smileydude

Another case of entitlement wasting my tax money.

This is a classic example of Thaksinism Ammart (elite). Red shirts need to take heed to avoid hypocrisy.

Thailand is not in good economic shape with the protests and all. Crime rate is pretty much proportional to the well being of a countries citizen's.

Desperation can lead many to commit crime but in this case it looked well planned but not exactly professional.

Alot of times drug habits or gambling are motives behind these actions.

Better to play it safe especially in the wee hours of the morning and being in a populated area seems to make no difference as people can be indifferent and conveniently mind their own business.

I have stopped seeking assistance from police after having my house burglarized twice (in different provinces) only to have them try to extort money from me to get the case going. WTH??

Just glad to know the guy made it out okay, could of been alot worse if he tried to put up resistance.

Criminals never play fair.

Now that's my kinda grandfather.

If I were him I'd add a couple extra strikes to the Crown Jewels to make sure the lesson is learned!

More then 80% of the vehicle fatalities in Thailand involve either motorcycles and/or commercial transportation like buses, transport rigs (10 & 18 wheelers), songtaew's (pickups), and vans. These particular groups of drivers have shown reckless driving behavior and disregard of traffic and speed laws. But another important point is that many employers require their drivers to work (drive) over 12-16 hrs/day which results in fatigue and dependency on energy drinks and yaa baa (amphetamines). These drivers often doze off or drive with impaired judgement. The transport ministry needs to get serious with drivers and employers by taking away licenses and imposing heavy fines on repeat offenders.

He's coming here because its in his job description to but other then that its about as effective as inviting a priest to your divorce hearing.

Any words from the UN chief will sound like a sermon and ring hollow to both sides who are at each other's throat, trying to present convincing arguments on violation of human rights and democratic principles.

All Ki-moon will hear is blah blah blah blah.

What you need is a referee with a really big ban-hammer. Maybe a dozen tanks will do.

Yes you are odd but probably better off.

Those with girls 20+ years younger hanging onto them often suffer from "Adonis syndrome"

and are at high risk of the gold digging side effects.

Ending the multiple protest sites is sensible because you:

Limit the number of targets and easier to keep secure from grenade launching UDD/government supporters.

Ease the inconvenience on Bangkokians.

Ease the burden on businesses affected.

I'm for ending the protests and letting the NACC and the judiciary do their jobs and for reform of the checks and balances in governance via OECD mechanisms like the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO), strengthening the Information Act that requires the public to have access to all information of government dealings to insure transparency without having to deal with the lame excuse of "confidential due to national security", and for decentralization of power through federalism, enumeration, or an electoral college so that we can control tyranny by the majority. http://www.garlikov.com/philosophy/majorityrule.htm

Mozzies: Your main concern would be dengue and even worse dengue hemorrhagic fever BUT if you take precautions to ensure there are no sources of still brackish water like leftover water in unused pots or clogged drains your risks are minimized. That also includes home protection. I like to install automatic door swings and keep doorways clear of bushy plants with pots.

Malaria though not as endemic to Thailand as it was in the past can still be found around the provinces bordering with our neighbors and deep forests. I found out the hard way while volunteering at a refugee camp 20 years ago. It is a developing country problem and you might see increased cases of malaria, bubonic plague and leprosy with ASEAN economic cooperation.

Scorpions: Rarely lethal to man. Known lethal species are in the deserts of northern Africa and the Middle East.

Snakes: Cobras are everywhere is Thailand but more predominant in swampy areas. I try to keep to lighted paved walkways and if you must linger into grass or under your house (if raised) try to declare your presence by walking heavy footed or with a banging stick to warn them. Be wary when lifting something up like a pot, lid etc. as snakes are often hiding beneath. Also when closing windows snakes like to rest on them though usually the harmless green snake. Watch out for those green snakes with brown tail tips as they look similar but are venomous. Kraits are pretty nasty but they tend to only come out at night but I've come into contact with them from time to time. They're the brown ones with stripes. Pythons love deserted houses and basements so be aware if you live next to an unoccupied house. I once saw a python wrap itself around a monitor lizard. Amazing.

This is why as much as I love Harley's I do not ride them. I'd rather have metal surrounding me in an event of a collision then me surrounding the metal.

RIP. The DJ world has lost another talent and someone a father, husband and son.

(sigh) we Thai's love our fortune-tellers.

Now we even have foreign ones doing brisk business with us.

I find them entertaining and amusing at most.

Hardly the end but just the beginning. We are seeing the awakening of awareness to rampant high level corruption (rice plegding scheme for example) and also the inherent weakness of the democratic system to abuse and tyranny by the majority (http://en.wikipedia....wiki/Ochlocracy)

Its the right thing to do.

Let the NACC and courts do their job of course pending the red shirts accepting that we still have the rule of law and not only abuse and tyranny of the majority (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ochlocracy)

Wouldn't it just be easier for PTP and all the red shirts to move to Cambodia?

Hun Sen and Thaksin are chums.

Politicians can be as corrupt as they like and reap all the benefits.

Communism is alive and well there (beneath the facade of voting) to the liking of Thida, Weng and gang

No elites or ammart there because they were all killed or chased out by the Khmer Rouge.

Perfect no?

Best stay in your barracks.

Better to send in a covert team to Dubai.

Then do a commie cleanup after that.

No details, he filed no charges or complaints?

Just BS. Let me guess, he goes to the anti democratic rallies himself every day.

You really have a lot of angst and anger in you.

His appeal is nothing but rational and yet you are able to conclude it as BS.

I really feel sorry for you because you'll never be happy.

Thailand is not and will never be a socialist/communist nation

He makes his allegations on Facebook, not down at the local police station? Does he think that the alleged "thuggish gang" will read his comments on facebook and mend their ways or could it be that he wishes to appeal to a larger audience?

Mmm, let me think about that.

I'm sure the police will do something about. Yeah, uh huh, about as sure as pigs can break dance.

First it was whistles that sold really well.

Now its probably M79 grenades.

What next? Coffins?

I'd buy tools. Most of the tools sold here are made in China crap. The good stuff I've seen at True Value in Pattaya that are probably closest in quality to what you get in the US are priced twice as much as what you'd pay for them at Home Depot.

I also agree with the self locking gate lock if your gates are low like in the US because you can't find them here but Thai burglars would be perplexed at first on how to open the gate but once they figure it out would be very happy. If you have animals its difficult to find good doggy doors too.

The stuff you can get at Bed Bath and Beyond is also way nicer then what you can get here for the same price.

I really like the quality of brass fixtures in the US, be in door hinges, locks, faucets, door knobs, towel hangs, window locks etc. Seeing the price tag of a Baldwin door knob here makes you want to gouge your eyes out in disbelief.

The gist behind the whistleblowing act on the ex-wife of Thaksin is that:

They are divorced only on paper.

Pojaman still wields considerable influence over PTP and her husband.

If enough pressure is exerted on her she might decide to tell her husband that enough is enough and possibly influence Thaksin to back down.

It is known in inner circles that she still pulls the strings and that she prefers for Thaksin to quit politics which is reflected in the fact that many have proposed that her eldest son Panthongtae enter politics but she disagreed with that move and thus he publicly made it known he will not be contesting any elections (according to mommy's wishes).

There's always more then meets the eye and a story behind motives for behind this not-so-great man there is a very powerful woman who controls the purse.

As much as I dislike Thaksin and what he stands for personally I think this move is rather distasteful despite its ulterior motives.

So for the rapist its 12 + 10 + 7 years? Is that with no chance of parole or amnesty?

Nice to see some justice laid out but the Thai correctional system is overcrowded with petty criminals who should have been fined heavily instead of being jailed while many rapists are let out for good behavior or because of connections.

I doubt a policeman of this ranking will remain behind bars the entire length of his sentence.

There's something about that smirk and unrepentant look that says he has other plans.

How about hormonal treatment or castration to control his behavior to ensure no repeat?

I'm sure that baby face could benefit from some increased smoothness via less testosterone.

Just tit for tat revenge by angry people.

Anger never gets you anywhere in life

Maybe they should try to hire Arisman?

Oh wait, he now owns an airline so he's too busy to sing to the red shirts.

This is being creative in the wrong way.

Better to implement security measures, signs and to warn tourists of any infringements.

This makes it look to the Chinese like we see them as nothing but money bags and sends the wrong message to students.

This is the sad side of facebook and the internet.

People (not necessarily women) use it to scam others.

Equally sad is many women these days (in this case thai) think its okay to scam lonely men for money.

I guess where there's a demand (for sex and companionship) there's a supply, though not necessarily a genuine one.

In these days of internet I think we have to be a bit more cynical and on our toes using not only good common sense but a bit of investigative shrewdness.

Its easy to be sucked into the fantasy when your of weak mind.

In your case you caught on.

There is no such thing as neutral as everyone has their opinion that may be more similar to one side or the other.

What makes a person closest to neutral is if they have the following characteristics:

Integrity

The best interests of the nation as priority

Do not use their emotions when making decisions

Compromising character

Are aware of and have control of their ego

Can rid themselves of a confirmation bias; that is to not conclude it in your mind before you've made the decision and then try to find reasons and facts to support it. This is a common human weakness.

Khun Anand is pretty close to having all of the above qualities but I doubt either side really wants a neutral person.

They want someone who sways towards their side.