nisakiman

I really don't understand China's preoccupation with the Dalai Lama. Granted, he's an internationally known figure who disputes the Chinese claims on Tibet (and rightly so in my opinion), but he is really no more than a flea bite to the juggernaut that is China.

That this decision has come from this government comes as no surprise.

They have no mandate, no balls, and are as steeped in corruption and nepotism as any predecessor was. Maybe one day Thailand will get a truly representative polity that has the confidence in itself to actually make decisions that benefit the country, rather than gazing at it's partisan navel. But I'm not holding my breath...

The whole edifice of AGW is built on the sand foundations of "peer review".

"The science is settled. It's peer reviewed."

This article, by Frank Furedi (google him) puts the whole subject of peer review into perspective.

The urine test can give false positives for the following:

Ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, propylephedrine, phenylephrine, or desoxyephedrine.

(Nyquil, Contact, Sudafed, Allerest, Tavist-D, Dimetapp, etc)

Phenegan-D, Robitussin Cold and Flu, Vicks Nyquil

Over-the-counter diet aids with phenylpropanolamine (Dexatrim, Accutrim)

Over-the-counter nasal sprays (Vicks inhaler, Afrin)

Asthma medications (Marax, Bronkaid tablets, Primatine Tablets)

Prescription medications (Amfepramone, Cathne, Etafediabe, Morazone,

...phendimetrazine, phenmetrazine, benzphetamine, fenfluramine, dexfenfluramine,

...dexdenfluramine,Redux, mephentermine, Mesocarb, methoxyphenamine, phentermine,

... amineptine, Pholedrine, hydroymethamphetamine, Dexedrine, amifepramone, clobenzorex,

...fenproyorex, mefenorex, fenelylline, Didrex, dextroamphetamine, methphenidate, Ritalin,

...pemoline, Cylert, selegiline, Deprenyl, Eldepryl, Famprofazone)

Kidney infection, kidney disease

Liver disease, diabetes

A follow-up test by gas chromatograph should be able to weed out the false positives.

At least they don't do a hair follicle test in which case they can detect 60-90 days prior use

That's a little worrying.

You think the local BiB have gas chromatograph testing kit at the station?

I rather doubt it.

Which then begs the question, what happens if you test positive as a result of taking some cold remedy or prescription drug?

Banged up in the local chokey until they send your sample to Bangkok for further testing?

And wait for the results?

You could find yourself getting very familiar with the inside of a prison cell for quite a while.

For no good reason.

Now .... {Chang speculates}

if we could persuade Thai Bev that there is an untapped market (with significant profit) in wine there might suddenly be the political pressure/clout to get the taxes on wine to mirror those of beer or spirits.

What is it that the Thai government has against wine? You can get drunk as a skunk for tuppence on Sangsom or mekong, but it'll cost a kings ransom to get even slightly tipsy on wine....

Grrrr... mutter mutter....

As a serial expat, I think what bina says about it sums it up.

Wherever you are, you must adapt to the prevailing culture. That doesn't necessarily mean adopting it lock, stock and barrel, but at least trying to understand it and live with it.

Learning the basics, at least, of the language helps enormously, not just insofar as you can communicate better, but also it engenders respect from the indigenous people you are dealing with, and perhaps more importantly helps you to understand the culture in which you are living. Because language isn't just about vocabulary. It's about the way people express themselves, and this differs a lot from country to country. And within the root of the language lies the heart of the culture.

Sure, there will be things that drive you crazy. But for the natural expat, the fact that there are things that drive you crazy are just part of the equation. And that applies equally to your country of origin, maybe more so. Why else would you be an expat?

Roll with it, and you'll be ok. Fight it, and you'll always have problems. It's like the old saw about the Oak and the reed. The reed bends with the wind and lives to grow another day. The mighty unbending oak eventually gets blown over...

I think I liked you better as JR....

Crime rates were already high enough among Thais and the numerous illegal laborers on the island without tourists getting in on the act, he said.

Bloody foreigners, come here, take our jobs...

bably more or less duplicated for most nationalities, and that the consumption of these drugs is a victimless (apart from perhaps the consumer) "crime", shouldn't those that have appointed themselves to be the moral guardians of the world have a re-think about the situation? Is there anything to be gained by locking up / hanging people who want to take drugs? After all, it's only a recreational pursuit, same as alcohol.

What I'm saying, basically, is "why are these people so blinkered, bigoted, 'holier-than-thou' and stupid".

Did they learn nothing from the era of prohibition in the USA?

Obviously not....

I despair.

Aye, but it isn't though is it... ("a victimless crime") I mean, I'm no prude when it comes to spliffs, and grew up in an environment that enabled me to learn plenty about the full range of effects (both direct and indirect) of more than one kind of drug. I've witnessed how Heroin destroys people and families, and how other drugs also have visible and tangible affects on people's health (e.g. collapsing noses, internal organs going kaput, deaths from indirect effects... like forgetting to turn the gas off, or people I hung out with contracting and dying of meningitis, as well as seeing full on paranoia and other wacky and scary things etc), calling it victimless is naive, and perhaps belies your youth. I don't believe much of the flimsy medical evidence, but I do know from years of experience that drugs are a symptom of underlying problems: ways for people to repress their anger about some abuse or neglect in their families; more to the point, they sap the energy of the young, when they most need it, to set up their lives as independent young adults... the crap about mental health is basically government-sponsored BS to evade tackling more complex difficult social issues that don't get solved in time for a next election; nor yield an obvious harvest of votes.

Nevetheless, drugs are not about a celebration of hippy values, it's a big, and ruthless business once you get beyond the domain of your local smalltime dealer... although I don't really approve of the sort of hardline rhetoric you hear from many "conservative Americans", it is actually true that there is a human cost to the drugs you are partaking of, even the mild ones... human trafficking, abuse, and exploitation in all it's unpleasant forms; murder - albeit often between similarly unpleasant people; and robbery of usually hardworking and helpless people.

Then there's always the other selfish angle - that there are no "trading standards" or "health and safety" regs for your suppliers to follow, they can tamper with your brown or your green, and certainly your assorted powders in all kinds of ways you just wouldn't imagine... and some of which you wouldn't understand (without at least a Chemistry degree).

I don't object to anyone having the odd spliff now and again (discreetly, and in a responsible context), but I think if you are going to truly apply the "ethical" ideal that you would probably like it to be connected to, then you probably want to go organic, because whatever you pay for... someone else has had to pay for, and not with money... usually with some irreparable suffering inflicted upon their already blighted lives.

So when you say "why are these people so blinkered, bigoted, 'holier-than-thou' and stupid"... I might politely suggest you "check yo' self befo' you wreck yo' self" etc... when it comes to trying to present such a simplistic and fallacious moral case; "good" does not equate to "what I want to do now", unless you are a child (or have the mind of one). Obviously if you are not a bigot, you will be open to reassessing your views.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to the state having the resources: guns, manpower, legal bureaucracy, technology, etc... to inflict whatever sanctions it wants on you, and you have bugger all chance of being able to stand up to them - even in the freest and most "democratic" of societies; plus that the case has yet to be successfully made that liberalised drugs will help rather than harm the economy. This is not my point of view (I'm neutral on the issue), just an observation.

The message that the govt is really trying to send out is that they are skint, and have no balls to dictate to other countries about repatriating our citizens, unlike other, more patriotic countries. The Labour Party is frankly a bit weird on the issue of drugs (and on many other social issues really), so you're best bet is to stop whining and try and vote for a party that will leave you alone when in the UK; but come to your aid when you're not! Some sort of peculiar Lib-Dem-BNP-Green Party-Libertarian coalition perhaps?!

Best of luck with that one!

(PS I'm not sure any country actually hangs people for consumption... a few do for smuggling pathetic amounts, it's true, and I agree, that's an outrage).

There is indeed some truth in your observations about the damage drugs can do to family etc., however that applies equally to alcohol. It can wreck lives and wreck families and cause many health problems. Some people are susceptible, most are not.

All those negatives you correctly point out about the "big and ruthless business" in the drugs trafficking world exist for one reason and one reason only. Because the drugs are illegal. Were they not illegal, there could be government control over quality, price and distribution. The massive amount of crime associated with drugs would evaporate. The billions wasted on the futile "war on drugs" could be turned into tax revenue instead.

Also, within a generation or two, usage would drop dramatically. One big reason that people take drugs is because they are told that they are forbidden to do so. It is,always has been, and always will be human nature to be drawn to forbidden fruit. It started with Adam and Eve, and nothing has changed.

When you accuse me of being young and naive, you really have no idea how wide of the mark you are. I was heavily involved in the dark and violent underbelly of the drugs trade (and I'm not talking about "a bit of green or brown") back in the 60s and 70s. I know, and have seen stuff you couldn't even dream of. I'm not saying that as some kind of perverse boast, merely as a fact. I'm not proud of it. It's the way it was.

I know what motivates people in this business. I speak from an intimate knowledge of the trade and the human condition that drives it.  

No my friend, I'm afraid it is you who have the simplistic outlook on this subject. I have formed my opinions from knowledge and experience. And I can tell you now that as long as drugs remain illegal, nothing will change. People will continue to die. People will continue to resort to desperate measures to get what they want (need). Lives will continue to be wrecked. Billions will continue to be completely wasted on a war that can't be won.

The futility of it all beggars belief.

The answer is so obvious that it's become the elephant in the room. The politicians ignore it because to accept the obvious truth would turn upside-down all those things for which they were elected by an ignorant, tabloid - reading public. It's become a vicious circle. Through the media, they've convinced Joe Public that the merest sniff of a narcotic will turn him into a desperate, slavering, violent junkie. So to do an about face now would see them metaphorically torn to shreds by a marauding electorate. Political suicide.

And so the misery is perpetuated by the very laws that were supposed to stop it.

Yes, the lawmakers are blinkered, bigoted, 'holier-than-thou' and stupid. And that is neither fallacious nor simplistic. It is the truth.

In South America, 99% of the British nationals detained by local authorities were held for drug crimes, with Brazil and Peru showing the highest figures in this continent

In Asia, 50% of British national detentions were for drugs with the highest figures occurring in Thailand and Japan

Spain detained the highest actual number of British nationals for drugs offences (207), followed by USA (141) and Thailand (79)

With regard to overall detentions, the USA detained the highest number of British nationals (669) followed by Spain (357) and Australia (271)

Given that these figures are probably more or less duplicated for most nationalities, and that the consumption of these drugs is a victimless (apart from perhaps the consumer) "crime", shouldn't those that have appointed themselves to be the moral guardians of the world have a re-think about the situation? Is there anything to be gained by locking up / hanging people who want to take drugs? After all, it's only a recreational pursuit, same as alcohol.

What I'm saying, basically, is "why are these people so blinkered, bigoted, 'holier-than-thou' and stupid".

Did they learn nothing from the era of prohibition in the USA?

Obviously not....

I despair.

Shoes, socks, long paints & long sleeve shirts work for me.

Same same. Besides, do you know how much Thais smirk behind your back, when you walk around looking like a 12-year-old boy in those short pants?

And we smirk at them on warm evening when they walk around bundled up like eskimos in the winter. Who gives a rat's patooy what others think. Only the insecure.

Who indeed. And anyway, I see loads of Thai guys wearing shorts, both in Bangkok and in the country.

The best repellant is DEET, jungle strength.  Don't know if it's available in LoS. I don't have much of a problem with bites really. I get a few, but I don't think they like the taste of me very much.

The "gateway drug" argument is one that is trotted out all the time by the ignorant and uninformed.

So, how many alcoholics started out drinking a couple of beers a week?

All of them? Probably.

And how many people who started out drinking a couple of beers a week became alcoholics?

All of them? I think not.

The drugs laws are seriously skewed. They have been implemented by people who haven't got a clue, who are courting votes from similarly uninformed and ignorant readers of the tabloid press whose business is not to inform but to sell newspapers.

And meanwhile we see barbaric retribution for something that in a sane world would not even be a crime.

Sometimes I despair...

TJ and (the gone but not forgotten) Elvis are both legendary rock'n'rollers. If I was going to be in the vicinity I'd probably go to the concert.

Don't know if it's still going, as I haven't been in Bangkok for a couple of years, but I used to enjoy going to Radio City in Patpong sometimes for the Thai Elvis followed by the Thai Tom Jones! They were pretty good, too! Slick backing band. Made for a fun evening.

My wife uses the word "farang" (falang, actually, the way she says it) to describe any occidental, including me. It doesn't offend me, and I use it too, so I really see no reason to make an issue out of it. The use of "farang" in this forum is, I believe, quite justified given the subject matter being dealt with here.

Personally, I'm getting tired to having arguments with people who do not want to 'believe' their, our, lifestyle is responsible for making their grand children existence a pretty miserable one.

Yep, Gore was astute very when he named his film INCONVENIENT. People will bend over backwards to avoid the truth if it creates a major bother in their life and the payoff is basically for future generations. If it gives them jollies in the here and now, they will lap it up. Its human nature, of course.

Unfortunately, the "truth" bit was anything but!

"Inconvenient propoganda" would have been a better title. Goebbels would have been proud to have made a movie like that.

“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”

Joseph Goebbels - Hitler's Propaganda Minister

A lot of people don't accept the theories of Darwin, even now. Note there is a remarkable overlap of those anti-scientific types with the global warming skeptics. Why do you think?

Jingthing, if you can bear to open this link you will find a very long list of your "anti-scientific types".

Only problem is that they are eminent scientists.

Man, I wish this whole global warming thing would hurry up!! We are freezing our a** of here in the States!!

Funny I guess, but you'd be surprised how many people think a cold spell or a cold season has any meaning looking at the big picture, considering how the last decade was the warmest in recorded history.

Jingthing, I think you should read this article before you comment further on the veracity of the scientific consensus, and the "facts" that our erstwhile "climate experts" would have us unquestiongly accept.

so when you hear an educated person use farang, you can be sure it's meant as an insult.

This is not true at all. It is still all about the context. I have met many educated people who use the word in the most innocent of ways without any intent to offend.

My wife, for example.

Yes, it's bloody great, isn't it!

(<deleted> is that avatar dude!!!)

Yeah. Cool, or what!

Yes, this is just another "Gulf of Thailand won't rise" thread.

That thread was closed, mistakenly in my opinion, as this "global warming / climate change" thing is an ongoing news story, so was always relevant.

It was also a very entertaining and informative thread, and should have been allowed to run.

Just my opinion.

Yeah, life can be tough. Depends how you approach it.

I was a teenager in the 60s. At the age of 14, I knew which local pubs I could go to where they would serve me. I'd have a couple of Brown Ales and feel really Grown-Up.

It was no big deal. It was part of growing up.

It didn't leave me with an alcohol problem.

In fact, I omly really started drinking at the age of30.

We are movinng into an Orwellian, puritanical state, where nobody is deemed capable of self determination.

Big Brother knows best.

Well, you can count me out of that movement.

I don't need anyone to tell me how to live my life, how to tell right from wrong, or how to bring my kids up.

Especially not a bunch of dysfunctional politicians.

Fried bugs don't do it for me. There is so much good food on the street, why bother with bugs?

I'd go with most of the posters here - duck is great, suki, well, I can take it or leave it. Needless to say, the wife loves it.

I must say that I've always been impressed with the speed and efficiency of the service. It's a very slick operation.

Actually, Bankok's pretty civilised traffic-wise.

If you think Bangkok, or anywhere else in Thailand is unpredictable, you should try Phnom Penh!