No one to turn to

To the Editor,

I would like to bring to your attention regarding a situation that happened to me on Wednesday 7th September 2011.

I was walking on the pavement past Numchai electrical, Sukhumvit Road, at 10.45 in the morning and two youths on a motorbike came towards me on the pavement. The youth on the back grabbed me by the throat and pulled a chain I was wearing, then rode off towards Soi 49. I turned round and the youth on the back was waving my chain which had a cross on it at me and laughing. I would like to point out that the chain and cross was not on display so I do not know how they knew I was wearing it.

No one was on the path but myself. I phoned the tourist police on 1155 and no one answered the phone. I tried again and still no answer. I went into a 7-11 contact point which was displayed on their window, and asked the assistant for help re tourist police. The notice on the window said available 24 hrs, but the assistant did not understand what I wanted so I showed him the notice outside. He had a word with another assistant and she just shrugged her shoulders and turned her back. The assistant told another assistant in the shop and they started laughing. I was obviously very upset and traumatised at what had happened to me, and couldn’t believe there was no one who I could turn to for assistance. I came out of the shop and tried to ring the tourist police again, to no avail.

What I would like to know is; 1) why no one was manning the phone, when it states on notices outside 7-11s 24hr help; 2) If no one is available to man the phone why wasn’t there a voice message to say when some one would be available? 3) Or a voice message to give the person who needed help another contact number to ring.

I have lived in Pattaya for 3 years and noted that there are signs all over Pattaya displaying the tourist police number to ring if you need help, also articles in newspapers about contact points in 7-11s.

So tourists that visit Pattaya could well find themselves in the same predicament as myself which isn’t good, and what is the point of displaying the tourist police number when no one is able to contact them?
Thank you,
Yvonne

New world order

Editor;

The global balance of power, authority, might and control has been shifting from West to East. At a critical time, when our interconnected, evolving planet faces a horrific, implosive economic crisis, a lack of confidence to perform effectively and a credibility gap related to political corruption, greedy fraud and refusal to negotiate compromise, we must adjust to the abrupt shift of the correlation of forces away from the United States towards the People’s Republic of China. Now the world’s second largest economy, most international forecasters believe that China’s ability to surpass America’s is not a question of “if” but “when”.

China’s burgeoning economy, massive foreign currency holdings, U.S. Treasury Bond investments, abundance of cash flow, human resources development to improve the standard of education, advanced technological outreach priorities and modern mercantilist policies give it significant role-playing leverage on the worldwide stage. By contrast, ballooning public debt, social welfare, pension and health care obligations, lending bank insolvency, outmoded financial rules and federal regulations on industry and energy all serve as impediments to progressive reforms. Overextended militarily, the debacle of Iraq and Afghanistan Wars has severely dented U.S. prowess and supremacist invincibility.

Cooperation not conflict is the key to sustaining the global economy and establishing a New World Order, one which features new centers of influence, new potential rivalry threats and new challenges to better understand international relations ideologies, aims, beliefs and values. Also required are strategic alliances and economic partnerships which mutually address and help solve common problems and perceptions in such areas as climate change, reducing toxic gas emissions, monitoring the spread of nuclear weapons, reconciling conflict disputes, countering violent extremism and terrorist insurgency. Furthermore, fair-minded governance needs equitable, sweeping reforms of the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Dr. Charles Frederickson
Bangkok

No one to turn to

New world order