zthyadat

My condolences to the victims. I hope the injured make a speedy and complete recovery.

Hey, someone always has to say it...

I'd like to add that I hope nobody in the world, whether I know them personally or not ever gets sick, hurt or dies ever again. And if they do, in spite of my not inconsiderable best wishes to the contrary, I hope they rest in peace - whatever the hel_l that means.

Is The Nation looking for proof readers? I would be happy to submit my CV.

After reading that, I have no idea what actually happened....

No, the Nation has been laying them off - they have a third as many copy-eds as they had ten years ago. I don't think they realise how truly appalling the English is. I know several people who have worked there over the years and the assumption on the part of many of the local writers (who believe that because they speak English, they can write it), was that the editors just tidied things up a bit. They'd read the copy afterwards and to them it would say the same thing without the 200 mistakes, so they didn't realise how much had been fixed. So when the big cuts came 18 months ago, it made sense to get rid of the overpaid and barely necessary foreign editors. They still have some good editors there, but they just don't have the time.

minor typo in the title- should say Lom Sak to Loei as route 203 doesn't go from Lom Sak to Petchabun... Ooops!

What bike are you riding?

Lumphini police station being the one with 50 or so road prostitutes directly outside it every night.

Most of whom are double the age of consent. And most of whom are seeking an engagement, unlike children being forced into sex.

I think most here will agree that legal prostitution makes sense (even if that "legality" is achieved by turning a blind eye), whereas kiddie porn should under no circumstances ever be legal.

I searched and haven't seen any recent postings on this topic. Looks like nobody is doing the run to Singapore anymore.

Can any recent visa runners tell me if tourist visas are still free in Singapore? I read that the program was extended until March of next year (2011)

Has anyone recently tried to get a tourist visa there and had problems, such requiring a bank balance or onward ticket?

Oh yes, and I am a UK citizen.

Thanks for your help.

I struggle to see the issue here...

For years the seas have been warmed up above a critical point where the corals begin to die. The gulf of Thailand is warmer than ever. If something could lower the temperature a couple of degrees that'd be perfect.

I don't think anyone is too worried, except maybe the people in Loei, Nan and other northern provinces who tend to freeze to death during these phases. For those of us in Bangkok, Pattaya and further south it will be a godsend. But regarding the corals, it will be a brief reprieve, according to that chart - these cool spells are always followed by a spiking increase in temperatures...

They eventually recovered a few projectiles and were able to ascertain that once the energy was expended a bullet would just tumble back to earth like any object dropped from a height. Unlikely to be lethal.

Erm.......'unlikely to be lethal' isnt quite right.

A bullet, for those who don't know, is a piece of lead, wrapped in a brass coat. It's small and dense.

Physics aside, the terminal velocity achieved by a bullet falling - just due to gravity - is about 150 mph.

If that hit you on the head, i wouldn't bet on it being 'unlikely to be lethal'

'Unlikely to hit you on the head' would be closer to the mark, but if it hit you on the head, then pretty likely, it would end up going right through your brain.

Of course, whether that would be lethal, or even noticeable, to those involved in the bar brawl, remains a matter for conjecture!

It would certainly hurt. 150mph is about 200feet per second, about one quarter of the normal muzzle velocity of a .38 ... But since the formula for the force of impact would be mass times velocity squared, the force of a falling bullet at terminal velocity would be considerably lower - about 1/16th of the force if it came at you from the barrel of a gun.

"I'm not like my friends. They gave in, but I wouldn't. I'll fight. They shot at me and I fought."

More like: "They shot at me and I ran to a Burger King."

He refers to himself as a "Knight"? I guess when mediocre singers get fat they have to satisfy their egos in politics.

This story was clearly written by someone who not only has zero journalistic experience, but also has not read newspapers closely enough to have a notion of how a news story is written. It is full of unsubstantiated innuendo and swiping editorialising. ("show the Thai family the new wonder kid" ??!! "As Scandasia understands it...") Very poor reporting.

300 Baht for 5 kilometer is pretty steep price in Thailand! It's nowhere near that price in Bangkok. The local taxi mafia needs to be regulated by the government, but then the government would want a piece of the action too most likely! What a wonderful job the local Thai government does in Phuket... For the corrupt by the corrupt?

Regulating those guys has been tried before and they just resort to strongarm tactics - there have been plenty of examples in the news over the years. A couple of years ago the new Phuket governor announced that he'd be sorting out the impudent fellows and when he came out of the closed door meeting with the taxi brass he was visibly shaken, and announced that the situation was more legally complex than he initially thought and he'd have to delay his regulation plan pending "further study". I think they made him an offer he couldn't refuse - if there was any slicing to be done, it would be the governor, not the cake.

Yes, it is exhausting, and no more productive in most cases. You need the two day weekend - one to rest and one to go out and do stuff like buying stuff, or playing sports and such. Many companies abandoned the practice years ago, but some cling on for some reason - they probably believe they are getting more work out of their staff. One company I worked at before gave us the Satuday off but had us work ten hours per day, five days a week, with an eight hour Friday. Nobody did more than eight hours per day of actual work - they paced themselves to ensure it worked out this way, or they'd have gotten burnt out.

I stand by what I say, of course this is my point of view right? But looking at what Kuffki has just said it endorses my write up. The 2 dogooders who would like to see me hang high, try to read between the lines, think outside the box (if you can that is). I don't think you 2 have lived in thailand for long or know about the thai way, because if you did you wouldn't write stupid comments about clearly something you know nothing about.

Kuffki has been ripped off for large amounts of money whilst being in thailand, he is just a small proportion of the many who in number far exceed any thai national loosing a couple of thousand euro's.. They are the lucky one's.. if you added up the money that farang get cheated, robbed, murdered, fleeced out of on a daily basis in thailand it would be more than some countries GDP..

Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.. ah haa haaa ahhhh....

Anyone this nasty just has to be a troll.... Please tell me such farangs don't exist

In my personal experience, i have been ripped off by

1. Powerbuy- amount 5500 baht with no outcome at all

2. Ripped off by TATA car dealer-750 000 baht with no outcome

3. Bangkok Hospital -500 000 baht with no outcome

4. LG to the amount of 3 000 000 baht-with no outcome

5. Condo Developer-amount 100 000 baht with no outcome

And i am yet to meet a Thai who felt sorry for me or tried to help, so i guess i did not work hard for my money:unsure:

Hang on - you are saying that all these large organisations listed have taken those amounts from you and you received nothing in return?

Man, you must be the biggest sucker ever born. Why would you hand over 500,000 to Bkk Hospital for nothing?

What a turn around.. They should give this guy a medal of the highest order.. Like the earlier post said "thais getting screwed by farang, unheard of". Look what happens in thailand everyday we get screwed over in every sector, it's so refreshing to read a story like this and see the boot on the other foot.

Maybe if this did happen more often thais might treat us fairly, equally, the same same, that's all I ask.. Very good story, maybe a leson for the thai people.. :jap:

I noted in your profile that you react to criticism of your views by telling the complainers that they are "newbies" and haven't been here long enough to understand the Thai way with the great import and wisdom that you do. But it doesn't matter how long you stay in a place if you consistently see it through bigoted eyes. The world will always show you what you look for, especially if you look for the bad in people. There's no fool like an old fool...

So let's talk time served rankings. I've been here 20 years and worked as a journalist the entire time - which means having hours long conversations with the head of the DSI, the Bang Kwang executioner, several top ranking business figures, farmers, politicians, activists, motorbike taxi drivers, etc., etc., which I have found very enlightening overall. That background doesn't guarantee I am not a bigoted moron of course, but it makes it seem less likely. So, Ukinbkk, what exactly have you been doing with your time here that has made you so very very wise? (And so very very bitter...)

The problem I think most people have with your original remark about how wonderful it is that these workers got ripped off of their hard earned money is that these aren't the same people who you seem to believe rip you off on a daily basis. You seem to feel that a long as a Thai - any Thai - gets punished, then that suits you fine. But these people earned their money honestly through hard work, they didn't steal it from some farang. So who but a nasty, twisted embittered individual would celebrate their misfortune?

And you really believe that having money stolen by a farang will make Thais stop and reflect and decide that they should stop running scams on farangs? I rather think it would have the opposite effect.

It will all boil down to the root of all evil. Money!

There is nothing evil about money. How would we manage our lives without it? How would you pay for you food, clothes, etc?

To say "Money is the root of all evil" is very different from saying "Money is evil". The first expression is saying that if you examine evil you will find money at its root. It doesn't mean that all money and its uses are evil, but simply that evil is fuelled by money. If you say for example that "matches are at the root of most forest fires" it doesn't negate the value of matches.

The original quote, from the Christian New Testament, 1 Timothy 6:10, is,"For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." In general I notice that religious teachers do not greatly admire worldly wealth. Jesus taught that rich people will not go to heaven. Unfortunately his teachings were soon corrupted, and in the 15th Century Jean Calvin taught that worldly wealth in fact shows that God loves you. He also taught that only 4,000 people are going to heaven and they've already been chosen, so it doesn't matter whether you believe or not, nor whether you live a righteous life, if you are of the elect you're going to heaven and the rest of us are not. Sorry, this has nothing to do with the price of rice or armed men taking over a concession.

Four thousand, eh - and if wealth shows that God loves us, then presumably the 4,000 richest people go to heaven - wow, Forbes already has all these names. This version of God sounds like he could have been a principle adviser to the Bush administration. As if we needed more evidence that it is all fairy tales compiled by a bunch of self-appointed religious scholars in order to consolidate their own power - which is almost indistinguishable from money, oddly enough.

It will all boil down to the root of all evil. Money!

There is nothing evil about money. How would we manage our lives without it? How would you pay for you food, clothes, etc?

To say "Money is the root of all evil" is very different from saying "Money is evil". The first expression is saying that if you examine evil you will find money at its root. It doesn't mean that all money and its uses are evil, but simply that evil is fuelled by money. If you say for example that "matches are at the root of most forest fires" it doesn't negate the value of matches.

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if you think its ok to be an obvious spineless bastard beating on little kids well your no better than he is

What? These aren't little kids..older teenagers for sure. Plus it looks to me they are going through military training. Do you expect them to be pampered and coddled in the military?

They aren't French.

Few armies sanction punishments (or "training" as you like to call it) such as getting booted in the face by some sadistic prick. There are established punishments - many of them physically unpleasant - where the results are known. You don't just cut some bully loose to jump up and down on people - it is foolish and accomplishes nothing - except perhaps to encourage soldiers to be total dickheads.

And what makes you think the French Army are coddled?

No mention of Law.

No mention of "something bad" preventing travel.

No mention of "demand for immediate service".

Well, the Law once said you had to notify authorities of Jews hiding... Laws are written by humans and sometimes those laws are bad. This particular law is nothing but another method of extracting more money out of farangs. Farangs are not exactly competing with Thais to get jobs or get allowance money out of Thai government. No, you are on your own here, unlike in the West where you will get government money in many cases as foreigner or at least health care.

Thailand would benefit greatly by allowing foreign ownership at least smaller companies and making immigration laws much more clear. Visa runs are totally useless, another method of extracting money out of farangs, in a way another broken window fallacy. For example in Mexico, if you can show 1000 dollars per month income coming abroad, you can stay. Easy and simple. No hassle with this mammoth bureaucracy for the benefit of that same bureaucracy.

thats another reason why tourism is down (I know from what I see...not the stats posted..empty hotels..far less foreigners) there are greener places people are heading too. no wonder. the fact its so nationalistic definetely discourages a lot of people. I just try to hang in there!

too bad for those who are jailed with unusual circumstances, or other cases not involving deliberate overstay.

If there are medical or other compelling reasons forcing you to stay longer, you or a representative (bearing a release form signed by you) can go to immigration and have extensions granted. A coupleof years ago, I managed to get an extra 30 days for a friend who was stuck in the hospital with a serious injury - wasn't easy getting him to sign it off since he was only semi conscious most of the time.

No mention of Law.

No mention of "something bad" preventing travel.

No mention of "demand for immediate service".

Well, the Law once said you had to notify authorities of Jews hiding... Laws are written by humans and sometimes those laws are bad. This particular law is nothing but another method of extracting more money out of farangs. Farangs are not exactly competing with Thais to get jobs or get allowance money out of Thai government. No, you are on your own here, unlike in the West where you will get government money in many cases as foreigner or at least health care.

Thailand would benefit greatly by allowing foreign ownership at least smaller companies and making immigration laws much more clear. Visa runs are totally useless, another method of extracting money out of farangs, in a way another broken window fallacy. For example in Mexico, if you can show 1000 dollars per month income coming abroad, you can stay. Easy and simple. No hassle with this mammoth bureaucracy for the benefit of that same bureaucracy.

". No, you are on your own here, unlike in the West where you will get government money in many cases as foreigner or at least health care."

This is false. If you are a tourist, you don't get any (free) access/benefits from being in a country (in Australia) and I'm sure the US is the same, since public access to health is such a big discussion even now (for those that live there).

Again regardless of the tourist visa status, you wouldn't be entitled to any benefits either and not for a min of 2 years after you get permanent residency. So your arguement is rubbish.

You can still own a proportion of any business in thailand, the reason it is difficult to own the majority share is simple, they don't want to be controlled by overseas influence...

How can that be a bad thing for THAILAND? They want to control their own country and are keeping their own interests controlled.

In reality, companies both big and small have been using proxies to get around this ownership law, so effectively these companies have been foreign controlled for decades - and lo and behold, the country hasn't ended up as a colony - or at least not one the colonisers are able to control.

It's long past due that the authorities started putting more teeth into enforcement of immigration law. Hopefully they'll also find the manpower to start doing some extensive sweeps and passport checks and round them up by the bus load.

Go visit Mae Sot sometime and you'll notice that the local Gestapo already do this every day, rounding up Burmese illegals by the busload - then sticking them in the slammer for a few days (with water but not food), before dumping them back on the Burmese side. Has it changed anything? Absolutely not. It is a pointless exercise. But the Mae Sot police appear to enjoy the feeling of power that comes with it.

Without pressure I am sure we all know that nothing will ever happen. What is worse, the Thai government letting the police bury it or the the foreign government being disinterested?

Foreign government apathy and disinterest in seeking justice for their murdered citizens just encourages the local attitude to continue. That of course doesn't help any of us here.

The real mission of diplomatic missions is to keep trade relationships humming. Providing help for expats or their survivors will always be way down the list.

Really? You think so? I mean, how much trade could there be between Thailand and Canada? I bet their consular team is busier here than in most other countries, seeing the range of expats I do in the city. And what about in Burma? I bet the Embassy there doesn't do trade at all. I mean, doesn't Canada have laws against trading with the Burman govt? I don't know, it just seems to me that there's more to this just taking easy potshots at burocrats. Every time this topic comes up all these attacks from expats start of their own govt. I don't know why all the hating has to start again. Things are bad enough without us adding to the noise.

According to the asiapacific website, Thailand exports about USD$550m to Canada - a large portion of it electrical goods. Canada exports about $180m to Thailand, so Thailand has a nice little trade surplus going there.

Came across these chillies grown in Fiji lately.

By the way, a farmer who specializes in growing them says they can grow up to 18" long!

Sort of brings a tear to your eyes, doesn't it?

Is there any special preparation required to make those chilis kosher?

Just to annoy about every one here, read the 'vancouversun' article from the 15th this month. It has a brief on Chandler Vandergrift who was injured on May 19 here in BKK.

Don't know if I'm allowed to post the link, but you should be able to find it with what I wrote.

Why did the article annoy you? I read it and it wasn't particularly biased - except that it didn't mention specifically that the grenade that hit him came from the red shirt side, though that was implied.