Wino

Also in Myanmar, the locals I talked to liked Obama.

Sorry, that should read, I have eaten there a few times. For some reason, my edit button has disappeared.

I haven't eaten there a few times. On one of the holidays, they had a buffet style meal that was worth the price. The food is acceptable and by American standards, priced within reason.

I haven't eaten there a few times. On one of the holidays, they had a buffet style meal that was worth the price. The food is acceptable and by American standards, priced within reason.

The Catholic Church is changing the way they deal with pedos and child abuse. For the first time, the Pope has addressed this issue. By Philip Pullella Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Benedict expressed "outrage, betrayal and shame" on Friday at the sexual abuse of children by priests in Ireland, which Church leaders said would lead to a shake-up of the Irish Roman Catholic Church. Church sources expected some bishops to resign in the wake of a government report that said Church leaders in overwhelmingly Catholic Ireland had covered up widespread abuse of children by priests for 30 years. "I think that we are looking at a very significant reorganization of the Church in Ireland," Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said after he and other Irish Church leaders held an emergency meeting with the Pope. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091211/wl_nm/us_pope_abuse_irish

Seems like Bernie is adjusting to prison life. I bet he is doing better than many of the investors, that have been cheated out of their life savings.

At least the powers that be have the brains to ban this barbaric tradition of female circumcision or better worded female genital mutilation. KAMPALA, Uganda – Uganda's parliament has approved a bill banning female genital mutilation. Minister of Ethics and Integrity James Nsaba Buturo said that the new law, passed without opposition late Thursday, could give offenders a life sentence. Female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision, is prevalent in portions of West and East Africa to limit women's sexual activity. More than 3,000 girls are affected each December in northeastern Uganda. The girl's clitoris and sometimes other genital parts are removed. Doctors say it eliminates any pleasure for women during sex and can lead to complications during childbirth. Female genital mutilation is illegal in more than a dozen African countries, although laws are rarely enforced. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091211/ap_on_re_af/af_uganda_female_circumcision

In my opinion, Thaksin does not have enough money to pay all the protestors, if that is your implication.

I didn't realize the Cambodian King had the power to pardon a prisoner. Does he have the same love and respect of the Cambodian people as his Thai counterpart?

More problems with the red shirts. It sure doesn't seem like they will ever give up. BANGKOK, Thailand – Protesters in Thailand revived a mission to unseat Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, saying a one-day rally Thursday was a warm-up for bigger events in the coming weeks aimed at toppling the government. Thousands of protesters supporting fugitive ex-leader Thaksin Shinawatra rallied at Bangkok's Democracy Monument to demand Abhisit's resignation and call for fresh elections. At its peak, the crowd swelled to more than 20,000, police said. Thaksin spoke to the crowd via video link from exile. Dressed in a suit and tie, he did not say where he was speaking from. "Return democracy, justice and prosperity to the people," Thaksin said to raucous applause, adding that until new elections are called "we will continue our peaceful protest." He then led a candle-lighting ceremony in honor of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who celebrated his 82nd birthday Saturday. "Long live the king!" the crowd chanted. Thaksin was ousted from power in a 2006 military coup amid allegations of corruption and disrespect to the king, which is a crime in Thailand. He fled Thailand last year after a court convicted him of violating a conflict of interest law and sentenced him to two years imprisonment. Since the coup, Thaksin's supporters and opponents have repeatedly taken to the streets to spar over who has the right to rule the country, sometimes sparking violence. The protesters, known as the "red shirts" for their signature garb, had put their anti-government activities on hold last month out of respect for the ailing Bhumibol and the week of festivities that typically surround his birthday. Abhisit was appointed prime minister by Parliament last December after a Thaksin-allied government was dissolved by a court. Thaksin's supporters say Abhisit came to power illegitimately and should make way for an elected government. "We want the government out. We want Parliament dissolved. And we want to see a new election," said a protest leader, Nattawut Sai-kua. "We are planning our big rally very soon." The gathering was also called to mark a national holiday commemorating Thailand's first constitution in 1932. Protesters are calling for a return to a 1997 constitution, which was scrapped when Thaksin was overthrown. Thaksin retains huge popularity among the rural poor, who want to see him pardoned and returned to power. But he is reviled by the educated urban elite, who support Abhisit and have led months of counterprotests. "I want Thaksin back," said Somporn Saktongniam, a 60-year-old food vendor at the protest. "I never tire of protesting against this government." Bhumibol, who has been on the throne for 63 years, is a constitutional monarch with no formal political role, but he is widely revered and regarded as the country's sole unifying figure. His Dec. 5 birthday took on special significance this year due to his declining health. He has been hospitalized since Sept. 19 with an unspecified illness and emerged briefly on his birthday, looking alert but tired and weak. In televised remarks, the king called for peace and stability in Thailand. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091210/ap_on_re_as/as_thailand_politics

I think the King of Cambodia did the wise thing and pardoned the Thai convicted of spying. by Patrick Falby Patrick Falby PHNOM PENH (AFP) – Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni Friday pardoned a Thai man jailed for seven years for spying on fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra during a visit to Phnom Penh, the government said. Siwarak Chothipong, 31, an employee at the Cambodia Air Traffic Service, will be released from prison Monday to his family and a delegation from Thailand's main opposition party, a Cambodian government spokesman said. His arrest last month deepened a diplomatic crisis over Cambodia's appointment of Thaksin as an economic adviser and its refusal to extradite the ousted leader to Thailand when he travelled to Phnom Penh last month. "The king just signed it this morning," Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith told AFP, adding that the royal pardon was issued after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen requested it Thursday. "This morning Hun Sen said that if the man wants to continue working in Cambodia, he is welcome," he added. Siwarak, who faced a maximum prison term of 15 years, was sentenced to jail by a court in Phnom Penh on Tuesday and also fined 10 million riel (2,500 dollars) for supplying Thaksin's flight schedule to the Thai embassy. He denied stealing any documents and told the court that although he had informed the Thai embassy's first secretary by telephone of a flight arrival, he had not been aware that Thaksin was on board. Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn told reporters the pardon was a "good sign" for relations between the two sides. "I have received an initial report of a royal pardon, which was an internal matter for Cambodia, but the Thai government congratulates Siwarak's family," said Panitan. "The pardon is a good sign as Thai people have been very focused on this case and it could ease bilateral relations with Cambodia," he added. Thai diplomats and the defendant's mother, seen crying in court, had attended Siwarak's trial. Cambodia expelled the first secretary of Thailand's embassy in Phnom Penh after alleging that Siwarak had passed information to the diplomat. Thailand retaliated in kind hours later. Both countries earlier also withdrew their respective ambassadors in the dispute over Thaksin's appointment. Thaksin was toppled in a coup in 2006 and is living abroad to avoid a two-year jail term for corruption, but has continued to stir up protests in his homeland. Angered by his presence in Cambodia, Thailand put all talks and cooperation programmes on hold and tore up an oil and gas exploration deal signed during Thaksin's time in power. Tensions were already high between Cambodia and Thailand following a series of deadly military clashes over disputed territory near an 11th century temple on the two countries' border. Thaksin rallied around 17,000 so-called "Red Shirt" supporters in Bangkok on Thursday, criticising Thailand's "weakened democracy" in a video speech from an unknown location. It was the latest in a series of protests against current Thai leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, who took office a year ago after protests by rival "Yellow Shirts" drove Thaksin's allies from power. Abhisit earlier this week hosted Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in Bangkok and Thailand's insurgency-hit south, in an apparent bid to keep Thailand's biggest neighbour on side. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091211/wl_asia_afp/cambodiathailandspyaviationcourt

I think it is an excellent idea. Shows young people they can do anything if they work hard and put their mind to it. The $10,000 was put up by private donors and is a nice tribute to the president.

There is an international beach football tournament at Jomtien beach starting December 14. I wonder if it will be held at the multi-purpose area?

This article might be interesting for some. Sounds like a Mardi Gras sytle carnival right here in Pattaya. PATTAYA CARNIVAL FOR FEB. 2010 Pattaya prepares to tackle the “Guinness Book of Records†for the biggest “Gathering Of Bikini Fashion†on Pattaya’s Jomtien Beach, which will be held on 12-14th February 2010. This will be a colourful and very exciting Brazilian style festival, which is sure to attract lots of visitors. Pattaya prepares to promote its “Pattaya Carnival†by inviting women to wear bikini outfits and join the activities on the beach. The organizers expect to have more than 2,000 bikini clad lovelies from all around the world to come and join this colorful festival. At the Pattaya City Hall on Wednesday September 10th, the Deputy Mayor, Mr. Weerawat Kahkai, held a meeting with the officials and organizers concerned, to discuss the activities planned for the “Pattaya Carnival†which will be an exciting Rio de Janeiro style annual festival planned for 2010. Two of the organizing companies displayed their ideas to the meeting, mainly aimed at presenting creative ideas for the promotion of tourism in Pattaya. The bid event will held at the multi-purpose areas on Jomtien Beach, between 12-14th February 2010. “The Bikini Fashion Show Contest†in this Pattaya Carnival is expected to see the highest number of women wearing bikinis, who will all gather together on Pattaya’s popular Jomtien Beach. This will be a very colourful and exciting event, so it will provide some great photo taking opportunities for both visitors and locals alike. http://www.pattayada...NEWS=0000010324

I have had good luck with the mail service in Thailand and throughout South East Asia. Although I have mostly sent only letters and postcard, I have never had one problem. I did received a parcel sent from China to Thailand without problems. Maybe I have been lucky.

How can a whole nation be that backward and ignorant?

Obama made an excellent acceptance speech in Oslo when he accepted his Nobel Peace Price. An Obama statue was erected recently in a park close to where he grew up in Indonesia. $10,000 for a bronze statue. Good idea? JAKARTA, Indonesia – A statue of President Barack Obama as a 10-year-old wearing shorts and a T-shirt has been erected in a Jakarta park to inspire children in the country where he lived as a boy, officials said Wednesday. The almost life-sized statue, to be unveiled Thursday by Jakarta's governor, shows the young Obama smiling at a butterfly that has landed on his upheld left thumb. It stands in Taman Menteng Park, near where Obama lived from 1967 until 1971 with his American mother, his Indonesian stepfather and his half-sister. The park was previously an athletic field near Obama's elementary school. "We welcome the statue, which is designed to give Indonesian children the spirit to reach their dreams," Central Jakarta Mayor Sylviana Murni said. "There is a message through the young Obama statue that any child and anyone from any background can reach their dreams if they fight for it persistently," she added. Money for the bronze statue, which cost more than $10,000, was donated by eight Indonesian patrons, a television station and a charity that helps Indonesia's urban poor, said the chairman of the nonprofit Friends of Obama Foundation, Ron Mullers. The Indonesia-based foundation came up with the idea of the statue and found the donors. Obama has described his Indonesian experience as both exotic and enlightening. He had a pet monkey, and baby crocodiles swam in a pond behind his house. But he also saw Third World poverty and disease. The statue's pedestal carries an paraphrased quote from former U.S. first lady Eleanor Roosevelt reading, "The future belongs to those who believe in the power of their dreams." http://news.yahoo.co...ia_obama_statue

A very good in dept review of the facts are discussed at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama_citizenship_conspiracy_theories Looks like some conservatives will not give up on this issue. I know my lady friend that sent me this email is a die hard believer. She knows for sure Obama is not a natural-born citizen and nobody can tell her differently.

I have no idea where this came from or how true any of this is. I received this in an email from one of my more conservative friends. What do you think? VERY QUIETLY OBAMA'S CITIZENSHIP CASE REACHES THE SUPREME COURT AP- WASHINGTON D.C. - In a move certain to fuel the debate over Obama's qualifications for the presidency, the group "Americans for Freedom of Information" has Released copies of President Obama's college transcripts from Occidental College . Released today, the transcript school indicates that Obama, under the name Barry Soetoro, received financial aid as a foreign student from Indonesia as an undergraduate at the transcript was released by Occidental College in compliance with a court order in a suit brought by the group in the Superior Court of California. The transcript shows that Obama (Soetoro) applied for financial aid and was awarded a fellowship for foreign students from the Fulbright Foundation Scholarship program. To qualify, for the scholarship, a student must claim foreign citizenship. This document would seem to provide the smoking gun that many of Obama's detractors have been seeking. Along with the evidence that he was first born in Kenya and there is no record of him ever applying for US citizenship, this is looking pretty grim. The news has created a firestorm at the White House as the release casts increasing doubt about Obama's legitimacy and qualification to serve as President. When reached for comment in London , where he has been in meetings with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Obama smiled but refused comment on the issue. Britain's Daily Mail has also carried the story in a front-page article titled, "Obama Eligibility Questioned," leading some to speculate that the story may overshadow economic issues on Obama's first official visit to the U.K. In a related matter, under growing pressure from several groups, Justice Antonin Scalia announced that the Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to hear arguments concerning Obama's legal eligibility to serve as President in a case brought by Leo Donofrio of New Jersey . This lawsuit claims Obama's dual citizenship disqualified him from serving as president. Donofrio's case is just one of 18 suits brought by citizens demanding proof of Obama's citizenship or qualification to serve as president. Gary Kreep of the United States Justice Foundation has released the results of their investigation of Obama's campaign spending. This study estimates that Obama has spent upwards of $950,000 in campaign funds in the past year with eleven law firms in 12 states for legal resources to block disclosure of any of his personal records. Mr. Kreep indicated that the investigation is still ongoing but that the final report will be provided to the U.S. attorney general, Eric Holder. Mr. Holder has refused to comment on the matter. LET OTHER FOLKS KNOW THIS NEWS, THE MEDIA WON'T ! Issue of Passport? While I've little interest in getting in the middle of the Obama birth issue, Paul Hollrah over at FSM did so yesterday and believes the issue can be resolved by Obama answering one simple question: What passport did he use when he was shuttling between New York, Jakarta , and Karachi ? So how did a young man who arrived in New York in early June 1981, without the price of a hotel room in his pocket, suddenly come up with the price of a round-the-world trip just a month later? And once he was on a plane, shuttling between New York , Jakarta , and Karachi, what passport was he offering when he passed through Customs and Immigration? The American people not only deserve to have answers to these questions, they must have answers. It makes the debate over Obama's citizenship a rather short and simple one. Q: Did he travel to Pakistan in 1981, at age 20? A : Yes, by his own admission. Q: What passport did he travel under? A: There are only three possibilities. 1) He traveled with a U.S. Passport, 2) He traveled with a British passport, or 3) He traveled with an Indonesia passport. Q: Is it possible that Obama traveled with a U.S. Passport in 1981? A: No.. It is not possible. Pakistan was on the U.S. State Department's "no travel" list in 1981. Conclusion: When Obama went to Pakistan in 1981 he was traveling either with a British passport or an Indonesian passport. If he were traveling with a British passport that would provide proof that he was born in Kenya on August 4, 1961, not in Hawaii as he claims. And if he were traveling with an Indonesian passport that would tend to prove that he relinquished whatever previous citizenship he held, British or American, prior to being adopted by his Indonesian step-father in 1967. Whatever the truth of the matter, the American people need to know how he managed to become a "natural born" American citizen between 1981 and 2008.. Given the destructive nature of his plans for America, as illustrated by his speech before Congress and the disastrous spending plan he has presented to Congress, the sooner we learn the truth of all this, the better.

Good point. Maybe not. But what keeps a guy from taking off the plastic belt?

As far as I can tell, the market is almost up to the bridge at the far end of Naklua Road. Two streets near “Larn Po†(the big tree in the centre of Naklua Road), will be converted to foot traffic only. When approaching the big tree in the centre of Naklua Road one will observe a Soi next to a “gold shop†with a ready made blue steel archway above the street. The next Soi beside the “7 / 11 Store†also is in close proximity, so it will be around these that our new North Pattaya Walking Street will be created. It will go from Suporn gold shop to Soi Columbia.

I am all for getting a deeper and more intense orgasm. I can tell you I have enough will power to abstain from sex for a five day period in order to obtain that feeling. Hard to believe that many people would need a male chastity belt in order to achieve their goal. But who knows, I march to a different drummer.

Perhaps you are not circulating in the same circle as these "wild and crazy guys." Doesn't mean it is not so.

Let's hope there is no war coming. Posturing sometimes leads to war. I hope this is not the case.

The cops have a long way to go if they are going to keep up the killings.