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Hacked by Rehizner of Audisoft Hacker Team
Hacked by Rehizner of Audisoft Hacker Team
Hacked by Rehizner of Audisoft Hacker Team
Hacked by Rehizner of Audisoft Hacker Team
Hacked by Rehizner of Audisoft Hacker Team
Hacked by Rehizner of Audisoft Hacker Team
Hacked by Rehizner of Audisoft Hacker Team

Dear Readers,

Every week I read about the problem of English Language skills in Thailand. The difficulty of finding qualified English Language teachers, the lack of up to date teaching materials, the scarcity of properly thought out curriculums.

Whilst on a short break we visited Koh Sukorn a small (8klms by 5 klms) island in the Andaman sea off the Trang coast. The island’s population is about 95% Muslim 5% Buddhist. The people on the Island are desperately trying to develop tourism but what is really holding them back is the lack of English language skills. We spent about 3 months on the island in 2007 and got to know a lot of people. Eventually we took the plunge and decided we would like to live on the island and teach English.

Did you know that having an affair can help to save a struggling marriage, but it has to be the “right kind” of liaison?

So says a marriage therapist in Thailand, whose, somewhat questionable help goes right against the grain. A 30-year veteran of the sofa, she also reckons, hardly brilliantly, that the last thing philanderers should do is come clean and admit that the error of their ways.

Nonetheless, a bit of indiscretion can be a positive thing, jolting people “from their inertia,” she says.

But the marriage therapist, insists that most cheating spouses should never own up, because admitting their infidelity is more damaging than keeping quiet. “The truth usually creates far more damage in the long run,” the therapist says.

When I told my friends that I was moving to Thailand there was a fairly standard response – not about the richness of Thai culture or the beauty of the landscape, rather that I was going to live in a country full of cross-dressers. Even my Gran, bless her, responded by saying, “That’s where them men-girls come from, isn’t it?’

It was quite a shock, therefore, when I began my new teaching job to find out that what I had thought was just a stereotype for cheap gags was, in fact, a very camp reality.

Standing in front of a class of 60, 15-year-olds I found that the eyes fluttering flirtatiously at me from the first row were more likely to belong to a boy than to a girl. In every class I taught there were at least three or four boys who were so incredibly effeminate that they made Julian Clary look like Chuck Norris.

Since the beginning of June, Chatuchak Weekend Market, which is sometimes also referred to as Jatujak or JJ Market, covering more then 1.13 km² (35 acres) has turned into a healthier place, as the Chatuchak authorities have introduced a complete ban on smoking for the whole market. Violations to the smoking ban would be fined 2,000 Baht.

Chatuchak Market Officials have prepared two smoking areas in front of the Chakuchak Market restrooms.

Still everyone seems to love a bargain and there are plenty to be had at Chatuchak Weekend Market, a happening that occurs in Bangkok every Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 to 18:00.

Items sold at the Chatuchak Weekend Market include everything imaginable and much that is unimaginable, including clothing, flowers, plants, massive goldfish, rare tropical fish, handmade candles, modern paintings, ceramics and kitchen ware, used magazines and books and virtually every kind of handicraft produced in Thailand.

It seems utterly amazing that the Strat, the archetypal electric guitar, is over 50 years old. The Rickenbacker ‘Frying Pan’ may have got there first, and even Fender’s own Telecaster was a precursor, but the Strat was the guitar that became the true king of rock ‘n roll.

Those stratchplate horns, that curvaceous scratchplate, the three single-coil pickups and , yes, oh yes, the tremolo bar.

Why has this shape become ubiquitous? Because it was so ergonomic right from the start, with those twin cutaways giving access to the full length of the rosewood fingerboard. Yet despite more me-too products than the iPod will ever have to suffer, the Fender ‘twang’ is a sound that has proven impossible to replicate.

Thai people across the entire social stratum have been familiar with the popular game of Thai chess since the Ayutthaya Period.

The game requires a 'wooden' chessboard divided into eight vertical and horizontal columns producing 64 squares upon which opponents amass Thai chess pieces arranged according to their positions and importance. Pieces include Khun (King, Met (Queen), Khon (Bishop), Horse (Knight), Boat (Castle) and Bia (Pawns).

Each Thai chess piece is restricted to its own discrete moves on the board, similar to Western chess. For example, Khun may move in all directions while Met may only move diagonally. Boat may go in a vertical and horizontal direction.

Continued increasing rice prices in the Thai market have prompted numerous farmers and middlemen to slow, stall or altogether stop selling paddy rice to millers, a move which eventually affects exporters, according to a Bank of Thailand (BoT) official who is deeply acquainted with the rice trade.

Benjamas Kotenongbua, a senior economist at BoT's Northeastern Office in Khon Kaen, said that this year's rice prices have soared unexpectedly to a new record high.
The government-sponsored mortgage program for the 2007-2008 rice season saw only 240,000 tonnes of rice being committed to it, compared to earlier estimates of 8 million tonnes, she said.

The major reason for the sharp drop of rice participation in the program was the result of soaring of rice prices which persuaded farmers and middlemen not to sell rice to millers.

Temples that appear on Thai banknotes reflect the studied significance of national identity. Among such important temples is one noted for its outstanding architectural attributes and exceptional murals: significant enough for such qualities to be reproduced and printed onto a 1 Baht banknote during World War II. The temple in question is none other than Wat Bhumintr of Nan Province.

Although no documentary evidence is available to account for the reasoning behind the government of the day's decision to designate Wat Bhumintr as the favored design for the banknote, some interesting information has emerged. The Thai government determines banknote designs, although the design of the banknote itself differs from generic printing patterns, so designers must be knowledgeable about the printing of banknotes as aside from general printing.

Each time I visit Myanmar (formerly Burma) I never fail to be charmed by the people’s lifestyle and culture activities along the Ayeyarwady or Irrawaddy River: the people’s strong faith in Shwedagon in Yangon “the land of a thousand Chedis” in Bagan, and the serene life of the folk living on Inle Lake. All are quite fascinating, particularly for first-time visitors.

Myanmar’s current junta seized control of the government in 1988 after violently suppressing nationwide pro-democracy protest. Some people ask, me why I not support a boycott of Myanmar. The answer is simple, only the people, who already live on absolute minimum, get hurt.

In life, the people of Myanmar and Buddhism are inseparable. Local folk start their daily routine by taking food to monks at temples, pray, and then go to work. At the end of the day, on their way back from work, they stop by the temple to pray again before returning home.