BradinAsia

Will even one of you Assange apologists provide a link that proves the US has either indicted Assange or issued an arrest warrant for him?

Forget the conspiracy theories and give some thought to Assange's obvious paranoia.

Looks like a smoke screen argument to me.

The 800-lb gorilla in the room is the world's one superpower that has other countries falling over each other in their scramble to kiss the superpower's arse.

It's best to keep focused on the 800-lb gorilla before he completely ruins our world.

Cannot understand why anyone would vote for Assange, other than a throw away "protest" vote. Regards Australian collaboration with the US are people seriously stating that Australia does need the benefits of the ANZUS Treaty. One of the benefits is access to the Echelon network SIGNIT, good idea to understand what this contributes to Australian economic and defense national security.

Because Australians support the underdog and a sense of fair play, which he certainly hasn't had

Assange has had ample oppotunity to state why he advertised US military movements he got of a US soldier and advertised it on Wickileaks, which put the lives of US, Aussie, English and other soldiers lives at risk. The man was in charge of the site and has a case to answer. He is not only a traitor to Australia, but also to the US, England and the other countries that had and have soldiers in that war zone.

Anything he gets he has coming to him. He like most rats want the cash and the glory, but when caught cry about the deaths he caused or possibly caused. He should be prosecuted to the highest degree and punished the same.

This bloke is not an underdog, he is a dog and Aussies wont support him. If he has nothing to worry about, let him come out from the Embassy in Britain and face up to what he said did not happen. Then it's fair play.

You have your opinion, but a lot of folks will disagree with your views and your reasoning.

For me, anyone (such as Assange) who has the courage of his convictions to expose the underhanded dealings of the superpower power brokers very much deserves the support of all who cherish freedom and human rights.

Assange has put his neck on the line for the benefit of mankind. We should all support him to the extent of our ability.

I agree with the man-made fake foods, the industial seed oils, the copious amounts of empty calorie foods, soda and white bread. BUT, HOW does meat cause cancer???

Eating meat is not necessarily associated with all types of cancers, but...

The top 20 countries with the highest rates of colorectal cancer are also

at the top of the list of countries with high meat consumption. Coincidence?

Only 2 Asian countries make the top 20 colorectal cancer list -- Japan and

S. Korea. The other 18 are all European countries plus N.Z. and Oz.

It's easy to find -- just Google "colorectal cancer incidence by country"

The next time you happen to be in a foreign country try this. Ask someone what country comes to mind when they think of people all over the world traveling there to have cheap sex.

Wow, that's a good one.

In my dictionary licentiousness is not defined as cheap sex.

I think the more appropriate word is lasciviousness. But even that would

be much more applicable to the farang sex tourist than to the Thai hooker.

The sex tourists are the lascivious ones -- so much so they spend a lot to

get sex (including the plane tickets, the hotels & all the *other* fees).

It's not my intent to defend Thailand. They don't need my defense.

It seems a bit too hypocritical for a farang to subsidize the Thai sex industry

and then denigrate the entire country for having a sex industry.

Also ludicrous.

I have no idea as to the necessity of this, but it did make me sick that Bush's lapse resulted in our 4th amendment being eroded and that many were tortured and treated such a way all because junior messed up. Seems like everyone is and will be paying the price for junior's reign for many years or worse.

The first part of your comment says it all. I didn't realize the 4th had anything to do with a Saudi, Yemeni, etc. picked up in Afghanistan, etc. but do carry on.

This all stems from 911. Not real difficult logical leaps here guys. 911 resulted in junior going crazy to cover tracks and make sure it not happen again. Bush passes Patriot Act and used fear, axis of evil crap to completely erode 4th amendment. Wire taps . . . Expectations of privacy gone . . . Axis of evil, evil thugs . . . Torture and hold people in solitary indefinitely . . . More good ole boy Patriot Act type stuff all stemming from 911.

Well the article is apparently from a Russian publication, so I guess if anybody knows about illegal detentions, those guys would. As to Bush, he did all of that? I was under the impression that Congress passed legislation, unlike the current president that just uses executive orders.

Making such remarks about Russia is very popular nowadays, but one simple fact we must not forget. For some years the U.S. has had the highest incarceration rate on the planet. Higher than the USSR ever had, higher than Russia now, higher than China, higher than Iran.

"Although I am not a U.S. citizen, I believe the U.S. government had the right and duty to destroy the people responsible, and organisation behind them, by any means possible."

According to this rationale, every time the U.S. has a national crisis, it is okay to just suspend the constitution and ignore international law. All my life my government, the media and the school systems have taught us that America are the good guys. That America is a country of law, order and justice. But then I learned that after the Pearl Harbor attack tens of thousands of U.S. citizens of Japanese ancestry were put into concentration camps even though the War Dept had already decided there was no military necessity for it. [Google: Fred Korematsu].

Then after 9/ll, our police state zealots arrested thousands of law-abiding U.S. residents based on their ethnicity or nationality. Overseas it was much worse. The CIA offered cash rewards for Pakistan and other governments to turn over anyone suspected of being involved with "terrorism." This lead to rampant corruption and many innocent people were "sold" to the CIA. Over the last 12 years, thousands of innocent people have had their lives turned upside down and many were imprisoned and tortured.

To say this behavior of the U.S. government is justified -- is to say that governments only need to follow the law when convenient, governments only need to respect human rights when it's convenient.

Some folks may be satisfied to live in such a society, but I am not.

Seems my comment hit a nerve and some want to portray it as bigotry/racism rather than what it is; a correct observation.

The first Westerners to visit these shores noted the locals for their licentiousness, and people are still visiting for that very same reason.

Rather than try to deny it exists, better that we embrace it, come to terms with it and accept it.

Illogical much?

No one on this forum has denied that prostitution exists. But to paint Asians as somehow more licentious than your own people reeks of narrow-minded, 19th century xenophobia.

You can stick up for Thailand all you want. Just remember they will never stick up for you when the time comes.

Some foreigners in Thailand seem to be just as offended as the Culture Minister. Someone should tell them that licensiousness has been part of the regional culture since the very first civilisations here, over 1,000 years ago.

Just to set the record straight, licentiousness has been a part of many cultures all over the world for thousands of years. Anyone who studies history would know that.

You can stick up for Thailand all you want. Just remember they will never stick up for you when the time comes.

Some foreigners in Thailand seem to be just as offended as the Culture Minister. Someone should tell them that licensiousness has been part of the regional culture since the very first civilisations here, over 1,000 years ago.

What hogwash. No race or nationality has a monopoly on licentiousness.

One axiom of life: Humans are all human.

If we succumb to nonsensical xenophobic temptations to view other ethnic

groups as less human, in reality, we derogate our own humanity.

"You can stick up for Thailand all you want. Just remember they will never stick up for you when the time comes."

Does this make any sense whatsoever? If I defend someone against unwarranted criticism, should I then expect some kind of reciprocation????

Simple solution. Stop the sex trade, and Thailand will cease being the butt of jokes as the prostitute capital of the world.

Ooops that would cost Thailand billions of baht, cannot have that. Guess better to complain to America and press You Tube

to stop showing the clip. Sort of shows the lack of understanding Thailand has about free speech. The clip was not really that

funny, they could have done a lot better if they tried harder.

Thailand has many enemies and as usual the Thai bashers are using the theme of this thread as a platform to air they’re anti Thailand views.

There is a thriving sex industry in Thailand, but so does have many other countries, Holland and Germany for example, plus in some states of Australia and America brothels and prostitution is actually legalised, yet, these are hardly given a mention.

It is possible to visit Thailand without ever seeing any sex establishments, like anywhere else in the world it`s only there for those who go seeking that sort of thing.

Most of the bad publicity given to Thailand by the West, especially from the United States and Australia is based on lies and exaggerated media reports.

Those casting the stones should first sort out the problems in their own back yards, before trying to preach to other nations how they should behave and shape they’re societies. America is number one in the world for considering themselves as the righteous among nations, but you only need to study the reports to see what sort of society that has transpired into.

As the wise man says; those living in glass houses shouldn't throw stones and the West has an abundance of glass.

I quite agree with most of the points you make in this post. But how does it relate to the photo of Mr. Obama. Are you implying that he is involved in the prostitution industry?

"defending the indefensible to gain brownie points, but in doing so, losing your identity doesn't help one bit. No one is going to thank you for your support, believe me."

What ever is that all about?

I wonder if anyone in Thailand is familiar with The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Family Guy, or South Park. Americans beat everyone to the punch by making fun of themselves constantly. Unfortunately, we lampoon not just Christianity but Christ directly (which is blasphemous), and we lampoon political figures (albeit the media largely guards the left); nevertheless, America thrives.

Lose your freedom of the press, I suppose, and you lose not only your relevancy but, more importantly, your sense of humor. After all, humor's main ingredient is honesty.

Maybe the left needs some guarding -- considering the ferocious nature of the rad-con right...

Yeah, wanting to violate the freedom of expression.

It isn't an advertisement for rape, sex with children, selling sex, or anything like that. It is parodying a very real phenomenon in Thailand and anyone who is here, or reads this forum will know that it is very accurate.

All I see everyday in Thailand is:

Farang arrested, underage sex, illegal sex, dead during sex, rape, assault, drugs, women, Pattaya, gangsters, shootings, knifings, muder etc etc.......

Yeah, wanting to violate the freedom of expression.

It isn't an advertisement for rape, sex with children, selling sex, or anything like that. It is parodying a very real phenomenon in Thailand and anyone who is here, or reads this forum will know that it is very accurate.

All I see everyday in Thailand is:

Farang arrested, underage sex, illegal sex, dead during sex, rape, assault, drugs, women, Pattaya, gangsters, shootings, knifings, muder etc etc.......

Living in the notorious tourist areas, yes, you may see this every day.

Living in the real Thailand (away from tourist areas), I see very little of

this -- probably less than I would see in the U.S., U.K., Euro or Oz.

Maybe time to make a spoof about US racism................

Why? Is it worse than Aussie or Euro racism?

I wonder why the upstanding person of pure virtue didn't ban this you tube video?

What wrong with this video -- for Thais or foreigners?

I saw live performances in Texas 40 years ago much raunchier than this.

This news report has no meaning to me. We all know that cancer cells are present in our body since birth but our immune system keeps them in check. Cancer cells kill when our immune system is too weak to battle on.

This report can only make me infer that the life span of the average Thai has increased, so weaker immune system and more cancer death.

Total nonsense.

The primary cause is eating too much meat as well as the increasing popularity unhealthy American-style, man-made fake foods. The main cure is limiting the consumption of meat and maximizing fresh, raw fruit and vegetables.

44 is still to young to die. Some people say 'never drink alone' now I see why. On a brighter note I met a Russian couple on the beach yesterday and they said hello. That's the first time that has happened to me. They could speak English and talked about normal things. I was really surprised. I'm wondering if Russians spoke a little more English they would gain a big social step forward. Or we could learn Russian?

Speaking of Russians...

Some 20 years ago, shortly after the Berlin wall came down, I met six young Russian engineers in a beer bar in Pattaya. One of them had a birthday that day and upon finding that I spoke Russian they insisted I join the celebration at a Russian restaurant nearby. Their English was quite limited, but it didn't matter. After several hours and lots of vodka, we were making very boisterous toasts to Russko-Amerikanskaya druzhba (Russian-American friendship), as well as some quite unprintable toasts referring to the KGB and the CIA.

In short, a very good time was had by all.

I've met quite a few Russians over the years and without exception they were intelligent, well educated, friendly and likable folks. Maybe I've been fortunate to have met only the good people.

kebab house used to be cheaper but its more expensive now but tastier imo. the thing about royal india is that sometimes it could be "off", imo they have some really rock solid samosa

The samosa is hard like a solid rock? Or the taste is rock solid great?

Simple. Us yanks figured out where the Russians, Indians, and Arabs were pouring into, then picked a location where they were not. When signs and TV channels in Chiang Mai start changing to Russian and Arabic, we'll move on.

That may be true but I have been told they move here for the possibility to sit next to a Brit at a bar and experience (and maybe learn) some of that famous sense of humour, irony and sarcasm while being briefed on geography and learning to speak proper (but not loud) English.

As long as the Brit is from an area where they are able to pronounce the rhotic R, otherwise the Yank may have no idea what the Brit is talking about...

I don't really mind the yanks. But a chill runs down my spine when they sit near me in a restaurant and I have to listen to them SHOUTING at each other.

When I left the States in 1992, I was not fully aware of how annoying this can be. But after being in Asia this last 20 years, I also get a chill running down my spine every time I encounter this tendency among my fellow countrymen.

I've always hated that "best in the world" mentality. I think the US is ONE of the best, but it also helps that I can afford healthcare etc etc.

I don't believe there is a best place, just the best place for you.

Totally agree.

When my daughter was 7 years old she came home from school one day and asked me,

"Daddy, is it true that America is the greatest country in the whole world?"

I said, "Well, there seem to be a lot of folks who believe that."

She replied, "Well, if it's REALLY true, why does our teacher need to tell us that every day."

Even a seven year old is intuitive enough to recognize pure idiocy...

America is a region including South America, Central America and North America..... and for what it's worth there is another United States, the United States of Mexico, so be specific when you mean the United States of America.

I love this!

It reminds me of some years back -- a hispanic coworker ranting about Americans. He was upset because people from the U.S.A. called themselves Americans and that infringed upon the identity of South Americans, Central Americans and other North Americans.

I suggested to him that it should be easy enough to rectify this situation. First, we get the Americans to stop calling themselves Americans. Then, all we need to do is to convince the Russians to stop calling us Amerikantsy, convince the Japanese to stop calling us Amerika-jin, convince the Thais to stop calling us Kon-amerika, and so forth for all the folks in about 100 countries. For some reason, he just walked away in a huff.

Of course, the more logical point is, if we are not to be called Americans, then what the hell are we to be called? USAians, as some have suggested? It seems to me that calling folks from the U.K. Brits may also be fraught with ambiguities. Are all U.K. citizens considered to be Brits, even the Irish and the Welch? I don't really know, I'm just asking.

Don't want to be negative, but...

Wanting a PC to act like it's running XP is a bit like

asking a doctor for a prescription that'll give me all

the symptoms of malaria...

Where is that?

It's a supermarket chain which is known by everyone in Chiangmai. Just ask anyone you see.