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It's getting so that just deciding what color shirt to wear can be a matter for confusion. The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Thousands Rally to Give Peace a Chance 'Stop Hurting Thailand' Push Gains Support By: POST REPORTERS Published: 5/05/2009 Thousands of professional media organisations, government agencies, the military, civic groups and business people have joined the "Stop hurting Thailand" campaign, urging political groups to end bickering that is causing social divisions. The campaign was initiated by 21 organisations including the Thai Journalists Association, the King Prajadhipok Institute and peace advocacy groups. The 21 organisations yesterday led a crowd of peace advocates dressed in white in a parade from King Rama VI statue in front of Lumpini Park along Silom Road to Bangkok Bank's headquarters. Joining the parade were Borwornsak Uwanno, secretary general of the King Prajadhipok Institute, and his deputy Wuthisarn Tanchai, Prime Minister's Office Minister Sathit Wongnongtoey, Senate Speaker Prasopsuk Boonyadet, TJA president Prasong Lertratanawisut and singer Add Carabao. Bangkok Bank president Chartsiri Sophonpanich joined the crowd when the parade reached his bank's headquarters. TJA secretary general Pradit Ruangdit read a campaign statement asking all political groups to end their incitement of violent clashes between different groups and stop insulting the monarchy or claiming connections to the monarchy for political reasons. The statement called for government authorities to act in an open and sincere manner while urging journalists to stringently adhere to their codes of ethics and abstain from exploiting their media outlets for political purposes. It urged the public to support the campaign by raising the national flag in front of their homes. Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and civic authorities in other provinces also held activities to promote the "Stop hurting Thailand" campaign. In Bangkok, the BMA backed the campaign at City Hall and its branch office in Din Daeng, and at the 50 district offices. The armed forces also joined the campaign. At army headquarters, about 2,000 officers led by Lt-Gen Sant Jariyajirawattana of the Office of the Commander paraded with national flags. About 1,000 marines from the Royal Thai Marine Corps lined up along a 2km stretch of Sukhumvit Road, in Chon Buri province, in front of their headquarters to show their support for the campaign. Red shirt leaders also gave their support. In Udon Thani, Kwanchai Sarakham, also known as Praipana, leader of Khon Rak Udon (Love Udon People), led a group of 800 red shirt supporters for a "Stop hurting Thailand" demonstration at Udon Thani city hall. Leaders of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship in Bangkok backed the sentiments of the campaign but warned the government not to use it to serve its own political interests. ____________________ And this, from THE NATION: _____ ENDING FEUDS Peace Campaigns Launched Nationwide Published on May 5, 2009 Political Rivals Urged to Find Peaceful Solutions as Country Headed for Doom A nationwide campaign started yesterday to prevent political violence and end conflicts that are harming the country. Representatives from more than 20 organisations, including academics, media workers, politicians and businesspeople, took part in a function held at Bangkok's Lumpini Park yesterday. The participants took a nine-point oath asking all parties involved in the conflict to stop resorting to physical or verbal violence and respect the law as well as other people's rights. They called on feuding parties to find a solution through peaceful means or the country would be destined for doom. Supporters of the "Stop Harming Thailand; Stop Use of Violence" campaign later led a procession down Silom Road, the capital's main business district. Participants distributed stickers and Thai flags to passers-by, asking them to support the campaign and display the stickers and flags at home. The procession down Silom Road ended with the participants singing "Rak Kan Wai Therd" (Let's Love One Another) in front of Bangkok Bank's head office. Similar events were held in other provinces in all regions of the country. The Army also joined in, with the deputy supreme commander ACM Burirat Ratanavanich presiding over a function at the forces' headquarters. The general said Thailand would see sustainable progress and prosperity if unity and peace could be attained. The participants observed three minutes of silence before waving the national flag. Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra presided over a similar function at the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration offices with more than 3,000 officials taking part in the event. They all got together and sang the national anthem and other numbers encouraging national unity. In a separate development, an opposition MP yesterday criticised the government of wasting more than Bt240 million in bringing some 250,000 people from the provinces to join Coronation Day celebrations in Bangkok today. Visut Chaiyanarun, a Pheu Thai MP for Phayao, said he estimated that at least Bt240 million had been spent in funding trips of officials from more than 8,000 local administrative organisations nationwide. Government agencies will today host activities and stage performances along Rajdamnoen Avenue, from the Royal Plaza to Sanam Luang to mark His Majesty's 60th year on the throne.

British Woman Could Face Laos Death Penalty BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- A pregnant British woman facing possible execution in Laos will go on trial this week, the country's foreign affairs ministry said Monday. Samantha Orobator "is facing death by firing squad for drug trafficking," said Clare Algar, executive director of Reprieve, a London-based human rights group. Orobator, 20, was arrested on August 5, said Khenthong Nuanthasing, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman. She was alleged to have been carrying just over half a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of heroin, Reprieve lawyer Anna Morris told CNN by phone from Vientiane, the Laotian capital. "For that amount of heroin the sentence is normally the death penalty," she said. Orobator's mother Jane found out in January her daughter was pregnant -- more than four months after she was arrested, her mother said. Jane Orobator heard the news from the British Foreign Office, which has been monitoring the case, the mother told CNN by phone from Dublin, where she lives. She cannot believe her daughter was involved in drug trafficking, and was surprised to learn she was in Laos, she said. "I don't know" what she was doing there, she said. "The last time she spoke with me, she said she was on holiday in London and she would come to see us in Dublin before returning to the U.K. in July. "She is not the type of person who would be involved in drugs," she added. Reprieve is worried about her health, especially given her pregnancy, Anna Morris said. "She became pregnant in prison. We are concerned that it may not have been consensual and we are concerned that someone who finds herself in prison at 20 is subject to exploitation," she said. She is due to give birth in September, the lawyer added. Reprieve sent Morris from London to Laos to try to help Orobator, Algar said. The lawyer arrived there on Sunday and is hoping to visit Orobator on Tuesday, her boss at Reprieve said. A British consul has also arrived in the country. "Reprieve heard about her case two weeks ago. We had thought yesterday the trial was going to start today," Algar said Monday. "We have now heard from Anna that it is not going to." "I am the first British lawyer who has asked for access to her," Morris said. "She needs to have a local lawyer appointed to her. We are pressing very hard for the local authorities to appoint one." She said it was normal in the Laotian justice system for a defendant to get a lawyer only days before a trial. The last execution in Laos was in 1990, the foreign affairs spokesman said. British Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell issued a statement about Orobator on Saturday. "The British Government is opposed to the use of the death penalty in all circumstances. We have made the Laos authorities aware of this at the highest levels in Samantha's case," he said. "We are paying close attention to her welfare and are in regular contact with the Laotian authorities about her case. British Embassy officials, including the Ambassador, have visited her six times since her arrest," he said. "In addition, Britain's consular representatives in Laos, the Australian Embassy, including the Australian Embassy doctor, have visited Samantha 10 times on our behalf," he said. There is no British Embassy in Laos. A British vice-consul arrived in the country this weekend, the Foreign Office said Monday. Rammell plans to raise the Orobator case with the Laotian deputy prime minister this week, he said. Samantha Orobator was born in Nigeria and moved to London with her family when she was 8, her mother said.

Yes, he's still the owner. Most of the boys can't pronounce his name, so it comes out more like the French name Michel when the boys try to say it. The sliding glass door is still there. I haven't checked to see what goes on behind it.

Another popular site is http://www.gboysiam.com/picpost , however it's mostly in Thai. There are also the chat lines. One very popular among the Thais is Camfrog. The software is free and can be obtained at http://www.camfrog.com

That's because only the moderators have access to deleting posts. I took care of it for you. I don't think that's quite correct. You can, I believe, erase the contents of the post as an edit, but I don't think you are able to fully delete the post. If you can, fine. If you can't, just let me know and I'll handle it for you.

Yes, I did. My take-home was about $30 more than before.

Unless I misunderstood what I read, Americans with an income of less that $200,000 are going to receive about $350 or so as part of the Economic Stimulus Package and the first checks are going to start being sent out at some point this month, in May. Am I correct about that? Does anyone know what the story is?

At the moment, the published exchange rate is 34.90 to the US Dollar. Only a few days ago it was around 35.3. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I simply cannot grasp how all of this works. From what I am reading, the US Dollar ought to be gaining strength. With all the turmoil in Thailand, I would have expected the baht to weaken. I wouldn't have expected it to strengthen. What accounts for this? I DON'T GET IT.

Certainly not I. I always enjoy the people who have convinced themselves they know what God wants. "If God wanted Man to fly, he would have given him wings." I have two responses to that bit of sage wisdom. I either say, "Unless God told you that personally, how do you have any idea what He wanted?" or "If God didn't want Man to fly, He wouldn't have given him brains enough to figure out how." I remember when AIDS was "God's punishment to homosexuals." Whoops! Looks like God was a little annoyed with the heterosexual group too. These people who enjoy justifying torturing others have a special place in my heart, right up there with Torquemada! Sure, torture is just fine . . . . . as long as you're not the victim of it yourself.

Apparently he's no Harvey Milk, which is a shame. I would imagine his friends feel betrayed, and rightly so, that they were snubbed so that Giuliani could rack up some points with the homophobes. He didn't even inform them himself. He had a secretary do that for him. Since informing them was in advance of the wedding, then it seems obvious to me that even if he really had to be somewhere else, he could have scheduled that "somewhere else" for a different day or not gone at all if he had accepted the invitation from his friends. I used to have a hell of a lot of respect for Giuliani. He just lost it.

Now why would want to do a silly thing like that? He knows what he's doing and doesn't need me to tell him how to run his business. I'm sure he is well aware of the regulations and what he can and cannot do. If you truly feel that he needs someone to tell him about the regulations, don't volunteer me. You can inform him yourself, just as well as I can.

I heard a rumor about that yesterday. Today I called Michael, the owner, to ask about it. He said yes, there will be no more buffets. As of Saturday, May 2 the famous restaurant made the switch. Michael said this is not a sudden change. He had this in mind when he took over the restaurant 8 months ago and has been planning for it ever since. I asked him what prompted the change. He said there is a variety of reasons including the fact that because there are fewer people in Pattaya these days he ends up throwing away a lot of food. Also it is difficult to maintain the quality of the food on a buffet unless most of it is kept warm in sauces. He wants to provide better food, better quality, and better service at reasonable prices, with most choices remaining in the 250 baht price range. He told me he has brought a chef over from the UK to help him through the menu planning, staff training, recipes, etc. He said he wasn't going to publicize this for another week or so while he's working out the kinks, but he gave me the "green light" to post this because the rumor mill has already started up and he wants the real story to be known. So, he says to please come on in and give it a try, and there will be more menu selections available in about a week and any little kinks will be worked out by then. He will also publish the menu once everything is finalized. If anyone is disappointed that the restaurant will no longer be a buffet, don't be. The restaurant should be better than ever and there are still plenty of buffets around town. As soon as Michael is ready to provide more information, rest assured I'll see that it's published here. In the meantime, if you have any questions you can send him an Email at: mjgordon2206@hotmail.com You can also let me know your question and I'll be happy to contact him and find out the answers.

The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Banks Asked to Cut Foreigners' ATM Fees By: SOMRUEDI BANCHONGDUANG Published: 4/05/2009 The Thai Bankers' Association will ask local banks to cut fee charges for foreign cardholders using local ATMs, according to association secretary-general Twatchai Yongkittikul. He said the TBA would hold talks among its members about current fees. But he cautioned that any cuts would likely be marginal, as most of the fees represented charges imposed for international network access and simply passed on to end-users. Since mid-April, foreign cardholders withdrawing funds from local ATMs have been charged 150 baht per transaction. Dr Twatchai said the fee largely came from new transaction charges imposed by international service providers MasterCard Worldwide and Visa Worldwide to cover interchange network costs. Local banks, which had previously absorbed the expenses, are now looking to pass on their own operating expenses to customers, arguing that the fees charged in Thailand are in line with expenses charged for cross-border ATM transactions in other countries. Dr Twatchai acknowledged that a number of foreign tourists and expatriates had complained about the added fees. At a minimum, he said, local banks should communicate better with customers about the expenses banks incur for processing international transactions. "Local banks should give more information about fees on the ATM screen, and then customers can make their own choice about whether to continue with the transaction," Dr Twatchai said. "The TBA will try to raise awareness about the issue. Unfortunately, right now many foreign customers have a negative view of local banks due to the fee issue." But a MasterCard spokesman denied that the 150-baht ATM access fee imposed by many Thai banks stemmed from any recent fee change or initiative by the company. The spokesman said MasterCard last notified member banks in October 2007 about a 0.2-percentage-point increase in fees effective from January 2008 under cross-border agreements. Since then, no other fee increases have been made related to ATM charges.

I had a talk with the owner of the Rock Hard bar, in Jomtien Complex, this evening. Beginning in June he is going to cut most of his drink prices to 69 baht. I laughed when he said 69 baht. He made it clear that I had caught the significance. Some drink prices will be as low as 59 baht and some as high as 79 baht, but most will be 69 baht. Also, beginning in June, he is going to re-establish go-go boys at the bar.

My own experience has convinced me that the tuk-tuk drivers in Bangkok are out to rip off farang as much as they can. I won't use them. I don't know why anyone would prefer a tuk-tuk to a taxi anyhow. The drivers charge more (there are no meters). Because the roof slopes down, you can't see. You're out there directly breathing in the exhaust fumes from all the traffic. There is no air conditioning. I fail to see the pleasure in doing anything more with a tuk tuk than maybe taking a photo of them once in a while. In Chiang Mai I have have not had any negative experiences with the tuk tuks that I can recall. In a metered taxi anywhere in Thailand, it is illegal for a taxi driver to fail to use the meter when taking you anywhere within the city limits. If you're going to try to get a taxi driver to take you to another city, then of course the driver will want to negotiate with you, and I think that's perfectly ok. However, when taking a taxi for routine purposes, any driver who refuses to turn on the meter for me just lost a fare. I doubt it would do any good, but you can report taxi drivers who refuse to turn on the meter. I'll often ask the driver, if he won't turn on the meter, how much he wants. I've been to Bangkok often enough that I know he approximate fares to and from the places I usually go. If he's within 50 or 60 baht of the price I normally pay, then I usually accept his price. I'd rather do that than go through the hassle of changing taxis, unless the weather is bad. For me, the most aggravating experience in taxis is when I tell the driver where I want to go, and after a few minutes it becomes obvious he has absolutely no clue where my destination is. I've learned that when I can, I always make sure to have the telephone number for my destination saved in my mobile phone. I call the destination and have them explain where they are to the driver. Of course, if I feel the driver is only trying to jerk me around to get a higher fare, he loses a customer too. I most cases, if I feel the driver has been honest with me and did his best to get me to where I'm going in a timely manner, I'll thank him and give him a good tip. The ones who are screwing around get nothing except the exact fare.

Rather than cut and paste this one, here's the link to the article: http://www.pattayadailynews.com/shownews.p...NEWS=0000009090

I don't know. I suggest either sending Mike an Email or calling him at the bar.

Here's La Cage bar's "Diary for May"

Oh well, let me know how you like it. Lady-boys and lip synch tells me all I need to know to keep me away, no matter how well done the show might be. For me it's a "been there, done that" and with most such shows I wish I had never been there and had never done that. Of course, that's just me. Obviously plenty of people like those kinds of shows or the bars wouldn't present them. Based on what you say, the show is well done, but nothing essentially new and different from just about every bar show in town.

I don't know what this has to do with the El Paso Steakhouse, but I would imagine when restaurants don't list the beer and spirits prices, they're trying to make sure their customers don't drop dead from sticker shock . . .

Sorry, I can't help you with that one. I'm not much of a drinker, wine or anything else, so I didn't even look at the selections or prices. Most of the time I'm happy with a glass of water.

I think you will also greatly enjoy this one:

Last night a Thai friend and I tried the El Paso Steakhouse, a fairly new restaurant on Pattaya Tai, about a hundred yards or so past Third Road, heading toward Sukhumvit. I fell in love with the place! I had the best steak I have ever had in all of Thailand. Not only was it cooked perfectly, but the flavor and the way it was seasoned was exactly how I like it and, after leaving the USA, thought I would never have again. You can bet you're going to find me in there a great many times. I ate with a Thai friend who, of course, ordered Thai food. He too was absolutely delighted. See their web site. http://www.elpasopattaya.com Their entire menu is online, with the current prices. The one thing that isn't online is the fact that they do a Sunday lunch buffet, from noon until 6:00pm. I asked our waitress about it and apparently it's a full featured buffet. The price is 375 baht. I wish they would do the Sunday buffet at night, rather than in the afternoon, but that's the way they're doing it. If you look a their steaks menu, I had number 31, the 250 gram beef tenderloin. As far as I'm concerned it was just perfect. They have steak choices for every appetite range. You can order a smaller steak or a larger steak. What I had was plenty for me, and believe me I can eat! They have a selection of sauces. I asked for the mushroom sauce and asked for it to be served on the side. It was very good, but I liked the steak so much "as is" that I only gave the sauce a quick taste to see if it was good (it was), but I never used it. Here's something else unique: My Thai friend and I were served at the same time. That's rare in Thailand. It wasn't one of those deals where one person can be completely finished before the other person is even served. If I can find anything at all to complain about, the only thing I can come up with is they do not serve any bread. If you're looking for an excellent steak at very reasonable prices, don't miss the El Paso Steakhouse. Here's their business card:

Only one thing. The nature of the show. Is it the typical kind of bar show we see in Pattaya, featuring lady-boys in drag and lip synching, or is the show really something new and different?

Why, what a clever suggestion. Why didn't I think of that? Of course! Go and check it out for myself. Maybe I will, but since kcampb49 has already been there, somehow I think he won't mind taking the three minutes it will take him to address the questions I asked, assuming he has any of the answers. You're assuming I have the time to get there any time soon. You're also assuming I'm even in Pattaya right now, to be able to check it out.