CTM

What is it with Europeans, guns and mass shooting? These are becoming a monthly event. And why do Europeans love to target children? Is it because children are the future of humanity?

Meanwhile all the important issues are conveniently forgotten.

Getting the masses of people acclimated to a police state which dictates their every action 24 hours a day is the "important issue"

>Police to impose severe penalty for violators of Alcohol Act

Yeah....[YAWN]....yet another meanless announcement of the enforcement never-to-be-enforced, but to gather more tips with official-looking excuse... Hey, BiBs, why not to focus on something REALLY important to this country??

The question is rhetoric, of course...and Thais were drink, drinking now and will be drinking of course.

Just because there is NO LOGIC on this "law", and no strong hand to enforce ANY law (whatever it may describe). Even me myself know where to get alcohol during banned hours (or even 24/7) - just across my Soi - how could Thais do not know that and even much better than me?

Alcohol is a very dangerouse substance, especially for young people, so clamping down on the sale of alcohol is a REALLY important issue. It will help save lives and help keep people more healthy. I'm not surprsied that some people on this forum disagreee, as alcohol seems to be the meaning of life to some of them.

So NO ADULTS should be able to have A (as in even one) cold beer on a hot afternoon because some tiny fraction of the population MIGHT abuse the product.

It must really suck to go through life with such a negative view of humanity.

With the crazy price of most supplements I don't know why anyone buys most of them. Just eat real food. Unless someone is a juiced 250 lb pro bodybuilder having trouble trying to eat 500g a day of protein then they should be able to meet most their needs through real food. If I buy something it is because it is difficult to get enough through normal eating like essential fats or magnesium.

I was at a GNC last week. B2800 for 500g of creatine. Same thing in the USA goes for $10 = B320 and better quality. I can buy like 10kg of decent steak for the difference in price. Insane!

Sorry, internet connection timed out on first post try and on refresh ended up with a double post.

I find it convenient that all these weapons of mass destruction were found.

Has anyone wondered why they were not used?

Smells a bit fishy.

Dont be so stupid !!!!! who said the guns were not used? God give me strength against idiots like you.

The useful idiots and human shields (the peasants) were mostly only armed with homemade weapons, but the military wing (former soldiers) were armed to the teeth with automatic rifles and grenade launchers and there is plenty of evidence of this on film. It seems that the poor were used as cannon fodder by their leaders.

Right. That is basically what the AsiaTimesonlone.com article was saying is a strategy. Unfortunately it was longer than a two sentence sound bite and seems to have gone over the head of the illiterates that predominate on this board.

In Australia and you get caught for drunk driving you lose your licence for a year, but if you are a habitual drunk driver they keep giving your licence back. I think if you get caught a second time it should be a mandatory 6 months jail, without even having to clog up the courts. Just take them straight to the lockup.

What do they do in Thailand??? Especially considering a lot of people don't even have licences to begin with.

This guy is so lucky he could have killed so many more people or doesn't that matter.

Yeah who needs courts and trials. Human rights. Innocent until proven guilty. Dispense with all that silly stuff. <removed> terrorists!! Why stop with 6 months in jail? Police should just execute on site.

I swear every time I think about returning to Farangland all I have to do is spend 5 minutes on this site to remember what a bunch of brain dead self righteous <deleted> most farangs have become.

<deleted>?????????

What are they going to do with him???

no problem: he get a free ride: he goes for inspecting and for reconnecting the broadband. In order to be sure it will correctly done, Arisaman will pay the motorcycle for him....

and now you are condoning kidnapping (at least you certainly appear to be condoning it!) There goes one of the few moderate voices for the Reds that I have seen on here. It is now impossible not to lump you in with the rest that condone this type of violence. (Yes kidnapping is violence.)

Arisman and the reds have added kidnapping clearly to the list of crimes the red leadership is guilty of now. (since some people have chosen to look at holding the Thai soldiers as kidnapping!)

I don't think that this really qualifies as a real kidnapping, as it does not appear from the text that the CEO was forcibly removed from the building. Also, if he didn't want to go, he could just get off the motorcycle.

Per the Thai soldiers, I believe that was not a form of hostage taking or kidnapping, but rather an attempt by the red-shirt guards to keep them in a safe place until the hostilities ended. According to what i read, the soldiers got lost in a cloud of tear gas without masks on, and wound up heading towards the red shirts. It takes time for the effects of that gas to wear off, you know.

I think that you should be careful not to fall into the trap of 'labeling' events in a way which reflects a subjective opinion (or blindly believing the labels that others apply to situations).

Most of the farangs on this board are more easily duped by inflammatory propaganda than the Issan peasants they love to look down upon.

I'm not sure where all the hatred comes from. Are they just pathetic, unhappy failures at life who need some group to hate or is it based on the fact that most have been taken for large sums of money by a little "tii rak from Issan" who turned out not to be as dumb or demure as thought?

Not sure if its the heat or just another crazy episode in thai politics --- well one this is for sure after two years of war in the streets - and the airport closures by the untouchable yellow shirts -- who is going to bother coming back here again for songkran or for that matter any other reasons to visit the "land of smile" - this has to be the death blow for the tourism sector - as if the world economy was not enough -- well maybe the PM can create a new project to plant more rubber trees and mass produce rubber duckies -=- VNAT - Vietnamese Association of tourism will be rubbing there hands in glee -the next major tourist destination - feel sorry for the hospitality industry workers also who are sure to face layoffs because of all of this --

if normal practice in riot control were applied -- and not the use of live rounds - things may have been a little different - maybe not - but without the high body count -- so much for the govt saying they were using international standards in riot control -- maybe i have missed reading something about the police and army shooting live bullets into the protesters - tear gas and water cannons are the most common methods used -

Not a good idea to have live rounds at all. In the stress and heat of a situation, it is very easy for a soldier to load the wrong bullets or forget if has rubber or live rounds in the weapon. Even if the army was shooting into the air the bullets will fall back to earth and potentially injure or kill someone.

I'm with LivinLOS. Throw it up for sale in the classifieds on here and ....

At a reasonable price like B120k will probably be gone in a week.

If he took your money he can't then turn around and evict you a week later. He can tell you to leave at the end of the rental term.

Two days is outrageous. I routinely give a 5 day grace window to renters and often much longer to those who make prior arrangements. I just fine people who consistently pay late for no good reason. This toad either has a higher paying tenant waiting to replace you, is trying to steal your deposit or is an idiot. No smart landlord kicks out a good paying tenant for something so trivial.

And what bank do you have that gives a weekend grace period? I'm guessing not a large American bank. I paid Chase electronically on a Friday afternoon once. They claimed since the payment was after 12 noon it could not be processed until Monday. No electric on weekends so computers are down? My due date was on a Sunday. Bam...0% interest rate to 29.99% plus a late payment fee.

Thai have the same problem, the only solution is to order cheap things from abroad, as it seems that small size parcels and parcels with declared value lower than 20$ are not charged (too much paperworks for little money?).

It's also a good thing to write GIFT on the parcel, but it doesn't always help.

Shipments under B1000 have no duty. Trade samples of no commercial value have no duty either.

This is a ripoff by DHL to pad their profits. Thai Customs is not individually inspecting the thousands of items a day that a big courier company like DHL brings into Thailand. Nor are individual shippers cleared separately. Everyone's goods are cleared under one Master Airway Bill. It is all done electronically. If every item was individually inspected and processed the whole global postal/courier system would breakdown in a week. It is just not possible from a labor standpoint. Customs will spot check items here and there but mostly just goes by the electronically submitted paperwork.

The real question is does DHL actually pay the claimed duties or are they filing one set to Customs and creating a different set for customers. The charges are so outrageous it is highly suspicious to me.

Yes you are being taken for a ride.

Typical example of a prescription I had filled.

Private hospital: B1400

Pharmacy: B225-350

Government Hospital: less than B200

I have found many times the private hospitals will not tell you what medications they are prescribing until after you pay to prevent you from going outside. They also over prescribe. I really don't need a 47th bag of paracetamol, 5 antibiotics, and 3 muscle relaxants for a 3 stitch cut.

Wasn't it Warren Buffet (spelling?) who said the US tax system is all screwed up when, as is the case, he is paying a lower percentage income tax than his seccretary?

didn't you know?? It is only socialism if you tax the rich....

But raising /maintaining proportionally higher taxes for middle income earners to subsidise tax cuts and other tax minimisation vehicles for the wealthy, well thats just good old capitalism.

Government involvement? Socialism if you are trying to fund health care, though not refused if you are a bank deemed to big to fail.

It is ok to have the greater society pick up the bill for corporate losses due to fraud, corruption, incompetence, and excessive risk taking. That be capitalism at its finest.

If any property tax system is set up there is chance that it may have the unintended consequence of causing some of the "Land Rich, money poor" Thais to be forced to sell their land to pay property taxes.

Right, it would be a huge land grab by the rich and connected who could influence valuations forcing many "land rich, cash poor" Thais to sell at fire sale prices. Then where would these people go exactly?

Lots of Thais in urban areas run small businesses or are retired and own shop houses or land worth millions.

Small shop house B5,000,000 x 1.5% = B75,000 per year. People are smoking crack if they think this would not be an insurmountable financial burden to many.

I actually prefer the Thai tax system. Tax imports. Tax big companies. Tax consumption. Tax high wage earners. And for the most part leave everyone else alone. When America used to follow similar policies it was the booming manufacturing center of the world. Now, not so much following the policies most are advocating here.

<deleted>

well for the one that are serious about heavylifting there are 2 stores in bangkok that manufacture what you need. though these item are locally made ,they are pretty tough and more than enough for home use. Check it out at web "gymware" and " forceclub" . I bought a powerRACK FROM GYMWARE 1 yr ago and it serve me fine.

Regarding the kettlebells i MYSELF WOULD LIKE to have ones for a try but still could not find any single store selling this despite my thorough search for it. Ordering from oversea sure will cost a fortune ! and the adjustable dumbbells is also a rare item to find in Bangkok as well . Though there is a brand of bowflex selling here I do not like a redundant look of it. I would go for either a 'powerblock' or a "ironmaster" brand

Does anyone here know how to find a dealer here for both the kettlebells and the adjustable dumbbells?

let me know, my mail is ' [email protected] '

Gymware has adjustable dumbbells. And he is the cheapest guy I found in Thailand for weight plates. He makes a decent power rack, chin/dip, adjustable bench and a few other items at a very good price but his machines are not so great. He is very good to deal with and will customize on request.

Seara has kettlebells but I imagine they are ridiculously overpriced like everything else they sell. Given kettlebells are overpriced to begin with anyone who will pay triple the US price needs their head examined. Cool to have but a luxury and not really necessary.

The store near Suan Plu is down the street. Continue past immigration and it is on the right near where the street takes a bend to the right.

I saw an Eleiko set for sale at FBT a few years ago. Only B310,000. I had to pass. Never seen bumper plates or a proper Olympic bar for sale anywhere else.

In living memory?

I guess that means that anyone involved in the Saudi jewel heist is now known to be dead?

Heist from a Thai. It is implied. Foreigner on foreigner or Thai on foreigner is a separate category with an appropriate level of response from authorities.

Well this thread sure does highlight the hypocrisy and bias of TV moderators.

I'm confused.

As a farang, I was supposed to hate Taksin when he was in office.

Hate the army for the coup.

Hate the yellow shirts for protesting and taking over the airport.

Now am I supposed to hate the red shirts or the new group of blue shirts or both?

Do I have to avoid wearing red, yellow, and blue shirts or risk attack? I'm running short of colors in my shirt closet.

Dont for get Camouflage = army

Military attire is already illegal.

I’m confused.

As a farang, I was supposed to hate Taksin when he was in office.

Hate the army for the coup.

Hate the yellow shirts for protesting and taking over the airport.

Now am I supposed to hate the red shirts or the new group of blue shirts or both?

Do I have to avoid wearing red, yellow, and blue shirts or risk attack? I’m running short of colors in my shirt closet.

Did he get a fair trail? Probably not

You are joking right? His corruption was so blatant a three year old retarded kid could see it.

And yet, I'd bet that 99.99% of the anti-Thaksin crowd would trade places with them given the opportunity.

Would that be trade places many many years ago prior to the crimes being comitted or trade places after......no thanks ...you would have to be JOKING, but your about as funny as a house full of burning babies

Well, it's a hypothetical suggestion so it could be either/or. It shouldn't make a difference because they likely were of the same character both before and after being "caught." Like all criminals and people in general.

The anti-Thaksin crown really didn't get all up in arms until the cancer seemed to be on the verge of spreading to consume the entire body. No one really cared when he was just evading taxes (like an awful lot of people on this board, no doubt), and ripping off his business partners.

I still think my supposition is accurate.... especially for those of the limited means/visa run/treading water in Thailand category. So you wouldn't be able to return to Thailand, but you could live rather comfortably just about anywhere else in the world.

If he would quit trying to return to power then I'm sure he could buy his way out of his legal troubles.

All you people saying you would never trade places with him must really be clueless to what life is like for people at that level of wealth and power.

maybe the thai gov't and the US intellectual property police have not heard of this thing called 'the internet'. it turns out you can download anything you want, any where, any time, for free.

SHHH! Don't give them any ideas.

Plus, internet downloads don't suffer from all the childish censorship.

As a leasee, we don't pay month/yearly rent - we paid for the property upfront then the builder and us went to the land registraty office and legalized the lease agreement for the next 30 years. The "tax" isn't very onerous for us, but it just doesn't seem fair that even though we paid in full the price of the land, we now have to pay their tax on it. And apparently "farangs" are the ones being targeted, not the Thais in our same complex. The sub-district contacted the builder directly to collect these taxes from us and the other farangs in the village.

I would guess that the reason only farangs are being asked to pay this tax is because this is a business tax. The Thai's aren't leasing the land. They own the land directly. You were not allowed to buy the land, so you have a lease. I would suspect that the builder didn't anticipate having to pay this tax, or this tax has been recently increased which is why the builder is asking you to pay it for them. They would have preferred to not be the owner of the land, but in order to sell to farang, they used the 30 year lease method as a way of selling their development to farang. Does this make sense?

That makes perfect sense, and it is what I had figured out to be the reason. I guess I'm just being stupid about this whole thing because I figured that since we paid the full amount for the land, even though we're just leasing the property, that the leasor should be responsible to pay this tax. When and if the government decides to charge "property taxes" - the leasor will probably pass that onto us as well.

I don't think you are being stupid about this. I actually think you shouldn't agree to pay this tax. It is the builder's responsibility not your responsibility. My post was just to provide an explanation as to why I think the builder is asking you to pay this tax. Then again, less than 4000 baht/year may not be worth fighting over. You say you have a 30 year lease. Did the builder promise to extend that lease another 30 years once the original lease is up? If so, how likely do you feel it is that they would do this? Paying or not paying this tax may have an effect on their decision. I agree that the builder will try to pass on property taxes to you if and when they are passed into law.

Another alternative would be for you to find a Thai to buy the property that would be willing to pay the yearly tax with the understanding that in 30 years they own the land. However, this may be more complicated than it is worth for both you and the Thai citizen.

Pearlgirl, you didn't buy the land. You technically paid 30 years of lease payments up front. An amount which was coincidentally equal to what a Thai would have paid to own the land outright.

I was under the impression that in these cases the Government collects all the due taxes immediately. (Thais understand each other. ) What are the odds the builder spent all the money on something else and now the Government is on him for being past due? You might want to get your lease documents check by someone knowledgeable. And stand up for yourself. If you don't he will take it as a sign of weakness and continually come up with new charges for you to pay. Your not in the wrong, he is.