falangadang

This entire election fiasco is a microcosm for the state of Thailand today.

Laughing stock of the international community, A complete shambles!

What part of "we have no money left to pay you" do they not understand?

I can see why they would be pissed at not getting paid ... but mai en rai for believing in thieves and crooks

"Thou shall not worship false Gods"

Good point,... and I think you mean "som nam na" for believing in crooks and thieves, - not "mai pen rai"!

Well the international media must really think Suthip is a complete lunatic by now. Last Wednesday he is telling them he supports the elections and will not block or deter anyone from voting, now his thugs are in battles with voters to prevent them voting by any means even if that means death.

well............maybe they dont - maybe they have a balanced correct view. Maybe they see the reason behind the protest and not just the red village green propaganda!! - I see YOU havent got to that stage yet and are still one sided and not open to the TRUTH TODAY!!

How any times to I have to say this, I think Thaksin and his band of merry men are just as equally scum and tarred with exactly the same brush. People still have a right to vote and some scumbag shouldn't take that right away from them as they may not vote for Yingluks crew anyway.

I agree with both comments.

Chooka is right when he points to the instability of Suthep's words and deeds.

I'm not a Thaksin fan at all and I am in favor of change for the betterment of the country and had initially hoped that Suthep would be the catalyst for change but you can't deny the disturbing fact that Suthep has clearly shown that he is NOT a man of his word and keeps changing his tune to suit himself. He's evidently just making it all up as he goes along.

The end game will happen when someone stops Suthep, and unless that happens he will just keep marching all the way to absolute supreme power and then they'll be no stopping him as we will have replaced "Thaksinism" with "Suthepism"!

Someone should tap Rodman on the shoulder and tell him that his "friend" Kimmie (the "kid") is a ruthless power mad bloodthirsty megalomaniac killer!

As much as I'm not a fan of the red shirt movement or people I have to say that this is one of the most sensible things I've heard a leader say.

Could it be that they are actually developing a political mind and progressing onwards from the "wear red and carry a big stick" philosophy?

Says she, pictured wearing a red shirt...

oh come on... be fair,... its a red checkered shirt worn under a blue jacket!

Condolences to his family, but.....

Unfortunately, he didn't think of his family ......he may have been a good person, but he's left his family an awful mess now and most likely, they'll sell the farm and be worse off......the cowards way is not a way out for anyone except the coward!

Calling a suicide victim a "coward" isn't of any condolence or sign of respect to his family.

You evidently have no compassion or any experience in suicide.

I have both as I know what it's like to lose a family member to suicide.

Two things I would say to you;

1) Just take a moment to really think about how much courage and determination it would take for you to kill yourself,.. to pull the trigger, jump off a chair with a rope tied around your neck or whatever. It may not be responsible act from a rational human being who values his life and his family but such people have taken leave of their senses in that regard at that moment in their darkest hour.

2) Depression is a terrible thing and can be a killer. Prolonged depression, aided by financial stress, alcohol, drugs, and perhaps shame can be and often are a powerful enough cocktail to kill a person.

People that kill themselves are commonly referred to as "suicide victims" because that's exactly what they are, - victims!

This life is wonderful but also very fragile. Don't think it couldn't happen to you or someone you know because such things often lurk in the shadows and pounce without warning.

"..and there but for the grace of God go I"

Sounds like BS from the landlord.

Unless you have already agreed to clause(s) in the rental contract allowing him unrestricted access then you don't have to take this.

You don't have to consent to anything you don't agree with! There is no statutory law that allows him access. He has rented to you and presumably you have paid a deposit which should suffice. Unless he has reason to believe you are trashing his property then he has no right of access.

We took out a lease for 24 months from our landlord who then told us after 12 months that he had sold the property to someone else and that the new owner would be in touch about the lease. It was all a total BS story to try and squeeze more money out of us for the 2nd 12 months but anyway,.. the new "owner" rang my wife and said he wanted to come around to see us about the lease. She got this guy to forward the proposed new lease by email to her and what a complete joke it was. The lease was drawn up between the new "owner" and my wife, and apart from the extra 10,000bht per month they wanted,.. there were a bunch of other clauses that included paying all outgoings and the local moobahn fees (about 30,000 PA).... and another clause stating that the "landlord" had unrestricted access to the property for any purpose at any time.

We consulted a lawyer who told us that even if the original landlord had sold to the new guy (which he hadn't.. ALL total BS) that the new "landlord" would be bound under the terms and conditions of the existing contract for rental in force at the time that he made purchase of the house.

We in turn replied to the landlord and had a meeting with his lawyer (because the landlord went into hiding,... "face") and it was confirmed in a round about way that the whole thing was BS. We presented the landlord's lawyer with our existing contract and told him 1) we would be staying for the full term of next 12 months at the same rent as stipulated 2) We would not be paying any outgoings and fees we had not agreed to 3) We did not give unrestricted and unannounced access to our home to his client as he had no such rights. We pointed out that if he wanted to make inspections for maintenance then he could do so no more than every 3 months and must be given adequate notice in writing.

To all of this we received smiles and no objection from the landlord's lawyer,..just "kap kap kap" and a polite wai greeting. It appeared he'd been told a crock of $hite by the landlord and that this was the first time he'd ever seen the original contract!

... and that just about sums up the equity value that the banks place on Thailand's mountain of rice!

It is a bit rank and it is annoying and whist technically it is bribery/corruption they could do as the west does in legalizing such practices and then you'd pay a lot more for such things by way of "fast track processing", paying solicitors and conveyancers to jump through all the legal hoops and red tape for you,... yada yada yada!

At $35 you probably did quite well for yourself,... AND you do some good by helping these low salary workers take home a little more and help deal with the massive inflation and rising costs of living that I'm sure hit the average Thai family quite harshly!

I concur with Mario2008.

Seek legal council or aid. Admit no responsibilities or comment with any party's involved.

"One would assume the School as taken liability by paying the medical cost." - My opinion

I agree to say nothing if attend the meeting at all. The school could say any assistance provided to date was done as a courtesy and is no way is any admission of liability.

I agree,.. stay away from the meeting, - it is a setup by the school and the other child's parents in the hope/expectation that they will play the guilt & sympathy card (don't forget about the "face" issue too) and you will get stung. Once you agree to dip your hand in your pocket it could be the beginning of an ongoing and costly financial drain.

The school are responsible. They have the duty of care.

I would write to the school pointing this out and avoid direct contact with the other boy's parents if you possibly can.

If you succeed in this regard then brace yourself for a visit from the police in an effort to intimidate you further!

The other boy will recover. kids bones are still very flexible and can cure and mend much better than with adults. It sounds like the medical prognosis (still in consideration???) is being prepared in order that costs will be escalated. That could be to benefit the doctor (who might be stretching the truth if he senses a farang may be an eventual benefactor of costs),. or it could be ruse from the boy's parents.

Whichever way you look at it,.. be careful and don't get tricked into any "conciliatory" meetings!

Just my 2 cents!

You're an idiot for being so compliant!

Unless you have committed a crime or are suspect to a crime or suspect to a conspiracy to commit a crime then they have no business with you.

You should have told him that he had no business with you or your home and to be on his way.

If he or the local police have any issues regarding immigration then that's for the immigration police alone to handle and he would know that.

Just be firm but polite but tell them to mind their own business. They have no power anyway as you should have been able to see from your 10 years here. They collect money at roadside shakedowns, need to be paid to do their jobs (like follow up on disputes and matters of robbery) and just look at how idle they are in the face of all the illegal possession of government buildings and protest at the moment (no need to mention their uselessness in BKK in April/May 2010).

My opinion is that this guy is trying to set you up for some kind of sting or bribery. Don't play into his game.

I can't tell you how fast such a guy would hit the front gate if he darkened my doorway with that BS routine!

Stay at home,.. avoid the violence, avoid the charade,.. and most of all DON'T encourage them,... it just makes things worse!

...and to make things even worse,.. Suthep comes out wearing a RED shirt,... good strategy, - now that'll really confuse 'em!

First good idea I have heard from a red shirt

You evidently don't live in Chiangmai!

This doesn't just apply to (some) Thai women,.. my ex wife in Australia was like that and a lot worse!

You need to get yourself a new T-Shirt and wear it when you go out shopping with her!

The opposite of privacy is tyranny?

That's not what he said or meant ace.

A second reading may help it to register more clearly!

10,000 police officers mobilized for Sunday election

So that's 10,000 idle spectators hired to stand by and watch the violence unfold!

if I was home and I was prevented from voting by a political group I would class that as an act of terrorism

I would take it as a sign of good fortune and sit back to nice relaxing beer at home and watching the football!

British foreign secretary urges Thailand to uphold democracy

What "Democracy"???

...and the Poms can talk about Democracy when they are under a fascist government that poses as a democracy but actually hasn't been one for decades (if ever!).

This entire scenario from the protests to the election is a complete fiasco!

Really, the only thing we could possible hope for from all of this is "order out of chaos"!

" Mr. Chalerm′s current whereabouts is unknown. "

I have waited years for that sentence.

Yes,... BUT "He'll be back!"

They are not generally taught manners at school or at home and therein lies the problem.

Yes there's a Gen X thing about them being preoccupied with mobile phones and having a "Me Me Me" outlook on life but in Thailand I've noticed a prevailing attitude of "well this works for me",.. particularly as that relates to queues at the ATM or 711 and of course driving on the roads.

Just one of those things you have to make allowances for! Mae Mee Bpen Har!

The first of the copycat protesters!

....his thoughts must be something along the lines of; "Well,.. the protests have worked so amazingly well for Suthep,.. I might as well have a go myself!"

No need to worry about elections on Feb 2, there will not be any.

... and even if they are, my wife will be abstaining as I'm not willing to send her into the firing line on D-day!