eddie61

methinks the proud little man of Dubai, yes the same man who would lift parked cars off Bangkok's congested streets with Chinooks, won't let his brain fart be consigned to the dustbin of history, which it richly deserves.

why doesn't he do something useful with his time, such as research cold fusion

seems theres not much to do in pattaya during the day........my friends can`t ride big bikes so cant really go touring that much.....go karting will only last so many hours......so i came with the idea of shooting range for a another event.....

what is there to do in pattaya besides geting drunk at a bar and sleaze around????? maybe watch what a tiffany show.........then??? your not going to swim at that dirty beach , your not going to go buy copied cds or knuckle dusters(maybe one or two cds) ....no where to relax with flooding tourist from chinese , korean , to russians........

so what do you locals do??? besides golfing...

Andy

Fishing at one of the many fishing parks can be fun

perfidious french

Lots of expats like Thailand because of the relatively low cost of living. Ever wondered how that works?

yes it works

Prat

seconded

Shenzhen Scope and the Shinawatra administration deserve each other, a match made under the mandate of heaven.

Sad but predictable! So predictable.

Also quite funny unless you pay taxes....

It is sad in a way.

The 3 girls who bared their breasts in Songkhran exuberation last year did more for tourism in Thailand than 1000's of bureaucrats.

It is a reflection of Thailand's problem: too many bureaucrats, with too much power, and too little brain. Thailand will remain poor as long as this Kleptobureaucracy remains in power.

Fire a civil servant and make Thailand a better place

OK, so he was foolish and broke the law, but so are the police breaking the law in their attempt to extort him.

His options are:

1) Pay up the 20,000B.

2) Go with less money and sob stroy, negotiate i.e. down to 5,000B or 10,000B (have 20,000B just incase they refuse to negotiate).

3) Report the passport lost / stolen at police station (on the other side of town) and get a police report. Re-apply for passport at his embassy. Go out to the airport (his port of entry) and get re-stamped (he'll need to remember the day he arrived).

The risk with option 3 is that they might have already alerted the authorities that your friend is facing charges, but unlikely if they are trying to extort him.

In his shoes I would not be willing to go to the police station. For options 1 and 2 he should send a friend to arrange a meeting place (i.e. the first restaurant you met them in).

i would go for option 2@5000 baht cash and no story/embassy involvement.

at the same time, prepare option 3.

option unspoken is when you have left Thailand, tell your friends to go to cambodia or myanmar instead of Thailand.

I think that anyone who's lived here more than a few months knows getting irate in a situation like that in Thailand, in public, is not going to come out in your favor. No offense to the security guards, but they weren't hired for having the mental capacity to make judgement calls in cases like that, deciding that Behan's balloons weren't most likely NOT going to be used in a terroristic manner, especially given the fact his daughter was right there with him.

They are told "no flammables" and then follow the rules, regardless. I know, I've been stopped for trying to carry rubber cement once and another time engine cleaner. Once just took the bus home because I was only a few stops away. The other, I beg and pleaded, in Thai, to let me on, the canisters were sealed, etc... No joy! Frustrated, I just left the cans on his little table and walked into the station.

I feel sorry for Behan, but from the video, he was getting hostile with them, and they were following the rules, technically.

But I want to pose a question: Why not just confiscate people's lighters (and matches) ?? Or at a minimum, follow the rules completely, Nothing quite as flammable as a cigarette lighter! Makes it tough to set other flammable materials on fire with out a fire source.

How about patting everyone down before entrance to check for flammables?? Strip searches??

Funny thing about this incident is that the MRT checks my bag every time, but I've never had my bag checked on the BTS, granted I don't use it that often.

So, just to be clear, the guards are so concerned about the safety of the passengers they refuse entrance to someone carrying balloons, but let anyone with a bag on their back carry whatever they want onto the trains?? And don't stop people from bringing highly flammable lighters as well??

I think all these security measures are just another example of how the "powers that be" want to give the public the appearance of safety, when in reality they only inconvenience, unnecessarily, the public they are trying to protect, and doing that without really adding any additional security. And this is not a problem exclusive to this country, but have become pervasive throughout the world.

The best way forward for both parties to admit their respective mistakes. It clearly was a cultural clash between different educational doctrines: one values critical thought, the other values hierarchical dogma. Both have their value, and both have their flaws. Say Sorry to each other and move on!

Mobile phones are also to blame, and the various e-mail and messaging services. Quite a list when you work through all the contributors.

It is the normal and natural sex drive of the teenage as the cause,

all other things are just modalities to reach an already known end game;

Get laid tonight.

Which still happened before electricity,

but now via communications, they can find cuter, or more compatible partners.

So in one way it can cause better, more compatible couplings to meet

and possibly stay together longer.

I never really liked facebook, but I may need to change my mind. How do you have sex on it?

Isn't it bad for the keyboard? Maybe I need a bigger hard disk.....

I don't think that much will change with stricter visa regulations.

The issue is that you can get away with murder if you know the right people, and have the right amount of money to oil the wheels of the bureaucracy and police.

Those who talk loudest about this probably have direct experience of the workings of the "system".

Dunno how street venders will manage, everything including beverages come in plastic bags. Imagine a soupn or drink in a paper bag.....

Get real governor.

Why not just tax plastic bags at source..... To obvious maybe and not enough PR value.

Sad!

He is saying " Come on lads, make me look good this new year, and we will all get rich together next year"

Fine CEO of the local mafia addressing the troops.

Why do they all look the same, sound the same, and do the same? Because they are the end product of a bad sausage machine. After 30 years, they became mr chief pork sausage, and the reason they became mr chief pork sausage is because all the good meat went in at one end and pushed out Mr. Chief Pork Sausage at the other end. The problem is not the good meat that goes in, but the bad sausage machine.

I wish the mothers luck and condolences in their personal tragedy.

Easy steps could be taken if the authorities seriously cared, such as:-

- requiring tachographs for HGVs and PSVs, or even governing their speed.

- Holding bus/transport companies responsible for the behaviour of their drivers, and ensuring that schedules realistically allow drivers to get enough sleep.

- having a police force that is not amenable to roadside fines paid on the spot without receipts (not in my lifetime, for sure)

- not allowing convoys of buses escorted by police vehicles to drive in excess of the speed limit!!!!

I am not holding my breath, and always choose seats in the middle of the bus between the wheels, where the chassis is strongest when I have to take the bus.

sad but this is reality in Thailand almost all the Police believe they are the law..not there to uphold it

This will not be the last time as it is a built into the culture and Guns in the hands of immature childlike imbeciles does not help

Boys, guns and alcohol. An extreme sense of entitlement, and sensitive ego. It is really a part of the Thai psyche. Probably a small average penis size does not help.

2011........a bad year for dictators world-wide.

Robert Mugabe next?? There is still time.

God, let Bob Mugabe be the next dictator to approach the gates of St Peter. My prayer for Zimbabwe! It can not get worse.

There is a storm coming....

I agree.

Time to batten down the hatches and shorten sail.

Thaksin's return could be the spark that ignites the tinder. Hopefully, the tinder is wet after the recent floods, but drying out now, and memories are short.

Sad for the masses who believe that he will be their saviour.

They will be the ones who suffer most, once again.

Doesn't seem to be affecting Pattaya. I was there recently and the place is packed with Iranian men ,Russian couples and thousands of old single European men sitting at tables looking at Isan girls.

Don't look down on the old single European men sitting at tables looking at Isan girls.

These guys are serious investors in buffaloes and real estate in Buriram, and the Isan gals are just facilitators for the deal.

The guys have a bulge in their trousers (where their wallet is/was) and the girls can accommodate those bulges with a smile and a realistic groan of extasy. One hand washes the other.

Cognitive dissonance can be a real bitch sometimes...

Impeach and kick her out of office before the next crises

Impeaching her would be the next big Shock and Awe.

Boy you got that right. Most Thais still think she's THE MAN.

Shock and awe would be the Democrats actually winning a popular, fair election, against the pork barrel politics that have dominated Thailand for so long.

They would need to convince voters that 200 baht on election day is not worth a flood, an overpriced railway line or a puppet master in Dubai. But what have they done to realise their (my!) dream....? Not much so far, and the railways were approved on their watch.

They should ditch dubious coalition partners, and stand as a party committed against corruption at all cost, be it in opposition or in power. Then Thailand might, maybe start playing catch-up in Asean, if they ever get elected.

Running with the hare while hunting with the hounds will never work!

I rather let all others murderers and rapist in Thailand walk free than to see this man return to Thailand.

After all those money he stole from us Thais.

Just when Thailand needed investment, tourism, and reconciliation we get the next colour protest handed on a plate.

I guess we can write off this year's Tourist season.... and probably next year's too.

I pity the workers who will be desperate for jobs: but Pheua Thai will do OK. Votes will be going for a song at the next election.

There is off course an easy solution to these problems of trucks and buses causing crashes.

In the UK, 20 years ago, it was mandatory to have tachographs in all PSV's and trucks. They monitored speed, driver rest times, and were signed by the driver, basically making him accountable for any infringements.

Nowadays, I am sure there are cheaper/better digital systems, including speed limiters, but I have no idea about these.

Several hundred lives a year would almost certainly be saved.

It would of course mean that the BIB would make a bit less and that the bus companies and truckers would have less opportunity for political sponsorship.

On second thoughts, it's not such a good idea!