richard_smith237

I'm not so sure about that... Every funeral I've been to, loved ones are besides themselves with grief... This idea that 'Buddhism and culture" allows for this idea that this life is not 'important' as they will be reborn is a falsification. - No one wants to die. - No one is ok with their loved ones dying. - Those who lose loves ones are grief stricken. The 'idea' that Thai's live, ride and drive with reckless disregard because there's a next life is a complete barstool myth... In my experience - everyday Thai's take about as much solace of the possibility of an afterlife / next life as most 'supposed Christians' do in the west - there's a mild comfort factor in the possibility, but thats about it...

How many times do think these very same kids, 3 up on a motorcycle, without helmets passed policemen ??? How many times have YOU @Jim Blue sat in your car, or on your bike and watched 3 kids (all very young, looking younger than 15) sat 3 up on a motorcycle, not helmet in site, sat next to a Police Box at the traffic lights ? How many times have YOU @Jim Blue watched 3 kids (or more), all clearly under 15, crammed on a motorcycle, no helmets departing a school past the very policemen directing traffic ? - The reason @Jim Blue I target you in this response is not to start an argument, but to highlight that it is you who argued "Grow up" to someone who pointed the finger at the absense of effective policing... When it is the very absense of "growing up" that is the root-cause of so many meaningless and avoidable deaths of Thailands children (and lots of adults too)..... When a child, without a helmet rides a motorcycle past a Policeman who does nothing - that policeman is complicit in any accident that child has. Imagine, at 14 riding a motorcycle past the police without a helemet in the UK, the US, France, Australia... any country that has measurably better road fatality statistics than Thailand and we know with certainty that that child will be stopped very quickly, their bike will be confiscated, their parents fined..... Sorry to come down hard on you with this Jim Blue - but the utter apathy of policing here that is at the very birth of such issues and complicit in so any deaths through sheer lazy negligence.

100% agree... And how many times did these 3x 14 year old boys ride past policemen, 3 up on a motorcycle, all without helmets... And.... how many times did all 3 sets of parents see them doing this ??? BUT... then there is the point - would another two years have made any difference, would they be doing the same thing at 16 years old ???.... (riding in that manner I mean), if they were riding legally, two on the bike, both with helmets, would they still pull off such manoeuvres as cutting across and oncoming car at speed and colliding head on ? Given Thailands stats and the all too common stories we read on here (which are the tip of the iceberg) the answer is a very firm 'yes'... even when legal, licensed, with a helmet the manoeuvres undertaken often completely defy self-preservation. So sad that a family have lost their son, that friends have lost a close mate, and that they themselves may never recover to full health.... and why ??? I see two reasons (but no doubt we'll get a thesis from a favourite road safety pedant). - A complete absense of road / traffic policing - A complete absense of road safety training

Does it make a difference? No. Yes - from the perspective of widening the search to areas outside of Thailand - checking exit records etc

Good post Its not though is it... The lad has disappeared for 3 weeks...

My nephew is a certified pilot - he's Ginger and convinced he's going to get laid.... There... that puts all the ridiculous discussion into perspective... you have a video of 19 pilots and then go on to state you suspect most Pilots are not flat-earthers for obvious psychological reasons, group effect, peer pressure.... Your delusion is well beyond the realm of intelligent debate, even at this utterly ridiculous level... apologies if that is impolite, however, the narative circling back to the preposterous is boresome - I just can keep on going entertaining the lunacy.

Are these individuals actually commercial airline pilots? I’d be seriously concerned about boarding a plane knowing the pilot holds such beliefs. A fundamental misunderstanding of basic scientific principles raises doubts about their ability to think critically—an essential skill when operating a complex aircraft, especially in an emergency. I assume you opted for a boat to Thailand for similar reasons, that contradict basic scientific principles as you understand them.

Au contraire... Plane are only verifiable by those who have been on them... For anyone else they something with wings that disappear out of sight... An extreme example, yes, but... Your 'belief' is just as profound, arguing that high altitude pilots, astronauts, NASA, too numerous physicists to mention are all in on some sort of conspiracy or all mistaken...

Sen’s 4K Video Cameras on the ISS This is a 4k Camera pointed straight down at earth capturing live footage... I'm quite certain you will find a technicality to suggest that this isn't the proof you were looking for.

I'm surprised that was legal anywhere in Europe.... But from a practical point of view, I'm assuming his left leg is more functional than his right, and his right gets in the way, when trying to use the accelerator. Hand held seems the only common sense way to go - that photo looks lethal...

As mentioned, entering debate with a heliocentric denier enters the realms of preposterousness, ultimately 'just time wasting'... Its akin to arguing with someone who insists that planes cannot fly, while cruising at 35,000 feet. The very premise is absurd. You demand more than "sporadic accounts".... which, incidentally, are not evasive but simply rare. Rare in the same way it would be uncommon to haul a 100-tonne weight to the edge of the atmosphere and drop it, merely to demonstrate gravitational pull - the reasons are obviously cost and more than that the very common sense of 'there's just no point' or need to prove the obvious'... At a certain point, the discussion descends into sheer absurdity, like disputing the existence of oxygen while effortlessly inhaling it.

True I don't... I see the arguments online... as if its turning into a genuine 'them and us' cyclists vs the motorists arguement anytime there is a road user... But, the reality is we here the 'loudest voices' at the extremes of these issues - in reality, most cyclists also drive, and a lot of drivers cycle, they are respectful of each other... .... but that majority middle ground is simply completely non-newsworthy... Where I am (when I'm the UK) I see plenty of cyclists out in the summer, and they are respectful of faster road traffic trying to get around them, the traffic going around them also respectful... Of course, we see the 'activists' with cameras looking to inflame and agitate, wanting their 'rant' and x number of views on Facebook and TikTok.... Social media has fuelled an issue and created activists out of people just getting out and about.... its ridiculous. But in Thailand its quite different - there are a lot of outrageous incidents where a whole 'pelaton' of friends out for an early ride are taken out by a drunk driver... We see stories here that we don't read in the UK... Cyclists getting mown down (like this story), father and son (on a motorcycle) mow down by a speeding driver (yesterday), busses rolling down ravines... ... There's just a lot more Chaos here... and when nothing happens it seems more like luck than anything else where as in the UK there stronger legal systems in place to ensure people being more careful of others... I still think I'd rather be riding in the UK... but I'd do so without disregard to other motorists that some cyclists appear to show when trying to 'prove' their rights to the road.

Riding in the city - I found the motorcyclist to be lethal, they way they'd cut you up across your front wheels - lethal... and then there were the Box vans... Otherwise I found lorries, busses, cars, taxis etc to be fairly respectful of the space they gave me... ... But... I used to ride to and from football - it was a good warm up, but really, the motorcyclists made it just too dangerous... as if they consider you worthless and it doesn't matter if they cut you up or not... quite angering an times.... Out in the countryside where its much quieter would be far nicer of course - and I'd probably ride more... but in Bangkok, 100% no.

Not quite - that outlier is someone of a statistical misnomer - there are far more pedestrians than there are cyclists.... If you were you standardise it to convention at a rate of 100,000... and state.. Rate of 100,000 people - then you might see that cycling is more dangerous than as a padestrian. But, to be more accurate we need to include distance covered - thus for a useable stat it would need to be presented in a per Billion Passenger Killometers format: For the UK that reads: Motorcyclists: 74 fatalities per billion passenger kilometers. Pedestrians: 16 fatalities per billion passenger kilometers. Cyclists: 16 fatalities per billion passenger kilometers. Car occupants: 1-2 fatalities per billion passenger kilometers.statista.com Bus or coach occupants: 2 fatalities per billion passenger kilometers. Thailand just does not collect enough data to establish viable stats - but in the UK, for distance covered per person it shows that cycling is just as dangerous as riding a bicicycle... Given pedestrian crossings here.... but also the number of cyclist deaths etc... I'd guess the numbers for both are higher. I'd love to ride a bicycle more around the city here - but no chance, I've already tried it and it was reckless....

Not on the SkyLane (near the Airport)... full on exercise bike lane. Not on Pak-Kret... and not on Bang Krachao... but on these latter two, bike can't go fast either, its more a leisurely ride than exercise... But the other bike lanes... they end up as car parks...

After experiencing riding a bicycle here - thats the only place I'd ride.... (or with a trail vehicle in a group)... I hope 'authorities' checked the woman's phone usage and also for booze and drugs.

Valid points... I order my coffee from https://coffeeculture.asia/ who seem decent enough (price and quality and I'm very fussy with coffee). Most important think it grind 'consistency' to get a decent extraction.. Then consider what 'type of coffee you want'... - French Press - Mokka Pot - Espresso - Pour Over etc etc... IMO - Mokka Pot is the best for the buck brewing method... I go with a Medium Dark Esspresso ground Arabica Bean.... but thats because it lets more of the solid through and makes a slightly muddier coffee that I like...

An 'extra' accelerator pedal seems exceptionally odd and dangerous.... I'm assuming you mean... your friend wants the 'Accelerator on the left and brake on the right'... i.e. a pedal reversal... Nevertheless, I cant see how this would make a difference, but then again I can't picture his predicament. As Ralph suggests - hand held controls seems far more reliable and not uncommon... perhaps its best to go that route. SIAM NISSIN - looks like the idea solution.

Wasn't that the selfie Malcy posted a while ago ?...

Tragic ???.... is it ?... Surely the death is an awful loss for her family... However, tragic is not the adjective I used... I think this is a perfect example where multiple adjectives can be used... idiotic, careless, stupid, thoughtless.... ... but the self infliction through sheer carelessness is not something I'd consider tragic.... semantics I know... but still - I dont see a tragedy here, I see sheer stupidity at play.

Obvious answer there really... ... there's nothing in it for the police to get involved.... The only time something like this happens is when social media sufficiently snowballs to cause loss of face... then the BiB will argue nothing they can do, the dogs haven't attacked anyone yet (lazy policing) and as its a foreigner, they just force the hand of the local immigration officers to deal with it.... Par for the course - and really, this is why so many 'local issues' seemingly go from Zero to Incendiary in an instant - there is usually a back story thats been ignored for some time.

Well said. IF you (Patong2021) allow your dogs to run free (off leash) on beaches where children play etc... then you are not deserving of any respect that you might otherwise expect to come your way.

I'm quite surprised this 'village justice' has not already been carried out !! The tough guy, black belt Karate, ex SAS, keyboard warrior in me suggests they should have been taken out already.... Would a 22 Round kill them with a headshot ?? - its easy enough to hit a bottle top at 50 meters with one of those (with a decent scope).... though obvious legal reasons prevent this... Just the usual warfarin in a load of meet left on the beach near where the dogs go - painful horrible death I know... But... when needs must.... yes.. every nasty and I don't think I'd have the stomach for that... but I'm surprised others have not taken that route given the news of such occurring else where not irregularly.

Good... This has being going on long enough. Where I'm not usually of the "hangem high deport em" brigade - in this case he's proven that he just does not want to be a 'sociable' part of the society within which he lives..... The dogs should be forcibly removed.... and yes, as he's not followed up after numerous warnings and regulations he's in breach of the law and should be charged accordingly - if that impacts his visa status (from a legal perspective) so be it - he's proven that he doesn't deserve to be around well meaning nice people...

Sir Ranulph Fiennes & Charles Burton (1979-1982) – The Transglobe Expedition - This is the first and only surface circumnavigation of the globe via both poles. - They traveled entirely over land and sea, using boats, sledges, and vehicles. - Route: UK → Sahara → South Africa → Antarctica (South Pole) → Pacific → North America → Arctic (North Pole) → Europe → UK. Steve Fossett (2006) – Solo Flight - The first solo North-South circumnavigation by aircraft. - He flew a specially designed GlobalFlyer aircraft, crossing both poles. Pan Am Flight 50 (1977) Aircraft: Boeing 747SPsps-aviation.com Details: To commemorate Pan American World Airways' 50th anniversary, Flight 50 completed a polar circumnavigation, starting and ending in San Francisco. The journey included stops in London, Cape Town, and Auckland, achieving the feat in 54 hours, 7 minutes, and 12 seconds. TAG Transpolar08 Flight (2008) Details: This mission set a speed record for circumnavigating the Earth via both poles, with an average speed of 822.8 km/h. The route began and ended in Farnborough, England, passing through the North Pole, Whitehorse (Canada), Majuro (Marshall Islands), Christchurch (New Zealand), the South Pole, Punta Arenas (Chile), and Sal (Cape Verde). One More Orbit Mission (2019) Aircraft: Gulfstream G650ERen.wikipedia.org+4reddit.com+4flatearth.ws+4 Details: Led by former NASA astronaut Terry Virts and British aviator Hamish Harding, this mission commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. The team set a new world record for the fastest circumnavigation via both poles, completing the journey in 46 hours, 40 minutes, and 22 seconds, with an average speed of 465 knots (861 km/h). The route started and ended at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, passing over the North Pole, Nur-Sultan (Kazakhstan), Mauritius, the South Pole, and Punta Arenas (Chile). Robert DeLaurentis' Polar Circumnavigation (2019-2020) Aircraft: Turbine Commander 900 ("Citizen of the World")en.wikipedia.org Details: Pilot Robert DeLaurentis completed a polar circumnavigation, flying over both the South and North Poles. His journey began in November 2019 and concluded in August 2020, marking the first use of biofuels over both poles and setting records for distance and speed in a twin-engine turboprop. Again: Debating a heliocentric denier is like arguing with someone who insists the Earth is flat while using GPS, satellites, and weather forecasts, all products of the very science they reject. When one side clings to belief over evidence, reason becomes as futile as explaining gravity to someone who denies they’re standing on the ground.