kevozman1

"best defensive display of the world cup".

didn't tim howard have to make more saves in a world cup match than any goalkeeper since 1966? that's not a good defensive display, that's a miracle goalkeeping performance and riding your luck.

the americans were fun to watch though and the team spirit and effort their manager got out of them was really impressive.

Agreed. The USA defense was getting wrecked in certain parts of that game.

John Higgins has been one of the most professional and well behaved snooker players I have seen in the last 20 years. He was cleared of charges for matchfixing, so that is just a moot point. He had a shitty day, acted like a brat and will be dealt with be world Snooker's governing body. No big deal.

As much as I respect snooker in regards to the skill required and sportsman like behaviour the professional element of the game is way too stuffy, old fashioned and dramas are made of minor acts. I really surprised Ronnie O'Sullivan did not stick 2 fingers up at snooker years ago and make the switch to pool. He would have made more money and be part of a scene that does not come straight out of the 19th century.

I have a little bit of sympathy for men raising families in western countries. Stay pussy whipped or else! lol

I am sorry for your personal unhappiness. I am putting together a booklet with advice for Western men to live with and marry Thai women. I will read all the messages here with great interest and use some of the wisdom herein, when I find some.

The sad situation in Thailand seems to be a Western Man, WM, comes to Thailand filled with the idea of getting himself a little brown servant who he can mold to his will. WM makes little effort to learn about the woman he has connected with and basically says "change to my expectations" because I am paying the bills. That is an untenable distribution of power in a relationship and the seeds for failure are too many to really overcome.

Your description of your Thai wife mirrors millions of Thai who do not share the Dog Eat Dog, competitive, striving world view of the WM. Yes "they" are quite content to live day to day, be surrounded by FAMILY, and set goals that are very short term (one day). These ideas are anathema to the WM who believes in his world view of "constant betterment."

My advice, worth just what you paid for it, is for you to release your captive back to her own culture because you will never get the Thai out of a Thai woman. It is so odd that WM come here because of the admirable traits of the women and then set about immediately trying to make them over into Westernized types, the very types a smart WM will be attempting to escape.

WM at the next stool are complaining they cant get a good hamburger; I say, if you want things to be "just like back home," THEN GO BACK HOME before you take on a good Thai woman and try to bend her to your ideas.

Read up on Cultural imperialism.

Being a lazy woman who is not trying her best for her children is considered part of Thai culture now? I would have thought being lazy and unproductive is more of a personal trait not exclusive or attached to any country or region around the world.

I agree about people preaching to others on the improvements/advancements in other countries, most of the time people doing so only agitate others and nothing productive comes from it. I have to say though OP your ideology seems to suggest that Thailand can learn nothing from cultural norms or ideas created/developed in the west, which is completely false. A lot of advancements and cultural norms have been shared between Europe and Asia throughout history and this trend will undoubtedly continue despite how narrow minded some people would prefer to be.

Don't care for soccer missionaries and would love to see the US lose--along with their preppie fan base.

Well, since you want to be hateful, bring on your girlie soccer team. We'll suit them up and put them up against the USA Superbowl football champions and inflict some real pain for you.

The USA World Football team is just a group of thrown-together amateurs playing against the likes of other countries professional teams, so let's see it both ways.

What sort of dope are you? "The USA Superbowl football champions?" Something doesn't ring true about the sound of that phrase. I think you're a fake American, because Americans don't talk like that, especially football fans.

What would an American say that would suit you, in a thread about World Football, when he was differentiating between World Football and American NFL championship football. Out of the context of this thread, I would just say "The Superbowl Champions."

So bring on your girlie soccer team and suit up and take on the Superbowl Champions, the way the American amateurs took on the likes of the German national football team.

What the American team is doing at the World Cup is amazing considering few Americans play soccer, and they tossed together a group of amateurs to go play.

Several of the USA team are in fact pro footballers from Germany who have dual nationality but decided to play for USA, probably thought their chances were higher of making the USA team for world cups. A good number of the USA also have played for English premiership teams, just about the strongest football league in the world. Not to mention the head coach is an absolute footballing legend in Europe, one of the finest from his generation. USA have also been involved in the football world cup since the start of competitions history.

Not such an amateur looking set up now is it? A better showing of a real underdog in the tournament would probably be Costa Rica, but admittedly USA are giving a good showing for the team they have.

Carrying around a Glock whilst having a merry bicycle trip does not sound ideal. I would go for scythes wielded onto your bike's hubs personally, that way you can keep both arms on the handlebars. Safety first.

Most overrated player in an England shirt since Beckham. Got to love the way commentators scream "GEERRRAARRDD" for a 5 yard pass across the half way line.

Given that American "football" is less absorbing than watching paint dry, "soccer" may well make inroads and become more popular.

I don't watch it anymore but that's kind of silly ... apples and oranges. It might be helpful though to change the name of American football to something else.

Any suggestions?

Handegg

If he is a real friend then tell him what is happening. If more of an aquaintance then maybe you telling him what is happening would not be best move. He will obviously have way more trust and loyalty to his gf than someone he does not really know too well.

Strange though that a guy 30 years in Thailand is still geting played so hard, he must kind of enjoy it all in a perverse sort of way.

Maybe for some (especially less fit expats) the tropical climate wears them down. I love the tropical climate but give me a nice fresh crisp autumn aftertoon walk in the park anytime, that can be very enjoyable. In winter freezing your nuts off and having to spend 5 minutes putting on extra layers of clothing before you can go out is overated imo.

I've been to Thailand many times and always see the same type of people getting into trouble.

What, drunks getting rolled in Pattaya? (pretty much the arse of Thailand in many ways) I used to live in Pattaya in my more reckless days, I know what happens there.

similar to asians getting walloped in UK, but can we blame the Brits?

Totally different countries, in many aspects. I am from the UK and it has a large Asian population and considered a lot safer for tourists. Although anyone can be in the wrong place at the wrong time in any place, just in Pattaya the chances are higher of being in an unfortunate situation due to the kind of place it is.

One reason why farangs get attacked may be how they present themselves to Thai people. Perhaps they appear 'cocky'?

More than likely the theifs spot a white tourist and think that he has something worth stealing. Or is it you who think farangs are cocky?

I've been to Thailand many times and always see the same type of people getting into trouble.

What, drunks getting rolled in Pattaya? (pretty much the arse of Thailand in many ways) I used to live in Pattaya in my more reckless days, I know what happens there.

One reason why farangs get attacked may be how they present themselves to Thai people. Perhaps they appear 'cocky'?

More than likely the theifs spot a white tourist and think that he has something worth stealing. Or is it you who think farangs are cocky?

One thing that's very apparent in this thread is the presumption of white male entitlement. LOL (as they say).

and what is also very apparent in TV these days is an increase in judgmental over opinionated types.

A personal favourite of mine was a girl who used to ask me - "give me smell good" when we was getting ready to go out together. That was her way of asking if I could pass her the deodorant. A bit silly, but always brought a smile to my face.

First, I must admit that I have not been in Pattaya for almost a decade.

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What I kn ow of this is what I read on TV and other sites that address the Farang tourist areas of Thailand.

It has come to my attention that for the last couple of years, it seems in that most reports of Farangs being beaten up, robbed and even killed,the victims are Russians.

My question: Is this due to the fact that there are so many Russians in Pattaya, or is it that the Thais find their attitude so offensive that they can not tolerate it?

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When SEA meets Eastern Europe, a culture clash indeed. The results are predictable.

I remember a pretty famous Thai Tennis player some years back dating a hot western woman. Western female/Asian man is not overly common in general but yes I have seen fair amount of these couples in Thailand, mostly on islands where the couple usually consists of super cute Thai man with a plain Jane western woman. I was friends with one Thai guy some time back on Koh Samet who had 3 western girlfriends and was doing pretty dam_n well for himself. He was a very handsome devil, no homo.

You don't seem to realise how many western men hate western women. Google it if you are interested. Many web sites on the subject.

Sadly, I do, as I've listened in bars to many of them bang on with their bitter, generalising BS. But hate's a strong word. Why would anyone of sound mind hate western women for not being what they want them to be. Preference is a better word. And, it all depends on the reason they prefer them over western women. Because an attractive one or young one at home wouldn't look twice at them? Because they only ever managed to have bloody awful relationships with women at home? Because they were cheated on, or found them insufficiently subservient ? Not always but mainly that's as much to do with the men.

But if you mean men who have a preference for asian looking women over western women, find them more feminine etc or favour traditional relationships with old school power differentials, where they are waited on hand and foot while being the bread winner, then fair enough. Naturally,they will prefer Asian women. But read through these threads, which category would you say most of them fall into?

When i first got here a little under 6 years ago, I was stunned by some of the drivel some of these guys would trot out about Western women. I heard all the old chestnuts like "once they hit 30, they get fat", "they don't know how to look after a man", "the bitch just wanted the house" and "she put her career and her friends before me" and they said these things with an air of "tough luck you silly cows; you had your chance but I've got a young Thai bargirl now" I was sure I could hear the collective sigh of 400 million Western women kicking themselves for having let these premium specimens get away.

I remember asking myself where on earth they were meeting these dragons cos I'd never encountered them but then, after a while, I began to see a common streak running between pretty much every whinging wheezer on the subject of Western women. They were all - to a man - wannabe alpha males.

You see, back in the West, having money doesn't necessarily cut it as far as getting a woman to love you is concerned because so many women take perfectly good care of themselves financially. Indeed, even in instances where it is enough to get a look in, there's way too much competition from younger, better-looking guys with more money than your average Thai expat barfly.

So they roll up here where any insecure, socially-awkward, alpha male wannabe can pull an attractive woman several notches above the heifers he's been used to settling for back in Farangland.

All he has to do is produce a wallet because here, in Thailand, it's acknowledged that cash levels the playing field with Thais in general and with certain Thai women in particular. In Thailand, those soft skills; those ephemeral, wishy-washy qualities like empathy and understanding that women the world over set so much store by - can seemingly be successfully supplanted by regular and liberal application of a relatively insignificant amount of money.

Of course, the inability to communicate in anything but Thai-lish means that he can only meet her financial needs.

Next thing you hear, he's slating all Thai women

Yep, the level of western female hate among some expats seems overdone. I mean personally I have always been attracted more to Asian women to the point where I do not date white women or women of other races for that matter. Goes back to my youth watching kung-<deleted> movies, then video gaming, then visiting Asia blew that up 10x.... anyway, I have my personal tastes in women, but I do not hate western women at all. Seems more healthy dating a woman you have more of a natural attraction to rather than dating a woman from another country out of hatred/spite for your homeland's women.

It gets even more fun when German players are on the pitch! Anyway if you want to get really mad about mis-pronunciations then next time watch a football game with Thai commentators.

Many farangs who decide to marry with women from Thailand have certain defects, such as being unattractive or unfashionable and socially inept, misfits, loners, or have done the rounds in their home countries - become stayed in their ways – maybe have grown old and no longer desirable to younger Western women.

So they have read all the reports and media hype that Thai women are loyal, subservient and given a chance to settle down with a home and a little pocket money each week will be content to settle down with any farang, becoming a sweet little housewife and be grateful for it.

Then later the reality hits home that Thai women are no longer the easily available, cute, sweet, young, subservient little princesses as they were made to believe and that in fact the modern day Thai women are not much different from their Western counterparts, have similar outlooks and ambitions. This is a main reason why so many farangs go for the more desperate Thai women of the poorer lower classes, because most middle to upper class Thai women would prefer to marry a Thai rather than a farang. Culturally it is considered going down the social ladder to marry a farang, especially if there is a big age gap between them. Then these farangs become disgruntled having not been able to buy the girl of their dreams and their love and will blame all Thais and the country as a whole for their failures and errors of choice or for diving in head first on a pipe dream for what was actually a fanciful hope or scheme, especially if they get conned or scammed for their stupidity.

Fairly good write up there, accurate for a decent percentage of cases I would imagine. Although, the part about Thai women "going down the social ladder". If a western guy was to pull up in the middle of Bangkok in a Ferrari I would guess for a huge amount of wealthy Thai women that notion of "going down the social ladder" would be soon discarded.

And how many Westerners do you personally know in Thailand who own a Ferrari or any other types of vehicles of equal status? Obviously the higher the status of the Westerner, the higher his chances are of mixing with the right crowds, especially if he is a businessman or someone of prominence. This pertains to anywhere in the world.

Of course there are always going to be exceptions to the rule, but on the whole what i said still stands.

It only stands because of the situation and not the notion, not too many many baller Ferrari owning western guys living permanently in Thailand. If a large influx of those types started to move into Thailand from their pads in Monaco, New York and London do you think that rule would still apply?