Gecko123

In a milieu such as Walking Street at 3 AM. there is a presumption that you are there for a purpose: to either obtain or provide sexual services. Behavioral norms are suspended and things are tolerated by both men and women which would be deemed completely unacceptable in any other setting. As I said in my earlier post, that didn't give the Indian man the right to do what he did, and the woman had every right to file charges, but I think the fact that the incident occurred in a venue where sexual propriety norms are often suspended ought to be taken into consideration when assessing damages and penalties. I made these points in my earlier post, but your partial quote of my post left this explanation out. As the quote function automatically truncates posts, I would appreciate if you would quote my entire post in the future rather than just quoting the sentences you wish to address. Perhaps it was inadvertent, but I think your partial quote distorted what I said in my original post.

His ability to settle the claim for 200K seriously undermines the myth that Indian tourists are all super low budget, now doesn't it?

I would say that the setting in which the offense occurred should be taken into consideration when assessing damages. If a person knowingly takes a walk at 3 am in an internationally famous red-light district where freelance sex workers: (1) ply their trade openly on the street; (2) frequently exchange non-consensual physical and sexual contact with potential customers; (3) often dress in everyday street attire; and (4) where foreign tourists are known to drink to excess, and (5) at a time when their inebriation is likely to be at it's peak, then the standards of behavior in that setting should be considered when assessing damages and penalties. If his behavior might otherwise have been deemed acceptable had the woman been a sex worker, the fact that the victim voluntarily placed herself in that environment should be considered when assessing damages. The key is whether what he did would have been acceptable behavior had the victim been a sex worker. While a sex worker might have tolerated a pat on the bottom, few would have found an intrusive genital groping to be acceptable, and obviously anything more aggressive or intrusive would be universally unacceptable. Without knowing the full nature of the assault, it is hard to say whether 200K damages is justified. For the record I'm NOT saying she didn't have a right to be there, or that she shouldn't have filed charges. I'm merely saying that the setting where the assault took place and the victim's willingness to put herself in that setting needs to be taken into consideration when assessing damages.

The below article (which makes for interesting reading) may help shed light on why some forum members seem to be obsessed with Thai manhood and masculinity, and serve as a reminder that we all have insecurities and issues: https://www.vice.com/en/article/594yxd/interracial-cuckold-porn-white-male-insecurity-race An excerpt: In 2017, per Pornhub’s 2017 Year in Review, "cuckold,” as a genre/category (with varying racial compositions), increased in views by 72 percent. That might be unsurprising, considering the recent rise of the alt-right, who brought the 13th-century word "cuck”—used originally to describe how cuckoo birds deceptively lay their eggs in other birds’ nests—back into mainstream usage by hurling it at conservatives (or “cuckservatives”) and other white men they perceive as being “emasculated” or “selling out.” The alt-right’s usage of the term also sheds light on the more psychic reasoning behind the genre’s recent popularity surge: the perceived increasing disempowerment and marginalization of white manhood and masculinity. Mods: above link does not contain pornographic content.

I admit I overlooked this disturbing detail.

Point well-taken. Not the best choice of words. Was just trying to convey that even though the guy lost it and has problems regulating his emotions it doesn't make him a monster.

The story does not infer that he would have been A-OK if she had left him for another Thai man. It says that his ex-wife told him that she wanted to look for a foreign husband and over the course of several months the comment gnawed at him. There are lots of reasons besides racism why this might have triggered a Thai man's jealousy including imagined stereotypes about sexual prowess or feelings that he could not fairly compete with a foreigner's wealth. If he was angry and humiliated because his wife told him she was in love with another woman, you wouldn't say it was due to "deep underlying" misogyny or homophobia, would you? Also, for your racism interpretation to hold water you have to be certain that when she said 'pua farang' she was talking exclusively about white guys. As I pointed out in an earlier post, 'pua forang' is commonly used as a general term for Western men, not necessarily exclusively white men.

I agree with you that there was no underlying racism in the article. The Thai language Daily News article was merely reporting the facts surrounding the incident. The take-away from the article was that provoking your intoxicated ex-husband into a jealous rage by threatening to replace him with a rich foreigner probably isn't a very smart idea. There was no implication that getting involved with foreign men was asking for trouble. I did not find the slightest anti-foreigner sentiment in the Daily News article. While by no means condoning his behavior, the Daily News article presented him in a far more humanistic light. In contrast, I found that the AseanNews translation of the Daily News article presented the estranged husband in a much less flattering light than the original Thai article. Perhaps it all boils down to the fact that the Daily News article was written for a Thai audience while the Asean News translation was written for a (largely male) foreign audience. To illustrate, Thais, both men and women, would probably be more willing to empathize with the husband's anger about the "pua farang" comment than most foreigners, and that more sympathetic response comes across in the Daily News article, but far less so than in the AseanNews translation. Whereas the estranged husband's drinking, the downward spiral of his life, his tearful remorse and attempts to remind people that he had once been a better person, and his decision to stop the rampage after his son begged him to were presented in the Thai language article in such a way to humanize him despite the gravity of his crime, I found the presentation in the AseanNews article to be less sympathetic, and presented in such a way that the estranged husband's jealous rage over the "pua farang" comment might be seen as source of amusement for foreign male readers and a not-so-subtle invitation to heap scorn on Thai men.

Maybe the wife really did imagine herself hooking up with a white guy, but when Thais use the term "pua farang" the focus is usually on the financial escape from poverty he might offer, rather than necessarily on skin color. I hope no one leaves believing Thai men are all insanely jealous and threatened by you, because they're not. That was a pretty ball-busting comment the wife made, no doubt intended to wound. But more often than not these "pua farang" comments are little more than whimsical day dreams rather than true aspirations. The guy obviously has a drinking problem and stabbing the mother-in-law in the ribs was definitely a dick move, but I still feel sorry for him. I wish the mother-in-law a speedy recovery and I hope the guy is able to straighten his life out.

Nobody said you could. I was just trying to explain what might have caused the accident. I think this clip posted earlier by @rwill pretty much shows exactly what happened and who was at fault: (1) Watch | Facebook

Absolute nonsense. Cite the criminal code statute.

Pretty conclusive evidence of what happened.

Article says family was on holiday which raises possibility that car was a rental. If so, keeping my fingers crossed that rental company has a policy which will kick in over whatever limits driver took out. Most automobile coverage back home has a territorial restriction to the home country (or maybe adjacent countries). This is a nightmare scenario in terms of potential automobile liability in Thailand, especially if you're a foreigner who may be perceived as having deep pockets. Most policies here have per person and aggregate caps on death and injury losses, which are sometimes shockingly low. Check your coverage and look into raising your liability limits would be my advice. Edit: I don't think incarceration is likely in the case of simple negligence, but agree the prospect of a demand for money over and above an insurance payout is very real.

From the photos, the girls were traveling in the curb side lane and struck the front right side of the car. That suggests to me that the girls may have had next to no time to take evasive action. This may have been a case of the car driver watching for a break in the northbound traffic and then pulling into the southbound traffic lane before double checking that there was no oncoming southbound traffic.

Appears to be the scene of the accident: https://www.google.com/maps/@7.191605,100.6099596,3a,37.5y,182.62h,76.22t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sO8xhOWiEcHsXgzXUgaIi7g!2e0!7i16384!8i8192 From the position of the motorcycle and car in the below image, I can only speculate that the Australian man pulled into the north entrance of the parking lot across the street from the shooting range before exiting the south entrance of the parking lot. In order to head north, he had to cut across the southbound lanes in which the motorcycle was travelling.

I can only imagine how back-breaking and exhausting harvesting rice in waist deep water must be.

Coming soon to a soi near you.

The word 'hounded' implies that he was unfairly harassed and persecuted. Do you really think that's the right word for someone who: was impeached twice, accepted help from Russia to spread disinformation and, hack into Democratic party computer servers, tried to barter foreign aid to Ukraine in exchange for political dirt, passed tax cuts which disproportionately favored the top 1%, and increased income and wealth inequality, told over 30,000 lies during his time in office, said he believed Putin over his own intelligence services in Helsinki, got totally played by North Korea hypocritically golfed 307 times during his presidency, hypocritically and grossly mishandled top secret information, undermined confidence in virtually every American institution including the intelligence services, the judiciary, law enforcement, the Federal Reserve, and election integrity, incited a riot and spread 'the big lie' that the election was stolen in a brazen attempt to stay in power, embraced and gave tacit support to right-wing militia groups, (including neo-Nazi groups in Charlottesville, VA), stoked racial and ethnic tensions for political gain and, is being sued for defamation in NY, and is under investigation for wire, bank and tax fraud in NY, and election interference in Georgia? I, for one, sure as heck don't.

This was one of Biden's best speeches, even better than his inauguration speech. The menace of MAGAism needs to be confronted head-on. Hillary Clinton should never have backed away from her apt description of MAGAism as a "basket of deplorables." Anyone who refuses to recognize that MAGAism is an anti-democratic authoritarian cult is being willfully blind. This should be abundantly obvious, especially after Jan 6th. It is an authoritarian white Christian nationalist party which sees the truth, democratic principles and institutions, and the rule of law as threats. It sees political violence, the threat of political violence, and the politicalization of the judiciary and law enforcement as legitimate means to an end, i.e. total control. MAGA-ism needs to be denounced from all corners, especially from within the Republican party. Stop referring to Trump and his MAGA supporters as Republicans; they're not. Trump is a meglomaniac fascist whose only interests are power and wealth.

A few suggestions for incremental improvement (not just to save 100-200 baht, but to reduce carbon footprint): 1) assess whether exterior lighting is truly beneficial from a home security standpoint, or is it just for aesthetics. Security value varies depends on location, but can often add little value, burning lights all night long wastes money. 2) Religiously turn lights and fans off whenever leaving room, even briefly. You get distracted, and the fan and lights end of burning money for no benefit. Consider minimal fan speeds whenever possible. With cooler temperatures, can get by with fan set at "1" or "2", only need "3" in super muggy weather. 4. if outlet for microwave is counter level, unplug when not in use. 5. Cleaning refrigerator coils every 6 months, and periodically cleaning and inspecting refrigerator door gaskets is important for energy efficiency. 6. Check energy savings settings on computer. 7. I have a water cooler in my study, but I think it's an energy guzzler. Probably more energy efficient to cool drinking water in fridge compartment. Definitely turn off at night, or when not actively being used.

Having trouble understanding why people are attributing benign motives for Trump's behavior. Look at the Trump Tower meeting with the Russians in 2016, the attempt to trade foreign aid to Ukraine for dirt on Biden, the "Russia, if you're listening..." speech, or the sophistication of the plot to overturn the 2020 election. He didn't have that classified material down in Mar-a-Lago for presidential trophies, or because he's a petulant narcissist. He was planning on leveraging it with whoever he could in exchange for help getting back in the White House in 2024. He needed something he could provide up front, not just vague promises about what he could or would do once he got back in office, and classified documents fit the bill. And another thing that should be pointed out is that because the volume of classified material which was found in FL was so extensive, he had to have gathered it over an extended period of time, which further suggests that his motive for doing so was more profound than just collecting trophies for personal gratification.

It just dawned on me what he was probably planning on doing with all that top secret intelligence: leverage it for help in 2024, i.e., getting foreign governments to provide financial support, opposition research, and disinformation and hacking operations similar to what was done in 2016 and 2020.

@MrJ2U I sometimes like to bake and make pizza too. Those tacos you posted do look tasty. It looks like you put them under the broiler to melt the cheese. I'll have to try that sometime. pizza: tomato, black and green olives, minced red prik kii nuu peppers, caramelized onions, mozzarella cheese, feta cheese, oregano, raw chopped garlic, anchovies and homemade blanched holy basil pesto with walnuts. grilled cheese sandwich with homemade bread

Those concrete septic tank and well covers can really vary in thickness. It's a trade off between bearing weight versus making the lid too unwieldy to open when needed. If these guys were just sitting on the edge of the lid with their legs hanging over the ground and they tipped backwards into the well when the lid suddenly cracked under their combined weight, that's not something that most people would necessarily anticipate happening.