razer

So is this the street mafia saying work with us or pay the price?

"Aaron said the group decided not to go to police because they feared being locked up themselves"

This says it all about the Thai Police reputation with tourists.

The Thai police are internationally famous for collaborating with Thai criminals and NO protection for tourist.

OK ...

We have been told the boat fare to Europe is about €1,600.

People smuggler fees to the point of departure € Unknown

Some taking taxis to the border got to be a minimum of €400 but I suspect closer to €1,000 because the driver has to drive back

Guestimate cost of say Afghani to get to Germany € 4,500 - €5,000

Now I have a problem with calling these people economic migrants.

If they are indeed, poor, then somebody is paying the bill.

Shut up EU. When you complain about this ... then you might have some credibility on human rights issues.

Most links have been blocked but for some reason Greenwald keeps his site up. Hummm ... I wonder if he has expert advice.

https://theintercept.com/2015/09/23/u-s-state-department-welcomes-news-close-ally-saudi-arabia-chosen-head-u-n-human-rights-council-panel/

It boils down to just one thing; police doing their jobs and the legal system doing its job. A violent crime is a crime. A public apology isn't much of a deterrence.

NATO has been reduced to an impotent political entity that sucks up money like prostitute on speed, with people in €1,000 suits and military officers whose uniforms are reminiscent of banana republic dictators.

Erdogan says Russian infringement on Turkey is an infringement on NATO (Turkey and NATO are one)

Turkey is bombing the Kurdish fighters fighting ISIS

Therefore NATO is bombing Kurdish fighters fighting

Turkey has given as much support as possible to ISIS without political or military commitment.

Turkey are NATO are one

Therefore NATO is giving as much support as possible to ISIS without political or military commitment.

This new EU has become disgusting.

Well, if DB hadn't been involved in financial criminal activity they wouldn't have these fines to write off.

I'm either just plain stupid or just logical, but I think it would be better for the bank and the bank's stakeholders if the PEOPLE who are engineering and approving financial crimes were arrested, tried and sent to prison.

Would someone explain how stricter gun laws would affect law abiding gun owners who bought their gun legally in their state of residence?

Just an armed group of criminals that, by chance, are Muslim.

Terrorism doesn't exist in Thailand.

I am against any Sharia type punishment but I think if there is a prison with hardened criminal homosexuals ... that would do nicely.

I had concerns over the sabai sabai attitude when it comes to unattended bags.

I am glad Thais know how to respond.

Like I say, 99% of the time it is nothing, but if it happens to be that 1% people will die.

Is there something in the water?

The Guardian beat you to it AP ... An eye opening chart to be sure

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2015/oct/02/mass-shootings-america-gun-violence

It is simple but not so simple. One side sees Muslim extremists with guns and bombs as terrorists. The other side sees Muslim extremists as poor, disenfranchised, unemployed people who are simply making social protest with guns and bombs.

If the army lets this continue and try to contain ... nobody pays attention.

If the army gets serious about rounding up these people or killing them in a firefight, well then ... they face the wrath of NGOs and the media.

All I can say is bravo to the people who are trying to clean up the mess.

They are the people who bring good face to the Kingdom of Thailand.

Those are not aviator wings, they are jump wings. The Thai Border Police run a jump school in Cha-am. The Thais are ga-ga over parachuting. My theory is that this dates to the 1960s when all of their US advisors were jump-qualified and set up a paratrooper school. (US troopers could earn Thai parachutist's wings by making a few jumps). Note that a Thai cop can get a set of "wings" by completing a few jumps from what the US Army calls the "34-foot" tower and never jumping from an aircraft/helicopter.

See http://www.nationreligionking.com/police/borderpatrol/paru/airbornetraining/

I know a young man whose father is very famous in Thailand. He joined the police and said the same thing about the tower. He made the jump.

",,,,, and for now Police are unsure the reason for his fall."

No immediate ..on the scene ... conclusion of suicide. The RTP are improving on comments to the news media.

Have no fear .... Putin is here.

We'll just let Cameron, Obama talk about it while Hollande and Merkel scratch their axx trying to figure out how to get out of the mess they made for Europe.

While we are at it how about a popular movement to have Jean-Claude junker dropped behind enemy lines.

There is plenty of compassion in the expat community. I would think that is the first place to start if in trouble.

I have little compassion though, for the western street beggars who squandered all their money.

Strangely enough I helped an expat not even my nationality get home. I bought his air ticket.

Maybe Thai visa could set up some kind of hot line for foreigners in distress.

Four things needed

1. An Asian education model that has been proven a good model

2. Political will

3. Money going to the right places

4. A draconian administrator to get the job done

Heads would roll and fat would be cut ... eliminate the unnecessary people and the regressive "thinkers"

HaHaHa ... This is Thailand ... glad it wasn't serious. People always wonder why I always look down instead of strait forward when walking on the sidewalks and streets.

This is not acceptable. Time to forget about political correctness.

RTP proud to give a good face to the Kingdom of Thailand? (Never thought about it)

RTP proud of a job well done? (Too much work)

RTP proud of seeking justice for victims of crime? (What do you think?)

The RTP sitting in front of a table full of cash for the Erawan bombing arrests was shameful. Not one word for the people who were killed or their families. Just big smiles and a pile of cash. Shameful. (Two colleagues of my Thai wife were killed leaving their husbands without a wife and children without a mother)

I believe these are three things the RTP needs to think about if they want a good image. It seems like every time the RTP goes in front of the international news media they are an embarrassment to the Kingdom of Thailand.

A last thought: Restructuring the police to a performance based group, better pay, and real police training from say, Japan, Korea, Taiwan or Singapore would work miracles. Forget the ribbons, the jump/aviator wings and the bells and whistles adorning the uniform.They aren't kids and they are not Army or Navy. Focus on performance.

Seriously need to get the BBC over there to do some tear-jerk stories to soften you boys up.

On the other hand, France is allowing illegal migrants to set up a tent city so they can illegally enter Britain. If the British government were to file a suit in the international court demanding France reimburse and pay for security costs to keep these people out ... I imagine GB would win.

Confucius say ... "What the Wok happened?"