puck2

Don't forget history, especially the Chinese one, connected to Thailand.

From 1927 until 1949 there was the civil war in China. Result, Mao was the new communist leader/dictator. It was a hard time in this war for the population in China. Losing homes, life of family members, starvation etc. And even under Mao there have been disasters like starvation etc.  Result, many fled to countries in SE Aisa including Thailand. If you ask your family, friends, neighbors, some or many of them have people with a Chinese origin. I.e. the grandmother of my wife fled China because of war fighting, hunger etc. and moved to Thailand.

They all have been unvoluntarily influenced by the culture of their (Chinese) families. Although with a poor and awful life in their mother country, in their hearts they have been Chinese. I can confirm this feelings and behavior. Born during Hitler's dictatorship, at the end of WW II, expelled by the Russians, we didn't change our feeling for our home country.

The same happened to the Chinese people here in Thailand. That's one important reason why they feel more connected to China('s dictatorship) than to the Western countries. It's not an issue of brain, but of the origin of the family. You will find this confirmed in the USA.

Therefore it's not „the Western arrogance“,but family history, why here is a Chinese influence,

The headline: 

Opinion: american-and-western-arrogance-will-lose-this-region-to-china’s-influence/

is poore nonsense. Why ?

Arrogance concerning people is explained by: someone who is full of self-worth or self-importance and who tells and shows that they have a feeling of superiority over others.

I believe that many, many Western people think like this. It's the same attitude that the Thai military government has against it people. Chinas communist leaders are not different.

But thinking that the "arrogance" of Western countries is the reason for losing it's influence on Thailand and its SE neighbours is not logical. There are a lot of reasons why.

• The US invaded Vietnam not because of arrogance, but because of the fear of a (Chineses) communist expansion  in SE Asia.
• The Vietnamese had  fightings/wars against the Chinese over a long time because of the fear being one of the many provinces  in  China.  There is no connection to Western "arrgance", but to Chinese lust of occupation. Vietnamese people now fear mor their communist "collegues" than the West!
• In general, fighting the communists (of China) means fighting for democracy. That*s not a fight for "superiority", but for the freedom of people.
• After the coup here in Thailand the military "leader" hurrried to China like a crazy servant, not for the welfare of the Thais, but for his own/military success + surviving. The (democratic) Western states didn't "like" him.
• Reasons for the coup:  personal, not moral or politcal, not supported by the West, but no problem for the Chinese leader. That's the real danger for SE Asia.
• Once the geography of SE Asia was more important than nowadays. Going to or from China, Japan, Korea,  E-Russia was ging through SE Asias area-. Reason: Moldern technology like aeroplanes, big ships can go around, don't need to cross chanels etc, in SE Asia.,
• Maybe the leading technology and science  in Western countries + Japan, South Korea  caused some arrogance. Vice versa would be the same.

On 3/3/2022 at 7:19 AM, BritManToo said:

Songkran ....... it's always gone by the end of Songkran.

We've been lucky this year, the pollution in CM didn't start until this week, nearly 2 months later than last year.

Not true!

It depends also on where you are staying.

Only 1 example for the draught after Songkran in 25 provinces in the year 2020.

https://reliefweb.int/report/thailand/25-provinces-declare-drought-disaster

Once you could rely on this:   the dry season stopped by the end of songkran.

But since a lot of years this prediction did NOT work (exception:  last year, at least here in Mae Hong Son).

In 2011 a strong monsoon started at the in May, flooding at lot of provinces in the North and North-East.

I don't know what they are doing aginst the yearly smoke, starting between ~ the end of February or in the first weeks of March.

Every year the same, officials are not ashamed to announce: next year we will clear this problem. The following year no difference. On every big road leading the the center of CM, you are stopped and controlled by the police. It's easy for them to collect the money for every tiny <deleted>. But hunting the fire makers would mean they have to move their but out of the car and hurry..... OMG, that's to hard, leaving the car and searching the culprits.

It would be so easy to make the owner of the land responsible for the burning.

Bad news. This smog in CM means we will have it here in the Mae Hong Province very soon. The mountains in the background already look a little bit misty. Must prepare now booking a flight to BKK re. Hua Hin. 

In the weather forecast i have read, next Tuesday there will be some rain here in our Amphoe. We will wait and see. re. fly.

16 hours ago, Pique Dard said:

but not a wall against the usa imperialism? i tried to explain why poutine felt entitled to take this UNFORTUNATE decision, but most of the comments here accuse me of supporting the war!

You seem not to understand the world "imperialism".

To help you understanding:

31 minutes ago, Henk Langeweg said:

Nah, Russia and their, for now silent, sympathizers are, what population numbers concerns, more then half +1. of the world population.

Please show us your numbers to improve the nonsense you are writing.

In 2021 Russia had a population of only ~145 (!) million people. The world has a population of a little bit below 8 BILLION.  And including "sympathisers" it should be more than "half + 1"  ???

13 hours ago, Pique Dard said:

the question is WHY russia "invaded" ukraine? who remembers james baker "U.S. Secretary of State James Baker's famous “not one inch eastward” assurance about NATO expansion". 

this statement was made in 1990 and  now suddenly has become a myth in some media!

the current war  isn't  SPECIFICALLY against ukraine, it is  against the expansion of nato. those are facts, however it doesn't  mean i support the war.

Why shouldn't there be a wall against Russian imperialism ?  Remember the history of communist Eastern Germany, Poland losing land in its eastern area, Russian war in Afghanistan, Russians meddling the Cuascasuus area- etc.

Following your crazy/stupid logic, all countries which have boders with Russia, should say and do the same:

We are against the  "expansion" of Russian/Putin imperialism to justify a war ???!!!

2 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

I thought it is hot season already for several weeks... When was the cold season??

Ask the people in the Northern area. Here in the Mae Hon Son Province, near to the Myanmar boderline, since nearly 3 months: every early morning between 11° - 16°. Unusual long and cold time.

I can trust our dogs by 100%, but the Thai military regime not yet by 1 Cent.

The numbers are (down) manipulated, forced by the military government. Only one reason among a lot of others: OPENESS !  Why is the military leader so shy to show us the covid-numbers of each region? Answer: afraid of being  detected as liars.

What a brilliant idea. Nowbody ever thought about this  bla..bla...bla .

Mr. Dr. S, can you deliver some details how to solve the war problem?  I'm afraid, NOT.

On 2/22/2022 at 8:28 AM, JonnyF said:

Ridiculous. I thought Thailand was number 1 in the world in dealing with Covid? So why the increase? 

 

Even long termers here are dropping like flies now. I know 3 people who have left in the last month. Tourism is in the toilet, and they INCREASE the level? Wow. The administration just goes from bad to worse.

May I correct you:

"The NON-administration just goes from bad to worse.

On 2/14/2022 at 1:22 PM, mvdf said:

DHL hands down. Reliable and punctual.

DHL for me just the opoosite, an absolute horror.

My son had send me bank cards 3-times within the last 5 years by registered mail.  2 times the letter has been stopped in BKK-Airport-DHL and arrived here in the North after ~6 weeks,  after using the tracking system. One time it has been "controlled" here in the Post office - until I went there. The woman (cannot say lady) at the desk took it out of the drawer in front of her belly. It has been there already some weeks!

On February 4  (Friday) I have sent my 90-days report to the IMO in Pai - by registered mail. Just until yesterday no returning of the 90-day-confirmation. A call in Pai: no, we didn't receive your mail, although the post-tracking showed me it was dlivered on Monday, February 7.

Our dogs would be 100-times more reliable!

6 hours ago, BritManToo said:

If Andrew had been a nobody (like us), there would never have been a court case in the first place.

How many 'nobodies' do you see being taken to court 20 years after the event for trivial offences like this?

You are defending the indefensible by an "IF". To refer "20 years after the event" being taken to court has happened in many cases i.e. in Germany. Reason: new technics - unknown 20 years befor or more - allowed it to improve sexual violence. A lot of "nobobies" had to defend themselves in the court! I guess not very different from England/GB. The most surprising thing is the fact that Anrews' behavior has NOT been critizised and publicised  when it has happened -20 years before. Furthermore, it's a fact that he isn't and wasn't a "nobody". Therefore, your "If" can be taken into the wastebox.

You use the word trivial for Andrews f@cking behavior. Not surprising for me and many other ASEANNOW-readers. In many, many threats one can see your favor for sexual affairs, although you are married. No surprise that you are defending Andrews' "trivial" behavior.

25 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

It seems you are one of the people who do their best to bring the public in the direction that they think he is guilty. Or at least it seems you don't even consider he might be innocent.

 

Personally I think we all should (almost) all of the time try to stay with the "innocent until proven guilty" concept. Personally if there is a case from a guy walking away with a bloody knife from a dead body then I think we have a right to assume he is guilty, even if he wasn't until that moment convicted.

But in a case like this were the only evidence seems to be that she said it happened I think it is only fair to treat him as innocent or at least as possible innocent (like: let's look and see what else will come out). Treating him like "we all know he is guilty" because he had this bad friend and he was on that picture and he lied is IMHO not fair.

How primitive.  "innocent until proven guilty"  that is a rule of the law, in general okay.

But if you have money or the right connections you are able to circumvent "the law", you make "a compromise". Like in this case for many reasons. If he wasn't "forced" by the royal family to make a cpmpromise, a lot of dirt would have appeared on the surface of a clean (?) water. That is the main reason to avoid a juristic process.

And even a juristic process isn't ever able to show what really happened. In a juristic process there is one rule: you can only judge about what is proven( not what has really happened). It would be hard to improve what happened in the room. But LOGIC can replace what happened in the room. The logic tells me: why would he (.... hm ...) pay 12 million when nothing happened, but being afraid that Giuffre's details would go to the public.

20 hours ago, worldexpress said:

Not racist at all but the fact that hundreds of years of Chinese influence and cultural ties can't be discounted. It is a deeply rooted one and not unique to Thailand. If anyone ventured onto the streets of Bangkok last couple of days, you'd have noticed every other woman in a Chinese dress for the New Year.

".... you'd have noticed every other woman in a Chinese dress for the New Year."

In contrast....  in the remaining days of the year they wear the JEANS, origin in the USA. This means, the USA and the West in general have influenced Thailand, too. That you still can read critical comments in Thai medias isn't a result of the "Chinese influence", but of Western.

The cultural influence is an important point. Many families here in Thailand have a Chinese origin, fleeing their home country for reasons like poverty, overpopulation, undemocratic state with the power for the rich families. That brought Chinese Culture and thinking to Siam.

This is now in contrast to the result that Thailand opened it gates for the US-military in the Vietnam War . As a result more US/Western influence arrived in Thailand in the following years. And, HM King Rama IX was born in the USA and had lived some time in Switzwerland. That also opened the doors for more Western ideas.

The problem will be, if Thailand is still so important for the USA when military conflicts break out in South-East Asia. Because of the modern technic the US  don't need Thailand as much as before. Nowbody knows at now, if the USA will fight against the Chinese, if they cross the borders in SE Asia. Nowadays there are different instruments to to influence a country, military waepons too.

2 hours ago, RayOday said:

I have to agree that money is the root of weakneds in the corrupt Thai government. Money and the power to control it are the motivators.

CP Group's vertical integration and cooperation with CCP rubber-stamping their investments in the mainland is a poor example spun as gold.

Most ASEAN Chinese are not from Mandarin speaking China rather Guangdong and Fujian. These are the same populations that occupy Hong Kong and Taiwan (how is that working out?) with the exception of Mandarin speaking refugees that left, mostly from Nanjing and Shanghai, during Mao's effort to crush the KMT. These Chinese speak Guangdonghua (Cantonese), Hakka, and other tribal dialects of Southeast China. The Southeast coast afforded merchants the ability to explore, save themselves from numerous threats, and exploit new markets in what is now ASEAN. Thailand is not alone with the richest Filipinos and Malay Strait countries hailing  from SE China. 

Does anyone think that Rama 9 supported the communists of CCP ideology? (Hmmm CP/CCP) I have no comment on the current government's ideology as money and power dominate as well as a bloated bureaucracy. Many improvements the current government is undertaking will improve the lives of many Thai people and strategically, most likely, cement their hold on power. The Thai people, not someone unqualified as me, can make such forecasts.

Craven interests in lucre and power have taken over, and to some degree, stratified class power and produced legions of corrupt and greedy wannabees. Education, constitution, rule of law, and the minimization of corruption will aid in carrying the country forward. The unintended consequences of playing both sides is useful although in this case I fear it is not just a case of guiding altruism for the Thai people by it's leaders in government and business. The recent upgrades in ASEAN infrastructure and advancing education are empowering. Seeding an unelected government with millionaires and billionaires excludes a diversity of constituents and advances an economic patriarchy of unqualified mini-oligarchs. Corruption, fear and greed are debilitating this nation of great potential. Only my most humble opinion of a historically and strategically complex subject. 

 

 

 

Never forget both countries, China and Thailand,  have military dictators on the top. The US not.

The worst is Xi who wants to drive China back to Mao's ideas of Chinese imperialism and extrem dictatorship.

Prayut behaves like a dictator, although elected democrativally, as he pretends (as a liar). Extinguishing all political "enemies" before the last election is only one ugly example of many, many. And of course, completely undemocratic. For example destroying the Future Forward Party with its great leaders. And he holds up this military, undemocartic style. Maybe asking Xi on his first visit in Peking how to do it.

This undemocratic behavior happened in China already with Mao (in 1949?). In the US the last idiot who unsuccessfully tried to eliminate the democracy was just stopped one year before, because of an uncensored election. A great difference between China, Thailand and the USA.

For his own and the military interest P. sacrifices the furure of Thailand supporting dictator Xi without any shame or remorse. I'm sure he will destroy all normal democratic rules in  the coming election.

That's one reason, why Prayut prefers China and showing the USA his backside. China supports him, the USA not.

On 1/22/2022 at 4:33 PM, orang37 said:

How is the person's gender relevant to your experience of their job performance, and behavior, if you have only had 2nd. hand reports of it ? Taking into account that for many people going to a dentist produces high anxiety,, and emotional reactivity. 

I was one of those who complained about the "mangirl". If you would have read my former comment you would recognize that my complaint was not all about the gender of this person, but about his/her horrible behavior, never experienced in Grace before he/she started working there. I had ask 3 times - in  words: three times - for an appointment by e-mail, no answer intentionaly.

This was my reason to change to Dentalworld, Dr. Surasak. In general, there is excellant service by the reception and the doctor(s). Have no reason to change again.