Welcome to my website.  Unlike the universe, this website has a purpose: to offer rants, tirades, opinions and discussion about books on Thailand, give an overview of nightlife in Thailand and, yes, to provide a few news items which might not appear elsewhere.  And to have some fun.

Bar, club and restaurant owners who would like to send material on their special events, birthday bashes, anniversary parties, etc., are welcome to do so but please remember men in Thailand are a bit jaded so if you’re just going to offer the usual free gourmet food and free full band entertainment and free beautiful and eager-to-please women, well, the lads have been there, done that. So do try to offer potential patrons something special. ;-)

There is a contest every two weeks when this column appears and the first to answer the question correctly or identify a photograph correctly will receive vouchers worth at least 3,000 baht in food and drink, i.e., 500 baht each, from Larry's Dive, Shadow Bar, The Old Dutch, Electric Blue, The Duke of Wellington pub, and Bourbon Street Restaurant. The prizes will build up in case anyone doesn't win it immediately so the bonanza for the eventual winner could get quite interesting.  It will double to 6,000 and, if still no winner, to 9,000, etc.  Second prize is a "I Support Single Moms" T-shirt.  And please remember a part of all money received from the sale of my books goes to needy Thais (in the form of payment to go go dancers, waitresses and hostesses).

********************* 

This Just in:

Club Electric blue Patpong, Saturday the 28th, is the bar's boisterous, fun-for-all, 5 year party and Andy and crew would like to see all old and new friends come celebrate  with them.  Free Tequila shot with every drink you buy ( after happy hour, of course).

EXCLUSIVE - THE SHROUD OF SURIN!

You have no doubt heard of the Shroud of Turin; a holy Christian relic which is believed to have been made hundreds of years after Christ but which some say has Christ's face on it.  Yet, I am pleased to tell of a discovery which will soon shock the world!  It is incredible but Thai villagers outside Surin were trying to dig a well so the local brothel would have decent water and they came across a large leather and metal box.  It was so old it was falling apart but when they did manage to get it open inside was an incredible discovery.  A shroud believed to be hundreds of years old and yet in excellent shape depicting men and women of the period; no doubt religious symbols and dances of the time.  And here it is - exclusive with this column - a discovery in a cave near Surin, The Shroud of Surin!  Just click on it to see a closeup.

Nothing new regarding the Washington Square leases.  Everyone is basically still waiting to see what the owners are planning to do.  I believe January 8th 2009 is the deadline but of course anything can happen before then. 

Bad news: Thai International is canceling its direct non-stop service to New York City.  Just when I finally had enough miles to go for free next trip!  I guess I'll have to go through Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific once again.  Balls.

What is it with these frogs after the rain?  They were so loud at first I thought they were geese.  If it has anything to do with mating, I wish they'd get it on and over with and shut up so I can get some sleep.  I've read reports that frogs are disappearing around the world.  Maybe that's not such a bad idea.  Then I can get some sleep.  Unless of course they eat bugs and mosquitoes the survival of same which would then keep me awake.  Life is complicated.

Rumor-Control Headquarters (which is still run by the descendants of Whore House Charlie) say that young ladies dancing in Nana Plaza may be revealing more and more, beginning with one of the Rainbow bars.  If this is true, it would not be Rainbow 4 because they would have to pay more to each of the dancers for going topless and they have somewhere between 100 and 200 dancers.  Most likely Rainbow 1 or Rainbow 2.  Time will tell.

Isn't Low Season great?  I am a very hansum man again and basically only accept phone calls from male names because I am swamped with beautiful young Thai women going to bed with me.  Yep, low season is great for locals and tourists who know how much to pay.

I was in Tilac Bar the other night and one of the dancers came up to me and asked my name and I told her and she stared and left.  I still don't know what that was about.  She wasn't trying to sit down for a lady's drink.  Maybe I look like one of her old boyfriends?  Maybe she just thought I was a lookalike for Tom Cruise?  Maybe there is a contract out on me?  This being Thailand, maybe anything!

************************************** ******************* ******************* ******************* 

Isn't that beautiful?  The graceful, supple curve.  Very feminine.  Sensual and sexy.  Yep, Thai women have what it takes.

I'm very pleased and proud that this site has been banned in Saudi Arabia.  A friend who travels there on business informed me.  Glad to know the Wahabi fanatics are paying attention.  The Saudi Wahabis are the ones sponsoring mosques and terrorism and fanatical madrassas around the world.  Don't take my word for it; check this out:

A briefing given last month to a top Pentagon advisory board described Saudi Arabia as an enemy of the United States, and recommended that U.S. officials give it an ultimatum to stop backing terrorism or face seizure of its oil fields and its financial assets invested in the United States.

"The Saudis are active at every level of the terror chain, from planners to financiers, from cadre to foot-soldier, from ideologist to cheerleader," stated the explosive briefing. It was presented on July 10 to the Defense Policy Board, a group of prominent intellectuals and former senior officials that advises the Pentagon on defense policy.

"Saudi Arabia supports our enemies and attacks our allies," said the briefing prepared by Laurent Murawiec, a Rand Corp. analyst. A talking point attached to the last of 24 briefing slides went even further, describing Saudi Arabia as "the kernel of evil, the prime mover, the most dangerous opponent" in the Middle East.

......................

Click on Cover

Coming to a bookstore near you this fall!

......................

Well, if you've been living on an island you might not know this, but coyote dancing is really taking off in Bangkok.  These shots were taken upstairs above the Dali Club at the new Dali Coyote Club, Sukhumvit, soi 33.  I enjoy the dancers at Forte, RCA, Phetburi Road, but no photography is allowed in there.  Possibly not so much because of the girls as to the bigwigs in the crowd.  The video will be up soon.

OK, here is a short video of children in a school way up in Issarn, in Nakorn Phanom.  They are dancing in honor of their teachers who are leaving and in honor of those who are new.  Also for the monks behind them.  If you should in any way feel that some of their movements are in any way, um, uh, risqué, I shall have to turn you in to the Every White Man in Asia is A Pedophile Women running some of the do-gooder outfits in Cambodia!  So make certain you have only pure thoughts while watching these kids dance because Khon dancing this ain't.  In fact, in a response to one of my videos on Youtube, a viewer wrote to ask why the girls on stage were doing such sexy dances in front of children at a wedding party.  Well, the truth is the kids themselves do dances that most likely would horrify adults in the West.  What can I say:  TIT This is Thailand.

******************* ******************* *******************

The 10th anniversary of Rawhide bar on Soi Cowboy was a lot of fun.  And crowded, of course.  Once again there was a dance contest and once again we had to judge who the top three dancers were by putting a check next to the dancer's number on a sheet of paper passed out to customers.  And once again, I just love the instructions:  "We hope you're having a great evening.  Tonight we'll be holding one of our regular dance contests, where out best dancers dance their little socks off!..N.B. Some of the dancers may smile, bat their eyelids, or use flirtatious words to attract your vote.  But please remember this is an extremely serious competition, and you should vote purely on the basis of dancing skills."

Well, I have to be honest here.  I think the beauty and flirtatiousness of some of the dancers may have influenced my vote.  Does this mean the contest has to be run again?

I was in the Old Dutch Cafe the other day on a Sunday morning hoping to have my "super breakfast" when a young Thai guy who works there came up and said, "No food, the chicken is dirty."  Duh, right, whatever.  So I spoke with the girl behind the counter in Thai and it turns out that because of the heavy rain the night before the kitchen was flooded and food couldn't be prepared until they cleaned the kitchen.  Right.  He meant the "kitchen" is dirty.  OK, got it.  And speaking of flooded, the rain got me the other night when I exited the Witch's Tavern on Soi Thonglor and gave me a nice fat cold/flu.  It is amazing how after a bit of rain some of the sois in Bangkok are almost immediately flooded.  One of these days we'll all be under water but I suppose the go go dancing and coyote dancing will continue uninterrupted.

Ayutthaya - A body of a 40-year-old man with a cobra carcass in his head was found on a roadside here Sunday morning.  An preliminary autopsy also found that Wiroj Banlen, 40, was wearing a condom although he was putting on his trousers. No semen was found inside the condom.

His body was found on the side of a dirt road in Tambon Lamsai of Ayutthaya's Wangnoi district at 7 am.  He was bitten several times by the snake on his right leg and on his cheeks.  His hands were clenching the dead cobra, whose body was bitten several times especially on its stomach.

The preliminary autopsy found scales of the snake in his mouth.  His body was sent for a full autopsy at a hospital. - The Nation

Good God, is nothing sacred?!  The boys who own Apache Bar (now with the name Coyote) are auctioning off the Apache Indian maidens which have been on the roof for many years, over 25, in fact.  In my video of Soi Cowboy on YouTube I mention these and show them and it is a good thing I did show them otherwise people would come there and not see them and say I must have been drunk.  But at least the profits will go to a good charitable cause.  The auction is on e-bay.  Here is the URL.  Go for it!  All of the proceeds are going to the Red Cross Aids Research Center in Bangkok.  The URL of the auction is:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230261327043

"One thing I learned a long time ago is that it's easy enough to shoot a man.  But there's absolutely no way to unshoot one." - Lee Child, Persuader - A Jack Reacher Novel

************************************** ******************* *******************  ******************* ******************* 

Khun Nana is a savvy local expat who keeps in shape by hitting most of the bars of Nana Plaza as often as possible.  From his vast experience, he will enlighten and entertain us with his recollections of the bar scene be they humorous, tragic or somewhere in between.

(Khun Nana is traveling so this is a repeat column if you missed it last time.  He will be up with a new one next time.)

I was asked recently whether bar gals or “normal” gals are more high maintenance.  Actually they can both be very high maintenance, but in different ways.  With the bar gals the maintenance is all about money... That’s not necessarily a bad thing.  Lots of guys just want hot sex and some companionship from a sexy young gal, and with a bar gal all you really have to give in return is money and lots of it.  Most likely she will be a lot less concerned about you as a person and really getting to know your heart and soul.  Keep the money coming and it’s a done deal.  They will invent all sorts of wild stories about tragic happenings in their life that require additional funds.  The stories can really be quite amusing if you are not the one forking over the cash. 

Last night I was drinking with a close friend when his mobile rang.  The first thing he said to the caller was “what happened to the money I just gave you 2 days ago?”  Needless to say his new flame is a working gal.  He made all sorts of excuses when he got off the phone to try and save face in front of me, but to no avail.  I asked him why he would be giving lump sums of money to a professional gal and his response was that the sex was just so good he couldn’t help himself.  No problem, it’s his money and he can spend it any way he chooses. 

The absolute best thing about dealing with bar gals is that it is the only time in your life you will deal with a woman and know all the rules up front.  With every other woman you meet in your life it’s a fight to meet her, difficult to get her phone number, and even more difficult to figure out where you stand with her after you start dating.  Dealing with bar gals is simple in comparison and really only becomes complex when the man forgets that he is in a “pay for play” relationship.

Normal Thai gals can be very high maintenance in a different way.  Rarely do they require a lot of money, but they often require way too much attention. Some of them want to be with you ALL THE TIME.  I often feel smothered.  My mates involved with normal gals often get ten to fifteen calls and text messages from them per day.  If even one of these is not answered or returned within minutes the gal can become quite annoyed.  I would characterize normal Thai gals as often being controlling, jealous and needy.  Whereas with the bar gal the guy only needs to keep the money coming, with the normal gals you have to give them constant attention.  Which is worse?  That may depend on how much money you have!  My Thai friend Somchai likes to say, “With Thai gals you give them your heart but they want your soul.” 

It would be very easy to become disenchanted with the bar gals’ constant requests for money and date only normal gals.  It is also entirely possible you may soon become tired of normal gals and their insatiable need for attention, and switch back to bar gals.  What is a guy to do?  My solution is to date normal gals, and when they become overly possessive or controlling I move on.  I also see professional gals for fun and sex, but never give them any money except the agreed upon fee for services rendered.  The system works for me but I am sure there is an even better solution out there that I have not stumbled upon yet.

Many Westerners in Bangkok like to talk about how simple the low class Thai people are.  I suppose the extreme low class in any country lead very simple, mundane lives and therefore do not really have the luxury of worrying too much about the state of the world.  After all, they are too busy trying to scrape out a living and maintain a meager existence.  Last week I had a really funny experience that not only demonstrates this point, but also shows that the middle class Thais may not be that much different in their way of thinking.

I had a date with a lovely middle class Thai gal who is studying for her Masters degree in Bangkok.  We met at the Saphan Kwai BTS station near the center of the city and began walking down the main avenue toward a Thai restaurant she was keen on eating at.  On the way we stumbled upon a very interesting looking old movie theatre that was definitely still operating, but was under the radar as far as being listed in local newspapers or other publications.  I was intrigued to say the least, and spotted a security guard stationed at the entrance to the front of the building. I walked up to him and attempted to get the details on the movie house.  Here is the conversation translated into English:

Me: What time does the theater open?

Guard: I don’t know.

Me: They are still showing movies here?

Guard: Yes.

Me: Is there a time of day where a person comes with a key and opens the doors?

Guard: Yes, every day.

Me: About what time is that?

Guard: I don’t know.

Me: When a person comes and opens the door is it daytime or nighttime?

Guard: I am not sure.

Me: Are you a new employee?

Guard: No, I have worked here 4 years.

I walked away in frustration, but not really surprised that this lazy old guy was just clueless and going through the motions.  What really shocked me was when my middle class educated Thai gal said “Farangs are so strange.  How would he possibly know the answers to those questions?”  A glimpse into Thai mentality. 

Two shots of Soi Cowboy.  In the first picture, a girl is crying because some idiot farang grabbed her head and hurt her.  (Not the fellow in the picture; he saw her crying and he's trying to console her.)  The second shot is just an attempt to show Cowboy from a different angle: Pretty legs in the foreground; a lumbering elephant in the background.  I'm a cute face and great legs man, not a breast kind of guy.  And an elephant in the background of great legs is really a sexy shot methinks.  Not sure why but first, textural contrast, second, because I'm a bit kinky, which you would know if you ever bought any of my books which you probably didn't you *&$*)*&!

Meanwhile, what is happening in Cambodia?  Weird shit, of course!

May 21: A disabled man was repeatedly chopped with a cleaver by his wife at 8pm in Otaporng village, Bakan district, Pursat province. Police said 46-year-old Phoeung Phal’s head, hands, neck and back were chopped more than 50 times until he looked like he had fish gills. The attacker, Som Sinan, 34, said she was angry with her husband because he accused her of being treacherous and having a new lover. Phal said he bears no malice toward his wife because she came to the hospital in tears to see him.

May 22: A mechanic inserted a high-pressure air hose designed to fill car tires into his four-year-old son’s anus and blew him up. Try Sieng Him said he was “playing” with his son when the incident took place. The child’s stomach became distended and his mother rushed him to hospital. He is now in a stable condition. Police said no action will be taken against the father as the incident was caused by “stupidity.”  - Phnom Post

Speaking of Stupidity, American shoots himself in Head at Shooting Range

30 May 2008    by Nguon Sovan and Brendan Brady

******************* ******************* *******************

Mojos on soi 33, Sukhumvit, is still swinging with its Coyote dancers.  They had a special midnight show on a recent Friday, lots of fun.  Video coming soon.  Thai women: yum, yum, yum.  Several who go to university admitted that they love to tease their male professors with their very revealing short skirts and tight blouses.  Thai women - Jesus Christ!!!

*******************

Letter to Bangkok Post

(Which, surprise, was published!)

*******************

Nakorn Phanom Airport at rush hour

******************* ******************* *******************

The magnificent temple of That Phanom is in the town of the same name, about 50 km south of Nakorn Phanom on the Mekong River.  The temple itself is about a kilo from the river and is known, among other things, for its sacred Lak Muang, the stone that predates the Buddha, and for its 57-meter-tall That, or Lao-style-chedi.  The chedi is decorated with 110 kilograms of gold.  The earliest structures have been dated back to the 6th through 10th centuries, and in the 15th century, Laotian Kings of Vientiane constructed the temple and developed it into its present form.

Below: Beautiful landscape and flowers at the Queen's Palace, Northeast Thailand

**************** ******************* ******************* *******************

If you have any interest at all in teaching English or in what is wrong with Thailand's educational system, here is a classic from someone who teaches in a large town in Thailand; someone who shall remain anonymous.  It is a short, concise introduction to what is wrong with this country's educational system and the frustration felt by teachers who really want to teach.

                                                                                        Teaching English by Anonymous

In June of 2007 I took a job teaching English at the local high school (actually, the school is a combination Junior High and High School, with 7th - 12th grades).  I was given the assignment of teaching the 8th and 12th grades.  Each class had (in theory) some 40-45 kids.  I had a total of 20 classes (yes, about 800 students) for one hour each week (in theory--see below).  The 7th grade was all boys, the 12th grade was about 80% boys (the school was originally a boys' school.  There is a separate (now partially gender-integrated) girls' school).   This was my very first venture in non-adult education.  It was very, very interesting.  Here are a few highlights:

1. The totality of my orientation to teaching was to be given my schedule of classes and a careful explanation of how to find the proper classroom (the first digit in the room number denotes the building, the second digit the floor of that building, and the third digit the room number on that floor).  That was the extent of my orientation. 
2. No one told me what to teach, how to teach, what the rules of the school were, or anything else.  I was not given a copy of the texts the students were using.   I was not given an SOP for anything.  I was not given an organization chart.  I was not given any goals or objectives.  I was not told what to do in case of emergencies.  In other words, I was cut loose to do the best I could.
3. Eighth grade boys tend to be just a little bit unruly at times. (If any of you doubt the truth of "what goes around comes around, I could tell you about the hell on earth that my 8th grade classmates and I created for poor, well-meaning Mr. Newman, my 8th grade English teacher.  This all came back to me, with interest, last year).  I found that I was forced to use my best imitation of a drill sergeant's voice every day.  On several occasions I had to demand students leave my class.  About 3 months into the semester I stumbled onto the fact that there was a "discipline" office.  I had to enlist the intervention of this office more than once.  I thought on at least one occasion that a student was going to physically assault me (he finally thought better of it).
4. This town's students reflect the intensely rural, agriculture-based culture in which they have been raised.  Most of them see absolutely no need or use for learning English (although they have, in principal, been taught English every year of their school lives).  Most of them have never been 100 miles from home.  Although they see the first world on TV every day, they do not see themselves as being part of that world, either now or in the future. 

   Once, while doing an exercise in the names of the months, I was powerfully and cleverly reminded of the extent to which most of my students viewed English as relevant to their lives.  One of my students that day was a "4 x 4" (meaning he was as wide as he was tall), broad-faced (meaning he was probably not part Chinese and therefore almost certainly of peasant stock), dark as the ace of spades (more evidence of his peasant origins) young man.  About the fifth time I called on him to  give me the name of the next month (January, February, March, etc.), and after the fifth time that he was unable to perform this relatively simple task, he said, very politely (in Thai, of course), "I (Will) BUY AND SELL JUNK, SIR!".  I thought this answer illustrated at least two things:

   1. This kid saw no value in trying to speak English (being a junk dealer in this town, if that is to be ones future, requires VERY modest amounts of English.  It doesn't even require much Thai, as a matter of fact).
   2. Despite his peasant background and despite the fact that after 7 years of school he could not write his ABC's and probably only modest amounts of Thai, this kid was not stupid.  He was, in fact, very clever to come up with a statement that communicated his disdain for what I was trying to teach him without directly challenging me.
5. Thai culture is charming and wonderful in many, many ways.  However, long term planning just isn't part of the deal.  After having worked for many years in an educational institution where "THE CALENDAR" was sacred and to say that it was, once agreed, carved in stone is really to seriously underestimate  THE CALENDAR's stability, I was completely shocked and amazed to learn that there is no such thing as an operational annual calendar in my school (actually I am told there is one, but since everyone knows that it can and will be changed a dozen times in the course of the semester, no one even bothers to reproduce and distribute it).  Therefore, on many occasions I showed up for classes and found that either:
   1. my students were engaged in preparing for one of a seemingly countless number of Thai holidays (and therefore not available for class), or
   2. there were no classes that day because it was a holiday or there was some special event in town or
   3. my classes didn't show up because they were preparing for one or another of a vast number of assessment tests given by the national education department or
   4. my classes didn't show up because they were celebrating the results of one of these tests

The result was that I met with my 12th graders, on average, about half the time.  For some classes, the percentage of successfully held class hours was even lower.  Most of the time I would find out that a particular class wasn't going to meet by sitting in the room and waiting for them for 20 minutes or so and having no one show up.  I would then go down to the Foreign Languages Dept and tell my colleagues that this class hadn't shown up.  "Oh!  12th grade won't be here today", they would say cheerfully.  "They're (whatever the reason--see 1-4 above)".   Absenteeism is rampant and no one seems to care. 

At the end of the term, I pointed out to my Thai "co-teachers" (I was supposed to have a Thai teacher with me in every class.  This probably happened a good 1 percent of the time) that I had not even seen some of my students during the term and could not, in all good conscience, give them a passing grade.  "All students pass here", I was told.  "If they don't pass initially, you will have to keep giving them instruction until they do.  And if they still don't pass, then they will have to be given a passing mark anyway".

In sum, I found this job to be one of the most difficult and frustrating of my life!  But, some of you who know me very intimately and who are particularly sensitive and perceptive may have discerned that I am just the tiniest bit stubborn.  It's not so easy for me to admit defeat.  So, I am back at this school for a second academic year (which runs from April-February so as to try to miss part of the "we must have fallen into hell" hot season). 

This year I'm teaching 7th grade boys and girls and 11th grade boys and girls.  I find the Thai public education system to be pretty horrifying in several respects.  The most horrifying aspect is that each student is tested upon admission and ranked within his/her class.  The top 40-45 students are put into "Room #1", the next 40-45 into "Room #2" and so on.  Therefore, if you are in Room #10, neither you nor anyone else need be confused about your academic accomplishment.  Thai teachers, in my observation, give perfunctory attention to rooms 3 and up.  When I expressed my total frustration about getting through to the kids in these "lower" classes, my colleagues assured me that no one expected them to learn anything anyway and that I should "just relax".  Relax.  Yeah. 

*******************  *******************

Letters from Readers

*******************

......................

Dana, I could not agree more with you.  As long as the West has leaders who are politically correct and afraid to criticize religions, especially fanatical brotherhood-religions like Islam, there is no guarantee at all that Western values will prevail over Islamic fanaticism.  The only hope is that more and more people are waking up and are willing to fight back.  But it is as you say: Muslims are quietly inserting themselves on school boards, and people are even self-censoring books and schoolbooks before they are criticized.  And the population gains of Islam are impressive, especially as European and Japanese rates plunge.  And of course there is the masochistic streak in Westerners who want to blame themselves for whatever horrors Islam carries out.  Partly because they do not know the bloody history of Islam.  But for those who do, and those who have suffered greatly from Islamic fanaticism, such as Hindus, fighting back is the only way.  Already in Europe and England politicians are kowtowing to Muslims in their districts to win votes.  In other words, for short term personal gains they will allow more and more inroads for Muslim fanatics.  I love Chinese history and culture and would like to get back to it but I have learned that fighting against Islamic fanaticism is extremely important so I spend a lot of time at it.  I wish more people would.

*******************

Dean, This pedophile thing. I think it stirs up some serious insecurities in Western (or Westernized) women when they come across a situation where men do not have to grovel to get sex, but rather they can sleep with attractive young women anytime they (the men) want it, regardless of their own age, social status, or wealth. Simply, a Western woman loses all her power over men in such a scenario - hence the hysterical reaction, couched in a morally righteous message (or is that righteously moral? anyway you get the drift!).

For the record, I advise some of these gals to find their own attractive young men to sleep with - and some do I guess, see http://orvillelloyddouglas.wordpress.com/2007/11/27/sex-tourism-older-white-women-travelling-to-africa-seeking-young-black-men/

Then everyone is happy.  Julian
 

......................

Julian, I couldn't have said it better myself.  I've always felt there should be brothels, etc., for women as well as for men.  A lot of older women, if given the chance, would like to have flings with young men.  And why not?  Keep them happy and they will spend a lot less time ranting against men like us. 

****************

Links You Might Enjoy

A video of a five-minute walk down Soi Cowboy.  Click here and then click "preview videos."

http://www.pbar.info/videos.html

Like to check out some bars in Thailand?  Try

http://www.bangkokbarfun.com.

Like to know what music is playing where in Bangkok each week?  Try http://www.bangkokgigguide.com.

Like to know more in depth about what music is playing where in Bangkok each week?  Try this great site:

http://www.bangkokjungle.com.

Tired of shoveling snow?  Check out Bangkok's sunshine.

Bangkok's weather report.

A great site for listening to Thai Morlan music and other folk music of Southeast Asia.

www.monsoon-country.org

A bit of black leather never hurts.  But she does.

Our Lady in Black

Like to learn a bit about retiring in Asia?

http://www.retiredexpat.com

Maps of all the provinces of Thailand

http://www.thailand-guide.org/maps/index.htm

Listen to RadioBangkok.net

mms://wma.radiobangkok.net/bangkok32?MSWMExt=.asf

Contact Direct Line for Travel Insurance in the UK

A fine independent Pattaya Bookstore:

www.canterburytalescafe.com

T-Shirt Hell: for lovers of very black humor only. 

http://www.tshirthell.com.

Politically incorrect rants and raves from Uncle Fred.

http://www.fredoneverything.net

Girlfriends looking for Taliban boyfriends.

Taliban Singles Dating Page

Do you have a product or service you would like to advertise on this website? You can, you know. In fact, you don’t have to have a product or service at all; you can just send me money. Or perhaps you would like me to plug a product or service that you are involved in? Sure, just send me cash. Be sure, however, to mark the outside envelope:

“Birthday money for Dean Barrett –

Absolutely No Bribe Enclosed”

Got feedback to this column?  Got information on Thailand you would like to share?  Happy as a dung beetle to be living in Paradise?  Been ripped off?  Just write me.

So enter and win 3,000 baht in food and drink vouchers, second prize is a "I Support Single Moms" T-shirt, courtesy of Peter, PJ and Jason, third prize the usual Nada diddly-squat.  No winner last column so this column's prize is worth 6,500 baht in food and drink vouchers.  The building pictured in the last column is on Sukhumvit, soi 55 (Thonglor).  A weird building to be sure.  Easy question this time.  Just be the first to tell me where this place in Bangkok is located, at right: 

*********************

That's all for this fortnightly column.  Drop by again.  Explore the rest of the website.  Meanwhile, as the girls used to tell me during the 1960's: "I no lie you, GI, I love you long time; you number one!"  And, remember: nothing says goodbye like a bullet.  And the more people I meet the more bullets I need.

Dean Barrett can be flamed at: deanbarr@loxinfo.co.th

***************************************************************

More News on the "Religion of Peace"

**********************

The "Religion of Peace" continues to visit Southern Thailand

6/3/2008 Thailand Narathiwat - A teenager is among three civilians killed in separate attacks by Muslim militants.

6/3/2008 Thailand Pattani - A 45-year-old Buddhist is shot to death by Islamic radicals.

6/3/2008 Thailand Yala Muslim gunmen fire into a home, killing a 15-year-old boy and injuring his 4-year-old sister.

6/4/2008 Thailand Narathiwat - Mujahideen open fire at the half-time of a soccer match, killing the referee and a player.

6/4/2008 Thailand Yala - A 30-year-old man is killed by Muslim gunmen while out with friends.

6/6/2008 Thailand Narathiwat - A middle-aged man is shot to death by Muslim radicals while returning from work.

6/6/2008 Thailand Yala - A Budhhist woman is murdered by Islamic gunmen.

6/6/2008 Thailand Songkhla - Two construction workers are murdered by Muslim militants.

6/7/2008 Thailand Narathiwat - Islamists gun down a 23-year-old civilian.

6/10/2008 (Narathiwat, Thailand) - Mujahideen shoot and kill two young men riding a motorcycle.

A group of militants followed Somkid Taptimsri, a 44-year-old deputy investigator in Yala province, to his father-in-law's house and shot him last night, local police said.   They then doused his body and his car with petrol and set him on fire as his wife tried to call for help, police said.  More than 3300 people have been killed since separatist unrest broke out in January 2004 in the south.

Killings are also becoming more gruesome, with insurgents occasionally beheading their victims or burning their bodies.

*************

Since 9/11, Muslims have killed at least 35 people in 26 separate acts of Jihad in the United States (by the standards that Muslim-American groups set for hate crimes).  Perhaps more importantly, there have been quite a few planned mass murders of Americans by Islamic terrorists that were thwarted by the FBI, law enforcement and overseas intelligence operations both before and after 9/11.  Source - www.thereligionofpeace.com

****************************************

FEMALE UK MAYOR PUBLICLY SNUBBED BY MALE MUSLIM CONSTITUENCY

Just two comments on this report.  How long will it take these idiot Western women to understand what Islam is all about?  And can you imagine the stink she would have made had white, heterosexual males done that?  But I guess the bitch figures she has to take this crap in the name of cultural understanding.  Asshole!

****************************************

Yet another Muslim woman murdered by her own male family members in an "honor killing" because she wanted out of the bullshit.

Western Women dumb enough to marry Muslim men eventually discover the enormity of their mistake.  As this volume well demonstrates.

*************

A Hamas Suicide Bomber - This woman blew herself up leaving 2 children - for what?

*************

NIGERIA: RESCUE OF GIRLS IGNITES ISLAMIC RAMPAGE

Six churches gutted after recovery of Christians teenagers from Muslim kidnappers

NINGI, Nigeria, May 19 (Compass Direct News) – Islamists under the auspices of a paramilitary force last week destroyed six churches to protest a police rescue of two teenage Christian girls kidnapped by Muslims in this Bauchi state town. Police recovered the two Christian girls, Mary Chikwodi Okoye, 15, and Uche Edward, 14, on May 12 after Muslims in Ningi kidnapped them three weeks ago in an attempt to expand Islam by marrying them to Muslim men. Police took the two girls, who had been under foster care, to safety in southeastern Nigeria where their biological parents live. The kidnappers had taken the girls to Wudil town in Kano state. Following the rescue of the girls, Muslims under the Hisbah Command, a paramilitary arm of Kano state’s Sharia Commission, went on a rampage on Tuesday (May 13), attacking Christians and setting fire to the churches. Joseph Abdu, pastor of the Deeper Life church, told Compass that damages to his church property amounted to about 13 million naira (US$112,857) – and that his congregation had shrunk to 40 people from the 130 who attended before the attack. Muslims have kidnapped at least 13 Christian girls in the town, Christian sources said.

*************

ALGERIA: CHRISTIAN SENTENCED FOR CARRYING BIBLE

Police pressure convert to return to Islam during ‘illegal’ five-day detention

ALGIERS, Algeria, May 9 (Compass Direct News) – An Algerian Christian detained five days for carrying a Bible and personal Bible study books was handed a 300-euro (US$460) fine and a one-year suspended prison sentence last week, an Algerian church leader said.

Last Tuesday (April 29) a court in Djilfa, 150 miles south of Algiers, charged the 33-year-old Muslim convert to Christianity with “printing, storing and distributing” illegal religious material. A written copy of the verdict has yet to be issued.

The Protestant, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told fellow Christians in his home city of Tiaret that police pressured him to return to Islam while in custody.

The conviction is the latest in a wave of detentions and court cases against Algeria’s Protestants and Catholics. Since January police and provincial officials have ordered the closure of up to half of the country’s 50 estimated Protestant congregations.

*************

Saudis Continue to Abuse Foreign Servants - And Get Away With It!

HRW said Nour Miyati had been beaten daily and forced to work long hours without rest for her Saudi employers, knocking out a tooth and damaging one of her eyes.

A judge who reviewed the case in Riyadh on Monday awarded Ms Miyati about $US670 ($A696.47) for her injuries but dropped charges against the wife of her employer, who had earlier confessed to abusing the maid and had been sentenced by a lower court to 35 lashes. "This outrageous ruling sends a dangerous message to Saudi employers that they can beat domestic workers with impunity, and that victims have little hope of justice,'' Nisha Varia, senior researcher in the women's rights division at HRW, said.  Saudi officials were unavailable for comment on the report.

Ms Miyati had earlier had her fingers and toes amputated because of the delay in receiving care for gangrene and malnourishment, the group said. There are over a million domestic maids working in Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter where many families employ foreign home help.

Rights organisations say many domestic maids work in difficult circumstances, do not know Arabic and often suffer from abuse by their employers. The Labour Ministry has acknowledged that there were problems with workers' rights, but the Government also often said Islamic law ensured protection for both Muslims and non-Muslims, and reminded foreigners they were guests in the country.

*************

This Islamic teacher is in trouble for beating a blind 7-year-old to death for not memorizing the Qur'an.  Islam does teach that children should
 be beaten for neglecting religious duties, but not necessarily killed.  

*************

RELIGION OF PEACE WARNS IT WILL KILL THOSE WHO LEAVE ISLAM - IN AUSTRALIA!

An Australian group of Muslims, Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia, has published its draft constitution:
 

The Islamic creed (’aqeedah) constitutes the foundation of the State. Nothing is permitted to exist in the government’s structure, accountability, or any other aspect connected with the government, that does not take the creed as its source.

The State implements the divine law on all citizens who hold citizenship of the Islamic State, whether Muslims or not, in the following manner:…

c. Those who are guilty of apostasy (murtad) from Islam are to be executed according to the rule of apostasy, provided they have themselves renounced Islam.

These death-preaching totalitarians are excused as merely “alleged extremists” by the SBS’s tenured radical, George Negus, and given a pulpit on his show. Their material is freely distributed on university campuses.  Reported by Andrew Bolt

*************

DAYLIGHT - QUEEN'S DAY - IN THE HEART OF AMSTERDAM!

Muslim Youths Drag Gay Model From Catwalk- Break His Nose .

*************

*************

- Christopher Hitchens, God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything

****************************************

Please note, I do not and never would advocate violence against individual Muslims in any community.  For one thing, the guy you beat up with a baseball bat may turn out to have just escaped from some horrible Islamic regime.  Individual violence against Muslims or doing damage to mosques, etc., is just stupid and is also counterproductive as Muslim fanatics will show pictures of that all over the Muslim world to incite people against the West. 

A good case can be made that Islam is a fanatical brotherhood masquerading as a religion, and, indeed, the adherents of Islam often act that way.   But, as individuals, a Muslim neighbor might possibly be more honest than a Christian neighbor.  It is only that the Muslim will have been brought up in a religion/brotherhood with a medieval mindset that is centuries behind the times and has a penchant for violence, especially against those who criticize the Koran and other aspects of Islam.   Winning the war against Muslim fanatics will take a long time and be hard-fought but it can and will be won.  But we must demand that more and more moderate Muslims join the fight against fanatical Muslims.   We must demand that our leaders absolutely reject any "compromise" on our right to free expression.  Compromising with the fanatics pulls the rug out from the Muslim moderates desperately trying to reform and secularize Islam.  And we must never bow to Muslim demands to curb our hard-won freedom of expression.   And freedom of expression always includes satire and even insulting satire including satire of glorified tribal myths called religion. 

Back to the Welcome Page