cdnski12

The USA needs to focus on containing International Muslim asperations, rather than containing China. Muslims want to destroy America and any "Non (Islamic) Beleiver. China wants to do business with America ... not destroy her ... well other than the American Economy, which China has already accomplished .... well maybe steal a lot of American Technology .... did I miss anything?

I grew up on a large farm in Canada; but never really liked farming. The work was just too hard. Only 1 of my 4 siblings remained farming. He is 71, still working 16 hour days @ 3 jobs ... just to feed 60 beef cows. I retired 4 years ago, spend 2-4 months per year golfing in Thailand. Farming ain't the life for me!

I have seem ATM machines being filled with money that is sitting in open bags on the sidewalk; banks that have no security measures and drunken tourists flashing wads of cash...even the "World's Dumbest Criminals" could easily pull off a robbery here and get away with it.

Same, Same. Even in my small Issan Town, I have seen motorcycle couriers wandering off c/w 750,000 ThB in a backpack. No security whatsoever. The only saving thing is pehaps the long ticketed lineups to the cashier. I've only just begun to see some security @ Banks in Malls in Udon. Perhaps a step in the right direction. However I doubt the chubby, retired Military Guy/Policeman could do much to stop an armed , Yabba snorting criminal? I am never comfortable taking 20K ThB from a streetside ATM, c/w the local neighbourhood breathing down my neck.

Chinese Govts /Gangsters/War Lords/Businessmen of all stripes have been doing this sort of business in Burma for 2000 years, so don't expect it to change soon. Currrently there is huge demand in China for Oil/Gas/Gold/Rare Animals/Minerals of all sorts. I expect a defacto take over of Burma by China, if the Burmese don't wise up and get the rest of the world to invest in their country. I think it may be too late. The Chinese will simply sponsor their own Burmese Govt & Armies. They already have done so. Keep in mind that Chinese/Vietnamese/Lao Communists are really just defacto Criminal Gangs, as they have repeatedly demonstrated. Many party leaders are multi-millionaires with enormous assets invested locally & off shore. What a better place for them to invest than Burma?

How I luv u sexy man

I be your Terak in old Siam

Before our luv ... we consumate ..

We must go to u ATM B4 8

Who got da most biggest guns?

I was with my girlfriend at her village west of Mae Hong Song. While she talked to a woman the woman lifted her shirt up and showed my girlfriend her back which was covered in skin cancer. The cancer had matastizied to her breast, the Drs had told her to go home as there was nothing they could do. This woman lives 30k from the nearest hospital in MHS, this hospital mat not have the ability to treat this advanced cancer and the family donot have the money to live in Chiang Mai or bangkok while she gets treatment.

Yes they have hospitals, and a health plan that covers them but then again do the family have the funds to cover living expenses in a different city than they live in. Also the family are needed to help the patient as the government hospitals are understaff. There is more to health care than saying you have a health plan.

Whoa man ... get back into your Hilux AWD and burn dirt outta that village before the GF's Family ask for some Bahts!!

And I do think you are basically wrong in saying that people die in the streets in the US. Do you have any proof?

Just drive through certain major US cities and they are littered with homeless. There isn't remotely enough space at shelters for people. Cities like LA, Detroit, and NYC have tens of thousands of homeless people each that are sleeping on the streets every night. LA alone has 80,000 sleeping on the street every night. There are people dieing on the streets every single day. The situation is far, far worse than in Thailand.

The answer is to lower Income Taxes on the extremely wealthy ... as this leads to the "Trickle Down Effect"; which is/was theorized by those Master Communicators like Ronnie Regan, Bushes 1 & 2, American Banking "Experts" and most of the past & current NYSE!

I wonder if the Myanmar Military Govt will allow her to return to Myanmar? Look for the usual "mysterious" Airplane crash.

I bought a 135cc Yamaha Nuovo 2 yrs ago. It is lots of power for hauling 2 people. The only downside is the fuel consumption, which is significant compared to a 125. I'd definitely go for the automatic trannie. Very easy to drive. 2 things I don't like are the narrow tires and a disc brake only on the front. I'd prefer chunkier tires for the dirt roads and disc brakes front and rear. I've seen a few 150-160cc Honda scooters around.

I've always found clones to be a bit stiffer than real clubs. Probably due to the shaft frequency (dampening). I now use TaylorMade Woods, Irons & Putter. I have a TM 3 Hybrid, but can not hit it properly. Had to revert back to Cobra Hybrids. Better to buy real clubs in your home country and get them fitted properly. Buy a hard cover Travel Bag c/w wheels on the bottom. Easy to drag around the airport. You can always buy a std bag here in Thailand. Alternately, buy clubs in Singapore if you are passing thru there. Bring your golf gear and leave most of your clothes at home. You can always buy clothes here in Tahiland, unless you are bigger than Std Large size. You will defintely have fun golfing in Thailand.

I am constantly amazed when I go into my local Kasi Korn Bank. There is virtually no security. The other day, I saw a motorbike courier come into the bank, pick up 1.5 Millon ThB and go out the door onto his motor bike c/w all that money in a rucksack. There were no guards in or around the bank. That bank would be knocked over in 20 minutes in Detroit or Vancouver. Thais seem extremely casual about security, yet my Thai GF padlocks our doors, gate, Motorbike in her small village.

Seems the jewellery was just too tempting to these Canucks. Hope the Cdn Consulate leaves them in the Thai Jails for the duration of the sentences.

In the Western Countries, most Propane Tanks (LPG) have a master valve screwed in to the Propane Tank. The Customer's Pressure Regulator is connectected to the Master Valve, either directly or via Steel Piping or Hoses. The Pressure in the Tank is the Std Vapor Pressure of Propane/Butane ... i.e., 40 psi. The Reg reduces the Pressure to about 1/3 psi (5.5" wc). The problem I've seen in Thailand, is that the Tanks are almost always, much too close to a source of ignition ... be that open flames from burners of ovens. Many Thai houses have the tanks are stored directly under the burners. This is incredibly hazardous. In Canada, most larger gas storage tanks and the regulator are located outside of the house and the reduced pressure (Houseline) gas is piped into the house in Steel Piping. This separates the storage Tanks from the source of ignition. Needless tosay, the Tanks must be stored in a secure storage facility. Also not a good idea to have the incredibly hot sun shining directly onto a Propane Tank. Also one must keep in mind that the Specific Gravity of LPG Vapor is 1.03; therefore it is 3% heavie than air. When it escapes, it tends to flow down to the lowest level in a confined space and fill up the space from the bottom up. Natural Gas is only 55% the weight of air; so it tends to collect at the top of a confined space and fill it from the top down

Too bad he didn't expose the crass Bush/Cheany/Rumsfeld Coalition's massacre of millions of Iraqi's for no other reason than grabbing their oil industry. Nor the pathetic imprisonment of 60+ year old Afghani's in Guantanamo, nor the treatment of prisoners in Abu Graeb Prison. Just a few oversights in his short, pathetic life.

DUH!!! Like maybe the Dam Operators should pay attention to long range weather predictions and operate their dams accordingly. I note the Mekong was only @ 50% flood levels; while other Thai rivers were rampaging. Why? Maybe the Yunanese Dam Operators can interpret computer generated weather patterns and thereby manipulate the reservoir levels accordingly .. like any other responsible dam operator in Canada, USA, Europe ... etc.

wow, five whole kilos of marijuana!!!!

The DEA have outdone themselves this time, I wonder how much time and money was spent on this bust?

Why aren't they getting the ya bah that's coming in from Burma????

To hard methinks.

Easier gig hanging around Bankok.

Probably the DEA Guys had to fit this minor raid in between tee times at local golf courses. Much nicer to be a golfing DEA Agent in Thailand, than being shot at, along the Texas Border. It's a holiday assignment!

Don't forget that it is 90 days ... not 3 months (as I stupidly calculated), so the days you enter & leave count. Also remember that some months have 28-31 days. My bad math cost me 500 Thb.

Children doing a mans job. The level of technical expertise in Thailand is scary. So many people are doing jobs they are not qualified for, or do not understand. I was speaking to someone the other day, who was referring to the lack of expertise when it comes to getting a question answered about wine, at a restaurant in a 5 star hotel. They are charging 300 baht per glass, and the only details they understood was that there were two kinds of wine in the world. Red and white. Only the GM of the hotel had any detailed knowledge about varietals. How about water management? When the US Marine Corp offered early last year to teach the Thai engineers about water management techniques they were told that Thailand will never suffer major floods, as they had a lot of experts in water management. How much longer can Thailand keep up this charade? People are going to notice this sooner of later, right?

That's exactly it. THEY DON'T TAKE ADVICE FROM ANYONE! And people are perfectly aware of it and accept it!

How often have you jumped on a Thai Airline ... not to mention Air Traffic Control ... and positional radar assessments ... HELP!!

"The overturned bus's NGV gas tank also leaked, prompting rescuers to douse it with water to prevent it from catching fire."

I could be wrong, but I don't think water will prevent a gas fire.

Water doesn't usually cause problems with NGV, which has a Specific Gravity of 0.55 (Air = 1.0) The NGV is 55% as heavy as air, so it will rapidly ventilate into the atmosphere. The real danger is with LPG (Propane/Butane). It has a SG of 1.03; so as it vaporizes, it will sink down onto ground level and creep along the ground to a low point. This tends to surpprise attending amateurs. Damaged/Leaking LPG Tankers can also BLEVE (Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion). See Wikipedia. If you ever encounter a damaged leaking LPG Tanker (Truck or Train), run to a safe area immediately. It can explode like a bomb. Having 40 years of NG Industry experience; I am not really comfortable around the traditional Thai LPG Cookers c/w 1 or 2 x 25 litre tanks of LPG under the cooking rings (a super source of ignition). In Canada, that amount of LPG must be stored outside of the house, on an exterior wall, with connecting pipes installed thru the exterior wall. These tanks should be protected from direct sunlight and your light fingered Thai relatives.

at least he was with a WOMAN, which is far better than some Catholic monks have been doing...

Not to mention the Canadian Bishop caught by the Canuck Customs returning from Pattaya, c/w a suitcase full of pornographic discs of young boys undergoing sexual exploitation. The Bishop retired. I don't think he suffered any more retribution. Probably now living on his RC Pension full time in Pattaya?

Just because he 'ran away' it is assumed that he doesn't care.

No matter what the law is or what his religious beliefs, the poor man is probably devastated.

Nothing will take away the fact that he has killed 5 people. He will live with that for the rest of his life. Punishment will not bring those people back and a gaol term is unlikely to make the driver a better person or benefit his innocent family who no doubt depend on his income.

May be better if a stringent system of regular checks of brake safety in big trucks were instituted. And try some of those new wire rope traffic dividers in Australia. (Probably nicked from Denmark in any case). They work amazingly well at slowing down even B-doubles.

Like the driver maybe will have a bad Buddhist re-incarnation as an earthworm in a graveyard?

The driver scarpers, as they do, more often than not, then gets bail? No doubt put up by his employers, with whom he discussed the pros and cons of turning himself in.

No doubt that the employers arranged the bond money. Did the Fish Truck Driver have a driver's liscence & insurance. The truck driver might be safer in jail. He may just disappear ... permanently. The dead can't talk.

It would be a waste of time to terrorize Yanks in Thailand. There is not enough of them. There are vastly more Brits, Scandanavians, Aussies & Canadians in Thailand, than Americans. At least that is my experience all over Thailand. I wonder if the USA obtained "reliable" information from a water boarded 65 year old Afghanny @ Guantanamo; or some some computer jock working @ NSA's San Francisco "Switch", which reviews all the world's electronic info ... i/c yours typed here in thai Visa.

My first year in Thailand I lived in a soi off Khaosan road. One particular beggar was collected every night by taxi, I once watched her counting her takings, it took quite a while.

Most "street" people I have seen, appear to carry cel phones.

Not quite Lady Godiva ... but near enough. Nice complexion for a Tapioca Farmer?