Flipping through the channels today I saw a story about the demonstrations in Chiang Mai. The locals are protesting a Thai - American free trade agreement in front of the Sheraton Riverside (where I always stay.) They are burning american flags and beheading dummies of the American diplomats. It looked pretty violent, and they made their way into the lobby. I'm off to Chiang Mai in the morning, so I'll check it out first hand.

Here's a web link -- there are free trade talks in Chiang Mai right now: http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/11Jan2006_news51.php

Compared to what goes on in America it was about as peaceful as you can imagine. And at the end of the day when they were all in one place they were all getting foot massages! I wanted to join the protest but ann said she wouldn't bail me out of jail. Actually, they should be protesting. If this deal goes through they will have to pay 10 times what they pay now for medicines. Seems to me we should be figuring out how to provide medicine cheaper in our country rather than making other countries pay more.

Gloria -- you made me smile.

Couldn't agree more with your sentiments. I did a lot of UN lobbying with women from Asia and South America during the Earth Summit prelim years ago -- when it comes to medications, free trade usually means trying to protect multi-national patent interests, with very little acknowledgement of other countries/indigenous populations intellectual property rights.

Brad-here's hoping you stay out orf trouble in cm. Did you get a chance to smoke cigars at the Gaysorn shop? I smoked a bunch with my son in BKK and Krabi.

Andy, I smoked a Partagas Seeries D #4 at Gaysorn yesterday, and a Montecristo #4 at Sky Bar last night. Life is good.

The protesters at the Sheraton were successful. They moved the talks to a more rural location for the safety of the delegates. I'm on my way there now.

brad...there is no smoking allowed there!!

I don't blame the Thais for protesting - they're showing more gumption than Australians. We signed a FTA with the US a year ago, accompanied by fanfares about the expected benefits to Australian exporters (even though the US ensured that American farmers wouldn't face any serious competition from Australian exporters, and in the case of the sugar industry, none).

A year on, and exports to the US have dropped and imports from the US have risen, by about 5% in each case. More fools us.

The Opposition parties, which at the time had a majority in the Senate, forced an amendment designed to protect Australia's subsidised pharmaceutical benefits scheme (PBS), which to put it mildly US drug companies aren't fond of. The government, responding to US pressure with its usual compliance, is now planning to reverse that amendment. It really is quite outrageous.

At the moment, the price of PBS-listed prescription drugs is capped at about AU$23 (US$17). Pensioners, the unemployed etc pay about AU$3. Affordable health care and medicines make a big contribution to Australians' health standards, which on average are substantially higher than Americans'.