Bangkok Barry

Did they buy those toys for one million baht? Or did they try to sell them at that price and bought them for maybe 10% of that? Same question arises every time that a once a year 'crackdown' in one place occurs and fake designer goods are seized. They like to claim/imagine that everyone who bought a fake whatever for 5000 baht did so instead of spending 50,000 on the real thing. Bull**** In reality, the companies that produce the genuine article lost nothing at all.

Nothing more needs to be said.

What is the point of your post? Everyone, without exception, is aware that murders happen in every country and no-one on this site has claimed otherwise. And in any case this is a forum about what happens in Thailand, not elsewhere. So I don't understand the reason for your post.

Why don't you want him instead to suffer the rest of his life enjoying the delights of a Thai jail? Killing him means he doesn't suffer at all.

Coffee Club are pretty expensive too.

When the big name soda water companies here are so cheap I'd not bother with making my own. Singha soda water suits me fine.

And that is exactly why I have never understood the Starbucks model, where their places are often designed to make you linger in their comfortable seating etc. Makes no economic sense at all - except that it does as they have become a global brand.

As often as these threads come around I post this. The improvement that we wish for isn't going to happen, not in our lifetime or the next. See point 10 in particular. It's far, far too late to fix the problem. There are many reasons Thais drive as they do. 1 - I have never detected any sign of common sense in a Thai, and I've been living here for over 25 years. I am not sure how you teach that, but anyway there is no movement to do so. 2 - The Thais have a Me First mentality that is deeply ingrained, and that is the last thing you want to see in a driver. 3 - The education system demands that you do not think for yourself but listen and obey, so Thais do not develop the necessary skills to actually think. That may result in my first point above. 4 - Learning to drive in a proper and responsible manner is quite difficult, and Thais do not do difficult. Thais do 'near enough', but on the roads that isn't 'good enough'. One mistake can cost lives, so being lucky enough to get it right most of the time isn't good enough either. 5 - They have absolutely no concept that the vehicle they are attempting to operate is a potential killer. No concept at all. 6 - Along with inadequate teaching of all things about how to drive properly and safely, there is no test to determine if you have reached a standard where you are not a danger to yourself and others before you take to the road. 7 - Thais do not seem able to join the dots, and realise that if, for example, they drive at 120 kms an hour five metres behind the vehicle in front, or drive at night with no rear light (or front light if they are driving on the wrong side of the road because they have no concept of the danger), then they would have no time to react if the vehicle in front brakes suddenly. Ask any Thai what their safe braking distance is and they would have no idea. 8 - There are zero police patrols to help prevent accidents by pulling aside selfish and stupid drivers. Their only presence is setting up road blocks which seems in my experience to have only one purpose - to check your tax disc is in the window and up to date. 9 - Police have absolutely no interest in enforcing the law even when they are static beside the road, watching kids three or four on a bike go by with no helmet, no license, no ability to properly control the bike they are on. And that goes also for the parents and schools who allow Thailand's future to play Russian Roulette every time they go out. The police know they get paid anyway, so why work? 10 - The government does nothing to resolve the road death/accident toll as nothing practically can be done. The problem began decades ago when Thais first began to drive in numbers. No meaningful test was introduced and enforced, and now it is far, far too late. It would mean retraining every driver (and who would do that - it would be similar to those who teach English not being able to speak the language themselves). And it would mean the drivers having to take a proper western-style test before gaining a license. And it would mean police patrols to catch those who drive as if they are playing a video game. Now, anyone can drive as they like and put themselves and others in danger as they know they have zero chance of being caught. They can drive that way with total impunity. And it would require said (non-existent) police to actually enforce the law. And not one of those things is possible in Thailand. And that is why the government does absolutely nothing to address the problem, as it is out of control and without a fundamental change in the whole of Thai society and culture it cannot be remedied. The government knows that but can't say it. To finish, nothing can or will change and survival on Thai roads will continue to be a lottery. All we can do is remember the words that were used in the 70s police drama Hill Street Blues as the force were sent out on patrol - 'Let's be careful out there'.

The last government was not voted out. It was removed by force. Part of the culture.

I don't think tanks and guns control how schools are run by corrupt directors.

The Thai IQ level is measured as 88. As a comparison, in a country with a proper education system, in Singapore it is 105. Huge, huge difference. And so people die.

Yes. In the real world, on the rare occasion that a driver lacks the skill to stay on the road, there's few nasty dents. In Thailand they almost always write-off the vehicle.

Prostitution of one of Thailand's most successful exports. They can be found over much of the world and even in small towns. The places named here in Finland are not exactly metropolises. Very enterprising of them. Especially when they discover, as the article says, that their Thai education counts for absolutely nothing in the real world.

Just part of the culture they are so proud of. It would be hard to find a culture as morally bankrupt as the Thais. It doesn't get lower that stealing off kids, What does your stepdaughter who knows everything that goes do about it? Nothing I'd guess, which is indicative of why the situation has existed for decades and will exist to decades to come. Like so many things in Thailand, no-one actually cares enough to do anything. I'm not pointing the finger at your stepdaughter in particular but at everyone who just turns a blind eye to the scum running the schools.

That isn't the way it works. In Thailand, all they care about is that they elected him and the army staged a coup to remove him. And anyway, Thais openly endorse criminals if it suits them. Pattaya has an interesting history, which I would probably be unwise to go into here.

The problem is that there might be a teensy weensy reaction from his supporters, of which there are many millions, if he is made to serve his sentence. It's a no-win situation for Thailand.

It's another U-turn. We would expect nothing else, would we?

We quite often read of cases like this, and it is always, always women involved.

In Thailand, if you dress smartly then you could be a mass murderer as long as your image is right. Used to be like that in the UK about 60 years ago. Used to be.

To 'often' see what you claim then it appears you would have to be in the car with them. You can't see all that in any other way unless you are very close to a stopped vehicle and looking through the window. And if the vehicle is stopped then what's the problem.

Another example of Thais not being able to moderate their behaviour. Same as they play music at top volume so that it distorts, and as they drive at maximum speed whether it's safe to do so or not. Absolutely no self-control.

A proper reporter would have asked, but asking questions is not encouraged in Thailand, is it. A bit of a handicap for a reporter.

Again, for the 100th time, the driver lost control. Who writes this nonsense, over and over again?

TAT have been known to use photos of beaches outside of Thailand to promote Thailand. They haven't got a clue, and nor have the journalists.

The only ones who ganged up were the Brits. Where did you read of any other Win drivers showing up to join in? Your comment is true of course on many other occasions, but entirely irrelevant in this case.