Ex-pm Samak Has Liver Cancer

[jdinasia]

Indeed, I meant September 2nd...

But I stand by my comment. You reap what you sow...

Simon

Heartless, and vile.

I rather despise Samak, but I would not wish ANYONE this kind of illness.

[Los78]

Do you want us to comment on PAD supporters in the US?

Ok, their behaviour is sick, now what?

You can also note how much they hate the man for what he has done and how he behaved while in office.

Yes their behaviour is sick, and the tone set by the PAD leadership is responsible.It doesn't matter how they hated the man.Look at the US where passions also ran high, but where this disgusting behaviour is absent and would not be tolerated.Wake up for God's sake.

I totally agree with YH. This is just sick. Fair enough if you hate him but to round up friends in USA (A foreign country) where he has gone for treatment for Liver cancer is totally sick. Why would you go out of your time to hound a person who is suffering cancer and seeking treatment, that amazes me no matter if you hate him politically. These people obviously are sick in the head.

[jdinasia]

Do you want us to comment on PAD supporters in the US?

Ok, their behaviour is sick, now what?

You can also note how much they hate the man for what he has done and how he behaved while in office.

Yes their behaviour is sick, and the tone set by the PAD leadership is responsible.It doesn't matter how they hated the man.Look at the US where passions also ran high, but where this disgusting behaviour is absent and would not be tolerated.Wake up for God's sake.

Those pics were taken IN the USA ... so I guess the behavior is not absent and was tolerated. Then again there is free speech there even when it is contemptible.

Yes most decent people would find that behavior beneath contempt.

[younghusband]

YH>> I find it ironic that you speak as from some moral high ground and about people defending sick behavior.

I have been quite heartened by the responses of jdinasia and others, people I usually disagree with but with obviously an innate decency.

But you? Ironic.Moral high ground.What are you on about?

[Xangsamhua]

Hounding a sick man to no one's benefit is unacceptable. However, would our sensitivities be so offended if the sick man were, say, Hitler or Pol Pot - people who showed no compassion in their own lives?

Samakh Sundaravej is a man who encouraged and defended the killing of students at Thammasat University in 1976. In promoting the return of Thanom Kittikachorn, a man who had also ordered the killing of hundreds of students in 1973, Samakh clearly promoted himself as one who approves violent solutions and has no respect for human life. In 1992 he again justified brutal suppression of pro-democracy demonstrators. He may be old now, but he is an unrepentant advocate of repression by violent means. This invites revulsion.

Not many current foreign residents here were in Thailand in 1992, and very few in 1976, but Thai people were here. Many lost friends and relatives and know families whose hopes were shattered by the bullets fired in those dark days. They have not forgotten Samakh's role.

I would not have gone to the airport to hound Samakh. I find the whole thing distasteful. Let him live out his last days in peace and quiet reflection. However, there are those who believe he has no right to this, as many of us believe people like Eichmann and Mengele lost these rights by their callousness towards others. Samakh has been callous and encouraged callousness. Now it's come back to shadow him.

[younghusband]

Hounding a sick man to no one's benefit is unacceptable. However, would our sensitivities be so offended if the sick man were, say, Hitler or Pol Pot - people who showed no compassion in their own lives?

Samakh Sundaravej is a man who encouraged and defended the killing of students at Thammasat University in 1976. In promoting the return of Thanom Kittikachorn, a man who had also ordered the killing of hundreds of students in 1973, Samakh clearly promoted himself as one who approves violent solutions and has no respect for human life. In 1992 he again justified brutal suppression of pro-democracy demonstrators. He may be old now, but he is an unrepentant advocate of repression by violent means. This invites revulsion.

Not many current foreign residents here were in Thailand in 1992, and very few in 1976, but Thai people were here. Many lost friends and relatives and know families whose hopes were shattered by the bullets fired in those dark days. They have not forgotten Samakh's role.

I would not have gone to the airport to hound Samakh. I find the whole thing distasteful. Let him live out his last days in peace and quiet reflection. However, there are those who believe he has no right to this, as many of us believe people like Eichmann and Mengele lost these rights by their callousness towards others. Samakh has been callous and encouraged callousness. Now it's come back to shadow him.

Xangsamhua

You are right in many ways.I was here in 1976 and wept for the horrors I saw on TV, and tried to ignore the gloating office staff who felt that those Thammasat students had what was coming for them.And yes that old bruiser Samak was a cheerleader for the reactionary right, the same spiritual movement behind the PAD leadership.But many -some of whom I cannot name -were caught up in this lunacy.And Samak isn't a Mengele or an Eichmann, just a sick old man.I don't admire him as you will see but he doesn't deserve this kind of treatment (any more than say Bush or Blair).

[TAWP]

I think he will survive the horror of having one sad person holding a sign saying something in Thai next to him. Especially since most people in the airport won't even know what the sign says!

Now where could I exchange that horrific treatment in an airport for say...50 million? Anyone knows?

[sriracha john]

I'm still awaiting confirmation he has liver cancer.... but meanwhile...

Samak's letter to be on aired Friday night

Former prime minister Samak Sundaravej has written a letter recounting his encounter with protesters at the Houston International airport, Government Spokesman Natthawut Saikua said Friday.

He said the letter, which recounts how Samak felt while being humiliated by the protesters at the airport, would be aired during the Truth Today programme on NBT Channel at 10 pm Friday.

- The Nation / 2008-11-08

Edited November 8, 2008 by sriracha john

[Plus]

I don't think that guy in Houston had been ordered to harass Samak by PAD leadership in Bangkok.

I don't think there's any hidden, right wing spiritual movement manipulating PAD to its ends either. None of PAD leaders strikes me as anybody's puppet.

[PeaceBlondie]

And for you folks who do not know Texas from Tennessee, when I lived in Houston...

Samak's attorney Prachum Thongmee revealed after the former premier left for Houston, Texas, in the United States,

I loved how ThaiNews felt compelled to clarify... that Texas was, in fact, in the U.S.A.

Yes! As if he were flying to Houston, Alaska. But I am used to that. Not every Thai news reader knows where London is. Ontario?

[nonthaburial]

cancer or no cancer, this guys timing is immaculate !! Signs the contract for the BMA/Steyr fire trucks on his last day as BMA Governor then departs for "medical treatment" in the States a couple of days before the Corruption Committee sit to discuss the BMA deal !

But must admit the pictures of him at the Airport show he is not a well man

[sriracha john]

cancer or no cancer, this guys timing is immaculate !! Signs the contract for the BMA/Steyr fire trucks on his last day as BMA Governor then departs for "medical treatment" in the States a couple of days before the Corruption Committee sit to discuss the BMA deal !

But must admit the pictures of him at the Airport show he is not a well man

In the photo in Post # 73, which was only 3 days prior, he looks pretty good...

Edited November 8, 2008 by sriracha john

[Scott]

I am more than a little surprised that there is no current information on the condition of the former PM. Not that I was a big fan of his, but I am wondering how his treatment is going? How long will he be undergoing treatment? What is the prognosis of a full recovery?

If he is likely to recover then TV posters can set the dogs on him!

[chuck_s]

Liver cancer.

I had several friends and family members who had the same thing. Outcome, it is not curable, once it hits your liver. Well, give it a few months or less. He'll be dead.

[ThaisGood]

Does anyone know the name of the hospital where Samak is getting treatment? My family and friends would like to send him a letter offering well wishes. Regardless of politics I have personally liked Samak for many years. Where in Houston is he? Thanks for any response.

[PeaceBlondie]

The alleged rumour appears to have suggested that he might have sought treatment at M. D. Anderson Cancer hospital. I might go to the trouble of finding the address, but since the rumour is unfounded, why bother?

[slapout]

If I understood correctly, the waiting time for patients seeking treatment with the ultra new machine is several weeks, he may have a long wait. Maybe someone surmissed, there is que jumping in Houston like Thailand. No news is good news in some cases, but am surprised that there have been no updates on the Thai front. We have, it seems daily updates on T's whereabouts. family situation. plans????, etc. but Samak seems to have dropped out of the little spotlight he was accorded.

[animatic]

Yes, suprisingly little Thai press follow up on this.

At least a string in Texas might have been sent out,

they had somebody at the airport.

EVERYONE looks like death warmed over after a 20+ hour flight

from Thailand to USA. especially at 60+ years of age. He's 70+ I think.

Yes, this is a busy hospital, and unless you donate a building wing

AND the new machine, you don't jump queue in USA. Not like Thailand.

HRM or someone of THAT level might get moved up, but not a polititian.

Edited November 18, 2008 by animatic

[wpcoe]

FYI and FWIW, I sat across the aisle from Samak on the flight from BKK to NRT. (I just returned from my USA visit and am now catching up on ThaiVisa.com.) His doctor sat behind him, and his wife sat in front of him. If he's acting, it's an elaborate production. He has lost significant weight, moves slowly, and had a therapeutic oxygen tank installed in the overhead bin above his seat. There was no entourage, and no fuss was made over his presence on the flight.

If he does NOT have a serious illness, such a significant weight loss in a short period of time can CAUSE serious problems.

[edited to add "oxygen" and correct some jet-lag-induced grammar faux pas.]

Edited November 18, 2008 by wpcoe

[animatic]

Well that doesn't speak well for his condition.

Then again getting away from the food stalls

and several weeks of hospital food might cause

some visible weight loss too. Just saying...

[sriracha john]

People Power Party MP Jatuporn Promphan, also a host of the talk show Truth Today, said his associates will go to the United States today to visit former prime minister Samak Sundaravej, who is being treated for cancer in Houston. He said Samak will be asked to call in to address his supporters during the mobile talk show at Wan Suan Kaew in Nonthaburi on Sunday.

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.net/201108_News/20Nov2008_news03.php

[hammered]

People Power Party MP Jatuporn Promphan, also a host of the talk show Truth Today, said his associates will go to the United States today to visit former prime minister Samak Sundaravej, who is being treated for cancer in Houston. He said Samak will be asked to call in to address his supporters during the mobile talk show at Wan Suan Kaew in Nonthaburi on Sunday.

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.net/201108_News/20Nov2008_news03.php

The odious little Jatuporn cant give it a rest for five seconds. Good God you have a dude dying of liver cancer and still no respect. Its all about get em watching (not the) truth today and get some half dead cancer victim on it. Jatuporn seriously must qualify as a complete *&^%

[sriracha john]

Samak to quit PPP

Disqualified prime minister Samak Sundaravej asked the People Power Party to proceed with his resignation as the Party MP, Government Spokesman Nattawut Saikua said on Sunday. The spokesman said Samak, who is receiving treatment for liver cancer in the United States, called him on Saturday night and asked him to coordinate with the PPP to grant his resignation. Nattawut said the former PM has no intention to be transferred to the Puea Thai Party, should the PPP be dissolved. According to the spokesman, Samak expressed his concern over the PAD mass protest as it could intensify further, and said he was not disturbed by the PAD since he arrived in

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/b...s.php?id=132392

[Steve2UK]

I didn't see this thread when it was running at its height - or should that be depth? With a few exceptions, the posts are simply appalling......... I can't recall seeing such a low combination of bile and sanctimonious crowing on ThaiVisa. It reminds me of nothing so much as descriptions of the tricoteuses gathered round the guillotine. Truly shameful.

[TAWP]

Well, the people gathered around the guillotine had a reason to be upset and are hailed as champions of democracy by history, so...doesn't sound so bad to me.

[Steve2UK]

From you, that answer surprises me not at all.