Certified Legendary Thread The Random Non Footy Chat Thread - General Non Footy talk

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Jul 21, 2008
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A few people would have followed the story of my Thai friend in jail and suffering from tuberculosis. I think I last updated it in this thread, thinking it to be too dark a topic for a Postcard thread.

Well I got an update last night from his wife. She finally visited him after 9 weeks, even though living no more than 40km distance from him. I can't say it's her fault that despite my financial assistance, she can't get time off her 6 day a week work schedule to visit. When I visit, and stay in accommodation closer to the prison than her house, I have no alternative but to take a taxi out there, even though I take public transport everywhere else in Bangkok. There is no other way to get out to a prison that is in the middle of nowhere. After almost 3 years of visiting, the taxi drivers who often do the route have come to recognise me. Much of the time when I make the return journey from the visit, I don't need to name a destination, because another driver waiting in 'queue' tells the driver where I am going.

There is no bus or train to drop you out front. You can't go on a weekend or public holiday, because visiting hours are Monday to Friday, on working days only. My friend is Thai, all the prisoners and their visitors are Thai. They are mostly poor people who may have scraped together 100-500 baht in a month of saving to deposit in their son's prison account. They know the food inside is inedible. They know the water is filthy and spreads disease. They know their son, who has most likely been caught with a pill or two and is doing several years for it is doing it hard. They don't complain. They have too much respect, or/and fear, for the system and society, and they are well aware of their own low rank on the social and power ladder.

I don't know how they get to the prison, but it's not by taxi. My friend's wife rides her old motor scooter. It's a long trip, it's the rainy season and she can't get time off work. I get fed bull s**t by her but I know the truth from experience. Nothing in life is as clear cut it seems. I get angry because she hasn't visited, but I know that she needs to take a day off work to do it. And it's not like here when you can phone in with a 'flu symptom', say you're taking annual leave or your bike has a flat battery.

Anyway, to cut a long story so much shorter, she told me that the director of the prison forbade all 10 prisoners with Tuberculosis to be taken to the hospital for blood tests, as a result of which they get their 4 kinds of medication for the next month. Every month, those prisoners are chained and taken under guard to the local hospital about 20km away. They return to the prison where the prison 'doctor' dispenses their tablets and gives them shots. But not any more.

The director apparently decided that the hospital tests and medication were not happening anymore. Never mind that TB sufferers need at least 6-9 months of constant medication to overcome the disease. Breaking the medication cycle causes drug immunity, a resurgence of the infection and the sufferers become infectious to others. In a Thai prison, the ramifications for the prison of reinfection are catastrophic.

I worked my arse off to get my friend a diagnosis and treatment. I posted pics of his emaciated body, taken by his wife at his bedside in hospital. I have paid for his food in prison, given that he could not sit with other prisoners for the 2 daily meals of inedible food. I paid for medication because of the incompetence of the doctor and the prison system. After all my efforts, he and his fellow sufferers have had no medication for over 2 weeks. The consequences of discontinuing the medication before the infection is absent from the blood are life-threatening.

I can't tell you how pissed off and upset I am. I have done everything in my power in the last 24 hrs to do anything short of spending money I can ill afford to use to return to a country I just left a month ago. To do what? The damage has already been done. The hardest thing in life is to truly realise just how small you are, how little you or anyone you love really matters in the greater scheme of things. Nothing I can say or do, despite being white and relatively 'rich', makes even the slightest impression on the people up top who matter. I never get to speak to them. I may have mini-victories with their underlings, but my influence goes no further. I get to watch my friend die slowly from afar.

I read somewhere that a year in a Thai prison is worth 5 years in a US jail. If you get sick, I reckon you can at least double that time.

I apologise for being so dark and depressing, but today I have been seriously questioning the value of life and I haven't come up with any positive answers. Some people just don't care about their fellow human beings. It is said you can judge the morality or worth of a society by the way it treats its less fortunate or most vulnerable. I can't argue with that assessment.
 
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I'm really sorry to hear this TheGreatGrundy
It's particularly hard to bear when you have tried so hard to help and all those efforts have been wasted due to a total lack of respect for human life.
I'll never understand the cruelty of some people
 
Absolutely shattered to hear that TGG.
Life is hard, especially in those kinds of places where the government is brutal. Unfortunately we live in a world that rewards the rich but *s over the poor and in the end it makes it very hard for those in poverty to succeed.

I know it's hard right now , but if you want any hope of getting through this tough time you need to look at the few positives you do have. Accept what's happened but realize for the moment he is still alive and use that time you have well. I have no doubt that in his heart he will always know he has a great friend in you and it brings me joy that no matter our skin colour, race, religious values, or native language we can still develop unbreakable bonds that last not just for this lifetime but far beyond that as well.

Best wishes to you and your friend TheGreatGrundy
If you ever need anything mate, even just a casual chat with a young lad such as myself who has been through it all and consequently is still going through it, then my inbox is always open to you.

Cheers , Tempest.
 
I'm sitting in an office in Darwin waiting for some new signs to be fitted to my work ute and the owner is a mad Pies supporter. Tons of signed memorabilia from Didak and Daicos and great guy to chat with. Plenty of old 'In black and white' magazines to reminisce.

Great way to start the day.
 
Jul 21, 2008
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Cheers guys and good advice Tempest. I will pop in for a chat and catch up with how you're going. Life suddenly seems a bit empty without the footy. A dull GF is not a great way to finish off the season. Sounds like I should have watched the rugby league GF.

Did anyone see 4 Corners last night about the people who rescue women and children from ISIS captivity in Syria? If not, catch it on repeat or on iview. The rescuers are heroes of the highest order and the ISIS men the scum of the earth. Synopsis here: http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2015/10/05/4323133.htm
 
Just read your post TGG and as others have said try and stay positive for your mate. You have gone above and beyond to be there for your friend and I'm sure this gives him much needed strength to get through tough days.

Sorry to hear
 
Cheers guys and good advice Tempest. I will pop in for a chat and catch up with how you're going. Life suddenly seems a bit empty without the footy. A dull GF is not a great way to finish off the season. Sounds like I should have watched the rugby league GF.

Did anyone see 4 Corners last night about the people who rescue women and children from ISIS captivity in Syria? If not, catch it on repeat or on iview. The rescuers are heroes of the highest order and the ISIS men the scum of the earth. Synopsis here: http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2015/10/05/4323133.htm
It was a great story and there needs to be more stories about the inner workings of ISIS to help young kids understand the dangers and lifestyle of being radicalised.
 
Jul 21, 2008
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Just read your post TGG and as others have said try and stay positive for your mate. You have gone above and beyond to be there for your friend and I'm sure this gives him much needed strength to get through tough days.

Sorry to hear
There's not much I can do other than hope that the infection is out of his system. At least while the sick prisoners are locked in together it keeps them separate from the bullies in the heavily populated main cells.

I always wanted to live in Darwin. What's it like NT?
 
There's not much I can do other than hope that the infection is out of his system. At least while the sick prisoners are locked in together it keeps them separate from the bullies in the heavily populated main cells.

I always wanted to live in Darwin. What's it like NT?
I was up here for 12 years, moved South for 5 years and just last week returned. It's a great place. Good weather, outdoor life and a real social lifestyle. Everyone is so relaxed. NT stands for not today, not tomorrow, not Tuesday, not Thursday if you know what I mean....this can be frustrating at times though.

A long lunch on Mitchell St is the norm with a few midday beers, good food around the markets and a real transient population that doubles in the dry season. Well worth a few days TGG on your way through to Thailand. Darwin has many international flights to Asia so maybe plan a stop over on teh way/way back to a visit to Thailand for a look.
 
Jul 21, 2008
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I was up here for 12 years, moved South for 5 years and just last week returned. It's a great place. Good weather, outdoor life and a real social lifestyle. Everyone is so relaxed. NT stands for not today, not tomorrow, not Tuesday, not Thursday if you know what I mean....this can be frustrating at times though.

A long lunch on Mitchell St is the norm with a few midday beers, good food around the markets and a real transient population that doubles in the dry season. Well worth a few days TGG on your way through to Thailand. Darwin has many international flights to Asia so maybe plan a stop over on teh way/way back to a visit to Thailand for a look.
Hot climates seem to breed lethargic populations. It's funny what the locals make of acronyms and abbreviations - NT. In the Philippines the code used by Philippine airlines is PAL, which the locals used to reckon stood for plane always late. Darwin is a place I am keen to check out.
 
Snoop Dogg or Lion or whatever the * he calls himself these days is high as * on the Justin Beiber roast lol.

Has anyone ever watched this s**t before? This is my second time and it's still just as funny :cool:
 
I have a black & white rabbit who roams around in my front yard. He doesn't like to be in his hut so most nights I leave him out. He is an independent rabbit with a lot of personality. This morning I went out to feed him and all I could find was a small pile of fur. I suspect a fox took him away. It has left me feeling very flat and my eldest daughter is heart broken. RIP Fluffy. :cry:
 
Jul 21, 2008
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I have a black & white rabbit who roams around in my front yard. He doesn't like to be in his hut so most nights I leave him out. He is an independent rabbit with a lot of personality. This morning I went out to feed him and all I could find was a small pile of fur. I suspect a fox took him away. It has left me feeling very flat and my eldest daughter is heart broken. RIP Fluffy. :cry:
Sorry to hear that jmac. The death of a pet is always tough especially for kids, but also adults. Unfortunately nighttime is when the predators like foxes, owls and cats are out and about. My sympathies to you and your family, especially your kids. Nature can be cruel.
 
I have a black & white rabbit who roams around in my front yard. He doesn't like to be in his hut so most nights I leave him out. He is an independent rabbit with a lot of personality. This morning I went out to feed him and all I could find was a small pile of fur. I suspect a fox took him away. It has left me feeling very flat and my eldest daughter is heart broken. RIP Fluffy. :cry:
Sorry to hear that mate. Lost a lamb myself today, not the same thing as a family pet but still hurts.
 
Jul 21, 2008
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Melbourne
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Collingwood
Sorry to hear that mate. Lost a lamb myself today, not the same thing as a family pet but still hurts.
How did you lose a lamb? I imagine with your recent births you are quite attached to them. My sympathies Obese.

I am an animal lover. For the first time in many years I have no pets. They tied me down, particularly the dogs, so I have not replaced those I lost and gave away (lovebirds) in the last 4 months. I still have the currawongs, magpies and kookaburras tapping on the window several times a day. I keep a supply of mince.

One of the kookaburras practically flies onto me when I go outside, takes the food out of my hand and even lets me give it a quick stroke. When I went overseas for 3 months, the morning I came back it was sitting on a frond on the tree fern at the back door and practically ate me alive when I went outside. I gave it some pieces of the porterhouse I had bought for myself.

The currawongs are too demanding, particularly at this time of year. I heavily ration the mince to them this year, otherwise I end up spending a fortune on it. I think I am their main food source. Why go searching for food when you can just have it handed to you? I am aware of the reasons why you shouldn't feed native birds, but find it hard to deny them when they bang on the window so frequently.
 
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