Beetlejuice

I'm sorry, but a U.S. citizen made a speech at a museum in the U.S. He was speaking about history. He was acting as a free American citizen. I don't see how this could have been an official act of the FBI and he certainly had nothing to do with U.S. - Poland diplomatic relations ... again a speech at a museum. I'm sorry if actual U.S. diplomats have caved on this but that's what diplomats do sometimes, gloss over the truth with sugary lies just to calm things down.

Was he invited to make the speech as a free American citizen or as the Head of the FBI?

If you are speaking in any form of official capacity, you have to take more care in the content, and how it will be viewed.

Even as a private citizen perfectly entitled to speak his mind the content of his speech is a reflection on his judgement as well as his world view.

If he'd been one of those nutters that seem to be springing up more regularly trying to claim there was no holocaust would you still support his right to free speech and still be happy to have him as Head of the FBI?

So now begins, was it the Holocaust or the Holohoax debate. The what if, does not come into the argument.

Assuming as most people do, that the Holocaust is fact, than making statements regarding events that actually happened cannot be considered as inappropriate. In many cases reminding people of the truth is not considered diplomatic, but in fact can never be swept under the carpet.

In order to have an understanding of historical events, one has to be able to get into the mode of thinking and attitudes of those times, that takes a certain degree of intellect that for many goes way above their heads.

WW2 is a period when anti Semitism reached the extremes.

Some of the populations of all the European countries that were occupied by the German Nazis were guilty of collaboration and committing atrocities against their own countrymen who were labelled as Jews, especially France, Romania, the Ukraine and Hungry. It did not matter what were the politics or even what the religious practices of these people were, if they were proven to have Jewish blood, that was treated as having some sort of disease, they were imposed to wear the yellow badge, condemned to death and murdered. If children had became orphaned or abandoned and could not be identified, the Nazis automatically assumed them to be a burden and Jewish and they too were sent to the gas chambers without investigations into where they belonged and with whom. There were rarely any exceptions to the rule, once established who the Nazis considered as Jews, these people were soon to become history. The allies during the early part of the war had knowledge of what was happening to the Jews of Europe but considered rescuing these people as a low priority. There was to be no cavalry charging to their rescue. The Swiss refused to let Jews escape into Switzerland and were turning them back at the borders to face certain death in their occupied homelands, while doing deals with the Nazis in looting their assets.

The Christian Poles had an inbuilt hatred of the Jews that stemmed back centuries and although did not commit atrocities against the Jews on a level as did the French and some other countries, the Christian Poles had very little sympathy for the plight of the Jews, the Jews were more or less on their own against the mighty Nazi war machine that wanted them all dead. Prior to the war, a third of the Polish population were Jewish and for centuries the Christians and Jews lived as completely separate communities, similar to the Protestants and Catholics of Ireland, which is probably why the Poles were so apathetic to the fate of the Jews.

What happened to those labelled as Jews during WW2 was an abomination of history, also this happened in Europe, Europeans fighting against Europeans and murdering other Europeans, it really does defy belief, plus not ancient history either.

You are so far off topic it's embarrassing. This topic isn't about what the Poles did or didn't do, and it certainly isn't about other European countries.

It's about a speech a high level US official made and which was further published in a major newspaper that said things that he shouldn't have said, true or not. It's about a breech of US diplomacy before the world by a guy who should have known better.

He put his employer which happens to be Obama directly, and the American people also into damage control mode.

A high level US official made comments. I am giving some facts to give a better understanding of what lies behind that statement.

For years many European countries including Poland have tried to discretely fade out the roles they played in collaborating with the Nazis against the Jews. In Poland the reward for betraying Jews to the Nazi authorities was a packet of floor or a bottle of cheap soda pop. Quite a few took up the offer and calmly watched families, including women with children and small babies being taken into the woods, shot and bodies burned or deported to death camps in the east. In the Ukraine Jewish women were raped and murdered in the streets and men and children brutally beaten and murdered by local mobs..

On this 70th anniversary of the Holocaust, the truth should be known and certain European countries must reflect on the crimes they committed against innocent men, women and children labelled as Jews during WW2. That’s my opinion, which is totally relevant to the theme of this thread.

I can understand the logic of prohibiting alcohol and cigarettes on television adverts, racing cars etc, but going to the extreme of prosecuting for displaying on restaurant menus is IMO ridiculous.

I agree.

If this is the law, than should the supermarkets be fined for displaying alcoholic drinks on their shelves? As I cannot see any difference between having alcohol openly displayed in stores and displayed on signs or ads.

There is also a large Amorn store on the ground floor of Big C in Hang Dong, the Big C not far from Makro.

Amorn is only a remnant of it`s former self. Good for buying tools, electrical parts (plugs and so on), and a few other odds and ends, but most of the specialist bits and pieces they used to sell are long gone. In my opinion, hardly worth a visit these days.

WW2 is a period when anti Semitism reached the extremes.

Some of the populations of all the European countries that were occupied by the German Nazis were guilty of collaboration and committing atrocities against their own countrymen who were labelled as Jews, especially France, Romania, the Ukraine and Hungry. It did not matter what were the politics or even what the religious practices of these people were, if they were proven to have Jewish blood, that was treated as having some sort of disease, they were imposed to wear the yellow badge, condemned to death and murdered. If children had became orphaned or abandoned and could not be identified, the Nazis automatically assumed them to be a burden and Jewish and they too were sent to the gas chambers without investigations into where they belonged and with whom. There were rarely any exceptions to the rule, once established who the Nazis considered as Jews, these people were soon to become history. The allies during the early part of the war had knowledge of what was happening to the Jews of Europe but considered rescuing these people as a low priority. There was to be no cavalry charging to their rescue. The Swiss refused to let Jews escape into Switzerland and were turning them back at the borders to face certain death in their occupied homelands, while doing deals with the Nazis in looting their assets.

The Christian Poles had an inbuilt hatred of the Jews that stemmed back centuries and although did not commit atrocities against the Jews on a level as did the French and some other countries, the Christian Poles had very little sympathy for the plight of the Jews, the Jews were more or less on their own against the mighty Nazi war machine that wanted them all dead. Prior to the war, a third of the Polish population were Jewish and for centuries the Christians and Jews lived as completely separate communities, similar to the Protestants and Catholics of Ireland, which is probably why the Poles were so apathetic to the fate of the Jews.

What happened to those labelled as Jews during WW2 was an abomination of history, also this happened in Europe, Europeans fighting against Europeans and murdering other Europeans, it really does defy belief, plus not ancient history either.

I am not psychic but can easily predict how this thread is going to progress.

The theme is the US envoy`s Holocaust comments regarding Poland`s attitudes toward the Jews during WW2. My guess is that this thread will transpire into a debate about the middle east, the Jews in general, a platform for the right wingers amongst us and then jingthing coming to the offensive.

Be interesting to see if this thread can stay on topic.

Many American retirees live in Thailand. They are paid in USD, the world's reserve currency, very strong right now. In addition, as I said, they are wealthy due to the stock market run up. They have no problem with the prices at Big C and elsewhere.

First of all the topic is not about how many Americans live in Thailand or how wealthy they are, I'm sure the 46 million Americans on food stamps are not included in that wealth.

Secondly there are much more other nationalities, who's currency has got weaker, living in Thailand all together than there are Americans, so why would Thai companies have their price policy directed at a minority group of people.

You will know that UK is the most represented in Thailand, with Germans next and Australians third.

Thirdly, if it goes so well with the sale of their imported products, then explain to me why the amount of goods nearing expiration date, and be sold at 50% discount, has been at least six folded over the past months.

In your estimation, how many types of goods sold in Big C and Tesco Lotus are actually imported from Europe, the UK and America?

Most of the western type foods, such as cereals, chocolate bars, biscuits and so on are mostly imported from Malaysia and Australia. There are only minimum products imported from the West for what I have seen.

That's a lot of damage from hitting a motorcyle.

In fact, I'd go to say impossible!

A China/Thai made Mercedes cannot be compared with a real German made Mercedes, they using cheap steel and parts, same look and brand but actually a totally different car. The same for BMW a Thai-made BMW is just not the real thing more an in-brand copy and Volkswagen the same story.

Really! And your proof for this assertion?

This is true.

Vehicles built in South East Asia specifically for the Asian markets, do not meet European and American standards. Japanese and other foreign vehicles exported to the west are built on contract to the requirements of the laws under the vehicle regulation acts as imposed by western countries.

Can`t be bothered supplying sources, suggest you check this out yourself.

When tourists visit Thailand, many hire high powered vehicles with little or no experience of driving those vehicles, believing that in Thailand all the rules that apply to roads back home, don`t apply here and the word caution, no longer exists in the dictionary.

Whatever, this idiot will end up paying a high price, either by serving a long prison term or costing him every asset he owns. My sincere condolences go out to the family of the victim, 24 year old, a life cut far too short. Hoping he will receive justice.

Bad move.

They were not committing a crime, they were offering a service that Thais can't offer.

They were taking nobody's job.

Just another excuse to say how bad these foreigners are..................

I know, you can't work without a WP, but at this instance they were harming nobody.

You are completely wrong on all accounts.

I dare say that these people were charging for their services and being unregistered could mean that they are also non qualified for the job of teaching and probably not following the prescribed curriculum procedures to meet the official educational standards as required.

Also having non registered foreign teachers at schools or for private tuitions, places children at risk from paedophiles and below standard teaching.

The imposed laws requiring work permits for foreigners working or employed in Thailand are set for the purposes of ensuring that foreign workers are fit and qualified for the jobs they undertake.

This is good news, and another load of illegals put out of action.

A country consisting for 80% out of midgets has the most beautiful girls. Some people may have a different opinion about beauty.

And so we have another Thai bashing thread.

Your types who probably come to Thailand because you`re probably not considered desirable by women in your own country, than start holding grudges when you obtain negative results with Thai woman also.

I find petite, cute, feminine Thai girls very desirable and agree with the OP, that they must fit in to the top of the charts as the most beautiful girls in the world.

Thanks for replies so far. Please PM if you don't want to reply in the forum.

I didn't post any of the details of the situation, because I didn't want the topic to sidetrack into into a discussion of the specifics of my situation. To restate my purpose; I'm looking for people who believe that their lawyer made a difference and allowed for the recovery of some or all of the assets.

I'll say this much, because it might help people to understand why in my case legal action might be helpful:

The person in question stated categorically, in writing, on several occasions that the properties really belonged to me (from a moral standpoint) and that they would return all of them. They even drew up and sent me a formal agreement (to be signed and witnessed) to transfer the properties to a nominee on a specific date, so long as I paid off their personal bank debt (which I did). However, they did not follow through on the agreement.

Darren, you need to be more specific about your situation, especially about what documents/proof you really have.

First, are/were you married or not with the person ?

Second, whose name are the properties in ? Does a chanote exit ? if not, what land title class is it ?

Third, what documentation do you have? What is the exact written form of the promises made to you? Is it a paper letter, an email or an SMS, chat message ???

You say "they drew up and sent you a formal agreement to be signed" - well, has it been signed, and do you have it?

Can you prove you paid off the bank debt, for example through receipts or bank transfers?

He does not need to be more specific about his situation on an open forum and would not advise it, being that making comments regarding this issue in the public domain could jeopardise his case and be used as evidence against him. The less said for the present, the better. As for what documentation is in possession of the OP, is to be discussed with a lawyer, not with unknowns on the Internet.

My son is a Thai lawyer in Bangkok, but his office mostly deals with Thai criminal cases.

I have no idea regarding the reputation of Siam Legal, but as I mentioned previously, nothing lost by giving them a call or any of the lawyers quoted here by some posters.

A few years back my British neighbor not married put the house in his GF mother's name..yes dumb but kept all his records Nd the judge awarded him the house giving him one year to sell...

The judge asked the GF to show proof whose money she bought the house with which she couldn't...

I recall he spent a million in legal fees but sale of the house even at less market value was far greater than his legal costs...

He got lucky but the judge did the correct thing. She had a bad financial history previously...

CB

You make a good point, that in many cases the outcome can depend on the discretion of the judge.

I advise the OP to contact, Siam Legal, that are advertised on here. Not had any experience with Siam Legal and don`t know anyone who has, but according to their ads, they seem highly experienced dealing with ex-pat matters in Thailand. There is nothing to lose by phoning them.

Website looks very impressive:

http://www.siam-legal.com/thai-law/chiang-mai-lawyer.php?gclid=CJLfpKLg_MQCFRYPjgod_R4A3w

If a farang is in a relationship (not officially married) to a Thai woman and he finances land or real estate in her name or any Thais name on his girlfriend`s behalf, and there were no legal agreements, for example a document stating that the money was given on loan, then in fact that is regarded as given as a gift.

In Thailand common law spouses are not recognised under the law, which means unmarried couples are considered totally different entities and do not have the same statutory rights to make claims against each other as do legally married couples.

Hiring the services of a reputable lawyer for such cases that have little or no chance of being successful and could also drag on for at least 4 years, will cost $$$$$$$$$$$ and no guarantees of a desirable outcome.

As regarding finding a reputable lawyer, there are some advertised here on Thai visa, in fact there are two Siam Legal ads staring me right in the face at this very moment as I type out this post.

As I said previous the police were on to this guy and an arrest was expected soon. The man is an unemployed Thai not Vietnamese, probably wishful thinking on behalf of the authorities.

Apparently the guy knew her for about a month and became infatuated. Also drug taking prior to the killing..There maybe more murders involved, Thailand`s equivalent of Jack the Ripper.

Details of the murder are too horrific for words, I won`t disclose them here. Keep watching this space.

The woman`s private parts were mutilated by a broken bottle, her nipples were bitten off and much worse that I won`t go into.

This was not a sex game, but the crazed attack of a psychopath and there is expected to be an arrest soon. Watch this space.

Headlines the next morning would not be good.

"A road rage attack by a foreigner (with bad skin) resulted in a thorough bashing by several hundred Songkranians."

Photo of you sitting on the curb with serveral medics treating the lumps on your head. One old lady pointing a finger at you...the perpetrator.

I doubt there would be any need for medics. The outcome would probably be a mob lynching followed by forensics trying to identify the victim from the pools of blood and remaining body parts scattered along the side-walk.

Several years ago my mother-in-law`s old grey pussy managed to climb on to her 2 story house roof after somehow getting into the attic and then onto the roof. Nothing could shift it, then my wife`s cousin came up with a cunning plan. We used a ladder technique.

Ask a neighbor whether he or she has a long ladder that will reach up to the bottom of the roof area, or knows someone who has such a ladder. Even one of those special round ladders they use for climbing trees will surfice. Hint that there maybe an earner in it for them.

Place the ladder upright, but not too vertical, at the side of the house reaching the roof area and leave it there. I guarantee the cat will use it to climb down probably at sometime during the night when it`s quite and no one around.

If no ladders available, it is a good idea to rush out and buy one. They`re not expensive and always handy to have.

I have an academic legal question.

Suppose on one of the supposed "Songkran days" which in Pattaya can be as long as 10 days that you go out later at night, say 9 PM, clean/dry/dressed decently and not prepared for or interested in water play. Suppose also it is a cooler weather evening.

Then suppose some evil batard throws a large volume of icy dirty water all over you.

Throw in some white powder for good measure.

Your nice clothes are now soiled/smelly/stained, you are all wet, your wallet and cell phone are compromised, you are now cold and in no condition to continue to your intended destination.

Also your ears and eyes are at risk of infection ... or perhaps your expensive eyeglasses have been broken.

Then suppose you strike back at them in some kind of non-watery violent expression.

Or suppose a cop is around and saw the the incident ... can you demand arrest?

While I'm assuming under Thai law, vigilante action is not legal, is that kind of water throwing well beyond the limits of any kind of imaginable civility LAWFUL or not under Thai law during the Songkran period (10 days in Pattaya)?

Not saying it would be enforced, just curious to know if it is legally a violent assault, which is how I do see it.

BTW ... yes I have been attacked that way personally at 10 PM at night and not on the peak day in Pattaya either ... just another random day out of ten.

Unofficially over the period of Songkran, participants during the festivities are given more or less a free hand to play their games, and others just going about their normal business are expected to be tolerant within reason. Also it is expected that those carrying items such as, cameras, phones and so on or wearing clothing they want to keep clean, should try and avoid areas where participants are playing their water games.

But if for example a participant commits an act that causes serious injury to someone else, regardless whether someone else is another participant or not, through negligence or deliberate with intentions of causing harm, than that person can be prosecuted under criminal law. The problem is defining what constitutes as being negligent.

As I said previous, those who venture out during Songkran, do so at their own risk and discretion.

Your "friend" should be able to provide you the correct address, shouldn't they?

Or are you working hard to live up to your name?

Bit of both, my friend is Thai so he has tried to translate the address to English the best he can.

Post 11 you asked for the address in English and Thai and now you say you friend is Thai, so he would normally be able to give you the address in Thai, wouldn't he? You are living up to your name Silly.

Yes.... being very silly.

If someone was able to post the address I may be able copy and past it onto an envelope.

My friend doesn`t use the internet (Old school) so all he could do was send it via text but I have no idea how I can copy from that to an envelope. Do you??

If your so-called friend is staying at a guest house, than why does he not ask the owner to write the address in Thai. Then he posts it to you, you do a scan onto your computer and print it out on an envelope and send the legal document to him at his guest house?

Where there's a will, there`s a way.

Like I have done in the past and in many other cases the falang will come to the rescue and pay out. It could be classed as stupidity but I think you have to except this in many thai-falang relationships

It`s amazing how these themed threads bring out the long and suffering, moaners, wringers and Thai bashers.

If there are Thai people scrounging off you, then it`s probably because you have associated yourself with those from the lower classes of Thai society or you`re desperate. Most middle to upper class Thais would not place themselves in situations where they were dependant on some old farang for handouts, most have their pride. Also I don`t agree that the situations you describe have to be accepted, unless you allow yourself to be treated as a gullible fool, the long and suffering who feels you have to pay to maintain your relationships with people.

I have not been in the situation you describe, never been that desperate. Once people (regardless of who they are) begin expecting hand outs from me, than they are history.

There are no laws in Thailand, written or unwritten, which impose farangs to give free handouts to Thais. Those that do, it is their choice. No point in investing resources into such useless relationships and then complaining about it afterwards. Sad.

Do Thai people look to the future ? Buy now ..cant pay in the future

The whole world economy is based on debt.

Without debt most of the world`s banking systems would collapse, many of the brokers including real estate agents and the property markets that rely on mortgages and loans paid back with interest would also collapse. This also applies to many large businesses that rely on purchases via credit paid back with interest, including the motor industries.

How can Governments try to deter people from taking on debts when their economies depend on it? Use ya noddle and think about it? Debt is not only a Thailand phenomenon.

In my opinion, people that live their lives and try to archive by taking on constant debts are mugs, because once trapped into those situations, it is extremely difficult to get out of, they become pwned by the creditors. It`s rather like selling the soul to the devil, gain the pleasures of having what you want now, and suffer the burden of payback time.later But I assume we have all been there, mortgages, credit card debts and loans taken out for this and that in the past. Unfortunately for many struggling to make their way, taking out loans is a way of life or even a must in some cases.

Thailand is just like anywhere else, crime rates can vary enormously according to the area. For example, although no official statistics, my educated guess is that a farang has a much higher chance of being a victim of crime in Pattaya and Phuket, than in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. Then of course there are the troubles in the deep south, where murders and serious crimes are regular occurrences. Similar in the States and UK, where there are certain areas I would feel more at risk of being a victim of crime than others.

Obviously we can all become victims of a crime, just by being in the wrong places at the wrong time, but we can lower the odds by avoiding high risk crime areas.

My advice is; to complete your analysis of crime in Thailand, is to study the online news reports, including the news section here on Thai visa, say for example, over a period of the last 20 years, compiling and collating a list of crimes by categories and areas of the country, including race and nationalities of the perpetrators and the victims (that maybe relevant if you are pertaining to tourists). . Probably take a year or two to complete. Whether you consider this as worthwhile, depends how keen you are and how much effort you are prepared to put into this said project?