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Ringing in the Christmas Season at GIS

Genuine smiles show the event was definitely a success.

Thomas Grogan

You could almost smell the pine scent and gingerbread in the air recently in Rayong, when Garden International School turned the Christmas music up and opened their doors to the community on Saturday the 4th of December for their annual Christmas fair and football tournament.

Teachers, students and parents joined hands to herald in the advent of Christmas season and welcome hundreds of visitors to the GIS for the event. Guests on the big day were treated with a chance to partake in many fun carnival games, tempt their taste buds on many local and international festive treats, and of course partake in a fair bit of shopping to start buying those Christmas presents at the more than 28 GIS and 32 stalls from outside supporters available on the big day.

Back again this year, another very popular feature of the annual GIS Christmas fair is always the giant raffle that took place throughout the day, where for the small price of a few baht, many lucky visitors walked away with some pretty fabulous prizes such as a couple of large flat screen televisions, a refrigerator, mountain bike, and over 5000 baht in gift vouchers.

GIS Primary teachers Ms. Kirstie Davies and Ms. Tiina Luukkonen taking a moment to join in the fun.

Ms. Tiina Luukkonen, who spent months organizing the fair, and her team who helped put together the Christmas Fair wanted to send out a special thanks to everyone that participated for a very successful and fun day. The stalls were a great attraction and the variety of games and activities offered was huge.

“Everyone I spoke to stressed how much they had enjoyed it and how smoothly it had gone,” said Mr. Robert Grisdale, Head of Primary at GIS.

Also, as if that didn’t seem like enough fun already for one day, GIS also simultaneously hosted a very successful football tournament for 16 different competing teams from several local Thai and International schools because what goes better with holiday cheer than a healthy dose of crowd pleasing football. Many thanks are in order to the GIS PE department, as well as some of the GIS IB students who served as referees, to make the tournament such a success that the visiting coaches and teams were already talking about coming back next year.

Mr. Grisdale also stressed that a major focus of the GIS Christmas Fair is including and helping local charity organisations in the community. This year we supported the Dek Dee School, the Camillian Center, the Mercy Center and One Little Wheel charities, all being very worthy causes and what better time of the year to come together in support of those less fortunate in our community.

The huge event was another major success for Garden International School this year and if you didn’t get the chance to attend then fear not, as you can mark your calendars and come join the fun next year, as most attendees agreed that the fair only gets bigger and better with each passing Christmas season.



Bangkok Hospital Pattaya hosts Christmas charity bazaar

The Father Ray Foundation and their many
 branches set up a charity booth at the fair.

Phasakorn Channgam

Bangkok Hospital Pattaya welcomed the festive season with a charity bazaar and an early visit from Santa Claus, who brought sweets for children from area orphanages and shelters.

Proceeds from the Nov. 27 sale and party in the lobby of the hospital’s E building went toward children’s welfare foundations.

BHP Director for Business Development and Foreign Affairs Neera Sirisamphan and Santa Claus opened the day, distributing cookies to the children from the Merry Center for Child Welfare, Ban Jing Jai Foundation, and the Father Ray Foundation.

The kids then took in music and dance performances by the Christian Club chorus, the Regent’s Soul Band and dance troupes. Santa then returned to emcee a host of fun and games.

The bazaar featured sales booths and displays by various private sector charity and educational groups, including the Rotary Club. Locally made products were also marketed, with part of the proceeds going to charity.

Neera said Bangkok Hospital Pattaya often organizes similar activities for patients so they can take part in holiday celebrations while hospitalized. Such events not only help the disadvantaged, but boost the morale of patients, he said.

Don’t be scared, Santa Claus wants to give you a present.


U.S. Christian bands sing true story of Christmas for Pattaya students

Performers from Los Angeles celebrate the true meaning of Christmas through music and song for Pattaya’s children.

Vimolrat Singnikorn

American Christian music groups helped teach Pattaya-area students the true meaning of Christmas with a free holiday concert at the Tiffany Theatre.

The Dec. 1 event, organized by Christian non-governmental organizations and Tiffany Show executives Alisa and Orawan Phanthusak, featured Los Angeles-based bands Hand to Hand, True Friend and a dance troupe from the Tamar Center performing songs about the birth of Christ, rather than the arrival of Santa Claus, on Dec. 25.

Themed “When Dreams Come True,” the concert also aimed to inspire students to strive for a great future and see their own dreams come true.

Youngsters from the Mercy Center also gave a touching dance performance for the audience of parents, teachers and students from many of Pattaya’s local schools.


Are you telling the truth?

PCEC Member Roger (right) gets a few more critical details from Lt Col. John Ryan (left), director of Training and Research for the International Truth Verification Technologies Institute of Australia.

Master of Ceremonies “Hawaii” Bob Sutterfield welcomed everyone to the regular Sunday meeting of the Pattaya City Expats Club at Tavern by the Sea on December 5, 2010. After the usual opening announcements, he called on fellow member Harry “Sig” Sigworth to introduce the Club’s guest speaker, John Ryan.

Sig pointed out that John has a 40 year background not only in the field of detection of deception, but also in other training for law enforcement and intelligence agencies. John has taught SWAT teams all over the world encompassing 20 countries as well as training them in modern techniques of interrogation, primarily to detect when a subject is being deceptive in their answers. He has received many commendations from law enforcement agencies around the world and holds honorary positions with a large number them. John is the only Australian ever to qualify as an Instructor in the USA for Voice Analysis and is currently the Director of Training and Research for the International Truth Verification Technologies Institute of Perth, Western Australia. Their website is at: http://www.itvt.org/

John began his presentation by stating that there is no such thing as a lie detector. John explained this remark by giving a brief history of the development of the polygraph machine, which has been used for many years, but is not infallible as results of a polygraph test can be unreliable or inconclusive. He also described the early use of another technique now in vogue called voice stress analysis; this technique was initially started in 1970 by three retired Intelligence Officers when they came up with their Psychological Stress Evaluator (PSE). He mentioned that these types of analyses were originally based on analog signals, but many have now been digitized since the early 1990s. However, they still suffer from underdevelopment and can have, as with the polygraph, unreliable or inconclusive results.

International Truth Verification Technologies Institute has developed what John describes as the Forensic Voice Stress Analyzer (FVSA ฉ) that uses 21st century technology. It was launched in 2006 after much research and is vastly more improved than the old technology. Initially, ITVTI went to a world class scientific instrument maker in Perth, Australia to produce a modern complicated mathematical algorithm. They then passed that on to a PhD graduate of Curtin University, Western Australia, to develop the software programming. The result was a 21st century filtering and algorithm program that is compatible with all computer systems.

The device captures and filters utterances then displays a graphic result instantly on a computer screen. John says language has no bearing on the outcome as the device captures frequency produced by subconscious physiological reaction in the body to relevant questions. John explained that when a subject senses that a truthful answer could lead to unwanted consequences such as punishment or jeopardy, the body subconsciously reacts and gives off minute frequency changes from various parts of the body. The FVSA can detect and display this reaction in graphical form instantaneously.

He said they have used it in Brunei, Australia, Columbia, Malaysia, Thailand, USA, and most recently in India, Vietnam, and Singapore. Further, he said there have been no inconclusive results since its inception. The device can be used for testing in many areas such as cold case interviews, pre-employment checks, due diligence matters, evaluating integrity, and conducting investigations.

John noted that it is an investigator’s tool rather than a tool for prosecution. When the subject is shown to be untruthful, it can lead the investigator into appropriate avenues of investigation. As an example, he showed how the device could be used by Customs at a port of entry. By asking about 3 relevant questions that take only minutes, the FVSA can show whether the answers are truthful or deceptive. If deceptive, then additional examination can be made.

In concluding his presentation, John called on a couple of unsuspecting Club members to help him demonstrate how the device works by asking them to answer a specific question first with an untruthful answer and then a truthful one, displaying the results on the big screen. John then answered several questions from the audience.

“Hawaii” Bob updated everyone on upcoming events in and around Pattaya and called on Bob L’Etoile and Sig to conduct the always informative and sometimes humorous Open Forum, where questions about living in Thailand and Pattaya in particular are asked and answered.


Dicey is a year old! And giving away beers!

Dr. Iain Corness

Pattaya is certainly a hive of activity, and as the high season (yes, we will get one this year) approaches, the activity becomes even more frantic. Adding to the goings on, Dicey Reilly’s Irish Pub will be celebrating one year of operation on Saturday the 18th December 2010.

Dicey Reilly’s will feature Lee Shamrock, one of the great entertainers, who agreed to come down for the one year party on Saturday Dec. 18.

Pub manager ‘Cat’ Brett feels that he has something to celebrate, with the returns from Dicey Reilly’s showing a very positive trend, and even though the pub is only one year old, it has already built up a steady group of regulars.

To celebrate, Dicey Reilly’s on the birthday Saturday will feature Lee Shamrock, one of the great entertainers, who these days is mainly in Bangkok, but agreed to come down for the one year party, having enjoyed himself so much a couple of months ago at the ‘half way to Paddy’s party’. Lee will be on stage from 7 p.m. until 11 p.m.

If that’s not enough, from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. Dicey Reilly’s will be offering selected beverages and finger food - all free! And that’s for nothing, to be sure, to be sure. Various free libations will include Magners, San Miguel, Heineken, Stella and free flow wines. There will also be special cocktails for the ladies during that time!

So it looks as if it’s Dicey Reilly’s Saturday night 18th December, but don’t get there too late for the freebies! But do stay on and listen to Lee Shamrock, you won’t be disappointed.


HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]

Ringing in the Christmas Season at GIS

Bangkok Hospital Pattaya hosts Christmas charity bazaar

U.S. Christian bands sing true story of Christmas for Pattaya students

Are you telling the truth?

Dicey is a year old! And giving away beers!

 

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