Thailand And The 'P' Word

It's fairly to safe that there is no perfect place to live on this planet. There's always pluses and minuses wherever you are but Thailand comes pretty close to paradise for many. Sadly paradise always attracts an unsavoury fringe element and at the moment it is this minority element that is making all the headlines. The following is a case in point.

The Thai police have announced that they are to release photos of 50 Caucasians suspected of having similar interests to the recently arrested Canadian. Why am I skirting round the subject and not naming it for what it is? Well the actions of the police are admirable, long overdue but admiral and by going public with details of their current purge, they are making headlines around the world which will have Thailand and the 'P' word coupled together. Now given that tourism contributes a significant amount of coin to the local economy, the last thing you want is Thailand and the 'P' word becoming synonymous in the publics mind. That would be a PR disaster.

What's the answer? Well, it would help if the local authorities weren't always looking for a photo opportunity. It would help if they went about their business a bit more discreetly, under the radar rather than in the full glare of the world's media. It would help if someone in a position of authority could make a statement to the effect that Thailand is not a safe haven for 'P's' and any caught here will receive a life sentence without appeal. Yes, this is yet another headline with Thailand and the 'P' word but in this case, they are divorced not coupled and my feeling is the Thais need to make their position known. The odd purge and usual laissez faire approach won't work this time.

Sierra Tangos

• Roxy Bar, Soi 6, party tonight

• TOT ADSL Users – A PCEC member reports that if you lose the TOT ADSL signal, you may be able to get it back by dialing 11079 on the phone line associated with the ADSL line. [via Pattaya City Expats Club]

• Internet shop owners complain of corrupt police - You need to read this article. If the police are prepared to do this to Thais what would they do to a farang. I will repeat some advice I gave in an earlier post which is you need to have a lawyer on-call to help you if you ever get involved with the local plod.

• A section of the new road running parallel to the railroad tracks and running north from Siam Country Club Road, was opened today and resulted in traffic tail backs of several miles in all directions. The problem is the junction of the new road and Siam Country Club road is not manned or controlled so it's a free for all of cars trying to cross the junction. Nobody will give way. You have been warned.

• The creators of Twisted Republic call it "The Ultimate Interactive Clubbin Experience" and it will be another major addition to Sukhumvit Soi 11, next to Bed and QBar, making the soi one of the main clubbing areas of Bangkok. The creators

  

  , who already have vast experience in the nightlife business with "The Tunnel" will put great emphasis on good music, provided by some of Bangkok's finest DJ's. Electronic music will just as well be featured as Hip Hop so there is something for everybody. International acts are also planned to always keep the music selection fresh. The premier launch party of Twisted Republic is on Thursday, 1st November 2007, by invitation only. Friday, 2nd November will be the official public opening. Doors open at 20:00 and close at 2:00. [via BangkokRecorder]

• Kim Kardashian will be in the December issue of Playboy magazine. You can see a video with a couple of excerpts from the shoot here. After one of the raunchiest sex tapes on record and posing nude for Playboy (more pics) her career can surely only improve from here.

• Watching videos at Youtube and Google Video is not really that comfortable. The search is pretty basic, as are the categories offered and the options to change settings like when viewing it are limited as well. There is also no way to create your own categories at those video sites and fill them with videos that you found.

  Loom TV steps in and increases the Youtube and Google Video experience. They offer a standalone client that is

  

  able to search both video portals for keywords or predefined channels like Metal and Soccer. The software works in full screen mode, as well as in windowed mode. All videos can be zoomed and stretched from a barely visible video to full screen, have a general quality setting and an option to adjust brightness for instance in real time.

  Videos can be added to your channels with easy and they will remain there forever unless they are deleted at Youtube or Google Video. Besides offering ways to view Youtube videos more comfortably Loom TV also offers a way to listen to Internet Radio and read News. Some of the so called plugins can be combined. Users need to signup at the Loom TV website to be able to download the client. The login information is used to login into the client at every startup. [via gHacks]

• The US government projects that at least 36 US states will face water shortages within five years because of a combination of rising temperatures, drought, population growth, urban sprawl, waste and excess. ED. Watch for Bush to invade Iceland under the pretext they have WMDs.

• President Bush arrived in San Diego this morning where he met with Gov. Schwarzenegger to discuss the wildfires. Our fate is in the hands of the only two politicians who don’t speak English. [via Jimmy Kimmel Live]

• Original business signs:
  • On a Plumber's truck: "We repair what your husband fixed."
  • On another Plumber's truck: "Don't sleep with a drip. Call your plumber."
  • At a Tire Shop in Milwaukee: "Invite us to your next blowout."
  • On a Maternity Room door: "Push. Push. Push."
  • Sign at a Gynecologist's Office: "Dr. Jones, at your cervix."

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