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What can you buy for 1,000 baht in Thailand? By Dan Cheeseman Let’s start this blog with some exchange rate conversions for you, 1,000 baht converts to £22.68 and US$32. So, just as a bit of fun initially, I posted on my Twitter and Facebook pages asking people what they buy for 1,000 baht. It must have hit a nerve with people as the answers kept coming and coming. Some were silly, others a tad rude (well, I had to expect that) and others were altogether quite insightful and interesting. There was also some differentiation in the answers between platforms, with Facebook proving far more cheeky in it replies gathered than Twitter (so much so I deleted the post afterwards in the name of clean moderation!). So what can you buy? One expat on Twitter from Surin said 1,000 baht is his daily budget. Whereas one of my Thai followers said it would equate to 2 bottles of Australian Shiraz from Wine Connection. Hotel accommodation in Thailand can be great value so many commented that this can a cheap room for the night. Simon from Pattaya said a 1,000 baht gets him a Thai green curry, coconut rice and some beer whilst he can watch the sunset along Pattaya beach. Full story: https://danaboutthailand.com/2018/04/10/what-can-you-buy-for-1000-baht-in-thailand/ -- DAN ABOUT THAILAND 2018-04-12

Lawyer in "farang body in the freezer case" tells how he is going to get lead suspect off multiple rap - claims police irregularities video screenshot BANGKOK: -- The Thai lawyer who will appear for the lead suspect in the sensational "body in the freezer case" that gripped the nation last September has gone online to talk about the case. Bangkok lawyer "Adul" was speaking in a twenty minute "live" video on his Facebook page outlining the evidence against his US client "Peter" who is facing 11 charges including attempted murder. It was filmed on a beach and presents many details of the case including photos and court documents in Thai. The case was originally a raid on a Sukhumvit Soi 56 premises concerning fake passports. But a policeman was shot and a cut up corpse believed to belong to a Hungarian born US national was found in a deep freeze. Adul refers to his client as "Peter" throughout mentioning him as holding a passport under the name of William Peter Johnson. The name Herbert Craig La Fon also appears in documents. Adul looks at all the 11 charges in detail saying how he will defend his client at the upcoming trial next Wednesday October 18th. A judge's decision is then expected to follow within 30 to 45 days. The charges include weapons possession, having fake passports, forging stamps, possessing drugs, visa irregularities and attempted murder. Adul called the charges "heavy" as he outlined what he intended to argue in court. In the video he claims extra evidence including a bullet was planted by police. He questions the moving of a saw in photo evidence. He questions whether people with just 7 passports were really involved in forgery when another case had many more. He talks about irregularities in the appearance of Peter as he is led away from the premises where the raid occurred. Essentially he is suggesting his client was beaten up. He talks about the state of his hair from one picture to the next as he is led away and talks of injuries on his clients body on his head and forehead. He dismisses as nonsense police claims that his client made some "handcuff" injuries himself. It is not until the last few minutes of the video until he mentions the body in the freezer and the fingerprint evidence that points to another suspect. He questions evidence about a plastic bag containing a head and continues to suggest that Peter had nothing to do with the body in the freezer. On drugs he says that "Peter hates drugs" and suggests he only had a bit of Ketamine "left over from the Vietnam war". He suggests that gunshot residue evidence will prove that his client did not shoot the cop, who later recovered after being hit. Mentioning that it is an "honor" to defend his client in such an important case he ends the video by appealing for comments that may yet help the case saying it is not too late to make a difference. Three men were arrested on September 23rd 2016 with former police chief Sanit Mahathavorn leading a high profile case that dominated the news for weeks. -- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2017-10-12

Trump goes on tear against media, not Clinton By LAURIE KELLMAN WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump's campaign on Sunday went on a new tear against the media, blaming the "disgusting" press for a week of distractions at a time when Republicans have urged him — again — to focus on Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. Trump will get another chance to reset his campaign on Monday when he is expected to lay out his plan for defeating what running mate Mike Pence on Sunday called, "radical Islamic terrorism" with "real specifics" on how to make the United States safer. But Trump set up that address with extensive new complaints about the latest disastrous week of coverage and reports of campaign chaos. Not to blame, Trump suggested, were his own remarks that gun rights supporters could "do something" if Hillary Clinton becomes president and appoints liberal judges, or his repeated insistence on the falsehood that President Barack "Obama founded ISIS." "If the disgusting and corrupt media covered me honestly and didn't put false meaning into the words I say, I would be beating Hillary by 20 percent," he tweeted before noon. That tweet was followed by: "My rallies are not covered properly by the media. They never discuss the real message and never show crowd size or enthusiasm." His anti-media tweet storm topped a half-dozen posts by midafternoon. It was the latest in a series of implicit acknowledgements by the Republican presidential nominee that he is not winning and in fact could be headed for a big loss to Clinton on Election Day in less than three months. Signs were popping up across the political landscape that Trump's year-plus flirtation with presidential politics was in danger of not advancing much further. Gaffe-by-gaffe, additional Republicans have come forward to say they're not supporting his bid, with Carlos Gutierrez, secretary of commerce under President George W. Bush, announcing his support for Clinton on Sunday. Meanwhile, GOP leaders in Washington and in the most competitive states have begun openly contemplating turning their backs on their party's presidential nominee and putting their money and effort instead behind the party's House and Senate candidates. Frustratingly for Republicans, Trump's missteps have overshadowed difficult news for Clinton: The new release of 44 previously-unreleased email exchanges Clinton had while at the State Department. They became public on Tuesday and showed her interacting with lobbyists, political and Clinton Foundation donors and business interests while serving as secretary of state. The New York Times on Sunday catalogued a culture of crisis inside the Trump campaign. That set off Trump on a Twitter rant Sunday morning. He called the report "fiction" and reiterated that he is not about to change what he sees as a winning campaign formula. "I am who I am," he tweeted. Given that, Trump's allies set out Sunday to bat down bad publicity and warn people not to write Trump off. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., warned that the "campaign is not over" and described Trump as still being in transition from the bulldog who beat 16 rivals in the GOP primary to a general election candidate who communicates differently to a wider electorate what he wants to do differently than Clinton. "He's got to wrestle in his own heart, how does he communicate who he is, what he believes, the change he thinks he can bring to America, why what he's doing is fulfilling the desires of the American people," Sessions said on ABC's "This Week." Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort criticized the news media for not focusing on what otherwise would have been a substantive week of dueling economic speeches from Trump and Clinton. He said Trump is continuing to raise millions of dollars while traveling to key battleground states — Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida — and remains personally "very connected" to the operations of his campaign. "You could have covered what he was saying, or you could try and take an aside and take the Clinton narrative and play it out. And you chose to do that instead," Manafort said on CNN. Pence said on "Fox News Sunday" that he remains proud to be Trump's running mate and advised: "Stay tuned, it's very early in this campaign. This coming Monday, you're going to see a vision for confronting radical Islamic terrorism." -- © Associated Press 2016-08-15

Thailand's Prostitution Image Is Embarrassing BANGKOK: -- Prostitution has become so widespread in Thailand for so long that it has become world famous for it. Many foreigners in other countries associate Thailand as a place where prostitution is its major industry. Some even make jokes about it. But the reality is not that funny for the prostitutes. newsjs It is well known that being a prostitute in Thailand is considered a scornful job by Thai people in every level of society. But some people may tolerate or even defend prostitution, or see it as something honorable to entertain people in an erotic way. Although it is labeled as such a disgraceful job, Thailand has become famous for prostitution around the world. Or perhaps “infamous” would be a better word. Recently, the well-known American TV show, “Saturday Night Live,” had a short comedy skit, “Rosetta Stone Thai,” which insulted Thailand. It showed foreign men wanting to learn the Thai language, because they wanted to visit Thailand to talk to Thai prostitutes and pay for their sexual services. So the comedy actors were learning Thai phrases like, “How much?” and “Is that for the whole night?” It is noteworthy that audience members were laughing very loudly, showing that Americans knew all about Thailand’s sex industry. After that embarrassing episode, Mr. Sonthaya Khunpluem from Thailand’s Ministry of Culture sent a letter to inform the U.S. Embassy in Thailand. He explained that the TV clip really damaged the image of Thailand and requested that whoever posted it to remove it. The comedy clip only shows a one-sided view of Thailand, Mr. Sonthaya protested. More preferable would be a documentary with a more balanced view of prostitution, instead of treating it as a joke. To be honest, prostitution is a reality in Thailand because of so many poor people who are barely surviving. However difficult it is to accept that reality, prostitution has always existed and not just in Thailand. There are many venues of prostitution, ranging from women selling themselves on the streets, or in entertainment centers, or even advertising online. The question is, why has prostitution become so huge inThailand that it is now famous for it? Although it is illegal, prostitution is still going on nearly everywhere in Thailand, especially in the big cities visited by tourists like Bangkok and Pattaya. Surprisingly, Thailand is a Buddhist country, which makes it seem strange that prostitution would be allowed to flourish. Thai women love to be prudent, yet there are a still a lot of working prostitutes. For the most part, when the prostitutes are asked about why they are in the sex industry, they tend to give similar reasons. They might say their friends persuaded them to be waitresses or bar girls. But soon enough they discovered that giving “extra service” could earn them a lot more money. Then they got to enjoy having a very good income, which they often send back home to support parents or their children with no father. Most Thai prostitutes grew up in very poor families. So they had to struggle, and ended up working in the entertainment spots, which don’t require them to have any degrees or special skills. Prostituion is a shortcut for so many women, and can make them successful in a very short time. Naturally, since visiting tourists come to spend their money on prostitutes, it has become so well known in cities like Bangkok. So the foreign media have portrayed Bangkok as a city of sexual pleasures. Most Thai people are embarrassed by this labeling of Bangkok as a giant brothel. But many Westerners completely see Bangkok in that way. However, Thai people have to accept that prostitution in cities like Bangkok are not falsehoods that the Westerners are making up. It is the reality that we have to find the solution for, and start to do something about the shameful image of Thailand that began decades ago. Thailand has become a desirable place in the minds of foreigners to have sex cheaply with attractive Thai females. On the other side of the coin, a growing trend for male prostitutes is emerging, with people in its inner circles knowing where such services exist. As long as the laws against prostitution are not enforced, and no reasonable alternatives are available for poor women, Thai people have to accept the truth that prostitution will continue in Thailand and remain widely available all over the country. Source: http://www.pattayada...s-embarrassing/ -- Pattaya Daily News 2013-02-15