Galong

You completely ignore the fact this was a Hurricane not as Tsunami and thus the destruction to infrastructure extends hundreds of miles inland.  Very, very different situation.

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So, you think that the pathetic response that the US government is giving is somehow acceptable?

If I'm misunderstanding you... sorry. But it seems that a storm surge is a storm surge. It's merely a matter of degree.

OK, just looking at New Orleans then... this was the city that the news media and the weather agencies said would get hit and they did. I'm not talking about all the damage that went down inland. Look at how mismanaged the rescue process is going in this one city - I'm appauled.

If we didn't have our military fighting for oil, we'd have a few more hands to help.

In watching CNN and FOX, I'm stunned by how disorganized the hurricane clean-up is going, how under-manned/womanned the government is, and at the sheer heartlessness of looters.

Even with a few days of notice (something that Thailand didn't have the luxury of), I'm shocked by the following:

1. Hundreds of people died (faulty evacuation plan? Irresponsible citizens?)

2. They are still looking for more dead

3. The evacuation plan seemed flawed from before the hurricane hit

4. The levee in New Orleans broke - the fact that they built a city with the majority of the city below sea level - and this from the country that put a man on the moon!

5. There is talk of disease issues for some time to come. Thailand got very bad press from so-called experts like the CDC and WHO stating that the worst was yet to come. That diseases will likely kill more people than those who died in the water. On the contrary, within hours, Thai villages had mountains of water and food. I know, I delivered a lot too.

6. Rescue workers are leaving dead and decomposing bodies safely removed from the debris. They had plenty of time to get enough rescue workers down there!

7. Some looters are now armed and have shot a cop in the head in New Orleans

8. All of the looters shown on FOX news are non-white (I'm sure they can find some white people to video tape too)

9. People who want to get out now can't get gas because the electricity is out at the gas stations. Hello, generators, hello.

I was amazed by how well organized the Thai government was immediately after our disaster.

Yes, there are plenty of examples of things that didn't go well and that still might not be settled even now, but the response time, the amount of rescue workers, military, medical personnel and folks from all walks of life (both Thai and foreign) was heartlifting.

In my eyes, Thailand is 1st World on responding to disasters and the US could use a swift kick in their 3rd World quality back side.

I'm an American expat, by the way.

THE MINISTRY OF LABOUR WILL DISCUSS THE SHORTAGE OF LABOUR WITH THE PM NEXT WEEK

The Minister of Labour has affirmed that he will bring the issue of shortage of labour to the Prime Minister's attention next Friday, adding that issuance of immigrant work permits require the listing of foreign citizenship with the Department of Local Administration.

Mr. Somsak Thepsuthin (สมศักดิ์ เทพสุทิน), the Minister of Labour, stated after his meeting with the Thai Frozen Foods Association, the Thai Food Processors' Association, and the Association of Thai Wood and Rubber Furniture, that, at present, there is a severe shortage of labour, and there have been requests to the Ministry of Labour to correct the problem of foreign labourers with no foreign citizenship listing. The Ministry of Labour has stated that this issue is under the supervision of the Department of Local Administration, under form thirty eight dash one (38/1), and has asked that the department assist in the matter.

Mr. Somsak added that the problem is not the sole responsibility of the Ministry of Labour, since the issuance of form thirty eight dash one must first come from the Department of Local Administration and the Ministry of Interior. Mr. Somsak says he will discuss the matter with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on September 9th, to obtain clear directions for Thai and foreign labourers.

Source: thaisnews.com  ประจำวันพฤหัสบดีที่ 1 กันยายน 2548

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Are they serious? I can round up a couple hundred young men and women from my small neighborhood if they need help.

I think the error is that there aren't many Thais willing to work, not that there aren't enough of them.

I also can't understand why there are so many Burmese workers working in Phuket. Aren't there any unemployed Thais who could use a job?

Update (Phuket Gazette):

Phuket Air ‘will not close down’

“I can confirm 100% that we are continuing in the aviation business and will expand our domestic routes. I guarantee it,” Capt Chawanit told the Gazette.

--Phuket Gazette 2005-08-31

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You see folks, it a three-step program:

1. Open mouth

2. Remove shoe, we are in Thailand after all

3. Insert foot in mouth.

Man, I wish is was legal to gamble here. I'd put some savings on the line for this sure thing.

I do, however, agree with your assessment on the impact that Thai TV plays, galong.

It's also apparent for similar reasons along the borders with Laos and Cambodia that receive the signal with the people in those countries.

Economic frustration certainly plays a major role.

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In all of the villages I've visited in Lao and Cambodia, those that have TV are dressed different from the way they used to dress. I find this rather sad. I guess it's that desire to fit in with the rest of the world.

Not that I don't like jeans, but a traditional sarong seems more comfortable and it's certainly more attractive... not necessarily meaning merely sexual stuff here.

Vang Vieng in Laos used to be a lovely small village. Now however, they've got crappy music (a term I don't like using for techo machine junk), pizza parlors and everything you'd see in a town that has had tourism for a while. It's really sad that they've let their village fester into this. Oh, and they've got TVs.

Belittling and berating religion - "Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly" Joseph Cambell

"Sunai Phasuk of Human Rights Watch thinks that, for the newer radicalised insurgents, religion is far more important.

"

Religion is more important... I can just see it, in a far and distant land, during a time when men were men and camels got flowers for their birthdays, a bunch of Arabs sitting around a campfire in the desert laughing about some of the stuff they were writing down... "let's see, I know, let's tell them that if they die for our cause, they'll get a bunch of virgins in the afterlife." Wow, I can't believe that the folks who wrote the bible didn't think of that one.

Maybe they had ugly women. I've seen paintings of the Virgin Mary and I don't think I'd want to get stuck with dat!

Thai TV could be part of the problem. If you watch it, you'll see (or think) that most Thais have a big house, a light-skinned skinny wife or girlfriend, a Benz and slaves - oops, I mean servants that they can abuse at will.

If I lived down in the Deep South and was a young man with a future that looks like, well-- hmmm, I can be a fisherman or a rubber tapper-- I'd be pissed off too. I'd want all the crap the rest of the country gets.

Thai TV is as bad or worse than American TV. It's eroding traditional Thai culture and values. This has spread all the way to the southernmost border now.

I wonder how many of the religious fighters are acutally wanting more material goods??

Does this all go back to the education or lack of education that Thai school offer??

I go jogging in Phuket Town all the time. there's a small university nearby. I get hit with insults, vulgarity and general rudeness.

This sort of thing didn't happen a few years ago. I've been here for close to 13 years and the attitude of teenagers has most definitely changed.

"Thais tend to be greedy, ill-tempered, deceitful and aggressive, said Buddhist thinker Phra Paisal Visalo of Chaiyaphum’s Wat Pa Sukhato."

Wow, Khun Phra hit the nail on the head with this statement. I think that the 'jai yen yen' mentality is either a myth or a thing of the past.

Thailand is starting to look more and more like the US of A... crap!

Ah, the test was a success!

I was wondering if anyone ever read my mostly-tongue-in-cheek rantings. I feel so much power in me little fingers.

Thanks...

So let me get this straight -

1.) a hurricane is heading toward an oil manufacturing and drilling area in one small part of the world.

2.) The US of A went to war to get cheap oil.

3.) Oil companies are making huge profits.

Aren't we all being screwed by the oil companies?

Why can't they cut the salaries of the oil rig workers? They make way too much money already. Why can't the oil companies simply make less profit?

This is one screwed up (being polite here) world that we live in when corporate American can demand and get whatever they wish. I'll be happy when the last drop of oil is pulled from the earth... wait a minute <scratching head>, if that means Thais possibly driving nuclear Honda Dreams then forget it.

I was thinking about this while driving to work in England.  But if I had gone to university or some other college to earn my degree, why would anyone be using it in Thailand?

If I had a degree I would be putting it to good use in England or America or any country where it would serve its purpose to the max, I just think Thailand is being so stupid with there policy on qualifications.

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I wouldn't live in the USA again for any amount of money. I can't imagine living in England can be much better.

Personally, I'm here for the wonders of Mother Nature... and for sweet Thai women (not for sex, but just for hanging out with)

There seems to be a lot of oversight here.  Desalinization - wow,  what a great idea - sounds like it's going to give someone a lot of face. 

Oversight, sorry off track......  Isn't Thailand a tropical country?  Hasn't Chiang Mai ust experienced floods?  surely there is already enough water.  What happened to better water management:  Rainwater tanks, increseased efficiency,  not watering the road to clean it...... etc etc.

Sounds like another great idea with no thought behind it.

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Have you been reading the news lately awarrumbungle?

I suggest you read a bit more through the news forum before posting rubbish like that again...

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Jai Dee, is English your first language? If not, then I can see how you can misinterpret awarrumbungle's obviously sensible solution or at least contribution to the solving of the problem.

I see water being wasted all the time. In fact, earlier this week in Phuket, my neighbor had his lawn sprinklers going on for about 48 hours straight! His total lack of interest in saving water is likely to be very hard to tackle, but awarrumbungle's argument is sound. There is a lot of water being wasted all over the Kingdom. Common sense, here as well as in other countries, is not all that common.

Why did you call the post "rubbish"? Aren't you educated enough to come up with something more mature than that? How about addressing any weaknesses you may have found in awarrumbungle's argument?

Eco-tourism??? Give me a break. How can you have a proper eco-tour when the coral is dead, trash lines the beaches and the jungle is all but gone.

"Locals are more environmentally minded than some ministers."

They certainly can't be talking about Thais here. They are some of the least environmentally minded people anywhere.

Of course the TAT and many unscrupulous travel agents still use the word "pristine" to describe tours in Thailand. The only truly pristine places left are the tops of mountains, because it's simply too much trouble for the locals to accesss.

Ladyboy Assaulted and robbed by So-called Motorbike taxi rider.

We often report on Ladyboys who are accused of stealing from others, however in this story it is the Ladyboy who is the victim. This is Khun Jagapong aged 27. He was infront of Royal Garden Plaza after finishing work at a bar near Tops Supermarket in Central Pattaya. He was looking for a motorbike taxi so he could return home. A man on a bike approached the Ladyboy and claimed that he was a taxi driver even though he was not wearing a motorbike taxi jacket. He said that for 20 baht he would take him to his home in Soi Mair Vilia Market in Central Pattaya. Khun Jagapongs suspicions were aroused when the so-called taxi driver began to flirt with him. However he jumped on the bike.  At first the driver said he wanted to stop and buy some beer. He did so and continued the journey to Soi Siam Country Club after he mentioned that he was low on petrol and needed to refill his tank. He drove at high speeds down the road and at this point Khun Jagapong screamed at the driver to stop.  He eventually stopped in a secluded area and told the Ladyboy to hand over his valuables.  He complied but was then brutally attacked by the driver who hit him over the head with the beer bottle.  A 1 baht weighted gold necklace and a mobile phone were stolen.  At Pattaya Police Station, Police Lieutenant Colonel Prateep took up the case and is now hunting for the attacker who remains at large.

Pattaya City News

Tuesday 23rd August 2005.

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All those "bar stories" ive been told about lady boys turning into "jean claude van dam" when when fighting,are all bs then?

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They are still Thai men and Thai men can't/won't fight one on one. If I had a dollar for every time I read about a GROUP of Thai men bludgeoning a Burmese fishermen to death in Phuket, I'd have to buy those pectoral implants I've been dreaming about.

"Humans are more intelligent than beasts because the human branes have more convulsions."

Humans are dumber than animals because they have more convulsions and yet don't know how to take advantage of them.

Every inch of Phuket is being developed. I'm sure that the gov will come up with a longterm plan to supply water for the thundering masses... you know, something like rolling bones or sacrificing a virgin.

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Galong, I'd like you to show me one virgin on Phuket!

Where I'm from in the Deep South of the US of A (Deliverance country), the only virgins are ugly 5th graders who can outrun their brothers and father.

"I know you farang like to be dirty, but it really is nicer (for you and others around) too keep nice and clean."

Nice stereo typing SiamOne. I guess it's safe to assume that all Thais like to live in landfills judging by the amount of trash around their houses.

If you want to stereotype, then get ready for some backlashes.

Let's face it, Toxin is basically George Bush on rice. He has the same lack of charisma and the same disconnectedness that W has over his domain.

He can't talk to the "people" because he ain't one!

Seeding clouds - now there's a nice longterm solution to a problem that's been going on for years now.

Every inch of Phuket is being developed. I'm sure that the gov will come up with a longterm plan to supply water for the thundering masses... you know, something like rolling bones or sacrificing a virgin.

I don't get it... the US went to war to get cheap oil, the oil companies are making record profits, yet oil prices are going up.

I don't particularly like being sodomized by the oil companies... they should at least give us a 'reach-around'.

So there I was, just chatting to the g/f in my pick-up, parked by the side of the road from Rawai, and this thing slithers out of the grass. And it kept coming, and coming. I never did get to see the end of it's tail - it was as if it was coming out of a hole in the ground. After I'd taken a few photos, it turned around and slithered back. I don't think I'll be walking in the grass on that bit of road.

Anyone know what kind of snake it is, and whether it is dangerous?

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It's a reticulated python and it's not dangerous. You could make sure it gets to somewhere where it'll be safe from humans.

Thais are quick to point out annoying habits of foreigners, but they are just as obnoxious, if not more.

Hello,

I`ll be arriving to Thailand in a couple of days.

My 3 weeks trip will include a jeep track in the Mae Hong Son area (1 day) and a visit to Kanchanaburi (2 days).

My doctor said there is no need to take anti-malaria medication, but in variouse web sites and books it is mentioned that the above places are at risk of malaria.

What is your recommendation?

Thanks in advance,

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I've got Dengue Fever right now. I caught it in Trang. I caught malaria in Trang four years ago. There isn't supposed to be malaria in Trang according to the gov.

Wear bug repellent at all times is my advice

Never have sex with someone who understands what you're saying...

It's worked for me for quite a while now.

Perhaps some of us simply want a sweet woman who doesn't give us crap all the time. You're not all that way of course, but it's enough to not risk time trying to find a good 'un. Consider yourself lucky that this isn't a dating forum. [stepping off of soap box now]

Aren't there any Frenchies on this forum willing to defend themselves?