richard_smith237

Are you suggesting that all the Thai's you have spoken to would not like.... - Access to better education - Free access to potable water - Improved Safety standards (generally and road safety) - Reduction in Corruption - Improved social Mobility - Social Welfare Systems in place etc, etc...

Thailands infidelity stats have been discussed here a few times over the years...

There's always one....

There's always the Philippines, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam...

I wonder if most responders misunderstand that Op... ... I don't think it means that Thailand should 'turn into' Japan or South Korea, but perhaps he means that social mobility, basic human rights such as universal access to potable water, quality education, improved socio-economics, etc... Thailand doesn't need to lose its charm to develop... it doesn't need to be like Japan or Korea to have developed...

Maybe he doesn't like to see 5 year olds drowning in village ponds every year.. MoPH: From 2014 to 2023, Thailand reported 36,503 drowning deaths, with 6,693 of these being children under 15 - drowning is the leading cause of death in Children. Road fatalities is another major issue. Some people care about Thailand and these issues... 'sodding' off to Japan or South Korea won't help solve needless deaths - the Ops discussion point is valid. Access to drinking water is another valid point. Another facet to this discussion is basic human rights standards... Ironically, The United Nations General Assembly has periodically voted on resolutions affirming the right to food as a basic human right. In these votes, the United States and Israel have consistently opposed such resolutions. Freedom House's "Freedom in the World 2024" report categorises Thailand as "Partly Free," assigning a score of 36 out of 100. As a comparison: ... France: 89 / Free ... United Kingdom: 93 / Free ... United States: 83 / Free ... Malaysia: 53 / Partly Free ... Thailand: 36 / Partly Free ... Cambodia: 23 / Not Free ... Vietnam: 19 / Not Free ... Myanmar: 8 / Not Free While clearly not as poor on the human rights scale as other neighbouring countries, this shows how much room for improvement there is... So, while the mongers may consider development not ideal for themselves, fearing 'access to cheap sex and happy endings' may diminish, the reality is that its better for the Thai's.... and that can only be a good thing for them.

I'm not sure his concern is with change... but with evolution or lack thereof. Some of the points the Op makes are quite valid and the subject of conversations I have with many of my Thai friends. The key issues are: - Attitudes towards Safety (particularly road safety) - Corruption - Political Nepotism I've spent my adult life here and have been here nearly 3 decades - I don't think its wrong at all to hope that a country we love evolves to rid itself of some of the issues which blight it. That doesn't mean 'we' wish to change Thailand, but we understand that many Thai's we speak with identify the same flaws and also wish for the same area's evolution. Thailand could still maintain its charm and reduce road fatalities and corruption.

I've had similar issues with Grab food delivery (in Bangkok) - but once the order is accepted, it can't be cancelled. Son and I waited for over an hour for a Burger... nothing I could do about it, other than complain. I couldn't cancel. Another one was Grab Mart (ordered Ibuprofen gel) - then saw that it was going to take over an hour for delivery and delivery itself was something like 400 baht because it was from a Pharmacy on the other side of Bangkok - No way I wanted, that so immediately tried to cancel but could not... ... the delivery never turned up... The rider clearly just pocketing the 400 baht delivery charge - so I had to run a complaint and get a refund from Grab....

A mistake of war... The IDF are of course responsible. But, its understandable that such a 'mistake' has been made. Its not proven that there were any Hamas terrorist amongst the dead, neither is it proven there were not. It would seem they were covering their tracks, at least 'some' of the deal were real Paramedics - I suspect it was this the IDF attempted to hide, perhaps due to the inexperience of a younger crew and knowing that many will blame them for such an error. Agreed - they also need to 'name their dead' and confirm that all of them were not Hamas terrorist - this also needs outside verification which is extremely difficult to do. Then there is the possibility that Hamas terrorists may actually be masquerading as Paramedics. All part of the smoke and mirrors of warfare - nothing is clear cut as onlookers want it to be so we can draw our conclusions without ambiguity.

Another aspect is that this guy had his own truck so is clearly living here. With the increase in 'working from home' and online workers, digital nomads, etc... and increases in the cost of living in the West... Is Thailand attracting more of the 'wrong sort' who come here to live, those who don't hold reliable and stable work, which itself might be a measure of the type of character coming here.....

Perhaps the increase is new... But also Tourism arrivals have tripled over that time.... 2010 International tourist arrivals: 15.93 million 2024 International tourist arrivals: 35 million+ With 3x the tourism arrivals, we are getting 3x the idiots or is it more, and are we seeing 3x the 'wrong doing' by idiot tourists ? ... i.e. is the increase in issues proportionate to the increase in tourism. Though, I do see a pattern in the news - 'flavour of the month' so to speak and the news seems to taken on the idea that 'foreign misbehaviour' attracts readership, thus its a good recipe for the news - The Thai media loves a story about a foreigner misbehaving knowing the readership will lap it up... Another example is the common reporting on overstayers here... We dont see such reporting in France, the UK, Australia etc... the 'popular' stories 'repeated' over there are the Immigrant issue or any form of overzealous policing response etc .... other 'popular' stories seem 'repeated' - just to different patterns....

At 3:30am…. No report that the driver was breathalyzed for alcohol…. That would be the primary assumption for cause of an ‘incident’ at that time. Was a DUI test simply not reported or was it not carried out at all ???

If it were a foreigner we’d have the forum delusional bigots piping up quoting 4 other events this week of foreigner wrong doing…. With the usual follow up “nice people the Thai’s”… I’m sure the Thai apologists will be silent in this thread as it doesn’t fit their bias narrative. This story along with others simply highlights how evil ‘some’ people can be…. …. Wrongdoing and nastiness exists in all nationalities, fortunately in all nationalities such behavior is extremely rare & this is not an example to be taken as a generalization but an extreme outlier of nastiness from one Thai person. I hope they throw the book at this evil character…

The Israel-Palestine conflict has seen several proposals for a two-state solution over the decades. The idea generally envisions a sovereign State of Israel alongside a sovereign State of Palestine, but the proposals have varied greatly in terms of borders, security, refugees, and the status of Jerusalem. Below is a summary of the most significant offers and rejections - The rejections have mainly been from the Arab side. 1947 – UN Partition Plan (Resolution 181) Offered by: United Nations Accepted by: Jewish leadership Rejected by: Arab states and Palestinian Arab leadership Details: Proposed partition of British Mandate Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, with Jerusalem under international control. Outcome: Arabs rejected the plan; war broke out in 1948 following Israel’s declaration of independence. 1993 – Oslo Accords Offered by: Negotiated between Israel (PM Rabin) and the PLO (Yasser Arafat) Accepted by: Both parties Details: Set up a framework for limited Palestinian self-governance and a process towards a permanent solution. Outcome: Partial implementation, but no final status agreement; peace process stalled amid violence and mutual distrust. 2000 – Camp David Summit Offered by: Israel (PM Ehud Barak) with US mediation (President Clinton) Rejected by: Yasser Arafat (PLO) Details: Included a Palestinian state in Gaza and most of the West Bank, shared Jerusalem, and land swaps. Arafat's Concerns: No full control over East Jerusalem, inadequate land swap, and no right of return for refugees. Outcome: Talks failed; Second Intifada began shortly after. 2001 – Taba Talks Offered by: Israel and PLO (continued negotiations) Accepted in principle by both, but negotiations were cut short Details: Came closer to agreement than Camp David. Both sides acknowledged progress, but Israeli elections and political changes ended the talks. 2008 – Olmert Offer Offered by: Israeli PM Ehud Olmert Not formally accepted or rejected by: Mahmoud Abbas (PA President) Details: Offered ~94% of the West Bank, land swaps, a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem, and international administration of holy sites. Abbas's Reason for Delay: Wanted clarifications and maps, political concerns, and internal division. Outcome: No formal response; talks collapsed with Olmert leaving office. 2020 – Trump Peace Plan ("Deal of the Century") Offered by: US (Trump administration) Accepted by: Israel Rejected by: Palestinians Details: Proposed limited Palestinian statehood with Israeli control over security, settlements, and Jerusalem.

Come on... Do you ever expect that any of these victims would be named as Hamas targets by the Palestinians behind whom Hamas hide ? Did the IDF target a bakery, hospital and refugee camp blindly ? Always more to the story than the over simplification we are fed. IDF are of course barbaric in their response and this is condemned, they are deserving of our scorn for the manner in which they carry out their attacks... But this is a very large grey issue, for Hamas are clearly hiding amongst, using human shields - its a crying shame that they are using innocent Palestinians as human shields and its a crying shame that the IDF seem to have little concern for collateral lives lost. This is extremely dirty warfare from both sides - but it could be stopped IF Hamas gave up their arms and hostages. "No peace with Israel, No negotiation with Israel, No recognition of Israel."

I wouldn't 'cling onto' any such wording... It could mean a 1000cc Ducati - it could be a 150cc CBR..... the comment is very subjective but authors may use it to add further colour to a report. Its the same as the 'big bike' argument that often pops up here.

Agreed... I'm just being daft enough to respond to the baiting of an idiot... My first post on this thread approaches the issue with what I think is a balanced outlook. .... Highlighting that van drivers are known for reckless driving, I've been driving here for over 20 years and the van drivers are notorious... ... Then also highlighting that the video made it clear the foreigner escalated the incident firstly to a verbal conflict, then escalating further to violence for which there is no excuse at all...

Wrong... IF there were no video, my comments would have involved questioned what actually happend, from the perspective of 'both sides'... as the story quotes the victim, but not the foreigner... And make no mistake Malky... The only bigot here is you - its clear you lack the intelligence to critically evaluate balance due to your unhinged bias against foreigners... That’s a ridiculous comment - you speak as though every Thai person is our gracious host and a shining example of virtue. That kind of naïve idealism is just nonsense. Thais, like people from any country, are individuals. Some are kind and decent, others are far from it. Just like the Westerners living here. Yes, it’s appalling when some Westerners speak to Thais with arrogance or condescension. But it’s equally appalling when some Thais treat foreigners with the same disdain. That’s the reality - but it’s a balance you consistently fail to acknowledge. Your inability to see beyond a one-sided narrative shows a complete lack of critical thinking. You seem incapable of accepting that some Thais can be awful, just as not all foreigners here can be awful. Most of us happily assimilate, respect the culture, and live their lives peacefully amongst the community as equals. Your commentary is so entrenched in a singular, myopic worldview that it loses all credibility and veers into delusion. You consistently make sweeping generalisations based on isolated incidents - and that’s where your argument falls apart. It’s a textbook display of poor critical thinking, with your bias on full, unapologetic display. You parade it around like some polished turd, rolled in glitter and presented as if it were a nugget of profound insight - when in reality, it’s nothing more than shallow, reactionary nonsense dressed up as observation. Your unwillingness - or perhaps inability - to differentiate between anecdote and pattern is what truly undermines any credibility your argument might have had.

“People are asking for verifiable proof / evidence etc.. which is impossible when they can turn around and simply say the IDF was lying.” Well apart from the video footage recovered from the phone of a paramedic gunned down and dumped in a shallow grave by the IDF and the actual statements made by the IDF which are contradicted by that video evidence. The statement ‘The IDF lied’ is a statement of fact. Agreed... But was there a Hamas member in the ambulance ? .. there is no verifiable evidence of that - and this is also a key point. IMO this is a potentially a 'heat of battle error in an urban environment'.... the IDF lied about the events afterwards telling a 'white-washed polished version'... Of course, they have to do this... I'm quite sure every report from 'such lines' (from any military) is polished - the true dirtiness of war is not fit for the viewing of those who pass judgement from their sofa's having never faced violence on their doorstep. So the underlying question is perhaps: - Did the IDF know this was nothing more than a Red Crescent Ambulance and open fired deliberately murdering innocents ???? Or - Was this a heat of battle mistake and the IDF thought those in the Ambulance were a threat ??? - Were some of those in the ambulance an actual threat and were hiding behind human shields ? So.. IDF lied... I understand why they might do so, war is dirty....

Further comments highliting your goal isn’t honest discussion but provocation by an adolescent mind trying to stir the pot for attention.... at your age a boomer should know better. You chose a very poor example: gun crime is rife amongst Thai's... you conveniently ignore facts with your ridiculously delusional bias.

Agreed... It is always said - there are three sides to a story... When we only get presented with one side of a story, we are left with nothing speculation and discussion surrounding that angle... Many of us are accused of 'whataboutery' which is created by the void of one sided or one half of a story.... ... Often what is left out of a report is as important as what is reported.

It would be an an interesting ’factual study’… to proportionately identify arrest based on nationally & population… i.e. xx arrests per 100,000 British visitors etc We can’t go off news reports alone as there is a heavy influence of bias towards ‘western readership’… along with the prevailing attitude & sentiment at the time which ebbs and flows with the prevailing rhetoric & biases which self feed. Ignoring neighboring countries & migrant laborers… If I’m not mistaken the Chinese top the arrest charts in Thailand …. But that’s not unexpected as they are here in far greater numbers than other nationality’s, thus if we wish to achieve a realistic comparison it’s important to source & handle any data intelligently…

Fair enough - those were my first thoughts & I openly accepted my bias against these van drivers - which I immediately corrected after watching the video…. The difference between you and I is that I can accept that through experience & over two decades of living (and driving) here I have developed some bias which through balance I’m aware of & can readily keep in check when observing & dealing with each situation on its individual merit. Conversely, you are so locked into the ‘farang always wrong narrative’ that you have no intellectual balance or any critical thought process… In this example it’s clear the foreigner was in the wrong for stopping, getting out of his car, escalating to confrontation & violence…. Very wrong. What someone like you will not accept is the possibility of the van driver pulling off a maneuver reckless or dangerous enough to trigger the incident in the first place…. Or perhaps as others have pointed out… roid-rage & the foreigner is simply an unhinged mental case looking for a problem at every perceived slight… Nevertheless - I was prepared to walk back my initial thoughts very quickly after watching the video - whatever happened in that buildup - the foreigner is a nutter & I hope he’s dealt with.

Or maybe the news is looking for events that may not have been newsworthy in recent years. I don’t think there is an increasing number of ppl (foreigners going nuts). With videophones & social media there is simply far greater access to the information which of course is perfect for forum discussion. Then there is the ‘reporting contagion’ effect where news / information follows patterns…. … next week we will have the usual news of Songkran traffic Jams, deaths, LBs getting their norks out… bringing Thailand into disrepute etc… before another bus rolls down a ravine & a speedboat full of tourists flips… … If a Brit or a Swiss man act out - perfect for more news & forum debate…. It’s not happening more, we’re just seeing it more I think…

There were two vans…. According to the article. The foreigner in the pickup stopped in front of the van & got out to confront the driver (maybe to compliment his considerate driving style)…. Another van driver saw what was happening & pulled in front of the pickup… we see the action from the rear-cam of the second van. What we do not see is the driving behavior of both the pickup or the van driver before the on foot confrontation evolved. Nevertheless - it looks clear the foreigner escalated this…. Hopefully he’s be charged & dealt with exactly as a Thai would under similar circumstances.