Gaybutton

My apologies to fedssocr. He turned out to be the one who was right after all. I'll have to eat my plate of crow as soon as I wipe the egg off my face. However, Miss Marple is still needed. When you read the two articles, perhaps you'll have the same questions I have: Why would this man travel all the way to Thailand from Italy and very soon thereafter commit suicide, and do it in this gruesome manner from the middle of a bridge? Now it seems rather obvious that he planned this. How did he manage to get out to the middle of that bridge, carrying that length of rope, along with the plastic bag, tie the rope to the bridge, and commit the suicide without anyone noticing, especially considering how heavy Bangkok traffic is even in the middle of the night? Apparently he was missing from the hotel for a day or so prior to the suicide. Where was he? Did he plan this while he was still in Italy? Did he come to Thailand with the expectation of a lucrative business deal that ended up going sour? Did he get jilted by a lover? The plot thickens . . . The following appears in THE NATION: _____ Suicide by Decapitation Published on February 25, 2009 Bridge Victim's Head Torn Off by 'Force of Gravity'; Missing Italian Man Likely Victim Deputy police commissioner-general Jongrak Chutha-nont announced yesterday that the westerner whose head was found hanging from Rama VIII Bridge on Sunday committed suicide and was believed to be an Italian. Jongrak said Siriraj Hospital doctors had confirmed that the body discovered near the bridge on Monday belonged to the head. He said the uneven decapitation wound and bruises suggested death by hanging rather than beheading with a sharp object, adding that the man's body showed no signs of assault. At 11am yesterday, forensic officials along with Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's Disaster Prevention and Mitiga-tion officials went to inspect the scene one more time. They took photographs of the handwriting found on the bridge's railing and descended by rope to take photographs of the blood traces and collect samples. It was confirmed that the blood-spray pattern found on cement foundations under the bridge resulted from the action of the arteries when the head was torn from the body by the force of gravity. Siriraj Hospital forensic doctors had told police that this sequence of events was "often typical of a suicide by hanging". Though medical evidence shows that it was almost certainly a suicide and not a brutal execution by international gangsters, Jongrak urged anyone with evidence that suggested murder to contact the police. The case will be registered as suicide in 30 days if no more evidence to the contrary is put forward, he said. As for the ongoing attempts to identify the victim, Jongrak said he was wearing Italian-made Puma clothing, and the bag found near his head carried the name of an Italian hotel. Checks revealed that 49-year-old Italian Jaeta Jiovani entered Thailand on February 18 and checked in to the Rex Hotel in the Sukhumvit area before going missing at the weekend. It was reported that Jiovani had been to Thailand seven times. Police also showed reporters pictures taken of Jiovani arriving at the airport. ___________________ And this, from the BANGKOK POST: _____ Headless Horror was Suicide, Say Detectives Investigators Closer to Finding Man's Identity By: WASSAYOS NGAMKHAM Published: 25/02/2009 Police believe a man whose severed head was found hanging from the Rama VIII bridge had committed suicide. All evidence points to self-harm, Deputy National Police chief Jongrak Jutanont said yesterday. Speaking after a meeting with the team working on the case, Pol Gen Jongrak said specialists from Siriraj Hospital had confirmed a match between a male body found in the Chao Phraya river and the head. However, his identity is still not known. The head was found suspended about 5 metres below the railing of the bridge on Sunday. A Puma-brand white polyester bag was also found attached to the rope. There were some Italian words printed on one side of the bag. His body was found in the water near the bridge the following day. The body was clad in a white long-sleeved shirt, a pair of black trousers and a pair of sneakers. A box of matches was found on the body. Pol Gen Jongrak said specialists said the head was not severed by a sharp object as the neck had rough and uneven edges. If the head was severed by a sharp object, the wound around the neck would have even edges, he said. "The head was probably severed when the man dropped from the bridge with a rope tied around his neck. It looks like the head was not chopped off [with a sharp object]," Pol Gen Jongrak said. He also said the body of the man had no injuries or bruises. He said all the evidence suggested it was suicide, not a murder nor transnational crime, Pol Gen Jongrak said. He said if no new evidence was found within 30 days to suggest the man was murdered, police would conclude he had committed suicide. Police have been searching for clues in areas frequented by foreign travelers, including Khao San and Nana, to identify the man. Crime Suppression Division police checked with the Italian embassy when it was discovered the bag found with the head bore Italian words. Pol Gen Jongrak said a picture recorded by the Immigration Bureau at Suvarnabhumi airport showed an Italian man, Giovanni Gaeta, 49, who seemed to fit the man's description. He arrived in Thailand on Feb 8 and checked in at the Rex Hotel on Sukhumvit road. Police are trying to track him down. Pol Col Pornsak Surasit, commander of the CSD's Division 1, said police were stepping up efforts to identify the dead man.

Where's Miss Marple when you need her?

The following appears in PATTAYA ONE: For photos, see: http://www.pattayaone.net/news/2009/februa..._23_02_52.shtml _____ Red Shirt Anti-Government Protests turn Violent on Pattaya Beach Political Demonstrations are not common here in Pattaya, however on Sunday Afternoon the Pro-Thaksin Red Shirts were out in force as they attempted to spread their message to the people of Pattaya. Banners suggested the current Democrat-led government was illegal and Parliament must be dissolved immediately so new elections can be held. They also demanded that the Yellow-Shirt anti-Thaksin Demonstrators that caused widespread disruption in Bangkok should be held to account and arrested. A parade of around 5,000 red shirts marched along Pattaya Beach Road. The parade was peaceful until they reached Mike Shopping Mall where a small group of Yellow Shirt Supporters gathered to voice their anger towards the demonstration. There was potential for a major problem and with only a handful of Police and Police Volunteers on-hand to keep order, the situation began to deteriorate. Small scuffles broke out and items were thrown at the Yellow Shirts who barricaded themselves inside Mike Shopping Mall which sustained damage during the attack. During the chaos a Police Volunteer, Khun Wirort aged 43 sustained a head wound caused by broken glass. He made a Police report but could not confirm which group threw the offending item. Local residents are now concerned that these demonstrations may escalate here in Pattaya at a time when the town is trying to recover following the demonstrations in Bangkok which effectively ruined the recent High Season Months. At a time when the town is trying to rebuild its tourism industry, this could be seen as a major blow to those efforts, especially if these demonstrations continue.

Ok, it could have been a barge.

There are still seats available if you're interested:

Now I have to stand corrected. The photo from the angle shown in the Bangkok Post clearly shows that the bridge indeed is over water after all. Maybe the rest of the body is down there somewhere. It 'sleeps with the fishes.'

You're wrong about that too. Every erdash I've ever seen always had a full head of hair . . .

Many have said that the value of the baht is, at least in part, based on Japanese and Chinese money. Both China and Japan are being hit hard by the global economic meltdown. The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Japan Bears Brunt of Global Economic Crisis By: AFP Tokyo - Remember the early 1980s? The compact disc was brand new, the Walkman was still a novelty and Japanese carmakers were getting ready to conquer the world. Fast forward to 2009 and with Asia's biggest economy in a deep recession, Japanese factories are slashing their output back down to the same levels as 1983, wiping out more than two decades of growth, analysts say. Once seen as relatively immune to the global downturn, Japan's economy has become one of the biggest victims, exposing the fragility of its export-led recovery from a decade-long slump. Japan's banks managed to escape the worst of the financial crisis, but its manufacturers are being battered by the slump in demand for cars, electronics and other goods. "The dire situation for Japan's economy cannot be overstated," warned Kirby Daley, a senior strategist at Newedge Group in Hong Kong. "Japan is woefully unprepared to deal with the severe downturn in its economy that it's going to face in 2009, 2010 and possibly beyond," he said. Corporate icons such as Toyota and Sony are slashing thousands of jobs as they brace to fall deep into loss. The government is in disarray. It's no wonder the yen's surge against the dollar has fizzled out. "The yen is rapidly losing its 'safe haven' status," said NAB Capital analyst John Kyriakopoulos. The government warned last week Japan's economy was in the deepest crisis since World War II, after contracting at an annualised pace of 12.7 percent in the fourth quarter, the worst performance in almost 35 years. "In the space of a few months, Japan has gone from being what market participants regarded as one of the world's best economies to one of the worst," analysts at RBS Securities wrote in a note. "The global collapse of exports and Japan's dependence on them are largely responsible for this change," they added. Japan's Nikkei index is back down near October's 26-year low, while the broader Topix index ended Friday at the weakest level in a quarter of a century. With exports and industrial output plunging, analysts expect another severe contraction in the Japanese economy in the first quarter of 2009. According to the government's forecasts, by February Japanese factory production is expected to drop to levels last seen in 1983. "Output will have fallen over a five-month period by as much as it had risen in the previous quarter of a century," said Richard Jerram, chief Japan economist at Macquarie Securities. Now more than ever, analysts say, Japan needs a steady hand on the tiller of the economy. Instead, the government is engulfed in its own crisis, with Prime Minister Taro Aso's popularity below 10 percent according to one poll. It hardly helps that the finance minister had to resign in disgrace after slurring his words and struggling to stay awake at a recent G7 meeting, despite his insistence that cold medicine -- and not alcohol -- was to blame. Japan's political turmoil could weaken the government's ability to implement fiscal stimulus measures to help revive economic growth, NAB Capital's Kyriakopoulos said. Japan has announced a series of spending packages, but its huge public debts -- a hangover from efforts to spend its way out of the 1990s recession -- mean that it has limited ammunition to fight the crisis. "They're going to have to print money for anything that they do. They can try to throw money at the problem but they will only exacerbate the long-term issues facing the country and the economy," said Daley at Newedge Group. Japan's central bank has already slashed interest rates to 0.1 percent and taken steps to spur lending, including purchases of corporate bonds, but many analysts think it will have to do more to stop the economy's slide. The BoJ appears to be "sticking to a fine Japanese tradition of doing too little too late," said Rabobank International analyst Jan Lambregts. "The measures taken over the past couple of months appear too much piecemeal. Given the severity of the recession, this is a risky approach."

Has it occurred to you that the article specifically states that the rest of his body has not been found? If it was a suicide, and decapitation occurred because he botched it up, then what happened to the rest of his body? Maybe someone took it as a souvenir. Maybe it landed in the bed of a passing pickup truck and the driver hasn't noticed it yet. It couldn't have washed downstream. The photo clearly shows that the bridge was over a street, not a body of water. Don't you think that kind of rules out suicide?

My all time favorite is the one in which a body was found in Pattaya Bay. It had been weighed down, cement overshoe style, and the hands were tied behind the victim's back. That one was ruled a suicide!!!!!! Well, maybe the guy messed with the Mafia. Around here, that's suicide! Anyway, I wonder if that Thai officer is any relation to Inspector Clouseau . . .

As far as I know, this is the first time there has been a public protest directed toward gays in Thailand. I recall no others. I'm a bit puzzled as to why the parade was called off. Unless there was reason to believe a lot more than thirty protesters would be out there doing their Reverend Phelps routine, I'm not sure why they weren't simply told what they can go do with it. I guess in this case the decision was that discretion is the better part of valor.

That's what I'm hoping for. If the dollar does reach previous highs once again, it could be a very good time to buy property too. For those who wish to sell property, yes you probably would have to take a hit, but you could also consider renting it out as an alternative to selling.

If Pattaya really does make the Guinness Book, it won't be the first time. A couple years ago Bob's BBQ made it to the Guinness Book for having created the world's largest hamburger. See: http://www.bobs-bbq.com/museum_bb_photo.htm

My guess is they don't lower the rates because they don't have to. As far as I know, both hotels are usually fully booked. It seems to me that the way to get the most accurate answer would be to send an Email to them and ask. Both hotels do have Email addresses.

I think you are confusing The Village and the Floating Market. Those are two separate facilities at two separate locations. The Floating Market is a few miles south of The Village. Actually, I'm somewhat surprised to see that the Floating Market may be worth a visit. I would have thought it would have had "tourist trap" written all over it. I'm glad to know that it doesn't. I wasn't going to bother with it at all. Now I think I'll stop by after all.

Interestingly enough, the country closest to Thailand that did make the list is Laos. Here's what the article says: _____ Though the Lao kip has gained by 9% against the dollar, landlocked Laos continues to be plagued with the 8th least valued currency in the world. But this is a boon for tourists who wish to visit the former Kingdom of a Million Elephants and have a deeper Southeast Asian experience. The tiny mountainous Buddhist nation has seen a hit increase on Kayak.com of over 18% from ’07, and as its popularity surges, the luxury prices surge too.

Here is the full article from THE NATION: _____ Red Threats Call Off Gay March Published on February 22, 2009 The second Gay Pride Parade here was called off late yesterday evening after a stand-off with a group of "Rak Chiang Mai 51" red-shirted demonstrators who were objecting to the public event. The parade started from Buddha-sathan and was to head towards the Night Bazaar and end at the Tawan Trendy Mall, but organisers decided to call it off fearing violence. Earlier in the evening, about 30 red-shirted protesters had confronted the organisers, forcing them to dismantle the stage erected near the mall to welcome the parade. About 30 red-shirted protesters went to the Tawan Trendy Mall where a stage had been erected to welcome the Gay Pride Parade, scheduled to march from the Buddhasathan towards the Night Bazaar and to the mallThe protesters launched verbal attacks through a megaphone saying the event tarnished the city's reputation. They also reacted angrily to remarks made by the organisers that the "Rak Chiang Mai 51" group was acting like thugs. The group vowed not to allow the event to be held in a public space. However, they had no objection to the venue being shifted to a hotel or conference room. A few red-shirts also tried to break through police security in front of the stage to attack an organiser because they were upset that she had been taking their pictures. After an hour of confrontation, the organisers agreed to dismantle the stage and cancel the activities in the area, to the disappointment of many, including tourists, who had been waiting to join the event. This was despite the security provided by 150 policemen. Earlier yesterday, Petchawat Wattanapongsiri-kul, a leading member of the "Rak Chiang Mai 51" group said local residents disagreed with the parade as it was against the old city's culture and could tarnish its image. He said such an event should be held in Phuket or Pattaya, which were tourist entertainment cities. He said if the organisers wanted to spread the message about Aids then that should have been the main focus of the parade, not homosexuality. "Chiang Mai people cannot accept this and will stop the parade by all means, even violence." Sureerat Trimakka, from the People Living With HIV/Aids Network in Thailand, said earlier yesterday that the parade had taken six months to organise and its participants were properly dressed. The idea was to increase public understanding about sexual diversity and equality as well as promoting awareness of HIV/Aids issues, she said.

All things considered, my guess is the baht could reach 36 next week, possibly early next week. I certainly have no objections if that happens. The real question, in my opinion, is if the baht really does reach 36, and then moves toward 37, will it eventually stabilize at better rates or will we find ourselves heading right back down toward 30 again in the near future? The last time Asia went through a financial crisis the baht stabilized at 45 and stayed that way for about 7 years, as I recall. Anyone want to go for 50 and see the baht stabilize there? Bring it on! I remember, not very long ago, being upset to see the exchange rate drop to 36. Now I'd be delighted to see it.

It's because the forum limits image space. There is an alternative method. Place your image on Photobucket. If you don't have an account with them, it's free. http://www.photobucket.com . Underneath your photo you will see a set of codes. One of them, the bottom one, says IMG code. Simply COPY the contents of the box, and then PASTE the code into the message you're writing. After you submit your message the photo will appear within your posted message. You can do that as often as you like without the message board limiting you.

Nothing is wrong with doing that, provided you know you do that. I'm guessing these two men, if the story is true, realized their visa had expired, had no idea what to do, didn't want to run into problems at the airport, and just went to the police. Maybe they asked at their hotel and some clueless staff member told them to go to the police. Who knows? I believe the story because quite often the more bizarre the story, the more likely it's a true story. I'm a little skeptical because you would think there would have been all kinds of publicity about something like this and I don't recall ever seeing anything at all about this. However, whether the story is true or not, the fact remains that you want to go to Immigration and get an extension before the visa expires. If you screw up and accidentally overstay your visa, you go to Immigration, not the police. While it seems absurd that the police really would have done as the story says they did, they could do that.

I doubt it too. Throughout history the possibility of consequences doesn't seem to have stopped very many of them. That's probably because they think they're going to win whatever war they're in and/or because they think they'll keep their hold on power or the rest of their lives. The really scary ones are the tyrants who actually believe they are doing the right thing.

That's quite an unfortunate incident. I'm glad you posted it. It's really strange, but if you overstay your visa and turn yourself in to the Immigration police, you pay a fine. If any police other than the Immigration police catch you having overstayed, then you get arrested. If these men voluntarily went to the police, explained their situation, and made it clear that it was an honest mistake and only one day, then the police did have the authority to arrest them, but I think that was a terrible thing to do to them. Unless the hands of the police are absolutely tied in such a circumstance, then I don't understand why the police didn't explain things to them and perhaps even offer to take them to Immigration to get it straightened out. But to have arrested them and treat them as if they were trying to be criminals is truly deplorable, especially if the police had an option to help them.

So far I've been lucky. I've never had food poisoning in my life. I've never heard of norfloxicin. Can you tell us more about it? I'm interested in what dosage to take and how often to take it if I ever do get food poisoning. Is that what they give you if you have to go to the hospital?

As of 2:00pm today, Friday, February 20, the US dollar to baht exchange rate is 35.51. If you look at the list Shebavon provided, you can see that the movement has been quite rapid over the past couple of days. I don't know enough about economics to have a clue as to why this is happening now and happening so rapidly, but I'm certainly not complaining. There has even been a rumor floating around that Thailand may devalue the baht, but nothing I've read indicates that possibility is on the table. Maybe part of the explanation lies within the following two articles: The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ Tarisa Says Weaker Baht Won't Help By: PARISTA YUTHAMANOP Published: 20/02/2009 Any move to weaken the baht to help exports would ultimately prove futile, according to Tarisa Watanagase, the governor of the Bank of Thailand. The government this week suggested current exchange rates may be hurting Thailand's export competitiveness. Exports in January recorded their biggest decline in a decade with a 26.5% year-on-year contraction to $10.49 billion. But Dr Tarisa said exchange rates had been less of a factor in export performance than the decline in demand from the United States, Japan and Europe. A central bank study found that Thai exports would fall 1.6% for a 1% decline in economic growth for key trading partners. Every 1% decline in the value of the baht would only lift exports by 0.2%. The baht has remained relatively stable in recent months, closing yesterday at 35.50 to the dollar. For the year to date, it has fallen 0.7%, and by 3% from 2008. Dr Tarisa said the baht was ''in the middle of the range comparing to regional currencies'', and added that export competitiveness should not be considered only in terms of exchange rates. The baht's competitiveness in real terms had actually improved, with the real effective exchange rate falling to 87.16 in December from 89.91 in November when indexed against 20 currencies of trade partners and competitors. Dr Tarisa, speaking at a forum held by the Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration, said the rapid decline in inflation in the second half of 2008 had significantly cut business costs. In any case, the impact of the global downturn was affecting the entire region. ''Many other countries have already experienced [steep] declines in exports. Now, we are recording a worse decline than others,'' she said. ''As a matter of fact, [the export declines] are a surprise for the region, as there was the thought that the rise in intra-regional trade could save exports. Now we know that this hope has dimmed. Our exports to China have dropped quickly in recent months.'' Pramon Suthiwong, the chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, warned that the government should consider the potential increase in social disruption and stress from rising unemployment. Migrant workers are another potential issue, he said, considering that there were two million legal immigrants registered in Thailand and an unknown number of illegal workers. ____________________ And this, from TNA: _____ Economy Runs Risk of Experiencing Negative Growth, Says BoT BANGKOK, Feb 20 (TNA) – Bank of Thailand (BoT) Governor Tarisa Watanagase on Thursday conceded the Thai economy this year runs a risk of experiencing negative growth due to the export slump and the persistent global economic crisis. Delivering a keynote speech on "Impacts of Global Economic Crisis on Thailand," she said a revision of the gross domestic product (GDP) growth estimate for this year would be made at a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee on February 25. Earlier, she said, the central bank projected the economy would grow 0-2 per cent this year, but since economic figures, particularly global economic growth rate, an export slump of 26.5 per cent, oil prices and inflation rates, had all rapidly changed, the BoT admitted to uncertainty as to whether Thai economic growth this year will reach 1 per cent. In the worst-case scenario, she said, the economy would experience negative growth this year. Mrs. Tarisa said the exports in January had dropped more than expected earlier. Whether exports improve or not depends on the global economy and the economies of Thailand's trading partners. Unless the economies of the Group 3 including the United States, Japan, and European Union recover, the exports would not pick up. The BoT chief said economies of Thailand's trading partners had a greater impact on exports than the movement of the baht. According to the BoT study, should economies of Thailand's trading partners decline by 1 per cent, Thai exports would drop by 1.6 per cent. But should the baht weaken by 1 per cent, it would make exports edge down slightly by 0.2 per cent. It showed that the value of the baht is not an impediment to exports. Thai exporters are not losing their competitiveness because their production costs had dropped sharply following reduced inflation. (TNA)

It's been six years. It's also been that long since I last asked. Since moving to Thailand, I have been back to the USA only once. I didn't even ask for an upgrade for that trip because I had bulkhead aisle seats both ways, so that suited me just fine. I imagine I had the cheapest possible tickets every time I asked. I always bought my tickets through Rhonda, of Norcross Travel, and her prices invariably beat any other price I was ever able to find, by hundreds of dollars.