Mai Krap

They both suck, Burger King is OK but nothing special. Western Sizzler has a pretty good burger but they have screwed it up about half the time I have ever eaten there. As long as they have Blue Cheese Dressing on the Salad Bar I will go back but if they ever drop that again forget about it. The best Burger I found in Asia is at the Carl Juniors in Kuala Lumpur, Now that is a BURGER! They also have a little fixins bar with Jalapenos and pickles so you can load up your own as fat as you can make it. Last time I was in KL I ate there 2 nights in a row and would have made it three but I had to leave, been thinking about it ever since.

Pringles just came out with a new "Extreme Kickin' Cheddar" that tastes like American Nachos if anyone is game on that. Its expensive at 120 Baht a can but worth it for the odd snack if your a Nacho fan. I got them at Tesco but every big box should have them as they are being promoted now.

All this crap going on right now aimed at Tourists and Tourism could be part of a plot to discredit the current government in prepartion for the return of Mr. T

No worries on that. Toxin is probably laid up in a expensive hotel complaining about getting ripped off by Arabs in Dubai. I highly doubt he need do anything to to discredit this current government, they are doing a fine job of discrediting themselves.

This is nothing new, everybody I know knows about the Cigarette Scam. Its often played out right on the street down on Sukumvit too. It is relevant now that the government seems to be looking into some of these scams.

I don't have any faith anything will be done about any of this. Ive just seen to many people turn their backs in Thailand, its part of the culture. Just like nothing has been done to solve the deaths of two tourist in Phi Phi Island, now there is another dead girl.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Norwegian-Wo...0&start=550

Seven Weeks? Funny how everybody seems concerned now that the Swine Flu is here and Off The Rails.

http://nationmultimedia.com/2009/07/22/hea...es_30108055.php

King Power concerned over damage to reputation

By The Nation

Published on July 22, 2009

Will ask embassy what action it is taking on UK pair

King Power International plans to submit a request to the British Embassy asking what action it plans to take regarding a disgruntled UK couple.

Deputy chairman Chulchit Bunyaketu said the group last Wednesday asked the embassy to explain the facts to the British press following a theft in Suvarnabhumi Airport's duty-free area, which is under King Power's management.

A British couple was charged with stealing a wallet. They have since complained to the UK media they had to pay Bt200,000 extra on top of Bt200,000 bail to have the charges dropped and urged British tourists not to patronise King Power duty-free shops.

Chulchit told a press conference yesterday that the case had caused damage to both King Power and Thai investigators.

He insisted King Power's closed-circuit TV clearly showed the couple at the scene and said the footage could be viewed on King Power's website. Regarding their complaints about being cheated out of extra money, he said this happened the world over whenever people sought help from the wrong channels. False reports will tarnish Thailand's image.

He said the company's duty-free shops had experienced a few cases of shoplifting each month this year.

At a Cabinet meeting yesterday, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva reportedly expressed concern over a BBC report on this most recent case.

Airports of Thailand president Serirat Prasutanond supported King Power's assertion that the couple did steal an item but said their bribery complaint was outside of AOT's responsibility.

Regarding remarks by the prime minister about reports of lost or damaged luggage, Serirat said AOT's responsibility was limited to the check-in and loading process inside the terminal. Airlines load the bags onto the planes themselves, and that is where the losses and damage occur. Therefore, airlines must be held responsible for that, not AOT.

Meanwhile, King Power is suffering a decline in sales volume, due to the domestic political turbulence and type-A (H1N1) influenza. This year's sales are down 30-40 per cent so far.

Its true all over Thailand, not just Phuket. It started a couple years ago with people leaving, that was nothing new but then people stopped coming to replace those who left. Many of the more hardcore expats sold out and moved to Cambodia to set up shop, many of the others just left and went home.

You can ask around all over Thailand and find more empty hotels and houses than ever. I got a call from Ko Chang this week and its completely dead there, the worst off season in 8 years since they started the construction boom there. If the Swine Flu kills the up coming tourist season the people that are barely hanging on now will be out too.

I stay in a newly developed estate, and I like fresh air, but neighboring houses outside the perimeter of the estate always burn leaves to chase away mosquitoes and gnats, the problem is our estate is on a lower land and the smoke settles at the lower land for a long time. Neighbor starts burning as early as 6am in the morning, and as late as 10 or 11pm at night, now what should I do? Which department handle this problem?

There is no law against this in Thailand. If the developer does not go over there himself and deal with it nothing will be done. A few years ago I had a beautiful house which I loved. Across the street was half finished project house, pretty nice looking place. There were several large new homes also in our little cluster of houses which was surrounded by thousands of acres of paddy fields. The owner of the half built house moved in some workers and had them start making charcoal. It started with one kiln and they quickly added a second. Not even those who invested in new houses would do anything, they just put up with it, I moved.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/1266...inside-thailand

US admits to torture at secret jail inside Thailand

Writer: BANGKOK POST and AGENCIES

Published: 4/03/2009 at 12:00 AM

Newspaper section: News

The United States government has admitted for the first time that it had a secret jail in Thailand where suspected al-Qaeda operatives were flown in to be interrrogated, including being subjected to "waterboarding".

Federal prosecutors revealed the details in documents submitted to a court in New York as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union. Prosecutors also revealed that 92 videotapes made and stored in Thailand of the questionable interrogation techniques had been personally ordered to be destroyed by the then head of the CIA, Jose A Rodriguez Jr.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/1273...ret-prison-here

Anupong denies US secret prison here

Writer: WASSANA NANUAM AND ANUCHA CHAROENPO

Published: 5/03/2009 at 12:00 AM

Newspaper section: News

Army chief Anupong Paojinda insists the United States has no secret jail in Thailand for captured terror suspects.

"I insist there's no such place in the army. I guarantee a million per cent with my position as guarantee," Gen Anupong said.

The army chief said there were no such secret places in Udon Thani.

" You can go everywhere, every district, every tambon in the province [to check]," he said.

Asked why the information the US has a secret jail in Thailand had been confirmed in the US, Gen Anupong declined to comment.

http://www.alrc.net/pr/mainfile.php/2005pr/109/

THAILAND: Torture rife in Thailand, U.N. told

PRESS RELEASE

ALRC-PL-42-2005

Torture rife in Thailand, U.N. told

(Geneva, April 19, 2005) Torture is widespread in Thailand and extremely brutal practices are used to extract confessions in ordinary criminal cases, the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) told the United Nations today.

Speaking before the annual session of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, the Hong Kong-based rights group pointed to the case of Anek Yingnuek as an example.

Anek was allegedly tortured on September 9, 2004 at the Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya police station.

"To have him admit to robbery and implicate some others, the police allegedly beat him with pipes and suffocated him with plastic bags," ALRC spokesperson Michael Anthony said.

"Then they covered his penis and testicles with ice and electrocuted him through it," he said.

Torturers in Thailand escape punishment, the ALRC said, because there is no law making torture a criminal offence and the country has not ratified the U.N. Convention against Torture.

"There is also no avenue by which a complaint can be made directly to the high courts on a human rights violation under the constitution, which prohibits torture," Anthony said.

No institution exists in Thailand to investigate torture and other serious human rights violations by the police.

On the contrary, a widespread attitude prevails that torture is acceptable and necessary.

In a written statement submitted earlier to the U.N., the ALRC pointed to the immigration bureau chief Pol. Lt-Gen. Amarin Niamsakul an example of a senior official who had endorsed the use torture on national television.

The ALRC said that for the government to have not dismissed the officer for his remarks was "a blot on the country's international reputation and an affront to both domestic and international law".

In its oral statement the ALRC said that Thailand had failed to fulfil its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which it is a party, by not doing anything to prevent torture.

It called for Thailand to introduce a criminal law against torture, and a channel for receipt and investigation of complaints.

The ALRC also urged the government to ratify the Convention against Torture without delay.

Full text of the today’s statement follows.

UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS 61st SESSION

ITEM 18: EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS

Torture in Thailand and the role of national and international human rights mechanisms

Statement read by Mr Michael Anthony, of the Asian Legal Resource Centre

Mr Chairperson

I speak on behalf of the Asian Legal Resource Centre.

Anek Yingnuek alleges that on September 9 of last year he was tortured at the Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya police station, north of Bangkok, Thailand. To have him admit to robbery and implicate some others, the police allegedly beat him with pipes and suffocated him with plastic bags. Then they covered his penis and testicles with ice and electrocuted him through it. Anek confessed and named three friends: enough to raise the charge to gang robbery.

Anek and his friends are all standing trial [Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Provincial Court black nos 1621/2547, 1675/2547 and 38/2548]. They are in jail. None of the accused police are known to have lost their jobs, despite having been named in a number of other similarly brutal cases. None have faced criminal investigations over the alleged torture.

This pattern is repeated at police stations throughout Thailand. Torture is widespread. Beatings and 'roughing up' are the routine; extremely grave torture is also applied in ordinary criminal cases. Victims are held in custody until scars have faded and all evidence is lost. Most are poor persons, unable to afford lawyers, ignorant of the legal system and their basic rights, and easily intimidated by the police.

Torturers in Thailand escape proper enquiry or sanction because there is no law making torture a criminal offence. Thailand has not ratified the Convention against Torture. There is also no avenue by which a complaint can be made directly to the high courts on a human rights violation under the constitution, which prohibits torture.

Under these circumstances, the existing national and international human rights mechanisms can do little to deal with this grievous and widespread abuse.

The National Human Rights Commission of Thailand does not have the authority to pursue such cases; it can only refer them to the relevant government authorities. However, there is no institution established to investigate torture and other serious human rights violations by the police. And a widespread attitude prevails, as recently articulated by the immigration police chief on national television, that torture is acceptable and necessary.

Internationally, Thailand is a party to the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which also prohibits torture. Article 2 of the Covenant stipulates that state parties must establish the means by which rights are to be enforced and remedies obtained when they are breached. But Thailand has not fulfilled this practical and integral obligation: the Asian Legal Resource Centre has pointed to this failure in its report to the Human Rights Committee to coincide with the considering of Thailand’s initial report under the Covenant this July.

Anek Yingnuek wants the abuse he has suffered at the hands of the police to be recognised and investigated, but he has no way to achieve this. The National Human Rights Commission lacks the means to afford an effective remedy. No domestic law exists to address torture, and there is no way to take his case to the superior courts. Nor can he approach the Human Rights Committee, as Thailand has not ratified the first Optional Protocol to the Covenant.

Effective functioning human rights mechanisms mean effective remedies. In Thailand, to eliminate the practice of torture and afford redress to the victims there must be a criminal law against torture and a channel for receipt and investigation of complaints. An avenue should be opened up by which complaints of serious rights violations under the constitution can be brought directly to the high courts. Finally, to afford a greater role for treaty bodies, Thailand should ratify the Convention against Torture and the first Optional Protocol to the Covenant without delay.

With these measures in place, Anek Yingnuek and other people like him might have a fighting chance to protect their rights, and in so doing, protect those of all people in Thailand.

Thank you, Mr Chairperson

http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile....statements/323/

THAILAND: Growing repugnance of barbaric torture in Thailand

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 23, 2005

AS-71-2005

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

26 JUNE – U.N. INTERNATIONAL DAY IN SUPPORT OF VICTIMS OF TORTURE

Growing repugnance of barbaric torture in Thailand

Writing to Suwat Liptapanlop, the Minister of Justice of Thailand on June 22, the Asian Human Rights Commission observed, "The question may well be asked as to why Thai police enjoy electrocuting testicles?" The remark was made after the May 24 gruesome torture of Urai Srineh, allegedly at the Chonburi provincial police station. Urai was electrocuted on his testicles for hours before being released. Doctors have said that he may suffer lasting damage. If he loses his ability to reproduce, the perpetrators could be charged with grievous bodily harm, and be sent to jail for up to ten years. However, none have yet been investigated or even identified. When Urai was in hospital a deal was struck and money paid to close the matter.

Urai's treatment is reminiscent of earlier genital torture cases in Thailand. These include the assault on Ekkawat Srimanta by officers attached to two police stations in Ayutthaya province during November 2004. Ekkawat was rushed to hospital by relatives with severe burns all over his testicles, penis and groin. His suffering was widely reported and excited public disgust. Similarly, in September 2004 officers of the Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya station allegedly electrocuted Anek Yingnuek by attaching live wires to a fork stuck in a bag of ice resting on his groin. Like other poor people in Thailand, Anek had anticipated that he would be beaten up during police interrogation, but had not imagined such sadistic methods. "It was really torture," he said with disbelief later. Unfortunately for Anek, he was kept in detention under a system that allows the Thai police to hold an arrestee for up to 86 days before charges are laid, during which time evidence of his maltreatment was lost.

Each of these cases shares a number of features that speak to wider issues in addressing torture in Thailand.

Torture is routinely used in ordinary criminal cases. While it comes as little surprise to people in Thailand to hear that terrorist suspects are brutalised by their interrogators, it is more disconcerting to know that ordinary criminal suspects are given the same types of treatment. Urai was accused of murder; Ekkawat, to robbery. Both were innocent men. Anek had admitted to robbery, but the police wanted to push up the charge and tortured him to implicate three friends, thereby securing a gang robbery charge.

The type of torture inflicted is often extreme. The police officers involved must derive some enjoyment from what they do, as lesser abuse would be sufficient to force a confession. In fact, the reputation of the Thai police for barbarity alone is enough for many persons in custody to say whatever the police want to hear. The pattern of very harsh torture in Thai police stations suggests a mentality among officers that extremely cruel and barbaric treatment of persons in custody is completely acceptable.

Torture perpetrators have little fear of repercussions. Not only is the use of torture treated as normal among low-ranked officers, it is also tacitly or openly condoned by their superiors. Under such circumstances, it is bound to be widespread. The perpetrators rarely bother to conceal their crimes or hide their identities. At worst, they may face internal disciplinary proceedings; none are known to have been charged or been prosecuted for the offence. As it stands at present, there is no discrete law under which torture perpetrators can be punished, nor any avenue for complaints. Thailand has not yet ratified the U.N. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

The reputation of the police in Thailand is now at an all-time low. The silence that has long existed around their brutal and corrupt methods is being broken. As more and more reports of heinous torture in police stations are being discussed publicly, repugnance grows. As the practices of police in setting up uncounted numbers of extrajudicial killings are exposed, the reaction is getting stronger. As the extent of corruption that pervades the entire police force is laid bare, people are demanding action. Even some senior police officers admit in private that things are going badly wrong.

The previously unquestioned power of the Thai police is daily facing greater challenges. Some parts of the police force can be expected to take strong steps to defend their authority and enjoyment of illegal practices. In the case of prominent human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit, who had publicly implicated police in the torture of his clients, this meant forced disappearance. Most recently, police linked to the reported extrajudicial killing of a suspect in Nonthaburi province have sued prominent forensic pathologist Dr Porntip Rojanasunan after she questioned their conclusion that the death was a suicide. She earlier won a litigation case brought by other police after suggesting that a man who died in custody had been a victim of torture: including by having a burning plastic bottle applied to his testicles.

These reactions are symptomatic of a growing struggle for the power over criminal investigation and justice in Thailand. The question that people in Thailand are now asking is whether this power belongs to the police or the public--on whose behalf it should exercised through open and accountable civilian-run institutions, including the courts, branches of the bureaucracy, and independent agencies. As the questioning becomes louder, new ideas for change are being shaped and directed, and the historical dominance of the police is becoming increasingly untenable.

On this International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, June 26, 2005, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) lauds those individuals and groups in all parts of society in Thailand who are working to end the practice of torture in their country. As Thailand goes before the U.N. Human Rights Committee this July, an historic opportunity exists to obtain much international credibility by ratifying the Convention against Torture. This can be done without delay, as the Constitution of Thailand already prohibits torture in principle, and the changing of laws and other arrangements to accommodate the Convention can be done later. The AHRC urges all concerned parties to direct their energies towards this important goal, in order that the people of Thailand may at last have the hope of being able to live free from fear of torture.

# # #

About AHRC The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/14...son-in-thailand

PM: No secret prison in Thailand

Mr Abhisit said there was no cooperation between the Thai government and the US in setting up a secret prison as alleged.

“It’s an old story and it is totally groundless as this government has never resorted to the use of violent means,” Mr Abhisit said. The report would not affect the summit between Asean and its dialog partners being held in Phuket.

http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews...721-156068.html

No torture allowed in Thailand: govt

Tue, Jul 21, 2009

The Nation/Asoa News Network

"We are investigating the Washington Post report, but can guarantee that this government will never engage in such a violation of human rights," said Democrat spokesman Buranat Samuttarak.

The report provided details about Abu Zubaida being arrested in Pakistan and then flown to Bangkok while top US counter-terrorism officials gathered at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, to discuss how they could get the suspect to talk.

US authorities are not legally allowed to torture suspects in their own country.

The Washington Post said the torture methods discussed included putting Zubaida in a cell filled with corpses,

surrounding him with naked women or jolting him with electric shocks to the teeth.

It is believed that Zubaida was finally subjected to "waterboarding", under which victims are made to constantly feel like they are drowning.

"Interviews with nearly two dozen current and former US officials also provide new evidence that the imposition of harsh techniques provoked dissension among the officials charged with questioning Abu Zubaida, from the time of his capture through the period when the most gruelling torments were applied," the Washington Post said.

Army chief Anupong Paochinda denied an earlier Washington Post report that there was indeed a "torture chamber" in Thailand that US officials could use to get terrorists to yield key information.

According to the newspaper, rumours had circulated that a secret site for torture tactics in Thailand had been approved "downtown" - agency jargon for the White House. Apart from waterboarding, Zubaida was also subjected to forced nudity, sleep deprivation and temperatures lowered until he turned blue. -The Nation/ANN

Mobi, Just glad you lived to tell the tale! Dealing with a Thai Hospital can be a crazy experience. I have had fantastic Doctors and horrible ones at the very same hospital . I have also had a Doctor try to tell the staff I was drunk and to not listen to me when I was completely sober and had questioned what they were doing.

In one case I was a patient and my Doctor had a day off, the doctor who saw me did not even bother to open my chart, he changed everything that the original Doctor had done then gave me a completely new prescription of antibiotics when I was already maxed out on my original antibiotic prescription. If I had not questioned the pharmacist there is no telling what kind of damage it would have done to me. When the truth came out, I was told confidentially to never use that Doctor as he had been there for years and they could not complain or get rid of him. How many people had he killed in thirty years by writing prescriptions without reading charts? Nobodies telling, especially not the hospital involved.

I guess my point here is if you find a good Doctor, go to them. Any hospital in Thailand is the luck of the draw if you do not know the doctors there.

It is up to King Power to arrest shop lifters. They are a very large store and need professional security which they evidently do not have. Some people have written as if these people were caught red handed and that is just not the case. In fact they were not caught at all but they were rounded up and extorted. Be it right or wrong the Thai Judicial System provided them with a letter saying they were innocent of this crime, King Power cannot have it both ways.

The video does not prove anything, it cannot even prove its the same people. If it was the same people and a Store Detective watched them shoplift why were they not immediately apprehended? What is King Powers record concerning the prosecution of shop lifters? Have they ever prosecuted anyone? I have never known of any major store that did not have a 100% prosecution policy for shoplifters. Neither have I ever known of any major store that did not arrest people upon exiting with merchandise, professional store detectives around the world have this down to a science.

I suspect the Tourist Police "Tony" will be missing in action and never heard of again. If he does show up on the radar he will quickly be thrown in jail and prosecuted with his name and picture all over the news. Tony unfortunately was played as the patsy in all this, I'm sure he benefited but those saying he was getting rich off this do not have a clue about how the scam works. Money goes up hill quick and the guy running the errands gets the smallest piece of cake, possibly just crumbs.

What is amazing is the way some people believe this will change Thailand. This incident in the scheme of things is not even a pimple on a buffaloes backside in comparison to all the unholy works that have gone on in Thailand in recent years.

Ko Chang has some of the very last large snakes in Thailand. It is a outrage to kill such a creature as this but what does anyone expect? There is no conservation at all in Thailand. The only guy in the Government down in Ko Chang that ever tried to do anything was promptly blacklisted and ran off the island. So much for the National Park status, the only thing protected there is the transportation mafia.

Mobi, Glad your doing better. If you contact the local administration they usually fogg around the area where Dengue Fever is diagnosed. Even though you traveled and cannot be certain where you caught the fever it would be a good idea to go ahead and spray your area. The truth is they should spray more often anyway but every action here is a reaction, never proactive.

Sorry to hear about your experience with the first hospital. I have been sent home only to barely make it back to the ER with high fever too, medicine here is a coin toss. You will most likely have night sweats for weeks, as for the appetite you may want to consider traditional herbs to make you hungry.

Unfortunately, once you have had Dengue it is even more dangerous to get it a second time, I found this over on the Mayo Clinic Website.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/dengue-fe...DSECTION=causes

You can become infected with dengue fever more than once. This happens when you're exposed to a different one of the four dengue viruses than one to which you were previously exposed. Infection a second time is typically what causes the more severe form of the disease — dengue hemorrhagic fever.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/dengue-fe...ON=risk-factors

If you've had dengue fever before

If you've had dengue fever before, you can get it again if you become infected with another one of the four dengue viruses. Having antibodies to a virus in your blood from a previous infection usually helps protect you. But in the case of dengue fever, it actually increases your risk of severe disease — dengue hemorrhagic fever — if you're infected again. So previous infection with a dengue fever virus increases your risk of a more severe form of the disease. This most often occurs in children.

Bangkok's showcase new international airport is no stranger to controversy.

Built between 2002 and 2006, under the governments of then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the opening date was repeatedly delayed. It has been dogged by allegations of corruption, as well as criticism of the design and poor quality of construction. Then, at the end of last year, the airport was shut down for a week after being occupied by anti-government protesters.

Now new allegations have been made that a number of passengers are being detained every month in the duty free area on suspicion of shoplifting, and then held by the police until they pay large sums of money to buy their freedom. That is what happened to Stephen Ingram and Xi Lin, two IT experts from Cambridge, as they were about to board their flight to London on the night of 25 April this year. They had been browsing in the duty free shop at the airport, and were later approached by security guards, who twice asked to search their bags.

Mr Ingram and Ms Xi were told they had to pay £7,500

They were told a wallet had gone missing, and that Ms Lin had been seen on a security camera taking it out of the shop. The company that owns the duty free shop, King Power, has since put the CCTV video on its website, which does appear to show her putting something in her bag. However the security guards found no wallet on either of them. Despite that, they were both taken from the departure gate, back through immigration, and held in an airport police office. That is when their ordeal started to become frightening.

Interpreter

"We were questioned in separate rooms," Mr Ingram said. "We felt really intimidated. They went through our bags and demanded that we tell them where the wallet was." The two were then put in what Mr Ingram describes as a "hot, humid, smelly cell with graffiti and blood on the walls". Mr Ingram managed to phone a Foreign Office helpline he found in a travel guide, and was told someone in the Bangkok embassy would try to help them.

The next morning the two were given an interpreter, a Sri Lankan national called Tony, who works part-time for the police. They were taken by Tony to meet the local police commander - but, says Mr Ingram, for three hours all they discussed was how much money they would have to pay to get out.

Mr Ingram and Ms Xi were taken to meet the local police commander

They were told the charge was very serious. If they did not pay, they would be transferred to the infamous Bangkok Hilton prison, and would have to wait two months for their case to be processed. Mr Ingram says they wanted £7,500 ($12,250) - for that the police would try to get him back to the UK in time for his mother's funeral on 28 April. But he could not arrange to get that much money transferred in time.

'Zig-zag' scheme

Tony then took them to an ATM machine at the police station, and told Ms Lin to withdraw as much as she could from her own account - £600 - and Mr Ingram then withdrew the equivalent of £3,400 from his account. This was apparently handed over to the police as "bail", and they were both made to sign a number of papers. Later they were allowed to move to a squalid hotel within the airport perimeter, but their passports were held and they were warned not to leave or try to contact a lawyer or their embassy. "I will be watching you," Tony told them, adding that they would have to stay there until the £7,500 was transferred into Tony's account.

On the Monday they managed to sneak out and get a taxi to Bangkok, and met an official at the British Embassy. She gave the name of a Thai lawyer, and, says Mr Ingram, told them they were being subjected to a classic Thai scam called the "zig-zag". Their lawyer urged them to expose Tony - but also warned them that if they fought the case it could take months, and they risked a long prison sentence.

After five days the money was transferred to Tony's account, and they were allowed to leave. Mr Ingram had missed his mother's funeral, but at least they were given a court document stating that there was insufficient evidence against them, and no charge. "It was a harrowing, stressful experience," he said. The couple say they now want to take legal action to recover their money.

'Typical' scam

The BBC has spoken to Tony and the regional police commander, Colonel Teeradej Phanuphan. They both say Tony was merely helping the couple with translation, and raising bail to keep them out of prison. Tony says about half the £7,500 was for bail, while the rest were "fees" for the bail, for his work, and for a lawyer he says he consulted on their behalf. In theory, he says, they could try to get the bail portion refunded. Colonel Teeradej says he will investigate any possible irregularities in their treatment. But he said any arrangement between the couple and Tony was a private affair, which did not involve the police.

Letters of complaint to the papers here in Thailand make it clear that passengers are regularly detained at the airport for alleged shoplifting, and then made to pay middlemen to win their freedom. The Danish Embassy says one of its nationals was recently subjected to a very similar scam, and earlier this month an Irish scientist managed to flee Thailand with her husband and one year-old son after being arrested at the airport and accused of stealing an eyeliner worth around £17.

Tony told the BBC that so far this year he has "helped" about 150 foreigners in trouble with the police. He says sometimes he does it for no charge. The British Embassy has also warned passengers at Bangkok Airport to take care not to move items around in the duty free shopping area before paying for them, as this could result in arrest and imprisonment.

This is just a heads up as there is no further information available as of this writing. A very reliable source informed me this week that new Immigration Offices will be opened in Thailand before the end of the year. The only two that were confirmed were Udon Thani and Khon Kaen but I suspect that other offices will also be opened throughout Thailand in larger cities. In the past there were was a one day a week office in Udon but it closed a couple years ago.

Hopefully this will be good news for people who do not live close to a Immigration Office and need to report or have other business.

The headline reads "Khon Kaen and Udon Thani Offices confirmed". What am I missing? Although many of us in Khon Kaen hope and pray that this is correct, where is it confirmed?

It was confirmed by my original source who does not wish to be named. At some time in the future there will be a public announcement made by Immigration, this writing is a "Heads Up" not a official statement.

"But in the end - continues the missionary - it has become a clash between Islam and Buddhism. In fact the government, to try to overcome this moment of crisis, gives a lot of support to the Islamic schools and Islam. What Muslims want they get.

The most striking example is that Muslims have been recognised as Thai, before being Thai meant you were Buddhist, for over two years now, Muslims are recognised as Thai.

It is a concrete example. Every day, at eight o'clock in the morning and every evening at six the national anthem is broadcast. The country stops, radio and television stations broadcast the national anthem and everyone sings. The television show images of Thailand. There is the king, there are the Buddhist monks, and now there are also Muslims with their distinctive dress, there are the Buddhist pagodas and Muslim mosques".

http://www.speroforum.com/a/19883/Islamism...ddhist-Thailand

http://www.dailynews.vn/news/index.php?opt...iew&id=5323

This is pure ignorant racist rubbish! I suspect the author has never gotten past page one of a book on Asian History.

This is just a heads up as there is no further information available as of this writing. A very reliable source informed me this week that new Immigration Offices will be opened in Thailand before the end of the year. The only two that were confirmed were Udon Thani and Khon Kaen but I suspect that other offices will also be opened throughout Thailand in larger cities. In the past there were was a one day a week office in Udon but it closed a couple years ago.

Hopefully this will be good news for people who do not live close to a Immigration Office and need to report or have other business.

Its not worth writing about if all the writing disappears.

The biggest thing with kids is a change in the diet. With a infant they will be drinking milk, if its breast milk and mom eats strange Thai food as most Thai moms do, this could be a problem. Kids get fevers and get immunity, this happens everywhere, Thailand has its share of fevers and illnesses, maybe more than the rest of the world.

A big problem here is strange people touching kids, even sticking a finger in your kids mouth when you are out shopping. This is some kind of bizarre cultural thing. Older kids can be taught to avoid this and many do after it happens a few times, much like the crazy auntie who pinches you on the cheek who you grow up hiding from at family gatherings.

Much will depend on where you plan to go and what kind of place you have to stay in. For sure you should ask you Pediatrician about shots and things and you should read up on things like Dengue and what the dangers of it are. You should also be keenly aware at what is going on here now as far as the Flu and the way its being handled. Personally I would not bring a infant here right now for many reasons, mostly its just not a great environment for kids as the mortality rates in Thailand are off the charts compared to western countries.

With all the talk of a new Global Currency and the Thai Baht it left me wondering if Thailand would ever accept a Global Currency. I was also wondering out loud if a currency exchange was already under way and part of the reason the Baht is holding so strong in such a unstable environment. I don't have any answers here and I don't believe in conspiracies or any of that mess, however its interesting to hear some of what Alex Jones and others shout into bullhorns after it is printed to hard copy minus the high volume. For those unfamiliar with any of this the new Global Currency coin was just held up and displayed by the current Russian President Medvedev this week. Here are some articles, pictures, and links.

http://www.futureworldcurrency.com/

The world in a coin. This is our vision, our hope. It is a necessity and a challenge. What seems an impossible dream becomes an inevitable historic, economic and social process. It is an event which is intertwined with the fate of human evolution.

A single currency becomes the premise for an increasingly global planet. A virtual currency capable of speaking a single, comprehensible language to foster humankind's innate desire to go farther, to surpass boundaries, and move towards true principles of peace, freedom, brotherhood and understanding beyond issues of race, political and religious beliefs and party interests.

We are presenting the peoples of nations, governments, institutions, intellectuals, ordinary people, pragmatists and idealists, scholars and, above all, young people - the real protagonists of the future - with a simple, ingenuous yet determined long-term vision for building an ideal bridge with tomorrow and interpreting a dream to transform into reality.

In this program, currency yet again assumes the principle goal which it has had since its invention centuries ago: to facilitate and codify human commercial and social exchange. And become a form of pure "communication" between different peoples - a communication of ideas, ideals, information and culture. This constitutes progress, development and well being.

http://www.futureworldcurrency.com/Documen...?DocumentID=166

Manifesto

ART. 1

"Unity in diversity" is the foundation that drives this initiative, which started up in 1996. Its aim is to bring people together and go beyond national stereotypes. Its historical importance is even greater than its economic one; it is a goal built on faith, common hope, and the unification of cultural and spiritual roots.

ART. 2

The relationship between Europe and America, and between the United States and many Countries from the five continents, is based on common cultural traditions and sustained by a parallel vision of the world. It is driven by the highest concepts of brotherhood and peace. These relations are cultivated through global dynamics whose purpose is to fulfill social, political and economic objectives, in full respect of the values and national identities that found countries' respective constitutions.

ART. 3

It is therefore our wish to bring to life the project for a common currency, which has been given the provisional names, "Eurodollar/Dollaeur" (initially), "United Money", then "United Future World Currency". It would symbolize not only the economic, but also the human, social, political, and spiritual bonds between the Nations of different Continents that hold similar ideals.

ART. 4

The common currency project is a highly important step towards bringing people together. It is a means of understanding, provides reference and reinforces different identities that share principle objectives. Competition in respective markets remains free, and the basic principles of participating countries' national identities will be safeguarded.

ART. 5

We are determined to raise awareness of this project among as many people as possible in all Continents. We are focused particularly on the active involvement of young people, especially from schools. Indeed, young people represent the strongest, most concrete vehicle for spreading this initiative. They are also the potential future beneficiaries of this large step forward towards unification and the creation of a world that responds better to the requirements of the new Millennium, as it gradually breaks down social and ideological barriers.

ART. 6

Renewed cultural interest in the Economy comes as a result of shifting perceptions of currency as a whole. This follows on from the debate opened by the introduction of the Euro. Through this Project, students, including from a very young age, can become familiar with basic economic issues. The latter are increasingly important in a new society of widespread wellbeing.

ART. 7

A joint Committee will be selected. It will include experts from a wide variety of disciplines. Everyone will be free to offer their own contribution to the project. This committee will also form the Jury that selects the most interesting ideas, proposals and projects demanded by different initiatives underway.

ART. 8

There will be an information and support campaign to coordinate working groups, committees and clubs, implemented through organizations, bodies and associations. There will be a consideration period for all contributions regarding the expansion, comparison and development of: issues and technical problems; optimizing legislative instruments and procedures; and fulfilling the obligations of the new Currency.

ART. 9

Trials will be carried out at important international events, aimed at awareness, education and promotion. "United Money" currency (banknotes and coins) trials will be entrusted to the best international professionals and experts in the appropriate fields.

Time will be set aside to explore technologically-advanced security and counterfeiting issues, which a future Currency will have to keep in check. This will involve the most prestigious and trustworthy public and private bodies, including universities and companies.

ART. 10

It will be the responsibility of the world's future citizens and the governments they put in place to make our Project a reality. This project is driven by a firm belief in the unification and co-existence of different peoples. It aims to promote an increasingly equal distribution of the planet's resources and human intellect.

Rome and Brussels, March 21st 1996

New York, January 12th 2000.

Milan, February 17th 2009

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/artic...5Xh7XiPA0kxLedQ

Medvedev sees single currency dream in G8 coin gift

L'AQUILA, Italy (AFP) — Even if Russia's call for a global currency failed to gain much traction at a G8 summit, President Dmitry Medvedev took home a coin meant to symbolize that the dream may one day come true.

The Russian leader proudly displayed the coin, which bears the English words "United Future World Currency", to journalists after the summit wrapped up in the quake-hit Italian town of L'Aquila.

Medvedev said that although the coin, which resembled a euro and featured the image of five leaves, was just a gift given to leaders it showed that people were beginning to think seriously about a new global currency.

"In all likelihood something similar could appear and it could be held in your hand and used as a means of payment," he told reporters. "This is the international currency."

Russia, along with China, has been a vocal proponent of diversifying the global currency system away from the dollar, which has dominated global finance and commerce since the end of World War II.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the summit joined the band in favour of dumping the dollar as the international currency of reference, insisting that "we cannot stick with just one single currency."

http://www.prisonplanet.com/medvedev-unvei...coin-at-g8.html

"Russian President shows reporters example of “united future world currency”

Medvedev Unveils “World Currency” Coin At G8

Paul Joseph Watson

Prison Planet.com

Friday, July 10, 2009

In a highly symbolic moment at the G8 summit in Italy today, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev unveiled to reporters a coin representing a “united future world currency”.

“We are discussing both the use of other national currencies, including the ruble, as a reserve currency, as well as supranational currencies,” the Russian leader said at a news conference.

However, those who have downplayed the formulation of a world currency by dismissing it as merely a progression of SDR’s (Special Drawing Rights) and not something that would physically be used by citizens in a system of world government, were contradicted when Medvedev clearly outlined that the new currency would be “used for payment” by citizens as a “united future world currency”.

“This is a symbol of our unity and our desire to settle such issues jointly,” Medvedev said.

“Here it is,” Medvedev told reporters today in L’Aquila, Italy, after a summit of the Group of Eight nations. “You can see it and touch it,” reports Bloomberg.

The question of a supranational currency “concerns everyone now, even the mints,” Medvedev said. The test coin “means they’re getting ready. I think it’s a good sign that we understand how interdependent we are.”

Medvedev explained that the coin had been minted in Belgium and bears the words “unity in diversity”. An RIA Novosti report noted that the coin represented an example of a “possible global currency”.

China and Russia have repeatedly called for a new global currency to replace the dollar.

When confronted about plans to supplant the dollar with a new global currency, both Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner denied that such an agenda existed.

However, just days after he told a Congressional hearing that there were no plans to move towards a global currency, Geithner sought to please the elitist CFR by assuring them that he was “open” to the notion of a new global currency system.

The scandal-ridden and highly secretive Bank For International Settlements, considered to be the world’s top central banking power hub, released a policy paper in 2006 that called for the end of national currencies in favor of a global model of currency formats.

The global currency would be a key central plank of a future system of world government. Earlier this week, Pope Benedict called for a “world political authority” to manage the global economy.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/2008...militant-groups

"Don't forget that they are all Muslim brothers and will be part of a global jihad,"

I shouldn't be surprised the Bangkok Post has printed such trash. The entire article is ridiculous as it is written. If they want to make a point about the dangers of escalating the Southern Problems they should make it by writing well researched articles, not insulting every Muslim in the world.

Excuse me, sir, but the Post was merely QUOTING a source. I would agree it sounds insulting out of context. However, the basic concept, that Islamic insurgencies have the potential to communicate and organize internationally is a FACT. Just look at the Philippines, also in SE Asia.

The article as written is a mess. Nobody is denying that problems in the south could be escalated by outside influences. This is not exactly a new theory as it has been around for many years.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8147032.stm

As Nathan's body was lying on the ground Thai paparazzi took photographs of him which prompted his father to hit out, striking one camera with a spanner.

Some images have since appeared on Thai news channels.

Ms Griffiths added: "It's horrific for people to treat my son's death in such a way. I was sitting here in the Isle of Man and I am seeing pictures on Thai television of my son lying in that pump room with his little hands on his chest."

Mr Clark was fined £240 by Thai police over the incident.

This entire story is heart breaking. My only sympathy is with the family of the boy who was lost. That reporter and others involved are very lucky they did not all take a beating for their actions. Most of the people I know would have completely lost it in that situation and attacked anything and everything. I cant believe the corrupt and pathetic police had the nerve to ask the man for even one baht on the day he lost his son in such a preventable incident.

I suspect the ultimate outcome will be a campaign by the family to cost Pattaya as much money as they can by warning others not to come here with their kids. So much for Pattaya becoming a legitimate place for family tourism, maybe they should warn people at the airport to not get pissed off if their kids end up killed on holiday.