10 minutes ago, tbthailand said:

 

Govt to announce two year progress on Sep 15

 

1. people still refer to us as "the government", even voluntarily sometimes
2. our 20 year strategy to strangle the country is progressing well
3. Most of our opponents are in prison, on trial, or in exile... even those pesky students... 
4. the new "constitution" which guarantees military control over elected governments has been passed
5. our lackeys in the "NLA" will create "organic" laws exactly as we tell them to.
6. The General is a shoe-in as a non-elected "PM"
7. Our General has a Prem-clone warddrobe ... although Sarit was a pretty stylish dude, too.

 

"even voluntarily sometimes" - champagne comedy.

Just now, Xircal said:

Jeeeez! You see that crazy truck driver at 1:52? How do these people get a driving licence?

A lot of them don't, but I went for my licence from scratch several years ago: three hours of listening to a cop who thought he was too funny babble (in Thai), a multi-question test, and a three minute drive around a course (in the cars that I, and everyone else, had to drive there, unlicensed).

That's it. Licensed to kill.

Combine that with a culture that, for generations, have been able to do literally anything with relative impunity, and one can see why Thailand is the most deadly country in the world to drive (that isn't a war zone).

I'd like to see a 2 year (audited) Asset Declaration... 

Wow, another rare lightbulb moment. 

50 minutes ago, halloween said:

Amazing how posters on this thread had nothing to say on the junta's recovery of B7 billion baht from the Shinawatra's favourite rice-trading company.

"AMLO seize 7 billion baht assets from Siam Indica"

" Siam Indiga also won part of the government stockpile under the silent-releasing method with total volume of 300,000 tonnes. The rice was set for export under a government-to-government deal to Indonesia only. The bid was Bt11-12 per kilogram compared with the government cost of Bt21-Bt23 per kilo while the market price was Bt15. With this lot alone, the government lost Bt3.3 billion. However, Siam Indiga enjoyed a profit of Bt900 million. "

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Former-head-of-troubled-Agri-Trading-stands-to-gai-30192330.html

Probably have nothing to say because, coming the day after these gems, there really was nothing to say...

• NACC declares the Rajabhakti Park project above board - http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/941771-nacc-declares-the-rajabhakti-park-project-above-board/

• Probe into mysterious death of former Phang Nga land officer in DSI custody progresses slowly - http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/941835-probe-into-mysterious-death-of-former-phang-nga-land-officer-in-dsi-custody-progresses slowly/

• NACC yet to reach conclusion on case of violent 2008 protest crackdown - http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/941823-nacc-yet-to-reach-conclusion-on-case-of-violent-2008-protest-crackdown/

The fact that any case even remotely involving the criminal Shinawatra family is pounced upon, where other cases are left to fade into oblivion or simply whitewashed is, or should be, patently clear to anyone.

4 hours ago, sweatalot said:

undoubtedly? Your personal unproved and very biased belief

A view shared by many people who read, including a great deal of Thai academics and international experts.

• Thai Generals and Corruption - http://www.wsj.com/articles/thai-generals-and-corruption-1402593819

• Thailand’s Crooked Army - http://www.asiasentinel.com/politics/thailand-crooked-army/#frameId=appnext_widget&height=64

• Thai Junta Beset By Corruption Scandals - http://thediplomat.com/2014/10/thai-junta-beset-by-corruption-scandals/

• Still better than Thaksin? - http://www.newmandala.org/still-better-than-thaksin/

• Rajabhakti Park: The corruption case the Thai junta doesn’t want you to talk about - https://asiancorrespondent.com/2015/12/rajabhakti-park-controversy/

• Why Does Thailand Need An Army? - https://uglytruththailand.wordpress.com/tag/corruption/

As I posted the other day, and heybruce linked to above, the Government Defence Anti-Corruption Index (GI) assesses the existence, effectiveness and enforcement of institutional and informal controls to manage the risk of corruption in defence and security institutions across the world.

29 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

It would seem common sense to me that I am able to walk down a pavement with my Child, either holding hands or in a push chair... But I can't...  I can't because as a parent I have to make the choice that it is unsafe to do so. 

 

I agree, Laws are meant to be for the good of the people...   I disagree with your comments however,... 

 

[Only and Idiot would (follow the law and not ride on the pavement)] - Law abiding and those considerate of others don't.... Only self centred and selfish people do, there are so many of those that riding on the pavement has become the norm because laws have not been enforced. 

 

[Impractical and stupid (to follow the law and not ride on the pavement)] - This is a highly self centred response, your comments imply that you would be stupid if you didn't put others at risk by riding on the pavement just to save some time. 

 

Yes, I know Thai's do it, I know riding on the pavement has become the norm because of its lack of enforcement, but so has speeding, so has riding motorcycles without a helmet (slowly changing), so has uncovered pickups on the express way, so has dangerous busses and lorries with worn tyres and brakes, so has running red lights...  

 

Scores of traffic laws are flouted daily purely because someone believes that being Law Abiding would be Impractical and Stupid but flouting those laws has a cost, in many cases unmeasurable... 

 

In my case the cost is an additional car on the road, because I consider the 500m walk to the BTS with my Son too risky when motorbikes are whizzing past my son on the pavement and I have to pick him up passing Soi dogs and vats of boiling oil....

 

I love it in Thailand - but I find there are many improvements that both I and my close Thai friends agree on...  I also find that 'always been done' is a highly unimaginative argument and only serves the self-centred when they are unable to present a more compelling and intelligent argument.

Oh to be "only new here" again, where the roads are safe, the society is peaceful and benevolent, 'tea money' is some quaint convenience, and 112 other myths that become glaringly obvious the longer one stays here...

As some Scottish journalist once wrote, like most visitors before me over the centuries, I was beguiled by the luminous beauty and vibrancy of Thai culture, and moved and inspired by the graciousness, charm and warmth of most Thai people I met - but it's become impossible to ignore all the everyday horror and human misery that is allowed to flourish here alongside so much to cherish and admire, especially when these horrors affect our families and people we love.

No other place in the world means more to me, and nowhere else breaks my heart so often, than Thailand, and it troubles me that so many Thais seem to have lost faith in their ability to solve the problems their country faces, and have decided to just pretend the problems don’t exist at all. That is why seeing acts such as this, and the overwhelmingly positive response to the video I posted earlier, instills some hope.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Is-Nam-Jai-more-than-just-a-word-in-Thailand-30294389.html

1 minute ago, sahibji said:

can this kind of lawlessness  be allowed even if no report is filed by a complainant. non -action by the police will send wrong signals to others to take the same road. 

Yes, exactly. The video I posted earlier received over 79,000 'Likes', was shared over 145,000 times, and received over 3000 overwhelmingly supportive comments.

Actions such as these may be common, but they are far from common sense.

The very page the made it and originally posted it was created (by Thais) with the aim of addressing the toxic societal problems that many posters here claim are acceptable. There are many other pages springing up decrying this selfish and dangerous behaviour, quite rightly, claiming that Thailand will never be a developed country while this kind of selfish free-for-all continues unabated.

21 minutes ago, hansnl said:

Guess you see it a bit wrong.

The MOTORbike taxi pilots were using the bicycle lane, you know the one without an engine and pedal power.

One man complained about this, and the motorbike idiots attacked him.

You call this street justice?

I don't, I call this mob a group of bloody criminals.

 

NKK thinks there is not so much road rage in Thailand.

Really?

 

1 minute ago, NongKhaiKid said:

Where did I say there's no road rage here ?

Looks like he read you quoting Jackpat's post and erroneously attributed it to you.

In regards to Jackpat's post, I don't even know where to start! 

This clip, and the mere existence of the Facebook page it was originally posted on, shows that a lot of Thais are sick of this—and other—overtly selfish behaviour.

As posted in The Nation the other day,

Quote

...the clip starts with these messages: "Thailand is not a developing country. But it has been 'the most developed it can be and it is still like this', as it will be in the next 20 years. The problem is Thai's conscience and just the phrase, 'Everybody does this'." 

The video shows a lot of disagreeable behaviour: cars parked on footpaths, motorcycles ridden on footpaths or stopped at crosswalks, vehicles hitting people as they walk at a crosswalk, cars speeding through yellow traffic lights and motorcycle drivers riding in the middle of the road instead of in the left lane. 

"Can't you wait for the green light? Are you rushing to die? You drove against the direction of traffic, that's wrong, and how come you used high-beam lights to chase others who come in the right lane?" the clip asks.

"Are we ignoring this behaviour? We believe that your conscience is there but you just ignored it. No need to wait for other people to remind you. Use your conscience and think about it," the clip says. The video clip ends with pedestrians who gathered as a group on a footpath to block a motorcycle and successfully force it to go back on the street. 

"OHPA" means "Is it OK?", and the Facebook page aims at addressing problems for change. A lot of online users have shown that they agreed and commented harshly on the behaviour mentioned in the clip.

Just now, chainarong said:

True James , and it wont change in the short term , like 100 years  + .....................................

I'm firmly in the "change is imminent" camp. How imminent, how rapid the change begins, and what form that change takes is open to conjecture.

14 minutes ago, lemonjelly said:

So, are the Charlies at the Labour Dept going to magically conjure up thousands of Chinese fluent local tour guides for all the container loads of Chinese tourists that the TAT are boasting of? When there's not enough guides, the tourists won't come..... Wait, don't tell me, they're going to organise 30 hour language courses to get local guides fluent....  

Suspicious that the hammer wasn't Thai, Somchai proceeded to bang the nail into the plank with his head.

Good point(s)!

17 minutes ago, JAG said:

That's the great thing about these new " Smart Cops". Give a chap a piece of blue water pipe with an angle glued on the end and they're off - no stopping  them.

It's almost as though giving a BIB a piece of blue PVC pipe makes him 100% smarter!

2 minutes ago, JAG said:

Investigation 72% completed?

That's a 67% increase from yesterday!

26 minutes ago, BigBadGeordie said:

http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/thailand-assures-no-spread-zika-virus-country/

 

Ah but, if you read the article and what the august spokesman said "confined to small areas" eg. Bangkok; Issan; Far North; Eastern Seaboard; Central and Southern regions.

Exactly! So I wonder when are they to going to admit there is an outbreak?

According to the WHO, an outbreak, or "Increasing or widespread transmission" is defined as "More than 10 locally transmitted cases of Zika virus are reported in a single area, OR at least two separate areas report locally transmitted cases of Zika virus, OR Zika virus transmission is ongoing in an area for more than 3 months."

Thailand now scores an 'X' in all three scenarios.

1 hour ago, rooster59 said:

she adding that they were asked to confine themselves at homes so as not to spread the virus.

<deleted>. The infected should be asked to refrain from unprotected sex, other than that there is zero risk of person to person transmission (other than mother to unborn child).

1 minute ago, philtrue said:

They did not give me my passport back i was to be send to IDC BKK from there to my home country not knowing that i was blacklisted, The Thai embassy in Switzerland granted me the usual retirement visa. I understood the all thing when i was not allowed to board the thai airways fly. Again the Swiss attendant just knew that i was not allowed to check in the rest was tolled to my over the phone by the immigration In BKK. 

How could the Thai embassy in Switzerland grant you a visa a. without a passport; and b. while you were blacklisted?

You need to concoct a more believable story for your next scam attempt.

2 minutes ago, philtrue said:

Nop, i own the place witch is run by others very common in entertainment or real estate.

Very common, but illegal without a work permit.

I got lost after you were told to go to IDC in Phuket.

What happened at IDC? They obviously gave you your passport back or else you couldn't have flown to Switzerland.

Why did you go to Switzerland? How long after getting your passport back did you go to Switzerland? How long were you in Switzerland for?

Why would your neighbour stitch you up? How long had you been working illegally?

43 minutes ago, chainarong said:

If Bullshit was a penny a pound ,Thailand would be the richest country in the world.....................................

It possibly could be, if the riches weren't concentrated in the hands of the elite, or squandered trying desperately to uphold the utterly toxic national culture.

Interesting how there are only photos of the back of the door and the back of the hinge...

Did the DSI not show the reporters the front of the hinge? Or did the reporters not think it pertinent to the story to show how utterly implausible the DSI story is?

In other news, images have surfaced of final testing the new RTP patrol cars...

I honestly don't believe what I just read. I can't even. The level of stupid continues to plumb new depths!

44 minutes ago, colinneil said:

His bank account must be a lot lighter now.

He only declared 29,917,197.59 baht, considering the Samui police chief is reported to have paid 2 million for his job, I reckon the Army Commander in Chief position would cost most of what he had!

Note: not the heir to a billion baht empire.

29 minutes ago, webfact said:

The Chinese Minister and his retinue are scheduled to stay in Phetchaburi until 10th September.

So for one night?

5 minutes ago, dcnx said:

Mr Feeney told Fairfax Media that no drugs were found on Mastroianni or in any of his belongings.

He pointed out that the 61 ecstasy pills were discovered in an apartment rented in the name of his Thai girlfriend who was never charged with any offence.

 

That's incredible. So the DJ had no pills on him or in any of his possessions,  and got life in prison. His life is ruined. The Thai girlfriend didn't get a single charge and 61 pills were found in her apartment. 

 

That makes my blood boil. 

Even without these revelations the sentence itself was an utter miscarriage of justice. I wonder what the people who wanted him put to death would be thinking now if they got their say?