The Anti-Social Test

Answer the following questions to determine your level of anti-social behaviour.

1. When you are preparing to leave your flat, if you hear activity in the hallway do you delay your departure out of fear that you may have to descend in the lift with one of your neighbours?

2. Do you burst out laughing at inappropriate times while watching movies at the cinema?

3. Do read the obituaries just for laughs?

4. Do you make cryptic, vague comments about your personal life in hopes that you will scare off any work colleagues who may try to initiate friendships?

5. When slipping out unnoticed from a woman's flat after a drunken one-night stand and while she is still sleeping, what are you likely to leave on the pillow?
a.) a rose
b.) an empty beer bottle
c.) a used condom

For this question, classify b.) or c.) as "yes" when tallying the results.

6. When an associate or colleague divulges confidential and potentially damaging (to them) information to you during a drunken conversation, do you:
a.) reflect on it mournfully or
b.) record the details in case you need to put the screws to that person at a later date?

For this question, classify b.) as "yes" when tallying the results.

7. Do you purposefully raise sensitive subjects around those you know will be most offended? (For example, discussing the increasing level of birth deformities around pregnant women.)

8. Do you join self-help groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous just for the entertainment value of hearing others recount their oh-so-fucking-pitiful lives?

9. Do you feel a strange affinity with serial killers, mass murderers and those who respond to government initiated violence and destruction with bombings, killings and terror of their own?

10. Do you like sandwiching razor blades between two coins with some chewing gum and then letting the missile fly when you are in large crowds such as at concerts or sporting events?

11. When in a group of people do you enjoy sparking a disagreement between two other individuals and then sitting back and watching the words and/or fists fly?

12. Do you view social norms as curious novelties with which you can manipulate others, initiate social experiments and just plain mess with people's minds?

13. Do you tell inconsequential lies to people and then later feign incredulity when the person raises the point in front of others, asking what in fuck's name they are on about?

14. Does the arrival of each new year bring another series of decade-old grievances to the fore, alerting you that it's time to finally even the score, 10 years being the amount of time that you long ago decided was necessary to pass before various accounts were settled so as to provide plausible deniability?

15. Do you volunteer for church groups who provide comfort to terminally ill bible- beaters with no families left just so you can be at their bedsides as the life is draining away and be able to lean closer to them and whisper "It's a pathetic tale for gullible ignoramuses you've been following your whole sad life, it's pure fucking blackness waiting for you, no fairy tale after-life...just nothingness. You think if there was a god he'd allow me to be your last fucking contact with the real world?"


If you answered "yes" 5 times or fewer you are a fairly normal, albeit naive, individual.

5- 10 "yes" answers and you are definitely not a "people person."

10-15 "yes" answers and you are a fucking lunatic with paranoid and sociopathic tendencies. Consider suicide or a career in politics.

The Strange Face of the Thai Justice System

The Thai police and the Thai justice system have some strange manifestations and practices that differ greatly from most western countries. Roundly acknowledged by expats and Thais alike to be rife with corruption, the Thai police are vested with some remarkably wide-ranging powers that are more likely to be seen in totalitarian and fascist regimes rather than the democracy Thailand claims to be.

A regular occurrence in Bangkok is the arrival of a group of police officers at a night club where they will bar the doors behind them on the way in and demand urine samples from as many patrons as they see fit. Drug tests are performed on the spot with a mobile lab and anyone failing the test will likely face a night of interrogation at the local station, probable fines and a possible search of their home and finally, potential arrest. The arbitrary nature of such events can probably be chalked up to club owners who have not played along with bent cops angling for payoffs.

Another almost daily event that is surreal only because of the difference from western countries, is the parade of arrested suspects whose pictures are sprayed all over newspapers and on the TV news. The standard shot is of the suspect seated at a table with the associated wares of whatever crimes they are accused of having committed arranged neatly in front of them, along with a row of stern-faced coppers behind the individual or group of arrestees. This doesn't seem to cause any discomfort to those within the justice system or raise concerns regarding the presumption of guilt that are inherent in such displays.

But then, why would it even rate an acknowledgement when the thousands gunned down in the war on drugs last year are now barely mentioned by the local media?

A related sideshow activity is the re-enactment of crimes committed by those same individuals who are accused and in custody. Perhaps this spectacle is only undertaken when someone has confessed to a crime though with such disregard for any semblance of a fair justice system and ruthless, brutal cops, what does a confession really mean anyway? These recreations of crimes are played out for the media cameras, with often a sheepishly smirking individual making a pretend gun with his thumb and forefinger and showing how he put a slug into someone's head.

Last year there were a few corrupt Buddhist monks locked up for various scams in which they bilked gullible fools out of millions of baht. In one case a monk even turned murderer and the requisite demonstration was played out with him in his orange robe, smirking and demonstrating how he pulled the trigger.

Bribes are such an accepted part of dealing with police in Thailand that it doesn't even rate any displeasure when someone is recounting how they were pulled over in their car and had to cough up the appropriate amount for whichever violation they may or may not have committed. Supposedly illegal activities carry on blatantly as long as the pigs get their soiled snouts in on the action and slurp up an appropriate heaping of the slops. A half-baked theory that is routinely floated is that any family with aspirations of wealth and power will ensure that at least one family member joins the police force and aims to ascend in the ranks. Their upward trajectory in the force is likely smoothed along by payoffs from the family who in turn looks for suitable payoffs in terms of having their misdeeds overlooked somewhere down the road. Thaksin Shinawatra, the prime minister of Thailand and one of the richest men in Asia, is himself a former pig.

As with all instances of using anecdotal sources to form an opinion on something, there are numerous contradictions and examples that fly in the face of the accepted condemnation of the actions of the Thai police. Personally I've never been harassed or shaken down for a bribe from a policeman in Thailand and during my only direct interaction I only experienced courteous and professional behaviour. Though in possession of a distinctive hard-edged facial appearance, make eye contact or offer that barely perceptible nod of acknowledgement that is almost universally known and many will smile or nod in return.

Perhaps that is only a testament to how powerful a hold learned and accepted norms of behaviour have over us. The outward arrogance of many western pigs grates because it is seemingly easy to attach their assumptions and thought processes to such mannerisms. Just as the smirk that so many suspects in this part of the world have on their faces may have more to it than only the sneering smugness that occidentals associate with such a look.

There is the same intrigue with crime and law enforcement here as in most places. One pop culture phenomena that has found its way here is the made for TV, real-life police documentary in which a camera crew follows various police officers around as they pursue criminals. Latching onto a particularly sleazy or deviant case, the camera crew will then follow the individual through the various stages of arrest, trial and sentencing. In these cheaply produced prurient affairs there is often a shot of the arresting officers talking to the accused at various times throughout the process. The sight of a police officer coddling and comforting a criminal who is realizing the enormity of his fuck-up is something that wouldn't likely be seen in a western country. Though the cameras are rolling the displays seem genuine and are a strange contrast to the brutality these same police officers are capable of.

The practice of identifying national character traits is easy to criticize as it is fraught with sweeping generalities. However, I do believe these rare but tender displays of sympathy from the boys in brown are representative of a Thai capacity for forgiveness and an affinity for those who have fallen that is often not so evident elsewhere.

Cross-posted at: Flogging the Simian

Thai Cop Accused of Murdering British Couple Still on the Run

The Thai policeman who reportedly shot and killed 2 British tourists in Kanchanaburi is still on the run. Himself an experienced investigator, he is obviously knowledgeable about procedures for searching for suspects and thus may be able to elude capture longer than the average person.

The prevailing wisdom in the press and echoed by Thai politicians is that it is urgent that the suspect is found as soon as possible. Not because of the senseless brutality of his crime, though that is mentioned, but mainly because the case could further tarnish the image of Thailand abroad. Thai authorties now predict they will capture him within days.

Other details regarding the incident are coming out which could possibly only be speculation but at the same time, if true, would seem to make more sense than what was initially reported.

The original reports tended to suggest that the British couple had just met the man who eventually killed them. This was reported along with the fact that the young British man, Adam Lloyd, became angry that people were staring at his girlfriend, Vanessa Arscott.

The claim that the two Brits had only met the policeman on the night in question doesn't seem to jibe with the degree of the anger involved in the apparent 3-way argument that took place at the restaurant where the quarrel was said to have begun. Also, a certain amount of trust must have existed for the 2 young tourists to get into the same car as the Thai copper (though other contrasting accounts say that they never got into the car). It seems unlikely that this would have happened had they just met him.

More intriguing is the suggestion that the young British woman had been having an affair with the Thai policeman. The supposed problem that is being mentioned with this story line is the fact that they had reportedly only been in Kanchanaburi for 7 days.

This doesn't seem like a convincing argument as to why this couldn't have happened, though of course no real evidence supports it as being true either. When people envision two young tourists trekking around the world, coupled with the sympathy and sadness that their final night naturally engenders, people may have a tendency to simplify the relationship that may have existed between the two dead Brits.

Let's look at the events leading up to the tragic night and a possible scenario that could have played out.

Lloyd and Arscott had been travelling together for the past 2 months. Although ostensibly it sounds like an idyllic and lovely experience for a young couple in love, the reality is often much different. Travelling together for an extended period can be a stressful experience, exaggerating minor differences and bringing repressed grievances to the fore. When there are a myriad of social opportunities where young people are mixing together involving conscious and often contrived attempts at hedonistic displays, insecurities and jealousies can easily get out of hand.

If Lloyd was a jealous boyfriend, perhaps in those previous 2 months, like so many insecure individuals before him, he had sought to allay those concerns by cheating on his girlfriend. A drunken fling with a young female traveler after a spat with his girlfriend, or maybe simply becoming overly friendly with the wide range of interesting and attractive women a person meets when travelling.

Upon landing in Kanchanaburi and after a series of blow-ups and accusations regarding infidelity, perhaps she headed out alone one night convinced that finally their relationship was on the rocks. There was the added stress of knowing that their trip was almost over. The events of their time on the road together meant things wouldn't be the same on their return to the real world, and she decided to take a small bit of revenge with her own meaningless fling.

She could imagine the future memory she might one-day hold of spending the night with a Thai policeman, a unique experience from what had degenerated into an otherwise negative end to her extended vacation. Maybe there was a bit of arrogant disdain for the belief that young female tourists can't enjoy the same uninhibited sense of release at becoming involved with the local men the way the lads enjoy the company of beautiful foreign women when travelling.

Maybe Arscott was the jealous one. Maybe she initiated the fling (if there was one) based solely out of lust. Somchai (the Thai policeman) would have eventually had the sense that he had been played for a dupe and perhaps in that short time became more enamoured with her than she could have anticipated.

The one sickly image that resonates throughout this whole tragedy is that of Arscott being ploughed into at top speed and then being dragged by the car for up to 100 yards. Then, like a wounded animal, chunks of her flesh stuck to the car, having a few slugs pumped into her by Somchai before he fled on foot.

The truth, if it ever fully comes out regarding dramas like this, is always more complex and nuanced that any speculation could be. Unfortunately for the families of the dead couple, this has all the elements that makes for an almost insatiable interest from the public; sex, murder, the mystery of a foreign country and those tangible and real aspects of a personal relationship that most people can identify with.

Cross=posted at; Flogging the Simian

Discuss this or any other post from Pistonhips or Flogging the Simian at the new Pistonhips Discussion Board

Thailand: Week in Review

Thaksin tries to stifle the media while others try to take on Thaksin, a sad conclusion to jealousy and rage and the Scorpions come to town.

Ever the prescient and shrewd individual when it comes to envisioning how his actions will be perceived, the libel case against a female journalist brought by Thai PM Thaksin appeared set to kick off this past week. The 400 million baht (approx. 10 million US) lawsuit against the Thai Post and Supinya Klangnarong alleges that she defamed Thaksin and his Shin Corporation when she wrote an article claiming that government policies have favoured the massive conglomerate owned by Thaksin. Upon meeting this past week the Criminal Court instead decided the libel case will not be heard until next year.

The question remains as to whether there were any strings pulled to put the case off until after the general election early next year, in hopes of avoiding embarrassing details surfacing that could harm Thaksin's attempt to be re-elected…

However, another fight started picking up steam early in the week, again involving Thaksin and this time maybe a more evenly matched opponent. "Battling billionaires" got underway as Ekkayuth Anchanbutr accused some within the government of stock manipulation resulting in countless billions in profits.

Ekkayuth fled Thailand in the early '80's after being accused of operating a pyramid scheme that bilked billions from investors. He made a fortune in the UK with a string of Asian food stores and has returned recently after the statute of limitations expired regarding the accusations against him. So far Thaksin's only response has been to try and discredit Ekkayuth with references to his earlier indiscretions. Who knows if Ekkayuth has any motivation beyond uncovering corruption but the war of words should provide some good entertainment in the weeks to come.

The last 7 days also saw another killing in the south, where Muslim extremists have been detonating bombs and battling the army and police at a heightened level of intensity since the beginning of this year. In this instance, a Muslim was killed by a soldier who mistakenly thought the young man was an insurgent. "Mistakenly shot and killed" conjures up images of mass confusion with people fleeing and perhaps someone getting killed in the crossfire. But it seems as though the man was asked to lay face down on the ground and then had a bullet pumped into his back.

On Friday the big story was in Kanchanaburi. Take a 90 minute drive to the west of Bangkok and you arrive in the city of Kanchanaburi, best known to foreigners as the location of the Death Bridge featured in the movie "Bridge on the River Kwai." Early on Thursday morning a young British couple were murdered there after becoming involved in an argument with a Thai man.

It seems as though the initial problem arose when the young Brit became enraged at the belief that others were staring at his girlfriend. It's unfortunate that this asinine bit of jealousy may have sparked the tragedy though of course the insane over-reaction should result in proper punishment when the murderer is caught.

I'm trying to imagine how the Thai became offended enough to kill both of the young tourists. Maybe the incredible sense of effrontery and being affronted came from the fact that there seems to be a markedly different and acceptable practice of recognizing a woman's beauty here as opposed to many western countries. Looking at a beautiful woman for a bit too long (and there are many, MANY opportunities) is possibly not so disrespectful here or likely to result in harummphing from the woman or glares from a jealous man (though of course it does happen sometimes).

This contrasts from other countries, where outsiders especially have to be careful how long they look at the local women. In general, the attitude here seems to be a collective pride that Thai women are so worthy of having their beauty recognized. Many an arrogant foreign fool takes this too far with over-the-top ogling after his initial introduction to the beer bars and the hostesses working there but still Thais rarely react in a confrontational way over this.

So perhaps as the basis for the initial animosity from the Brit, this may have especially galled the Thai man who eventually lost it.

Compounding the sense of cruelty surrounding the murder and the anger towards the gunman, is the fact that it appears as though he is a Thai policeman. Possibly he acquired a taste for killing as last year's butchering spree of alleged drug dealers by police raged on during the government declared war on drugs.

As is usual when crimes are initially reported, the emerging details of this double murder are convoluted but the 2 tourists definitely met a brutal end. The young lass had her final moments of horror compounded by apparently being assaulted by her jealous boyfriend before being hit by the car driven by the Thai, dragged for a distance and then being shot as the murderer fled on foot.

On Friday night, Thailand's strange love affair with the German band the Scorpions was consummated once again, as the metal band that enjoyed most of its popularity in the '80's played a concert at Bangkok’s Impact Arena. Something about the melodic metal sound and the distinctive voice of lead singer Klaus Meine with his barely discernible clipped accent appeals to Thais…at least more than any of the other dinosaurs from that era. Come here for a vacation and you're bound to hear the greatest hits from the Scorpions in the bars of Bangkok, in the beach front bars on the islands, on the radio, from cover bands playing anywhere...

Not that there's anything wrong with their music, in fact there's a number of their songs that I enjoy. It's just, why that particular band to the relative exclusion of other tired metal acts from that time period? Who knows...just another quirky aspect to this strange place I call home.

Note: I had wanted to end this piece with a short excerpt from a Scorpion's tune in hopes of capturing some relevance to Bangkok and/or the events from the past week. Alas, a quick perusal of their songs reveals that, like the lyrics from most rock bands, when not accompanied by the music, more interesting words can be found on shithouse walls.

Cross-posted at: Flogging the Simian

Google

Google is having a good year. Their IPO appears to have been a success and the changes they have made to Blogger have resulted in a better service.

Their introduction of Gmail in beta version has been handled in such a way so as to give it added cachet. As expected, whenever something is available in limited numbers those same cunts scoffing at those wanting to try the new service also mention that they already have 10 accounts.

I've been using a Gmail account for some time and it seems decent enough. It's faster than other free e-mail providers when flicking around between messages and different sections within your account and there are some unique features as well.

The large amount of storage space has been the big selling point but many are wondering whether this is simply to build huge data bases that can then be parsed by Google's search engine in order to target advertising and compile profiles that can then be sold to marketing companies.

Among others that have sprung up, here is a website that raises some valid issues.

Another annoyance and area of concern is the targeted ads that show up alongside every e-mail you open, selected based on some key words in the content of the message. It doesn't take much imagination to consider how many problems this could cause. A few Nigerian and Russian scam e-mails I've opened lately have strangely all had the same ad for the same internet provider attached. Wonder how they feel about that...

The bottom line is that any tit using the big 3 free e-mail providers (Hotmail, Yahoo and Gmail) should use common sense when deciding what kind of info to include in their messages.

Anyway, if you would like a Gmail account simply e-mail me your name (or the one that you would like attached to your account) and your e-mail address and I will send you an invite. My e-mail address is pistonhips@gmail.com.

While you're at it, you may want to download another feature they've added...a tool bar icon that alerts you to new e-mails.