spidermike007

The Thai authorities care not one iota for the welfare of tourists, nor the welfare of their own lower and middle classes. Not one iota. Especially Little P. and Prawit the nitwit. They send guys like Big Joke out there, to try and deflect, and appear as if they are doing something. In reality, what is this one guy accomplishing? Getting rid of some of the evil dark skinned scammers? Good work. They will be replaced in a nanosecond.

Coherent policy is what is needed, and then enforcement of that policy, and follow up. Something this administration has never been very good at. 

Little P. - leading Thailand backwards, at a breath taking, alarming, and astonishing pace. Not making Thailand great again. 

9 hours ago, Tchooptip said:

In Samui more than 50% of Westerners do not wear helmet on their motorbike, I can see that every single day. And certainly not only the young one. Personnaly as strange as it may seems I brought my helmet with me in my luggage..But to be honest not only for security reasons but also because I love it :-)

You seem like a very smart person, to take that kind of precaution with your head. Most people do not realize how delicate the human skull is. And the kinds of problems that can result, from hitting it on a hard pavement, especially while going at a good clip. Most here wear cheap helmets. Wear at least a REAL quality brand, if not an Arai or a Shoei. Your head is worth it. 

3 hours ago, selftaopath said:

Ohhhhhhhhh it might be more rewarding to see this pathetic man end up a "lame duck" rather than impeached. Can you imagine him w/out any power/control. lol lol He would go stark raving mad. lol lol 

 

But then again I think I'd rather see him in jail or a padded cell. 

In my mind, there is no doubt he is a criminal, and has been for 40 years. Mueller's investigation can lead to places that are far beyond the original scope, and could unearth some of the many felonies that this creton has no doubt committed, in his quest to steal billions from unwitting souls. Seeing him in prison would be satisfying beyond my wildest dreams. He deserves that. He has worked very hard for that. Let us hope.

Lock him up. Lock him up. Lock him up!

17 hours ago, Argus Tuft said:

And where do you get this info on a low level customs guy having to pay 6,000,000 baht for their promotion?  Source or link please.

I guarantee you will never find this information in print. I heard it from a friend, who had a family member, who was a low level customs official. The family was trying to raise the 6 million baht. It is a fact. That was ten years ago. The amount now, is probably higher. Same with the police. You have to understand these are not just jobs. They are franchises. The amounts of money to be earned with a mid level police or customs job would really surprise you.

17 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Elizabeth Warren or Oprah!

 

Heck, if Tiny Don can get elected, why not Oprah? It's not like she'd be any worse.

 

Warren is a possibility. I do not think Oprah would ever run. Same reason we will never again see men like Bill Bradley, Jimmy Carter (a poor president, but a great man) Michael Bloomberg, or Bill Richardson run. They are well above the office. And they lead good lives, without all of the nonsense of the presidency. The office of the presidency is toxic. And it will never again attract high quality individuals to it. Those days are in the past. With the glare of the media, incredibly hateful opponents like Tiny Don, and the difficulties of the job, it no longer attracts anything even resembling nobility or honor. Obama may have been a decent man, but he abandoned nearly everything he believed in, once he was in office. It is a sad commentary. And I really do hope I am proved wrong on this. But, it is my strong instinct at this stage, that what I am saying is true.

17 hours ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

I'm not 100% sure what you're trying to say but if it's that the victim was asking for problems and/or playing Russian roulette by not wearing a helmet then you are casting her in a negative light and are doing so quite without justification. She was wearing a helmet (it's clearly visible at the beginning of the video) and although I don't know precisely what quality it was, it may just possibly have been what saved her life.

You are correct. She was wearing a helmet. But, either it was unfastened, in the cavalier fashion alot of Thais employ, or it was such a cheap helmet, that with the impact the strap or the buckle broke immediately, therefore not being of much use to her. You can clearly see her head on the pavement. My point is that an education campaign that not only emphasizes the use of a helmet, but that focuses on using as good a helmet as you can afford would be helpful.

5 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Bravo!  Very eloquent and accurate...

 

I hereby nominate Spidermike to be the communications director for the Democratic presidential nominee in 2020 -- and can only hope that process produces a candidate who's remotely electable and not despised by too many in his/her own camp. And who knows how to fight against the Russians and their influence in the campaign.

 

Thank you for that honor. I would actually consider it, if I thought the dems were serious about:

1. Reforming the party, and getting rid of gangsters, the likes of Wasserman Schulltz, and Clinton.

2. Coming up with good, solid, policy objectives.

3. Fielding candidates of decent caliber, with just one shred of moral fiber. 

Of course, having said that, I would vote for anyone over Tiny Don. Even Justin Bieber might make a more statesmanlike president. How about Chris Brown? Actually, lets just elect William Pharrell. At least the White House would have some decent music. Not much is getting done now anyway. 

1 hour ago, Baerboxer said:

 

The usual response here is to try and avoid any responsibility for any accident and any consequences. Couple of weeks ago a guy hit my wing mirror whilst driving at ridiculous speed and squeezing between a waiting queue of cars at a U-turn and the barrier. He didn't even want to do a u-turn but was trying to jump the traffic jam! He drove off. Took me several kilometers of chasing him, flashing headlights, sounding horn, waving, hazard lights before finally getting in front of it and stopping him. Of course, his insurance had "just expired"! Our insurance guy came quickly and sorted it after some debate and discussions with Mrs.BB. The other party didn't want to accept it but seeing as the damage on the two cars was there to see, and that road has a lot of CCTV coverage, and he had no insurance, didn't want to go to the police and finally, begrudingly admitted it, then claimed he hadn't actually notice the loud bang and cars rocking; or me trying to gain his attention to stop him!

After he left the insurance guy told me not to do that again. Just get the plate number and leave it to them to follow up through the police. Said that road was notorious for fights, stabbings and shootings from traffic accidents! 

 

 

It is largely about the horrific practice of face. Something I really despise, and have alot thoughts on. And yes, that was quite brave of you to chase him down. 

Face is no doubt, the greatest form of weakness, a human can engage in. Many will say it is societal, cultural, etc. No matter. It is the absolute and complete lack of the ability to introspect, and look within for the source of any problem, shortcoming, conflict, or issue. It is the polar opposite of spirituality, and therefore an absolute scourge on Buddha, and all of the precepts he taught. By practicing face, you are denying your spiritual heritage. You are refusing to man up. To take responsibility for your actions. If a man or a woman cannot, and will not take responsibility for their actions, the problems they create, the mistakes they make, and the issues they involve themselves in, what are they? Are they still an adult? Are they a complete individual, if they allow themselves to be limited by such infinitely small social convention? 

Who cares what people think of you? For those of us with high self esteem, it just does not matter. Sure, close friends and family. But strangers on the street? Who gives a rat's butt about this? It means nothing what they think, nor what they say about you. They count for nothing. They are just people, and people you do not know, nor will ever see again. Face is rife with self doubt, and by subscribing to this weakness, and man or woman is made a far lesser person. For those of us with high self esteem, we know who we are. What others think, what society thinks, what a guy or gal thinks, means less than zero.

Real men or women, simply own a situation, and take responsibility for their errors or mistakes. Small men, social deviants, or emotional adolescents deflect, obfuscate, attempt to confuse, and do everything in their power to deny that they made a mistake, or that they are responsible in any way, or on any level. They make up narratives about fake news, or alternative facts. Anything to avoid looking within, for the source of the problem. Anything.

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

I can't speak for the motivations of the Thai military leaders on the subject.

I also have no idea about the big cut stats or not. It would be interesting if people have credible info on that though. I was talking about the stats for quite young people, which it's logical to just assume must be very low. It's such a massive decision and not cheap either. That's not something very many people under 18 are going to do even if legal underage (not sure about that either).

 

A cultural difference between transgender people in Thailand vs. the west is that in Thailand the political issue has not been a strong desire to be treated as equals with the civil right to serve if fit. The big issue here was getting the military to stop officially branding the transgender people as mentally ill to justify the exemption, which stigmatized their life prospects in civilian society permanently. That was horribly unjust. The last I heard that goal had been achieved.

Thoughtful reply. But, I kind of thought that serving a term in the army under a dictatorial, and maniacal drill sergeant, and other such officers, would be a burden, and not something many would get much out of. Am I missing something here? Avoiding mandatory service is a good thing, right? Just ask Trump. He sure enjoyed avoiding military service, with his five deferments. 

1 hour ago, ubonr1971 said:

Nothing wrong with culling the soi dogs. It is long overdue. For some reason, many Thais think there is some sort of Buddhavistic merit, in feeding soi dogs, and hence the problem continues. They are relatively miserable creatures, who live horrible lives, scavenging for food, and many are ravaged with disease. Put them down. It is the compassionate thing to do. If any of these dogs are privately owned, they need to be kept at, or in the house, and need to wear tags. It is about moving into the 21st century. Those dogs are a scourge of many areas and neighborhoods. This is a really good idea.

 

'relatively miserable creatures'. Are you talking about yourself?

Thank you for your kind, graceful, diplomatic, heartfelt reply. It looks like it required a great deal of thought, a powerful intellect, and a Tiny Don type mentality. And a great deal of judgment, based on my opinion that culling is a positive way to respond to this horrendous, and never ending problem.

In the many years I have lived in Thailand, I have encountered many soi dogs. Most are very mangy, many appears to be very hungry, alot are diseased, and few look like they are enjoying good lives. Many are aggressive, and some terrorize their neighborhoods, disturb the real dogs to no end, causing them to bark endlessly (the domesticated ones), bite people who walk or ride by, and at the very least, scare the crap out of them.

That was my point. And your point was? Could you also share your solution with us, based on that very powerful intellect. 

On 4/3/2017 at 1:39 PM, Jingthing said:

I'm no expert on this but my presumption is that most transgender women that do the big cut do it somewhat later in life than recruitment age. Either way, you do not know whether or not the Thai authorities use the big cut as their only criteria and that's a fact until you can actually provide evidence of that. 

I am told by supposedly reliable sources, that 90% of all ladyboys never get the big cut, due to the fact that they can never experience an orgasm after that. My guess is that most ladyboys would be disqualified from service, due to the issues involved. Am I incorrect on that point? Would the army really want to deal with all of the problems?

Does anyone know about extreme pruning techniques in Thailand, for mango trees? I hear it is being used in Africa, with great results. The idea is to plant the trees closer together, such as rows 4 meters apart, by 4.5 to 5 meters in between the trees in a row. And keep the canopy smaller, and the trees shorter. Supposed to make it easier to spray, harvest and maintain. And increased productivity per tree, based on additional light allowed by a smaller canopy, reduced disease, less insect issues, etc. Any feedback is appreciated. 

Does anyone find the term "special forces" to be somehow oxymoronic, when used to refer to the Thai armed forces? Special, as in more competent than the normal forces? Special is in smart, or willing to pursue real crime? 

Special forces around the world, denote men and women who have had special training, and are competent with hand to hand combat, a high level of proficiency with scuba, paratroop skills, defusing bombs, etc. Does any of that apply here? Many of us hold the Thai army in such low regard, it is hard to even imagine the special forces being special. 

11 minutes ago, Airbagwill said:

Unless you are on a small island, a cull won't work. You will have to continue killing forever to keep the population down

One female dog and her babies can have over 67,000 puppies in a six-year time frame! That's because a dog can have three litters a year with up to seven puppies per litter.

 

If you kill a dog the gap left will be filled within days with dogs from outside the area.

 

To reduce the dog population to a manageable size you have to deal with the food supply i.e. garbage and garbage disposal and ask people not to feed them.

Limiting the food limits the population that can be supported.

 

PS - please can someone suggest how Bangkok could cope with 300,000 dog carcasses?

 

 

Incineration. Burn baby burn. A doggie crematorium. 

Does anyone know about extreme pruning techniques in Thailand, for mango trees? I hear it is being used in Africa, with great results. The idea is to plant the trees closer together (rows 4 meters apart, by 4.5 to 5 meters in between the trees in a row. And keep the canopy smaller, and the tree shorter. Supposed to make it easier to spray, harvest and maintain. And increased productivity per tree, based on additional light, reduced disease, less insect issues, etc. Any feedback is appreciated. 

Tiny DT. The art of moving America backwards, and lowering the quality of life for the average American. 

The art of I cannot make a deal to save my life. 

The art of losing talent in droves, and replacing them with sycophantic fools, devoid of talent or experience. Like The appointment of Lynne Patton, a wedding planner and longtime Trump family associate, to head the Housing and Urban Development's office for New York and New Jersey, and the talk show host that he just appointed as a chief economic advisor, because he talk smooth and looks good on TV. Good one Don.

The art of not being able to fill vacancies, and leading a nation, without the help of key appointees. The Trump administration will usher in the second quarter of its presidential term with hundreds of vacancies still left to fill in departments throughout the administration. According to the Washington Post and Partnership for Public Service, only 241 key positions requiring Senate confirmation — out of 633 — have been confirmed as of Jan. 18, with 244 positions still without a nominee. The 633 key positions are a small portion of over 1,200 total positions requiring Senate confirmation, the Post noted. Trump’s sluggish staffing stands in stark contrast to his predecessors. According to the Post, Trump had 301 total confirmed nominees by Jan. 18, as compared with 452 confirmations by former President Barack Obama, 493 by George W. Bush and 471 by Bill Clinton at the same point in their terms. 

I see the same thing in Los Angeles, except there the pedestrians have the right of way, big time. But, I see pedestrians walking right in front of my car, without even looking! I often roll my windows down, and say to them "don't you think you are taking an awful lot for granted, not even looking?" They look at me like I am from Mars. 

Crossing the street in Thailand is a very, very dangerous thing to do. I always do it very carefully, and always look both ways, even if it is a one way street! Pedestrians beware. Alot get taken out here. Alot. The drivers just do not care. The drivers here have such a staggering lack of respect, consideration, regard for safety, and skill.