Ambassador’s Daughter Falls to her Death in NYC

Nicole John, the 17-year-old daughter of the American Ambassador to Thailand Eric John, fell to her death from the 25th story of a New York Apartment on Friday. Nicole John had completed high school in Bangkok this past year and was looking forward to beginning college in New York City when the accident occurred.

The accident happened at the apartment of 25 year-old iIlan Nassimi, who had thrown a party that night. Witnesses from across the street say they saw Nicole climb out of a 25th story window onto a ledge with a camera before falling. The witnesses called emergency services but there was nothing that could have been done to save the girl.

The New York City Medical examiners office released a statement ruling that the death was an accident and that Nicole had succumbed to massive blunt force trauma.

Investigators have now turned their attention to iIlan Nassimi, the owner of the apartment where the party was held. Nassimi was arrested on a misdemeanor charge the night of the incident for serving alcohol to minors, more charges could follow.

By all accounts Ambassador John and his family are very well liked and respected for the work he has done in Thailand since taking the post in 2007. My heartfelt condolences go out to the Ambassador and his family during this tragic time of loss.

Tiger Cub Denied Boarding Pass

Customs officials at Thailand’s Suvarnabumi airport probably see a very strange assortment of things as they scan luggage bound for departing flights but I don’t think they were quite prepared for what they found when they x-rayed what seemed to be a bag containing cuddly stuffed animals,  until one of them moved. Piyawan Palasarn, aged 30 and the owner of said bag, was about to board a flight from Bangkok to Tehran on Thursday when customs officials took her aside.

Exotic animals are very sought after in Iran as pets and can bring huge sums of cash to those willing to smuggle these animals out of the country. In many cases such as this a female is used and baggage is packed with stuffed animals as well to disguise the exotic animal being smuggled. It was surmised that Piyawan Palasarn would earn about 100,000 baht ($3000) for her role in the operation.

When confronted with the evidence against her Palasarn pleaded that she was innocent and that she didn’t even know what was in the bag that was handed to her by others she couldn’t name. Unfortunately for her CCTV camera’s are prevalent throughout the airport and she was captured on video arriving alone and remaining alone from check in to the boarding gates. She will be charged with several wildlife offences and could recieve up to 4 years in jail and a 40,000 baht fine.

A babies bottle with milk and some xanax were found next to the cub in the bag. The xanax was apparently used to try and tranquilize the cub during the flight as doctors found that the cub was force fed at least 10 xanax pills. While xanax would have lowered the metabolic rate of the animal the smugglers failed to realize one thing in their stupidity, that the x-ray machine would pick up a beating heart and other moving organs.

The cub is being cared for at the rescue centre of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation and is said to be doing well despite the smugglers efforts.

Related Articles of Interest:

• Thailand News Updates
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 4/24/10
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 03/13/10
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 12/05/09
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 07/31/2010

Miss Thailand Universe

Really not much to say here as a picture speaks a thousand words. Although I never need an excuse to post a picture of a beautiful Thai woman there really is a story of sorts here. 20 year old Fonthip Watcharatrakul, who won the title Miss Thailand Universe earlier this year, is heading to America to compete in the The 59th Miss Universe pageant on August 23rd in Las Vegas.

She’ll be competing against contestants from 83 countries and I do believe she has a good chance of winning as she is truly is stunning.

While I’m not one for beauty contests, especially one as schlocky as this,  I would be remiss if I didn’t cheer on team Thailand in this regard. Good luck to Miss Fonthip Watcharatrakul bring home that crown to Thailand.

Not Only Men Love Black Stockings

Many women in South East Asia love to wear leggings and stockings and dark colors are very popular,  unfortunately they aren’t just attracting the attention of yours truly and every other warm blooded male. It’s been scientifically proven that mosquitoes are drawn to dark colors and in Thailand there is always the chance that the mosquito is carrying dengue fever.

In just the first 7 months of this year Thailand has reported over 45,000 confirmed cases of dengue fever which is a 40% increase over the same time period last year. Fatalities have also increased with 46 deaths related to the disease this year compared to 30 last year. 26 of those deaths were women between the ages of 10 and 24 making the link to fashion not so silly.

Being at the height of the rainy season which runs from June until September doesn’t help matters much as mosquitoes are abundant and can be found throughout the country whereas the risk is greater in the more rural areas during other times of the year.

Endemic to the region, dengue is a chronic problem during rainy spells, particularly during the monsoons, when standing water and poor sanitary conditions provide welcome breeding grounds for the disease-bearing Aedes mosquito. No vaccine exists for the disease, which disproportionately affects children and the elderly.

Resulting in high fevers, rashes, headaches, joint pain, and sometimes internal bleeding, dengue is a pernicious threat because mosquitoes can lay up to 400 larvae at a time in vases, flower pots, and poorly drained streets.

Dark colors are a bad idea and not just for the ladies. It’s best to wear lighter colors and use some sort of bug protection especially during the rainy season.

In Transition

News and posts have been considerably light over the past month or so;  as you all know I have been wrapping up all the details of my life in the states in anticipation of my big move to Thailand.  Well, with everything just about done,  I will be boarding a plane later this week for Thailand. Emotions are running just a little bit high right now but I know in my heart I have made the right choice and I believe that will be reflected not only on Thailand, Land of Smiles but in my personal life as well.

I want to thank all of you for your support and for taking the journey with me this far. As my journey continues I hope you continue to follow as well because it’s only going to get better from here!

Related Articles of Interest:

• Thailand News Updates
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 4/24/10
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 03/13/10
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 12/05/09
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 07/31/2010

Bangkok Named Top City

Travel and Leisure magazine honored Bangkok with it’s top city award this week and it would seem the residents reveled in this by letting off a couple of grenades.

While I love Bangkok and all it has to offer you have to wonder what the idiots at Travel and Leisure were thinking…or smoking.  The past year has been marred by political unrest and uncertainty as Thai’s find political footholds to change the country. This week two grenades exploded as by elections took place in the city. I’m not even going to bring up the air pollution and traffic.
The Travel and Leisure article went on to say:

Figures from the Tourism Authority of Thailand show that in the first half of the year, the number of tourists and gap year travelers visiting Thailand rose by almost 14 per cent compared to the same period in 2009.

Really? I think someone got their wires crossed. Thailand’s tourism numbers have been sharply down for the year with the first 2 quarters being a total wash due to protests and violence taking place in the capital.

Thailand is a wonderful country to travel to with it’s beautiful landscapes, exotic locales and cultural landmarks but it seems Travel and Leisure were not only off the mark but off their rockers as well. To be fair the cities were picked via a poll and over 16,000 people voted for Bangkok and I probably would have as well but I wouldn’t have candy coated it while wearing my rose tinted glasses.

I didn’t bother checking out who came in second on their list but I wouldn’t be surprised if it were Afghanistan followed by Iraq. Business must be bad for the magazine as it doesn’t look like they can afford to hire fact checkers.

Bangkok and nine provinces remain under emergency control restrictions after months of demonstrations, riots and violence.

Again, I love Thailand and Bangkok…I’m moving there, but that doesn’t mean I can’t call a spade a spade.

Giant Catfish Losing Ground

Or water as it were. With China’s expansion along the Mekong with new hydro electric dams in Laos it looks like some species of catfish will be cut off from spawning grounds.

China has already completed four hydro-power dams on the Mekong, while another 11 are being built or planned in Laos, Thailand and Cambodia. Other smaller dams are proposed along its tributaries. The Mekong is south-east Asia’s longest river, rising in Tibet and flowing through southern China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam before reaching the South China Sea.

The giant catfish, which can grow up to 350kgs (772lbs) and the freshwater stingray, also be affected,  can weigh in at 600kgs (1,320lbs), will be effectively cut off from their spawning grounds up river in Laos and Thailand as they try to make their way from Cambodia and China.

China’s expansion into South East Asia is forging ahead but there is some hope in the Mekong River Commission, an international body made up of Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. The plans for the new dam in Laos are currently under this organizations scrutiny and the World Wildlife Foundation is hoping that they will veto the current plans in hopes that new plans will be drawn up to take into account several species that would be impacted.

You can always get up to the minute Thailand news by checking the RSS feeds located in the far right sidebar.

Related Articles of Interest:

• Thailand News Updates
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 4/24/10
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 03/13/10
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 12/05/09
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 12/26/09

Vanessa Mae & The Winter Olympics

Famous Thai violinist Vanessa-Mae Vanakorn Nicholson has told the Thailand Olympic Committee that she would like to represent Thailand in the 2014 winter Olympics. A British Citizen Vanessa Mae was born in Singapore to a Thai father and Chinese mother.

Apparently NOCT ( The National Olympic Committee of Thailand) has agreed to send her to the 2014 games to represent Thailand in the Ski competition. This won’t be set in stone until she is approved by the International Ski Federation.

Vanessa Mae will be only the second Thai to represent the kingdom in the winter Olympics; the first being U.S. based Prawat Nagvajara who represented Thailand in the 2002 and 2006 winter games competing in the cross country skiing event.

I have to be honest here, I don’t care if she entered the winter Olympic tiddly winks games I would have still written this up just to post her pictures. I am disappointed she’ll be competing in the winter Olympics though because she really shouldn’t be covered up…ever.

Thailand to End Mobile Phone Concessions

Thailand’s economic ministers agreed Monday to go ahead with a plan to end all mobile phone concessions by years end. The concessions will be converted into telecom licenses to ensure fair competition in the industry.

Currently, mobile phone operators are granted concessions by state-owned firms TOT PCL and CAT Telecom PCL that vary in terms and fees. Under the revised system mobile phone operators will operate under standard telecom licenses to be issued by the industry regulator, the National Telecommunications Commission.

The NTC ( National Telecom Committee ) plans to hold an auction in September to issue up to three licenses for the 2.1 gigahertz spectrum, allowing mobile phone operators to offer 3G services that could be upgraded to 3.9G.

Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said “whether the concession proposal will derail the auction efforts will be decided by the NTC.”

Thailand Hangover is On

The wildly successful comedy, The Hangover, has got a sequel coming out and it has been confirmed that they will be filming in Thailand.

Released in June 2009, The Hangover amassed a global box-office gross of $467 million on a budget of $35 million, and racked up Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy.

When questioned originally about the sequel director Todd Phillips laughed at the notion of filming in Thailand but it seems the rumors were true.

The first film was centered around Las Vegas and one thing is for sure, Thailand will be a much better backdrop for some seriously funny debauchery.

Related Articles of Interest:

• Thailand News Updates
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 4/24/10
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 03/13/10
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 12/05/09
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 07/31/2010

Thailand Buys Sugar

Sounds innocuous enough but when you consider that Thailand is the worlds second biggest exporter of those sweet crystals and the fact that they haven’t made a sugar purchase in over 30 years then there might be a problem. This, as sugar prices continue to climb, is just more bad news for Thailand on the agricultural front this year.

With rainfall down across South East Asia it has proven to be a tough year for rice and sugar growers and with Thailand buying back 74,350 metric tons of domestic sugar from traders this week the market was sure to react in an upwardly mobile way. The sugar bought back from the market was to meet local consumption needs.

With this news you will be sure to see sugar prices rise even more and stay high until next years crops are in.

British Behavior Abroad Report’s that Brit’s are Lacking

With more cheap options for holidays in Thailand and an increasing number of eager tourists to explore the world the British Behavior Abroad Report says that tourists just aren’t taking into account much more than cheap prices at the expense of their health and bank account.

According to figures from the survey, which is based on the number of incidents reported by British people abroad to Foreign Office branches worldwide, 957 people required help when in Thailand between April last year and March 2010. With Thailand being a cheap destination in many ways and with cheaper flight options becoming available a lot of Brit’s are foregoing trip insurance and not taking into account the possibility of needing medical attention while abroad.

Foreign and Commonwealth office minister Jeremy Browne stated:

The worrying fact is that so many of these situations are preventable. Helping out Britons in trouble abroad is part of our job, but we can’t get you out of jail or pay your hospital bills.

Thailand has become increasingly popular with Britons and with cheaper flights and holiday packages available now travel abroad has really been made available to those that wouldn’t have considered it before due to cost. Unfortunately cheaper holidays means that people will stretch to their limit to plan a holiday in Thailand and let the essentials such as insurance fall to the wayside.

Insurance is cheap in the long run and should be the first thing on your list after purchasing your plane tickets.

U.S. Names new Thailand Ambassador

Barack Obama on Thursday named veteran diplomat Kristie Kenney as the US ambassador to Thailand. Ms Kenney most recently served as ambassador to the other key US ally in South-east Asia, the Philippines, where she helped smooth out relations through a series of incidents including rape allegations against a US Marine. Ms Kenney, who has also served as US ambassador to Ecuador, was known in the Philippines for her public diplomacy including taking to blogs and Facebook to reach out to Filipinos.

It’s nice to know that Ms. Kenney is good at sweeping under the rug smoothing things over such as rape allegations involving U.S. Servicemen. I am sure her skills will be invaluable in Thailand where the political scene has been quite robust as of late. Lets hope any hopeful rapists, pedophiles and or just ugly Americans realize she is on the job and will help to make her job easier by just admitting to your crimes so she doesn’t have to smooth things over as it were.

It has also been stated that Ms. Kenney is very good at facebook which should come in handy as ambassador to Thailand.

With Thailand’s political scene what it is it might have been a better idea to nominate someone with a better grasp of the situation but then again we all know that Ambassadors are about as useful as tits on a bull anyway.

There Be Dinosaurs

When the rains come and the rivers swell odd things begin to appear in Baan Na Kum, Thailand…dinosaur bones…and lots of them. For years the locals had no idea what they were or what to do with them. The more superstitious among the Thai farmers buried them again while others took them to their local Wat where monks were collecting them, others just threw them away.

Over time the word has finally gotten out, Don’t throw out those bones!

Thailand is known for its beaches, great food and, more recently, its propensity for political protests, but not much for dinosaurs. It turns out that the creatures of prehistory, like the tourists of today, found certain parts of Thailand very hospitable.

Paleontologists say that the Khorat Plateau of northeastern Thailand was teeming with dinosaurs starting about 200 million years ago (Bangkok was under the sea at the time), and that the proof is in the frequency with which villagers find dinosaur bones and other fossils.

Paleontologists have documented five new genuses of dinosaurs and six previously unknown species since research began in the 1980s in partnership with French scientists. About 10,000 dinosaur bones have been collected nationwide in three decades, scientists say.

In terms of the breadth and scientific significance of discoveries, China remains a more important center for dinosaur research in Asia, according to Mr. Varavudh, but Thailand could contribute more if it had more trained paleontologists. He counts only 10 dinosaur experts in the country.

Mr. Varavudh and others hope that the younger generation will embrace the region’s dinosaur past more enthusiastically. The Sirindhorn Museum, a dinosaur museum named for Thailand’s crown princess, Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, who has shown an interest in paleontology, opened in the area three years ago, drawing about 200,000 visitors a year, many of them schoolchildren. Large dinosaur replicas have been erected along some roads here in Kalasin Province, home to the region’s most significant dinosaur discoveries.

Among the most compelling attractions are those found here in Baan Na Kum, an eight-hour drive from Bangkok past endless rice paddies and fields of sugar cane. Shrouded by jungle and accessible only by a single-lane road that winds through the hills, it is where visitors can view the giant footprints left in a riverbed by a tyrannosaur, the fierce carnivore that roamed these parts 140 million years ago.

Each claw of the footprint is about the size of an average human foot. The imprint is well defined and deeply embedded in the sandstone riverbed, as if the tyrannosaur had walked there only last week.

I’ve seen some dinosaurs myself walking about Bangkok and Pattaya in recent years but that is yet another story…it does make me wonder though if some poor punter will ever hear  ” Teelac, you can send money….dinosaur is sick”

DON”T FEED THE ELEPHANTS

Just to reiterate a story I ran earlier. Bangkok is cracking down on elephants wandering the streets and their Mahouts, but they are also cracking down on tourists. If you are caught feeding an elephant in Bangkok YOU WILL BE FINED 10, 000 BAHT ( roughly $300 ).

Do not encourage this business of using animals to make a living. These elephants are often mistreated and wind up maimed and injured if not dead just so tourists can have what they think is the Thailand experience.

This ordinance is being taken seriously and the Mahouts have all but cleared out of downtown Bangkok, although there are reports of Mahouts now using baby elephants in the back of pick up trucks on the outskirts of the city.

You have been warned again…DO NOT FEED THE ELEPHANTS BECAUSE YOU WILL BE FINED!

Related Articles of Interest:

• Thailand News Updates
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 4/24/10
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 03/13/10
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 12/05/09
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 07/31/2010

Rumors of Carrefour Exit unfounded?

Over the past week rumors circulated that Carrefour was getting out of the South East Asian market as it was losing money and there were more profitable areas to explore. The speculation was that Carrefour would off load it’s outlets in Malaysia, Singapore, and in Thailand for around $1 billion. The Bangkok Post fueled rumors this week by printing that the chain had been communicating with potential buyers and the British supermarket chain Tesco was the one expressing the most interest in purchasing Carrefour’s stores in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.

The speculations began as Carrefour started directing more of its resources to serve the key European markets in France, Spain, Italy and Belgium and it would have made perfect sense to the public, if Carrefour let go of its South Asian stores, since they are not on the high priority list markets for this Company. Analysts justified the rumors by stating that markets in France alone stand for almost half of the Company’s annual income and the fast-growing China, Brazil, and Indonesia stores have also been added to the main branches of the Company.

One thing to keep in mind though is the fact that Thailand is still working on a Retail Act that is supposed to curb the expansion of foreign owned supermarkets in the kingdom and that could cause problems for Carrefour and Tesco alike.

For now all the rumors and speculation have been denied by Carrefour and hopefully that is all there is to it. While I like Tesco I have found more variety and some better pricing in Carrefour…although that statement is subjective as both stores are on the expensive side if you are buying anything imported.

Dutch Murderer’s Thai Connection

While Joran Van Der Sloot awaits a judge’s decision in Lima, Peru, that might see him released from prison, law enforcement officials in Thailand have been investigating the 22-year-old Dutch national’s connection withsex trafficking and the possible disappearance of several young Thai women in 2008.

According to the National Enquirer, Joran Van Der Sloot allegedly recruited women for the sex trade while he lived in Thailand in 2008. According to Thai police sources, several young women went missing while he was there and they are investigating to see if he may have been involved.

Joran Van Der Sloot, currently in a Peruvian prison after being arrested on suspicion of murdering 21-year-old Stephanie Flores Ramirez in May, set up shop in Bangkok, Thailand, after Aruban authorities failed to charge him is the disappearance of 18-year-old Alabama high school student Natalee Holloway. Although arrested twice, Van Der Sloot was released both times due to lack of evidence.

In Bangkok, Van Der Sloot posed as a production consultant for a modeling agency, sourcestold the National Enquirer. A source within Thai law enforcement noted,”There are girls who went missing in Bangkok while van der Sloot was there. Thai investigators are looking into whether he might have been involved.” The source said that many young women often are killed in the sex trade, especially if they threaten to go to the police or resist their recruiters.

Many of these girls have no legal documents. If they go missing, nobody notices. It’s easy to kill them, hide the bodies and get away with it.

But the sex trade story is not a new one. Some believed Joran Van Der Sloot may have sold Natalee Holloway into slavery in 2005. The story that arose via the Dutchman’s activities in Thailand only seemed to substantiate what had  been only suppositions before. Joran Van Der Sloot is believed to have recruited Thai women to work in his native Netherlands as prostitutes, convincing them that they were going to Europe to become models.

His illicit enterprise ended when Dutch freelance reporter Peter De Vries conducted a sting operation on Van Der Sloot’s sex trade business in Bangkok’s Landmark Hotel. De Vries captured Van Der Sloot on tape talking about how he got $13,000 per woman he delivered to his Dutch contacts. According to the tape, which was broadcast in November 2008, Van Der Sloot showed up with several young women and told a man who was posing as a Dutch sex trade industry ‘boss’ that he could obtain passports and visas to get his recruits to the Netherlands, where they would work as “dancers” for $300 per month.

Peter De Vries told De Telegraaf, “The pictures show how little respect this 21-year-old has for the lives of others. The fact that he goes into the trafficking of women after the disappearance of Natalee is typical of him. Making preparations for people smuggling is a crime. It could land him into big problems in Thailand.” The sting was De Vries second regarding Van Der Sloot. De Vries won an Emmy for his undercover sting reporting when he taped Joran Van Der Sloot confessing to being with Natalee Holloway on the night she disappeared and hiring a boat to dump her body in the Caribbean.

Van Der Sloot would later say he lied about the Holloway confession. Aruban authorities would refuse to charge him via the taped evidence. It has not gone without notice that Joran Van Der Sloot is the son of a prominent Aruban judge.

This guy is a real piece of work and hopefully will be making a lot of new friends in the Peruvian prison system.

American Passports Have a New Fee

If you are an American citizen living outside America or just travel a lot then chances are you have run out of pages in your passport at one time or another. Not a big deal as all you had to do was head to the local American embassy and get pages added to your passport for free. Well the State Department in it’s infinite wisdom has now decided to charge for this service and it won’t be cheap. After July 13, 2010 this service will now cost you $82.

If you are running low on passport pages now I would suggest heading to the embassy before the 13th. While the Embassy maintains an appointment is necessary for this service they have always taken in walk in traffic before so I wouldn’t bother with an appointment because it is likely they will tell you they are booked solid until after July 13th.

As an aside it may just be cheaper to get a brand new passport with extra pages as that will work out cheaper in the long run. While they have raised the cost of a new passport to $110 having extra pages added when you order shouldn’t cost you any more which will definitely give you a savings.

I can understand charging for this service as the pages and the time to add them does cost money but $82 to do so, as my British friends would say, is taking the piss.

Related Articles of Interest:

• Thailand News Updates
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 4/24/10
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 03/13/10
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 12/05/09
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 07/31/2010

As early as 2006 Alcohol advertising laws were adopted in Thailand but went largely unnoticed due to the subsequent coup that happened in 2007. In 2008 the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act came into existence which prohibits the advertising of alcoholic beverages anywhere, including inside of a bar. Even though the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act and various other laws have been in place they haven’t been enforced…until now.

This week Pattaya bars found out how serious the Thai government is about this as a joint task force of Pattaya and Bangkok police went throughout the town visiting bars and giving warnings that they must begin to comply with the law immediately. Not only are outside signs advertising alcoholic beverages illegal but any signs inside as well, including beer taps, beer cozy’s and unfortunately those famous Singha girls that occasionally visit bars in their skimpy little Singha uniforms.

Now, at first glance this is the stupidest law I have ever heard of enforced in Thailand. Think about this for a minute…you can walk into any bar in Thailand and order a Heineken that clearly has a a Heineken label affixed to the bottle and you will be fine legally. Now, wrap that cold Heineken bottle in a Heineken labeled beer cozy  and the owner of said bar can be fined 500,000 Baht and or jailed! Anyone else see a problem here?

Before I go too far; there are some serious underlying issues behind these laws that warrant looking into but this is not the way to do it.

Obviously there is a drinking problem in Thailand from underage drinking to drinking and driving as well as the rising rate of alcoholism in Thai males and the Thai government is looking for ways to stop it.

Unfortunately this will work as well as the cigarette advertising campaign worked. The advertising of cigarettes is illegal in Thailand as well and each cigarette pack must carry one of several dire warnings related to cigarette usage and health, for those who can’t read they make sure you understand with very graphic pictures.

What about warnings for alcohol bottles you ask? You guessed it, they are coming up shortly.

The following 6 types of pictorial labels and warning statements of disadvantages and dangers of alcoholic beverages shall be labeled in accordance with the templates as appeared in the annex :

Type 1 “Drinking alcohol causes the hypertension liver cirrhosis”

Type 2 “Drunk driving causes disability or death”

Type 3 “Drinking alcohol leads to unconsciousness and even death”

Type 4 “Drinking alcohol leads to sexual impotency”

Type 5 “Drinking alcohol leads to adverse health effect and family problems

Type 6 “Drinking alcohol is a bad role model for children and young people”

The display of pictorial labels and warning statements of disadvantages and dangers of alcoholic beverages shall be made in compliance with the following criteria:
If the packaging is in the square shape, the size of the pictorial labels and warning statement shall not be less than 50 percent of the side that has the maximum space or the sides that are considered as front and back side of the packaging;
If the packaging is in the round or cylindrical shape, the size of the warning statement shall not be less than 30 percent of the total packaging’s surface space;
If the packaging is of the other shapes than as specified in (1) and (2), the size of the warning statement shall not be less than 30 percent of the total packaging’s surface space.

To prepare the pictorial labels and warning statement of disadvantages and dangers of alcoholic beverages, the alcoholic producers or importers shall use the original format that is prepared by the Office of the Alcohol Beverage. However, the size can be adjusted as deemed appropriate, provided that the ratio of vertical and horizontal cannot be changed.
Clause 5:  The display of the pictorial labels and warning statement of disadvantages and dangers of alcoholic beverages as mentioned in Clause 4 shall be placed on the packaging or other covered-up materials that permanently sticking on the packaging and shall not be easily peeled off or destroyed.

I don’t see the problem with warning labels on alcohol bottles and I have absolutely no problem with not allowing alcohol advertising in the open such as street signs, liquor store fronts, bars etc. but inside of bars is, well, just plain stupid. Keep it from the eyes of children by all means but keeping alcohol advertising from someone drinking alcohol in a bar makes no sense.

Unfortunately this will do little to curb Thailand’s growing alcohol problem. You may very well point to the cigarette advertising ban and say “yes, but surely this has done some good?” The answer, sadly, would be NO. The number of Thai women smokers is expected to drastically rise from 1,664,000 in 2000 to 12 million in 2025. Yes, the cigarette packs look bad but it stops no one from smoking.

And just in case you don’t think the Thai government is very serious this time then have a talk with the Manager of Insomnia night club in Pattaya. The police conducted a raid of the night club Wednesday night in which they found foam beer bottle covers( beer cozy’s) advertising alcoholic beverages and also found advertising around the bar and in the toilets in contravention of Section 32 of the Alcoholic Beverage Act. The manager of the club, Khun Posapon aged 25 was duly arrested and taken to Pattaya Police Station and charged in relation to the illegal advertising.

The law on the books actually falls under the various health departments who are now enforcing the law with the help of the police. Don’t think this is just the normal yearly crackdown of sorts that happens in Pattaya, this is a nationwide campaign and all bars will be getting a visit from the local Health dept and police.

Just look at these poor girls, whatever will become of them now that they are out of a job? They can’t even afford clothes as it is!

Related Articles of Interest:

• Smoking in Thailand
• Privacy
• Boosting Thailand Tourism?
• The Real Dangers in Thailand Part 3
• Harry Nicolaides Finally Freed

Don’t Bring Your Elephants to Bangkok

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has issued a stern warning to any Mahouts thinking about plying their trade to the tourists on Bangkok’s streets. And while sometimes the law is overlooked this one actually has teeth and they are serious. Violators will be subject to a 6-month jail term or a 10,000 Baht fine. The new law, which has been in effect since June 22cnd, also applies to anyone including tourists who buy food for the elephants.

This is a major step in the right direction and I applaud the effort. Including the tourists in the law is sure to raise some eyebrows but if it wasn’t for the tourist dollars flowing down to the Mahouts they wouldn’t be on the street with elephants in the first place.  Hopefully everyone will get the word out to tourists that elephants are not for their amusement and deserve a better life.

Hopefully this will make it on to the usual lists of what not to do in Thailand while on vacation.

• Don’t disparage the Royal family
• Don’t point with your feet
• Don’t touch anyones head
• DON”T FEED THE ELEPHANTS!

No Bag No Baht

For the second year in a row, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is holding its 45-day ‘No Bag, No Baht’ project, which offers consumers a one-baht (three U.S. cents) discount for every 100 baht (nearly three dollars) purchase if they use their own cloth bags when shopping in several local markets. Meanwhile, each plastic bag will cost them one baht.

It doesn’t matter what you purchase in Thailand, large or small it will come in a plastic bag even if you don’t want it. Buy any drink in 7/11 and you’ll not only get a plastic bag but a plastic straw as well. The world has a serious problem with plastic packaging but Thailand seems to hold the Guinness record as the plastic bag capital of the world.

The BMA estimates that in Bangkok alone over 600,000 plastic bags are used daily. Their annual disposal cost reaches more than 600 million baht (18.4 million dollars), city officials have said. Local media have quoted BMA deputy governor Porntep Techapaibul as saying that of the city’s daily 10,000 tons of trash, about 1,800 tons are plastic bags, a number projected to increase by about 20 percent each year.Not a hard number to tackle when you consider that Thailand is a major plastic producer and even the smallest of businesses think nothing of stocking and using plastic bags.

This years campaign actually started on June 5th but I would be remiss if I didn’t bring it up because it’s all of our responsibility to make Thailand a better place, visitor, expat and Thai alike.

Rice Down, Shrimp up

It’s very possible Thailand will lose it’s top billing as the worlds largest rice exporter this year due to lacking crops but thanks to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico Thailand’s shrimp exports are looking better and better.

With the now worlds worst oil spill still happening fishing the waters surrounding the Gulf of Mexico has become just about non existent. What little fishing and shrimping is still taking place will barely cover the states surrounding the Gulf. Of course this is great news for Thailand and other South East Asian countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia because exports of shrimp, crabs and certain fish are sure to triple this year.

Thailand and Vietnam have been providing much of the Eastern seaboard of America with crabs for the last decade after disease and over crabbing left the Chesapeake bay and other tributaries almost devoid of crabs. Now, with the massive oil spill in the Gulf this will set up Thailand and it’s neighbors for at least the next 2-4 years with serious shrimp revenues.

It may not seem like much until you consider that the average American eats 4 pounds a shrimp a year which is triple what they consume in tuna. While the Gulf region only accounts for 7-10% of America’s total shrimping needs the last few years have seen the industry lagging due to disease, economic issues and now the infamous oil spill.

There has been a lot of worries from food producers to restaurants and they have turned to South East Asia and Thailand for their needs.

While not good news for America this is still more great news for Thailand in a year when they sorely need it.

Shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, sautee it. There’s, um, shrimp kebabs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo, pan fried, deep fried, stir fried. There’s pineapple shrimp and lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich… That’s, that’s about it.

Related Articles of Interest:

• Thailand News Updates
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 4/24/10
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 03/13/10
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 12/05/09
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 07/31/2010

Martha Stewart Coming to Thailand

As part of a new campaign to boost female tourism to Thailand the Tourism Authority of Thailand has enlisted domestic diva Martha Stewart to help draw in the ladies. With a budget of 10 million baht ($312,000) the Tourism Authority has high hopes that Martha can help turn around the lagging female tourism numbers by getting the ladies interested in Thailand once more.

The plan is to have Martha Stewart film several of her highly rated cooking shows in the kingdom starting in September.  Stewart, who has long held the title of domestic diva,  was also named America’s most powerful woman in a 2001 survey by Ladies Home Journal. Thailand,  for it’s part, hopes that Martha’s demographic,  which is women aged 25-45, Will follow their diva faithfully and plan a trip to the Kingdom.

Thailand surely has a lot going for it with it’s great food, exotic culture and abundant beauty. Stewart is sure to make some impact on the ladies doing what she does best and with a great theme to start from it should be easy. Thailand is an easy sell as long as their isn’t an uprising going on and I’m sure the ladies that Martha influences into coming won’t find it hard to get their boyfriends and husbands to come along either.

Ford To Build New Factory in Thailand

Thailand may have it’s troubles but American Car Manufacturer Ford still believes in the Kingdom. Ford announced this week that they will be building a new $450 million plant in Rayong. The plant will build state of the art passenger vehicles for the Asian market starting with the next generation Ford Focus.  This new plant will be a flexible facility producing a range of vehicles and fully integrated to support body assembly, paint, trim and final assembly withthe majority of needed components coming from Thailand’s supplier network. This alone will bring a further $800 million to the table.

It’s estimated that the new plant will bring over 11,000 new jobs to the local community with 2,200 being directly employed by Ford. Ford currently produces Ford Fiestas and Mazda 2s for the Malaysian market at their Auto Alliance Thailand plant which is a joint venture with Mazda. This factory also supplies Fiestas to the ASEAN region, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Ford is the only U.S. manufacturer that didn’t succumb to the recession and ask the government for bailout money and with moves like this it is easy to see why Ford will remain a big player in the U.S. market while the other manufacturers are falling apart.

Even with Thailand’s troubles still looming in the background it seems there are positive steps being made for Thailand’s future. Hopefully one day all the people of Thailand will see there is much more to be gained by becoming united and looking out for one another rich and poor. If Thailand’s people can truly come together then Thailand will become a force to be reckoned with .

Related Articles of Interest:

• Thailand News Updates
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 4/24/10
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 03/13/10
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 12/05/09
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 07/31/2010

U.S. Senator Demands End to Thailand Passport Components

New York Senator Charles Schumer is demanding that the government printing office halt all production of electronic chips made overseas and used in American Passports. Schumer sent a letter to the GPO this week after a years long investigation by ABC news and the Center for Public Integrity which which relayed serious concerns about how the GPO is handling security risks related to the outsourcing of passport components.

The actual chip is produced and fitted into the passports in Europe by Dutch company Smartrac; the passports are then shipped to Thailand where the RFID antenna is installed before the blank passports head to America. You can tell it’s an election year in America when all of a sudden Senators and Congressmen get very serious about issues that have been ongoing since 2008 when it wasn’t on their radar.

Schumer, who is the Chairman of the Committee on Rules Administration, demanded immediate action this week from GPO’s director, Robert Tapella. As the Committee on Rules Administration has direct oversight over the GPO there is the possibility that the overseas passport production will cease…or not, we all know the U.S. government likes to wait until people die before taking any real action.

Schumer and the GPO will have words, there will be hearings and soon after the mid term elections in November the story will disappear until next election cycle.

I’m not sure what bothers me more, the fact that a group of government idiots even allowed overseas production to begin with due to terrorism concerns or the fact that the U.S. government couldn’t even support their own country by hiring an American firm. Not that I have anything against the Dutch, if we needed a dike they would be the only country I would contact.

Pedophiles, Thailand Wants You!

Out of their country as it were. The Thai government is doing something right, and they are doing it in a big way. If you are a foreign national who has been convicted in your home country or elsewhere of molesting children then your days in Thailand are numbered. The Thai government is actively seeking out individuals in the Kingdom with a record and deporting them immediately.

The crackdown started this week with the deportation of a British school teacher Gary Robcoy, 30, who was rounded up at Potisarn Pittayakorn school in Bangkok, where he worked as a computer science and English teacher. He was put on a British Airways flight to London and likely told never to return.

One can only hope that this crackdown continues in earnest and we hear of many more cases such as this on a weekly basis. Gary Glitter got the message now it needs to be passed on to all the other pedophiles in Thailand..Get out and Stay out!

IMAX Comes to Thailand

IMAX Corporation signed a deal this week with Major Cineplex, the leading commercial theater operator in Thailand to open 2 IMAX theaters in the greater Bangkok area by October 2010 with a further 3 theaters to follow. IMAX has been pushing headlong into the Asian market signing on over 40 locations in just the past year.

Vicha Poolvaraluck, Chairman of the Major Cineplex Group:

There has been tremendous interest in The IMAX Experience(R) from moviegoers in Thailand and we are focused on meeting that demand with these five theatre systems, IMAX’s digital theatre system is ideal for our market as we have several premium locations and our first IMAX(R) theatre has enjoyed tremendous success.

Major Cineplex Group is the largest cinema operator in Thailand with 363 screens open at 49 locations. Several additional complexes are planned. Major Cineplex Group is also a leading Lifestyle Entertainment Company in Thailand whose business portfolio also includes  bowling centers, karaoke, ice-skating rinks, and retail space rental. Major Cineplex Group also integrates movie production business, theatrical film distribution, and DVD distribution business through its subsidiary company, M Pictures Entertainment. Internationally, Major Cineplex Group has a joint venture with PVR Cinemas in India to develop entertainment bowling centers and is enjoying substantial growth. Some of the new IMAX theatres will go into upcoming new projects.

Thai’s love Sanook  fun) and I can see IMAX going over huge in Thailand, especially if they show 3D ghost movies! If they do I will not be going with any Thai woman I know, I bruise easily.

That’s just an interesting sample of whats been going on in Thailand this week, Whats happening in your part of the world?

Related Articles of Interest:

• Thailand News Updates
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 4/24/10
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 03/13/10
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 12/05/09
• Thailand in the News Week Ending 07/31/2010