2009 Weird News Roundup

Less than 30 minutes on the net, and here's the strange and weird stuff I found. The Gawker list of best 2009 videos is worth checking out.



Digg Weirdest Stories of 2009

Boston Globe Big Picture 2009 (Part 1)

Buzz Feed Top Hilarious Headlines of 2009

Buzz Feed Top Screwy Political Protest Signs of 2009

Funniest Sports Photos of 2009



If you only have time to watch 1 video on this post, click the one below about the year in review according to Google Wave.



This is what happens to what's left of your mind when you watch too much Gawker TV. It ain't pretty.



All the Gawker selections, individual, to view before you are taken off to the insane asylum.

Once again, Gawker TV Top 100 for 2009. You have been warned.

RAPID CITY, S.D. — South Dakota authorities say a woman found passed out in a stolen delivery van earlier this month registered a blood alcohol content of .708 — nearly nine times the legal limit and a possible record for the state.

Meade County State’s Attorney Jesse Sondreal said Wednesday that 45-year-old Marguerite Engle was found slumped over the van’s steering wheel along a highway on Dec. 1.

He says the highest blood alcohol content state chemists he spoke with could recall was a .56. The state’s legal limit is .08.

Authorities say Engle missed an initial court hearing Dec. 15, but that they found her Monday in another stolen vehicle, and that she had been drinking.

She was being held on two counts of driving under the influence. It wasn’t immediately clear if she was facing other charges.

Her attorney declined comment.

Why guys don't understand "chicks."



Rick Warren, American Christian Radical Fundamentalist, Needs Your Money to Save His Ass.

Evangelical pastor Rick Warren is begging parishioners at his Southern California megachurch to cough up $900,000 before Jan. 1 to keep the parish out of the red. In an urgent letter posted on the Saddleback Church Web site on Wednesday, Warren says expenses are up because parishioners are out of work and ''the bottom dropped out'' when year-end donations dropped dramatically.

He asks parishioners to donate before the new year to keep the Orange County church out of debt. A spokeswoman for Warren said the church does not release financial details, so it's difficult to put the $900,000 shortfall in context.

Photoshop Blunder: The Ghost Ship with No Reflection. Back to school for this Photoshop wizard!

China's Best Sex Scandals of Years Near

Shanghaiist posts a list of the top 6 sex scandal stories of 2005-2009, including the usual suspects such as Zhang Ziyi and Edison. Nothing to match what goes on here in the U.S. on a daily basis, but not bad for an emerging country. Just imagine what would happen if they had open internet, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and all the other social networking sites.

3. Zhang Ziyi and her butt-sniffing fiance

This was the first sex scandal to hit China in the year 2009 but there is technically no "sex" in it, just lots of butt-sniffing. In January, 81 pictures were released by a paparazzi photographer from X71online.com of Zhang Ziyi and her Israeli multimillionaire boyfriend Vivi Nevo canoodling on St Barth's island in the French Caribbean.

Since then, Zhang hasn't had that much of a great year. Latest rumours have it that she's involved in a dispute with a businesswoman friend who now claims she's cheated her of 200 million yuan. Her wedding plans with Nevo have also been called off and he's been seen with other women. Despite all this, Zhang can rest in the knowledge that she's been immortalised on t-shirts and remains Taiwan's most googled person in the year 2009.

Best Travel Videos of 2009

Gadling and myself must have similar tastes in travel videos, since I've posted almost all of these videos on my blog over the last year. So it's a look back at the best travel videos of 2009. Enjoy! And Happy New Year.


Prague's Franz Kafka International Named World's Most Alienating Airport

Timescapes Timelapse: Mountain Light from Tom Lowe @ Timescapes on Vimeo.

Frequent Flyer from Gabriel Leigh on Vimeo.

Artificial from Paul Bryan on Vimeo.

China's 60th Anniversary national day - timelapse and slow motion - 7D and 5DmkII from Dan Chung on Vimeo.

Slate: Favorite Scenes of Professional Stuntmen in Hollywood

Slate posted an interesting article last July about the favorite stunt events of professional stuntmen in Hollywood. The Tony Jaa video is blurry, but it proves why he inherits the title from Bruce Lee. A few of the stunts linked on the Slate post aren't very good, so I didn't link them here.

Claude Lelouch's Rendezvous... from Dat on Vimeo.

Why Thai Airways First Class Sucks

The international reputation of Thai Airways continues to plunge, thanks to the latest scandal which reveals that Thai Airways executives, the Thai military, royals, and important government employees are widely given upgrades and other perks. Thinking about flying Thai Airways first class? Think again. Here's today's letter to the Bangkok Post.

Your article ''Ticket upgrade row spurs suit'' (News. Dec 28) does not surprise me in the least. Up until about 18 months ago I and my wife were regular first-class travellers (three times annually) aboard TG916/TG917 to and from London.

Minutes prior to departure of each flight I would always check the seating arrangements via the ''Check my Trip'' website and generally find there were only three or four bookings in first class for the flight. Yet on virtually every flight the cabin was fully occupied, with the ''empty'' seats being taken always by Thai people.

This led to a situation whereby there were insufficient staff to provide a half-decent service, especially to those who had booked and paid for seats in the first class section. Had there been prior notification of the cabin being full THAI might have provided the correct amount of cabin crew.

I pointed this out to THAI via e-mails on a number of occasions together with various other complaints about old aircraft, lack of comfort and, more importantly, the fact that they did not supply value for money. Not once did I receive an acknowledgement let alone a response. I don't want to be a continual ''moaner'' so I just accepted their ''couldn't give a damn'' attitude and took my business elsewhere.

Living in Phuket, we heeded the advice of other frequent travellers to London and Europe to go via Singapore and as from 18 months or so ago we have never looked back. Flying business class with airlines from Singapore to London is infinitely more comfortable, provides better service than you would ever get from THAI first class and most importantly gives value for money.

On one occasion we received an unexpected upgrade to first class and we were so spoilt that in comparison it made THAI first class look rather like another airline's premium economy. Some one time prominent person once said "THAI First Class sucks" and I couldn't agree more. It is made worse that they allow prominent and influential people to use their premium services for free (or for a 'small backhander') and it is so noticeable to the fare paying passenger that they, like ourselves, no longer fly with them. When and until the corruption and malpractice, which allegedly starts at the very top, is stamped out, THAI will never ever be a viable airline.

I await with interest the outcome of the court hearing, but somehow I doubt that it will ever get that far: more likely we will never hear about the squabble again. If it does defy the norm and ends up in court, perhaps then it might just open a small can of worms which can provide the basics for a start to stamping out the corruption which is rampant throughout the airline.

Movie Stars Without Makeup

It's amazing what a professional makeup job can do to these rather ordinary looking women.

At The Movies 2009

A three minute look a the Moviews of 2009, including almost a dozen released in just the last few weeks.

Getting Ready for New Years Eve

He survived this three bottle trick. I'm amazed he didn't immediately collapse and go into a coma. Remember kids, don't try this at home.

Music Mashup 2009

SFist has the news and more links to past mashups by the same DJ, plus a link to download all the music for your New Year's Eve Party.

Just like last year, local DJ gent Earworm has crafted a savory reduction featuring a slew of pop songs that jammed themselves into your brain in 2009, refusing to let go. This year's United State of Pop is a follow-up to last year's "United State of Pop 2008 (Viva La Pop)" and "United State of Pop" from 2007.

Sure, by themselves, some of these songs will send more than a few eyes rolling (we know you authentic aural aficionados are too real to enjoy non-ironic pop ditties), but with Earworm's beautifully crazy brain, he somehow manages to make them all come together beautifully.

He samples:

* The Black Eyed Peas - BOOM BOOM POW
* Lady Gaga - POKER FACE
* Lady Gaga Featuring Colby O’Donis - JUST DANCE
* The Black Eyed Peas - I GOTTA FEELING
* Taylor Swift - LOVE STORY
* Flo Rida - RIGHT ROUND
* Jason Mraz - I’M YOURS
* Beyonce - SINGLE LADIES (PUT A RING ON IT)
* Kanye West - HEARTLESS
* The All-American Rejects - GIVES YOU HELL
* Taylor Swift - YOU BELONG WITH ME
* T.I. Featuring Justin Timberlake - DEAD AND GONE
* The Fray - YOU FOUND ME
* Kings Of Leon - USE SOMEBODY
* Keri Hilson Featuring Kanye West & Ne-Yo - KNOCK YOU DOWN
* Jamie Foxx Featuring T-Pain - BLAME IT
* Pitbull - I KNOW YOU WANT ME (CALLE OCHO)
* T.I. Featuring Rihanna - LIVE YOUR LIFE
* Soulja Boy Tell ‘em Featuring Sammie - KISS ME THRU THE PHONE
* Jay Sean Featuring Lil Wayne - DOWN
* Miley Cyrus - THE CLIMB
* Drake - BEST I EVER HAD
* Kelly Clarkson - MY LIFE WOULD SUCK WITHOUT YOU
* Beyonce - HALO
* Katy Perry - HOT N COLD

Download the Music Here!

Bonus: United State of Pop 2008


Bonus: United State of Pop 2007

The Jib Jab Review of 2009

As usual, another hilarious video from the good folks at Jib Jab.

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

To Preah Vihear from Siem Reap

Another crazy Western journalist makes the challenging journey from Siem Reap to Preah Vihear. This time, it's The New York Times by Daniel Robinson. His descriptions of the temple itself aren't all that interesting, but great fun is had with his stories of the terrible roads, terrible hotels, and dismal cafes.

The best staging point for a visit to Preah Vihear Temple is Sra Em (also spelled Sa Em), 19 miles by road from the temple. Two years ago, it was a sleepy crossroads hamlet with a single grimy restaurant and one rundown guesthouse. These days, in the wake of the area’s military buildup, it feels like a Gold Rush boomtown, with haphazardly parked four-wheel-drives instead of tethered horses; karaoke bars sporting pink fluorescent lamps and colored lights, instead of saloons; and the gleanings of Cambodia’s recently doubled defense budget, instead of gold nuggets glinting in the stream. Armed men in camouflage uniforms abound.

Preah Vihear Temple Sra Em’s accommodation options are rudimentary, to put it politely. My room’s star amenity was a cold-water spigot for filling the plastic bucket used both to bathe and to flush, and below the cheap plastic mirror and its public access comb, dust bunnies had formed around the hair of guests past. Each time I returned to my room, I found a dead cricket, a new one every day, hinting, perhaps, at the presence of some sinister insecticide.

Preah Vihear Temple is, obviously, not quite ready for mainstream tourism. During the two days I spent at the temple in October, I saw only four other Westerners, including an unhappy German couple whose day trip from Angkor Wat had been rather more trying than expected, and perhaps 50 or so Cambodian tourists. But intrepid travelers who brave the diabolical (though improving) roads, substandard accommodations and alarming government travel advisories are richly rewarded.

For 40 generations, Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims have trekked to this temple, seeking to ascend toward the holy and the transcendent. Today, the awe-inspiring nature of this Angkorian masterpiece, accentuated by the challenges of getting there, confer on every trip the aura of a pilgrimage.

NAIL-BITING TAXI TRIPS AND A VOLCANO AT YOUR TABLE

GETTING THERE

With the visa-free crossing from Thailand closed for the foreseeable future, getting to Preah Vihear Temple requires battling Cambodia’s famously potholed roads, which are at their worst during the wet season (about June to October).

Share-taxis, which have no set schedule and depart when full, link Sra Em with Siem Reap via the former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Anlong Veng ($7.50 a person; 130 miles; three hours) and with the provincial capital of Tbeng Meanchey ($6.50; 65 miles; two hours). The U.S. dollar is widely accepted.

The taxis, usually “jacked-up” Toyota Camrys, carry six or seven passengers in addition to the driver, so if you want the front seat to yourself you’ll have to pay two fares. Ante up six times the single fare and you’ve got yourself a private taxi.

From Sra Em, a ride to Kor Muy on the back of a motorbike will run about $3.75. Then the three-mile ride up the mountain to Preah Vihear Temple, on a concrete road whose gradients will impress even San Franciscans, is $5 by motorbike or $20 to $25 by four-wheel-drive pickup.

WHERE TO STAY

Glassless windows, sinkless bathrooms, towels with the absorptive capacity of a plastic bag, fans that run only when a generator is sputtering outside your window (usually from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.) and laissez-faire housekeeping are, alas, the norm in Sra Em’s guesthouses. I should have stayed at the 25-room Tuol Monysophon (855-99-620-757), which opened this year. A brown, barn-like structure topped with a red tile roof, it has basic rooms downstairs with private baths, mosquito nets and wood-plank floors, for $10; smaller upstairs rooms with shared facilities are $7.50. To get there from the triangular crossroads, head west (toward Anlong Veng) for 500 yards.

WHERE TO EAT

The Preah Vihear area’s best restaurant, hands down, is Sra Em’s Pkay Prek Restaurant (855-12-636-617), an unpretentious complex of open-air, fluorescent-lit pavilions with plenty of geckos. The specialty is phnom pleoung (hill of fire; $3.75), a meat and veggie feast you grill yourself at your table on an aluminum “volcano” suspended above glowing coals.

Thailand Forces Hmong Back to Laos

The Thai government under the unelected leadership of Khun Abhisit has now sent in the army and forced the economic and political Hmong refugees into trucks, and sent them on their merry way back to Laos, where they will face the full wrath and fury of the communist regime. Heartless. Cruel. Senseless. The New York Times has the details on this very sad episode in Thai history.

Armed with riot shields and batons, Thai military officers began early on Monday to forcibly return 4,000 Hmong asylum seekers to Laos in a lingering echo of the Vietnam War.

A government spokesman, Panitan Wattanayagorn, said in a telephone interview that the repatriation had started and would be completed within days.

Members of a mountain tribe that aided the United States in its secret war in Laos, the asylum seekers have said they fear retribution by the Laotian government, which continues to battle a ragged insurgency of several hundred Hmong fighters.

Thailand moved ahead with the repatriation despite complaints from the United States, the United Nations, and human rights and aid groups. It was doing so although it has determined that some asylum seekers were eligible for refugee status, human rights groups said.

“This forced repatriation would place the refugees in serious danger of persecution at the hands of the Lao authorities, who to this day have not forgiven the Hmong for being dedicated allies of the United States during the Vietnam War,” Joel R. Charny, acting president of Refugees International, an advocacy group in Washington, said in a statement.

Close to 5,000 troops and security officers entered the Hmong camp at 5:30 a.m. and opened the operation by rounding up “potential troublemakers,” said Sunai Pasuk, the Thailand representative of Human Rights Watch. Reporters were not allowed inside, but there were no reports of resistance.

They were to be processed at a military headquarters, then bused across the Mekong River into Laos.

In advance of the eviction, the military removed residents’ mobile telephones and halted medical services and food provided by aid groups, apparently “to physically and mentally break their resistance to their deportation,” Mr. Sunai said.

“Such coercive, intimidating and brutal measures are clearly the opposite of the concept of ‘voluntary repatriation,’ ” he said.

The remote Hmong encampment in Phetchabun Province, about 200 miles north of Bangkok, is a remnant of an Indochinese refugee population that once numbered 1.5 million. That included boat people from Vietnam, survivors of the brutal Khmer Rouge government in Cambodia and hundreds of thousands of Hmong who crossed the Mekong River from Laos.

Since the war ended in 1975, the United States has processed and accepted about 150,000 Hmong refugees in Thailand for resettlement in the United States. But in the past three years Thailand has not allowed foreign governments or international agencies to interview the Hmong.

Refugee experts say the camp residents are a mix of refugees who fear persecution and economic migrants who have left Laos over the past few years. They have included dozens who display what appear to be battle scars, as well as some older refugees who fought on the American side during the war.

A separate group of 158 asylum seekers has been interviewed by the United Nations, which has labeled them “people of concern” who could face persecution if returned. But the Thai government says these asylum seekers will be forcibly repatriated eventually.

Photos of Papua New Guinea by Carl Parkes

OK, I'm a bit bored. So here are some photos I took in Papua New Guinea a few years on an expedition sponsored by various NG travel and tour groups, and accompanied by my then girlfriend from Mill Valley. Interesting, to say the least, both the dynamics of my girlfriend and the dire situation in PNG. Cars burning off the highway, shoeless porters in the best hotel in Port Moresby, the lights don't work, widespread rioting in the dark night below, walled homes of expats covered with barbed wire, natives out on Sundays enmass to kill their neighbors. Well.

Thai Alcohol Laws

I swear, Thailand is completely and utterly schizophrenic when it comes to its laws about booze, drugs and prostitution. All are there in abundant quantities, yet hypocritical legislators are always trying to appear holier than thou, while making money off the vices and passing insane laws against these same vices. It happens in America, but Thailand is surely the most glaring example of false and fake faces I have ever seen. And face is paramount in the Land of Smiles.

Absolute Bangkok reports on the crap and current state of affairs.

As we all know, being a wine lover in Thailand is an elitist thing. Imports being taxed over 200%, because wine lovers are considered to be snobs and can therefore afford any price. An average bottle sets you back at least the double of the price you pay in the West. Or even in Vietnam or Cambodia for that, former colonies still honoring their former master’s way of life.

Some good news for a change. There’s a fierce price war between local alcohol producers and importers looming. Prices could fall, partially at least. Starting 2010 the Asean Free Trade Area Afta will be fully established. Afta reduces and – for some products – entirely drops import taxes. Darn free trade and globalization. Meaning imported alcohol will also be cheaper. Import duty on alcoholic beverages is cut down to zero, nullifying the customs tariff.

That doesn’t go down well with our purists who not only pushed for laws that reinterpret what a beer calendar can look like. The radicals of Chamlong Srimuang’s Santi Asoke sect successfully prevented legal Thai companies producing legal alcoholic products from listing on the Thai stock exchange. Perfectly consistent with his yellow insurrection against Thai democracy. But change is in the air:

Imported alcohol will be cheaper, which will add to the social problems associated with alcohol in this beautiful kingdom, a TAN report tells us. Truth being, alcoholism has always been a dire problem around here. But neither social purity campaigns nor a prohibition solve that problem, and don’t you love the blurred bottle of whiskey or beer in TV … Hardly a drinker decides to become a drinker. He’s made a drinker.

Now fact is that imported alcohol will become more affordable beginning 2010. Expect a wider selection of beers and stronger stuff. I may be able to afford a better bottle of wine once in a while – and Thailand will descend into more chaos because this generation loves alcohol and drunkards will be the leaders of tomorrow. Or not.

We learn that the average consumption of a Thai is 8.47 liters of alcohol per year. That’s the 40th place out of 143 countries worldwide. The world’s average consumption? 6.2 liters per annum. According to the National Public Health Foundation Thaialnd is already losing 250 billion baht a year due to alcohol-related health issues. The foundation expects an increase of 16% per year because of cheaper foreign booze about to flood the Thai market.

As with cigarette packs, do we need pictures of drunk driving victims on a bottle of Johnnie Walker? A leading cause of death in Thailand are traffic accidents, half of them are caused by drunk drivers. It’s always a failure of society as a whole when the majority has to pay for the irresponsibility of the minority.

A torn up corpse on a nice bottle of Malbec won’t prevent me from enjoying that fine wine. True that a graphic measure may stop a drunk driver or two from departing for that last fatal trip. But I doubt that I drank a single can less beer just because Thai authorities don’t allow me to buy alcohol in the morning and the afternoon. Once I was really thirsty I just bought 31 cans. That’s over ten liters, and the Kafkaesque law allows anyone to buy alcohol anytime as long as it’s over ten liters …

Ah, maybe no alcohol bottles in New Year’s gift baskets will solve the nation’s alcoholism and related problems. The dear people are reminded that giving alcohol as a gift is the same as cursing someone …

So when Afta comes into effect, you better be ready. Party hard this New Year’s Eve. Use up what’s left in your fridge. 2010’s the year to restock.

While the internal excise tax will be raised to make all booze more expensive again. In order to protect domestic producers and the population (from) itself.

Goodbye Detriot. Hello China

It's over. China Car Times

Five Years: The Boxing Day Tsunami

Thailand to Deport Hmong Back to Laos

This is disgraceful and shocking and so unBuddhalike that words fail me. The Thai government has announced that 5000 ethnic Lao Hmong refugees in the country will immediately be herded up and put and buses and sent across the "Friendship" Bridge back to Laos and possible imprisonment and execution by the communist monsters who rule Southeast Asia's most isolated and only landlocked country.

Got that? The Thai government howls in righteous indignation when Cambodia decides to sent 20 Uiguars (WEE gurs) back to China in exchange for a loan of US$1B. Then they turn around and almost immediately announce the deportation of Hmong refugees back to Laos. Did the Thai government get money for this betrayal?

Who cares if these people are either political or economic refugees?

And quit trying to blame the United Nations and United States for this scandalous situation. The U.S. has taken in tens of thousands of Hmong refugees, both political and economic.

Thailand under the political rule of the so-called "Democratic Party" is shameful and should immediately stop this horrible extradition.

Bangkok Post reports neutrally on this horrible situation.

In the face of international condemnation, the government will start an operation to clear a refugee camp in Phetchabun and repatriate more than 4,000 ethnic Hmong to Laos this evening.

More than 100 buses and trucks will be used to deport the ethnic Hmong to Laos, said a security source involved in the operation.

The government will press ahead with the forced deportation, despite opposition from the United States, the United Nations and human rights groups. The government has insisted the repatriation plan will be carried out humanely. Security authorities said the deportation of the ethnic Hmong is going according to plan and the people held at the Huay Nam Khao camp in Khao Kho district of Phetchabun will be moved according to schedule.

"More than 100 trucks and buses will take the Hmong from the camp to Laos on Monday morning. The first moves to clear the camp will occur on Sunday evening," a source said. Hundreds of security officers wearing bullet-proof vests have been assigned to secure the camp since yesterday. Mobile phone signals have been jammed to prevent the Hmong from contacting outsiders.

Third Army chief Thanongsak Apirakyothin yesterday visited the camp to inspect preparations to deport the Hmong. He said he was satisfied with the preparations. The Hmong will be taken to Nong Khai and be driven across the Friendship Bridge into Laos.

Democrat Party spokesman Buranaj Smutharaks said the government's decision to repatriate the Hmong was based on human rights principles and international cooperation agreements and added that the government did not intend to prevent the Hmong from travelling to other countries. "If any third-party countries agreed to receive these migrants, we would have no need to do this," he said.

Villagers at Huay Nam Khao were pleased that the camp would be closed. They said the existence of the camp has slowed development in the village and made it difficult to make a living.

The US has asked the government to delay the deportation, but has refused to agree to a large-scale resettlement for the Hmong. A spokesperson from the US embassy in Bangkok said the US had expressed its concern about the forced deportation, as it would involve the involuntary return of people whom both the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the Thai government have identified as having concerns for their protection.

"We have encouraged the government to delay plans to proceed with a large-scale repatriation," the spokesperson said. "We have also urged the government to provide greater transparency in its screening process and emphasised that those with protection concerns should not be forced back to their homeland. "The US has no plans for any large-scale resettlement of the Lao Hmong. However, we will consider referrals made on an individual basis by international organisations like the UNHCR," she said.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva earlier said Thailand's plan to deport the Hmong to Laos will not violate human rights issues. The repatriation would conform to international standards and Thailand would adhere to human rights rules. Thailand had worked closely with the Lao government on the deportation and Vientiane said it would let other countries visit the Hmong upon their return to Laos, he said.

The ethnic minority Hmong in Phetchabun are seeking political asylum, claiming they face persecution from the regime in Laos because they fought alongside US forces during the Vietnam War. But Thailand and Laos have insisted they are economic migrants.

Pimp Control of Russian Prostitutes at Grace Hotel

I don't have any problem with freelance working girls who ply their trade without the help of pimps or gang members who demand monthly payments for "protection." A woman owns her body, and if she wants to rent it out to pay the bills, I think that is her privilege and responsibility.

The one thing I hate are the pimps, mobsters, police officers, and political types who suck into the prostitution racket to thicken their wallets by exploiting the freelance workers of Patpong, Nana and Cowboy.

A new breed is working on the foreign prostitutes (mostly Russian, Uzbekistan, Kazakstan) who operate off Sukumvit Soi 3 near the infamous Grace Hotel. Tis a pity that the cops look the other way. Could they possibly be on the take?

Bangkok Post has yet another story on this ongoing problem.

Extortion is also a big business and an entrenched part of the trade in sleaze that is flourishing in the Sukhumvit area of Bangkok late at night. The main targets of the gangs are the many foreign prostitutes who ply their trade on the street and in the hotels around the lower end of Sukhumvit Road.

One particular gang specialising in extorting money from the foreign prostitutes is based in the discotheque of a medium-sized hotel in Soi 3. [Grace Hotel] The disco is frequented mainly by Iranian and Arab men and about 50 foreign prostitutes, mostly from Russia and Uzbekistan, who go there every night looking for customers.

This was revealed to Spectrum during a recent interview with a woman known only as Vazira, a freelance prostitute from Uzbekistan, and collaborated by her Russian friends. Several Thai prostitutes working in the area also confirmed the existence of the gang as well as other gangs.

They said most of the gang members come from Iran, Pakistan and Africa and are involved in a variety of crimes.

According to Ms Vazira, one of these gangs extorting money from the foreign prostitutes is led by a Syrian man who calls himself Basm. His accomplice and countryman Mahmood also works in the disco. The other members of his gang are from Iran and Pakistan. They target the foreign prostitutes working at the disco.

Ms Vazira said that prostitutes who have Thai pimps, who give them protection and assistance if they are arrested, are not targetted by the extortionists.

"The gang will do some background checking of a potential target before making an approach. They are very careful not to get into trouble with Thai people," Ms Vazira said before going on to describe what happened to her and many of the other girls who work at the disco and are forced to pay protection money to Basm.

"I had been going to that particular discotheque almost every night for several years and never had any problems until a few days ago when I was walking back to my apartment in Soi 5 at around 4am - after having one customer and returning to the club.

"Basm followed me, grabbed my arm outside the hotel and said: 'Hey, look at me. Sometimes when I see you in the club, I want to put you in jail,' he said in bad English. I answered: 'Why? Anyone can come to the disco. What is the problem? I don't understand you.'

"He replied: 'I want some money from you. If you refuse then you cannot work there anymore.'

"I said I don't have money to pay you. I am sending almost everything I make to my parents and children back home every morning, and he said: 'I don't care what you say, I want money.' Then I left, frightened of what will happen," Ms Vazira said.

"I told my friends about this incident and they said they also heard about Basm from other girls. They told me to pay, otherwise I wouldn't be able to work and he could cause me some trouble as well.

"The first time he didn't say how much money he wanted me to pay, but two days later he approached me again, this time at the entrance to the disco. He told me to pay him 20,000 baht every month, otherwise I couldn't enter. I would then lose my main income because I can make money there from the Iranians because I speak their language. They usually pay well and don't cause trouble. There is no other place like it in the area.

"I am sure that before Basm approached me he knew I had no pimp and I was making good money, otherwise he wouldn't ask for so much. That's why he picked on me. Maybe someone else was watching me all the time."

Ms Vazira said Basm is about 23, slim and dark. She had seen him in the disco for a couple of months, but didn't talk to him. "Sometimes when he passed by, he only said to me 'how are you', as he did with the other girls. "He is very friendly with Mr Kew, who is the Thai owner. I saw them often talking to each other. "My friend told me that Kew pays Basm a salary and rent for his apartment in Soi 1, which he shares with Mahmood. Basm usually walks back home.

"When I saw Basm the first time, I knew he is not a good person. Why did I know? I was a nurse and used to work at the police hospital in Tashkent in Uzbekistan. We treated many drug addicts there, so I know everything about them, like what the symptoms are, what they look like and how they behave.

"Basm has all the symptoms. He also drinks whiskey and tequila. My friends told me Basm is indeed a drug addict and they are all afraid of him. He is a dangerous man.

"I saw Kew sitting and drinking with four to five Thai men in his club. The Thais were not looking for girls, only drinking, and then they left. I have been coming and going here for four years, so I know they must be policemen or Thai officials. Some wore safari jackets and black boots. I see Basm talking to them some time, but not for too long.

"I am afraid of him, especially when I walk back home. Maybe someone will hit me. I would like to call the police to check his room. Maybe he has some drugs there. I told my friends about this and asked them if they know some policemen who could search his apartment for drugs."

Ms Vazira did not say if she had paid Basm or intended to pay him, but her friends have now raised fears for her safety. Her mobile has now been switched off for days and searching for her proved fruitless.

Her friends haven't seen her for many days since she spoke to Spectrum. They are worried about her.

H.P. Lovecraft Inspired Christmas Carol Videos

Christmas may be over, but I continue to find some outstanding Xmas stuff, including these 2 videos insprired by the cultist author H.P. Lovecraft. I hope you are not stoned on acid, since these tidbits will do nothing but scare the shit out of you. Enjoy!

Mt. Mayon Philippines Dec. 2009

Nothing to look at here, folks. Just keep moving on. Don't worry about that angry mountain a few miles north of town. Nothing will happen. Bahalana.

The longest word in the English language is a disease you get from inhaling volcanic ash. Break it down:

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosus

The Death of a Thai King

A bit of history about the death of a Thai King.

King of Siam Shot Dead; Brother Named as Successor

By The Associated Press
June 10, 1946

Bangkok, June 10 -- King Ananda Mahidol, 20-year-old ruler of Siam was found dead of a bullet wound yesterday in Barompinan palace, and 12 hours later the Siamese legislature named his Boston-born brother, Prince Phumiphon Aduldet, 18, as the new King.

The Siamese police director general told an emergency session of the legislature last night that the King's death was accidental and that the bullet went through the center of his forehead.

The young King, whose death occurred on the eve of a projected trip to the United States, had been indisposed for the last two days. He arose at 4 a.m. yesterday and took some medicine. Nothing was known of his actions from that time until his body was found by a servant in the bedroom about 9 a.m.

(In Bern, Paul Rey, director of the new Swiss school where the young King studied, said the monarch's retinue had been worried before Ananda's departure from Switzerland over the possibility of assassination. The director said he knew no particulars about the matter.

(Asked about reports that the King was depressed because he was unable to marry a girl fellow student, Rey said Ananda had gone with one or two girls but had not had a serious romance. The director said he could not remember the girls' names.)
The entire nation was stunned by his death. The King had gained great popularity since his return from Switzerland last December.

The legislature unanimously selected Phumiphon Aduldet as the new king, rising together to signal his election with a chanted, "cha yo cha yo cha yo"--the Siamese hurrah.

Phumiphon Aduldet was born in Boston, while his father was attending at Harvard. He was the constant companion of his older brother and attended school with him in Switzerland.

The legislature also appointed a three-man council of regency to guide the new king in matters of state. Pridi Phanomyong, who was reappointed premier only three days ago, told the legislature he would recommend a premier to the new regency, but legislative sources said there was little doubt that Pridi Phanomyong himself would receive the post.

Ananda, a great fancier of firearms, always kept a weapon near him and often practiced firing in the palace grounds. Several weeks ago a thief stole his favorite Luger automatic, and the King was greatly disturbed.

The King's young, attractive mother, Queen Mother Sri Sangwan, was prostrate with grief.

Around the palace great crowds gathered in silent sorrow as the news spread.
The youthful King, who ascended the throne eleven years ago as a boy, had been making plans to leave Bangkok this week for the United States and Europe. He had expected to fly to United States and remain there about a week before flying to Switzerland, where he planned to resume the studies he interrupted when he returned to his native land last December 5.

The queen mother and a royal party of 18 had been expected to accompany him on the trip.

Diffident, bespectacled and boyish, Ananda was often described as a reluctant monarch who found his greatest pleasure in playing his saxophone and driving his American jeep about the palace grounds.

Only a month ago King Ananda signed a new constitution for his country which provided for a Senate and a House of Representatives both elected by the people. On June 1, he opened the first wholly elected Siamese parliament.

Ananda was proclaimed King March 2, 1933 under a regency upon the abdication of his uncle King Prajadhipok, but he spent little time in his own land. Born in Germany September 20, 1925, the son of the late Prince Mahidol, he had been in the United States when he was one year old and his father was studying at Harvard. He was taken to Siam at the age of two. He studied there as a child and went to Switzerland in 1933. He was educated in Switzerland, and most of his last 12 years were spent there, except for a brief visit home in 1932. Prajadhipok died in 1941. During his minority a council of the regency ruled Siam.

Ananda's personal life in Siam was confined largely within the Palace Walls.

Ananda's attractive mother was said to have exerted a strong influence upon the young ruler of 18 million subjects. She once studied at Simmons College in Massachusetts.

The ancient absolute monarchy of Siam, which endured from 1350 to 1932, was overthrown in a bloodless revolution three years before Ananda ascended the throne, but the Siamese revered him with the same extreme veneration they always had accorded their rulers.

Recently Ananda expressed a strong desire to return to Switzerland to resume his education. At the time, the elder members of the royal family and the powerful politicians opposed him in this.

Ananda won out, however. Last Friday the government announced the King and his royal party would leave on Thursday, June 13, by plane for the United States in an Air Transport Command C-54 plane. They had planned to stop overnight in Honolulu on Friday and to arrive in San Francisco next Saturday. The schedule called for arrival in Washington June 19, when he was to see President Truman.

The King had planned to spend 13 days in Washington and New York and then to proceed to London and Switzerland. United States' diplomatic attaches in Bangkok were to have accompanied him.

Since his return to Siam from Switzerland last December the young King obediently follows the dictates of pomp and ceremony and it appeared to have increased his popularity. Where speeches were necessary he delivered them from prepared texts, in a subdued voice.

The King died at a time which may be critical in his country's history. The country has applied for membership in the United Nation, and recently has charged French incursions from Indo-China into Laos and Cambodia in areas ceded by the Vichy French government under Japanese pressure to Siam during the war. Siamese hoped to present this to the United Nations Security Council.

Siam was invaded by the Japanese on December 7, 1941, when the young King was in Switzerland.

WashingtonPost.Com Flashback: King of Siam Shot Dead

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