Herbs

How would you feel if your wife refused to let your son on an aeroplane or a roller-coaster, or no horse-riding?

How can you make this statement? Can we please make comments about the, sorry I cannot think of a more neutral term, stupidity of kids on motorbikes without being accused of elitism, as if those other farangs 'know better' and understand the situation better than us...

I really do not understand why one cannot point out the stupidity of kids on motorbikes without being accused of being an elitist farang. It is not anti-Thai or smug elitism, but, taking a caring human attitude.

Easily said when sitting in front of your computer in a Western country with your Car parked outside.

I'm sure that these uncaring Thai folk would swap situations with you and have a car to move their family around in, plain fact is, many cannot aford it.

Coming to Thailand on a holiday spending more on airfares than many Thai familys earn in a Year, then criticizing their way of life in comparison with your own is rather harsh. And if you had been bought up in the Thai society as a Thai with limited funds, you also would take your kids on a motorcycle when you needed to.

Would you go to an Ethiopian village and critisize the people for not being able to feed their children as well as one could in the Western world ?

The poorer Thais could live your pampered lifestyle easily, you wouldn't last a week living theirs.

I don't agree. I think part of the problem is that advice and observations are taken as criticisms. No, I would not go to Ethiopia and critisize the people for not being able to feed their children, but I would try to help them feed them. Bad example in my opinion. By your standards everything is relative to the situation - I don't think all things are relative - we can state what we think is wrong and right. In my opinion, putting a child on a motorbike is wrong. That is my opinion, you are welcome to disagree...

I love seeing the kids and whole family on one motorbike, a nice cultural element. Why live in thailand if you want it to be a replica of Germany or Japan?

Last month I saw Mum , dad and three children (they passed me as I was driving near Rangsit) on a Honda. Anyone seen 6 on a bike?

Yes, it is a lovely sight isn't it! Riding along, falling off, broken limbs or worse.

I really do not understand why one cannot point out the stupidity of kids on motorbikes without being accused of being an elitist farang. It is not anti-Thai or smug elitism, but, taking a caring human attitude.

I'm sure that most would prefer to have a sedan or truck with the kids buckled into a Japanese made car seat, but we can't all get what we want now can we?

Do you have kids? Do you see how small their heads are?

With all respect, this is the kind of comment that makes my stomach turn....I was asking if there were figures, if people are aware what a massive problem it is, how many avoidable deaths are caused...

Every time I see this, which is umpteen times every day, I think "Do they love their children?" I know it's an unfair question because many Thais don't consider risk. But if they truly love their children, how can they put them at such obvious risk of death or serious injury.

I discussed this very issue with a farang friend of mine just before his missus gave birth. And we shared the opinion that motorbikes were out totally. His missus agreed. He then discovered she was using the motorbike taxis in the soi with the very young baby (450m distance). It seems to be a mental balance between laziness (immediate comfort), expense (another short-term consideration) and risk (vague long-term consideration so ignored).

I just don't get it.

In answer to the OP's question, I doubt those stats are publicly available. They might not even be collected. They also might be difficult to collect as many deaths will occur upcountry where accurate info may be harder to come by as police may not attend all accidents and there may be an incentive to disguise the cause of death if, say, drunken driving was involved.

It does occur to me, to state the obvious, that these stats are collected in order to alert the population to the dangers. OK, on one level, boring statistics, but on another level a glaring warning: 'carrying your baby, you child on a motorbike is endangering their life'. Again I stress I do not intend to 'Thai bash', but we can still make general comments without causing offence. Any way, if it were to make a person think twice before carrying their little one, then all for the better.

It really has been one of the daily shocks, seeing the kid dangling from the motorbike, during our time here. Yes, one becomes numb, but, on returning to Thailand briefly, is something unimaginable in other parts of the world.

Are there no figures in general for road mortalities? I must admit that, from the Airport last week, with a very reliable taxi, I did not sleep in the early hours, after a very long flight - I just found the roads horrendous – why drive so close to the vehicle in front? I’m sure driving habits are as bad in other parts of the world...

Ok - the title says it all. This is not intended to be morbid (sincere apologies if it upsets anyone) - and it is not intended in any way to be 'Thai bashing'. I'm also sure this has been covered before. I have lived in Thailand for a number of years, but have now left LOS.

I'm back briefly and again shocked by father holding six month old, on mobile phone, racing along with 3 older kids on the back. OK, they have got to get around, who am I to judge? But, it still shocks me. A slight bump - it is so horrific.

Surely this is a real issue that could be tackled? What is the mortality rate in Thailand? (apologies again for the sensitivity of this issue - I am genuinely curious and, more than anything, concerned)....

ever seen 'democrazy' in a 'kindergarden'?

Ah yes, very good point. Chucking the toys out of the pram! That is really what it looks like to me. It is sad and pathetic. I think one of the culprits is the censorship laws. I am very weary of what I type for fear (well, I don't care to be honest), of being banned. How do Thais feel?

Have we ever thought that perhaps Thailand is not 'ready' for a democratic government? A democratic government is based on the assumption that the people have evolved enough to allow disagreements to end after the final ballot is counted and they join together to make things work. Unfortunately, this did not happen and things got worse. Not to say that Thailand alone has this problem. The United States is a prime example where, under democratic rule, its hopelessly deadlocked in politics and fiscal mismangement. Add to that the fact that many want to rig the elections and we have chaos like we see in so many situations.

The reallity is, maybe democracy is not a one shoe fits all type of government...as we westerners have sold it to be. There are many countries that do just fine/have done just fine without democracy.

Are you kidding me!!!! What you are really saying, is that the majority of people disagree with me, so I think that is because they are not mature enough to have a democracy . So we need to put just one person that agrees with my point of view in control. Democracy is a one shoe fits kind of government, it reflects the will of the people, the will of the majority. Where it gets messy is when a minority tries to force their opinion onto a majority. That is why nothing has been solved, actually it has been solved, it is just there is a few people that are not willing to except that what the people want is concrete. There is to many people living outside of Bangkok that support this government for it to fall. Even if they are stealing everything they can get their hands on and the most corupt government ever. Democracy is working, they are a reflection of the people outside of the Bangkok, the majority of Thailand.

Go back to your dictators anonymous meetings and leave the rest of the peaceful world alone!

We ALL know the reason that there isn't a Democracy in Thailand....we all know why, we all know why it is such a mess...

I hear democracy is working really well for Iraq.

The democracy models (and there is more than one) assumes that the loser of the ballot (the minority) will gracefully roll over and comply with the will of the majority, and that the ballots were fairly cast and counted with integrity. Then the people who win will take responsibility for the interest and welfare of the entire country without self interests. A lot of 'mature' assumptions for countries that will be ruled by a few power hungry politicians who end up ruling the country by proxy anyway.

You don't have government by the people, its government by the people who get elected (that elite group) and their 'special' interests...

No one should be counting their chickens just yet.

For Samak it's truly over, for PAD it's still a long way before they'll see justice for Thaksin. For PPP it's back to square one, minus excitement of a fresh electoral mandate. Trading horses for power will be a lot more difficult this time than back in January, but they'll get through it, they always do.

Coalition partners have suddenly become big and important and don't quite know how to squeeze maximum benefits from their unexpected fortune, but they'll come around, they always do.

In the meantime the decision in Yongyuth's case is less than two weeks away, and a couple of new Thaksin's cases are due to be handed to the courts, too. Maybe it's too little too late, but still very important for horse trading in parlament.

If Thaksin left the country yesterday, as some rapport, you can be sure he and/or his accused people/family etc., will delay the upcoming courts sheduling once again and be "no-show". Everytime, the court dates are on, they have some excuse (last time he told an English Journalist that 6 times already they tried to kill him, and he had to stay out of the country for security reasons) not to show up, until they are sure they "pastry boxes full of tea-money" found their way through?

How long can we wait until these people stand in the courts, as they claimed they will do?

Cannot Thai politics grow up and act like a civilised Democracy? This is all really pathetic. 'He said this, she said that'. It is so sad....

Ha, ha, well, my definition would be the local motorbike taxi guys, who ask me what English team I support. After saying 'Chelsea' they say no, 'Man City - Taxsin'.

The people would be my definition, not a Bangkok elite.

Just a theory here, but isn't what you are saying propaganda? All this, 'the people are stupid' (not that you have explicitly said that), that the people are paid to vote the way they do, because they know no better. This is so un-democratic. Like this idea that Asia is not ready for Democracy, it simply supports an un-democratic regime.. I find it slightly sinister...

I take it you have worked with TRT/PPP supporters and those connected to them then?

These guys don't beleive in democracy any more than the burmese junta do. They have the support of the poor, but in reality they treat them with contempt. If there actions over the past 5 years hasn't convinced you of their inability to tolerate dissent, I'll relate a conversation I had with someone who regularly dines with the Shinawatra family and is close to the kids.

Me: If Thaksin was so close to the people why didn't he try abolish the rule that you need a need a degree to run for parliament?

TRT'ite: But poor people aren't ready to be in positions of power

or this conversation

TRT'ite: Ethanol is the way of the future. Thailand should be producing more of it.

Me: But that would raise food prices even more, and divert agricultural land away from food production.

TRT'ite: Oh, without doubt, some people will starve.

or this conversation

Me: No doubt that the agreement on Phra Viharn was so Thaksin would be a front runner for oil and casino concessions in Cambodia. That is misuse of government power for personal gain.

TRT'ite: I don't see the probem in that. Thaksin is a good man.

I'm not convinced - but I like you arguments. I enjoyed the banter anyway. Take care...

Erm, the Tories won the next election, Thatcher was an electoral liability, she was democratically voted out by her own Party - there were no mass protests. In fact, for those of us who remember, she was very shocked.

um...poll tax.

100,000 people in trafalgar square protesting....

next!

Just watching the film of the protestors, these PAD look very middle-class, did they book a days leave to attend? Not many ‘everyday Thais’, they were maybe working...

great, so the legitimacy of a protestor comes down to their 'street cred' in your book. I'd like to hear your definition of an 'everyday Thai'. Simply cannot wait.

I'm sure Thaksin, plotting all this from his villa in Wimbeldon, is a clear example of an every day Thai. Yeah, he really slums it with the peasants doesn't he?

The mad monk and PAD leader Chamlong - well at least he knows a thing or do about how 'everyday thai's' live, given his background.

As for this crowd, one thing you can be sure they are not is a rent-a-crowd, there only because they are being paid 100 baht a day for a cause they know nothing about.

Ha, ha, well, my definition would be the local motorbike taxi guys, who ask me what English team I support. After saying 'Chelsea' they say no, 'Man City - Taxsin'.

The people would be my definition, not a Bangkok elite.

Just a theory here, but isn't what you are saying propaganda? All this, 'the people are stupid' (not that you have explicitly said that), that the people are paid to vote the way they do, because they know no better. This is so un-democratic. Like this idea that Asia is not ready for Democracy, it simply supports an un-democratic regime.. I find it slightly sinister...

Erm, the Tories won the next election, Thatcher was an electoral liability, she was democratically voted out by her own Party - there were no mass protests. In fact, for those of us who remember, she was very shocked.

um...poll tax.

100,000 people in trafalgar square protesting....

next!

Just watching the film of the protestors, these PAD look very middle-class, did they book a days leave to attend? Not many ‘everyday Thais’, they were maybe working...

Erm, the Tories won the next election, Thatcher was an electoral liability, she was democratically voted out by her own Party - there were no mass protests. In fact, for those of us who remember, she was very shocked.

um...poll tax.

100,000 people in trafalgar square protesting....

next!

You pompous sod! 'Next'....

The point is that in a Democracy the ballot box is used to change a Government. There were poll tax protests (they did not bring down a government, the Tories won the next election my friend; but it took an election, the people voting, do you get that last bit?) as there were anti Iraq protests, but these do not change governments, they are part of the Democratic process...

As another poster said, 100,000 protesting, but does that represent the voice of Thailand (as in the case in the UK, 100,000 anti-poll tax, but the Tories won!)

Am I missing something? Have you guys lived in Thailand for too long? What has happened to, or where is Democracy?

You cannot remove a Government without an election????

In a parliamentary democracy, you can pressure the government to dump its leader. Done in most parliamentary democracies from time to time. Look up how Margaret Thatcher got dumped as PM.

If the government feels pressured enough, they can always call another election. Otherwise, they can continue with their mad-capped capers of ripping up checks and balances in the consitution, designed to protect democracy.

Thatcher was removed by her own Party - the Government was not removed. That is a ridiculous example....

How many times do the Thais have to vote for whom they chose, and be denied that choice?

Thatcher was removed by her party yes, after massive public pressure.

nor has this government been removed yet, but Samak is on his last legs.

As for the goverments existence. That is entirely up to them. How are they going to get kicked out? By a coup? I think the possibility of a coup will be overblown. Remember, the junta, which assumed power back in 2006 handed it back - as promised - a year later. And handed it right back to the people they took it away from.

If the military were never really going to give up their front of stage role, they would have annulled the elections and turned Thailand into the next burma.

The ball is now in the court of the democrats, with the no-confidence motions coming up. The PAD will apply legitimate pressure to the government to scrap the consitutional ammendements, which is their right.

Erm, the Tories won the next election, Thatcher was an electoral liability, she was democratically voted out by her own Party - there were no mass protests. In fact, for those of us who remember, she was very shocked.

The next Burma - well, how to put this, a more cleaver Burma....no offence meant to the Kingdom of Thailand at all...

Am I missing something? Have you guys lived in Thailand for too long? What has happened to, or where is Democracy?

You cannot remove a Government without an election????

In a parliamentary democracy, you can pressure the government to dump its leader. Done in most parliamentary democracies from time to time. Look up how Margaret Thatcher got dumped as PM.

If the government feels pressured enough, they can always call another election. Otherwise, they can continue with their mad-capped capers of ripping up checks and balances in the consitution, designed to protect democracy.

Thatcher was removed by her own Party - the Government was not removed. That is a ridiculous example....

How many times do the Thais have to vote for whom they chose, and be denied that choice?

Am I missing something? Have you guys lived in Thailand for too long? What has happened to, or where is Democracy?

You cannot remove a Government without an election????

Are we not allowed to talk about it? What's going on?

I need a little clarification, please: I know when people refer to "The Buddha" it's in reference to Siddhartha Gautama Sakyamuni, who became the Enlightened One. Are there other "Buddhas"? Is anyone who becomes Enlightened a Buddha? Does this vary according to different Buddhist beliefs and sects?

Thanks....

In the earlier parts of the Pali canon, 6 previous Buddhas are mentioned. In the later Theravada tradition 24 previous Buddhas are mentioned. You will often found there depicted in Thai temples.

On the issue of Buddhahood ann Arahantship, of course both have achieved Nirvana - but there are some differences between the two (I'm 2 lazy to think about these differences:)

For example in the Pali Canon it is stated that a women can become an Arahant, but a woman cannot become a Buddha....

Amazing, they told my wife, who is not Thai: 'theycouldn't send me a cheque! that i had to go get the money in BKK or send a copy of my bank book, passport and plane tickets!'

It is madness....

What do you have instead of TrueVisions? Curious is there anything better?

I left the country, and relocated....I find their customer services terrible. They really insisted that, no, someone HAS to go to Bangkok to get the deposit. It's the type of experience that really gets on my nerves. Ok, so others may have had different experiences, but that is the response we got...

What is it with this company? We have stopped our subscription to True Visions, had the satellite removed, and the set-top box, etc. They are now saying that we have to wait 45 days for the deposit to be returned, and have to go to Bangkok to get it! We live 3 hours away. This cannot be, how can I say, 'True'. It makes me really mad, to be honest....

Webster with 15 lecturers - bet they are not exactly top guys in their field - list their publications?

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Yes, a complete pain - but very simple to fix. Not sure you have to be on the service channel, but, I was when I did mine (channel 9). Then go to menu and installation (pin 2321), then 'download updates). Takes 2 minutes, works fine after....

I had a similar problem with my receiver. It would freeze and frequently reboot with a big DL on the screen. I took it into the True office and they plugged it in and instantly informed me I need to download the new software. The DL meant it was trying to download but you need to be on their service channel for it to work. They did it right there and no problems since... I wonder if the tech guy who looked at yours upgraded you to the new version? I have the TopField receiver BTW.

So you can do the software update at home? Which one is the service channel you need to be on when you reboot?

Mine freezes all the time, too (black screen), especially the last week, I have to disconnect the power source and turn it back on, sometimes it crashes again after just a few minutes.

You are a star! It was a problem which could be solved so easily! Thank you.

I give-up with UBC (TrueVisions). My picture freezes every five minutes. An 'engineer' comes over, changes the card, but still the same problem.

The most frustrating thing was an afternoon spent calling them - being put on hold for 20 minutes on 3 occasions. I'm just going to cancel the overpriced subscription. Horrible service....

I had a similar problem with my receiver. It would freeze and frequently reboot with a big DL on the screen. I took it into the True office and they plugged it in and instantly informed me I need to download the new software. The DL meant it was trying to download but you need to be on their service channel for it to work. They did it right there and no problems since... I wonder if the tech guy who looked at yours upgraded you to the new version? I have the TopField receiver BTW.

I give-up with UBC (TrueVisions). My picture freezes every five minutes. An 'engineer' comes over, changes the card, but still the same problem.

The most frustrating thing was an afternoon spent calling them - being put on hold for 20 minutes on 3 occasions. I'm just going to cancel the overpriced subscription. Horrible service....