Gaybutton

I suppose that would depend on how sexy the show is . . . Can you fill us in with a bit more detail? How much did you pay for drinks? Can the staff be taken off? If yes, how much is the off fee? Is it air conditioned? Is the air conditioning adequate? Are they forbidding smoking? What about the show? How long is the show? What time is the show? Can you describe the show? I'm hoping it's not primarily the usual boys-in-drag and lip synch show. I hope it's something truly new and different. What goes on before and after the show? Is it a go-go bar, a host bar, or what?

The best recommendation I can make for a truly reliable pharmacy, where you know you will always get "the real thing" is the Fascino pharmacy on North road (Pattaya Nua). There is a smaller Fascino outlet very close to Central Road (Pattaya Klang). To find it, go north on Sukhumvit (toward Bangkok) from Pattaya Klang, or from anywhere south of Pattaya Klang. As soon as you pass Pattaya Klang, about 100 yards further on you'll come to the next traffic signal, which is Soi Siam Country Club. Make a U-turn on Sukhumvit and immediately get into the left lane. Almost immediately, you'll come to a large Bangkok Bank branch. Turn left into the access road for the Bangkok Bank parking lot, but keep going. Dead ahead you'll see a Lotus store. The pharmacy is directly across the street from the Lotus store. If you don't already have one, ask for Fascino's free discount card. With it you'll get a discount with every purchase. The card does expire, so make sure you check the expiration date. You can get another one free when it expires.

People keep saying that, but I wonder if that's just a common rumor or if it's really true. I'm not so sure that it is. Have any of you ever actually had that happen to you in Thailand? None of the medications I've ever bought here turned out to be fakes. Also, the origin and first case of Swine Flu may have been discovered: http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/healt...r.swine.flu.cnn

Has it actually already opened? I passed by just a few nights ago and it didn't look anywhere near ready to me.

That city official wasn't fired? I think he should have been. I wonder whatever happened to the genius at NBC who, way back in 1968, decided to cut off the Super Bowl in the last few vital moments so that they could show the movie "Heidi" on schedule. Remember that? I'll bet whoever came up with that decision didn't keep his job very long after that. Hell, I think whoever wanted to show "Heidi" in prime time at all, ever, should have been fired. I remember a study done to try to discover why students cheat. Conclusion? To get higher scores. I remember Senator William Proxmire complaining about government money being spent to find out why people fall in love. He said that not only does he not care why, he doesn't even want to know why. I agreed with him. I don't think they ever found out. Even if they did, what purpose would have been served? How about spending some more money for some really useful studies? "Why are your turds brown?" "What happens when you put a firecracker up a cat's asshole?" "Why are people offended by the odor of other people's farts, but their own smell ok?" "If a dog is given Viagra, will it be more difficult to get him to stop trying to hump your leg?" I don't agree with you about heads not rolling. I think that's exactly what should happen, especially when the wasteful spending causes people to panic. Maybe if a few people who come up with this kind of needless, bullshit, wasteful spending, find themselves out of a job, maybe government officials who waste our money would think twice before setting ideas like this in motion. I can't speak for others, but the last thing I want to see is one cent of my tax dollars going to pay for things like this. What pressing need is being fulfilled by using a presidential aircraft for a photo op? Who is interested in looking at such photos in the first place? Is it so that some congressman can have a pretty picture framed on his wall? _____ "Hello, New York City Mayor's office? Hi. This is Cigar Manuch calling from the White House Military Office. We want to let you know that we're going to do a low-pass flyover in a presidential 747 to get some photos of the jet with the Statue of Liberty in the background. The course the aircraft will fly to do this will take it on a low flight right over the same area where the 9/11 attacks occurred" "You are? Why?" "Well, it will make a beautiful set of photos, don't you think?" "I'm sure it would. What is this, some kind of a joke? Why not save the taxpayers tens of thousand of dollars and simply use PhotoShop or something to superimpose a photo of your 747 on an already existing aerial photo of the Statue of Liberty?" "Oh noooooo. No no no no no no noooooo. We want genuine photos. So, it costs the taxpayers. Big deal." A few hours later . . . "Hello, New York City Mayor's office? Hi. This is Horace McSmegma from the FAA. Listen, about that 747 flyover . . . don't tell anybody. We need to keep it a secret." "A secret? Why? What about all the New Yorkers who are going to think it's another terrorist attack? Don't you think they might feel it's a slight imposition?" "Oh, they'll know it wasn't soon enough. And it certainly will keep people on their toes. It surely will spice up their otherwise dull day. Sorry if they're a bunch of scaredy-cats, but we wouldn't want people to know, would we? After all, some terrorist group might be able to shoot down the plane if they know in advance that it's coming." "Huh? But when the President travels to different cities, that's always widely publicized. How do you think crowds of ordinary citizens know to show up at the airport to greet him?" "Well . . . I . . . uhhhhh . . . ok! That may be true, but let's keep this one a secret. Remember, shhhhhhhhhh! Don't tell anybody, not even the Mayor." _____ It's not just the incident itself that enrages me. It's the wasted money that caused it. Personally, I'd rather see every one of the government wasters lose their jobs. I'd also like to see them replaced with people who find ways to save money, not to waste it. I'd be willing to see their salaries doubled. I think a few of the people actually pleased about this incident are Jay Leno and David Letterman. Probably Bill O'Reilly too. They're gonna have a field day with this one! What day will Caldera be appearing on Larry King? Maybe he should appear with "Brownie" seated right next to him. You know who this whole thing reminds me of?

As far as I'm concerned, whoever is responsible for failing to inform the mayor and whoever it was at FAA who decided this should be kept secret, they all should go. I realize that some people believe nobody should be fired over one incident, tell that to the people who were badly frightened. I would usually agree that one incident shouldn't cost someone his job, but I don't feel that way in this case. This goes well beyond someone putting his foot in his mouth over some politically incorrect statement. I would be very interested to know who came up with this idea in the first place and who else thought it's a good idea. I also want to know how spending the amount it costs to fly a 747 for a photo op, something I think was absolutely needless, is a justification for spending tax dollars, no matter where they wanted to do it. And they even had fighter escort.

Is someone going to at least tell us the location of this place? I've never heard of it and I have no idea where it is.

By now most of you are probably aware of of the incident over New York City in which a 747 did a low flyover, right in the area at which 9/11 took place, and caused panic. President Obama is "furious" over the incident and was not informed about it until after it happened. While Caldera, director of the White House Military Office, made the decision to do this for a "photo op" and claims that proper steps were taken to inform authorities, the Mayor of New York, among others, were not informed. Certainly the public knew nothing about it. If you are unaware of the incident and/or haven't seen the video, a good place to check is the CNN web site. ( See: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/28...lane/index.html ) In the opinion of many,this incident was grossly idiotic and grossly insensitive. If the military office wanted to do a photo shoot, why did it have to be over New York, in the very same area where 9/11 occurred? Why couldn't they have done a photo shoot elsewhere? Why did they have to do a photo shoot, all at taxpayer expense of course, in the first place? Obviously this is a major embarrassment for the Obama administration. So, what do you think? Should Louis Caldera, the man in charge of the office that makes the decisions as to what to do and where to take the President if an emergency occurs, remain on the job or be removed? I voted for removal, whether he voluntarily steps down or has to be fired. In my opinion, someone who comes up with a decision like that, without realizing the kind of reaction the public and authorities would have, does not belong in charge of anything. Neither does anyone else who was involved in coming up with this idea and approving it. I see no need for my tax dollars paying the salaries of people as brainless and insensitive as that. Can you imagine anyone thinking this was a good idea, no matter who was informed in advance? It's a good thing for Obama that he wasn't informed and knew nothing about it. Can you imagine the reaction if he had indeed known about it and approved it? This goes far beyond a mere embarrassment for the White House and there was no need for it at all, especially during a time when the President is saying that taxes should be spent on trying to bring the USA out of its financial crisis. How does spending taxpayer money to do a photo shoot of a presidential 747 fit into that? Not only was it a waste of money, but resulted in thousands of people frightened and upset. Caldera has apologized. He's sorry about the incident. Well, Mr. Caldera, I'm sorry too, especially about the salary cut you're taking in your new job delivering pizza.

The following appears in PATTAYA ONE: _____ 13 out of 14 Red Shirts Give Themselves Up at Banglamung Police Station There was plenty of action at Banglamung Police Station on Tuesday which began with the arrival of hundreds of anti-government red shirt protesters. Security was tight at the Police Station with the heavily armed Pattaya SWAT Team in attendance to ensure that no breaches of security took place. The Police Station is being used as the Region 2 Command Center for the Police action against those responsible for the recent unrest at the Royal Cliff Beach Resort which forced the cancellation of the ASEAN Summit and for the attack which took place on a car containing the Prime Minister which occurred in South Pattaya. A total of 14 arrest warrants were issued in connection with both cases and on Tuesday, 13 of the 14 people presented themselves to Banglamung Police Station. One of the wanted people was unable to attend as she was currently out of the country. Many of the core leaders of the Red Shirts including Khun Alisaman, who masterminded the invasion of the Royal Cliff, attended the Police Station. A Member of Parliament for the Puea Thai Party offered a guarantee for each of the 13 people who were processed and released pending court appearances. Press conferences were then held by the Police and the Red Shirt Protesters. Khun Alisaman led the Red Shirt Press Conference and stated that he was unhappy that other groups at the protest site including Blue Shirt Protesters were not arrested and he claims that the Police and Army have only targeted the Red Shirts for political reasons. With further threats of Red Shirt Protests around Thailand, this situation is far from over, despite the Police working hard around the clock to ensure that those responsible for the Pattaya unrest and unrest in Bangkok are brought to justice.

Let's hope she's the only one and hasn't spread it to anyone else.

Ok, whether we think of it as capitalism or price gouging, the real issues are availability, affordability, and whether it really works in the first place. Do you agree with me on that? Unfortunately in Thailand, as you can see from the article above, people are starting to avoid buying pork products. That's sad for the industry considering the fact that, as it was with bird flu, you don't get the disease from handling pork products or eating pork. Also, so far the disease hasn't shown up in Thailand at all. I certainly would be among the last to know or understand why the disease seems to affect the age bracket it does, but up to now that's the way it's been. I certainly agree with you on that. "Logic" and "Thailand" are almost oxymoron. The bars, when business dropped, raised their prices. The banks, right in the middle of a tourism crisis, raised foreign ATM card transaction fees to 150 baht per transaction. Based on that, I wouldn't be surprised if pork prices rise instead of drop.

The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Pork Sales Take a Beating Published: 28/04/2009 Consumer demand for pork has plummeted after the swine flu outbreak in Mexico and the rising cost of pork products. In Phichit's Muang district, more than 20 pork stalls at a downtown fresh market were quiet yesterday. As well as the flu scare, the high price of pork in the province - which sold for 130 baht a kilogramme yesterday - prompted people to buy other kinds of meat. The price is expected to continue to rise, which will further hurt the pork trade in the province. Supawan Saengtarn, a butcher and retailer, said high prices and the flu scare had lowered the demand for pork. She said only one pig was butchered a day, compared with three pigs a day before news of the outbreak. In downtown Lampang, Renu Baebpaen, 40, a pork retailer in the Lak Muang fresh market, said the news that people had died of the swine flu and the price of pork at 120 baht a kilo had scared customers off. In Chiang Mai's Muang district, sales of moo kata (barbecued pork) joints have also been affected by the news of the flu outbreak. Chonticha Kaewsao, a supervisor at a local moo kata restaurant, said even though the virus had not spread to Thailand, it was important that the media present the news in a way that does not cause panic. In Buri Ram and Si Sa Ket, the flu scare has caused many pork shops to close their doors. In Yasothon, fish vendors were enjoying brisk sales as many consumers opted for fish, which was cheaper. In Pattaya, pork vendors at several fresh markets complained of a marked drop in sales. They called for state action to fix the problem and to find ways to prevent the spread of the swine flu.

I agree more with lvdkeyes on this one. If the price for these medications had been steady until the outbreak of this disease, and then the prices suddenly shot through the roof, then in my opinion the drug companies are taking advantage of people's fears. To me, that's price gouging. The next logical question is whether anyone knows whether these medications would really do any good against the disease. If not, then what would be the point of buying these meds at all? Does anyone remember the Dustin Hoffman - Morgan Freeman movie called "Outbreak"? The similarities are frightening.

I will if the disease makes it to Thailand. So far, according to the media, it hasn't. Is there a generic name for any of these medications?

I tend to think this is completely her own doing. Maybe she had someone behind the camera holding up cards for her to read from or something, but I think the idea for this and the words are her own, although she may have worked with other people on what she was going to say. I wonder if she is going to do more of these.

Me too. My bank also issued travel checks free, although they were not American Express. I forget what they were, but I never used them for fear that less well known travel checks might not be honored abroad. However, today I would have no such fear. Thai banks are quite sophisticated now, in many ways more so than American banks.

WHO Raising Swine Flu Alert Level (to Level 4), U.S. says (CNN) -- The World Health Organization has raised its pandemic alert level in response to the outbreak of swine flu that originated in Mexico. The move to a level four alert indicates the world body has determined the virus is capable of significant human-to-human transmission. Dr. Keiji Fukuda, WHO assistant director-general, said the move did not mean a pandemic was inevitable. He added the agency would focus efforts on mitigating, rather than containing, the virus. Fukuda said it was too early to predict whether there will be a mild or serious pandemic. More cases were confirmed Monday in the United States, Canada and Europe. The WHO said the U.S. has confirmed 47 cases, Mexico 26, Canada six and Spain one. Two more were confirmed in Scotland. In Mexico the virus is believed to be responsible for at least 149 deaths -- though most of those have not yet been confirmed -- while almost 2,000 have been hospitalized. Some health experts fear the disease could become a pandemic, partly because it has killed young, healthy adults in Mexico. Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova Villalobos said, "The number of cases, unfortunately, will continue to increase." Mexico closed all schools until at least May 6 to help curb the spread of swine flu, officials announced Monday. A U.S. federal official confirmed the U.S. figure -- up from 20 with all the new cases coming from a New York school where eight cases were previously confirmed. The European Union's health commissioner Monday urged people "to avoid non-essential travel to the areas which are reported to be in the center of the clusters" of a swine flu outbreak. Andorra Vassiliou's latest comments soften an earlier statement urging people "to avoid traveling to both Mexico and the United States due to concerns about swine flu." The EU issued a statement clarifying that Vassiliou's remarks were her personal comments and that travel advisories can be issued only by member states and not by the EU itself. The first case of swine flu in Europe was confirmed Monday in Spain. Health minister Trinidad Jimenez said a 23-year-old man who returned from studying in Mexico last Wednesday tested positive for the virus at a hospital in the country's southeast. At least 16 more cases are being treated as possible swine flu, Jimenez told a news "We do not have an emergency situation in Spain, but we are working to prevent any possible development, and we are taking action in accord with the World Health Organization," she said. Spain's Ministry of Health has urged travelers recently returned from Mexico and the U.S. to be on the lookout for symptoms of the virus, including fever, coughing and respiratory problems. A few hours later, Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said, "Tests have demonstrated conclusively that the two Scottish cases of swine flu are positive." U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: "We are concerned that this virus could cause a new influenza pandemic. It could be mild, in its effects, or potentially be severe. We do not yet know which way it will go. But we are concerned that, in Mexico, most of those who died were young and healthy adults. Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, said the EU warning was "not warranted." President Barack Obama said Monday that the outbreak was a "cause for concern" but not a "cause for alarm." He said the federal government was "closely monitoring" emerging cases and had declared a public health emergency as a "precautionary tool" to ensure the availability of adequate resources to combat the spread of the virus. Health Library Israel and New Zealand, where 22 students and three teachers were quarantined after returning for a three-week trip to Mexico, are also investigating suspected cases. South Korea says it will test travelers arriving from the U.S. Swine flu is a contagious respiratory disease that usually affects pigs. It is caused by a type-A influenza virus. The current strain is a new variation of an H1N1 virus, which is a mix of human and animal versions. When the flu spreads person-to-person, instead of from animals to humans, it can continue to mutate, making it harder to treat or fight off because people have no natural immunity. The symptoms are similar to common flu. They include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite, coughing, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. advertisement The virus spreads when an infected person coughs or sneezes around another person. People can become infected by touching something with the flu virus on it and then touching their mouth, nose or eyes. In 1968, a "Hong Kong" flu pandemic killed about 1 million people worldwide. And in 1918, a "Spanish" flu pandemic killed as many as 100 million people.

The silver lining on the cloud is that travel checks yield better exchange rates than anything else. Maybe the banks think the same way many of the bars do. We're not getting enough customers, so let's raise the prices.

It all depends on what you're trying to do. To simply have the bank account there are no charges. I know of no Thai banks that charge for online banking access, however transactions such as bill payments usually cost 10 baht per transaction. Transferring money from one account to another can have a charge, depending on the bank, depending on the amount of the transfer, and whether it's an interbank or intrabank transfer. That's usually 25 baht for transfers under 10000 baht, 35 baht for transfers greater than 10000 baht. The ATM card, again depending on the bank, costs 200 or 300 baht. The replacement charge for a new card when the old one expires or is lost or stolen is 100 to 300 baht. In short, yes Thai banks do charge for certain types of transactions, but as you can see it's not high cost. All of the high costs seem to be for transactions that involve foreign bank accounts.

The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Govt Using All Means to Corner Thaksin Published on April 28, 2009 Two Passports Confirmed, Third Might Be Cambodian Travel Document The government is taking every possible step to narrow the political space fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's has on the globe by using the Interpol and other diplomatic moves to corner him, a senior government official said yesterday. Thaksin might be able to stay in Dubai, but United Arab Emirates will not allow him to use the gulf state as a launching pad against the Thai government, said Vice Foreign Minister Panich Vikitsreth. "The UAE government has told us that Thaksin could not use the country as his political base, but could return as an investor," Panich said in an interview yesterday. The UAE and Thailand are preparing an extradition treaty, he said, adding that Abu Dhabi had already sent a draft for consideration. Asked if the government was aware of the movements being made by some former executives of the now-defunct Thai Rak Thai Party to meet Thaksin in Dubai, Panich said nobody could be barred from travelling abroad or meeting anybody. "We don't know where they are going and for what purpose, but they have the right because they are only banned from politics, not travel," Panich explained. Two weeks ago, the government told Interpol to blacklist Thaksin and arrest him if they can, he said. Thai authorities have also sent arrest warrants against Thaksin to all concerned countries, he said. In addition, the foreign ministry has informed all nations that have diplomatic relations with Thailand about Thaksin's movements and the government's concerns, he said. Even though Thaksin's Thai passports, both diplomatic and ordinary, were revoked the former premier continues moving around with foreign travel documents. Reports have confirmed that Thaksin is holding a Nicaraguan passport and has been made special ambassador by President Daniel Ortega. He was also said to have landed in Liberia last week with Montenegro passport and unconfirmed reports say he might also have a Cambodian passport. Since the foreign ministry has no clear information about Thaksin's Cambodian passport, it could not take any action on the issue, Panich said. However, he added, Phnom Penh as already been told about the government's concerns over Thaksin's political movements. "We are being very careful with the matter because relations with Cambodia are very sensitive," he said. However, Panich said, what passport Thaksin travels with is not important. He explained that as long as the former PM uses his own name, his appearance in any country would show up on Interpol's radar and he will be under surveillance in host countries. The government is closely monitoring Jakrapob Penkair's movements, though his whereabouts are still unknown, Panich said. The Immigration Bureau has no records on Jakrapob's departure, he said. Jakrapob, a former spokesman for Thaksin, was charged of lese majeste and freed on bail.

I won't comment. See for yourself. The following appears in THE NATION, followed by links to the two videos that have appeared so far: _____ Anonymous Lady versus Thaksin Published on April 27, 2009 Who is she? That's the words on many people's mouths now. A mysterious Thai woman who has caused quite a stir on YouTube with two video clips attacking Thaksin Shinawatra looks ordinary enough, but her uploads are anything but. One thing seems certain: She's very, very angry. Her first video, named "Kill Thaksin", was put on the popular website about a week ago decrying Thaksin's suspected hand in the Songkran violence. It has drawn nearly 10,000 viewers and still counting fast. Speaking in English with an American accent, she accused Thaksin of using money he "stole" from Thailand to pay protesters to run fiery riots during the Songkran festival. "Mr compulsive liar.....that money belongs to the country you @#$% idiot, not you," she said. "You'd better @#$% stop doing it (destroying Thailand) right now or we will pitch in and hire someone to @#$% kill you and all your family members." In her second video, posted on April 22, the woman again questioned Thaksin's proclaimed loyalty to the monarchy, saying fugitive former red-shirted leader Jakrapob Penkair had been running around spreading insulting information about the highest institution. "Is this how you love Thailand, Mr Thaksin?" she asked. The woman added that Thaksin had been telling the global media that innocent protesters have been killed in the country. "Mr Thaksin, you are defaming your country. Is that how you want a better future for your Thailand?" "If I were you, I would rather shut up, because the more you talk, the more people know what a liar, liar you are." First video: Second Video:

Maybe they would. The following is from TNA: _____ TEMPERATURE-TESTING DEVICE FOR SWINE FLU BEING INSTALLED AT THAI AIRPORTS BANGKOK, April 27 - Thailand‘s international airports will increase their surveillance to quarantine arriving passengers from Mexico and the United States, where a new strain of deadly swine flu virus has been detected, according to the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH). Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai, Disease Control Department Director-General Somchai Chakrabhand, representatives from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and experts from MOPH-US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) convened on Monday to monitor and lay out measures controlling and preventing the outbreak of the swine flu strain of A/H1N1. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said that the relevant authorities are evaluating the situation and will propose preventive approaches to the Cabinet on Tuesday. Initially, the health ministry has ordered quarantine station at every international airport, including Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, to install thermo scanners--a device to test the temperatures of passengers arriving from Mexico and southern US, according to Mr. Witthaya. He said health card detailing the outbreak of swine flu will be distributed to both departing and arriving passengers. The measures are launched after WHO declared the strain flu outbreak in Mexico and the US a “public health emergency of international concern” on Sunday. The swine flu killed at least 103 Mexicans, while sickening more than 1,600 since April 13. During the past two weeks the virus has also been detected in California and Texas, and 10 New Zealand students were reported to have the swine flu after returning from Mexico. Following the news of the outbreak, the Thai health ministry advised Thais to avoid travel to Mexico and the southern US. An emergency centre have been set up to monitor the outbreak and give information regarding the swine flu to the Thai citizen. The Livestock Department also informed the animal immigration across the nation, especially those at Suvarnabhumi Airport and ports to delay imports of swine from Mexico and the US. The Thai public health minister added that Thailand is closely monitoring the situation. WHO’s emergency committee will meet on Monday to consider whether to raise the pandemic alert phase which will be followed by the issuance of specific recommendations to countries on how to halt the disease. Meanwhile, veterinarian Rungroj Thanawongnuvej, an expert on swine flu virus from Chulalongkorn University, asserted that the virus has not been detected in Thailand. Dr. Rungroj said that the virus is originated from pigs but is being spread through human-to-human transmission. The difference between bird flu and swine flu, Dr. Rungroj said, is that swine flu is less deadly, with a lower proportion of fatalities. Bird flu virus affects all systems of human body, but for that of swine, it only affects the respiratory system. However patients can die if the respiratory system malfunctions. A person with swine flu virus will demonstrate flu-like symptoms including fever, runny nose, coughing, sore throat, vomiting and diarrhea, said Dr. Rungroj, who noted most Mexican victims who had the swine flu virus might have had low body immunity. He said the American patients instead recovered from the illness due to the better hygiene and immediate treatment. Dr. Rungroj however insisted that cooked pork will not transmit the virus to consumer. (TNA)

Here's something else for my "I Don't Get It" list. Isn't it true that if you or I were convicted felons on the run as fugitives, we would be arrested upon presenting our passport when trying to enter a foreign country? I thought that was true. If it is, why do none of these countries arrest him? Why do they accept him? Why do they let him enter? Also, why are countries such as Nicaragua and Montenegro issuing him passports at all? Solely on the basis of his wealth? Is that all it takes to get passports from multiple countries, just be rich enough? Well, maybe his next passport will be issued by Burkina Faso while he's visiting beautiful downtown Ouagoudougou. The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Convicted Thaksin Holds Montenegro Passport According to his Montenegro passport, Thaksin who has been running away from a two-year jail term in Thailand, arrived in Monrovia, capital of Liberia on April 20 and departed it on April 23. Earlier reports confirmed that he is also holding a Nicaraguan passport as he is appointed as "special ambassador" by Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega. Thai government has revoked all his passports, including diplomatic and ordinary passports, after he became fugitive.

Maybe some people who reside in Thailand will opt to do what I do. My monthly income is direct-deposited to Bangkok Bank's New York branch and goes into my Bangkok Bank account here the same day. The fees are very nominal, about a total of US $6 including everything. Once the money is in my account here I don't have to bother with foreign ATM cards at all. I can withdraw funds from any Bangkok Bank branch office or ATM without any fees. If I use a different bank's ATM the fee is 25 baht. I can pay most of my bills online. I can even do that via secure mobile phone service now. I have access to as much money as I want any time, day or night. If I need more than an ATM will allow, I can go to any Bangkok Bank branch and withdraw whatever amount I need. No fees for any of that. Those of you who reside in Thailand can do whatever you want, but for me the way I do it is very easy, never a problem, no need for complicated methods of receiving funds, and I don't have to worry about fees at all. If it is possible for you to receive funds by direct deposit, you might want to consider doing the same thing I'm doing. There is another potential problem using foreign ATM cards. Last night I had dinner with an American friend who lives in Pattaya. He had a little story to tell me. He uses his foreign ATM card. Unfortunately, just a few days ago the ATM he was using ate his card. He did not have a spare second card. He called the Pattaya branch of the bank and was told he can retrieve the card the next day if he goes back to the same ATM at 1:15. He went back, waited about 45 minutes, and gave up. He called the bank again and was told he could go to the branch office and retrieve the card there . . . the next day. He went. They didn't have the card. They called their main office in Bangkok and there was no record of his card at all. Of course, now he had to call the USA and cancel the card. They're mailing him a new one, but at his address in the USA, not in Thailand. Fortunately for him he is going back to the USA anyway. He's on the plane now, as I write this, so his new card ought to be there shortly after he arrives. But if he wasn't going back to the USA, your guess is as good as mine as to how long it would have taken him to somehow receive his new card. Last year, another friend had a similar experience. It took nearly 2 months before he finally received his new card. Meanwhile, if the ATM had eaten a Thai bank's ATM card, the worst that would have happened would have been canceling that card, going to the bank, and walking out with a new card 15 minutes and a couple hundred baht later. As I said, you folks can do as you want, but I think receiving funds by direct deposit and sticking to Thai banks is the easiest and safest way to go. Once again, Thailand has taken a new step to make things even less attractive for foreigners. At a time when the tourist industry is begging for customers, what does Thailand do? They put in place exorbitant fees for foreign ATM cards. All these years nothing like that was ever done, so they decide to do that now. Good thinking bankers! Brilliant! The logic of this, or lack of same, is now on my "I Don't Get It" list.

What about a three-legged one? I guess this disease gives a whole new meaning to "happy as a pig in shit."