fredwiggy

Teaching your kids to swim is part of parenting, because most children, teens and adults love the water sports. It's not hard, and just the basics, not panicking, can save their lives. I don't see it done here and this is why so many perish in the waters here every year.

You'll never go wrong buying a Toyota. I've had several, and wish I could have brought my pickup here when I moved, instead of selling it. I'm sure it would still be running fine. It had right at 300, 000 miles on it when I sold it, with very little problems (no motor or trans). I've known of one owner personally that had 700,000 miles on his Toyota pickup. The 22RE motor was one of the best ever made. I also have friends who own(ed) Toyotas and rarely had any problems. When I move back to Texas, that's what I'll be looking for in a used SUV.

I've been here over 6 years, but knew about this country for years beforehand, and what I heard isn't as bad as what I've seen since I've been here. Children left by fathers and then mothers, has been going on for decades, and it's been wrong all along. Thailand has more children raised by grandparents than any other country by a very wide margin. This is why so many juvenile delinquents run around here with machetes , knives and sticks, 5 against 1, and molest more girls here than any other developed country besides the Middle East., and maybe India. Also why so many children are driving scooters at 8 years old, without helmets. If this country had the morals of western countries, more children would be excelling in school, and then in life, instead of failing in both. Men would be forced, by paying support, to help the children they conceive, instead of left to breed without repercussions. Children would have fathers at least in the sense of support, instead of mothers using that excuse to leave their kids with grandparents, who in a lot of cases are illiterate, too old, or not capable of raising children in a safe environment and teaching them respect for life. Grandparents aren't supposed to be parents to children unless both of the children's parents are gone, or dead. There is no excuses for leaving your children with others besides laziness or indifference.

So have I, in the US.

Impossible to know until they find out what work she was doing. Only 43 and died from exhaustion sounds a little fishy. Thais work here into their 60's and more farming, which is as hard as just about any work. What is wrong is how a mother has to go away for 3 or more years while her kids are at home with grandma, which increases every year here. Dads disappear soon after a baby is born, if not earlier, and the mom thinks she needs to go elsewhere for work while rarely seeing her children. My ex's brother has been in Israel over 5 years and hasn't come back since, and has 2 girls and a wife here. This more than anything else is why birth control must be used, along with a court system that punishes men when they don't pay child support. That mom would still be alive if she stayed here for work, and the kids would do much better, especially if they have no dad.

Depends on how much, The more, the easier to smell and it has a metallic scent. I see this when I shoot a deer and it takes awhile to find him.

How do you know how far a person walks after his throat is cut? Watching this on TV doesn't show reality, as it shows people dying from stab wounds in a few seconds, when it takes minutes to bleed out and sometimes a lot longer. In any event, a person intent on suicide would usually cut his wrists and slowly bleed out, as many have done before. Cutting your own throat would surely involve a lot of pain and suffocating .

The you should use another word besides academic, because that relates to school discussions or irrelevant topics.

Seeing a life vest used here might be a rare experience. The reason so many drown is that no one teaches them how to swim when a child.

The amount of funerals that go on in this country, with the fireworks that are set off, doesn't alarm people like it would elsewhere. If you aren't that familiar with the sound of gunfire, you could easily mistake it for funeral fireworks.

Japanese culture will always live on, as well as all cultures, because there are always people who like traditions. The big cities all over the world will be westernized to a degree but the countryside will always have it's traditional farmers, workers and fishermen that like the old ways. Getting out of any big city is the way to see cultures, including this country. By the way, people don't off themselves over any particular thing, although it might be the last straw that drove them over the edge. People kill themselves from depression because they can't see a brighter tomorrow.

If both parents sign , as noted in number 2, the court really isn't necessary, as going to the Amphur is what you need. If one parent doesn't agree with number 2, then you go to court and file a petition.

I said this as a possible reason, of course, why he went haywire. I'm a father who has been denied his rights until I won them, against a woman who only wanted to hurt me. This happens daily in every country many, many times, so it again, is a possible reason. A man usually isn't going to attack a brother in law, the parents, or his wife unless he felt he was getting the short end of the stick. If he was seeing his child, what reason would he have to do this? I listed a possibility, as did others here.

As is the case most anywhere, some judges are either prejudiced or ignorant of their own laws. This is from Thai law................. The Process of Legitimation and Obtaining Parental Rights in Thailand. There are primarily three ways to legitimize a child in Thailand and to obtain parental rights in Thailand. Become married to the mother of the child. Voluntary Legitimation: This involves a joint application by the unmarried parents to register the child as legitimate at the local district office (Amphur). Both parents must consent, and the child, if old enough to understand, must also agree. The child must be seven years and over to conclude matters in this way. Court Order: If voluntary legitimation is not possible, a father can file a petition with the court to establish paternity and obtain parental rights. This is typically necessary in cases of dispute or when the mother opposes legitimation. Rights After Legitimation Once a child is legitimated, the father obtaining parental rights in Thailand provides him with the same rights and the same responsibilities as the mother. This includes: Joint custody and guardianship. Right to make decisions about the child’s upbringing. Right to visitation and contact with the child. Financial support obligations. Inheritance rights for the child. Right to use the father’s surname.

What I've been trying to figure out, is how you can travel so much on a salary just mopping floors. You've been to Thailand , if I remember right, at least three times this year, along with the Philippines at least once. This, along with all of your seemingly weekly doctor visits leaves little time to work and travel so many times. Others treat rich people as royalty for three reasons. They either are getting paid or they are brown nosers hoping for a gain, or they're in a group that actually thinks these celebs are worth more than they are, which isn't true. Saying you're a connoisseur without knowing what wines you have tried means little. I have had hundreds of very expensive, excellent wines from great vintages from all over the world, and I've never been rich but just in the right place at the right time or bought them knowing they would improve over time. Actually I've been with other friends, who were just regular workers like myself, and after smoking a doobie, enjoyed a sharp Emmenthal with a 1976 Berkasteler Doktor Beerenauslese , had Chinese food with a 1953 Chateau Margaux at the local Chinese restaurant in urban New Jersey, or was driving with my best friend Al in his Volkswagen Beetle, drinking a Late harvest Californian Riesling, smoking hash and going fishing in the New Jersey northwest. None of us were academics but just friends enjoying each others company.

Avoiding foreigners and showing a brown nosing tendency explains why you think foreigners are always complaining. Again, my point was, to change things, complaining is necessary. This means for everyone in any particular country, and not only foreigners, who really have no say in making changes happen and can only pass on advice to locals. Thai people look to the west for almost everything. Almost everything you see people have here was made in the west, and Thais use them daily, which means they are influenced by foreigners and their habits, culture and things they own. Everything they use , from road work, electricity, phones, TV's, computers, music and laws are from western ideals. They aren't enforced as well, as far as the laws, and this is where they still fail their people. Thais complain every day here, but you aren't saying anything about them .

Try getting out more, and look at the daily news. Not only here, but worldwide, which covers things here also. I, and many others, have mentioned many things that need changes here, and it's not for us but for everyone who actually lives here. Just a few, since you think things are so great, is the driving habits and lack of enforcement of driving laws. 65 dead daily means things need to be changed. Most involving those not wearing helmets on scooters ,speeding and driving drunk. The exchange of money instead of punishment for crimes against others, a few baht and a wai and all is well, even though uncle was killed by a drunk driver. Men having countless children and never paying any child support, which lets them repeat this behavior as many times as the clueless young girls let them.

Complaining, again, is how things are changed. This means negative things. People with depression only help themselves if they are knowledgeable about depression, and know the steps to take, If not, another one who cares about them encourages them to take steps to change their lives, and thinking. Ask yourself, how exactly are things changed for the better. Complaining about them. If enough complain, things can be changed. If politicians want to get elected, they listen to the people's complaints, and if they are smart, they'll do things to encourage change. If they don't make changes, they're fired. My family and friends love me as I am. They actually complain also, just as most people who want changes do. Letting people walk all over you without complaining, is how depression takes a grip. It's called environmental depression, and comes from toxic people that constantly put others down. How do you stop them? By complaining when they try and tear you down, and not letting them take over.

I'm not moaning. I state things exactly how they are. I'm not miserable either, but this is not a good place for either myself or my daughter to live. If you don't understand what actually goes on here, you shouldn't reply. There are thousands of expats here that don't like living here, but do because they have a woman here that won't leave Thailand. Remember, you don't have to read, nor reply, on anything posted here. Unless of course you are wanting to discuss things with an open mind or want to give advice. Why, if you are living on an oil platform, do you feel the need to comment if that's where you spend most of your time/ There are many people that actually live here full time and have no clue of what goes on here daily, because they live in a small village outside population centers and rarely leave the house, nor watch the news.

You still have visitation rights as a father anywhere, IF you want them. The fact that most don't care once a child is born here nullifies that .

I'm making perfect sense. Again things that are bad can be changed by people complaining about them. This is how laws are written. This is how people are made safer on the roads. This is how gun control can be made to have people live safer lives. Because you visited 40 countries means you spent little time in any of them. You are mostly around a group of people, and not amongst the people who live in those countries, seeing what the problems are, and not knowing how those problems can be changed. You think it's only foreigners that complain here? That means you don't live amongst them, and hear what they say, daily, about the things that hurt this country. Corruption here is as high as anywhere on earth, and this hurts the populace. Human trafficking here is huge, and this hurts individuals and families, permanently sometimes. Why do you think so many protest downtown in Bangkok? For changes. Problem is, they jail or kill many who protest, unlike western countries where you can say anything you want, as long as it isn't threatening. If you actually lived here, and knew what actually goes on, you might understand why others complain. Westerners know a better way of life, and would like to see some things changed here not only for their good, but for the good of everyone who lives here. It doesn't mean you change everything, but things that are hurting the locals. It doesn't matter what you like about Thailand. This country is still many years behind the standards of safe living. The only way things will improve here is if ideas from other, more developed countries are put in place. The road system sucks here. The electricity one uses here is outdated. Laws aren't enforced and money can but off most any problems. The way children are cared for is appalling. The schools pass children who are failing, and fathers aren't made responsible for the children they conceive. You think this will change without complaining? Rose colored glasses and brown nosing lets things that are bad continue.

Without knowing the whole story the thing wrong with this thinking is it doesn't solve the custody problem and only permanently damages relationships between the children and their parents. It actually does happen it different fashions all over the world. Some dads just let their kids go if the woman stops visitation because they don't care. Some will fight for their rights which is the best course of action, until the court gives you those rights, which is their job, and some go to extremes, like this man did, and ruin everything. Fighting over the kids hurts them most, and some parents, usually women, don't care what happens to the children, as long as they hurt the dad. They forget their relationship and what happened, and only turn their anger on the ex partner, putting the kids in the middle. The children should have both parents, if the both parents are stable, and visitation of both, again, if both are stable. They should live with the best parental choice, and this doesn't mean the woman. It means where they will be taken care of best. Yes, women can be, and are, cruel when a divorce comes, but so can be men. Thailand usually gives the children to women, and this is ignorance. Granted, most Thai men won't fight for their kids like western men will, but this should still be taken into account when deciding where the kids live. A stable home means one where the parent can give time to his kids, train them, educate them, care for them, and be there when they need it. It doesn't mean taking off and going to another city and sending money back (sometimes), while grandma takes care of the kids.

To nip this in the bud. Blaming the woman might be a little short sighted but her not allowing him to see his child might have started him on this path of destruction. It happens to a lot of us fathers when custody is the issue. Women think they can do whatever they want and get away with it. Of course I'm not saying this is what happened, but it does start a fire sometimes. Going to these lengths is obviously wrong and no one wins here, especially the children, because they now lost an uncle, a dad and their thinking will be damaged for a long time to come. My ex in Texas took my children, illegally, out of school then out of state, and nothing was changed until I went back to court and showed the judge the paperwork showing she wasn't allowed to do this, and they were given back to me. I have nothing but respect for a good woman but nothing but contempt for those that do anything to hurt the relationship between a child and their father. The same goes the other way , although it happens in only a small percentage of the time. The best way to fight this, if she wasn't allowing him to see his children, is to go to court. A father has rights a court can't interfere with unless he's doing something wrong to the children. Saying this, this man might have just been jealous or hellbent on damage because of a mental illness, so we don't know until we know.

Lack of concern for children here is appalling. I see this daily where the buses are overcrowded and many students actually sit on top of the buses. This is prime example of the lack of concern for life here. If it's going to happen it will is the thinking, instead of doing things to ward off possible accidents, like spending money on better buses, better trained bus drivers, enforcement of laws already on the books, wearing helmets, not allowing children under 15 to drive without a license, not having more than two on a scooter and more.

It's the same reason New Jersey in August is unbearably hot. Close to the ocean. Houston has the same problem. Humidity is higher than inland.