Soak the Rich

I know some rich people. Mostly from Palm Beach, Millbrook, and Manhattan. Nobody in Europe dares announce their wealth in feat of the tax man. South Americans could give a shit. When they have money, they like to spend it, however during the current economic crisis no one wants to show their cash and this despite have flourished for 8 years under the GOP regime. Ostentatious spending has been declared off-limit and even the spendthrift Russians have realized that money makes you a target.

This is 2009.

The other night two rich friends of mine were held up at gun point.

A gun to his head as the thieves searched his apartment for the safe. They found it. Plus $90,000. I didn't ask why he had that much money in a safe. Someone else obviously already knew the answer. $$$ is safer in your safe than a bank.

We are entering a time that I never thought I would see again.

1975.

Broke.

All of America but this time is will be worst, so you rich people, when Obama requests more taxes, don't say nothing or else you could end up like the Russian aristocrats in 1919 and that was a tough year for the the rich in that war-torn country.

Give and give often.

I know the rich and they don't deserve the money.

Not unless they spend it more freely to have Cindy Crawford as a 'friend'.

Chill Out

GOP leaders have lambasted President Obama's stimulus package as a wasteful burden on future generations. Tax hikes on the rich, health care reform, and unemployment expansion. Newt Gringich says, "The problem with the overall budget is that it's a job-killing budget." and Dick Morris, ex-flak for the Clintons wrote. "Obama is spreading panic."

They and their cohorts mustn't be reading the polls stating that public support for Obama's program cuts into their political base. The GOP also ignore the fact that it was GW Bush's disastrous 8-year reign which put America and the rest of the world in this state of crisis.

Obama tried the bipartisan route only to have his welcome mat pissed on by the right.

Now it's time to send them a message.

"Shut the fuck up."

Doing nothing in this situation is better than offering more of the old same GOP tax-cuts, although Israel's new ruling party is willing to salvage their economy with tax-cuts.

Maybe zombie economics will work in that welfare state.

Otherwise I don't even listen to the right-wingers in the USA.

The word for their programs is 'discredited' by greed.

Thai Circles of Influence

The Old Roue is not the only person doing research into Thai life.

From http://www.notstickmanbangkok.com/Weekly2006/CirclesOfInfluence.htm

The Thais are a loyal people. That loyalty may not always well understood by an outsider. The Thais are loyal to the King and Royal family. The Thais are also very loyal to their own personal families. They are also loyal to their communities.

There would be some debate on why they are loyal. Some attribute it to how they are raised. Others would guess that their loyalties are rooted by virtue of how the society works. My guess is that it's a mixture of both. They are indoctrinated from an early age to respond to their family and society in appropriate ways. And yes, some of their success in life also depends to some degree how they conduct themselves and perform their social obligations.

All of their actions in some way exhibit their loyalties.

As westerners, we are the same. Our actions follow our loyalties as well but our loyalties don't always involve the social circles that we live in. The single westerner is commonly loyal to their integrity and their career. Or the westerner may be loyal to their own personal endeavors. In the west, we sever ties with family in may ways. We are the ones "pushed out of the nest" and taught to fend for ourselves. We still love our families and we have an allegiance to our families, but our immediate and future successes don't directly depend on our direct loyalty to our families. We are certainly more on our own in may ways.

Here in Thailand (and other places in Asia), loyalty to the family is paramount to how Thais work within the framework of their society. Thai children are not pushed out of the nest. They are taught how to make their family's nest larger and more powerful. They are encouraged to stay in the family and support and nurture their families. This is a prime priority; this is perhaps their greatest loyalty. Frequently, in their minds, their own personal happiness may be sacrificed in order to unsure the health, stability, and happiness of their family. That is their priority. That is what most heavily influences their decisions.

Loyalties is just one type of influence. It is likely to be their greatest influence. There are a number of others and I'll list a few here to diagram how I think a Thai person thinks.

I'm going to diagram the circles of influence that I believe effect a younger (20's - 30's) Thai female. I believe that most of my readership is most interested in that segment of this society. It's will Thai females that most foreigners have the most direct and personal contact with. This is the gender that seems to mystify us the most.

The number of influences are not few in number. There are many. I'm only going to diagram 5 circles to keep this treatment of the subject simple.

First, we'll omit the influence of the King and Royal family. Thais really can do all normal everything things without any conflicts in their their allegiance to the King. Assume for the sake of this article that all other circles are inside their loyalty to the King.

The five circles we will itemize are:

Obligation to Family (orange)- This is the influence that requires the Thai female to "check with her mother" first. This is very common in the normal landscape of Thailand. You won't see any Pattaya girls checking with Mom first, but I assure you it happens all the time in the country. The needs of the family also drive the girls into gainful employment. The key would in that sentence is "gainful". Make no mistake. One of the key influences for a girl to work is the family. That family need is typically greater than her own personal needs.

Teachings of Buddha (yellow)- This influence calls the girls to be kind, generous, and do no harm to another person.

Sexual Desire (blue)- This is her native desire to be in a normal sexual physical relationship.

Personal Interests (pink)- This would be her natural interests and desires. That might include wanting to travel or go to school. This would also include the personal desire to have children and be happy.

Greed (green)- Personal selfish desire to be wealthy. Everyone has some greed and the Thai female is no different. In the country, greed is not so easily seen in many cases. In Pattaya, greed is much more apparent.

Social Correctness (brown)- This is a girls influence that asks here to be polite, and conform to proper social etiquette. Girls will go to some length to satisfy the appearance of conforming social correctness. This is obviously not so commonly seen in Pattaya but it's very common in the country.



When I deal with the a country girl I think of her in these terms of the diagram above. I know that she is very concerned about family obligations. I know her personal interests are smaller and take a back seat to the greater need for social correctness. She wants to be in love but she is more likely to agree to arranged marriages if the family is deeply in need. She puts her own selfish desires typically behind the needs of her family.

Zone 1: If she wants a new telephone and she works at the local restaurant and flirts with her male customers to gain extra tips so she can buy that telephone, she'll be operating in zone 1. It's not against Buddha, and it serves her family and it may not necessarily require sex to obtain. Many girls operate in this zone.

Zone 2: If she is secretly meeting guys for sex and money then its more likely that she is operating in the area of zone 2. In most cases the family will not know (or does not want to know) that she is exchanging sex for money. It's totally outside the local social values system but not against Buddha and she may be doing it for family or just for her own personal financial desires. She may or may not care for the sex. And though her actions are contrary to Buddha, the local community would not openly condone her actions.

Zone 3: Zone three is quite common for girls who have a secret boyfriend. He supports her, she has a monogamous commitment to him. It's not marriage but its functional for her life and it helps the family. In most cases the family may know about the boyfriend but may not know about the intimacy of the relationship. For those of us (like me) who are quite shy of marriage, this is a common zone to be in.

Zone 4: If you happen to have a relationship with a girl in this zone, the girl loves you and will devote herself to you and will certainly want to be married to you. To her, its not even a matter of greed. She'll not be seeking out your money as a prime concern. If you are standing in this zone for her, she'll be quite a happy lady and you'll bring honor to her family and the surrounding community in which she lives.



The circles of influence for a bar or go-go girl are quite a bit different. In Pattaya or the Bangkok "red light" districts, social correctness is significantly reduced. The girls there don't feel in influences of social correctness as they would in their home town.

This girls enjoy the freedom to indulge in sex for personal advancement. Greed is a common influence.

Zone 1: A girls is at the top of her game. She is enjoying the work. She is making great money. She is doing something she likes and she is building the family their new home. She is really not doing anything bad against anyone and this is no conflict to her Buddhist teachings. Life is pretty damn good in this zone.

Zone 2: A girls is ripping of guys for cash. She is certainly outside of the Buddhist principles and she knows it. She may also be into drugs and just headed down a bad path. She may not care about herself anymore.

Zone 3: This has been working for a while or this is the type that never really liked the bar industry. She wants to get out of this work and marry and leave. She is still doing well, but is not much interested in the money as a means to the end. She may very well look forward to marriage and as the means to the end for a happy life. Or this girl may have already made a lot of money and she is looking to retire. She may be in a transition frame of mine. Perhaps she saw a close friend die of a drug overdose or someone she knows contracted AIDS. Greed is off the table and she is probably planning an exit strategy.

Zone 4: This is a girl who is in trouble. She has over-stayed here visit to the naughty night life industry and her beauty is waning. She may be having a hard time making enough money to support family back home and wants to leave but doesn't have any other skill required to work anywhere else. This girl is looking to marry as well but knows that her options are much slimmer than the younger more attractive girls who work with her.

In all of these models, the circles of influence are changeable based on surrounding influences to some extent. And as an example, a girl down in the south battling Muslim hatred and violence would find here circles very different in size and placement.

As a foreigner, you may coax her into different zones by what influence you have on her...



What about Honesty?

As for honesty - and this is a big point...... The greatest honesty from a girl is seen when she is in her natural zone and she has no external influences on her position. In other words, if you meet a country girl who is ready to marry and she is basically in zone 4, all other things being equal, she is honest plain and simple. However, if you meet a girl in zone 4 and you appeal to her greed and desire for sex and pull her over to zone 1, then honestly will be reduced.

Conversely if you meet a bar girl at the peek of her profession (zone 1) and you just want a hot piece of sex and a good time, then she'll be straight up and honest with you. But let's say you fall in love with her (or think you did) and you ask her to stop working for money, then you appeal to her greed and offer to send her significant cash to stop working. You push her outward toward Zone 2. She may reluctantly agree, and she take and cash, and she may have a slight itch to consider leaving the bar scene, but in reality, she won't leave. She is at the top of her game! She knows that she's not being right by the Buddhist philosophy, she knows its not right in the eyes of community, but damn it, she'll reason that her family could always use the cash, and what you don't know won't hurt you. She'll lie to you. Expect it. In my mind, and the limited knowledge that I have about bar girls in Zone 1, they typically leave when their value starts to wane. Very very few just jump ship on all that income without a very good reason. If if they do take a respite from the industry, they are normally sucked back in again because life back at the house is pretty boring when compared to hot sex with the men of their choice, gratuitous shopping, and that occasional trip to Phuket.

Honesty is not a fundamental virtue inside the circles of influence. Honesty is more the result of allowing a girl to be themselves in any zone they reside in. Honesty is part of the Buddhists teachings, and it is part of family values but it takes a big back seat in normal everyday life. Honesty is not practical. It's not a primary influence.

Loyalty is in fact be more important than honesty.

Your notice here that I make no mention of integrity. I don't sense that the Thai operate from it. When an action looks like integrity I typically hear them refer to it as Buddha would not approve, or this is not good to do (in a social context). I occasionally hear them talking about "Jai Ching" (honest heart), but it's not a large driving force.

Integrity is not a motivator. It's doesn't command respect because it not a principle that is taught in this society.

Consequently, you can not operate in the realm of honestly with this girls. You have to operate keeping their circles of influence in mind.

Soi Nana Twins

The Old Roue lives on Soi 4. His rooftop apartment overlooks the busiest street in Bangkok. More money turns hands in a single dy between go-go girls and fat farangs than the NYSE. Hard cash. On Wall Street no one shows real money. On Soi 4 only cash is king no matter how close you were to being a paper billionaire. The Old Roue has earns enough money from his day job to support his research into the nightlife of Nana Plaza.

"When are you coming back?" he asked on the phone.

"End of March." I have to complete a ruby sale to finance my return to Thailand. If it goes through, then I can resume my life of leisure.

"How's everything going with your studies?"

"I've been dedicating every minute to a set of twins."

"Twins?" I had the chance to go home with twins from the old Black-Out Go Go in Pattaya and related this incident to the Old Roue. "I told them I'd be back the next night. They vanished from sight. Are these girls identical?"

"Almost."

"Almost? Are they related?" Many mama-sans tell farangs girls are twins as an extra incentive to double barfine the girls.

"They have the same father. Somehow they were born on the same day to different mothers. I've seen their IDs." the Old Roue was convinced by this documentation.

"So they're 50% twins." I wasn't so certain about the connection, but suspension of disbelief is harder halfway around the world. "You have photos?"

"I am always thorough for these studies." The Old Roue was 60. He intended on donating his research to the Kinsey Foundation. "I'll email you later."

I couldn't tell if they were identical from the jpegs, but truthfully it didn't matter if they were related by birth.

Their beauty was from the same gene pool.

Go-Go Twins galore.

The fabulous Nana Hotel

Directly across from Bangkok's Nana Plaza is the eternal Nana Hotel. This caravansary has been servicing the happy ending needs of travelers since the 60s. I first stayed there in 1991. Nothing much has changed in that time. Men check in with women half their age. The desk clerks smiled without asking for IDs. They know most of the girls by name. Love, lust, happiness, laughter, happy endings, showers, sex ad infinitum.

Certainly a lot more fun than the present Plaza Hotel.

And the food isn't bad either.

NANA HOTEL BANGKOK

4 Nana Tai, Sukhumvit Rd, Bangkok, Thailand

Room rates are reasonable, considering what you save on taxis.

Triple 1,690
Superior
SGL./DBL. 1,690
Deluxe
SGL./DBL. 1,890
Triple 2,290
Suite
SGL./DBL. 2,390
Triple 2,790/3,290
Babycot

No More Free Food at the Oak Room

The Oak Room has been a venerable dining destination for New Yorkers and travelers since its opening in 1905. Despite the baronial setting the food never achieved notice for epicurean splendor and the new owners of the Plaza decided to challenge this old New York tradition by hiring Joël Antunes as chef. The Frenchman had learned his trade at Bangkok's fabled Oriental Hotel and his high-flying cuisine seemed an apt fit for the palates of New York in 2008. No one took into consideration the sea change in the economy or the ineptitude of the restaurant's executive staff. None of them were New Yorkers, but I had nothing to do with them as a diamantaire in the Plaza's Retail Collection.

Joel was a different story. He recognized me from my years as the physionomiste of the Bains-Douches in Paris. "Would you care for something to eat?"

It was a pleasure to sit in the kitchen with the chef.

Lobster salad, onion soup, turbot. Every meal a delight. Strangely something happened on the way from the ovens to the table in the Oak Room. Dinners were less than satisfactory and in the first weeks of February the New York Times and then the New Post lambasted the food and the service. Joel was given his walking papers. He made me a last lunch. Dover sole. It was excellent. As I walked out of the kitchen, I waved goodbye to the staff.

Next up a kosher steak house for the Oak Room.

It's something the owners know how to do.

The Best of Days

Every Tuesday morning Earl flew into New York from Boston for meetings at his investment firm's main office. Traffic on the highway from the airport was lighter than the previous month. A telling sign of the failing economy. No wait at the Midtown Tunnel's tollbooths was another. The drive to 57th Street and Madison Avenue took five minutes less than in 2008. The town car stopped before the gleaming skyscraper housing the firm's headquarters. Earl almost tipped the driver $5, instead he handed him a $10. Things were bad, but not that bad. Earl changed this assessment upon entering the lobby. Only one guard manned the welcome desk. Last month there had been three. Companies were cutting staff and not just from the bottom. He stepped into the elevator. It hadn't been cleaned this week and he held his breath on the brief trip to the 17th floor.

A firm believer in maintaining a good facade Earl stepped out of the elevator with the intention of exuding the confidence of a man who just penned an agreement with a billionaire, then almost stopped in his tracks upon seeing the brokers' glum faces.

"What's up?" Earl asked a sweating salesman.

"Market's tanking again."

"How bad?" It wasn't even 10am. There was no shouting from the trading pit and this was a crew that never shut up.

"Bad." The trader shook his head. The stock market had entered a dimension where every vector pointed down and the staff wore the misery of the last months like cheap oleo on Wonder Bread in a homeless shelter.

"Bad is good." Earl stood up straight, knowing it was one thing to be defeated and another to look it. He strode to his corner suite, as if it was still in 2005. No one else bothered to join his parade.

"Good morning." His secretary greeted him without mentioning his name.

"Why the sad face? Everything is going to be fine." Derek handed his Brooks Brothers overcoat to Josie. He could smell massacre in the air and locked his office door before calling his boss.

"What's up?" Earl looked out the window on East 57th Street. Only a few pedestrians were on the sidewalk and the lights atop the taxis indicated none of them had passengers.

"Nothing special." His boss was a master of deception.

"Nothing special. Everyone in the office looks like someone strangled their puppy. Who's getting axed?" Earl's sales were down 50% from 2007, which was 200% better than the other earners in his firm.

"We're shaking of the tree to get rid of some dead wood. Not you. I promise." His boss spoke about the advantage of a leaner executive staff and the opportunities presenting by the current challenges. Earl thanked him for his honesty and thirty seconds later was on the phone with a VP of Sales for a Swiss Bank. They offered him a new position. The pay was less than he earned in 2007, but his salary was based on sales.

"Whatever you kill, you get to keep." The VP of Sales used that expression, because every autumn he hunted moose in Northern Ontario.

"That's the way I like it." Earl had once accompanied the VP to the near-frozen wasteland. The banker had missed every shot. Finally Earl paid the guide to shoot at the same time as the banker. One dead moose and ever since then the banker had considered Earl good luck.

He hung up and asked Josie for a list of his calls.

"None of them are happy calls."

"This isn't a happy time of year." Earl shut the door and scanned the calls. Everyone wanted cash out their investments. None of them were getting a cent in 2008. The last two months had exposed the wealth of the nation to be a scam. One number stuck out in the list. It was his cousin. Earl was working at the Plaza Hotel selling diamonds. Earl checked his calendar. Tonight was an open date and he dialed the Diamantaire of the Plaza. He could use a break.

"You open for dinner tonight?" Earl knew the answer. His cousin had no plans other than to return to Thailand.

"Where?"

"Your choice. Money's no object." Losing your job was one thing. Not eating at a good restaurant was another.

"Le Bernadin is 4 star. My friend is the maitre de, so we don't need reservations."

"I'll meet you at 6."

"Come to the diamond store. You know where the Plaza is."

"Of course." He had been avoiding the Plaza, because his cousin wanted him to buy his wife an anniversary present. They had been married almost 30 years. Last year they had been contemplating a gala event for a hundred. Now the plans were for a quiet dinner together. Tonight he could celebrate the anniversary of the his bachelor party. His cousin would be his best man and he eagerly said, "I'll see you then."

The rest of the day was punctuated by security escorting several people from the office. Survivors wagered bets on who would be next to go in this round of 'musical chairs'. The bloodletting didn't stop until the market closed with a slight rally. over for this day. Earl ended the day in the black.

"Good day. Good to have you here." His boss bumped his fist on the way out. "care to go to Philippe's for drinks?"

"No thanks. I'm going to meet my cousin." Philippe's meant footing a bill for Opus 1 wine. Each bottle cost $700. His cousin was a cheaper date and he didn't need to be in a restaurant packed with shouting investment bankers. The volume of their conversation increased according to their desperation.

"Your mysterious cousin." His boss asked to meet Derek on several occasions. Earl knew it was better for those twains to never run into each other. His cousin didn't know how to keep his mouth shut about anything.

"I'll see you tomorrow bright and early."

A light rain accompanied Earl the two blocks to the Plaza. Few stores were crowded with shoppers. FAO Schwartz was the exception, however he noted those exiting the world-famous toy store on 5th Avenue were carrying smaller packages than previous years. The rain drops got heavier as he passed the dry fountain before the hotel. The doorman greet him with a tipped cap. "Going to see Derek?"

"Who else?" Earl cuffed the doorman $5 for this greeting. Some gestures remained sacred in a world without wealth.

Earl passed through the outer lobby and turned right at the Palm Court in the direction of the Oak Bar. He would call his cousin from the bar. Trader Vic's and the Oyster Bar had been evicted from the newly-renovated Plaza, leaving the Oak bar as the only destination for anyone visiting the hotel. Several tourists peered inside the Oak Bar as if someone famous was at the bar. Earl recognized no one, which was good, since he didn't want to speak to anyone from work.

At the bar Orlando took his order and Earl phoned his cousin. He could tell Derek was disappointed that he wasn't coming down to his shop. No one really wanted to buy diamonds in this economy. Beer seemed to be selling better than martinis at the bar, but even Budweiser was taking a hit this winter. Three bankers in the corner were drinking heavier than normal. A man and his wife were fighting over the bill. She had never paid before. Five British tourists were drinking beer as if England had won the World Cup. Earl drank half his beer in one go. Two seconds later he ordered another for Derek, who joined him at the bar.

"How's work?" Derek drank half his glass to catch up with Earl. They signaled Umberto for two more Stellas.

"It's been a tough year, but don't worry, we're going to have a super dinner tonight. When can we leave?"

"I don't think yet." Derek looked out the window. The drizzle had intensified to a downpour.

"What's the food like here?" Earl examined his cousin. He had gained weight since his return from Thailand last summer. His hair was grayer too.

"Life's been tough this year." Derek confessed without any guilt. "Same for everyone, but last year was worst. Always is if you start it with an arrest in a foreign country."

"But that's all over?" Earl had heard the story about Derek getting caught in Thailand for copyright infringement. He was lucky not to be in jail.

"Yeah, I'm still persona grata. Let's finish these and get a table." Derek settled the bar bill and they were escorted to the dining room by a fashionable blonde. Earl heeded the sommelier's suggestion for a Bourgogne and the two men drank two bottles throughout dinner. The chef came up with dessert. Crepes Suzettes on the house. The bill came to $900. Mostly for the wine. After calling his wife at the coat check, they went outside to 59th Street.

The rain hadn't let up.

"Where to?"

"I have a big sale tomorrow." Derek was bailing on him.

"And what about going for a massage?" Earl was sure that his cousin hadn't had sex in months. "It's on me."

"No, I don't like those old hookers."

"What about a strip club?"

"Don't like Russians, but I'll tell you something. A friend of mine called today with a tip."

"A tip?" Earl remembered that JP Morgan said, "When your taxi driver gives you a tip, it's time to get out of the stock market."

"Yes, the market is really going to tank all week long."

"And?" He wasn't in the mood to hear more bad news.

"Then it's going to nosedive to 6000."

"Who's your informant?"

The name Derek whispered was well-known through the financial markets. "We did drugs together in the 80s. Of course this information can't help me and probably can't help you, but at least you'll be prepared if it comes true."

"To be honest it doesn't matter. The whole world is fucked right now. So what's the use?" Earl was feeling tired. Everything he knew was valueless. The meal in his stomach felt like dust. The wine burned his esophagus. This crisis was killing him and his cousin sensed his loss.

"Okay, strippers. But only for a few hours."

"That's more like it." Earl could forget today in the arms of a stripper. And tomorrow he could forget until then, because today was the best of days.