Bangkok is the capital city of and largest urban area in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (กรุงเทพมหานคร, pronounced [krūŋ tʰêːp máhǎː nákʰɔ̄ːn] ( listen)) or simply Krung Thep ( listen), meaning "city of angels". Bangkok is by far the most densely populated city in Thailand with about 12 million people. Bangkok was a small trading post near the mouth of the Chao Phraya River during the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the 15th century. It eventually grew in size and became the site of two capital cities: Thonburi in 1768 and Rattanakosin in 1782.
Because of its strategic location in Southeast Asia, Siam (later Thailand) acted as a buffer-zone between the French and British colonial empires. Bangkok itself has gained a reputation as an independent, dynamic and influential city. Bangkok is the political, social and economic centre of Thailand, and one of the leading cities in Southeast Asia.
Due to the 1980s and 1990s Asian investment boom, many multinational corporations make their regional headquarters in Bangkok and the city is a regional force in finance and business. Its increasing influence on global politics, culture, fashion and entertainment underlines its status as an Alpha global city. In 2009, it was the second most expensive city in South-East Asia behind Singapore. The city's many cultural landmarks and attractions in addition to its nightlife venues has made it synonymous with exoticism. Its rapid modernization, reflected in the cityscape and the urban society, has left untouched the historic Grand Palace, Wat Arun, Vimanmek Palace Complex and hundreds of Buddhist temples draw about 10 million international visitors each year, second only to London.
Baby K (October 13, 1992 – April 5, 1995) was an anencephalic baby who became the center of a major U.S. court case and a debate among bioethicists.
Stephanie Keene, better known by the pseudonym Baby K, was born at Fairfax Hospital in Virginia, USA. At the time of her birth, she was missing most of her brain, including the cortex; only the brainstem had developed during pregnancy, the portion of the brain responsible for autonomic and regulatory functions, such as the control of respiration, the heartbeat and blood pressure.
The baby's mother had been notified of her condition following an ultrasound, and had been advised to terminate the pregnancy by her obstetrician and neonatologist but chose to carry the child to term because of "a firm Christian faith that all life should be protected". The hospital's viewpoint was that care provided to the baby would be futile. The mother's viewpoint was that mechanical breathing support must be provided during the baby's periodic respiratory crises. Fairfax Hospital doctors strongly advised a do not resuscitate order for the child, which the mother refused. Stephanie remained on ventilator support for 6 weeks while Fairfax searched for another hospital to which to transfer, but no other hospital was willing to accept her. After the baby was weaned off constant ventilator support, the mother agreed to move the child to a nursing facility, but the baby returned to the hospital many times for respiratory problems.
";Gotcha!";
";Hey sucker let me outa here!";
";Hey, man!";
Bangkok on a sunny day
The rain has washed the blood away
Thousand of veins left in the streets
But I can't wash away the red points
On the sheets of the hotels
And the cheap rooms
Of the cheap whores
Under palm trees
Under palm trees
My brain is running in circles now
I gotta cure the pain somehow
There's a coloured cloud in front of sun
And a face is trying to cheat me
And to take away the fun
And the killer troups of the DEA
Have just brought my friend away
In the stuff that dreams are made of
In the stuff that dreams are made of
Stuff that dreams are made of
Hey, hey, hey!
Stuff that dreams are made of
Stuff that dreams are made of
Hey, hey, hey!
Stuff
Stuff that dreams
Are made of...
Our love it was only a whisp away
You scratch my hand and say there's a better land
Well I know your daddy he's not rich
And your mother's a drunk
But you're the one now worshiping the dole
Always want to lay me down you know
It smells like Bangkok in Chinatown
Did you get your pound of flesh today?
Well I've got a lotta learn
To learn about your past
It's a mean unpleasant land
Sometimes you cccome in deep inside
Sometimes it doesn't touch the sides
Like a sausage up an alley way
Always want to lay me down you know
It smells like Bangkok in Chinatown
Did you get your pound of flesh today?
How innocent is the day when you smile
And then you lay on your side alone hide our soul
It's another plan
It's another land
Your love it was only a whisker away
You scratch my hand and say theres a better land
Always want to lay me down you know
It smells like Bangkok in Chinatown
here he is
my best friend, standing tall for my affection
holding on
no one's here, and it's good for my complexion
how sweet it is
just waking up, and facing acts of desperation
what can it do
to my life, but give him strength in unfamiliar places
let it go...
so i try,
to comply, when all my mags are in the basement
i'll turn the lights off
and i'll contimplate my next impression through
not a day goes by, that i still rely, on facing my addictions
you'll never understand, just what it's like,
to compromise, your own safety - and i know
the pressure builds up day by day
it's not real love alone they say
and not much more than i can take
and so i ask - will i lose my sanity
time will pass - it's only human kind
not too fast - one more wasted fantasy
so make it last - cause it's my private time
why should i
stand aside, revealing all my hiding places
the closet door
is open wide, it's killing all my concentration
when i fantacize, i try to close my eyes, and think of all positions
animalistic pleasure, is building pressure, untill the end,
now i can't breathe - and i know
somehow i've made it
i'm always frustrated
a model condition
It must have... I don't know how it... must have...
Crawled in while... asleep... under the skin...
through the ear... through the ear and under the skin...
How could this happen... why... how... why would anyone let this happen...
Oh... oh god... moving, under the skin... moving around... worms...
Under the skin... moving... under... No...
I see... never be... me...
I'll never be...
back in control.
I'll be... breaking me... see you...
bashing my face...
with the floor.
We were just... I didn't think it was wrong... we just wanted to feel normal.
When they found us... so much anger... the shock... I couldn't believe... such rage!
I see... never be... me...
I'll never be...
back in control.
I'll be... breaking me... see you...
bashing my face...
with the floor.
I can't call any thing my own.
Four thousand days, they all seem the same.
Poisonous needle can't even dull the pain.
They didn't hit us... usually they would beat us... they just took us away.
Underground... sewage tank... burns my throat... can't breathe...
moving on my skin... how long... can't feel my legs...
how long have I been here... feels like days... can't hold my head up...
I'm gonna be sick... can't hold it... I... oh God... NO.....
I see... never be... me...
I'll never be...
back in control.
I'll be... breaking me... see you...
bashing my face...
with the floor.
I can't call any thing my own.
Four thousand days, they all seem the same.
Poisonous needle, can't even dull the pain.
Screaming, the walls are going insane,
I can't take it, can't take any more, there's no escape!
Words & Music - St James