nickgonewalkabout

I understand the north of Thailand has long been subjected to aerial spraying to suppress illegal crop production, such as glycophosphate/herbicide on coca plantations in this example from South America:

http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/rpt/aeicc/13234.htm

Could this be the 'hot formula' The Nation alludes to, but by dint of absence of information, alarms and frightens? These chemicals are harmful to human and animal populations. It's documented well-enough on the internet. Silver iodide for example (used in rainmaking), is particularly toxic to fish. There seems little enough transparency on a topic of such invasive significance, and in a world where population reduction seems to be on the minds of the crude hard right, it's not safe for ourselves and our children to remain complacent and without vigilance.

In this sensitive area, The Nation seems only half-up to its job as sentinel and protector.

English Oak: yes you're right. It's crap. You're the moderator. No one's made substantive comment. I give up. Delete it.

Shame how the Bangkok Post contributes to the financial destruction of its own nation. Front-page today for example, indicates Hedge Funds are shorting Thai economy by $4 billion. We recall that Hedge Funds have been credited with the downfall of entire nations in the past? They're now targeting Thailand. What can we expect? Their preferred weapon of mass destruction (to coin a Max Keiser phrase) is called a Credit Default Swap. These are contracts which pay off a boatload of treasure if a credit event occurs such as a bankruptcy or national crisis. Yes, its true, you can bet against the demise of your competitors, and use leveraged play-money provided by the banking system to do so! Such things generate huge profit, but also great anxiety, in this new world of financial dis-order. A world in which hedge- fund managers are more powerful than generals and as pitiless as terrorists. Their assets dwarf 'retail' equity markets, and power is further guaranteed acting in their role as 'security agents' on behalf of governments. They monitor every retail investment, betting against them, precipitating crisis via rumour, innuendo, falsehood, or emphasis on the negative. Retail investors are duped, mocked, and monitored down to every desktop computer. Contracts are systematically taken out in opposition to public sentiment no matter how virtuous, honest or noble the citizens investment. Hedge-funds then, a pseudonym for Heartless Liars. Back to the news today though, whether its true or not, may well result in a more rapid suppression of public dissent tomorrow, perhaps even murder, as authorities respond to appearances. Hedge-fund activity in this instance, and in many other examples, works against the interests of the economy and community as a whole. In short, its evil. Yes, I said it. Meanwhile, Thailand's democracy goes on, active public debate continues, and the community resolves issues in substantive ways, not behind closed and secretive doors of power. This democracy is still a place for people to gather and speak. Words from Hedge Fund sources however, are far more damaging. Today millions lie on the beach, planes fly as usual, buses run, the country functions relatively normally, factory's haven't stopped churning out consumer goods, trade thrives. Hedge Funds on the other hand would have the world believe otherwise, and cover its malefic intent with half-truths, quietly placing foul bets that take advantage of apparently bad-news. They are the original merchants of fear, precipitating violence and disorder in their wake. How easy it must be for example, to assuage an Editor to print bespoke news tailored to a bank's agenda when a journalist's salary is probably less than a traders annual drinks tab. In this era then, it doesn't take much to see the subversive side of Credit Default Swaps. They've been around since US financial re-regulation in 1997 (see link below), and have been steadily destabilising communities, stripping the wealth and savings of millions throughout the world since. Ten years after 1997, the bankers laid down a massive bill for payment (has anyone noticed these crisis keep coming around every ten years or so?) Since then, traders have remained in abeyance, at least in terms of betting against the US and UK economies, while overcoming what some call an image problem. In the ceasefire, US and UK markets reached new highs, while hedge funds have been roaming in less politically sensitive foreign markets, driving values up last year in the Securities Exchange of Thailand (SET) for example, making massive conventional purchases, swelling public confidence, drawing in money, and by the mark, pulling the rug out with colossal, withdrawls leaving a mass of unfortunates holding the bag. I suspect the Government of Thailand used vast cash reserves to buy back shares to stabilise the market during the exodus of hedge-fund money. Though we might never know the truth of it, but given the Thai governments recent talk about borrowing (where for years the Thai Government's cash position was healthy) suggests something major is going on. Risky indeed though to take on the might of an organised banking casino that has more money than anyone else, the power to buy any hand, any game. George Soros for example, who in 1992 brought down the Bank of England by persistently upping the ante until the bank ran out of money. A poor Chancellor of the Exchequer squandering the nation's resources trying to buoy pound sterling (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Soros). Banks on one hand, hold up a nation, but now choose to mutilate and disfigure it too, hiding shamelessly behind a veil of confusion and intimidation. Few understand for example, the workings of the derivatives, options, futures, market. Those who do, often join and don't talk. Inside the casino earnings are massive. Who pays the winners? The system is meant to be self-sustaining as long as enough money exists in the monetary system to pay everyone off. I contest that 2008 saw such a demand, not from the sub-prime housing-loan market, but from Hedge Fund contracts that needed paying off. The sub-prime was part of the problem used to cover and camouflage, so protecting the interests of the bankers and their ghastly casino operation. The overnight money markets dried up, the crisis went worldwide, and governments everywhere printed money. This was given to a small number of winners who ran off into early retirement with obscene amounts of (taxpayer) money. Conditions for a repeat are still in place. Important to note too that bankers profits increase with volatility in our new world disorder. Volatility is crucial. Widen the margin between peaks and troughs, increase incidence and duration, short or long the market, spread propaganda. Sit back and watch the money roll in under this artificial cloud of fear or doom. Rejoice in bonuses while homeless fill the street, ordinary people are fired, businesses are forced into bankruptcy, and the conscience of all people's remain depressed and blighted by the despicabile and insidious nature of the new world disorder. The steady, rational, growth our parents encouraged seems now an anathema to these people. Dramatic, reckless, volatility, the preferred state. Bankers and traders proving to be the most dangerous anarchists of our time.


http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1877351_1877350_1877322,00.html

As we're all aware this problem is pervasive in SE Asia, India, China, Africa etc. The World Health Organisation warns of damage to the immune system, cancers (leukemia, tumours, et al), and impaired development of the nervous system, endocrine system and reproductive functions (birth defects). In 2011, they established a Provisional Tolerable Monthly Intake (PTMI) for dioxins, furans, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) of 70 picograms (10-12 g) per kilogram of body weight. Though how we measure this as individuals is of course very difficult. PTMI is an estimate of chemical ingestion per month over a lifetime without appreciable health risk. The WHO's webpage on this issue claims almost all exposure to dioxins and furans is through the food chain, but I believe this statement is directed to readers in developed nations whose disposal techniques are safer. What is clear is that any largesse or toleration of this air pollution serves only the health-care industry and the revolting group of right-wing sociopaths who ascribe to uglier predispositions regarding population control. For the rest of us, we must learn to say Mai Sai Toung (I don't want plastic), and give our time to as many Thai people as we can, regarding the dangers of burning plastic. The best way to obtain leverage is to emphasize the financial implication of carrying such a daily toxic burden. Thai's teach the children in school not to burn plastic, and these children have attempted to communicate this to their communities and families, often without success. Whether this is a consequence of ego, laziness, gross stupidity (or all three), the problem continues to require daily emphasis if we're to eradicate it from the mindset of the poor. Good post, Good luck.

Looks like we're in a similar situation. I'm near Mahasarakham. The soil here mostly impossible for the sand. Recommendation: bag it, sell it, use it with concrete. I'm digging a well and will brick it with cement mixed with my own sand. I was charged a fortune by a local supplier for sand, though I'm standing right on top of it! As for growing in this soil, well it needs serious composting. Certainly I hope you're using you're toilet for the soil, and not having nitrogen and plant nutrients sucked out by the old blue truck and taken away? If you careful with mixing, then there's little health risk as long as you're using it away from drinking water of course. I was able to download a leaflet put out by Mahasarakham University in association with an NGO on outdoor hyrdrophonic farming. Found it via a net search, and imagine it's the best way to make use of abundant sunlight and rainfall. You can use your compost to make compost tea, simply done, and add this to the water of your plants. With care, you'll have fine results. Build the hydrophonic trays according to the report, and use stored water (do you have a good supply?). This is the direction I'm heading. No water here even though we're next to a water reservoir (rainfed). Lake has dried to half, though the fields are wet in the lower paddies around Nacheuak.

Lots of chat over the last ten years as pig, bird and bovine illnesses cross to human populations. Where then does HFMD come from? Wikipedia traces it back to around 1997, though I've increasingly found this awesome resource heavily sanitization in high-profile controversial topics such as this. The word 'common' for example, is used by wiki contributors to describe the prevalence of HFMD in children. Divisions are also made between human and animal strains. Such things calm jittery nerves. However, take note that America's Center for Disease Control recently consolidated itself under the Bioweapons/biodefense program, the two plonked under a single department chief. Vaccines contain all sorts of genetic material from various sources, including cows (ref: http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/Vaccines/QuestionsaboutVaccines/ucm143521.htm). Vaccines contain vicious toxins like mercury and aluminium compounds, while we're told there's nothing to worry about, and oh by the way, have you had your Tetanus booster?. With a world population of 6 billion, a paucity of transparent debate at the highest levels, political support documents for population control like State Department NSSM 200, and a goal of 90% reduction in world population carved in 20 ft stone monoliths in Georgia, USA (ref: Georgia Guidestones), there's more than enough grounds to be very cautious indeed about your health and future well-being. Lets not kid ourselves; those of us on Thai Visa most certainly number among the 90%, particularly as we live in one of the target nations mentioned in NSSM 200. Now some will say I'm putting two and two together and coming up with five, but what has always been clear is that there's a war on at both the microbial and macro-economic level, and if you or your children are going to get through the next decade or two in good shape, it would be best to recast your traditional paradigms, and make a truly informed decision regarding which vaccines you give to your children and how you read news such as we have here this month on HFMD. Ref:

I used the Apple studio store in Central Plaza Khon Kaen to repair my MacBook in January 2012. A memory failure froze the operating system, the macbook would not boot, and I could'nt repair via the install disks. I was charged 1000 baht by the iStudio to have it shipped to Bangkok where it took about two months to fix (during the floods). I was charged 5800 bt in two payments by Com 7 International on Petchburi Road Bangkok. Upon return the machine turned on at the store and had all the appearance of being repaired, however, it failed to boot up a second time and I'm still struggling to get install the OS and get it working. It's proving difficult but I won't bother using Com 7 again. It isn't an authorised Apple repair center and I don't think they have the necessary expertise. The service I received was slow, expensive and ineffective.

Dear Balls: can't confirm this but appears to be swine-flu here in central Isaan. Local pigs and dogs are dying as of March 2012. People are ill with an unspecified but sometimes severe respiratory illness. Can't get specifics.

Could Isaan have an H(?) N1 variant on the loose?.

Vaccines contain trace amounts of Mercury, an unhealthy load (even in trace amounts) for anyone to carry. I can't get a list of ingredients for the current vaccines recommended by the USA CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) or the WHO (World Health Organisation), and since there are moves to ban mercury in vaccines in California there might be forward movement in issuing non-toxic vaccines elsewhere. However I wouldn't recommend shipments to less developed nations until they include ingredients and preservatives of a more benign nature. There might be a case for silver. Lack of transparency in terms of medical details creates an unfortunate track record, and with the Georgia Guidestones in-place (ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Guidestones) we cannot reassure ourselves in traditional symbols of authority. Moreover, we do not have a choice regarding the quality of injected product. My child for instance here in Thailand and the standard Thai-Japanese Encepalitis shot contains Thimerosol. It appears even California cannot obtain a mercury-free substitute at this time.

Mexican Swine Flu comes from a factory-farm. Specifically La Gloria pig farm. Picture a Dickensian image of children playing around factory-size cess-pools of effluent from tens (perhaps hundreds) of thousands of pigs 'reared' for the American pork market. Spreading illness therefrom to family, friends, and shortly the world. The World Health Organisation know this, but appear to pass on a genuine response. Pills produced in the USA offered by Donald Rumsfeldt's protege companies fail to offer much than profit from crisis.

So good-luck, and don't let Swine Flu fuc_k-up the taste of your chips. Thailand being a diverse international cross-roads is likely first in the international firing-line in terms of vaccines. No doubt the trade costs millions.

Clearly there is a broad and lucrative opportunity for

'natural' alternatives available worldwide, since the major industrialists have their head so deep in the black book rather than the white. So, Ballz, informed as you are from the seat of your communication empire, psst, pass-it-on to someone with a good heart and big aspirations.

Just a thought; what about seeds sold in India?. They're on more-or-less the same latitude and experience monsoon so thought I'd throw it out there. I found this website that exports Lavender seeds:

http://www.tradeindia.com/manufacturers/indianmanufacturers/lavender-seeds.html

I do believe a similar thing happened on the Costa del Sol in Spain.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, it took the Russian mafia about 6 months to take over the lucrative drug / club and other establishments which had traditionally been the preserve of the Spanish and English crime syndicates. They just made all their opponents disappear. These guys don't muck about. Thai mafia? Forget it ! History already, just looking on in awe.

The Russians have taken over an entire bay in north Goa. Heavy!

They're working on Koh Phangan last year, specifically I'm told of their attempts to buy Backyard Bar in Haad Rin, which was then mysteriously burnt down. The Thai/farang owners/managers are keeping it going but organised terrorism of this kind must be extremely difficult to fend off. No wonder shopkeepers keep guns handy there. I imagine there's pressure on in many parts of Thailand. The Russian's make pretty fun nightclubs once they've installed themselves (so I'm told) and how's an average tourist to know any different regarding the values or history of its new owners?. Those who know can only inform and recommend some form of boycott. Send them to Coventry as the saying goes.

Hey Stevie: seems like you've changed your tune since the World Cup. You remember our conversation about FIFA corruption back then? Bad calls. Pro-Brazilian and Anti-English sentiment, stuff like that?. You were keen to defend FIFA. Now you come out telling us FIFA's bent and everyone knows it. Well, I'm glad you understand...finally. This has been going on for donkeys and goes from the very top to the very bottom of the organisation, and in the games we watched last summer, and in FIFA's disconnection of the satellite signal to 5 million Thai viewers after the first two rounds this past June. It doesn't take much to upset the top brass (a bit like some people on this forum) and once you incur the wrath of FIFA....well the BBC doco paints a pretty good picture on what happens. FIFA needs to be replaced with a totally new organisation. What do you say about the FA running a world championship? Be a tough job getting the South Americans on-board since thats where FIFA is most powerful. But offer them money and they'll come. What about a FIFA boycott?. You think that would bring them around?

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Please tell me who is paying the bill - is it you? Then the builder goes what you want - or that's the way I believe that business is done in most parts of the world and I don't think Thailand has been removed from the world scene as yet.

I pay the bills. Yes, your suggestion to withhold payment pending completion of the work is the primary trump card, and I didn't play it. The builder's was asked many times and I set an example by doing it myself but it was obviou he'd considered the job finished, refusing to get into the difficult channels of the C girders, and had the sheet metal roofing on before the next bill was due (I was paying the workers every 15 days). By that time I felt that short of removing the 'suntai' corrugated roofing, the job was too awkward to press. I actully didn't consider witholding payment for several reasons and felt forced to acccept a shoddy job. There was a reluctance to antagonise the builders. I didn't push the point as you suggest,, although I'm witholding a bonus I had planned on paying. I would've paid more to have the job done correclty, but money ddin't appear to be the issue. It was more a case of bull-headedness. Contractually he wasn't obliged to do anything more than build a house, as we'd not set out any specifics like this before hand. Another mistake. So of course, you have a very good point. With the 20/20 vision of hindsight, I would recommend to others that they get the builder to agree very clearly before hand that these girders be dipped in primer and then enameled before installation. They may not want to enamle until after because the arc-welder doesn't want to smell burning paint all day when he's assembling the girders. My builder even suggested mixing primer and enamel together to shorten the time of application, which of course makes a mockery of genuine attention to detail, and gives you some idea of the sort of adversity one can find when dealing with individuals of volatile temprament.

My beams are all in-place now so its too late for me, but sounds like most of the respondents have employed good builders to install their roofs. My 'best-in-the-area' builder was unwilling to do anything more than run a brush over the outside and inside, missing out on the inner bends on a significant portion of the beams in which rust now shows. I was up there doing it myself when it became obvious that the builder was only paying lip-service to his promise to properly coat the beams, until the thinners and the heat got too much for me. I ended up with an allergic reaction on my skin, perhaps as a result of the chemicals used in the TOA Mandarin brand of enamel paint.

Reading everybody's responses, it seems I may have been unwise or unlucky in my choice of builder. Perhaps too there's a combination of other factors including an unwillingness to push workers to do a thorough job, pride mixed with incompetency, and a little anti-falang bias. Perhaps I wasn't on site enough. Out in the boonies in Isaan might also be a significant factor, since expats aren't a common sight. Still, if my bad experience helps others and communicates the problem to a wider group then it has some value. Forewarned is forearmed. Sounds like spray painting is a good option over the brush, and that box paint dip sounds awesome. I was also thinking, too late again, that a trench cut in the ground lined with a sufficiently long and wide tarp would do the job and save the wood.

BTW: builders use Eucalyptus trees as scaffolding here. I'm curious if this is a widely followed norm tin Thailand. If so, might be a good 'green' business idea for someone to get into renting metal scaffolding as it becomes quite a significant cost for a two story concrete structure.

Ta very much.

When our builder was getting ready for the roof steel piece of our build he had a painter lay out all the steel c channel on wood 4x4's and spray painted all channels inside and out with 2 coats of red primer and one coat of black enamel. After erection and welding, a staff laborer that was part monkey climbed all over the steel structure and repainted all the welds and scratched spots. Builder did the same to our smaller pump house steel

I'm nearing completion of a small house-build project in Isaan, and have advice that might help others. My builder orders materials on my behalf and I go to the builders merchants afterwards to pay. Attempting to keep prices down, I've been doing comparison shopping in the Mahasarakham area. I've found all builders merchants carry the same type of metal trusses/girders for construction framework and roofing. They appear to be a better choice over wood which is so often susceptible to damage from ants. However, without exception, these metal trusses are designed to fail you. They're extremely difficult to protect from corrosion and rapidly turn to rust. I've instructed my builder to coat these girders thoroughly with metal primer and enamal, but they cannot or will not do so, partly because of their faulty design. The house is not yet complete but already the trusses are showing signs of rust.

I can't find a character on my keyboard to demonstrate what the old girders looked like, the ones used to construct New York city in the 30's for example, but in cross-section imagine a T with a line at the bottom of the T, like a rotated H on its side. These are strong girders designed to last. However, those being manufactured and widely distributed today in Thailand are in the shape of a square C. Unless you dip these girders into primer and paint, you'll find it extremely time-consuming and practically impossible to fully coat the inside of the C girder. I recommend therefore, if you want to avoid early replacement of your roof, instruct your builder to create a paint dip in which you can submerge your girders. This will coat and protect them properly from rust and give your house and its occupants the untroubled lives they deserve.

This appears to be a design failure that wastes earth's resources while increasing short-term profit for manufacturers and retailers. One would hope in a more enlightened world, such an agenda would be swiftly corrected.

Heskey must be the most maligned player in the history of English international football (and the most racially abused, I read in a book somewhere)

Why bring race into this what has his race got to do with him being utter cr4p ... when they booo Lampard is that racist .... could you please tell me what im allowed to do without being racist.

He looked really tired to me.

Maybe, but I'm curious....how do you rate the referees performance in the first half of our Algerian match? Do you think Coulibaly should be suspended after the USA match? I don't drink and am generally watching these matches alone, so I catch things others might miss or be talking through with their mates.

Well not wanted to sound too sad but I also watched the game alone and free from the influence of Alcohol and the referee of the England game last night was fine. As far as bad referee decisions are concerned I think South Africa, for the decision to send off their keeper and give a penalty, Germany for the ridiculous sending off of Klose, USA for disallowing a pefectly good goal all have a lot more to complain about than England. I think you need to widen your conspiracy.

tim cahill's sending off was a bit iffy as well.

there's no fifa conspiracy towards england. nickgonewalkabout is just odd.

I think its very difficult to reconcile England's brilliance at the game at home, admired throughout the world (and I know this because I been there), and our routinely stunted performance in world-wide competition under FIFA. What's your theory?

Maybe, but I'm curious....how do you rate the referees performance in the first half of our Algerian match? Do you think Coulibaly should be suspended after the USA match? I don't drink and am generally watching these matches alone, so I catch things others might miss or be talking through with their mates.

Well not wanted to sound too sad but I also watched the game alone and free from the influence of Alcohol and the referee of the England game last night was fine. As far as bad referee decisions are concerned I think South Africa, for the decision to send off their keeper and give a penalty, Germany for the ridiculous sending off of Klose, USA for disallowing a pefectly good goal all have a lot more to complain about than England. I think you need to widen your conspiracy.

tim cahill's sending off was a bit iffy as well.

there's no fifa conspiracy towards england. nickgonewalkabout is just odd.

right on!

Maybe, but I'm curious....how do you rate the referees performance in the first half of our Algerian match? Do you think Coulibaly should be suspended after the USA match? I don't drink and am generally watching these matches alone, so I catch things others might miss or be talking through with their mates.

Well not wanted to sound too sad but I also watched the game alone and free from the influence of Alcohol and the referee of the England game last night was fine. As far as bad referee decisions are concerned I think South Africa, for the decision to send off their keeper and give a penalty, Germany for the ridiculous sending off of Klose, USA for disallowing a pefectly good goal all have a lot more to complain about than England. I think you need to widen your conspiracy.

Ok, I'll continue my search for rhyme and reason for England's performance 'way out here' in Isan,, though I think England was fouled off their game last night while the referee stood by and let it happen.

Maybe, but I'm curious....how do you rate the referees performance in the first half of our Algerian match? Do you think Coulibaly should be suspended after the USA match? I don't drink and am generally watching these matches alone, so I catch things others might miss or be talking through with their mates.

Well not wanted to sound too sad but I also watched the game alone and free from the influence of Alcohol and the referee of the England game last night was fine. As far as bad referee decisions are concerned I think South Africa, for the decision to send off their keeper and give a penalty, Germany for the ridiculous sending off of Klose, USA for disallowing a pefectly good goal all have a lot more to complain about than England. I think you need to widen your conspiracy.

Thats not a fair comment. No one is suggesting a conspiracy. Infact we all saying how aweful England have been and we have not been blaming the referee either, so i'm slightly bemused by your last line.

If you read nickgonewalkabouts original post you will see he accuses FIFA of skewing its pitch for England and he has started another thread about his conspiracy theories. I'm not accusing anyone else just him so no need to be bemused more amused by Nick and his crazy walkabout.

Yes, out there is correct. I'll take your advice and ruminate away the lonesome hours out here on the farm in Isan trying to find rhyme and reason to our game. Nothing changes my gut-feeling that England was fouled off the pitch last night and the referee pretty much stood by and let it happen, particularly in the first half. Conspiracy is everywhere...

Have to say the England players look like they would rather be elsewhere. Overpaid and over rated. It is a disgrace these players who mostly each get 100 grand a week and yet most of those who have travelled to support them would not get anything like that in a year, and hence are entitled to boo such a pathetic and timid performance, No pace, no balls, no idea!

One newspaper said it was not Cape Town but Cape Fear.

(And I liked the blog comments I read about if those awful Scots start gloating, they ought to remember they failed to qualify and the only thing they can qualify for is housing benefit!)

As to Rooney's remarks, well the usually foul mouthed Wayne has been exposed as not being up to the task.

Likewise for Capello, who is now revealed as not up to the standards of a national team manager.

So as an Englishman may I say to my fellow compatriots that despite the shame and embarassment of a woeful and shambolic performance by people who should not be wearing the England shirt and whose main motivation is greed and money, try not to let that ruin the rest of the tournament for you.

Remember:

The reality is that if the truth be known the England players could not care less about their performances, so:

why should we?

I read England's performance like this: Algeria is given a green light to foul in the opening half without censure after a contentious previous match and record number of bookings in which USA succesfully USA villifies referee Coulibably (which I think was undeserved given the USA's general gamesmanship). Algeria's manager and assistant wear FIFA in blazing yellow in passive acceptance of their favour. Game starts. Algeria, unrestrained, brutally stamp feet and bruise muscle at will. Terry is head-butted to the ground among other things and as if to underscore the FIFA bias, Carraghar is booked for no reason at all. Thus intimidated, battered England remain gun-shy and hesitant throughout the rest of the game, our top players more concerned with injury avoidance and Premier league fitness than playing against a stacked deck of 11 steroid monsters and 1 referee who sides against a team that believes in fair play. FIFA foils England's hopes again, and considers cutting match coverage to another 5 million cable viewers in Thailand for good measure...?????????????????.

Looks like i'll be supporting Brazil even earlier than usual this tournament. i just can't take this England side and coach seriously anymore.

It might be just me, but having watched England tie with the USA last night (this morning), it appears to me FIFA is continuing it's long campaign of systematic bias against England evident since the late '80's. Perhaps the USA bunged the linesman an attache case full of money for making the farcical offside calls against Crouch and Heskey (among other bad calls and omissions)! Not to mention all the shirt-pulling and flying boots to which the referee turned a blind-eye. We'd have an easy ride through our group if only we were on a level-playing field.

Why does FIFA skews its pitch for England?

I think Nicks been on walkabout a little too long.

Maybe, but I'm curious....how do you rate the referees performance in the first half of our Algerian match? Do you think Coulibaly should be suspended after the USA match? I don't drink and am generally watching these matches alone, so I catch things others might miss or be talking through with their mates.

Darth Vader reads last night's England game this way; Algeria is given a green light to foul in the opening twenty minutes without censure. Referee and linesman, from Uzbekistan are compliant with FIFA instructions. In passive acknowledgement, Algeria's manager and assistant wear FIFA in blazing yellow. Game starts. Algeria, unrestrained, brutally stamp feet and bruise muscle. Absence of whistle and yellow card is legitimised by a record number of bookings and fouls in a controversial and contentious previous match in which Americans succesfully villify the referee. In the meantime, Algeria drops Terry with a severe head-butt and Carraghar is booked for no reason at all. Thus intimidated, battered England remain gun-shy and hesitant throughout the rest of the game, our top players more concerned with injury avoidance and Premier league fitness than playing against a stacked deck of 11 steroidal thugs and complicite officials. FIFA foils England's hopes in time-honoured style, and consider cutting match coverage to another 5 million cable viewers in Thailand to stifle the potential of complaint.

One that always guaranteed Brazil's participation mostly because they're powerful but also because their fans are fun to have around.

Well I always thought the South American sides took part in a Qualifying Group stage just like everyone else. This is the reason my team are not in South Africa and I can assure you our fans are much more fun to be around than some.

Maybe they qualified because they were better than the other countries. Just a thought....same for Germany Argentina England even the Australians are there on merit.

Its a strange concept to grasp I suppose and far less fun than conspiracy theories.

I can't cite anything specific on this Brazil point. Consider it heresay, but my source is a history of FIFA and the world cup from the early days to the 1980's. I was talking about early qualifcaton back in the formative years of FIFA. Today, qualification is no doubt thoroughly regimented. I picked this up in a documentry in England at some point a long time ago. The basic gist of FIFA's roots has stayed with me, though of course I'm wide open to a good bashing for furthering the point here. I'm not dissing Brazil in any way. They're a brilliant team. The details are in history and I think you'd have to truly be a scholar on the subject to know for certain.. I could be a victim of media slant or a combination of a number of things, but I stand by my basic concern that I see FIFA officials predisposed to bad decisions against England if they think they can get away with it. I've seen it in every world cup since the 1980's. Good luck to your team.

It might be just me but having watched England tie with the USA last night (this morning), it seems FIFA is anxious to continue it's long campaign of systematic bias against our side evident to me since the late '80's. Perhaps the USA bunged the linesman an attache case full of money for making the farcical offside calls against Crouch and Heskey (among other bad calls and omissions)? With the shirt-pulling and flying boots the referee turned a blind-eye to, we might have an easy ride through our group, but again we're not playing on a level-playing field.

Why does FIFA skew its pitch especially for England?

you were watching a different match to most i think. the refereeing has on the whole been fine so far. and what 'fifa long campaign of systematic bias' are you talking about? the one that causes england to be crap at penalties every world cup?

Not sure what coverage you had, but the terrestial tv replays were very clear. I recall paritcularly the one made against Crouch towards the end of game within a few metres of the linesman who made the call, clearly showing him yards onside. I'll grant you, I might be focused on unfair calls made against England, mistakes being made all the time etc., but you only had to look at some of the genuine disbelief on our more stoic player's faces to feel once again that England might be being held up to an unfairly envious spotlight. FIFA is traditionally an organisation so rank with corruption that its only through our attenion that we hold them to a higher standard. As far as I'm concerned those standards fell too frequently last night, and I expect they will continue to do so in England's future games. Should we play Argentina again for instance, and Maradonna's hand of God asserts itself once more, remember this post. Remember too, FIFA is essentially a South American organisation. One that always guaranteed Brazil's participation mostly because they're powerful but also because their fans are fun to have around. We've not been in the good books down that way since we took back the sheep on the Falkland Islands, but lets not argue the point here, just keep an eye on it, Make your own mind up. BTW, are you American or English?