Schooner

What will be interesting for me is to see how close these polls are to the actual final tally. There seems to be some pretty weak sampling in many of these polls, so I don't know how much credence I give them. I think it's a pretty close race, and I think people are stupid to count out the BJT effect.

Polls are a statistical sampling of a population and have proven to be very accurate predictors of people's ultimate choice within the poll's margin of error.

I agree that this one is probably flawed because people are afraid to comment for fear of reprisal from their own government. I believe that support is much higher than this poll indicates, but of course the only poll that matters is on voting day.

More information will be coming out before the election that could swing things dramatically. Apparently there is a Routers reporter who has left Bangkok to submit a 50,000 word report on the present situation using recently released wiki leaks information which could blow the whole election wide open.

Abhisit also claims to have information that he will release soon, but I think it's going to be impossible to explain away the bullets recovered from the heads of victims shot in the temple after the reds surrendered. One international source is claiming to have video footage of soldiers shooting into the temple from the elevated train and the International Herald Tribune has interviews with victims who were not even participants in the protests, but who were randomly shot.

I think that the election results won't matter because if the PTP does win the army will just take over again and begin another search for a candidate to appoint.

You obviously haven't paid attention to polls and their results in Thailand.

No I haven't, but this is not the only poll taken and the one's I've seen are similar. Are you saying that the PAD is ahead? if not what's your point?

I'm not sure this is a good strategy that the PAD has chosen because it draws attention to an event that occurred "on his watch"

It would have been better if he would have invited a independent investigation by a impartial authority to put the cause and the blame on the real culprits. That ship has sailed. What is clear is that most of the deaths were on the protesters side and several occurred after the protesters had surrendered.

I think it's disingenuous to stand on the rule of law and the Thai Justice system when it is clear to international observers that the rule of law and respect for the constitution went out the window with the coup. Abhisit was the 5th PM to hold the position, but the second one to be appointed. The 3 who were elected by the people were tossed out using the "rule of law" that seems suspiciously tainted. This same rule of law convicted Thaksin so to suggest that the law is being applied evenly "to all Thai citizens" fails the smell test.

What will be interesting for me is to see how close these polls are to the actual final tally. There seems to be some pretty weak sampling in many of these polls, so I don't know how much credence I give them. I think it's a pretty close race, and I think people are stupid to count out the BJT effect.

Polls are a statistical sampling of a population and have proven to be very accurate predictors of people's ultimate choice within the poll's margin of error.

I agree that this one is probably flawed because people are afraid to comment for fear of reprisal from their own government. I believe that support is much higher than this poll indicates, but of course the only poll that matters is on voting day.

More information will be coming out before the election that could swing things dramatically. Apparently there is a Routers reporter who has left Bangkok to submit a 50,000 word report on the present situation using recently released wiki leaks information which could blow the whole election wide open.

Abhisit also claims to have information that he will release soon, but I think it's going to be impossible to explain away the bullets recovered from the heads of victims shot in the temple after the reds surrendered. One international source is claiming to have video footage of soldiers shooting into the temple from the elevated train and the International Herald Tribune has interviews with victims who were not even participants in the protests, but who were randomly shot.

I think that the election results won't matter because if the PTP does win the army will just take over again and begin another search for a candidate to appoint.

This is a little astray of the topic, but I am looking for ways to reduce my electric bill and one of the things I've noticed is that the tops of the recessed lighting in my house is open to the roof space.

I got to thinking about this when a gecko I was chasing ran up through the light fixture and escaped. I went to Home Pro thinking I would look for a cap of some sort to keep the air in and the animals out and it turns out that some of these recessed light fixtures have a glass cover below the light which would be perfect. Unfortunately they are 600 baht each and I need 33.

I'm thinking of a way to retro fit mine, maybe buy the glass circles and find a way to attach them, velcro or even cut notches in the fixture to accommodate the glass covers.

Anyone have experience with this?

Thanks for the well written history lesson Cosmic. Your right, I haven't studied Thai history in detail. I'm more a big picture spare me the details guy.

All I need to know is Thailand is currently the only economic powerhouse in this area. Most countries would kill for 6% growth (actually several are killing for 1% but that's a different topic)and zero unemployment. Which neighbor would you say is exceeding that performance? Burma, Lao, Cambodia, Viet Nam?

True Thailand didn't resist Japanese occupation, but you have to consider what happened to those countries who did. Maybe it was the right choice at the time. Fight to the death is a noble thing I suppose but...Maybe they read the "art of war" maybe they were certain that Thailand is not just dirt but Thai people who as we probably know will never be anything else.

If you have ever been in a position of power and had to make decisions that effect millions you would know.

Bottom line; There still here, being Thai and moving forward.

In conclusion, the Thai's are forward thinking it just looks a little strange to us.

Good News; I think I found the book in BKK at [email protected]

Thanks to TV for all you guys. What a great resource.

Thanks, I'm assuming that some of the readers here are in BKK. It appears that the book is out of print. The major book stores all have computers to search all of Thailand and so far nothing. I was hoping that a reader has a copy and is done with it or would loan it. My wife is interested in it to develop her english. She came up with the tittle. She is a avid reader in Thai and is trying to make the leap over.

As messy as it looks, this is the process of change and the fact that both sides are pulling out the stops to use all the tools at their disposal to convince voters to come to their side is democracy in action.

I look at the the history of Thailand. They have been challanged by many forces and have always prevailed. They are the only country in this neck of the woods who are making it happen and these issues would not even be comming up if they were not successful.

There is so much at stake that a certain amount of brinkmanship is bound to happen.

I love these threads about how Thai's are different. I get that we're trying to understand them and fortify ourselves against something that we do not understand. We're searching for a way to describe what the danger is, but we're doing it from our safe, overprotected, uneducated, inexperienced point of view. If you look for the answer with a rigidly closed mind than you will never see what is right in front of you.

Thai's are every bit forward thinking as we are and they may even be more advanced. I have met Thai's who within 5 mins have analyzed me and developed a plan to get whatever they have figured I can give. I remember thinking that I wished that I could import a dozen Thai's to Florida to sell time shares because the are comsumate closers. They are constantly leading us to where they want us to go and most successful much of the time because they are always 10 moves ahead of me. Hell, I can't even beat them at connect 4 and the reason is that I, like most farang over analyze from a completly wrong mind set.

One thing I am sure of is that it is not about them. It is about me. If I come here with weaknesses of the soul they will smell it out and exploit it. If that isn't forward thinking I don't know what is.

I get that we are all trying to understand this experence and navagate the hazzards but blinding ourselves with subjective opinions will not get you there. Opening our minds might.

"she didn't take everything. She was given it." Well said!

We are ignoring the fact that whatever this guy came here looking for he did find. There is a reason that we take these risks and expose ourselves to this sort of outcome. For many of us the bliss of experencing these intense feelings is what draws us in. It is what I love about the place. During my first year I fell in love about three times a week and I loved the emotional rollercoaster ride. I was also well aware of the risks.

Most of my life I have enjoyed risktaking, it is a rush knowing that I can go and do what most cannot. I am well aware that it can go tits up at any time and accept the responsibility if I loose. I want to believe that I am fortified against failure because of my experence and learning about the risks involved, but I never know for sure and that is what makes it so compelling.

Most guys I know would never think of experimenting with opiates at this stage of life, but they jump right in to get the exact same "drug" induced high from women. They underestimate the power of it all. In Korat there is a statue in the center of town of a woman who gathered a bunch of her girlfriends togather and went to the camp of the Burma forces with booze and charm and did what women do so well. Burma was defeated in that battle because of it.

I hope that at the end of my life I will reflect and decide that it was worth it. I hope that this gentleman, after the wound has healed can crack a grin for the lady who gave him bliss.

one down, 49 to go.

It's not banned. They made a movie in Thai that I think was released last year.

Looking for this book "Mindfulness and Murder" by Nick Wilgus. I've checked all the Pattaya book shops and no one has it.

It's such a personal thing. I looked a dozens of places in my price range of 4 million baht that just didn't do it for me. I've driven around and checked out some of the new developments and have yet to find anything that I like better. If I had the time to look at everything that was available currently I doubt that there a more than a few that would meet my requirements. So, here I am a buyer with cash to buy and I can't find anything that I want to plunk cash down for. For me my choices are limited and all those places that don't meet my requirements might as well not be there. All of my neighbos agree that it took a long time to find what they wanted.

Ian got it.

Thai or farang there's no way I would sign over any assets to someone that I wasn't pretty sure of. I've been married 5 years, everything except the car and motorbike (bought this year) is in my name and my bank accounts are not accessable to my wife. All humans are fallible, try putting some cash in front of anyone and see what happens. I've seen perfectly good people turn into a$$holes over money and that is true everywhere. There is no need for me to give her access to my assets. I have a will, she will be well off if I kick.

I have a college friend who recently came here and is getting used six ways of Sunday by women he wouldn't give the time of day to back home. He thinks this stuff is real and won't listen to reason. This is a guy I used to do some pretty dangerous sports with when we were young and he used to drive me crazy with his attention to detail and preperation. He is way over his head. He thinks he can save these girls and they are using his desire to manipulate him. Any desire to save someone else is based upon a desire to save ourself. Fix yourself and the rest is easy.

Happy Birthday!

50 was a big one for me. I had been fortunate to have experences that adjusted my feelings about getting older. Remember when we though 25 was old?

It is true that it is all in our head (the big one) I think that if we have done what we needed to do to stay balanced and grow into it than we enter it happy. I'm 58 and miss the physical abilities but I've adapted.

Good luck, this can be the best time of our lives.

Thai's practice forward thinking just like all humans do to the degree that is necessary. My wife's family back in the village grow rice and store it for the season. Her aunt has a wonderful organic farm with a fish pond that produces an array of produce. Her uncle is one of the cleverest people I've seen who can seem to make anything out of nothing. Everywhere I go I see day after day Thai's trying to be great at their jobs and create a future. You just have to look at the big picture.

The other extreme is farang who live for tommorow. Those poor souls miss experencing today. I know far more farang who live for the elusive carrot sacrificing their health and their balance.

She didn't take everything, your still alive and she gave you exactly what you asked for. Your challange is to figure what it was that you were asking for. Sure you made some mistakes, we have all made similar mistakes to varying degrees. My recomendation is to just walk away and use this experence to examine the reasons that brought you to this point.

Being here and experencing this untamed wonderland with all it's ups and downs is a test. It involves risk and some underestimate the danger. My observation is that most navagate it pretty well and come through with what they were seeking unscathed.

I've been a life long sailor and have observed many people who retired and bought a boat after seeing a pretty picture and with little preperation. They spent a fortune making it perfect then left to sail off into the wild blue. Over half didn't get very far before being overwhelmed by the challange. Some wrecked and died, others just paid a huge financial cost. I've seen this same thing with people and motorhomes and building the dream house.

Risk taking is a young mans. For many older guys their money would be better spent hiring a good therapist who has experence helping men analyze what they want to learn and how to learn it without a wreck.

Your right it was a bit of a drift...

The numbers speak for themself, I was expressing my opinion that one way to lower frustration is to lower expectations. I have no objective data that Thai's have lower expectations than farangs.

The rest of my rant is off topic so I think I'll let it go.

I wish I could wave a magic wand that would turn all abusers red and then maybe people would begin to discover the extent of the problem. Only a very small percentage of abusers are ever caught because no society wants to face the problem. If you could see who they are, family members, coworkers and friends and understand that by sweeping the problem under the rug it is in fact multiplying perhaps we could start to do something about it.

Sexual abuse has nothing to do with a persons age or sexuality. It does has to do with a lack of impulse control as a result of the loss of empathy.

I too had to renegotiate my rent and drop it 15%. Still made a healthy profit and still have higher value. What was your point? You have rent reciepts.

Your right "trained" was a poor choice of words and I apoligize. He has told her that he dosn't like that word and he dosen't want to hear it out of her mouth. She has complied.

My point stands. You can rearrange the furniture all you want but real balance comes from within.

Simple fact, my friend bought 2 prebuild condos in Cocoa Beach FL at the same time that I bought my house in Pattaya. His house looks to have lost a couple percent in value (from what he paid) and mine seems to have gained a couple percent. I was just in Florida and checked out the market looking for bargans, but what I found was that desirable properties were holding their value much better than the recently built crap. Same in Thailand.

BTW you can find as much crap in Florida as you can here. All but one of the houses in my village are sold or rented. The developer took a 10-15% hit which he could comfortably handle and he's started on a new development which has 4 built and 3 sold.

I bought my house to live in. It was a bonus to be able to rent it out while I was back in the states. I like waking up in it everyday and unless your a developer that's all that matters.

Up to you. I keep an eye on Maine and Florida and both are continuing to drop because equilibrium is what people can afford and sustain. Having said that there is no doubt in my mind that the next great bubble is just around the corner and we will be off to the races again.

I like buffett but he is a businessman who knows the power of his words and his ability to effect markets.