The Pattaya Ghost Retires

My favorite journalist in Pattaya has given up the ghost, after five months of excellent blogging. He will be missed. Here's his final summary of message boards, news outlets, and other tidbits happening in Pattaya.

Pattaya’s Message Boards

A Bangkok bar owner told me this past weekend that “Pattaya is a cesspool and the šhìt that floats to the top makes up the core of Pattaya’s message boards.” Looking at the çráp that spews forth from the small minds of many posters, it’s hard to disagree. While there are a good number of thoughtful, pleasant people using the boards for fun and information, the core users of these boards are definitely rougher, coarser, angrier and, frankly, dumber than Pattaya’s overall farang tourist/expat population. It’s so easy to get pulled into silly arguments with these ignoramuses simply hoping you can make them see reason. But the fact is you can’t.

The boards are also very different in personality and quality. Here’s how I see them:

Pattaya Secrets - I think it’s probably still the biggest in terms of active members and daily page views / posts, but this once very interesting board is now simply boring. It’s the world-beater of promotional devices for the Secrets Bar & Hotel, but very little of use to anyone but newbies anymore. I got less info and insight into Pattaya from here than any other board.

Pattaya Addicts - I’ve had the most problems with the hard-core Addicts keyboard warriors, but the fact is, I respect what Bryan has done with it in building a brand and forum. And, before he banned my “Pattaya Ghost” nickname, I had only positive things to say about it. (The ban was stupid, as I was easily able to get access to more “private” areas after the expulsion than before it.) I can still say, however - no matter the abuse mods there continue to throw my way - Addicts is still the best Pattaya board going. Despite the unnatural fascination some there have with ladyboys, Addicts has more topics of interesting discussion on Pattaya and other subjects than any other forum. I enjoy posting there and still - guess what - still have “trusted members” status with a third nickname the mods have yet to find. The blog is done, but I still will continue to chat there.

Pattaya Live - My favorite forum and, hands, down, the most fun to be had on any Pattaya board. Bring your A+ game and a thick skin if you want to play here, however. Wading too far into Live is like entering a shark tank wearing only a Speedo. There’s some unfathomable inside-baseball debate going on about how the board is run, but if you ignore the whining about it, the board is good fun.

Pattaya Talk - The most civil and best-moderated board of the group. People are respectful, the mods don’t act like gods and the site is an actual resource to people visiting Pattaya. Keyboard warriors need not apply.

There are more boards out there (two more in English, I believe), but get so little traffic, they aren’t worth comment.

Pattaya News

Everyone (including me) loves to rip on Pattaya’s various news outlets, but, truthfully, the city is blessed with the most-comprehensive coverage of any municipality in Thailand, Bangkok included. As one Bangkokonian told me a while back, “the news sounds so bad in Pattaya simply because there are so many people reporting what’s happening compared with elsewhere” in the country.

Here we’ve got three weekly newspapers and two full-time Internet news websites, plus two news television programs; this for a city of about 700,000 Thais, tourists and expats. That’s remarkable coverage and, with that much of it, there will be good and bad.

Having read and used the online versions of Pattaya’s publications more in the past five months than I ever did, here are a few thoughts on them:

Pattaya One News - Say what you will about Howard Miller, you have to respect what he’s done with Pattaya One. P.O. puts out the most important news and its better written than the more-prolific Pattaya Daily News. The best thing Miller could do to improve P.O. is to cover more stories and hire an editor for the website.

Pattaya Daily News - PDN may be terribly written, but it covers more news and gets the news first more often than anyone. It’s been my first resource and the one linked to most often because they had the story first.

Pattaya People News - Tabloid journalism at its worst. It does get blanket coverage of the police blotter, which is good, but the print and online stories are far too short. And its website is stupidly slow. It has stuff others didn’t, but I’d never actually paid money for the paper version and never plan to.
Pattaya Mail & Pattaya Today - Both need better software for their websites and an RSS feed.

Nightlife News

If I can be so bold, I think very few, if anyone, would dispute this blog covered Pattaya’s nightlife scene more, and in more depth, than any other publication. I got beat on occasion in putting it out there, but this blog broke more behind-the-scenes news than anyone else. So, with it now ending, I thought I’d look what Pattaya is left with now that I’m leaving.

Nightmarch - Duncan Stern is liked by many bar owners for reporting mostly good news and making only the occasional tepid criticism. But party announcements are best left for an Events Calendar than as a feature column item, in my opinion. Nightmarch columns published during The Ghost’s run broke no news and, sometimes, contained no news. To be fair, publishing now just once a month, it’s pretty much impossible to be relevant. The column was much better when it came out twice a month.

Thai-Anxiety - Other than Ed at the defunct Pattaya Rag, Dave at Thai-Anxiety is the only nightlife columnist who raised his game in response to this blog. He consistently beat me on news of bars opening and closing and seemed to get more aggressive as this blog grew. Great job Dave. His items are short and serve more as announcements than blog posts, but once the lights go off here, he should be added to your daily read list, if he’s not on it already.

Stickman - Criticizing Stickman is hard for me to do as I’ve met Paul personally and he and I have worked together in the past. Plus, he’s been doing what he’s does for many years. Of course, writing one column a week is a heck of a lot easier than writing 36 columns a month. But still, Stick gets credit for staying in the game that long. Having said that, his recent columns have been nothing short of embarrassing. Two of the past five have had feature articles on major advertisers. He’s told me personally he’s refused to write some things because it would upset an advertiser. And his assertions that Secrets might be worth $100 million and that Catz was a good bar because the dancing talent changed over so often were simply laughable. If anyone wonders why I didn’t take advertising you need only look at how the influence of ad money ruined the former king of nightlife columns.

Nightwalker - If you’ve never heard of him or his website, you’re not alone. My only question for this joke of a nightlife “reporter” is what is he going to do once The Ghost is gone and he can’t use my news without attribution anymore?

Let me close my comments on the nightlife columnists by saying one thing: (With the exception of Nightwalker), their longevity should be respected. Stick, Dave and Duncan have been doing this stuff for years and with the respect of more than a few (but certainly not all) in the industry. They lasted when this publication did not. For that, they deserve some respect and kudos.

On the other hand, they also have had to tailor - some might say “compromise” — their coverage to allow them to survive. That’s something I could not do. I know only one way to cover a story and would rather not do it at all than do it half way.

Thailand's Airport Scandal: The Taxis at Suvarnabhumi

Will this madness never end? Don Muang was long plagued by dishonest taxi drivers, and it appears the same problem exists at the shiney Suvarnabhumi. It's a national disgrace, but then Thailand seems full of national disgraces these days.

One could blame the global economic recession or point the finger at the political mess for the decline in tourism, but actually one needs look no further than the arrival hall at Suvarnabhumi Airport to see what really turns off most tourists.

Yes, I'm talking about airport taxis.

Bring this topic up the next time you're having a conversation and see if it ever comes to an end. Somebody in your group will have either been bombarded by an illegal front-man or woman for a taxi mafia; experienced a driver who refuses to use the metre or been dumped when the driver finds a passenger headed for Pattaya or another destination for which they can get a handsome fare.

Even getting a taxi from an official stand does not ensure good service. "I get harassed all the way home by the taxi-driver, who is invariably angry that I am not going to a destination that is far away from the airport. The driver keeps complaining about having to wait a long time for one passenger," a female traveller wrote recently on the mthai.com discussion board.

So do we need to turn to the Airports of Thailand (AOT) for a solution? Probably not, because AOT's official Bt50 surcharge for each taxi was never enough for the time they had to spend waiting for passengers.

In March 2006, when around 1,000 taxi-drivers gathered and blockaded the airport to protest against competition from "ghost taxis", AOT management promised to crack down on illegal vehicles. Somchai Sawasphol, then AOT director, told legal cabbies that they would not have to wait too long for passengers once AOT got rid of all the illegal operators. That promise was made in March 2006, and yet nothing has been done.

This "small" problem annoys anyone and seriously turns off first-time visitors. Yet the government and the airport authorities are doing little to help. The authorities seem to be all deaf or blind or have serious short-term memory problems, as they have been reminded of this problem over and over again. The latest reminder was on Channel 3's "Three-Dimension News", which aired a scoop on the airport taxi mafia.

Sadly, transportation at Suvarnabhumi is deteriorating speedily just two years after the airport's inauguration in 2006. What's worse is that the airport's sheer size is a blessing for the illegal, paai dam or "black-plate" taxis, who can lie in wait for their victims anywhere in the terminal without getting caught. According a local media estimation, there are more than 10 groups of illegal operators, and if one of them employs 10 "front" staff, there are 100 of these taxi-hunters wandering around the airport. My instincts say there are bound to be more.

What I can't understand is why the legal limousine-operators just stand there and "politely" witness illegal taxi/limousine-operators stalking passengers, especially foreigners. Of course, I agree that the THAI limousine fare is a rip-off and gives illegal operators a chance to offer better, cheaper deals. However, paying a little bit more would at least guarantee one's safety, especially if one is female and travelling late. Foreigners may consider a Bt2,000-ride to Pattaya cheap and convenient, but they need to keep an eye out for tricks employed by the driver to make more. One of the tricks is to charge extra for the toll fee or to take male passengers to a massage parlour in exchange for commission.

Now, AOT can either consider this a "national" problem or a "personal" problem, but it can't avoid the responsibility.

Every time someone mentions the problem, we hear: "Powerful people are behind this, and nobody can solve the problem." Unfortunately, there are no specific laws to punish these illegal operators and they have "insider" knowledge of how to get away with it, or so say the airport guards. The police station in the area believes that cracking down on illegal vehicles around Suvarnabhumi is not its responsibility.

So what can one do to stop this embarrassing impression visitors get of Thailand? Maybe the AOT director and top management should pretend playing tourist and take a tour around the arrival hall? Maybe then they will see for themselves what the problem really is.

What is the point of having the tallest control tower and being the world's third largest airport terminal when you can't manage it properly? Visitors are not interested in the architecture or how impressive a building looks; they are more interested in how they are treated.

No wonder tourists are fleeing Thailand

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Keith Olbermann on the McCain/Khalidi Connection

Here's an absolutely hilarious opinion piece from my favorite TV journalist on the financial ties between McCain and Khalidi. McCain obviously has the worst political advisors in the history of American politics.

Giant Catfish now Farm Raised

I had no idea that the infamous giant catfish of the Mekong are now farm raised and can be purchased at markets throughout Thailand, and at only 40B per kilo. It's not the giant sized monsters, but more reasonable sized, but still the same fish.

Tasty dishes prepared from pla buek, the famous giant Mekong catfish, are no longer the rare treat they used to be. And there's no need to travel long distances to the provinces along the Mekong river in the North or the Northeast to sample the flavoursome fish.

Thanks to successful efforts to breed them in captivity and large-scale commercial farming, the fish are now on the menu almost everywhere. This not only helps to preserve and increase the number of the fish, but provides enough supplies for consumption all year round.

Not too long ago, the fish were found only in the Mekong river and caught only once a year, with supplies being very limited. Today, most of the catfish now on restaurant menus are bred and raised in farms, with the central provinces, particularly Suphan Buri, the major farming areas.

Thailand has a worldwide reputation as a country rich in wildlife and marine life resources, including a wide variety of freshwater and saltwater fish. But the giant catfish stands out among them all, given its reputation as the world's largest freshwater fish. Some of them weigh hundreds of kilogrammes.

The fish is native only to the Mekong river and feeds on plants. In Thailand, most of the pla buek are wild and caught in Ban Had Krai in tambon Wiang in Chiang Rai's Chiang Khong district. The annual fishing season there begins late in April and continues until the beginning of June.

With the aim of preserving the fish and boosting its numbers in the wild, the Fisheries Department made a successful experiment to breed the Mekong giant catfish in 1983. The fish is now considered to be of significant economic and commercial value.

Pruet Pichitbanchornchai, 27, is a proud owner of one of the biggest pla buek farms in Suphan Buri's Bang Pla Ma district. His farm covers 550 rai of land with 26 raising ponds. The smallest pond covers about 10 rai whereas the biggest pond is about 31 rai. Mr Pruet also raises various kinds of fish in the same ponds with pla buek. His breeding technique is to keep a small number of fish in each pond to allow enough space for them to grow.

To begin with, he buys young giant catfish aged 30-45 days and releases them into nursery ponds where they are kept for 8 to 12 months. He usually keeps the young fish in each nursery pond at a proportion of 1,500 fish per rai. When the young pla buek grow to about 3-4 kilogrammes, Mr Pruet transfers about 150 of them at a time to a bigger pond, which is shared by 150 fish of other kinds.

The giant catfish are sold when they weigh 12-14 kilogrammes. The whole process takes up to 30 months. Between 1,000 and 2,000 kilogrammes of pla buek are sold each day at 40 baht a kilo.

To keep the water in each pond clean, Mr Pruet has installed a water circulation system connecting each pond. It is designed to get the water flowing between the ponds. Each pond is filled with fresh water every day to make sure the ponds do not dry up in the sun. "That's why pla buek and other fish from my farm have cleaner and whiter meat texture than elsewhere," he said.

His wife, Sirikul, said reproduction of the fish in the natural environment remains elusive. Baby giant catfish are rarely seen in the Mekong river. Only mature giant catfish weighing hundreds of kilos are found, she said. Mrs Sirikul believes the giant catfish probably swim upstream to mate and produce their young in China. When they grow, they return to the Mekong river. "People say if you want to sample pla buek, you have to go to the provinces along the Mekong river. That's not necessarily true.

"Actually, the fish are very few in the river now and in some years, not a single one is found," Mrs Sirikul said. She said things now seem to be the other way round as most of the giant catfish sold in the markets along the Mekong river are in fact sent from farms in Suphan Buri.

Another story in today's Bangkok Post provides more background on the commercial farming of the giant catfish, which have been interbred with a smaller version of catfish.

To Mekong river residents, the tales of pla buek, both real and fiction, have been told and re-told over the generations.

Somwang Pimolbut, director of Suphan Buri Fishery Research and Development Centre, said pla buek's official name in Thai is Buek Trairach. Its common name in English is Mekong Giant Catfish and its scientific name is Pangasianodon gigas. The Mekong is the only habitat of the giant catfish, according to mythical accounts.

Khmer and Laotian legends about pla buek have it that female pla buek dwell in the waters of Cambodia's Tonle Sap lake, while the male fish originate from the Tali lake in southwest China. It says that during the giant catfish's breeding season, which begins after the end of the rainy season, the females come to the Mekong river to pair with their mates from Tali lake.

The difference between the male and female pla buek, says the legend, is that the male has golden scales. But in reality, the pla buek are scale-less.

However, modern fishing techniques in the Mekong, poorer water quality and dam construction have put the catfish in danger of extinction. In a bid to boost the catfish population in the Mekong, the Department of Fisheries' resources management expert Saneh Pholprasit embarked on a bold mission to breed them in captivity in 1983. The attempt succeeded 18 years later. In 2001, Mr Saneh's team managed to spawn over 400,000 catfish hatchlings through artificial insemination, of which, about 70,000 survived. They were distributed to fishery centres in four regions of the country for further breeding attempts and also for release in natural waterways and for sale to fish farmers wanting to set up their own breeding farms.

Mr Somwang said even a hybrid fish species of pla buek has been bred with the smaller sister of the family, pla sawai (striped catfish), by several fish farmers in recent years. The new species of pla sawai is called "big wai". The breeders also sell big wai offspring to other farmers. Mr Somwang said farmers should know how to distinguish big wai from pla buek.

The two species have different shapes of head, eyes, bodies and colour. More importantly, their flesh also doesn't taste the same, he said.

Apart from conserving pla buek via artificial breeding, local groups of fishermen also try to limit fishing by conserving areas known to be catfish habitats in the Mekong river. Among such groups is Chiang Khong Conservation. Group leader Somkiat Khueanchiangsa said his group has tried to shorten the pla buek fishing season in the Mekong.

There are six major catfish habitats in the river, which also serves as a natural borderline among Mekong countries. Apart from protecting those habitats, his group is also calling for the conservation of the river's ecology by the other Mekong countries.

Nevertheless, Mr Somkiat said a major threat to pla buek numbers, as well as other fresh water species in the Mekong, is a plan to build 11 more dams on the river.

A Cat Video for Halloween

I've looked at plenty of Halloween videos over the last few days, but this cat in a box is better than all of them.

Oh God No: Palin Looks Forward to 2012

Apparently the relationship between McCain and Palin has become somewhat strained, but Palin's latest public announcement about her intention to remain in national politics no matter what happens next week, has plainly pissed off McCain

Obama's 30-minute Informercial

A bit long and sentimental, but here it is for the record.

The Final Two Weeks of the Campaign, in Two Minutes

A very funny summary of the last two weeks of the campaign, from Slate Video.

Leo and Friends say "Don't Vote"

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

The elections are only a few days away, so I'll continue with the political coverage until Obama is elected. Then back to more news and humor about Asia.

Simpson Mad Men Spoof

I'm a big fan of Mad Men on AMC, so I found this spoof hilarious

Hollywood Casting Call

Not for me, but perhaps for you.

Please take a look at the below casting. Please forward to anyone else who might be interested or appropriate. Any questions can be directed to hntdcasting@gmail.com or Sean at 917-338-6685.


North South Productions is in search of an energetic, charismatic and enthusiastic male between the ages of 35 to 50 years old to host a new television series about surviving wild animal attacks for a major cable network.

Ideal candidate is adventurous, rugged, brave, inquisitive, smart, and willing and able to get down and dirty in the field as well as get up close and personal with dangerous animals in the wild to demonstrate how to survive encounters with the world’s deadliest animals. You must be willing to travel to sometimes unfamiliar and uncomfortable locations around the world.

If you, or anyone you know, might be interested in this opportunity please email Sean De Simone at hntdcasting@gmail.com as well as make a video of yourself and send to us by October 30th, 2008. Please include a resume or bio if appropriate as well as a recent photo no more then 6 months old. Also, please make sure to include a contact telephone number so we can reach you.

Tell us a bit about yourself and why you would be interested in hosting this show. Let us know why you are our guy. You must email us as well as make a tape to be considered.

Video Tape Guidelines:
- Mini DV, DVD, video links or VHS formats only.

- 5 to 10 minutes in length.

- Shoot either outdoors in an interesting location or in front of a colored wall to not wash out.


Show us your personality. Be in a great mood. You do not need to follow this exact order. Make it your own. Shine! Be upbeat and excited. Please tell us the following:

- Your name, occupation and where you live.

- Why you want to host this show and why you would make the best host.

- Your interest or expertise in wild animals and outdoor adventure.

- Your interest or expertise in survival tactics

- Please address any experiences you may have had with working with wild animals in the field.

- What is the most dangerous experience or encounter you have had (animal related or other).

- How willing are you to get close to wild animals in the field and how would you handle them.

- What is the craziest thing you have done and why.

- Tell us an example of when you were brave.

Please send materials ASAP to
Sean De Simone Casting
P.O Box 20347
New York, NY 10009


Please note that you can not fed ex to PO Boxes.

Bugils Jakarta Indonesia is Closing

After a long battle, BuGils Cafe is finally closing its doors...

Long hailed as Jakarta's most popular pub, it finally will have to make way for yet another shopping mall. BuGils fought hard against the upcoming eviction and even tried to get a special status within the Republic of Indonesia, but to no avail. For the ones that have never been to this historical landmark, you still have time to visit this institution. The final night will be held on December 13th. BuGils management has not yet decided on a new location and is currently considering a number of offers. For more info on the count down program or suggestions for new locations, email bartele.santema@gmail.com .

Tis another sad day when the venerable Bugil's needs to make way for yet antother shopping exeprience. But they will survive.

Barak on the Ellen Show

He dances and jokes with Ellen about getting George Clooney to appear on her show. This is almost a cool as Bill Clinton playing his sax on TV.

The Fountain Bridge in Seoul

Very cool bridge modification in the capital of South Korea.

Just a twist of design, a splattering of paint, a cheeky addition to something old can make it look brightly cheerful and attractive to the eyes again. The Banpo Bridge which crosses over the Han River in the Seoul capital of Korea has been given new life with the addition of a very interesting fountain, that was specially designed to attract more tourists. Instead of remodeling this huge structure to fit it with the usual design of a fountain, even that has been give some change,with the fountain shooting water downwards instead of up.

The fountains at the Banpo Bridge were installed on September ninth and have since become a major tourist attraction. It has nearly 10 thousand nozzles ( more exactly 9, 380 ) on either side of the bridge that shoots out 190 tons of water every minute. According to the Seoul mayor, Oh Se-Hoon, the fountain bridge would help acknowledge Seoul as an eco-friendly destination amassing more tourists. But unless the fountain is being used as a means of harnessing energy, the eco-friendliness of this fountain is skeptical.

Banpo Bridge in Seoul

Eye Park Dubai

Yet another remarkable development in development-mad Dubai.

As part of Dubai’s ongoing plan to become a worldwide tourist, entertainment, and leisure destination, Tameer Holding Investments have employed retail design firm Callison to develop six mixed-use towers in the heart of the new Dubailand development. The new towers – to be collectively known as Eye Park - will offer over around 1.9 million square feet of residential space, and 100,00 square feet of retail space, along with full amenities, car parking, and shopping areas.

The six towers that comprise the development will be centred around an oval ‘crescent park,’ which will create a natural focus for the area and will incorporate natural elements, as well as art and water features, to give the towers a focal centrepiece. The towers themselves will feature the latest in sustainable technology, including energy efficient geothermal and solar heating, in addition to cooling systems and low flow water systems. It is hoped that these technological advances will help the towers produce on-site renewable energy, with solar heated water and grey water technology included in the design to help produce a 30 percent reduction in water usage.

World Architecture News

Michele Bachmann, Yet Another Republican Nutcase

Why does the Republican party allow these kinds of nutcases to run wild?

Nutty baby farmer and commie hunter Michele Bachmann just blabbed her way out of GOP ad buys in Minnesota!

Bachmann went on Hardball last week and called everybody a liberal Marxist black anti-American, which for some reason was shocking. (This is how she talks every day.) But whatever the reason Friday’s tirade got noticed, the end result was a million dollars in campaign contributions for her Democratic opponent, Elvish Whistlepeep, who will probably win her House seat now, ha ha, although nobody knows for sure because it is apparently very difficult to do a quick poll in Minnesota’s 6th District.

Anyway, according to Sam Stein at the Huffington Post, the National Republican Congressional Committee has yanked its media buying in Michelle’s district! They’ve washed their hands of Batshit Bachmann!

Two sources aware of ad buys in Minnesota say that the National Republican Congressional Committee is pulling its media purchases from Bachmann’s race. If true, it is a remarkable fall for a congresswoman who, until recently, seemed relatively safe in her predominantly conservative district. The race had become closer in recent days — the NRCC had transferred funds from Rep. Erik Paulsen (MN-03) to Bachmann a little over a week ago.

Oh, and we took this picture at the Republican convention last month, in St. Paul, and have been waiting for the Perfect Time to use it on Wonkette.

Sarah Palin Shopping Queen

Looking good and bashing liberals may cost Sarah Palin some serious cash.

In the tank ABC reporter Jake Tapper has spoken to a purportedly “well-respected” tax attorney who believes that Sarah Palin will have to declare that $150,000 worth of fancy convention clothes as income, because her excuse that they were “borrowed” from the RNC is kind of, well, wrong.

Palin’s situation is not like that common thing that you women always do, where you borrow each others’ dresses for special occasions and then return them afterwards. Sarah Palin is not, say, borrowing a dress from the RNC’s closet because she shares the same size with it and/or the RNC had already worn that dress to Prom the week before and OBVS can’t wear it in public for at least like another year; that would be so embarrassing for the RNC and it would lose all of its friends. It’s more like Sarah Palin wore the RNC’s dress and got wine or semen all over it, so what’s the point of returning it?:

McCain and Palin Uneasy with Each Other

I find this kind of observation fascinating. John McCain and Sarah Palin are obviously uneasy in each others presence. So why did he choose her as his running mate? She has become a drag on his political aspirations, but he can't let her go. It's a sad situation for the once noble McCain; the pitbull with lipstick has become a giant headache.

Thailand: After the King is Gone

Here's a fascinating article that speculates about the political landscape of Thailand after the King is gone. You can thank the screwy formatting rules of Adobe PDF for the lousy look of this document, but you get the idea.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak teaches international political economy and
directs the Institute of Security and International Studies at the Faculty
of Political Science of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.
The most dramatic recent twist in Thailand’s long and uncertain search
for stable democracy came on 19 September 2006, when the Royal Thai
Army overthrew the government of elected prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
The bloodless takeover—which in a single day would drop
Thailand’s Freedom House rating from Free all the way to Not Free—
was the country’s first nonconstitutional change of government since
the coup of February 1991 (although it was the successful eighteenth
coup or coup attempt since the beginning of modern Thai political history
in 1932, the year that a bloodless putsch sparked a switch from
absolute to constitutional monarchy). After fifteen years during which
the reins of government had changed hands only via elections, it seemed
that Thailand had taken a giant step backward.
The events of September 2006 capped a political crisis that had been
on the boil at least since early 2005, when Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai
(“Thais Love Thais” or TRT) party and its populist, redistributionist
platform won reelection resoundingly in balloting for parliament. Since
the 2006 coup, a new constitution has been written (under military auspices),
elections held, and civilian government restored under 73-yearold
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej and the People’s Power Party
(PPP), the now-banned TRT’s de facto successor.1 Yet the underlying
tensions that led to the coup remain, as a traditional establishment resting
on the nonelected “holy trinity” of monarchy, military, and bureaucracy
confronts powerful populist currents that Thaksin and his associates
more than once rode to elected office in a still-modernizing country
deeply riven by an urban-versus-rural divide.
The story of Thailand in the early years of this century is not without
precedent either in Thai political annals or those of other developing
Journal of Democracy Volume 19, Number 4 October 2008
© 2008 National Endowment for Democracy and The Johns Hopkins University Press
Thitinan Pongsudhirak 141
democracies. The populist billionaire Thaksin, now living in exile in
Britain while a host of legal charges awaits him back in Thailand, represented
the most powerful single challenge to an entrenched political,
social, and economic establishment. This establishment has evidently
succeeded in putting down his challenge, but the popular grievances,
demands, and expectations that were unleashed during the Thaksin years
will continue to put the establishment to the test.
The political crisis of 2005 and 2006 has become the paramount
puzzle of politics and political economy in this country of 65 million
people. In order to grasp the nature of that puzzle more adequately, it is
helpful to look back at the preceding coup, which occurred in February
1991, and trace the unfolding of events from there. The 1991 takeover
inaugurated a period of military-authoritarian rule that boasted the usual
features of a technocratic caretaker cabinet, a military-appointed legislative
assembly, a new charter, and a scheduled return to elections. But the
process dissolved into violence when troops killed civilian protestors
near old Bangkok’s Democracy Monument in May 1992. In response, a
broad-based movement for political reform gathered pace over the next
five years. Its aims were to end corrupt “money politics” and find a
permanent way out of the vicious cycle of frequent coups, constitutions,
elections, and self-dealing that had long dominated Thai public life. The
much-touted outcome, which arrived just as Thailand became caught up
in the East Asian financial crisis of 1997, was a new constitution.
The 1997 Constitution was designed to promote the transparency and
accountability of the political system and the stability and effectiveness
of government. It strengthened executive authority, provided for a
fully elected bicameral legislature, consolidated the electoral system in
ways that favored a few larger parties, installed a clutch of independent
agencies to fight graft, guaranteed media freedom, required officials to
disclose their assets, and empowered the electorate to impeach unscrupulous
cabinet ministers. When it was promulgated, the 1997 Constitution
was opposed mainly by the old-style politicians who had peddled
patronage and votes in return for power and graft. The vast majority
of the Thai people, particularly Bangkok’s middle class, civil society
groups, and business community hailed it as the promised land of a fullfledged
and lasting democratic system, a long-awaited document meant
to eliminate graft from politics by promoting ability and integrity. While
the Thai economy headed south, Thai politics was looking up—or so it
seemed.
In some ways, however, the 1997 charter worked so well that it became
unworkable. It enabled the rise of the TRT and Thaksin, a telecommunications
tycoon who had dabbled in politics in the 1990s. Thaksin led the
TRT to its first electoral triumph in January 2001, to the landslide win of
February 2005, and to another (but soon to be nullified) victory in April
2006, a few months before the coup. He achieved a number of firsts that
142 Journal of Democracy
seemed to augur well for democratic stability and effective (or at least
coherent) governance: He became the first prime minister of Thailand to
complete a full four-year term in office, the first to be reelected, and the
first to preside over a government composed entirely of ministers from
one party. But his administration was fraught with controversies, contradictions,
and corruption allegations. It derived democratically from
ballots cast by voters, but operated in an authoritarian fashion reminiscent
of the long-entrenched, one-party–dominant regimes in countries
such as Malaysia and Singapore. Thaksin ultimately monopolized the
electoral system, manipulated the constitution, and exploited its inner
workings to the point of usurpation. And yet his overthrow closed the
most promising and unprecedented chapter of constitutionalism in the
history of Thailand.2
In one sense, the Thaksin phenomenon and the TRT juggernaut
merely culminated the constitutional intentions of the post-1992 reform
movement, resulting in a strong executive branch and a shift away from
shaky coalitions toward stable single-party rule, policy activism, and
legislative effectiveness. Yet the fulfillment of the 1997 Constitution’s
design produced a weak parliamentary opposition in the Democrat Party
(DP), and gave rise to a vociferous anti-Thaksin opposition, spearheaded
by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD). Both the DP, led by
the 44-year-old, Oxford-educated Abhisit Vejjajiva, and civil society
elements within PAD had been in favor of the “people’s charter” movement
less than a decade earlier. When what has been justified as a “good
coup”3 upended the 1997 Constitution, the move had the DP’s tacit support
and the PAD’s overt backing. And the postcoup Constitution of
2007, drafted under military sponsorship, bears antidemocratic traits,
including the return to a partially appointed upper legislative chamber,
a fragmentation of the party system, and a marginalization of political
parties and elected politicians. Yet both the DP and the PAD endorse
this charter, while the PPP is vehemently opposed.
Contours of Crisis
The meteoric rise of Thaksin and his TRT was fueled by a populist
agenda centered on income redistribution, government activism, and policy
innovation. This agenda captured the hearts and minds of Thailand’s
rural majority, and built the TRT into an unstoppable political machine.
In February 2005, when his incumbent government was returned to office
with almost 61 percent of the vote and (in coalition with a smaller
allied party) more than three-quarters of the seats in the lower house of
the National Assembly, Thaksin had reached the pinnacle of his political
career. He had put Thailand on the world’s emerging-markets map
with impressive rates of economic growth, bold leadership, clear policy
directions, and apparent democratic consolidation that seemed to

Journal of Democracy

King of Thailand Wikipedia Page Banned?

I've heard from several sources that the Wikipedia page on the King of Thailand has been banned by several Thai ISPs. I wonder why.

Wealth

Estimates of the post-devaluation (circa 1997–1998) wealth of the royal household range from 10 billion to 20 billion USD.[83] In August 2008 the magazine Forbes came out with its 2008 version of The World's Richest Royals. King Bhumibol took first place on the list with an estimated wealth of $35 billion.[84] A few days later the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand issued a statement that the Forbes report erred, attributing wealth owned by the Crown Property Bureau (CPB) solely to Bhumibol.[85][86] The wealth and properties of Bhumibol and the royal family are managed by the Crown Property Bureau and the Privy Purse. The CPB was established by law but is managed independently of the Thai Government.[69][87]

Through the CPB, Bhumibol and the royal family own massive amounts of land and equity in many companies. The CPB is the majority shareholder of Siam Cement (the largest Thai industrial conglomerate), Christiani & Nielsen (one of the largest Thai construction firms), Deves Insurance (which holds a monopoly on government property insurance and contract insurance), Siam Commercial Bank (one of the largest Thai banks), and Shin Corporation (a major Thai telecommunications firm, through the CPB's holdings in Siam Commercial Bank). The CPB also rents or leases about 36,000 properties to third parties, including the sites of the Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok, the Suan Lum Night Bazaar, Siam Paragon and the Central World Tower. The CPB spearheaded a plan to turn Bangkok’s historical Rajadamnoen Avenue into a shopping street known as the “Champs-Élysées of Asia” and in 2007, shocked longtime residents of traditional marketplace districts by serving them with eviction notices.[88] Bhumibol's substantial income from the CPB, estimated to be at least five billion baht in 2004 alone, is exempt from taxes.[89][88] The CPB receives many state privileges. Although the Ministry of Finance technically runs the CPB, it is alleged that decisions are made solely by Bhumibol. It is claimed that the CPB's annual report is for the eyes of Bhumibol alone.[88]

In addition, Bhumibol has numerous personal investments independent of the CPB. He is personally the majority shareholder of the Thai Insurance Company and Sammakorn, as well as many other companies.[90] Unsubstantiated rumors that Bhumibol also receives fees for handing out diplomas in university graduation ceremonies are indicative of the mean-spirited comments that are circulated by critics of the royalty.[91]

The CPB has a fleet of three aircraft for the use of the royal family, including a Boeing 737-800 and an Airbus A319. The newer Airbus had been purchased by the Thaksin Shinawatra government for his use, but after the 2006 coup, the junta offered it to the king. The other planes are used by members of the royal family.[92]

Lèse majesté Scope of the law

Although Bhumibol is held in great respect by many Thais, he is also protected by lèse majesté laws which allow critics to be jailed for three to 15 years.[93] The laws were toughened during the dictatorship of royalist Premier Tanin Kraivixien, such that criticism of any member of the royal family, the royal development projects, the royal institution, the Chakri Dynasty, or any previous Thai King was also banned.[94] Jail terms for Thai citizens committing lèse majesté are usually harsher than for foreigners. Social critic Sulak Sivaraksa has been charged several times with lèse majesté, but has always been acquitted. Politician Veera Musikapong was jailed and banned from politics for lèse majesté, despite the palace's opinion that the remarks were harmless. Frenchman Lech Tomacz Kisielwicz refused to switch off a reading light on a Thai Airways flight he shared with two Thai princesses and was jailed under lèse majesté for two weeks after his flight landed in Bangkok.[95] He was acquitted after apologizing to the King.

There is controversy over whether criticism of members of Bhumibol's Privy Council also qualifies as criticism of Bhumibol.[96] Police Special Branch Commander Lt-General Theeradech Rodpho-thong refused to file charges of lèse majesté against activists who launched a petition to oust Privy Council President Prem Tinsulanonda, claiming that the law only applied to members of the royal family.[97] Two days later, he was demoted by Police Commander Seripisut Temivavej.[98]

There was also controversy following the death of Princess Galyani Vadhana. The website of Same Sky Books, publishers of Fah Diao Kan magazine, was shut down by the government after comments on its bulletin board questioned claims made by the Thai media that the entire country was in mourning over the death. Comments were also made criticizing official calls for the public to wear black as a sign of mourning.[99]

Bhumibol himself stated that he was not above criticism in his 2005 birthday speech. "Actually, I must also be criticised. I am not afraid if the criticism concerns what I do wrong, because then I know. Because if you say the king cannot be criticised, it means that the king is not human," he said. "If the King can do no wrong, it is akin to looking down upon him because the King is not being treated as a human being. But the King can do wrong."[100] Despite this, few have dared to call for the repeal of the law. Any doing so have been accused of disloyalty and could also be charged with lèse majesté.[101] Political scientist Giles Ungpakorn noted that "the lèse majesté laws are not really designed to protect the institution of the monarchy. In the past the laws have been used to protect governments, to protect military coups. This whole [royal] image is created to bolster a conservative elite well beyond the walls of the palace."[102]

Political use of the lèse majesté law

Accusations of lèse majesté are often politically motivated. Premier Thaksin Shinawatra and his political opponent Sondhi Limthongkul both filed charges of lèse majesté against each other during the 2005–2006 political crisis. Thaksin's alleged lèse majesté was one of the stated reasons for the Thai military's 2006 coup.[103][104][105][106]

In 2005, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) issued arrest warrants for two Swedish citizens, Abdulrosa Jehngoh and Chipley Putra Jehngoh, claiming that their Manusaya.com website contained content insulting to Bhumibol.[107][108] Chipley Putra Jehngoh also held Malaysian and Thai citizenship and at the time lived in the Middle East. Abdulrosa Jehngoh was granted Swedish citizenship and lives in Sweden. The website was hosted in Canada and was linked to separatist organisation in southern Thailand or more specifically the website 'www.pulo.org' which incited separatist movement.[109]

Sondhi, a vocal opposition of Prime Minister Thaksin, often accused Thaksin and his affiliates of lèse majesté. In April 2007, A Bangkok criminal court sentenced Sondhi for defamation for claiming on his Muang Thai Rai Sapda talk show that Thaksin's Deputy Transport Minister, Phumtham Vejjayachai, was linked to the anti-royal Manusaya.com website.[110]

Academics have been investigated for lèse majesté for even questioning the role of the monarchy in Thai society. In 2007, Assistant Professor Boonsong Chaisingkananon of Silpakorn University was investigated for lèse majesté for asking students in an exam if the institution of the monarchy was necessary for Thai society and how it may be reformed to be consistent with the democratic system. The University cooperated with the police investigation, and even turned over students' answer sheets and the marks the professor gave them.[111]

Insults to Bhumibol's image

Acts deemed insulting to Bhumibol's image are also criminal offenses in Thailand. Charges may be filed by anybody, except for Bhumibol himself. In 2007, Oliver Jufer, a Swiss man, was sentenced to 10 years in jail for daubing black paint on portraits of Bhumibol while drunk.[112] The Thai press was requested not to publish any information about the case. "This is a delicate issue and we don't want the public to know much about it," noted chief prosecutor Manoon Moongpanchon.[113] The man originally pleaded innocent, but eventually pleaded guilty to five acts of lèse majesté. Foreign reporters were barred from the hearing.[114] Saprang Kalayanamitr publicly suspected that Jufer was hired to perform the vandalism and ordered a military investigation.[115] Jufer was pardoned by the king less than a month after his conviction.

Other insults to Bhumibol's image that have resulted in criminal complaints of lèse majesté and arrests include placing photographs of anybody above photographs of the King on websites and refusing to stand while the Royal Anthem is played at cinemas.[116][117]

Internet-based insults

Further information: Media of Thailand#YouTube controversy
Wikinews has related news:

Thailand bans YouTube over videos insulting kingAnother high-profile case was the banning of YouTube. On 04 April 2007, the Thai government blocked Thai access to YouTube as a result of a video clip which it deemed insulting to the king.[118][119] Various leaders of the military junta claimed that the clip was an attempt to undermine the monarchy, attack Thailand as a country, and threatened national security.[120]

Wikipedia Bhumibol Adulyadej

The King and Thai Confusion

The real role of the King of Thailand in the current political turmoil seems obvious to many people, but it's rarely spelled out in direct terms in the Thai media, but here's the take from a Canadian newspaper.

As is famously known, the king has become much revered for his record of, on occasion, blocking coups, and casting his deciding vote for the people and against special interests.

But the overall picture of the role of the king and the royal household is not that clear-cut and within Thailand the confusion of loyalties and objectives is made even more opaque by the fiercely-enforced lese-majeste laws. These threaten severe punishments for uttering anything held to be untoward about all senior members of the royal family.

So much of what you are about to read would merit a prison sentence in Thailand.

The waning years of the king's reign have coincided with the coming to electoral authority of a new phenomenon in Thai politics, Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thaksin is a populist, self-made billionaire businessman who became prime minister after a landslide election victory in 2001.

But from the start Thaksin's high popularity among the rural poor put him at odds with the palace and its loyalists. Thaksin compounded his sins by falling prey to the arrogance of power.

Persistent street demonstrations against Thaksin by a royalist party made up largely of urban middle class professionals called the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) prompted the army to oust Thaksin in a coup in September, 2006.

The fingerprints of the palace are all over that coup, especially those of Prem Tinsulanonda, the former army general who was prime minister through most of the 1980s and who has been the king's chief adviser as head of the Privy Council since 1998.

But to the plotters' disgust, the return of democracy at the end of last year only resulted in the return to power of a new party, the People's Power Party (PPP), that is a self-confessed front for Thaksin, now in exile in Britain.

The impetus now among royalists is to try to control the succession by imposing limits on democracy before the king dies and Thailand enters a period of uncertainty.

So the PAD has continued its demonstrations, occupied the prime minister's office compound and is demanding the resignation of the government led by Thaksin's brother-in-law Somchai Wongsawat.

The PAD wants a new constitution that would take away the vote from the rural poor and establish a largely appointed parliament stocked with professional and middle class people loyal to the palace.

King Bhumibol has played to his loyalists by encouraging intervention by the courts, whose judges have ruled against the government. And last week Queen Sirikit committed the partisan act of attending the funeral of a PAD demonstrator.

The key question is whether the king will be succeeded by his thuggish son Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, whose lurid love-life is a matter of public scorn and whose accession to the throne would herald a dangerous rift with the current parliament.

The alternative is Crown Princess Sirindhorn, who is much loved for her work for the poor though she has never married and is said, respectfully, to prefer the company of women.

The Vancouver Sun

Malaysian Politics

Malaysian politics hovers under the radar of most Western media, but it's a serious mess. Malay supremacy seems under attack as more citizens are disgusted with the obvious racist promotional antics of the Malay controlled government, to the detriment of the minority Chinese and Indian populations. The Chinese and Indians of Malaysia want their rights, and an increasing number of Malays agree that the Malaysian government is racist and needs to upgrade their server to Malaysia 2.0.

It's all the way down, down, down...

Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières) released its 2008 findings on worldwide press freedom ranking index in Paris this afternoon.

Of the 173 countries surveyed, Malaysia kaboomed to the 3-digit bottom half, in the African neighourhood of Nigeria and Chad.

In the latest 2008 ranking, Malaysia fell eight notches to 132 -- a ranking the worst ever for this country.

Malaysia was placed 124th in 2007 and 92nd in 2006.

This means, our placing in the RSF press freedom index this year is worse off than Timor-Leste (65), Indonesia (111), Thailand (124), Cambodia (126). One consolation, though, is that we are slightly better off than the iron-gripped Harry Lee's territory of Singapore (144).

Why did Malaysia fare so badly and all the way down since 2006 -- 92nd, 124th and now 132nd -- all during this fading Abdullah Administration? Quote Malaysiakini:

“In the face of mounting criticism, the government of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi reacted with a crackdown,” lamented RSF, referring to several incidences last year. It said that the mainstream press made no attempt at balance remarks by the authorities attacking the organisers of two major demonstrations last year which were led by election reform movement Bersih and Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).

“The Internal Security Ministry asked some media on three separate occasions in November not to report on unauthorised demonstrations.

“Thus a march on Nov 10 calling for free and transparent elections passed off without any coverage, apart from online, including by the daily Malaysiakini, which also revealed in June (2007) that the authorities had ordered radio and television not to allow too much airtime to the speeches of opposition leaders.”

Jeff Ooi

Wall Street Hustlers Built a $100 Trillion House of Cards and Stuck You with the Fallout

Wall Street Hustlers Built a $100 Trillion House of Cards and Stuck You with the Fallout.

AlterNet

Hong Kong Golden Toilet

A golden toilet for your tush. Why not? Probably cold and not as comfotable as the poly seat you're now using.

Halloween in Japan

And why not? Halloween has become an international celebration of the Day of the Dead, when everybody can become a ghoul or ghost and express their inner fear of death and dying.

Halloween Horror Videos

I recognized almost half of the videos in the above clip. Here's another horror clip by the same lady. Yes, lady.

Guns N Roses Chinese Democracy Single

Guns n Roses Chinese Democracy Single

It only took Axl and gang 10 feaking years to put out the first single to the upcoming Chinese Democracy album, but better late than never.....

John McCain is just an Old, Confused Man

Huffington Post with a clip on an obviously confused John McCain talking gibberish and working his way out of bag of worms, while his trophy wife grins and smiles in the background. John, it's time to stand down and retain some of your dignity. You bombed Vietnamese civilians from thirty thousand feet, got shot down, and you're a hero. Nuff said.

Sen. John McCain offered, on Tuesday, what may go down as one of the more awkward moments of this campaign cycle, in which -- speaking in Western Pennsylvania -- he declared he 'couldn't agree more' with the sentiment that some of the people from that region were openly racist.

"You know, I think you may have noticed that Senator Obama's supporters have been saying some pretty nasty things about Western Pennsylvania lately," McCain told the audience in the town of Moon Township. "And you know, I couldn't agree with them more."

Sarah Palin as Fashion Icon Costs GOP Plenty

Looking good while spreading lies and rumors about Barak has cost the GOP (OK, RNC) a considerable sum, but the Princess of Pain needs to look good as the McCain ticket goes down in flames. And Salon wonders if she's in this race to help McCain or fly her freak flag high.

The Republican National Committee appears to have spent more than $150,000 to clothe and accessorize vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her family since her surprise pick by John McCain in late August.

According to financial disclosure records, the accessorizing began in early September and included bills from Saks Fifth Avenue in St. Louis and New York for a combined $49,425.74.

The records also document a couple of big-time shopping trips to Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis, including one $75,062.63 spree in early September.

The RNC also spent $4,716.49 on hair and makeup through September after reporting no such costs in August.

Politico asked the McCain campaign for comment, explicitly noting the $150,000 in expenses for department store shopping and makeup consultation that were incurred immediately after Palin’s announcement. Pre-September reports do not include similar costs.

Politico

Perfect Emergency Plane Landing

So your landing gear won't deploy. Not a problem for this talented pilot who took the plane down for a perfect landing.

The Growing Income Inequality Gap in America

Ken Layne at Wonkette reports on the growing gap in America between the rich and the poor, and the shocking recent survey that proves the sadness of such a state.

Gap Grows Between U.S. Richie Riches and Wretched American PoorOf America’s many great achievements in this young century, nothing can really top the savage rape and murder of the American Dream. Nobody really mentions it anymore, but ancient texts refer to this notion that everyone, through hard work, could become free and happy through the earning of riches, and then their kids would do even better, etc. Well, it is no longer true. Since the year 2000, only the wealthy have made more money. Everybody else is fucked, and the divide is rapidly getting wider. This is the conclusion of a three-year study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, a communist-terrorist group consisting of the United States and other rich nations.

The gap between America’s rich and poor has been growing for decades — since the Reagan Era, specifically — but the lopsided prosperity of the Clinton years did trickle down a little bit to the poor, and the middle class was barely holding on to its shaky rung of the ladder. Those minimal gains were violently reversed beginning in 2001, when what’s-his-name and the gang took over the country.

Now, the poor have some new friends, as “the gap also increased between the rich and the middle class.”

But how does America compare to the other OECD nations?

The United States is the country with the highest inequality level and poverty rate across the OECD, Mexico and Turkey excepted. Since 2000, income inequality has increased rapidly, continuing a long-term trend that goes back to the 1970s.

Rich households in America have been leaving both middle and poorer income groups behind. This has happened in many countries, but nowhere has this trend been so stark as in the United States. The average income of the richest 10% is US$93,000 in purchasing power parities, the highest level in the OECD. However, the poorest 10% of the US citizens have an income of US$5,800 per year — about 20% lower than the average for OECD countries.

Huzzah! We are doing a bit better than Mexico and Turkey!

Whatever its historical flaws and prejudices against various races and women, the American ideal was that you could achieve things regardless of your class or background, as opposed to entrenched aristocratic, class and caste-based societies where your lot in life was determined by birth.

But mobility is no longer a regular part of American life. You have a much better chance of going from poor to rich in Old Europe Viking Lands such as Denmark and Sweden!

The gap is even bigger when it comes to U.S. Wealth, as opposed to earned income. The top 10% of Americans hold 71% of all wealth, while the top 1% alone holds up to 33% of all the nation’s wealth.

Jews for Obama and CNN "Truth Squad"

If you watch Seinfeld, you'll recognize a few of these folks who are doing their part to get out the Jewish vote.



The CNN "Truth Squad" clip at 10 minutes mostly goes into the relationship between Obama and Bill Ayers, and questions why the idiot model-whore from Alaska keeps bringing up this issue.

Having a Bad Day?

WTF?
The Telegraph has the story and the happy ending, although having somebody chainsaw around my head would be more than unsettling.

The young filly needed to be freed from the tree after curiosity got the better of it and it wedged its head between separate sections of the trunk.

The horse, called Gracie, was unable to free itself and could have been in danger were it not for a passer-by who was able to come to the rescue after he heard the horse whinnying .

Jason Harschbarger, a neighbour in the town of Pullman, West Virginia, USA, arrived at the scene which resembled the image of Winnie the Pooh getting stuck in the honey tree. Mr Harschbarger collected his tools and was able to carefully set the horse free by using a chainsaw to slowly cut the wood around its neck.

However, before he did so, he was able to take a few photographs.

Fortunately for Gracie, she was able to escape her ordeal with only a few minor injuries and, according to Mr Harschbarger, is on the road to recovery. Following his rescue operation, Mr Harschbarger told a local television station: "She has a few cuts on her face and ear. "Last I heard her jaw was a little dislocated but I think it is healing up and she can eat on her own again."

Dubai Arts Center

Bespoke arts precinct will be "First-of-its-kind" for the rapidly expanding city

Set within Dubai's International Media Production Zone (IMPZ), a commercially and residentially combined 'arts precinct' is being created - the Dubai Arts District. Covering an area of 26 hectares the project offers freehold, community-living within a free zone, including commercial, residential, retail and community buildings within a central landscaped park.

The development, created to service Dubai’s blossoming media industry, is designed as a highly desirable place to live and work. It is situated on the Emirates Road in ‘New Dubai’ and is to be completed in 2011. The new airport nearby is set to become the largest in the world, connecting IMPZ to all points of the globe.

World Architecture News

Zombie Events in San Francisco

Scott Beale at Laughing Squid mentions a couple of Halloween inspired events: a zombie calendar and zombie party. Sounds like great fun!

My Zombie Pinup, “Where Beauty Eats BRAAAAAIIIIINS!!!”, is a new 1950’s style pinup calendar featuring a lovely decaying Zombie for each month of the year.

This 13 month calendar is stuffed with more dead sexy girls than you can fit in a shallow grave. We dug up the idea of the vintage 1950’s pin-up and hit it over the head with a shovel. Let yourself get infected by these bloody gore-gous women who are just dying to get under your skin.

To celebrate the release of the calendar, they are having a Zombie Dance Party featuring some of the zombie models this Saturday, October 25th in San Francisco.

Bad News from Pulau Perhentian

The Star Online recently posted a most discouraging look at the fabled island of Pulau Perhentian off the east coast of peninsular Malaysia. Please tell me this report is a fiction.

To my shock however, I heard some most DISTURBING news. News from the North, from my favourite islands of the Perhentians. And it makes me terribly sad to hear it.

Pulau Perhentian is in the grip of a crime wave. Did any of you know? No, I didn’t, there was a little bit of crime when I was there a year ago, but let me tell you THE TOURISTS DO KNOW. They know and they talk. (the ones heading north said “yeah, I’d heard about that”, whilst I sat stunned).

So, here are the brief pointers of what my few new + transient friends for a day told me. I hope it shocks you, it shocked the hell out of me. Quotation marks " " are applied from what I was told directly.

1) “Most of the guest houses" can no longer assure any safety of property in the rooms. Why? Because staff members are frequently drug addicts (apparently visible by the fact that they look like “walking skeletons” AKA “junkies”), there has been a massive wave of staff members taking rooms keys and robbing rooms. These junkies have not even tried to cover their tracks (eg: by breaking into a window etc) but simply unlocked the padlock and left it on the floor outside. People have lost phones, PSP, laptops, cameras, passports, you name it.

2) There is an “organised gang” (this is apparently “well known” throughout all the bars on the islands) that prey on the remote, quiet and deserted beaches. One guy told me that they think it’s arranged so that people are taken by boat, dropped early in the morning to hide in the jungle, then when any items are left, swoop, down they come, and back they go with their loot. To be picked up later on that night. Also there are gangs of men that hide along the jungle paths, and are MUGGING innocent tourists as they go through the jungle.

Superb Guide to Teaching English in Japan

Paper Cranes in Japan by Carl Parkes

Keeping Pace in Japan has put together a fantastic six-part dissertation on the inside world of teaching English in Japan. All kinds of stuff you need to know, but didn't know anything about.

The Truth About AEON: Part I

I am no longer in the world of the eikaiwa. Now that I am free of such a contract, I can reveal to my readers and the world: I worked for AEON (if you didn't pick up on that already). Why didn't I mention this earlier? Well, for one, I received an official ken seki - disciplinary action and a demand for a written apology – following some of my legitimately informative blog entries regarding cultural differences in the workplace. I later changed these entries to eliminate traces of the Japanese company, and what you see is the finished product.

I can honestly say my experience in Japan and at AEON has been, for the most part, a positive experience. I came over here with a few misconceptions. My research being limited to a handful of personal blogs and backlog from the Nintendo era and bubble economy days of the 1980's, you could argue I wasn't the most knowledgeable individual.

Many people search online for information about the different ways to teach English in Japan – AEON, GEOS, ECC, NOVA, and JET. I do have some personal opinions about my experience working in the most corporate of the English-teaching companies for a year. But, I'm going to be as fair and unbiased as I possibly can (difficult at times) relating these matters to you. If you have any questions or differing opinions, or could link me to other stories that support or refute my position, feel free to add them to my comments section. I give you... the truth about AEON, in easy-to-read installments. They’ve been a long time coming. These are my experiences at one branch of an AEON school. Maybe this is the standard, maybe it isn't... still, I think this information is very beneficial for newcomers.

I freely admit that I am an arrogant individual. I am reckless, headstrong, and I often act before I think. I am the “American-minded” employee many Japanese companies fear (if you believe it's an issue of nationality). That having been established, certain facts remain, based solely on my experience at my branch school and having been recruited by AEON from the states

.

More Recommended Blogs from Thailand

Brunty of Issan Style has put together his own list of favorite blogs and websites from Thailand, and it's a useful resource I intend to explore when time permit. He's not much interested in those political blogs (thank God), but gravitates towards personal blogs from expats living in the Kingdom, along with a handful of Thais.

Well I started something the other day that I thought would take a few hours. Four days later I have finished what I started. I was a little naïve thinking that I could accomplish the task in such a short time, but I have always been over ambitious.

So what did I start four days ago? I decided to look at Thailand’s bloggers. There was a list called Top 100 Blogs compiled by Matt Crook who has a blog called The Lost Boy. Matt has blogged from Bangkok and Phuket and now has moved to Dili, East Timor. He writes on all sorts of topics but is a little obsessed with traffic and numbers to his blog. He does put in excellent pictures and reporting.

These are the blogs I picked that I enjoyed, they are up to date and have content I consider to be bloggers. I was not interested in sites that concentrated on bargirls and Thai news. These sites are the plague for me. I gave every site on the list a chance to catch my attention. I read a least 3 pages that were archived. Some blogs I did enjoy but hadn’t been updated for a while.

The funny thing was getting stuck on blogs I found entertaining and ending up spending one or two hours reading older posts. I found old blogs I had forgotten about and also discovered some new blogs.

These blogs are in no order, I just wrote as I read. I will mention my favourites at the end of the post. If there are any blog owners out there that I have left out please let me know, if you left you off my list I did for a reason. My tastes are not the tastes of the next person and only my opinion.

Anyway this is the list of the blogs I enjoyed. There are currently 154 blogs listed.

WSJ Tour of Manila Restaurants

Sinulog Cebu by Carl Parkes

This article in the WSJ is a bit dated, but for residents of Manila, you might find a few new spots to explore for decent food.

"But there's no good food there!" friends told me as I prepared for a food-focused trip to Manila more than two years ago.

In fact, as I was to discover, what the Philippines has is Southeast Asia's most misunderstood cuisine. While Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia are foodie destinations, the Philippines is often stereotyped as the home of balut (unhatched duck embryos, a popular snack) and fast-food chain Jollibee. On my trip, though, guided by recommendations from a Filipino expat friend and his local contacts, I ate spectacularly well.

And those Manila contacts quickly became friends, because Filipinos love nothing more than to introduce outsiders to their overlooked cuisine. I've returned to the city many times, just for the food.

The cuisine varies widely region to region, showing Chinese, Malay, Spanish and American influences. Over the centuries, Filipinos have combined flavors introduced by foreign traders, colonizers and occupiers with local ingredients and cooking techniques to create something unique and exciting.

Poorly prepared, uninteresting food does exist in Manila -- just as it does everywhere in Southeast Asia. But if you know what specialties to look for and where to find them, a weekend of dining in Manila can be every bit as satisfying as in any of the region's other major cities. Here's an insider's guide:

FRIDAY: DINNER

Ong-Bak 2 Trailer

Looks like a winner with fantastic fight scenes. Wise Kwai Thailand Film Journal reports on the upcoming film.

Despite a dispute over the budget that led to delays in production and a meltdown by its star and director, Tony Jaa's forthcoming magnum opus Ong-Bak 2 is nearly complete and is set for its planned release on December 4.

The Ong-Bak 2 website is live, and the trailer is playing in cinemas. The trailer makes extensive use of the show reel that wowed viewers at Cannes. I've embedded the trailer from YouTube above, but it's really best seen on the big screen. I can't describe well enough how great I think it looks.

The production's problems are again addressed in a recent article in Daily Xpress, in which Parinyaporn Pajee talked with Tony Jaa's long-time mentor, martial-arts choreographer and director Panna Rittikrai, who was brought in to get shooting back on track, and with production designer Ek Iemchuen, who built a massive, 25-million-baht Khmer palace for the movie and had a hand in writing the script. Here's an excerpt from the article:

Fake Collector Coins from China

You know those newspaper ads for collector coins such as old Liberty Head quarters and rare dollars coins long out of circulation, now at sale at bargain rates and the last of their kind? Fake. They are now manufactured in China and sold to gullible coin collectors around the world. I'd advise you to only buy coins and notes from the U.S. Mint and avoid the con artists who place ads in nearly all the major U.S. newspapers. They are crooks.

More information from The Cellar who got it from About.com.

From About.com, comes this story about Chinese factories specializing in fake coins of various nations. They make fake, uh, cough "replica" cough, bills and ancient artifacts, too, but coins are the big item.

This is a closer photo of the coin press in the previous image. Several freshly struck fake Morgan Dollars lie to the right of the machine. They look like they might even be Proof Morgans, which would almost certainly be struck on a machine that uses hand-fed coin blanks, but some of the machinery in this operation looks pretty old so maybe they're just normal Morgans after all. Whatever quality of striking they have, whether it be Proof or normal, one thing is certain: they're FAKE! Here's a close-up image of a few freshly-minted fake Morgan Dollars struck in China. I don't know if they were struck by the coin press on the previous page, or one of the several other coin presses this counterfeiting ring has, but those fake Morgans sure look to be pretty high-quality counterfeits. Of course, this counterfeiting ring will process them so that each one appears to have a different amount of wear, toning, contact marks, and other minor imperfections so that they don't all look too much alike. Some of these fake Morgan Dollars will also find their way into counterfeit PCGS and NGC slabs, but my sources tell me that most of the fakes these counterfeiters sell are sold "raw" (rather than slabbed.) This photo, provided to me by the Chinese coin counterfeiting ring, shows coins that have been put in slabs, or coin holders that have a grade on them. It's kind of amusing to see notations like "AU 55 Details - Cleaned," as if the coin is a genuine About Uncirculated 55-graded coin that has been damaged by cleaning, rather than the outright fake that it is! Unfortunately, such dissembling really fools people because I have argued many times with people who refuse to believe that counterfeiters would go to the trouble to make a fake coin and then degrade its value by damaging it. The counterfeiters know that the damage makes the coins more acceptable to many people because it allays suspicion about the authenticity of the coin in these people's minds. This photo shows one of the showrooms for the counterfeiting ring. This is a little like a store, where customers can come in and buy smaller bulk quantities of the fake coins and other items made by this operation.

John McCain Jokes Around

While I'm going to vote for Barak, I'll always have a warm place in my heart for John McCain and his great sense of humor. Here's a few clips of John showing his warm and human side, at the Letterman show and the infamous roast.







And then Barak responds with his own humor at the roast. Bottom line is that Barak is not as funny as John, but his appreciation of the works of John McCain seems genuine.

Sarah Palin and Tina Fey on SNL

Can you tell them apart? I've had some problems with videos from nbc.com, as they seem to disappear or change after a few days. I had to delete three nbc.com videos yesterday, since they no longer pointed to the correct video. Let's see how long these clips last.

And now a little history of the Tina Fey impression of Sarah Palin. Does it help or hurt Palin?



And who is the real Sarah Palin?

Is John McCain Really a Communist?

McCain for President

Here's John McCain immediately after the end of the third Presidential Debate. Do we really want this man to run our country?

John McCain as Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

How to Improve Tonight's Presidential Debate

More photoshop images here.

She's Back! La Pequena Sarah Palin

Will these Sarah Palin parodies never end? Hope not!

Amusing Videos

Nothing to do with Asia, but here's a few amusing videos I bumped into today.




Shiva from Bertrand Avril on Vimeo.


Ambiquity ~~~Draft! Please Comment from Michel Gingras on Vimeo.

Sarah Palin on a Quiz Show

Nakheel Tower, Dubai

Another over the top project in Dubai.

Nakheel Tower to become world’s tallest concrete structure

The latest design attempting to breach the dizzying heights of the Burj Dubai has been revealed as the multibillion dollar Nakheel Tower. Designed by the developments wing of major investment company Nakheel, the tower will be more than a kilometre high, covering a space of around 270 hectares, and will become home to around 55,000 people, a workplace for 45,000, and is hoped will attract millions of visitors each year.

Nakheel Tower will comprise of four individual towers within a single structure, a distinctive crescent-shaped podium encircling the base and complementing the structure’s remarkable height. The multibillion-dollar development, commissioned by Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, chairman of Dubai World, will also include 250,000 sq m of hotels and hospitality space, 100,000 sq m of retail space and huge expanses of green spaces, including canal walks, parks and landscaping. The Tower itself, cited geographically central to Dubai at the intersection of Sheikh Zayed Road and the Arabian canal, will aim to complement surrounding developments, such as Jumeirah Park and Discovery Gardens

World Architecture News

Why Do Single Guys Go to Thailand?

Any more questions?

Anthony Bourdain on Foie Gras and the American Nanny State

I happen to be a big fan of foie gras and resent government attempts to ban this delicacy.

Anthony Bourdain Talks about Foie Gras and the American Nanny State

Thailand's Top Blogs

Art by Chris Coles

Matt's List of the Top 100 Thailand Blogs lives on, and is an excellent source to discover new blogs about the Kingdom, but we all miss The Lost Boy, who now hangs in East Timor. Yeah, that's right. The guy left Phuket to live in East Timor. Go figure. Must be the Phuket mafia was out to get his ass.

Mitr Chaibancha Memorials

I just had to upload this photo for obvious reasons, and more details about this famous Thai movie star from the world's expert on Thai cinema, Wise Kwai.

On October 8, 1970, at Dongtan Beach, Jomtien, Pattaya, movie star Mitr Chaibancha was filming the final stunt for his latest film, Golden Eagle (Insee Thong).

He grabbed onto the rope ladder of a helicopter, and was borne off into the sunset, with the aircraft climbing higher and higher as the action star dangled. He lost his grip and fell to the ground.

He was 36 years old. Thailand's most iconic star, he starred in a staggering 266 movies from 1956 to 1970, many of them with his doe-eyed onscreen sweetheart Petchara Chaowarat. There's a shrine to Mitr in Jomtien.

Commemorating the 38th anniversary of the pompadoured action hero's death, Mitr will be remembered in several events in the coming weeks, with screenings of his movies and a charity concert.

The National Film Archive in Nakhon Pathom is organizing an event tomorrow at its Sri Salaya Theatre. It will also hold a series of screenings throughout the month.

Tomorrow, there will be a discussion with Mitr's co-stars, including Wassana Chalakorn and Yaowaret Nisakorn. A selection of the films in which Mitr starred, mostly with his on-screen sweetheart Petchara Chaowarat, will also be screened. Mitr’s biography, written by Inkhasak, will also be launched.

The films Nang Nok Pa and Wang Phrai will be shown. On Saturday, it'll be Om Ok Din; Rungthip on October 19 and Banthuek Rak Pimchawee on October 25.

All programs start at 1pm. For more information, call (02) 940-3855-6 ext 35 or (086) 384 5161, or see the Thai Film Foundation forum.

On November 9, there will be the "38 years of Mitr Chaibancha Charity Concert" at Siam Niramit Theatre.

Hosted by the Mitr’s Lovers Club, performers include Aranya Namwong, Umaporn Buaphueng and Surachai Sombatcharoen with his son Suthep's Junior Band. Rising star Korakan "Arm" Sutthikoset will cover "Yard Petch" from the classic musical Ngern Ngern Ngern (Money, Money, Money), which starred Mitr and Petchara.

Proceeds will benefit the National Film Archive. Tickets cost Bt2,500 at Thaiticketmajor.

Wise Kwai's Thailand Film Journal

The Pattaya Ghost News

Very funny stuff this week from The Pattaya Ghost. The photo above is Dr. Ian Corness, columnist at the Pattaya Mail newspaper, and guy behind the girl who writes the confessional column.

Turmoil in Bangkok: Oct 7, 2008

John "Walnuts" McCain Parody Clip

WALNUTS 2: NUT HARDER--starring John 'Walnuts' McCain from SalvatoreDIntern on Vimeo.

It's rather long at about 15 minutes, but this goofy parody of the John "Walnuts" McCain campaign is fascinating. Totally stupid, but fascinating.

Barak Obama and Bill Ayers

I hadn't really followed this issue, but this YouTube clip will explain most of the details.

Dusit Residence Dubai Marina

I really enjoy this building with it's postmodern treatment and variety of textures, but also appears to be a fully functional building. Of course, it's Dubai.

World Architectgure News

Sarah Attacks!

Sarah appears to have her knickers in a knack as she goes into attack mode against Obama and ties him up with some old white radical from the 1960s. Wonkette has a summary.

Palin Riles Up Racist Crowd To Kill ObamaIgnorant clown Sarah Palin is the laughing stock of the Entire World, which means her only remaining value to the McCain campaign is to yell racist crap at mouth-breathing old wingnuts, in white Florida suburbs, so that at least those people will possibly remember to go to the polls on November 4 … because otherwise the Negroes will make “Ebonics” be the National Anthem and require all white trash kids to listen to Hip Hop. Oh wait, too late on that last point!

The Washington Post reports on Palin yelling about the blacks, at some shithole rally in Florida:

“Now it turns out, one of his earliest supporters is a man named Bill Ayers,” Palin said.

“Boooo!” said the crowd.

“And, according to the New York Times, he was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, ‘launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol,’” she continued.

“Boooo!” the crowd repeated.

“Kill him!” proposed one man in the audience.

Honestly, will anyone be surprised if that angry dingbat Palin starts waving a Confederate Flag and demanding Obama be “sent back to Africa”?

Wonkette: Palin Riles Up the Racist Crowd to Kill Obama

Sarah Palin in Full Attack Mode

Sarah Palin has announced that the gloves have come off, and it's time to get down and dirty with Obama. This should be a good act, but can she pull it off? Rolling Stone has a look at the attack dog in lipstick.

Sarah Palin is a symbol of everything that is wrong with the modern United States. As a representative of our political system, she's a new low in reptilian villainy, the ultimate cynical masterwork of puppeteers like Karl Rove. But more than that, she is a horrifying symbol of how little we ask for in return for the total surrender of our political power. Not only is Sarah Palin a fraud, she's the tawdriest, most half-assed fraud imaginable, 20 floors below the lowest common denominator, a character too dumb even for daytime TV — and this country is going to eat her up, cheering her every step of the way. All because most Americans no longer have the energy to do anything but lie back and allow ourselves to be jacked off by the calculating thieves who run this grasping consumer paradise we call a nation.

Rolling Stone Article on Mad Dog Palin

Rolling Stone Article on John McCain

Not the most complimetary article on John McCain. The Rolling Stone Video on the Five Myths about John McCain is worth a look.

On the grounds between the two brick colleges, the chitchat between the scion of four-star admirals and the son of a prizefighter turns to their academic travels; both colleges sponsor a trip abroad for young officers to network with military and political leaders in a distant corner of the globe.

"I'm going to the Middle East," Dramesi says. "Turkey, Kuwait, Lebanon, Iran."

"Why are you going to the Middle East?" McCain asks, dismissively.

"It's a place we're probably going to have some problems," Dramesi says.

"Why? Where are you going to, John?"

"Oh, I'm going to Rio."

"What the hell are you going to Rio for?"

McCain, a married father of three, shrugs.

"I got a better chance of getting laid."

Dramesi, who went on to serve as chief war planner for U.S. Air Forces in Europe and commander of a wing of the Strategic Air Command, was not surprised. "McCain says his life changed while he was in Vietnam, and he is now a different man," Dramesi says today. "But he's still the undisciplined, spoiled brat that he was when he went in."

Rolling Stone Article on John McCain, the Make-Believe Maverick

Four Great Political Clips

The Don't Vote video:



Singing for Obama: The Pyongyang Remix:



Who Do You Hate 08?



Stop Outsourcing American Political Messages:

Sarah Palin as the National Joke

Sarah Palin is quickly becoming the national joke.

It's pretty cool how Sarah Palin is becoming a national joke. For example, 'Tales from the Cryp't gets a Sarah Palin Cover.

Tales From the Crypt's issue #8, shipping later this month, is a slightly more complex (if not obvious) example, depicting Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin wielding a hockey stick at EC Comics' iconic horror narrators the Crypt Keeper, the Old Witch and the Vault-Keeper, while she asks: "Didn't we get rid of you guys in the 1950s?"

And, by golly, even sports writers are getting in on the fun: Closing Time.

The Red Sox, of course, can extended that streak to seven tonight at Fenway Park by sweeping the Los Angeles Angels, who at the moment look more overmatched than Sarah Palin in a ninth-grade civics course.

Has anyone analyzed the Palin jokes? You betcha!

"There are certain people who once they become joke topics, they are forever joke topics," said Robert Lichter, president of the Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University. According to Mr. Lichter, since Mr. McCain picked Ms. Palin to be his running mate on Aug. 29 until the debate, Mr. Leno and Mr. Letterman made her the butt of 180 jokes - or more than the other three principals on the two tickets combined in that period (16 jokes for Mr. Biden; 26 for Mr. Obama; and 106 for Mr. McCain). About a third of the Palin jokes came in the three days preceding the debate as damage grew from the Couric interview.

(Thanks to Michelle Malkin for the first two links)

The J-Walk Blog

Phuket Vegetarian Festival Photos

Some very strange and disturbing photos from the annual vegetarian festival in Phuket. This one takes the cake.

Jamie Monk's Photos of Phuket Vegetarian Festival

Amazing Race to Visit Cambodia

Amazing Race scheduled to visit Cambodia. Cool. I assume at some point they will be running around Angkor Wat looking for clues.

E Online with info on Amazing Race Route

Sam Bo the Elephant King of Phnom Penh

Alison in Cambodia has a very special friend: an elephant named Sam Bo who wanders around Phnom Penh with her mahout, seeking out some foodie tidbits and offering rides to curious onlookers. Looks like fun, and check out the tire booties!

Sam Bo the elephant is one of my favorite parts of living in Phnom Penh (in case that isn’t already obvious). My enthusiasm has spread to my parents who were excited to meet Sam Bo while they were here. We started by meeting her on her daily walk home at one of my favorite spots in PP- La Croisette. Every day after she finishes work at Wat Phnom (around 4 pm) she makes her way down the riverside and stops at La Croisette for a bite to eat. We happily fed her a big tray of fruit….

There is a great story about Sam Bo that was in the Christian Science Monitor in April. You can read it here.

If you are on facebook join our group: The International Friends of Sam Bo.

Alison in Cambodia

John McCain is a Nutcase

I really must shake my head at the hateful and vengeful character of John McCain.

I commented on the tragic consequences of the nuclear attacks on Japan during WWII -- but no, he was not to be dissuaded. He went on to say that if it was up to him he would have dropped many more nuclear bombs on Japan. I rapidly extricated myself from this conversation as I could tell that his experience being tortured as a POW didn't seem to have mellowed out his perspective, but rather had made him more aggressive and vengeful towards the world. My final encounter with McCain was on the morning that he was leaving Turtle Island.

John McCain in Vietnam War

Love Now

Superb six minute video on the meaning of life: finding more love.

Pop Reincarnation in Thailand

For six bucks, I'd give this a shot. Plus, it looks like great fun!

Pop Reincarnation in Thailand

Demonic Ad from Hong Kong

What the hell is this? Well, it's an advertisement for the Halloween party at Ocean Park in Hong Kong. I think I'll stick to Wanchai.

Mao's Plane for Sale

Having a difficult time coming up with the perfect Christmas gift? Why not pick up Mao's old plane for about $1M? I'm not sure if the plane still flies, but it was a favorite of Mao's last wife, leader of the Gang of Four.

Bids are being taken for the personal jet of Mao Zedong, the late Chinese leader, as its owner wants it removed from outside the shopping mall where it is on display, to make room for more car park spaces.

“The decision to sell it is just normal. Our company is developing and we really need the square where the plane is parked,” said Wang Zhilei, general manager of Ridong Group in Zhuhai, the Chinese city that abuts the gambling enclave of Macao.

The aircraft is wrapped in furniture advertising and now also carries a large red “For sale” poster, with Mr Wang’s mobile phone number for inquiries. “We receive many calls every day. And we are in talks with some serious parties,” Mr Wang said.

He declined to say how much the company hoped to gain from the sale but referred to internet speculation of Rmb8m ($1.2m, €847,000, £659,000). Ridong, a property developer, bought the Trident, a 46-metre jet designed for short-haul passenger traffic, from Beijing in 1999, hoping to attract shoppers to its suburban shopping centre.

The aircraft, which was used mainly by Jiang Qing, Mao’s last wife and the head of the Gang of Four radicals who led the cultural revolution in its latter stages, was manufactured in Britain and imported from Pakistan with two others in 1969.

One was used by the Military Commission and State Council, one by Mao and the third by Lin Biao, Mao’s designated successor and comrade-in-arms. Lin’s aircraft crashed in 1971 in Mongolia while he tried to flee to the Soviet Union. The other two aircraft were not retired until 1986.

Though it was Jiang Qing, who mainly used the plane, it did bring good luck and prosperity to the company. As the shopping mall attracted more customers,, complaints began from clients about the inconvenience the aircraft brought, prompting the sale.

Financial Times

The Coming Environmental Disaster in Bali

More bad environmental news coming from Bali.

In Bali's bars, beaches and shops, locals welcome the revitalisation of the tourism trade, which provides the island with 80% of its income, but newly elected Governor I Made Mangku Pastika, the softly spoken former police chief known to Australians for capturing the Bali bombers, is watching the influx with alarm.

He sees another time-bomb ticking, an environmental catastrophe set to overwhelm the holiday paradise. Development is denuding Bali's forests and literally sucking the island dry, Pastika warns.

"We are very concerned about the environmental problems in Bali, because our forests now are only 22% of the whole area in Bali - according to our laws there should be at least 30% - and of this 22% only 59% is in good condition and can function as a real forest."

Demand for wood was three times what legal logging could supply, so that even young trees are cut down, eating into the remaining forest, Pastika says.

"The next problem this creates is water. Now from 400 rivers there are 260 dry. We have 140 left, but they are in the process of drying."

Bali's environmental balance is under threat, he says. "First we have to talk about the environment; that is the most important thing. This is the relationship of our life. First is water, forests needs water, water needs forests. Water is the source of life.

"Water levels are decreasing. People are exploiting water, taking deep water. There is a massive exploitation of our underground water by hotels and big companies like Coca-Cola. The process of drying is destroying our environment."

It is not just water. The levels of vehicles and waste are critically high, Pastika says, exacerbated by the rampant pace of tourism development.

"I think it's a very critical issue, because people want to come to Bali to enjoy the paradise. Paradise means good weather, good environment, good food, good beaches, good rivers. But frankly speaking, I am worried if we cannot slow down this rapid and massive destruction."

For years Bali aficionados have warned that tourism could overwhelm both the island and its culture. Pastika believes the tipping point is at hand, and he is not alone.

In his sprawling villa complex cascading down a luscious green gorge on Ubud's outskirts - its tranquil beauty has drawn Mick Jagger and Kylie Minogue - sits renowned local designer Amir Rabik. "Everybody sees the danger but no one is doing anything about it," he says.

The big issues are water, power and garbage and "the great danger is developers, now many international developers, are here". Bali needs clean water, better infrastructure, waste management and an enforceable building code, Rabik says.

The Bounty of Bali Abused

A Message from Sarah Palin

I'll get off this Sarah obsession someday, but for the time being, this is the best stuff on the net.

Train Runs Through Samut Songkram Market

Samut Songkram is a small town about an hour south of Bangkok, where the local market operates directly on the train tracks. Several times a day, the train passes through the market, which disassembles, waits for the train to pass, then immediately sets back up and resumes business. Someday, I gotta see this.

Jay Leno on the Biden-Palin Debate

Sarah Winks at America

Conan Obrien, Ralf Nader, and Triumph the Insult Dog

NBC television hasn't quite figured out this internet thingie yet, but if you click below you'll find an hilarious clip from the late night program hosted by Conan Obrien with a very stupid and very funny look at the ridiculous Triumph the Insult Comic Dog talking and insulting and equal insane president candidate Rolf Nader, who seems to only have the ability to find coverage on comedy shows. And so where is Matt Gonzales?

Conan O'Brien Clip with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog

Sarah Palin on Intellectual Pursuits

It's an easy answer, Sarah. First, you read all the local publications in Alaska such as the Anchorage Times and other local papers. Then you read the important American newspapers such as the NYT and Washington Post, plus internet feeds from Chicago Tribune and LA Times. Your magazines are the New Yorker, Conde Nast, perhaps New Republic. It's not difficult, girl. Just answer the question, and quit being either dumb or evasive. Your choice.

Sarah Silverman Video on Obama Campaign

I was raised as a Mormon, but I haven't noticed the Mormon church doing any video political ads supporting Obama like this. I think Sarah is single since she broke up with Jimmy Kimmel. And happy Rosh Hannah to the Jews reading this blog. Did I get that right?

Sarah Palin vs Joe Biden Slugfest Tonight

Great. The great VP debate starts tonight at 6pm here in San Francisco, and here's a game I intend to play.

Enough with the high-concept drinking games, the fancy prose, and the unrealistic situations — that you are drinking “with friends,” for example. By this time next year, you might be sharing a storage space with your entire extended family, so let’s go ahead and enjoy the luxury of drinking alone and yelling at the teevee, one more time together. Also, we are all poor now, so the beverages will be dramatically simplified. Cheap beer, box wine and a plastic gallon jug of “Vodka City.”

And why not start tonight’s drinking game by drinking during the day? What else does anybody have going on, anyway? Plus, we’ll all be jobless by Christmas, and jesus h. christ won’t that be depressing. So have a few cocktails at lunch — charge ‘em to the work card, if you’ve got such a thing. It’s not like your employer is going to pay the balance or anything, ever.

Also, learn from The Past. In the tough days of old, when Americans had to drink “bathtub gin” made out of urine and battery acid, they knew the importance of preparing your innards for liquid assault. This is why they would try to set up a good “meat base” by eating an entire meatloaf or some Sloppy Joes or whatever poor people eat instead of organic dry-aged Kobe beef. You can go to one of those “Hometown Buffet” places and just stuff your pockets with sausage-product patties or something. And then RUN because it’s not like they aren’t expecting the poor to be stuffing their pockets at a place called “Hometown Buffet,” next to the bakery thrift store and the Salvadoran evangelical church and the dubious dental office that advertises all the welfare plans it accepts, on its signage. (What was that shitty storefront church before, anyway? A Target? A Safeway? Impossible to tell, now.)

Tonight’s debate is, like America’s future, all about Reduced Expectations. If Sarah Palin manages to remember what office she’s running for, she will have “managed expectations.” If Joe Biden manages to make it through the night without calling Gwen Ifill a “gorgeous negress,” he will have beaten his debilitating gaffe addiction. But what about the other 90 minutes of bullshit? Let’s make it fun — or hazy, at least — by taking a drink off your wine or beer when the following occurs:

PALIN evades a question by mentioning state rights.
BIDEN says he takes the train home every day.
PALIN fills time by listing all her kids, by their ridiculous names.
BIDEN talks about Scranton.
PALIN blames Iraq for 9/11.
BIDEN blames McCain for 9/11.
PALIN says “like” as a White Trash discourse particle or interjection.
BIDEN audibly laughs at Palin.
PALIN stares blankly when she can’t answer a question.
BIDEN makes a sarcastic joke that goes right over Palin’s head, along with about half the viewers.
PALIN says anything comically retarded about Russia or Canada.
LIGHTNING BONUS ROUND:

The following situations call for One (1) Shot of Liquor:

PALIN doesn’t know what FDIC or SEC stand for.
BIDEN admits to plagiarizing the Constitution.
PALIN admits to dealing meth.
BIDEN references Palin’s stump speech insult — where she claims she’s been hearing about Biden’s Senate speeches since she was in second grade — by saying there’s no evidence Sarah Palin ever made it second grade.
GWEN IFILL asks Sarah Palin about incestuous rape.
PALIN insults Biden for having hair plugs.
BIDEN calls her “another tanning booth whore, and I’ve know a few.”
PALIN says “lipstick” in any context.
Finally: Three shots and throw the glass at the teevee if:

BIDEN calls her a “hockey pig.”
PALIN pulls off her pantsuit to reveal a confederate-flag one-piece bathing suit, and she looks fat, and the audience boos

.

Sarah Palin Says that 15-year old girls Raped by their Fathers cannot have Abortions

This women has no concern for women's rights, and now we know that she has no concern for the rights of young girls. And she might be president someday?

Short Video on Japan

Soothing Glimpses of Tokyo from Sugoi on Vimeo.
I took all the photographs above. Ursi's Blog provided me with the short but very moving link to the video.

Light Photography and Sculpture from Germany

Light Photography with Techno Disco from Germany
Thank you Ursi's Blog. Love your posts!

Jellyfish

I Had a Dream I was a Jellyfish Floating Through Space :P from mike ambs on Vimeo.

Palin Video Clip

Another short but highly humorous video clip about moose hunting from airplances, and perhaps VP, Sarah Palin.

Sarah Palin Goes to College

Sounds like Sarah Palin had a fine time during her days in college, bouncing around Hawaii before returning to school in Idaho. Who cares? I went to four different schools to finally get totally useless BA in Economics from UC Santa Barbara, and I've always thought that college should be a riot of fun along with some academic exercises.

The Slate article below includes plenty of links to Palin stories, if you've got an afternoon to avoid work.

Sarah Palin's performance in her CBS News interviews has been so poor that one can't avoid speculating about the depth of her ignorance. As I noted earlier, the Republican vice-presidential nominee can't be faulted for fumbling Charlie Gibson's pompous question about the Bush Doctrine in her ABC News interview, because there's no consensus about what the "Bush Doctrine" even is. (Click here and here to read essays by Charles Krauthammer that provide two contradictory definitions—neither of them Gibson's.) But Palin's befuddled nonanswers to Katie Couric's questions (click here, here, here, here, and here) raise too many questions. Was she really unsure about the meaning or proper pronunciation of the word caricature? Had she truly failed to notice that John McCain jumped down Barack Obama's throat when Obama publicly proposed attacking al-Qaida in Pakistan's ungoverned tribal regions? Why couldn't she name a single newspaper or magazine that she read on a regular basis before being tapped for the national ticket? Why couldn't she name a single Supreme Court decision she disagreed with apart from Roe v. Wade?* In an earlier (2007) interview with Charlie Rose on PBS, why did Palin, after mentioning C.S. Lewis ("very, very deep") as a favorite author, go on to cite George Sheehan, a onetime columnist for Runner's World? You can shrug off any one of these questions as unfair, but together they merge into one rude but necessary query: What does Palin know (besides, that is, how to play basketball and the flute)?

Tangible evidence of whatever data populate Palin's cranium is hard to find. In Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down, Kaylene Johnson reports that Palin started devouring newspapers while still in elementary school. "She read the paper from the very top left hand corner to the bottom right corner to the very last page," Palin's sister Molly tells Johnson. "She didn't just read it—she knew every word she had read and analyzed it." What stories in particular? Johnson doesn't offer any examples. We learn, too, that a junior-high schoolmate who was a year ahead often sought Palin's assistance in writing book reports. "She was such a bookworm," this Palin friend tells Johnson. "Whenever I was assigned to read a book, she'd already read it." Such as? Again, Johnson doesn't say.

The American Election

Sorry for the light blogging, but I've been thinking more of the amazing election cycle we are now having in the States.

I've always admired the public image posted by McCain, but his choice of Palin is a major disaster, since I disagree with almost all of her statements on abortion, god in the classroom, gay rights, creationism. Sarah Palin is a right wing nutcase, who could most possibly be the next president if McCain dies in office.

This is beyond belief.

An extreme right wing Christian in the White House? We've been doing this shit for 20 years, and I've had enough.

If anything else, vote no for McCain if only to keep Palin out of the executive office.

China -- Obey Your Teacher

David Letterman on George Bush