chmiroau

The FIRST cause of death is ageing ...

When will there be a campaign against AGEING ?

Um,, you just don't get it, do you?

The whole reason for these campaigns is to allow you the ability to get old, to die of natural causes! If you do things that threaten your bodies ability to live until you are old, then other people who want to live until they are old will probably tell you that what you are doing will shorten your life.

There are many things that will possibly end up with a shortened life expectancy, and if we know about them we can make an informed decision about whether to do them or not. This includes such things as; smoking, drink driving, excessive drinking, unsafe sex, dangerous driving, and others like planking.

These are warnings. Please if you choose not to follow them, at lease when you do die, please, please don't take an innocent and unwilling person with you.

This debate will always bring out the ardent smoker, who despite the heavily proven fact that smoking is very dangerous to their and other peoples health, they always claim that it is not against the law for them to smoke, so why is it dangerous.

This kind of attitude really stinks. When I was a smoker, I knew that non smokers felt unpleasant when around smokers, so I never did it. Why is it so hard for so many smokers to know this simple truth.

The facts are that many things that we humans do is bad for our total health, however there are many things that have a proven bad ending, smoking drink driving, excessive drinking and unsafe sex with unknown partners rate pretty high.

The writing has been on the wall for ages, time to read it people.

What, banned from using government, or state issued bullet proof vehicles. Does this country want a civil war?

Months and months ago I was saying that the best thing for Thailand would be a bipartisan style government, with equal power on both sides. This should have been implemented after the coup in 2006, and should possibly still be in force.

This style of government needs to be implemented as soon as possible as the current thinking is not working and will defiantly end in bloodshed again, Blood has already been spilt.

Political peace cannot be achieved unless there is a time for the damage caused over the last 5 years to heal its self.

Get ready for more trouble folks. It is coming.

What the truck.

There are known guns for hire in and active in Bangkok and the police know about these and do nothing?

STUNNED.

I am wondering if someone else has been through this little hurdle. My Thai wife and I are expecting our first child in a few weeks. I would like to know some of the ins and outs of citizenship rights for the baby. We are a little concerned about later travel and of course the Thai conscription for the child, so any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks so much.

Major problem here is that no one will likely be held responsible for these deaths. This will primarily come about because there seems to be very little or a nonexistence of any public health and safety, anywhere in the country.

There seems to be an over abundance of 'mai bpen rai' and bribery going on. Because of this these poor families, although they now have the answer, they will never see a lawful conclusion to these deaths.

So very sad. My condolences to all that were, are still being affected by this tragedy.

Biggest tragedy is the Thai culture is now better known across the world as an uncaring irresponsible society.

That's actually a very mature response.

Here here. A rare response from a learned person.

After checking with some of my Thai friends, the story portrayed in this soap actually happens in Thai society. The truth hurts and they are trying to censor and/or ban this soap.

A Thai soap with a storyline of a foreigner in love getting ripped off by his Thai girlfriend/wife, will immediately be banned and everyone involved with this soap fired. IMHO

Since there are no farang in the show, please ask your friends which one of these male Thais, in the opening credits showing all the characters, is the "foreigner" being cheated by a Thai female.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inLZfNq8q_E&feature=related

This isn't about banning a soap, it's about getting properly rated (even if their rating system is ultra-conservative by Western standards). IMHO.

To my knowledge there hasn't ever been a show with this content, and the writer of the first comment never stated that it was true, just eluded to the possibility of the subject.

However there have been many shows where a foreigner has tried to pick up one of the female actors and the female actor always replies,, "sorry I don't like foreigners". This could very easily be seen as, well what is was. It is in plain Thai. Hehe.

"It showed that Thai society was in a critical state, especially as regards its thinking and behaviour, as some people defend the soaps by insisting they directly reflect truths in society."

Um, are they for real???

Television soaps are made for one and only one reason, to sell advertising space. If they reflected real life then people simply wouldn't watch them. So the writers and directors need to add lots of spice and drama to persuade the general population to watch them. So as the competition between different television stations hots up, so does the story lines and the line between what is expected to be normal everyday life and controversy fractures.

This kind of competition degrades both the quality and the content of the soap, meaning that, in some countries there has been a call for some kind of psychological overseeing of the story lines, especially when children and adolescents are concerned.

I know for sure that my wife is hopelessly addicted to these shows, and can't go for long with out watching them, so as consequence I have to view them occasionally. Completely brain rotting shit is all I have to say. Product placement is ripe, even so much as the advertisers have their names put on the credits in nice big bold font. And yet the population that watch these shows are oblivious to the real reason why the television companies are making them.

Very sad.

Um, Thai workers call for the ban, what the truck?

How does that work, are they starting to show some initiative? Amazing Thailand again.

No law to punish the person who violates the rights of others, but laws to punish anyone who makes the information public. Insanity.

That sounds right, otherwise the people in great power would find themselves in real trouble with the law, usually the law makers themselves. It would be counter productive for the law makers to make a law that they already know they violate, and such would incriminate themselves.

On the other hand, Buddhism. Why is it that there is a need for the Buddhist Protection Bill, and what exactly does this mean????

New phrase,, forget pork barreling, now its tech barreling.

What a huge joke, but hopefully when the government that offers the most bribes gets in, and they don't deliver, maybe the people will grow some eyes and see through the crap that is now the lead up to the Thai general elections.

And once again, the image of Thailand is being eroded!!!!

Have you noticed something? It's mostly the Thais themselves who erode the country's oh so precious image - constantly, methodically, ignorantly.

Another question: For long have the police known about that lottery before they were practically forced to step in due to the media exposure? It's a rhetoric question, I know.

Here bl____y here.

The foreigners don't have to do very much to erode the countries image. I am sure that the rest of the world can see what is happening, just by looking at the Phuket jet-ski scams for one, Pattaya for two, and then the political debacle that is often played out on the world stage.

The foreigners here that are making a bad name for themselves would make a bad name for themselves anywhere, but in a country where the law doesn't count for much (except how much the bribe will be to clear your name) they stand out a little higher than most.

No one ever states the fact that there are far more good, well behaved, law abiding (Using their own countries laws), decent foreigners here, however because they aren't doing anything wrong, they will never feature in the news.

Greedy bastards. Even on death of their own son they just think how to make money and put another person into trouble.

I guess you would just accept the blame being deflected and accept the 30k, I guess your post is also sarcastic and you don't really mean it.

Sad but true, I agree, this is typical of a western litigations suit. While I am sorry for all of the losses, it hardly seems fair that this amount of money, an almost forbidding amount of money is sought after to in some way rectify the loss of a person.

This is once again a desperate lunge for free money because of a loss.

Hopefully this is a lot more than what the complainants are happy to settle for, as it will be the death of many peoples income and will devastate many more peoples lives as the whole family will now be in debited to this suit. How does that make the situation right?

200 bart for a vote???

Thats not worth it.

The silent majority are the ones that are not protesting, so there must be much more that 1 in 3.

Um, there is a real problem here, the words 'mandatory, feasibility and study, do not translate into Thai very well. So for the majority these words are a complete mystery.

Second, rampant consumerism is totally understood here and that is why such a walkway would greatly benefit he businesses that it links.

And finally, selfishness is also well understood, and somewhat rampant as well, so the people that are expected to pay for this walkway wouldn't want to spend the money if it financially benefits someone else.

No drinking? Mai sanook na ka!

I think you can enjoy yourself without alcohol.

Yes Dad......!

Sorry to sound a bit crazy, but I always get a bit irritated when people think that the only way they can have fun is to dull their normal feelings with some drug or another. While I understand that drinking can be a pleasant experience, this is only pleasant for others when the drinking is done in moderation.

Drunk, out of control, aggressive people are always the main problem when these kind of festivals happen across the world. It is the most serious problem that we will have this coming SongKran, and many moderate or dare I say non drinkers (including impressionable children) will bear the sufferance of a person that is so intoxicated that they are unaware of how much an ass-hole they are being.

If you can't have fun without getting out of it, then there is something seriously wrong with you (or your life) and you should probably go see a psychiatrist or something.

I ain't your daddy, but I do love my children, I won't be drinking this SongKran.

Thailand has really shown that it wants to be a 4th world country.

So many times this countries government has shown open racism, discrimination and fear of everything that may threaten their shrinking intellect.

It is such a shame that the corruption in this country has grown to such an extent that it is now hobbling the growth of so many people living here. The country is virtually lawless, the rich have so many ways not to pay any tax, while the vast majority are earning less than the minimum needed to pay tax. The laws are heavily influenced by the rich and the grafting is rampant.

Thailand has so many opportunities that are simply ignored because the ones that have the money are afraid that someone else will make some, heaven forbid, without paying a graft to the non-deserving in power.

I feel so desperately sad for the ever growing underprivileged here in this country, it is now time for them to really stand up and demand that all this bullshit stop and a more reasonable fairness should be spread across the country. As all of us foreigners have seen back in our own countries, the rich will still be rich, but there is always an opportunity for the less rich and the poor to build and have better lives.

DAM.

Go back through the news in Queensland Australia.

Many years ago a new dam was proposed to stem the growing need for fresh water for the growing population. This dam was quashed by all the do gooders and it never went ahead.

Some years later another dam was proposed, because the population had now reached a level where Brisbane was running out of water. This was not something that a large, developed, modern city should have ever allowed happen. The new dam was also quashed for very much the same reason/s for the first dam.

Now Brisbane and south east Queensland still have the same problem. Growing population, growing need for water and the same water resources that they had some 30 years ago.

While I agree that people living in the shadow of these projects need protection, relocation and financial compensation for the disruption to their lives, unless we reduce our need for resources such as water, we will need to keep building these things.

ONE COUPLE, ONE CHILD!!!!!

Real big problem here. In Kanchanaburi there is a really big dam, beautiful it is, right near Erawan Water Fall.

Should an earthquake hit somewhere near this dam, it could easily damage the dam wall sufficiently to cause the wall to fail. If this happens then the problem will most likely be huge.

There are thousands of people living in the shadow of this dam, reliant on for clean(er) water for living and for their crops. This will also cause problems for Thailand's already struggling hydro electric power.

Maybe this new news will provide enough incentive for the people in control of the dam to ask, plead for assistance to repair the damage.

A coincidence.

Interesting documentary on History channel the other day titled "Race and Intelligence".

Saw the show and the one glaring fact is that intelligence grows with the need for it to grow.

This means that when a community progresses, so must their intelligence. If you hold down a community, lets say by using financial oppression, then the intelligence does not need to grow.

Humans are born with the largest developed brain of all animals, according to the relative size of their body. This brain is not completely wired up, and needs stimulation to become the best it can be. Although there are physiological restraints caused genetically, this does not account for the huge disparity found in this country. It is my belief that this disparity is caused by the fact that so many people here in Thailand live well below any poverty line across the world, and as such do not have the stimulation needed to develop their brain to it's fullest potential. Can this problem be fixed?

I am interested in any intelligent comments, please post.

Mai Pen Rai. You will hear it many times before you get out of Thailand, often when something goes wrong or someone looses their cool "or dies of unknown causes". This simple phrase sums up life in Thailand and the attitude there in general. There are lots of different opinions on the direct translation, but it literally means "no worries" or "its nothing".

Just to clarify - one can hear the phrase just a little too often!

Sure, this is probably the biggest problem that the Thai's have by far.

It seems that no matter what the problem the simple solution is to say mai pen rai. It is my personal belief that this has come about because of a law that say you are not allowed to say anything bad about a certain person, or people that have a higher ranking than you. (Hope that quote doesn't get me kicked off this site) This is very apparent when talking about the BIB. Don't ever say anything bad publicly about them, or you will feel the wrong kind of weight fall on your head.

Another posting in today's Thai Visa brief states that the only way forward for Thai democracy is honesty. Seriously, what a f%$^ing farce that is. In a country when the above is common place, and you can't say anything bad, even if you are being honest, how can a true democracy survive?

This then leads to a horrible consequence, and that is that if anybody does something bad, no one will say anything about it, so the bad person wins. In Thailand crime does pay and sometimes it pays very well.

There is a flip side to all this. It also seems that the Thais rarely say anything good about each other, especially straight to each others faces. I wonder if anyone else has noticed this?

Why not clear the damned footpaths of vendors - far cheaper...

What you don't understand is that many of these foot path operators pay to have their shop on the foot path. This money gets syphoned off as either a graft or a tax to the government. All of the big suburban shopping centres have markets in the car park. All of these markets taking up the available car parking spaces pay (on average) 200b per night. So if you add all that up the shopping centre management makes a lot more money from the markets than it does from the cars being parked there.

Expect the same from these public walk ways and accept that the walkway markets will be kinda like a toll.

I loved the taxis in Chiang Mai, except for the fact that they are disallowed by the songtauw Mafia from picking up passengers from anywhere except the airport.

The first songtauw I got was organised by the hotel, and tried to charge me 200b to get from near Airport Central, to the centre of town. Being from Bangkok, I knew this was wrong so told the driver to go, he then settled on 100b, still expensive but very acceptable, after all he did take the long way there.

It was the motorbike hire shop that gave me the most problems. The motorbike I hired broke down, no compensation for either the lost time nor the money I spent getting home with the bike. The shop, surprise, was owned and operated by two British men and their Thai wives. When I argued the point with them after asking for compensation, they told me the truth. 'Look mate you are in Thailand, and I don't know how its done where you come from, but we don't give refunds here.' This was the worst experience that I had in Chiang Mai, perpetrated by a westerner.

The main, really big problem in Chiang Mai, Thailand is that there is zero respect for even the flimsiest of laws, especially when it comes to making money from tourists. Down Phukett way the scams go on right in front of the police, but because the police also profit from these scams they do nothing, even the so called tourist police (not necessarily there to protect you but more to police the tourists from doing wrong, they are also in on the scam, remember that one).

The local government is also profiting from these scams, it all comes under the same banner, grafting, and this is where most of the tourists go wrong, misunderstanding this old ingrained cultural tit bit from SE Asia. This goes right to the top, you cant beat it, so either work around it, or don't try.

Almost all of the living costs here in Thailand are far far cheaper than any western or European country that I have visited, so stop your bloody complaining. If you don't read the warnings about the cultural differences here, then you are probably holidaying in the wrong place for you.