Asheron

With is going on? I thought Benny Hill died like two decades ago... guess he is reincarnated in Thailand inside the RTP and pulling all the strings.

No surprise here. The police in Thailand are not a security and intelligence gathering organisation. They are a rent collecting and revenue generating organisation.

Then why don't they issue traffic citations and generate billions of baht?

Actually enforcing laws is an untapped goldmine in Thailand.

They do issue traffic citations, I have driven maybe 6 times in Thailand and received tickets on 2 of those occasions. By comparison, I have driven for almost 40 years in Canada and received the same number. Just unlucky I guess, or perhaps I don't understand the "rules" of the road here.

The "rules" for getting a citation in Thailand is following: "how much do the cops want to go to "karaoke" after work".

I have never actually got a good answer as to why thai people seem to put "window bars" (that can't be opened) on all their windows. I can kind of understand if you do it on the first floor for security reasons but not on the second, third and so on floors. Imagine if a fire starts on the first floor and blocks you from escaping that route, with window bars you (and your family) would most likely burn up inside.

And in my eyes it's ugly as hell to have these "bars"... houses look like fancy prisons.

Just wanted to comment that a 7% interest will double a loan in a decade (google rule of 72).

Here in Europe the news programs in various languages

are reporting on the Erawan bombing and i caught the

last half of an interview where the person being

interviewed replied ''yes i would go there for a holiday

(Bangkok) i wouldn't hesitate to take my family there ''

from that statement i think there is a problem.

Why is that a problem?

No surprise here. The police in Thailand are not a security and intelligence gathering organisation. They are a rent collecting and revenue generating organisation.

Then why don't they issue traffic citations and generate billions of baht?

Actually enforcing laws is an untapped goldmine in Thailand.

Easy answer... far far far more profitable "venues" in Thailand than standing in the sun writing some measly 200 baht fines.

I am not talking about standing at a road block and collecting 200 Baht tea money for no helmet or no licence.

I am talking about actively patrolling and writing real citations for reckless driving, speeding, drunk driving, unsafe passing, parking in the road, obstructing traffic, driving on the wrong side of the road, driving and parking on the sidewalk. and .these are just the short list.

These violations carry a substantial fine in the west, some the equivalent of 9000 baht in California where I come from, some even more.

In some cases vehicles are impounded and the cost of towing and storage are paid by the violator as well.

This would generate more than enough money to pay law enforcement officers a decent wage and benefits like retirement pensions, and that would make it unnecessary and foolish for them to accept tea money and risk losing a good job.

It would also be a great motivator for drivers to follow the traffic laws and make the roads of Thailand much safer.

I disagree with your "easy answer".

Maybe my original statement should have been more detailed.

Most cops in Thailand aren't cops because they have a feeling of duty or responsibility they are however cops because there is the prospect of maybe, just maybe, getting rich by not enforcing laws. Corruption is so rampant and deeply rooted in Thai culture that it will probably never go away because lets face it, almost everyone think they "benefit" from it even though they don't understand the ramifications of them accepting and using corruption.

National police chief Somyot Poompanmoung, speaking to reporters early Sunday morning, says "we need some luck. If the police have good fortune we might be able to make an arrest but ... if the perpetrator has good fortune maybe they can get away."

I think this guy have mixed up "Police Work" and "Luck" ... Maybe he still have Casino´s on his mind or could be the Lottery ... Horrible that such an incompetent person can lead a Policeforce ...

I see no difference between him saying need luck and Americans saying God Bless America. Where luck has an attainable probability, but the latter i have no clue.

It's important to respect words used in each culture. Everyone here are always the expert on every subject matter. But reality could be much far.

Ah, so you shouldn't then have any issues giving some links where say the director of the FBI said something like "With the blessing of God we will get these guys". And if something like that has happened and he didn't get fired... well.. it would surprise me.

It's not important at all to respect words in a culture if the words used are dumb.

No surprise here. The police in Thailand are not a security and intelligence gathering organisation. They are a rent collecting and revenue generating organisation.

Then why don't they issue traffic citations and generate billions of baht?

Actually enforcing laws is an untapped goldmine in Thailand.

Easy answer... far far far more profitable "venues" in Thailand than standing in the sun writing some measly 200 baht fines.

@Simple1

If an anti-immigration party comes to power of course there is a risk measures will become more draconian and policies will result in innocent victims, that risk is self-evident with uncharted territory. You claim anti-Muslim rhetoric to be hysterical, yet you persist in mischaracterizing it as 'far right', just as you persist in conflating criticism of Islam as an ideology with the condemnation of all Muslims.

The irony is that a stitch in time saves nine, the sooner authorities come to grips with the problem of assimilation of immigrants the easier it will be to improve matters without more draconian action. Furthermore the social 'cohesion' multiculturalists so often talk of is being ruined by the present course Europe is on.

Doing nothing will imho do more to bring about a violent break down in society than any change in immigration policy would.

And the most bizarre thing about the so called mutliculturalists that matter (media, politicians etc) is that they all live in ethnically "pure" areas which would make Hitler damn proud.

Here's some political fallout from events in Sweden.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d144b594-4703-11e5-b3b2-1672f710807b.html#axzz3jRqRQz7l

Swedish parliament

The anti-immigration Sweden Democrats has become the largest party in Sweden according to one opinion poll that underscores the rise of nationalist groups across the traditional Nordic stronghold of social democracy.

The Sweden Democrats received 25.2 per cent in the YouGov poll for August, almost double their score in last September’s parliamentary elections and ahead of the governing Social Democrats on 23.4 per cent and the leading centre-right Moderates on 21 per cent.

My comment, already made here is the other parties have conspired to short circuit democracy by not dealing with the democrats, a little like the PVV in Holland

The parties are combining to keep out of power, to use your euphemism, nationalist, parties. They are fulfilling their role of protecting democracy by endeavouring to block the rise of fascism.

So the parties are combining to circumvent the will of the electorate ? And your claim is that this is to save democracy ?

At this stage the combined parties aligned against 'nationalists', 'conservatives' or whatever euphemism people want to use as cover for the far right have more voters, then yes it is democracy in action.

Based upon the hysterical vitriolic generalised anti-Muslim rhetoric by some within this forum, if the far right obtains and consolidate power, IMO, it will be a race to the bottom, far exceeding the threat by the Muslim extremists, for societal cohesion.

You do know that any kind bad, no matter how harsh, view someone has of Islam does not make it anti-muslim right?

Yorktown 1776 the French did the same.

Unfortunately the government of the United States has pushed the multi-culturalism and mass immigration from the Islamic world and Africa that is ruining Europe and made this latest attack possible . The American government has continuously pushed for the inclusion of 90 million Muzz Turks in the EU and NATO bombers made the jihadist conquest of Kosovo a reality. There are many such examples. Of course neither the American or European people are in favor of this but we have an elite class which is. Obozo is now flooding the USA with Muzz immigrants as well. The "Camp of the Saints" is a reality in all of the Western world.

Semper Fi USMC for your herorism on this train. The French sites I am following all speak of your courage and of their gratitude; as well as their frustration with France's multicultural nightmare.

What a stretch to blame the US for the multicultural situation in the EU. Every sovereign country has the right to decide who it will or will not accept. One of the main groups who pushed for more positive attitudes toward immigrants was the UNHCR, which is centered in Geneva, Switzerland and is mostly dominated by Europeans and people from smaller countries. The UNHCR made significant efforts to get refugees resettled.

I think it is a bit of a stretch to insinuate that a Moroccan in Europe is somehow because of US immigration policies.

No they don't in the EU. In the EU Germany, France and UK decide what all the rest of EU does. And there are no borders so anyone with permit to stay in a Schengen nation (lets say Portugal) can legally start marching from there to the northern most tip of Sweden without getting stopped.

Please note the words 'every sovereign country'. If some countries have given up their sovereign right to enters the country that is their own internal problem. It might be wise to review those decisions. My only point was that US immigration policy would have virtually nothing to do with this and the US or any other non-EU country would have little influence over who lives in Europe.

No i don't think US has much say in EU immigration but countries like Libya and Turkey have as they actively push/help "refugees" (welfare tourists is the more correct word) to Europe through them.

But the people who stopped this terrorist should get more than just a medal.

Americans coming to the rescue of France again.

Yorktown 1776 the French did the same.

Unfortunately the government of the United States has pushed the multi-culturalism and mass immigration from the Islamic world and Africa that is ruining Europe and made this latest attack possible . The American government has continuously pushed for the inclusion of 90 million Muzz Turks in the EU and NATO bombers made the jihadist conquest of Kosovo a reality. There are many such examples. Of course neither the American or European people are in favor of this but we have an elite class which is. Obozo is now flooding the USA with Muzz immigrants as well. The "Camp of the Saints" is a reality in all of the Western world.

Semper Fi USMC for your herorism on this train. The French sites I am following all speak of your courage and of their gratitude; as well as their frustration with France's multicultural nightmare.

What a stretch to blame the US for the multicultural situation in the EU. Every sovereign country has the right to decide who it will or will not accept. One of the main groups who pushed for more positive attitudes toward immigrants was the UNHCR, which is centered in Geneva, Switzerland and is mostly dominated by Europeans and people from smaller countries. The UNHCR made significant efforts to get refugees resettled.

I think it is a bit of a stretch to insinuate that a Moroccan in Europe is somehow because of US immigration policies.

No they don't in the EU. In the EU Germany, France and UK decide what all the rest of EU does. And there are no borders so anyone with permit to stay in a Schengen nation (lets say Portugal) can legally start marching from there to the northern most tip of Sweden without getting stopped.

Here's some political fallout from events in Sweden.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d144b594-4703-11e5-b3b2-1672f710807b.html#axzz3jRqRQz7l

Swedish parliament

The anti-immigration Sweden Democrats has become the largest party in Sweden according to one opinion poll that underscores the rise of nationalist groups across the traditional Nordic stronghold of social democracy.

The Sweden Democrats received 25.2 per cent in the YouGov poll for August, almost double their score in last September’s parliamentary elections and ahead of the governing Social Democrats on 23.4 per cent and the leading centre-right Moderates on 21 per cent.

My comment, already made here is the other parties have conspired to short circuit democracy by not dealing with the democrats, a little like the PVV in Holland

The parties are combining to keep out of power, to use your euphemism, nationalist, parties. They are fulfilling their role of protecting democracy by endeavouring to block the rise of fascism.

Rise of fascism? Take off the tinfoil hatt

We will have to agree to disagree. Far right parties modify their manifesto to gain more traction in their attempt to gain power. The far right leadership has temporarily sublimated their aggression towards Jews, gays and other 'others'. Without doubt the far right, upon gaining power, would take off their masks and commence their journey of destruction.

Well, this is a thread about Sweden primarily and not a single party in Sweden are as strong Israel (and by that jew) friends as Sweden democrats are. And do you even know that nazism and fascism are in economical views* so far left that communism is almost jealous of them? One journalist in Sweden, after asking her face to face, why is the massmedia calling Sweden democrats "a far-right party" when their economical views are quite leftist... her answer was ashtonishing: "because that is what we have always done". Now ponder about that answer for a while...

*which is what primarily establishes if a something is left or right.

Here's some political fallout from events in Sweden.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d144b594-4703-11e5-b3b2-1672f710807b.html#axzz3jRqRQz7l

Swedish parliament

The anti-immigration Sweden Democrats has become the largest party in Sweden according to one opinion poll that underscores the rise of nationalist groups across the traditional Nordic stronghold of social democracy.

The Sweden Democrats received 25.2 per cent in the YouGov poll for August, almost double their score in last September’s parliamentary elections and ahead of the governing Social Democrats on 23.4 per cent and the leading centre-right Moderates on 21 per cent.

My comment, already made here is the other parties have conspired to short circuit democracy by not dealing with the democrats, a little like the PVV in Holland

The parties are combining to keep out of power, to use your euphemism, nationalist, parties. They are fulfilling their role of protecting democracy by endeavouring to block the rise of fascism.

Rise of fascism? Take off the tinfoil hatt

I hesitate to add a video by a Canadian Jewish conservative in the light of how liberals treat anything that contradicts their viewpoint. But here goes.

Ezra Levant; doesn't sound like a Native American name; must be an immigrant, send him home! (Sarcasm)

A man who has lost or settled out of court numerous libel cases brought against him.

A man who has been censured by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council.

Three examples from many:

• after he told a Spanish guest on his show, in Spanish, to "go f*** your mother"
• after he called Gypsies a race of criminals
• after broadcasting as true information he should have known to be false, and which the minimum of verification would have shown to be false.

A trustworthy source; hardly!

Yes, the native americans did only benefit from immigration. They even have their own reservations now!

Well, considering the topic is not immigration and is about the knife murder and knife attack of innocent innocent Sweds, my question is: Have they gathered up all the knives from all Swedish household yet and melted them down? Each Swedish national will then be issued a plastic knife without a serrated edge. Plastic forks and spoons to follow. Only muslims will be allowed knives in order to accomplish ritual sacrifice, which of course will include use of knives and stones in other Sharia practices such as cutting of limbs, and of course for mutilating the genitals of young muslim women. Tough to do with a plastic knife without a serrated edge.

Althought not directly "OT", it is a question about about immigration (more precisely laws and regulations). If that guy had been thrown in jail while he waited deportation to Italy one woman and her son would still be alive.

And yes, the "knife ban" is textbook example of how socialists (very large majority of Sweden) think.

The London you describe is totally different to the one I know and work in every day, not in just one part, my job takes me all over..

Yes, there are areas where the majority are immigrants or the descendants of immigrants, but there are more where the majority are what is classified in the census as White British.

There are a large number of immigrants working in the NHS; from senior consultants through nurses to cleaners and porters. Just as well; the NHS would collapse without them! There are simply not enough British people training and entering the caring professions to replace those leaving through retirement etc., let alone cope with the increasing demand from an aging (mainly White British) population.

As for whether the patients are mainly immigrants or not; that obviously depends on the local population served by the hospital. But how do you know that most of them are immigrants? Did you visit every single ward to check on each and every patients ethnicity? If you did, how many hospitals and different localities did you include in your survey?

Your experience of entering the UK is very different to mine. Whenever I have done so; through LHR, Dover, via Eurostar etc., many, and sometimes all, of the immigration and customs officers have been white.

I haven't visited a UKVI PEO for some years, so can't comment on the ethnicity of their current staff.

Not that it matters.

Whatever a persons job, what does their colour and race have to do with anything? The important thing is whether or not they do their job properly. Only a racist would think a persons race and/or colour disqualified them from any job.

Obviously, language could be a disqualification; but anyone from outside the EEA applying to settle or work in the UK has to pass English tests.

I repeat: the overwhelming majority of immigrants, and their descendants, living in the UK, regardless of their ethnicity, country of origin or religion, have absolutely no desire to change British culture or the British way of life in any way.

Probably true but they aren't actually keen on adopting british culture either.

Laws do not stop most of the people from doing something... what stops them is their idea of what is "morally right" or not.

I don't think you could be more naïve if you tried.

The prospect of being caught and punished stops most people doing something illegal.

If people prioritized their morals, there'd be far less call for a thread like this.

Delusional is a fitting word for you.

I see you chose to ignore and edit out my second point. Decriminalization makes sex workers more safe. If you are concerned about 'protecting young Thai girls', you should be supporting less criminalization, not more.

I ignored your second 'point' because it was drivel. Does the fact that it's a crime to sleep with underage girls put more underage girls in danger?

So now you are shifting the argument to underage girls? We are talking about adults who have the right to make their own decisions. Adults who also should have the freedom to seek help from law enforcement when they are a victim of a crime.

Decriminalization makes sex workers safer, and also frees up law enforcement resources to combat other more serious crimes, like the abuse of underage girls.

Calling it drivel does not make it less true.

I'm not shifting the argument anywhere.

The underage point was meant as an example of how criminalizing something doesn't place those protected by that criminalization in greater danger.

By your ridiculous logic, decriminalizing driving under the influence would result in fewer DUIs

Laws do not stop most of the people from doing something... what stops them is their idea of what is "morally right" or not.

There is no European dowry, or none that i know about. Unless my ex paid my dad under the table!!! But then my dad paid for the wedding....

Men don't buy brides here, nor do they have to. They woo them and get their goolies kicked in if they are rude or out of place.

My parents put us in two single beds for 3 years, when we were married the beds were pushed together!!! Even though we lived together and actually slept in a big bed.

My ex was ten years older than me, which was accepted. I don't think it would have been accepted if i brought a man home who was my Dad's age. 35 years older than me.

Why do you judge another culture by your culture? Your culture is "Right"? Then go back to it. You are not in Kansas anymore or Germany. If there are no European dowries now there were in the past. In fact princesses got married (sold?) off to improve the financial position of the family. At what, maybe 13,14, 15 or 16 years old and to older men? Thailand is a poor country that and most people do not have the advantages that you have/had. Think of it as Europe many years ago. Don't judge what goes on by rich European standards of 2015.

That's not really a good argument for "to be or not to be". Because with that kind of argumentation you could say "oh it's fine to own people, we used to do that in the west and nation X is still so far behind us that they can continue with it".

It is very simple, most cultures in the world are vastly inferior to the so called "western cultures" either entirely or partly. I mean, surely you agree that mutilating children because of a tradition is abhorrent? Or why not cultures where they sell their daughters to the highest bidder? No where in the world are girls and boys as equal as they are in the west. Can you actually believe that there are still nations in the world that think it's not rape if you have sex with your wife and she doesn't want to have sex?

More nonsense.

What consent? If a girl works in a sex establishment, she often doesn't have the right to say no.

The choice is taken away by a mamasan who says that the customer can take her and that's it

The men you're defending specifically patronize these establishments because they know the girl can't refuse as long as he doesn't abuse her

You have no idea what you are talking about. Do you use this[1] on your shoes because tying shoe laces is too hard?

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hook_and_loop_fastener

My stepdaughter is a girl, not a toy or someone else's private property.

If she would fall in love with a young Farang man, then my gf's family would check if he is able and willing to pay for her education. If the Farang comes up with some silly remarks like "a Thai girl doesn't need education" he'll better run like hell.

What? Why would he have to pay for her education and not the family? This kind of archaic thinking is revolting, it's not far from viewing their daughter to be just that... property to be sold to the highest bidder.

No. It's commitment.

The "highest bidder" could be the first one to default.

I've heard this many times here. Farang promises his house and land to a Thai family, but if you look close enough then his mother or ex-wife (or a bank) has her thumb on it, so the rich Farang and high bidder actually owns nothing. Guess Thais prefer reliability to scam bids.

So anyone who agrees to pay her education get to have sex with her? Because quite frankly that's what it sounds like. I assume that the thai family would also give dowry to the MAN as that is something we used to do in Europe. Surely he is worth a few million baht if he has university degree and so on*? Or is it a one-way street (in the thai direction) like usually when it comes to thai-farang relationships?

*i would say even 10 million if he studied here: http://www.topuniversities.com/universities/ruprecht-karls-universitaet-heidelberg/undergrad

My stepdaughter is a girl, not a toy or someone else's private property.

If she would fall in love with a young Farang man, then my gf's family would check if he is able and willing to pay for her education. If the Farang comes up with some silly remarks like "a Thai girl doesn't need education" he'll better run like hell.

What? Why would he have to pay for her education and not the family? This kind of archaic thinking is revolting, it's not far from viewing their daughter to be just that... property to be sold to the highest bidder.

do you think anybody cares about your (or my) thoughts or what we find repugnant?

No I don't but, then again, I wouldn't expect turkeys to vote for Thanksgiving either.

If old foreign men want to defile young Thai girls under 22, then the law allows them to do so when they are as young as 15 (if the man plans to marry her and didn't meet her in a bar/brothel)

At what point does one ask what motivation a 60 year old could have for marrying a 15 year old?

Beyond, that is, satisfying filthy fantasies about being called "Daddy" during the act and knowing she's not had enough good sex against which to compare his huffing and wheezing performance?

This is not self-righteousness. Back in their home countries, 60 year old men having sexual relationships with 17 year olds would draw heavy condemnation and deservedly so. Most of that criticism would come from their own age group so they can't claim that this is about ageism.

It is my sincerest hope that, as this country develops further, there is a crackdown on the sex trade in general and the far more visible foreigner-oriented segment in particular.

Beyond that, I wouldn't be sad to see implementation of a Cambodia style ban on elderly foreign men marrying young local girls.

I live in hope

No, you live in la-la-land with your moralizing.

You're not fooling anyone disguising the "right to exploit others" as "freedom".

Sorry but, in this thread, the moral high ground is already covered.

You are trying to take away what you call "freedom" from other people.

Should Thailand enact laws that make it illegal for a foreign male over the age of 50 to have sexual relations with any Thai female under the age of 22?

I think it should.

do you think anybody cares about your (or my) thoughts or what we find repugnant?

No I don't but, then again, I wouldn't expect turkeys to vote for Thanksgiving either.

If old foreign men want to defile young Thai girls under 22, then the law allows them to do so when they are as young as 15 (if the man plans to marry her and didn't meet her in a bar/brothel)

At what point does one ask what motivation a 60 year old could have for marrying a 15 year old?

Beyond, that is, satisfying filthy fantasies about being called "Daddy" during the act and knowing she's not had enough good sex against which to compare his huffing and wheezing performance?

This is not self-righteousness. Back in their home countries, 60 year old men having sexual relationships with 17 year olds would draw heavy condemnation and deservedly so. Most of that criticism would come from their own age group so they can't claim that this is about ageism.

It is my sincerest hope that, as this country develops further, there is a crackdown on the sex trade in general and the far more visible foreigner-oriented segment in particular.

Beyond that, I wouldn't be sad to see implementation of a Cambodia style ban on elderly foreign men marrying young local girls.

I live in hope

No, you live in la-la-land with your moralizing.