lounger

The red shirts need to get organised and have a political wing that causes mischief and claims responsibility, Like the IRA do in UK. The existence of an Organisation will maintain some control and allow themselves to deny activities that they have not initiated.

Who planted this bomb? The redshirt brigade should have the knowledge of their order and should be able to confirm or denounce this atrocity. That would stop outsiders creating mahem and shifting the blame.... The non players must be excluded otherwise anyone can join in and waste neighbours and create more anarchy

All these random accusations are worse than a straight forward confrontaion.

Thailand thought the tourists were coming back.............nope. Excellent timing to put off the people booking now for their next holiday...well done...................

............. the feudal society that is perpetuated by the powers that be, until the needs of the neglected masses of poor people are addressed, there will not be harmony in the land. ........

Show me one country, other than certain rich oil countries, that have legislated money to the poor. It doesnt happen. The rich get richer and the great wealth divide gettes wider. All the fancy projects carried out by governments are to aid the capitalists. The only way to raise the standards of the poor is to take money away from the rich money earning, tax payers and that never happens.

Education. The next generation needs to get ambitious, learn to work and haul themselves out of the gutter. Its the only way. Join the gravy train.

In my local karaoke a 22 year old is reading commercial law books between serving (!) customers. Not a happy solution but she will make it. Government intervention leads to a welfare system and that is not productive.

With due respect, we have heard one side of this story from a man who sounds agitated and maybe even confused. Assuming there is no scam (and that is my bet) do you think a combative attitude is going to help with getting this sorted out at immigration? File a complaint from where? Prison for being on overstay, Laos, Canada? There is a solution and calm heads should prevail.

Another point. Its a good idea to come in for extensions 30 days before expiration of permission to stay. I believe most all offices will welcome this with no question. That way, there will be ample time to fix problems that are fixable.

I am amazed that all posts are on the side of the immigration. That scamm has such a high profile cannot be ignored and it has to be considered here. But what to do? I dont have any advice but the information suggests that the applications are in time unless the pasport expiration date is a problem; this should have been overcome by the issue of a new passport. Insisting on an explanation maybe the only way out............

Interviewing the wife is a red herring (she supports his application) and is clearly not relevant.

Good luck.

what did you guys expect?

this project is about bring internet to the masses

Exactly! In Singburi province we are still on semaphore.

For two years I have been paying 700baht per month for in indifferent service (so slow sometimes I cant get a speed rating). They advertise 4BB and 10MB in the town but says it will never get to rural as there is not the demand to string the wires, which I dont understand as I have a landline phone.

Using my mobile as connection is a bit slow but only 100baht per month. 30 hrs plus depending on the deals.

So bring on 2mb wifi whatever its called... we the rural masses are looking forward to it.

<BR>600 billion THB , of course with the actual exchange rate they can have 10 million tourist and 800 billion THB. the baht is the strongest currency in the world at the moment, incredible...<BR>

Baht is strong and about to get stronger !!!!!!

Tourism to increase?

Time to put a dampner on it.

Tsunami, SARS, see Daeng, aah I know, lets strengthen the baht. Yes put up the interest rates that should do it......

My wife took the car, the house and the kids. She came from a good family and had a good education.............oh, and she is English.

Why attack the Thai girls. The western world doesnt have a better record......maybe they wait longer but thats just to get future earnings( alimony/ allthemoney) too.

I'm happy the Belgian stole from his own.

It seems to be usual for these faranges to steal from their own countrymen......not so strange if you think about it.

I need to avoid Brits esp Welshmen.

Your response is not funny , why do you think so many villagers get sick and the death toll for under fives is so high ? Hygene is NOT a high point in many Thai lives , just check out what I have suggested , it is health and lives being discussed , not the latest Thai tv comedy show .

You ask : " why do you think many villagers get sick." Hygene has very little to do with it. Germ Tolerance is the main thing here and although consistent habits create germ tolerance inadequate diets do not. I suggest a family living on rice without fresh vegetables protein etc has very little germ tolerance. Fat healthy people who have so many meal dishes that they use middle spoons are the last people to need them (spoons) .

Every twenty four minutes the immig officers will disappear for a spot of som tam. The unmanned gates will be left open. The timing is one minute to clear the desk and 35 minutes for the break.

More realisticly I dont believe immig care about people leaving. There should be a turnstile that lets you through if you swipe/scan a passport that is recognised by the computers....

According to my wife; Thai TV news said the girls mother took her (the girl) to the farang's room. It's a money thing apparently.

Again, this is according to the news on channel 3.

This post is sadly unremarkable. In my province a young girl,15, was being handed round by her parents until the Thai son of a farange tupped her. Immediately the police were in and the farange was asked for 200,000baht. It was a set up.

In many karaokes here there are underage kids, 16/17. Jail bait for sure but how can the authorities stop the parents pimping?

Maybe if the parents never get to see the cash then this outrage will stop...................

Do not spank the monkey.

In South Africa, on the cape, guards are aware that monkeys become daring and subsequently dangerous. ( usually in the form of stealing food and then getting aggressive if resisted) Any such behaviour is known to lead to escalation of danger and so offending monkeys are shot.

It is lunacy to take tourists to a monkey beach without comprehension of the fact that the naturally aggressive monkeys are learning new behaviours.....

If it was not for the expats a lot of business would be lost in Thailand

If it was not for expats a lot of business would be lost in Thailand What a load of crap Do you really think that expats add a lot to Thailands economy Maybe the beer bars in Pattaya or Bangkok but not to Thailand in general Not even 1% so dont think Thailand would be worse of without its expats.

Actually it is 6% of GDP which is a large amount!!!!

Actually you are completely wrong!!!!

Expats would be far far less than 1% of GDP. Perhaps you're thinking of "Tourism" that may be around 6-7% but that is totally different to expats.

Expat - People that live here.

Tourist - People that visit.

I agree with the previous poster. What expats add to the Thai economy simply by living here is negligible.

speak for yourself. I am an expat here and I have expat friends we all take 'holidays in phuket,pattaya,Bangkok. We build houses and buy cars, have jobs, employ staff etc..

A tourist is estimated to spend 5,000baht a day. A house casting 500,000 baht, annual expenditure 800,000 ( the immigration requirement and assumption), a pickup 700,000 equates, to the numericly challenged, to a tourist staying a year and a half..........then there is the 800,000 every year plus ongoing capital equipment......

If I and my expat friends are included in the 1% then some of you guys are on short time and about to be squeezed out by the exchange rate fluctutions....bye bye

Whats wrong with these people.

If it was not for the expats a lot of business would be lost in Thailand

If it was not for expats a lot of business would be lost in Thailand What a load of crap Do you really think that expats add a lot to Thailands economy Maybe the beer bars in Pattaya or Bangkok but not to Thailand in general Not even 1% so dont think Thailand would be worse of without its expats.

This is a rediculous arguement. Tourists inc expats contribute 7% to Thailand economy. That is putting money in someones pocket. The arguement may be changed to whether the rural thais or the fat cats benefit in which case why nor argue that multi billion baht trunk roads or shopping malls also fail to contribute to rural life.........

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.

Not used - the terrorists fired over 100 grenades the past 2 months. perhaps you have not been paying attention...

The inevitable court case will match finger prints DNA etc to the culprits wont it????????????

THAT is where Thailand's problem is concentrated since those people are dead poor!

LaoPo

Sorry to burst your bubble, but visit any African nation and then talk about poverty here in Thailand.

Most Thais are deeply in debt, and have financial problems due to lack of planning capabilities! But most people here seem to have food and shelter! A luxury in many countries around the world unfortunately!

Financial stupidity in the form of household debt spent on telephones, cars, televisions, and poverty are not the same.

Guess which Prime Minister openly promoted a 'borrowing-culture'? I'll give you a hint, it starts with a T and ends on Haksin!

The staged perception image of a raging class war in Thailand is nonsense! Its a prefabricated marketing lie made by the Shinawatra administration and its PR agencies.

The real class war has still to come, I'm afraid!

Its not a class war its a war played by international corporatocracy. Thaksin welcomed the big corporations selling projects, putting the people in debt and money in his pocket. Abhisit is more a Thailand for the Thais sort of guy and so pressure is on to kick him out. Saddam wasnt only about oil it was about knocking a country flat so that the Americans could rebuild it...........

I'm for one disagree with your post, especially when it comes to UN which is a foul organization. UN haven't solved any conflict around the world, if you have any examples feel free to answer. It's a dead organization when it comes to make decisions but it's a live one when it comes to collect money from member countries. Iraq was occupied against UN resolution, so what happened? Extended war in Iraq. Genocide in Darfur, UN did nothing, Americans attacking Yugoslavia destroying the most important infrastructure and UN did nothing. I can continue with many examples if I do a search, just not worth it for UN which discredited itself becoming from a peace institution into a money making one. No UN please, as they will not help Thailand.

I agree. the Americans cant wait to get their corporations in the door levered into unsuspecting countries.. The UN is the thin end of the wedge and massive national debt follows. I bet the CIA is loving this debacle they can use it to upset the national resolve..... In fact they probably suggested the UN was a suitable peace negotiator

I read in an earlier News article that protesters who took their children to the protesters side refuse to send them home or to a safer place... I must say, this is a really irresponsible act of any parent joining the UDD.

I'm so anxious to take the poor children away from those parents and put them into a safer place and send them to adoption because those parents do not set a right example for the children. How can they even call themselves parents.

Otherwise it's no wonder that Thailand's population is decreasing because those types of parents are so stubborn putting thier children and themselves into grave danger. Their children will die under gunfire, and when their parents die, who's gonna take care of them? Secondly if those kids ever survive somehow, someway, they will plot revenge on the future government when they grow up...

Any person killed during a demonstration is paid extra.................all invited, bring the kids maybe you'll get lucky.....

speechless

IMO, you'd be a complete fool to believe otherwise.

It's all about Thaksin is the TV obsessive's mantra. It's boring, factually inaccurate and rather insulting to anyone that understands Thai society, culture and economics. He's a figurehead for a revolutionary movement. How could he not be, the way he has been ostracised by the military since the coup in 2006.

However it does serve a useful purpose to deflect away from the real issues at hand to focus on one man rather than concentrate on the serious problems within Thai society.

The genie is out of the bottle now though.

You are saying its not about Thaksin but you dont elaborate.

The media ( Bangkok post specifically) said Thaksin is embarrassed by this escalation. He is being shunned by thinking men and that includes recent allies in cambodia etc. I think the red dragon has outgrown Thaksin and he is distancing himself from it. Logically how could anyone hope to win the love of the thai people by action leading to the deaths of Thai people.........? No, there is a new agenda here and new money.

As far as all the hatred on here for the U.S. all I can say is people are people and there is no sense to hate Americans so much. Most Americans are against the U.S. using taxpayer dollars to invade foreign countries. If one took all the eligible voters, the percentage that voted for president was about 30%. Most Americans are sick of their government. Too bad this story had to turn into fiery words of hate toward the U.S. The common people are much friendlier than any European as a whole. We are all individuals. I will say that when there is a natural disaster anywhere in the world, the U.S. Government, the American people give more than any other country in the world. Our helicopters & Navy are there to pass out food and water. Regardless of what many on Thai Visa think - how bad you hate the U.S. - the people are very friendly once you get out of the cities especially sewers like NYC, L.A. - about all most Europeans know of the U.S.

One down and a few to go.

You make a fair point but the fact is that US bullies ( the big corporations) steamroller countries for their own ends and then insist its for the public benefit. For one example the banks in league with their government. US aid and foreign policy is to suck profit out of anyone whether or not they present a threat to America. They promote discord and revolution they change political leaders.................but they are not in Thailand..........are they.........?

Sorry ... who "won" the last election?

I'll ignore the previous election, which was invalidated (before the coup).

Who won any election? In rural thailand, where I live, the most corrupt wins. So the November election is going to be massively expensive and then they the elected will be scooping their money back from the new pot intended as funding for the less well off. In the last local election my wife was offered 500 baht and 1000baht......

no, elections are not the answer. whoever is in charge needs to drive against corruption and that includes the drug dealers the military and the police.....having an acceptable international profile will help too.

Far more impressive, noble and respectable than the yellow shirts who are rich and from next door.

Anyway, more and more Bangkokians become Reds in the sois (at least in my Chatuchak area).

More Reds in the sois? Sure sensible people stay indoors while the reds roam the streets. On the outskirts there are very, very few red shirts. In addition, I hardly see any celebrating thais, most are not even wearing the flowery Songkran shirts.

Mt Thai wife says her friends not want to talk about

They all say the Red shirts are no good and make trouble for Issan Thais who live in Bangkok

But when she asks what it is like they say

Not effect us, they not come this area

So lets all stick our heads in the sand

what we can not see, can not be happening

This is the Thai way

Farangs will never understand

It no longer surprises me when Thais say 'farange not understand Thailand'. Of course this is a standard response for anyone who has never thought beyond their own borders and doens't have the intelligence or education to realise they are just uttering a cliche, a worn out sound bite.

Any civil war has far more complex realities than 'issan man stick head in the sand'. Every continent has experienced the hatred existing when ideology causes brother to fight against brother. Every civil war has an anti war group.

What is happening in Thailand has a typical progression with the next phase possibly being escalation. Dont mock the characters if they dont want to participate. They may well be the peaceful moderators and they dont need to be worldly to do that.

Just a thought But how did the different groups arrive at their chosen colour ?

Red is associated with communism and normally considered a bad political colour ( unless you are a communist )

And Yellow is associated with the King and is considered a good colour

Or did somebody's wife just select the colour because it went with her outfit that day ?

Red is considered lucky in China. There are many Thais with Chinese origins.....Thaksin is.

annoying...don't think anymore Bangkokians give a dam_n what the red shirts want, it is inconveniencing everyone, the traffic is completely crippled (i live on sukhumvit). I think through out the last month they've killed traffic in almost every street in Bangkok. Inconveniencing all bangkokians is a bad idea in my opinion.

I live on Phaholyothin Road in Bangkok. The mobile rallies have caused minimal inconvenience on the streets here. Red shirts passing through today on their way between Chaengwattana and downtown Bangkok. Heard a couple of people shouting abuse from a condo, but still others waving and smiling at them. Certainly not all Bangkokians are anti-red.

I know of a school owner (Bangkokian) who also owns a huge chunk of land on Rachadapisek. She is hardly your stereotypical red shirt country bumpkin. You won't see her at the protest site, but she is behind the reds for sure. I am not saying this is an indication that the majority of Thais are behind the reds at the moment, but there are a proportion of people who are, who you will never see out on the streets.

A huge majority of the population is extremely fickle. They will back whoever is in charge. Army in charge? Ok, whatever. Peua Thai in control? Yeah, yeah, whatever! Democrats leading the country? OK ... whatever. Aliens from space in charge? Arai gor'dai ... whatever!

There is a reasonably large number of people, but still a minority, who do care who controls the country, either because they believe it benefits them directly or they have a genuine interest in politics. However, the majority of Thai people are more interested in their daily battle to make ends meet and don't have time to protest for any colour of shirt as they actually have to earn a living.

Politics in Thailand is so different from that in the West, that I find it amusing that people who have either lived here for a short time or have had their head buried in the sand throughout their time here, can find a way to try and compare the situation here with that in their home country. It's like chalk and cheese.

Still, without all the different opinions and outrageous claims and counter-claims, this would be an extremely boring forum. For that, I am grateful to one and all for the daily humour that is provided.

Sure, most of the photos show a happy colourful festival. The aggressive redshirts are misleading the public by using the rent a crowd...... What would happen if the protesters were not paid, if they were driven by their own beliefs and not the idea of a paid holiday. heck they are probably unemployed anyway and this is a temporary job.

Maybe rent a crowds could be made illegal... an advance tactic on forbidding rallies... track down the coffers and grab the gold.....problem solved

Everybody still half asleep ?

All Fools' Day today.

Its indicative of the anxiety felt by expats that this foolery was taken seriously. I am sufficiently paranoid to believe its not a new April Fool but something already ingrained in Thai society. Of course its not Tesco applying the 'tax' but the hotels bars and restaurants.........

Maybe a thai newspaper could carry an article saying The government is going for a level playing field and the Thais are to be charged the same as the 'Faranges', including:-traffic offences, hotels, bars and restaurants, parks and museums, shops and services(!)

That would be sanook mak mark

Silly question - but why do the police wait for late at night - there are lots of "girls" hanging around in the daytime - or are they just relaxing?

It's too hot.

The police run the bars: bar fines, kick backs etc. Freelancing must be discouraged... get back in the pen girls