Sirbergan

19 minutes ago, The manic said:

It's rubbish. A lie or something exceptional. Pure fantasy.

You must be joking. My wife's cousin tried to pimp out her then 15 years old daughter to a 40 year old acquaintance of mine, It didn't happen, shortly after she went off to Pattaya to"work". And that's just the near family, there are plenty of other examples around that the farmer families try to hide to keep face. The fact that you don't see it every day, doesn't mean that it's not happening.

36 minutes ago, kamahele said:

While it may not be your thing, these women are popular to a section of society.

And that's what they want to be seen as - women. Not my cup of tea, but to each his own. Research has shown that an extremely high percentage of expats here has had it away with transgender Thais. On a side note, there is also a large number of gay men identifying themselves as male in Thailand. They're just not as visible.

Haters gonna hate, that's not going to change until we can invent time travel and ship these ignoramuses back to the 1800's, where they belong.

To get back on track, studies has proven that most pedophile molesters has a preference for boys, so it's a good thing to put focus on and try to tackle this issue. Important article.

1 hour ago, fullcave said:

Sending your 14 year old child to work in Pattaya (boy or girl) is hard to fathom. I'm sure they had no idea...

You'd be surprised at what desperate farmers with little money to spend on education for their kids (who has very limited opportunities as a result) are capable of.

1 hour ago, parallaxtech said:

Hindsight is wonderful but I would do the same thing again.  The SMS was threatening and personal in itself so I needed to see what else they wanted.  Their demands and photos were on the webpage, which provided all the evidence for a detective I hired yesterday.  I actually went to a public computer as I was worried about a virus.

 

I am a fan of the Movie Ransom with Mel Gibson.  Instead of paying the ransom for his son, he offers money to anyone who can kill the kidnappers.  There are good people working on this so hopefully we will get some results.

 

Hey, it's 7:30, just had a wonderful dinner, and feel remarkably rejuvenated.  As my brother used to say, "You never feel truly alive unless you've survived a firefight."  I served, but not in the military, so maybe some of you vets can comment.

 

I have until midnight tonight to pay or else.  I am worried that a transformer will explode outside my house and I will have a heart attack.

 

I've appreciated some wonderful comments here.  Thanks.

So you have a death threat with a deadline expiring at midnight, you have a family and you spend your last hours here citing quotes from the movie Ransom and serving us anecdotes from your brother? I really wanted to give you the benefit of doubt, and you did a good job of avoiding too big pot holes in your story, but this is where it falls apart unless you went underground.

I call BS, your post means that you're 1) full of it, 2)  a psychopath with no regard for your wife and and family, 3) already in a different location (unlikely, considering your post), 4) a daredevil who doesn't care who gets hurt in the process, even if it's your own family, or 5) a complete idiot that they should've tried to extort for 50,000 baht, not 3.5 million. Unless you won the lottery, that is.

There's also 6), of course, that you are incapable of understanding actions and consequences. It happens.

The anecdote from your brother is good, I'm sure it would go over well if I was in the same situation and told my wife this evening that "Hey, you never feel truly alive unless you've survived a firefight – bullets works the same way, so let's hope we all survive this, we'll be climbing mountains and shouting from treetops after that.

2 minutes ago, blackcab said:

 

Pop along to the GSB head office on Phaholyothin Road on the afternoon of the 16th. Ask to watch the draw.

 

I've never been, so it would be good to find out how it all happens.

 

If it's completely bent it would be good to know.

So there is a draw you can watch? Asking me to go to Bangkok is futile, I have 16 employees out of which 14 has never seen my face. I utterly hate the place, speak Isaan and can't wait to get out of Bangkok once I get there :D

4 minutes ago, blackcab said:

 

All possible prizes are awarded each month. So 3 x 10 million each month, etc.

 

 

I'm not at all trying to put you on the spot here, and I know you're just trying to explain, so I'm simply asking to satisfy my curiosity.  Sorry if it comes off as me trying to be too negative.

4 minutes ago, blackcab said:

 

Please read the thread for your answers.

 

If the bank/product is not to be trusted then why would I invest in it? I'm nobody's fool.

That's a non-answer, not addressing the basis of my question as I've been played for a fool before. Is there a good reason to trust their draws, when most Thai people doubt the legitimacy of the official lottery?

Just now, blackcab said:

 

Please read the thread before posting incorrect and uninformed comments that make you look quite dense.

 

The lottery is an official product of the Government Savings Bank - a bank 100 per cent owned by the Government.

So is it based on the draw on the 16th? Or are you saying that a bank owned by the government is to be trusted 100%, even if the draws are not official?

10 minutes ago, saakura said:

Sorry again, no offence intended. I do beleive 8 big bottles & 2 packs everyday are just too much for our body and used strong language to dissuade you. I will have an Archa one of these days 

While it is too much for it to be healthy,  it certainly is better than than going on a bender every weekend, it is amazing what the body gets used to. Drinking the same amount every day is a lot better for your liver than going on a bender ever weekend, believe it or not. And yeah, have an Archa, it's a really good beer :)

And no worries, life is too short to get offended :)

9 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

My calculation was only for the big prize.

Obviously the odds are better for the lower prizes, yet not too high.

Winning 1 million is great...on a 500,000 baht investment...what a return!

It's a bit weird that you have a bigger chance of winning 10 million than 1, and this being a completely unofficial draw there is no way to ensure no corruption is going on.

For a country with this level of corruption, Brunolem does raise a voice of actual concern.

Just now, saakura said:

Sorry i dont smoke and i thought there were 24 cancer sticks in a pack. Also i did not know there are small & big cigarette packs as you mention 'small LM'

All good, don't worry about it. As for "horse piss Archa", I would go out and buy my bottles even if I knew the host was going to sport all the beer – it's my preferred choice, and I don't really care about free beer. I frequently buy Heineken for others, but given the choice I would choose Archa 10/10 times. Leo and Chang is the worst, I'd consider drinking your beer if you offered me a Heineken.

Yes, there are 20 in a pack of cigarettes.

18 minutes ago, saakura said:

If you are really drinking 8 big bottles of that horse piss Archa and smoking 48 cancer sticks every single day, you better pray for death by a massive cardiac arrest or run over by an 18 wheeler or some such quick death when the time comes. Or budget now for a long & painful hospitalisation for cirhossis, lung cancer, kidney failure etc.  Or you might end up begging on you tube.

I really am, but right now I would have been praying (if I believed in some fictional character who can remedy anything, but apparently is drunk out of his mind while the world is suffering, doing nothing at all) for your math skills to improve so you don't get completely screwed in life. 2 x 20 = 48?

2 minutes ago, blackcab said:

 

It's a 3 year deposit with a fixed, guaranteed interest rate. The only difference is you have a slim chance of winning a larger amount through the monthly draw.

What is the top prize?

1 hour ago, steven100 said:

I don't think the 500 baht is near enough for beer .... let alone your ciggs.  That 500 is gone by lunch time in my house ....      you need 1000+ just for a steady day ...

8 big bottles of Archa (I only drink in the evenings) and 2 packs of small L&M  works out to around 500. 

I just give her all the money that's coming in, apart from my daily beer and cigarette funds, and leave it all to her. I have no idea what our spendings are, but it's a lot. My 500 baht daily beer and cigarette budget certainly doesn't help, nor do the 2 car loans.

3 hours ago, maximillian said:

Be better than the others without being more expensive.

Pretty much sums it up :)

1 minute ago, Peterw42 said:

That may be all that happend, the head stomping hasn't been reported by any reputable source. Even the parent company of Thaivisa , The Nation, says knocked unconscious .

If that's all it was, I stand corrected, although I would always try to solve a conflict peacefully there are occasions where that's not possible due to the other party being too aggressive. Let's wait and see, if this report is true there is no end to the pain I wish he experiences in the future.

17 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

People seem to be forgetting the fight started because the Australian guy was strangling a Thai girl, the report in the Nation says hands around throat and had her off the ground. 

Yes, horrific actions by the American but what is appropriate action/ force to stop someone strangling/killing someone.

If the Australian hadn't died, everyone would be praising the American for saving the Thai girls life.

Knocking him out, then leaving him on the floor would teach him a lesson. That, in some instances, would lead to death too, if you get unlucky. How about just stepping in, defusing the situation?

1 minute ago, chama said:

Gotta start somewhere. This may get the schools started and then things start to snowball. But your right. Unless society as a whole is fed up with being told they are not smart enough to pick their own leaders and make their own decisions 100's will fill the jails but not instigate change. 

That, and the threat of a very powerful force that will crush any attempt to instigate change before it gains any traction.

17 minutes ago, Senechal said:

(Deleted... why bother. Thailand goes where Thailand goes)
 

Especially seeing your argument was checks and balances, as if the Junta actually answers to anyone at all.

2 minutes ago, Sig said:

Why stop with his friends? Wouldn't everybody in the bar be just as capable as the friends of intervening or helping the victim? I don't think taking pictures is a crime... It could even be beneficial evidence for that matter.

Might be hard to prosecute them, but I hope there's grounds for it under the law. These guys are special types of savage animals with no compassion for others. It takes a special kind of animal to laugh and take pictures as trophy's after that, these guys must come from a very violent environment and shouldn't be allowed to roam free.