soalbundy

Where's Davy Crockett when you need him.

When my wife here contracted TB the treatment at the local hospital was having no effect. My wife is privately insured so we went to a private hospital in Surin, after looking at the medication she had been getting for the last two months he said we can do better than that, it's a new European medication but it's very expensive, he hesitated for a few seconds and then said, you needn't pay up front, I'll deal with the insurance myself. He gave us the glass ampules, about 20 and written instructions for our local doctor concerning the injections and off we went, it took 2 or three weeks and she was cured, I never did find out what it cost.

Yes, I rather think it's typical American behaviour, the card he showed them had a contact telephone number and he begged them to contact his insurance but he was told that rather than rely on a German insurance company they didn't know they wanted written confirmation of payment from the German embassy so in the event of difficulties getting payment the German state as a 'gold standard' would have to pay. God help us if the NHS has any business dealings with the Americans.

I have a German friend who took a holiday in the USA, while riding a push bike a woman opened her car door without looking and he somersaulted over the door and landed on his back squashing nerves in his vertebrae, he couldn't feel his legs and was taken to hospital. After the examination the surgeon told him he had to be operated on his spine immediately to stop nerve damage otherwise he may never walk again. He was insured through his German company and had an insurance card to show them but they wouldn't operate until they had confirmation through the German embassy that they would be reimbursed. It took 4 days, he had to telephone his company who contacted the insurance to explained what had to be done, this was on a Friday evening (German time) the insurance telexed the German embassy with assurance of payment who then telexed the hospital. The operation was only partially successful due to the long wait, his right leg is normal but he has no feeling in the left leg, he now walks with a strange limp, a floppy left leg. If they had operated immediately as they would have done anywhere in "socialist" Europe he would have been fine......the surgeon was most apologetic.

She'll arrive with severe migraine which will need a prison hospital for the short duration of her incarceration, her brother can arrange this.

That's a lot of devastating injuries, how ones life can change in the blink of an eye.

The word communism to describe certain countries always amuses me, there has never been a communist state, even the Soviet Union described itself as a Soviet Socialist Republic, it wasn't even socialist it was a dictatorship of oligarchs. Communism was a goal to achieve, first through socialism. There are Communist parties of course but they can only function as a party within the framework of the existing state. It's the same with Christianity, there is no such thing as a Christian country, only countries which have Christianity as its main religion but which behave in a secular, or as in the middle ages, dictatorial, repressive manner. One of the tenets of Communism is 'To each according to his needs, from each according to his abilities'. This sounds almost a Christian ideal, which is why, like Christianity, it can't function, mankind is too selfish and greedy. Jesus said, 'the poor will always be with us' and he was right, there will be the wealthy who control society and the mass who obey, no matter which form of government.

Xi isn't a communist, he is a dictator representing capitalism without restraints which is how China became the worlds factory producing everything from Trump's bibles to advanced EV's, while Sir Keir Starmer is just an inept fool with a knighthood.

Your solution is the greater crime of murder.

A little exaggerated for some light groping, she suffered no physical harm.

There's bound to be arguments when thieves divide the spoils.

Investigate what? That the sun rises in the morning?

Very convenient to be sure.

Rights for the working population were certainly fought for, starting with the Industrial revolution. Universal Healthcare is certainly not stupid! it should be a human right! My MIL just had cataract surgery done on both eyes for free, if you as a falang had it done I believe it costs between 80,000 and 100,000 Baht which my MIL certainly couldn't afford, it's made a huge difference to her life.

Not given freely but fought for over decades and some countries like the UK are trying to squeeze them so that it's just enough not to starve on, It's certainly better than what exists in the USA or Asia but vigilance is required. In the West, like elsewhere, the rich get richer while poverty increases, like America, we now have the working poor who rely on food banks to survive.

While I agree that Western civilization is on a knives edge (mainly due to corruption, greed and poor levels of leadership) the end of an era is merely the start of a new one which isn't seamless, the collapse of the British empire and Pax Britannia lasted decades as did that of the Roman empire. The dark ages are only referred to as such because there was little to no written record keeping, trade and works of art still existed. When Roman governance gradually declined and the troops left Britain the Brits left the towns and reverted back to their old ways of living, the Romano-British civilization was superficial at best. America was a good idea which got out of hand, as Oscar Wilde said, "Of course many countries had discovered America before Columbus but they kept quiet about it", further he remarked, "It's the only country that evolved from barbarity to decadence without an interval of civilization". Europe has always viewed America with amused skepticism, it isn't stable, sometimes it shows awe inspiring greatness and then sinks back to the antics of a school yard, like now. It isn't the end of all things, it just complicates matters, a harbinger of a new direction.

Unlike the Western democracies who are concerned for the welfare of the common folk

A parallel to the actions of the Emperor Tiberius and his enforcer Serjenus, the end of justice in ancient Rome, resulting in chaos and multiple murders in the Senate followed by Serjanuses own execution and the death from old age of a corrupt sexually perverted Emperor. The basket case America, even its basket is being unraveled, time for the free world to turn its face away from the unstable US in disgust.

Sperm in the vagina?

I can't say Thais are rude, often the opposite but they can be careless. Whenever I enter the bank I always hold the door open for people behind me, man or woman, and they seem pleasantly surprised as if that's unusual, in fact it has resulted in friendly conversations while waiting for my number to be called out by the cashier. The older I get the more respect is shown to me by my stepdaughters friends and boyfriends, the latest one shot out of his seat when I appeared to give me a wai, I thought at first he was going to salute me. what I find strange is the lack of formal introduction such as "Papa, this Somchai, Somchai this is Papa", when I mentioned it to my wife she said, "Why should that be necessary, it's obvious who you are", "Do you know his name" I asked, "No, he's a colleague from her work place, he's not dating me why should I know his name, it will crop up sooner or later", I find that most strange.

I often read here about poor driving abilities in Thailand but in my area of Isaan I've yet to witness an accident in 20 years of driving. I don't think the driving habits of Thais is any worse than those in Europe. Most deaths come from young motorbike drivers or drink drivers and in these instances the police could certainly step up enforcement of the law, it's pure laziness on their part that they don't do so.

Wrong on both counts, pure 'by jingoism'

The EU has been prophesied to fail along with the Euro since their inception and yet here they are, still a power to be reckoned with, it would be difficult to name an innovation that hasn't come from Europe (that includes the UK). Unfortunately the UK hasn't yet managed to shake of the mystic of Empire and glory, now alone it is insignificant, not knowing which coat tail to hang on to, America or Europe, before Trump they tried to hang on to both, that wont work anymore. Even the governor of the Bank of England has said that Brexit has significantly damaged the British economy.

The Brexit mistake is becoming ever more apparent and the lie of 'the special relationship' is being laid wide open. The UK is historically and geographically European, we shouldn't be a poodle to 'the ugly American'. Seems Trump wants tariffs with just about everyone which shows how weak it's employment figures are and how precarious its economy is, history shows that tariffs don't work, you can't beat the market. Tariffs stop innovation in ones own industry and you fall behind your competitors who modernize to become more efficient, a point in question here is the inefficient American steel industry compared to Europe, China and Japan.

Money always rules and always has done. For the average voter a tax cut is enough to vote for a candidate, the concern for democracy isn't very prevalent in America, it's a racist, 'thank you for your service', loud, brash, superficial country. Certainly a Musk-Trump combination is dangerous but considering the clown cabinet Trump has chosen I don't think this circus will last very long. Musk thinks he has bought the government and his future demands will irk the alpha Trump, there is already consternation in the GOP concerning Trumps pick for important posts, he has become more of a laughing stock internationally than he was before. He may control the house and the senate but America is still a divided country, the world is a tinder box and is heading for a recession while Trump pursues isolationist policies, I suggest his term will be short and explosive and the GOP will have to look for an adult replacement.