Mitker

Pheu Thai Party Offers Tablets To Thai Students ONE STUDENT, ONE TABLET COMPUTER

Politics at its worst. Again.

Just another vote-buying, public money siphoning scheme.

This party is simply hopeless..

A couple of remarks on this one.

First, it's not an airport scam, it's an immigration police scam at the airport.

People that don't need a re-entry visa are not subjected to it.

As one of the posters replied, for some that do use this service because of logistics, they would consider the 200 Baht extra as a convenience fee.

I don't condone corruption, but sometimes (as in this case) it's a small price to pay for saving time and hassle, in my opinion about on the same level as paying 200 Baht for speeding.

Yermanee :jap:

Only my opinion - but I think ur very wrong + a couple of previous posters.

Calling this a convenience fee....by having such attitude corruption exists and will be spreading across thailand and many other nations. It's just easier to pay this - why would I bother? I'd never pay a penny I'd rather make a big show around that booth, waste my time and possibly get in trouble. At least I'd know I did something to fight it rather than being passive. I'd feel absolutely terrible if I just paid - but this is only me.

Same thing happens to policemen stopping u on the highway, trying to find something missing from your documents and in the end (when they realize everything is fine) asking 100 baht. I laugh straight in their face and tell them to deal with my embassy if they have a problem. What do they do? (Not right away but)....They walk away...

I have such attitude towards every single similar scam whether at the airport or not and it works... never got into trouble, spent some time on it and got what I deserved = WIN! In my opinion this is the way to go but if for you it'd be easier to pay 200baht then ur another little contributor to maintaining corruption on every possible level.

Hope I didnt offend u but I had to put my point accross.

PEACE

I agree totally with this analysis.

Corruption is a way of life here, a good luck attitude if you can get away with it, from top to bottom and it is expected and tolerated.

Not just a way of life in those select circles, but embedded into the institutional character.....the OP naively suggested that there might be hope if the government would intervene. That would be kin to the foxes drawing straws as to whom would be watching the hen house.

Correct, corruption (and lying, and cheating, and stealing) is embedded in Thai culture. Believe me, your best Thai friend of ten years will steal from you if given the chance. There is no moral base to this corrupt culture.

As a Thai, I'm quite offended by this. Yes the entire institution is based on graft and corruption such that it takes a benevolent despot to break the system but that doesn't mean we all are. Do I say all Americans are corrupt because a couple rotten banking institutions decide to rip off the taxpayer? Maybe you should stop living under your log and crawl outside to see the reality of life

As a farang, I do agree with you.

The problem of corruption is very deeply rooted but it is no excuse for making a generalization. Some Thai nationals are truly sick of corrupt practices. What they deserve is support instead of this blind, counter-productive blaming.

1,000

1,200

really

what's the difference ?

Over a year and just at this office this amounts to the cost of building a school or even a small health unit where needed.

A big difference.

Corruption is a serious illness.

Perhaps their motive and therefore their attitude is a product of lack of education, lack of understanding of how the big world operates, lack of opportunity, lack of parental guidance (especially where the parents are working 7 days a week in a distant location), seeing massive corruption all round them conducted by powerful people who everbody gives the big wai to, most of which could be addressed by building and implementing an equal opportunity policy for education and for work opportunities, and political leaders (and more) being the role models for values and morals. encouraging .

Plus, maybe they feel disenfranchised and unfairly treated by the 'system' when they see basically no action / no encaseration for a 16 year old hiso girl who caused 9 deaths by her reckless driving without a licence, and basically no action in regard to a young man who stole his fathers expensive fast car and with totally irreseonsible driving cut a young girl in two.

Quite right.

Once again: a warning! That's nonsense.

Sounds like: "you criminals, switch to another criminal job for a while, another scam.. and everything will be ok"

Wanna stop them? Jail them. That's it. Extortion is not a joke. Mostly when it becomes so dirty that cops are playing the game.

I only hope Pattaya ladyboys do not hear of the news! Or i am afraid passengers will be harassed in the air just as much as on the ground.

i also hope the airline is prepared to lose some customers, there is a large number of people who do not accept so called third sex.

Sure, P.C. Air, I do not know you and I am not interested to know you even if your flights are for free. I have still some respect for myself as well and do not want to mingle with mentally sick ladyboys who better belong in the Pattaya nightlife than on an airplane. Not surprised to see that it is Thailand to be the first country to make this shameful step! What about the insurance Companies? They systematically refuse to health-insure katoeys. And why is that do you think...

The end of the straight civilisation...

On this aspect, Thai society proves far more mature than many others.

P.C. demonstrates that Thai people simply don't care what people do in their private life (it's their business) but rather if they're fit for the job.

Unlike posts above, they don't make this common western mistake of looking in someone's personal life and judge it according to narrow cultural/religious frames with no relevance to others.

These FA won't be there to marry you, to get close to you or even "to know you". They actually won't give a *** about you as a person but well as a customer.

They will perform their AF duty according to their job description and that's the only relevant point.

Other considerations/generalizations only demonstrate "shameful" bigotry and imported narrow-mindedness.

If these aircrafts are well maintained, I'll gladly be a customer. And, no, I'm not into TG/TV persons for private moments but can sure enjoy their company.

Thirapat denied a report that the heads of some well-known national marine parks were given their jobs based on bribes they had paid to politicians.

"I believe the assignments are based on their qualifications," he said.

and I believe pigs can fly

Whatever we think about the profile of their couple, this is just a bestial murder.

I totally support these 2 friends, whatever the result they can achieve.

They take risks, they spend money... at least they do something. And one way or another it will contribute to more justice than what is to be seen so far in this (closed) case.

You said "instead of turning into Suan Phlu and Immigration". When did this event take place? Immigration moved from Suan Phlu ages ago.

Bingo.

so there are at least two members who dont know how the things are:

the immigration detention center, where people without valid visa are deported to is in

Immigration Detention Center (IDC)

507 Soi Suan Plu (Sathorn Soi 3)

Sathorn Tai Road

Here is an official link including a map: http://www.immigrati...p?page=location

We can meet there to make u two and the other blank-faced sure.

If i hadnt already had unbelievable incidents with thai police i maybe would not believe this story, too.

Have more reasons to believe this story than not

In my country she would have had a license for over a year and a learners permit for 6 months prior to that. I think I understand why 18 is the magic number for Thailand but don't want to stereotype driving styles by race. What are the legal driving ages in European countries, Australia, UK???

I don't think the absolute age is the point.

The problem is that a legally underage girl has been offered the keys of a car. And this girl enjoy(ed) speeding.

The difference with this girl having lived in a country where 16yo was ok would have been:

- she would have undergone a proper training program (whatever you think about it)

- she wouldn't have felt like that the law didn't apply to her

- she wouldn't have been convinced that, by letting her drive underage, her parents were meaning she was an almighty little girl and that speeding would just prove it

Think about it... how does third hand information and some pictures can make certain how this girl feels right now. If there is any human fibre left in her she will feel devastated that some many people lost their life because of her. That's human nature for (almost) all of us, rich or poor.

"Almost" indeed:

The bodies of two victims, Sastra Chaothiang, a new PhD graduate, and Thammasat University law student Sudawadee Nillawan, were cremated yesterday in their home provinces of Ratchaburi and Ubon Ratchathani, respectively.

Neither the girl involved in the crash or her relatives attended. "There is no contact, message of apology, or even a wreath from them," said Pol Colonel Saran, Sudawadee's father.

I totally agree with this editorial.

The girl shouldn't be the target. The parents should be.

Seems like a first step in the right direction. But only a step.

Question: where is the father?

He's just as much responsible as the mother for raising an irresponsible child.

He should be there, now.

As far as we know, she was not driving a stolen car.

We can think whatever we want about her behavior but she's not an adult.

Driving recklessly without the required age and therefor the license has been made possible by :

- an adult giving her the keys

- other adults giving her an education where sense of responsibility is totally absent and probably a sense of social superiority

IF the conclusions of the investigation should point to her causing the crash, I think the people to be fully held accountable are the above mentioned, not her. They directly made this situation possible.

How many teenagers would behave stupidly if they saw adults trusting them to the point of pushing them to break the law, giving them a feeling that they are empowered with abilities above common people?

And, me too, I consider this "fuzz" a sane, useful pressure to help justice to be effectively applied even if facts will have to be established by evidences.

A despicable Mercedes driver who voluntarily killed and injured people at a bus stop not long ago, mentioned he "knew high ranking people" and ended up involved in another traffic accident months later, left sour memories to many people waiting for fair enforcement of the law regardless of social positions.

Sincere condolences to the families of all these innocent victims.

also MCOT has a few like this:http://www.mcot.net/cfcustom/cache_page/145853.html

This link is even better (the Channel 7 video format doesn't seem to allow for partial replay of the video, only full length).

I think I'll try with this one first.

Thx again and best wishes to all

http://www.krobkruak...kkn/?a=homepage used to do that, but the link seems to be dead now...

indeed..

There are many news clips here with a script of what the newscaster is saying beneath the video.

http://www.ch7.com/index.aspx

That's a very good source: the written script makes it very easy to read and convenient to copy/paste on an internet translation tool for instant translation of specific words.

Great.

Thanks!

Your general idea is sound - your formal Thai will progress quickly this way.

It is clearly spoken at normal speed

I find that often the Thai TV news are spoken at above average speed. But nevertheless your other points are correct, and there are definite advantages to following the news and learning to keep up with them. I found this link for deaf people, which has a list of shows that have Thai subtitles ( under the header รายการที่มีคำบรรยายภาษาไทย ). Hope that helps to serve as a starting point. http://nadt.thport.c...gnlanguage.html

Interesting link. Their list gives a fair amount of info.

I checked a few links to viewable former programs with subtitles but the small format of the compressed video makes subtitles unreadable.

I'd rather check the live programs on TV they list.

Thanks for that :jap:

Hi there,

My level in Thai (both speaking and reading) is intermediate.

From past experience while learning foreign languages, I see TV news as a very useful tool to develop practical language skills. The reasons are:

- The text is prepared (full, correct sentences)

- It is clearly spoken at normal speed

- Both vocabulary and style are formal, polite, and can be conveniently used in usual circumstances

- The footage illustrates the topic

- Most topics are of general interest

- If downloaded, it can be replayed as often as necessary to catch the details

But in the case of Thai language, I think Thai subtitles can really speed up the learning process (ease the decoding/understanding and offer some memory support).

Therefor, I'm looking for Thai news programs with Thai subtitles (like those for impaired viewers) to download.

I'm not interested in movies, series or other entertainment programs since they hardly fit the bill (see list above).

I checked a little in the forum topic list but couldn't find it.

Any idea of where to find it or even if it does exist? A 2nd line of subtitles (in English) would just be fabulous but I think I'm asking for too much there

Thanks for any info.

Mitker

Just for information, here is the result.

We went to confront the customs. All their claims proved to be basically groundless.

As a result the requested amount has been reduced but - more importantly - the tea money has been replaced by an official increase of duties. They pretended the declared value was under-valuated.

Well, that doesn't make any problem to us. And it let them save face (or what's left of it).

As a conclusion, I would say that even if it cost us some time and money, it was worth the trouble. Face-to-face, with no ground, they lost the self-confidence they formerly showed. We didn't cure the disease but we did some resistance at our level.

Thanks for all your contributions guys.

They all make sense somehow since this is the typical legal grey area where everything turns into a game of power and all scenarios are possible.

In this case, the issue is not about duties rates since we've paid them already. The hijacking of the container happened hours after the duties and taxes payment was completed when the container was supposed to leave. More like putting it back on the table at the last minute for an convenient milking attempt.

We'll meet them these days to clarify who's playing the trick. Could be the shipping agent. We'll meet them both together and have a few simple technical questions that will quickly clear it. It will also be the right opportunity to feel how confident the custom official is about the procedure. So far they hardly could clearly specify what the problem was. Looks like they would put the color of the container on the list if they could...

Thailand is part of the GATT agreements and Thai customs website puts it clearly that arbitrary decision by the officials is excluded.

Sure we'll learn from this meeting. It might turn up that all this is just a hot air balloon..

To address the risk issue, we are aware of it.

The bad experiences mentioned are a reality. Personally, I'd gladly meet these people to show them my respect. They lost -sometimes a lot I guess- but contributed somehow to make it less comfortable for corrupt officials to go on with their business. They surely didn't stop it, but they contributed to improve a sickening situation, paying the high price personally for the benefit of all. All my respect.

Corruption issue is a long term problem here. It is deeply rooted and still tolerated by a majority. But with more and more interaction with the rest of the world, a growing part of the society -still a minority indeed- rejects it. More and more Thais are educated abroad and understand what corruption costs the country and that it has not to be a fatality. I personally know Thais officials at the base of the pyramid who literally put their life at risk by fighting this cancer. They are the ones who deserve the most. Someday they will make a change here.

As for me, I've considered this scenario (already in the past while assessing this potential situation). I got to the conclusion that I would rather stop operating here and move my operations somewhere else (not in Vietnam or Cambodia or Sicily, no) rather than being ruled by these players (for years I've been immune to them). I would simply not see Thailand as an enjoyable place to stay, and I'm lucky enough that my business makes a move possible even if at some significant cost. I don't "need" to live in Thailand.

But the aspects that are more difficult to assess are the potential collateral damages. I've talked lately with relatives and partners. They expressed the (understandable) worry that they might suffer, directly or indirectly, from a conflict I would be involved in. Personally or professionally. That's something I have to take into account and that I have no control on.

You said dilemma?

this may help also

http://www.thailand-...me-lawfirm.com/

http://www.noppramart-lawyer.com/

Thanks. I'll check that. :jap:

Had a look at it. They seems more business issues oriented than administrative. But I need to contact them to feel the true "spirit".

(seriously...) Good Luck

I posted a photo of a campaign ad, more as a joke because of it's location and use of English, in another thread, but but maybe this guy, or someone like him is looking for a cause or can advise...?

http://www.thaivisa....ost__p__4065391

Just a thought.

Indeed, the location made it quite ironic but knowing who he's working for... looks like plain make up here.

Hello,

Our company is facing a corruption attempt during the import process of a container in Thailand.

At this stage it is not clear if the attempt is made by the customs officials or the shipping agent.

Our container is blocked while extra money is asked by e-mail.

Our company has a zero tolerance toward corruption and we are decided to confront them.

We are thus looking for a lawyer in Bangkok who could assist us in this matter, actually somebody who shares our vision on the topic.

We know the typical reaction is: "TIT, just pay the extra and forget it, you gonna loose time and money in this".

But we don't see it that way. We operate for several years in Thailand and never paid a single THB to a corrupt official or other similar. We don't plan to start now. Our policy.

Even if it costs us money and time, we don't want to be part of this scheme.

Thus, if anyone has a lawyer with the adequate vision to recommend, we would be grateful.

It is quite urgent since we will meet the customs early next week and the first contact will be decisive.

Ideally, the lawyer (or similar profile) should have some experience or knowledge about custom process.

And if you have been through the same path, we would like you sharing (even by pm). Thanks.

Positive or informative replies welcome. :jap:

Have great week-end.