Thailand in the News Week Ending 11/28/09

Biting the Hand That Feeds You

Adidas learned this week that supporting America is good for the bottom line, unfortunately they had to be bitch slapped into that realization. Sports apparel giant, Adidas, plans to end it’s manufacturing agreement with New York Based American Classic Outfitters and move it’s manufacturing to Thailand. ACO learned of this move 6 weeks ago and it was brought to light this past week to the rest of America, outrage ensued.

For the past 3 decades American companies such as Nike and Adidas have moved production off shore because they can get their apparel made for pennies on the dollar while workers in South East Asia work in sweat shops earning a few dollars a day. These traitor companies who only care about greed and their bottom line have forsaken the country that made them great and it’s about time they get kicked in the balls.

This week Adidas might be re-thinking their position due to serious backlash from sports enthusiasts to Senators who called foul. ACO signed an exclusive long term deal with Adidas last year and put over a million dollars into new equipment to meet the demand of being the sole producer of NBA apparel for Adidas. Adidas, who is owned by a German parent company, still keeps it’s headquarters in America and has manufacturing agreements with over 70 manufacturers across America to produce sports apparel for teams of all kinds.

Adidas for their part issued this statement this week:

This decision is in line with both the company’s product strategy of developing and introducing new, innovative materials and technologies to basketball uniforms, and the company’s sourcing strategy of consolidating our supply chain,” the statement read. “This decision is in no way a reflection on the capabilities or performance of ACO who has been a great partner for many years. The Adidas Group continues to produce uniforms for professional, college and other amateur teams at more than 30 facilities in North America and will continue to do so moving forward.

Read logically Adidas is saying ” we want to make a bucket load more money and exploit the cheap labor force that Thailand has to offer.

Shame on you Adidas and while were at it a hearty fuck you to Nike as well. Your companies rose to greatness because of America and now that you turn your back on Americans, especially in this economic climate, you deserve to go under. While I already don’t buy anything from Nike I will also stop buying anything from Adidas. Hopefully other people will get the big picture and stop supporting these scumbag companies.

Before anyone gets their panties in a twist and suggests that these companies have a right to do business as they see fit I would remind you that 90% of their market share is American consumers. Hopefully the 10% of you out there that aren’t American can keep the companies afloat once the American consumer realizes that these companies like to shit where they eat.

The First Cut is the Deepest, and Now Harder to Come By

Thailand has been long been known as the place to go for sex reassignment surgery and for a long time officials in Thailand have struggled with the regulating of this cottage industry. This week Thailand issued new rules for those seeking surgery that have fallen in line with other destinations around the world that offer this service.

The new rules are being instituted because of fears that many men are rushing into this decision too lightly for their own good. The first of these rules will require potential candidates cross dress for a minimum of a year before being evaluated for surgery.

While transexuals and transgendered men,ladyboys, are a common sight in Thailand there has been a literal onslaught of castrations in the past few years as ladyboys have become more accepted into society.

Dr. Sampandh Komrit of the Medical Council of Thailand said the new rules wen’t into effect on Wednesday and they would require candidates to dress as a woman for a period of one year after they made the decision to have the surgery and that they would also be required to undergo a mental evaluation to determine if they can handle the change as well as follow up visits with a psychiatrist after the surgery. Candidates must also be at least 18 years of age at the time of surgery.

Last year Thailand temporarily halted castrations until they could find a solution to what they see as a major problem of teenagers rushing to change their lives permanently. Dr. Sampandh Komrit has spoken with many of these men and boys and understands that they feel they are women trapped in a mans bodies but feels these regulations will only help to make the decision the right one for these men. It was also noted that long time cross dressers would be exempt from rule #1.

I applaud the medical council of Thailand for taking these measures which are in the best interest of the men. These measures are already in place in many other regions of the world and have had a positive impact. The suicide rate among the transgendered is abnormally high especially in Thailand and these regulations might help to start changing that.

Elephant Old Age Home Officially Opens

This week Thailand’s new Pang La Elephant Rehabilitation Center officially opened it’s gates in Lampang province. Designed to take care of up to 200 aging and injured elephants at a time the newest elephant sanctuary in the province is already off to a good start with 30 residents already enjoying all the center has to offer.

The center is staffed by veterinarians and mahouts and run by Thailand’s  Forest Industry Organization. While not the first organization to help elephants in the area it is definitely a welcome addition to the province which should be renamed to Cham  ( elephant ) province in the future. Lampang province is also host to Friends of the Asian Elephants and their elephant hospital that opened in 1993 to take care of injured elephants.

There is still much more to do in the area of Asian elephant preservation but these are steps in the right direction that can hopefully one day bolster the Asian elephant numbers in the region.