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Holidays from hell?… in Thailand? – Karnjana Karnjanatawe

From bus & motorcycle accidents to derailed trains, tourists are worried about safety. Should they be?

BANGKOK – When violent unforeseen events turn your dream vacation into a nightmare who can you turn to for help and who is ultimately at fault? During the last two weeks of June, two incidents in popular holiday destinations were serious enough to make headlines.

Three foreigners sustained gunshot injuries in Chiang Mai when a drunkencollege student opened fire in a restaurant. And in Phuket, a Russian man was slapped around and a fakerevolver pressed against his foreheadby the jealousboyfriend of a Thai woman with whom the Russian had become friendly.

A State Railways of Thailand (SRT) train has derailed in the northern Thai province of Denchai, injuring 23 passengers.

Sexual assaults are always newsworthy but few in recentyears have been as widely publicised as that by the so-called “Evil Man of Krabi”, the title given an angry video clipposted on YouTube last year by the father of a Dutch teenagerraped while on holiday here.

Another threatto tourists’ safety was again brought to the forelast week by the deadly bus accident in Saraburi in which 19 people lost their lives. Although no foreigners were killed in the collisionbetween a cementtruck and a passengercoach, reports in the internationalmediagave the impressionthat safety standards tend to be poor in Thailand and transportaccidents relatively common.

Accounts by foreign TV stations and newspapers mentioned the derailing, earlier this month, of an overnight sleeper train to Chiang Mai, in which 23 people, including 18 foreign tourists, were injured and referred to another accident in April when five people, including a Belgian woman, were killed when a tour bus plummeted off a hillside in Phitsanulok after its brakes failed.

The rashof negativereports prompted Deputy Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul to issuea statementassuring the world that tourist safety was one of the government’s top priorities. According to statistics compiled by the tourist police, an average of 8.5 complaints are made each day.

“But that doesn’t mean that Thailand is unsafe for tourists,” said Pol Maj Gen Roy Inkapairoj, commander of the Tourist Police Division. “When something happens to tourists, police make an effortto catch a suspector suspects as fast as we can.”

Last year the tourist police dealt with 3,119 cases, an increase of 26.6% on the figure for 2011. About 82% of those complaints involved the loss of valuables(1,798 reports) or documents (183 cases) or the theft of belongingsfrom public buses (587 incidents). Another 15% of the complaints were from the victims of scams, mostly by jewellers (341 reports), tailors (55) and tour agents (60). The remaining 3% of complaints related to physical assault(85 cases) and tourists being given spiked drinks (seven reports).

However, during the first four months of this year, the number of reports of physical attacks on tourists (87) has already surpassed the total for all of last year. “The situationis tense but it is still in hand” said Pol Maj Gen Roy. “Although our workforceremains the same, the number of foreign tourists has increased every year. We have managed to keep the ratio down to less than 20 criminal cases per 100,000 tourists.

A majority of tourists rode motorbikes without having a driving licence and with little or no driving experience.

“Every country has bad guys, otherwise there wouldn’t be policemen. If a bad guy sees a chance to deceive someone, he will. Tourists should know how to avoid putting themselves at risk. They shouldn’t go walking alone late at night in desertedplaces, for instance or go around with total strangers.

“Sometimes a difference in culture might lead to different thinking or misinterpretations, so tourists should be awareof who they are associating with.”

When things go as planned, Thailand can be a paradisefor people on vacation but given the large volume of tourist arrivals and the law of averages accidents and crime are to be expected. But has the risk to our foreign guests become unacceptably high? The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Status Report on Road Safety 2013 ranks Thailand in 10th place in terms of road-accident fatalities. India tops the list; followed by China, Brazil, the US and Indonesia.

In Southeast Asia, Indonesia had the worst toll with 31,234 deaths caused by road accident. Thailand came next (13,766 deaths), followed by Vietnam (11,029), the Philippines (6,941), Malaysia (6,872), Myanmar (2,464), Cambodia (1,816), Laos (790), Singapore (193) and Brunei (46). The WHO found that half of the world’s road traffic deaths occur among motorcyclists (23%), pedestrians (22%) and cyclists (5%), but in Thailand a staggering 74% of the total fatalities were accounted for by people riding motorbikes or motorised three-wheel vehicles.

While one of the chief causes of road accidents here is still alcohol consumption, another factor, according to research done by a team from Thammasat University, is recklessness on the part of tourists. For a project called “Tourist Satisfaction and Travel Behaviour of Safe Journeys for Foreign Tourists”, the researchers polled 800 people (tourists, service providers and officials) in six populartourist destinations including Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket. They found that the majority of tourists rode motorbikes without having a driving licence and with little or no driving experience.

“Some tourists have never driven motorcycles in their lives, but they rent motorbikes here to look around on,” said Assoc Prof Pawinee Iamtrakul, assistant dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Planning at Thammasat.

One of the reasons for this is that motorbike-hire shops take advantage of a loophole in the law and only require tourists to show their passport rather than a driving licence, Dr Pawinee explained. The survey found that 64.5% of tourist drivers did not have internationaldriving licences, 65% were unfamiliar with Thai rules of the road and 70% were unaware of the penalties for breaking traffic laws here.

Almost half of those polled said they would drink and drive and would have no compunction about exceeding the speed limit. About 59% of them said they do not use seatbelts and 58% do not wear helmets. About one-fifth of tourists polled did not have travel insurance. About 33% of tour agents were found not to pay travel insurance for tourists in their charge.

In addition, one-third of local service providers do not carry out regular maintenance on vehicles used for ferrying tourists around. More than half of the tourists polled felt that road-safety standards in Thailand were lower than in their home countries for every mode of land transportation. Other concerns were that traffic-law enforcement here is far from stringent and that when tourists have an accident, they do not know whom or how to ask for help.

“Visitors do not know what number to ring in an emergency,” Dr Pawinee said, adding that the police 191 call-centre number is often hard to get through to, anyway. It might be useful if there was one centre to take care of road-safety issues for tourists while road-safety policy should be made part of any national tourism policy, she added. Tourists should be given safety guidelines and emergency numbers when they do online searches for travel information about Thailand, she said, adding that the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) should consider putting such information on the front page of its website.

According to Tourism and Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak, tourist safety is one of his top priorities since it affects the confidence of foreign visitors in travelling freely around this country.

“The principal thing is not to have any crime. But if there is wrongdoing, assistance should be offered as quickly as possible,” he said, making the point that taking care of tourists involved in unfortunate incidents was as important as preventing such incidents in the first place; his reasoning was that while physical injuries can usually be healed, mental trauma is harder to recover from. The minister cited the caseof a speedboat crash in Pattaya in which three Korean visitors, including a child, were injured One of the victims, who worked as a taxi driver in his home town, lost a leg as a result of the accident.

“His wife cried hopelessly when I went to visit them. It was truly our faultso, as a representative of the Thai government, I went to the hospital [in Pattaya] to make an official apology,” he said.

“A lesson has been learned and we must not let this sort of thing happen again. It is unacceptable that those offering speed boats for hire in such a well-known tourist destinationas Pattaya do not have to adhere to any safety standards,” Somsak said, adding this was just one among many issues related to tourist safety that need to be addressed.

A memorandum of understanding is soon to be signed, opening the way for the establishment of a special court of law to try offences involving tourists, he noted, adding: “We will try to tighten up all the judicial processes.”

As Thailand’s economic growth depends on the growth of its tourism industry, the minister said, it is an absolute must for all parties concerned to make the security issuea national priority. A recent spate of accidents in the Kingdom has brought the issue of traveller safety to the fore. – Karnjana Karnjanatawe

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Trudeau’s Gun Grab Could Cost Taxpayers a Whopping $7 Billion

Trudeau plans to purchase 2,063 firearm from legal gun owners in Canada - Rebel News Image

A recent report indicates that since Trudeau’s announcement of his gun buyback program four years ago, almost none of the banned firearms have been surrendered.

The federal government plans to purchase 2,063 firearm models from retailers following the enactment of Bill C-21, which amends various Acts and introduces certain consequential changes related to firearms. It was granted royal assent on December 15 of last year.

This ban immediately criminalized the actions of federally-licensed firearms owners regarding the purchase, sale, transportation, importation, exportation, or use of hundreds of thousands of rifles and shotguns that were previously legal.

The gun ban focused on what it termed ‘assault-style weapons,’ which are, in reality, traditional semi-automatic rifles and shotguns that have enjoyed popularity among hunters and sport shooters for over a century.

In May 2020, the federal government enacted an Order-in-Council that prohibited 1,500 types of “assault-style” firearms and outlined specific components of the newly banned firearms. Property owners must adhere to the law by October 2023.

Trudeau’s Buyback Hasn’t Happened

“In the announcement regarding the ban, the prime minister stated that the government would seize the prohibited firearms, assuring that their lawful owners would be ‘grandfathered’ or compensated fairly.” “That hasn’t happened,” criminologist Gary Mauser told Rebel News.

Mauser projected expenses ranging from $2.6 billion to $6.7 billion. The figure reflects the compensation costs amounting to $756 million, as outlined by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO).

“The projected expenses for gathering the illegal firearms are estimated to range from $1.6 billion to $7 billion.” “This range estimate increases to between $2.647 billion and $7 billion when compensation costs to owners are factored in,” Mauser stated.

Figures requested by Conservative MP Shannon Stubbs concerning firearms prohibited due to the May 1, 2020 Order In Council reveal that $72 million has been allocated to the firearm “buyback” program, yet not a single firearm has been confiscated to date.

In a recent revelation, Public Safety Canada disclosed that the federal government allocated a staggering $41,094,556, as prompted by an order paper question from Conservative Senator Don Plett last September, yet yielded no tangible outcomes.

An internal memo from late 2019 revealed that the Liberals projected their politically motivated harassment would incur a cost of $1.8 billion.

Enforcement efforts Questioned

By December 2023, estimates from TheGunBlog.ca indicate that the Liberals and RCMP had incurred or were responsible for approximately $30 million in personnel expenses related to the enforcement efforts. The union representing the police service previously stated that the effort to confiscate firearms is a “misdirected effort” aimed at ensuring public safety.

“This action diverts crucial personnel, resources, and funding from tackling the more pressing and escalating issue of criminal use of illegal firearms,” stated the National Police Federation (NPF).

The Canadian Sporting Arms & Ammunition Association (CSAAA), representing firearms retailers, has stated it will have “zero involvement” in the confiscation of these firearms. Even Canada Post held back from providing assistance due to safety concerns.

The consultant previously assessed that retailers are sitting on almost $1 billion worth of inventory that cannot be sold or returned to suppliers because of the Order-In-Council.

“Despite the ongoing confusion surrounding the ban, after four years, we ought to be able to address one crucial question.” Has the prohibition enhanced safety for Canadians? Mauser asks.

Illegally Obtained Firearms are the Problem

Statistics Canada reports a 10% increase in firearm-related violent crime between 2020 and 2022, rising from 12,614 incidents to 13,937 incidents. In that timeframe, the incidence of firearm-related violent crime increased from 33.7 incidents per 100,000 population in 2021 to 36.7 incidents the subsequent year.

“This marks the highest rate documented since the collection of comparable data began in 2009,” the criminologist explains.

Supplementary DataData indicates that firearm homicides have risen since 2020. “The issue lies not with lawfully-held firearms,” Mauser stated.

Firearms that have been banned under the Order-in-Council continue to be securely stored in the safes of their lawful owners. The individuals underwent a thorough vetting process by the RCMP and are subject to nightly monitoring to ensure there are no infractions that could pose a risk to public safety.

“The firearms involved in homicides were seldom legally owned weapons wielded by their rightful owners,” Mauser continues. The number of offenses linked to organized crime has surged from 4,810 in 2016 to a staggering 13,056 in 2020.

“If those in power … aim to diminish crime and enhance public safety, they ought to implement strategies that effectively focus on offenders and utilize our limited tax resources judiciously to reach these objectives,” he stated.

Millennials in Canada Have Turned their Backs on Justin Trudeau

Millennials in Canada Have Turned their Backs on Justin Trudeau

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Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding, But Still Accounting 48% Search Revenue

Google is so closely associated with its key product that its name is a verb that signifies “search.” However, Google’s dominance in that sector is dwindling.

According to eMarketer, Google will lose control of the US search industry for the first time in decades next year.

Google will remain the dominant search player, accounting for 48% of American search advertising revenue. And, remarkably, Google is still increasing its sales in the field, despite being the dominating player in search since the early days of the George W. Bush administration. However, Amazon is growing at a quicker rate.

Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding

Amazon will hold over a quarter of US search ad dollars next year, rising to 27% by 2026, while Google will fall even more, according to eMarketer.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the forecast.

Lest you think you’ll have to switch to Bing or Yahoo, this isn’t the end of Google or anything really near.

Google is the fourth-most valued public firm in the world. Its market worth is $2.1 trillion, trailing just Apple, Microsoft, and the AI chip darling Nvidia. It also maintains its dominance in other industries, such as display advertisements, where it dominates alongside Facebook’s parent firm Meta, and video ads on YouTube.

To put those “other” firms in context, each is worth more than Delta Air Lines’ total market value. So, yeah, Google is not going anywhere.

Nonetheless, Google faces numerous dangers to its operations, particularly from antitrust regulators.

On Monday, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that Google must open up its Google Play Store to competitors, dealing a significant blow to the firm in its long-running battle with Fortnite creator Epic Games. Google announced that it would appeal the verdict.

In August, a federal judge ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly on search. That verdict could lead to the dissolution of the company’s search operation. Another antitrust lawsuit filed last month accuses Google of abusing its dominance in the online advertising business.

Meanwhile, European regulators have compelled Google to follow tough new standards, which have resulted in multiple $1 billion-plus fines.

Pixa Bay

Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding

On top of that, the marketplace is becoming more difficult on its own.

TikTok, the fastest-growing social network, is expanding into the search market. And Amazon has accomplished something few other digital titans have done to date: it has established a habit.

When you want to buy anything, you usually go to Amazon, not Google. Amazon then buys adverts to push companies’ products to the top of your search results, increasing sales and earning Amazon a greater portion of the revenue. According to eMarketer, it is expected to generate $27.8 billion in search revenue in the United States next year, trailing only Google’s $62.9 billion total.

And then there’s AI, the technology that (supposedly) will change everything.

Why search in stilted language for “kendall jenner why bad bunny breakup” or “police moving violation driver rights no stop sign” when you can just ask OpenAI’s ChatGPT, “What’s going on with Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny?” in “I need help fighting a moving violation involving a stop sign that wasn’t visible.” Google is working on exactly this technology with its Gemini product, but its success is far from guaranteed, especially with Apple collaborating with OpenAI and other businesses rapidly joining the market.

A Google spokeswoman referred to a blog post from last week in which the company unveiled ads in its AI overviews (the AI-generated text that appears at the top of search results). It’s Google’s way of expressing its ability to profit on a changing marketplace while retaining its business, even as its consumers steadily transition to ask-and-answer AI and away from search.

google

Google has long used a single catchphrase to defend itself against opponents who claim it is a monopoly abusing its power: competition is only a click away. Until recently, that seemed comically obtuse. Really? We are going to switch to Bing? Or Duck Duck Go? Give me a break.

But today, it feels more like reality.

Google is in no danger of disappearing. However, every highly dominating company faces some type of reckoning over time. GE, a Dow mainstay for more than a century, was broken up last year and is now a shell of its previous dominance. Sears declared bankruptcy in 2022 and is virtually out of business. US Steel, long the foundation of American manufacturing, is attempting to sell itself to a Japanese corporation.

Could we remember Google in the same way that we remember Yahoo or Ask Jeeves in decades? These next few years could be significant.

SOURCE | CNN

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The Supreme Court Turns Down Biden’s Government Appeal in a Texas Emergency Abortion Matter.

(VOR News) – A ruling that prohibits emergency abortions that contravene the Supreme Court law in the state of Texas, which has one of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the country, has been upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States. The United States Supreme Court upheld this decision.

The justices did not provide any specifics regarding the underlying reasons for their decision to uphold an order from a lower court that declared hospitals cannot be legally obligated to administer abortions if doing so would violate the law in the state of Texas.

Institutions are not required to perform abortions, as stipulated in the decree. The common populace did not investigate any opposing viewpoints. The decision was made just weeks before a presidential election that brought abortion to the forefront of the political agenda.

This decision follows the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that ended abortion nationwide.

In response to a request from the administration of Vice President Joe Biden to overturn the lower court’s decision, the justices expressed their disapproval.

The government contends that hospitals are obligated to perform abortions in compliance with federal legislation when the health or life of an expectant patient is in an exceedingly precarious condition.

This is the case in regions where the procedure is prohibited. The difficulty hospitals in Texas and other states are experiencing in determining whether or not routine care could be in violation of stringent state laws that prohibit abortion has resulted in an increase in the number of complaints concerning pregnant women who are experiencing medical distress being turned away from emergency rooms.

The administration cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in a case that bore a striking resemblance to the one that was presented to it in Idaho at the beginning of the year. The justices took a limited decision in that case to allow the continuation of emergency abortions without interruption while a lawsuit was still being heard.

In contrast, Texas has been a vocal proponent of the injunction’s continued enforcement. Texas has argued that its circumstances are distinct from those of Idaho, as the state does have an exemption for situations that pose a significant hazard to the health of an expectant patient.

According to the state, the discrepancy is the result of this exemption. The state of Idaho had a provision that safeguarded a woman’s life when the issue was first broached; however, it did not include protection for her health.

Certified medical practitioners are not obligated to wait until a woman’s life is in imminent peril before they are legally permitted to perform an abortion, as determined by the state supreme court.

The state of Texas highlighted this to the Supreme Court.

Nevertheless, medical professionals have criticized the Texas statute as being perilously ambiguous, and a medical board has declined to provide a list of all the disorders that are eligible for an exception. Furthermore, the statute has been criticized for its hazardous ambiguity.

For an extended period, termination of pregnancies has been a standard procedure in medical treatment for individuals who have been experiencing significant issues. It is implemented in this manner to prevent catastrophic outcomes, such as sepsis, organ failure, and other severe scenarios.

Nevertheless, medical professionals and hospitals in Texas and other states with strict abortion laws have noted that it is uncertain whether or not these terminations could be in violation of abortion prohibitions that include the possibility of a prison sentence. This is the case in regions where abortion prohibitions are exceedingly restrictive.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which resulted in restrictions on the rights of women to have abortions in several Republican-ruled states, the Texas case was revisited in 2022.

As per the orders that were disclosed by the administration of Vice President Joe Biden, hospitals are still required to provide abortions in cases that are classified as dire emergency.

As stipulated in a piece of health care legislation, the majority of hospitals are obligated to provide medical assistance to patients who are experiencing medical distress. This is in accordance with the law.

The state of Texas maintained that hospitals should not be obligated to provide abortions throughout the litigation, as doing so would violate the state’s constitutional prohibition on abortions. In its January judgment, the 5th United States Circuit Court of Appeals concurred with the state and acknowledged that the administration had exceeded its authority.

SOURCE: AP