connda

I go to government hospitals, and other than the wait, I don't see a problem with the quality of care. If fact the quality of care has been as good, if not better, and some private hospitals I've been to.

However, corporate interests are itching to get into the game that would essentially make health care completely unaffordable for a large segment of the population, while enriching insurance companies and private interests.

Every time I see an Opinion-Editoral (Op-Ed) like this, all I can think is: "Who are the corporations interests backing the biased commentary?"

And that's my opinion.

TPP is a disaster for all working people, the internet, drug prices, the environment, about anything except multi-national corporations. It is an international corporate coup that will give corporations the power to rule over local, state and national laws. It will give corporations the power to privatize public services. It should be rejected out of hand. Only corporations had a hand in the still secret document, although wikileaks has managed to publish a bit of it. It is NOT about trade, only 5 chapters deal with actual trade issues and most of the countries already have trade agreements. I've got a lot more if anybody is interested in the world's future under corporate rule. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/27/house-trade-trafficking_n_7446078.html https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/10/how-trade-agreements-harm-open-access-and-open-source http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/33344-lessons-from-nafta-for-the-trans-pacific-partnership http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Political-Action-Legislation/Top-10-Unknown-Things-About-TPP?can_id=7fba3d1b65859ed1bedfc427712da88c&source=email-catching-fire&email_referrer=catching-fire&email_subject=catching-fire http://www.juancole.com/2015/10/partnership-affordable-medicines.html

http://time.com/4065267/trans-pacific-partnership-american-workers/ http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/33213-tpp-is-worst-trade-agreement-for-medicine-access-says-doctors-without-borders http://ourfuture.org/20151006/tpp-deal-reached-here-it-comes http://www.nationofchange.org/2015/10/12/what-you-should-know-about-that-completed-tpp-trade-deal/ http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/33198-the-final-leaked-tpp-text-is-all-that-we-feared http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/oct/09/wikileaks-releases-tpp-intellectual-property-rights-chapter https://wikileaks.org/tpp-ip3/press.html

Your right on, however, only about one person out of 100 knows what this is, let alone cares. Which is exactly what the corporations are banking on.

The USA is so hypocritical and must think that everyone is stupid. After telling everyone that there was no moderate opposition they are now complaining that Russia is bombing non-Islamists but cannot tell them who these non-Islamists are! They are all Al Qaeda or ISIS and need to be destroyed.

A source we can't confirm told us, the favourite line for most US media outlets.

America are flying around and getting in the way of Russian aircraft with planes and drones that can't hit Jack.

The US pilot's have been complaining all year that they aren't allow to engage their targets.

Russian pilot's have no such problem. Goodbye ISIS and good riddance.

US-led coalition analysis of the the data claims 80 percent of Russia’s declared targets have been in areas not held by Islamist militants.

My, my...the pot's calling the kettle black.

Ahhh, the simple pleasures in life when filthy-rich and well-connected. Piss on the little-people. Let them eat unhulled rice.

She just a pair of tight shorts and a tight t-shirt different than the three babes on the billboard. What's the difference. She's wearing flip-flops. It's not like she's completely nude.

I clean up the dog poop in my own yard before I go complaining about the neighbors. Just saying...

Ah-huh...

So to summarise: CTH are still around, still as inept as ever and this thread title is absolute bo***cks?

You should all contact www.tvaway.com See what you get for 1100 baht a month. You will never go back to CTH or true ever again

www.tvaway.com

Is this a satellite TV setup that you can use in the middle of rural Thailand? I'm sure we have line of sight to any satellite in this part of the hemisphere.

I hate to sound as dumb as a box of hammers, but I really am when it comes to understanding TV options in Thailand, especially out here in rural Lamphun.

Best of luck.

Marijuana is a very dangerous drugs in my opinion. It's very mellow without serious side effects and that makes people hooked easily. There are millions of smokers who smoke on a daily base, as its delicious and seemingly very low profile. But, and here's the caveat, it completely kills your ambitions and after years of use, smokers tend to get paranoia. Of all the shenanigans in my life, marijuana was the most damaging.

But as with any substance, who are others to determine what I can put in my body or not. Legalize everything, except guns!

I suggest you go to NA. However, not everyone has your problem. If you have a problem handling your marijuana, you should quit and get help. Just like someone who has a problem with alcohol, over-eating, or habitual shopping. They should evaluate their own lives and seek help. But just because you have a problem with one (or more) of the above, doesn't mean that everyone else in the world does. You're speaking for yourself but are projecting your problem on to everyone else. It doesn't work that way.

The Question should be "Is it moral or ethical to use state sanctioned violence against peaceful people who are not violating the rights of others?"

That answer is fairly clear, but as we all know, the state has no moral high ground and is not a fit arbiter of what is "good" and what is "bad". This particular issue is a clear indication that "the law" is not some decree from the Gods, but rather an opinion with a gun. Proof enough that legislators do not have the best interests of the people in mind, and are rather motivated by greed and control. As usual when other countries are moving forward, SE Asia remains stubbornly backward.

Just think, these are the same people that want students to learn critical thinking...bit of a contradiction isn't it? They will continue to bleat on and on that cannabis is dangerous while Muay Thai events that are supposedly "against drugs" are sponsored by alcohol companies. Meanwhile their own kids are probably toking it up in their gated community mansions. Critical thinking is just a dream here... and true morality is sorely lacking in the corridors of power.

Moral? Narcotics are good business, suppressing them keeps the profit high......There are lot of connections between drug mafia and politics......Not with this government but with a different one and as well in many other countries.....

It may be in the realm of conspiracy theory but i am certain there is a connection between the narcotic and illicit drug industry and the arms industry,as it requires massive amounts of cash , easily obtained and using similar networks , to fund most of the guerilla or terrorist conflicts that are happening around this globe at the moment. . Next time you pull a bong or take a hit of a pipe of meth, or whatever is your poison of choice, and as the bliss hits just think of the blood that is also on it. Whilst the whole industry is illegal it will be controlled by greed , blood and politics.

What if, and it may be in the realm of conspiracy theory, we stopped glorifying war, pointing the finger, squabbling over shit, destroying each other's countries, then after a few years of murdering each other's sons and daughters, we shake hands, and find out that our enemies are really just other people with similar dreams? And, and, and, THEN legalized, and researched, and found out how to enjoy nature's substances and LSD creatively and responsibly? And the whole world turned to Rastafarianism, thereby ending this bullshit debate about my version of god being better than your version of god? No? I thought not. Right then, tea break over, back in your machine gun pit you must go...

I personally think every government attempting to limit what you choose to put in your own body are completely crazed. And...bringing ganja into this forum is like bringing up alcohol in a Women's Christian Temperance Union meeting during the US booze prohibition. God forbid that you bring up the subject of other botanicals such as ayahuasca, peyote, or <gasp>, magic mushrooms and kratom that grow profusely throughout Thailand if you know what you're looking for. No one should think for a second that we still don't live in a period of time where 'prohibition' is still alive and well, sanctioned and supported my the 'moral' and the 'mighty' who hold sway in the highest positions of power. But once out of sight of the public's prying eyes, the moral and the mighty are just as likely to be the most debauched folks in town. "Do as I say, not as I do!" Right! But in this day and age of mass communication and Internet, it's difficult for 'public figures' to hide their behavior from the unwashed masses and 'little people' whom they wish to control, although they do attempt to push the scandals under the rug with the help of corporate main-stream media with whom they are in bed with, literally and figuratively.

Remember things like gay marriage aren't even being considered here along with many other things. You seem to think that Thailand is some bastion of liberal values. Thailand in particular is not getting anywhere closer to embracing the western values that you so rightfully point out are gaining traction rapidly in the USA. Give it twenty years and get back to me. I agree with you now about one thing however, we are done here.

The USA is nowhere near embracing the Thai values of giving da*m what a person's sexual orientation is when it come to such things at high profile employment. How many transvestites do you see employed in high-profile, customer service jobs like airline stewardess, models, department store employees, and government employees in the USA. They may talk the talk, but try getting a job when your boobs are silicon, you female hormones are injected, and your 'junk' is still attached. But I see it here!

I didn't comment against drugs. I said I am fine with it but I am basically getting tired of the archetypal dipsh!t hippies that drugs seem to attract in this area. You seem to admit that these people refuse to pay the money they owe people and run out on their bills. If that is the case as a business owner why would I want what lures them like moths to the flame to be sold anywhere near me legally?

i hope that the area where I live starts cracking people with fines of $500 it is the only way they leave anything to the economy.

Because (without trying to sound like, I'm explaining this to a five-year-old) legalization would bring all the responsible high rolling stoners you don't believe exist, into town, as well as the hippies.

What is it about drugs never going away, and billions of dollars of juicy revenue never going into the legitimate economy, or government coffers, that people don't understand?

Omg. Washington State, Colorado, Denmark, and North Korea must be buckling under the weight of free-loading, dope-smoking, Greatful Death listening, tie-dyed wearing slackers.

Trouble is, the last time I left Seattle, it didn't look that way. Therefore, I really don't know what the morally self-righteous, anti-ganja crowd are talking about, because their worries of a stoner paradise are about as baseless as constantly complaining that Thailand is going to hell in a hand-basket because of all the drunken, sex-crazed sexpats staggering across Silom and Asoke, blocking traffic, and making a bad name for Hi-So, "quality" farang.

Daret House, Soi 9 restaurant, Rattana's Kitchen, Aroon Rai

Daret House was good 7-8 years ago. no more.

I never could understand the hype with Aroon Rai, last time I was in there it looked like cafeteria bus station fare. Many swear by it, but a lot of them don't get farther than 500 meters from Tha Phae Gate.

I've must have walked by that place 100 times over the time I've lived here, and I've never stopped because...it looked like cafeteria bus station fare. Always seem to have customers and a lot of farang. It just doesn't look appetizing.

I would like to know how many of these deaths occurred at U-Turns.

Every few hundred metres on major 3 lane highways these are just accidents waiting to happen. How many times have you been driving along at 120kph in the outside lane (when there's no overloaded truck or bus blocking your way) and had to slam the brakes on to avoid running into a queue of traffic trying to do a U turn. Madness.

I totally agree with this. It is amazing to me that they go all the out in the fast lane and wait to get hit. All they have to do is continue moving forward (completing the u torn) and it would be a hundred times safer.

But the real people to blame are the ones that design the roads. They don't know what real intersections are. They don't make lanes for motorbikes to travel safely away from speeding cars. The u turns they design don't have large enough turning radius or Adequate area for cars to safety que.

It is perplexing because some roads like the Elavated highways and motorways are very well designed. But the roads where there is a lot of cross traffic and u turns and what not seem to have no thought put into them at all.

The big projects are boilerplate. They buy the elevated highway plans from overseas. And possibly the senior engineers to oversee them built correctly. No mai bpen rai there.

Apart from the drivers, mechanics changing tyres at roadside auto-stands without even a hi vis shirt, let alone bollards, as traffic speeds by inches away.

Roadworks in the fast lane with very little warning signs lights, bollards or space to merge safely, crews wearing regular clothing, not hi vis.

Not a safety issue but a combo of bad design and zombies at the wheel who block the right turn and u turn lanes, thus creating huge tailbacks as turning traffic that can't move, adds to the congestion. Crazy one way systems that mean you have the choice of walking a kilometre or driving 4 to get to the same place.

Motorbikes with this suicidal 'trend' of disabling or not replacing the tail light bulb -why in all that is sacred, WHY!?

Highway 11 is being repaired south-east of Muang, Lamphun. They are busting up slabs of asphalt-repaired concrete, and refilling the road segments with 100% concrete. The finished road segments look very, very nice, especially with the 1 to 2+ cm of loose asphalt and concrete chips piled onto the shoulders where the motorcycle are legally required to drive. Can't wait for dark. We'll have to check with the local provincial hospital to see how many motorcycle accidents happen when unsuspecting drivers hit those piles of debris that are totally unmarked and unbarricaded. That would be a lawyer's wet dream in the US. Here in the LOS. LOL.

Tens of thousands of people in Indonesia and surrounding countries are likely being damaged for life...will likely have ever increasing breathing problems for the rest of their lives...

The damage they are now sustaining will not be totally reversed once the haze disappears...the breathing problems will linger...indefinitely...IMHO

Time to invest in local pharmaceuticals...

Invest Long in pharmaceutical producing inhaled corticosteroids, leukotriene modifiers, long-acting beta agonists, combination inhalers, theophylline, short-acting beta agonists, ipratropium, oral corticosteroids, and of course, last but not least, cough syrup.

But how is the country going to operate without a police force ?

It seems to be managing OK without a (proper) one at the moment.

Joking (?) apart, I'm frequently surprised at how peaceful and crime free the country is, given the almost total absence of what most countries would regard as conventional policing.

You clearly don't read the Thai press and have bought the fairytale.

Thai murder rate is high but don't take my word for it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate

Burglary is so high that bars are commonplace on windows and nobody upcountry likes to leave a house unoccupied.

Don't also believe the myth that policing is absent in Thailand. In fact the number of police officers and informers is very high. It is just that here the police manage and profit from crime rather than try to prevent it. This leads to less random street crime giving the illusion of a low-crime society, which it is not.

I don't read the Thai press, my language skills are not up to it. I din't think that I have bought a fairy tale.

Whilst the murder rate is high it is by no means sky high - looking at the link you provided. Burglary rates - I'm not aware of it being a major problem where I live in the north.

My point is that given the lack of conventional policing (patrolling and visible presence), and the fact that as you pointed out the police manage and profit from crime there is less than I would have expected. It may not be a realistic or an accurate comparison, but imagine the crime rate in a UK inner city area if Thai policing techniques were imposed.

Conventional policing in Thailand means a roadblock and citations for no helmet or unbuckled seat-belts, and the search and arrest of the occasional mules that get busted in order to show that they are doing something important like fighting the 'war of drugs'. Of course, it's only the mules getting busted, probably by information supplied from inside the exact organization doing the trafficking. Gotta sacrifice a few for the team in order to keep the primary supply flowing unimpeded from a different direction. Use your own imagination to figure out who's at that top of that, errr, 'mafia' food chain.

God bless them if successful! This is something that should have been done decades ago. However, a crackdown on mafia must be conducted by the army, since the police is involved in the mafia activities. Perhaps the mafia crackdown is actually a way of reforming the police.

Yes because the army are in no way involved in illegal mafia activity, and could be trusted to go out and without prejudice or favor close down all these money making mafia figures.................

The only reason the police have a worse image than the army is due to the army image being so carefully managed, and they are generally not coming face to face with joe public every day. The organization is set up, chains of command, hierarchical and promotional systems are essentially the same.

You, me, and anyone who has stayed in Thailand a few years knows many of these families and figures- if they are serious about doing something, why bother having all this fan fare, just go and arrest them.

Nothing will happen to the real powerful families and figures you mention other than some might change sides, or make new alliances.

Some minions might be thrown under the bus wheels for publicity.

It's just like feudal Europe - all those barons, dukes, squires and whatever, with their feudal territory and "privileges"; the machinations and plots; and people swapping sides to the highest bidder.

It would be entertaining if not so sad for the vast majority whose lives are made poorer.

But they make great plot lines for Thai soap operas.

Ko Tao would be a good testing ground but there are BiB , boys in green and the other day in my local Lotus there were boys in black. Unfortunately there is no uniform for the Mafia , maybe one of the Bib , Biblack or BiG groups could arrest anyone with an Italian accent. They started it. Gratsi .

You're confusing Koh Tao with Sicily. Different countries; world's apart. But same problems.

"the government was considering introducing a law to prohibit the carrying of weapons"

So carrying of weapons in Thailand is allowed?

It is highly regulated. To transport, you pretty much need your gun locked up and you ammo in a different location than you locked up gun, you need your registration and a da*m good reason to be transporting it.

So most people that are packing are doing so illegally, and if stopped at a roadblock, getting arrested may be in the cards. But than again, it depends on your status, wealth, amount of tea money you can produce on the spot, and whether you truly have all the necessary paperwork to legally transport it, and what mood the BIB are in at the moment, and how much discretion they have to interpret the law, which seems to be vague and open to interpretation.

I'm not really knowledgeable about permits to carry a concealed or open carry firearm. I'm sure that's a completely different can of worms. So if they are introducing legislation to make carry a firearm illegal, it already is in most case. Perhaps they are talking about tightening the restriction on legal carry, which would suck, especially if you're just transporting your firearm to a range to practice.

This will be interesting. I know all the "mafia" in my town. They are not exactly inconspicuous. They consist mainly of officials in various departments and people "affiliated" to the before mentioned. They demand money to avoid laws, permit illegal activities, and in court cases demand larger sums to buy an outcome. The family relationships go all the way to the top of this region. The mafia are totally entrenched and untouchable - unless total police/judicial/local admin reforms are forthcoming. I would even go as far as saying that under the current administration the local mafia have strengthened and solidified their position.

Government, Police, Military are the Mafia says my lawyer.

Mafia wars is whats happening.

That DSI Chief Pongpat that was arrested earlier this year, the billionaire monks getting busted laundering all that cash, the 'super car' busts, the shakeups in the police, the bomb, the land encroachment crackdown, the coup....maybe a counter coup is coming too....

They are at war.

Pasuk Phongpaichit, Sungsidh Piriyarangsan, Nualnoi Treerat

Corruption and democracy in Thailand

Silkworm Books, 1996

Even though it was 19 years ago, this book (I wonder if Silkworm Press has any copies left) was a wonderful description of just who the "mafia" are. The book was written not long after they started to enter national politics. Basically, they're the local rich people. If you watch Thai soap operas you'll notice the kamnan is often a crook and a tyrant. Although I liked and admired him, Banharn Silpa-archa was a good example. They aren't always evil. Well, the Society of Honorable Men in Sicily aren't always evil, either. But my point is, this is going to be just more political infighting (Italian Renaissance style). They've targeted some rich people and probably some politically influential people and will ignore others. Another day in the life of.

Available at Amazon in paperback new and used. Too bad no Kindle.

Ah-uh...

A former 'Wild West' actor and host to the show Death Valley Days (brought to you by 20 Mule-team Borax) won the US Presidential election in 1980.

We could have done better in 1980:

No 'Duhhhh'. Somebody tell the clueless VP that Hillary Killery Clinton has already been vetted and selected. All that is left is the Presidential Beauty Pageant and the sham elections.

AP November 9rd 2016

"Trump¹ with 80% of the popular vote loses the presidential bid as Hillary wins in an Electoral College landslide victory." -- only in 'democratic' America.

¹Change Trump to Bush if you're so inclined. It won't make any difference.

Your "dancing partner" was Ho Chi Minh, not Brezhniev. USA invaded Vietnam, and the Vietnamese defended it.

The fact that I'm German is a bit off-topic here. But if you want to know: I know what German medical doctors did in WWII, I think the mechanisms that allowed them to do so legally are still there, and I fight them.

Saying the US "invaded" Vietnam and the Vietnamese defended, is overly simplistic.

Nope, the US had a duty to keep them "vile, slant-eyed, commie-bastards from over-running the world" - or at least this was to official hype I heard in the US during 'Nam.

The 10,000 day war, and the US again get's it butt handed to them on a plate; Korea before that. Funny how that has worked out for virtually every undeclared war, police action, power-projection exercise, whatever you wish to call it, since WWII. Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan. Great job in all though places too. NATO did do a top-notch job shredding Libya, but now there is a Tsunami wall of immigrates breaking across the shores of Southern Europe, and that tidal surge is not receding as it pushes the flotsom and jetsom into Northern Europe. Great job there too. Bomb the hell out of everything and da*n the consequences including collateral damage. Ever wonder why old people get cynical? Live long enough and you'll figure it out, well, unless your born with a silver spoon embedded in your posterior at birth.

This was during my era. How about if you're under 53, don't bother to comment. You weren't their unless you lied to join the military. I'm a vet. That doesn't mean we bought the propaganda.