TotallyOz

Going to Singapore for a holiday. What is there that I need to see, do? Where I meet the guys?

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is reported to have divorced his wife Khunying Potjaman, in a move that has shocked many of the couple's friends and colleagues. Thaksin told People Power party (PPP) MPs at a dinner in Hong Kong last night that his 32-year marriage had ended. "We divorced in order to make everybody feel comfortable," a PPP MP, who was at the dinner, quoted Thaksin as saying. The divorce was sealed at 11.00am yesterday at the Thai consulate in Hong Kong, the source said. Thaksin's announcement shocked everyone at the table which became suddenly silent, said the MP, who declined to be named. Khunying Potjaman was not at the dinner, he added. A high-ranking government source confirmed the couple had signed the divorce papers at the Thai consulate in Hong Kong. The divorce took place less than a month after the Supreme Court sentenced Thaksin to two years in jail and acquitted Khunying Potjaman over conflict of interest charges in the Ratchadiphisek land deal case. The prison sentence is alleged to have prompted the UK to cancel entry visas for Thaksin and his wife. A political observer said the divorce could be legally motivated to protect the couple's assets, which are mostly held in the name of Khunying Potjaman. The National Anti-Corruption Commission revealed last year that Thaksin officially declared assets worth 614.39 million baht when he took office, while Khunying Potjaman had 8.48 billion baht. Thaksin and Khunying Potjaman married in 1976 and have three children. The family often appeared in public together, even after Thaksin was ousted in a coup and went into self-exile in London before his and Khunying Potjaman's visas were revoked. During his controversial phone-in speech to supporters at Rajamangala stadium on Nov 1, Thaksin lamented that his family had been torn apart after the Sept 19 coup. Thaksin reportedly flew to Dubai last night after the dinner with the PPP MPs, who went to Hong Kong to meet Thaksin, who arrived from Beijing on Tuesday. The group included Yaowapa Wongsawat, his younger sister and wife of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, her close aide Yongyuth Tiyapairat and former Thai Rak Thai executive Newin Chidchob. Veera Musikhapong and Chatuporn Promphan, hosts of the Kwam Jing Wan Nee (Truth Today), were also seen in Hong Kong yesterday. A PPP source said the former prime minister chose Dubai because the UAE has no extradition treaty with Thailand. The source said Thaksin told his associates he would use "all means" to fight his political enemies, whom he blamed for his political downfall and the two-year jail sentence imposed by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions. Thaksin blamed a group of "privileged elites" including retired army generals, said the source. http://bangkokpost.com/151108_News/15Nov2008_news02.php

By The Nation An explosion occurred at a Bangkok intersection where vendors of the Klong Toey Market were rallying, injuring 13 of them, two severely. Police quoted witness as saying a bag was dropped from the flyover over the Ratchada-Rama IV Intersection, causing the explosion at 1 am Friday. Bomb disposal officers have yet to determine the type of the bomb. Some 1,000 vendors have been staging a protest at the intersection since Tuesday afternoon against the Port Authority of Thailand and Legal Co. The vendors protested against what they claimed to be unfair treatment against vendors at the Klong Toey market. The injured protesters were rushed to the Kluay Nam Thai and Chulalongkorn hospitals. Two of them were severely injured. They are Yakob Lohmoh, 51, and Penthiwawan Kaewsuk, 37. Sujittra Damrongsiri, 52, a protester, said she saw a man on a motorcycle dropped a plastic bag onto the tent where the protesters were resting and an explosion occurred shortly. Pol Lt Col Prapassorn Chartprom, deputy commander of the Tha Rua police station, quoted witnesses as saying that the bag did not explode immediately but it exploded about five seconds after it landed on the tent's roof. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/11/13...al_30088331.php

Here are a few photos from the beach. Most of them my boyfriend took for me. Some of the guys I don't know as he went around snapping left and right and came back with over 300 photos of just fireworks. I guess that shows what he really likes about the night. I hope you enjoy!

The owner of Villa Rouge is having his birthday party this year on Nov 20th. They will have a big buffett, birthday cake and a lucky draw. They will also have a special show. I have been to this owner's party before and he really knows how to throw a party!

WHEN the Netherlands legalized brothels eight years ago, the mood was upbeat. Politicians thought they were well on the way to solving one of the world’s perpetual policy dilemmas: how to stop all the bad things that are associated with the sex trade (coercion, violence, infectious diseases) while putting a proper, and realistic, limit to the role of the state. The Dutch were hoping that links between prostitution and multiple forms of crime, from money laundering to smuggling, could finally be severed. Ultimately, they believed, the buying and selling of sexual services would become a freely undertaken transaction, in which the state would only be involved as a regulator and tax-collector. The police could then concentrate on criminals, instead of harassing people engaged in exchanges that were nobody’s business but their own. While the Dutch experiment was beginning, another European country was trying out a different approach. From 1999 onwards, Sweden began penalising people who patronise prostitutes (through fines, jail terms of up to six months, and “naming and shaming”), while treating people who sell their bodies as victims. All over the world—especially in rich democracies—policymakers have been watching the two places to see which philosophy works best. In reality, neither is a silver bullet; neither country has found a perfect way of shielding prostitutes from exploitation and violence, while avoiding a nanny-state. So the arguments rage on, from liberal New Zealand to San Francisco, where people will vote on November 4th on virtually decriminalising the sex trade. In Amsterdam—where the spectacle of half-naked women pouting behind shopfront windows is a city trademark—the link between prostitution and organised crime has proved durable. Efforts to break it have been a “complete failure”, says Lodewijk Asscher, a deputy mayor who has led the city hall’s effort to buy up and transform much of the red-light district. Fresh arguments in favour of his campaign emerged from a report published in July by Dutch police and prosecutors. It drew heavily on the case of three Turkish-German vice barons who were sentenced recently to long prison terms for running a ring of 120 prostitutes in three Dutch cities. Their operation included many of the ghastly practices that the liberal law was supposed to stamp out. Saddled with fictitious debts, the women under the barons’ control were made to take 20 clients a day, subjected to forcible breast enlargements and tattooed with the names of their “owners”. Such exploitation is not exceptional: the policemen who patrol Amsterdam’s red-light district reckon that more than half the ladies posing in windows are there against their will. All that helps to explain why the Swedish experience is finding imitators in several countries—including England and Wales where people will soon be liable to prosecution for “paying for sex with someone forced into prostitution…or controlled for another’s gain”. It is also becoming easier for English and Welsh police to prosecute people (either pedestrians or motorists) who solicit sex on the street. In Scotland, kerb-crawling was banned a year ago. The British moves were made after studying the Dutch and Swedish experience. But what is really happening in Sweden? The policy of penalising clients or “johns” enjoys widespread consent. It was introduced by a centre-left administration, despite opposition from the centre-right. Now it is accepted by all Sweden’s main parties. The authorities say the number of streetwalking prostitutes fell about by 40% during the first four years of the new regime. Swedish politicians say they have made their country a bad destination for traffickers. But a sceptic might retort that by driving prostitution away from Sweden, the authorities have simply exported it, sending sex-hungry Swedes to nearby countries or else to Thailand. It’s dark underground Moreover, a sex-workers’ association in Sweden says the law makes life dangerous for those who ply their trade secretly. A life of dodging between apartments and exchanging furtive texts can leave women more reliant on pimps. Another argument is that fear of prosecution reduces the chances that clients will report the exploitation of under-age girls or boys. Some drawbacks of doing things the Swedish way have been noted in more established quarters. A report by Norway’s justice ministry, in 2004, cited evidence of an “increased fear of attack” among Swedish prostitutes, who found it harder to assess their clients because transactions had to be agreed hastily or on the telephone. But for Norway, it seems, these considerations have been trumped by others, including a sense that prostitution is getting out of control after an influx from Africa, South America and eastern Europe. The Norwegian parliament is on the verge of mandating Swedish-style penalties for buying sex. In a similar spirit, Italy’s cabinet has agreed to outlaw prostitution in public and make penalties harsher. In Europe, then, things are moving towards tighter regulation—in part because many of the continent’s richer countries feel inundated by a wave of newcomers to the trade, some of whom are trafficked. But there are other places where more liberal voices seem to be gaining the upper hand. In the United States, trading in sex is a misdemeanour, at least, almost everywhere, with the exceptions of Rhode Island (where it can take place only indoors, but not in brothels); and, most famously and brashly, in parts of Nevada. So if residents of San Francisco vote for “Proposition K”—which would bar police from taking action against sex workers—it will be a landmark in American history. Supporters of the change (including sex-workers’ unions) say it will transform the role of the police. Instead of pointlessly arresting prostitutes, the police can help them stay healthy and protect them from violence. Advocates of a “no” vote say that if the hands of the police are tied, they will be unable to deal even with obvious cases of abuse. Some say the Dutch experience has made nonsense of the case for liberalisation. Others say Proposition K could lead to a worse situation than the Netherlands’: a free-for-all without the Dutch level of regulation and social security. But for liberals in search of success stories, New Zealand appears to provide more promising evidence. In 2003, that country decriminalised the sex trade with a boldness that exceeded that of the Dutch. Sex workers were allowed to ply their trade more or less freely, either at home, in brothels or on the street. A study published by the government in May, measuring the impact of the new law, was encouraging. More than 60% of prostitutes felt they had more power to refuse clients than they did before. The report reckoned that only about 1% of women in the business were under the legal age of 18. And only 4% said they had been pressured into working by someone else. The report also acknowledges one distinct advantage enjoyed by New Zealand. Although some illegal immigrants are engaged in the sex trade, the country’s isolation and robust legal system make it relatively free from the problem of trafficking, at least by European standards. But there is also a big difference between the policy of New Zealand and that of other places where prostitution is legal. In the Netherlands and Nevada, the business is confined to brothels, which are usually run by businessmen rather than the sex workers themselves. Clearly, the brothel-masters’ status as the sole legal providers of commercial sex enhances their grip on the women who work for them. In New Zealand, prostitutes can fend for themselves. As well as letting them keep all their earnings, this independence gives them freedom to reject nasty clients and unsafe practices. “They feel better protected by the law and much more able to stand up to clients and pushy brothel operators,” says Catherine Healy, head of the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective. Unsurprisingly, the New Zealand system’s critics include brothel owners, both in that country and elsewhere. Going with a girl outside a licensed establishment is like “Russian roulette”, says the website of the Chicken Ranch, a brothel that serves the Las Vegas crowd. In New Zealand, one brothel keeper fumes that the earnings of independent sex workers are “tax-free money, which is not benefiting the Inland Revenue Department”. What about other interested parties—such as respectable Kiwis who resent kerb-crawlers? According to polls, people are sure the number of prostitutes has risen—although the government says this is not true. Auckland city council is trying to allay public concerns by restricting brothels to commercial and industrial areas. Something similar happens in Nevada, where only the smaller counties may host brothels, and they are kept away from town centres. (Such curbs have some bad effects; prostitutes say they are stranded in the desert, totally reliant on brothel owners.) In any case, one unusual investigation concluded that from the prostitutes’ point of view, the New Zealand system was the fairest. A pair of British grandmothers from the Women’s Institute—a homely club that is more often associated with cooking tips—made a tour of brothels in the Netherlands, America and the Antipodes: their aim was to find which system was best for the women who worked in the business. Their top marks went to a discreet house in a suburb of Wellington—classed in New Zealand as a “small owner-operated brothel”—where two women offered their services from Mondays to Fridays. “Just like a regular job,” one of the grannies noted. http://www.economist.com/world/internation...ory_id=12516582

I wonder how, if at all, this will affect Craig's List business. I know that was the only section I went there to view.

I have not seen it but will be looking for it. Thanks for the suggestion as I had not even heard of it.

Keith Oberman speaks out. Finally tonight as promised, a Special Comment on the passage, last week, of Proposition Eight in California, which rescinded the right of same-sex couples to marry, and tilted the balance on this issue, from coast to coast. Some parameters, as preface. This isn't about yelling, and this isn't about politics, and this isn't really just about Prop-8. And I don't have a personal investment in this: I'm not gay, I had to strain to think of one member of even my very extended family who is, I have no personal stories of close friends or colleagues fighting the prejudice that still pervades their lives. And yet to me this vote is horrible. Horrible. Because this isn't about yelling, and this isn't about politics. This is about the... human heart, and if that sounds corny, so be it. If you voted for this Proposition or support those who did or the sentiment they expressed, I have some questions, because, truly, I do not... understand. Why does this matter to you? What is it to you? In a time of impermanence and fly-by-night relationships, these people over here want the same chance at permanence and happiness that is your option. They don't want to deny you yours. They don't want to take anything away from you. They want what you want -- a chance to be a little less alone in the world. Only now you are saying to them -- no. You can't have it on these terms. Maybe something similar. If they behave. If they don't cause too much trouble. You'll even give them all the same legal rights -- even as you're taking away the legal right, which they already had. A world around them, still anchored in love and marriage, and you are saying, no, you can't marry. What if somebody passed a law that said you couldn't marry? I keep hearing this term "re-defining" marriage. If this country hadn't re-defined marriage, black people still couldn't marry white people. Sixteen states had laws on the books which made that illegal... in 1967. 1967. The parents of the President-Elect of the United States couldn't have married in nearly one third of the states of the country their son grew up to lead. But it's worse than that. If this country had not "re-defined" marriage, some black people still couldn't marry...black people. It is one of the most overlooked and cruelest parts of our sad story of slavery. Marriages were not legally recognized, if the people were slaves. Since slaves were property, they could not legally be husband and wife, or mother and child. Their marriage vows were different: not "Until Death, Do You Part," but "Until Death or Distance, Do You Part." Marriages among slaves were not legally recognized. You know, just like marriages today in California are not legally recognized, if the people are... gay. And uncountable in our history are the number of men and women, forced by society into marrying the opposite sex, in sham marriages, or marriages of convenience, or just marriages of not knowing -- centuries of men and women who have lived their lives in shame and unhappiness, and who have, through a lie to themselves or others, broken countless other lives, of spouses and children... All because we said a man couldn't marry another man, or a woman couldn't marry another woman. The sanctity of marriage. How many marriages like that have there been and how on earth do they increase the "sanctity" of marriage rather than render the term, meaningless? What is this, to you? Nobody is asking you to embrace their expression of love. But don't you, as human beings, have to embrace... that love? The world is barren enough. It is stacked against love, and against hope, and against those very few and precious emotions that enable us to go forward. Your marriage only stands a 50-50 chance of lasting, no matter how much you feel and how hard you work. And here are people overjoyed at the prospect of just that chance, and that work, just for the hope of having that feeling. With so much hate in the world, with so much meaningless division, and people pitted against people for no good reason, this is what your religion tells you to do? With your experience of life and this world and all its sadnesses, this is what your conscience tells you to do? With your knowledge that life, with endless vigor, seems to tilt the playing field on which we all live, in favor of unhappiness and hate... this is what your heart tells you to do? You want to sanctify marriage? You want to honor your God and the universal love you believe he represents? Then Spread happiness -- this tiny, symbolic, semantical grain of happiness -- share it with all those who seek it. Quote me anything from your religious leader or book of choice telling you to stand against this. And then tell me how you can believe both that statement and another statement, another one which reads only "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." --- You are asked now, by your country, and perhaps by your creator, to stand on one side or another. You are asked now to stand, not on a question of politics, not on a question of religion, not on a question of gay or straight. You are asked now to stand, on a question of...love. All you need do is stand, and let the tiny ember of love meet its own fate. You don't have to help it, you don't have it applaud it, you don't have to fight for it. Just don't put it out. Just don't extinguish it. Because while it may at first look like that love is between two people you don't know and you don't understand and maybe you don't even want to know...It is, in fact, the ember of your love, for your fellow **person... Just because this is the only world we have. And the other guy counts, too. This is the second time in ten days I find myself concluding by turning to, of all things, the closing plea for mercy by Clarence Darrow in a murder trial. But what he said, fits what is really at the heart of this: "I was reading last night of the aspiration of the old Persian poet, Omar-Khayyam," he told the judge. "It appealed to me as the highest that I can vision. I wish it was in my heart, and I wish it was in the hearts of all: "So I be written in the Book of Love; "I do not care about that Book above. "Erase my name, or write it as you will, "So I be written in the Book of Love." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVUecPhQPqY

BANGKOK — Myanmar’s military leadership continued its crackdown on dissent Tuesday, handing down prison sentences of 65 years each to 14 pro-democracy advocates, according to regional news accounts and reports on a Web site for exiles. The convictions came a day after a blogger was sentenced to 20 years for “creating public alarm,” among other offenses, The Associated Press reported. Tuesday’s sentences were delivered by judges operating within the compound of Insein prison, which holds many of the country’s estimated 2,000 political prisoners. Family members spoke to news agency reporters in Yangon, the country’s largest city, and said that they and defense lawyers were not allowed into the courtroom. The Irrawaddy Web site, which is based in neighboring Thailand, listed the names of 14 advocates it said were sentenced to the 65-year terms. Some of the advocates were reported to be veterans of 1988 pro-democracy uprising that nearly succeeded in toppling the country’s military leaders. The advocates were arrested in August 2007 in the early stages of protests that swelled later in the year into mass demonstrations led by monks that were violently put down. Relatives of the advocates said they were convicted under a wide range of laws like the Foreign Exchange Act, which bans Burmese from holding foreign currency without permission. Other laws reportedly used were the Video Act and Electronics Act, which require Burmese to hold permits for various types of ordinary electronic equipment. One of the best-known examples of the use of these laws was the sentencing in 1996 of James Nichols, an honorary consul for Norway, to three years for possession of a fax machine without a permit in his Yangon home. He died in detention, several months after his conviction in April 1996. Analysts say the real reason for the conviction appeared to be his friendship with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the pro-democracy leader who is under house arrest. Punishments for dissidents have become much harsher in recent years, according to Win Min, an expert on Burmese politics at Chiang Mai University in northern Thailand. A decade ago a sentence of 20 years was considered very unusual, Mr. Win Min said. The 65-year sentences handed down Tuesday are in effect life terms, Mr. Win Min said. “They rule the country by fear and this was a way to give the young generation fear,” Mr. Win Min said of the junta. “By giving out long sentences the new generation will be discouraged from protesting.” http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/12/world/as...amp;oref=slogin

The program that allows you to run Windows on a Mac at the same time as you run your Mac OS has just came out with a new version. I have had it for one day as I upgraded for about 40 USD today. I have been playing with it. It appears much faster and seems easier to use. So far, I have really enjoyed it. http://www.parallels.com/

This show has to be one of the funniest shows ever on television. It just gets better with age. The satellite feeds in Thailand are a season behind but you can get the current season in Itunes and it is simply amazing to watch.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President-elect Barack Obama could reverse some of President Bush's most controversial executive orders, including restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, shortly after taking office in January. Two other executive orders from Bush -- one dealing with a so-called "gag" order on international aid organizations regarding abortion, the other with oil and gas drilling on federal lands -- also are receiving increased scrutiny. Obama's transition team is reviewing hundreds of Bush's executive orders, according to John Podesta, Obama's transition co-chair. New presidents often use executive orders to put their stamp on Washington quickly. Unlike laws, which require months to complete and the consent of Congress, presidents can use their executive authority to order federal agencies to implement current policies. "Much of what a president does, he really has to do with the Congress -- for example, budgeting, legislation on policy -- but executive actions are ones where the president can act alone," said Martha Kumar of the White House Transition Project, a nonpartisan group established to help new presidential administrations. Read full article: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/11...ders/index.html

I read this on a slickdeals thread and thought some might be interested. The first link is to the thread and some forum comments. The second is a direct link to the thread. http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.ph...0&t=1008261 http://www.airasia.com/site/my/en/page.jsp?reference=1mfs

Daily I drive this route and it takes forever with all the road work being done. They seem to not be able to get cars moving beyond the pace of a turtle. I sat in a car yesterday to go one mile and it was over 45 minutes. This is more like Bangkok than Pattaya. I do wonder why they don't do the work at night instead of in the day?

The beach is fun in Pattaya and I have my tickets but was told the food would be served at 8. For some reason I always thought it was at dark. Dark has been coming around 6 or before. What time do the fireworks start? Anyone have good information on this? Thanks in advance.

This is a must see photo journey in LOS. The photos are wonderful and the story is filled with great tidbits of advice. http://www.gaytingtong.com/topic3516.html?...e5fbb88968a3a5b

I have used this place for a while but mostly ordered from them via Door2Door. I love the food. Last night, the BF and I decided to take a few friends out to dinner and we ended up here. The place in on Theppasit Road not too far from the main road to the beach. The restaurant is right on the major road and has a large sign and not easy to miss. The place is clean and well run. You can sit outside or inside. They have license plates from many US states inside on the walls. We ordered the feast which has ribs, pulled pork, chicken, cold slaw, beans, fries and more. It was 1100 baht. We all ordered drinks as well and they have a pitcher of Heineken for 160 baht. The food is excellent and the ribs melted off the bone, just the way they are supposed to. If you like ribs, this place is a must! The menu is on the website. A map is attached in the photo below. http://www.greatrib.com/web/index.html

A friend just got the Hutch wifi system. As he had an Apple, he had to take it in to be adapted to their system. I tested it today at breakfast and was impressed at the speed. It was getting over 900 kps. The upload was very slow but the download was sufficient for anyone just needing to surf and e-mail. The cost is 9,999 bath for the year. You need a passport to get this. If you do a monthly plan, you also need a Thai to sign for you. All in all, something that was very good for my testing.

In California, they are protesting the passage of Proposition 8 and many have taken to the streets. At the LA Mormon Church cries for: Tax this church and Just one Wife were shouted. LOL Totally agree with the first one and think it should be taxed. 20 million the church spent on this campaign and they need to be fully taxed. Also, finally Madonna spoke out. My diva should have said something before but was mum on the topic. Finally in LA she voiced her opinion. A bit late dear!

http://www.newsweek.com/id/167582

Great movie and I really enjoyed it and so did the boys. It was missing several main characters which I am use to seeing in every Bond flick but it had a lot of action and some great scenes. Sadly, not too many gadgets. I once loved the gadgets. But, all in all a very nice movie and worth seeing.

Had breakfast at the Jomtien Thani hotel today. It was 230 baht for all you can eat. It had bacon, eggs, toast, fruits, some Thai dishes, unlimited coffee. It was clean and tasted pretty good. Not a bad bet if you want to try something different from time to time. It is open from 6AM till 10AM daily.

Source: AP RALEIGH, N.C. – An airline crew used duct tape to keep a passenger in her seat because they say she became unruly, fighting flight attendants and grabbing other passengers, forcing the flight to land in North Carolina. Maria Esther Castillo of Oswego, N.Y., is due in court Thursday, charged with resisting arrest and interfering with the operations of a flight crew aboard United Airlines Flight 645, from Puerto Rico to Chicago. Castillo, 45, struck a flight attendant on the buttocks with the back of her hand during Saturday's flight, FBI Special Agent Peter Carricato said in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Charlotte. She also stood and fell onto the head of a blind passenger and later started pulling the person's hair, the complaint stated. Ankle cuffs kept slipping off Castillo, so the flight crew and two passengers were forced to use duct tape to keep her in her seat, the complaint states. She calmed as the pilot diverted the flight to Charlotte-Douglass International Airport, but became disruptive again when authorities boarded the plane to remove her, authorities said. Carricato states that a passenger saw Castillo having drinks in an airport bar before boarding. She bought another drink on the plane. Flight attendants stopped serving her alcohol because of her behavior, the complaint states. United spokesman Jeff Kovick said Wednesday that safety is the company's top priority and that it's cooperating with authorities. FBI spokeswoman Amy Thoreson on Wednesday declined to comment on the ongoing investigation. A message left seeking comment wasn't immediately returned by Castillo's attorney, Julia Mimms. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081106/ap_on_...enger_duct_tape

Anyone else experiencing issues with TTT Internet service? It has been on and off for me for 2 weeks now.