The week that was in Thailand news: Exercising my democratic right - to say it like it is!

[rooster59]

The week that was in Thailand news: Exercising my democratic right - to say it like it is!

 

 

Since a young age I have been very interested in politics. But I have never voted for anybody. I figured even as a teen that people who want power could not possibly be the people I desired to lead me. So I stayed home, got a large box of Maltesers and made some piping hot tea and sat up to enjoy the election results as they came in.

 

As the BBC's Robin Day with his swing-o-meter predicted the outcome I could pretend I was a closet anarchist as I guzzled hot Rosy and chocolate to my heart's content.

 

Fast-forward four decades. When the Brexit vote dawned in June 2016 I had already been living in Thailand more than 30 years. I cared about the outcome as this was an important matter that would have long lasting implications. It was not the election of a person and couldn't result in a hung parliament. This was for keeps. But even if I could have been bothered going through the rigmarole of seeing if I was still on a register I still wouldn't have voted. That was because the result was a foregone conclusion.

 

I mean who in their right mind would vote to leave the European Union. No way.....

 

I'd always been a betting man. Just not in Thailand, of course....I had the Sporting Life delivered when I was 15 and bet far more than my salary as a cub reporter in South London. It taught me a lot especially about maths, human nature and of course losing.

 

I count myself lucky that I didn't send that email asking my UK based son to put all my London bank funds on a Remain vote at odds of about 1-10. Something was gnawing at the back of my mind to stop me and I couldn't exactly put my finger on it. I narrowly avoided supporting Hilary with my hard earned cash too. I'd won on the Scottish referendum - but only just. Maybe the butterflies when that result looked in doubt were holding me back. 

 

Now my betting days are over. Not only am I completely unable to predict the outcomes of football matches and horse races but I seem unable to read politics either. If only I could bet on the exact moment Mrs Rooster will have another go at me for letting rip. I could predict that. 

 

Earlier this week another thing I felt sure I might have been able to get right was the selection of the next Thai PM. The only problem would have been winning five baht for an outlay of a million. That would not have got the baby bathed.

 

What a farce it has been...the biggest foregone conclusion since I saw Shergar rounding Tattenham Corner and began counting my readies three furlongs from home. 

 

Prayut - Uncle Big Too to his mates of which I am not one - trotted up on Thursday in the "PM Stakes" with an off time of 9 pm. Not under Walter Swinburn but under the weight of his own expectations. As he waved to the crowds and took the congratulations of his peers (all shamelessly scrabbling for his favor in the fading limelight) it marked another pitiful moment in Thai politics. 

 

This was not a new beginning. Not what a great deal of the population had been hoping for. This was a confirmation that the old guard still ruled. Unwanted reassurance that the status quo still prevailed. And that political shenanigans of the most disgraceful and blatant kind are still alive and kicking in a land that democracy has largely forgotten.

 

The foregone conclusion was decided a long time ago when the military government secured the right to appoint the senate with its 250 votes. The margin of victory was 500 - 244. Most of the Bhumjai "Let's have a spliff" Party and the Democrat "Let's get into bed with anyone as we were obliterated at the polls" Party voted for Uncle. Of course they did. How else could they snuffle at the trough...I mean top table, sir. 

 

Whether money did change hands, I doubt. It didn't really have to. Future Forward's Thanathorn Juangroonruangkit was never going to win. Even if the voting chamber had burnt down and he was the only one left standing outside they would have found a way to bar him. In betting parlance he really was 500-1 bar. 

 

In Thailand if you'd have believed he would win make that "bar bar, bor bor".

 

Now the people must wait again. Whether they will take to the streets like they did in 1992 when a general hung shockingly to power remains to be seen. Frankly I doubt it. Though Thailand is gripped by rising prices and more than a fair degree of economic uncertainty many will remember the violence and political turmoil of the early years of this current decade. Many, including Rooster tired of barricades and burning, welcomed the junta to the lawless streets of Krung Thep. 

 

But they have outstayed their welcome. Now it also remains to be seen if Prayut is really changing his khaki underpants for a pin-striped pair. He claims to be a civilian these days but many will be waiting to attack him as he barks out his latest un-civil orders. As the Thais say - a tiger will not forget his stripes. And he won't forget the stripes and other insignia of people who allowed him to continue where he is today. 

 

(Regular readers perhaps taken aback by my depressing, even mirthless tone this week must understand how one feels when one's beloveds concede a penalty after 27 seconds that ends with people dressed in Red raising a Silver thing over their heads. Not to mention a country that I still love perhaps having to wait another fifty years to even be in a final...)

 

Deep breath....continue! Draw inspiration and mirth from the failure of the police to find prostitution in Walking Street and that dildos in Nana represented an issue of national security.....

 

Aforesaid Big Too looked as pompous and bloated this week as Big Toupee in London. There the POTUS (post your own acronym in comments) was twice the size of his host Liz Windsor but somehow half her stature. The blimp of a crying bediapered baby floating above Westminster looked more sane, more real. The two-faced British government lavished their stately reception on Drumph under the guise of commemorating those who took part in the D-Day landings. 

 

Many of those would be turning in their graves wondering if this was the democracy for which they so valiantly gave their lives. And next week they might also look down from their place on High and see all and sundry sign the latest arms deal with the Saudis. Nothing changes.

 

Fortunately for Rooster - as a mere resident of the kingdom - I was never given a vote. Not, as I have already said, that I would have used it. I've thought of upgrading to being a citizen in the past but was never convinced it actually was an upgrade. I've already been saddled with one nationality by reason of my birth and it might be better to stop while I'm behind.

 

Fortunately, too, there was much more surprising if rather grim news to liven up Rooster's translation desk this week. Who needed politics as Facebook video murders, robberies, thefts and all manner of tragic deaths and savage beatings kept us occupied. And if some posters on the hallowed pages of Thaivisa are to be believed....thoroughly entertained.

 

There we have today's news in a nutshell. There is far less reason to inform and far more just to entertain. Like your average TOEFL-er treading the teaching boards of Thailand, this is what us proud journos have become!

 

Chief UGH story of the week had to be the "mia luang" (main wife) in Chacherngsao. Her philandering husband had decided to install one of his "mia nois" (mistresses) in the house next door. Rather than take herself and her son away from this man she said goodbye to mum who thought she was going to a friend to pour out her heart and relieve stress. 

 

Instead she went next door and hanged her two year old then herself from the beam of the house where her rival was soon to move in. The story had a terrible Thai symmetry - the kind of shape that most foreigners can never comprehend. Tragically I completely understand it, a sign that I have been here far too long.

 

Equally understandable - and in its way equally shocking to anyone with a smidgen of humanity was UGH 2 - a newborn infant left in the trash by a mother who already had four kids and couldn't afford a fifth.  After giving birth in the toilets she drove on a motorcycle to the bins with one of her other boys on the back. This is a story where blame is worthless. It is a tragedy. The only glimmer of hope is that the rejected infant can find a new home where he is wanted and where he can achieve his potential. I hope he never finds out what happened to him. 

 

Yes, I am not blaming his mum. Not blaming society. Not blaming the economy. Certainly not blaming Thailand or the Thais. But it made me think. I was a fifth child. My parents had to make enormous sacrifices for me. The night after I read this story I hugged my little daughters all the harder and promised to be a good dad as I read "Jack and the Beanstalk" with a tear in my eye. 

 

"Would you be cross if I sold mummy's buffalo for five beans?" said my six year old. "Of course not",  I said with a tear welling up. "And I know you'd be brave enough to kill the Giant". 

 

Over-stayers this week put a smile on some faces and had others shaking their heads. Nakahara-san up north had been found on a near 19 year overstay. At age 76 I wondered what the future would hold for an aging Japanese man now he is set to be deported. People should follow the visa rules, of course, but the mark of a just and fair society is to be found in how rules can be adjusted, even bent. Being a teacher taught me that.

 

Even the United States have had amnesties for illegal immigrants, have they not?

 

Less sympathy was forthcoming, naturally enough, for a Russian man who tried to cross the border back to Cambodia after altering his passport stamp in pen. "Dimitri" had clearly never watched Little Britain....."The computer says NO!" being one of David Walliams's memorable catchphrases. Dimitri's Thai girlfriend had clearly been saying "Yes" - he apparently lost track of the time in her company!

 

One of several shocking videos of the week came from a snooker hall in Chonburi where a local thug got involved with a player amid the green baize. A shoving match rather than a six-red encounter saw the thug end up on the floor. Cue the pulling of a gun from his middle pocket. 

 

Four shots later and the game was up - all caught on CCTV. It is to be hoped that despite the shooter being a prominent restaurant owner the famous leeway given to miscreants in Chonburi is not enacted in this case. A life sentence please with a little extra for having a gun in a public place for good measure. Let him have a snooker app for his phone as a humanitarian gesture.....

 

The week began with a grisly accident that killed a man and injured 17 at one of Thailand's "Bun Bang Fai" or rocket festivals. A rocket being prepared for launching in Nong Bua Lamphu shot into a crowd. Typically the forum curmudgeons banged on about Bang Fai being another example of the lack of safety in Thailand and a festival that should be banned forthwith. 

 

I couldn't disagree more. I have attended the biggest rocket festival in Thailand at Yasothon many times. In 1999 four people died when a rocket exploded in the crowd just after I'd left with a party of school children. I told my headmaster that never again would I take children but I'd risk it with staff. We both laughed somewhat relieved that the children were safe and somewhat amused that the teachers were expendable.

 

In 2006 I was true to my word and took about 20 staff in two minivans. We were all drunk barely minutes after clearing the school gates on a Friday! On this occasion a huge projectile - called Bang Fai Laan (the million rocket) whistled unexpectedly over the heads of the spectators before destroying a tire repair shop next to a gas station. Somchai was in the loo so all was well. 

 

My point is that to this day I still get Facebook messages from the class of 1999 and the teachers of 2006 about one of the most memorable weekends of their collective lives. All of them. I would advise anyone who has not witnessed a rocket festival to go......just stand well back and hope for the best!

 

Finally, the lack of safety at schools was also to the fore once again in the last seven days. A horrible story emerged of the rape of a kindergarten girl in the toilets. Two boys in the class used straws to penetrate her and an older boy used something else. These facts were deleted from the story that left many posters wondering what had actually transpired. 

 

The aftermath - as always seems to be the case in these stories - was just as ghastly. The school denied everything victimizing the grandparents by suggesting they were defaming their good name and were only in it for the money. When medical report evidence was forthcoming they circled the wagons, offered a paltry financial settlement and tried to browbeat the guardians once again.

 

As usual the fate of the victim in all this was barely mentioned. How I would love to see the day when school directors and negligent teachers - all those that let down the little ones under their care - are removed, jailed and never let anywhere near children again. 

 

I'd vote for that.

 

Rooster

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2019-06-08

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info

[Samui Bodoh]

I have studiously avoided commenting on Thai politics for a while now, mostly because I could see clearly what was coming and was horrified at the thought. However, if Mr R can make a rare comment on things political in the Kingdom, then perhaps I should as well...

 

First, without getting too judge-y, I have to say that those who welcomed the coup in 2014 really need to have a long look in the mirror; you bear a great deal of responsibility for the current situation. Yes, I was in the country and remember well the street battles, etc, but those who welcomed extra-legal means to end that dispute really can't complain later when rules and laws are disregarded again. And, disregarded again they have been.

 

What is the future of the Kingdom? I don't have a definitive answer, but those eagle-eyed members from days gone by will recall my posts saying that either some sort of repeat of 1992 will occur or else there will be a slow deterioration of things in country, Burma-style. Which will occur and how will it play out? I am not sure, but those who believe that the Kingdom's better days lie ahead need a re-think. 

 

A country is a lot like a small business or a family; it is merely bigger and more complex. We have all seen that when a small business has a decent Boss who cares for their staff and provides a fair service for a fair price, the staff follows suit and everyone is happy. When the Boss is a money-grubber who voraciously sucks up every last baht while screwing their staff and customers spreads gloom and unhappiness. The family follows a similar model; when the Father is a good, decent man he usually has good decent kids who are good, decent people. Alternatively, when the Father is a drunk who beats his wife, then it is likely that his sons will drink and beat their wives while his daughters will tolerate a guy who does it to them.

 

The simple fact is that for the last several years, we have seen a group of lying liars who lie and a group of cheating cheaters who cheat. And, we are going to see more of the same. A lot more.

 

Sad, sad times for beloved Thailand.

 

 

[FarFlungFalang]

13 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

What is the future of the Kingdom?

It will I believe remain a Kingdom ruled by a King until the people want it to be a Country ruled by Country members,and I am not a Country member!

[Soi Dog]

I wonder if this qualifies as a happy ending?

[alant]

Good read, thank you.

Anyone know what happens about Article 44 now?

[longklong]

The world's leading democracies are in shambles. Our priority right now should be Stability. It's a bit tiring to read stuff (no matter how well written) from people with a heritage of 200 years of colonisation harping about democracy in the developing countries. Give it time! 

[mfd101]

"Give it time!"

 

How much more would you suggest? always noting that Thailand/Siam was - according to its official ideology - never colonized ...

[lvr181]

19 hours ago, rooster59 said:

the mark of a just and fair society is to be found in how rules can be adjusted, even bent.

In the words attributed to Sir Douglas Bader: "Rules are for the obediance of fools and for the guidance of wise men". (I think I got that right).

 

Of course public servants would totally disagree, me thinks. 

 

An interesting read, again. ????

[kentrot]

Your insights are always an enjoyable read.

BUT -

for the sake of us old guys with poor vision - would you please consider using a DARKER FONT

or at least larger font ?

 

That grey font that thaivisa favours is a strain on my eyes.

 

Thanks

[maxcorrigan]

Wonder if Uncle Tuu will/can keep his blanket amnesty that he will need to protect his fragile ego now he's just a mere civilian! 

[Stevemercer]

People should follow the visa rules, of course, but the mark of a just and fair society is to be found in how rules can be adjusted, even bent. Being a teacher taught me that.

 

Well said.  So many TV contributors would make the current Thai government look positively liberal, benign and freedom loving if they ever had the reigns of power!

[Misterwhisper]

On 6/8/2019 at 5:01 PM, rooster59 said:

I figured even as a teen that people who want power could not possibly be the people I desired to lead me.

Love that statement and only can concur wholeheartedly.

[Lacessit]

My Thai GF is saying Thais are angry. She is predicting Thanathorn will be the next PM. In her opinion, Prayut is a khamoy.

[Mac98]

In response to post asking for bold print to help us older folk with weak eyes:

   Gray print is everywhere in the computer world. It is designed for  and by 12 year olds. Notice every device is gray on black? It takes a flashlight to see numbers or print on a DVD player or television. Direct sunlight is needed to decifer the buttons on a remote. But on my Kindle keyboard there are white numbers on a black background. Amazing! Who came up with that fantastic idea? 

[NRGF]

Expats of more than fifteen years loose all voting rights.

There are about 5.5million British expats, if we had been given the right to vote it may have well changed the end result.

[Janner1]

On 6/8/2019 at 11:01 AM, rooster59 said:

I mean who in their right mind would vote to leave the European Union. No way....

It beggars belief that people who desert their home country to become ex-pats feel that it is their right to pontificate about the actions and will of patriotic people who have remained in the country of birth, worked extremely hard, paid all taxes levied upon them, made all of the national health contributions required of them for the benefit of others including said ex-pats, and who voted for Brexit because they wanted to take back their country from the 23 unelected and unaccountable dictators who run the EEC.

 

We have SUFFERED wildly stupid rules, regulations and inappropriate laws that have only benefitted politicians  and the 23 mentioned.

 

We have had to deal with ever rising taxes, costs and charges levied throughout Europe and as a direct result of this Europe has seen it’s culture disappear.

 

It was always a wonderful experience to go to the local coffee shop in Spain or Portugal and sup one of the finest cups of espresso along with a small nip of the local brandy, but try doing it it now! The best you can get now it a cup of low grade muck in espresso form because the taxes levied has forced businesses to cut corners and drop standards.

 

Just look around you Rooster because as a result of ASEAN this is happening slowly for the moment in Thailand but it will become ever faster until the mainstay culture “Street Food “of this lovely country is gone in the same way that the high quality low price restaurants of the said two countries has gone.

Sadly the Thai people have yet to realise this but when they do it will be a bombshell and too late.

 

Great Britain was reluctantly given the opportunity to redress this travesty which we did and with great gladness at the outcome I am more than happy to say I am one of those who voted OUT because the well being of my country is paramount.

 

All we have to do now is get rid of the parliamentary remainers who have done all they can to Usurp the will of the people and undermine democracy, and believe me that day will come.

[hargri]

10 hours ago, Janner1 said:

It beggars belief that people who desert their home country to become ex-pats feel that it is their right to pontificate about the actions and will of patriotic people who have remained in the country of birth, worked extremely hard, paid all taxes levied upon them, made all of the national health contributions required of them for the benefit of others including said ex-pats, and who voted for Brexit because they wanted to take back their country from the 23 unelected and unaccountable dictators who run the EEC.

 

We have SUFFERED wildly stupid rules, regulations and inappropriate laws that have only benefitted politicians  and the 23 mentioned.

 

We have had to deal with ever rising taxes, costs and charges levied throughout Europe and as a direct result of this Europe has seen it’s culture disappear.

 

It was always a wonderful experience to go to the local coffee shop in Spain or Portugal and sup one of the finest cups of espresso along with a small nip of the local brandy, but try doing it it now! The best you can get now it a cup of low grade muck in espresso form because the taxes levied has forced businesses to cut corners and drop standards.

 

Just look around you Rooster because as a result of ASEAN this is happening slowly for the moment in Thailand but it will become ever faster until the mainstay culture “Street Food “of this lovely country is gone in the same way that the high quality low price restaurants of the said two countries has gone.

Sadly the Thai people have yet to realise this but when they do it will be a bombshell and too late.

 

Great Britain was reluctantly given the opportunity to redress this travesty which we did and with great gladness at the outcome I am more than happy to say I am one of those who voted OUT because the well being of my country is paramount.

 

All we have to do now is get rid of the parliamentary remainers who have done all they can to Usurp the will of the people and undermine democracy, and believe me that day will come.

What a complete load of nonsense. You can't even give it it's current name! Its the EU, not EEC. Just a few other points:

 

'23 unelected and unaccountable dictators who run the EEC' - You talk of the EU Commission. Indeed they are appointed, not

elected. But they are the EU's civil service. The UK's civil service is not elected. They do not dictate. The European Council, made up of the elected heads of the 28 sovereign nations, determines the direction of the EU. If they decide something new or a change is required it is voted on and if agreed passed to the Council of the EU, comprised of the appropriate elected minister (defence minister, home secretary etc) of the 28 sovereign nations for the detailed discussion. They work with the EU Commission to come up with a plan for implementation. That plan is put before the EU Parliament for debate and vote. Hardly unaccountable!

 

'We have SUFFERED wildly stupid rules, regulations and inappropriate laws' - I would appreciate you listing these so I can get appropriately upset and change my mind. I take it you are aware that David Davis - the erstwhile Brexit secretary - was asked which rules, regulations and laws he would like to see reversed on TV. He said he couldn't think of any! Give us your list and maybe they will make you Brexit secretary. Or perhaps you are recalling all those idiotic anti EU propaganda pieces so beloved of the British tabloid press over many years. I've included a link so you can watch a comprehensive rebuttal of them.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5Ve7kbLoAo&list=PL10nEp1kesJgY91JjzLxHbWcTCO3XnzzA

 

 

 

[StevieAus]

On 6/9/2019 at 11:24 AM, mfd101 said:

"Give it time!"

 

How much more would you suggest? always noting that Thailand/Siam was - according to its official ideology - never colonized ...

I don’t think that he is saying that Thailand was colonized as I don’t believe that it was, but that he is sick of reading stuff from people with a heritage of colonization which in this case is the UK from where Rooster originates.

Perhaps If Thailand had been colonized thinks might be different but looking at three or four nearby countries not sure if better.

[StevieAus]

13 hours ago, Janner1 said:

It beggars belief that people who desert their home country to become ex-pats feel that it is their right to pontificate about the actions and will of patriotic people who have remained in the country of birth, worked extremely hard, paid all taxes levied upon them, made all of the national health contributions required of them for the benefit of others including said ex-pats, and who voted for Brexit because they wanted to take back their country from the 23 unelected and unaccountable dictators who run the EEC.

 

We have SUFFERED wildly stupid rules, regulations and inappropriate laws that have only benefitted politicians  and the 23 mentioned.

 

We have had to deal with ever rising taxes, costs and charges levied throughout Europe and as a direct result of this Europe has seen it’s culture disappear.

 

It was always a wonderful experience to go to the local coffee shop in Spain or Portugal and sup one of the finest cups of espresso along with a small nip of the local brandy, but try doing it it now! The best you can get now it a cup of low grade muck in espresso form because the taxes levied has forced businesses to cut corners and drop standards.

 

Just look around you Rooster because as a result of ASEAN this is happening slowly for the moment in Thailand but it will become ever faster until the mainstay culture “Street Food “of this lovely country is gone in the same way that the high quality low price restaurants of the said two countries has gone.

Sadly the Thai people have yet to realise this but when they do it will be a bombshell and too late.

 

Great Britain was reluctantly given the opportunity to redress this travesty which we did and with great gladness at the outcome I am more than happy to say I am one of those who voted OUT because the well being of my country is paramount.

 

All we have to do now is get rid of the parliamentary remainers who have done all they can to Usurp the will of the people and undermine democracy, and believe me that day will come.

I agree with you even although it doesn’t really affect me and despite the views of the poster following you so it seems do the majority.

I think even Australia suffered at the hands of those people about whom you complained when we were forced to start calling champagne sparkling wine.

[Janner1]

36 minutes ago, StevieAus said:

I agree with you even although it doesn’t really affect me and despite the views of the poster following you so it seems do the majority.

I think even Australia suffered at the hands of those people about whom you complained when we were forced to start calling champagne sparkling wine.

                                  ENTIRELY WITHOUT PREJUDICE 

 

You are absolutely correct, not only was Australia stabbed in the back but New Zealand also which caused a butter mountain and could not be sold in the EU so it was given away to Russia, after which the only way New Zealand could sell it’s wonderful product was to have it blended with a totally inferior french version.

 

Given the propensity for stupidity that comes out of Brussels I remain totally surprised that they did not demand that all lamb exported from Australia and New Zealand was of the male variety only !!

 

The wine you speak of was not allowed to be sold in the EU in the current form of that time so guess what happened, the wine was sold outside of the EU and the Germans snapped it up but by the time they got it the quality was dropping away so they rebottled it complete with a good shot of antifreeze (yes anti freeze) just enough not to poison the drinker but enough to enliven the product for a short time.

 

The problem with the previous poster is that he is so deeply into believing the rhetoric that daylight does not dawn in his world.

[Kasane]

The current political situation was aptly called "democratic dictatorship" byone of the MP. Such an oxymoron. 

But still the pretense of democratic election relatively better than from those countries where the strongman garners min. of 94% votes. 

The election has birthed a new party from a younger generation. Something to cheer about.

[user68677878]

On ‎6‎/‎8‎/‎2019 at 5:58 PM, Samui Bodoh said:

I have studiously avoided commenting on Thai politics for a while now, mostly because I could see clearly what was coming and was horrified at the thought. However, if Mr R can make a rare comment on things political in the Kingdom, then perhaps I should as well...

 

First, without getting too judge-y, I have to say that those who welcomed the coup in 2014 really need to have a long look in the mirror; you bear a great deal of responsibility for the current situation. Yes, I was in the country and remember well the street battles, etc, but those who welcomed extra-legal means to end that dispute really can't complain later when rules and laws are disregarded again. And, disregarded again they have been.

 

What is the future of the Kingdom? I don't have a definitive answer, but those eagle-eyed members from days gone by will recall my posts saying that either some sort of repeat of 1992 will occur or else there will be a slow deterioration of things in country, Burma-style. Which will occur and how will it play out? I am not sure, but those who believe that the Kingdom's better days lie ahead need a re-think. 

 

A country is a lot like a small business or a family; it is merely bigger and more complex. We have all seen that when a small business has a decent Boss who cares for their staff and provides a fair service for a fair price, the staff follows suit and everyone is happy. When the Boss is a money-grubber who voraciously sucks up every last baht while screwing their staff and customers spreads gloom and unhappiness. The family follows a similar model; when the Father is a good, decent man he usually has good decent kids who are good, decent people. Alternatively, when the Father is a drunk who beats his wife, then it is likely that his sons will drink and beat their wives while his daughters will tolerate a guy who does it to them.

 

The simple fact is that for the last several years, we have seen a group of lying liars who lie and a group of cheating cheaters who cheat. And, we are going to see more of the same. A lot more.

 

Sad, sad times for beloved Thailand.

 

 

well stated and truthful. As a visitor to LOS? for better than 45 years and resident for 12 yrs of that the decline across society, which is governmentally led, is phenomenal.