McMagus

What I find so intriguing here are the number of Tv posters who so vehemently claim that this present government is the most corrupt in the universe and as such must be outed by any means, even a coup. Without straying off topic, I would point out that many governments are corrupt. That is why people choose politics so as to enable them to direct their corruption. Take the well known link between Dick Chaney, G.W. Bush and Haliburton. The following act 'Honest Leadership and Accountability in Contracting Act of 2006' was put up by the democrats to stop corruption in the awarding and payment of contracts in the Iraq war but was voted down by the Republicans. My point is to those of you screaming for the blood of the Yingluck government yes they are corrupt but so too was the Bush administration yet the Americans did not call for a military coup...they accepted the election results until the next time round. This is what Thailand has yet to learn, that in a democracy almost half of the population may not get what they want BUT THEY ABIDE BY THE RESULTS.

This is why I have consistently said that Thailand does not have a democracy and will not until that fine distinction is understood.

As for Boonlert.. what a joke.

Lomotopo

'I have actually watched ~ 25% of this drama. I think the lead actress is pretty good, and I like flashbacks to when the twins were young. The main character is strong and independent. Her motivation for revenge, for her sister's being driven to suicide, is based on her guilt. But she is going over the top. I assume she'll figure that out in the final act?'

and ... Beetlejuice

OMG .... guys guys guys .... come on...you gotta be joking...this stuff will turn your brain to mush .. mush ... mush ...mush I say ....'Mush you little doggies...little doggie, little doggie ... how much is that doggie in the window....window of your mind ... don't mind if I do ...I do, I do, I do ...ABBA...yabba........

he..

l.....

...........p

OMG it's started already .....

A pretty reasonable summary. I have gone through stages 1 - 3 (no way is learning Thai easy) but I guess I am making the choice of never entering stage 4. The reason is I will never call Thailand home, I do not want to live my life and die here as I have too many other things which call me back to Australia. I know I am here temporarily. I don't think I will ever be able to accept the lack of transparency in government and rule of law. In another similar post I commented that I need the cultural stimulation that comes with a western lifestyle. If I had a children here it may be a different story.

get over it guys .. it's not even your <Snip!> country....

Let me ask you a question McMagus:

If you were in your home country and you met a Thai person who had been living in your country for twenty years, working there (legally), and married with a native of your country and with kids, and the Thai person, speaking in your home language, expressed to you an opinion about local politics, would you laugh in that person's face and tell them that it wasn't their <Snip!> country?

Interesting point .... I expect that the vast majority of posters here are not in the same position as you. I assume you have residency, a Thai passport and are able to vote in Thai general elections. If not I would suggest that this is not your country, it is however your country of residence; a subtle difference. I was born in Scotland but became a naturalised Australian citizen by choice therefore I count myself as Australian. I am ignorant of the Thai law but I am assuming you are the equivalent of a naturalised Thai citizen...if so then this indeed is your country and I would hope that you have exercised your voting rights and my comment would not apply to you. To any other expats who are not Thai citizens I would stand by my post. Thailand for Thais; it is their path to tread. If you go back to my earlier post you will see that I do blame the Thais completely for the position they are in now and I would stand by that post.

I noticed today in the Thai News thread an article from the Nation about a popular soapie, written as though they were giving a critique to some important piece of work. A couple of interesting comments here, particularly from yourauntbob and the seemingly difficult task of 'joining the dots'. An American researcher called Ned Herman came up with a test called the 'Brain Dominance Test' which, basically measured 4 aspects of thinking style...Creative; Feeling; Organisational; Analytical.... I am given to understand that some of his results showed bias towards racial characteristics but were never published fully owing to 'political correctness' at the time. Just thinking.

Huh,...just yesterday I started a thread 'Chicken or Egg Thai TV ' ...in the General Topics just about this very thing ... Thai soapies. As for this article.... I can't believe that such a pseudo intellectual critique of this &lt;deleted&gt; could actually be printed. In the other thread I started I would be interested to hear some views.

God this is a funny thread ... but my Google ads are cracking me up cos there is one for dunkin donuts coffee ... sorry... I have an over active imagination.

Every country has soap operas...most are harmless and run their course. However most countries also have TV programmes that educate, challenge, open viewer horizons etc. This balance is sorely lacking. Here, the quality that is offered is truly of the most mediocre level. I don't need to describe the awful pap that masquerades as entertainment.

So my questions: Are these programmes produced because that is what the viewing public want or, are they produced to reinforce the class structure. Alternatively, are they really just taking the piss out of the hi so's but in a way we farangs don't recognise? I know there are intelligent, thinking Thais out there, but I can't believe they all sit down and enjoy the bitch from hell mother screaming at the maid etc., etc., etc.

Just wondering.

Could be very old brake fluid..it's hydroscopic which means it can absorb water (unless a silicone based fluid). My guess is it is poor maintenance and old rubber brake lines which expand under pressure. When bikes are left out in the sun, the black rubber brake lines are affected by UV rays and deteriorate. Just a thought.

Glad to hear you will live to ride another day. I only ever used ones I had come to know and surprisingly the older guys were better. In a former life in Oz I was a motorcycle rider training instructor and we did our training with the police unit a consequence of which I vowed I would never use a motosai here but, they can be a life saver (pun intended). I used to look in horror as they would pull the clutch in and 'coast' around corners or accelerate into a closing space It is interesting that even though Red Bull, a Thai company and sponsor of so much motor sports and every man and his dog are on bikes from an early age,....... there isn't one Thai MotoGP rider ...it must tell us something .... although I don't know quite what.

Get a decent helmet ....TODAY !!!!!

BTW

All elections, worldwide, are bought!

horse manure! I nor anyone I have met, have been offered money to vote for a candidate in my home country. All this "bought election" in other countries (short of Nigeria) talk is about campaign spending to maximize a candidate exposure to the masses, which actually a good thing. The more people who know the platform of a political party, the more chance they can cast an informed vote. This is NOT the same as passing out 500 baht bank notes to uninformed voters. In other countries million are spent getting the parties message out to the voters, in Thailand millions are spent buying votes with little or no regard to educating voters regarding the policies and platforms of the parties. Let's not confuse vote buying and campaign spending! While it may be true that he with the most money wins, the underlying premise is very, very different.

Meethinks you are being a tad naive when you say that election costs and vote buying are not the same. Sure, there are differences but in the final wash-up the waters become so muddied that it is near impossible to tell what is what. In the west, we buy votes in a much more sophisticated way; there are lobby groups, advertising which bends the truth, then of course the common garden variety pork barrelling where a new hospital, or roads, or grants to prop up failing industries, or tax cuts etc., etc. are the common practise. These are all methods employed to garner support and it is only sophistry to claim that they are not a form of vote buying. In feudal societies like Thailand (I don't think for a moment it is anything close to a democracy) this has been the practise for aeons to show allegiance to the master. I suspect that Thais may well accept money from anybody then vote for whomsoever they please. I also can't agree with your support for unlimited campaign funds as a 'measure to get the message out' as it leaves itself open to bias from the wealthy and the power brokers. Given to understand that the recent US election cost $5,800,000,000 ...

Love him or hate him he is a clever little thing. Either way the Govt. can't lose...but try as I might I just can't get it through to the missus how stupid this system is and that it really is only the big players who are benefiting, let alone the scams and rip-offs. All they see is a little bit more Baht in their pockets. This whole ploy has been so easy to set up and sell because of the increasing income disparity in Thailand over recent years. All political parties have had their noses in the pig swill and the little Somchais and Noi never even get close. What will be interesting is that now that Thaksin has 'awoken' the masses, if PT doesn't really deliver, will they be able to control their new found voice. Thaksin is as much an elite as the Amaat. Thailand has no-one to blame but itself for this disastrous public purse scam. The Thais have consistently refused to stand up and be counted and demand transparency in governance and rule of law. As soon as the proverbial hits the fan they turn to the palace or a coup to solve their problems. Thailand will survive I have no doubts but it is the loss of potential that is really ruining this country.

Hmmm, bet when you woke up this morning and thought to post here you weren't considering the backlash ....remember this is the General Topics Forum and its a jungle out here

Now for my 2 satangs worth. If you have just come off the plane and know nothing about Thailand and road rules (as such) then you could be forgiven for your actions. See ..not everybody here is hostile ..... HOWEVER .... seeing as how you have Thai friends and can speak some Thai I must assume you have been here long enough to know the score. As such you really are stingey, and ungracious and maybe you should ... as the American movies like to say .... 'Have an agonising reappraisal' of your life so far in the LOS. Next time you might not be so lucky.

When I get really really really bored, I've already done exciting things like wash my socks and smalls and everything is as boring as batshit ... I turn to Thai politics as it is marginally more exciting. This country and all colours of politics need a damned good thrashing a la Basil Fawlty.

It isn't rocket science (no pun intended). If a foreign country was given land in Australia by the UN..then it progressively expanded its holdings on the same scale as is happening in Israel / Palestine ... I expect a few Aussies would be a tad pissed off and might even throw a few rocks at them. Israel can do no wrong as long as the west / Islam divide is maintained.

I am unable to upload a map showing Israeli expansion since 1946 but it makes chilling viewing. Just do a Google search on Israeli expansion and you will see what I mean.

only Gaza is not occupied and terrorism increased since it was given back to Palestinians yet instead of developing, they continued with the same terror acts.

Yes you can be pissed off, but that does not change anything, perhaps time to think "outside the square" and actually do something productive with what you got.

No point picking a fight with some where you know you can not win.

If and i emphasize IF Palestinians did build an economy and did concentrate on developing, i have no doubt Israel will not have any support from anyone, but when they have spent past century on ONLY terrorism its hard to support them, though with nice fiction movies and propaganda it seems to work for some.

If Israel was as savage as some like to believe, the death toll would be thousands PER DAY and multiplying, just look at Syria

We are fed a story by the media .... both sides... as we know the first casualty in war is the truth. I think it is incredibly naive of you to say by inference that Israel has 'developed' whilst the Palestinians have not. If the west were to immediately pull all aide to Israel... and Include military as well as everything else...lets see how long it would stay viable. Even a cursory glance at the statistics for just the US will show you that Israel soaks up by far the most foreign aid by America to any other nation...and that is just from America. If the UN had decided to give Israel its 'homeland' in say Greenland, or Chile, or anywhere else for the matter the whole middle east issue would be a non event. However, because some ancient manuscript dug up out of the desert claims that this patch of mother Earth is theirs by divine right, we have what we have. But for god's sake don't go on about how wonderfully developed Israel is as if they have done it on their own ... cos they haven't.

There is a lot of anecdotal evidence that it does work but double blind studies generally are inconclusive at best. The problem is not that the substances are not any good for you but that they are most likely not absorbed in the gut and if they are, can make their way to the arthritic sites. I suffer from arthritis and have yet to try any of these remedies. it is laughable though that the Thais would ban it when you can get virtually anything else over the counter.

You guys are giving me the shirts !! Virtually all thinking and knowledgeable commentators around the globe talk about the childish state of Thai politics being polarised into yellow / red colours. Move on guys...it is their country let them do what they like with it.

A lot of these "local" furniture shops have elevators in the back of the building to move furniture up stairs. I was being ushered upstairs by a salesperson once, and the lift arrived. The door opened, and there was no lift, it was stuck a floor above. Does anyone think that a local furniture company can be bothered to pay the fee for an inspection, when it is principally used to move stock and the occasional customer upstairs?

Corruption, corruption, corruption. Pure and simple.

This is an interesting case you mention because I have it on good authority that some years ago an American residing in Pattaya went to BKK with wife and family and in some tall building pressed for the lift. When the doors opened, he stepped in (as you do) but there was no lift there and he fell to his death. I would rather not provide my source of this information but I believe it to be credible. Even if a cable snaps is there not some interlock device that stops such a terrible thing from happening? As for the post by Scorecard ...this sort of thing gives me the heeby jeebies.

I have to agree, they eat heaps more than I can / do yet stay slim. Firstly, I suspect they have a higher basic metabolic rate...keeps them thin so they can dissipate heat more easily. Also. chilli has been proven to increase your BMR. I don't know..it is one of life's great mysteries...however, I do know that come the next world famine, I will still be around whilst these people have kicked the bucket. I am incredibly efficient at storing food... I often comment to the missus that I eat the same as Nok lek.... &lt;deleted&gt; I'm 105 kg and she is only 56 kg and can easily out eat me.

Good article Big John... thanks for posting.

We talk about the Red shirts or the Yellow shirts being scum ... here then are the true scum of this country who believe they can do whatever they like.

I used to transfer using internet electronic transfer from NAB in Oz but the exchange rates were not so good and I was getting hit with bank transfer fees there and here. Lately I have been just using my debit card in AEON then manually depositing it in my Bangkok Bank ... I'm thinking it is a bit cheaper this way... just do it every month.