Hornyskunk

Of course, you're from Texas. That's the kind of nonsense Texans favor. Completely devoid of rationality. A faith-based approach to social problems like the extraordinarily high rate of gun crime in the US. Just deny facts that you don't like, such as the correlation of gun ownership in the US (highest in the world) with violent crime (also highest in the world.) Don't let that bother you if owning guns feels good. Bet you love capital punishment, too.

Lincoln is the source of this problem in American life. He should just have let the South go.

There's nothing faith-based or irrational about it. Yes, the US has the highest rate of gun ownership in the world and one of the highest murder rates. However, when comparing these two rates across all countries, there is no statistically significant correlation between gun ownership and homicide rates.

Between developed countries, there is a correllation. But among all countries, there is actually a slight correlation between higher gun ownership rates and lower homicide rates. The problem with all of these analyses, however, is that gun ownership and homicide are poorly measured across countries.

You can read all about it here:

http://crimepreventionresearchcenter.org/2014/03/comparing-murder-rates-across-countries/

Damn... this post could be a metaphor for the whole of Thailand.

All it needs is some photoshopped construction workers with their heads buried ass deep in the dirt.

As a recent master's graduate, I really wanted to help this student by taking her survey. However, I won't complete it because it does not allow for nonresponses. The answer choices for some questions do not reflect my opinions and I cannot skip them.

As a Texan, I advocate for guns. Like many Texans, I believe that the real problem with gun-related crimes are laws that prohibit carrying and regulations/taxes that discourage gun ownership. It is my view that if every citizen were required or encouraged to carry a gun at all times, the rights and privacies of the people would be collectively ensured and the trouble-makers would be necessarily suicidal.

The main argument against gun ownership is that people with access to guns will kill each other with guns. This is true. However, people without access to guns will still kill each other anyway.

IMA_FARANG is actually spot on in his comparison between population density and murder. State-by-state, population density is closely correlated with murder rate; I think the major exceptions are Nevada and New Mexico. Keep in mind that murder rate is calculated as murders divided by population, which means that there is a strong correlation in the US that people living in more population-dense states are more inclined to kill each other.

On the other hand, gun ownership rates are not strongly correllated with murder rates. The major reason for this is that there are too many outlier states. States with extremely low rates of gun ownership like California, New York and Maryland actually have moderate to high murder rates. States with extremely high rates of gun ownership, like Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas, have extremely low murder rates. Contrary to popular belief, Texas does not have a high rate of gun ownership compared to other US states, but it does have a high murder rate.

Of course, correllation does not equal causation, but hardly anyone cares about that little detail anymore.

I often wonder at news from around the world and from other parts of the US.
If somebody just walks into a church, theater, school, etc. and just starts shooting, why the F*** does nobody shoot back?

I feel very unsafe in Thailand not being able to buy a gun.

Home is where your rump rests.

Here's a strange and funny thing that happened to me recently...

Every morning I catch a taxi to work. Usually I tell the driver the street, he nods and we don't say anything to each other for the rest of the 30 minutes to an hour it takes to get there. Except one morning, after getting into a taxi...

"You American?"

"Yes and you're Thai?"

"No! I am Americaaannnnn. American Army."

I laugh. "Yeah? For how long?"

"Many years. I was first Thai army, then American Army. I was in Vietnam War. You know Vietnam War? Very bad war... I meet US president. You know Nixon president? I secret service to him."

I laugh again. "You were in the Vietnam War?"

"Yes"

"You were in the secret service for Nixon?"

"Yes"

Several minutes passed in which I had no idea what to make of this scrawny, crazy old man that claimed to be secret service for Nixon.

"How did that happen?"

"Ohhhh... I was war champion. You know muay thai? I am champion muay thai boxer. I win millions of baht. Other guys, they come from village and they fighting and get one thousand baht, you know, in 1960s. I was champion, undefeated, got millions of baht. I give all to president Nixon and tell him 'let me be secret service to you!' and then I make secret service."

At this point I can't stop laughing. This is the best taxi driver I've ever had. Sure he was batshit crazy, but at least he was driving fast, cutting through the alleys and entertaining.

"I bet I could beat you."

"Ha! Nobody beat me! I have..." He let go of the wheel at 80km/h and moved his hands around his waist.

"A belt?"

"Yes! Nobody take from me! You no try."

Another several minutes passed while we were stuck at a train crossing in which he let me know that prostitutes are bad and to not get on a tuk-tuk because they are all gangsters.

"But weren't you in the Army?"

"Yes."

"So how were you also a muay thai champion and a secret service agent?"

"Yes.. both..." He started counting on his fingers, "Thai army, American army, air force, uh... arai.... marine, muay thai champion, secret service... all same time. I go to US to secret service to president Nixon."

"Ah.. that makes sense (like hell it did). You know, my dad was in the air force intelligence, but many years after Nixon..."

"I fly jet, you know jet? I fly the jet in air force."

"Did you kill anyone?"

"Oh yaaaaa.... many communist. I fly jet to communist village and BOOM kill all. You know, communist try to kill president Nixon, but I save him. In Vietnam. That's why I am American."

"Wow. You saved president Nixon from the communists and he made you an American?"

"Yes."

"You know, a lot of people might not thank you for that."

He didn't seem to catch that. "I stay in America many years. Secret service. Have American girlfriend."

For the rest of the ride, we play a game of pointing out ladies with fine asses wearing sarongs. They are actually pretty rare in downtown Bangkok.

Once we got to the road, he correctly guessed where I worked on the first try. I was shocked, as there are a number of other organizations which he could have named.

"How did you know where I work?"

"I told you. I am secret service. I see you before."

I paid and even tipped the guy but never saw him again.

Thanks for all the useful replies!

My girlfriend and I both work full-time so we don't have much time together, but this weekend we'll compare packages from True, ToT and make some calls to see if the building can get AIS fiber.

This is completely off-topic, but does anyone know how to get a True black card? I think its based on spending some amount per month with True. It would sure make the girlfriend and her sister happy to not have to fight over one card.

I am a satisifed user of ToT fibre (30/3), but neither I live in Bangkok nor do I use torrents.

Do you mind me asking how much you pay for this? I can use a vpn service to get around torrent throttling/blocking.

The latency suggests that I won't be able to game with friends back home, but I haven't been able to do that since coming to Thailand anyway. According to the packet loss and bandwidth, though, it should be ok for me to torrent and stream from the US, which is probably more important.

Howdy y'all

I'm looking for advice on what internet package to purchase for a new condo. I've finally got decent contracts after 6 months in a studio apartment and am moving into my new condo in a little more than a week.

If you're knowledgeable on the subject, please advise. I'd like to spend less than 2000 baht per month, if possible, but would pay more for quality. Thanks in advance!

What I'm looking for:

- Fiber/cable; something more reliable than DSL for PC gaming during peak hours and bad weather

- High bandwidth; enough for up to 8 devices simultaneously

- High speed; downloading > 16mbit/s, uploading > 4mbit/s

- Does not block or limit torrent traffic

- Fewer connections to reach the US is desirable; I might subscribe to a vpn service provider

Some basic facts:

- My dark-haired dictionary translated that most other tenants use True

- I know for certain that True and ToT service the condo; uncertain on other ISPs

- The building is a high-rise near downtown Bangkok built within the last 2 years

Somebody tried a Non-O there ?

I recall that the Thai embassy in Yangon does process non-o visa applications, but of course I don't have experience getting one. I think they do all types of visas, including education and non-immigrant visas. I imagine that the process would be the same but with a higher fee.

That is correct. The e-visa receipt is good to use for 90 days but once it is used for a stamp it only allows a 28-day stay in Myanmar. I'm on a taxi going home but I will update the OP later and add some details like the days of the week and the fact that the flight was from Bangkok. Good catch!

Anyone know why I can't edit my own posts? There is no edit button anywhere on the page.

That is correct. The e-visa receipt is good to use for 90 days but once it is used for a stamp it only allows a 28-day stay in Myanmar. I'm on a taxi going home but I will update the OP later and add some details like the days of the week and the fact that the flight was from Bangkok. Good catch!