StoneSoup

So - there will now be a "special zone" where normal, existing laws are actually enforced - and the rest of the island, where life unfolds under what - the law of the jungle? 'Good show, Koh Tao! Cheers! SS

I am a strong supporter of Israel, and I have no negative feelings toward people of Jewish faith. However, I am deeply negative toward ALL religious fundamentalist extremists who insist on imposing 7th Century practices upon the modern people around them. Muslims are the worst, then the ultra-orthodox Haredi, then the Hassdics, then the Christian fundamentalists. They all deserve to spent eternity chained together in a box - to enjoy one anothers' company - fed only BLT sandwiches.. SS

Earn 4 billion baht, face charges of 6 months in jail, and a 4,000 baht fine, plead guilty - pay 2,000 baht, plus receive six months suspended sentence. That sort of draconian punishment will certainly deter future crime. Yeah, right. SS

Well, by definition, the "average" IQ of everyone combined should be 100. It seems unlikely that a pure intelligence measurement would result in such varying local norms. Presumably, the content of the intelligence test is biased - probably toward urban, academic, modern lifestyle. What is "intelligence"? A combination of information, knowledge, understanding, and wisdom Cheers! SS

For this outbreak, with local transmission of the disease First case - December 2013 - Guinea - Ongoing problem Next country added: - March 2014 - Liberia - Ongoing problem Next country added: - May 2014 - Sierra Leone - Ongoing problem Next country added: - July 2014 - Nigeria - "As of 16 September, the outbreak appears to have stabilized with 22 confirmed cases and eight deaths, no new cases having been confirmed for two weeks" Next country added - August 2014 - Senegal ?? - One single sick traveler from Guinea - who recovered. No further cases confirmed. Next country added - August 2014 - Democratic Republic of the Congo - Note: This outbreak is considered unrelated to the West African cases. This is the fourth time since 2007 that isolated outbreaks have occurred in this country. The following nations have "imported" individuals ill with the disease, with no reported cases of local transmission: Germany France Spain UK United States So - for the "West African" outbreak, there has been no report of expansion of locally-transmittable cases to a new country since July 2014. This is not a trivial disease, and the situation bears watching - but the problem has thus far been confined to areas with very poor standards of medical care. It certainly would be no fun to be in Guinea, Liberia, or Sierra Leone right about now. Since 1976, there have previously been 17 outbreaks of Ebola that killed people (not counting laboratory accidents with "captive" infectious agent) - and they all faded away. Cheers! SS

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/this-man-has-had-sex-with-60-prostitutes-8211-and-sydneys-ratepayers-footed-the-bill-20140920-10iwug.html Three years ago Fred Allen* was a taxi driver working 12-hour shifts to make ends meet. Today, he is a gun for hire, having received tens of thousands of dollars from Sydney's metropolitan councils in exchange for crucial evidence that is presented in court to help expose and close underground parlours. In short, Mr Allen has paid sex with prostitutes and ratepayers foot the bill. "Never in a million years would I have imagined a job like this existed, let alone me doing it," the 60-year-old said, with a hint of a smirk. "It's a strange world for sure." More at the link. Cheers! SS

Now, about that work permit (or.... "Never Say Never"): http://stuppid.com/grandfather-busted-prostituting-himself-young-women/ Grandfather Busted For Prostituting Himself… To Young Women 88-year-old grandfather, Edwin Venn, was arrested Tuesday night for prostitution, along with his "john ", Amanda Pearson, 23. Police had been watching Venn for several months and noticed a peculiar pattern. “His johns were all young women. Twenties, thirties. Most quite beautiful. Never really seen anything like this dynamic, but strange things do happen.†Mr. Venn stood most weekend nights with cardboard sign on Hollywood Blvd that read: “I’m for sale.†Pearson admitted during her arraignment that when she found the 88-year-old Venn trying to turn tricks she and her friends decided it would be funny to sleep ‘with an old guy.’ Word spread and lots of girls paid Venn for sex. Pearson said he only charged five dollars and gave them lollipops afterward. Lollipops!?! Man, what a class act! Cheers! SS

This has no particular "message" that I can discern, but it is an extraordinary piece of technical craftsmanship: http://www.etv-hella...2014-03-05.html If anyone reads Greek, I would be interested to know who the the sponsor is for this video clip. Cheers! SS

From the "be careful what you wish for department" comes this story about an American guy who obviously had too much free time on his hands: American who tore up tourist visa so he could be imprisoned 'to experience human rights abuses in North Korean prison' is sentenced to six-years hard labor in communist country Since the Daily Mail is censored in Thailand, you'll need to use a VPN service to read the article http://www.dailymail...an-6-years.html The American, who tore up his own tourist visa on landing in North Korea and demanded to be arrested so that he could experience prison life in the communist nation, has been sentenced to six years hard labor for entering the country illegally to commit espionage. Matthew Miller, 24, of Bakersfield, California, looked thin and pale at his trial in Pyongyang on Sunday, as he was handed out his sentence. Man - if they think he looks "thin and pale" now, wait until they see how he looks when he comes out of a NORTH KOREAN HARD LABOR PRISON in 2020. This is definitely one of those "WTF was he thinking?" scenarios. Cheers! SS

Late 1966. I was ten years old. My year group (born 1956) was the last one to actually be issued draft cards - but I think that last actual draft lottery was held in 1972 - the US Military went all volunteer as on January 27, 1973. Cheers! SS

At this website, you can look up US Military pay tables going back to 1949: http://www.dfas.mil/militarymembers/payentitlements/militarypaytables.html I see that as newly-commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in 1978, my monthly base pay was $844.20. I was on jump status with the 82nd Abn Div, so the additional $110 per month jump pay added another 12.4% - which was much appreciated. Military pay used to be pretty awful. Now - given the bad economy in the USA, military pay is looking reasonably attractive, as long as you are not dodging bullets, RPG's, and IED's. Cheers! SS

Well, it appears that white people ("white devils"?) are no longer welcome to even live in parts of Obama's America: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/bk-women-force-tenants-gunpoint-squat-apartment-cops-article-1.1931834 Two Brooklyn women tired of 'white people moving into the area' force tenants out at gunpoint, then squat in apartment: police Precious Parker, 30, and Sabrina James, 23, were arrested Saturday after they allegedly kicked two men and a woman out of an Ocean Ave. apartment on Thursday. Authorities say the crime was partly motivated by race and class resentment. I sure am glad that Obama (and Eric Holder) came along to help build racial harmony, and "heal the wounds" of strained race relations in America. Cheers! SS

'Time to put all the "global cooling deniers" in their places: Surprise! Glaciers appearing in Scotland Hazards common in arctic and alpine areas but described as "extremely unusual" in the UK during the summer have been found on Ben Nevis. A team of climbers and scientists investigating the mountain's North Face said snowfields remained in many gullies and upper scree slopes. On these fields, they have come across compacted, dense, ice hard snow call neve. Neve is the first stage in the formation of glaciers, the team said. The team has also encountered sheets of snow weighing hundreds of tonnes and tunnels and fissures known as bergschrunds. The large, deep cracks in the ice are found at the top of glaciers. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-28885119

OK - it is now September 5th. One week from now, the USA will be sorting through the wreckage of this year's vintage of 9-11 terrorist strikes. In his infinite wisdom, President "More Mush from the Wimp" Obama's administration has announced the removal of funding from some or all of each of the following programs: Hellfire missile Tomahawk missile A-10 Thunderbolt ("Warthog") So - my question is: where are likely to be three targets hit on 9-11-14? My guesses: Texas Colorado Virginia Oh - and Iraq and Afghanistan don't count - the "background noise" explosions would likely make it tough to accurately discern a strictly anniversary-based attack. I will be delighted if 9-11-14 is actually "kaboom-less" - I just don't think that the slavering jihadists will be able to pass up the opportunity to take cheap shots at Uncle Sam, while the feckless Obama cruises the golf links, and fist-bumps his way through various celebrity fund-raising parties. And - those three weapons systems up above? As a former Infantry officer, I have a hard time thinking of any other weapons systems that have done a better job of taking out bad guys, while minimizing risks to the good guys. WTF are they thinking, to diminish or eliminate these programs???? Cheers! SS

I stumbled across this website while doing some research for a company start-up customer. The content appears to be circa maybe 2005 to 2007. It was quite an ambitious project. http://www.bangkokin360.com/virtualtour/ You can pull down a map at upper right, and you can access selection menus for different types of venues at bottom menu bar. Interesting to be able to "walk around" inside places long closed - such as the Bulls Head, The Home Run Bar & Grill, and the Q Bar. Cheers! SS

Is that maybe a local franchise name for a "Hooters" bordello restaurant ? Cheers! SS

25 Year Ago - Wendy James

For some reason the lyrics reminded me of a lot of realationships in Bangkok: "...playin' detective,wanna' know it, too Goin' through my pockets, searchin' for clues Trying to follow me, you and the desperate crew The end of this relationship was long overdue Now what you did was cute, girl' you spent the loot Easy on the tears, oops, 'mind you'll soil the suit Do yourself a favor, and find a new recruit And don't take it personal. because you got the boot..." http://youtu.be/NTdz0zRAWEM

For anyone who might be interested in the Bitcoin phenomenon, from the standpoint of how things work in Thailand, I have launched a website to serve as a central clearinghouse for relevant information. You can find a directory listing the (very few) business in Thailand that currently accept Bitcoin at: http://www.bitcoinrealmthai.com/ You can read an accurate summary of Thai government treatment of the first fully-legal Bitcoin exchange in Thailand at http://www.bitcoinrealmthai.com/thai-government-regulation-bitcoin-trading/ If anyone is interested in learning more, there is weekly meetup of Bitcoin enthusiasts, as posted at: http://www.meetup.com/Bangkok-Satoshi-Square/ Bitcoin has three main uses: 1. As a store of value - and it continues to take periodic beatings in this regard, due to whipsaw price volatility. 2. As a means of carrying out convenient retail or on-line financial transactions - with an app on your mobile phone, you can make a payment down to 25 satang very quickly and easily, at a merchant set up to acceopt payments; in the future, it will be easy to make (or receive) on-line micropayments - of, say, 20 or 30 baht - opening up new ways of delivering paid content at a very low threshhold of entry. 3. As a method of transferring funds internationally - quickly and inexpensively. In this role, Bitccoin van be thought of as a "magic envelope". You purchase as envelope to hold a specified amount of funds in whatever currency you are using to purchase the envelope at your end. The size of the envelope is determined by the amount of money it contains. You then send the "magic envelope" off to its destination - similary to sending a e-mail message or Tweet - but to a very strange looking alphanumeric address. The "magic envelope" reaches its destination within a few minutes - anywhere in the world that has internet. It can move 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. The "postage" for the trip is about 1 Satang - regardless of the size of the envelope. The recipent "opens the envelope" by "cashing it in" for an amount of money in local currency, roughly equivalent to what you orginally put into the envelope. The "magic envelope" is then ready for reuse by someone else. Right now, due to limited numbers of exchange points, the "exchange rates" between Bitcoin and local currencies can be somewhat unattractive - but that situation will improve, as more players begin enterring the market, increasing competitiveness. Resistance to Bitcoin in 2014 is almost perfectly mirroring resistance to e-mail in 1994. It is only a matter of time before digital currencies become ubiquitous. Cheers! SS

James R. Schlesinger, Willful Aide to Three Presidents, Is Dead at 85 James R. Schlesinger, a tough Cold War strategist who served as secretary of defense under Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Gerald R. Ford and became the nation’s first secretary of energy under President Jimmy Carter, died on Thursday in Baltimore. He was 85. A brilliant, often abrasive Harvard-educated economist, Mr. Schlesinger went to Washington in 1969 as an obscure White House budget official. Over the next decade he became chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, director of Central Intelligence, a cabinet officer for three presidents (two of whom fired him), a thorn to congressional leaders and a controversial national public figure. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/28/us/politics/james-r-schlesinger-cold-war-hard-liner-dies-at-85.html?_r=0 Quite a resume: Secretary of Defense, Director of the CIA, Chairman Atomic Energy Commission. I remember him for two things: 1. He was the Secretary of Defense when I memorized my first military Chain of Command in 1974 (way, way deep into the recitation) 2. He was the driving force and main proponent for developing both the A-10 Warthog Thunderbolt, and also the F-16. As a grunt, those were guardian angels to be cherished when available. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_R._Schlesinger RIP. Cheers! SS

I will drink this evening to Fred Phelps dying in agony - a slow lingering death would be ideal.

Hal Douglas, "The Movie Trailer Guy", dead at age 89. I'll bet you can recognize his voice: (and this clip will probably put a smaile on your face) Cheers! SS

While doing some business research involving GMM Grammy Group, I stumbled across the story of this guy, of whom I had never before heard: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rewat_Buddhinan Then I found one of his songs on-line - evidently performed and filmed in 1986: http://youtu.be/XsPNP18Gu_Q Not half-bad at all. Flash - you must have heard of this guy - he must have effectively been the first real rock star of Thailand. He evidently died in 1996, at just 48 years of age. 'Founder of GMM Grammy in Thailand - which is now a quite substantial empire. Cheers! SS

I think that the relatively small number of frequent posters who still populate this board are mostly people who have lived in Thailand longer than ten years - and once you've been here that long, most of the "in your face" sex trade is no longer of much interest. Plus - the costs are WAY up, and the attitudes/attractiveness of the girls substantially down - to the point where it isn't worth the effort in most cases. I haven't barfined a girl in probably six or seven years - and probably never will again. But - I'm still glad that Cowboy and Nana exist - and i do occasionally stop in - mostly to reminisce about days gone by. In "the good old days" most go-go bars were stand-alone operations, who succeeded or failed based on their merits - and where managers and mamasans had almost total leeway to do whatever they thought was best. Think - a small, custom sandwich deli or pizza parlor that would make individual creations to the customer's order. But - nowadays - the go-gos are mostly "franchises" owned by a few big players - who standardize everything according to some plan - and it is boring and repetitive - as per McDonalds or Pizza Hut. What;'s to write about? "Yeah, I went into the McD's at Ploenchit Center. I had my 600th Big Mac. It was pretty much like the last 300 that I had - and indistinguishable from the one I had last week at Onnut McDonalds" Who's going to bother writing - or reading - that report? 'Sorry. Cheers! SS