grandpops

The removal of the previous elected PPP government by military coup and court orders as undemocratic also.

So you suggest that once someone is voted into office they can break the law, kill and steal from the people, change the rules to suit and profit themselves, and basically get away with doing whatever they feel like without there being any controlling mechanism? Your version of democracy is all too common on this forum, unfortunately for you, but fortunately for democracy, it's also wrong.

The answer is yes. They can and do, because they are empowerd to change laws. The rest they can do because they can get away with it. Things like blockading airports, ransaking governemt buildings, overthrowing governments, driving tanks round bangkok, blocking disent (post coup), rigging an election (and managing to lose it still!!!) then forcing out the winners to add but a few of the most recent ones.

Hope the allegations against Abhisit are not as heinous as the "appearing on a cookery program"

that they used against Samak!

As with most badly thought out posts, yours actually proves the opposite of what you are trying to prove.

At least the Thailand newbies (arrived since 1999) that cannot remember the times before Thaksin will get to see how a real party of self interest runs the country. The army buget was just upped to how much!

Unlike other surveillance platforms, the proposed airship will stay aloft for 10 years and provide a constant watch over an area, air force officials said.

"It is absolutely revolutionary," said Werner Dahm, chief scientist for the air force. "It is a cross between a satellite and a Global Hawk [spy plane]."

The airship will fly at 65,000 feet, or 12 miles, beyond the range of any handheld missile, and safe from most fighter planes. At that height, it would be nearly impossible to see.

His cousin Givah Dahm was removed by the military for. well giving one.

With this spec. one wonders if then need buy it at all. Think of the emperors new clothes.

Just put a bod in an office to say its somehwere secret over Patani and put the 350 million where it is most needed.... army pockets.

Sorry to be a grammar nazi but it should read:

Thai People Are Getting Taller, Fatter, More Tubular.

The use of the present progressive is mandated here.

Posts from Thaivisa News should be up to newspaper standards.

Even non grammar nazis are thinking it should be "are becoming"! Adolf

Try reading for meaning. It makes much more sense and you learn much more once the blinkers are off.

The new Shell station on Chao Fa West is where I have been buying 95 octane benzine at about 35 baht. I noticed that the Shell place near Greenman was selling something called V-power at about 35 baht, so I guessed it might be 95 benzine. Hard to reconcile why 91 benzine is so much cheaper (about 26 baht) than 95 benzine.

The staff at the new one on Chao Fah must have been 7/11 rejects they are so dumb.

If you were to add 11 to the IQ of one of them it would still struggle to make double figures.

News channels (outside of ASTV - which is why it has probably been missed ) are reporting large protests against our current, temporary, acting, caretaker PM Abhisit.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090224/ap_on_...hailand_protest

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090224/ap_on_...hailand_protest

Does it need a new thread?

Are you aware of how Thaivisa works?

Start a new thread on a new topic if you like. Anyone, even you, can do that.

That's the proper thing to do rather than bumping a totally unrelated thread.

You obviously don't because I cannot post new topics in here. Check your facts first.

Maybe just once, you can think before you post! or run crying to a mod.

Why not be helpful and post it for me!

Thanks in advance of your balanced posting of new threads.

I think we are on the verge of a power struggle that at its extremes could deliver the following.

Army appointed and entrenched Governemt. This one at least has a large element of popular elected support (hows that from me? Fair or what!). Down the road to Burmese style population control and suppresion of disent.

A true grass roots revolution against this type of behaviour led by the red shirts that could see a major clean out of the Bangkok monied elites and their army generals. This too is bad because these things usually get well out of control as well.

Neither are good for the country and I hope this reconcilliation plan is given more serious consideration by Abhisit that it is at present.

Still hope for democracy to work I would say, and can't imagine it going this far in either direction, but both are possibilities.

News channels (outside of ASTV - which is why it has probably been missed ) are reporting large protests against our current, temporary, acting, caretaker PM Abhisit.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090224/ap_on_...hailand_protest

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090224/ap_on_...hailand_protest

Does it need a new thread?

Thanks to jbowman for letting us read a Thai's advice to fellow Thais. Not a farang viewpoint. Lots of good points.

The scary thing is, that I believe that Thais should fix Thailand.

Hear hear. Not holding my breath mind you!

Nobody (abroad) give a dam_n about the red shirts as long as they don't block the airport. I don't remember him to be so concerned when the PAD was putting Thailand on the headlines a few month ago ...

What foreigners really care about are the Rohingya refugees, Giles and Harry Nicolaides. But I believe Abhi comments are directed to a local audience, so far the Thai government has only show disdain to foreign institutions.

Perhaps you should consult your diary and a calendar. The PM wasn't PM 'a few months ago'.

The reds will say and do just about anything to not make this about their own behaviour!

Bit like saying TV is a PAD site just because 4 posters are paid up members and wear the PAD blinkers!

If you want to advance your cause you really need to up your game as much as Thailand needs to up his.

Some of us are giving Abhisit a chance because we don't see him being removed by his army masters anytime soon.

Time and circumstances will tell on this though.

Happy PAD reuniong to you and SRJ! NIce to see plus get a real mauling at the hands of Joetheposter yesterday!! Nice one joe!

Going to mean a new reality for many in the west.

Pre 1960's, working and having a good job was something to be thankful for. Now, having a job seams to be taken as a right, with rights to massive benefits, plenty of opportunities to "throw a sickie" when there is a football match on etc. Lots of opportunities for businesses to be sued out of business for some Politically Correct misdemeanor or not promoting some minority or other.

Flexible working, creches, dress down friday, paternaty leave, self certificating 5 days off on the sick, staff leaving the office to 4X4 deliver overweight kids the 500m to and from school twice a day, or any of a number of things unrelated to core business are a drain on productivity and resources. Try going to work to, well, knuckle down and work!! might make a difference IMHO

All the above are lovely rosy pipe dreams that should never have been brough into being.

Asia, I believe is better equipped to weather this situation. Not because it will be less bad here, but because many here have no culture of the nanny state and many of us expats worked in an era before mass political correctness took off.

Love it or hate it, we can't change it so why not enjoy the scenery here, the cheap food, excercise etc. and let the west reap what they have sown.

What are the herbs? Vitamin C next?

And how about those clouds of blinding, lung strangling toxic chilli gas that thai roadside restaurants let off from time to time. Usually when I am passing on me bike.

~

Boring sexist troll, nothing to do with Thailand..

Don''t be too hard on yourself. Learn from the experience and move on!

lol again ---

Feel free to do some research

But apparently reading isn't your forte'

As i already said, i did, but was not able to find data for these year, during Thaksins administration. Seeing as you have stated that "Thaksin cut the military budget RADICALLY", i am assuming that you have the data already, to support this statement.

Or are we to assume you do not have any information to back up this statement?

Don't hold your breath waiting mate. The PAD tag team only have "dubuous" statistics when they can be loosly construed as supporting their arguments.

The whole reason for the thread was that 99.99% of TV posters would see it as the joke it is. The very thought that the Army are posturing as not been greedy and self serving is, I think, the main issue here.

I did enjoy the "reign of terror" list kicking off with a writ though, and it was his list on which he chose to put this above the spurious "1,000's killed". Suggests he doesn't believe that propaganda or why put being sued above it in a list of atrocities?

My mates daughter was a student with Thaksins son and swears blind she was given a chinese burn during Thaksin the youngers reign of terror at school.

I believe that when i see PAD allowing the Red Shirts holding a meeting undisturbed in their strongholds.

the rest is just about your inability to see what actually happens in Thailand

What is that now? Running out of reasonable arguments you have to resort to insulting accusations?

You aren't arguing that BKK is a Yellow stronghold are you? As for the rest .. you never once answered anything

Pehaps you havn't had it explained to you properly. We are not answerable to you, or any of the other PAD apologists.

If you look at todays tourism thread, you will see the Bank of Thailand estimate the PAD damage through the airport closures at 290 Billion Baht.

Perhaps they should compensate the country before they think about ruining whats left of the season up in Chiang Mai.

[hateful violence-inciting prose deleted]

Nice post.

Bit of a long desciption of the english terms, Muppets and Numpty.

At least we now know they are teminally stupid and vain as well.

What I learned today on Thaivisa.

Angelina Jolie is so much more than a Hollywood movie star or UN special representative. Angelina Jolie is the official spokesperson for the United States of America and all it citizens. She embodies the hopes, dreams, beliefs and hypocritical morality of the USA's 300 million people. The world hangs on every utterance of this big lipped bimbette and trembles when she swaps spit with Brad Pitt.

That is all ...

Actually AJ she is a spokesperson for the UN of which Thailand is a member.

I think you're upset because you've been taught to be nationalistic above all- and the truth hurts.

Attacking her as a " Big lipped bimbette " really shows you as a immature sexist racist.

I think he meant "vacuous, big lipped bimbette". Just look at the pose she strikes in the picture. Where are the animal rights activists when she is walking round with two drugged, overfed pink slugs stuck to her lips.

This is why we make comments like this about Hollywood types of both sexes.

I suggest you confine your immature "immature sexist racist" inults to your wimmins club or 80's throw back clubs.

Big on photo ops and 1st class travel and sounding off is what many think of her, and we are entitled to think that as well without your outdated battle of the sexes, wimmins sufferagettage comments.

The simple fact is that after last months Rohingya human right scandal and the defacto murder of several refugees the Thai government needed a completely new reason to shoot themselves in the foot. You would think they were running out of feet by now but long time observers know different.

Unless you live here you cannot believe the things this government can come up with. They've hid cigarettes from view but smoking is on the rise. They've wanted to turn the labels of alcoholic beverages so we can't see them but people somehow are still buying alcohol. Now we can have gross pictures on our beverage bottles.

For anyone living here these completely stupid rules and laws are common place and avoidable but for tourists they are truly inconvenient and divisive. The hours of sales is an example. I forgot what they are but the reason for the restricted hours was to reduce alcohol consumption by students and to lessen the chance a wife will be beat up by her Thai husband. Is this working? Why can we buy drugs 24 hours a day? Oh yeah, you can buy buy the case during restricted hours anywhere for some reason but cannot buy a single beer.

Now a holiday ban on alcohol sales. Tourists will simply love to spread this brain fart. I remember during a beverage ban while votes from some election or another were being counted, the Marriott honored the ban of course. A businessman friend of mine order a dish cooked with white wine sauce and was told he could not order the dish until midnight. Priceless! TIT!

Just as an aside. Does any other country in the world generate as many stupid policies and back downs as this one?

I know Zimbabwee and Burma have a few serious ones but here we are bombarded with them on a weekly basis.

At the moment we have major internet crackdowns, piracy crackdowns, the above abuses, high dudgeon about girls and sex... again, riots outside government house... again, this on top of the last coup, an airport open at the discretion of the PAD, dry days for elections, pre elections, re-elections etc.

Could "regional hub" be used in this context!

Does anyone know of any Thai words that are in general use in the English Language???

i hear the word "yet" often.

As in "you try the new beer Chang yet"

What about Key?

Nearly OT, White elephant originated here.

Ok, I haven't been in Thailand since this little economic crisis hit, so I'll bite. If these "taxi drivers" won't take a fare, what is their scam? Do you mean they have taxis but just refuse to go on the meter, insisting on egregious fares with naive customers?

Yes, that sums it up about right... I have some small to medium size hotels on my soi, and a regular cadre of taxi drivers (know them all on sight) who will not take regular fares, and only want to go to the airport or out of town tour.

Even if they have no passenger scheduled, they'll refuse regular local fares and just sit at their taxi near the hotel waiting... From time to time, I've heard them quoting fares from lower Sukhumvit to Suvarnabhumi of 800 baht one way - which is between 3 and 4 times the normal meter fare.

If they can find a customer willing to pay that, the profit involved makes up for a whole lot of in-town smaller fares....

A friend of mine was staying at a Bangkok hotel recently.

Several Taxi Mafia parked out front, refusing fares until they find a new arrival they can scam.

I talked with the manager of the hotel and asked why he allows criminals to loiter out front and cheat the guests.

He said they cooperate with the Police and nothing can be done.

I asked if he would post a warning to his guests?

He was not interested.

TIT.

There are Taxi scammers posted at every tourist hotel.

Beware.

We are not interested either. It''s an even sadder state of affairs if we are pittying wealthy people who have so little interest in where they are in the world that they hav'nt carried out even the most basic enquiries about the country.

So what, they have enough money to pay upwards of 5,000 baht for one night in a hotel, dont notice that 350 baht is over the odds for a taxi, and obviously dont care either.

Even the poor dumb drunken bar flies of pattaya that we hear harrangued so much know more than these people. I heard a guy once complain on Thai Visa that the 10baht "baht bus"is only 5baht for thais and he had bawled them out for it!

There is information about scams here on every article I have ever read about the country. Maybe if they wern't so rich, they would care more about the value of money and know already how much this should cost.

Lets save pitty and outrage for more deserving population groups than rich tourists. Buyer beware!

Not going to happen is it.

This will be more about giving foreigners the opportunity to lose money here.

No way will it be made easier to make money. Nor, for those that are getting excited about it in Bangkok, will there be anyway, falangs will be able to own land.

They have been honking on about this for a few years now ... the reality of introducing such a database (and the software to collate the data in a usable format that is accurately accesible) has had MP's shaking their heads. They still have not found a way to collate the data neded to issue ID cards. Like the ID card debacle, this "movements" database keeps getting setback because of the cost.

10years time .... yes, possibly - its going to come ultimately one way or the other, but before then? - no, not likely. Government coffers are bare bare bare............

I think they can collate the data.

Am sure we will soon be able to check this as some numpty is bound to leave it on a laptop or tumbdrive on a train/bus, in the theatre, Mc'donalds or in the park. Only a matter of time.

My first day back into BKK and I saw some washed up farang with another washed up farang friend of his. They are sitting at a dark and gloomy overhead bridge, wearing singlets, and drinking beer. They are unshaven, have a few tattoos on them and speaking loudly. What do they do here?

laugh at newbies on their first day in thailand!

Wonder why these spotty virgins are so stuck up themselves! Wonder if they will squeall the first time a thai woman lures them into a hotel room.

Is bangok so dull you have to come on here with your sad post! My first day in Bangkok, my feet barely touched the ground...... literally What memories!

I once had the experience of staying in the 'bungalow' at an earls Court Hotel.So I said I'd take a look...went through the hotel..... out the back.....down a fire escape....there it was a wooden garden shed...'The bungalow' had a single bed a mirror a table wardrobe and an electric one bar wall heater.....stayed about 6 months.....great when the weather is good. Course being in Earls Court no worries about cooking.

I wish you well

I stayed at the cheapest rooms in the Colwyn Hotel in Aberdeen a few years back. They were about £20 a night and were 'shed-like' chalets with an army bed and matress. No TV, communal toilet/bathroom, a sink and one of them didn't have any electric bar the light-switch! Adventurous for a week or so, soon got tired of them though

Is this a play by the UK Tourism authority to temp people to the UK?

Comes as a nice reminder to us all that Thailand is absolutely the place to live under any circumstances. Coups, Riots, Crime, Karaokee Bars, Thai Soaps withstanding.

Why not sell the shed and buy a plane ticket here?

PS hope there is some news breaking soon. Can't believe I just responded here!

Come on Sri Racha John, I know I argue with you constantly but please dig out something we can reply to whilst we are working this evening. I'm so borred right now I actually nearly did some work!

so wait

you're a lazy fat fuc_k who cant park your car A 15 SEC WALK AWAY and then you criticize people?

You're WAY worse than those thais who stop in the middle of a 2 lane street(directly on the middle line) then get out of their car to go buy food from a stall. Why? because you've had an education and you still cant figure out if you park in front of a car, it cannot move.. YES REVOLUTIONARY CONCEPT.. objet a is stuck between wall and object b therefore it cannot move.. DEAR GOD THIS IS HARD, dam_n you logic!

You have overlooked object "C" The Thai missus. No self respecting Object C, would be seen dead walking more than two paces between car door and shop door. Parking in front of existing car is a further walk of 3 meters.

Walking 3 meters is a sign of low breeding so better get with the Thai way and block the traffic. This, a) saves Mrs C from appearing common and moving her lazy ass, gives Mrs C a captive audience to marval at her new dress, and amaze as her Hi-So falang boyfriend in Singha vest bawls "hey tee lak, get us some smokes please, LM deang and a chang beer, and C) upset mr Yabaaa who undoutedly is fuming in the first car behind, scared to come out and shout.

Innocent until proven guilty. Always the same hang em high reactions when farangs are arrested accused of crimes such as drug dealing or sexual molestation of minors or whatever.

Till now all that is proven, is the small amount of narcotics the guy has confessed to knowingly possessing.

Maybe you expats are too much influenced by the Thai way of publishing full names and photos of people who are only being suspected of having committed a crime.

Maybe next time you give us the benefit of your legal knowledge you will get it right first.

Its "presumed" innocent until proven guilty. His innocence or guilt is not at any stage altered by a trial, whether by media, TV or a court.

I love the thai way of doing this. Parade him with all the shit found on him and record his instant excuse. Not like in the UK where he would have had a month with a legal aid lawyer sorting out his story, costing the tax payers thousands and then getting out with an apology from the police and issuing threats to sue them if they ever stop him again.

If he dosnt like it he can always fk off.... oh, sorry he can't can he!

Marijuana for his pain!