thaikahuna

Honorary Consuls have about as much power as an ordinary falang visitor. The true power brokers are and will be the ambassadors and consuls general. They can make the decision to place an area off limits to its citizens and should they not abide by that ruling would be on their own with no national support. The real solution lies within the Thai local governments. So long as graft and corruption rule the orders of the day, nothing but lip service will be given. This is apparent by the absence of the mayor who is on record as supporting the legalized theft by tuk tuk drivers.

Regrettably, tourists and some ex-pats are too stupid to vote with their feet and go elsewhere or resist the temptation to get F***ED by the jet ski operators or tuk tuk drivers. As for Phuket's bad publicity, they can only look at themselves.

Great for Korn and Thailand should he win the post, but for the good of the world, go for the Singaporean.

:jap: Agreed!

Yesterday I might have been impressed, but today I saw this:

http://www.ted.com/t...ixth_sense.html

Will we soon be wearing our computers?

Nice concept and looks very easy for a hacker to access too...

There is one bar in Patong that may fit this profile, in Patong, it has Russian girls pole dancing in it. There are a few go-go bars that do the big bill at the end scam just like Pattaya, Bangkok, Vegas, Soho etc etc, buyer beware.

A 'crackdown' is hardly required.

Giving still more credence and reason to PAY PER ROUND ORDERED. Then you can avoid getting it shoved up your back side with no vaseline.

Thaksin might have abused his position somewhat and "lined his own nest" ...

BUT AT LEAST HE HELPED THE "LITTLE" THAI PEOPLE !!!

The hard-working Thai people in the villages LOVE him !!

Please be so kind as to list the benefits the "Little Thai People" have received from him...aside from his bought and paid for votes

Thaksin, Toxin, Toxic, Takky whatever you want to call him has done nothing to advance this country culturally or economically that did not benefit his own or his family's wallet first. He is like every other career politician. They thrive on money and power and will do anything to make sure that no one or no entity deprives him of that. He is a coward. Afraid to take his punishment (so ordered by a Thai court) like a man. Thaksin remains popular, yet losing ground among his base because in his speeches he only speaks about himself and his dreams, not those of the people. The only help the people in the villages got from him is a few baht for their votes.

The primary problem with Thailand's inability to move forward as a nation is its educational system and its socialist views on too many things not to mention the inability to think past today. Unless and until the educational system receives a complete and total overhaul, it will be relegated to producing the next generation of farmers and farm workers, factory workers, street vendors and bar girls (and boys).

For all its faults, there is a great charm to Thailand. It's people, food, culture, inexpensive or as expensive as you wish lifestyle and climate are but a few. The Mai Pen Lai attitude is a great concept but it will be the downfall of this nation unless people start to stand up for themselves, take responsibility for their actions and do something more than "What's easy for me!"

Thaksin is vermin but like I said is no different than any other career politician or any number of other public and officials who got where they are through graft and intimidation.

I take the bus from Pattaya to Bangkok all the time. From now on I will make sure to wear my seat belt (if there is one).

What's a eat belt? You would better your chances by taking a taxi.

Big C is still Big C regardless of the name on the building. The selections are already changing and shows no signs of letting up. I want my CA FOO! Time to shop at Villa and Foodland I suppose.

From the OP k. Thaksin said

""I will definitely come back at the end of this year. Just when my plane touches down at Suvarnabhumi Airport,""

the courts can finally dust off those dossiers concerning all the cases which were awaiting my return

Provided someone does not treat him the same as Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino was treated upon his return to the Philippines 25 years ago.

Once again Thaksin is trying to write checks his ass can't cash. Mandating pay increases only increases inflation. He wants to lower tax rates form 30% to 20% to ignite spending. Perhaps he should consider getting tax revenue from all the street vendors who now operate with virtual impunity form prosecution. The vast majority have no business licenses and dam_n sure pay no taxes.

This news was all over Japanese media since yesterday, but none of it said the victim was a yakuza.

They had guns on them and $10,000 in cash. This Takushi guy is also meant to be the leader of the third largest 'gang' in Japan according to the article.

I wonder what their real reason was for going into the Jungle.

If what's said in the article he should be released without charge as it's a case of self defence.

Regardless, this will go over like a turd in a punchbowl with the Japanese mob...if so affiliated.

Passakorn tried to dismiss the bribe claim, saying that Bt500 was given to policemen only for security provided.

If a pub needs 20 security guards a day, it has bigger problems than under-age drinkers and bare boobs.

Is there a Thai equivalent of the phrase "if you're in a hole, stop digging"?

If there is, I have yet to hear it....5555

I agree, 20 cops to control things means the place needs to be closed down and reorganized. Furthermore, why does a cop need to be additionally compensated for DOING HIS JOB?

The Taxis in Phuket and most of the Restaurants have doubled price than Hua Hin or other tourist town's.

Now they wondering why people go somwhere ell's......

They change their pricing on November 1, rain or shine, tourist or no tourist. A tuk tuk ride that cost 100B on October 30 was 200B the next day.

"In the short term, local taxis will be given access to 50% of tourists disembarking at the Deep Sea Port, as agreed to in an emergency meeting following the blockade of luxury cruise liner Silver Spirit earlier this month." Tell the tourists they have the option NOT to use those tuk tuks and can arrange for a regular van.

The greedy fools are going to price themselves right out of work.....

Well, yeah... at least this one doesn't sound like a scam... Right, they fell off but did they have the safety band tied around their wrist that was supposed to pull the key off and shut off the engine? I guess we will never know all the details as here in LOS I never heard of any sort of proper investigation to find all the truth. We will never know if the tourist failed to use the safety feature of if it was mulfunctioning.

One thing I am sure - the machine didn't keep going at a full speed after they fall off. That would indicate a stuck throttle and they would have discovered it as soon as they get on the machine. So EVEN IF the safety device mulfantioned, the speed of the machine would have dropped significantly after they "fell off". If it kept going at the full speed towards the rocks, it means they were flying towards the rocks like retards and they "fell off" in the last second...

While I do concur with the assessment, I think 180K is bullshit. 180K will do more than repair it, it will buy the repairs to the damaged jet ski and buy a new one to boot.

STAY THE HELL OFF THE JET SKIS OR BUY YOUR OWN!

Pure and simple its Thai moralistic hypocrisy.

Yea RIGHT! Almost one billion baht being dropped into an airport whose runway has not needed any major maintenance since the U.S. Air Force left in 1976 due to the original construction of the base, the building of another runway would not be realistic as there is an underground network of fuel supply lines criss-crossing the airport on BOTH sides of the existing runway.. Expansion of a terminal that is woefully inadequate and located in an area where determined terrorists could do major damage without even accessing the airport itself. The fuel farm is located on the road to the terminal.

What they SHOULD do is to build the new terminal at the north end of the base renovating or building new structures. This serves a multitude of purposes not the least of which is security. There are 2 access points on the north end pf the base on the west side of the runway. You could remake the entrance to facilitate the movement of passengers through that north gate (not the main gate of the base) and restrict traffic into and out of the airport. This could be done easily and accommodate the passenger traffic for the airport without creating any additional security risk.

Expansion of the airport is designed to do nothing more than accommodate the continued kissing of Russian ass.

This rates as news?

One of the taxi drivers who helped reach the agreement, 50-year-old Narin Kebsup, said he was part of a 160-member collective of local taxi and tuk-tuk drivers.

Can you say MAFIA?

In a free market society as Thailand proclaims to be, The customer is free to choose the goods and services they desire...not those offering/providing/demanding you use THEIR service. These people are just stupid enough to believe that the tourists will not go someplace else.

"'This is a good warning against stopping to look at accidents,' Samut Sakorn Police Lieutenant Colonel Chaiyaphat Charoenwai told Thai TV.

Or maybe a good warning to LEARN HOW TO DRIVE!!.... seriously? warning to not stop for accidents but by default it is ok to go as fast as you want, change lanes with abandon, run away from an accident you caused, not follow any safely rules...etc. etc.?

I feel so bad for those workers. I say this in all honesty and because I drive these roads quite frequently and see in any given second accidents and death ready to happen.

Very sad...RIP

Driver education, training and enforcement are definitely lacking. Too bad this type of thing still happens and especially with Songkran approaching. Families will unfortunately be burying their dead instead of celebrating the hliday.

The more I think about it.....it could just be an April Fool's wind up...

This will probably go over like a turd in the punchbowl in Isaan!

"I don't respect 'farangs'. We do not have to surrender to them," he said, using the Thai word for "Westerners".

A gentleman and a diplomat. Excuse me while I vomit.

In the US, this guy would have been run out of office on a rail by the end of the business day.

About the only things the man has not been accused of 'so far' the drought, cold spell, smog, etc. What he has accomplished according to the those who have/will have wasted 3 days of what could have valuable graft time, would indicate a influence never seen in the history of this country.

They must think he is George W. Bush.

I am sure that the opposition will take no responsibility for the thousands of people blocking a major piece of BKK real estate for several weeks.

There is no accountability and no responsibility for one's actions in this country.

Obama started the fire - LOL!!!

What happens if the woman is over 50? Does she have to find someone under 50 if she wants to marry a foreigner?

Have you gotten a good look at the single Khmer women over 50?

Pacified? You don't pacify law-breakers and terrorists.

Yeah <deleted> the law and the rights of others - we wanna sell our stuff. Thailand a nation on the verge of anarchy

How many of them actually have vendor permits to operate a stall? And if they do, how many actually pay their taxes? Methinks the answer to both questions is ZERO!

There was a similar situation in the Jomtien area several years ago where vendors had set up in a median area of one of the sois totally blocking anyone's ability to park near their hotel or guesthouse. Many of the hotel owners got together and made arrangements. then next morning around oh dark hundred, the bulldozers came through and that was the end of it. The same should happen with the street vendors here in BKK too.