kwilco

The "deterrent " argument is rather ŵeak one. You need to consider how the law works in Thailand and not the US, which ƁTW, has a really bad road safety record for a developed cou try.

Laos is as bad and going to get worse...check this year's figures for Luang Prabang

Yes, same old cliche. Actually 3 harvests a year are not the rule. Maize has been shown not to have a great contribution. There is a rice lobby trying to minimise their responsibility and deflect attention from their burning. However the big problem arises from when burning takes place and its coincidence with the cool dry season. Rice does most of the harvesting then. The government has fir a long time tried to discourage multiple rice cropping as not only does it increase green house gas emissions at other times of the year, it affects water supplies and damages wildlife in catchment areas. The thing is that burning is not only not necessary it isn't good agricultural practice. If they desist and use other methods, everyone would be better off. It isn't just a Thailand problem, see how countries with dimilar crops and a more organised agricultural system deal with it.

Obviously you have no idea what you are talking about...I think you should look up 15 minutes cities

"Abide to"?

The salacious reporting of road accidents is nothing more than confirmation bias. In fact it distorts the picture and obscures the true situation with regards to road safety in Thailand by reinforcing archaic stereotypes. This in turns hinders understanding of road safety and the public's ability to understand how to deal with it

Forest fires make a significant contribution to the "haze". ...there have even been some papers that try to deflect the responsibility away from crop burning but they may well have vested interests to influence them. There are also those who try to mitigate the effects of rice burning. The fact is that sugar and rice and forestry are the main culprits, but there are thousands of small enterprises contributing to the haze that should and could be prevented. BTW forest fires are man made too. Backburning is one source but at this time of year burning is used by mushroom collectors to help the culture of highly lucrative mushroom cropping. For whatever reason not only do these fires contribute to the haze but they often get out of control and major forest fires ensue.... they are not usually the result of "lightning", they are rotten started by rangers hoping to get a little more income. I've witnessed several man made fires in national parks in the last few weeks . This haze is now dramatically affecting tourism in the Northand central Thailand....it is almost a closed season...... as tourism potentially contributes more to the Thai economy than agriculture and the alternatives will benefit both, itcan only be government ignorance that prevents them from introducing aid, subsidies and other measures to minimise the disruption.

Be clear, there are no laws that restrict personal movement. The idea is to make longer journeys not necessary...

beware of pollution in Rayong - air, soil, water and sea.. there is a huge amount of industrial development in the area too.

QED - can't look critically at the reports.

You seem unable to take a rational critical appraisal of this incident. just don't seem to realise how little you know. I think it is very insensitive and arrogant to speak thus of the deceased when thanks to the general reporting on this crash we know absolutely nothing for sure about it....you are relying on prejudice and assumption...you seem to be taking a very low-brow approach if you don't mind me saying

That is not what this person said...they were untumating personal detailed knowledge of the accident and making unfounded judgements. Crash helmets can improve your chances of survival by about 35%. ...they are limited in what they can do. Of course it's best to wear a helmet but they are not some kind of panacea. People are far too keen to make ill-informed judgments on this guy's fate based on a smug "holier than thou" attitude. It just shows how little they understand about crashes and analysis thereof. We simply don't know.

so how do you know that? did you see his medical report and make a diagnosis?

OP - No! this is absolute nonsense – there is a perception – or even a sickness – amongst some expats that manifests itself as a paranoia that all Thai people are out to get them. Of course this attitude ends up justifying itself as they are the first to complain and create a scene in the event of an accident. If you are involved in a crash then there is a procedure that is VERY IMPORTANT to follow. RING YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY IMMEDIATELY – the reason for this is that they will quickly send an gent to the scene and they act as intermediary between you, the police and other parties – you will hardly need to say a thing. Long rants in English achieve nothing. Check for injuries and emergency care. Make sure someone has rung police or ambulance. Control your temper – foreigners often fail underestimate how losing it will damage the whole process from that moment one Once the other parties are aware you are getting an insurance agent, they will often turn out be open to a compromise – many will back away they might not have insurance or other documents) or don’t want to lose a no claims bonus – so the whole thing might go away. Obviously your decision will be based on how much damage there is to your vehicle or passengers. Over 20 of driving in Thailand, I’ve had occasion to call and agent about 3 times and I’ve not been blamed ever and the incidents have always ended amicably. I have also seen foreigners who clearly think if they explain the driving laws of their home country loudly to a local policeman, they will bring about a change in the Thai law from the side of the road. This won’t happen and it won’t help your case.

You can't examine MMCC in single issue terms - it is an intellectually incomplete way of seeing things.

Basically I blame movies like "Day after Tomorrow". Silly movies like this have lead much of the public to believe that climate change should be dramatic and instantly demonstrable....whereas the truth is it is far more u sidious and of course it has started Attribution is really a red herring that is used by deniers as failure to attribute directly seems to them to justify denial when in fact it just shows a gross misunderstanding of what MMCC really entails.

..and Thailand fails to achieve this.

I think I've covered that....the issue is how deaths are handled on the island. See comments on how the authorities operate.... the fact is all you can do is speculate.

The most recent death was a 48 year old diving instructor, one would have thought reasonably fit He is the fifth instructor to have died on the island in recent years. The police say he died of natural causes, but friends have raised concerns over the number of unexplained deaths. Maybe just “conspiracy theory” – but the fact remains that his death has re-wakened the concerns of many over the reputation of this benighted island. Deaths on the island have a long history. Koh Tao was a political penal colony from 1933 until 1947, it now likes to exist as far as possible from any mainland oversight. Koh Tao island is only 7 km in length and 3 km in width and has a total area of approximately 21 square km. The modern history of Koh Tao is pretty short - in the 1980s, backpackers and scuba divers began to visit Ko Tao and it quickly became a popular destination. In the 1990s the island became known for diving. Now, Koh Tao gets just over half a million visitors a year. The Thai population is about 2500 and the foreign long term resident number about 2000. These figures give you some idea of the huge amount of money flooding into this tiny island, handled by just a small number of people on the island. There are bout 3 to 5000 Burmese labourers on the island whose status is questionable and exploitation is certain. They rely on the police to remain there and allegedly pay about 500 bah per month for the privilege. On average there were about 30,000 to 60,000 visitors on the island per month. Last year post Covid it was around 30,000. Originally many of the Thai people were “squatters”[1] as the islands aren’t definitively surveyed for property ownership. Squatting in Thailand was permissible possession can occur after ten years of continuous occupation. (e.g. - In 2015, the capital Bangkok had over 2 million squatters, out of a population of around 10 million). A large percentage of the land in Thailand is not titled or even accurately surveyed. This is because complete surveys and comprehensive titling procedures have never been carried out or completed….. So, those in control on the island are the owners of the booming tourist businesses that were developed on land originally obtained, via “squatting” or “selectoring” i.e. government concessions, originally for growing coconuts…and much of which doesn’t have full proof of ownership. (e.g. “chanote”) Back in 2014 Jonathan Head and other journalists commented that this island in particular was a place where feuding was common and vicious. Often involving fire arms. It is very easy to get a firearms permit in Thailand The island has long had a reputation for drugs; marijuana is commonplace and was openly sold in some bars – even pre-rolled joints. Ya-ba was also used especially by locals. You could also buy magic mushrooms etc. If you are to believe the “family” history of Koh Tao then it would be logical to assume that locals on the island don’t want any disruption to their trade either the legal or “shady” aspects of it and might have the full support of the local enforcement agencies. This means a code of silence prevails in the small community of those local to the island. Foreigners on the island involved in the tourist industry rely on the local authorities for visas and work permits so they too are unlikely to cause ripples. In fact as work permits are location specific it would be more or less impossible to work as a dive instructor in several places. The police investigation trial were roundly criticised by international media, human rights organisations, and legal experts. In December 2015, two Burmese men were convicted of the murder and sentenced to death. Attempts to appeal the sentence failed, but it was commuted to life by the King. The local authorities were concerned the murders might affect tourism to the island, with arrivals dropping in the months following the murders. In the long term up until Covid these fears proved unfounded. The prime minister General Prayuth, who was Junta chief at the time, surprised many by suggesting that the blame, at some level, was with attractive victims. “Will [tourists] survive in Thailand if they dress in bikinis?” He added that they would if “they are not beautiful.” Here’s a (partial) list of deaths on the island. They may not be murders but they illustrate a lack of public safety awareness and a consistent policy by the authorities and their allies to sweep matters under the carpet and keep up the image of “nothing to see here” resulting in a lack of normal procedural processes in the event of a death. Many of the families of the deceased are still unhappy with the way their relatives’ deaths were handled by the police – lack of procedure and transparency…… Jan 2000 - Ian Jacobs - family still not happy with inconsistencies in the police account. Body was found in a "well" 2002 – Viret Asaiachin shot dead in broad daylight – an organised crime like assassination. Japanese tourist died after drinking game 2012 - Ben Harrington,32, died when he crashed during a moped ride 2013 - Tony Cordullo - owner of the Lotus bar January 1, 2014 - Nick Pearson, 25, was found floating in an island bay, at the foot of a 50ft drop following a night out with his family on New Year's Eve. His body was found at the beach at the Hillside Resort on Koh Tao. 2014 - Hannah Witheridge and David Miller – the “Koh Tao Murders”. November 2014 - Swiss tourist Hans Peter Suter, 44, December 2014 – Silje Mathisen – scuba / boating incident. January 1, 2015- Frenchman, Dimitri Povse, 29, was found hanging from the beam of a rented house on. Although both of his hands were tied behind the back Jan 21, 2015 - British woman, Christina Annesley, 23, was found in a room at the In Touch Resort on. February 16, 2015, - Russian tourist Valentina Novozhyonova, 23, vanished from her hostel on Koh Tao. January 6, 2016 - British Bricklayer Luke Miller, 26, was found at the bottom of a swimming pool at the Sunset Bar at Sairee Beach on. His family accused the Thai police of a cover-up. 16 February 2017 - Canadian mother of 3, Shelly Bot was struck and killed by a Koh Tao water taxi taking a short cut on. Island locals falsely claimed that she was snorkelling in a boat lane. Her partner was also struck and injured. April 27, 2017 - Belgian backpacker Elise Dallemagne, 30, was found hanging from a tree. June 2018 - German Bernd Grotsch's body was found at his home deep in the jungle in the Mae Haad part of Koh Tao. He had recently returned to the island after building up a motorbike rental business. October 9, 2018 - Alexandr Bucspun, 33, from Moldova, was found dead in the sea off Had Sai Ree on Koh Tao on Tuesday,. 17/12/2018 - Rocio Leticia Gomez 39 from Argentina was lost at sea, rescued but died 4 days later. Another tragedy kept quiet!! June 2019 – Samyak Choudhray – drowned whilst snorkelling In 2020 a tourist was attacked with a knife by a well known character ob the island June 2021 – A married couple - .A millionaire hotel tycoon and his wife have been found dead in a luxury resort on Koh Tao Rakeshwar Sachathamakul and wife, Anshoo 2023 Nicholas Giblin passed away in his sleep. This is probably true, but his death has highlighted the problem of Koh Tao, which now has a reputation and the local police do nothing to alleviate this. Many of the families of those who died are not happy with the circumstances or explanations of their relatives deaths. Every death of a foreigner on Koh Tao will be treated with a certain amount of suspicion misgiving, , reservation, scepticism, distrust. and this will rumble on unless there is a concerted effort by the authorities to establish transparency and honesty in the proceedings. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squatting_in_Thailand#:~:text=The squatters settlements were of,land owned by the Crown.

you just can't stop yourself, can you?

like everyone without and argument you have now resorted to sealioning - just give up! here's a list - not comprehensive of Khao Tao deaths ... an Jacobs 2000; Virat Asavachin (Mr Ban) 2002; Hiroshi 2002; Yoshie Sazawa (Sharlyn) 2004; Ben Harrington 2012; Anthony Cardullo 2013 (USA); Nick Pearson 2014; Hannah Witheridge 2014; David Miller 2014; Hanspeter Suter 2014; Silje Mathisen 2014; Dimitri Povse 2015; Christina Annesley 2015; Luke Miller 2016; Shelley Bot 2017; Valentina Novozhenova 2017; Elise Dallemagne 2017; Bernd Grotsch 2017; Rocio Gomez; Samyak Choudhary; and A Thai/Indian couple circa June 2021. You are being very amateurish - you obviously haven't researched this topic at all and have very limited knowledge of it yet you are quite happy to randomly gainsay anything people who have researched say about it....so you have now resorting to sealioning!

murders in Glasgow in the past 2 years Population of Glasgow is about 600.000 Has Europe’s second highest murder rate..... Glasgow (3.3 per 100,000), Population of Koh Tao 2100 + 3000 workers + about 7500 tourists on any one day. Suspicious Deaths in the last 3 years about 6 So it could exceed Glasgow’s rate tenfold. If you are unaware of the problems on Koh Tao - which even the Thai authorities have alluded to - take a look at these web sites...... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2016/04/20/murder-in-paradise-a-chilling-documentary-about-the-koh-tao-murd/ http://thailandjustice.com/koh-tao-suspicious-crimes-deaths/

At least eleven European tourists have died or disappeared there since 2014

No your figures are wrong - the population of the island is never that high on a monthly basis for a stat and there have been many more deaths than that.

This shows a basic misunderstanding of the situation on manyThai islands. THe island is likely dominated by a "family of influence". The murder rate by population actually is higher than Glasgow.