eastcanje

People sit here and bash the Thais for their inability to manage their finances when in reality the vast majority of people in most if not all countries are in the very same predicament as here in Thailand.

Absolutely correct. The majority of Americans have significant credit card debt, car loan debt, etc., and I'm sure the same situation exists in many other developed countries.

Perhaps if the Thais were provides with assistance from the government, like in many developed countries, their lot would be much better. One example of where this would really matter is the number of women who have to support and rear their children without any contributions from the fathers. We all know how this works in the west: the absconding father will have his wages garnished; he can lose his driver's license; he can even be imprisoned if he does not comply. In addition, the state also provides financial assistance.

Just my thoughts .

Thailand is a Me - First Society, you haven't been on a one vehicle Soi with a 7/11, and people park the car and go shopping, blocking the whole Soi , Welcome To Thainess...

I have seen this, and it reminds me of parts of Brooklyn!

And parts of the Bronx!

And many, many other places in lower New York state! 5555.

Unfortunately, selfish, inconsiderate people aren't confined to one country or one location!

"...Prayuth felt "uncomfortable" after viewing the video, and instructed the Royal Thai Army to take disciplinary action against the soldier..."

He only has himself to blame, because of the sense of entitlement the government is sending out to its troops. I'm sure there are many soldiers that think they are the ultimate law and police are beneath them and therefore can't touch them.

If your assessment of the military's "sense of entitlement" is correct, then you will be the first to see that the General was absolutely doing the right thing in removing that false impression from the minds of the troops!

It strikes me that PM Prayuth is no longer head of the army. Sooner or later the army will wonder who should be giving them orders.

General Prayut is still Chief of the NCPO (aka the Junta) that has absolute power over all of Thai government and people, including the military. In fact now that he has invoked Article 44, the Royal Thai Police fall under military jurisdiction. The soldier was perfectly correct to ignore the police stop.

I certainly hope that this is "...tongue in cheek"!

40m is nothing, its peanuts in real terms here... anyways itll be just a wealth transfer.

Damn; 40 million Baht (or more than US $1, 235,000), is considered "...peanuts"? I guess this illustrates how sad my government pension is !

So we have motor bikes for hire taking up road parking space; selfish business owners who prevent parking in front of their premises; coach drivers; I would also like to nominate another group - laundries. They erect metal drying frames near their businesses on the sunny side of the street. I have some sympathy but not when they leave the frames out empty & overnight.

Regarding the laundry drying frames, I saw a man walking along a soi, not paying enough attention, and since the drying rack was unused at the time, it did not catch his attention, until it caught the side of his forehead with a sharp rap!

I had a lot of empathy for him, because this is the kind of thing I would do too!

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End of the day, as usual, you check out when you least expect it.....His girlfriends account of their life together sounded plausible and honest.... He, not a bad bloke, but by her account, able to fire up and lose his temper because of alcohol....Had a temper that was generally kept under control, but on this night, got full of booze, lost his way, lost his thoughts, then lost his temper.....kicking a mirror is exactly the same as kicking glass, as thats all a mirror is. Glass with a reflective coating.....Kick glass, or punch glass, and the greater chance is you will cut yourself, and unfortunately as God or Buddha has it, this kick did cause a cut that struck an atery....not an uncommon event, it happens, and sometime due to the injury, and the angle on which the arterey was cut, it is impossible to stem the flow of blood. I believe her account to be genuine, and this was just another sad accident that could happen the world over.....R.I.P

Why is this kind of "normal" comment in the minority on this site? some consideration and common sense mingled with the few facts as we know them, it's not that hard to do is it?

Unfortunately, Bignose, it seems too many people are angry or prejudiced, or nursing some grudge(s)!

It is not only on Thai Visa, but extremely wide spread. Just go to other news forums (Yahoo News, for example), and read the comments.

However, it is refreshing to find an oasis (or two) of calm and reason in the desert of abuse and criticism.

Stay calm and reasonable .

I would like to make a wish, in fact more than one:

• Wouldn't it be lovely if many people stopped saying USA are 'feeding' Israel? Even more people honestly think Obama is feeding Netanyahu. Ridiculous!
• Wouldn't it be lovely if many people stopped calling Obama an ally of Netanyahu or vice-versa.?
• Wouldn't it be lovely if one Politician (Obama) stopped taking another Politician (Netanyahu) at his word? Did anybody try to take Obama at any of his many words?
• Netanyahu has a troubled country surrounded by apriori hostile Arabs paid by just about everybody to stay hostile. Obama has a troubled country with about 45M blacks hating his country from inside for free. Wouldn't it be lovely if both were given some leeway to attend to their problems the best way they know?
• When Netanyahu says there will be no 'Palestinian' State he is not being mean to Muslim Arabs. He simply knows that this scenario is fatal for Israel. But every Politically Correct son-of-a-gun paints him as a bloodthirsty monster. Jews and Arabs of Israel are not fools. At least they are not more stupid than some TV posters. And they did elect Netanyahu again despite his 'outrageously open' statements. I wish some more TV posters showed respect!
• IMHO about 6M American Jews are supporting about 6M Israelis - financially, politically and militarily. USA is an ally of Israel because Israel is the only ally of USA in Middle East. Obama may think differently. I wish he didn't.

There is so much wrong with your six "wishes"/ "opinions"!

Do you really think "6M American Jews are supporting 6M Israelis"? Can you disclose your mathematical trail?

In your opinion, 45M blacks hate the U.S?

Your other wishes/ideas are too preposterous to even consider, although I can discern a thought pattern!

I am a proud American!

I pay taxes!

What are you?

Why not? Israel has nukes!!!

Regarding Israel's nukes, Natanyahu was implicated in smuggling 800 nuke triggers out of the U.S. a number of years ago, contrary to U.S. laws! Perhaps the FBI should pursue that matter!

Regarding my post about the three billion dollars per year which the U.S. provides to Israel, I am not prejudiced. In previous posts in other places, I also said that we (the U.S.) should stop giving our taxpayer dollars to other ingrates, like in Pakistan and Afghanistan!

If you are going to take our money, or our goods, show some class! Don't turn around and bad mouth us!

I think that policing in UK, though certainly imperfect, is substantially better than in US.

The apparently macho fervour for executing people sickens me

What sickens me is going to a crime scene where a woman or child has been brutally raped and murdered by some dirty low life grub that chose not to control his urges.

The state executing these grubs has no effect in me whatsoever. Good riddance.

I think you missed the point some other posters made, and which is the topic of the thread: that executions should be banned since many, yes, many innocent people in the U.S. are executed (or imprisoned for lengthy periods) because prosecutors, police, or others hid evidence which showed that they were innocent. Go to The Innocence Project's website and see the hundreds of innocent persons who were convicted, and who were proved innocent through their efforts! Sometimes it takes years for them to get permission to have DNA tests done on evidence in police possession, which would have exonerated the convicted persons!

It might be nice to make a donation to them also , since they take cases free of charge.

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Interesting. What does an American name sound like? Pachino? Weinstein? O'Donnell? Obama? How about first names. Are Barak, Woody, Cassius and Luigi American names?

It probably has one of the most diverse mixes of cultures of any country in the world.

As I'm sure you know, almost all converts to Islam adopt an Arabic name. There are many converts in the US. At some point in the future all those Arabic names will become American names.

His name sounds like a completely American name. An African American islamic convert from New York.

The bold-faced para is true, but not really related to the post you quote or with the thread. Kwame and Jackson are not Arabic or Islamic. Kwame is African, usually Ghana. The first sone of Jack was probably English. Rasheed is Islamic/Arabic in origin. It's also used in the US by non-Muslims - I suppose most often by African-Americans. But yes it certainly is (also) an Islamic name, one of the "blessed 99" in fact.

While I say "true", I do think you are behind the curve and every name in your post and every name in my post is an American name today.

.

I agree with both of you, although I am not as cognizant as Wanda : -)

. Since people come to America from all parts of the world, their names (should) become accepted as American names.

In the small government department in which I spent my final 17 years before retirement, 20% to 25% of the employees, although American citizens, were originally from Canada, Asia, Europe, and South America, and their names reflected that. Additionally, most of the others (U.S. born) had names that some people on TV might question, with origins in Poland, Italy, Ireland, Germany, etc.

Being surprised at someone's nationality because of their name is silly and very behind the times! Just my humble opinion.

I sometimes carry a hoe in the tray of my pickup. Isn't that a weapon?

What about a my tire iron? I think either of these items could do a lot more damage than a pocket knife.

Did you mean "a hoe", or "a ho"?

Not cleaning up after missing the pissoir is now "normal"????

Filt

No, "Not cleaning up after missing the pissoir..." is not normal for some people, but I would guess it is normal for others. Fortunately, the law does not yet cover area. I say "fortunately", because if the current trend continues in many countries, the elite few who achieve political power will, sooner or later,decide all of your activities, and you will have no choice!

You think this is far-fetched? Just a few examples: in Saudi Arabia, women aren't allowed to drive; in most western countries, if the wife doesn't go out and work, for whatever reason, in a divorce, she gets a half (or more) of whatever the family accumulated; in China, the state decides the size of your family; in many countries, the government decides what you may do in the privacy of your bedroom!

I apologize for my rant, but I feel that in most cases, governments stick it to the masses, and we certainly don't need laws telling us how to use the toilet in out homes!

First of all, either the marble is defective, or this guy has very potent urine!

Secondly, "society" telling men that they must sit to pee? Just when you think that there aren't any other ways to shaft men (and boys), something else turns up!

Yeah, that's pretty shocking. People who get that nervous and excitable probably shouldn't be a police officer, much less ever be allowed near a firearm.

How about "Being a police officer in a predominantly black slum, rundown ghetto neighborhood (is there any other kind in general?) gets a police officer to be that way"... and for clear reasons that no one siding with blacks on this issue wish to discuss or to even be on the table for discussion.

Perhaps you should also be asking yourself why this is happening in an ever increasing manner, and also take a look at the unreasonable, lop-sided logic (and lack thereof) in how this is being swept under the rug.

The police are bad when they shoot a black with a gun, and the black refuses to listen and comply, and everyone forgets that the insolent black was going somewhere with that gun before the police even had cause to stop him.

Where was he going? Is that really important anymore when one considers the statistics on pandemic black crime in the USA? You can mitigate it all you want, but it won't change the truth that no one will address outside of social media and forums like this.

Speaking of "...pandemic black crime in the USA", do you really know what the statistics are? Do you know what the statistics of "white crime" are?

To be facetious, perhaps black people carry guns as protection against those folks dressed in white sheets and hoods whose main purposes (for over a hundred years) seem to be burning crosses on other people's property, and lynching people who look different from themselves!

An eyewitness reported that the mob kept kicking the head of the witness even after he lost conscience.

This is an attempted homicide. Hope they all will be held responsible.

Good luck for the victim!

Not condoning violence, or anything like that, but perhaps these thugs will think twice before attacking foreigners if other foreigners helped one who was being attacked!

Several years ago, some hoodlums in the UK were interviewed on TV about the reason they had switched their attacks from West Indians to Pakistanis (neither of which was a good thing). They said that the Pakistanis did not fight back as vigorously as the west Indians!

A dog is mans best friend a chicken cow or pig fish etc are part of the food chain.

Cruelty in all forms is disgusting however the killing of our food sources is mostly done human land the beast doesn't suffer and people will happily sit down and eat their leg of lamb without a second thought.

However the other day the article on the ivory trade drew around 8 posts which really shows how much people care.

Mankind has a lot to answer for!

In many cases, the animals considered as "our food sources" aren't treated humanely either! Paul Macartney said that "...if slaughter houses had glass walls, everybody would be a vegeterian".

After reading the information from "Farm Sanctuary", (google them), I stopped eating any mammal (almost two years now) and while I still eat poultry and seafood, I am considering giving that up also. I don't pretend to be better than those who kill and eat anything, it is my personal choice.

Interestingly, Edgar Rice Burroughs who wrote the Tarzan series and also the Martian series, wrote (over a century ago) about one race of Martians rebuffing an earthling's shock at eating Martian humans of other races by comparing it to people on earth eating animals!

There are always exceptions. My wife just passed away yesterday with lung cancer that transferred cancer cells to the brain. We had 6 sisters, 2 brothers, a couple of in-laws, a niece and nephew arrive. They were an absolute God send. They took care of all the Wat arrangements and most of the minor bills. I would have been totally at a loss without them - I am at a loss anyway without my wife but it would have been overwhelming otherwise. I will miss them immensely when they all drift away.

My deepest sympathy for your loss, Akentryan.

Be strong, man.

More people die each year from elephant attack than any other species, approx 500 people world wide per year....

Sorry, lil f/c, not even close.

A very tiny animal, the itty bitty mosquito has that "honor". Hundreds of thousands of people die every year from diseases spread by mosquitoes, and it appears to be becoming worse!

I'd hope the NYPD officer's union isn't thinking or believing in the same ways as are some certain others that are outside of mainstream American society and have been outside of it for a very long time.

I'd like to know for example what the mayor of NYC said that so upset the sensibilities of a number of the officers of the NYPD....the exact words of what the mayor said

It might also be presumptuous to try to deny black Americans the leaders of their own choosing and that also speak for low socio-economic status black communities and for black American families of every socio-economic status. It should be noted that low socio-economic black communities constitute a distinct minority of all black communities throughout the USA.

The Rev Al Sharpton is respected and honorable and he is a mainstream black American who is in the mainstream of American society itself, which is why Rev Al is welcome in the NYC mayor's office and in the Oval office at the White House. Extremist carpers against him aside, the Rev Al does a contracted network primetime television program weeknights about current issues and events in addition to his preaching, travelling, grief counseling, marches such as this one etc. The huge majority of black Americans consider that the Reverend Al is one who carries on in the finest traditions of the Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

Publicus, you are wasting your time trying to show what it is really like! Some people can see only what they want to see!

It isn't what the New York City mayor has said, it is what he has done! Look at the color of his wife; look at the color of his kids! That is what he has done! He married a black woman and has multiracial kids!

Racists, whether they admit that they are, or whether they pretend to be unbiased, despise him for that!

They say that a leopard can't change its spots, and I haven't the energy to try to convince many of the posters here about race relations in the U.S. If they were open-minded, the huge coverage in various media outlets would give them an accurate insight of the way minorities are treated by many law enforcement and other officials in the U.S. Open the following two links in your browser as examples

:

http://news.yahoo.com/off-duty-black-cops-york-feel-threat-fellow-170110366.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/21/sunday-review/why-are-our-schools-still-segregated.html?mabReward=RI%3A11&action=click&contentCollection=Opinion&region=Footer&module=Recommendation&src=recg&pgtype=article