spidermike007

These days, there are not many films that are metaphorical in nature. Cinema, like the rest of society has become dumbed down. The new trend of mega franchise, amusement park ride films is symbolic of where society has digressed to. Thor, Fast and the Furious, the Avengers, Spiderman, the Hulk, Black Widow, all very big budget, comic book junk. Then you have reality TV. Truly bottom of the barrel evidence of the cultural collapse of contemporary society. I don't think a film like Being there would get made today. It is too deep for today's audiences.

Do you own, or rent? If you own, rent out or sell your place. If you rent, move asap.

Why isn't the Thai judiciary being investigated? Who is the real culprit here? You pay, if payment is accepted. US rules should not apply here. The US is just as corrupt. Look at their political system. Super PACS, lobbyists, the ability to buy your way out of nearly any criminal proceeding, with a few million to throw at a good legal team, etc. And besides, Thailand dropped the ball, by not following through on billions that it promised Toyota in tax breaks. Not a good precedent. Does the word not mean anything? Nor the law?

You are confusing my sentiments and sympathies towards the majority of working Thais. They are the ones who took the punishment. For us? Most of us do not depend on Thailand for our income. Thankfully. And we lead very good lives. While your rose tinted glasses must be pleasant to wear, most of us expats, and about 96% of Thais likely disagree about the intentions of P & P. They are so far from noble. The highly selective nature of the economic shutdowns, favoring their cronies and the sueor rich, at the expense of the working class, inflicted an unforgivable amount of punishment on the people.

I do not make any distinction between the so called mafia here, and the RTP. I do not think there is much of a distinction to be made.

Absolutely spot on. By adding the word trafficking, they get an emotional reaction out of people. Who knows what the truth actually is. And how many Thai cops and border officials are involved in real trafficking and human slavery? If it is really sex trafficking of anyone, much less minors, there should be a mandatory execution.

We must absolutely refuse to pay these jacked up fees. If no foreigners went to these parks, maybe the goons would rethink their idiotic and racist policies. On a certain level, I understand their desire to charge more to foreign tourists. But, there should be a policy for ex-pats living here. We support the nation on countless levels. So a drivers license, or a pink card should be all that is required, to show we are residents, not tourists. Asking us to pay these prices is dumb and dumber. Not to mention arrogant, and deeply offensive.

It is a scary thought. And even considering how insane, unhinged, desperate and power hungry Putin is, at this time, I doubt he would use anything other than the smallest tactical nuke ever used. So, there would be no nuclear winter, unless the Western powers responded with something bigger, which is extremely unlikely. Let cool heads prevail. A nuclear war benefits nobody, on any level.

Good point. I have been threatened by a few hotheads on Samui, but after showing them some respect for the perceived slight, they always backed down. Attitude and a show of respect, are 95% of the trick here, when it comes to dealing with the locals. And one should always be hesitant to approach a Thai woman who is with a man. Any man. Just basic respect for him and her. If she is showing interest, than one might approach with caution, and always address the man too. I have witnessed some foreigners here, who seem to think a high percentage of Thai women are available. That is not the case. It is actually a rather small percentage that are open to foreigners, much less a stranger on the street. Personally, I have never felt threatened. I have seen a shooting here, and seen a number of fights, while on Samui. It is nearly always Thai on Thai, which is not my concern. I keep my nose clean, tend to show respect to the locals, and know how to avoid confrontations. The few times I have been faced with a very angry local, I have offered a sincere apology, a deep wai, and they backed down. Never had my house robbed, or a car or motorbike stolen. Never been robbed on the street here, in well over a decade.

Much ado over nothing. Trump made more gaffes than any politician in history, and said more dumb things than anyone in high office has ever said. The only difference is that the GOP PR machine is far sharper than the dems. Biden is 30X times the man Trump could ever mask himself as.

Out of ten ASEAN member countries, Thailand has the highest number of guns in the possession of private individuals, with 10,342,000 guns being recorded in 2017, according to the Small Arms Survey (SAS). Guns being recorded, is the key word here. How many millions more were not recorded, and how many were there never any record of? How many were smuggled into Thailand? How many were allowed in by highly corrupt men on the border? Are the borders safe here? Absolutely not. How about mandatory annual psychological checks, and background checks, of every policeman, and soldier who is issued a gun here? There are way too many loose cannons, without much emotional development, who are drunk with their power, in both segments of Thai society. Many years ago, my sister in law, was involved with a rather dodgy Brit, while living on Samui. When she finally ditched him, he was livid, and just could not handle it. He ended up coming one night, at 3:30am, and burning down her bungalow, which was made of wood and thatch. It went up like a bomb. Fortunately, neither she, nor her roommate were there at the time, or they would have either died, or ended up with major 3rd degree burns all over their bodies, which I believe was his intention. In most countries, this would be treated as attempted murder, correct? The police were able to find a video of him racing away from the scene, at around 3:35am, as there was a CCTV camera in front of the police station, only a few hundred meters away from her bungalow. They took him in, and told him he would have to leave Thailand, and could never return. Not sure what exchanged hands, for him to not have been arrested. He was also told he would have to pay my sister in law 120,000 baht for the destruction of her gold, cash, and possessions. Same for her friend. He did pay. We know that for a fact, as we were friendly with a couple of his friends. When she went to the police station to collect, she was told that he never paid, and he was already back in Thailand. But, that they had advocated for her, and made sure he could never come back to Thailand! When she pushed, and told them that she knew for a fact that he had paid them, she was told that her life was now in danger, and that she needed to back down, and go away, or her safety could not be guaranteed. The real problem is, you cannot report these guys. Not to the higher ups, not to the provincial authorities, and certainly not to the army. They are all corrupt beyond imagination. And the level of corruption simply escalates, the further up the food chain you go. They are not expected to be honest, and they are not expected to engage in law enforcement, traffic or public safety, on any level. It is an irrevocably broken and dysfunctional system. Anything hyperbole to the contrary, is just a smoke screen, intended to deceive the naive amongst us. So typical of these goons, who have the audacity to pose as cops. They are anything but. Many are operating their own little mafia gangs. But law enforcement? Rarely.

Likely not cancer. Likely a fabrication fed to the media. But, a good result.

I think there are a lot of bad police departments out there. Was watching a documentary last night about Suge Knight. The FBI agents were saying Biggie' assassination was an institutional hit, done by members of the LAPD. Granted they are one of the foulest police departments in the US. But, assassins for hire? However, the RTP seems to set a new standard. The corruption and willful malfeasance is staggering.

You are likely right. So what is the difference between the RTP and the NY Mafia? Sounds like most cops are the equivalent of "made men". Virtually untouchable. Is it even possible to reform such a rotten, corrupt and horrendously foul institution? The name itself becomes a joke.

I second that. Especially with a woman who is 59 years old, 100kg, and ugly. You really think good looking gals are available on there in the "land of stupid pricing", and you think the guys are going to be honest about how fat and ugly the gals are on there? 20 years ago I found a brothel that had good looking Chinese gals for $140, in East LA. A lot has changed since then.

Are you actually suggesting transparency and honesty from the RTP? Are they not above the law? Why would the franchisees break ranks and spill the beans about the fortunes they are earning and how the process works?

Imagine being a fly on the wall, in that meeting? I know this is a radical idea, but maybe we should vet people first, before taking them on as cops? And perhaps if every other cop in every department has a hard time working with a guy, maybe we should let him go? And if he is repeatedly caught using, or peddling drugs, maybe we should fire him? And if he repeatedly threatens people with his gun, maybe we should consider him unstable, and a threat to civilians? Nearly every Thai person I speak with dislikes, and disrespects the RTP. They are toxic. Reform is overdue by decades. Will it ever happen? That is very much in doubt.

As I have stated many times, the RTP at it's inception seems to have been created with a status quo from the government. We will NOT pay you a living wage, and you have to buy your own equipment, BUT you have a franchise, and the limit of your income is based solely on your own creativity and initiative, and you will always be protected. Is that not the case? Where would you begin to change that culture? You know where? You would double all salaries. And invest in modern equipment, forensic labs and an effective highway patrol. Probably a trillion baht to start. Thailand likely has the highest percentage of laws on the books, that are NEVER enforced, of any nation on earth. Nobody respects the cops here. And few respect the judiciary either, for good reasons.

Not that we would expect any more out of the RTP, but it is a bit surprising that nothing in the way of a background check is done, before someone is hired. I guess since they are expected to work the franchise, rather than practice law enforcement, this should not be shocking. What is incredible, is that this guy could get away with such atrocious behavior, over a period of so many years. And even though he was a constant annoyance to the other cops, and even though he was obviously a very poor performer, he was kept on. It is as if they have no standards, and one has to really go out on the limb to get fired. Many of us have long considered the RTP to be a very toxic force within Thailand. Is this even more confirmation of that?

It is actually quite shocking that he was fired for possession. He must have offended or stepped on some toes? Or perhaps he did not share the proceeds from dealing? The cops here are notoriously tolerant of their own. And many are drug dealers.

Nah. No need to be an apologist for societies offensive and low life members.

The Samui office is notorious. I was once asked to provide a new cell phone for 8 staff members. It is likely about the money, and you were expected to ask how much do you need?

I am thankful that I am open minded enough to try alternatives to Big Pharma and the highly traditional routes peddled by allopathic medicine.

Go ahead and let your dark skepticism get in the way again.

Yeah. As if. Ever try it? A total myth. Believe me. I speak from experience as do many of my friends. And if it is true she is likely 59 years old, 100 kg, and ugly.