orosee

Did everybody forget that Thailand is host to another hemorrhagic fever, Dengue? So there's been an interest in finding a cure or protection against it in Thailand for a long time, why should it be surprising if something pops up that has the potential to be used against Ebola as well? A lot of people here must be familiar with the history of Viagra, which was also a surprise discovery.

Now for a lot of people here it is crucially important that they can regularly claim that Thailand has not contributed anything positive to the betterment of mankind, so I can understand how much of a risk such an important announcement is at this time. Thais suddenly sitting at the front of the bus! Still, why not wait until the claim has been verified or denied, it's a win-win: If it works, you guys can claim that Thais stole the research from a white nation, if it doesn't work, well you have the program. The only thing you're missing out on is to write "told you so".

That's it then. Unless they rescind their confessions after talking to a lawyer, that case is closed for the public eye. Just a tragedy of wrong place, wrong time; not a mafia hit not a hi-so cover up. I can see how that disappoints many here. No matter who the real murderer is, at least hang a Thai.

Let's see how this develops when it goes to court, and don't expect it to be Den Haag. Plenty of opportunity to slam Thai justice corruption then.

As for Thaivisa, these 3 guys might as well be nicknamed Lee, Harvey and Oswald.

"We know who you are, really, and you have 3 days to surrender before we come after you. Seriously. Surrender. Please. You have no idea how much we'd appreciate that. But we know who you are, so why don't you surrender? Nothing to lose now. Because we already know. Scout's honor!"

3 points for trying, Mr Policeman.

Still hoping that the perps will surrender, I see.

People on Khao San Road still confident after bus overturns and kills 20 in Ranong.

People on Khao San Road still confident after tourist crashes motorcycle in Udon Thani.

People on Khao San Road still confident after tourists drown near Phuket.

People on Khao San Road worried over 50% price hike of Pad Thai.

People on Khao San Road panic after brutal double murder in popular guest house.

The twist and turns that are done to protect the tourist dollar...

Is there a specific reason why the victims are always referred to as "backpackers" and never as "tourists" by local media? AFAIK a suitcase was part of the victim's belongings, which is an accessory for a regular tourist, hardly a backpacker. Given that backpackers have a certain reputation somewhat lesser than tourists, I wonder if there's a hidden motive behind this choice of words. Or is the press just loose with words?

Picture starts least interesting or useful sidetrack discussion on ThaiVisa, ever.

US bombing a sovereign nation thousands of miles away, and at the same time condemning Russia for helping its neighbours.

"Islamic State" is a sovereign nation, recognized by the U.N. or any single state? Go home, you're drunk!

Ukraine on the other hand, is still a sovereign nation, a little bit less so now after Adolf Putin stole the Crimea.

You are wrong on both counts. US is bombing Syria. Islamic State is not recognised by anyone except you.

The Kiev regime illegally overthrew an elected government.

Say what now???

US bombing a sovereign nation thousands of miles away, and at the same time condemning Russia for helping its neighbours.

"Islamic State" is a sovereign nation, recognized by the U.N. or any single state? Go home, you're drunk!

Ukraine on the other hand, is still a sovereign nation, a little bit less so now after Adolf Putin stole the Crimea.

Isn't it standard police procedure in Thailand to release dozens of statements to give the impression that they're hot on the perps trail, including wild guesses? This done to make the criminal nervous (some guesses may be close to the mark) and surrender to the nearest police station, since voluntary surrender + confession means a more lenient sentence with a chance of pardon later. Edgar Allan Poe style.

Over the years I've read plenty of police stories that ended this way. Not this one, I'm afraid.

I really wonder about the hoe and where it was placed after the crime. Of all the available options:

- leave it at the crime scene

- throw it into the ocean (not sure how the tides are there)

- wash off the blood and place it back where found

- carry it around for 30-something meters and place it very visibly against a fence, increasing the risk of being seen by a witness

the last one (what appears to have happened) seems to be to most risky and least rational. I feel there has to be some meaning to this.

Perhaps the police have already identified the owner or user of the hoe, and are finally smart enough not to pollute their investigation with their stream-of-consciousness press releases. At least there would be a vector from where the hoe was taken to the crime scene to the place where it was found.

Well if you can accept that a conscious entity (a god) always existed, how can't you accept that unconscious matter/energy always existed? For me, the former is so much less likely than the latter. Some religions gave creation myths for their deities but not the Abrahamic ones.

If you only wonder how matter (something) could come from "nothing", the answer gas been printed on millions of t-shirts, posters and Web sites. Maybe in the beginning there was no matter, but there was not nothing.

Now origins of life and consciousness, those are really big questions begging for better answers.

The problem with agnosticism is that it leads to Pascal's Wager. If you don't know whether or not (a) God exists, would it not be wiser to act as if there were one, considering the consequences (none if one doesn't exist, eternal damnation or bliss if there is one and you picked the right/wrong one)?

I imagine being agnostic as standing in front of a naked electric wire, not knowing if it is live or not. Now you can say "I don't know if touching this wire will kill me or not", but unless you're taping for "Jackass 4", you're not going to touch that wire.

Faith would mean trusting your 25 years younger Thai wife or her brother to flip the breaker.

An atheist of course uses an instrument of science to test for a live current.

But seriously, how does someone who labels himself "agnostic" manage not to be either atheist of believer?

I don't see any problem with Pascal's wager.

His words were primarily directed at the church, at a time when being an atheist could cost one his life.

"acting as if" = make believe.

Your example about the wire is flawed. Let's say the wire is connected to a switch.

The Atheist will see the switch in the "off" position and touch the wire.

It's rather the Agnostic who will test the wire for current, because he doesn't know the switch, maybe it has been wired wrong inside, or the "on" and "off" labels are swapped.

The Agnostic will also have tested the wire tester on live current before and after the test to make sure it tests correctly.

The Agnostic knows something is not there when it has been proven that it is not there.

The Atheist will jump to conclusions.

For example, let's say the wire is not connected to anything - the atheist will trust his knowledge and touch the wire. Maybe static electricity will kill him.

My soulution (pun intended) would be to find a good religious person and throw them onto the wire knowing their invisible freind in the sky will save them from the laws of physics....55555

555... The problem is, you'll never hear the end of it how that person was saved by divine intervention! The church was one step ahead, throw the with in the water, if she drowns she's innocent. The house always wins.

Oh also, god will turn the power back on once your test subject has been saved. Working in mysterious ways etc.

So how exactly is the Russian government 'hitting back'? What a piece of garbage journalism.

Need some glasses?

According to Paragraph 1 of a bilateral intergovernmental agreement [between Russia and Thailand], Russian tourists are allowed to enter Thailand for up to 30 days, after which they must leave the country, [but] the number of entries is not limited.

i.e. they can do in and outs as many times as they wish.

Yeah that's not what most people understand when they read "hit back."

That's like literally getting hit in the face and "retaliating" by saying "you're not supposed to do that."

So the poster is quite right, a sensationalist headline with nothing to back it up in the text. Garbage journalism.

OK, let's get this straight. For you, "hitting back" is a literal thing, not figuratively.

In "Diplomacy", publicly pointing out inaccuracies in what the people on the opposite side think/say/do IS "hitting back".

For you, "hitting back" means Putin should invade and annex Thailand in response to the Thai's ignoring a clause in an agreement made between the two countries? Is that right? Is that "hitting back" enough?

Nope, you're wrong.

Also, obvious strawman is obvious strawman.

So how exactly is the Russian government 'hitting back'? What a piece of garbage journalism.

Need some glasses?

According to Paragraph 1 of a bilateral intergovernmental agreement [between Russia and Thailand], Russian tourists are allowed to enter Thailand for up to 30 days, after which they must leave the country, [but] the number of entries is not limited.

i.e. they can do in and outs as many times as they wish.

Yeah that's not what most people understand when they read "hit back."

That's like literally getting hit in the face and "retaliating" by saying "you're not supposed to do that."

So the poster is quite right, a sensationalist headline with nothing to back it up in the text. Garbage journalism.

It doesn't get better than the Monty Python sketch but: Isn't that the van that takes kids to Clown College?

Besides, if that was my kid inside, I'd be having a very stern talk with the headmaster. Crowded bus or no seat belts, there's no excuse either way.

They found it necessary to pronounce her "dead at the scene"?

From a beheading...sherlock !

How british of them.

Yeah, that was a pretty redundant sentence (I guess writers get paid by the word?).

In the German press, they wrote about "the allegedly beheaded person." Not sure how you would be able to fake your own beheading in front of police and a coroner, but stranger things have happened.

Most smokers are inconsiderate.

Even with the E cigs!

This week I was dinning in a fine restaurant and two men were puffing on their E cigs and the smoke was so annoying I had to move the plates and glasses to another table.

In view of the foregoing, I'm in favor of a ban on E cigs.

I see idiots stomping out lite cigarettes on hard wood floors in restaurants where they should not even be smoking.

The streets and sidewalks are littered with them.

If you smoke, be considerate.

I would outright say that you're either lying or deluded. A fine restaurant would never have you move the plates etc. by yourself. Oh, and where there's no fire, there's no smoke.

2015 and half of the posts here are "he's not WHITE, how can he be British?". Yet the same person with a US passport would not be challenged, shows how far ahead the former colony is with respect to integration despite all the overt and covert racism going on there - if you're black in the US, you're hated because you're a black US citizen. In the UK, they still hate you because you're coloured AND question your right to citizenship at the same time.

Weird stuff to read from a country which used to have a mission to bring civilisation to the World.

So building safety is now decided by popular vote of lay people? And quite late at that. I'm looking at it now, fortunately it'll not block my sunrise. A visit to the observation deck will be in order when finished, a shame that the Seoul skyline is so unattractive.

Perhaps you can provide an up to date pic?

If I get a little closer I'll snap a few pictures. The construction is actually illuminated at night, but using my Samsung for a decent shot would be hopeless.

If this is it, it sticks out like a foreskin in a jewish nudist camp.

It looks like much more than just the foreskin.

Serious compensation issues!

So building safety is now decided by popular vote of lay people? And quite late at that. I'm looking at it now, fortunately it'll not block my sunrise. A visit to the observation deck will be in order when finished, a shame that the Seoul skyline is so unattractive.

With respect to the Spanish Flu of 1918,that date should give you a hint why it was so deadly. People were generally in a bad shape in Europe that year.

I used to catch the flu twice a year for decades, like clockwork. 4 years ago I started washing my hands after using public transportation and after handshakes and haven't had a case of flu since.

With kids of course you can't rely on such discipline, and if in contact with other kids, they'll catch whatever hoes around.

Still I consider the family flu shot to be a luxury vaccination, I never even heard if it until I met Americans. Perhaps it's not so much a European thing, but the statistics seem to say "don't sweat it".