spidermike007

Why don't leaders like this clown speak out when atrocities are committed against innocent civilians in the name of Islam? I am an open minded person, and consider most Muslims to be moderate, and peaceful. But, when the nut jobs commit heinous acts, we need more Muslims in a position of leadership to speak out and condemn this nonsensical thirst for blood. It just might help with the horrendous "PR problem" Islam has around the world at this time. Muslims need to understand if they are not more vocal, alot of uneducated people will lump them all together, with the 1% (maybe) who are extremist. 

Some of the most glaring recent examples of religious persecution are the mass atrocities perpetrated by Daesh, one of the most violent terror groups in the world. Daesh became especially notorious for its methods of killings that included burning people alive in cages, beheadings, or throwing people from high buildings in order to punish anyone who opposed its rule.

https://www.lausanne.org/content/lga/2019-03/the-atrocities-of-the-islamic-state

Or when this event occurred, back in July of 2016, some were courageous to speak out. Did Mahathir say anything, at that time?

Arab leaders and leading Muslim clerics have condemned a truck attack that killed at least 84 people on Thursday night in the French city of Nice. Sunni Islam's leading centre of learning, al-Azhar, said the "vile terrorist attack" contradicted Islam and called for "uniting efforts to defeat terrorism and rid the world of its evil". Prominent Egyptian Muslim cleric Shawki Allam condemned the assailant as an "extremist". "People who commit such ugly crimes are corrupt of the earth, and follow in the footsteps of Satan... and are cursed in this life and in the hereafter."

https://ing.org/global-condemnations-of-isis-isil/

And if someone can please explain to me what it is that Muslims have against any depiction of Mohammed, it would love to hear it. It does seem very extreme, and a bit churlish. 

What can one say? Desperation is setting in. Heads are going to roll. Just returned from Samui. Utter devastation. 90% of the businesses on the beach road were closed, and hundreds of hotels are closed and for sale, at half price. Trillions of baht are going to be lost here. Annually. Tourism will NEVER recover. Not in our lifetimes. Too much timidity. Too much cowardice. Too little juice and creativity. Such small minds.
 
If they cannot figure out a way to implement this simple program, then totally free quarantine for incoming tourists. All expenses, including meals, picked up by the army, using their multi trillion baht slush fund. Give up the stupid submarine program. That is over 30 billion baht right there. You do not need them. 
 
Simple answer. Nonsensical stupidity. Lack of science. Fear mongering. Let us make your stay as uncomfortable as possible. And by the way, you cannot consume alcohol either, during your quarantine. Who comes up with this stuff, and why does the nation tolerate the nonsense, the utter incompetence, the malfeasance? How much longer will they tolerate the extremely regressive army?

More inane nonsense. No program that included ANY quarantine, will succeed in attracting more than a thousand or so tourists a month. That is what we adults call a "non solution". Prayuth and his fabulously incompetent and fearful administration are the problem. There are at least a dozen good reasons why he should be removed from office. 

Now, in this time of desperation, with your nation needing you more than ever before, where on earth are you? What have your proposed? Where are the solutions? How are you going to rescue the economy, and the millions who are out of work? Where is the meritocracy? Why are you always picking from the bottom of the barrel, when it comes to appointments? Why do you insist on people with no experience? Sheer cronyism? The nation does not need or want that nonsense. Grow up. Be a man. Behave like a man. 

There are countless things the government could be doing, if they wanted to attract the high quality tourists.

First they need to figure out a way to attract tourism, WITHOUT quarantine. That is fairly simple.

A very reliable lab based test in the home nation, with test results before you board the plane. Then a simple antigen test at the airport. It takes 15 minutes for results. Sure, Thailand would have to invest in the test kits. Some general would have to be willing to part with a few million dollars. Each test itself, only cost $5 with the new Abbott test, which is available now.

Then they could get on to reform. Sacrifices need to be made. I do not hear ANY discussion about what sacrifices Thailand is willing to make, to get the tourists, and that multi trillion baht cash cow back.

The very first thing would be to repeal the anti farang wine bill, that was passed by a few very corrupt senators way back when, to protect an anemic local wine industry. They are losing billions of dollars a year in revenue, that would be had from a 100% wine duty, instead of 365%. The five star hotels would have major wine events, and the entire industry would flourish here.

Thailand keeps droning on and on and on, about how they want wealthy tourists. Again, what sacrifices are you willing to make? Rich tourists like to spend money when they travel. And they cannot do that here, as they do not like getting taken for a ride. Most wealthy people are smart with their money. Thailand could be making a fortune on a 25% luxury tax, instead of the 100% of more, which discourages most people from buying. How many people do you see in the luxury stores here? They are almost always completely empty. Inane. Beyond inane.

Phuket is not the problem. Prayuth is the problem. There are at least a dozen good reasons why you should be removed from office. 

And what about your promise to fight corruption? I doubt if you remember back this far, but when you and your clowns launched a coup, it was ostensibly to restore law and order, which you accomplished with draconian measures, and to get rid of the rot, and corruption in immigration, the police, customs, the government, and at the highest levels, which you never even made the slightest attempt to do. You substituted 10 foot alligators, with 14 foot crocodiles. And you have spent your entire six years protecting the elite, those in office, the army, the police, those who are connected, and the super wealthy. For God's sake, you could not even bring the Dark Tao killer to justice, nor the Red Bull creep. Again, busy protecting the wealthy with all of your power. 
 
The real problem is, you will not go after any of these guys. Not the top bankers, not the high ranking guys, not the provincial authorities, and certainly not the army, or the police. They are all corrupt beyond imagination. And the level of corruption simply escalates, the further up the food chain you go. As far as most of us are concerned, everything is the same. The police and army 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. Any hyperbole to the contrary, is just a smoke screen, intended to deceive the most naive amongst us. 
 
Now, in this time of desperation, with your nation needing you more than ever before, where on earth are you? What have your proposed? Where are the solutions? How are you going to rescue the economy, and the millions who are out of work? Where is the meritocracy? Why are you always picking from the bottom of the barrel, when it comes to appointments? Why do you insist on people with no experience? Sheer cronyism? The nation does not need or want that nonsense. Grow up. Be a man. Behave like a man. 

There are countless things the government could be doing, if they wanted to attract the high quality tourists. First they need to figure out a way to attract tourism, WITHOUT quarantine. That is fairly simple. A very reliable lab based test in the home nation, with test results before you board the plane. Then a simple antigen test at the airport. It takes 15 minutes for results. Sure, Thailand would have to invest in the test kits. Some general would have to be willing to part with a few million dollars. Each test itself, only cost $5 with the new Abbott test, which is available now.

Then they could get on to reform. Sacrifices need to be made. I do not hear ANY discussion about what sacrifices Thailand is willing to make, to get the tourists, and that multi trillion baht cash cow back.

The very first thing would be to repeal the anti farang wine bill, that was passed by a few very corrupt senators way back when, to protect an anemic local wine industry. They are losing billions of dollars a year in revenue, that would be had from a 100% wine duty, instead of 365%. The five star hotels would have major wine events, and the entire industry would flourish here.

Thailand keeps droning on and on and on, about how they want wealthy tourists. Again, what sacrifices are you willing to make? Rich tourists like to spend money when they travel. And they cannot do that here, as they do not like getting taken for a ride. Most wealthy people are smart with their money. Thailand could be making a fortune on a 25% luxury tax, instead of the 100% of more, which discourages most people from buying. How many people do you see in the luxury stores here? They are almost always completely empty. Inane. Beyond inane.

Pareena is a dinosaur who cannot see the climate changing, and is attempting to cling to the past, burying her hard head in the sand, and pretending all is great here. Hopefully, the youth will figure out a way to get rid of these tone deaf relics, and move the nation forward. Her master Prayuth has to go. Get out now! You are despised by your people, more than ever before.

The continuation of Trump's 2016 strategy, is hurting him badly. It is not playing well in 2020. It is a different world now. And he cannot pretend he is an outsider anymore. Now, he is part of the problem, not the solution. 

Plus, Trump fatigue has set in. Many, including some of his former supporters, are simply tired of the rot, and his juvenile nonsense. It is getting old. And the dinosaur is not capable of learning, or dancing on his feet. 

As a result, he is cascading toward the greatest humiliation of his sorry lifetime. And a life of utter obscurity, irrelevance, and a name so radioactive nobody will touch his dwindling mini empire. 

With "Mr. I cannot make a deal to save my life" 12 points behind in the latest polls, republican senators and congressmen are starting to distance themselves from the train wreck they see coming. And there is nothing Trump can do at this stage, to arrest his stunning decline. Nothing. His rallies only make his supporters happy. And those 36% or so, of the electorate, are not going to win him an election. If he were smart, (which he demonstrates time and again, he is not) he would figure out a way to appeal to the suburban women. But, he cannot. He has no appeal to them anymore. So, he drones on and on during his rallies, and if anything he alienates more and more of the undecided voters.

There is an important thing to understand about the dynamics at play here. Every time the polls drop, those are HIS SUPPORTERS, who are defecting. That is all he has now. So many of his former supporters are put off by how unhinged, unstable, angry, incoherent, inarticulate, hateful, incompetent, and irrational he is. And his health appears to have been in decline, long before he caught Covid, and became a super spreader. 

Part of the reason why they are closing is due to Covid. Isetan announced they will not be renewing their lease at Central World too. But, Japanese investments in Thailand are way down, and many companies are pulling out. They see this toxic army, their incompetence, rhe backwards direction the nation is moving, the extreme lack of competence, and it gives them the willies. As it should. Covid can and will be blamed. But, it is far deeper and more sinister than that. 

It appears that Japan is averse to what they see as the increasing influence of China here. That is a big issue for them. Also, the US-China Trade war, periodic flooding, with no solutions in sight, and the baht appreciation are issues. Many Japanese companies are exiting China. This is an opportunity for Thailand. But, the extreme incompetence here seems to be inhibiting the ability to move the nation forward. 

Instead, some are moving to Vietnam, India and other countries. 

52 minutes ago, bbabythai said:

I read your whole comment and found it interesting. Blown away by the quote for operation in the states. Absolutely a rip off. how can it be that much?

The American medical system is completely broken, and the incompetent government has done nothing to advocate for the people, for decades. The entire system is completely sold out to the FDA, and Big pharma. Every member of congress and the senate are $35 street walkers. The costs are astounding. And medical insurance for a couple is over $12,000 a year. Some families pay $2,500 a month. For health insurance! That is a mortgage payment. Reason enough to get out of America. A broken nation. And getting worse by the day. A "once empire" in a state of rapid decline. 

4 hours ago, zappalot said:

The offense is that we checked our buildings firefighting equipment. We knew that it was not working. So we are accused now of checking the fire equipment without permission from the management. They are accusing us to have intentionally broken a lock of a fire cabinet. Now, unfortunately for them there never was and there still is no lock at the fire cabinet. Just when the judge asked the management representative if he can prove that we broke the lock the management said yes, they can prove it. Photos and videos prove otherwise, but as the case is not on trial yet the judge was not interested in evidence, their word was enough. Furthermore the management said that we acted against the condo law which prohibits Co owners from using the fire equipment even in case of a fire. The management also confirmed that they could prove that this law would exist. When the judge accepted the case the Bangkok Metropolitan authority had not checked yet if our accusation of the management of not maintaining the fire equipment of the building properly was true or not. We have it now confirmed, in writring, by the Bangkok Metropolitan authority that our buildings fire equipment is in bad shape or not working at all. The government set a deadline to the building to fix the issues.

 

How unbelievably petty. Management would be hanging their heads in shame, if they have one iota of pride, self esteem, decency or manhood. They simply lost face, and behaved like juvenile delinquents. What clowns. What inane stupidity. One wonders why a sensible judge would not have just thrown out the case and reprimanded the plaintiff. 

A total misunderstanding of the true meaning of patriotism, by the dinosaur food vendor. Hope she gets punished. A pencil in the arm, or a hard kick to the ladies knees, would have been an appropriate response.

This may get ugly. The dinos just do not understand the concept of respect earned, then given. I hear many are not standing in the movie theaters either. 

3 hours ago, thomago said:

@spidermike007:

 

I read your post with delight since I mostly feel the same way.  Except for your dislike of the government and immigration here, your post -- to me -- read like a well-written and justified  "Declaration of Love" for Thailand.

 

Therefore, I was very surprised to read that you would probably leave if you had unlimited finances. Can you truly think of any country where you would feel happier when compared to Thailand?

 

Very difficult to say. If I had the finances, would probably spend four or five months of the year based in Spain or Portugal. Good weather, wine, culture, music, art, dance, and great access to the rest of Europe. 

Then, perhaps three or four months here. A month traveling in the US, and the rest of the time traveling around Asia and Europe. 

I do love it here. But, from mid February to about mid June the climate is brutal. And seems to be getting muggier every year. Good time of year to be away, and pleasant weather in Spain or Portugal. 

Some can run from their past forever, and if they have enough money to continue hiring lawyers, and goons to protect them, they can stay safe, keep their reputations intact, and avoid jail. For some, the past eventually catches up.

I suspect Trump's past is going to be catching up with him, very soon. When he is unceremoniously ushered out of the White House in January, he is going to be returning to a white squall of problems, issues, the 3,600 lawsuits being litigated at the time he took office, and an ever declining mini business empire, (with the continuing annual losses) with a name so radioactive, it will have no monetary value, and nobody will ever again want to be associated with it ever again. He deeply deserves what is coming his way. 

I suppose if I had unlimited finances, I would probably leave. I despise the government and immigration here, and it does feel like the nation is moving backwards. But, considering the fact that I do not have a fortune, I will stay. There are many issues to consider. Going back to the US is not an option. I would not want to live there now, unless I was being paid over a million dollars a year, and then I would only do it for 3 years, and then leave. For me, it is about quality of life, and my level of fulfillment on a daily basis, which I seem to have here in abundance. A big factor here, is the relatively light hearted attitude of the people. You just do not find that in the US, where most seem bitter, disenchanted, unfulfilled, and heavy hearted. 

This is an entirely subjective topic, of course. But some of us live very good lives here. Some of us have been fortunate enough to find an outstanding woman, who is delightful to be around, on a daily basis, always has our back, and is fun, smart, and lovely. For me, that likelihood of finding that back in the US, would be very low. So, that is a big factor for me. The second factor is just the quality of life. Sure, I miss alot of the culture back home. The theatre, independent film (which I can download here with no issues at all, and a super fast 550 mbps fiber optic connection, at under 800 baht per month!), stand up comedy, live jazz, etc. But I have a lovely home that I rent, for about 10% of what I would pay in California, I live very well on an income which is not huge, have access to great health care, at a tiny fraction of what it costs in the US, and do not have to put up with alot of the aggravation that I had to when I lived back there.

Thailand is still reasonable. It used to be cheap. Has not been cheap for a long time. But, it is still reasonable. I know people who pay 10,000 baht a month for newer 3 bedroom houses in nice towns. In major cities in the US? $2000-3800 a month. That is 120,000 baht!

I had my motorbike seat recently redone on my scooter. 400 baht. A friend of mine had similar work done in the US. $275.

I recently had a guy come over and insulate my ceiling. I bought the insulation and paid him 2000 baht for labor. In the US? $500 and up.

I recently had an electrician do some work on the house. Nearly a full day of work. Paid him 1000 baht. In the US? $500 and up.

An oil change for my scooter costs me 200 baht, with Castrol oil. In the US? $75.

When I travel here I stay in nice four star hotels in Bangkok. Usually 1800-2000 baht. Now, during Covid. Great hotels for 1,000 baht. In the US? $130 for a crappy motel. $200 and up for a nice room.

I eat well here. In a smaller town you can get a three course meal for 150-250 baht. In the US? 2000 baht and up, plus tax and a nearly mandatory 15% tip.

I visit the emergency room here to visit a specialist, and with x-rays I am out the door for 2000 baht, at a private hospital. In the US? $300-2000. An anecdote on this subject. A good friend of mine got in a bad motorcycle accident some time ago. He almost lost his leg. He got his first of 11 operations at Bangkok Hospital Samui. It costs him over a million baht. They wanted to do a second procedure. They quoted him 1,400,000 baht. He decided to transfer to Bangkok. He was quoted 460,000 baht for the same procedure, at a top private hospital there. The surgeon told him that he worked at a public hospital too, and could do the same operation there, for alot less money. He told him he would get him a quote. In the interim, my friend called a good friend of his, in San Diego, who is an orthopedic surgeon. Since my friend is a retired chiropractor, he knew all the terminology, and explained what he needed, and asked for the best price. His friend called him back the next day, and quoted him $960,000, with cash discounts! The local surgeon here got back to him, and told him he could do it for 46,000 baht. He transferred, and they did all the rest of his procedures. So, 1,400,000 at Bangkok Hospital, 460,000 at Vejthani Hospital, and 46,000 at the public hospital, with an excellent surgeon. VS. 31,000,000 baht in the US. Again, no complaints from this peanut gallery.

Friends of mine, who are single, enjoy the company of a young, beautiful woman for a couple of hours, for 2500 baht. In the US? $800 an hour now for a beauty, with alot of attitude.

I could go on and on, all day long. I live at a level here, that I would never be able to live at, in the US, in most of Europe, in Oz, or Canada. Yes, the higher baht is an annoyance. And yes things are more expensive than they used to be. But, it is very relative.

Sure, Thailand has changed. My first trip here was in 1976! It was so much different than now. The politics here are absolutely regressive. The army is horrendous. Will that ever improve? I think so. I think the youth will eventually oust them, as they are virtually useless to Thai society, with the exception of protecting the elite. those in power and the super wealthy. But alot of things here have improved since then. The infrastructure here is quite good. Sure they could use a high speed rail. That would be amazing. Hopefully it will happen. The whole world is different now. The whole planet is being affected by a greatly expanding population, inflation, environmental issues, politics, and congestion. So, we are going to experience some of that no matter where we are. All I know, is that every day I wake up, I am very glad to be here, very glad to be with the woman I am with, and thankful for my life. Would I feel the same way in the US? I seriously doubt it. Most of my friends back in the US, say they would trade positions with me, in a heartbeat, if they could. I believe them. And I feel for them. The quality of life where I came from is a pale shadow of what it used to be. No thanks.

There is one more consideration. No matter where we go, we still have to contend with ourselves, our attitude, our issues and our minds. So, some will always be seeking greener pastures. Nothing wrong with that. But, it does not insure fulfillment.

49 minutes ago, steven100 said:

Excellent comments by Gen Khun Prayut Chan O Cha,  as I mentioned before, he is not occupied by the student protests, his priority is the economy and helping the poor. So all those TV farang who babbled on about the PM stepping down, sorry to disappoint you but you are wrong again. lol 

That must be some seriously powerful Kool-aid you are drinking. Helping the poor? Are you serious? What has this man done for the poor lately? Besides the 5,000 baht handout, with the 86% rejection rate, which demonstrated how "not serious" these clowns were about helping the people. His entire M.O. is about helping the rich. The masses count for nothing with this creep.