HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Looking for a lost dog

Stamp out cigarette litter

Fix Siam Country Club Road

Noise pollution solved?

Bangkok ACS announces two consular outreaches

Looking for a lost dog

Editor;
There has been an unfortunate sequel to the recent demise of renowned sausage and pie-maker Jim Looker, aka “Jimbo”, from Soi Batman. On the 24th of August Jimbo left us for “the great saloon bar in the sky”, having been airlifted back to the UK to seek further treatment at Kings College Hospital in London.

Julie with Toby.
Adding to his wife’s grief their dog, Toby, to whom she is devoted, has disappeared from their shop house in Soi Batman whilst she is in England organising the family’s affairs.
Their customers and friends have already distributed leaflets and photographs in the area in the hope of recovering Toby before Julie returns to Thailand. Toby is a small, friendly, sandy coloured male dog standing about 8 inches to his shoulder. Have you seen him? Do know somebody who has found him and probably doesn’t realise he’s a much loved pet with a good home?
A reward of 5000 baht is being offered to anyone who returns him safely or gives information that leads to his safe return.
If anybody can help or give any information please call Andrew on 0816832847.

Stamp out cigarette litter

Aloha;
This is directed to smokers and non-smokers alike, as we both have a problem dealing with this bad situation. For those of you that I offend, please don’t be a girlie boy. It is estimated that several trillion cigarette butts are littered world wide every year. That’s billions of cigarettes flicked one at a time on our sidewalks, beaches, nature trails, gardens, and other public places every single day. In fact, cigarettes are the most littered item in the world.
Cigarette filters are made of cellulose acetate now, not cotton, and they can take decades to degrade. Not only does cigarette litter ruin even the most picturesque setting, but the toxic residue in cigarette filters is damaging to the environment, and littered butts cause numerous fires every year, some of them fatal.
Please check out www. cigarettelitter.org
Most people who litter their cigarette either don’t fully understand the consequences of their actions or they have rationalized the behavior. Once people know the truth, they will be much more hesitant to unthinkingly flick their cigarette butts on the ground.
Please pass this on, and you will also be playing a part in helping Mother Nature, wildlife and the children. Remember the “aina” - The life of the people is in the land.
Mahalo Nui Loa (Thank you very much) for taking the time to care. Buddha and God bless you.
KOTO (Keeper of the ocean)
[email protected]

Fix Siam Country Club Road

Hi again,
Gentlemen, wasn’t it sad to read about the closure of one of Pattaya’s oldest established hotels in last week’s Mail. 100 souls out of work and goodness knows how many ancillary people effected. My question is when will those in power both locally and nationally wake up to the fact it is their decisions that are contributing to the problems the country and this city face. Tourist numbers are down and will remain so until tour companies and individuals are made to feel safe and welcome here.
Another topic is of course the state of the roads and I mean all of them running east of Sukhumvit. When did the mayor and or his minions last travel Siam Country Club Road in the area close to the electric sub station? This section is atrocious and dangerous to say the least. We witnessed two motorcycle accidents yesterday (Thursday) - the riders were driving slowly and sensibly but the potholes are so deep and so sharp the bikes just drop away. Do the city fathers know of this, do they care anything at all about the population that voted them into office? One wonders.
With the LPGA being held at Siam Country Club golf course late October, now is the time to properly sort the roads out otherwise what message will be sent to the world if players, media people, tourists and golf fans can’t get to the course safely. More nails in our pre constructed coffin.
Name and address supplied

Noise pollution solved?

The Editor;
Regarding the noise pollution letter of 31st August. I am conveying my grateful thanks to Pattaya Mail for publishing said letter. It must have come to the attention of relevant authorities, and the noise has stopped. I am now sleeping in my apt. again and many grateful tenants are equally pleased. A lot has been done lately to stop music bars and loud noise and this is the icing on the cake. Many thanks.
Sincerely,
E. Lauren Perren

Bangkok ACS announces two consular outreaches

Phuket and Pattaya

Dear Phuket and Pattaya Area American Citizens,
The Consular Section of the American Embassy in Bangkok is pleased to inform you of three upcoming embassy consular visits to Phuket and Pattaya. Please mark your calendars!
Consular staff will be available to provide consular services at the following dates and locations:
Friday, September 14, 8:00 am to 12:00 pm in Phuket at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa in the Coconut Grove Room of the hotel. The hotel is at Karon Beach. Their contact information is: tel. (076) 396433-4, fax: (076) 396136.
Friday, September 21, 8:00 am to 12:00 pm in Pattaya at the Dusit Resort Pattaya in the Dusit 2 Meeting Room. The hotel is at 240/2 Pattaya Beach Rd, Pattaya City, Chonburi. Their contact telephone number is: 038-425-611 up to 7.
The following consular services will be available during our outreach visits:
* Passport renewal applications ($67.00 or 2546 baht for adult passports, and $82 or 3116 baht for a child’s passport)
* Notarial Services and Certified Copies ($30.00 or 1140 baht)
* Absentee ballot application and voting abroad information
* Social security, VA or other federal benefits question will be limited, but we will try to provide forms and answers
(Please bring exact change!)
NOTE: Unfortunately, a recent upgrade to the ACS systems software requires additional processing for applications for extra visa pages. As a result, we will no longer be able to complete processing of extra visa pages during our outreach trips. We can accept applications, but the passports will have to be brought back to the embassy for final processing the next day. The passports will then have to be picked up in person (or by a friend upon presentation of a letter of authorization signed by the applicant) at the embassy. We regret any inconvenience caused by this change in procedure, and we are still working on gaining authorization to begin mailing passports back to applicants.
Additionally, Consular Reports of Birth cannot be processed during consular outreach trips.
If you have any questions, please e-mail: acsbkk@ state.gov or call the American Citizen Services Unit at: 02-205-4049.
Below are two additional announcements:
1. Regarding translations for the Social Security Administration (SSA): Please be informed that SSA will now only need a photocopy of Thai and English translation stamped by our office for SSN or S.S. benefits applications. These documents will no longer need to be legalized by Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).
MFA’s stamp had previously been required on the assumption that MFA verifies the correctness of the translation. Since that is not the case, SSA Baltimore will then get the translation verified by their authorized contractor.
2. The Online Versions of the Federal Post Card Application and Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot can now be saved once completed! Visitors to the FVAP (Federal Voting Assistance Program) website at www.fvap.gov are now able to save their completed Online Federal Post Card Application (OFPCA) and Online Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (OFWAB) to their computer for future use, using an Adobe Acrobat Reader version of 7.0 or higher.
This could be useful for someone who may expect to move frequently between now and the November 4, 2008 election to be prepared for sending mailing address updates to the local election official.
The FVAP can be contacted from the United States, Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands with any questions via our toll-free telephone service at 1-800-438-8683 and from 67 countries using the specific international toll-free numbers listed on the FVAP website, www.fvap.gov. Questions regarding the above may also be referred to the Director, Federal Voting Assistance Program, Department of Defense, 1155 Defense Pentagon, email: [email protected] and on the World Wide Web at www.fvap.gov.
We look forward to seeing you in Phuket on September 14th or Pattaya on September 21st or in Bangkok anytime Monday through Friday, 7:30-11:00 and 1:00-2:00.
Sincerely,
American Citizen Services
U.S. Embassy
Bangkok, Thailand

Letters published in the Mailbag of Pattaya Mail
are also published here.