Drug Crackdown In Patong Pubs

[biggle]

If it gets rid of the riff-raff and deviants that plague Thailand, I'm all for it.

That's not a nice way to talk about Isaan people

[surfaxxis]

Well where I am from, Invasion of civil liberties is not a once a month heads up from one district police checkpoint.

It is a steady slow erosion instigated by a strong, well equipped and ideologically driven Government.

Australia.

Random stops of cars to check registration, road worthiness, licensing, ID of occupants, random breath test, sniffer dogs and background checks. Like a "ten in one" checkpoint - only it is random, and well equipped with high tech gear.

Alcohol tests in cars have now extended to blood tests urine tests and sweat tests in bars, police stations and public locations

Fair enough? Keeping the roads safe?

Now police patrol bus stations, buses and even board trains with sniffer dogs.

Raids on bars and clubs in Sydney is not an invasion of human rights - it's a regular occurrence now moving from weekends to 24/7.

fair enough? Lots of bad people out there on the streets?

Well if you stay at home they now track internet usage, and censor the internet for all Australians to "protect the kids" - Even if you don't have any.

Yes. Those who don't have or even know / interact with any children are still restricted in what they can view or discuss online so the government can "protect" a small percentage of children and teens with irresponsible and downright bad parents.

The west leads the way in suppression of democracy and systematic erosion of civil liberties.

And all in the name of Democracy and Civil Liberties (for the people who think the same way they do)

Over here, nobody NEEDS or WANTS to look at pornography.

In Australia, you are now not allowed to - and prevented by high tech blanket censorship of the internet by a secret government controlled "blacklist" which nobody is allowed to know details of.

With you all the way there chef,, how do you feel when arriving into an Aussie airport, lined up single file and have the sniffer dogs go over you one by one, as a frequent traveller to Thailand I am waiting to be pulled aside for a body search.

[ComicBum]

The west leads the way in suppression of democracy and systematic erosion of civil liberties.

And all in the name of Democracy and Civil Liberties (for the people who think the same way they do)

Over here, nobody NEEDS or WANTS to look at pornography.

In Australia, you are now not allowed to - and prevented by high tech blanket censorship of the internet by a secret government controlled "blacklist" which nobody is allowed to know details of.

yes, I agree,to a point, the West is an over-developed democracy obsessed with rules and regulations designed to 'save' you from the negligence of others. We have not yet appreciated that "defenses do what they are meant to defend against".

One may even say that at the root of it all is "higher-education" - exercising the need to justify its own self-worth.

I prefer the un-developed,open-end freedoms that come with living in Thailand and since 'higher-education' is purchased at a non-exsistent level... there should be no fear of things ever changing.

[mancon]

As many have stated earlier on the subject, the problem and sceary thing is not the drug tests them selves as long as you know that you don´t use drugs, the problem is the corruption in the system and if someone tries to set you up for a shakedown. Even if that is more usuall in other monger places like the Phillipines or Mexico it is not compleatly unheard of in Thailand!

[marsteele]

When I read these stories it terrifies me. I have never used drugs, but the thought of a false positive, and subsequently being sent to the woefully overcrowded Phuket Provincial Prison for who knows how long scares the hel_l out of me. From where I am from, this blatant violation of personal liberty would be unconscionable.

Have to try and keep all those bloody tourists out of Thailand somehow everything else hasn't worked.

[alstaxi]

If it gets rid of the riff-raff and deviants that plague Thailand, I'm all for it.

How, if I may ask, does a drug test get rid of riff raff and deviants, are you with the thought police?

[JetsetBkk]

What a strange cross-section of posters in this thread!

70% have less than 100 posts (half of them less than 10!)

27% have between 100 and 1,000 posts

3% have more than 1,000 posts.

I guess this is of little interest to the oldbies.

[Sel]

Have you been in thailand long? Maybe you dont go out anywhere or drive any place. I have never been in the bar and been tested, but Im always getting stopped by the police. Most of the time it's the usual 200 baht, but sometime you get the real greedy cop who wants 500 or 1000.

I drive between BKK and Surin, Sisaket at least 2-3 times a month. I budget 400 baht for police, as you have anywhere from 2-4 road stops. sometimes they make up an excuse other times they just say coffee money. Once you been here long enough you will know how the police work. Had a borther-in-law in jail for fighting with someone. Paid 20K he got out and everything went away, they justed waited the other guy out until he got tired of asking when there will be a court date. Talk to some Thai's they will tell you how the police are. Dont you ever see a group of the cops on the side of a street just waiting to stop everyone on motorbikes? Pal you need to open your eyes if you dont believe the cops are out for getting money and allot of times will do what they can to get you to pay.

mmm I wasn't trying to make you go nuts but some people are I suppose. And I'm not denying that police take money from people either

I've lived in Bangkok for 9 years and a little bit. I've driven for 6 of those years, about 30,000km on average per year and have driven pretty much everywhere except the road between mae sot and chang mai along the burmese border and multiple times, even to Penang in Malaysia. I've been stopped once on the highway for doing 120 between tak and lampang, cop told me I should drive max 110, no fine just polite advice. Been through hundreds ?thousands? of checkpoints with no payment necessary and scarcely an eyebrow raised. In Bangkok I've been stopped a handfull of times, payed the cops tea money twice (200 Baht) both for questionable offences. Paid at the station cops once the proper fine 500B for an undeniable offence. Never had a problem at a Bangkok checkpoint and I drive a lot at night when there are a lot more stops. Had 2 major incidents involving actually going down to the cop shop, one for fighting (victum) and another for breaking and entering (accused). Both after several hours were resolved without any party being placed in the daily book on the duty officers desk and no money was exchanged with the cops at all. There was small money exchanged between the parties in both cases 60B and 2000B, the cops saw none of it. The police simply acted as negotiators so no extra paperwork and work would have to be filled out or done. Spent 3 days once pissing around with the police, court and immigration when a friends wife (both visiting from cambodia) overstayed her visa by accident and the husband got a bit lippy and head strong to the point where they wrote her down and processed her. The cops wouldn't accept any bribes for her release. I owned a bar/restaurant for the last 3 years in ksr area and have never had to pay the cops or given them any money even when getting caught selling alcohol after Cinderella hr or on no alcohol days several times

Dont you ever see a group of the cops on the side of a street just waiting to stop everyone on motorbikes?

Thank god there's a group of them because it's actually illegal for the traffic police to stop traffic offenders without something like 8 officers and some ranking officer like a captain or something in the group and the checkpoints are planned ahead of time. The money they get from those stops would probably have a higher chance of going into the government coffers and the offenders are most likely breaking the law.

Pal you need to open your eyes if you dont believe the cops are out for getting money and allot of times will do what they can to get you to pay.

I think you should probably improve your driving skills and maybe the cops won't need to stop you so often or if you're being harassed for not doing anything wrong make a stand when you get stopped or make a complaint at the local copshop about rouge cops because they won't be sharing the tea money with the other cops like it's done with the official fine.

[unforgiven]

The report doesn't actually say that the people who tested positive were arrested.

did they test falangs?Sometimes they only test thai's

[pothai]

When I read these stories it terrifies me. I have never used drugs, but the thought of a false positive, and subsequently being sent to the woefully overcrowded Phuket Provincial Prison for who knows how long scares the hel_l out of me. From where I am from, this blatant violation of personal liberty would be unconscionable.

Drug test is 100% OK, never a wrong thing so no problem. DONT DO THE DRUGS and you are ok. Why they not do every week

[cognos]

As many have stated earlier on the subject, the problem and sceary thing is not the drug tests them selves as long as you know that you don´t use drugs, the problem is the corruption in the system and if someone tries to set you up for a shakedown. Even if that is more usuall in other monger places like the Phillipines or Mexico it is not compleatly unheard of in Thailand!

Actually,the problem for me was going with a bar girl a few years ago,before I met my wife.The "lady" ended up high on ya baa;I knew something was going on because she stayed in the hotel bathroom for about 20 minutes.To make a long story short,it was a nightmare and I am lucky to have gotten out of there in one piece,as she had a knife and was going to use it.She got mad because I told her if she was doing ya baa she would have to leave.Boy do they get angry..

[pschef]

When I read these stories it terrifies me. I have never used drugs, but the thought of a false positive, and subsequently being sent to the woefully overcrowded Phuket Provincial Prison for who knows how long scares the hel_l out of me. From where I am from, this blatant violation of personal liberty would be unconscionable.

I used drugs in the past but that is a long time ago, but i would be worried about a false positive too. Or about corrupt police trying to get you to pay up or frame you. Its just that i don't trust the police in Thailand that much.

My job is so easy on forums like this.

In order to make the chase a bit more challenging

Let me provide a few hints

The purple color is just how we actually bust you.

It is only so that you can understand why you are under arrest

No one needs that grape koolaid stuff any more

We first monitor the falang forums for evidence.

Drug use results in both paranoia & memory failure.

It also brings on an inflated sense of what constitutes personal liberty

wherever it was you were from...we flag occurrences of "personal liberty"

I think you boys are giving yourselves away.

Expect our visit a few minutes before 0500

even if you don't go to the speakeasy tonight

We never mistakenly haul anyone in.

The good citizens on innocent vacation

Remember everything,

Fear nothing,

Are concerned far more about personal responsibility back where they are from

We know they are clean just as they themselves do....it is written all over them.

If I was unexpectedly thrown into your position,

I'd quietly invest in window tint film, after market magnifying rear view mirrors and good tires

But above all,

don't let on that you are worried about it...

Narc Officers look first for the tiniest telltale hints of paranoia

insignificant things to the untrained eye,

eye twitches, scratching the side of the nose, moving feet while seated

This Slippery body language is like a beacon on a fog horn to us

Be bold,

have loads of personal liberty,

do your mess right out in the open,

because we always check the back rooms first.

Do your deals outdoors under a streetlight in bright clothing,

we will ever suspect that

Also, Our manual teaches that druggies collect and discard many women.

If you only ever are seen with the same respectable woman,

you can do whatever your personal liberty says.

Finally, Narc Officers are trained that exactly half of all Druggies prefer ugly women.

Make sure your one steady is pretty, and every other day you are safe.

Enjoy your stay in Thailand.

It's the things I didn't tell you that I will still bust you on.

So your paranoia is justified.

You won't necessarily need your memory

Your personal liberties will be returned in the same manila envelope as your jewelry and civilian clothing

along with your release papers and expulsion orders.

Oh yes,

There are no Visa formalities at the Phuket Provincial Prison,

we handle all your 90 day extensions

We are truly a one-stop accommodation.

Are you a poet or a prophet< I wonder what and where you come from? But I do like your rhetoric> I have been in Phuket many times in my life this is a funny story anyway life is for living

[Johnny Tahoe]

Can we all agree that it's a little frustrating watching government again and again staging these campaigns that have no effect? How can anyone forget Thaksin's War on Drugs a few years ago. Thousands died. No effect on drug use. Except, maybe slightly higher prices?

[shawndoc]

If it gets rid of the riff-raff and deviants that plague Thailand, I'm all for it.

That's not a nice way to talk about Isaan people

I was hoping that was a reference to the Germans.

[jokerdr]

Can we all agree that it's a little frustrating watching government again and again staging these campaigns that have no effect? How can anyone forget Thaksin's War on Drugs a few years ago. Thousands died. No effect on drug use. Except, maybe slightly higher prices?

The strange thing is that (IMHO) a large segment of the Thai population feel that Thaksin's war on drugs was effective and was greatly reducing both consumption and desire. I have listened (well it was translated as my Thai is not very good) to my girlfriend, her family, friends, there work associates and many others I have had interaction with except for the greatly more affluent (rich) ones who dislike Thaksin, I hear almost lamenting for the good 'old' days "Remember when Thaksin was in charge and ..." maybe it was all PR and FACE, I don't really know as I don't have the true numbers or studies or anything like that it just seemed it was not front and center in the news, people were terrified of getting caught with drugs or using drugs (sure lots of bad things associated with fear) but a large segment of the population I think really thought it was working (those that tended far more towards a red colored t-shirt than a yellow one).

I know a lot of friends in LOS that drive without a proper license or it is expired, or they just don't have one, worse some of them don't bother with insurance on their car either, why go though the hassle if 200 baht (6-7 bucks) just get you out of the issue….. No let's say the fine was 5K baht for no/expired license and 50K baht for no/expired insurance and there was no if, ands, or buts (or coffee money way out of it) I would bet a few would stop driving and others would make sure to get there papers in order. Where I live driving without or an expired license costs you about 4-6K baht and no or expired insurance a WHOPPING 140,000 baht, they changed that fine a couple years ago and stepped up informant, there was a huge drop in the number of people charged the deterrent was great enough it was not worth the risk.

So I know my example is not about a controlled and additive substance and while I think that 25 year prison terms or death penalties are rather harsh for simple possession, even possession with the intent barring maybe pushing at the local primary school this is not my home country. In CAN/USA random testing at a restaurant, bar, night club, even a strip joint would be completely against the law under the protection from "Unreasonable Search and Seizure" again though TIT so they can do it I don't believe there is any protection from such in the Thai constitution.

Food for thought on this is think about when you're coming home, when anyone travels to the US or Canada (even if you're a returning citizen) until you legally enter the country (after being legally processed though Customs AND Immigration - NOT when you land on or are on US or CAN soil) you're effective in an No Man's Land and protected by very few laws and rights (international maybe)

CUSTOMS and IMMIGRATION have HUGE powers! Want to search your laptop files, "CUSTOMS IS ALLOWED", what to KEEP your laptop (basically indefinitely) for additional review "CUSTOMS IS ALLOWED" what to search every memory card, hard drive, USB key, tape, book, your carrying "CUSTOMS IS ALLOWED" , want to go through all my cell records (in my phone) txt messages, photos, notes, whatever "CUSTOMS IS ALLOWED" what to tear apart you luggage "CUSTOMS IS ALLOWED" what to do a strip search "CUSTOMS IS ALLOWED" what to look up you poop-shoot "CUSTOMS IS ALLOWED" the one thing I don't thing I don't think they actually allowed to do is force a urine or blood test for drugs, maybe if they actually found some and you were arrested. So they can put the fingers up your butt but not make you pee in a cup…

Basically there are wired screwed up rules all over the place.

[BAZZAT]

When I read these stories it terrifies me. I have never used drugs, but the thought of a false positive, and subsequently being sent to the woefully overcrowded Phuket Provincial Prison for who knows how long scares the hel_l out of me. From where I am from, this blatant violation of personal liberty would be unconscionable.

I used drugs in the past but that is a long time ago, but i would be worried about a false positive too. Or about corrupt police trying to get you to pay up or frame you. Its just that i don't trust the police in Thailand that much.

My job is so easy on forums like this.

In order to make the chase a bit more challenging

Let me provide a few hints

The purple color is just how we actually bust you.

It is only so that you can understand why you are under arrest

No one needs that grape koolaid stuff any more

We first monitor the falang forums for evidence.

Drug use results in both paranoia & memory failure.

It also brings on an inflated sense of what constitutes personal liberty

wherever it was you were from...we flag occurrences of "personal liberty"

I think you boys are giving yourselves away.

Expect our visit a few minutes before 0500

even if you don't go to the speakeasy tonight

We never mistakenly haul anyone in.

The good citizens on innocent vacation

Remember everything,

Fear nothing,

Are concerned far more about personal responsibility back where they are from

We know they are clean just as they themselves do....it is written all over them.

If I was unexpectedly thrown into your position,

I'd quietly invest in window tint film, after market magnifying rear view mirrors and good tires

But above all,

don't let on that you are worried about it...

Narc Officers look first for the tiniest telltale hints of paranoia

insignificant things to the untrained eye,

eye twitches, scratching the side of the nose, moving feet while seated

This Slippery body language is like a beacon on a fog horn to us

Be bold,

have loads of personal liberty,

do your mess right out in the open,

because we always check the back rooms first.

Do your deals outdoors under a streetlight in bright clothing,

we will ever suspect that

Also, Our manual teaches that druggies collect and discard many women.

If you only ever are seen with the same respectable woman,

you can do whatever your personal liberty says.

Finally, Narc Officers are trained that exactly half of all Druggies prefer ugly women.

Make sure your one steady is pretty, and every other day you are safe.

Enjoy your stay in Thailand.

It's the things I didn't tell you that I will still bust you on.

So your paranoia is justified.

You won't necessarily need your memory

Your personal liberties will be returned in the same manila envelope as your jewelry and civilian clothing

along with your release papers and expulsion orders.

Oh yes,

There are no Visa formalities at the Phuket Provincial Prison,

we handle all your 90 day extensions

We are truly a one-stop accommodation.

SOUNDS LIKE THE RAMBLINGS OF A TWEEKER! HE'S RIGHT, THEY REALLY DO STAND OUT, HAHA!!!

Well written agree 100%, do drugs accept the consiquencys!

[John07]

Phuket is becoming a dangerous place to visit. The last time I was there I almost got stabbed by a ladyboy who was furious I wasn't interested in her, then every night on my way back to my hotel I was propositioned to buy drugs by every single motor bike taxi driver that passed me by. The biggest drug dealers work in tandem with the taxi companies in Phuket. I have a feeling this is all just a silly side show, the authorities are protecting the big dealers.

[cognos]

GRANTBKK

'Remember the national average IQ of around 89 goes all the way to the top.'

may i take exception to your specific comment cited above?

grant, you ought to know better! for any thai, born and raised in nonwestern educational arena,

to take an i.q. test, be it sb, wisc, wisa or miller which based their samplings on western cultures and practices....

is somewhat like a certified md from western country taking a medical board exam in thai....

how well would a western obgyn score? do you think such highly trained specialist would be able to score a comparable '89'?

also, a socre of '90-110' in sb or other intelligence tests is generally considered as in the normal range!

for a thailand born and raised person to score an '89' on a foreign iq test could be interpreted as quite satisfactory, don't you agree?

one other thing, in the study that you read, did it or did it not mention, whether the score of '89' applied to verbal or nonverbal performance?

grantbkk, any way thanks for your post which grants me an opportunity to respond. shalom.

I agree with your premise.The Eastern Europeans coming to the US in the early part of the last century had to take intelligence tests.One of the questions was"who is Lou Gerhig?"They mostly failed the test miserably,having no knowledge of the baseball player,and were subsequently generally labelled lower standard mentally.In the US they used to have a more realistic test for Black Americans called the B.I.T.C.H. test(Black Intelligence....forgot the last 2 words)One of the questions was "what are chitlins?"This question is more suitable to that specific culture.

[Grey11]

Can we all agree that it's a little frustrating watching government again and again staging these campaigns that have no effect? How can anyone forget Thaksin's War on Drugs a few years ago. Thousands died. No effect on drug use. Except, maybe slightly higher prices?

The strange thing is that (IMHO) a large segment of the Thai population feel that Thaksin's war on drugs was effective and was greatly reducing both consumption and desire. I have listened (well it was translated as my Thai is not very good) to my girlfriend, her family, friends, there work associates and many others I have had interaction with except for the greatly more affluent (rich) ones who dislike Thaksin, I hear almost lamenting for the good 'old' days "Remember when Thaksin was in charge and ..." maybe it was all PR and FACE, I don't really know as I don't have the true numbers or studies or anything like that it just seemed it was not front and center in the news, people were terrified of getting caught with drugs or using drugs (sure lots of bad things associated with fear) but a large segment of the population I think really thought it was working (those that tended far more towards a red colored t-shirt than a yellow one).

I know a lot of friends in LOS that drive without a proper license or it is expired, or they just don't have one, worse some of them don't bother with insurance on their car either, why go though the hassle if 200 baht (6-7 bucks) just get you out of the issue….. No let's say the fine was 5K baht for no/expired license and 50K baht for no/expired insurance and there was no if, ands, or buts (or coffee money way out of it) I would bet a few would stop driving and others would make sure to get there papers in order. Where I live driving without or an expired license costs you about 4-6K baht and no or expired insurance a WHOPPING 140,000 baht, they changed that fine a couple years ago and stepped up informant, there was a huge drop in the number of people charged the deterrent was great enough it was not worth the risk.

So I know my example is not about a controlled and additive substance and while I think that 25 year prison terms or death penalties are rather harsh for simple possession, even possession with the intent barring maybe pushing at the local primary school this is not my home country. In CAN/USA random testing at a restaurant, bar, night club, even a strip joint would be completely against the law under the protection from "Unreasonable Search and Seizure" again though TIT so they can do it I don't believe there is any protection from such in the Thai constitution.

Food for thought on this is think about when you're coming home, when anyone travels to the US or Canada (even if you're a returning citizen) until you legally enter the country (after being legally processed though Customs AND Immigration - NOT when you land on or are on US or CAN soil) you're effective in an No Man's Land and protected by very few laws and rights (international maybe)

CUSTOMS and IMMIGRATION have HUGE powers! Want to search your laptop files, "CUSTOMS IS ALLOWED", what to KEEP your laptop (basically indefinitely) for additional review "CUSTOMS IS ALLOWED" what to search every memory card, hard drive, USB key, tape, book, your carrying "CUSTOMS IS ALLOWED" , want to go through all my cell records (in my phone) txt messages, photos, notes, whatever "CUSTOMS IS ALLOWED" what to tear apart you luggage "CUSTOMS IS ALLOWED" what to do a strip search "CUSTOMS IS ALLOWED" what to look up you poop-shoot "CUSTOMS IS ALLOWED" the one thing I don't thing I don't think they actually allowed to do is force a urine or blood test for drugs, maybe if they actually found some and you were arrested. So they can put the fingers up your butt but not make you pee in a cup…

Basically there are wired screwed up rules all over the place.

I'm sure that the fear of being killed by Thaksin's police forces would certainly cut the use and distribution of drugs in Thailand. Most likely many of the drug pushers refused to pay Thaksin. Any time read posts of farangs married to Thais and that farang takes the side of Toxin, there is an excellent chance that that poster is married to a peasant from Isaan. Throw them a few crumbs and they will worship you (Toxin, in this case) forever. The man did so much more wrong than good that there is no reason to even debate the issue. No Government should be run on fear.

[mogoso]

When I read these stories it terrifies me. I have never used drugs, but the thought of a false positive, and subsequently being sent to the woefully overcrowded Phuket Provincial Prison for who knows how long scares the hel_l out of me. From where I am from, this blatant violation of personal liberty would be unconscionable.

And where are you from? You can always demand a re-test and sure, sit in jail until they'll retest you but you're not gonna die. Even if tested positive..you go through stationary procedure like you would do elsewhere. And yes, US or German cops can be nasty too...so no reason to wet your pants.

I would be upset at getting a positive simply from my intake of bagels covered in poppy seeds.

I like to make and ingest them. They're downright tasty.

I watched an episode of Myth Busters and darn if eating a couple of bagels will produce a positive on a drug test. It'd be a case of blind justice as it'd be a true postitive for an legal act.

[nookiebear]

If it gets rid of the riff-raff and deviants that plague Thailand, I'm all for it.

I'm with you 100% on that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[patklang]

Take drugs suffer the actins by the police.Phuket is rife for drugs and many farangs go there for what they think is an easy holiday of drink and drugs and women.

wake up its a horror story to get caught

[SabaiBKK]

When I read these stories it terrifies me. I have never used drugs, but the thought of a false positive, and subsequently being sent to the woefully overcrowded Phuket Provincial Prison for who knows how long scares the hel_l out of me. From where I am from, this blatant violation of personal liberty would be unconscionable.

And where are you from? You can always demand a re-test and sure, sit in jail until they'll retest you but you're not gonna die. Even if tested positive..you go through stationary procedure like you would do elsewhere. And yes, US or German cops can be nasty too...so no reason to wet your pants.

ok i will cut the crap about the folklore:

i participated in drugs checks ( on the police side) ..... in patpong road they checked only the staff members , they chose the upstairs of radio city to check the dancers and staff of all the bars whose customers were ,not disturbed. in silom soi 4 they tested mainly people at "speed" they found no one positive.

what happens if you are positive:

-if you are thai: you spend the night in jail and then get a court appointment where you will be fined, if you get caught again you will go to jail.

-if you are a foreigner on a tourist visa: you get fined at the police station and your embassy gets notified ( two notifications and you are out for 50 years with a nice red stamp on your passeport )

-if you are a foreigner with a non B visa: you get court+fine and usually get expulsed back to your country ( no sure about the 50 years stamp).

as for the thai police framing you this is toyally impossible . drugs checks are usually made by local police + the CSD and people who check are not from the police.

the only case of rigged check i saw was on rachada soi sam a couple years ago where police checked their OWN after our place to scare away addicts .... they took a few people whose samples turned green (???) and they got off the police station with a warning and no extortion ..... farangs and thais alike.

Edited March 8, 2009 by SabaiBKK

[connel707]

Well where I am from, Invasion of civil liberties is not a once a month heads up from one district police checkpoint.

It is a steady slow erosion instigated by a strong, well equipped and ideologically driven Government.

Australia.

Random stops of cars to check registration, road worthiness, licensing, ID of occupants, random breath test, sniffer dogs and background checks. Like a "ten in one" checkpoint - only it is random, and well equipped with high tech gear.

Alcohol tests in cars have now extended to blood tests urine tests and sweat tests in bars, police stations and public locations

Fair enough? Keeping the roads safe?

Now police patrol bus stations, buses and even board trains with sniffer dogs.

Raids on bars and clubs in Sydney is not an invasion of human rights - it's a regular occurrence now moving from weekends to 24/7.

fair enough? Lots of bad people out there on the streets?

Well if you stay at home they now track internet usage, and censor the internet for all Australians to "protect the kids" - Even if you don't have any.

Yes. Those who don't have or even know / interact with any children are still restricted in what they can view or discuss online so the government can "protect" a small percentage of children and teens with irresponsible and downright bad parents.

The west leads the way in suppression of democracy and systematic erosion of civil liberties.

And all in the name of Democracy and Civil Liberties (for the people who think the same way they do)

Over here, nobody NEEDS or WANTS to look at pornography.

In Australia, you are now not allowed to - and prevented by high tech blanket censorship of the internet by a secret government controlled "blacklist" which nobody is allowed to know details of.

I`m glad someone has the courage to speak up about Australia and its blatent disregard for freedom and human rights... there the extremely corrupt police force can do what they like , can listen in to anyones phonecalls etc, and would be government officials censor anything that they feel is not in "public interest" . They can also hold innocent and untried peoples in the prison system for up to 5 yrs without trial.... Shame on you Australia.. makes Thailand seem like heaven...

[grantbkk]

GRANTBKK

'Remember the national average IQ of around 89 goes all the way to the top.'

may i take exception to your specific comment cited above?

grant, you ought to know better! for any thai, born and raised in nonwestern educational arena,

to take an i.q. test, be it sb, wisc, wisa or miller which based their samplings on western cultures and practices....

is somewhat like a certified md from western country taking a medical board exam in thai....

how well would a western obgyn score? do you think such highly trained specialist would be able to score a comparable '89'?

also, a socre of '90-110' in sb or other intelligence tests is generally considered as in the normal range!

for a thailand born and raised person to score an '89' on a foreign iq test could be interpreted as quite satisfactory, don't you agree?

one other thing, in the study that you read, did it or did it not mention, whether the score of '89' applied to verbal or nonverbal performance?

grantbkk, any way thanks for your post which grants me an opportunity to respond. shalom.

I agree with your premise.The Eastern Europeans coming to the US in the early part of the last century had to take intelligence tests.One of the questions was"who is Lou Gerhig?"They mostly failed the test miserably,having no knowledge of the baseball player,and were subsequently generally labelled lower standard mentally.In the US they used to have a more realistic test for Black Americans called the B.I.T.C.H. test(Black Intelligence....forgot the last 2 words)One of the questions was "what are chitlins?"This question is more suitable to that specific culture.

My basic information came from Thaksin era studies that were cited for the next "BIG THING" Thaksin wanted to raise the average Thai IQ by more than 10 points to 100. That was the prime minister talking not me. This education proposal died a natural death like most of the populist programs of the day.

[huggybear]

What a strange cross-section of posters in this thread!

70% have less than 100 posts (half of them less than 10!)

27% have between 100 and 1,000 posts

3% have more than 1,000 posts.

I guess this is of little interest to the oldbies.

No, it's just that it is such a load of drivel, we don't care to jump in.

No where is it mentioned exactly where these testings took place, no where is it mentioned the percentage of foreigners vs. Thais tested, and lastly the thread at times is reduced to how unfair the Australian's are treated in their home country (booo....fing...hoo).

Keep at it newbies, at least it's a hit count for TV.

[chefshane]

Well where I am from, Invasion of civil liberties is not a once a month heads up from one district police checkpoint.

It is a steady slow erosion instigated by a strong, well equipped and ideologically driven Government.

Australia.

Random stops of cars to check registration, road worthiness, licensing, ID of occupants, random breath test, sniffer dogs and background checks. Like a "ten in one" checkpoint - only it is random, and well equipped with high tech gear.

Alcohol tests in cars have now extended to blood tests urine tests and sweat tests in bars, police stations and public locations

Fair enough? Keeping the roads safe?

Now police patrol bus stations, buses and even board trains with sniffer dogs.

Raids on bars and clubs in Sydney is not an invasion of human rights - it's a regular occurrence now moving from weekends to 24/7.

fair enough? Lots of bad people out there on the streets?

Well if you stay at home they now track internet usage, and censor the internet for all Australians to "protect the kids" - Even if you don't have any.

Yes. Those who don't have or even know / interact with any children are still restricted in what they can view or discuss online so the government can "protect" a small percentage of children and teens with irresponsible and downright bad parents.

The west leads the way in suppression of democracy and systematic erosion of civil liberties.

And all in the name of Democracy and Civil Liberties (for the people who think the same way they do)

Over here, nobody NEEDS or WANTS to look at pornography.

In Australia, you are now not allowed to - and prevented by high tech blanket censorship of the internet by a secret government controlled "blacklist" which nobody is allowed to know details of.

With you all the way there chef,, how do you feel when arriving into an Aussie airport, lined up single file and have the sniffer dogs go over you one by one, as a frequent traveller to Thailand I am waiting to be pulled aside for a body search.

oh yeah.

At least they smile and politely welcome you to Australia while they trample your civil liberties and make you feel like a criminal.

One time I bought two cartons of cigarettes in instead of one. And declared them.

One ctn of Davidoffs, ($10? I forget) and one ctn of cheap egyptian ciggies. (about $2 a carton. ludicrously cheap)

I turned into the next Bin Laden. It became an event of epic proportions.

I would have to pay AUD$120 in duty.

I said throw away the Egyptian ones then.

No. I had brought them in, so I would either have to pay $120, or throw away BOTH.

Eventually I agreed to throw away both, and asked for them back so I could tear all of the cigarettes into pieces into the rubbish bin.

When Aussie customs realised they wouldn't be getting pocket money or free smokes, I was allowed to go through.

I was only glad I didn't have dirt on my shoes. They probably would have jailed me.

LOL

Yeah, Aussie airports are amongst the strictest in the world, and I shit myself every time I go home.

I have also given up bringing home gifts, memorabilia or purchases from abroad.

[SirDougless]

If it gets rid of the riff-raff and deviants that plague Thailand, I'm all for it.

&lt;deleted&gt; me dead! Your about as focused as the Thais! This country has one of the worst road tolls per capita due to drivers ignoring simple road rules (just one example of a major issue that should be addressed IMHO) and yet they are testing random bar patrons for recreational drugs.

Get a grip on reality. Rant over.

[buddyholly1]

The west leads the way in suppression of democracy and systematic erosion of civil liberties.

And all in the name of Democracy and Civil Liberties (for the people who think the same way they do)

You need to travel more.

[HDRIDER]

Hi

My friend was in Hollywood disco when there was a drug test, when he was there it was only Thai people there did the drug test.