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Phnom
Penh (Ah!)
Part 2 - TOP
THREE PHNOM PENH STORIES
D. J. Ken - National Radio Text Service
TOP 3 PHNOM PENH STORIES - US Ambassador to Cambodia Joseph A. Mussomeli which for some unexplained reason has gained some unexpected attention - OH MY FBI!!! - SHOPPERS GUIDE - BEWARE OF MONEY CHANGERS AND COUNTERFEIT NOTES
Friday October 30, 2009
TOP 3 PHNOM PENH STORIES This month the top three most read Phnom Penh columns have changed but the top story was a bit of a surprise. That interest was in a column noting the departure of former US Ambassador to Cambodia Joseph A. Mussomeli which for some unexplained reason has gained some unexpected attention. When it was released in August of 2008 there was no reaction but now all of a sudden there is. The only logical explanation is after our coverage of the USA's Independence Day celebration the interest in our reporting of US political and media figures has surged. The better news is there is more to come. Our second top story was an oldie from May 2005 in our Phnom Penh Archives section that featured Elizabeth Becker then a journalist with the New York Times who was the guest speaker at Pannasastra University in the Distinguished Speakers Series that introduced a guest who relates to an audience of Cambodian students, NGO types and educators. Becker is an award winning author of the book "When The War Was Over: Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge Revolution." And finally last but not least was a television review that is relevant to Phnom Penh from this month. The column focused on the acclaimed reality TV series Amazing Race (USA edition) visiting Phnom Penh which was released Friday October 16th while we took our sample Saturday October 24th. The spike in that story was that two of the contestants in the race who reached the pit stop at Wat Phnom first also lost their passport. They couldn't find it and were eliminated from the race. . This is one of our fastest ever overall rising stories.
They say crime doesn't pay. We were shocked by a recent report Wednesday October 28th on Channel News Asia regarding the arrests the FBI made in the USA concerning child prostitution. The shock was they call their operation INNOCENCE LOST that they initiated in 2003 the same year we commenced the use of the same title for our work. This is the title of our information and future book on the topic of children being sold into prostitution in Asia. It was 2001 when we began our coverage. That title has been published for years on this website. Coincidence or not stay tuned for more on this story. SHOPPERS GUIDE BEWARE OF MONEY CHANGERS AND COUNTERFEIT NOTES When changing money BE CAREFUL, many counterfeit notes are being circulated in both US and Khmer currency. Denominations as small as 10,000 riel (US $2.50) are being circulated. US dollars as small as $5 are also being circulated. A money changer in a Khmer neighborhood heavily populated with numerous NGO's started her business to help supplement their family income. A Khmer man dressed nicely in business attire and driving a NEW MERCEDES BENZ gave here a counterfeit US $100 bill. She didn't think much about examining the bill given the man's appearance. Since she couldn't afford to take the loss she passed it on to another Khmer man who was on his way to the border town of Koh Kong to gamble. The poverty situation compounded by the dishonesty and greed by many in the country leads to people doing desperate things and taking desperate measures even by those who are perceived to be good people. PART 1 - THE WATER FESTIVAL NATIONAL RADIO PUBLISHED IN 5 LANGUAGES We are published in five languages, English, Thai, French, Russian and Khmer (Cambodian language). Any of our foreign language material and our Roman Wanderaugh columns are legally available ONLY on our National Radio © Copyright: National Radio. Any use of these materials, whole or in part, is prohibited unless authorized in writing by National Radio. Contact: nationalradio@yahoo.com ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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