WinnieTheKhwai

What do you suppose motivates ThaiVisa to report this?

Why ponder that.. I mean what motivates some of the guys at The Nation to write what they do.. Sunday's front page article in the very first paragraph started with actually bashing the Reds rather than reporting anything. (I read it on the plane, in case anyone is wondering, primarily to gauge what sort of views Farangs get planted in their heads, that's helpful in discussions such as this one.)

BTW, if Thaksin was dead then it'd almost be worth it not to have to read the daily dose of drivel & hate directed at the man! (though no doubt PAD, The Nation and this forum could somehow claim he was doing evil from the grave! )

The posts here are getting ridiculous.

After months of the red animals holding Bangkok hostage, there's a good chance that we'll all be able to get back to normalcy within days. This compromise may also actually be something PM Abhisit says it will be, something to reconcilliate all Thais that are divided. It may be that or it may not but I'm hoping it is.

And then we have people wanting to talk about who won and who lost...

Nope, normalcy is not on the horizon until a concrete dissolution date is given.

Meanwhile, more and more anti government news sources are being censored. The English UDD Facebook page was just censored. I wonder where that fits on the road map?

Still, if Abhisit pulls it off and gets to an election orderly then all the more power to him; he'd probably have his best chance ever of winning an election, so finally he'd have his own mandate. I think that'd be a good outcome, also when that means that Abhisit remains PM.

Here you go. Nice picture, though The Sun's jounos clearly ran out of inspiration to turn it into something juicy. Or even something worth mentioning, frankly.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showb...eat-Escape.html

To me, one reason why this situation exists is due to this amazing thing called 'marriage'. It's a good thing I'm gay as I don't have to worry about such a 'moral institution' telling me what to do & also what to expect from my partner. Actually, I really think that the whole concept of marriage is flawed. It seems to be working for a few but the majority do not seem to cope with it. As a result, each blame the other for any reason when things get tough..."too fat", "a bitch" etc. Not everybody has the courage & individuality to weather a life-long relationship.

I believe that due to the recent political debacle in this country, a plethora of new members exists. Perhaps they have found a place to 'vent their frustration' about their relationships as well as commenting upon the political debacle?

To me, many of these things are to be expected in a patriarchal society (Thailand).

It's very easy...most men are sexual animals whilst most women are emotional animals. In Thailand, many 'ladies' seem to want money. Of course, I only assume this as a result of all the postings regarding Sin Sot etc.

Conversely, if western men refrain from 'falling in love' at the sight of a bar girl, many problems would not happen.

As for blokes complaining about their western spouses, perhaps they could see a marriage councellor?

Let's face it, you 'straight' folks have got your work 'cut out' for yourselves. But in the meantime, it makes no sense to bitch about something unless you openly admit that you are venting, which I think is fair enough. It's when this 'venting' gets 'serious' that indicates one wasn't just 'venting'.

For dog's sake, everybody relax a tad.

So.. scams and creative ways to extract money are unheard of in the gay universe in Thailand?

And then it happens that many of these posters prefer asian women, and had negative experiences with western women, and they write about that and their feelings in an abusive manner.

But this thread is not solely about Western women. And if what you write above is true, then why so much abuse towards Thai women?

I don't remember seeing so much abuse against Thai women here.

In what way are Thai women usually slagged off in the forum?

Are you serious? You haven't read any of the vitriol which spouts unceasingly from some posters? About Thai women being incapable of love, if all being scam artists, of taking men for a ride, of all having Thai boyfriends while they go out with Western men (to fleece them, of course), and so on and so on?

Of course he's serious. Some people also do other things on any given day than read this forum, so by the time they get to it you will have weeded out anything you didn't like.

People actually watch Thai TV? The parts that don't go 'boing' or show domestic violence are brain-wash type news programs. That leaves VERY little. Some football, mostly.

Within Thailand, Chiang Mai is good for families, relative to most other places in Thailand. However keep in mind that Thailand in general is of course very UNsuitable for families with children. Most Western countries have better/cheaper education, and are of course heaps safer.

If anything the Doi Saket area seems very hot and dry. No flooding issues, though obviously you'd want to make sure that you raise the land high enough to avoid flash floods after heavy rain.

( Funny how these topics always bring out the obsessive-compulsive types wanting to rant on the definition of 'buying' or 'owning'. )

Jesus F.C. on a stick...

Ask your Consulate/Embassy about a list of their certified translators.

Not only the birth certificate need to be translated, but most probably the translation will need to be certified to be valid.

The translator stamps and signs the translated birth certificate. That is all that is needed.

Most likely (possibly depending on your nationality, so best to check first-hand with your embassy) the translation needs to be certified by the Thai Ministry of Foreign affairs on Chaeng Wattana Rd. in Bangok. Some translation services offer to do this for you as well.

Ultimately though it matters none who translates it; all that matters is that you get it certified at the Thai MFA.

Regardless that it was after a protest, it's always encouraging to see people consider the environment!

As for the Bang Saen picture, keep in mind that a lot of trash on Thai beaches ends up there when winds are unfavorable, from trash originating from boats at see. Dumping of trash in the water by boats is an issue of course and would be very welcome to address, but a sentiment I often see is to blame the locals (or beach shop operators, or tourists visiting the beach) for any and all trashy conditions; often they do clean it up, but in some seasons there's a continuous supply, so you may catch a beach at a bad time.

My sister is dying quite suddenly in eastern Tennessee. I couldn't get to see her beforel she slipped into a coma. Older sister said good-by for me.

That is very sad news, and indeed the thing that sucks most at being at least a day or two away; you just can't attend all births, weddings and funerals, or even be with people in times of need. Some of the time it's possible, but reality is that you can't just drop in after coming back from work, or even afford to fly back and forth often enough. This then leads to feelings of guilt for 'not being there' in some key moments in life for family and loved ones. And the other way around of course; when we come down with something, friends and loved ones won't fly out here. (Not that I would be expecting that, but the net result is that this hurts the people back home too.)

Again, it sucks. It's an inevitable consequence of expat life though.

Like you already mentioned, there is no sustained event or protest that goes on there. Often there are gatherings, but afterwards everyone goes home. So there's not much to break up, other than to remove those unsightly tires.

Thanks for the warning though, it doesn't hurt to take a different route into the old town just in case. My daughter has a dance class near there.

Which hotel? There are MANY options.. Hotel pools are typically nice as they tend to have nice lounging chairs, a bar, food available etc. So that makes it better to spend a longer time just relaxing.

Let's keep things in perspective pls. Why is any of this worse than what we've seen very recently, with people getting shot and grenades going off and people dying? I sense a lot of fabricated indignation; the Reds are jittery, they KNOW they can get their faces blown off at any time by government (or rogue army) snipers.. It's chaotic, someone thinks they see military in the building directly overlooking their site.. It happens to be a hospital, but better safe than sorry.

Good of Dr. Weng to apologize though, respect.

Only bullets can stop them!

So.. Wait. Some people call me a Red apologist or even a troll.

But it's you and the Grapeshot guy advocating mass slaughter of civilian protesters. Maybe time to re-calibrate sensors of what's going on in the world, and what would be appropriate, realistic and moral responses to the challenges posed. You guys DO allow yourselves to be worked up in a frenzy. I try to understand first, and judge later. Many of the protesters are very aware that their faces may get blown off at any time.

Wow this topic has been entertaining!! Keep it up guys..

You guys are almost funny if the matter at hand wasn't so sad.. There are documented cases of the government (or other parties) using snipers against unarmed protesters. Now there's a building overlooking the main sites, a perfect sniper's position or from where to lob a few more grenades. It seems reasonable to want to rule that out and prevent more needless bloodshed. The Reds clearly don't trust this government, not even not to use a hospital to kill their own citizens from. That's SAD!

Go home red apologist. We do not want your opinions.

Time for cannon loaded with grapeshot

I like grapes. Expensive, but nice. As for going home, I'm going home tomorrow night, landing at Suvarnabhumi on Sunday. I really look forward to it, and see all my friends again, yellow, red and in between. There's actually more common ground than you'd think. If this situation wasn't managed with such insanity, stubborn arrogance and just plain incompetence (on both sides) then we'd be exploring the common ground by now, and actual ways forward.

looks like your definitely in the minority today whinnie

six others got there before me

Try refreshing the News Clippings forum every 5-10 seconds to see if I post?

Late night was it?

Long day. By tomorrow I will have been out of Thailand for a whole week. Sucks big twinkies.

Wow this topic has been entertaining!! Keep it up guys..

Note that other newspapers have a less rabid account of events than the Nation, but it's entertaining to see so many people are getting worked into a frenzy..

You guys are almost funny if the matter at hand wasn't so sad.. There are documented cases of the government (or other parties) using snipers against unarmed protesters. Now there's a building overlooking the main sites, a perfect sniper's position or from where to lob a few more grenades. It seems reasonable to want to rule that out and prevent more needless bloodshed. The Reds clearly don't trust the government, not even to not use a hospital to kill their own citizens from. That's SAD!

Enough already, there should be a negotiated settlement. Clearly the amount of suspicion and disrespect on both sides is at maximum levels. That's just not good for anybody and especially not Thailand as a whole.

Over to you..

Alternatively, there is an ignore function on this forum that's very handy to use on people who persist in posting gibberish. (I sometimes wish real life had an ignore function too.. But even just on forums it's a blessing.)

I wonder why I have never been asked?

I wonder the same thing! You are no less qualified than many others!!

Since murder is the UNLAWFUL killing of a human being then when the police and military are enforcing the law they cannot be guilty of "murder".

Brilliant logic!

Agree with the general sentiment; good article.

If I write the same then I have a dozen wannabe Yellow yellers yelling at me! Fortunately for once it's coming from the Pravda, hence the silence...

Either way, I wouldn't like being searched. To be honest though it'd be immediately obvious that I'm neither of interest nor a threat to their protests, so I wouldn't expect much beyond a smile and possibly the typical short conversation I tend to have with cops who stop me at routine checkpoints.

Might even give them a smile and thumbs-up.. That's what I did llast time I ran into a Red party anyway. Was appreciated.

honestly, smiles go a long way in this country no matter who you interact with or find in front of you. That's always a good thing to remember.

At least Thailand won't be seen as a soft overly touristy family destination. Thailand needed to get some of it's edgy feel back. Western tourism was in decline anyway, cheap group tours from China (etc) on the rise. Increasingly, Western tourist just make it a quick stop on their way to Cambodia and Vietnam. Perhaps the crowd looking for a degree of perceived adventure will increase again after the dust settles.

Crap.. Forgot they don't actually have the CNN news channel here in the USA, just watered down morning soft-news shows. Seems the whole world 'turns to CNN' (International), except the USA.