EarthAlien

They all act like a bunch of spoiled children. The US deserves to crash and burn but unfortunately, they will take the rest of the world with them.

Oh my yes. The state of the eurozone certainly shows us a uniquely mature and well ordered economic mindset.

Any excuse for America-bashing. 'Not at all childish (& churlish)...

"Excuse" you've got to be joking right?

Every currency is pegged to the US dollar standard. The US dollar will inevitably crash and burn as it can't service a $16trillion dollar debt which will continue to blow out right until the death knell rings.

Once the dollar falls the entire international financial system goes into free fall with it.

We "IE.... the rest of the western world which you refer to as US bashers" didn't create the totally calamitous outcomes that now face the US and implicate everyone else.

All governments are evil and that's for sure,.... the fact that US leads the way and has snubbed it's nose at everyone else is justifiably bashing material.

If 50% of the population are wishing for peace and reconciliation in 2013 plus 25% wishing for wealth & well being then my prediction is:

75% of the population is going to be very UN-happy in 2013

Happiness is a state of mind. You can wish for wealth and well being, but still be happy of you don't achieve it. Happiness comes from the inside, and doesn't depend so much on external issues. I know some very happy poor people who are in bad healthy, yet I also know some rich people in good health who are very unhappy. Many TV posters have money and health and live in a great country, but they still seem to be very unhappy individuals.

Being duped and manipulated by constant populist programs and false promises is also a state of mind.

Its called mind control,... Hitler and Stalin were masters at it!

...and where do you get your stats about TV posters being wealthy and unhappy?

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has downplayed concerns that changing the Constitution will cause turmoil

Well I hope she remembers that comment if martial law or civil war ever break out because of it.

I see we have the Richteacher rewriting history again. The MO seems to be if you post the same rubbish again & again - it might become fact.

Thaksin didn't 'solve' the 'Tom Yum' crisis caused by Thailand (wasn't he in Chavalit's government then?). The Dems led by Chuan Leekpai had to pick up the pieces. Yes, there was a huge FIDF bail-out that has not gone away despite PTP's efforts to sweep 1.1Tn odd under the carpet. That & off-budget loans are not included in the country's current debt.

I don't dispute that Thaksin did some good things for the country. Free medical care was one but grossly underfunded leading to any who voiced that opinion being removed from their position. However, the corruption was massive & still exists in his party today.

It is a sorry reflection on the ethics & morality of posters who choose to ignore the (far bigger) corruption side while spinning the positive side. It is individuals like Thaksin who send countries into ruin - Berlisconi, Mugabe, Idi Amin & Thaksin - all corrupt & power hungry.

Thaksin and his business cronies basically vowed that they were never going to let their business interests be in the hands of a politician.

Some would say that the overall performance if the economy from 2000 on might suggest he was right. Korn is the smartest of them all.

Your paranoia over Taksin and his alleged interest in damaging Thailand is irrational.

Please mark me as being paranoia victim number 2 then!

As this a board for non thais. Any expats going to live in Thailand and taking all their finances are going to be the real losers.FREEFALL

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Yes,... but all those leaving it in the US are going to be total losers when the US dollar crashes! ...and make sure to stash your gold in very safe places to guard it against the governments gold grab under Executive Order 6102!

Always good to hear a story like this. Just go's to prove there are a lot of good people in the world. I hope he gets at least 5% of the money.

HD,.. you left a zero of the end of the reward percentage!

I suppose the victim was fortunate to only lose a finger in fending off the shark.

I tried to fend off the sharks at the CSA and ATO a few years back and lost an arm and a leg!

Drunkenness emerged as the leading cause of the accidents. Speeding came second. Failure to wear a crash helmet was blamed for 18.59 per cent of the injuries and deaths.

So it's *Drunkenness, *Speeding and *No Crash Helmets that are found to be the main causes,.... I am astounded at these findings!

What about "Speeding Drunken Motorcycle Drivers With No Crash Helmet"?.... there must have been a few of them in the mix.

...and also "Speeding Drunken Motorcycle Drivers With No Crash Helmet, No License and Cellphone Texting In Transit"?

Seriously,... the figures are way too high and it is sad indeed when the people of Thailand continue to suffer such carnage mainly because of inept and deplorable policing and school and social education.

There should be two levels of punishment for mules and the drug pushers.

Yes,.. and actually as of this year there are now two levels of punishment in Singapore for pushers (ring syndicates) and mules.

Can't recall the full details but the mandatory death sentence that used to prevail for mules does now not apply but even so there are lengthy prison terms and canings that do apply!

Singapore and Malaysia are NOT nice places to get nabbed on drug trafficking charges.

Something needs to be done and so its good to see some proactive action being taken by this group.

Lets hope that the cancerous corruption doesn't infiltrate their own ranks as they gain more power in a system where billions are at stake in keeping the corruption bandwagon rolling along!

Killing yourself over a woman in Pattaya when all you need to do is go down into the street and grab another willing and attractive replacement!

Seems somewhat odd. Is this inept reporting or is there more to the story?

RIP to the deceased!

I wonder if they'd pleaded guilty if it would have humiliated the 2010 red rebels into accepting some reciprocal responsibility in accounting for actions under law.

That said,.. answering my own question I have to say I doubt very much whether such a noble admission would have been appreciated or responded to with anything but disdain, guilt and blame along with self exoneration!

"Jatuporn was sued for a speech he made during a rally on May 10, 2009"

I thought that parliamentary privelige protecting one against defamation only applied to comments made during a sitting of parliament!

Poor Mark,.. he gave too much lee way to these rebels and now it's coming back to haunt him!

"Commenting on the killing of Army officer Romklao Thuwatham during the 2010 mayhem, Tarit said the DSI was in process of applying for warrants to arrest three suspects, known as "unidentifed forces", which means they were not soldiers in charge of crowd control nor those linked to the red shirts."

And if we had an honest government there would be a lot more red shirts charged. The idea that they were not red shirt related is ludicrous. I doubt even a red shirt would believe it.

Seems like there is no end to what this government will do to make the red shirts look like peace loving citizens. I would be tempted to call them scum but that would be a step up for them.

You're being very generous there HD

Maybe try making the driving test for both bikes and cars to a better standard as the test the country has is a joke, stevie wonder could pass both of them. IMO this is the reason there are some many deaths on the roads here serious lack of education on road safety and pretty much everything else.

Yes the tests are easy but with respect I don't think Stevie Wonder could pass as it would be impossible for a blind man to read the answers to the essential 20 questions which are posted on the wall behind the examiners table!

The fact that some do fail can only mean one of a few things:

1) the applicant is half blind or short sighted

2) the applicant is illiterate and cannot read

3) the applicant thinks the correct answers posted must be a trick so he/she answers in the opposite manner.

"Others opened fire on the gunman as he ran down soi 7, wounding him seriously as he collapsed."

Wild west anyone?

Guns, alcohol, madmen, & inept police make Pattaya a place to avoid or be very careful in especially as the night drinking hours wind on!

This is all about "face". Thailand can show the world that it is ready and can cope with another tsunami. Keep the tourists/money coming in and all will be great.

This system (any system) will not stop mother nature. She does as she pleases. Maybe Yinluck can legislate against tsunami's?? Yep.. that will stop them coming.

All good and valid points.

Yingluck doesn't need to go to the trouble of legislation,.. all she needs to do is promise that there will be "no tsunamis" in any given holiday period! The Thais seem to believe accept such promises,... why not the fun focused tourists!

Enjoyed the ODD couple,... Klugman was a class act. RIP

If Abhisit was campaigning like this against the previous constitution he may have been imprisoned.

"The junta passed a law that made criticism of the draft and opposition to the constitutional referendum a criminal act. Political parties were not allowed to persuade voters to cast ballots in favour or not in favour of the constitution. Any violators could be banned from politics for 5 years and jailed for 10 years." The Nation

24 million times 500 baht vote encouragement, will be a costly manner, i guess some more fake millions of rice have to be exported on paper only to never have been moved and the 15.000 baht per tonne cashed once more

Unfortunately, vote buying is the scourge of Electoral Democracy in Thailand. It can be said with assurity however, that all sides are equally guilty, and all sides are equally guilty for not doing anything about it.

One side's attempt to appear angelic in this regard and who have difficulty in winning elections, even use the scourge to denigrate elections. For them, it is a convenient cudgel with which to demonize Electoral Democracy and are very motivated to retain the practice for that reason.

It can also be persuasively argued, that because all sides do it equally, no side benefits from it. The last election would have come out the same way it did, with or without vote-buying.

That said, in spite of all its' warts, faulty Thai Electoral Democracy is still better than any alternative, IMHO.

Whilst there has been vote buying by both sides, the disturbing thought is that PTP viz-a-viz Thaksin has far more buying power than anyone else and also at this stage is far more motivated to buy enough votes to allow the referendum to go in their favor.

I hope for the sake of Thailand that the constitution does not get amended to allow PTP to whitewash Thaksin and bring him back to power. That IMHO could be the beginning of massive internal strife for Thailand.

What harm are these refugees doing by being on the border?

From what I can tell, they are quite self sufficient in creating their own habitat and working hard to grow food or work for very low rates to survive.

I suppose that numbers do have to be contained otherwise there could be millions living on Thai borders but for those that have been here for years it seems very discompassionate to send them back to an oppressed country where the military control everything.

Not sure if this was thought of by the Thai Tax office but there has been argument in other countries that by lowering income tax for the wealthy it actually can raise revenue because the elite will choose to pay the tax rather than spend fortunes and all the time and effort to set up tax avoidance schemes.

At least Kerry has not been proven to go on talk shows and tell untruths. He should be a good choice for Sec. State.

IMO had he won the presidency, the world would be in a better way now.

Yes,.. maybe so.

But lets not forget that this whole notion of government in the US as with the rest of the world is little more than a dog and pony show while the real leaders pull all their manipulative strings from above!

...If you refute the facts I alluded to then by all mean be my guest and disprove them!...

How can i refute your facts when you simply don't offer any??

You dont get it and you dont give up do you?

I have alluded to facts which you simply ignore.

But never mind... despite your forum name "BookMan" which suggests you are male, I have concluded that you are either a female or feminist sympathizer that has zero compassion for men who suicide when relentlessly pursued by an unfair, biased and unethical system!

Isn't that the kind of "police state" the right wing nutters are all so afraid off?

Oh no...it is their own crazy people, who guard schools with guns...and malls with guns...and football- matches with guns...and cinemas with guns....

Here is a little thought experiment: Sandy Hook...the guy takes a GUN, from HIS MOTHERS HOUSE...puts on a BULLET- PROOF VEST....and thanks to MOMS SHOOTING TRAINING, takes out the 2 guards from a distance...then set out on his killing spree!

What then???

Armed neighborhood patrol?

24/7?

But guess what: the crazy guy STILL had the bullet- proof vest. So...he takes out the neighborhood watch from a distance (remember? he can shoot, thanks to the loonie mother! ) and goes on a killing spree as planned!

What then???

When will you FINALLY accept, that no gun, no guard, will guarantee safety?

He could even take the guards out and steal their guns!

But having his mom denied the guns, on the basis of stricter laws and background checks, would have made it more difficult for him, to get the hands on the guns! is that so hard to understand?

No gun- sales at gun -shows, no second- hand gun dealing to UNCHECKED and UNLICENSED people...might have done the trick!

No,no....you need MORE guns!

Another thought- experiment:

100 people on a lonely island....1 gun! Probability of gun accidents: low!

100 people on a lonely island...50 guns! Probability of gun accident: high!

100 people on a lonely island...100 guns! ...figure it out!

It DOESN'T WORK the other way around!

It is called "logical thinking"!

errm... excuse me but I would dare to say that after applying logic and reason that "100 people on a lonely island...100 guns!" would result in a low probability of gun incidents (let's not disguise the word "accident" as an "incident" in which the shootings were premeditated) because when everyone knows that everyone else is packing a weapon then the likelihood of an attack upon a person or persons would be likely to backfire!