sambum

Yes, but these are SMART cars! I have a SMART phone that is so clever it keeps phoning people without me telling it to!

Let's not forget that the person who was "beaten up" should not have been there in the first place! He was there to steal marijuana plants, so what is the homeowner supposed to do? A. Tell the burglar "Please stop doing that" B. Tell the burglar "Please stop doing that or I am going to phone the police". C. Phone the police and say "I have a burglar in my house and he is trying to steal my marijuana plants. Will you please come and tell him to stop?" D. All of the above, and ask the burglar to stay put until the police arrive. E. React as any normal homeowner would do, and try to protect his home and property in the most appropriate way at the time e.g. Grab hold of the guy, give him a hiding, throw him out of the front door and say "Don't ever come back, or it'll be worse for you next time!" I had a friend in the UK (Nanny State) who lived in a flat above his Off Licence ,and heard noises from his shop in the early hours of the morning. He found a burglar in the shop and "gave him a good hiding" and phoned a friend of his who was a Detective Sergeant in the Police, who advised him to give a statement saying that he saw something flash in the burglar's hand, he thought it was a knife, and he was just trying to defend himself. The way I look at it is that in both cases - the one in Thailand and the one in the UK - there is somebody who has broken into your property, "with ill intent", and you should have a right to defend it and yourself in order to control the situation, because to wait for the police to arrive could be catastrophic. .

Just one or two statistics (Damn statistics and lies!!) to fire into the equation as Thailand and the UK have similar populations of people (Thailand 66m, UK 62m - app.) In the UK in 2022, there were over 13 million dogs, (100,000 homeless) and according to figures from 2010 to 2015, there were 210,000 people bitten by dogs every year. In Thailand, there are estimated to be 8.5 million dogs, (1 million strays) and according to a recent report, there were over a million people bitten by dogs last year. Now I know you can juggle statistics around to suit your purpose , but from the above:- 13 million dogs - 210,000 dog bites (UK) 8.5 million dogs - 1 million dog bites (Thailand) It would appear that most bites in Thailand come from strays/soi dogs ("Well done Sherlock" - before somebody else says it!) so 1 million problems to sort out! (In the UK (and many other countries) it is a legal requirement for all dogs to be registered and chipped, so it would appear that by doing so, it dramatically reduces the number of dog bites, and in Thailand it follows that it would also reduce the number of cases of rabies. One BIG problem that Thailand would have is compelling the 7.5 million dog owners to have their dogs chipped and registered! In countries that have this requirement, the police would investigate any dog attack, and seek proof of registration and chipping - would Thailand's RTP do the same? I have my own opinion as to what would be the best option, but as a farang, I have no say in the solution!

"...............only need to do about 80 percent of the population......." You do realise that this would involve HUGE numbers of dogs? And who would pay for it? I don't think that the current Government would place it very high on their list of priorities when they would obviously prefer to spend billions on investigating the possibilities of space travel, or Chinese submarines! ????

"...............only need to do about 80 percent of the population......." You do realise that this would involve HUGE numbers of dogs? And who would pay for it? I don't think that the current Government would place it very high on their list of priorities when they would obviously prefer to spend billions on investigating the possibilities of space travel, or Chinese submarines! ????

Couldn't agree more! He is blatantly anti farang, yet wants them here to boost the economy? Doh! His only educational qualification is in Engineering, but he is Minister of Health? Doh! Everybody should wear a mask - no they shouldn't - yes they should - OK, up to you! Doh! He goes to WHO Summit meetings and doesn't know what certificates or visas he needs to attend? Doh! And now you are more likely to get infected with Covid after 2 a.m. in the morning! Doh! It's obvious that the only reason this clown is in Office is because of his (and his family's) enormous wealth, and God, Allah, Buddha forbid that this idiot becomes the next Prime Minister, because surely the rest of the World's leaders will just shake their heads in misbelief when they investigate his qualifications! A bit like expecting Trump or Boris to be reselected as leaders of their respective Governments!

Does Anutin really have the health of the nation at heart? Or does he want to come across to the people as the best, caring person to be the next PM? Or does he think it would be better for people to go home and boost his income by smoking "Mary Jane" instead?

In this particular case I would say it's a case of "Do you know who what I am?" (Answers on a 500 baht note, please!)

"What makes you think a human's life is more important than a dog's life?" They used to tell me at Church that it was because a human being has a soul, whereas an animal doesn't. Mind you, they also used to tell me that a certain person died and came back to life again, and that there really was a Santa Claus!!!

Why say "there is another bigger reason" without further explanation?

I think you know as well as I do that all religions can be hypocritical at times! Pigs and cows are bred for our "dietary preferences", whether you agree with it or not, but in my opinion, soi dogs serve no purpose at all, except to pose a danger to any body who "gets on their wrong side".

I understand what was meant and my comment was a bit "tongue in cheek" but it didn't exactly say that, did it?:- "The only solution is 100% vaccination AND the 100 % sterilisation of female dogs, except those whose owners have a strictly supervised breeding licence" However, I do agree with you in principle, but I do not think that the Government would have the necessary motivation to have an army of people checking on all "dogs on the streets".

A bit off topic, but same as French tourist (ladies?) spending their holidays on cleaning up the beaches, which was a post from yesterday. A local hotelier was so grateful that "it brought a tear to his eye" ????

My bank is the same! I would advise you to "mask up" for the 2 or 3 minutes that it takes to complete your transaction, even if it is not a legal requirement. These people COULD make life difficult for you!

And thereby make the cost of obtaining a dog only available to the rich, because you can bet your bottom baht that the licences will become another "cash cow" for the Government. I like it!!!

Couldn't agree more! The trouble is the Buddhist culture, and the taking of life. I have heard of a few cases where people have had pets that are old and terminally ill, but the vets refuse to "put them to sleep". Maybe its the Buddhist culture, or possibly/probably because the owners were farangs, and therein lies the opportunity for making a few more thousand baht! And how many times have you heard "not my dog!" when a dog is a nuisance, but if you hit it accidentally with your car/motor bike, suddenly this dog is an ex Crufts Best of Breed Champion? Regarding the proposal, this is indeed a step in the right direction, but why has it not been proposed before? How long has rabies been a problem in this (the) country? And why does the Government not pay for the full cost of protecting its citizens from this dreadful disease? :- "with the help of sub-district volunteers." Possibly because the main areas of concern are north and East of Bangkok? Where the only time people seem to matter is at voting time?

It says a lot about Thais when they have to depend on people that are here on holiday to pick up trash for them. Says the locals were "very impressed". So impressed that the tourists were rewarded for their efforts with some fresh coconut water! I wonder how much that is going to affect the economy that we are hearing is about to go into recession? I'm not having a go at the ladies - up to them what they want to do on holiday, but if I was on holiday ANYWHERE, picking up trash for a drink of coconut water would not come high on my list of priorities - actually, it wouldn't even appear on my list of priorities! "What did you get up to on your holidays in Thailand, then? Nudge, nudge, wink, wink?" "Actually, I picked up trash and had a ball!" Hmmm!

"He is regularly seen around the world especially at Formula 1 events........." Yes, we keep hearing this, but where are the pics to prove it? Maybe Thai censorship at work here, but other countries should be exempt from that. But no pics - anywhere? "Private dicks might get the job done. Who's going to hire the shamus?" Now you should know that the RTP aren't going to allow that! That would be tantamount to them admitting they can't do their job and hence become "faceless"!!!

Obviously the photo was taken BEFORE he was sentenced to 18 months!!!

Chainarong had already resigned but a probe panel recommended sacking him because of the serious nature of the offence. Sorry, am I missing something here? And regarding "Boss":- "He is regularly seen around the world especially at Formula 1 events but appears untouchable and out of reach of the Thai police." Absolutely disgusting situation, and only confirms to the rest of the World the corruption that exists in the Justice system in Thailand, and sacking somebody who has already resigned shows the absurd interpretation of "loss of face" here. "You're not sacking me - I've already resigned". (Probably, if he was sacked before he resigned, he would not have been entitled to a few million baht loss of earnings/compensation!) Expect to hear an announcement soon that Anutin is to be announced as Minister of Health!!!

I presume you mean "implications", and not "complications" but nice typo! They are becoming more obvious by the day - schoolkids smoking pot in the street for one, and having to push a law through requiring a special licence to sell the flowers for another, after dozens of small businesses had already got their supplies! Actually, I think it is a good idea to "decriminalise" the possession of marijuana, but I don't think enough thought went into it by Mr A! Obviously he thought that as Minister of Health, his decisions wouldn't be questioned by the people he is supposed to be in charge of!!!

Yes! Ultimately it is his responsibility, and if he is not chasing the cops up to do their job, then he is not doing HIS job. The kids are blatantly flouting the law by not wearing helmets, apart from as you say, they are not of the legal age to ride a motorbike, and hence it stands to reason that they will not have a licence. So why do the cops let them away with it? Because they don't have enough "pocket money" to pay the "tea money" (fines) So why don't they impound the bikes? Because the bikes probably don't belong to the kids anyway - probably their parents, and they will say they didn't know the kids were using the bikes, so they can not be held responsible for their kids doing something illegal if they don't know about it, right? And most people know the reason that Anutin pushed the latest "Mary Jane" laws through without due consideration of the implications!!!

"Methanus insisted he did not intend to run away. It was unclear, however, why he left the scene." Gobbledegook! Maybe he was "late for an important date"?

It's nice tho - innit? ????

Good advice! I had a bank account with about 500 baht in it which I hadn't used for over a year, as I had opened a bank account nearer my home. I went to close it, and was told it was closed already. I enquired who had closed it to be told that the bank had. When I asked where MY 500 baht was, the teller said "Gone!" I asked "Gone where" He simply replied "Administration charges"!!!