Stickman Readers' Submissions December 21st, 2013

Fifteen Weeks, Episode 30



EPISODE THIRTY – NUTS

100 years!!!
I felt a lot better last night but I’m suffering again today. It was obviously a reaction to the treatment so I decided to ease up a bit. I couldn’t get out anyway until the rain stopped which it didn’t
until after lunch. A short walk to the coffee shop loosened me up a bit. So did the coffee!

He Clinic Bangkok

I was back on Crackers table again this morning, not feeling too clever at all. The discomfort and the strong treatment really zonked me and I was forced to take it easy. In fact I felt like a zombie all week. A very efficient masseuse
suggested that if I spent more time with her I would live for 100 years. I told her that, considering the way I felt right now, the thought of living that long wasn’t too appealing but nevertheless I thanked her for her kind offer.
As all the customers I’ve seen in her shop are well below 100, and don’t look like they’ll make their flights home, I dismissed her claim as a subtle sales pitch!

As a result of my handicap nothing really exciting has happened. However, an interesting event took place in Bangkok this week relating to our industry.


Diamonds are forever

CBD bangkok

Quote from the Bangkok Post:


315-million-baht diamond snatched – Two robbers made off with an African diamond worth around 315 million baht from a shop in Chatuchak on Wednesday. Diamond broker Rinlapas Punyajiraphat, 58, told police yesterday that two men claiming to be close aides of a well-known politician arrived at her shop on Wednesday to see two African diamonds. She took one of the men to see the diamonds, one weighing 2,100 carats and the other 1,759 carats, while the other waited outside in his car. The man then snatched the 2,100-carat diamond and sped off on a waiting motorcycle. His accomplice in the car had already fled the scene. The diamonds belonged to Jakkaphan Pramualsuk, 71.

The article is lacking in detail but I can’t help wondering what sort of security the shop has. 315 million baht is a lot of money (approx. $10 million). It all seems to easy. I’m sure it would be more difficult to steal
a can of coke from 7 eleven.

Nuts

wonderland clinic

Here’s a real ‘pearler’, I found in the Gazette, from APIRADEE TREERUTKUARKUL who is clearly a reporter with a wicked sense of humour just like his parents!!


Castration given the chop!!


Health authorities will take legal action against clinics providing commercial castration services after the Council of State ruled the surgery was unlawful and could cause health risks. Deputy director-general of the Health Service Support
Department, Wisist Tangnapakorn, said yesterday the agency was investigating whether it could prosecute Thep Vejvisit, owner of Pratunam Kanpaet clinic, which offered castration surgery. Chairman of the Medical Council of Thailand Somsak Lohlekha
said the council will discuss if Dr Thep had violated medical ethics. Both agencies have been handling the issue since April. They have been waiting for the Council of State to rule if castration for non-medical purposes violated medical ethics
and should therefore be outlawed. The Council of State on Wednesday ruled that testicle-removal surgery was illegal and immoral unless it was to treat a diagnosed medical problem. The council warned that castration can damage hormone growth
and inhibit physical development.

Natee Teerarojjanapongs, the leader of the Gay Political Group of Thailand, expressed concern over a possible increase in illegal castrations, as many transvestites consider the operation to be of greater importance than any health complications
as a result of it. Mr Natee urged the Public Health Ministry to monitor advertisements for the surgery and educate the public about health risks posed by castration.

Whilst I don’t have any personal interest in transvestites or the Gay community I find it interesting that Thailand, which has a very liberal attitude towards that sector of society, would legislate against freedom of choice which
only affects the person on whom the operation is performed. I would also be very interested to know why removing any part of ones anatomy should be considered immoral. If you’ve got the balls to do it that should be penalty enough.
I must admit that I am not an advocate of extensive body piercing, tattooing or cosmetic surgery. However, I recognize freedom of choice and am not aware of these physical alteration procedures, which, incidentally, all carry health risks,
being outlawed anywhere in the world. There are many contentious issues related to religious and ancient cultures, such as female circumcision, which are confined to small communities in the under developed world, many of which are still cut
off from the modern world. But we aren’t talking about these extremes in this instance. I haven’t mentioned euthanasia on purpose as this is a very big moral issue for most people.

It’s been quite a week; castration for transvestites; a chiropractor called ‘Crackers’; and as I write this I can hear Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite playing on the classical music channel.

TO BE CONTINUED


nana plaza