HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Family Money

Snap Shots

Modern Medicine

Women's World

Heart to Heart with Hillary

Grapevine

Shaman's Rattle

Antiques, are they genuine?

Animal Crackers

The computer doctor

Social Commentary by Khai Khem

Guide to buying a large dog

The Message in The Moon

A Slice of Thai History

Family Money: Safe Havens Offshore

By Leslie Wright,
Managing director of Westminster Portfolio Services (Thailand) Ltd.

For most people, the word “offshore” simply refers to a collection of safe havens where money could be placed for greater security. In fact, it means any place which is not onshore - the country in which you are either domiciled or resident. So if you are not a citizen of Thailand but have made any sort of investment here, technically you have invested offshore, even though you would probably consider your local investments as being onshore.

Indeed, the words “domiciled”, “resident”, “not-ordinarily-resident” and “non-re- sident” cause considerable confusion, but are simply legal terms used to decide your status with regard to taxation. You are domiciled in the country of which you are a citizen, either by birthright or adoption. You are a resident (for tax purposes) of the country you have chosen to live in, even though you may not be a citizen or have permanent residency status in that country.

For instance, someone born in Britain may be a citizen of that country by birthright, even though his or her parents were not holders of British passports. Similarly, someone with British parents may be a British citizen even though he or she may never have set foot inside the U.K. This latter person may also hold dual nationality, inasmuch as he or she may also be a citizen of the country in which he or she was born.

Someone having been born and raised in UK will have British domicile, but may not reside there permanently; he or she will then be classified (for tax purposes) as not ordinarily resident. He or she may pay occasional visits to the UK, but his/her overseas income will be outside the UK tax net provided these visits do not exceed 105 days in any one financial year (April 5th to April 4th), or an average of 90 days a year over four financial years, and no income is generated inside the UK during these visits.

A Brit having chosen to live permanently in Thailand will still be a British citizen (if he or she has not relinquished his passport), but is classified by the UK IRD as “non-resident” for tax purposes, and “resident” for tax purposes by the Thai authorities.

For most people, on the other hand, the word “offshore” has expanded into a much broader concept. It is now used for a collage of philosophies about investing, wealth management, and lifestyle. It describes a self-directed mentality and independent approach to living, in which a person is neither stifled by government, nor reliant on it.

In the extreme, it describes a state of living in anonymity and drifting around the globe without ties or allegiance to any particular nation. However, it is important not to become seduced by abstract offshore theory and ideology at the expense of overlooking the hard practice. The basis of offshore freedom is simple economics.

There is no point in going into convoluted intellectual exercises about offshore possibilities and trust establishment if you have no assets. Accumulation and investment of wealth offshore, where it is more secure and better able to work for the individual, should always remain the focus.

Many regimes around the world have set themselves up as “offshore financial centres”, to cater to the ever-increasing number of people who have chosen an expatriate lifestyle. Some of these places are strictly regulated and well established, and are able to offer a high degree of professional and administrative competence accompanied by excellent communications facilities, political stability, and of course confidentiality and investment security provided by well-enforced legislation.

The most strictly regulated and hence prestigious amongst these are the three islands of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man off the coast of Britain. Others such as Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Turks & Caicos Islands, Cyprus & Mauritius (all ex-British colonies, you may have noticed) have also developed as offshore financial centres - although not yet having gained the same international acceptance and recognition that the three offshore British islands enjoy.

In recent years, other less noteworthy places have touted themselves as offshore financial centres, but being less well regulated, tend to attract firms and individuals who are unable to obtain licences to operate in the more well-established (and hence more stringently demanding) locales - and in certain unfortunate instances, those who have been banned from operating in more highly-regulated regimes, usually as a result of having been caught in a variety of nefarious or at least dubious activities.

In all cases where you are considering investing into an offshore fund or investment scheme, it would be prudent first to stop and consider the security of your investment. Where is it domiciled? If in one of the three ‘premier’ offshore regimes, you may rest peacefully at night knowing that your investment is protected by laws which provide you with a high degree of protection should the investment company go bust.

If in one of the less well-regulated regimes, then you should be more cautious: you have no guarantees in law should the investment firm fold up. And if your wonderful newly-launched miracle fund is being offered by a firm located in a regime you’ve never even heard of, or is not in the list I’ve given above, caveat emptor is the rule: let the buyer beware.

Snap Shot: Polaroid - The “Instant” success that slowly failed

by Harry Flashman

Those photographers with an eye to the financial pages will have caught the news that the giant Polaroid Company filed for bankruptcy protection in America last October 12th. This is a company that in the year 2000 posted sales of $1.85 billion and sold 13.1 million instant cameras in the 12 months. This was a company that had in its halcyon days of 1978, a work force of more than 20,000 people and had a programme to give artists access to a new 20"x24" instant camera, which made contact prints as, “Works of saturated colour and frightening sharpness,” in the words of Polaroid’s long-time studio director, John Reuter.

So what went wrong with Dr. Edwin Land’s invention? A look at the history and rationale behind the Polaroid programme and development gives the clue. Polaroid’s greatest selling point was always “instant gratification”. Dr. Edwin Land, the Harvard dropout inventor who founded the company, is reputed to have said the idea for an instant image camera came to him on a 1944 family trip to New Mexico, when his daughter asked why she couldn’t see an immediate result after he snapped a photo.

In 1948, the first Polaroid-Land cameras became available. Overnight the photography industry was revolutionised. In one minute, “instant” gratification was the reward. How many times have you seen photographers waving the Polaroid print, as if it would hasten the magic process by which the image would appear? In fact, any night in Walking Street you will still see the Polaroid picture wavers!

Over the following 50 years, the instant Polaroid cameras were instant hits at weddings, parties and bar mitzvahs. In fact Harry here remembers well taking a Polaroid SX-70 camera with him to the Solomon Islands in 1984 and giving instant pictures to the native people as rewards for posing for the slide film to be later processed at home.

The research continued and Polaroid cameras became better. Colour pictures were possible (from 1963) and “development” time became as short as 10 seconds in some cases. As well as instant prints, you could also get instant slide film, and there appeared to be no end to the future of this company and its Polaroid process.

From the professional photographers point of view, Polaroid became an integral part of all pro shoots, whereby you would put a Polaroid back on your camera to shoot the first frames. In his book “Shooting your way to a $-million”, Richard Sharabura wrote, “Only by taking a Polaroid can you know if a state of mechanical perfection (in the camera equipment) exists. In professional photography, Polaroid is your insurance. You shoot without it at your own risk.” This was an edict that I always followed, and saved me more than once when an internal fault in the camera would have otherwise gone un-noticed - until the films came back from the laboratory!

So what did go wrong? The key to understanding this still lies in the phrase “instant gratification”. The mainstream film manufacturers developed 60 minute “mini” film processors which could be erected on every street corner and strip shopping mall - and they were. Now you could get a choice of standard prints and the wait was only an hour instead of the three days to a week that was the norm before. This was the first nail in the Polaroid coffin.

The second nail is called Digital photography. In an instant you can see the shot you have taken. Don’t like it? Take it again! This is really gratification in “real time”. But Polaroid did not, or would not, see the instant writing on the wall for Polaroid film.

Despite still selling film and cameras, the company began to become debt ridden. Polaroid was as slow to respond to this as they were to the digital onslaught. When Polaroid filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization protection it admitted to $950 million in debts and a steep decline in revenues in 2001. But it will survive, slimmer, meaner and wiser. The army of instant photographers on Walking Street will survive too!

Modern Medicine: Gallstones - another never ending story?

by Dr Iain Corness, Consultant

I mentioned gallstones early last year and used the mnemonic Fat, Fair, Female, Fertile and Forty as being the catchy 5F’s we used as medical students to remind us of the typical gallstone sufferer. Of course, like all catchy mnemonics it isn’t quite true as 10% of men also have gallstone problems.

Unsure where your gall bladder is hiding? It is found under your lower ribs on the right side of your body and is attached to the underside of your liver and is involved with digestion. In its natural healthy state it is like a hollow sausage attached by a tube (the bile duct) to your “stomach”. It is when it gets gallstones inside it that you begin to get a problem.

So where do these gallstones come from? Well, 80% of them are made of our old friend Cholesterol, or Cholesterol mixed with pigment, that’s why you can get such pretty colours, though I am yet to see any made into a necklace, but it could catch on, I suppose. The Cholesterol stays in solution until something happens to slow down the emptying of the gall bladder, or thicken the solution, such as happens during fasting. This results in what we call biliary “sludge” which then hardens and turns into gallstones.

Factors which increase the likelihood of developing gallstones include increasing age, obesity, a diet high in animal fats and certain medical conditions such as diabetes. Oh yes, pregnancy also increases the incidence. (With all these problems that can happen with procreation, it is a wonder the human race has got this far!)

The management of gallstones has also changed dramatically over the past 20 years because of three main factors. The first was the development of Ultrasound visualization. At last we had a way of diagnosing gallstones. Not only could we now “see” the gallstones, but we could tell if they were the cause of the pain by being able to pick out inflammation in the gall bladder wall.

The second development was ERCP (you know how we love acronyms in medicine) which stands for Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio Pancreatography. At the end of the operating telescope (the Endoscope) the surgeon can sneak into the bile duct and scoop out stones that are blocking the duct which have been causing jaundice.

The third development was Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy and was pioneered in 1987 by a French surgical team. Instead of practically sawing you in half to get at the gall bladder, hiding under the liver, this is a much less invasive method, where the operating laparoscope is inserted through a small incision in the abdominal wall, and the surgeon does the job under the direct vision. While this results in less trauma, shorter hospitalisation and quicker recovery, it is not always successful and the operation may have to be converted to the older “open” method.

It is also important to remember that gallstones can be found incidentally, and if they are causing no problems, the answer is simply to leave them alone. The chances of developing symptoms over 20 years are about 18% the good books tell me, so with an 82% chance of getting off with nothing, who is going to volunteer for an operation? What “gall” to even suggest it!

Women’s World: Whispered words

by Lesley Warner

As I covered Western women in my column last week I decided to take a look at our Islamic/Muslim sisters this week. Those I told had the strangest reaction. The voice immediately drops and they say, “Are you really?” Why ever not? I said. “They are women just like any other woman.” But I discovered it’s a vast subject and varies from country to country. It seems the whispered words are because of the horror stories we hear about the lives of Muslim women. The tendency of the West to assume that this is every Muslim woman, you could just as easily assume that every European woman is a battered wife. I know plenty of happy, friendly, laughing Muslim ladies.

One of the most common comments is the objection to the Islamic system on the grounds that the parents will often choose a husband for the girl, who the Western World feels ought to be allowed to choose for herself. That social custom is not peculiar to Islam; it is actually the custom in many other countries where it is considered that a young girl who chooses a husband of whom her parents disapprove would be courting disaster. It was not so long ago that this same custom reigned in Europe and judging by the statistics for divorce these days maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea. Although I’m sure that the parents of young Muslims today are having the same problems as the rest of the World. I used to work with a 17-year-old Indian girl in England and she was clever and confident. Her idea was to be a career woman and marry later when she had achieved her goals. As far as I could understand her modern thinking parents went along with this, or maybe they were just being clever!

I found this paragraph very interesting when reading about the rights of ladies of Islam: “Women of the West have had to agitate for themselves in recent years for simple legal rights, such as that of married women to own property, which has always been secured for women in Islam. They have had to wage a bitter fight to bring to the intelligence of Western men the fact that women’s interests are not identical with those of men (a fact for which the Sacred Law makes full allowance). Women in the West have had to agitate in order to obtain recognition of their legal and civil existence, which was always recognized in Islam.” It makes you think.

For some reason we also assume that the relationship of a woman of Islam to her husband and near kinsfolk is different from ours. According to my reading it appears to be just as tender and as intimate as in the West. It’s only the social life of women that differs. There is no ‘mixed bathing,’ no mixed dancing, no promiscuous flirtation, and no publicity. But according to their Islamic teachings, there should be no bounds to a woman’s opportunities for self-development and progress. There is nothing written to prevent women from becoming doctors, lawyers, judges or what they want but they should graduate in women’s colleges and practice on behalf of women. One could say this is restrictive and I would, if it was in the West, but it’s not.

I once saw a program on TV about female genital mutilation, so I decided to read about it and was interested to note that, “Until recently, the majority of the world’s over one billion Muslims had scarcely heard of female genital cutting (also known as female circumcision and female genital mutilation (FGM). When the subject began to receive international media attention, many Muslims responded with disgust, easily dismissing any possible connection between this practice and the religion of Islam.”

I looked into ‘Purdah’ (the veil) and it seems to vary between countries and social levels. Modern wear seems to be the scarf.

I am sure that there are exceptions, and as many abused Muslim women as Western women, but it’s individuals, not a whole race of people. Maybe we should be a little more open minded on the culture of other lands.

Heart to Heart with Hillary

Dear Hillary,

I am wondering if it is me that has a problem as whenever I go to any bars and a girl takes a shine to me it all seems to end in frustration, I go through all the neccessary (sic) steps, have a drink, chat, pay all expenses etc, get back to my house that I think would impress a girl that comes from a shanty village, as soon as I have done the business they run off to the shower, come back fully dressesd (sic) and hold their hand out waiting to be paid.

Now once, maybe twice, and I wouldn’t batter an eye at it, but it is fifteen times in succession now, I mean I am a fairly young, fit, OK looking guy, who dresses well and certianly (sic) smells OK (unlike some of the smelly farangs I have had the displeasure of coming close here) and I do treat people well instead of caveman like or the ones who talk to their “teelacs” as if they are about 3 years old, I am at a complete loss. Please if you have any suggestions I am very open to them.

PS. If you have an offspring that is female and single then any chance off (sic) matchmaking? If not yourself Hillary as I am quite succeptable (sic) to the older woman!

Frustrated Frank

Dear Frustrated Frank,

Like you, I could understand once or twice, but fifteen times in succession is a little much, that is for sure. After re-reading your letter, I did think for a while that it might have been because your spelling is so bad, my Petal, but then most of the good-time girls cannot spell words in English either, but it is a foreign language for them, so it probably isn’t that. Punctuation and grammar aren’t your strong point either, Frustrated Frank but I think we can safely discount that as a reason too. Then there is also the fact that you appear to Hillary to have a fairly high opinion of yourself, so perhaps it is the girls’ way of bringing your ego down to size, after they’ve brought the other bits of you down to size too, if you get my drift. As regards my female offspring, as you so delicately put it, no she is not interested in your offer, and as far as myself, I am not “succeptable” (your word, Poppet) to opinionated young men with a problem mastering the usage of the English language. Finally, have you ever stopped to consider that perhaps you are just a lousy lay?

Dear Hillary,

According to your answer for Mr. Lonely Lothario (Vol X, number 1), I am a teacher. I would like to know him because I am an ordinary lady. I am a widow too. If he is interesting in a Thai teacher who can speak English, here I am. He can get my telephone number from you (phone number enclosed).

“P”

Dear “P”,

It is touching to see there are so many “ordinary” ladies out there who are willing to help Lonely Lothario in his hour(s) of need. If he is interested, he will no doubt contact me and then give you a ring, but don’t build your hopes up too high “P”. Affairs of the heart are always problematical. I am sure that for nice ladies such as yourself, a Mr. Right will come along one day soon. Don’t give up hope, that is the most important factor.

Dear Hillary,

A friend of mine has told me that Thai girls are not romantic in any way, so things such as sending cards or flowers does not mean much. He says that money is the only important item, or even better still some gold. These are obviously big ticket items and beyond what I want to show or say as just a small gesture of appreciation. Is this true, Hillary? Are all Thai girls like this, or is he just talking about the “professional” ones? If it is so, I have been wasting my time at the florists, but I would like to think that Thai girls are like girls the world over!

Roses

Dear Roses,

Ignore your friend. Thai girls like getting surprises just as much as anyone else. Flowers, cards, chocolates, they are all very acceptable. The only difference you may see is that Thai people do not get effusive over gifts, and often do not open them at the time the gift is given, but do so later. This is done so they do not show you any disappointment if the gift in the small box turns out to be a butterfly brooch instead of the hoped for diamond ring! Regarding the “professional” ladies, if the relationship is of the financial kind, then certainly these companions are machines that turn money into love. That should not surprise you. If you enjoy giving flowers then she will enjoy receiving them. If this were not the case, there would not be so many florists shops in Pattaya, would there.

Grapevine

Shaman’s Rattle: The Food Dr. in the City

Last week’s article reviewed the impressive book “The Food Dr. in the City” where nutritionist author Ian Marber outlines a guide to staying fit and healthy in the city, the effects of toxins and pollutants, what foods will actually help chelate toxic heavy metals from our bodies, and avoiding lethal pollutants and toxins including alcohol and cigarette smoke.

This week’s article reviews Marber’s recommendations on which foods help detoxify the body and effective anti-ageing measures. As Marber points out, “detoxifying has become a buzz word lately and whole books have been written on the subject.” (One such book which I recommend and covers the same principles as Marber is Dr. Sandra Cabot’s “Liver Cleansing Diet.”)

Ian Marber explains the process of detoxification and the importance of the liver, which Dr Cabot titles graphically as “the major vacuum cleaner of the system.” Marber adds, “As we have seen, the liver is responsible for detoxifying substances as they enter the body. This multi functional organ is highly evolved and detoxification is but one of its many essential roles, including regulation of blood glucose levels, protein and fat metabolism, and storage and activation of important vitamins and minerals.”

Last week’s article mentioned toxins and their damage. Marber explains, “There are two stages in the breakdown of toxins into their constituent parts. The first stage by-products are free radicals, which can be quashed by (antioxidant) Vitamins A, C, and E in addition to the minerals selenium and zinc.”

Marber stresses the importance of eating fresh raw fruit and vegetables daily as well as nuts seeds and whole grains. “Consumed daily such foods can support the livers’ ability to detoxify more efficiently.”

Along with Dr Cabot, Marber emphasises the vital importance of water. “The role of water in the process of detoxifying cannot be over stated. Water is required in every part of the body, not least the kidneys which are elimination route for the livers detox processes. At least 1 litre of water and preferably 2 litres should be drunk daily. This does not include teas and coffee which can have a diuretic and therefore dehydrating effect.”

Coffee is not an effective hangover fix, folks, and is more likely to worsen the effects of over imbibing than to help. “Drink still mineral water whenever you can. Juicing vegetables and fruit is a delicious way to get the nutrients they contain in a liquid form that is highly absorbable.”

In a chapter titled, “Foods which help detoxify the body,” Marber states, “Ideally the liver must be supported so that its efficiency is not compromised. It requires a number of specific nutrients for optimum function, including methionine (from eggs, fish, meat, and milk); choline (from cabbage, eggs, chickpeas, lentils, rice, soy beans); thiols (found in onions, garlic, and cruciferous vegetables); and silymarin (Milk thistle) a herb that can be supplemented under supervision by a nutritional consultant or herbalist.”

Marber’s city anti-pollution programme is, “Drink 1 to 2 litres of water daily. Eat plenty of apples for their pectin content. Eat seaweed or sea vegetables at least three times a week.” Good news for Japanese food lovers. “Eat zinc and calcium rich foods” (see last week’s article). “Reduce alcohol intake or avoid alcohol for most of the week. Favour organic products that have not been sprayed with pesticides. Eat fresh foods and avoid packaged foods whenever possible. Eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables that contain (antioxidant) Vitamins A, C, and E, and the minerals zinc and selenium (found in broccoli, bran, mushrooms, whole grains and garlic) and keep your sugar intake to a minimum.”

Marber reiterates how damaging free radicals need to be matched by healthy levels of antioxidants and the importance of these substances in fighting disease and preventing the visible signs of ageing. He outlines 50 top beauty foods that contain these antioxidant vitamins and minerals “Vitamin A, beta carotene (found in apricots, liver, mustard greens, pumpkin, cantaloupe, melon, carrots, eggs, dark green vegetables, watercress and red peppers). Vitamin C (found in peppers, kiwi fruit, potatoes, blackcurrants, tomatoes, sprouted seeds, sweet potatoes, broccoli, papaya and citrus fruit). Vitamin E (found in eggs, almonds hazelnuts, sunflower seeds and oil, walnuts, avocado, wheat germ, olive oil and oatmeal.) Selenium 9 found in tuna, molasses, mushrooms, cabbage, eggs, liver, most seafood, onions, chicken and brazil nuts. Zinc (found in sardines, chicken, cucumber, eggs, tuna, potatoes cauliflower, carrots, oats and almonds).” It is a boost just to know we can include these ‘beautifying’ foods in our diets.

Smoking cigarettes, even exposure to second hand smoke, drinking alcohol, and skin exposure to sunlight can not only lead to disease that can kill but can also have hugely ageing effects, not only on the organs of the body but their damage is plainly visible on the skin. Over exposure to the sun causes skin cancer, also produces leathery lined skin. Why do Asian women and northern Europeans look much younger than their years? The answer is that they either do not expose their skins to sun or protect themselves by using shade or sunscreen.

Cigarette smoke not only causes cancer and asthma but causes the skin to lose its elasticity, hence wrinkles around the mouth. Alcohol abuse causes fatal liver and brain damage; also reeks its telltale damage of permanent red lines, spider veins on the face and bulbous noses. All good reasons to avoid these three pollutants as much as possible.

Ian Marber’s book, “The Food Doctor In the City” is a useful volume to have on hand. In it Ian gives a complete guide to staying healthy, beating stress, detoxifying and revitalising the body while enjoying city life, and clearly shows what foods to avoid and what foods to include in the diet in order to protect and detoxify the body. Additionally, it gives comprehensive nutrition plans, restaurant eating and business lunch tips and great recipes which allow you to choose foods that help protect from the ravages of city life. Enjoy. Marber can also be found on the web, www.thefooddoctor.com

Antique, are they genuine? More Techniques

by Apichart Panyadee

Intaglio is another term that causes confusion. Usually it means any decoration that is incised into the surface of the object, but in 1891 John Northwood I at the Stevens and Williams factory developed a new form of engraving which he also christened intaglio. The new process was a half-way stage between copper wheel engraving and cutting. It did not have the finesse and drawing-like qualities of wheel engraving nor was it restricted to the geometric patterns of cutting. Decoration was still by means of revolving wheels but of a smaller diameter, from 1 inch to four inches, and made of stone. Since it was introduced it has gradually overtaken other forms of decoration so that now it forms the main decorative process in most large glass factories.

A selection from the display by Hoffman of Vienna and Prague shown at the 1862 London Exhibition. As it was discovered later, all of these items were manufactured later than c. 1840-50 as they were listed in the catalogue.

The characteristic patterns consist of flowers and leaves, the curving C-shape scroll possible with the intaglio or ‘tag’ wheel being especially useful for the latter. The profile of an intaglio cut reveals one very sharp edge that dips in at right angles into the glass while the other edge is much broader and flatter and shades away back to the surface of the glass.

The design of handles

During the 1860s various methods of applying handles to jugs and vases superseded the traditional method in which a hot strip of glass was attached at the top of a jug, near the lip, pulled downward and attached at a point lower on the body. About the mid-1860s the method was reversed, providing a stronger join at the base of the handle. Handles were now given more attention, resulting in many different adaptations.

Extremes of reproductions

A selection from the display catalogue of Hoffman of Vienna and Prague shown at the 1862 London Exhibition reveals that the styles continued in Northern Bohemia into the 1880s, but are often dated 40-50 years earlier, especially certain decanters with the applied snake. It would come as no surprise to find these pieces described as either French or English, c. 1840-50, but the decoration is too ornate and fussy for this period.

This bowl and vase demonstrate the extremes of Venetian reproduction. The bowl is one of a group made by the Venice and Murano Glass and Mosaic Co. and is classed rightly as a reproduction. The vase on the right with trailed decoration is suggestive of Egyptian core-formed vessels, but it is blown and far too large to be genuine.

The Humpen is another example of a reproduction which is far to slick to be mistaken for an original. Some early 19th century fake Humpen were made by Georg Buhler who worked in Munich. A covered cup made by F. Zach who worked in the third quarter of the 19th century is displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and was featured in the 1910 catalogue of the J. Peirpoint Morgan collection where the author tried to prove it was made by a 17th century engraver, even suggesting that he had been a wood carver who worked sporadically on glass. It was not until 1964 that the oft-repeated 17th century attribution was disproved.

These colored 18th century decanters illustrate the difficulty of uncertainty which faces the collector. Only the Hollands decanter on the left is authentic. The other two have irregular proportions and replacement stoppers.

Collectors will find that colored 18th century decanters particularly illustrate the varying degrees of certainty they can encounter. Genuine 18th century Hollands decanters with the correct outline, color, and gilding, and with the original stopper initialed “H” to match the Hollands label are rare finds. Some decanters will have many of the 18th century characteristics, but odd details will raise some doubts. Many old decanters have naturally lost their stoppers. Stoppers can be easily ground to fit decanters which have lost their originals. Often the replacement stopper will have been acid polished but has not been ground into the neck. Labels may be later additions, and often the cutting on Brandy decanters seems too thick and crude. One helpful hint in spotting original stoppers for decanters is that occasionally both stopper and decanter carry matching marks scratched on at the factory to ensure they were not split up.

Animal Crackers: Moles - the great escape artists

by Iain Corness

Moles are from the family Talpidae which includes moles, desmans, and shrew-moles. From the human point of view, moles are considered a pest, especially if you are trying to maintain a clean, flat, immaculate lawn. Within 24 hours, one mole can destroy months of work, but a mole’s gotta do what a mole’s gotta do!

All moles are insectivores and all of them are great tunnelers. In fact, the moles show an amazing adaptation to life underground. Since it is very dark in the tunnels, the moles have no need for eyes and their eyes are very small and covered by fur, and in some species there is even a growth of skin completely over the eyes. Moles also run through their tunnels forward and reverse, so their fur “hinges” so that it will lie flat in either direction - try that with your own hair! Because of specialized bone and muscle construction, moles can exert a lateral digging force equivalent to 32 times its body weight. As a comparison, a 90 kg man would have to be able to exert almost a 3,000 kg lateral force - something we cannot do.

Moles are about the size of chipmunks and can weigh anywhere from 90-180 grams. Total length can be 15-20 cm. Scalopus aquaticus or Eastern mole is by far the most widespread of the six species in America. It is better described as the common or grey mole and is the strongest of the group and most often associated with tunnels and or mole hills by residential homeowners. The Eastern mole can be found from the Atlantic to the foothills of the Rockies and from Southern Canada to the panhandle of Florida. And that’s one long tunnel!

Moles have one litter each year, with the litter size between two to six depending on the health of the mother. Gestation lasts about five to six weeks. Moles are mammals and nurse their young moles for several weeks. Being solitary animals, after the young are self sufficient, the baby moles tunnel off from the mother’s tunnel. Since moles do not hibernate (they store neither food nor fat) the final goodbyes from the babies can result in severe lawn damage. Newborn females will mate the following spring and the cycle begins anew.

Despite being underground animals, moles have been well studied by the academics and many amazing facts have been discovered. For example, Vleck at the University of Arizona said in 1979, “For moles to dig one metre of tunnel requires between 400 and 4,000 times as much energy as does walking for the same distance on the surface.” Other researchers have found that a 150 gram mole will consume almost its own body weight of worms and insects per year. Godfrey (1955) deduced that a mole’s surface tunnelling or probes can be dug at about 6 metres per hour, and a mole’s speed through its existing tunnels is about 30 metres per minute.

Again, showing its adaptation, Arlton in 1936 found that moles contain twice as much blood and twice as much red haemoglobin as other mammals of similar size, allowing the mole to breathe easily in its underground environment of low oxygen and high carbon dioxide.

Unfortunately, the lawn owners have decided that the little mole is such a pest that the mammal is hunted and trapped using barbarous clamps and guillotines or spiking, methods that I consider to be very cruel to an animal that bodes us no harm. Its only crime being that it leaves burrow marks and molehills on our lawns!

The Computer Doctor

by Richard Bunch

Continuing from last issue when antivirus applications were reviewed, the theme is continued this week where we look at other things that can be done to help prevent the integrity of your PC being compromised.

As a second line of defence to help stop the propagation of mass mailing viruses like SirCam it is worth repeating a tip previously given, that works with Outlook and Outlook Express and will help to prevent the spread or in any event alert you to the problem.

Create an invalid entry in your Outlook or Outlook Express address book. Enter a bogus first and last name starting with a non-alphanumeric character (*virus alert! for example). Enter <illegaladdress as the e-mail address, make sure to include the less-than symbol (<). Outlook and/or Outlook Express will alert you that this address is invalid, it’s supposed to be! It will then ask if you still want to add it. Click Yes and then OK. Subsequently, should a virus try to mail itself to the addresses in your address book, this will be the first entry it encounters. The mail server will reject the address and in all probability all other addresses in the message’s ‘To:’ and ‘cc:’ fields. Some servers may send the message to the valid addresses, but the invalid address will alert you to the problem because the message will bounce.

The other thing to be mindful of is that viruses can masquerade as a harmless file type, so it is wise to turn on file extensions in explorer etc. so if you see a file with a double extension like relay.gif.exe you can be sure you have a problem.

Whilst not strictly on the subject of viruses, another worrying trend is emerging: e-mails are arriving, often from a friend, advising of a new virus and detailing some action to take. This sometimes asks users to search their hard drives for specific files and if found delete them, but by doing so the PC then fails to work as vital system files have been removed. Whilst these may be sent with the best of intent by well meaning friends and associates the best policy is to treat them as a ‘chain letter’ and consign them to the bin without action. If your antivirus software is up-to-speed and has the latest virus definitions realistically you have the best protection going.

Send your questions or comments to the Pattaya Mail at 370/7-8 Pattaya Second Road, Pattaya City, 20260 or fax to 038 427 596 or e-mail to [email protected] The views and comments expressed within this column are not necessarily those of the writer or Pattaya Mail Publishing.

Richard Bunch is managing director of Action Computer Technologies Co., Ltd. For further information, please telephone 0 1782 4829, fax 0 3871 6816, e-mail: [email protected] or see the firm’s website www.act.co.th

Social Commentary by Khai Khem

Snail Mail, ever heard of it?

Is the letter in an envelope arriving at your gate’s mailbox an endangered species? Since a great portion of the world’s massive population in underdeveloped countries is not ‘wired’ yet, the paper letter is not on the top of the endangered list. But I get the feeling that its existence could be approaching a time when some of the oldest among us may one day pass its description and utility down to our great grandchildren as a legend along with the stories of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Or perhaps it will make a fascinating first person storytelling adventure, as one would tell of his her survival of the sinking of the great Titanic.

Frankly, I am not that old, but my many years of banging away on a computer keyboard has already rendered my ability to hold a pen and actually execute a legible form of handwriting totally impossible. Our future generations may one day view pens, pencils, paper and envelopes in museums and find them just as strange as the broad swords once used in warfare. Those of us who had to use these primitive objects will tell the youngsters how the phrase, “you have mail” once had an entirely different meaning.

“Gather around kids, and we will tell you of this magical, mysterious thing called snail mail which came in an envelope. The face of this paper case was covered with stamps. Beautiful stamps embossed with the faces of great leaders, beautiful flowers and butterflies, birds and mountains, national monuments from around the world, and tributes to benchmarks in history, graced its top right-hand side. The snail mail also had a special treat called a postmark. A postmark was the next best thing to an airline ticket. If you lived in Bangkok, and you got a letter postmarked from Tokyo, or Paris, Los Angles, or Berlin, you felt like you had traveled just a little bit, or had an exotic visitor come to you.”

People actually waited for the mailman as if he were Santa Claus in the old days. “Has the mail come yet?” “Oh, here comes the mailman.” Of course those remarks will be as strange as Japanese wartime code to youngsters listening to this tale. But those of us who spoke them were hungry for the letters and packages delivered by the postman. The mail brought catalogues filled with dreams. It brought letters! There were letters from a mother or a father, a sister or a brother or a best friend. Letters of thanks, and condolence, of congratulations, but mostly they were full of gossip and news. And the mailman brought love letters. The love letters were the most treasured. You children will never know love the way we knew it because you will never know the love letters as we knew them. All those letters to touch and smell and save were precious. Letters somehow contained the person who had sent them, whose fingers had touched them, the essence of that person who had slipped them into a letter box for its journey across the miles.

Of course there are some aggravating things about snail mail. The bills and the junk mail do not give me much of a thrill. However, I receive these over my computer, so I suppose like death and taxes, some things never disappear.

Perhaps I am just a snail mail romantic, but somehow, to this day, I have never received a compliment, an apology, or words of love that meant as much to me on a computer screen as it would have meant on a piece of paper. There must be more people in the world who feel this way. Romantics are often more attached to the memory of romance than the object in its current form. Perhaps that feeling will help snail mail survive.

Guide to buying a large dog: Mutts

by C. Schloemer

Readers who have been following my column will know that in the previous months I have covered a wide variety of pedigree dog breeds, both small and large. Since this will be the last in this series of columns, I would like to pay tribute to the humble, always popular and very mixed breed of dogs which are affectionately referred to as ‘mutts’.

There has been an upsurge recently in the popularity of the mutt. I had one when I was a child, and most of us have had one at some time or another. Mutts, as well as full-breed dogs, do a great deal for a child. They provide excuses for adventures, give a child a reason to whistle, improve his or her throwing arm while tossing a ball to a pal, and most importantly instil in the young boy or girl the responsibility that comes with being loved totally and irrevocably.

If the child is absent, say during school days, a mutt will mope around or curl up and wait close to where the child will first appear upon coming home. And never doubt that the sound of the school bus will fall on his ears long before it’s within anyone’s sight.

When the owner of a mutt I know went off to college, the dog would move out to the end of the lane about a day and a half before his human friend was due home. It was positively eerie. How did he know? I don’t really have any idea. Even the boy’s father didn’t know when to expect him home. But if you are a mutt, you are expected to know these things. Mutts are never trained in the common usage of words, but if you need someone to listen to your problems, they’ll lend a most sympathetic ear. If you are bursting with happiness, they’ll rejoice with you, and even sing along when you play the piano. Mutts are fond of parties. And more so of picnics, car rides, softball games, bicycling, fishing trips, days at the park, and even camping out. They make good fielders in the ballpark, and lifeguards at the swimming pool.

It’s a shame that not everyone has a dog, whether a mutt or a pedigree. Dogs help us over the rough spots in life, just as they are always there to share in the good times. For so many years I felt enormous pride in owning a smart, companionable mutt. Of course now I know better. We don’t really own our dogs as much as they own us.

As a youngster in my family home, my mother forbade pets in my bed. Just as well since we were all pet lovers. At any given time we seemed to harbour a menagerie of dogs, cats, tropical fish, parrots, fuzzy rodents of various types, and an assortment of reptiles and insects. I was the only family member who wanted to sleep with them all, no matter how un-cuddly most of them were.

Mom did a bed check every night and confiscated any feather, leathery, or four-footed friends caught hiding under the blankets. Usually I would hand over the more peculiar of bed-mate; the parrots were the most trouble. Rabbits actually sleep cosily through the night once food and water has been withheld for three to four hours. Admittedly they were happier in their hutches. But I howled with outrage when the mutt was ordered outside at night. Once when I was very small, and quite sick, Mom relented and allowed me to keep my mutt in bed with me, against everyone else’s advice. How tightly he curled up against my back as I spent the week in bed. Mothers understand about dogs and their inexplicable magic.

Most problems with mutts stem from their extraordinary intelligence. One of my neighbours keeps a chain around his refrigerator door. His mutt has learned to open the door, help himself to whatever smells tasty and then close it again. It took a long time to figure out where the missing food was going. Mutts have personality. That’s for sure! Any dog lover who has never had a mutt should consider owning one. They can be such delightful surprises.

The Message in The Moon: Cancer Sun/Scorpio Moon - The Cobra

by Anchalee Kaewmanee

This native is not the timid, introverted or insecure Cancer one so often reads about. He or she may seem unprepossessing and even modest, but it’s not difficult to discern that true inner shrewdness and tenacity. Underneath that cool image is a very intense, forceful and determined individual. This combination is endowed with extraordinary personal magnetism and self-confidence which combine to help assure success in life. Luck also has something to do with it, because for the Cancer-Scorpio things just seem to come easier. Whether on the tennis court or in the boardroom, people born into this sign always seem to win, garnering respect and gaining influence.

That Cancerian protective shell creates an aura of intrigue and mystery around these individuals. They guard their feelings and thoughts, revealing nothing that may expose their inner selves. But in truth, they are very emotional people. Most of their reactions and responses are based entirely upon how they happen to feel about the person or situation they are dealing with at the moment, and reason be damned. For the Cancer-Scorpio, intuition or gut reaction makes all the decisions. And amazingly, they actually can sense who is trustworthy or when to take a risk.

People of this combo take themselves very seriously; in fact, so seriously that it can be risky to make fun of them. They, however, are quite adept at sensing other people’s weak spots and are rarely shy about pointing them out; bluntly, sarcastically, and at times, cruelly. It would be nicer if they could learn to exercise a little tact along with that acerbic sense of humor.

Of all of the Cancer combinations, this is one of the most prone to depression and morbidity. These natives must learn to deal honestly with their emotions and be a little less secretive with their feelings of hostility or hurt. It is healthier to deal with problems right up front than to surrender to silent sulking or to harbor a grudge. Life for these people is oftentimes seen as a constant battle. Suspicious and on guard, they are the tireless general, constantly plotting their moves. Endowed with an incredible memory, they never forget a wrong. If someone should cross them, they will sit back and wait awhile, and then plan their revenge. A Cancer-Scorpio is not above malice or pettiness and can be downright vindictive.

Like other highly competitive and aggressive individuals, natives of this combination want to experience everything. Sensual and self-indulgent, they will pursue their pleasures as ardently and lustfully as they pursue their professional endeavors. There is, however, a deeply compassionate side to their nature. All people born under this sign have a protective impulse toward those weaker than themselves. At some point in their lives they will probably feel strong religious yearnings. All Scorpio Moon natives are capable of soaring to spiritual and intellectual heights. But more often they prefer to probe the depths because it is a lot more fun.

A Slice of Thai History: The Opium Trade

Part Five 1949-1951

by Duncan Stearn

In 1949, when Mao Tse Tung (Zedong) led his communist forces to victory over the Kuomintang (KMT) in China, the remnants of the KMT forces fled to Taiwan while elements crossed the southern Chinese border and set up camps in the Shan states of northern Burma, as well as Laos and Thailand.

Within a decade, Mainland China ceased to be the world’s major opium market as the new government instituted harsh measures to eradicate drug addiction. Shanghai’s narcotics syndicates fled to British-controlled Hong Kong, opening heroin factories and expanding into Southeast Asia.

During the early 1950’s, the KMT-controlled areas of northern Burma turned to opium trading to finance their military incursions into southern China. Through a mixture of incentives and coercion, the KMT compelled local hill tribes to greatly expand their production of opium. The opium caravans then trekked south into Thailand and were sold to brokers who distributed the drug around the world.

Although ostensibly opposed to the growing of opium and its derivative heroin, forces within the United States government were prepared to turn a blind eye in favour of the bigger picture: the war against communism.

The growth of opium production in the Golden Triangle region was spurred by two factors. The first was the abolition of legal or government-controlled opium monopolies, thereby creating a demand for the now illegal substance. The second was the Cold War, which brought together an unholy alliance of right-wing forces opposed to the spread of communism.

Thus, the American, French and Thai intelligence services allied themselves and supported the KMT move into northern Burma, Laos and Thailand and aided the production of opium, using the profits as a source of revenue to wage the Cold War against communist China.

In 1951, Phao Sriyanonda was appointed director-general of the Thai police, a para-military force consisting of around 40,000 men. Sarit Thanarat provided the balance within the ruling triumvirate, holding command over the 45,000-strong Thai army.

Between them, Phao and Sarit divided the spoils of power, but when it came to the incredibly lucrative opium trade the two became locked in a struggle for supremacy.

This conflict of competing interests had begun as early as 1950 when one of Sarit’s army-escorted opium convoys was surrounded by Phao’s police near Lampang in northern Thailand and ordered to surrender. The soldiers refused and a stand-off ensued, broken only by the personal intervention of both Sarit and Phao. They escorted the opium to Bangkok, where it promptly disappeared.

However, in the initial stages, it was Phao who gained the upper hand over Sarit in the struggle for the control of the opium trade by aligning himself with the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

In 1951, the CIA established a front organization called the Sea Supply Corporation, with its headquarters in Bangkok.

Sea Supply delivered large quantities of military equipment to the Thai police, allowing Phao to build up an air wing and a maritime section as well an armoured and paratroop division. Phao’s police force became an army in all but name and a serious rival to Sarit.

The CIA, via Sea Supply, shipped equipment to the KMT troops in Burma, under the protection of the Thai police. This gave Phao strong contacts with the KMT and he soon built a virtual monopoly on Burmese opium exports.