spidermike007

18 hours ago, sambum said:

 

Good post, and have to agree with all of the content! Also put waste bins on the beaches, and people will use them - if there's nowhere to put your rubbish, not everybody will take it home with them for disposal! Even if you do, you still have the problem of what to do with it - as I have explained in another post. 

 

However, another solution has just sprung to mind - why not use the many hundreds of the RTP that have been transferred to "inactive posts" to help clean the beaches?  If they are indeed "inactive", it would help them to keep fit, and also justify them being paid - at least they would be doing something useful!

 

 

 

 

Though it is a good idea, it is a progressive idea and progressive thinking is not practiced here. I have rarely seen it in the LOS. Just does not happen. There are a few who have open minds, and are ahead of the curve. Unfortunately none of them are in government or positions of leadership.

There are dozens of ways to address the litter problem. Dozens. If only anyone like the mayor cared.

On 4/28/2018 at 9:37 AM, Trouble said:

Still the Democrats offer no evidence that Trump or the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians. In all the year long multiple investigations there is nothing to pin on Trump to date.  Even Schiff, who hates Trump with a passion, can't point a finger at anything definitive.  

Just wait. Mueller will prove this beyond a doubt. If there was anything dirty done, Tiny Don had a hand in it. It is just the way he rolls. I am fairly certain he did anything he felt he needed to do, to affect the outcome of this election.

He will not serve out the remainder of this term. Just watch.

8 hours ago, robblok said:

Yea much more corruption has been uncovered investigated in the last year then in many years before. I never seen it get investigated on a scale like this. 

While investigations are a good thing, they do not amount to a hill of beans, unless these worms are arrested, and sentenced to something they deserve. Stealing from the poor is about as low as it gets. These clowns deserve decades in prison. Will that happen? Will we see justice? If one truth can be spoken about this administration, it is that they are extremely weak on follow up, and rarely do their words get followed up by real, lasting, meaningful action. 

All talk and no action makes the general a very dull boy indeed. Let us hope for some real action. To date, the PACC has been a fabulously unimpressive organization. 

That is one nasty looking woman. Is that a canker sore on her face? Wow. How did she get picked. Durian has been extremely popular for a long time now, and is very sought after in China. It needs no promotion. 

I tend to agree this has nothing to do with the Me Too movement. This is all about a guy who was abusive for decades, and had no respect for women. I have lived in LA before, and have seen first hand how young, gorgeous women act around celebrity, and the industry. He did not have to do any of this. It was a pathological defect that caused all this craziness in this man. There were millions who would have given themselves to him, quite willingly. He got what he deserves. Often in America one can buy their way out of a crime, with enough money to throw at a legal team, as was the case with OJ. Enough millions spent, and the legal team creates doubt in the minds of the jury. But, this time justice prevailed. None of the defensive strategies worked. Maybe the victim's testimony was just too compelling. 

Hopefully we will see Weinstein go to the slammer too. Predators have no place in society, other than our president, LOL. Another slime ball bites the dust. Happy. A very good day for women, and victims of this kind of nonsense. 

3 minutes ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

Does your missus know you have written this :)

No. But that does not matter. I took 9 years to get to know her, before we got married. We lived together for most of that time. And she was patient enough. I realize that is in the extreme. But, most men just do not show much patience. 

And yes, she is very comfortable having a man, who is willing to act and behave like a man. 

I really wish all of these "purity pretenders" would just leave us alone, with their fake narratives, and their false modesty. It is so phony. It rings so untrue, and feels like the epitome of hypocrisy, which I am sure in 99% of the cases, is exactly what it is. Just leave people alone. Let people have some fun. As long as it is consensual, the woman is of legal age, and she is treated with kindness and respect, what is the big deal here? Most know there is an element in Pattaya that caters to the punters. So what? What is the big deal. Get over yourself, please.

I wonder if this little creep has ever attacked a man with his bare fists like this. I would guess not. My guess, is that he preys only on women, his wife, and his kids. It would sure be fun to have him pick on one of us. Usually, all a punk like this needs, is a little slap down, to give them some perspective, and put them in their place. Moron. Coward. Twerp. Half man. 

Any guy who beats a woman up, is the lowest form of life. 

The biggest part of the problem here, is the extreme emasculation that is taking place in the West. Most men, in the US, Europe, and Oz, are no longer real men, when it comes to dealing with their women. Their women have made their lives so difficult, and alot of women have gotten so far away from their innate femininity, and have become dominant, and super controlling, and men just go along with it. Most men have become so hungry for love, or emotionally desperate for some kindness, and TLC. And most are so desirous of being around a real woman, who knows how to act like a woman, and manifest the dignity, within femininity. So, it is easy for the con artists, to take advantage of emotionally wounded men, who seem to be willing to do anything to regain a semblance of normality in their lives, with a decent woman. 

The bottom line is this. Take your time getting to know a woman here, or anywhere. Time is your ally. It is rarely their ally. They are usually trying to step up the timetable. We need to push back. We need to assert control. An environment like this allows us to do so. Take advantage of that. Be a man. Step up. Pay tribute to the gender. Refuse to lay down anymore. Refuse to be a doormat. Refuse to check your cajones at the door. Start making the decisions, and stop saying "honey what do you want?". "What will make you happy?" "Where do you want to eat?" I have so many friends, who come here, and from the very start, make the same mistakes they made back in the West. Except here, they do not need to make those mistakes. The environment does not dictate that they behave like lambs. Many do not know, or realize that, or they succumb to "force of habit". Every ship needs a captain. If the man is not willing to be the captain of the ship, the woman will take over, here in Thailand. Most women here seem to want a strong man. But, if they end up with a wimp, they will take charge. Someone has to.

Always remember, if it is good, it is only going to get better. If there are problems, or if she is a big baby, who only looks like a real woman, but in reality is a 13 year old, or if she is a con artist, if she is only in it for the money, those realizations will manifest themselves over time. Time allows clarity. Never, ever move too quickly. That is the undoing of most of these guys. Be like Bond. be a real man. Man up. Do yourself proud. 

On 4/19/2018 at 1:28 PM, JAZZDOG said:

I don't agree. I think Thailand is a pretty amazing place and receives tourist from across the spectrum like most countries that actively seek out tourism. Fact is you seldom have reason to read about the majority of travelers that have a great experience only the very small minority that run into trouble. Most every country tends to blame problems on people from adjacent countries and tourists. For every story on TV about an expat crime, victim or perp,  there are thousands omitted that are similar committed by Thais. The fact Thailand has a fairly huge expat community says something about the quality of life here. There are many countries where it is cheaper to live with more liberal immigration laws and they don't attract near as many expats even though they entail much shorter distances to travel. People on here insist that travel numbers are falling off yet the statistics show that not to be the case. Maybe a list of the countries that attract "quality tourists" might be helpful?

I agree that Thailand has alot to offer. That is why I chose to live here, at least in part. All I am saying is something that many of this forum would agree with. And that is the the quality of tourists that Thailand is able to attract has been declining over the years, while the arrival numbers continue to rise. When I landed at Swampy the other day, the majority of tourists in line were Chinese. Nothing wrong with that. But, Thailand does not attract the cream of Chinese society. Declining quality of services, law enforcement issues, lack of traffic safety, the general state of higher the very high end hotel experience, not being up to par with the comparable hotels around the world, such as the  lack of a knowledgable concierge and wine service, poor english skills, an incompetent government and tourist association, and many other factors contribute to this. That does not mean our experience living here is not a very good one. For many of us, it definitely is. 

The one sentence I will disagree with, is that Thailand receives visitors from across the spectrum. Though they receive enough to keep the five star hotels alive, alot of that is transit or business clients. The big spender types, who used to come here and spend $1,000 to $2,500 a day, are fewer and farther between than in the past. Of that I am sure. 

1 hour ago, scorecard said:

 

He cooked his goose right up front by asking about a flat 500Baht fare. IMHO that labels him immediately as a tricky dishonest unethical taxi driver. 

 

I travel often in Bkk by taxi. Often about 2.5 K from my long-stay hotel to my university. I stand at the mouth of my hotel soi on Ramkhamhaeng road, and stop taxis and get in. I state clearly in Thai where I want to go, the standard fare is between 45 and 51Baht, normally around 5 minutes trip. But many times I instantly get from the drive, often rudely, sam roi, sam roi (300). I ask politely to use the meter, usually refused sometimes with rude comments.

 

Many drivers will start driving immediately, no waiting for the discussion to finish. I tell them to stop and I get out. Over several years a couple of times they have refused to stop so I check if there's any traffic coming up from behind and open the door full open.  That gets their attention immediately.

 

A couple of times I've pointed at a policeman along the route and asked them to stop to talk to the police, suddenly it all reverts to meter and politeness.

 

Worst example of all - last year my uni had a visiting female professor from Germany, probably 40 yo, looks 25 yo. She had never been to Asia or Thailand before, cannot speak one word of Thai. By prior arrangement the hotel sent a private car to pick her up at Swampy.

 

The hotel sent a Thai staff member with her in a taxi on the first morning to go to the uni (5 minute trip,no problems) and wrote a note for her to give to the driver in the afternoon to come back to the hotel.

 

About 5.00 pm she went outside the uni and hailed a taxi and gave the driver the note with destination, detailed address and hotel phone number and mentioned that the normal fare was around 50Baht.

 

Taxi driver said something in Thai which she didn't understand, eventually taxi driver wrote 500 on a piece of paper. She tried to get out of the taxi but driver locked the doors.

 

By chance she notices several of her new students (all speak excellent English and of course Thai) coming out of the uni gate, very close to the cab. She banked on the window and yelled and waved and the students noticed her and came immediately. She yelled that the driver wanted 500baht.

 

Students asked the driver to unlock the door, he refused, two of the male students quickly stood immediately in front of the cab and two behind while another student called a hotline number. Two policemen (seperately) appeared quickly, listened to the students and then spoke to the driver. Within a couple of minutes the police handcuffed the driver, they had also called for a police vehicle to take him away and called the company which owns the taxi to come within 10 minutes and recover their vehicle.

 

One of the students lived quite close, he quickly went home and got the family car and all the students involved went with the lady professor to the police station. Then they took her home to my hotel and stayed with her for a couple of hours. Bottom line she was shocked, felt intimidated and she was frightened.

 

The students found the private number of the dean of the uni, the lady professor called and said she was not prepared to continue the course and would fly back to Europe as soon as possible. The students asked her to stay and complete the course (total time about 20 further days), they offered to have 3 students (always 2 boys and one girl) pick her up at the hotel in the morning and same thing to take her back to the hotel late afternoon, and go with her if sh wanted to go shopping etc. She stayed and flew home late evening of the last day of the course, students took her to the airport along with a senior uni admin' officer and stayed with her until she went into the passport departure area. 

 

Further, the uni had an ongoing agreement with the uni in Europe for student and professor exchange. The uni in Europe cancelled the arrangement immediately. 

 

And yes, there are many good polite taxi drivers, no attempt at cheating.  

 

Great, great story. Thanks for that. Thailand has a long ways to go, before it can attract quality tourists. The average tourist is just not what it used to be. Word gets around. Nice to hear the authorities took this seriously. I would assume the presence of the uni made a big difference.

39 minutes ago, smotherb said:

Oh, are Americans not concerned because Trump is a Republican? Seems some Americans were certainly concerned about Democrat president Clinton's sexual dalliances. By the way, weren't Clinton's sexual relations and his denial thereof part of the grounds for his impeachment?   So, there may be more to it than her desire to make money.

OH, but there is. Trump is going down. One way or another, Mueller will find enough to take him down. More than likely, he will end up with a choice between being tried for a few felonies (the man has committed as many felonies as Al Capone) resigning, or being impeached. He will choose resignation. That is my guess. Mark my words. This fool will not serve out his first term.

This is absolutely ridiculous nonsense. If there are sharks around Hua Hin, they are little four footers, and this little one took a tiny nibble on the foot, of this fear mongering man. More than likely, he scratches his foot on a fish hook. This is pure silliness. Focus on traffic safety, human trafficking, slavery, or some other relevant area, to increase public safety.

When a cockroach finally makes a disappearance, it is time for the entire nation to celebrate.

I had the good fortune of visiting Cuba many times, while "LA chcaracha grande" was still in power. I befriended many in Cuba. Amazing place. Extraordinary people. Great culture. But, all had the same thing to say about Fidel.

They had a great PR machine, and it would crank out alot of hyperbole about their educational and healthcare system being the best in the world. And you would then have numskulls like Michael Moore pick up on that, and run with it, to create utter disinformation campaigns. Yes, they did produce the greatest number of doctors per capita. But, most would have to leave the country to make a living, as they could not live very well on the $40 a month government salary. I met civil engineers, who had trained in Russia, and specialized in suspension bridges, who made $38 a month, and moonlighted as tour guides, to feed their families. All the while Castro was living in his gilded mansion, feasting on lobster tail, and socking away billions. For some of us, we were able to see for ourselves, and we saw that the dissemination was just that. When I would meet locals, they would nearly all say the same thing. Fidel was universally despised, and so was the regime. All of that was said in hushed tones, for fear of being discovered, and sent to one of his concentration camps, or marched before a firing squad. I would stop to chat with a local, and within minutes he would get picked up by the police. I would later find out he was held for days, under suspicion of offering either prostitution services or currency exchange. The government hated for the people to engage in exchange, as it gave them power and freedom. It was sickening. I stopped visiting, around 2008, as I got so disgusted with the government and the low quality of life the people had to endure under the despotic regime of the Castro brothers. They are absolute vermin, on every level. I was told by reputable sources that both brothers had fortunes into the tens of billions of dollars, and many of the generals were worth billions. Total hypocrisy. Castro lost his ideals, and sight of the bigger picture within 30 days of assuming power. It was all about the money, and the power, and the totalitarian rule. It was not about the people.

Very, very typical of the regime of despots. You have been made so poor by our policies, and our systematic repression of the people, that there is no way you could afford a $60 boom box. I know people who have been put into jail for the most minor of offenses. During my last trip in about 2008, "la grande cucaracha" (Fidel, for those of you who do not speak spanish. The grand cockroach). started losing his faculties, and really begun a heavy crackdown. He became very paranoid, and probably should have been put on heavy anti-depresent of bi-polar meds. He started having people locked up for the most minor of offenses. Women who were hanging out talking to their friends were locked up on suspicion of prostitution. It was quite sickening. I left a few days early on that trip, and vowed to never return, until they had cleared out the vermin. I hope that happens. Nothing of any real significance will happen as long as Raul is in power. No doubt he is less dogmatic than his older brother. But, he is also a pragmatist. If he can still maintain absolute control, while amassing many more billions of dollars, why not? 

I wish the best for the Cuban people. They deserve a better life, and they deserve better government.