News and Views - July 2006 (Source: Google Earth - Pyinmana) Above: New government buildings in the hills outside of Pyinmana Hi-res images of the new Myanmar capital construction - July 4, 2006 Don't miss the incredible images of the bunker-building Myanmar military's new capital in Pyinmana. (Google Earth placemark - Install Google Earth) Google Earth Imagery May Have Rattled Burmese Regime - The Irrawaddy, July 3, 2006 Another reason for the [Burmese] junta's efforts to block Google ("Junta Blocks Google and Gmail," The Irrawaddy Online, June 30, 2006) may well stem for that company's decision to highlight Pyinmana on its Google Earth product. The addition of Pyinmana is recent and the high resolution imagery is excellent, allowing anyone to examine closely the scale of the project and the mindset of its builders. More from The Irrawaddy: Than Shwe Watch - The wedding of junta supremo Than Shwe's daughter on Sunday was expected by residents in Rangoon to be the most expensive in modern Burmese history, as news of the event spread through town. Rumors have it that the nuptials cost a staggering 4 billion kyat (US $300,000). Asia World Co Ltd, Burma's biggest conglomerate headed by notorious drug lord Lo Hsing Han, is said to have provided the catering, while well-known Burmese tycoon Tay Za's Htoo Trading Company footed the bill for many of the other arrangements. Lt-Gen Myint Swe, commander of Rangoon Division, is thought to have provided the wedding gown... Construction to Begin on Burmese "Cyber City" - Fortunes Won and Lost in Burma’s Football Fever (Photo: 2Bangkok.com) Monday afternoon storm - July 31, 2006 (Photo: 2Bangkok.com) Above: Anti-beggar billboard on Sathorn Road. It reads: Thai youths' lives are in your hands. Do not support selling and buying on the road. Best wishes from Social Development and Human Security Ministry. Tel. 1300 New attitude urged to child beggars - Bangkok Post, July 25, 2006 Most of the child beggars in Bangkok are illegally smuggled in from Cambodia - Thaisnews, July 25, 2006 The Mirror Art Foundation discloses that child beggars in Bangkok can make up to 1,000 baht a day if they are disabled... Shanghai Constructs Underground Bunker Capable Of Sheltering 200,000 People - local6, July 31, 2006 "Waistline exceeding 40 inches" - The Nation, August 2, 2006 A police officer takes a rest after an aerobic exercise in a police campaign for officers who have waistline exceeding 40 inches. About 100 police officers from Bangkok police stations attended the month long programme... Burma trip Thai PM Holds Sudden Talks with Than Shwe - The Irrawaddy, August 2, 2006 Thailand's caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra led a delegation to Naypyidaw for talks with junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe and other undisclosed junta officials on Wednesday... Burma visit fuels rumours - The Nation, August 3, 2006 ...The visit also came on the same day US President George W Bush signed legislation renewing economic sanctions on Burma to signal his "serious concern" about the military regime there, the White House said in a statement... However, a source at Government House said Thaksin may have gone to Burma to join the race with China and India for exclusive rights to Burma's north-western natural gas reserves... [And, as usual, a blander article from the Post...] Hidden agenda seen in PM's 1-day Burma trip - Bangkok Post, August 3, 2006 Bomb Blasts in Burma---A Chronology - The Irrawaddy, August 2, 2006 The number of bomb attacks in Burma has increased sharply this year, to an average of more than one a month. The Irrawaddy has prepared (and will be regularly updating) a chronology dating back to 1983... Launch of Pracharaj Party today - The Nation, August 2, 2006 BANGKOK POST 60TH ANNIVERSARY: Thaksin appeals to media - Bangkok Post, August 3, 2006 [We would like to see Thaksin invited to The Nation's anniversary party.] Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has appealed to the media to help maintain the image of the country to boost investor confidence. Addressing the Bangkok Post's 60th anniversary party on Tuesday night, Mr Thaksin said the Post is the newspaper most quoted by other countries and its readers are not limited to Thais. He asked the editorial staff to look after the country's image in the eyes of the international community. ''The Bangkok Post is the newspaper which other countries use most often as a reference. I'd like to leave good thoughts with the Bangkok Post,'' he said... KL gets tough on spread of misinformation via Net - The Nation, August 2, 2006 If information in blogs, websites and online portals was incorrect, bordered on slander, caused disturbance or compelled the public to lose faith in the nation's economic policies, their authors would be detained for investigation, Badawi said... Hip-hop concert launches Freedom Campaign - UPI, July 31, 2006 A Black Eyed Peas concert in Bangkok has ushered in the beginning of "The Freedom Campaign" for detained Nobel Prize-winner Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar. The hip-hop group's performance in the capital of Thailand Monday marked the start of an effort to bring attention to the Myanmar people and to Kyi's non-violent attempts to bring democracy to the region, a news release said... (Photo: 2Bangkok.com) Twin highrises under construction again - August 1, 2006 One of the granddaddies of Bangkok derelict highrises, the old Tokyu complex on Ratchadapeisek Road, is suddenly under construction again. The project was abandoned about 10 years ago--even before the 1997 economic crash. Does anyone know what is happening with this project? Thailand eyes Myanmar's natural gas reserves - AFP, July 30, 2006 Thailand's largest energy firm PTT Plc has said it has joined the race against China and India in a bid for exclusive rights to military-run Myanmar's northwestern natural gas reserves... History of the Thai oil industry: Three soldier marching on - Bangkok Post, August 1, 2006 Back in 1946, a year after the end of World War II, Thailand's only oil refinery _ which had a capacity of 1,000 barrels per day _ in Chong Nonsi had been bombed and its only oil tanker, Samui, had been sunk, leaving the country with a severe oil shortage. Although the situation is not as bad today, the country is still facing oil problems, particularly from the rising price of gasoline, which is 30 baht a litre _ 25 times higher than it was 60 years ago... Investment in Laos: Thai firms 'missing opportunities' - The Nation, August 1, 2006 ..."The successful construction will turn Laos from a 'landlocked' to a 'land-linked' country," Rathakit said. Pie in the Sky - The Irrawaddy, August, 2006 Burma's air force gets a boost but still can't make the grade in Southeast Asia... [With GoogleEarth images!] "Ramakien": Thai Rock at the Lincoln Center Festival - New York Times, July 30, 2006 Grandly ambitious and inconclusive, overstuffed and sketchy, "Ramakien" imported a thriving arts scene from Bangkok to the Lincoln Center Festival in a three-night stand that started on Friday at the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center... Chocolate Yaba Seized in Tak Province - The Irrawaddy, July 28, 2006 Police in Thailand's Tak province have discovered a new form of amphetamine pills being smuggled across the Burmese border from Karen State, according to local police officials... Two Hudson High School students visit Thailand - Worcester Telegram & Gazette, July 27, 2006 Locals believe the water off the coast of Ranong Province in Thailand is haunted by ghosts. Many feel that the sea, once a valuable source of income, is now a graveyard choked with death and sorrow of those who perished from the tsunami nearly two years ago... What's so Thai about Thaitanium? - Bangkok Recorder, June 16, 2006 French travel warning was "slip-up" : FM - The Nation, July 27, 2006 Backside of Doi Inthanon - ThaiSuperBike, July 28, 2006 In upper MHS province Monday the local cops said that the alternate road from Chiangmai to Pai will be finished this year. I went 5km up the far end near Pai and it's a beauteous banked black-tarmac playground. At Khun Yuam on the Burma border, the road to Surin Falls is great until the last 6km which is already graded but not yet paved. Hellin' fun ride yesterday from Khun Yuam around the backside of Doi Inthanon to Mae Chaem, lots of high-altitude curves. Beautiful views despite the cloud cover starting around 1,600m on Mt. Doom. After 7 hrs of twisties, rolled into Thoen and then blasted down to Tak for the nightlife. There is a mountainous section of incredible 270-degree switchbacks on the 50km stretch between Li and Thoen, don't miss it if you're in the area. Great way to use up the tread on the sides of your tires. Mobile prefix - July 25, 2006 We just noticed that the new 081 prefix works for mobile numbers. So if your number is 01 123-4567, the new dialing number is 081 123-4567 and we assume the overseas dialing would be 6681 123-4567. Navsari diamond trader abducted in Bangkok - PTI, July 22, 2006 A Navsari-based diamond trader, who was on a visit to Bangtkok, has been abducted some days ago, sources in the diamond industry said. On receiving the information, that diamond trader Mihir Mehta was abducted, his father immediately rushed to Bangkok to get more details about the same, sources added. Police is yet to begin investigation... "Iranian embassy in Bangkok denounces Zionist aggressions" - IRNA, July 22, 2006 The embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Bangkok, Thailand, in a statement issued on Saturday, said the oppressed peoples of Palestine and Lebanon have once again become the subject of aggression by the Israeli regime... Questions Raised About the Case Against Danish Bandidos Member - scandasia, July 23, 2006 Almost like being there: Ubon Ratchatani Candle Festival - terrybkk.com, July 15, 2006 Talks on extending Nagaland truce in Bangkok on July 28-29 - ZeeNews, July 25, 2006 The government and the NSCN-IM will hold talks in Bangkok on July 28-29 on the ceasefire in Nagaland, which will expire at the end of this month, amid indications the rebels could toughen their stand to get some "concessions" on their "charter of demands" before going ahead with the peace process... Young Myanmar rebel Johnny Htoo surrenders - AP, July 26, 2006 Surakiart's UN bid appears to be doomed - The Nation, July 26, 2006 Ceding territory to the French - July 25, 2006 Right: 1905 - Ceding territory to the French Also: International Boundary Study - Laos-Thailand Boundary   (Source: Ceding territory to the French - Le Petit Journal, 1905) Thousands of chairs - The Nation, July 17, 2006 A staff of the controversial Dhammakaya temple inspects the venue for the meditation in Pathum Thani where hundreds are expected to attend, including politicians of the local level trough out the country. However many see the planned event as a show of forces to counter the anti-Thaksin movement. Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will give a speech on Wednesday. Satellite photos reveal lilliputian China in China - BoingBoing, July 28, 2006 ...This post at the Sydney Morning Herald describes an military facility in the desert of China which someone spotted in recently released hi-res photos in Google Earth. It's a 500:1, 700 x 900 meter scale model of the territory China took from India in the 1962 Sino-Indian War. There has been a lot of discussion, and many humorous suggestions, but nobody has figured out its function. New Thai-Burmese border road planned - The Irrawaddy, July 17, 2006 ... The 140-million baht (US $3.66 million) plan is to be proposed to the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy, where the Burmese government will be asked to cooperate. The planned road would start south of the border town of Mae Sot, in Tak province, at Valley village in Pob Phra and then travel 28 kilometres cutting through Karen State to Nong Loung village in Umphang district, also in Tak. It would mean using two fords across a loop in the narrow Moei River... Warning for buyers of Samui land - Bangkok Post, July 24, 2006 People interested in buying property on the resort island of Koh Samui have been warned they could end up with an illegal title, as only 10% of the property developers operating there are licensed... PTT named one of world's 500 largest companies by Fortune - TNA, July 17, 2006 ...the globally-recognized magazine had notched up PTT by 108 to the 265th largest company from 373th last year, making PTT become the single Thai company named in the 500 top ranks... "The One of the Masterpiece" - July 25, 2006 Delightful English from a property development brochure... The Golden Jubilee Diamond - Wikipedia, July 24, 2006 ... While the current whereabouts of the Centenary are unknown, the Golden Jubilee is known to have been purchased from De Beers by a Thai syndicate in 1995. The diamond was then given to King Rama IX of Thailand as tribute on the 50th anniversary of his coronation, who had the Golden Jubilee mounted in his royal sceptre. The diamond's existence remains little known even to the people of Thailand, as the government reported the Golden Jubilee to be "a large golden topaz..." "Pervert's Thai murder charge" - The Evening Chronicle, July 21 2006 Siemens products - July 23, 2006 2Bangkok: Almost like being Slashdotted - July 18, 2006 Terry writes: My website is pretty primitive and is intended mainly to allow my kids and grandchildren and a few friends to keep up with our activities. I have never bothered about statistics. Out of curiosity I checked my website stats, for the first time, after you linked to my candles page. The results were dramatic as you can see in the attached pics... We also admit with pride that 2B knocked the NRC's site off for a day when we linked to their reports page. Trip inspires student's mission against sex trade in Thailand - Journal Sentinel, July 15, 2006 American student discovers Pattaya: "It was horrific," he said. "The city is driven by sex tourists..." Woman nabbed for bringing home "cheap" Bangkok medicines - Cebu News, July 20, 2006 ...Agents from the Philippine Drugs Enforcement Agency (PDEA), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and Bureau of Customs-Mactan held Montesclaros for questioning after seizing 40,800 tablets of assorted medicines. Also confiscated from her were 20 bottles of Mycostatin oral drugs and 300 tubes of Nisoral (5mg) ointment along with 552 units of Mena facial cream. ...Carlito Ermac, chief of the K-9 group of PDEA, said his office was tipped off by the NBI that Montesclaros and one of her companions were scheduled to arrive in Cebu allegedly carrying illegal drugs worth P6 million from Bangkok. More candle festival photos - July 22, 2006 Round-up of alleged land scammers 'could hurt image' - The Nation, July 20, 2006 On the forums: Wat Dhammakaya on GoogleEarth Google-Earthing the North Korean Military - BoingBoing, July 19, 2006 Earlier: Hi-res images of the new Myanmar capital construction - July 4, 2006 talkingmachine.org - July 21, 2006 Phasit writes: I always read the thai history from your website. seeing many the old pic so I prefer to recommend my friend website www.talkingmachine.org "Sweltering UK hotter than Bangkok" - CNN, July 19, 2006 The headline has already been amended to " UK's heat may surpass Bangkok." Here is the original. Busy soi - July 21, 2006 Right: Busy soi near Victory Monument Thai Rock Stars to Give New Yorkers Opera - AP, July 18, 2006 Disabled Can't Fly Alone on Thai AirAsia - AP, July 19, 2006 Southeast Asia low-cost carrier AirAsia said Wednesday it will not allow blind, deaf and other disabled passengers to travel alone on flights in Thailand because the airline does not have the ground staff to help them, officials said Wednesday... (Photo: 2Bangkok.com) Egg smuggle case cracked - Daily Telegraph, July 18, 2006 ...Floyd, who has been breeding birds for more than 30 years, then changed his story and told the airport official he hid the eggs because he "wanted to surprise his girlfriend" who he was meeting in Thailand... Time to check the Korat Post - July 1, 2006 It is time to check the eccentric Korat Post. Among the stories on the front page: - An explanation of who "Mrs. Chingin" is--the host of a community radio program. - 77 million baht remake of the core of downtown Korat - US $79 million stadium rises Shinmai Chips - July 6, 2006 Earlier: Thai TV commercials More interesting spam - July 15, 2006 I do not know why an insurance salesman is promoting tuk-tuks (or sending spam about it), but the new body design is nice... Entering the Not-So-Swinging Sixties - Bangkok Post, July 9, 2006 Thanks to Don Entz writes: Roger Crutchley, the Sports editor at the "Bangkok Post," turned 60 last week. Below are his thoughts on spending 37 years in Thailand. (In 1969, he set out from England with some friends, to travel overland to Australia. His stories of 1969 Afghanistan are highly amusing. He stopped in Thailand and never left): ...A common question is how I have ''survived'' in Thailand all these years, as if living here was some kind of punishment. In fact it's been a delight, but there have admittedly been times when I didn't have a clue what was going on. It's a truism that the longer you stay in Thailand, the more you realise how little you know about the place. ...In 1969, our 800 baht a month house in Makkasan wasn't air-conditioned so we left the door and windows open to let the breeze in. It also let the neighbours in - an immediate introduction to the Thai community spirit. Everybody dropped in to say hello and they made themselves at home. Sometimes I'd surface to find half the neighbourhood ensconced downstairs getting stuck into their mid-morning som tam. Babies who'd never seen a farang before would scream in horror at the sight of the whiter-than-white Crutch tottering down the stairs... Would Vietnam war money have been better spent bribing the enemy to stop fighting? - The Straight Dope, July 15, 2006 35 most influential Thais - July 12, 2006 This is the special feature for The Nation's 35th anniversary. Euro Parliament passes resolution on internet censorship - The Irrawaddy, July 7, 2006 The European Parliament on Thursday passed a resolution on Internet censorship condemning governments which ban content—including Burma, China and Vietnam—as well as IT companies that work with them to impose online restrictions... Meanwhile, Internet users in Burma have said that the previous ban on Google Talk and Gmail has been lifted, although the use of both is still hampered by slow Internet connections---a common problem in the country. Some had switched to Gmail Lite, a version that can run at lower connection speeds. In Mandalay though, sources said Google Talk and a similar program, Skype, were still unavailable. Other free web-based emails that were blocked late last month at the same time---Sailormoon.com and Mail2World---are also still banned, users said. Thai press coverage of Burmese migrant issues criticized - The Irrawaddy, July 7, 2006 Burmese living in Thailand are pictured in a negative way in the Thai press, media activists told a conference in Chiang Mai on Friday... "i love farang" - July 7, 2006 Right: Taxi sign Asia to lose if trade talks collapse - Bloomberg, July 7, 2006 Navy: Wreckage in Gulf of Thailand is Manitowoc-built USS Lagarto - Gazette Extra Sports, July 6,2006 Wreckage at the bottom of the Gulf of Thailand is the USS Lagarto, the U.S. Navy said Wednesday. The Manitowoc-built USS Lagarto disappeared around May 3, 1945 in an area near Thailand where U.S. ships worked to disrupt Japanese military supply routes... Getting there faster and faster, by rail - International Herald Tribune, June 29, 2006 [Thanks to Danny for pointing this out.] June has been an exciting month for high-speed train aficionados. There was the 10th anniversary of the Thalys train that connects Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Cologne; the announcement by SNCF, the French railroad company, that it is building the TGV Est Europoen, which in June 2007 will start providing high-speed services between Paris and 33 cities and towns in eastern France, Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg; and reports that construction of the 67-mile high-speed Channel Tunnel rail link from London St. Pancras is expected to meet a deadline for the transfer of Eurostar services there in the autumn of 2007. Thalys (www.thalys.com) is a partnership between French, Belgian, German and Dutch national railways... The newest generation of French TGVs (www.sncf.com and www.tgv.com) will travel at 320 kilometers per hour, compared with the current 300... Gang uses phones to foil police - Bangkok Post, July 7, 2006 ... ''They look like ordinary people and some are well-dressed. When they reach their 'workplace', they change into shabby clothes and roam the local streets holding out their hands for money,'' police said. When night falls, the pick-ups take them to other begging spots. Some journalists failed in their attempts to capture the mobile phone-flaunting beggars on camera because the beggars were vigilant and quick to spread warnings among themselves. Their patrons usually give money out of sympathy for the beggars, some of whom walk with what look like painful limps. But generous folk might now be having second thoughts after seeing the police appearance send the beggars sprinting off at top speed, police said. Mr Somphop said it is tough for the police to crack down on the beggars because the gang is well organised, with influential figures behind it. Moreover, some local residents have condemned the authorities for harassing the underprivileged and the poor, Mr Somphop said. (Photo: 2Bangkok.com) UBC True hardball - July 3, 2006 Latest salvo in the competitive mobile phone industry. The highly popular Academy Fantasia, a show where viewers vote off members each week with SMS messages, can now only be accessed with a UBC True mobile phone account--unlike before when anyone could participate. To make sure no one misses out, this month's UBC True program guide comes with a SIM card. (Photo: 2Bangkok.com) Siang Pure Oil - July 3, 2006 One of the several retro/modern ads for Siang Pure Oil. It says: Ease your dizziness with mentholated ointment - Siang Pure Oil Songkran-like holiday in Brazil? - July 3, 2006 This photo on this thread has an illustration of Carnival in 1822 with water throwing and smearing white substance on faces that is reminiscent of Thailand's Songkran. Spot Light: Supernatural sightings? - New Straits Times, July 9, 2006 If a toyol is bothering you, or your neighbourhood is being terrorised by a jin, who do you call? No, not the ghostbusters but the P-Team. They are a team like no other and their members are made up of religious teachers and healers from Malaysia and neighbouring countries... Foreigners net buyers of THB1.76 billion Thai stocks Monday - Dow Jones, July 10, 2006 Man stabbed on notorious city overpass - The Nation, July 12, 2006 Anyone know which overpass this is? Ministry bastardises bid process - The Nation, July 12, 2006 Colorful headline! More on the controversial book - Friskodude, July 7, 2006 Interesting spam - July 14, 2006 Some sites get penis enlargement spam--2Bangkok.com gets this kind of spam: MART Corporation: Our Website is for People with Tough Cleaning Problems - Unique Solutions from MART - The Company that Invented and Perfected Power Washing SEC clamping down on investment sites - Bangkok Post, July 17, 2006 ... According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, people offering investment advice and management must not only be properly licensed, but also must work only at approved asset management firms or securities brokers. The SEC last week closed www.dsm-stockpile.com, a website that had been found to have been dispensing advisory services as well as managing assets... Tamil-Brahmi inscription on pottery found in Thailand - The Hindu, July 16, 2006 ...He has confirmed that the pottery inscription is in Tamil and written in Tamil-Brahmi characters of about the second century AD. Only three letters have survived on the pottery fragment... "Kidnapped and Robbed by Bangkok Police" - Writing.com, July 15, 2006 ...The payments that I made to the "Good Police" were as follows... Roiling storm clouds - July 12, 2006 Storm clouds moving over the Chao Phraya from Thonburi on Wednesday afternoon. (Photo: 2Bangkok.com) HRA questions legality of PLA extradition from Thailand - KanglaOnline, July 10, 2006 Imphal-based human rights body Human Rights Alert has called into question the legality of the sudden extradition from Thailand of four... The endangered Javan rhino - Friskodude, July 11, 2006 Searching for cave fish and oxygen in Thailand - New York Times, July 13, 2006 ...Many of those caves had high levels of carbon dioxide because of the wood and other debris that had washed into the caves during the rainy season. As the wood decays, it releases carbon dioxide, a gas that is heavier than air and that tends to pool invisibly in low areas of caves with stagnant air (although concentrations can change rapidly as a cave breathes cyclically each day)... (Get your login from BugMeNot.) Oil of 'physic nut' can fight Aids, power machinery - The Nation, July 15, 2006 Strange headline of the week... Thailand 'most risky place for holidaymakers' - Guardian Unlimited, July 10, 2006 Thailand is the most hazardous destination for British holidaymakers, where they are most likely to suffer food poisoning, theft, traffic accidents or the loss... Unlinkable Various interesting articles from the Post which are unfortunately unlinkable... PM's role as defender of democracy is a joke - Bangkok Post, July 10, 2006 MONEY BUYS COMFORT ON DEATH ROW - Bangkok Post, July 10, 2006 Quality over quantity will be new emphasis - Bangkok Post, July 10, 2006 ... The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the main marketing arm, should offer activities that attract high-end tourists from both inside and outside the country... (Photo: 2Bangkok.com) Graffiti- July 13, 2006 Derelict building viewed from the Surasak Skytrain Station. In a steamy Thai factory, soccer ball makers put their stamp on the World Cup - International Herald Tribune, July 2, 2006 ...Only about a dozen of the 250 workers who assemble the Adidas-brand balls here are men. And Akiyoshi Kitano, the Japanese supervisor of the factory, said it is better that way. When it comes to production goals, women are much better at handling the ball, he said. "The ladies are more skillful," Kitano said, adding that their fingers are more nimble and their work more precise... Ways sought to add value to unfinished buildings of 1997 - Bangkok Post, July 4, 2006 Property developers and authorities have agreed to accelerate the rehabilitation and completion of buildings that have remained unfinished since the 1997 economic crisis. According to Suparut Kawatkul, the permanent secretary of the Finance Ministry, 281 buildings remain incomplete in Greater Bangkok, representing 6.2 million square metres of space... Thai hunger for cheap energy throws lifeline to Myanmar - AFP, July 2, 2006 (Photo: 2Bangkok.com) Above: True's mobile phone promotion on Silom. Odds and ends - July 6, 2006 Nothing to do with Thailand, but interesting... Danny points out the following. Smile, you're on trial - the age, July 6, 2006 Who owns the yellow smiley face? Historic India-China link to open - BBC, July 5, 2006 China and India are due to open a historic trade route which was closed 44 years ago... Cambodians ride 'bamboo railway' - BBC, July 4, 2006 Cambodian have replaced failed railways with self-made "bamboo trains"... First train completes journey across the roof of the world - AP, July 3, 2006 (Source: Postcard) Water rising - July 7, 2006 More on the The Great Flood of 1942 Time to rethink position on Korea - The Nation, July 7, 2006 Thailand must stay out of the missile crisis and focus instead on developing a united front among Asean members Listening to caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon talking about the nuclear crisis in the Korean Peninsula, one only can say: Please, mind your own business. The issues related to North Korea and its nuclear ambitions are complicated, and they are outside the purview of Thailand and policymakers here... Royal Crown Property Bureau website - July 3, 2006 It seems the entire RCPB website is now a single page about job interviews: People whose name is on the list, come to be interviewed at the working unit, supporting sector 15 minutes before the interview time. Those who come late will lose their place. June 19, 2006 - The content of the site is gone with only this message left: No announcement at present. Odds and ends Nils points out these interesting articles from the BBC: Thai monks mix Buddha with Beckham and India skull man pulls huge crowds World Cup fans warned not to take alcohol - TNA, July 8, 2006 As the final match of the World Cup draws near, fans are again advised by Thailand's Public Health Ministry not to consume alcoholic drinks while watching it as they could die from heart attack, which can result from over excitement producing fast heartbeats and sudden shocks... Thai dressing - Star Online, July 8, 2006 For a home-grown brand, Thai fashion label Jaspal has a very international face... Yearlong search finds no vultures - The Nation, July 8, 2006 Wildlife experts have given up hope of finding vultures in Thailand after a year of research turned up no trace of the scavenging birds... (Photo: Jit for 2Bangkok.com) Baiyoke billboard - July 10, 2006 The message on Thailand's tallest building: "Drink Don't Drive." The white part at the top is the warning message warning people under 18 not to drink. CPB urged to abandon plan to turn historic Silom Club into highrise - Bangkok Post, July 10, 2006 Monks from the Golden Horse temple in Mae Chan - July 7, 2006 Buying property in Thailand - Hua Hin Today, July 4, 2006 China's 1st train to Tibet continues west - AP, July 2, 2006