arend

At 72, he should have known better than to be out on a kayak.

LOL...at 72, living life to the fullest and making an awesome contribution to a better world for future generations...sounds like a winning formula to me...

I'm not overly worried about one narcissistic psycho (Trump) but rather about all those who would follow his delusional rhetoric and logic to the "Jim Jones kool aid stand"... we are truly in peril when we reject all reason, insight and perspective in lieu of blind reactionary impulses... we become no better than the extremists and follow them entwined together into the abyss of self righteous hate and rage like lemmings on the march... has this happened before? hint... Cambodia, Bosnia, Germany, Russia ...

Actions speak louder than words and public relations... When muslims actively root out the extremists in their community by publicly identifying them, shaming them, condemning them and kicking them out of their religion for betraying the message of peace before they act, then we will begin to appreciate their true commitment...

The idea that you can commit the most evil act, genocide, to attain the most saintly selfless status is truly insane... they should unrelentingly oppose this idea and anyone who advocates it with unequivocal intensity from the rooftops...

What a cesspool of corruption and greed...dismantle it and start again with independent monitors...

Extremists on both sides of the issue. Gun control is about getting and keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill, criminals, children, the irresponsible, alcoholics and drug addicts, the impulsively violent and political extremists esp assault weapons which have no use except war. Guns will never be taken from responsible citizens...we're way beyond that and besides ownership is a constitutionally protected right. So, let's come back from the edge of the cliff and work out a solution....Everyone likes to talk about protecting our citizens but obviously in the present situation we are far from being safe on our streets or in our schools with armed nuts on the loose....

I have no problem with the government making it's case but the opposition must also be allowed to make it's case...and when there is dialogue, that is democracy. When a government is compelled to 'correct political understanding', we have a dictatorship using brainwashing to control the people. It is possible that 'correct political understanding' is a mistaken use of English which is common here and must be allowed for. The true intent is revealed through their actions and behavior...we'll see...

Do that to a homeless beggar....and give millions of dollars to assist refugees that have done nothing but chase a good life, after they ruined their own country...

oh, please....at least get your facts straight before spouting off such mindless bigotry....

A comic is a story teller. It's goes with the job description to make up funny stories. He obviously just lost track of the line between reality and fantasy and when to be in one or the other modality. No need to demonize this one......

bear spray....Is that something like a mosquito spray for bears?

Extra strong pepper spray. Very effective....

I'm an experienced hiker but when I visited friends in the mountains of Colorado and decided to take a walk, they insisted I pack a pistol for the cougars. Realized I had been lucky and naive before. This man should have packed a deterent esp knowing bears were in the area. I know, advice after the fact, but a caution for us, when in the wild, be a boy/girl scout and be prepared..

There are few issues in life that are black or white. This is one. Can't or won't do the job, then quit or be fired. Since when do employees tell their bosses how they will do the job? Duh......

Authoritarianism and it's demand for obedience, and bigotry with it's demands for judgement are being challenged as the primary social and cultural values guiding education and government. Admittedly, slowly here in the east. Authoritarian regimes such as China, Myanmar, the taliban and N Korea et al are under pressure to evolve and there is great resistance to it. But progress is possible such as with Japan and S. Korea. So, what values are emerging? Critical thinking skills, innovative and creative thinking outside the box, self expression rather than mindless conformity, teamwork and egalitarian structures. But no one is suggesting that these in any way replace the knowledge and skill sets required to do the jobs. Enforced comformity and it's mind numbing efffects are no longer effective in a rapidly changing and competitive world. Leading edge companies increasing look for innovative leaders. This pathetic attempt to assert authoritarian control for it's own sake and impose a military model for civil society is backward looking and doomed to fail....

" LONDON: -- Lord Sewel puffs on a cigarette — while wearing a hooker’s orange bra and leather jacket.
Sewel, 69, (... in charge of upholding standards in the House of Lords) faces a police inquiry over The Sun on Sunday’s revelation that he snorted cocaine with two vice girls at his London flat."

Good to know that the moral compass of England is in good hands and immoral behavior is being rigorously sniffed out....

In the US most people do not go to a coffee house for coffee only. It is a place to hang out, meet people, have discussions, meetings etc. It is like a pub for non-alcohol beverages. A coffee house with people in it, hanging out, socializing, working and enjoying themselves is a magnet for drawing in more customers. As such, it is a community resource. This idea of a coffee house based on a fast food model, get them in and out pronto is a businessman's wet dream who has no idea or respect for the community function of this type of business. Of course, a coffee shop owner has no responsibility or obligation to provide this but I think he/she has missed the traditional role of the the coffee house and the opportunities it provides. Often I will go to a coffee house not for the coffee but for the community atmosphere. But, I know that's not a tradition here in LOS...but one that some of us farangs miss...

If I see anyone with no shirt walking on a public street, I am going to be on my guard. Of course, since I don't have eyes in the back of my head I don't like to sit street-side. When I was a young man, I worked at a mental hospital. Ever since then, I tend to sit with my back towards a wall or at least facing the door to see who comes in. Crazy people can have the strength of ten men.

.

Yes, all indications are that we are looking at a case of serious mental illness. Maybe an episode due to drugs or longstanding mental illness. Is there a way here that the police deal with this ie mental evaluation, hospital for criminally insane etc? In US, he can be held for 48 hours for mental evaluation. Letting him back out on the street is so utterly irresponsible and goes against the fundamental function of the police - public safety. I suspect that the police have no training or resources here to deal with this other than dump him in the slammer and then release him because the crime is based on "hearsay"....

It's not to ensure peace and order, it's to ensure fear.

If you disagree about who or what the government is and stage protest manifestations accordingly, then that is called politics and political meetings...

if you want to point out some wrongdoing by that government or its personal, staging protest manifestations to undo the wrongdoings, then that is allowed...

Its not ok to say that someone is wrong, but is it ok to say that someone is doing wrong ?

I read a lot off complaints about situations and events in Thailand , here on TVF,... old governments, politicians... name it...

Now we have someone , trying, changing the situation.... and people are complaining again....

Last poll revealed that nearly 70% of the Thai population was happy with the actions of Prayut ...

I call that democracy...

... overthrowing a legally elected government and establishing an unelected military dictatorship with absolute power is democracy? Me thinks you've been watching way too much Fox news.....

However, a promise to restore democracy has been made. I guess we'll have to wait and see....

Boy, you really are clueless when it comes to race relations or racial identification in America. When Mexicans are attacked in this way, all Hispanics are offended. Because in many ways, it is an attack against all Hispanics, legal or not. Trump is a joke, everyone knows this. Well, maybe except you.

You clearly aren't an American. Anybody who has spent anytime there knows that "hispanic" is an artificial term held in disregard by many from south and central America. Hence, the emphasis on "Latino." And, yes, the different nationalities do not like each other. Often, they actively hate each other and bring national hatreds and rivalries into the US. Cubans and Mexicans do not like each other. They don't even speak the same type Spanish. And Mexicans can't stand central Americans, whom they hold as inferior. And I will not even begin to get into the racial hierarchies that exist within countries like Mexico, where whites of Spanish descent occupy the top and darker Mexicans inhabit the bottom, ending with the Indians, who a lot of Mexicans simply despise. Turn on Mexican television and just about any program will show you the racial reality of Mexico. To believe that there is some sort of "hispanic race" is laughable.

I agree. I am Latino. My family has lived in New Mexico since the conquistadores came up from Mexico. Because of the Spanish blood, my family has enjoyed a certain status and priviledge in the community. This is how it is everywhere on a micro level, jockeying for status through blood and associations. Need I point out the same here in LOS and China and virtually everywhere? But on a macro level, when ethnicity is attacked through such contemptible distorted stereotyping and vitriolic bigotry and hatred, they will stand united (but, of course, this is the point of polarization isn't it?).

On my Apache side the view is that the majority of "anglos" (and most of the Indians now) have lost their souls (humanity) and now roam the earth as ghosts (empty of heart, empathy, compassion) having succumbed to the obsession for money and power, creating distress and misery for the world of human beings and the planet itself. Not exactly the astute socio-economic insight, I know, but it does reflect an order of reality that once emphasized the basic respect and unity of all beings.

Ironically, it will probably require an alien (space not illegal, ha, I know what you were thinking) version of a blowhard bigot and threat to reunite us all as a single humanity. Oh, wait a minute, I think they already made that movie….

What is all the hoopla about whether the gun was registered? That would be a Thai issue and a secondary issue ie possessing an unregistered/unreported gun. The alleged crime is carrying a loaded gun into the passenger cabin of a passenger plane. Extremely serious offense in today's climate.

The last article showed a pic of the gun which was a derringer sized, one shot 22 pistol. Easy to miss in an X-ray scan. How did this change to a full size 5 shot pistol?

Are the conspiracy theorists and spin doctors just having a binge?...

Really.

So having an unregistered and therefore illegal weapon in your possession, lying to the police (apparently) that it was registered in your own country and not being able to produce documentary evidence won't be of interest to the Japanese police, IYO. They will just charge him with attempting to carry it on a plane. You reckon? Hope you're not a lawyer.

The alleged crime(s) will be what the prosecutors decide to charge him with. Of course they may decide the gun was carried in from Thailand, is registered to him there, and it was all a mistake. He forgot he put it in his bag, forgot he shouldn't take it on a plane, take it to another country, bring it back on a plane, carry it loaded and forgot where he put all the documentation. Easy mistakes when you're forgetful.

It's a 5 shot .22 caliber derringer revolver. Hardly the key chain toy one top Thai copy tried to pass it off as. Plenty of information on this thread about the type of gun. And no, not easy to miss if security are doing their job right.

No, I'm not a lawyer and would probably be a lousy one anyway.

However, the unregistered gun is a crime in Thailand not Japan unless Japan has a law requiring a gun be registered in a person's home country before being allowed in which it probably does have. But, of course, it was sneaked in. Seems a bit odd that there would also be a law requiring smuggled weapons be registered. Anyway, seems to me the more significant crime is the smuggling. I fail to see how it's registration status has any real bearing on that. But, that crime pales beside the crime of bringing it aboard the plane.

Now I didn't say the registration would not "be of interest to the Japanese police" which it would but I suspect goes more to understanding motive than a crime. And as we know, understanding motive is often relevant to weighing the seriousness and intent of the crime. But, obviously I don't know Japanese laws in this respect.

I stand corrected re: the 5 shot derringer. Thought I had read single shot. But still rather surprised that such a tiny gun can hold that. However, I still believe it's small size can be easily missed by security, not an excuse just a reality in an overwhelmed system...No comment re: incompetence other than the Japanese caught it, the Thais did not...it's statistically based and a deterrence system not foolproof....ha, well, I guess I commented anyway...

Huh? The unregistered gun is a crime in Japan AND Thailand. Unless its legal to have an unlicensed gun in Japan.

And yes, I think u would make a lousy lawyer.

Ok, let me try again…

Of course an "unregistered gun is a crime in Japan AND Thailand"…duh, obvious.

But it is not a crime to own an unregistered "Thai" gun (in Japan) until the gun is brought into Japan without being declared…duh, obvious.

The fact that it is unregistered (in Thailand) is of less significance if any, than the fact that it was smuggled in…duh, obvious.

Is it a separate crime that a smuggled gun is also unregistered (in another country)? Maybe but odd…

Again, it is the smuggling the gun into Japan and the attempt to carry a loaded gun on-board a plane that seem to be the relevant crimes…

This should provoke a severe crackdown. Begin with martial law. Make the promotion of radical jihad teachings, advocating violence, associating with radicals a crime etc. Root out the terrorists with a public campaign identifying them as subversives bent on destroying the stability, freedom and livelihoods of the people of Tunisia. Maybe even have a reward system for turning them in. Create a prison camp for jihadists, not jails or prisons where they can recruit. I think that Tunisia has only one shot at this now.....

Through their indiscriminate violence and treason, they have forfeited their rights as ordinary citizens....

I know this is harsh but a harsh response is needed. Terrorists have no respect for compassion or what they perceive as weakness. I know 'prison camp' evokes images of inhumane treatment which I do not advocate. A path to return to normal society and a long probationary period needs to be built in as well as basic humane treatment. The point is to isolate them from society and their nefarious activities....until they are prepared to re-enter and respect humanity....if possible...

What is all the hoopla about whether the gun was registered? That would be a Thai issue and a secondary issue ie possessing an unregistered/unreported gun. The alleged crime is carrying a loaded gun into the passenger cabin of a passenger plane. Extremely serious offense in today's climate.

The last article showed a pic of the gun which was a derringer sized, one shot 22 pistol. Easy to miss in an X-ray scan. How did this change to a full size 5 shot pistol?

Are the conspiracy theorists and spin doctors just having a binge?...

Really.

So having an unregistered and therefore illegal weapon in your possession, lying to the police (apparently) that it was registered in your own country and not being able to produce documentary evidence won't be of interest to the Japanese police, IYO. They will just charge him with attempting to carry it on a plane. You reckon? Hope you're not a lawyer.

The alleged crime(s) will be what the prosecutors decide to charge him with. Of course they may decide the gun was carried in from Thailand, is registered to him there, and it was all a mistake. He forgot he put it in his bag, forgot he shouldn't take it on a plane, take it to another country, bring it back on a plane, carry it loaded and forgot where he put all the documentation. Easy mistakes when you're forgetful.

It's a 5 shot .22 caliber derringer revolver. Hardly the key chain toy one top Thai copy tried to pass it off as. Plenty of information on this thread about the type of gun. And no, not easy to miss if security are doing their job right.

No, I'm not a lawyer and would probably be a lousy one anyway.

However, the unregistered gun is a crime in Thailand not Japan unless Japan has a law requiring a gun be registered in a person's home country before being allowed in which it probably does have. But, of course, it was sneaked in. Seems a bit odd that there would also be a law requiring smuggled weapons be registered. Anyway, seems to me the more significant crime is the smuggling. I fail to see how it's registration status has any real bearing on that. But, that crime pales beside the crime of bringing it aboard the plane.

Now I didn't say the registration would not "be of interest to the Japanese police" which it would but I suspect goes more to understanding motive than a crime. And as we know, understanding motive is often relevant to weighing the seriousness and intent of the crime. But, obviously I don't know Japanese laws in this respect.

I stand corrected re: the 5 shot derringer. Thought I had read single shot. But still rather surprised that such a tiny gun can hold that. However, I still believe it's small size can be easily missed by security, not an excuse just a reality in an overwhelmed system...No comment re: incompetence other than the Japanese caught it, the Thais did not...it's statistically based and a deterrence system not foolproof....ha, well, I guess I commented anyway...

This should provoke a severe crackdown. Begin with martial law. Make the promotion of radical jihad teachings, advocating violence, associating with radicals a crime etc. Root out the terrorists with a public campaign identifying them as subversives bent on destroying the stability, freedom and livelihoods of the people of Tunisia. Maybe even have a reward system for turning them in. Create a prison camp for jihadists, not jails or prisons where they can recruit. I think that Tunisia has only one shot at this now.....

Through their indiscriminate violence and treason, they have forfeited their rights as ordinary citizens....

What is all the hoopla about whether the gun was registered? That would be a Thai issue and a secondary issue ie possessing an unregistered/unreported gun. The alleged crime is carrying a loaded gun into the passenger cabin of a passenger plane. Extremely serious offense in today's climate.

The last article showed a pic of the gun which was a derringer sized, one shot 22 pistol. Easy to miss in an X-ray scan. How did this change to a full size 5 shot pistol?

Are the conspiracy theorists and spin doctors just having a binge?...

Fact: America imprisons more of it's citizens than any other country on the planet. i.e. 2.2 million people in America are in prison compared to 1.5 million in China. (you may wish to consider that China has more than 4 times the population).

America also holds the world record for death by police.

Just a couple of little factoids for those sitll living with the idea that America is a force for good

Oh, friend, I think you misunderstand. The high prison population is the Republican's innovative social welfare program . Inmates are no longer homeless and receive free food, shelter and medical care and it's increasingly privatized for corporate benefit so more can trickle down to needy families...

I checked Guinness for the "world record for death by police" but zip. I could only find statistics relating to the rates of death by violence. Hmmm...U.S. rates as 92nd out of 192 countries. Damn, America as average....how disappointing...

Anyway, keep those factoids coming....

You should have instead checked the "factoid" regarding "the high prison population" being a result of the "republicans" (for which I equally have little use for). It is simply not correct to suggest it is this narrow an issue; thats all. The first few pages of this link alone suggest the numbers for justices and their appointments. This reveals a very mixed picture.

https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43426.pdf

The following link changes the complexity a bit and suggests a decidedly liberal tilt has taken place in the US (at the federal level). http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/10/27/obama-brief

The US prison population is hardly a result of 2nd Amendment or any other inherent qualia regarding the US. It is a direct result and corresponds with the social engineering began with the Great Society and secondary dependency programs. Add forced multiculturalism and social relativity on the population and the underlying American fabric is rent. The below graph says it all. All one has to then do is look at the history of liberal progressive social engineering in the US as an overlay and the causal connection is unavoidable. Countries like Thailand are delicately but resoundingly rejecting the obvious poison pill of western social engineering.

http://sentencingproject.org/doc/publications/inc_Trends_in_Corrections_Fact_sheet.pdf

Just satire....for a little fun...

Fact: America imprisons more of it's citizens than any other country on the planet. i.e. 2.2 million people in America are in prison compared to 1.5 million in China. (you may wish to consider that China has more than 4 times the population).

America also holds the world record for death by police.

Just a couple of little factoids for those sitll living with the idea that America is a force for good

Oh, friend, I think you misunderstand. The high prison population is the Republican's innovative social welfare program . Inmates are no longer homeless and receive free food, shelter and medical care and it's increasingly privatized for corporate benefit so more can trickle down to needy families...

I checked Guinness for the "world record for death by police" but zip. I could only find statistics relating to the rates of death by violence. Hmmm...U.S. rates as 92nd out of 192 countries. Damn, America as average....how disappointing...

Anyway, keep those factoids coming....

Since the government is already in the gaming industry via the lottery, why not also open a few casinos. It's a significant income stream. Just keep it tightly reined in to a few locations...Government dictated morality is a poor policy. When people can choose their morality, it's meaningful....

Gambling addiction is a problem but these individuals can be identified and blacklisted until rehabilitated...

Im sorry I might be missing something here... why would a retired policeman on a business trip to Japan to view a waste burning power plant even contemplate packing a gun and taking it on commercial flight whether in luggage or carry on.... what possible motive/ driver/ intention/ need would an invited business guest need for a handgun in Japan..

I could somewhat understand this scenario if it was in bottom of his bag .. a relic from his yesteryear activities but he has admitted to packing it prior and then repacking it in Japan into his medicine bag that if I read correctly went into his hand held luggage

I could understand even have a modicum of sympathy if this was a situation where it was unknown by himself that it was in his bag.....i.e I forgot completely it was in there/ old bag I used to use years ago when i was on the force sort of thing ...... but he has obvious cognisance of its existence by virtue of the repack process in Japan and his reported statement that he consciously packed it prior to departure and thus has knowingly tried to board a commercial flight packing a firearm.......

This just doesn't make sense to me in any way . Im not normally a subscriber to conspiracy theories but its almost like he wanted to get caught on return leg hence transferring gun to his carry on luggage where he would have known the screening capability was far greater than what checked luggage receives....... why ??? Who benefits who loses from this if indeed he did want to get apprehended on the return leg.....

I agree, Why would anyone ever consider taking a gun on a plane esp in a carry-on? Not sure I would agree about his motive of wanting to get caught, though. Probably simply assumed the law didn't apply to him garnered from his years as a senior police officer and forgot that he is just a civilian now...