photojourn

There's a few places such as digital2home selling the Japanese version of the 450D for around Bt 1,400 less ie. Bt 26,500 including a 2Gbyte SD card which provides storage for about 380 12 megapixel JPEG images of 4272 x 2848 pixels (Large Fine) from digital2home.

The only difference is that the Japanese version is badged as the Kiss x2 and has a warranty supplied by the shop as opposed to Canon Marketing Thailand. Doesn't make a lot of difference as the shop needs to send them back to Canon Thailand for any servicing issues during the warranty period.

I also have the 40D but I'm quite happy with the Kiss x2.

Anyone with big hands might find it a little small but the 40D menu system and big 3-inch screen are brilliant.

The lens is quiet nice but with it's micro motor is a lot more noisy than my USM L series lenses. Also, as the front element moves on focus it means using filters such as a polarising or special effects type becomes a bit painful.

Coupled with something such as the 24-204 F4L though and it's a fairly nice match. Nice, compact, light, quick to use and the Digic III processor seems to handle things quite nicely.

Plenty of scope for adjusting image quality too.

So far, highly recommended.

One of the biggest problems with dealing with overseas media that you haven't dealt with before is getting paid.

When Douglas shot Poretsky in Chiang Mai I contacted media in Hawaii who I haven't dealt with before with a news alert.

The alert outlined what had happened and asked if anyone wanted material.

Shayne Enright from KITV, who I gather is the director of news there, emailed back asking what was available.

Over the day I had shot and cut down to a 4 minute tape the:-

Scene of the shooting

Hotel where the victim was staying

Chiang Mai police headquarters

Interview with the shooter - He says on tape when asked why he shot Mr Poretsky, "I didn't like him"

Chiang Mai court house

Chiang Mai prison

This included smuggling a camera into the police cells to get the taped confession. I had also written the story and had hi-res stills.

Shayne Enright asked for this to be sent. Which it was. He also asked for the hi-res still and the editorial. By this stage it had run to an 18-hour day - including talking to the stations reporters..

The next day the shooter was in court. KITV didn't want any more vision and said to send an invoice.

I sent them a standard day shoot invoice of $700 due in 7 days.

After receiving the invoice Shayne Enright emailed back saying that they only pay their stringers $150 for vision.

Well I'm not one of their stringers and for the shoot I had to pay translators, transport and internet transmission charges. On this score $150 doesn't even cover my operating costs, let alone standing costs.

It's purely ridiculous and the first time I've come across this.

I offered KITV4 a discount of $200 but Shayne Enright just emailed back saying that's what they pay and that's it.

The material is still on KITV4s website and KITV Hawaii won't pay.

Just a question. Did you news alert also include the price you were expecting? My experience both as a freelancer and when employing freelancers is to always state the costs before commissioning a piece or starting to write one. I don't think any news organisation is going to say 'go ahead, do this story' without knowing the potential costs, and even more so with someone they've not dealt with. Similarly I would never consider commissioning, for example, a photographer in the U.S., without first agreeing costs.

No it didn't contain the costs. It had the outline of the story and the when they responded with interest they were told what was going to be shot on the day. A five location shoot.

It actually worked out better than planned because I got a camera into the police cells were the shooter said on tape that he shot the tourist because "I didn't like him" ... "he was crazy".

The Aussie stations (and papers) asked how much for the package and some agreed and some declined.

KITV4 and KGMB9 were told the contents of the material and both just said "send it".

The Aussie media have all paid. KITV4 Hawaii won't pay. KGMB9 Hawai haven't paid as yet either.

Thing is, it's not the buyer who sets the price. They might set the level they are prepared to pay up to but the seller is the one who sets the price. No use going to the Honda dealer and grabbing a car and saying send me an invoice and then complaining about the cost afterwards.

It's also not like they are being charged above market rates.

But it highlights the problems of setting up an agency in Thailand. A legal judgement in Thailand worries who?

The nice thing here is that the use of the unpaid vision is a breach of copyright and leaves the station open to prosecution by the US District Attorney and fines of $40,000 for each use of the material.

As it's still on their website "each use" could be deemed each visit to that website.

As a former bureau chief, COS and editor, I have fairly realistic expectations of how much I'm going to pay for a photo, text or vision when buying and how much its worth when selling.

$150 for cat up a treee rescue maybe, but I don't expect to pay that for Burmese soldiers shooting monks or plane crash and survivor vision and stories or material from halfway around the world that someone spends a day or more working on.

One of the biggest problems with dealing with overseas media that you haven't dealt with before is getting paid.

When Douglas shot Poretsky in Chiang Mai I contacted media in Hawaii who I haven't dealt with before with a news alert.

The alert outlined what had happened and asked if anyone wanted material.

Shayne Enright from KITV, who I gather is the director of news there, emailed back asking what was available.

Over the day I had shot and cut down to a 4 minute tape the:-

Scene of the shooting

Hotel where the victim was staying

Chiang Mai police headquarters

Interview with the shooter - He says on tape when asked why he shot Mr Poretsky, "I didn't like him"

Chiang Mai court house

Chiang Mai prison

This included smuggling a camera into the police cells to get the taped confession. I had also written the story and had hi-res stills.

Shayne Enright asked for this to be sent. Which it was. He also asked for the hi-res still and the editorial. By this stage it had run to an 18-hour day - including talking to the stations reporters..

The next day the shooter was in court. KITV didn't want any more vision and said to send an invoice.

I sent them a standard day shoot invoice of $700 due in 7 days.

After receiving the invoice Shayne Enright emailed back saying that they only pay their stringers $150 for vision.

Well I'm not one of their stringers and for the shoot I had to pay translators, transport and internet transmission charges. On this score $150 doesn't even cover my operating costs, let alone standing costs.

It's purely ridiculous and the first time I've come across this.

I offered KITV4 a discount of $200 but Shayne Enright just emailed back saying that's what they pay and that's it.

The material is still on KITV4s website and KITV Hawaii won't pay.

And Razz, just to highlight the difficulties such a project faces, you have situations such as the following job wanted ad where the person is happy to whore himself for free.

Now what budget conscious editor or published could resist something such as this:

>>Hi there,

I am currently living in Thailand and am interested in using my English writing experience to write a few magazine type articles. I have had some decent experience in writing articles for magazines both experience based and feature based and would be interested in speaking with some magazines based in Thailand or even outside Thailand about Thailand.

I would prefer to do this work from home / near by and would not require payment for the first few articles. Anyone interested send me an email or PM smile.gif

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...=184574<<

The company may itself be a sleezeball outfit however

I am not so unsure I wouldnt have similar rules.. Having seen how Thais are apt to sit there playing on screen card games while blatantly ignoring customers in even a front desk situation in full view, I dread to think how they would be when 'self motivated' and not on a piecework rate.

I understand where you are coming from but in this instance the writers were professional, committed, dedicated, enthusiastic, and competent - up until the time all of this started and they were hammered for returning 15 minutes late from a lunch function they had been taken to by the company lawyer. Now they are just there for the money, have no dedication, committment or loyalty and are being taught nothing to boost their level of skills.

More importantly, they were being supervised, monitored, and mentored from four metres away by me. The same rules were applied to the foreign staff as well.

Here they are:

http://th.jobsdb.com/TH/EN/Job.asp?R=JDBT068413412

If anyone should realize this it should be them:

In this day and age when you treat your employees like s**t and enact questionable business practices, then you're going to end up on the Internet on a site like this with 4 million page views per month.

Good point.

Looking at their advertisement and the English grammar and spelling used throughout only reinforces what the flashing red banner states - urgently required.

With English spelt as "Engligh", copy writer spelt with a capital "c", and only a need for "quasi-perfect (apparently but not really: partly: almost) English grammar." Not to mention the use of three exclamation marks and "oral communication skill."

Many bar girls have excellent oral skills, but I would suggest what is needed in the workplace is verbal communication skills.

Oh dear, the need is greater than perhaps they even realise.

Sorry for the lack of replies. For some reason I wasn't getting notified of replies to this post.

I think the big thing apart from budget cuts at individual publications and TV stations is really what someone said earlier in this thread >>and also the fact that news editors don't give a rat shit about Vietnam, Thailand, Laos... <<

Absolutely spot on. Even Malaysia and Singapore are largely ignored, while Indonesia is marginally more reported on because of the Islamophobia that exists in some countries in the region - despite the fact Indonesia is not an Islamic country like Malaysia.

To work it properly you need to have a network of people throughout the country and contacts who notify you of news when it happens in the places where you don't have people.

You need Thai writers and snappers who will get off their bums and go and investigate something and then get back tot he office and write it quickly instead of sitting around and chatting with their friends and then copying the story from their friends. You also need people who will ask questions and follow up situations.

Then you also need multi-lingual sales staff marketing the photo's and text.

Even photo features are an iffy proposition. Thailand really isn't that interesting a place - apart from occasionally in the South

How many elephant/snake/monkey park stories can the world absorb? Waterfalls and temples are so very

Last month there was the annual Kings Tournament Elephant Polo tournament. In the past "the sixth largest tourism event on the Thai calendar."

But the even has been moved by the sponsors, Anantara Resorts, from down south to the Golden Triangle on the Burmese border where Anantara just so happen to have opened a new 5-star resort. Misleadingly all the promotion material said it was moved to Chiang Rai when in fact it was some 60 plus kilometres from Chiang Rai.

While there is some interest in an event such as this, who in their right mind is going to sit up on the Burmese border with little choice of accommodation apart from a 5-star resort to watch an elephant polo match for five or six days? It's worth 30 seconds on TV ... perhaps an outro on a morning breakfast show and a novelty pic in a few newspapers on a quiet news day.

As a bureau chief I wouldn't send a BKK team or individual to cover the event and as a freelancer living in Chiang Mai it doesn't make economic sense ... not even to cover the first day. The return just wouldn't justify the outlay.

Now if the Burmese army start shooting people again and there is a flood of IDPs over the border, or the rice price increase sees the camps running out of rice, and disease and starvation and malnutrition creeping into the camps then you have something the world *might* take some notice of. But Africa is just heading into another major food shortage so even the latter will be a hard push.

Apart from that you're left covering the occasional Caucasian paedophile or drug trafficker - no one cares about the African's and certainly no Nigerian or Ghanaian newspaper is going to pay for a photo or text of one, and the occasional air craft or bus load of tourists crash. Thankfully neither off which happen to frequently.

Without card carrying local staff you won't get invited to, informed of, or admitted to, the majority of press conferences run by government departments or major corporations as well.

Just to update this a little. I went and had a look at one today at Photobug and compared it side-by-side with an EOS 40D.

Not a lot of difference between the two. The EOS 450D doesn't have the large thumb wheel on the back as does the EOS 40D. Overall the new body is slightly smaller and lighter but not unduly so. The front grip is a little smaller as well.

The 3-inch screen is nice and bright, as to is the viewfinder. The menu system between the two is remarkably similar as well.

The nine-point focusing system appears identical and the the 18-55 IS lens is fast, smooth and quiet.

Overall a very impressive unit for the price and nothing about it that I saw while in the shop that would convince me the extra money for the EOS 40D is really necessary.

I'll probably head back tomorrow and buy one and see how it performs.

The SDHC cards have a less complex pin/contact structure allowing for more robustness in insertion/removal and less likelihood of user damage.

For me, I tend to get images off the card as soon as possible and do a quick edit in the field to free up clearly unusable images. I suspect a 4 Gbyte class 4 card will be ample and fast enough. I don't really see the need for the "faster" flash cards.

There's a wealth of info on SD/SDHC cards here too: http://www.sdcard.org/about/sdhc/

Also this press release from the same site. I'm not sure if the url will work as it's on the site as a PDF document. Apologies if it doesn't.

http://www.pdfdownload.org/pdf2html/pdf2ht...&images=yes

ORLANDO, Fla. ­ March 26, 2007 -- The SD Card Association announced today at

CTIA 2007 that the 5 million Japanese consumers who watch mobile TV programming

on their phones ­ and can record the programming with SD High-Capacity (SDHC) and

SD memory cards ­ will more than double in 2007 to 12 million mobile TV viewers.

Thirteen handset models feature SD recording technologies today and three-quarters of

all mobile phones in Japan are equipped with SD slots.

blah, blah, blah

Razz it's not exactly as you think.

Andrew Chant and Andrew Drummond in BKK both have international connections and both help to sell marketable stories that other freelancers might be on the spot to cover.

I'm not aware of anyone running a full bureau though.

I ran a photo and news bureau for a French organisation in Indonesia for eight years just prior to coming to Thailand and it's not as easy as you think it is. To be professional and reactive you need more than just a couple of Macs.

Let me give you an example.

I was in Mae Hong Song last week for the Poi Sang Long festival. I had ten photo's processed as hi and lo resolution images embedded with PITC copyright and caption information and had cut seven minutes of video to a 1.40 minute 768 x 576 DV package in PAL format at 25 fps and 57.60 mbits/sec, plus had written a 400-plus word editorial all in just over an hour after retuning to my hotel.

Editorial and photo's can be seen here: http://jlefevre.bigblog.com.au

The whole lot was ready to go out by 11.30 am. Ten lo-res images were attached to a sample of the editorial and some freeze frames from the video clips and these were then sent to a wide list of media contacts in Australia, New Zealand, USA, UK, and Japan that I have from running the bureau in Indonesia and more than 20 years of journalism.

This is the sort of speed you need if you are going to compete in the news market. To me, having video, stills and editorial ready to rock 'n' roll in less than 90-minutes working alone and in the field was pretty good.

However budget constraints and the general dumbing down of populations all around the world, especially in the major Western nations of USA, UK, Australia, and Canada mean a reluctance by news editors to take anything but news agency (AP, AFP, Reuters, etc) material. There has also been a global tightening up of budgets plus an incredible growth in the number of "I saw it all" people happy to give news footage away to networks and publications just so they see their name in print or as a byline on YouTube, MSN video, etc.

For all of these reasons and many others - not the least be the propensity for some news-wires to happily take material from Thai writers - irrespective of whether it is accurate or not, means that setting up a true bureau ala Rex, Sigma, SIPA, GP, requires more than you think.

If you've got the dollars, give me a holla and I'll come and set it up for you. But it's a project that requires commitment and the results need to be better than what the freelancers and stringers get now or else there is no reason using the bureau and forfeiting a sizable chunk of the commission bureaux take.

The new Canon EOS 450D is selling at a pretty cool price of 27,900 B for 12.2 megapixels, a 3-inch screen and the same Digic III processor and sensor cleaning system as the 40D.

A comparison of the 40D Vs the 450D is here:

http://rikkus.info/canon-eos-450d-vs-40d.html

The 18 - 55 IS (APS 29 - 88) has had some pretty good reviews.

http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/canon_...3p5-5p6_is_c16/

A preview of the 40D is here:

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/XSI/XSIA.HTM

Anyone bought one of these yet?

Anyone else apart from me planning to buy one?

Forget about the bragging factor and plastic/ss bodies versus Magnesium Alloy body covers, it's about 10,000 B cheaper than the the similar 40D kit.

Incidently the same kit is being sold on advance order pending stock arrival in Australia for A$1,499 (THB 43,653)

Anyone like to suggest why - in practical photography - not esoteric reasons why they think the 40D is worth the extra money?

Same dust cleaning system, larger file sizes, same processor, same size screen, same new menu system.

One step down - not necessarily a disadvantage - slower maximum shooting rate of 3.5 fps on the 450D vs 6.5 fps on the 40D.

I'm a highly experienced journalist with extensive experience in copy writing and editing.

I have worked extensively thoughout Asia and have indepth experience at training and mentoring non-native English speakers in writing and journalism.

I have extensive experience working for publications and news services, as well as for industry publications and public relations consultancies.

I have written authorative articles on topics inlcuding: technology, business, finances, commodities, infrastructure, oil and gas, engineering, construction, science, medicine, pharamceuticals, transportation, etc.

I am available for either full time work, or casual per day/contract work.

A full resume can be supplied on request to serious inquirers.

I had just read the job posting for this position within an hour of coming across your post. It looked good, initially. However, thanks for the service you've done for our TV members. What an eye-opener.

I am adamantly opposed to the lousy ethics represented by the core of this company's written material--steal and rewrite, making it your own, and profiting from it. Sadly, it's a natural progression from what Thai students learn to do in school--virtually no original research, just copy and paste (often with NO rewriting).

Ahhhh, but the thing is this is being done by Canadians.

More importantly, the local staff were being regarded as less than intelligent because they were being asked to write on topics they were not familiar with, using terminology they are not familiar with.

It was a boring, almost daily battle defending the writers and trying to stop them being fired because they were deemed to be not writing fast enough.

The whole aim of the company is to manipulate Google search results and as there is no checking on whether the local writers get it right or not - only grammar and sentence structure - the accuracy of what people find when they search for topics such as Garmin GPS units and other consumer electronics items will be questionable -- further degrading the internet as a referece source.

Where in CM is this gem of a company?

The job itself doesn't sound illegal, just a little sleazy. But I'm sure it's done all the time.

The terms of the contract are crazy. Sad thing is that so many Thais have no choice, but to agree.

35,000-50,000 with health insurance that covers only on the job accidents. Not exactly the expatriate package you dream about.

Oh it gets better. The company now has a security guard and none of it's seven staff (inlcudes 4 managers) are permitted in the building without their ID cards.

It's inhouse lawyer resigned and the GM told his wife to tell the lawyer to get of the premises as he didn't want to see her face around the building; and a very good PA who had been paying for English lessons from her own pocket for the last two months was fired because she couldn't communicate effectievly with the GM.

It was the "cannot work for a company in direct or indirect competition for three years" after leaving that was the most stupid.

They're located in a soi off Changklan Road close to Changklan plazza.

Put them in your checked luggage. Never had a problem with carrying mine that way.

I don't know how to make it any clearer, but ANY posts that veer in the direction, however so slightly, of "well, maybe her shirt was too tight or maybe she was wearing a bikini or maybe she wasn't culturally sensitive or maybe she took a sunbath or maybe she was just too pretty or maybe it was her fault because she didn't have the sense to have a crowd of stormtrooper bodyguards with her"....

WILL earn warnings, and from this point in this particular thread also posting holidays.

"S"

Should be the policy in all such cases.

Time for a zero tolerance policy for comments along this line in cases such as this.

For future disasters consider www.datarescue.com and their software photorescue.

Works on all removable media.

"A zip code is a badge of honor, an emblem symbolizing a citizen's place in the demographic, rather than geographic, landscape."

Khun Boonlert: "This will also save companies and organizations a lot of money, because they don't need to print new letterheads, forms and business cards when they move or relocate."

So a company will change physical addressed and not print new letterhead or business cards so it's customers won't know where to visit it's showroom, or send payments.

Seems perfectly suited for those people driving around Bangkok making yaba in the backs of trucks.

Why stop with postcodes? Why not have portable addresses as well?

Brilliant Khun Boonlert. Somehow can't help thinking he's been sniffing too much of the glue used on his own postage stamps. Poor man must be in desperate need of recognition if he needs to use his postal code as a badge of honor.

Nothing wrong with it at all. The "a" implies a single cup or serve.

Anyone have any more information on this matter?

Or the suspect?

While reporting on the shooting of Gary Poretsky the Chiang Mai police said William Douglas would be the only white foreigner in Chiang Mai prison.

It begs the question, if the the suspect was an American as someone posted in this thread, where is he being held?

Forum replies or PM welcome on this or any other news in the northern provinces

I can confirm that Douglas did serve with the 5th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment in Vietnam in 1969 and with another battalion in 1967.

The name of the restaurant for the earlier poster is Keari Chiang Mai – not Koi as widely reported by AP and Thai journalists.

The name of the girl who took Gary Poretsky to Keari Chiang Mai is Jirewadee (first name) and she refuses to talk to foreign press about the events.

I'll be posting updated stories as they become available on my blog page:

This is the KITV ABC affiliate version of the same video I filed. http://www.kitv.com/video/15686556/index.html

For some reason their quality isn't as good as the KGMB9 version.

It's interesting that there were no other media at the court yesterday.

News tips? Message me

From court appearance today:

Perth man held in Thai shooting

A 60-year-old Australian man has been remanded in custody and formerly declared a suspect in the fatal weekend shooting of a 46-year-old American tourist in the northern Thailand city of Chiang Mai.

William Thomas Douglas, a former resident of Willetton in Western Australia, surrendered to Thai police on Saturday one and a half hours after he is alleged to have shot and killed Hawaiian resident Gary Booth Poretsky in a Chiang Mai restaurant following an altercation.

In a video conference hearing at Chiang Mai Local Court, Chiang Mai police captain Somsak Pamthong requested Douglas be held without bail to allow police to conduct forensic investigations into the shooting.

Captain Somsak said that even though Douglas had admitted shooting the American and had surrendered himself with the weapon to Chiang Mai district police, Thai law required bullets and casings found at the scene to be matched to the weapon surrendered by Douglas.

"We do not expect this case to take a long time. Mr Douglas has already admitted he shot the American tourist, but he said he did not plan to kill him," Captain Somsak said.

According to Captain Somsak, Douglas said he shot the tourist "because he doesn't like Americans. He thinks they talk down to everyone and consider themselves better than everyone else."

Douglas, who claims to be a Vietnam War veteran and former member of the 5th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment, was not represented at the brief hearing.

After the hearing Douglas said he had "no regrets" over killing the American, who was visiting Thailand on a two week trip to receive dental treatment in Bangkok where high quality dentistry is considerably less expensive than in the US or Europe.

Local reports have indicated that Mr Poretsky was a frequent visitor to Thailand and to Chiang Mai and at the time of his death he was found to be carrying US$6,000 in US$100 notes.

Restaurant staff where the shooting occurred said Mr Poretsky had arrived at the restaurant in the company of "a dark skinned Thai woman."

They were drinking and the girl invited the man who did the shooting to join them.

According to restaurant staff Douglas had shown Poretsky he was carrying a gun earlier in the evening and Poretsky had berated the Australian for carrying a weapon. An argument then ensued but this was earlier than when Poretsky was shot.

When asked in the court holding cells why he had shot the tourist, Douglas said, "because I didn't like him - he was crazy."

Police have said they intend to charge Douglas with premeditated murder, a charge which carries a maximum penalty of death by lethal injection in Thailand. He also faces a number of firearms offences.

Douglas said he plans to plead guilty to the charge of murder when he is formerly charged in the hopes of receiving a lighter sentence.

ENDS:

From yesterday's filing:

American tourist not liked - killed

A 60-year-old former Perth resident faces the death penalty in Thailand after he was arrested over the fatal killing of a 46-year-old Hawaii resident in the northern Thailand city of Chiang Mai over the weekend.

William Thomas Douglas, who claims to be a Vietnam War veteran, handed himself in to Chiang Mai police one and a half hours after shooting dead 46-year-old American tourist Gary Booth Poretsky in an all-night Thai restaurant popular with local Chiang Mai citizens.

Poretsky, a native of Massachusetts is reported to have gone to the Keari restaurant with a Chiang Mai female who he had befriended on his visit to the the northern Thailand city.

According to police Captain Sonsak Pamthong, Poretsky's arrived in Thailand two weeks ago with the main objective to receive dental treatment in Bangkok, where high quality dentistry is considerably less expensive than in the US or Europe.

"After he had the dental treatment he came here for a holiday," Captain Pamthong said.

According to restaurant staff the victim was introduced to the Douglas by the the girl who was accompanying him, on the mistaken belief that one foreigner would enjoy talking to another.

Douglas, a long-term resident of Chiang Mai, is fluent in the Thai language and has a Thai wife.

According to Douglas he has been "working for the police" during his period in Thailand, though Captain Pamthong said there was no evidence to support this claim.

Other sources in Chiang Mai describe Douglas as somewhat of a loner and perhaps even a little unbalanced. He is known to have taught English at a number of local schools, though he does not have a work-permit to do so, and is not believed to hold any formal qualifications as a teacher.

Eye witnesses say the two men began talking and the discussion rapidly escalated into an argument. Douglas is alleged to have then withdrawn a 9-mm pistol and shot Poretsky three times in the head and upper body.

Following the shooting Douglas fled the scene but a short time later handed himself in to Chiang Mai police.

According to Captain Pamthong, Douglas has admitted shooting the American but claimed he had no intention of killing him. "He said he disliked American's and thought 'they talk down to everyone and consider themselves better than everyone,'" Captain Pamthong said.

This view was substantiated by Douglas who said from the Chiang Mai police lockup that he had shot Poretsky, "because I didn't like him – he was crazy."

From his lock-up cell Douglas maintained his story that he was some kind of informer or under-cover operative for the Thai police.

Thai police have placed the Australian on suicide watch and said he is currently taking medication, though they would not disclose what that medication was or for what purpose.

Douglas will be formerly charged with premeditated murder at a formal sitting of the Chiang Mai court on Monday, March 24, a charge which carries a maximum penalty of death by lethal injection.

He will also be charged with failing to have a permit to carry a firearm, and not having a licence for a firearm.

He is expected to be remanded in custody at Chiang Mai Remand Prison pending the outcome of a ballistics report on the gun, bullets and casings found at the scene.

He will be the only white prisoner in the jail.

ENDS:

At the age of 64 and after years of neglecting to visit the dentist my top teeth are falling out. I've lost three in the last two months. I brush regularly and my bottom teeth are OK [just about]. I'm a smoker too which doesn't help.

I need to visit a local dentist but would like to know if anyone has any experience of having dentures made & fitted in Thailand or if dental implants are a better solution. Any idea of the costs involved for either option?

I don't know if this is of any help but I just had my u/l 1 knocked out playing football. The u/l 2 was already missing. I'm in Chiang Mai and i just paid 900 B for a temporary 2 tooth plate. Need to wait a month or two for the damage to gum ro repair itself and see if the u/r 1 dies or not. The dentist said a maryland bridge made from semi-precious metal and porcelain will cost 18,000 B. Implants seem to run around 50/60,000 B and up depends where you go.

Hope this helps