Glow Group (“Glow”) posted consolidated total revenues of THB 25,836 million, Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization (“EBITDA”) of THB 5,743 million and Normalized Net Profit (“NNP”, net profit before unrealized foreign exchange gains and losses) of THB 2,669 million for the 9 months of 2009.
The 3rd quarter NNP of 2009 for Glow stood at THB 899 million. The key drivers for the result were strong industrial customers’ sales, whose power and steam consumption have returned back to normal levels since mid year, and favorable operating margins, where fuel prices have stabilized along with the electricity tariffs.
The 3rd quarter result is THB 274 million below the previous quarter, mainly because of two key reasons. First, unlike in the previous quarter, the 3rd quarter result does not include the business interruption compensation for the outage earlier this year of the 150 MW coal-fired Unit 1. The Company expects to receive the remaining business interruption claim of more than THB 100 million. Secondly, there was lower availability in the 3rd quarter due to a minor forced outage and a one-month major maintenance of the 150 MW coal-fired Unit 2, which was deferred from the previous quarter, the total effect was a reduction in profitability in the 3rd quarter by about 100 million baht. The 4th quarter plant availability is expected to return to normal as there is no other major maintenance scheduled until later 2011
Mr. Esa Heiskanen, the CEO of Glow Group commented: “The operation and performance of the Group have returned to normal and our industrial customer sales volumes have returned to expected levels. Our operating margin has also recovered to normal levels as the Ft remains high and fuel prices have stabilized .”
Mr. Esa continued to add “We are following up very closely on what the impact of the temporary suspension ruling has on our numerous customers in Map Ta Phut, Glow currently has all the necessary permits for our expansions, including the 115 MW coal-fired, 382 MW gas-fired, and 660 MW coal-fired IPP. Our expansions will utilize proven technology to ensure low emissions and will include reduction in emission from our existing plants, where the net result will be an improvement in the overall air quality in Map Ta Phut. We are confident that our projects are environmentally sound and will benefit surrounding communities as the total emission from our existing and new plants would be lower than current levels.
”Glow’s year-to-date interest expenses and corporate income tax have increased from same period last year. The effective tax rate has gradually been increasing year on year, as tax privileges for some of Glow’s older plants are starting to expire. However, the overall effective tax rate for the group will come down after the tax exemption period begins for the expansion projects after commercial operation starting in 2010.
Mr. Suthiwong Kongsiri, the CFO of Glow Group further explained: “The increased interest expenses is not due to higher funding costs but it is reflecting the higher debt level due especially to our strategy to pre-fund some of our funding needs at the beginning of the year, this strategy is aimed at mitigating liquidity risk which has resulted from troubles in global financial market. We now have the necessary funding through to the 2nd quarter of 2010 and are very confident in our ability to secure the remaining funds needed for our expansion projects, thanks to our solid business fundamentals, robust performance and improved market conditions.”
About Glow Energy
Glow Energy is a member of the Glow Group who is a major energy player in Thailand. Glow Group combined installed capacities include 1,860 MW (Glow’s stake is 1,775 MW) of electricity and 967 tons per hour of steam.
Glow Group generate and supply electricity to Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) under Thailand's SPP (Small Power Producer) and IPP (Independent Power Producer) programs, as well as electricity, steam, industrial water and services to large industrial customers principally located in the Map Ta Phut area and nearby.
GDF SUEZ Energy Europe & International is Glow Energy’s major shareholder and is a division of the GDF SUEZ Group, one of the largest international industrial and services groups in the world.
For more information about GDF SUEZ please visit the companies’ website at www.gdfsuez.com.. For more information about the Glow Group please go to www.glow.co.th
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
EC SEEKS COURT RULING ON MANIT SHARE TRADING
The Election Commission will seek a Constitution Court ruling on whether to disqualify Deputy Public Health Minister Manit Nopamornbodi from office for holding shares in companies related to the media or state concessions.
Election Commission secretary-general Suthipol Thaweechaikarn said of 29 MPs the EC had referred for a Constitution Court ruling on whether to disqualify them for holding shares in prohibited businesses, four were ministers: Deputy Transport Minister Kuakul Danchaiwijit, Deputy Interior Minister Boonjong Wongtrairat, Deputy Prime Minister Sanan Kachornprasart and Manit.
The EC panel found that of the four, only Manit held prohibited shares on the day he assumed his ministerial post on December 20 last year. The three others sold the shares before taking up their posts.
Manit held 500 shares in True Corp from December 24, 2002- October 7, 2009 and 4 million shares in TPI Polene from January 21, 2004. He traded some shares 17 times, the latest on December 23 last year.
Suthipol said the EC believed Manit had violated Articles 265 and 267, resulting in disqualification and removal from his ministerial post, in accordance with Article 182 (7).
He denied the EC intended to harass Manit but it needed to check on whether holding prohibited shares should result in him being disqualified as minister.
Manit said he respected the EC's decision but would not resign till the Constitution Court issued its ruling.
He admitted he held 500 True shares, however since there were only a few hundred he did not sell them before assuming the post.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said it would be too soon to decide whether to reshuffle the Cabinet following the EC decision. He said the government would rather wait till the Constitution Court announced its decision.
Election Commission secretary-general Suthipol Thaweechaikarn said of 29 MPs the EC had referred for a Constitution Court ruling on whether to disqualify them for holding shares in prohibited businesses, four were ministers: Deputy Transport Minister Kuakul Danchaiwijit, Deputy Interior Minister Boonjong Wongtrairat, Deputy Prime Minister Sanan Kachornprasart and Manit.
The EC panel found that of the four, only Manit held prohibited shares on the day he assumed his ministerial post on December 20 last year. The three others sold the shares before taking up their posts.
Manit held 500 shares in True Corp from December 24, 2002- October 7, 2009 and 4 million shares in TPI Polene from January 21, 2004. He traded some shares 17 times, the latest on December 23 last year.
Suthipol said the EC believed Manit had violated Articles 265 and 267, resulting in disqualification and removal from his ministerial post, in accordance with Article 182 (7).
He denied the EC intended to harass Manit but it needed to check on whether holding prohibited shares should result in him being disqualified as minister.
Manit said he respected the EC's decision but would not resign till the Constitution Court issued its ruling.
He admitted he held 500 True shares, however since there were only a few hundred he did not sell them before assuming the post.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said it would be too soon to decide whether to reshuffle the Cabinet following the EC decision. He said the government would rather wait till the Constitution Court announced its decision.
NO LINKS YET FOUND BETWEEN SUSPECTS AND STOCK TRADERS
No connections have turned up between the two former and present securities staff arrested for posting provocative information on websites and large stock investors and foreign brokerages.
"After initial investigations, no links were found between the two suspects and the two foreign brokerages: UBS Securities Singapore and Credit Suisse Securities (Hong Kong)," Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) secretary-general Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala said yesterday.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) will continue looking for any relationships among the two suspects' 10 stock-trading clients.
Thiranan Vipuchanan, 43, who has reportedly worked as a securities executive, was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport on her return from a trip to Europe. Katha pajajiriyapong, 37, employed by KT Zmico Securities, was arrested in the Silom Road area on Sunday.
Both were charged with violating the Computer Act, which prohibits the dissemination of incorrect information that could threaten national security or alarm the public. Their information was passed around during the SET Index crash from October 14-15.
On October 14, Credit Suisse Securities (Hong Kong) was swamped with Bt3 billion worth of net sales of stock and UBS Securities Singapore with Bt1.3 billion in net sales. Other net sellers were mutual funds and private funds, including an individual Thai investor with Bt218 million in net sales.
The following day, UBS Securities Singapore recorded Bt1.3 billion in net purchases, making it the biggest net buyer. Other net buyers were foreign investors, mutual funds and an individual Thai investor with net buys of Bt145 million, making that investor the ninth-largest net buyer.
Thirachai said the SEC did not find anything unusual about the stock trading of those two large foreign investors or any involvement with the rumour-mongering.
The SEC has handed its report on the stock trades of these investors to the Department of Special Investigation (DSI).
"The DSI has now set up an investigating team, including representatives of the SEC," Thirachai said.
The SEC asked for more information about stock trading from UBS SECURITIES and received further details about trading orders. Thailand's SEC will no longer need to coordinate with Singapore's SEC for more information as planned.
However, the SEC has not yet received complete information regarding stock trading by Credit Suisse Securities (Hong Kong) from October 14-15, Thirachai said.
The SEC will not consider cancelling Katha's marketing licence just becasue he is under investigation by police.
SET chairman Sompol Kiatphaibool said the exchange was checking into possible violations of the SEC Act by the suspects.
"Although there is no record of Thiranan and Katha engaging in stock trading from October 14-15 trading orders have been uncovered that were made by Katha to 10 other investors," he said.
The SET will continue searching for any association between the two suspects and the 10 investors and any gains they may have made from trading on the harmful rumours.
Since Thiranan has been away from the securities industry for a long time, there was no information in the SET database about her trades, Sompol said.
"After initial investigations, no links were found between the two suspects and the two foreign brokerages: UBS Securities Singapore and Credit Suisse Securities (Hong Kong)," Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) secretary-general Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala said yesterday.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) will continue looking for any relationships among the two suspects' 10 stock-trading clients.
Thiranan Vipuchanan, 43, who has reportedly worked as a securities executive, was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport on her return from a trip to Europe. Katha pajajiriyapong, 37, employed by KT Zmico Securities, was arrested in the Silom Road area on Sunday.
Both were charged with violating the Computer Act, which prohibits the dissemination of incorrect information that could threaten national security or alarm the public. Their information was passed around during the SET Index crash from October 14-15.
On October 14, Credit Suisse Securities (Hong Kong) was swamped with Bt3 billion worth of net sales of stock and UBS Securities Singapore with Bt1.3 billion in net sales. Other net sellers were mutual funds and private funds, including an individual Thai investor with Bt218 million in net sales.
The following day, UBS Securities Singapore recorded Bt1.3 billion in net purchases, making it the biggest net buyer. Other net buyers were foreign investors, mutual funds and an individual Thai investor with net buys of Bt145 million, making that investor the ninth-largest net buyer.
Thirachai said the SEC did not find anything unusual about the stock trading of those two large foreign investors or any involvement with the rumour-mongering.
The SEC has handed its report on the stock trades of these investors to the Department of Special Investigation (DSI).
"The DSI has now set up an investigating team, including representatives of the SEC," Thirachai said.
The SEC asked for more information about stock trading from UBS SECURITIES and received further details about trading orders. Thailand's SEC will no longer need to coordinate with Singapore's SEC for more information as planned.
However, the SEC has not yet received complete information regarding stock trading by Credit Suisse Securities (Hong Kong) from October 14-15, Thirachai said.
The SEC will not consider cancelling Katha's marketing licence just becasue he is under investigation by police.
SET chairman Sompol Kiatphaibool said the exchange was checking into possible violations of the SEC Act by the suspects.
"Although there is no record of Thiranan and Katha engaging in stock trading from October 14-15 trading orders have been uncovered that were made by Katha to 10 other investors," he said.
The SET will continue searching for any association between the two suspects and the 10 investors and any gains they may have made from trading on the harmful rumours.
Since Thiranan has been away from the securities industry for a long time, there was no information in the SET database about her trades, Sompol said.
Magazine on a major mission
The Brits have Which?, Australians have Choice , and Americans have Consumer Report - to safeguard them from substandard products and poor services.
In Thailand, the seven-member editorial team of Chalard Sue (Smart Buyer)magazine is pursuing a similar mission tothose magazines in developed countries to arm Thai consumers with must-know facts before they buy goods and services.
The 16-year-old magazine, the publication arm of the Foundation for Consumers, is the first and only magazine in the country dedicated to protecting consumer rights. It also claims to be the only advertisement-free magazine in the
media business.
"An ad-free policy is crucial for a consumer magazine which needs to be 100% free of business influence tomaintain its credibility and neutrality," said the editorial chief of Smart Buyer,Thusanee Nanudorn.
In the initial years, the magazine was distributed to health officials nationwide free of charge, in the hope the officials would share the information in the magazine with local villagers.
The magazine, with a circulation of 6,000, is now available through subscriptions and Nai-in bookstands.
Every month, editorial staff are sent to buy goods and send them for testing at independent laboratories to find out if their quality matches what the manufacturers claim or advertise.
They test them all - from orange juice, school bags, Bluetooth earphones to toilet paper.
Many findings have become the talk of the town. For example, the testing of orange juice sold in local markets found many brands contained dangerously high levels of sugar, while ready-to-eat cup rice porridge had alarmingly high amounts of sodium.
And when the team bought toilet paper rolls and spread them out, they found the length of the tissue was shorter than stated on the product's label.
More product tests are in the pipeline,such as caffeine levels in popular coffee brands, the safety of Teflon pans, and the quality of detergent powder.
The results will be revealed in upcoming issues of the 80-baht magazine.
Product testing is not cheap, and the Smart Buyer's editorial staff do not do it just for fun.
"Product testing is the highlight of our magazine and we have a long list of products waiting for testing," Ms Thusanee said."The test results will help consumers decide what they should or should not buy," she said.
Each test costs between 50,000-200,000 baht because they have to buy products of various brands to compare. The lab services also cost a lot of money.
The budget for product testing comes from various sources, including subscription fees, and financial support from the Foundation for Consumers and the Thai Health Promotion Foundation.
Although the magazine has to shoulder huge production costs for each issue, it has no plan to sell advertising space,said Ms Thusanee.
"Smart Buyer would not have survived this long if had had to rely on advertisements which would have undermined the magazine's credibility," she said.
Apart from results of product tests and comparisons of price and quality between different brands, the magazine also provides readers with articles from experts in various fields, such as medicine,cosmetics and consumer law.
Although the magazine's content is controversial, putting it at risk of being sued by service providers or product manufacturers, the publication has never faced any lawsuits.
"After the release of each issue, our editorial staff receive only a few calls from manufacturers asking about test results and some complaints about how the findings will affect a product's image,"said Ms Thusanee.
"No one sues us because our information is reliable and based on scientific experiments," she said."The manufacturers may fear that lawsuits will further hurt product sales."
The 72-page publication currently has slightly more than 3,000 subscribers which is still lower than expected.
Despite the lower-thanexpected reader numbers, the spirit of the editorial team remains high.
"We believe our readership will grow," she said."The growing number of readers will not only salvage the magazine, but also strengthen Thai consumers."
Ms Thusanee conceded that working as a consumer watchdog had made her life more complicated because knowing too much about the dangers or poor quality of goods and services had left her with a limited choice.
"Our editorial staff have made a number of wrong decisions or consumed food products that are hazardous to their health or of low nutritional value. We aren't such smart buyers all the time.
In Thailand, the seven-member editorial team of Chalard Sue (Smart Buyer)magazine is pursuing a similar mission tothose magazines in developed countries to arm Thai consumers with must-know facts before they buy goods and services.
The 16-year-old magazine, the publication arm of the Foundation for Consumers, is the first and only magazine in the country dedicated to protecting consumer rights. It also claims to be the only advertisement-free magazine in the
media business.
"An ad-free policy is crucial for a consumer magazine which needs to be 100% free of business influence tomaintain its credibility and neutrality," said the editorial chief of Smart Buyer,Thusanee Nanudorn.
In the initial years, the magazine was distributed to health officials nationwide free of charge, in the hope the officials would share the information in the magazine with local villagers.
The magazine, with a circulation of 6,000, is now available through subscriptions and Nai-in bookstands.
Every month, editorial staff are sent to buy goods and send them for testing at independent laboratories to find out if their quality matches what the manufacturers claim or advertise.
They test them all - from orange juice, school bags, Bluetooth earphones to toilet paper.
Many findings have become the talk of the town. For example, the testing of orange juice sold in local markets found many brands contained dangerously high levels of sugar, while ready-to-eat cup rice porridge had alarmingly high amounts of sodium.
And when the team bought toilet paper rolls and spread them out, they found the length of the tissue was shorter than stated on the product's label.
More product tests are in the pipeline,such as caffeine levels in popular coffee brands, the safety of Teflon pans, and the quality of detergent powder.
The results will be revealed in upcoming issues of the 80-baht magazine.
Product testing is not cheap, and the Smart Buyer's editorial staff do not do it just for fun.
"Product testing is the highlight of our magazine and we have a long list of products waiting for testing," Ms Thusanee said."The test results will help consumers decide what they should or should not buy," she said.
Each test costs between 50,000-200,000 baht because they have to buy products of various brands to compare. The lab services also cost a lot of money.
The budget for product testing comes from various sources, including subscription fees, and financial support from the Foundation for Consumers and the Thai Health Promotion Foundation.
Although the magazine has to shoulder huge production costs for each issue, it has no plan to sell advertising space,said Ms Thusanee.
"Smart Buyer would not have survived this long if had had to rely on advertisements which would have undermined the magazine's credibility," she said.
Apart from results of product tests and comparisons of price and quality between different brands, the magazine also provides readers with articles from experts in various fields, such as medicine,cosmetics and consumer law.
Although the magazine's content is controversial, putting it at risk of being sued by service providers or product manufacturers, the publication has never faced any lawsuits.
"After the release of each issue, our editorial staff receive only a few calls from manufacturers asking about test results and some complaints about how the findings will affect a product's image,"said Ms Thusanee.
"No one sues us because our information is reliable and based on scientific experiments," she said."The manufacturers may fear that lawsuits will further hurt product sales."
The 72-page publication currently has slightly more than 3,000 subscribers which is still lower than expected.
Despite the lower-thanexpected reader numbers, the spirit of the editorial team remains high.
"We believe our readership will grow," she said."The growing number of readers will not only salvage the magazine, but also strengthen Thai consumers."
Ms Thusanee conceded that working as a consumer watchdog had made her life more complicated because knowing too much about the dangers or poor quality of goods and services had left her with a limited choice.
"Our editorial staff have made a number of wrong decisions or consumed food products that are hazardous to their health or of low nutritional value. We aren't such smart buyers all the time.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
APPEALS COURT REJECTS BT12M DEMAND FOR RADIATION
After a fiveyear wait for the Bt12 million in compensation demanded by 12 people from the Kamol Sukosol company for radioactive contamination nine years ago, they have only managed to win little more than Bt600,000 in a Court of Appeals ruling.
The judges said the plaintiffs' appeal for Bt12,676,942 had no grounds, and upheld the Bt640,270 granted to them by the Civil Court in March 2004, which was reduced by Bt100,000 because the 4th and 5th plaintiffs are husband and wife and in legal terms are regarded as one person.
In the Civil Court ruled in March 2004 that the company had to pay Bt640,270 to the 12 plaintiffs.
The 12 plaintiffs had lodged a suit with the Civil Court demanding Bt109,264,360 from the company for being exposed to radioactive Cobolt 60, which was found abandoned at a warehouse owned by the Kamol Sukosol firm in January 2000.
Earlier in 2002, the 12 plaintiffs, including a number of scavengers and the owner of a scrap metal shop, had lodged a lawsuit against the Office of Atoms for Peace, demanding money for its failure to enforce regulations regarding proper storage of radioactive material. The Central Administrative Court ruled that the atomic agency pay them more than Bt5 million.
Sonthaya Sapathum, the 10th and only plaintiff present at the courthouse to hear the verdict yesterday, said he would speak to rest of the victims and consider if the case should be put before the Supreme Court.
The judges said the plaintiffs' appeal for Bt12,676,942 had no grounds, and upheld the Bt640,270 granted to them by the Civil Court in March 2004, which was reduced by Bt100,000 because the 4th and 5th plaintiffs are husband and wife and in legal terms are regarded as one person.
In the Civil Court ruled in March 2004 that the company had to pay Bt640,270 to the 12 plaintiffs.
The 12 plaintiffs had lodged a suit with the Civil Court demanding Bt109,264,360 from the company for being exposed to radioactive Cobolt 60, which was found abandoned at a warehouse owned by the Kamol Sukosol firm in January 2000.
Earlier in 2002, the 12 plaintiffs, including a number of scavengers and the owner of a scrap metal shop, had lodged a lawsuit against the Office of Atoms for Peace, demanding money for its failure to enforce regulations regarding proper storage of radioactive material. The Central Administrative Court ruled that the atomic agency pay them more than Bt5 million.
Sonthaya Sapathum, the 10th and only plaintiff present at the courthouse to hear the verdict yesterday, said he would speak to rest of the victims and consider if the case should be put before the Supreme Court.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Magnificent seven
In the most important, most revered event since the invention of the brontosaurus trap,Microsoft shipped the most incredibly fabulous operating system ever made; the release of Windows 7 also spurred a new generation of personal computers of all sizes at prices well below last month's offers.The top reason Windows 7 does not suck: There is no registered website called Windows7Sucks.com
Kindle e-book reader maker Amazon.com and new Nook e-book reader vendor Barnes and Noble got it on; B&N got great reviews for the "Kindle killer"Nook, with dual screens and touch controls so you can "turn" pages, plays MP3s and allows many non-B&N book formats, although not the Kindle one;Amazon then killed the US version of its Kindle in favour of the international one, reduced its price to $260(8,700 baht), same as the Nook; it's not yet clear what you can get in Thailand with a Nook, but you sure can't (yet) get much, relatively speaking, with a Kindle;but here's the biggest difference so far,which Amazon.com has ignored: the Nook lets you lend e-books to any other Nook owner, just as if they were paper books; the borrowed books expire on the borrower's Nook in two weeks.
Phone maker Nokia of Finland announced it is suing iPhone maker Apple of America for being a copycat; lawyers said they figure Nokia can get at least one, probably two per cent (retail) for every iPhone sold by Steve "President for Life" Jobs and crew via the lawsuit,which sure beats working for it -$6 (200 baht) to $12(400 baht) on 30 million phones sold so far, works out to $400 million or 25 percent of the whole Apple empire profits during the last quarter;there were 10 patent thefts, the Finnish executives said, on everything from moving data to security and encryption.
Nokia of Finland announced that it is one month behind on shipping its new flagship N900 phone, the first to run on Linux software; delay of the $750(25,000 baht) phone had absolutely no part in making Nokia so short that it had to sue Apple, slap yourself for such a thought.
Tim Berners-Lee, who created the World Wide Web, said he had one regret:the double slash that follows the "http:"in standard web addresses; he estimated that 14.2 gazillion users have wasted 48.72 bazillion hours typing those two keystrokes, and he's sorry; of course there's no reason to ever type that, since your browser does it for you when you type "www.bangkokpost.com" but Tim needs to admit he made one error in his lifetime.
The International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations, which doesn't sell any phones or services, announced that there should be a mobile phone charger that will work with any phone; now who would ever have thought of that, without a UN body to wind up a major study on the subject?;the GSM Association estimates that 51,000 tonnes of chargers are made each year in order to keep companies able to have their own unique ones.
The Well, Doh Award of the Week was presented at arm's length to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; the group's deputy secretary-general Petko Draganov said that developing countries will miss some of the stuff available on the Internet if they don't install more broadband infrastructure; a report that used your tax baht to compile said that quite a few people use mobile phones but companies are more likely to invest in countries with excellent broadband connections; no one ever had thought of this before, right?
Sun Microsystems , as a result of the Oracle takeover, said it will allow 3,000 current workers never to bother coming to work again; Sun referred to the losses as "jobs," not people; now the fourth largest server maker in the world, Sun said it lost $2.2 billion in its last fiscal year; European regulators are holding up approval of the Oracle purchase in the hope of getting some money in exchange for not involving Oracle in court cases.
The multi-gazillionaire and very annoying investor Carl Icahn resigned from the board at Yahoo ; he spun it as a vote of confidence, saying current directors are taking the formerly threatened company seriously; Yahoo reported increased profits but smaller revenues in the third quarter.
The US House of Representatives voted to censure Vietnam for jailing bloggers; the non-binding resolution sponsored by southern California congresswoman Loretta Sanchez said the Internet is "a crucial tool for the citizens of Vietnam to be able to exercise their freedom of expression and association;"Hanoi has recently jailed at least nine activists for up to six years apiece for holding pro-democracy banners. Iran jailed blogger Hossein "Hoder" Derakshan for 10 months - in solitary confinement.
Kindle e-book reader maker Amazon.com and new Nook e-book reader vendor Barnes and Noble got it on; B&N got great reviews for the "Kindle killer"Nook, with dual screens and touch controls so you can "turn" pages, plays MP3s and allows many non-B&N book formats, although not the Kindle one;Amazon then killed the US version of its Kindle in favour of the international one, reduced its price to $260(8,700 baht), same as the Nook; it's not yet clear what you can get in Thailand with a Nook, but you sure can't (yet) get much, relatively speaking, with a Kindle;but here's the biggest difference so far,which Amazon.com has ignored: the Nook lets you lend e-books to any other Nook owner, just as if they were paper books; the borrowed books expire on the borrower's Nook in two weeks.
Phone maker Nokia of Finland announced it is suing iPhone maker Apple of America for being a copycat; lawyers said they figure Nokia can get at least one, probably two per cent (retail) for every iPhone sold by Steve "President for Life" Jobs and crew via the lawsuit,which sure beats working for it -$6 (200 baht) to $12(400 baht) on 30 million phones sold so far, works out to $400 million or 25 percent of the whole Apple empire profits during the last quarter;there were 10 patent thefts, the Finnish executives said, on everything from moving data to security and encryption.
Nokia of Finland announced that it is one month behind on shipping its new flagship N900 phone, the first to run on Linux software; delay of the $750(25,000 baht) phone had absolutely no part in making Nokia so short that it had to sue Apple, slap yourself for such a thought.
Tim Berners-Lee, who created the World Wide Web, said he had one regret:the double slash that follows the "http:"in standard web addresses; he estimated that 14.2 gazillion users have wasted 48.72 bazillion hours typing those two keystrokes, and he's sorry; of course there's no reason to ever type that, since your browser does it for you when you type "www.bangkokpost.com" but Tim needs to admit he made one error in his lifetime.
The International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations, which doesn't sell any phones or services, announced that there should be a mobile phone charger that will work with any phone; now who would ever have thought of that, without a UN body to wind up a major study on the subject?;the GSM Association estimates that 51,000 tonnes of chargers are made each year in order to keep companies able to have their own unique ones.
The Well, Doh Award of the Week was presented at arm's length to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development; the group's deputy secretary-general Petko Draganov said that developing countries will miss some of the stuff available on the Internet if they don't install more broadband infrastructure; a report that used your tax baht to compile said that quite a few people use mobile phones but companies are more likely to invest in countries with excellent broadband connections; no one ever had thought of this before, right?
Sun Microsystems , as a result of the Oracle takeover, said it will allow 3,000 current workers never to bother coming to work again; Sun referred to the losses as "jobs," not people; now the fourth largest server maker in the world, Sun said it lost $2.2 billion in its last fiscal year; European regulators are holding up approval of the Oracle purchase in the hope of getting some money in exchange for not involving Oracle in court cases.
The multi-gazillionaire and very annoying investor Carl Icahn resigned from the board at Yahoo ; he spun it as a vote of confidence, saying current directors are taking the formerly threatened company seriously; Yahoo reported increased profits but smaller revenues in the third quarter.
The US House of Representatives voted to censure Vietnam for jailing bloggers; the non-binding resolution sponsored by southern California congresswoman Loretta Sanchez said the Internet is "a crucial tool for the citizens of Vietnam to be able to exercise their freedom of expression and association;"Hanoi has recently jailed at least nine activists for up to six years apiece for holding pro-democracy banners. Iran jailed blogger Hossein "Hoder" Derakshan for 10 months - in solitary confinement.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Kadeer says Chinese death sentences will "energage" Uighurs
Exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer yesterday said a Chinese court's decision to sentence six Uighurs to death over the July unrest would serve only to "furthe renrage" her people.
Kadeer, the US-based leader of the World Uighur Congress, added that she believed the Uighurs were not tried according to Chinese or international law.
"This is not going to create peace and stability in the region. this will further enrage the Uighur people," she said while on a visit to New Zealand, a day after the sentences in the Xinjiang regional capital Urumqi.
"For the Uighur people around the world this is very sad day, a day of mourning," Kadeer told Auckland stuednt radio station 95bFM through an interpreter.
The six were convicted of murder and other crimes Monday by a court n Urumqi in the first trials over July unrest in which nearly 200 people were killed.
China Central Television (CCTV) said one other defendant was sentenced to life in prison over the violence, in which members of the Uighur minority went on a rampage in attacks directed at members of the dominant Han ethnic group.
Xinhua news agency said the seven, all men, were convicred in three separate cases. It identified them by names that appeared to be Uighur.
Kadeer said in the radio interview during a four day visit to New Zealand that accused Uighurs did not receive proper legal defence or due process.
"Not only the six Uighurs, we believe a lot of Uighurs have been killed through torture in the prisons after July 5. This is an injustice," Kadeer said.
She added she hoped the international community would not ignore the death sentences.
July's unrest in western Xinjiang region was the worst ethnic violence to hit China in decades, leaving 197 people dead, most of them Han,and more than 1,600 injured, according to the government.
China's 8 million Uighurs have long complained o freligious, political and cultural oppression by Chinese authorities.
Kadeer arrived in New Zealand on Monday after being invited by the Green Party, a minor political party with nine seats in parliament.
She was to speak at public meetings in Auckland and Wellington yesterday and today and is due to meet Green legislators before I eaving tomorrow.
At a public meeting at the University of Auckland on yesterday,Kadeer was greeted by a small number of vocal pro-Beijing protesters brandishing a banner reading "AU does not welcome terrorist".
The Chinese government describes Kadeer's World Uighur Congress as a separatist terrorist movement and accuses the group of directing July's unrest.
Kadeer, the US-based leader of the World Uighur Congress, added that she believed the Uighurs were not tried according to Chinese or international law.
"This is not going to create peace and stability in the region. this will further enrage the Uighur people," she said while on a visit to New Zealand, a day after the sentences in the Xinjiang regional capital Urumqi.
"For the Uighur people around the world this is very sad day, a day of mourning," Kadeer told Auckland stuednt radio station 95bFM through an interpreter.
The six were convicted of murder and other crimes Monday by a court n Urumqi in the first trials over July unrest in which nearly 200 people were killed.
China Central Television (CCTV) said one other defendant was sentenced to life in prison over the violence, in which members of the Uighur minority went on a rampage in attacks directed at members of the dominant Han ethnic group.
Xinhua news agency said the seven, all men, were convicred in three separate cases. It identified them by names that appeared to be Uighur.
Kadeer said in the radio interview during a four day visit to New Zealand that accused Uighurs did not receive proper legal defence or due process.
"Not only the six Uighurs, we believe a lot of Uighurs have been killed through torture in the prisons after July 5. This is an injustice," Kadeer said.
She added she hoped the international community would not ignore the death sentences.
July's unrest in western Xinjiang region was the worst ethnic violence to hit China in decades, leaving 197 people dead, most of them Han,and more than 1,600 injured, according to the government.
China's 8 million Uighurs have long complained o freligious, political and cultural oppression by Chinese authorities.
Kadeer arrived in New Zealand on Monday after being invited by the Green Party, a minor political party with nine seats in parliament.
She was to speak at public meetings in Auckland and Wellington yesterday and today and is due to meet Green legislators before I eaving tomorrow.
At a public meeting at the University of Auckland on yesterday,Kadeer was greeted by a small number of vocal pro-Beijing protesters brandishing a banner reading "AU does not welcome terrorist".
The Chinese government describes Kadeer's World Uighur Congress as a separatist terrorist movement and accuses the group of directing July's unrest.
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