Wino

Maybe in Western countries it is more of a problem? In Thailand, it doesn't seem to be a problem. With the extended family, it seems to me, people watch out and help each other.

I bet most of them are counting on meeting the virgins.

You have to be lucky and have the right genes. I will be lucky to make it to 70! I read an article that said that half the babies born today will probably live to be a 100.

And he is a Yale graduate!

Lobbying Congress works for a lot of big corporations. Congressmen usually pay attention when many constituent call about a certain issue.

More sales at Air Asia. Check them out at http://www.airasia.com/site/th/en/home.jsp

Even with the free beach chair for the day, the glass bottom ferry is a tourist ripoff.

In the US, I find it easier to ask someone to use their cell phone, than it is to find a pay phone. I usually have my cell phone with me and don't have to bother other people. Pay phones are a vanishing breed.

I believe both the Pinoys and Thais are happy. Is it all Asians? I saw the Burmese after typhoon Nagis hit and despite all the problems, the people pitched in and made things work even without much help except from each other.

Sounds good. I hope your dream comes true. Be careful when you bike on the streets, the traffic in some places is terrible.

The proof in the pudding is when they publish all the data, and other scientists can duplicate the positive results in the study. Until then, it is wishful thinking.

It is a big problem in the south of Thailand, close to the Malaysian border. I always thought the rebels wanted independence from Thailand. I am not sure?

In my travels, I met a young lady that was very nice until I admitted to her that I sometimes use the services of a prostitute. In her mind, I was worse kind of person on earth for contributing to the victimization of these poor women. At the time, I blew it off. She did not talk to me anymore and we went our separate ways. As WannaGo states, she may be right? I suppose it depends on the situation. If you took a poll of all the prostitutes, I would guess that not too many would say, I like what I am doing.

Oh sorry, I thought you were saying it was toxin and the french?

I not sure if the government can do enough for the poor farmers? By Rolando Ng – Mon Oct 12 BAGUIO CITY, Philippines (Reuters) – The Philippines ordered imports of 250,000 tons of rice on Monday and lawmakers rushed to approve funding for immediate rebuilding of farms and roads badly damaged by two typhoons that killed over 650 people. Full story at http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091012/wl_nm/us_philippines_floods

Can you believe Rupert Murdoch has taken Beck global? What a joke. Here is part of the article: Watching Beck, who sometimes resembles a snake-oil salesman’s dim-witted assistant accidentally promoted to the top job, makes a foreigner wonder just what’s happening to American conservatism. I confess that I find it impossible to determine whether Beck’s show is serious or, as seems more probable, an elaborate practical joke played on his unwitting audience. I don’t want to seem forward or rude, but one can’t help but ask: Have you people lost your minds? Full story at http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-10-11/glenn-beck-goes-global?cmpid=p_yahoo

This lady is amazing! Good for this great-grandmother. SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) – The oldest female athlete at the World Masters Games in Sydney has broken a world record in the shot put -- at the age of 100. All eyes were on Ruth Frith, from Brisbane, as she arrived for day two of the World Masters Games, hoping to win gold in the shot put and feeling pretty confident as she was the only competitor in the over-100s category. But her 4.07 metre (13 ft 4.2 in) throw on Sunday didn't just win her gold, but also broke a world record. "As long as I didn't foul I was going to win it," Frith told Reuters Television. The great-grandmother is also a keen hammer and javelin thrower and believes other pensioners should follow her example. Frith trains five days a week, regularly lifting 35 kg (77 lb) weights. She doesn't drink or smoke and she doesn't eat vegetables either, claiming she hasn't liked them since she was young. Frith was clearly a star of the World Masters Games -- an event which attracts about 28,000 athletes -- and despite her age, said she has no plans to retire just yet. She contested her first World Masters Athletics Championships at the age of 74. The World Masters Games have been held every four years since they began in Toronto in 1985, according to their website (www.2009worldmasters.com) Open to people of all abilities and most ages, the games are the world's largest multi-sport event, attracting twice as many competitors than the Olympic Games, the website said. The main difference between the World Masters Games and the Olympic Games is that World Masters are open to people of all abilities rather than just elite athletes, with the emphasis on participation, the website added. From http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091012/lf_nm_life/us_athlete_oldest

I would be in a bad situation if this happened to my cell phone. NEW YORK (Reuters) - Users of Microsoft Corp's Sidekick mobile phone may have permanently lost data such as contacts, photos and calendar entries due to the failure of a Microsoft server computer. Full story at http://tech.yahoo.com/news/nm/20091012/tc_nm/us_tmobileusa_microsoft

In ninth grade, I had a study hall with a teacher that had a large class ring. If you talked instead of studying, he would turn his ring, palm-side down and smack you upside the head. It hurt like hell and made for a quiet study hall.

I am always ready to stop in and have a cold one, but do not go to immigration very much. Seems I will have to pass on Sally's Bar.

I do not know much about Thailand's recent history, but it seems like there has been plenty of political problems in the last 40 or 50 years. Has the present King ever stepped in and made the parties come together and work for a common goal?

I guess you blame the British for the Palestine problem and the Kashmir problem?

Here is the article. Did this young girl have a choice? If she did, it wasn't much of a choice. Did her friend coerce her into the life. Maybe it is the government's fault?Many bar girls are sending money to their families back home Bangkok is a notorious destination for sex tourism. But the lives of many of the city's sex workers are full of danger, disease and the urgent need to send money home. Pim, who recently left her job in a go-go bar, has a typical story. "I grew up in the countryside in Phetchabun, northern Thailand. My parents were farmers and I helped them in the fields. We were poor but we always had enough to get by. When I was about 15, my family fell apart. My father always drank a lot, but it became worse and worse, and he started becoming violent. So my mother, sister and I moved out. I wanted to study to become a nurse, but when my parents split up I had to leave school and find work as a day labourer, harvesting crops for local farmers. I didn't like it much, and it only paid 100 baht ($3) a day. At about that time a good friend moved to Bangkok, and when she came back to visit she told me she was earning a lot of money there as a waitress. Bangkok is known as a prime destination for sex tourists There was gossip in the village that she was doing something other than waitressing, as she was sending 10,000 baht ($300) home a month, but she always denied it. She asked me to come with her, but at the time I was still 16 and too scared. A few years later, though - when I had given birth to my daughter, and my husband and I had separated - I changed my mind. I left the baby in Phetchabun with my mother, and told her I needed to earn some money in Bangkok. But I didn't tell her what I was doing - I still haven't. She'd be so ashamed. 'Can I do this?' When my friend took me to a bar in Nana Plaza for the first time, I was really shocked. I'd never been to a place like that before, and at the beginning I didn't even know what the dancers were doing. When I finally realised, I couldn't take it and I walked out of the bar. I kept thinking 'Can I really do this?' Initially I decided to work there just serving drinks, but the dancers earned a lot more money, and eventually I agreed to do that too. For the first month, the bar owners allow girls to get their full salary even if they just work as dancers. But after that you have to meet a quota of at least 10 customers a month, or your wages will be cut. THAI SEX WORKERS Prostitution is technically illegal in Thailand, but the law is very rarely enforced Estimates of the number of sex workers vary from 30,000 to more than a million Most Thai sex workers actually cater to local men, rather than sex tourists Most prostitutes come from northern Thailand, while others are from Laos or Burma Child prostitution and trafficking is also known to be a problem My first customer was a Western man in his 30s. It was scary and I really didn't like it, but I just kept thinking about the money. I couldn't wait for him to leave, and when he did I had a shower for a very long time. I started crying, and thought about what my parents would think if they knew what I was doing. None of my customers ever asked me about my life; they didn't care. There was one time a guy asked me if I was okay, but I didn't know what to say, so I just looked away. While I was working in the bars, I was often worried about disease, and also about safety. Some girls earned extra by going out of the bars with the men, but I always used a room upstairs as I was too scared of the risks involved. My friend once went with a guy to his hotel room, and found lots of other men there too. She wouldn't tell me what happened after that, but she was shaking for a long time when she got back home. I also had some scary experiences myself. One time a Japanese man followed me all the way home at the end of the night, and he kept screaming at me. Taxi drivers can also be threatening to bar girls, and we would only dare go home in groups. Looking forward Despite these problems, new girls often arrive. Many customers prefer children or young girls, and the bar owners always encouraged us to recruit teenagers from our home villages. Even though I got used to it in some ways, I always hated working in the bars. I made some good friends but there was nothing good about the life I was leading. Nightlight gives jewellery-making jobs to ex-bar girls I felt good about sending money home, but I didn't feel good about myself. Soon I was getting penalized as I wasn't getting enough customers. That's when a friend of mine told me about Nightlight [a Christian charity offering training and employment for former sex workers, through a jewellery-making business]. Since I've started working there, my life is so much better. I don't earn as much as I did in the bars, but it's worth it, and people here listen to me and care for me. I've now got the opportunity to look forward in life. I want to finish school, and study accounting, so I'll be able to pay for my daughter to have a good life. I wish I had never become a sex worker. I think some foreign men think it's okay to pay for sex here in Thailand, as they think the girls actually want to do this. But these men don't understand that most of us have no choice - we're just trying to earn money for our families, and waiting for a chance to leave." Interview by Kate McGeown, BBC News, Bangkok. From http://news.bbc.co.u...fic/6360603.stm

People that butcher the language are usually poor and uneducated. I feel sorry for them. I find the language snobs more annoying. People that think they are so superior. I have no use for that type.

I think Levi is doing everything within his power to embarrass Grandma Sarah.