Rumfoord

Cambodian political forces have played off Thai forces and Vietnamese forces against internal forces for centuries. They are masters of intrigue and betrayal. Pol Pot purged the majority of his closest aides over the years without blinking an eye. Hun Sen would also have no scruples about purging Thaksin once he was no longer needed or perceived as a nuisance or threat. At the same time, I hate to think about what kind of economic advise Thaksin is likely to hand out. To expats living in Thailand he is best remembered for closing down the foreigners' favourite entertainment venues and hours of operation and making it increasingly difficult to live in the Kingdom unless you could afford to buy a condo and spend your days golfing at the various private clubs that popped up around that time.

I was wondering when someone would bring up Thaksin's efforts to purge Thailand of farangs from Australia, NZ, SA, Canada, the U.S. & Europe. Thaksin hate anyone who was White. If he were still in power it would be very difficult for any of us to live in Thailand. I'm sure he would invite all the Chinese that had any money to settle here. Was it Thaksin that put in this stupid law - surely the most stupid law in place of any country in the world - that alcohol cannot be purchased between the evening hours of 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.? That and censoring on TV a person putting a cigarette to their mouthes. I was in Pattaya when he was overthrown in 2006. That was one of the happiest days of my life. A man that hates me simply because of my skin color, I have no use for. To those farangs who praise that crook, look back and remember just how much he hated you and wanted you out of Thailand.

I imagine Governor Huckabee was actually referring to incidents such as this one:

http://www.snopes.com/photos/politics/mexicoflag.asp

This particular incident was in 1996, but it would qualify under my definition of..."If you don't like the US, go back home."

i didn't read the full story at snopes, but wasn't California part of Mexico just 150 years ago. in this case, who should go home where?

The illegal aliens should go home.

Mexico owned the southwest, Alaska was owned by Russia, France owned the Louisiana territories and England and Spain owned most of the eastern seaboard of the US.

Mexico was previously owned by Spain.

Should the illegal alien Mexicans go to Spain or Mexico?

the questions is what makes the other 'aliens' legal? no alien should be illegal anywhere.

remember that singer who had the sticker that said This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his guitar.

he sang the famous song, full of a spirit, next to killing fascists, Americans are loved for:

As I went walking I saw a sign there

And on the sign it said "No Trespassing."

But on the other side it didn't say nothing,

That side was made for you and me.

Nobody living can ever stop me,

As I go walking that freedom highway;

Nobody living can ever make me turn back

This land was made for you and me.

Maybe "disadvantaged". I read this story propping up the word "disabled" and I get the picture of a bunch of cripples, blind bats and retards crawling around property gates like some zombie movie. Doesn't look much different than a stroll down Walking Street!

Maybe look in a mirror and see a picture of a bigot. Disparaging people with disabilities in the way you have is not polite at all anywhere.

some kind of disabilities are hard to tell if you just look at the physical appearance of the body. but easy to detect if they start to talk or write in a forum, recognisable except for themselves. some of them travel around the globe to visit waking street.

is there are polite way at all anywhere to disparaging these people?

after playing few rounds of the online game 'hold the Button' at http://www.holdthebutton.com/ is watching the panda channel a welcome change in pace. (or the other way around)

Any Thai journalist will tell you that under Thaksin the press was intimidated by withdrawal of advertising, both private, AIS, Shincorp and government agencies during Thaksin's tenure. In addition every TV programme on free TV that criticised Thaksin was removed. Who can forget his stupid lollipop signs ( negative question) to the press corps?

Today Abhisit and the media are best friends.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Pm-Abhisit-L...tv-t309765.html

I imagine Governor Huckabee was actually referring to incidents such as this one:

http://www.snopes.com/photos/politics/mexicoflag.asp

This particular incident was in 1996, but it would qualify under my definition of..."If you don't like the US, go back home."

i didn't read the full story at snopes, but wasn't California part of Mexico just 150 years ago. in this case, who should go home where?

^ Drunk posting doesn't add much to the discussion.

My point being, for those not sober enough to recognize it, is that even if quality of the local formal print media is lacking, the reader knows who the author is.

For all anyone knows, thailandjumpedtheshark is Noppadon and *ink is Jakrapob. Would that be information worthwhile knowing when considering what they are blogging?

Just because Johnny Nobody knows who exactly is the author, doesn't mean we should ignore the text at all.

some argue that the author's intention is not important. look at the text. analyse the content. readers can think for themselves.

further reading:

Roland Barthes: The Death of the Author.

the text is online in the web archive of the Aspen magazine. http://www.ubu.com/aspen/aspen5and6/threeEssays.html#barthes

Who exactly is: thailandjumpedtheshark ?

Am I to presume nobody knows who exactly is thailandjumpedtheshark?

Who exactly is the author of this blog: *ink ?

Who exactly is Bangkok Pundit?

Johnny Nobody knows. Johnny Nobody cares.

Johnny Nobody knows who exactly is KHarrelson.

OMG, evil noises. Is it like when you play that Beatles song backwards and it says Paul is dead?

OMG, Paul is dead?

I vote jimthing personally calls Huckerbee and gets this clarified in a personal interview.

I tried to post on his "free speech" feedback board at his website and they did not allow the comment (he's only interested in people who agree with him).

how about to send this Huckerbee a personal e-mail and tell him that you would put him on Ignore which means you will never respond with a feed back ever again on his "free speech" board. but even if you do that what you don't do ever again you will still watch his show, and if there is anything that deserve to open a new topic on the bahtbusland forum, you will still open a new topic and reports his misbehaviour to the community of the bahtbusland forum.

best way will be to send him 3-4 of such e-mails at an half hour interval. maybe he laugh himself to death while reading them.

Didn't like 10,000 disabled people break into government house last year? Well, they were mentally disabled, in the least, but, enabled by brainwashing and greed

Hi EPlus

Are you sure PAD broke into Government House??.............................

to let mentally disabled people taking over the government house is a common trait of the so called advanced democracies. it is the main proof that system market economy still has a strong social streak. the mentally challenged, morons, who wouldn't get are job elsewhere in the private sector, can start a career in politics and become the muttonheads of the government. it perfectly works out in an open society if you don't give them to much power and don't let them interfere in everyones daily business. essential is also to tease them with election from time to time, otherwise they develop an attention deficit disorder and unwarranted self-importance syndrome.

to get the proof for that and also answer your question make a probe, here on TVforum, the webboard for an international expat community, members from all over the world, from many different countries.

now check, how many of them open a topic about the domestic political issues back in their home country, praising us their Prime Minister or telling us stories about what they watched last night in the domestic TV channel that runs the propaganda for the opposition, and than bitch about that opposition Channel and claiming to be smarter than FOX news?

you see that from French, Irish, Mexican, Canadian, Brasilian, Spaniards, Italian, Russian, Japanese, Swedes, Poles, Egyptian and so on?

No, but many of these members from all over the world might very well start a thread about American politics or Barack Obama even though they would not start one about their own country.

That is because, at the moment, what happens in the the U.S. is important to the whole world just like back when England used to rule the world and the waves.

Some people like America and some rather have China or Russia in charge and someday they may get their wish, but bitching about people's interest in the U.S. just makes one look the fool. There is a reason that they call the American President the leader of the free world - that is pretty much what he is whether you like it, or not.

the Obama thing wasn't the big issue here, but some side show.

so according to jingthong, he listen to some commentator on a TV channel, back home in USofAland, a TV channel of questionable reputation and the commentator is a dummkopf anyway (according to jingthong). so long, nobody would care about what happen on that show, but then this TV buffoon dared to judge 'people who leave America as the most heinous kind of unpatriotic types.' (according to jingthing) but still a thing nobody would give a sh*t about.

nobody?, not real, there is one true partriot abroad, in Bahtbusland, he isn't unpatriotic like the dummkopf on the TV channel said.

so that patriotic US.american goes to the Bahtbusland forum, an international community of bahtbuslandriders and ask the others if they have similar seizure disorders of being a patriot.

my guess is not, nobody else, who comes from other country does something like this here, not really.

the other issue is the idea that the USofA as the leading nation of the free world, that is what US-Americans think of themselves.

others might see it as unwarranted self-importance, us- american hubris - that is pretty much what it is whether you like it, or not.

perpetual bragging and telling everybody that your are the BOSS and your are the MAN, and never question yourself if your really get everything right, this way you don't make much friends in an international circle.

and when members of other nations open here a new thread about the USofA it is probably not to praise the USofA as the leader of the free world, right?

"The highest treason in the USA is to say Americans are not loved, no matter where they are, no matter what they are doing there." Kurt Vonnegut in A Man Without a Country. (2005).

and that is exactly your issue here.

Actually, I can say with full confidence that is most definitely NOT what this topic is about. At all! Next ...

erm, isn't that your point and defence line against a 'false accusation'? the question about to love America or not.

according to you this patriot at the FOX channel rant about US-Americans who had left the country, "demonize people who leave America as the most heinous kind of unpatriotic types. " accuse them not be the wholehearted patriots, not to love their country, be unpatriotic. right, that is your problem?

you get agited and rant against FOX, because such statement is untrue, you totally burst out of full love for your country. right?

"Leaving doesn't usually mean we are more or less patriotic than our less adventurous brothers who stay home and it doesn't always mean we won't be back someday."

your defense and argument is that you not hate America, like falsely accused by nationalistic dimwits.

somewhat said to you: 'hey jingthong, you left america with a one way ticket, so i must assume you don't love our great nation' you could give a sh*t about, but being an American like in the Vonnegut quote above you go crazy, because he accused you of what you see yourself as the worst offence - not to love US-America.

and now you diss me, because i obviously not love the silly way like you and other us-americans love their country.

Rumfoord>> You are correct that there might be those that never wish to do any operations to fully alter their gender. I however don't know anyone that don't wish to have or wished they could had. So I cannot give any number regarding ratio...do you know?

it isn't so easy explainable with some statistics.

i have an approach that is based on the theories that came from the field of gender studies and sees gender as social construct. in short, my point is that it isn't about to become a woman. and that the post-op thingy isn't the norm or a 'standard'. that is just another very narrow social construtions, categories that not explain the inbetweens and the whole thing.

it would take to much time to explain it in full length, particularly i don't know your background, or your approach on this.

changes are high that we talk about the same subject in a different "language" (and both can be reasonable) using the same term, but having a different definition for it (and both can be reasonable).

awhile ago there was in the general forum a discussion about the third gender. you can read it here http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Sex-t287142.html

everybody was talking and arguing with a different approach and misunderstood each other. if you want to know what is my opinion about it, you can read it there.

beforehand i would had to spend a lot time to explain my definitions, like for example what means post-OP or non_OP. i didn't exclude any operation at all. but meant only that surgical modification that transformed the penis into something that reassembled what looks more like a vagina. but without takeing time for such a detailed definition what i meant with non-op, other will exploit it and run straw man atacks, telling me that there are of course OP's, like breast augmentation and what ever.

to have a successful communication we would have to make clear what means 'gender', 'sex', 'third gender' transgender', 'Kathoey', 'ladyboy' and so on at all or how is our definition of them when we use these terms in our argumentation.

but here an these forum, after thoses pre textes are set, explained and defined, long entries typed and published in an entry, the OFF_TOPIC police would show up and delete f*cking everything because it is to long to read and worst of all i committed the crime to mention linguistics. so in don't start a long discussion here. waste of time. secondly, the 'third gender' it isn't a topic where i have big personal interests in, but it is good to demonstrate on example the common nature of logical fallacies, errors of reasoning, misconceptions of the" right" and" true", 'false' definitions, prejudice, ignorance towards different cultural concepts and contexts.

but going back to your question about a ratio

disclaimer: what follows is not a scientific method, but maybe a insight in the issue that perception or the conception what a certain term actually mean vary a lot.

so concerning a ratio, do a google image search, family safe search off, and look up for the term ladyboy . you will see naked people, don't be offended. look at them like a medic would look at his patient or an anthropologist at the artefacts of a culture he studies.

i know that will not answer your question, nor is the ratio of non-op that will show up in the search results my direct answer. that is just a coincidence. it is also not exemplary for the transgender complex.

i am confused, isn't that exactly the reasons why men go to the gym? to met others gays? everybody knows that.

what topic comes next?: I went to Thailand, but its full of Asians and non of them knows how to make a proper burrito?

aren't you just pissed off that the right winger are the same patriots like the patriot you are? (they just don't get it right and you don't like them.)

but there is actually no difference between you and them, you are same same.

right winger or obama supporter, over-enthusiastic flag waving or not, all of them love their country and are addicted to the same TV show: "The President and his dog". from time to time they switch the TV channel where the show will be hosted, selected by public vote, and also the leading actor in that show can get exchanged. meanwhile the two main candidates looking for outsiders nearly the same, hard to tell the difference (think pepsi vs. coke, or Carringtons (Dynasty) vs. Ewings(Dallas)) their respective supporters bitch and slur each other as 'commie' or 'KKK.', silly. they all are right wingers, even if one group declare themselves as 'liberals'. it is a fallacy to assume that would change a lot or make a big difference.

US-american hubris is a trait that is common for all US-americans. and that is a phenomenon that you cannot find in this extreme in other Nations.

to get the proof for that and also answer your question make a probe, here on TVforum, the webboard for an international expat community, members from all over the world, from many different countries.

now check, how many of them open a topic about the domestic political issues back in their home country, praising us their Prime Minister or telling us stories about what they watched last night in the domestic TV channel that runs the propaganda for the opposition, and than bitch about that opposition Channel and claiming to be smarter than FOX news?

you see that from French, Irish, Mexican, Canadian, Brasilian, Spaniards, Italian, Russian, Japanese, Swedes, Poles, Egyptian and so on?

during the bush years, i met many US-Americans who said: we are so sorry, please accept our apologies for double-u bush. i said, no reason the say sorry, we can keep politics out, left nationalism behind us, we met here abroad, we are out to explore the world to learn about other cultures, to learn new languages, i know Hannah Arendt's praise for the American constitution and i know there are many US-Americans that are not like Bush.

but now things have changed and i understand their 'i am sorry' better. they pity themselves that they could not brag about the USofA, for obvious reasons. now the idea that the USofA is the leading nation and destined to spread its unique gifts of democracy all over the world is back. the do-betters singing the same song, the same old melody. "California Über Alles 21. century reprise". there wasn't so much change at all.

"The highest treason in the USA is to say Americans are not loved, no matter where they are, no matter what they are doing there." Kurt Vonnegut in A Man Without a Country. (2005).

and that is exactly your issue here.

As for contests. What if they had a contest for who was the most attractive poodle look-alike? If the prize money and glamor were enticing enough, hundreds, maybe thousands of Thais would get the surgery, hair transplants, (and hormones?) for the make-over.

guess what is the price you have won with your line above?

These girls get the best of both worlds....all the stuff that goes along with being a beauty queen and they can still stand up and take a slash.....awesome!

They are most likely all post-ops, so no they don't stand up to pee and for the untrained eye they look as complete women, even naked...

TAWP, I respect you level of Thailand experience and of course if you've had the chance to view some of these beauties naked, well errr, up to you. However, your assumption that most of these Ladyboys are post-ops, is mostly incorrect. Sure, some of them are post-op, but the majority or far more than half of them are pre-op. How do I know, as I have previously stated, I have a couple of Katoeys in the extended family & I have been fortunate enough to meet some of their friends that were on the beauty pagent run, I live in the captial of the Katoey and many locals here have been finalist in that competition, amoungst the many competition for katoey that go on around thailand. I cant speak for this year, but the previous two years, the majority of those ladyboy were pre-op LB.

hi, kudos to your level of tolerance, understanding and acceptance of that gender issue.

but i would like to ad that a term like pre-op is incorrect or not the best choice of words to descibe it. the prefix pre- indicates a not ready yet, not done yet and sets the full surgically modfied body as the norm.

but there are lot of gender bender, 'katoeys or ladyboys, (or whatever term is used) that don't have that OP, and it is not a question of time. or not done yet, but they will never do it. they don't want to become a full woman, but something in between those traditional gender roles. the third gender, in the first line not- men how far they go down the road to become a woman is another issue.

maybe post-op vs. non-op would be the better choice of words. or full-op vs. non-op.

Haven't been to LOS for quite a while so can't comment, but, other post on other topics would suggest that it is still very reasonable.

South Africa? LP is kidding surely. Cousin of mine just returned from 4 weeks seeing old friends. She lived there for 28 years. Rape capital of the world (good value?).

It's STILL a "time bomb so what's new", to quote from today's email (value?).

South Korea? They eat dog there. Good value? Who gives a shoot.

Mexico? Super dodgy household electrics. Who gives a shoot?

Iceland? So the ladies are friendlier, are they, than in times past? Cold, barren. Who gives a ........?

India? OMG. Never been there, but how could it be other than filthy and smelly and chockers with child exploitation? Value? Who gives a ........?

London? Don't know how ordinary tourists manage there frankly. A friend recently returned with 'horrific' stories of the cost of a coffee, piece of cake etcetera. Great place if you like the cold winters (some don't mind I'm told).

Where else? Who gives a ........

Back in the west we saw the same thing happen. One of the biggest failures of the womens liberation struggle was that women also started taking up the bad habits, like smoking en masse. Ti the point that in my home-country the number of female smokers out-size the headcount of males smoking and ratio of smokers vs non-smokers in the gender!

How did the yesterdays male chauvinism redefined feminism?

woman are biologically superior to men.

don't be afraid boys, even if the article is only concerned about the health of female smokers. that is not a sign that the feminists have taken over and the the male gender doomed and forgotten. but it indicates that it is still a Man's, Man's, Man's World.

I like this guy already, even if he is a midget. lol. Who said I am soaked up in any cultural heritage? Just because I can state what goes on in my home country that automatically sets the stage for me being some ultra-patriot to the USA?

You are a funny guy and I would love to keep on peddling this infantile subject. But it seems like it is getting off track with this bickering. Good day and good luck.

i meant the other cowboy, erm bullboy, bullbrain. but you get it right, there isn't much of any cultural heritage you could be soaked up. just these 'i drive my car home' logic, that seems to be for you and other a convincing explanation and evidence that another (assumed to be) white man just had taken back what a Thai women stole from him.

To me, Thaksin has been the best PM Thailand has ever had. /.../

In addition, he was elected by the people. Even if he paid for votes and got elected in that manner it is still better than an appointed PM. The fact that he was publically elected, whether corrupt or not, means that over the next 20 years or so political parties will become better and stronger in Thailand. Competition will increase for better politicians and better political parties. Election fraud can and will be dealt with if elections become the norm.

Wait, you are saying that Thaksin was elected but that Abhisit was appointed? And you expect anyone to listen to your opinion, when you clearly have no respect for facts or understanding of the election process?

Yeah, that'll happen...

Respect for facts? So you've forgotten about the "silent coup" already?

Here is a clue: just because you call a carrot a tomato does not turn the carrot into a tomato.

Again, if you want to argue facts, do so. But your assertions are just silly and misinformed.

The Wall Street Journal, not your typical yellow pumpkin and green cucumber paper for the silly and misinformed, wrote:

Was I a dick for doing this or would other guys have done the same thing?

my guess is that the board and its members need pictures of the 8 girls to answer that question.

what is actually a Caucasian?

Not easily defined. At its most inclusive, a member of a population with hair oval in cross-section and arising from the Northern Hemisphere (i.e. excluding Australian Aborigines). The inclusion of the peoples of the Horn of Africa and southern India is debatable, as is the border in Central Asia.

Oval hair is probably a shared innovation rather than an ancestral characteristic of Caucasians - just as thick straight hair seems to be an innovation within the Mongoloid race, apparently an even shakier concept.

???

is this about selling natural hair for wigs or hair extentions?

i really would like to know what or who Caucasian is?