historyprof

This subject has been thrashed to death more times than I've had hot dinners. There is no 'quick fix' or 'slow fix' because the powers that be do not want to fix anything; it all suits them the way things are. Sure, you will get plenty of lip service and big numbers being thrown around but what good has actually been done at grassroots levels in the past five years ? Do they really believe handing out tablets is the answer to Thailand's education woes ? Mere gimmicks my friends, mere gimmicks.

Ya, it's like the Pied Piper. All the kids are going to have to leave town before something is done.

Well, play the race card again.

I love Thais but we all know some things about their culture which limits them.

They are so far behind in technology that they can't even make a copy of a computer now that it's already invented.

I see nothing wrong with being honest about something that's true.

I don't think rule #8 is about being true or false. I think it states not to post extremely negative views of Thailand. 8) Not to post extremely negative views of Thailand or derogatory comments directed towards all Thais.

Things about their culture limit them? What?

They are so far behind in technology that they can't even make a copy of a computer?

Keeping in mind rule number 8 explain those things to me please.

Amazing how you old farang geezers can't even comprehend simple sentences.

FUJI SUPERMARKET

Hey young feller,Is Fuji market and Fuji restaurant managed by the same company? Just asking.....

Yeah right won a special prize -but used nowhere. Every Thai beer seems to have won a special prize but it's still crap.Is that all you can come up with after all this time, give up man you are flogging a dead horse. First you claimed it was an invention but now it's suddenly an innovation, which is really little more than stealing somebody else's idea.

It won, " Geneva bronze prize at the 41st International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva."

Please post your link that confirms it is used nowhere and add how long medical inventions like this take to get into production.

You are the dead horse flogger first stating the invention was the same as bomb detectors.

It is an invention and has been recognized as such and significant. Please give us any links that support your contentions that it is the same as bomb detectors and not in use and not an invention.

This device is about as much use as one of those bomb detectors the Thai army purchased and as far as being an significant invention, no it's not.

No Mr. Thai Basher you are wrong.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Thai-stroke-device-wins-awards-in-Geneva-30204440.html Edited for length

Won a special prize on stage and Geneva bronze prize at the 41st International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva.

Ischemic stroke has killed and impaired many Thai people due to late detection of the disease.

The innovation costs only Bt50,000-Bt70,000. Its effectiveness and safety are equal to standard devices costing Bt2-3 million each that are used at big hospitals, and helps ease a problem of medical specialist shortage as it shows the results that are easy to understand for medical workers at smaller hospitals.

still nothing has come up, saying they have invented nothing of note is not negative or Thai bashing, it's just a fact.

Not for the rose tinted brigade it isnt, they have truly assimilated.

A Thai invented an affordable device that can help detect the risk of a stroke.

So no something has come up now you can post the Thai bashing below.

A. Since you have found something it must not be important.

B. OK since you have found something it is not important till you find 2 things.

C. If you find 3 things they won't be as important as wonderful Western things.

D. You are just wearing rose tinted glasses and probably had a stroke.

And if so, how can they not readapt to the culture they grew up in.

Those of us who came here as young men - grew up here because of the harsh realities of war. Going home to no welcome or worse confirmed what we already knew. Home was South East Asia.

They didn't hate us here.

Precisely how old where you when you moved to live in Thailand?

To let you know where I'm coming from I regard the period of growing up as being from birth to late teens.

This being the period when we a socialised by family and the community/culture in which we are raised.

21 or 22. I had been in college for the previous 6 years. College prolongs adolescence.

SMS 747 wrote, "oh god here we go again, nobody is 'bashing' the Thais and we are not talking about individuals on here or other countries. The simple question was posed, nobody who insisted that Thailand had invented anything of significance in reply has come up with one single important invention, so the answer to the OP, so far is NO Thailand has not. Not anti Thai just a fact."

Now here is the fact from Coconuts, "Thailand’s creative economy continues to flower as earlier this month a Thai inventor won a bronze medal at the prestigious International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva for developing an affordable device that can help detect the risk of a stroke."

Now you all can put the anti Thai responses below,

I'm not talking about Fuji restaurant but Fuji Market compared to Villa Market.

And Villa Market has the worst, loitering isaan staff money can('t) buy. While the staff in Fuji is diciplined and efficient. Who owns these Villa Market places? I find it hugely annoying to pay for my overprized import stuff while 4 isaans banter as if I wasn't there.

Very poor management. This is fundamentals 101 of running a retail shop.

Is Fuji market and Fuji restaurant managed by the same company?

And if so, how can they not readapt to the culture they grew up in.

Those of us who came here as young men - grew up here because of the harsh realities of war. Going home to no welcome or worse confirmed what we already knew. Home was South East Asia.

They didn't hate us here.

Fuji is make-believe Japanese food for Thai people. You won't find many Japanese eating there.

Correct. Food is awful and beers overpriced.

Thais love it though. Because they don't know the real thing.

85 busy and successful Fuji restaurants in Thailand. Awful food, ya right. Thais don't know any better, ya right. You are English right?

HP, you frequently attribute emotions of 'envy' to people who post on TV but who are not living in Thailand.

Not just in this thread but in responses you make across other threads here on the TVF.

I'm not sure on what basis you come to this conclusion, though I note it is an accusation you make when trashing the views of people who have different opinions to your own.

Keeping to the topic of discussion, you've told us in colourful detail why you don't think you would fit in back home.

I suspect your inability to accept people can live outside of Thailand without being eaten with envy comes from your own understanding of how you yourself would feel come the day you have to leave.

Take comfort NP, there is meaningful and happy life outside of Thailand. You only need to know how to live it.

I could be wrong but I think you are commenting on my feeling that people who comment on Thailand and give advice on Thailand who have never been to Thailand is rather much. Indeed there are a number of people who comment on Thai politics (very complicated issues actually) who have never lived here. There are people who comment on rice storage who have never seen a silo.

I'm all in favor of education but experience is necessary for many things. You can go to cooking school but cooking for 1000 people on a cruise ship rocking up and down in the ocean is a learned skill.

You can talk to girls in a bar but until you live with a bunch of bar girls you won't know much about them. You may think you know Thailand but until you speak Thai you won't have a clue.

So when I say I won't fit in back home it is because I do fit in here. My life is here by choice. I could go back home but I came here; I moved here because I didn't like life at home.

For a lot of people on this forum it is a big insult to call someone Thai. Not so for me.

I'm not saying that many bombs weren't simply jettisoned over areas of Laos rather than being taken back to bases in Thailand where they were loaded on missions that for whatever reason the munitions were never dropped.

All I want to say that you need to understand that there were at least three groups in Laos at times during the Vietnam war ho each thought of themselves as the "real" government in Laos and they fought each other.

There were bases and strongholds in Laos where U.S. forces supported those factions .... including "protecting" those bases and strongholds from another group or local warlord.

That fighting between those groups also sometimes took place on the Plain of Jars.

No matter what was announced or written for public consumption, I'm quite certain that at least some of those munitions were deliberately dropped against those groups who were considered to be "unfriendly" to U.S. interests on purpose.

Not ALL the bombs dropped on the Plain of Jars area was unintentional and not all those munitions were dropped in safe areas, they were deliberately "expended" against targets.

In both Laos and Cambodia, it was intentional.

In Laos, that was probably especially likely to be true if the village they were dropped "near" to happened to be a Pathet Lao controlled village.

I do understand that it's a complex pictures and that there might be a number of reasons why, I'd just like to be clear in my own mind as to whether US planes were actually forbidden or not by the Thai government to return to bases in Thailand with munitions on board because that has been my understanding to date.

In Vietnam we came back with munitions all the time. But I never flew bombers. You know there were a lot of different kinds of munitions from 50 cal bullets and rockets and bombs and flares ......... and if you shoot it you got to clean it.

The envy effect of fitting in back home. Lets face it even a small Thai town makes most places in the West look like a sexual wasteland a "Death Valley of Pleasure" so to speak. Even in my little town in Thailand the mall is a veritable smörgåsbord of female delight.

When the unfortunate ex pat goes back home in order to cope with his feelings of envy for his luckier male brethren living in Thailand he assumes a Puritan attitude that is more in keeping with a witch burning in Salem than a BBQ in the modern world. Some guys have the same thing happen when they get married in Thailand. Pity but normal and by reading Thai Visa easily verified.

When was the last time a friend referred having a beer at a go go as, "hey mate, lets do some filthy deeds on Soi Buakhow!"

'Long Binh was the largest military base the world had ever had.'

Military historians may disagree with you but thanks for the personal insights.

What base was bigger? Long Binh 50,000 permanent and up to 20 0r 30,000 temp.

Race Riot Long bihn Jail that occurred there Aug 29, 1968. Interesting story.

Within the context of all that the word "Vietnam" has come to signify for America, Long Binh Jail was but a blip on the screen. But if someone really wants to understand the Vietnam experience, other than a Hollywood version of it, what happened there should be included in the studies. And Cecil Barr Currey's, "Long Binh Jail: An Oral History of Vietnam's Notorious U.S. Military Prison," is a good place to start

If you provide context, it makes it a lot easier for simple observers like me to understand.

Long Binh was the largest military base the world had ever had. It was a big walled city. Many men (hundreds of thousands) arrived there by air; stayed for a year and went home by air and all they saw of Vietnam was Long Binh.

In 10 years Long Binh may have been attacked once or twice and it didn't amount to much. The ammo dump blew once when I was there and someone lobbed some rockets in a couple of times. If you are a VC where is the fun of attacking 100,000 clerks. They'll kill you with paper cuts.

LBJ was the jail at Long Binh and safer for black guys than out in the bush. In a year there I heard there was a riot. Didn't know it was a race riot; didn't care. I only drove past LBJ once in 12 months. No black and white bars in Long Binh that I knew of. One big NCO club that had Korean go go girls, steaks and ice cream and rose wine. Thailand was a lot more fun than Long Binh. Bob Hope came to both places.

Meanwhile, getting back to the OP's question, yes I understand what it is that would hamper you fitting back in if you had to go back home.

What percent of Englishmen have posted in this thread that they liked England far better than Thailand and would fit right in back home? Since you are the stat expert.

"This topic is about people's personal experiences, not about governmental decisions and the wisdom of the War."

OP. TheBlether

Why did you post that? Did I miss something?

LB Jail is relevant if invited veteran raises it.

I lived about a mile away from LBJ for a year. How's that?

"This topic is about people's personal experiences, not about governmental decisions and the wisdom of the War."

OP. TheBlether

Why did you post that? Did I miss something?

You don't salute in a combat zone.

Race Riot Long bihn Jail that occurred there Aug 29, 1968. Interesting story.

Within the context of all that the word "Vietnam" has come to signify for America, Long Binh Jail was but a blip on the screen. But if someone really wants to understand the Vietnam experience, other than a Hollywood version of it, what happened there should be included in the studies. And Cecil Barr Currey's, "Long Binh Jail: An Oral History of Vietnam's Notorious U.S. Military Prison," is a good place to start

I agree.

One of my kids teachers is Scottish.

Do people who speak English understand him on the phone?

Don't get me wrong; I am and always will be a loyal subject of the Realm. Britain is home but money, material possessions and a nanny state bending over backwards to hold someone accountable if you so much as stub your toe don't compare to the quality of life that anyone with a means of generating income and a modicum of self control and common sense can have in Thailand.

+ Good Health and a solid health insurance..

Otherwise its back on big silver bird to that Nanny State.

My health care is free in the US. I stayed in Thailand for health care treatment because I think it is better. There are many people from the Middle East for whom money is no object who agree with me.

I simply would have a hard time fitting in with the health care system back home. The appointments, excessive waiting times and in general surly attitude of the doctors and nurses that I don't find in Thailand has made it difficult for me to fit in back home.

In Thailand my hospital room has a fridge and couch and facilities for my family to stay with me overnight as long as they want. There is no such thing as visiting hours as my family is also staying in my room. This is not the case in the West. A big part of health care is mental and I draw strength and feel better when my family is present during emergencies.

On a more serious not so what if Thailand didn't invent much - until the US turned it into a US outpost during the Vietnam War and put it on a strip mall , urban concrete jungle development cycle then the Venice of the East was a beautiful and harmonic place to live and from which a positive and sustainable culture developed. Buddhism has created a good hearted and accepting tolerant people and culture - which is why us Farangs like it so much. At least they didn't invent napalm and the atomic bomb.

The US built the Thai phone system and international airports and deep water ports and port facilities that turned Thailand into the economic powerhouse it is today. The US also left to Thailand buildings and equipment that today are the trade schools that teach heavy equipment management and repair that much of the Thai logistics industry is based on. The US also provided health care and education to thousands of Thai children all over the country in addition to roadbuilding and other infrastructure projects.

Rice and a few funny looking buildings then- those mostly designed by foreigners.

Rice and a few funny looking buildings then- those mostly designed by foreigners. And 1,167 patents issued to inventors that list their country as Thailand in the US Patent office.

Anyone can file a patent. Please list 10 inventions from those measly 1.167 that are in any way important.

Why would I do that? Who are you to know the difference? Go look yourself. I doubt you are capable. If not your loss. I looked and there are 27 very important inventions and 362 important inventions and 466 inventins of minor importance.