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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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