Baerboxer

2 dumb drunk/drug addled, steroid muscled micks went looking for a fight over a few hundred baht. Twice.

Won the battle, lost the war.

At least they could have a fight unlike most of the English fools who think they can have a row and end up face down, battered!!

Another in depth comment - no doubt based on sustantial research? Whilst insulting the English, most Irish I know prefer not to be associated with the low life boozy brawling image which often so often incorrectly steryeotypes them. I'm sure these "good ol'boys" will have a fun time in prison - which on the face of the reports they richly deserve.

lots of nice, classy characters in thailand

my advice is to get a girlfriend and leave the bar scene alone.

Lots of foreigners sell there homes abroad and settle in places like Issan with their ex bar girls. They are welcomed into the home and during the milking process are convinced that they are now Thai. Some of them begin to resent the foreigners that have a good time in the bars, these individuals are quite vocal in certain forums.

Its during this milking process when they delude themselves that they have done humanity a great service in rescuing this poor girl from her terrible fate. They start to really hate their own people, something Thai people never do.

This " Thai'er than Thai" delusion is very common and some start to taken themselves far too seriously. All very well until the money runs out and they go home broke with their tails between their legs. I think thats where the term "Land of make believe" comes from.

Wow - where did you get your degree in psychology and doctorate in social science from? Could you share your research thesis and methodologies with us please?

what is it with us brits......any trouble / fighting , I'm ashamed to say, 90% chance on us up to our necks in it......

The article refers to Irish nationals .......... not British.

Not the first attack on farangs due to crooked Thais. Remember the American Donald who was shot and parilyzed after arguing with a builder? His Thai wife hired 2 men to kill him. The police did nothing and then Abhisit became PM and this shooting was one of the crimes he wanted solved....didn't take long to solve.

According to the weblink article the builder in question is a fugitive from Britain wanted for drug related crimes. Hardly keeping a low profile.

While the attempt to secure a position in the regional economy is laudable, India is a waste of time. In case anyone hadn't noticed, the economy of India is under tremendous pressure. The only aspects of the economy that continue to expand are corruption, redtape and inflation.

Yes, India is a big economy, but its a nightmare to navigate and Thailand should take a hint from trade initiatives elsewhere; The Trans Pacific Partnership agreement has the potential to create a major free trade agreement in the Pacific rim that would see Thailand sitting on the sidelines. The agreement will see the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Chile and Peru linked to a a single free-trade community that would lower lower tariffs and other trade barriers among the nine countries. With last December's agreement by Japan and Canada, the worlds' 3rd and 10th largest economies agreeing to participate, and the likelihood of Indonesian and Mexican participation, Thailand is about to be squeezed in a big way.

Thailand had a chance to participate, but apparently, the Mr. Korn the finance minister at the time the negotiations were underway was unconcerned. Cutting a deal on prisoner exchange or signing a document on cultural niceties is not going to help Thailand when Vietnam is given preferred access into lucrative rice markets and manufactured good markets.

India is renowned for its bureacracy and redtape. While the Thais are getting tangled in it, Malaysia and Vietnam have their eyes on the ball and are thinking strategically.

Agree - I lived in India for 2 years, but spent time also working in China and Malaysia. India is a disaster when it comes to red tape and bureaucracy. Add to that corruption and the issues arround caste and you have a real muddle. The results in China and Malaysia were much more impressive, and quite frankly, far easier and pleasent to set up. India was full of promise - but, with one or two notable exceptions, rarely delivers.

In places like the UK, the fuel carries a huge amount of duty/tax/Vat.. whatever the vendors are told to collect from the motorist that increases the price you pay for a tankful to, say £150, which is an £120 increase from the actual fuel cost of £30 (guesstimate)

In Thailand if you want to drive a car and pay the real price of the actual cost of the tankful of fuel, say £30, you can do that . If however you would like to spend some of your money and drive an imported "Luxury Goods" car and still pay the real cost of fuel you can, but the government still need the tax revenue and unlike the UK they don't collect the £120 tax from you at the gas station. Therefore those that can afford the "Luxury" can also pay the Luxury tax up front when they purchase the car. This way those that can't afford the luxury goods aren't having to pay the £120 at the gas station every time they fill their low cost (non luxury) vehicle.

IMHO, It's a very fair system.

You reckon ??

Horrific story - may the liitle girl RIP.

Sadly, stories like this are too common. Several similar cases in the UK spring to mind. I don't know about Thailand but in the UK police are reluctant to become involved in family matters, and social services responsible for childrens' welfare have often been woeful and inept.

As for this scum bag - I hope he get's the same treatment in a Thai jail that he would in a UK prison; or even worse!! If he could be sentenced to death by hanging, I'd quite happily tie the knot and make sure the "drop" made him suffer. Hope he rots in hell.

In my village adults use kratom, the young use amphetamines, but the worse antisocial drug in my opinion is alcohol, particularly lao whisky. (which incidentally I also buy as it is a good disinfectant and cleaning agent).

Why is Lao Kao called whiskey,? even the labelling says it is "white spirits" which is used as a paint thinner .

To Thais whisky does not mean a spirit brewed in Scotland, it is simply a generic name used for anything which is distilled.

I could equally ask why do Americans spell it whiskey and not the correct Scottish spelling whisky. It's just usage.

Always thought the Americans copies the Irish spelling - after all the Irish invented it !

Airport immigration stamped me in for 3O days once, ignoring my visa, which I did write on the landing card. Chaeng Wattana changed it, no cost, but a little wait queing. They have a little section to do this. Make sure you get the right form at the front desk and fill it in. Get photocopies of your passport, visa, entry stamp etc. as they will ask for them.

I always try and check enrty stamps for all countries that give them. But missed this one. I've been extra caerful when entering Thailand since, but not had the problem again.

"allegations" Nothing to do with innocent until proven guilty.

Yes, Mugabe has never been tried and proven guilty.

Neither was Hitler, Stalin, Gadaafi, Sadam Husein, ............ etc. All presumend inocent then?

I am confused they want to get the water into the sea as fast as possible. To accomplish this they are going to build dykes. Seems kind of counter productive to me.

I noticed not a word about clearing out the existing channels and keeping them clear or common sense when it comes to letting water out of a dam in the face of a rainy season.

This plan sounds as good as the 100 mile tunnel ten miles down.

There was nothing wrong with the tunnel at all.

It has already been done in similar conditions and to completely fit it to Thailand, it was designed by some of the world's leading experts in this technology. It was such a viable plan that, after reviewing it in depth (pun intended), the World Bank's engineers rated the Thai tunnel plan as excellent. They then put their money where their mouth is and offered USD 1 + billion IFC financing.

I know it sounds ridiculous, but the tunnel is the way to go. However, the Thai government has decided they should do the flood protection project themselves, although they are "borrowing" the electricity generating idea. One thing is for sure. The World Bank financed proposal would have been completely transparent. You can draw your own conclusions on this.

Apologies but I seem to have missed the World Bank report and anouncement on this. Could you kindly provide the link?

I believe him.

Israel has just assassinated a scientist in Iran and they want to throw the spotlight somewhere else. This guy will probably end up falling out of an plane door of the Gulf of Thailand late one night.

Wow! Been wondering who assassinated the scientist in Iran. And your proof is ........................... ?

2% of the Thai population are drug addicts. speaks volumes

This is tiny compared to the number of addicts in the USA.

Australia and New Zealand have the highest rates of habitual marijuana use in the world, doesnt seem to affect our society too much. I believe that drugs are a medical problem not a legal one and should all be treated like alcohol and caffeine and nicotine.

And is habitual marijuana use legal in Australia and New Zealand then? Have you taken a look at your society - preferably without the marijuana?

We have a Lebanese man, guarding bomb making ingredients, in Thailand. But, he says he's not a terrorist, just a poor unsuspecting security guard, doing his job (must have read about the Nuremburg trials). No plan to bomb Thailand, just trying to sort the paperwork out to export the chemicals.

Isn't this fairy story just a little bit obvious in its absurdity. Does anyone in authority really believe that Terrorists are likely to tell the truth?

There is one country that is missing from the intelligence services mentioned. Our friendly men in flip flops. This region is under the watchful eye of Australia (and New Zealand). The 5 Eyes see all, and I would expect that the Echelon structure was busy intercepting all manner of communications from phone calls, to faxes, to data transmissions.

Basically, if a known terrorist sends an email from Bangkok to a buddy in Islamabad indicating that he's had a good bowel movement, chances are the Signals group will pick it up and the info will be shared between the 5 Eyes (USA, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand).

The Aussie, New Zealand and Canadian spooks must be superb at clandestine operations. Unlike their American and British counterparts whose activities are regularly reported. Even The Mossad get more publicity than these guys.

Yes that is what I hear. The Northern accent would be gone had she studied Thai more studiously in college. I don't imagine all Thai people from the North speak with a noticeable accent. The same with people from Issan not all have that Lao accent. Thai spoken correctly is not done with an Issan or Northern accent and it is not a comment made just by Bangkok socialites.

Rubbish.An accent is neither here nor there and has nothing to do with speaking Thai or any other language correctly.

In England before the age of railways and the rise of the public school system the great aristocrats around the country all spoke with strong regional accents.

Your reference to Bangkok socialites is puzzling:I doubt the real Thai upper class could care less about Yingluck's accent.The stupidity and bile on the social media about this alleged failing comes mainly from the new rich middle class nervous about political change.

How do you know how aristocrats in England spoke before the railways and rise of the public schools?

It is always very galling to see Tony Blair anywhere in the World. He is just a constant reminder of how the United Kingdom has been brought to it's knees by his actions while Prime Minister.

I cannot see any part of our society that was improved under the New Labour government. On the contrary, New Labour has left behind a nation in depression.

High unemployment, creaking transport systems, immigration and the benefit system out of control, the highest number of teenage pregnancies in Europe, the shoplifting capital of Europe, exorbitant fuel and energy prices, the National Health service in crisis, dreadful care of the elderly, high levels of illiteracy, irresponsible drinking and associated violence, yawning gap between rich and poor, 'sink' estates in most towns and cities, lack of housing, overcrowded prisons etc etc.

Tony Blair was only interested in self aggrandisment while in office, and now he is only interested in the acquisition of wealth and adding to his burgeoning property portfolio.

I am disappointed that any country would invite Tony Blair to speak on any subject. Thailand didn't need to be addressed by this charlatan. Better fit that they invited someone of real substance such as Richard Branson.

Nearly all of what you say is true but it would be fair to include the idiot Gordon Brown in the culprit list when talking about the economic aspects. Blair never seemed to have much of a grasp of or interest in economics and seemed to give Brown too much independence as chancellor. The rest is history.

Branson is too busy running real businesses for this sort of thing, whereas this is Blair's business.

Yes - good old Gordon. I remember his proudly saying "the days of economic feast and famine were over". He could probably get a job over here writing scripts for some of the politicians with his insighful predictions.

Nice little unoffensive fireside chat, pass me the port will you there is a good chap! Cheque is in the post jolly good show, been a very rewarding little trip to your neck of the woods, already thinking about a follow up. Thinks " I could become a mediator in your reconciliation!" Does not matter if takes forever, still getting paid by the hour. Lifes is a beach and you should know you have some great ones here, difficult to turn down some of the wonderfully lucrative offers I have had since retiring from PM, it seems I just get richer and richer and all I do is talk a load of bull, do hope no one realizes!

Well written post.

I used to have great respect for Tony Blair, until he believed Bush about WMDs and then admitted that religion played a part in his decision making. He kept quiet about how religious he was whilst in office, then converted to Catholiscism after leaving his post as Pime Minister.

Do you think he kept his religion quite due to the peace process in Ireland. How far would he of got if he changed whilst being in talks.

No, he wasn't that important- the "peace process" was successful because Bush declared war on terrorists. The IRA realised that the Americans might start shooting them rather than giving them money. So, let's have peace and carry on the drug dealing and protection rackets. McGuiness and Adams would probably say "Tony who"?

I've watched the video several times. Slapping both ears in this manner is a nasty assualt. You don't need to use much power to damage eardrums and disorientate the recipient. The security man clearly feels this from his body language and the jerking of his left hand to the ear. He does well to try and ignore it.

The assailant's movements are interesting. Maybe testing his alcohol level would have been a good idea.

Behave like this in any other major airport and you'd have armed police jumping all over you.

As I understand it, foreigners on a longstay visa, most likely non res 'O' or 'B' can puchase a condo or apartment, but we are not allowed to purchase land, it apears as though we cannot even provide the finance for our spouses to purchase land. Our hands are tied and we are funnelled into small areas if we wish to own a condo, or so it seams.

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I think you can give your wife funds to by land. However, this must be a gift i.e. you relinquish all rights to those funds, have no rights to claim them back, do not have any equity in the land. My wife bought a house several years ago. The land registery department, very professionally, took me into a seperate room and explained this. They wanted to make sure that I fully understood she was the only owner and all monies used in the purchase would be deemed hers. This was explained in excellent English in a helpful and careful manner. This house was bought directly from the builders of a large reasonably expensive estate. Several wives of farangs bought around the same time and the office wanted to be sure that everyone fully understood.

I would argue that all of those gun shops should be forbidden to feel weapons to expats and Thai people alike. Only mentally sick people need a gun, it is after all an extension of a certain organ, that is probably too short or not working. Sell weapons and you get the mess that the US and the Philippines are in, including school murders, random shootings and a new mister Breivik will emerge soon. (Lot's of nice little Islands in Thailand after all).

There is no need for a gun in the hands of non police (and even they should not all get one) or army. Anyone who comes up with the bullocks statements that guns do not kill are fooling themselves Gun owners are not blessed with too many working brain cells though

I am with you 101%. Could not agree more!!!

Wow - great idea!! Let's ban guns, knives (other than culinary), martial arts training, agressvie sports etc etc - then everybody will be nice and kind to each other. Get rid of all Nuclear and even conventional waepons. Then those nice "axis of evil" countries can show they're really benevolent and beign, just misunderstood. Dream on!!

I respect your right to a different view. I also hope you are never faced with a life threatening situation, either individually, with your family or in threatened country.

Trajickingdom - and what extensive research have you carried out in the mental health of people wanting to own guns - interested to hear your research methodlogy? A PhD friend of mine carried out research into violent street crime in the early 90's. There was significantly less in Japan than the UK. Yet, in Japan, a much higher % of the population study martial arts to much higher levels.

Nice video - thank you TV. Ineresting comment regarding an Amity treaty / ASEAN. I can't weight to see the devlopments eluded to and look forward to enjoying the same privilages as my American friend and neighbour! Nice that he thanked me for asking it, shame he got my name wrong!

@Mesey - I don't hate Britain, and will never give up citizenship of a country that I was and still am prepared to fight and die for. I'll go back anytime I fancy and exercise my right of free speech in what is still thankfully a democracy. Travel broadens the mind, and living and working in different countries increases the breadth. Speaking out about something which is clearly unfair is not moaning - griping because some people have chosen a better lifestyle is!! What's up - jealous?? What makes you think you have the right to tell people what to do when it comes to where to live and what they can and can't do in what's still there own country? Your're entitled to your opinions of course, just don't expect anyone to pay credence to them.

51,000 poms living in Thailand ? Why did they have to come here? I thought they were happy in Spain eating soggy fish n chips in the costa del sol ? I blame cheap Middle east carriers ie Gulf air, Qatar and Kuwait airlines. I wonder how many Isan girls are living off British taxpayers money. Do Isan girls pay taxes ? LOL

Unlike the Auusies then - bastions of high culture and wonderful representatives of their ex criminal colony country. A culinary haven for the "barbie" lovers - I assume they mean Bar-b-que rather than a small doll??

The visa laws entering the UK are extremely strict in ensuring that British citizens can fund their spouses lives before one is granted. They have no redress to public funds. Why single out Isan girls? The rules apply to all.

It would take total moronic proportions of incompetence to mis-manage the draining off as poorly again for a second year in a row.

I'm sure the levels of incompetence and ineptitude will be increased - after all, they've got experience now!!

Meysey - get your facts right. You don't stop paying or being liable for UK tax simply by living in another country. Many people worked hard for many years and paid tax and NI. Why should they loose the benefits because they choose to live in a particular country? If they lived in an EU country or Swizterland for instance, they would get the increases. They don't want something for nothing - just what is rightfully theirs, without discrimination.

Your astounding grasp of economics almost belies the fact that you ignore all the ones outside the UK who actually do get the increase.

You think everyone in the UK pays their taxes and NI? Ever heard the expressions "moonlighting", "tax evasion", "black economy" - let alon the massive criminal element that has settled in good old Britain - "hey, we can be criminals on state benefit!" No I didn't read this in one of Mr. Murdoch's broadsheets either.

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