chang1

That's like claiming car seat belts don't work when worn by rear seat passengers so why bother using them as they don't stop people dying in car crashes. No vaccine, ever made, stops you getting or transmitting the disease so no vaccine has ever worked. Now do you understand how ignorant your claim is. All widely used vaccines do work as intended although some are better than others at reducing the effects and transmission of various strains of covid. If people don't want to get vaccinated I am not too worried as long as they are taking other precautions to reduce the chances of catching and spreading covid. What I hate is when BS claims are used to justify their views. Why don't they just tell the truth? If someone is scared of some, as yet unknown, side effects then just say that - we all are. The difference is most people have the courage to put others first and realise there is a chance of dying from covid. And as for seat belts - I always encourage all passengers to wear a belt as they do work - AS INTENDED.

Not sure that is a good base to judge ignorance. I have heard them call each other N****r many times on different forms of media but it is definitely off limits for anyone else to use. I would expect the reverse could also be true. If white is OK for us, why is black so offensive to them? I am guessing any label that can easily integrated into a derogatory chant is out. Hence the move to labels with multiple words like "people of colour". I would like to get some input from a person of colour who understands the issues that I need to know about.

Take another look at the chart. The bottom scale is in days not months. Why is cases doubling every 2 or 3 days not worrying to you? I doubt it will keep up that rate and will almost certainly be a lot slower in warm countries but it will spread. We are all being told to get a third dose before the end of the month if it is more than 3 months since our second dose. That's around a million a day. The queues at vaccination centres are huge. Luckily I got mine last week (as well as the flu jab) and am still suffering. The gift from China that keeps on giving.

Same here in the UK. In a situation like this I guess it is used as they all had the same skin colour but were from several different countries so easier to describe them. I expect if they were all European then they would have been called farang instead. Maybe the important question is "should their race or nationality" be mentioned at all? The PC crowd will say no, we are all the same and in their next breath say we should celebrate diversity. I think knowing the race of people is important as it can be used to build a picture of the culture they come from and bring with them. Ask yourself "would you prefer neighbours from Canada or Nigeria? Then try telling me you're not racist. I was brought up in almost entirely white British areas so knew and understand the people and culture around me. Only in the last 15 or so years have foreigners been noticeable where I live. For many years i have been subjected to the PC crowd telling me how wonderful foreigners are and I should accept them into my community and all will be wonderful. Those people were brought up in places like London surrounded by immigrants so don't have a clue what it is like to live in an almost immigrant free environment. I loved it, the sense of belonging and at ease with those around me has now long gone. My son goes to a school where around 30% are immigrants. Notices are in several languages and every skin colour is represented. Every factory I go to is the same. Do I like it? Not at all. The constant bombardment of pro immigrant propaganda makes me feel like I am living in a foreign country where I have to do what they want instead of what we want. I voted to leave Europe hoping all the Europeans would go back when their work was done but no, they were all given the right to stay for life. We are being invaded by people from every failed middle East and African state who can't get the same easy life and respect in France. This tide can never be turned back and my son will never know what it is like to be truly British so will never understand what he is missing. I hope he will embrace multiculturalism in a way I never can in my home country. It is not that I don't get on with foreigners as I do and love travelling and interacting with other cultures but it was always nice to go to my homeland. So to all those who criticise Thais for being xenophobic - put yourself in their place. Some immigration involving quality immigrants is good, I have always enjoyed Chinese and Indian food but mass immigration is not good. If we do eventually end up living in Thailand I will live by their rules and certainly would never have a problem with being called a farang. If a group of farangs are misbehaving I won't worry about their label but will cringe that I will be associated with them. And if enough of my race upsets Thais so much that we are asked to leave, off we go. It's their country and I am nothing more than a visitor, free to leave at any time (although I have shown some commitment by marrying a Thai and our son is Thai). I just wish they would take road safety seriously though.

Totally agree with everything you are saying. Another big problem, often overlooked, is the harm to children caused by locking up their fathers. This deprives them of a father figure and often pushes the family into poverty. Unfortunately politicians need to see results well before the next election and relaxing drug laws will make things worse not better. It may take 10 years before the general public sees that it is working - long after the person who brought it in has gone and their party stained with bad publicity from when drug issues had peaked. Portugal has shown it can be done so a reasonable and proven case can be made - would the public go for it?

Is "people of colour" any better? What words would you accept?

At the moment, Omicron cases are doubling every 2 to 3 days, in the UK. It may seem insignificant now but it will soon be very serious especially for many anti vaxers. Over 30% here have not had any vaccines at all yet, hence the big push for vaccines going on right now. If it keeps going at this rate (unlikely) everyone in the UK will have had it by the end of January. On Sunday there were around 1250 new cases of Omicron in the UK. 12 - 1250 - around the 12th Dec. 15 - 2500 18 - 5000 21 - 10000 24 - 20000 27 - 50000 30 - 100000 2 - 200000 5 - 400000 8 - 800000 11 - 1.6M 14 - 3.2M 17 - 6.4M 20 - 12.8M 23 - 25.6M 27 - 51.2M 30 Jan - everyone in the UK See chart from https://www.google.com/amp/s/inews.co.uk/news/health/omicron-cases-uk-map-how-many-where-covid-variant-surge-london-east-midlands-latest-1349649/amp

Why on earth would you be offended by having a label like black, white, Asian, European etc. If a group of dark skinned people called me a honky to my face I would not be bothered at all - not that I have heard Honky used for a long time, just an example. If that is how they normally refer to white people amongst themselves then why not use it when talking to me? People are far too easily offended by unimportant words. Context and attitude are what's important not the label. "Hey Honky, how's it going " is fine. "What are you doing in here Honky?" Is not good and it wouldn't make any difference if the label Honky was included or not.

Thanks, just done some research and Portugal seems to have a good approach - .https://transformdrugs.org/blog/drug-decriminalisation-in-portugal-setting-the-record-straight As suggested in one of my previous posts they are not prosecuting users as much and instead treating drugs as a health problem. Although this is a much better way forward it still has not ended their war on drugs but keeping people out of prison who are only there for popping a few pills or injecting stuff in their own arms has to be good. However there still needs to be a "stick" available to dissuade the dealers which I presume is why Portugal still has many people in prison for drug related offences. Drugs are still illegal there just people are not being convicted for them the same as before. It would be interesting to find out how this approach works with different cultures and the differing availability of education resources. Scotland needs to try something different as their drug death rate is one of, if not the worst in Europe. Unfortunately I can't see Thailand trying anything like that under the present regime.

Strange how people get worked up over describing skin colour unless it is white. Just imagine if I was offended by people saying I have white skin. Why does racism only matter one way when light skinned people are involved. Like everyone I am racist but I am not prejudiced which, to me, is far more serious. If, as in this case, you have an idea of the races involved you can start to understand how the cultures of these individuals changes the context of what happened here.

Where is the irony? From my post - "If your drug of choice doesn't cause you to affect other people in any way and you have it under control then I see little point in taking any action against you but as soon as you start a car engine or forget to feed your kid then you deserve all you get" This clearly shows I don't have a problem with drugs, such as alcohol, when used responsibly.

Totally agree. Crime around drugs is if anything the bigger problem.

I didn't know all drugs are completely legal in Portugal. They kept that secret well. As for the education and other help, I agree, these interventions are extremely important in the war against drugs.

The war never can be won as there will always be someone craving some sort of drug. Easy to say the war has failed but what is your foolproof solution that will save lives?

Pointless war? So drugs of all kinds are totally safe and should be freely available to anyone who wants them? People should be allowed to give school kids whatever they want to get them hooked? Just look at the harm legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco cause. Personally I don't care if someone wants to ruin their lives with drugs but unfortunately it's not just the users who suffer. Families, road users, work colleagues, hospital and first responders are just some of those that get impacted. The war will never be won as there will always be weak people needing a high and low life's willing to supply drugs no matter how risky. Better education and more emphasis on the effects of drugs on other people may help. Things like 10 year driving bans for those found driving with illegal drugs. People who neglect their children or commit crimes due to drugs should be forced to go cold turkey and then get help to stay off them. Fines and prisons are certainly not much of a deterrent. If your drug of choice doesn't cause you to affect other people in any way and you have it under control then I see little point in taking any action against you but as soon as you start a car engine or forget to feed your kid then you deserve all you get. Joe deserves to loose all his wealth and spend at least 20 years locked up. As for his subordinates, they are probably too scared to stand up against the system but still need to spend a good time behind bars. As for the victim, if he was involved with the drug trade, I am not too worried about him and his death will send out a warning signal to others. You may think the war is pointless but I would much rather police were stopping scumbags giving my kid drugs through the school railings than me having to stop them.

Wonder if the Thais, he was in contact with, get the same kind of bills.

Totally agree. I could not understand why we allowed any international travel after it was clear how infectious it is. I assumed the boffins had said "it's too late already" to the politicians. Unfortunately that was not the case, the boffins believed the ccp and the who when they said it was not serious even though Wuhan had already been locked down. At least the world is starting to wake up to how awful the ccp is even if non of the politicians have any balls to say it apart from in Australia and of course Trump (one of the few things I can agree with him).

Sounds painful!

If someone dies from a vaccine what would their outcome be if they had not been vaccinated and actually contracted covid?

So you want them to be last on the delivery list again? The UK ordered something like 300 million shots from various companies before any had produced a single working vaccine. A gamble that paid off. No-one knows which vaccines will work with as yet unknown strains. Or which companies will be able to deliver them quickly. Thailand is only talking so when it gets down to costs, who knows what will actually get ordered and when it will arrive - if any.

Strange how the people with all the facts, all around the world, keep quiet yet a few youtubers without proper qualifications or doing any actual medical trials can convince people that vaccines are bad. A bit like those who say there is a wonderful man in the sky who loves you and looks after you if you believe in him without the slightest bit of evidence, yet millions fall for it. Why do some people believe the unbelievable without any evidence instead of what has been proven beyond doubt by clever people?

So how do you remove a government that has rigged the system to stay in power?

There are.....definitely

If only it was just idiots who pray. You are deluded if you think you are immune. No-one knows how their body will react. Take all the precautions you want but given enough time you will get covid. Even vaccinated people can die as a colleague of a friend did a few weeks ago. Just remember it is not just your life you are gambling with as you could end up killing a nurse or doctor who treats you if things go bad. Earlier this year I was working in our local hospitals mortuary. The constant stream of bodies coming and going was a real eye opener. The difference between then and 2 months ago was amazing. All back to normal and the temporary storage units all on standby. If your young and healthy the odds are in your favour but certainly not a guarantee.

And you keep praying you don't get covid.