aslimversgwm

3 hours ago, Grouse said:

I don't see it quite that way. 

 

If the Con Party get an increased majority, then a hard or crashout brexit is more likely. That would tend to push Scotland towards independence.

 

OTOH, if a Labour/Lib Dem/SNP coalition wins and either soft Brexit or no Brexit happens, that would make independence less likely

 

IMHO

I pray to God that such an alliance materialises but it does seem a tad unlikely right now. We can only hope. 

36 minutes ago, yellowboat said:

Looks like the people of Thailand have a certain love for their herritage and expect it to be preserved.  Wished the Thai military, RTP and the courts felt the same way.  

I think  this goes way way up greasy pole so such feelings would be entirely nullified 

7 minutes ago, jesimps said:

The RTP DAREN'T do squat, not won't.

 

 

Quite-  very dangerous grounds indeed. Be interesting to see if this ever goes to court.

2 hours ago, mark01 said:

Mmmmm......... Wonder who requested it be removed???????

 

 

Mmmmm! I have not the slightest idea! Tee tum, tee tum.

14 hours ago, Laughing Gravy said:

Well I hope it will shut up the whinging, unpatriotic europhiles that do not support the majority of the UK. It would seem you never did national service or served your country. What a shame. Even if the people do not vote for May at least she is a patriot, sadly lacking by many People and TV posters here. I am embarrassed for you.

Well I served for 10 years in the RAF so please don't lecture me about patriotism but your nationalistic, 'little Englander' rant sounds like something that belongs to the 19th Century let alone the 20th or 21st centuries. Belonging to the EU the UK could and did shape the course of its future ensuring the peace of us all, its political, economic and social development for the benefit of all of us true patriots and players on the European world stage - not the bigoted, xenophobic, quasi-racist underbelly that voted to leave in that stupid, unnecessary referendum called by Cameron in order to toady up to his rich, upper-class toffs in the Tory party.  There - that's my rant - a quid pro quo perhaps and please don't feel embarrassed for me because I'm not for you and your ilk, just thoroughly ashamed.

10 hours ago, billd766 said:

 

Not really.

 

There is the world that relatively rich farangs live in based on the cities of Thailand and the real world that perhaps 70% of poor Thais live in, called rural Thailand where the Thais live on 300 or 400 baht a day.

 

 Can YOU live on 400 baht a day, find somewhere to live, feed your wife and 2 kids, pay all your bills on 10,000 baht a month?

 

I certainly couldn't and I am sure that you couldn't either.

 

Try living like a rural Thai for 2 or 3 months then come back and tell us all how easy it is.

 

Out in rural Thailand there is little or no public transport. My nearest railway station is 130 km away as is the nearest airport. We have a great bus service from the big village to BKK some 350 km away but have to rely on baht buses to Khampaeng Phet, that is assuming someone will take you to the big village 6km form where I live.

 

Not a problem for me but I have 2 motorbikes and a pickup truck.

 

My son went to school 65 km away because I paid the fees plus 2,000 baht a month for a private bus. Kids out here either take a school bus if one is going the right way, a school baht bus if they are lucky, Mum's motor bike, a bicycle or they walk, whatever the weather.

 

Walk 10 km in their shoes if you can for a month and then come back and talk about inane comments and I will believe you.

Well said Bill! So many tv posters who make derisory comments about Thais and in this thread their modes of transportation appear to be quite divorced from how the vast majority of Thais actually live outside of the big cities like BKK or CM, or the seaside resorts in the south of the country. It really is a different world 'up north' and reminds me very much of the 'north-south divide' that still pervades in the UK.

15 hours ago, darksidedog said:

I wonder how badly wrong the pollsters will get this one? Their track record of late isn't too clever.

here's hoping! As David Steele once said an eon ago: 'prepare for government' (he was the leader of the Liberal party in the dim and distant and for the 1st time the Liberals were predicted to gain more seats in parliament than they'd dreamed of for decades). Well I can still dream can't I?

57 minutes ago, binjalin said:

these people could not organise sex in a Pattaya soapy

 

When I first came here I was critical of 3/4 riding motor bikes etc. until I learnt, fairly swiftly, many have NO choice and same with pick-ups. Bet they hate riding in those to and from work and bet they have NO choice.

 

The Hi-So Junta have no empathy for the poor only contempt.

Same same many contributors on  tv: No empathy or understanding of how poor Thais have to get from A to B to shop, work, school runs or hospital. A 2nd hand pick-up truck scraped and saved for for years or a motor bike is their only way. Enforcing the current laws is all that's needed: speed limits, no  drink driving, crash hat wearing in particular. The rest is down to stricter driving tests and no buying driving licences! 

3 hours ago, SOUTHERNSTAR said:

For all the cheerleaders. The reality is that the government spend about 70% of their budget in Bkk and surrounding provinces. The economic growth is thus limited to these areas. Leaving the rest of the country in recession. Look at the millitary intake this year and the number of volunteers. When the economy is doing well the army struggle to get volunteers. They even went so far a few years back to allow look khrungs to join. This year they have had hundreds of thousand of volunteers. FDI's are down about 70% since the coup. The education, justice and police systems have not been reformed as promised. There is no transparency in awarding contracts. They are on the point of rubber stamping thousands of patents without investigating the impact on the cost of medicine. They have passed a number of laws limiting the freedom of the press and speech. They bulldozed through a coal fired plant in Krabi although the people protested against it, arresting those who disagreed with them. They have put civilians on trail in military courts without having proper legal representation and no right of appeal. Yet you find people on TV that support them, I find it amazing. Amazing because it shows too which level the intellect of the some westerner have fallen. It is further amazing that some take for granted freedoms in our home countries but deny the same for the Thai's. How many of these cheerleaders will be cheering on their home country governments to implement the same laws and put civilians on trail in military courts ? The coup has put the country in a dead end and the only way out is going backwards, the longer the junta is in power the longer it will take the country to backtrack to get out of the mess they created. No junta ever anywhere have been able to run a country in a civilized way, they always use force, yet some ignore this historical fact and support the junta. Amazing farangs.

Well stated sir. Truly amazing farangs on tv who have absolutely no empathy with or even association with the ordinary 'man in the street' Thais,  especially in northern Thailand or Isaan areas; whilst they inhabit their gated Moo Baans, probably driving around in Beemers or Mercs, or some-such, located in BKK, Pattaya or maybe even Phuket.

1 hour ago, hansnl said:

I can only agree with you.

The way Thailand was going, a coup stopped the slide to possible civil unrest at least, civil war maybe.

Democracy, in my eyes, has degenerated to voting every 4-5 years.

While politico's hand in hand with big capital do exactly what they want to do.

In my view only referenda, as in Switserland, are the only way democracy might work.

But I rather agree with Sir Winston Churchill oft quoted remark: 'Democracy is the worst form of government, except for everything else'. Referenda? No thanks after Brexit - a disaster for the UK and Europe but I don't expect much agreement on this particular forum, for sure.

Parliamentary democracy decided by free and fair elections is the real will of the people - nothing else is acceptable no matter how much posters on here like to think otherwise and if it's ok with Sir Winston it's ok with me, thank you very much.

3 hours ago, Sphere said:

 

And US public debt 19 trillion dollars and rising - but heh! Who gives a .....!

So pleased to read your kind words regarding the gay marriage between the Brit and Thai guys and your condemnation of some of the posters on the thread. I sometimes think these negative posters don't just have their classes half empty but they don't even have a glass to fill. As a gay guy perhaps I am a little too sensitive but some of the remarks on that particular thread were borderline homophobic or quite clearly homophobic.

7 hours ago, louse1953 said:

55,you adore Sonkran because your memory of it is from 20 years ago.Your adoration would quickly disappear if you had done 20 in a row and see what a desecration Songkran is today.If you a really missing it you could have gone to a wat in Perth and had a very gentile Songkran in the old tradition.

I think he was being a tad ironic! Why do so many on tv not get irony?!

4 hours ago, ballpoint said:

The US authorities have since announced that passengers will be made to place all scorpions in their check-in luggage.  No hand carried scorpions will be allowed on any more flights.  The anti-discrimination-towards -arachnids league have condemned the measure as speciest and unrealistic, pointing out that a large number of scorpions were actually employed as cabin staff by the airline in question.  

Love it!

14 hours ago, kingkenny said:

No problem, don't worry about it. We always assume a signature is a name, but in  forums it is a footnote.

Exactly right. One signs one's name on everything like forms and letters hence my confusion. I expect others would be too. What a peculiar world forums inhabit complete with even more peculiar contributors! It took me quite a while to discover how to amend my 'signature ' . Getting more and more frustrated with tv and as a result am seriously considering unsubscribing -and I bet that's even more difficult!

56 minutes ago, RtotheC said:

They could drastically reduce the statistic by banning motorbikes for a few days, but then they'd move on to something else that needs to be made safer, then something else, and then before you know it Thailand has become the next Australia where everything is a fine and life is boring and then you negative nancies will complain about how boring it has become and how you want to move to Cambodia or some other third world country with a cheap, relaxed life style and then repeat the process of complaining until things are safer and more boring and then you'll eventually die of old age. <deleted> just save yourselves some time and leave now. 

I really try hard not to be a negative nancy  and have driven here  for about 7 years without an accident- pushing my luck I know! But it's so upsetting when I see those lovely youngsters riding their motorbikes careering along far too  quickly, without a crash hat or any protective clothing. I  often want to call out to them to take care but........

1 hour ago, Golden Triangle said:

I love traveling on the Thai railways as they are today, preferably 3rd class, I have done a fair bit of traveling on the railways here and (When I used to smoke) to be able to sit on the stairs by the doors with my camera and a ciggy or go right to the end of the train and do the same, great stuff  I know that the railways need updating but please keep some of the old stuff, not everyone wants to sit in the clinical A/C super fast trains of today. 

Agreed but I must admit when I tried the then new Shanghai to Beijing bullet train back in 2012 it was really quite exciting travelling at its restricted speed of 300+ Kph! Wow - so smooth, so luxurious - we went 1st class for a bit of extra space - it's certainly the way to go for railways of the future together with the maglev and maybe the hyperloop trains in the next decade or 2.

On 4/13/2017 at 11:08 AM, kingkenny said:

Your signature says "I'm David - gay retiree living with my Thai bf in CM"

 

Is that clear now? Not sure how my mind is peculiar, you are the one talking about being married while your signature says otherwise.  If you are not sure what I mean by signature it is at the bottom of your post..

My most humble apologies ! I obviously had no idea what my 'signature' was!! So now I know and will try and change it - it was set-up about 8 or 9 years ago when I first registered on tv and had quite forgotten all about it. I owe you a drink when you're next in CM - apologies again for being a twit!

9 hours ago, nisakiman said:

I used to love the steam trains. When I was a boy, eight or nine, I had quite a long journey to school - a mile walk to the train station, half an hour train journey, then two buses to within a quarter mile of my school. (Can you imagine any child of eight doing that journey on his own these days? Every day?) The train was the bit I enjoyed most. A great metallic monster huffing and puffing into the station, hissing and belching steam and smoke! And the wheels struggling to gain purchase on the rails as power was applied. Wonderful! And on the journey, I'd stick my head out of the window and imbibe the smell of the coal burning, and get smuts in my eyes from the belching behemoth that was pulling us. Nostalgia writ large!

 

Diesel locomotives and electric trains just don't cut it.

 

The golden age of steam!

 

Ha! Showing my age here! :)

But an absolutely spot on narrative description of the age of steam - I'm that old too - nearly 74!

Please, please Thailand do preserve your old locos and traditional buildings - as already mentioned they are great tourist attractions throughout the world. It'll make you money - think on!

On Tuesday, April 11, 2017 at 4:03 PM, kingkenny said:

I am alluding to your signature that says you live with your boyfriend, so you e8ther live with your boyfriend or your husband..  nothing for me to get over, I am not criticising, just pointing out a discrepancy,  bit touchy haha

Why does aslimversgwm 'signature ' say I live with my boyfriend and not my husband? What a peculiar mind you have. All it says is: I am a slim, versatile, gay, white male. Get it? Just because I married my Thai boyfriend at the UK embassy in Hanoi in November last doesn't change the fact that I am a slim versatile gay white male = my signature as you call it = aslimversgwm. Is that clear now? 

15 hours ago, MadMuhummad said:

Would be an awful feeling. Whether people think it's dumb or not spare a thought for those that were caught out.
Scams catch people worldwide. Just think some of these people may not have total knowledge of the costs involved.
Now they're stuck far from home on probably the hardest time of the year to find accommodation or bus/train tickets.

Exactly. The lack of empathy by certain regular contributors on tv with the poor people of Thailand exploited by con merchants found in every country,  not just Thailand, always amazes me. They live in their gated moo  baans completely isolated from the reality of the real Thailand. 

17 hours ago, kingkenny said:

I hope your husband know you are living with your Thai boyfriend in CM, as per your signature. 

I have no idea what you are alluding too, but yes, I do live with my Thai husband in CM thank you very much. Get over it' as they say!

4 hours ago, steve187 said:

yes it is, but they are not legally married in the eyes of Thailand or the UK.

They can go to the British Embassy in either Hanoi or Phnom Penh and get married. No  problem  and yes it is legally recognised in the UK. I married my male Thai partner at my embassy in Hanoi in November last year as have several other British citizens and their Thai male partners. So interesting to read the cheap jokes and underlying homophobic comments from the  usual suspects on tv. 

18 hours ago, khunPer said:

Bus and train, even if low costs, are not really the alternative for the poorer people, as they often bring numerous belongings and still need transport from train-station or bus-terminal to their rural village; and finding someone to drive from station or terminal to village at an affordable cost, relative to people with little money, can be almost impossible. The shared pick-up van would drive around the various villages and let folks off at their homes, together with their transported stuff that can be more than just easily taken by train or bus...

 

Improvement of safety could also be speed, and car conditions (especially tires and brakes), and fatigue level for drivers – may improve safety more than limiting to six passengers only in the pick-up bed...

You are 100% correct Khun Per. A pity some of the his posters on TV had any kind of inkling or empathy with the real Thailand as against their closeted existence in their gated Moo bahns whilst driving around in their Beemer or mercs  

On Thursday, April 06, 2017 at 4:36 PM, Artisi said:

An interesting statistic would be the total number of deaths resulting from pick-up accidents compared to buses, vans and taxis, would think pick-ups would be well down the list. 

But as usual,  the powers that be shoot off mouth before putting brain in gear thinking what appears as a simple fix will cure all the road deaths - how about drink drive, speed, stupidity, not road worthy etc. 

Exactly