bkkandrew

Very good...

Is the ITC Minister the bloke or the horse??

Are you trying to sneak off on a technicality?

not at all , the whole exercise was to raise awareness .............

The OP raised awareness. You obscured the subject matter...

No, sorry it is not humourous nor ironic, it was tasteless but you wouldnt want to admit that would you, you being so much better than the person you where slandering.....

And I did not say but I do all of the things I mentioned above.........help a Burmese family, pay some bills, offer food on a regular basis, go teach voluntarily at a Burmese school, be there when they need someone to help them out......

sorry, what was it that you do for burmese people again ??

Maybe your talk is like your humour, failing to reach those who would appreciate it

JAF

You hypercritical buffoon.

You espouse helping Burmese families and give suggestions how to do so, then admit you don't actually follow your own advice!

Yet, I am in business with a Burmese man, with dependant wife, children etc. etc. Business that generates income that does all the things you talk about BUT DO NOT ACTUALLY DO!!

And then, to somehow show your utter inability to understand irony, you state that it would be good to :"help a Burmese family, pay some bills, offer food on a regular basis, go teach voluntarily at a Burmese school, be there when they need someone to help them out......" and before" talk is cheap and actions speak louder than words."

Yes, indeed you are correct that my homour or irony will always fail to reach you, as you are clearly on another planet. One, I would add, that I, nor, I suspect, anyone else would care to visit!

I wish we had a muppet emoticon...

From the Bangkok Post:

Minister cool on IT

Comworld 2007 gave a welcome lift to IT vendors and many shops within Siam Paragon after the retail sector had been in a relatively gloomy state since the New Year bombs went off. But the event did not get such a good welcome from ICT Minister Sithichai Pokaiudom.

Speaking at the opening of the exhibition, the minister said that it was wrong of Thai people to admire modern technology, which was not developed by Thai people. "It is a fake development because the country is now getting worse as almost everything at the exhibition here is imported and nothing is made by Thais," he said.

The minister stated that "Thai computers" should mean Thais producing component parts, not just assembling, and that they should also design the products.

"It is sad that today we cannot find any Thai products. The technology show here provides foreigners an opportunity to take money from Thai people. To be truly proud, it should show technology that has been developed by Thais," the ICT Minister said.

.............

There's so much that could be said about this, but I'm truly speechless.

Perhaps he might address WHY nothing is Thai-made, why there is no IT sector here, instead of making yet another anti foreigner rant from someone who lives in the dark ages.

I am getting the message with this lot - pure, unadulterated thai = good; tainting by foreigners = evil.

Wrong for Thais to to admire modern technology, which was not developed by Thai people?? WFT??

It seems he is after a "pure" thai solution, from design, component manufacture, assembly, testing and sale. Hitler had similar ideals about the direction of the German economy and nation in the mid to late 30's...

In many ways, the situation mirrors America employment of illegal Mexicans with the disparity in wages and workers rights dissolved and accepted by both parties in search of cheap labour and for the immigrants, some quick and not so easy money earned the hard way. But I dont hear people sledging the USA for using and abusing human rights the way you are sleighting thai people.

The problem with Burma is that everyone talks but no one seems to do anything about it. Talk is cheap, actions speak louder than words, until then, we have the present status quo.

JAF

I agree whole heartedly with BkkAndrew's thoughts.

I dont think I missed any point when I said I agreed with a previous poster regarding why Burmese people would choose to work here and not return home but I do think you chose to overlook mine.

Too say that this situation in no way mirrors the American/Mexican situation is just not true. I truly believe that Americas treatment of Mexican immigrants is appalling considering their lofty position in this world and in MANY ways (and that obviously does not mean all) mirrors the treatment of Thais towards the Burmese neighbours. For example poor wages, no healthcare system, no social security net, few legal rights and of course extra judicial punishment (oh yes, most certainly in America)...............I could go on but it might appear to you that I am sleighting America unfairly whereas I am only drawing a comparison with the way a lot of countries treat immigrants. I think when our parent countries have put their own houses in order regarding the mistreatment of immigrants then we might be in a better position to criticize and help Thai people understand the error of their ways. It took many decades for us to change our ways regarding racial equality and it is a far from perfect system that we have today, more works needs to be done before we can sit proud in our ivory towers. One thing is certain, snide arguments, racial slurs or suggesting someone is from the Klu Klux Klan and then posting a picture of a klansman, well they are all poor examples and only help to inflame and/or convolute the argument.

Pray tell me..........what is it that you or anyone else who is writing on this particular topic doing to help any Burmese people. If we all care so much and feel Thais care little or not at all, then do something about it and start setting a better example. Even if it is only to befriend and help a Burmese family, pay some bills, offer food on a regular basis, go teach voluntarily at a Burmese school, be there when they need someone to help them out......... As I said previously, talk is cheap and actions speak louder than words.

To save one man is to save the world entire. If you can make a difference then do it and do it with love and compassion for those that need it most.

JAF

It is also called humour and irony...

I note no response re. helping Burmese people, I wonder what your efforts extend to...? As you indeed said, "talk is cheap and actions speak louder than words".

In many ways, the situation mirrors America employment of illegal Mexicans with the disparity in wages and workers rights dissolved and accepted by both parties in search of cheap labour and for the immigrants, some quick and not so easy money earned the hard way. But I dont hear people sledging the USA for using and abusing human rights the way you are sleighting thai people.

The problem with Burma is that everyone talks but no one seems to do anything about it. Talk is cheap, actions speak louder than words, until then, we have the present status quo.

JAF

I think you missed the point.

Are Mexicans, who are working legally in America, confined to their quarters at 8pm, refused mobile phones, and sometimes murdered rather than their wages paid to them? No.

(It in no way mirrors the US - Mexican situation)

Of course this does not take away from the fact that the situation in Burma is deplorable. It's just a different topic, for a different thread.

I remember, after the disaster in Phuket, the police went around some hotels and looted the safes. Their answer was that Burmese migrants stole police uniforms and did it. This was accepted by all the Thais - case closed. Thais hate the Burmese and treat them accordingly. There is no law and order, or human rights in this country. Have you not listened to the national anthem?

I agree whole heartedly with BkkAndrew's thoughts.

I dont think I missed any point when I said I agreed with a previous poster regarding why Burmese people would choose to work here and not return home but I do think you chose to overlook mine.

Too say that this situation in no way mirrors the American/Mexican situation is just not true. I truly believe that Americas treatment of Mexican immigrants is appalling considering their lofty position in this world and in MANY ways (and that obviously does not mean all) mirrors the treatment of Thais towards the Burmese neighbours. For example poor wages, no healthcare system, no social security net, few legal rights and of course extra judicial punishment (oh yes, most certainly in America)...............I could go on but it might appear to you that I am sleighting America unfairly whereas I am only drawing a comparison with the way a lot of countries treat immigrants. I think when our parent countries have put their own houses in order regarding the mistreatment of immigrants then we might be in a better position to criticize and help Thai people understand the error of their ways. It took many decades for us to change our ways regarding racial equality and it is a far from perfect system that we have today, more works needs to be done before we can sit proud in our ivory towers. One thing is certain, snide arguments, racial slurs or suggesting someone is from the Klu Klux Klan and then posting a picture of a klansman, well they are all poor examples and only help to inflame and/or convolute the argument.

Pray tell me..........what is it that you or anyone else who is writing on this particular topic doing to help any Burmese people. If we all care so much and feel Thais care little or not at all, then do something about it and start setting a better example. Even if it is only to befriend and help a Burmese family, pay some bills, offer food on a regular basis, go teach voluntarily at a Burmese school, be there when they need someone to help them out......... As I said previously, talk is cheap and actions speak louder than words.

To save one man is to save the world entire. If you can make a difference then do it and do it with love and compassion for those that need it most.

JAF

My business partner on a number of projects over the past 3 years is Burmese...

give me a break .......................

there's plenty more and they wouldn't be able to do it with out complicit approval from their governments ................

The key is in your own post:

comprehension

noun

the ability to understand completely and be aware of a situation, facts, etc:

There may be complicity and other bad practice, but think - somewhere along the line the Thai Government in Phuket (and elsewhere??) has actually come up with this slavery idea, considered it, voted on it and adopted it as LAW! That is the point where the Thais have departed from human decency and should be ashamed...

The situation here in no way mirrors that of the point of discussion.

I remember reading an article a few days ago that Malaysia is considering introducing a similar legislation about confining foreign workers to their quarters at 8 pm.

Well - was it introduced? Remember, in 1998 the Labour Government in the UK "considered" inventing a game, called "Surfball", to be premiered in the Millennium Dome. The idea was quickly and quietly dropped as absurd, indicating that Governments of every hue sometimes have wacky ideas that are then smiled at and dropped...

For goodness sake - understand the difference between bad company discrimination and exploitation (by their POLICIES) and racist GOVERNMENT LAWS that create a "slave" class in the populace. Think about this sentance before your next post!

your opion .......................

may not work when wearing rose colored glasses ,

thanxs for telling me that their all ok , i'll rest better now

No. You miss the point. Employers all over the world exploit employees. I shagged my 16 y.o. trainee PA 10 years ago - in the UK - but I don' think that that qualifies the UK to go on your list!!!

No - the point is that this is a LAW, enforced by the GOVERNMENT, that makes it it astonishing, barbaric and defacto slavery. Anyone who defends this law ought to be ashamed. It is also, without doubt, the most telling indictment of Thailand I am aware of to date..

Thailand has enough evidence to sue Thaksin: general

SINGAPORE : Thailand has enough evidence to take legal action against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a key member of Thailand's military council said in an interview published Wednesday.

General Saprang Kalayanamitr also blamed Thaksin for friction between Thailand and Singapore, and expressed optimism that issues between the two nations can be resolved.

"At this point, we have enough evidence to file a lawsuit against Thaksin in court," Saprang said in an interview. "The punishment will be up to the court."

Saprang is assistant army commander and assistant secretary general of the Council for National Security.

"We believe that the investigation will yield results which will show the Thai people Thaksin's crimes," Saprang said.

Thaksin, a billionaire businessman, has been in exile since the coup and has denied the allegations against him.

His ouster marked the culmination of a crisis partly triggered by the controversial Singaporean takeover of a major conglomerate from his family.

Singapore's Temasek Holdings bought the Thaksin family's 49 percent stake in telecom giant Shin Corp for nearly US$1.9b early last year.

After a mandatory tender offer, Temasek ended up with 96 percent of Shin Corp's shares.

Tensions between Singapore and Thailand escalated over the past month after a visit by Thaksin to the city-state, during which he met with a top government official.

After the visit, military council chief Sonthi Boonyaratglin voiced fears that Singapore would use satellites operated by a unit of Shin Corp to spy on Thailand.

Sonthi said Tuesday that Thailand wants to buy back Shin Satellite but insisted the military would not seize the company.

Thailand's biggest mobile phone operator Advanced Info Service (AIS) is also a subsidiary of Shin Corp.

"If the telecommunication business in in private hands, it won't be safe for the country," Saprang said.

He said "misunderstandings" between Singapore and Thailand have come about because of Thaksin's business dealings.

"I think this can be resolved. Thailand and Singapore have a long diplomatic relationship... The problem can be resolved fairly," he said.

"This business conflict can be resolved and won't blow up because the problem is not Singapore, but Thaksin."

- AFP

Normally, when you say that you have enough evidence to prosecute, you, er, prosecute, rather than talk about it!! I presume our erstwhile General was first in the line outside Court this morning??

Singapore , Malaysia , HK , Japan , Korea .............................................................

I knew several migrant workers (from the region) in HK and there was no law like this.. What source/law are you refering to?

Recently, I came across this article in the on-line version of Phuket Gazette:

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Police to crack down on foreign labor

PHUKET: Police have been ordered to crack down on alien laborers using mobile phones or found on the streets after 8 pm, Phuket Vice-Governor Vorapot Rattasima said this morning.

At a meeting at Provincial Hall, V/Gov Worapot said that he had received reports that alien laborers were leaving their registered place of abode after 8 pm and freely using mobile phones, both of which were prohibited by provincial order in December.

“I have met with traffic police and told them to arrest any alien laborers they find on the streets after 8 pm. I would also like the media to look out for and report any violators,” he said.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/news/index.asp?id=5518

So, if I understand this correctly, these people are not allowed on the street after 8 PM and are not allowed to have mobile phones? I just wonder how this can be justified in front of human rights and equality. Are these people slaves?

Thats the same in many other countries.....

Would you care to state which ones?

Thaigoon is too busy justifying theft . . .

How extraordinary of the authorities . . . I wonder what the response would be if Thai labourers here were to be given the same treatment . . .

Concentration camp anyone? Let out during the day to work and kept locked up and in from dusk to dawn . . . amazing racist crap.

Did you ever consider that where ever these workers come from, the conditions may be worse or no jobs at all.

The workers know what they are getting into before they come here to work. Once here and they don't like it they can catch the bus and go back to where ever thay came from.

Whats the big deal?

With your attitude to fellow humans, I wonder if the KK in your nick stands for Ku Klux. With this in mind, I have done some research and found a recent pic of yours...

Can anyone offer any advice on a cunning plan I have?

Money in my Thai account is from abroad so free to take out of Thailand right?

Take out say 1 million baht. Fly down to Singapore and sell for 33.8 equals 29586 dollars.

Fly back to LOS and pay back into my account at 35.9 equals 1062137 Baht.

Take off flight and there is an easy profit of at least 50k Bht.

Feel free to discuss.

Illegal to take more than 50K out of the country in cash. Cash would seized and you nicked. Bad...

However, this was the basis of me asking if anyone had a note of the rate achieved by using Thai card in UK at ATM, would I get the offshore or onshore rate? Then I could peicemeal "empty" my Thai account and change back in cash when back here...

Great question bkkandrew...lets hope someone holding a Thai bank card sends in a reply as to the rate given when his card used for a withrawal in the UK....70 or 65 (approx)

As for edwinchesters posting above , have checked actual rates in Singapore. By illegally taking out a million baht one can make a profit of 16.000 baht . So is it worth the risk of confiscation and imprisonment ? How long can the subsidised rate remain with such clear possibilities for illegal note smuggling ? It would be sad for all expats living here to lose that wonderful four baht per pound spending bonus we are currently being gifted by K.Tarisa because of a handful of crooks. Agreed ?

I will be testing my theory when I fly out later this week, but I have to get my Kasikorn Internet banking working again first, as I have forgotten the password, as otherwise I will have no record of the rate used..

On the contrary, i urge you to keep breaking IP laws. It keeps my company in much more than beer money, and it keeps me living in the manner to which I have become comfortably accustomed.

Have you noticed the lack of bootleg DVDs on Sukhumvit Road this weekend? All our doing :-) but don't worry because we'll let them back in a few days, and so the merry cycle recommences.

Money for jam!

So you are in charge of prevention of copyright infringement in LoS???

Your management meetings probably contain a few of the old chestnuts, such as "should do better", "room for improvement" and, my personal favorite, "our performance indicators are down"!!!

At a guess, Bendix is a xxxxxx and works in some part of intellectual property law, and therefore from time to time is involved with enforcing aspects of IP law. Of course.... since he is clearly not a policeman, it is not his responsibility to prevent copyright infringement in Thailand, but he can act on behalf of his clients. From time to time.

Nothing wrong with performance indicators. Performance indicators put food on the dinner table and kept you in school BkkAndrew :-)

As for having to do something badly, well, I guess many occupations have that in common. A maid does such a bad job cleaning that she has to repeat the same task daily. In some cases hourly. A doctor fails to keep a patient well, so the patient keeps having to return, and eventually almost every doctor must face up to the failure of their efforts when said patient dies. Or the professional poo maker, who makes excrement on a daily basis, but fails to ever produce the winning world's largest turd. Such is the circle of life, as the Lion King once told us.

Unlike me though. I do everything so well, that sometimes I just do it again to show how well I did it the first time. Last night I finished 'relations' with my girlfriend so fast, that I think I set a new record. Even she was so impressed, she said she wasn't ready and could we do it again? There is 20 seconds of my life I will never get back.

You know, the more I consider this, the angrier I get. How dare the Thais impose curfews and ban people from communicating! These are workers, not criminals!

Come on Thaigoon, here is an opportunity to offer up one of your wacky defence's of Thailand... I wait with interest!

Can anyone offer any advice on a cunning plan I have?

Money in my Thai account is from abroad so free to take out of Thailand right?

Take out say 1 million baht. Fly down to Singapore and sell for 33.8 equals 29586 dollars.

Fly back to LOS and pay back into my account at 35.9 equals 1062137 Baht.

Take off flight and there is an easy profit of at least 50k Bht.

Feel free to discuss.

Illegal to take more than 50K out of the country in cash. Cash would seized and you nicked. Bad...

However, this was the basis of me asking if anyone had a note of the rate achieved by using Thai card in UK at ATM, would I get the offshore or onshore rate? Then I could peicemeal "empty" my Thai account and change back in cash when back here...

A I am in the Export business and am routinely inconvenienced by agressive competition by other exporters, perhaps I should lobby for their businesses to be "halted"...

On the contrary, i urge you to keep breaking IP laws. It keeps my company in much more than beer money, and it keeps me living in the manner to which I have become comfortably accustomed.

Have you noticed the lack of bootleg DVDs on Sukhumvit Road this weekend? All our doing :-) but don't worry because we'll let them back in a few days, and so the merry cycle recommences.

Money for jam!

So you are in charge of prevention of copyright infringement in LoS???

Your management meetings probably contain a few of the old chestnuts, such as "should do better", "room for improvement" and, my personal favorite, "our performance indicators are down"!!!

Good post, Casanundra. ^^

As someone who is of an age when I have to start thinking about retirement plans myself; I need rigid goalposts to factor into my plans. And not flaky, half-arsed, nationalistic cant.

I could not think of any better way to put it!!

Your repost helpfully demonstrates my point. Thank you...

To be honest, a farang kee nok whose life revolves around bars and working girls in Thailand is probably a lot closer to Walter Mitty than Thais who want to protect their country.

Thats it - come on, work that anger out of your system...

Where's psychiatrist John when you need him?

Has anyone really got the heart to say to the Junta that, rather than their being a big plot to spy on them, no-one regionally or further afield has the slightest interest in what the Thai military have to say in any case....

Current Thai reaction does strike me as being rather like Walter Mitty, who, in his own little world thought that he controlled world events, but the reality was that he was a fantasist loner, who lived out his days in a cul-de-sac backwater.

Whether it's a big or a small nation, it doesn't matter. Everyone wants to protect their own national interests. I'm sure even a farang "kee nok" has some private and important matters he wants to protect....let alone a nation.

Your repost helpfully demonstrates my point. Thank you...

I approach each day in this country with a simple maxim; namely that I expect to be suprised, amazed, astounded and disgusted by events I encounter. Reading this thread has managed all 4 feelings in one hit!

Has anyone really got the heart to say to the Junta that, rather than their being a big plot to spy on them, no-one regionally or further afield has the slightest interest in what the Thai military have to say in any case....

Current Thai reaction does strike me as being rather like Walter Mitty, who, in his own little world, thought that he controlled world events, but the reality was that he was a fantasist loner, who lived out his days in a cul-de-sac backwater.