spidermike007

48 minutes ago, moreem said:

 

100000 for a joint is hard to believe. The court fine would be 2000 thb.

 

 

 

 

It happened. This was before it went to court, and the police use well honed tactics to scare the hell out of the tourists that are caught. It happens often. 

1 hour ago, David Walden said:

You could likely apply the same comment in the US about paying taxes and get the same answer.  As much as we all hate paying taxes we all know it has to happen the wall also. Sooner or later it will happen. Preferably before the illegals get the vote, outnumber you and send all of you Americans off to there now bankrupt counties.  Which they own also, you'll be paying them rent.  But that will all happen after I'm dead and gone but not forgotten.  Too many people in the US want to be President, I think at least 5 million... Perhaps I got that wrong maybe only 2.5 million.

We might get a fence, but we will never get the impenetrable metal barrier Trump loves to rant on and on about, during his campaign. It would cost $40 to $70 billion. All it takes is a tunnel, which is so easy to create, so even if we had that mythical wall, it would barely stop the flow. The illegal immigrants would get in with or without a wall. And the terrorists all come by sea or air. Maybe we can build a cage around the entire country? 

The presidency is the last job in the world I would want. I am not sure if there is any amount of money they could pay me, that would compel me to take that most horrendous of jobs. I think the only people that are attracted to that job (these days) are the megalomaniacs and fame hungry (Trump), those that love to wield real power (Clinton, Eisenhower, Nixon), those that are deluded into thinking they really have something to offer (Trump, Bush Jr.) and those that are idealists (Carter, Lincoln?, and a few others from the long forgotten past). Nobody of nobility, grace, elegance, vision, or integrity would seek the job at this stage. The days of the Bill Bradley and Bill Richardson types are long past. 

15 minutes ago, Hanaguma said:

This may be half true, half not. No one is doubting that Latinos are hard working. However... the idea that they do work that "white Americans" aren't willing to do is not. You said it yourself, "at the kinds of wages they are being paid". That is the key.  Also vaguely racist, but we will leave that aside for now. 

 

An influx of largely uneducated and unskilled people does no good for the economy. Jobs for such people are decreasing and will continue to decrease as automation takes over many service industry areas. What illegal immigration DOES do is to drive down wages. This also hurts legal residents and citizens who must compete with illegals for fewer and fewer jobs. The only people that this helps are business owners who can exploit at will. They can pay slave wages and get away with it.  To a small extent, it also benefits consumers who can get marginally cheaper goods and services. However, I think most Americans would be happy to pay an extra dollar for a hotel room or dime for a head of lettuce if they were certain that it had been obtained by a legal resident. 

 

America does need immigrants. But it needs skilled and educated immgrants, not a growing underclass who are vulnerable to exploitation. 

I agree with some of what you are saying. America used to get skilled workers. We used to get the best and the brightest from all over the world. Fact. Now, we allow these people to study in the US, then when they graduate at the top of their class, they cannot get a visa to stay and work. Fact. The legal immigration system in the US is completely broken. So, the best and the brightest no longer come to the US, as the visa process is ridiculous, outdated, and the quota system is an antiquated system that does not work anymore. Fact.

As far as the concept of white Americans being unwilling to work for low wage jobs, there is nothing racist about that. I am a white man, and I can speak as freely as I want about white people, without the slightest bit of fear of being cowed by political correctness, which means less than zero to me. 

I do agree about the long term issues, of a country full of unskilled workers. The US may quickly becoming a nation of dishwashers and landscapers. But the same companies that got those massive tax breaks, employ alot of unskilled, undocumented, and illegal laborers, at $8.50 to $12 an hour, and they love it. Trump himself hired several to work at some of his country clubs. Totally undocumented, with fake SS cards, which everyone involved, knew were fake. 

So, the illegal immigrant debate becomes far more nuanced, complicated, multi dimensional, and complex, when you bring in the legal immigration side of the equation. It becomes less about slogans, and more about facts. But, sometimes facts do get in the way of a political agenda, and fear mongering. Not that I am accusing you of that. Just the Republican party, and the chief executive. As far as the wall goes, it was just a campaign slogan, that he was given, when his handlers realized he was not staying on point, and when he refused to discuss immigration. They knew they needed a slogan with the word build in it. 

According to several sources I know, this is a racket, and has been happening on the Southern islands for decades. I know guys who have been asked for 100,000 baht by the local police, for possessing one joint. It is commonplace. Thailand needs to get with the times, when it comes to pot possession. I also know another guy who was caught dealing small amounts of pot. He was given a choice by the Samui police, of paying 500,000 baht, and leaving the country, or getting tried on charges of dealing pot. He did not have the funds, and ended up serving 20 months in the Samui prison. I knew him personally. 

Never forget one thing. The police here are franchisees. They are free to act as they please, when it comes to the collection of money, and are free to be as creative as they choose to be, without repercussions. Does the term above the law come to mind? 

11 hours ago, Trouble said:

You argument is the same stuff that Democrats spout. First off as we can see from the last election, polls are not always correct and in fact can be way off the mark. Trump stated his case for border security. The Wall, weather the Dems like it or not, is not an end in itself but part of a system of security systems to stop illegal immigration from the southern border. There are any number of clips on past speeches by both Pelosi and Schumer supporting physical barriers on the border. Whether or not the numbers are down is not the point. What is a fact is that literally thousands try to make the crossing each week. Trumps stated the statistics for illegals committing crimes. Those figures are not made up. The cost to support the "good" illegals is high. Health care, education, etc being at the top. The new California governor is proposing health coverage for 138,000 illegal youths at a cost of hundreds of millions.  Who pays for that? The American taxpayer. Meanwhile streets of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Redding are littered with homeless. Might be nice to take care of them first. Like it or not the massive influx of legal and illegal immigration to the US has changed the US forever. In Los Angeles for over half the population English is not the first language. The amount of immigration has created a fragmented population with no common interests. There is no more community but a hodgepodge of ethnic neighborhoods none having much in common with the other.  Like it or not uncontrolled immigration has forever changed the landscape of America as it has done in Belgium and some other European countries. Like it or not the latino immigrant has nothing in common with the Korean immigrant who has nothing in common with the Chinese immigrant who has nothing in common with the native black,anglo, and latino population. It's a fact of life and only people in dreamland see it as being something other than that.  The problem is not immigration itself but too many too fast.  No assimilation takes place now because the anglos and even blacks have been forced to leave their former neighborhoods. That's the reality. Place on top of this the fact that like it or not there are a lot of bad people out there who have entered the country, illegally. Why would anyone argue against border security.  If Nancy and Chuck have a better idea how to stop people entering the country illegally, let them put it on table. Their response to Trumps address was pathetic in view of the fact that prior to Trumps election they supported stronger border security to include fencing.  Statistics seem to bear out that there is a significant amount of criminal illegal aliens in jails and prisons. Whether that is 1 % or 30 % of the prison population, it is more than the American public should have tolerate.  One last thing.  I grew up in Los Angeles where we never locked a car door, where the backdoor to the house was often left unlocked. I don't blame the fact that one cannot do that today on immigrants but when a community is altered too fast, it doesn't give people a change to assimilate and achieve the American Dream, it creates ghettos of poor people who do not assimilate and do not get ahead for all sorts of reasons, and which require tax dollars to support. Sorry but that is the reality.

One thing the Latino immigrant has in common with the Korean and Chinese immigrants, is the willingness to work very hard, make an honest living, and do work that many white Americans are totally unwilling to do, at the kinds of wages they are being paid. Like it or not, America needs these immigrants. When the system is so broken, that honest, hard working people cannot get a visa to come to the US to work, they will sneak into the country. Wall, or no wall. The wall changes nothing. Tunnels, and ladders will be created. But, nobody within the GOP even wants to touch the discussion about immigration reform, and fixing a totally broken system. There is just the constant repetition of the wall. Trump never even talked about the wall, before Roger Stone suggested this mantra. 

I have also lived in and around LA for decades. There are a dozen reasons why the crime rate is, what it is. And illegal immigrants are a very small part of that. 

4 hours ago, huberthammer said:

We all know how much you hate Samui and that you moved away from here. Why do you still have to lurk around and come up with the same negative comments all the time. A positive story about somebody being proactive and your only contribution is to slag off Samui and the government. It is annoying and getting very boring.

 

In other SEA countries (aside from Singapore) it is not the government that cleans up the beaches but the hotels and businesses, not sure why you make it sound this is a complete fail of the local government. 

 

As for doing nothing on the cleanup - Army, Tessaban, local businesses and private organisations like Trash Hero will collectively undertake a big beach clean up today. In addition, they cleaned up the main road and are in the progress of fixing the damage of the last few weeks of rain. Not something that I have seen than that promptly in the past.

 

Yes, not all is perfect on the little island and there is room for improvement. You voted with your feet and left for a happier place so there is no need to get involved on every topic and pointing out how terrible everything is here. It would leave you a happier chap and spare us the annoyance from your posts. 

I am truly sympathetic to the paper thin quality of your skin. I do not hate Samui. I was just there for the holiday. I still enjoy a visit to Samui. I cannot help it if you find my criticism of the place boring. That is your issue, not ours. Nothing I am saying is a fabrication. I am simply pointing out the many shortcomings of Samui. All of my friends who live there are aware of these issues. Deny all your want. It changes nothing. The local government is, and always has been an abomination. Sometimes, the entire island feels like a dirty old dishrag, that has been rinsed off too many times. Even my friends there say that. It is an island with a tremendous amount of natural beauty, and a sweet climate. But, it is not being taken care of, to the extent that it deserves. That cannot be denied. Clean up is such a simple task, and costs the local government so little. It all boils down to a staggering lack of pride, on the part of so many of the Samui locals, most of whom are not from Samui, and are all about the money (many local ex-pats are excluded from this generalization), and the local leaders and politicians. 

Rahaf is an adult, she obviously despises her nation's traditions, the second class citizen she has been forced to be, by being a woman, and the family, which seems to have heaped 18 years of misery upon her, due to their disappointment, that they did not have another son. It is all so inane, ridiculous, medieval, obnoxious, and behind the times. The only way anything is ever going to change over there, is if there is major pushback from it's own people. This is a good start. The outing of the gangster, serial killer MBS is another good start. Saudi is taking alot of black eyes lately, and they sure deserve it. Sharia has no place in the modern world, and the entire planet needs to resist this extremism, with all it's might.

Rahaf is entitled to a good life, does not need, nor want the abuse her family heaps upon her, and she has every right to deny her brother and father the chance to visit her, pressure her, and abuse her even more. These men are gorillas. They are half men, who are terribly insecure about their place in the world. Deny them. Kudos to Rahaf. I am sure she is a hero to millions of oppressed women around the world.

Only when this went viral, and Thailand appeared to be an oppressive Junta, without regard to human rights, did the biggest joke change his tune, and decide that the nation needs to be on the right side of this issue. This administration will never, ever do anything because it is the right thing to do. But, if there is enough pressure from outside, they will comply. 

Rahaf is an adult, she obviously despises her nation's traditions, the second class citizen she has been forced to be, by being a woman, and the family, which seems to have heaped 18 years of misery upon her, due to their disappointment, that they did not have another son. It is all so inane, ridiculous, medieval, obnoxious, and behind the times. The only way anything is ever going to change over there, is if there is major pushback from it's own people. This is a good start. The outing of the gangster, serial killer MBS is another good start. Saudi is taking alot of black eyes lately, and they sure deserve it. Sharia has no place in the modern world, and the entire planet needs to resist this extremism, with all it's might.

Rahaf is entitled to a good life, does not need, nor want the abuse her family heaps upon her, and she has every right to deny her brother and father the chance to visit her, pressure her, and abuse her even more. These men are gorillas. They are half men, who are terribly insecure about their place in the world. Deny them. Kudos to Rahaf. I am sure she is a hero to millions of oppressed women around the world.

Only when this went viral, and Thailand appeared to be an oppressive Junta, without regard to human rights, did the biggest joke change his tune, and decide that the nation needs to be on the right side of this issue. This administration will never, ever do anything because it is the right thing to do. But, if there is enough pressure from outside, they will comply. 

4 hours ago, mcambl61 said:

So playing the white man bad shtick, while thinking several hundred of miles of open borders and the drug and human smuggling that goes with it should just be ignored, and then if you disagree, you are of course a racist and ignorant, because you say so.

 

 

Just stating a fact about white men, one that is overlooked in the current political environment, that insists on the knighting of all things white. There are alot of bad white men out there. Several hundred miles of open borders has resulted in a dramatic drop in illegal immigration over the past 20 years. This is anything but a crisis we are facing. Now, if you want to talk about a real crisis, we can talk about the presidency, a man who chooses to put nearly a million Americans out of work over his own ego, political agenda, and base of supporters, or the broken immigration (legal immigration) system, or the massive tax hikes imposed on the US, in the form of tariffs, or the unstable economy, or a host of other real crisis areas facing America. 

Human smuggling will happen with or without the wall. Corrupt border agents, tunnels, and other methods will continue to be used. 

I believe cold pressed is best for internal consumption. I doubt if hot pressed for the hair makes much difference. 

What is really damaging the economy and the nation, is the Army, and Prayuth. They are very destructive forces. They do not hire real talent, and they are in way over their heads. The country needs to get rid of them, and do it quickly. Get out. Get out now. You are not wanted. You are not liked. You are despised by the majority of Thais, and nearly all ex-pats. You are way, way past you sell by date. Just get out, and let your people get on with their lives, and prosper. 

And more fake news, from the deflector in chief. The international community neither understands the situation, nor condones it. And the only thing the Thai people understand, is the level of desperation by which you are attempting to cling to power, that does not belong to you. 

Most of us are hoping the Army is shown the door, in this next election. In an adamant fashion. Good bye. Hopefully forever. 

This was work that should have been preformed by the mayors office, the local government. But, they have so little concern for the environment on Samui, and do not like to spend the fortune they collect in revenue, to beautify the island that is their golden calf. Samui desperately needs fresh leadership. This has been the case for a very long time. 

Kudos to the foreigners, for taking the initiative to do this work, that needed to be done. And shame on the local government, for dropping the ball for the 11,000th time. 

2 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

The overwhelming majority of the American people support building the Wall so Trump will be able to keep another campaign promise. 

Only a massive consumption of the kool aid that the master is serving, could lead to a statement that is so erroneous, it does not even need to be disputed. Now, if you had said the majority of his base of 38%, that might have been accurate. The vast majority of Americans DO NOT support the wall, which is never going to get built. 

Roger stone was frustrated that Trump kept on forgetting to talk about immigration at the beginning of the campaign. He said Trump is a builder. He will remember to say build a wall. Hence the birth of the slogan and the fear mongering. The only terrorist apprehended at the border in the past 20 years was coming from Canada. All terrorists use the sea or come by air. None come by land. None. One in the past 20 years was caught. It is all a total ruse. Not only is illegal immigration way, way down, but if you look at crime statistics in the US, nine times more homicide is committed by American citizens, than by legal immigrants. And three times more homicide, by Americans, than by illegal immigrants. If Trump wants to solve the crime problem in the US, he has to get his own people in his administration and his team, to stop committing crime, then he has to stop committing crime, and then he can work on reforming his base, and then other Americans.

The current administration only showed the gravitas to stand up to the Saudis, after a media storm went viral, and worldwide. This was a huge loss of face, and they responded. I am glad they did. I would have to consider anyone who wanted to leave that desperate nation to be a refugee. She sounds like she has been mistreated her whole life, by foolish men, who are locked in the dark ages. Things have changed guys, so lets get with the times!

If they extradite her, she will be put to death. It is a capital crime to renounce Islam, based on Sharia law. That is how insecure, and paranoid some of these people are. A person should be free to make their own choices, and follow their own will, when it comes to faith and religion. Sharia is the most dangerous form of religion on the planet. And it must be resisted, in whatever way it can be resisted. Kudos to this woman, for taking a stand. And thankfully, the media pressure forced this weak government to do the right thing, as they would never do so on their own accord.

It is time for the nations of the world to stand up to this despot regime. Most are cowed into submission, due to their wealth and oil. Without that, they would be an insignificant colony stuck in the 14th century. There is no place for Sharia law, or Wahhabism, in a modern world. Resist. I personally resist by purchasing oil from companies that do not import oil from the Middle East, whenever possible. Valero, Hess, BP, and several others apply, though it is far more difficult within Thailand. Within the US and some of Europe:

These companies import Middle Eastern oil:
Shell...........................205,742,000 barrels
Chevron/Texaco.........144,332,000 barrels
Exxon /Mobil...............130,082,000 barrels
Marathon/Speedway...117,740,000 barrels
Amoco..........................62,231,000 barrels

Citgo Gas comes from South America, from a Dictator who hates Americans.

Here are some large companies that DO NOT import Middle Eastern oil:
Sunoco................0 barrels
Conoco................0 barrels
Sinclair.................0 barrels
BP/Phillips...........0 barrels
Hess....................0 barrels
ARC0...................0 barrels

Also: Pilot, Flying J, Love's, RaceTrac, Valero.

The current administration only showed the gravitas to stand up to the Saudis, after a media storm went viral, and worldwide. This was a huge loss of face, and they responded. I am glad they did. I would have to consider anyone who wanted to leave that desperate nation to be a refugee. She sounds like she has been mistreated her whole life, by foolish men, who are locked in the dark ages. Things have changed guys, so lets get with the times!

If they extradite her, she will be put to death. It is a capital crime to renounce Islam, based on Sharia law. That is how insecure, and paranoid some of these people are. A person should be free to make their own choices, and follow their own will, when it comes to faith and religion. Sharia is the most dangerous form of religion on the planet. And it must be resisted, in whatever way it can be resisted. Kudos to this woman, for taking a stand. And thankfully, the media pressure forced this weak government to do the right thing, as they would never do so on their own accord.