nisakiman

takatukaland, on 2012-03-19 18:02:46, said:

I don't know if it would work with Qatar, but a couple of times flying BKK - ATH via Bahrain with Gulf I had a long stopover (12 hours overnight). Cheapest economy ticket. When I got to Bahrain, I went to the Gulf desk in the airport, showed them my ticket and was given a hotel voucher, no questions asked, which included evening meal and breakfast. Transport provided. The last time, the wife and I got a massive suite with a bed the size of a football pitch!

RickBradford, on 2012-03-06 10:50:08, said:

It's the so-called "progressives" that want to legislate every aspect of our lives. I think you meant to say "common sense" cages.

What evidence, pray, is clear that if drugs are cheap and available more people will abuse them? Please show us this "evidence". Experience points to the fact that when the "forbidden fruit" aspect is removed from something, and it becomes merely humdrum, then for many (particularly the young) it loses its desirability. This is basic human nature.

Combine legalisation with education (stripped of the hyperbole) about the potential dangers involved with taking certain drugs, and usage would taper off as people lost interest.

Alcohol is an addictive drug, and is readily available. Are we beset by ravening hordes of alcoholics threatening our very existence? No, of course we're not. A small minority have a problem with it, and the vast majority have no problem regulating their intake to a level which doesn't interfere with their daily lives.

I don't think you are "an ultra right-wing nut job". Far from it. I just think you've swallowed the received orthodoxy on drugs hook, line and sinker without really considering its implications. Your comparisons with stealing cars, necrophilia etc are just silly, and I suspect you know that. You aren't comparing like with like, you are comparing apples with pears.

The "War On Drugs" has caused untold misery in the world. It has absolutely nothing to recommend it.

I think you're being a bit of an a**hole. You're not with her (I hope) because of her race. It should have no bearing on the matter. If other people have a problem with it, fcuk 'em. Support her. Tell her it doesn't matter. Tell her that anyone who finds it a problem isn't worth knowing anyway.

I live on a Greek island, and when I brought my wife here five years ago, she felt quite paranoid about the way people looked at us. I just said to her "fcuk 'em. Why should we care if they look. Double fcuk 'em."

She doesn't worry about it now, and people don't even look anymore.

And as for being worried about the reaction of your work colleagues, that's really an insult to Thai women. And to your intelligence. If introduced to a Frenchman, do you automatically assume he should have a string of onions round his neck, a glass of Pernod in his hand and a Galouise hanging out of his mouth? Of course not, despite that being the popular stereotype.

Seatbelts and helmets are incidental if there is a lack of roadcraft.

I remenber someone saying a few years back that instead of airbags in the steering wheel, car manufacturers should fit a lethal spike in the centre. That would then focus the driver's mind on what he was doing, instead of lulling him into a sense of false security because he had all these safety devices around him.

It's the Volvo effect.

Personally, I never wear a seatbelt. I find them uncomfortable and distracting, and I'm not altogether convinced of their efficacy. And before the holier-than-thou start berating me for a mindless fool, I would say that I have driven more miles than most, having been a professional driver (class 1) for many years of my life. I know and understand where seatbelts can be a lifesaver, and I also know when they can be lethal.

(I might add here that I now live in a country where seatbelt and helmet laws are not enforced very strongly, so I actually have a choice.)

But without the relevant driving skills, it's all academic anyway. Two seatbelts aren't going to help much in a pickup with ten people in the back and a lunatic driver.

I also never wear a helmet when I'm out on my bike in the summer. Again, they are uncomfortable, and there is such a sheer joy feeling the wind through your hair (not that I have much of that anymore ) which is entirely lost with a helmet. It's the feeling of freedom. I'll wear one on the rare occaisions I ride my bike in the winter months, but only for warmth.

I'm a free agent. I don't like others telling me how to live my life. I have my own moral compass that has served me well for many years. I am wiser than most of those who would presume to tell me how I should live. I have lived on the edge for most of my life, so every day I wake up is a bonus. And I'm not risk-averse, which most people have been conditioned into being now. Life is risk. That's what makes it exciting, and worth living. Guaranteed immortality would be guaranteed boredom.

So I live how I choose, not how others choose for me.

And part of that is ignoring seatbelt / helmet laws.

Flame on!

Yawn...

I detect a reality disconnect here somewhere...