pacman

Of course it's on that track because that's where it was flying! I see the relatives of those lost on the flight are trying to raise five million dollars to offer it as an incentive for someone to break their silence. They want to flush out a whistle blower who knows what happened. I think that's the cleverest move anyone has come up with yet. Among the men who went out to clean up the wreckage (and someone has because NOTHING has been found anywhere) there would be a few who would take the money. If they're smart they'll do it by proxy because there are powerful forces lined up against anyone who speaks out. Just when you think the story can't get any more interesting, they come up with the idea of a reward to buy the truth. I can't wait to see how this develops.

You may have read one of my old posts about the word "farang". It is the worst perjorative imaginable, equivalent to the N word. Some time back the Thais were asked what farang meant as they already had a word for foreigner. They came up with the answer that it meant "foreigner other than from SE Asia". And all their text books were changed to reflect that official translation. However they couldn't exactly start a campaign to re-educate the public lest they gave the game away. As a generalisation, when you see locals sneering as they refer to the farang, it isn't that they dislike one particular farang, they hate the lot of us. This applies especially to the uneducated low-so Thais but it's an attitude that can be found everywhere. EDIT: Oops, sorry Lung, I missed your post when I was replying. At least I am not contradicting you.

I am not dismissive of psychics, I have seen cases where they knew things impossible to know. I neither embrace this vision nor reject it. It's no more than another opinion until more proof comes available. I can't help but wonder if the writer hasn't read of the same theory I mentioned on the previous page. We both have MH370 flying to Diego Garcia, in my post I wrote that the flight was shot down when it breached the base's airspace, this person has a vision of it landing at Diego Garcia. I cannot imagine a plane with all its identifying communications switched off would be allowed to continue unhindered to the landing strip. The search received new impetus yesterday when it was announced that there were no pings from the black box & the search to date has been in the wrong place. As I predicted, they weren't going to find the plane, there has been a cover-up from the start. The authorities are suggesting the pings emanated from their own sonar equipment. I find that comment extraordinary. Maybe they were from the British submarine that was diverted to the search zone in the days after it was decided where to look. It is strange that not another thing has been heard about that sub, did it arrive? Did it help search? Or was it asked to go there & create some undersea confusion to keep hopes up? I wonder why we have heard nothing more from those in the Maldives at the time who reported seeing a low flying jet airliner heading in a westerly direction. If either of the above stories are correct, that would fit exactly with the theory that the pilot was heading to Diego Garcia. And if the psychic *saw* the plane there, maybe he'll have another vision & see it being shot down. Which is what happened in my opinion. And that of many others who are all trying to make sense of why the plane was flown off course in the first place. The pilot intended to crash it into the US aircraft carrier that is permanently based there. Only that scenario makes sense, the pilot was committing jihad & the US were defending their interests. Stories of somebody taking the controls & veering deliberately off-course simply to crash the plane defy logic, what's the point? No one sacrifices that many lives of innocent people without good cause. All these red herrings pointing to exactly that scenario are only designed to confuse. Plus I can't get the vision of Hishammuddin Hussein out of my head when during the TV interview I wrote about in post 46 above when he interrupted himself when he said "we don't shoot down unidentified planes ..... BUT AMERICA DOES!" I watched with a distinct feeling I had just seen & heard the real reason from the "horse's mouth". He wasn't asked about it, his face didn't belie his official stance, it was a totally impromptu outburst from someone who must know what happened.

He was a pilot & his name was James. At least I think that was his name.

I thought it stood for "In My Honest Opinion" & I haven't used it in years. I occasionally use IMO. My opinion might be many things, it might be offensive, it might be silly, it might be wrong, whatever it is, if it is MY OPINION, it is always HONEST. The H is redundant. IMO.

I turned on the news this morning to hear someone raving on about how the military was corrupt, how there was only one legitimate government, how the military was resorting to force, how this was a shameful event for Thailand, how everything I believed yesterday was all wrong. I wondered who the hell was talking this nonsense. Turned out it was this guy, Robert Amsterdam. The problem was it was only revealed at the very end of his interview who he represented with a small byline after his name on the bottom of the screen. I am sure most people watching would have assumed he was an independent expert on the matter. The guy was blathering bullshit for all he was worth. I guess Thaksin can afford the best representation but this guy is one of those lawyers who give the rest of them a bad name.

Here's a bit of gossip some may find interesting - Yingluck is not Thaksin's sister, she's his daughter. Thaksin got some fellow student pregnant when he was studying, his family adopted the child. Ex-pats in Bangkok swear it's true, have any of our crowd on the ground heard similar?

What democracy? When one side decides they don't like the way they are being governed & can get the Prime Minister removed from office, it doesn't sound very democratic to me. But having said that, with the gap between the Red Shirts & the Yellow Shirts being so wide I don't think Thailand is suited to democracy. They need a benevolent dictator in the mould of Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore. Saddam Hussein is another who was able to manage a divided country but he isn't an ideal model. And we know what happened to him. The one person who does command the necessary respect for it to work is not able to take the job & those in line lack the respect to ever be able to take the role. Expect plenty of ballot box rigging to ensure *they* get the result they want at the next election.

An interesting comment by Malaysia's Minister of Defence & acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein while being interviewed by the Australian Broadcasting Commission's program 4 Corners last night. When asked why weren't air force jets scrambled to intercept an unidentified plane flying over Malaysian airspace which was actually MAS flight MH370, he replied: "Why would we do that? We are not at war with anyone, it was not posing any threat, we don't shoot down every plane we can't identify.... <pause>.... BUT AMERICA DOES!" There was nothing in the questions referring to America yet he felt the need to add his comment as an after thought. I wonder if he let his political mask slip for a moment to tell us what he really thinks? It was a most telling moment & the first sign I have seen from the Malaysians of any attempt to cast suspicion further afield.

Of course it's a joke. I know that stuff is flippant. I was attempting a little humour of my own....

Err, octopus?

Umm, gorilla?

WTF! Kangaroo Riders? Who wrote the captions? An eight year old?

Rhinoceros? Question: why is route67 being obstreperous?

Did they run this ad on British TV? It's a bit close to the bone, I think there would be a few complaints here in Oz if they let it be shown. I think you'll enjoy this.

Herbert worked on the gold fields in Western Australia. They were tough, grim conditions with little in the way of comfort, it's impressive that he rose from there to the White House.

Damn, that's way too young. At least he secured a major achievement before he died. He will be remembered. Vale Malik. Thanks for the reminder Hefe. I have fond memories of Bugis Street, I spent many nights there drinking with a bunch of mates. We were just bedazzled by the ladyboys who went there every night, I'm sure the girl they are talking to in the clip was among them. And the place was a magnet for tourists, there was almost nothing else to do in Singapore after dark. The stupidest thing the government ever did was bulldoze the place. But just like the Thais bulldozed Patpong, Asians don't take pride in their transgendered brethren. I have photos of some of the prettiest girls sitting at our table, once they knew we were around for a while they would stop by to chat. There was no such thing as ladydrinks in those days. There were maybe 10 or so drink vendors there & they competed for our business. Big bottles of Anchor & something else we used to drink. Maybe it was Tiger but I am not sure. One night we went off to watch a "sex show". I had no idea where we were headed or what to expect. A crazy Scotsman called Jim had arranged it & no one was more excited than him. Exactly like that film clip we went to a private house where on a bed there were two Chinese girls. Or women more correctly. They were naked & played with some dildos. One of them spoke, she only knew one word of English - "enjoy". As her partner slid the dildo into her, she would say in a thick accent "enjoy". I have never forgotten it. I found it very un-sexy, about as arousing as a cabbage leaf but Jim sure liked it. At one point the women started laughing hysterically, Jim had pulled his cock out & was waving it over the bed hoping to join the action. Nothing happened but Jim didn't care. He tucked himself away & laughing like a loon we all walked back to Bugis Street for more beer. I sat there thinking "now I've seen it all". We had heard mythical stories of secret Asian sex shows but the reality was very disappointing. I was still to get to Bangkok where we discovered the world of sex clubs down back lanes with secret entrances & real sex. They were mind blowing by comparison. I sat there thinking whether I could be bothered to get it on with either of the women. I decided I would rather pass, the whole thing was seedy & not at all helped by the sight of Jim's erection. Ugh, beer, I need more beer.

You don't know Casey Kasem? I almost feel you have missed out on something. His was the voice of America when I listened to the radio. The local DJs sounded so lame compared to his sonorous tones. I could just listen to him to hear how he pronounced his words. His voice was un-mimic-able.

Ted! I remember we talked about that movie before. I absolutely hated it but others disagreed. I saw a film recently that I liked more than I expected I would. Fading Gigolo by John Turturro. The plot is lame but it's very poignant. And a starring role by Woody Allan sees him steal the entire movie. The man is in his 70's & he's as funny in this as anything he's ever been in. A very subtle type of funny but a teenager who saw it thought he was "hilarious". I wouldn't go that far, sometimes I was laughing at him, not with him. There's a remarkable scene at the end of the film where John & Woody are talking about life & the camera comes in close & the look on Woody's face is just priceless. I can't explain it but I suddenly wished he will be around to make more movies like this. No one does the neurotic New York Jew like Woody. And he delivers his lines with a patter that no one can imitate. He is always full of doubt & second guessing himself but he does it with such style. Not a film for those who like action & zombies but a few of you might like it.

I was going to say Amalfi. Honest I was. I have walked near that church. But I didn't know about Le Caravelle, we ate at a typical trattoria which from memory was neither good nor bad. A few glasses of vino da casa & they are all good. God I love the Amalfi! Understood. And how many times does an easy question at a quiz night catch you out? I am always expecting a catch, surely they can't be asking something so simple so I overthink it & go for a different answer. It works sometimes.

Oh come on JaiDee, which country? You should be asking which town... We all know it's Italy, as for the town it might be Positano. But it can't be because the road goes around by the water there & there's no road visible. Hmm, I will think about it, I've seen that yellow cathedral before.

I don't date eight year olds....

It wouldn't matter, the servers can be located anywhere, the NSA keeps tabs on everything on the net. If anyone ever asks I will deny everything. In fact I will publicly withdraw my remarks right now. Just another crazy man posting under the influence....

Don't be so hard on yourself Lung. I'm sure SiamSam would tip you up if he had half a chance...

Yay! What do I win?