A nyone interested in seeing the effect the drug "ecstasy" has on some

homo sapiens need only pay (through the nose) a visit to the disco The Base in the

bottom of the Hong Kong Center. The key indicator of those who have imbibed, according

to insiders, is to look for people who jump around spasmodically, usually jerking

their heads up and down for hour after hour after hour after hour - often until just

before sunrise.

** Princess Marie and Chumtiev Bun Rany seem to have taken a page out of the

current protocol book as defined by their husbands on how to deal with each other

in the cause of national reconciliation. At the recent Red Cross Gala fundraiser

the two First Ladies sat side by side at the head table and declined to exchange

even one word for over four hours.

** Remember UNTAC and all the money they sloshed around on $145 a day per diems for

thousands of CivPols while nobody could figure out what the coppers did all day to

deserve it. Well, the UN learned its lesson from that fiscal free-for-all and has

been applying a newfound stringency to the UN Transitional Authority for Eastern

Slavonia.

One recent UNTAES alum says he and 20 others were paid between $6,000 and $8,000

a month to be part of a border observation unit. According to the source, they "sat

on the border, got drunk and wrote reports on who crossed the border" from 8AM

to 3PM daily. No interviews were made, they just wrote down what people looked like.

A copy of one checkpoint's daily report was made available to the Gecko which included

the following: "Sept 15. 8:35AM. Three people crossed the border. All looked

vaguely eastern European. 10:37 AM. A family of five crossed the border. All looked

distinctly eastern European. 2:32 PM. Four traders crossed the border. They could

have been Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Montenegran, Albanian, Greek or something else.

Very hard to tell."

At least now we know what these guys actually do for all that dough!

** Another mysterious organization has decided to give Samdech Hun Sen a peace

prize. Only this time the United Peoples Organization in Paris has awarded the Universal

Peace Prize to both the second prime minister and Ieng Sary. UPO says other recipients

include Presidents Bill Clinton and Fidel Castro for their role "in the very

slow relaxation of relations between the U.S. and Cuba" and former PM Margaret

Thatcher and Argentine General Galtieri for their role "in bringing about a

quick halt to the Falklands War in 1982."

** Farewell to Stefan Ellis who died too young.

Friends and family have set up a website dedicated to Stefan. Those interested can

contact: chrisewald@ aol.com.