Bob

Okay, I guess you based your statement about Shinawatra shooting drug dealers based on what you seemed to think you saw or heard. I'm not a big fan of Shinawatra but even he ought to be labeled a murderer on something more than that. Based on what I read, it was the Shinawatra government, embarrassed at the murders (with the final straw being the cops shooting at some alleged woman drug dealer in a car and hitting and killing her kid sleeping in the back seat)ordered the cops and military to stop it. This all happened from the end of February to about the first of May and reflected, in my view, a hell of a lot more on the military and cops than anybody in the government. Now, it surely is theoretically possible that somebody in the government quietly gave the green light to extra-judicial killings but one could only conclude that based on theory and tea leaves. Somebody probably ought not be labeled a murderer based on that.

That's what I thought you were trying to say. Some people call it being politically correct (usually from the right wing side of things) but I'd call it being educated or enlightened. Some perjorative terms (such as "retard" or the "n" word) are not, in my view, acceptable terms.

Hmmm. There certainly were a lot of alleged drug dealers killed by soldiers and police during an approximately 3-month time period a few years back (maybe 2005?). But, although I've read about every story I could get my hands on about those events, I never read any first-hand, second-hand, third-hand (etc.) account that either the prime minister (that would be Thaksin Shinawatra at the time) or the cabinet authorized (expressly or impliedly) any extra-judicial killings. So....I'm just wondering what you base your comment on.

Sometimes it's just a wee bit difficult to understand the real gist of your comments. Are you suggesting it's okay to call some developmentally disabled kid a retard? And/or or you suggesting that Rush Limbaugh is not a neanderthal bigot?

Ditto. Incredibly stupid and not a iota of humor to it (I can just imagine how the girl felt - just horrible). I wish I would have been the guy's superior as I would have humiliated the jerk and publicly fired him on the spot.

I understand your views but I'm also happy that the prosecutor doesn't. It certainly is past history but so what? All crimes prosecuted are "past history" and, in this particular case, the main reason it wasn't disposed of timely was because the guilty guy (he did plead guilty under oath, ya know) committed another crime by violating his sworn bond and fleeing the jurisdiction. Your logic seems to imply that I ought to be able to escape liability for my acts so long as I can hide from authorities long enough? I also don't understand how you can conclude that he's not a future threat. Most paedophiles (and, yes, I call a guy who drugs and rapes a 13-year-old a paedophile) are a future threat. Not too long ago, an 82-year-old guy not to far from here was arrested for molesting teens. Polanski's deviant orientation may be lower now due to his older age but, again, I don't see that as a valid reason that he should escape liability for what he most certainly did. If you do the crime, you ought to do the time. He hasn't but he ought to (his celebrity "star" status ought to afford him no extraordinary privleges whatsoever; in fact, a good argument could be made that the opposite should occur). It's actually kinda wierd/embarrassing that ol' Roman has gotten 7 pages of posts but I at least suspect that part of that is due to the strong views on both sides of the issue.

Nope, it's not. But there are state laws that allow the state to go after the individual for the cost of their incarceration (allegedly some $40,000.00 per year depending on the location). They only do that, of course, with the rare case where the person can actually afford to pay for it.

I must be weird/unusual (hmmm....you don't all have to jump in and agree on that at once!). Restaurants in the US for the last decade or more seem to be having a contest to see how much food they can give you. When I go (rarely) to a buffet, I actually go and get less food than an average restaurant would have served me. Strange, maybe, but true.

I have no bone to pick with Rotary - a great outfit that does a ton of good; nevertheless, the bed-race concept is just like I described it.

Oh yea, those must be the people with the clean bowling shirts in the audience? (just kidding, folks)

They do this bed-race thing in my dinky home town every summer as part of an annual festival. These racing beds (read: poorly put-together contraptions) are in many instances downright friggin' dangerous. They usually put some kind of crappy wheels on a metal bedspring, some guy/lady sits (holds on for dear life) on the bed, and then four to six guys push the thing down the street as fast as they can. I've seen both participants and spectators significantly injured (as in broken bones and deep gashes) over the years during these crazy exhibitions. Just a train wreck (although nobody's likely going to die) waiting to happen. I don't know who came up with the idea originally but somebody ought to slap him/her silly. Almost as smart as having a lawn dart contest at a drinking fest.

Actually, to be fair, I can understand that more than 2-3 days of that would get a bit bothersome. Thankfully, I've never had to put up with it that long. When in Chiangmai, I'm usually outside most of the first day having fun and photographing. On the second day, I go out some and usually photograph (and, as long as I stand back a bit, I actually don't usually get very wet). The third day, I might go out a little but oftentimes not that much. So, yea, it's thrill begins to wane.

Yea, I know, guys. Some friends of mine love it and some of them hate it. Of course, it's my view that most of the ones that really hate it usually don't like doing many fun things anyway (Whoa! That'll spark some old codgers! haha) I've got a good friend from my dinky town back home that travels often to Asia and the rest of the world - and he simply cannot stand to be around crowds or lots of people. He's probably been to Thailand 30-40 times in his life and has yet to experience Songkran, Loy Krathong, or any other interesting event here as he plans all his trips around any holiday-type event. Of course, I call him an "old poop" too....

To be honest, that's exactly what I thought when I first heard the name too. And a bigger one wiil be a MaxI Pad? hehe They keep inventing these new electronic gadgets and somehow get a ton of people to think they just can't do without one of the latest high-tech gadgets. I can do without, at least for now. I've always admired Steve Jobs for what he's created and, although he's not too dissimilar from any businessman out there trying to make a fortune, somehow he's been able to do it in a rather chic, up-scale, way (like, rather than making money, his true interest is in bettering the world). More power to him, I suppose.

If he fact was peddling underage sex, I'm glad the cops got him.

It's pretty crazy up here too....but only for 3 days. Last year (as this year too), I spent Songkran in Hua Hin and it's only 1 day there. Hey, you like it or you don't. I actually like it (of course, I dress appropriately for it with the wallet in a baggie, etc.), and I find it great fun to take photos of the Thais going a bit bonkers. "A bit" is probably a gross understatement....

Well, that will teach you! Bananas are never that spicy! And, besides, Mary told me I had the wrong address anyway.

Our comments are probably pretty boring for the non-demented (meaning those who weren't raised Catholic). For whatever reason, the whole idea of confession seemed to be like going into the box to get one of those Monopoly "Get out of Jail" cards. The system seemed to breed the belief that you could do whatever the hell you like because you could escape ultimate liability by just going in the confessional. I use to marvel at why almost all the mafia were Catholics. I can see it now: Sorry, father, I offed 16 guys this week and tortured a few more. After saying the 5 "our fathers" and 5 "hail marys", then he felt rather free to go out and kill a few more (cause you could get cleared of those murders by your next trip to the confessional).

As far as I'm concerned, I like the idea of having three New Years (western one, Chinese New Years, and the Thai New Year of Songkran) here. For Chinese New Years, the decorations at some places are rather nice and, yea, I like to see the various dragons and fireworks. Of course, the Thais don't need much to have cause to party. If they paint the curbs tonight, that'll be enough....

It didn't! I got the drift we were inserting non-sequiturs so I did (which probably means now that something floated over my head). By the way, cotton or nylon?

Actually don't remember that part. Remember the beginning: Bless me, father, for I have sinned, my last confession was "x" weeks/months ago. Then you start listing your infractions. Don't remember having said I was sorry (if I did say that, I lied....hehe).

They taste good? (puak kao na-gin mai?)

You over-estimate the integrity of some programs. There are some uppity colleges and programs that simply don't flunk out many students. Somewhat like the "honors" program you might have experienced in high school - once you're in, it's a different (and often easier) world and they simply don't flunk out the participants absent some really exaggerated behaviour (like never showing up for class or not taking the exams. We also might be mistaking the ability to take a test for actual intelligence. Generally I'd agree that's true but I've also seen great test takers that wouldn't know enough to come in out of the rain. If you look at the schools GW went to and the degrees he obtained, it'd be pretty hard to argue that he's uneducated or undereducated. But, if you look at his speech patterns and his logic at times, you might guess he flunked out of the 7th grade. Whether he always appeared to be this dumb (and almost illiterate at times), I don't know. Maybe he acted smarter when he was younger and drugs/alcohol did some damage later. Regardless, it was awfully hard not to cringe almost every time he spoke without a script during his presidency.

Nope, don't get Oprah here in Chiangmai. As to the daughter's lofty goals, it seems to me somewhat like the old axiom that there's not much sense in closing the barn door after the whatever escaped. Why anyone, though, would allow their young daughter to discuss topics like that on a talk show is beyond me.

Huh? If that's true, that's another thing that the priests lied to me about. We started going to weekly confession at school in the second grade. Hell, I was 6 when I started second grade (7 shortly thereafter) and I had to actually make up shit to tell the priest. A couple of times I thought I was going to piss my pants! Ah....the horror of it (I still remember)....