toonsai

Gosh, Thailand missed the 1st place. Make no mistake they work hard to be gold medalist in next edition!

In fact what we see on the picture is a brand new mineral water fountain installed for the picture. The guy on the left cannot even resist at laughing at the scam.

Here, not the usual finger pointing gesture; only the glass raising gesture to prove the audience that it is totally safe!

Video of the Grenade Attack on Police - Feb. 18, 2014

http://vimeo.com/86981734

If the protesters could be counted by tens or hundreds of thousands on the different sites, we could legitimate their action. Irrespective of any political color or opinion, when a few dozens of people literally "highjack" several key crossroads and sites in the city for weeks, then I find legitimate that the Police (finally) takes action to free access to these key crossroads and sites. This must have come to an end and in Thailand - like in other countries - protests are often dispersed with some violence and strong action. This time - as expected - it went wrong because of armed people shooting at both civilians and protesters. The promised Bangkok shutdown did not happen, so Suthep and his troops should find other ways to demonstrate - peacefully. Blocking crossroads has no more legitimacy, just look at the number of protesters in all sites, pure and simple fact. An illegal protest can be legitimated by the number of people, but that's not (anymore) the case here; so it becomes an illegal (State of Emergency) annoyance. No partisan propaganda here, just rule of law. Or else anybody with a small group of people could occupy the streets at any time... I can understand that people are tired of Thaksin regime, no doubt about that. But protesters need a new Strategy to mobilize both people and attention.

You do realize the irony of your statement, in relation to what the red shirts did in 2010, right? (or is that too complicated for you?)

No irony. In 2010, you had tens/hundreds of thousands of people on the streets, blocking key areas for weeks. Even if we did not like it, it had some kind of legitimacy. Again the number (of people) somehow gives some legitimacy. Here we have a few barricades, mostly empty for weeks > what is the legitimacy?

If the protesters could be counted by tens or hundreds of thousands on the different sites, we could legitimate their action. Irrespective of any political color or opinion, when a few dozens of people literally "highjack" several key crossroads and sites in the city for weeks, then I find legitimate that the Police (finally) takes action to free access to these key crossroads and sites. This must have come to an end and in Thailand - like in other countries - protests are often dispersed with some violence and strong action. This time - as expected - it went wrong because of armed people shooting at both civilians and protesters. The promised Bangkok shutdown did not happen, so Suthep and his troops should find other ways to demonstrate - peacefully. Blocking crossroads has no more legitimacy, just look at the number of protesters in all sites, pure and simple fact. An illegal protest can be legitimated by the number of people, but that's not (anymore) the case here; so it becomes an illegal (State of Emergency) annoyance. No partisan propaganda here, just rule of law. Or else anybody with a small group of people could occupy the streets at any time... I can understand that people are tired of Thaksin regime, no doubt about that. But protesters need a new Strategy to mobilize both people and attention.

Another TIT report with "protected" monopolistic, mafia areas which at end limit the competition, drag down the quality and service level and dangerously increase the number of scams. Too many of the (mafia) Thai tours are just plain scams, dangerous, no safety, no control. Considering the very poor level, opening to (foreign) operators can only be beneficial to all, including to the Thai mafia operators who will have no other choice than to improve their skills and service level. All this with a smile of course.

I have no specific comment on the "Russia" operators. My comments are valid for all.

Your comments are incorrect. If what you know of the tourism business is indeed from working in the tourism business in Thailand then you are working for the wrong people or are yourself a Russian tour guide.

Most of the Thai tour guides and companies are NOT scammers. A small percentage are. If as a tourist you book with reputable guides and programs you have no problems. And just because you are a foreign tour guide or company does not make you any better than the locals.

How exactly can you explain your comment "Thai tours are just plain scams, dangerous, no safety, no control. " It seems to imply that if you are not Thai you are not scammers, are safe, are not dangerous and have total control.

Absolute sh&t statement toonsai. I work in the tourism business and all my Thai partners would run circles around any foreign tour guide as far as knowledge, safety and customer service.

But you are entitled to your opinion.

RCT99q, Of course there are always good Thai tours and good examples. But based on my (10 years) experience here, I have to disagree. The proportion of scams in tourists tours in Thailand is very very high. We are not talking about the whole Tourism Industry. I explain this by several facts in cascade: No law enforcement + high corruption + no standard + no control + poor english. I do not mean that only Thai scam, foreigners also, that's not the point. The POINT is that this area of business, like many others in TIT, is protected, restricted to Thais only. What are the results? Just to name a few in no specific orders: Phi Phi island is a garbage, destroyed by uncontrolled mass tourism, tour buses crash on a very regular basis, tourists boats sink every few days, most of tour without proper english documentation or translation, inexistent safety standards in most (if not all) outdoor activities. I have done enough "tours" to have my own very poor opinion of most of tourist tours being TRAPS, nothing else. 80% of my experiences, I just have the feeling to be a number, a piece of meat, not a customer. Now, I can understand that this bad reputation might hurt a minority. Then group yourself and implement strict standards.

Tell me, how do you define the word "reputable" in Thailand where there is no standard, no safety and no control?!?!?! Precision: I am not talking about the few agencies who have a quality approach. I am talking about the majority of local agents for which the only objectives are: load the maximum of people on a boat, load 20+ people in a minibus with an inexperience and drunk driver, false advertisement about "eco" tours on island full of garbages etc etc etc... Tons of examples.

My message is that opening the Tour Industry to foreigner might also improve the quality and service level. Basic standards and controls in Europe or in the US are already much higher than here.

Ah yes Thai democracy. All of issan will vote for PT and we will have another 3 years of inept Yingluck, corrupt PT policies, more rice scams, getting Taksin off the hook, and trillions of baht loans off the books that the tax payers will take 50 years to pay off. What a great day for democracy and a great future for Thailand!

Instead of continuously complaining and moaning about Yingluck/Toxin mafia, why the so called "Democrats" or "peaceful" but armed and equally corrupted PDRC try to propose a REAL alternate. I mean candidates that also have a program for the farmers/Issan. The real problem is NOT Toxin and his family. The REAL problem is that the Thai Society is heavily divided, FEUDAL type. Why is Thaksin so popular with farmers? No only because of corrupted populist measures... Because he dared to listen to the farmers, he did a lot of things for them, develop infrastructures in rural areas. I am NOT a red or Thaksin supporters, but the root cause of the problem has still not been addressed. We also know that the anti-corruption campaign by Suthep is another scam. Suthep is as corrupted as Thaksin, Thai people have a very short memory. Democracy does not work in Thailand because politicians do not think for the people, they only think for a color; red or yellow.

WHEN someone will have the "balls" to think, speak and act ORANGE?!?! This is the critical key to a proper Democracy.

Suthep is as corrupted as Thaksin, The REAL problem is that the Thai Society is heavily divided,

You need to some reading i think and not put forwarded unsupported statements - If you have evidence of Suthep being impeached and hiding billions of baht and murdering 300 people in the South as well as murdering inoocent bystanders in 2010 PLEASE present it. Or else research before posting and dont claim not to be a biased red as your post betrays you!!!! Remember this society was divided by Shianwatra between 2006 and 2008!!

Do not take the audience for tourists please... Suthep has come under fire during his political career before, most notably in 1995 when he was accused of giving the rich land rights under a land reform programme meant for the poor. As part of the Sor Por Kor 4-01 (สปก.4-01) land reform scheme, Suthep gave title deeds to 592 plots of land in Khao Sam Liam, Kamala and Nakkerd hills of Phuket province to 489 farmers. It was later found that members of 11 wealthy families in Phuket were among the recipients. Suthep addressed a huge crowd in his Surat Thani constituency a month before a no-confidence debate and called on his supporters to march on Bangkok in the hundreds of thousands to defend his reputation.[5] The scandal led Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai of the Democrat Party to dissolve the House of Representatives in July 1995 in order to avoid the no-confidence debate.

Don't you call this collusion and at the end corruption? Stop your demagogic propaganda and look at the roots causes, not only the politicians who are ALL corrupted; red or yellow. All this is just another game between powerful families to get a bigger share of the cake.

An interesting aspect of this news story - which someone commented would be yelled from the rooftops in all media in any other country - is that the news appears to have been broken by AFP, followed by the excellent Thai PBS (English language section) but so far, as far as I can determine, it is completely absent from the nations' two leading English language newspapers - The Bangkok Post and the Nation.

30 people killed outright in a single bus crash and not a dicky bird...

In the Thai press, as far as I have been able to determine, the story is carried by the Thai Rath but I can find no mention of it in the Daily News.

Is this just apathy, as so many are killed on the roads every day, that even an accident involving 30 fatalities is no longer considered newsworthy?

Or are there more sinister reasons- i.e., play down the bad news as it will affect Thailand's international standing and more importantly, the tourist business.

There has already been a strong suspicion for some time that many of the horrendous crimes in Pattaya against foreigners often go unreported for similar reasons.

It does make you wonder...

WRONG

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/At-least-32-killed-when-bus-falls-from-bridge-into-30223060.html

Why keep it secret? Another TIT hiding the truth? If Phuket is polluted, I cannot image results for Pattaya = biohazard level probably.

New Delhi might be a transit point as well. Was she heading back to Thailand? Was she a conned mule or trafficking?

I cannot believed a mule would be sent with $850k worth of ice. If trafficking then she is really stupid and/or naive to travel via Singapore with their death penalty. It will be very difficult to asses if she was a conned mule or effectively consciously trafficking. I am definitely not in favor of the death penalty for a conned mule...

Nice discussion. Awareness really needs to be elevated on these scams.

I created a Facebook Group to discuss and share experience, especially for expats based in Thailand and South East Asia.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=79817724505

I posted my opinion earlier today on my FB

Deep causes of Thailand crisis

May 20, 2010

Maybe it is too early to analyze the situation as it is probably still the time of emotion. But I would like to share with you my “helicopter view” opinion about the root causes on actual events. Please really feel free to share with me your opinion.

Overall, I am not really surprised with what happened and this outburst of violence.

Besides the well understandable emotion, I am quite amazed of the hatred reactions against the reds as a group. Let’s forget about the reds being a political party; they are gone. Behind this, millions of poor and innocent rural people will probably suffer because red is associated to them. They once thought that their problems could be addressed. But their leaders definitely brought discredit on a whole part of Thai people.

Now everybody hates the reds, with reasons. But if nothing is done, the poor and rurals will have no other alternative than to return to their labor and silence. This would be quite unfair to them. I am reading tons of reactions from Thai people. Nobody wants war and violence. We all condemn what happened yesterday; we all condemn the irresponsible attitude of the red leaders, the unnecessary victims, the fires and looting. Everybody calls for return of peace, return of this beautiful country; return of the land of smiles. Fine. But nobody takes time to deeply analyze the situation and the root causes of these troubles.

I am not talking about the now well known red leaders that ignite the violence. They must be condemned, no doubt about that. Thaksin will probably never come back to Thailand, maybe not even dead. We can discuss and argue about the red leaders that refused the proposed road map from the Prime Minister Abhisit. It was a real chance to move forward and find a solution. But it was only a short term solution to very deep issue: Thailand recurrent and abyssal social divides.

That is exactly where I see the root cause of the problems. The real drama in the Thai Society is its recurrent and abyssal social divides into 2 unbalanced classes: the rural and poors versus the richs from the city. A feudal society that has been working for decades, always soften by the venerated King, guarantor of Thailand stability.

Besides the yellow/red colors, the vast majority of reds expressed legitimate demands. At the beginning their demands were linked to the ex-Prime Minister Thaksin, now in exile. The patronage of Thaksin slowly becomes troublesome. He obviously financed the reds but not for the purpose of finding solution to the country problems. No, in fact just for his own personal megalomania. Thaksin is a crook. But to his credit (maybe this only one), somehow he was the first prime minister to HEAR and LISTEN what 90% of the poor and rural has to say. He gave them hope and that is what made his popularity. On the other sides, all other politicians are just and only focused on the Bangkok egocentric middle classes.

This feudal system will not last forever and might come to an end very soon. The so called elites need to open their eyes and understand the legitimate demands from the rurals who are in their vast majority peaceful and not violent. I believe most of them, while red at heart, are destroyed and ashamed by what happened.

I read a lot of things about Democracy. I personally think it is a western approach that is not necessarily transposable in Thailand at the moment. How do you want to have elections in a country where the reds will mathematically will as they represent the vast majority of the population? The rural/poor will win and then the city elites will overturn the government elected. Effectively Thailand has been shaken by Coup d'Etat on a very regular basis for the last 20-30 years. Of course it is not that simple. Besides the social cleavage, there is also the always questionable involvement of the Army. No, for me, the real problem is not about Democracy.

A new election will not solve anything unless the deep root causes are properly addressed.

I still see some hope in all these events

First, I see Mr. Abhisit as a real prime minister. I am not a yellow supporter but i made my own opinion about Abhisit actions over the time. During this entire crisis and until now, he managed to keep the Army and the Yellow at distance. He could have asked support from the yellows (who put him in power after the latest Coup). But he did not. The Army also did not interfere so far. Abhisit always insisted that as a prime minister he is the chief of the Army. Some will argue that Abhisit could not be in control and he was a kind of puppet. I do not share this opinion, maybe i am naive... Before troubles started, Abhisit also started to address some the poor and rural problems. These measures were not advertised and the front page was not surprisingly made by the problems.

I believe Abhisit truly understands the root cause of the problems. I do not see him as yellow or red. I see him as ORANGE, being able to think for all Thai people. If he can successfully bring peace back to the country, he will need to explain and educate. He will need to listen what the rurals have to say. He is a chance to be another guarantor of Thailand stability. I really hope that people will not destroy this unique opportunity.

The risk of a civil war is real, if not already a civil war. To some extend, "Revolution" might also be an appropriate word. It can be a peaceful Revolution. It will depend on how the politics will effectively address the real problems.

I know what you might think that my above statement is another "farang" (foreigner) point of view. Some will think or say that i do not understand anything to Thailand and Thai people. Ok fair enough. But still i want to share my views and open a discussion. Based on what i see, i doubt that many people will react. I mean a constructive debate, an exchange of argued ideas about the root causes of all the actual problems; not the superficial, biased or emotional criticism.

Again, we all want peace back in Thailand. People are angry, sad, cry. But do people just want the return of a superficial peace, leaving the recurrent problems not addressed. Or will people understand the critical and painful efforts that need to be done to step back and take time to seriously think about what is wrong. This will be the price for a sustainable peace, leading to a true harmony between all Thai people.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.