Royal Anthem sung together.

In addition to the official fireworks ceremony above the Chao Phaya River near Pinklao Bridge and Siriraj Hospital, where His Majesty resides to recover from ill health, fireworks were set off at several other locations in Bangkok and Pattaya Bay off Chon Buri.

A second fireworks ceremony was held over the Royal Plaza at another auspicious time: 8.29pm.

The monarch was greeted loudly and cheerfully with a "Long Live the King" chant upon his exit from the hospital and along the route to and from the Grand Palace. He returned to the hospital shortly before noon and waved to the thousands of admirers who waited for him there.

The King assigned HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn to preside over a ceremony to promote 67 senior monks to higher positions at the Amarinthara Winitchai Throne Hall - a traditional promotion of Buddhist monks on HM's birthday.

A large number of senior officials and diplomats signed get-well messages at the Grand Palace in the morning.

Admirers, dressed mostly in pink, which is a colour of loyal supporters, started occupying areas along the Chao Phaya to get the closest view of the ceremony from Saturday night or dawn yesterday. Among them was Wadeng Puteh, a 96-year-old Muslim, a long-time friend of His Majesty from Pattani who was accompanied by two relatives.

A total of 600 boats of various kinds participated in a procession, led by by around 30 decorated in pink. A group of 4,000 admirers travelled to the ceremony from Nonthaburi, by boats.

Meanwhile, singers and celebrities performed in a concert held at Siam Paragon mall in Bangkok, singing and playing many special songs in honour of the royals, including some composed by HM. This event will be held throughout this month until early January.

-- The Nation 2010-12-06

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Swell of patriotic pride for the King

By The Nation

Thailand's social media networks virtually dropped everything they were doing yesterday to commemmorate His Majesty the King's birthday anniversary, sending a "#weloveking" hashtag rising to number one of the nation's twitter trending topic.

Facebook updates were devoted largely to photos, videos and comments honouring His Majesty, as every Kingrelated tweet was retweeted virally.

"Today makes me fall in love with Thailand again," one twitterer posted, saying the outpouring of love for the King touched her heart.

Numerous tweets talked about the pride of being born a Thai under this monarch. The Nation's editor in chief, @suthichai, received tweets from Thais around the country and the world conveying their reverence to His Majesty.

Action on the social networks peaked in the evening during the Chao Phya River celebrations and candlelit events across the country and beyond. It sent twitter timelines flowing nonstop as everything else seemed to come to a pause. #weloveking rocketed to top Thailand's trending topic with more than 170,000 tweets as of 9 pm.

-- The Nation 2010-12-06

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A happy day for people nationwide, poll finds

By The Nation

The Gross Domestic Happiness index spiked to 8.37 out of a possible 10, from 5.42 in previous months, as yesterday was His Majesty the King's 83rd birthday, according to Abac Poll.

In a survey, 86 per cent of the respondents said they would stay home or visit their fathers and watch a live telecast of the grand ceremony presided over by His Majesty.

Asked about their inspirations from the father of the nation, 89 per cent cited self-sufficiency and 87 per cent upholding the national interest. Others were self-conscience (86 per cent) and good Samaritan mentality (85 per cent).

Staying home together with their dads on Father's Day was the most popular plan at 45 per cent, followed by giving alms or making merit with them (40 per cent) and giving gifts and cards to them (35 per cent). Other ideas were having dinner together, giving them money, taking them on trips and giving them medical check-ups.

As for regular activities with their fathers, 35 per cent were intending to have dinner together, 27 per cent spending personal time together, chit-chatting (23 per cent), shopping (7.2 per cent), going to the movies (7.1 per cent), and exercising (4 per cent).

Nopphadol Kannikar, head of Assumption University's polling office, said the survey heard many interesting suggestions from the respondents, and the office would like to propose them as policies for the government, including a national database containing details of poor people deserving subsidies based on eco-social concerns.

The other policies are strict law enforcement to protect human rights, free coupons for food and clothes for Thais from birth to five years of age, and a law requiring ever-present guardianship of children younger than 10.

The poll was jointly conducted by the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs of US-based Cornell University on 1,542 people living in 17 provinces.

-- The Nation 2010-12-06

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ANALYSIS

Bank of Thailand (BoT) pursues rate normalisation amid inflation worries

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EDITORIAL

Bank of Thailand (BoT) turns hawkish to deflate threat of growth bubble

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Chonburi Man Transfers 700,000 Baht To Unknown Accounts In ATM Scam

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Phuket Opinion: Fire lanterns out of control

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Meteorological Dept warns residents of Chumphon, further south, of heavy rain due to prevailing northeast monsoon; temperature drops, windy in upper Thailand /MCOT

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Thai woman kills self during Internet broadcast in front of boyfriend, others

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Thaksin to attend human rights violation hearing in US

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Pattaya Bar Hours Extended; 24-Hour Bars May Be Possible Soon

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[Maestro]

to be continued

Thailand Live Tuesday 7 December 2010

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