REGULARS

ARE HUA HIN FARANGS AN AVENTUROUS LOT?

Thinking about the forthcoming holiday period when Hua Hin will be packed with tourists, both Thai and Farang, I got to wondering if the growing number of foreigners deciding to make their home here are more adventurous or just luckier than their country brothers. Some, of course, although they would like to live here have family commitments in their homeland and have little choice.

Many UK retirees who had a dream of a little cottage in Devon all their working lives now find themselves living here for myriad reasons. Many Americans from the beautiful California coast and all over that lovely country chose Hua
Hin. For sure it took an open mind and a total life change mindset to relocate here from around the world and there is no shortage of takers. For those of us living here this is all a reconfirmation that we made the right decision. Many of us have a lifestyle beyond our wildest dreams at a cost probably cheaper than a mundane existence in our native lands.

As you may know, this column for the past five years has been about money and how to invest it. Many tourists have
an uneducated view of offshore investing and associate it with Columbian drug runners. That is not at all surprising in view of the knowledge of the advisers they deal with at home. Accountants, lawyers and their ilk are probably not
in the category of future residents here.

You know it makes sense if you decide to live here to buy a property. If you ask a lawyer or accountant at home they will in all probability advise against it. Meanwhile the people
who bought properties here like me have seen them at least double in value over the past five years

If you ask a home based financial adviser about investing
offshore, you’ll get the same attitude as you would with property investment. “Don’t do it, it’s too risky” they will say. What you won’t be told is that ”besides I don’t want to lose your business and I know nothing about it.“

Established red brick high street financial institutions have a place in the psyche of many investors especially those who will always live in the town, village or city where they were born. Absolutely nothing wrong with that but if you do not avail yourself of the advantages of offshore investing while living abroad then the phrase “Opportunity does not come knocking a second time” comes to mind. Let me briefly recap for new readers of this great magazine (like everything in Hua Hin it is head and shoulders above its competitors in Thailand). Almost always forgotten when considering investing in offshore funds is that no Government official will determine the amount you can invest tax-free. Your wallet determines that.

Some farangs are misguided when they say because they are living offshore there is no liability to income tax on their home based savings. Correct: but what about corporation tax on those same home based savings? You can pay up to
40% on the profits of your savings before the balance is allocated to your nest egg. Then you can take the income tax free. Wise up.

You get better consumer protection in offshore jurisdictions
than in many western countries. For example Switzerland guarantees 100% of your assets if the company holding them goes bust. Also they protect your money if you go through a personal bankruptcy. You can structure your private wealth so that on your death your nominated beneficiaries receive your full estate on death without inheritance tax, probate or lawyers fees. Confidentiality is such that the best divorce lawyer in the world could not crack it unless you are a drug
runner or terrorist. Then it’s easy but they must prove either of these facts first in a Western court.

With all these advantages you would think that perhaps access to the world’s best fund managers may be denied. In fact all the leading fund managers like Fidelity, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Merrill Lynch and UBS to name a few run
specialist offshore funds. There are many more advantages that I won’t go through here, but suffice to say that if you are still fearful of the offshore market where the world’s richest people invest, you might consider Blackpool or Scunthorpe for your next vacation and while you are at it put your name down for a council flat.
Your comments appreciated to:
jerry@swissinvestcenter.net

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d'Geek

Welcome to our new column “d’Geek”, aimed at satisfying the Nerd in all of us!
Seriously, we hope to keep you informed of the latest technological developments, software, hardware and firmware, along with the weird and wacky gadgets and gizmos we all love to try out, and then gather dust in the corner.

WII

The Wii (pronounced as the word “we”) is Nintendo’s seventh-generation video game console. The key feature of the Wii console is its wireless controller, the Wii Remote, which may be used as a handheld pointing device and can detect motion and rotation in three dimensions. The console also notably features WiiConnect24, which enables it to receive messages and updates over the Internet while consuming very little electrical power.
The console was set to be released on November 19, 2006 in North America, Peru, and Colombia, December 2, 2006 in Japan, December 7, 2006 in Australasia and Italy, December 8, 2006 in Europe and December 9, 2006 in Spain. The advertised release price varies wildly between around $250 in the US to well over $400 in some South American countries. In Europe it varies from (equivalent) $325 to $380, but in all areas it is to be expected that these
prices will change. Games are likely to retail at around $50 initially.

The launch Wii package includes the console, a stand to allowthe console be placed vertically, a circular clear stabilizer for the main stand, one Wii Remote, one Nunchuk attachment, one Sensor Bar, a removable stand for the sensor bar, one external main power adapter, AV cables (component video and other type of cables will be available separately), and (in all regions excluding Japan) a copy of Wii Sports. Mac users have been understandably smug for years, as their machines have rarely fallen foul of malware writers. That could be about to change - Mac OS X has become the target of a virus that is a proof-of-concept to demonstrate that the operating system is vulnerable. Antivirus firm Symantec classifies OSX.Macarena as a level one, “very low” threat because it doesn’t deposit any sort of malware on the system other than itself. Its “job” is to self-replicate in whatever folder the Mac owner is using. Nevertheless, it’s a wake-up call for Mac owners, who should be protecting their systems with antivirus software just like Windows users have to.

BLACKBERRY THUMB

Sore thumbs after spending hours on a hand-held e-mail device? Sounds like a case of “BlackBerry Thumb”-but help is at hand.
The Hyatt hotel chain found so many of their business travellers were complaining of hand and arm discomfort that they have introduced a special “BlackBerry Balm” hand massage at most of their North American spas.
Corporate spa director Kyra Johnson said guests began asking masseurs to spend more time on their hands and arms because of the growing popularity of PDA (personal digital assistant) devices like BlackBerrys and Treos.
The 30-minute massage, that costs about $30, begins with heat treatment and uses a “BlackBerry Balm.” It “focuses on counteracting tension on various hand and arm muscles, specifically in the thumbs and overworked wrists,” according to a Hyatt statement.

The American Physical Therapy Association recently recognized BlackBerry Thumb as an official work place malady- a stress-related injury due to over-use of any PDA or smartphone.

Professor Alan Hedge, an ergonomics specialist at Cornell University in New York state, said the condition is caused by “highly repetitive, forceful thumb movements with the thumbs held back from the palms.”

The symptoms are pain in the thumb and region around the base of the thumb and hand. Treatment typically consists of resting or strapping the thumb, anti-inflammatory medicines, cortisone injections and, as a last resort,
surgery. “It’s a bit like the ‘Nintendo thumb of the ‘90s,” said occupational therapist Andrew Morton, referring to young people who spent hours battering hand-held video game controllers with their thumbs.

FEARS OVER US E-PASSPORTS

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are expected to issue 13 million passports this year. And one group of security experts says the American passports could be used as potential bomb triggers.

The new e-passports, fitted with radio frequency identification, or RFID, tags for
wireless processing when people pass through Customs, were issued for the first
time in August, starting at the Aurora, Colo., Passport Agency.

But experts at Flexilis, a Los Angeles RFID security firm, argue that the digital
document could be used to set off a bomb. An e-passport containing stolen RFID
tag data need not even come in contact with the bomb trigger. It only has to
be nearby. Mahaffey and his Flexilis colleagues decided to carry out a “proof of
concept” experiment. They used a mock-up of the new passport, equipped with
an RFID chip, and set up a small explosive charge nearby. With the passport
about a half inch open — as it might easily be in someone’s pocket or purse
— Mahaffey demonstrated how the explosive could be set off when the passport
came within a foot of it.
“The government has taken great steps in securing the passport, but our one
fundamental concern is that the shielding technology is inadequate,” says John
Hering, director of Flexilis. Hering claims Flexilis’ tests reveal the tag can be
easily read, in spite of the metallic shielding in the passport.

WINDOWS VISTA

Windows Vista is the name of the latest release of Microsoft Windows, the graphical operating systems that has dominated the computing world for nearly a decade. Prior to its announcement on July 22, 2005, Vista was known by its codename Longhorn. As of November 8, 2006, Windows Vista development is
complete and is now in the release to manufacturing stage; Microsoft has stated that the scheduled release dates are currently November 30, 2006 for volume license customers and worldwide availability on January
30, 2007.

According to Microsoft, Windows Vista contains hundreds of new features, some of the most significant of which include an updated graphical user interface and visual style dubbed Windows Aero, improved searching features, new multimedia creation tools such as Windows DVD Maker, and completely redesigned networking, audio, print, and display sub-systems.

Windows Vista will ship in six editions. All editions will be available in both 32-
bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) architectures, except Windows Vista Starter, which will
only be available for 32-bit architectures.

On September 5, 2006, US dollar pricing was announced for the four editions they plan on making available through retail channels. These are Windows Vista Home Basic ($199), Windows Vista Home Premium ($239), Windows Vista Business ($299) and Windows Vista Ultimate ($399). The two not priced yet are Windows Vista Starter, aimed at emerging markets to stem the tide of unauthorised copies, but it has significant limitations compared to the other versions; and Windows Vista Enterprise, only available through Microsoft Software Assurance. All editions of Windows Vista will ship on the same DVD. It is the license key purchased that determines which version will be installed. The features of the Home Premium and Ultimate editions may be “unlocked” at any time by purchasing a one-time upgrade license through a Control Panel tool called Windows Anytime Upgrade.

THE DEVIL WENT DOWN TO…LINUX?

In a move that has shocked the open source software world, Microsoft has formed a surprise alliance with Novell, maker of Suse, one of the leading Linux operating systems.

The two firms claim it’s designed to make their products work better together
- specifically, OpenOffice and Microsoft Office - so users will be able to share
documents more easily.

There are those in the Linux world who think Microsoft’s long-term plan is to
keep tabs on and control a strong competitor - Suse’s Linux Enterprise Desktop
10 is seriously good.

Linux Web forums have been awash with outraged users denouncing Novell for
making a deal with the devil.

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ARTS & CULTURE

We move into the realms of ‘anti-art' this month with our look at Dadaism, movement that existed despite itself almost. It has extremely close links, and is almost indistinguishable sometimes, from the Surrealist movement which we will look at next month.

Dada or Dadaism is a cultural movement that began in neutral Zürich , Switzerland during World War I and peaked from 1916 to 1920. The movement primarily involved visual arts, literature (mainly poetry), theatre, and graphic design, and was characterized by absurdism, nihilism, deliberate irrationality, disillusionment, cynicism, chance, randomness, and the rejection of the prevailing standards in art. The movement also had centres in Berlin , Cologne , New York , Paris and the Netherlands , all with a slightly different approach.

Dada activities included public gatherings, demonstrations, and publication of art/literary journals. Passionate coverage of art, politics and culture filled their publications. The movement was a protest against the barbarism of World War I, the bourgeois interests that Dada adherents believed inspired the war, and what they believed was an oppressive intellectual rigidity in both art and everyday society. The movement influenced later styles, movements and groups including surrealism, Pop Art and Fluxus. Dada was an international movement, and it is difficult to classify artists as being from one country or another, as they were constantly moving from one place to another.

According to its proponents, Dada was not art—it was “anti-art”. For everything that art stood for, Dada was to represent the opposite. Where art was concerned with aesthetics, Dada ignored aesthetics. If art were to have at least an implicit or latent message, Dada strove to have no meaning — interpretation of Dada is dependent entirely on the viewer. If art is to appeal to sensibilities, Dada is to offend. It is perhaps then ironic that Dada became an influential movement in modern art. Dada became a commentary on order and carnage they believed it reaped. Through this rejection of traditional culture and aesthetics they hoped to destroy traditional culture and aesthetics. According to Tristan Tzara, “God and my toothbrush are Dada, and New Yorkers can be Dada too, if they are not already.” A reviewer from the American Art

News stated that “The Dada philosophy is the sickest, most paralyzing and most destructive thing that has ever originated from the brain of man.” Art historians have described Dada as being “in reaction to what many of the artists saw as nothing more than an insane spectacle of collective homicide.” Years later, Dada artists described the movement as “a phenomenon bursting forth in the midst of the post-war economic and moral crisis, a saviour, a monster, which would lay waste to everything in its path. [It was] a systematic work of destruction and demoralization...In the end it became nothing but an act of sacrilege.” Dada was “a revolt against a world that was capable of unspeakable horrors.” Reason and logic had led people into the horrors of war; the only route to salvation was to reject logic and embrace anarchy and the irrational.

The origin of the name Dada is unclear. Some believe that it is a nonsensical word. Others maintain that it originates from the Romanian artists Tristan Tzara and Marcel Janco's frequent use of the words da, da, meaning yes, yes in the Romanian language. Others believe that a group of artists assembled in Zürich in 1916, wanting a name for their new movement, chose it at random by stabbing a French-German dictionary with a paper knife, and picking the name that the point landed upon. Dada in French is a child's word for hobbyhorse. In French thecolloquialism, c'est mon dada, means it's my hobby.

According to the Dada ideal, the movement would not be called Dadaism, much less designated an art movement.

THE NEW OBJECTIVITY, or neue Sachlichkeit (new matter-of-factness), was an art movement that arose in Germany during the 1920s as an outgrowth of, and in opposition to, expressionism. It is thus post-expressionist. The term is applied to works of pictorial art, literature, music, and architecture. The end of New Objectivity is usually considered at the fall of the Weimar Republic when the National Socialists under Adolf Hitler seized power in March 1933. However, some of his painters continued to paint in the same style in exile, like Grosz and Beckmann.

The New Objectivity is similar to neoclassicism, and compared to expressionism, realism. Painters include George Grosz, Otto Dix, Christian Schad, Adamson-Eric,Juhan Muks, and Max Beckmann. Composer Paul Hindemith may be consideredboth a New Objectivist and an expressionist, depending on the composition, throughout the 1920s.

Gustav Hartlaub coined the term in 1923 in his article “Introduction to ‘New Objectivity': German Painting since Expressionism,” intended to prepare the audience of an exhibit of art in the new movement. In the article, Hartlaub explained, “what we are displaying here is distinguished by the--in itself purely external-characteristics of the objectivity with which the artists express themselves.” He identifiedtwo groups: the Verists, who “tear the objective form of the world of contemporary facts and projects current experience in its tempo and fevered temperature;” and the Magical Realists, who “search more for the object of timeless ability to embody the external laws of existence in the artistic sphere.

”In architecture as in painting and literature, New Objectivity describes German work of the transitional years of the early 1920s in the Weimar culture. In particular, it describes the stripped down, simplified building style of the Bauhaus, the urban planning and public housing projects of Bruno Taut and Ernst May like the Weissenhof settlement, and the industrialization of the household typified by the Frankfurt kitchen. An architect's job, they believed, was not to create a building that was beautiful for beauty's sake. Beauty would be inherent in a building designed to function efficiently.

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THE TICKET

Surf DJ Chart

The ‘Gee', (aka H, I , J), got asked to list my Top Gee chuunes, and it was almost as hard as deciding which underpants to wear each morning (which should be easy considering I don't wear any!) - guess that's a little more info than necessary! Tunes I never tire of hearing....here they are.

 

	ARTIST	TITLE
1	TENOR SAW	LOT 'S OF SIGNS
2	BARRINGTON LEVY	HERE I COME
3	GWEN MCRAE	90% OF ME IS YOU
4	ROY AYERS	EVERYBODY LOVES THE SUNSHINE
5	FAZE-O	RIDING HI
6	LATIMORE	SWEET VIBRATIONS
7	SOUL II SOUL	FEEL FREE
8	ROB BASE & DJ E-Z ROC	IT TAKES TWO
9	SMITH & MIGHTY	WALK ON
10	NIGHTMARES ON WAX	DEXTROUS
11	FRANKIE KNUCKLES	TEARS

The ‘Gee' would like to ‘Big Up!' Bryan , Cookie. Charlie and not forgetting Engelbert!

LATEST SURF NEWS

Surf 102.5FM is getting bigger and better by the day. We are now broadcasting from a new location, and our signal is stronger and clearer than ever before. We have 7 DJ's playing a wide range of musical styles and are looking to add new content to our schedule in the coming months. The latest addition to our team is Mike Masters who will be spinning Hip Hop every Saturday night from 9.30pm till late. Don't forget that you can now tune also in via our internet site, www.surfhuahin.com. There are a number of ways to make a request or dedication call on 032-522990, Skype or MSN Surf102.5.

Cricket: THE ASHES

The Ashes is a Test cricket series, played between England and Australia - it is international cricket’s oldest and most celebrated rivalry dating back to 1882. It is currently played at approximately two yearly intervals, alternately in England and Australia. The Ashes are “held” by the country which last won a series and to “regain” them the other country must win more Test matches in a series than the country that “holds” them. If a series is “drawn” then the country holding the Ashes retains them. The last Ashes series was played in England in 2005 when England regained The Ashes after a gap of 16 years by winning the series 2-1. The next Ashes series will be in Australia in 2006-07 (see below) and the next series in England will be in 2009.

The series is named after a satirical obituary published in The Sporting Times in 1882 following the match at The Oval, in which Australia beat England in England for the first time. The obituary stated that English cricket had died, and the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia. The English media dubbed the next English tour, to Australia (1882 83) as the quest to regain The Ashes. A small terracotta urn was presented to the England captain Ivo Bligh by a group of Melbourne women at some point during the 1882-83 tour. The contents of the urn are reputed to be the ashes of an item of cricket equipment, possibly a bail, ball or stump. The urn is not used as a trophy for the Ashes series, and whichever side “holds” the Ashes, the urn normally remains in the MCC Museum at Lord’s because of its age and fragility. Since the 1998-99 Ashes series, a Waterford crystal trophy has been presented
to the winners.

The 2006-07 cricket series between Australia and England for The Ashes will be played in Australia between 23 November 2006 and 5 January 2007. The five-Test series has matches scheduled at Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney. England goes into the series as holder of the Ashes and requiring to win or draw the series to retain them.

Both England and Australia will go into the series with Above: The classic vision of Cricket concerns about the fitness, form and availability of key players. Michael Vaughan, England’s successful captain in the 2005 Ashes series will be unavailable due to injury and there are also concerns about other key players Andrew Flintoff, Simon Jones and Ashley Giles. Jones was eventually not selected due to injury. Australia hope to have Glenn McGrath available after a period out of the game for personal reasons. Other Australian players including Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie and Adam Gilchrist are reaching the end of their careers.

Ricky Ponting, Australia’s captain for the Ashes series, has found himself criticised by journalists in the run-up to the first test. When questioned in a press conference on this subject, he said “We didn’t perform the way we would have liked and probably I didn’t score the runs I would have liked to during the Ashes...It’s important for us to move on, to move forward from that; that is me as a player, me as a captain and the rest of the team as well...We have managed to do that very well, we’ve actually played better cricket as a result of that.”

Andrew Flintoff, England’s captain, had this to say about the imminent Ashes series “This is the reason we play...We are going over there to play in what could be the biggest series ever so there is an excited group of lads...it is going to be tough. We know that 2005 was something special and whether that can be recreated I am not quite sure...In England each Test match got bigger and bigger and we got a real feeling of what the Ashes was about.” Sydney Morning Herald described the series as “the most anticipated Ashes series ever”, and tickets were sold out within days of being available for all the games. Bookmakers are heavily favouring an Australian series victory, with best odds, as at 10 November, being listed on one site as Australia 1-3 to win, England 11-2 to win, and
the draw 9-1.

ashes fixtures
November
23-27 1st test, Brisbane
play starts 0000 gmt
umpires: b bowden (nz), s bucknor (wi)

December
1-5 2nd test, adelaide
play starts 0030 gmt
umpires: s bucknor (wi), r koertzen (sa)
14-18 3rd test, perth
play starts 0230 gmt
umpires: a dar (pkn), r koertzen (sa)
26-30 4th test, Melbourne
play starts 2330 gmt (from 25 dec)
umpires: a dar (pkn), r koertzen (sa)

January
2-6 5th test, Sydney
play starts 2330 gmt (from 1 jan)
umpires: b bowden (nz), a dar (pkn)

Sailing

The VELUX 5 OCEANS Race is a round the world single-handed yacht race,
sailed in stages. This year’s race started in Bilbao, Spain, on October 22, 2006
and is in progress. Originally known as the BOC Challenge, for the title sponsor
BOC Gasses, the first edition was in 1982. The race was later re-named the
Around Alone; the current race is called the VELUX 5 OCEANS Race.
This event is the longest race for individuals in any sport; although the course has changed over the years, the 2006 edition is planned to cover a route of 30,140 nautical miles (55,820 km).

The race is open to monohull yachts conforming to the Open 50 and Open 60
class criteria. The Open classes are unrestricted in certain aspects but a box rule
governs parameters such as overall length, draught, appendages and stability, as well as numerous other safety features.

The race takes place in stages, with the skippers having the chance to rest and
refit at each stopover point. Different staging points have been used over the
years; the races prior to the 1998 event were run in four legs, and the 1998 event
in five legs. The 2006 edition will have the longest stages of any edition to date,
with just three legs:
RACE POSITIONS

Pos	Yacht	Skipper	Latitude	Longitude	CRS	Speed	Distance to leader
1	CHEMINEES POUJOULAT	B Stamm	26° 05.64 S	018° 26.96 W	216	9.0	(6659)
2	ECOVER	M Golding	22° 33.68 S	020° 55.76 W	168	7.5	222
3	SPIRIT OF YUKOH	K Shiraishi	21° 26.24 S	022° 07.12 W	227	6.0	300
4	HUGO BOSS	A Thomson	21° 33.96 S	027° 12.76 W	180	13.0	392
5	SAGA INSURANCE	R Knox-Johnston	07° 03.76 N	025° 59.84 W	169	3.3	2042
6	A SOUTHERN MAN-AGD	G Dalton	11° 28.48 N	025° 58.28 W	174	9.4	2306
7	PAKEA	U Baasurko	14° 30.52 N	023° 04.12 W	246	10.1	2513

Robin Knox-Johnston (left), the 67 year old who was the first man ever to sail around the world single handed.

Note: America 's Tim Troy was prevented from starting on 22 October as his 60ft yacht failed to meet safety rules for the single-handed around-the-world competition.

From-To	Excected start	Expected Finish	Length(nm)
BILBAO , SPAIN - FREMANTLE , AUSTRALIA	OCT 22, 2006	EARLY DEC 2006	11,730
FREMANTLE , AUSTRALIA - NORFOLK , VA , USA	JANUARY 7, 2007	MID MARCH 2007	14,500
NORFOLK , VIRGINIA , USA — BILBAO , SPAIN	APRIL 15, 2007	END OF APRIL 2007	3,910

MOVIE REVIEW

It’s one thing to make a controversial film, but it’s another when that very
same film is publicly denounced by an entire country. Mind you, it’s a thirdworld country we’re talking about here, but that hasn’t stopped the leaders of Kazakhstan from throwing a grade-A fuss over British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen’s purportedly close-minded portrayal of the small, Eastern European country. Unfortunately, even the Kazakhstani government won’t be able to stop “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” from becoming the surprise hit of the Christmas movie season. It’s the most sexist, racist, and all-out offensive film, it’s demeaning to females, homosexuals, Jews, and just about anyone else you can imagine; even farm animals. It’s a satirical hodgepodge of insanity and discomfort at their absolute worst. And it also happens to be one of the funniest movies of the year.

Cohen stars in the title role as Borat, the Khazkhstani TV journalist who’s been sent by his ministry to New York City to film a documentary on American culture, but when he discovers a late night rerun of “Baywatch” while channel surfing in his hotel room, Borat instantly falls head-overheels for Pamela Anderson. Intent on travelling to California to marry her, Borat and his portly friend, Azamat (Ken Davitian), pack up their things and set off on a trip through the American heartland in a beat-up ice cream truck, making several stops along the way to interview unsuspecting victims like humour coach Pat Haggerty, etiquette instructor Kathie Martin, Grace Welch of the Veteran Feminists of America, and two-time presidential candidate Alan Keyes. Perhaps one of Borat’s funniest stops is in Dickson, Tennessee where he is invited to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” in front of an extremely patriotic crowd of rodeo fans. Warned beforehand by rodeo veteran Bobby Rowe that he looks alittle too much like a terrorist, Borat wins over the crowd by informing them that Kazakhstan supports their country’s “war of terror.” He then goes on to include that he hopes “George W. Bush may drink the blood of every man, woman and child in Iraq.”

The experience doesn’t conclude on a high note, however, as Borat dives into his performance of the Kazakhstan national anthem and is booed out of the arena.

What’s essentially so amusing about “Borat” is how the film operates in a two-tiered system of comedy. While Cohen’s outrageous behaviour is certainly cause for laughter, it’s usually the reactions of his victims that yield the biggest laughs. Like when a hotel messenger delivers a telegram informing Borat that his wife has just died. At first, the man is very professional - even offering sincere condolences - but when Borat gets excited over the news and yells out “high five,” the man quickly joins in on the celebration. These more lighthearted confrontations are actually more enjoyable to watch unfold than the controversial ones (like when a gun salesman suggests a gold-plated 9mm as the gun of choice for killing a Jew), but it’s the media’s interest in the film’s supposed Anti Semitic commentary (even though Cohen himself is Jewish) that will inevitably garner all of the attention. Anyone that is even marginally interested must go see this movie. As Borat would say, it’s “Niiiiiiice.”

Boxing

This is a brief guide for those of you who may tune in to
the occasional boxing match on TV but are confused by
weight divisions and the four different boxing authorities,
making it difficult to understand exactly who is the best
in his respective weight division.
Below we have put together a chart showing the current
world champions within the different boxing authorities.
More important is the list of the weight divisions and
their respective positioning (ie. Bantam lighter than
Feather).

WEIGHT	WEIGHT LIMIT	WBC	WBA	IBF	WBO
Heavy	Over 200lb	Maskaev	Valuev	Klitschko	Briggs
Cruiser	200LB	Bell	Bell	-	Maccarinelli
Light Heavy	175LB	Adamek	Tiozzo	Woods	Erdei
Super Midldle	168LB	Kessler	Kessler	Calzaghe	Calzaghe
Middle	160LB	Taylor	Castillejo	Abraham	Taylor
Light Middle	154LB	De La Hoya	Rivera	Spinks	Dzinziruk
Welter	147LB	Mayweather	-	-	Margarito
Light Welter	140LB	Witter	M¨baye	Urango	-
Light	135LB	Casamayor	Diaz	Chavez	Freitas
Super Feather	130LB	Barrera	Valero	Klassen	Guzman
Feather	126LB	Lopez	John	Salido	Harrison
Super Bantam	122LB	Vazquez	Capallero	-	De Leon
Bantam	118LB	Hasegawa	Sidorenko	Marquez	Gonzalez
Super Fly	115LB	Tokuyama	Nashiro	Perez	Montiel
Fly	112LB	Wonjongkam	Parra	Darchinyan	Narvaez
Light Fly	108LB	Nino	Kameda	Solis	Cazares
Straw	105LB	Kyowa	Niida	Rachman	Calderon

The following are regarded as some of the best boxers from the original eight weight divisions:

FLYWEIGHT: Jimmy Wilde (1910-23), Pancho Villa (1919-

25), Pascual Perez (1952-64), Miguel Canto (1969-82),

Ricardo Lopez (1985-2001), Wayne McCullough (1995)

 

BANTAMWEIGHT: Manuel Ortiz (1938-55), Eder Jofre

(1957-74), Ruben Olivares (1965-88), Carlos Zarate (1970-

88), Fighting Harada (1960-70)

 

FEATHERWEIGHT: Willie Pep (1940-66), Sandy Saddler

(1944-56), Alexis Arguello (1968-95), Salvador Sanchez

(1975-82), Marco Antonio Barrera (1989-2005), Naseem

Hamed (1992-2002), Barry McGuigan.

 

LIGHTWEIGHT: Joe Gans (1891-1909), Benny Leonard

(1911-32), Roberto Duran (1968-2001), Julio Cesar Chavez

(1980-), Pernell Whitaker (1984-2001)

 

WELTERWEIGHT: Barney Ross (1929-38), Henry

Armstrong (1931-1945), Sugar Ray Robinson (1940-65),

Jose Napoles (1958-77), Sugar Ray Leonard (1977-1997)

 

MIDDLEWEIGHT: Harry Greb (1913-26), Sugar Ray

Robinson (1940-65), Carlos Monzon (1963-77), Marvin

Hagler (1973-1987), Bernard Hopkins (1988)

 

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT: Archie Moore (1936-63), Ezzard

Charles (1940-59), Bob Foster (1961-78), Michael Spinks

(1977-88), Roy Jones Jr (1989-)

 

HEAVYWEIGHT: Jack Johnson (1897-1938), Joe Louis

(1934-51), Rocky Marciano (1947-55), Muhammad Ali

(1960-81), Larry Holmes (1973-1999), Mike Tyson.

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Useful Telephone Numbers for Hua Hin

Railway station
032-512 770, 032-511 073

Bus station of Hua Hin
032-511 654, 032-512 543

Bus station of Prachuabkirikhan
032-601 901

Bus station of Pranburi
032-621 443

Hua Hin Hospital
032-520 401

Dog Rescue Center
0-1981 4406

Wild life Rescue Center (Tayang)
032-458 135

Department of Land Cha-am office:
032- 430 846-7

Department of Land Hua Hin office:
032-536 164, 032-512 407

Department of Land Prachuabkirikhan:
032-611 211

Department of Land Pranburi
032-622 199

Local Government (Hua Hin)
032-521 340, 532 471

Local water supply
032-511 677

The Power Board of Hua Hin
032-512 215, 032 513 165

Observer office:
032-531 078

Red Cross.
032-512 567

San Paolo Hospital
032-532 576-85

Polyclinic International
032-516 424, 032-516 425

Shell Cooking Gas
032-511 144, 032- 515 620

The Communication Authority of Thailand
(Hua Hin)
032-511 351

Rotary Club of Hua Hin
0-1916 6637
Meeting every Thursday 8.pm
at Hua Hin Grand Hotel & Plaza

 

 

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