Sig

On 6/5/2023 at 4:12 AM, Mark1066 said:

You're really stretching to try and prove a point here, even though you must realise you're wrong. I've worked with many people in the building trade here in the past - seen plenty of Burmese and Thai Yai labourers. Not once did I meet one in a position of authority. If you want to argue whether they might have been bricklayers rather than unskilled labourers, that's just splitting hairs really, and with no real reason apart from your intense desire to nail someone to your politically correct cross.

To the contrary, The original comment that I was responding to was stretching things. The original issue I had with it was the attaching a nationality to the perpetrators, which we can't know from the article. I don't really care if they were laborers or not, that was a side issue. But that is also not clear. Not sure why it would matter if a Burmese person or a Thai Yai person was ever in a position of authority in your experience. And whether or not they were skilled or unskilled is only a point I made because the commenter I was responding to was saying something different than what the article said. The point is that we don't even know if they were construction workers at all. Just because they were caught at a place where construction workers live does not equate to them being construction workers, skilled or otherwise. And we don't know their nationality because the article also did not state that either. It only stated their ethnicity and from where the writer erroneously thought ethnic group originated. It has nothing to do with political correctness, it has to do with fact. I couldn't care less what may be politically correct. You'd be better served to not read motives into people you know nothing about.

20 year-old... Mercedes Benz... There's enough money behind him to make this go away, no big deal. He negotiated with the victim down to 50,000. Hell if I'd negotiate down after he fled the scene! Although I could understand his fear of being surrounded by a bunch of "win" guys, he obviously wasn't on the way to report to the police. He should get slam dunked by the justice system, but obviously that's not going to happen after he was allowed to negotiate down to half! of what is in line with the law's max penalty. I'm curious if anyone here knows what really happens in cases like these. Articles often mention penalties that the law calls for, but I rarely ever read if they actually get charged and convicted or if the settlement that they make with the victim alone concludes the matter?

O.H. M.Y. G.O.D.!!! He touched a fish!!! This is definitely an offense worthy of red-faced, explosive anger and indignation that he would dare commit such an affront against Thai law!! No wonder at all that "many Thai nationals are outraged"!  I sure would like to know what their definition of "many" is. I can barely fathom more than 10 (who are probably worthy of being institutionalized in a nuthouse or maybe of becoming a politician) being outraged over this act, unless of course they knew it was a foreigner who committed such an atrocity, showing his disrespect for Thailand, then perhaps that number of outraged righteous citizenry could be exponentially larger. The guy must be quite the dodgy character though, since they confiscated his passport and deemed him a flight risk! Certifiably insane.
Yep... sounds like a news story expressly written by those who are clamoring for the tourist industry to get back on its feet. Good luck with that one... I almost never recommend anyone come to visit me anymore, let alone come for tourism. Why?

4 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Everybody who is in Thailand during Songkran knows what the holiday is all about. This hooligan was itching for a fight, and the last thing this poor local guy expected was to be assaulted. Perhaps they can come up with a customized punishment for him. 20 years in a Thai prison, at his families expense, and let it be know that he assaulted an innocent civilian for no reason. He will likely be quite popular, and get the kind of treatment he richly deserves. 

Agreed on a harsh punishment (personally, I'm a fan of corporal punishment in a public place), but why punish his family? For all we know, they disowned him years ago because he perhaps has refused to exercise self-control and has maybe even assaulted members of his own family.

19 hours ago, webfact said:

An infographic called on people to get a full face quality helmet that fits well. It should be bright for nighttime visibility and changed every 3 - 5 years.

Meanwhile the two women are wearing helmets that are not full-face helmets and one of them is grey colored! Perfect for nighttime or dusk riding! Not to mention that the strap on the helmet of the "Lt-Col (lady) Dr" is quite loose....

On 4/10/2023 at 3:12 AM, Goat said:

I spent 2 months with a Tai Yai extended family in Fang, Chiang Mai. Lovely people and the girls are very beauutiful and exceptional love makers.

On 4/10/2023 at 9:53 PM, n00dle said:

dude, you are creepy AF

You got a good laugh out of me with that response! One has to wonder how large a sampling size he had to have taken in order to draw that conclusion about an entire ethnic group! But with the drugs he was professing to be on at the time... maybe it was just kept in the family... and apparently the family he stayed with made quite the impression! ???? In all likelihood, it was probably a really nice family just getting by and struggling to survive, as has been the case for many I've met over the years who subjected themselves to working in the depravities of the illicit opiate trade. Having a bit more income from a drug-loving foreigner must have been nice for them.

On 4/10/2023 at 7:43 AM, Sig said:

I also didn't see where you got the idea that they were laborers. Just wondering if you have some kind of information from another source?

On 4/10/2023 at 9:58 PM, n00dle said:

from the article:

 

Yesterday, police arrested three men of Tai Yai ethnicity (an ethnic group from Shan state in Myanmar) at a construction workers camp

Yes, I read that too, of course. It doesn't say what you say it says. It states their ethnicity, not their nationality. It erroneously states an origin of the ethnic group, which although there are a large number of Tai Yai in Burma, from every paper I've ever read re this ethnic group, its roots are from Yunnan, China, but this has nothing to do with the individuals in question re their nationality. Their nationality is not stated. It also does not state that they were laborers. You seem to think that simply because of the location of the arrests that they were laborers. Location and occupation do not necessarily equate. They could have been visiting friends. They could be skilled workers rather than laborers. There are a variety of other reasons why they may have been at a construction workers camp and not laborers or even part of the work force there. You may be right. They may be Burmese laborers, but that is far from clear with only this article for reference.

9 hours ago, Sig said:

Curious where you got the idea that the thugs were Burmese. I couldn't find that anywhere in either the synopsis or the original article. It did mention that they were of Thai Yai ethnicity, of which there are MANY in northern Thailand and who are born in Thailand and who are educated in Thai public schools. I also didn't see where you got the idea that they were laborers. Just wondering if you have some kind of information from another source?

8 hours ago, dingdongrb said:

Read the linked article....

Perhaps you missed what I wrote... I did read the linked/original article, as I said, "I couldn't find that anywhere in either the synopsis or the original article." Since you seem to have missed what I wrote, could it be a sort of pattern and sort of like missing something, maybe you read between the lines and add information that seems logical to yourself, even though it is not in what you are reading?
I did go back and read it again, just to be sure I wasn't missing something. It does not say they are Burmese or laborers anywhere that I could find.

10 hours ago, grain said:

Farang really should steer clear of these sorts of places, most of those rural karaoke bars are nothing more than shanty brothels with the roughest types of clientele, as was the case here with Burmese laborers dragging a girl into the toilet to pack rape her. You'd think the Swede's Thai GF would know better than to take everyone there for a birthday party. 

Curious where you got the idea that the thugs were Burmese. I couldn't find that anywhere in either the synopsis or the original article. It did mention that they were of Thai Yai ethnicity, of which there are MANY in northern Thailand and who are born in Thailand and who are educated in Thai public schools. I also didn't see where you got the idea that they were laborers. Just wondering if you have some kind of information from another source?

11 minutes ago, kingstonkid said:

OOPS worded it wrong.  Should have said there is a lot of explaining I agree it is not up to her but on the other hand it was not up to her to go to the media with this.

 

I just wish all media would tell the whole story of things not just n this case but in all neews.

I may have missed something. I didn't get the impression that she went to the media. Although, I did get the impression that she hoped others would take her case as an example of why they should be certain to take out insurance and ride safely (she mentioned to be sure to wear a helmet). If she indeed did go to the media, and not they to her, I think that is legitimate enough and hopefully it'll be seen by some who otherwise thought to forgo insurance and the scars on her face might even make some of them think twice about renting a scooter/motorcycle.
I agree with you wholeheartedly about how the media so often leaves out so much of a story that one feels like they know less about what happened than what really happened!

53 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

As  she was from the UK it is unlikely she would be thinking to drive on the right....quite perplexed why this irrelevance made up 60% of your post! 

Things seem to have gone remarkably well for this young woman... so many end up far worse off and likely to lose parts without a GoFundme Page. 

I was thinking the same thing on all counts!
But to be fair, it was only 56% of his post ????

27 minutes ago, Mad mick said:

Iot if" she worn full face if" she was drunk if" this if" that ! Crikey give the kid a break she in bad enough state as it is,  its happened all if " are waste of time !! terrible lesson to learn no insurance etc,. hope she recovers Asap. 

FYI, she had insurance. The article excerpt posted here was not clear at all on that one. You'd have to read the whole article that they linked to in order to know.

On 1/28/2023 at 1:42 PM, spidermike007 said:

Helmets help, if they are good quality. No doubt about that. But when you are standing still, and some maniac rams into you at high speed, all bets are off. Remember Sonny Bono? He ran into a tree skiing with a good ski helmet on. Died of a broken neck. 

 

We should do what we can to protect ourselves and our heads, with the best helmet we can afford. The skull is quite fragile. I for one, have enough problems without an injury to my head, which if survived, could change the course of our remaining years. 

Agreed. I spent a good amount on a helmet that had the highest safety marks passing through the ECE 22.06 tests. Many of my friends thought I was nuts spending so much on my helmet when so many much cheaper, yet good quality helmets were available. I figured that my head was worth the investment. In the end, it saved my life.
That said, as you mentioned, it really is amazing how vulnerable our bodies can be even if well protected. When your time is up, it's up. Heck, my friend's father died from slipping and falling in the shower!

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

The statistics are damning, but they need to be considered with intelligent balance. 

 

Firstly I’ll deal with 4 wheeled vehicles and up...

Thailand has approx 25,000 road deaths per year, 76% are motorcyclists. 

Thus: 6000 motorists die each year on Thailands roads. 

Thailand’s population: 71.6 million

= 8.37 Motor vehicle deaths per 100,000 of population per year. 

 

According to Wikipedia:

Thailands total is 32.7 road fatalities 100,000 of population per year. (minus 76% for motorcycles)

= 7.85  vehicle deaths per 100,000 of population per year (4 wheels or more)

 

The USA figure:

Thailands total is 12.89 road fatalities 100,000 of population per year. (minus 14% for motorcycles)

= 11.08  vehicle deaths per 100,000 of population per year (4 wheels or more)

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate

 

The US has a higher road fatality rate for 4 wheels or more. 

 

-------------------

 

Dealing only with motorcyclists in Thailand.....

 

76% of road fatalities are motorcycles... 

How many were....

- Not wearing a helmet

- Drunk

- Speeding

- Not riding defensively

- Untrained

- Riding at night

- taking unnecessary risk

 

When we remove many of the above facets to asses our own risk profile with can recognise that the vast proportion of that 76% of road fatalities does not apply to us - the figure is a much much less when the ’stupid stuff’ is taken out of the equation. 

 

Thats not to suggest risk is eliminated, of course motorcycling is more dangerous than driving a car. The point I want to raise here is that Thailands damning statistics are ‘aggregate’ and not representative of the individual risk profile many of us who do ride fall within. 

 

 

Statistics can be a funny thing, showing things that reflect differently than one might think. I don't know well enough to know how it all works out, but I have a feeling that even though the vehicle deaths per 100k population apparently show higher in the USA than Thailand (when limited for only automobiles), if statistics were calculated with different parameters, it may reveal why Thailand regularly is counted among the top 10 most dangerous places in the world to be on the roads. The USA isn't in the top 10 safest, as far as I know, but I highly doubt it is very near being in the top 10 most dangerous, even though from what you showed, it would appear that it should be (Although limiting the stat to only automobiles throws a curve into things. I guess you could also throw into the mix comparing fatalities on city streets and rural highways. Rural highways are where over 50% of fatal accidents occur in the USA.). And among the different States, the statistics vary dramatically. With similar numbers of millions of miles driven compared between States, some States have anywhere from double to quadruple! the number of fatalities per 100k people than other States. On the other hand, from what I understand, Scandinavian countries and the UK are comparatively very safe places to drive.
I don't know how all of that would work out statistically or what place one would have a higher probability of being in a fatal accident with all variants taken into account (which is pretty much impossible as far as I can tell), but from my subjective viewpoint, it seems quite clearly more dangerous on the roads in Thailand than the USA or European countries. I so very frequently feel like I've dodged a bullet on Thai streets, but have rarely felt that in most other countries I've driven in.