jackspratt

The Thai public are blaming it on the wrong persons.

That unscrupulous, selfish and immoral British criminal must bear sole responsibility Lock him up and throw the key away.

let the entire ripped off thai public hold accountable the 1 man who sold essentially empty boxes to the thai army who not only bought empty boxes with public money but also kept a % of it AND took bribes to KNOWINGLY buy empty boxes WITH public money AND keep a percentage.. dont blame them??!!

this 'unscrupulous, selfish and immoral British criminal must bear sole responsibility'.

they should all be given bonuses i suppose, for keeping the young soldiers safe...

and spending public money so wisely. they were not tricked, the public were as per usual and now you want them to be freed of any responsiblity....

it is because of attitudes like yours that Thailand will never be anything better than it is now.

FACT

Perhaps it is time for you to take your sarcasm meter in for a check.

I wait a day and still nobody can tell me who financed the yellow shirt facists. Somebody financed them, they did not sit there for 5 months for free. To Robbie NZ the reason they were not openly carrying guns is they were protected by the army. Please I dont really know , who paid million of dollars to allow the geriatric clappers to sit there with army protection. Somebody knows.

You can be pretty sure they had more than just army "protection".

This is when the yellow shirts lost me:

. I avoid the airport which even on a very good day is the worst in the world. We fly from Chiangmai/Singapore and then onto Melbourne.

Ahh! ..... the hyperbole.

However, it does raise the question - if you avoid (presumably) Swampy, how do you know what is is like on any day, let alone a very good one?

And from the context you seem to put Melbourne International above Swampy - hilarious.

Quite frankly, you are speaking out of your rear end.

And another educated expert opinion rolls in.......

The last thing your inane post deserves is either an educated, or expert, response.

Yipeeee!

Back to the O-A visas.

Hopefully the new Consul will have the same service-oriented attitude as the last one.

Unfortunately probably not as generally Honorary Consuls cannot issue them only Embassies. The last Honorary Consul was an exception to this rule.

About 12 months ago, when deciding the best method of extending in Thailand, I had email correspondence with the Hon Consul in Adelaide about getting an O-A from there.

They were quite willing to issue an O-A - however, for other reasons, I did not pursue it at that time.

I guess we will just have to wait to see what Perth will or will not do.

In an email from Mr Kooperman today, he has suggested that the Perth Consulate will be able to issue O-A visas.

In light of the various posts here, I sent a further email to Mr Kooperman to clarify the position regarding O-A visas.

He confirmed that only the Embassy can issue O-As.

Hm, I guess you are missing a few vital points. Having the majority of your citizens stare at the displays of their iphones and ipads while they walk, drive or ride through the streets of your capital doesn't make your country a "first world" state. Nor do it record sales of automobiles - which are then crashed in record numbers of accidents - nor American junk food restaurants at every corner and an increasing number of obese youngsters.

Being "third world" is (in my humble opinion) defined by:

1. open display of disregard for even the most simple laws and regulations

2. having 2/3 of the population considering corruption a positive asset "when it allows you to participate"

3. a police force which is unwilling to enforce the law and is more interested in collecting "tea money"

4. a justice system that allows the "upper class" to break the law without having to face any consequences while coming down like a load of bricks on the poor sods.

5. a situation where every local cab driver can take you to the nearest illegal casino while the local police force is unable or unwilling to close it down

6. losing 30 to 50% of every taxpayer's baht spent on government projects to corrupt officials and politicians

So what has changed in Thailand over the last 5 years that makes it "first world"?

edit: added one item

Although your humble opinion of a third world county maybe correct in your eyes it doest not make Thailand a third world country as in your words shopping malls new car sales or american fast food chains don't.

Third world is a cold war term to describe countries neither allied, or enemies of NATO. NATO allies being first world, Communist Bloc allies being second world. Switzerland and Austria are officially third world countries.

Your views on third world would place America, Australia and most of Europe in a third world bracket also, as many of the points on your list are daily occurances in these countries also.

Please do name the numbers on the list that apply to Australia, and then tell us where you lived in Australia.

Australia would be 1, 4, 5 and 6. Perth, Sydney and Brisbane.

There may be 1 slight alteration required for Australia, in number 5 if you change casino for brothel.

Quite frankly, you are speaking out of your rear end.

Getting to Ventnor Avenue is a Pain, from the Airport the best way is by taxi cost about $50 AU do not attempt bus as if you are new to perth you will get lost I lived and worked in perth for over 30yrs and would not try and get the bus from airport to perth, but if you want to get the bus ie dont have any money would get the bus to the perth bus port then you can walk to venntor av but it up a steep hill towards Kings Park would take 20min walking done it may times as i worked in ventnor av

I understand there is an airport bus from the international terminal to the city.

Once there, you can catch a Transperth CAT (free) bus to the West Perth Precinct.

http://www.transperth.wa.gov.au/

However, you would be best to leave your baggage at the airport unless you were intending to spend a night in the city - itself a very expensive exercise.

Innocent until proven guilty!

Did anybody think that this at least could be a drummed-up charge?

He is a cop. The accuser is a noodle vendor. Could there be a grudge?

The victim was not alone. Her alleged boyfriend got out halfway between Rayong and BKK - Pattaya?

Never reported the incident for how long?

She is a poor woman (literally - to quote some), yet, instead of a bus she goes by taxi?

Taxi driver name/photo is on display in the car. Would you rape a passenger under such circumstances?

51 yo +second job - he should be a superman to be capable of a rape!

He lives in BKK, yet 'rapes' her in a 'room'? Hotel?

Could it be that she didn't have the money to pay him?

Could it be that she offered him to pay by providing sex?

Could she 'cook-up' the charge to get money?

Could her employer, her boyfriend be in on this with her?

Or these sort of things only happen to innocent Farangs?

I'm not saying I am right. But give the poor sod a benefit of a doubt. Stop acting on a scent like a bloodthirsty pack of... What is wrong with you, people?

Ummm! .......... what are your thoughts on why he has done a runner?

Just the other day a top Chinese official on a business trip in Thailand was caught visiting brothels and gambling dens.

That's interesting - I googled it, but came up blank.

Perhaps you would be so kind as to include a link for where you got the information.

Based on my experience, it wouldn't matter what their (Canberra Embassy) email address is, you still won't get a reply to any queries.

Bl00dy hopeless.

The 'mouth' is at it again.

A point of clarification - are you referring to the forgetful white liar in the OP, or the queen of overblown rhetoric in post #2?

Thank you Rupert.

I am sure rametindallas can come up with something even more authoritative.

Independent sources have rated FOX news as near the top of 'balanced' news reporting...............

Of course they are, and no doubt you can point to a credible source just to confirm this?

Not that I don't believe you.

Drink til 4 AM

Eat, take taxi ride home, shower, and shag the companion of your choice.

Pass out by 6 or so

Sleep til 3 PM

Wake up, shag again, shower, eat, go get a massage

Hit the bars at 8

Lather, rinse, repeat.

It's called "vacation", why not?

I have plenty of time to be a responsible adult when I am back in the real world.

Actually, "responsible adults" remain responsible wherever they are in the world.

Perhaps you rate yourself too highly.

.

I do not understand how the boys in Blue would gain.

I suspect this statement confirms your general powers of observation - particularly on the political threads.

Boys in Blue

Imagine, buying these Chinese Crap Cars in Thailand, or even manufacturing them here for the Thai market, what is going to happen to the already horrific road toll! Drove back from BKK today, saw results of 6 car accident close to entrance to service area (Motorway 7) we were returning to Pattaya 7 cars were involved "Only" 3 people killed last night at this accident.Because good quality cars. Many accidents here because idiots at the last minute that they need to go to this area and cut across traffic from the right lane.

Seen many times! Signs are to close to actual turnoff, this is the case in many instances around Thailand, this also is the cause of many highway accidents.

What has bad driving in Thailand got to do with Chinese cars - other than in the limited minds of xenophobes?

Chinese car crash failure.

From 6+ years ago.

Ok , i sent off an email and this is the reply 2nd April.

We are planning on opening in the next 2 weeks for the issuing of visas.

We will be able to issue a multiple entry Non Immigrant Type O visa which has a validity of 90days at a time

for a 12 month period.

Bazt what question(s) did you ask in your email?

Does the response from the Consul suggest that they will not be issuing O-A visas?

The Chinese are producing cars of the old Communist Bloc era, like Lada, Tatra, Skoda to nave a few, but probably when quality manufacturers set up there own plants, in China, for example Skoda, (Volkswagen) thigs may improve, but not in the foreseeable future.

Volkswagen has been manufacturing cars in China since around 1984.

I think you are wrong! not Skoda anyway. What else ??

Remain ignorant, or look it up for yourself.

Your choice.

Thai price Farung price, we will pay top fare.

Does Thai Airways, another government owned transport network, have dual pricing for domestic flights?

The farang paranoia on this forum is frightening at times.

No but 90% of their National Parks do and 100% of their hotels do.

What absolute nonsense - but thank you for assisting to prove my point.

Suggest you start to drink decaf.

Why DMK? Because it isn't a great sterile shopping mall. Because when you arrive it smells like Thailand should smell rather than smelling like all the other 'international' airports.

Ah, yes, Don Muang smelt like Thailand and not like an airport. Of course. Food stalls, grilled chicken, traffic fumes, sewage....all of those things noticeably absent from the airport that had some trolleys and duty free shops to smell.

I stick with the nostalgia explanation - your post just backs that up for me.

Cheers.

I appear to be missing out on this airport "experience" every time I pass through Swampy, or DM for that matter.

Give me a quick transit through Immigration, bags already on the belt when I get there, and I am as happy as a pig in sh1t.

I am more than happy to miss the nostalgia and the sensory add-ons.

ps I am going to suggest to Skytrax that they add an additional category to their airport rankings - "Best/Worst olfactory experience ".

The Chinese are producing cars of the old Communist Bloc era, like Lada, Tatra, Skoda to nave a few, but probably when quality manufacturers set up there own plants, in China, for example Skoda, (Volkswagen) thigs may improve, but not in the foreseeable future.

Volkswagen has been manufacturing cars in China since around 1984.

But when you see the stories about the attacks on Apple this week, it is obvious that there is a tactic to smear western brands in China.

This interesting opinion piece from the Economist looks at some possible reasons behind the attacks, one of which is quid pro quo for treatment of Chinese firms abroad e.g. Huawei in the US.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/analects/2013/03/apple-china