spidermike007

18 hours ago, mommysboy said:

 

It's a strategy that is often applied to make an example of someone.  Generally, there is a heavy penalty.  Different variations involve teachers working without a permit, and bringing an ecigarette in to the country.  Next month, someone might be caught doing the same and just be fined a token amount.  There is no rhyme or reason- the police know that uncertainty causes a great deal of insecurity.

And that very insecurity you refer to is the franchise itself. 

6 minutes ago, mogandave said:

 

Fishing is a hobby. Importing and distributing illegal substances is a crime.

I imagine the same guys saying this moron should get a pass are the same guys bleeting on about the the lack of enforcement of the laws they like.

 

And why is this substance illegal? Because of the government monopoly on tobacco, do you think?

2 hours ago, bkkcanuck8 said:

I see no reason to demean the authorities in this case.  He was violating is visa, he was operating a business with physical presence in Thailand and they had reports of it that they followed up.  Many on here have indicated that they don't like the corruption in Thailand -- well this is the exact result that you would get with a professional police force -- enforcing the law.

I think what bothers alot of us here, is the incredibly selective enforcement of the law, and the appearance of a substantial degree of xenophobia. And what kind of volume was this guy generating? A few pouches here and there. Sounds more like a hobby to me.

23 hours ago, Cadbury said:

This is the reality.

Estimated GDP forecasts for 2017 by Global Finance.

Thailand's GDP for 2017 ............3.3%

Vietnam's GDP for 2017 ............7.5%.

Cambodia's GDP for 2017......... 6.9%

Myanmar's GDP for 2017.......... 7.7%

Laos' GDP for 2017.....................7.3%

 

Every other neighbouring country more than double that of Thailand.

 

"An economic boom that’s reverberated across Southeast Asia has finally crossed over to Thailand". So says the story which is nothing more than propaganda for public digestion. The above figures dispute this nonsense. 

 

 

 

 

Not really a reasonable argument, due to the fact that these countries have small to minuscule economies, and are emerging from the darkness. Better to compare to dynamic regional economies like Indonesia, and Malaysia. Of course Cambodia and Laos are growing. Laos had a total GDP of $16 billion last year. Cambodia had a GDP of $20 billion. Burma is doing a bit better at $67 billion. But, so much of the current investment there is from China, where the resources are being stripped, and the country is being sold down the river, to a despot nation, with alot of cash. Also, Burma is emerging from the stone age, after being repressed by a greedy, myopic, power hungry, and blood thirsty military, for decades. These nations have a long way to go, and alot of room for growth. By comparison, the Los Angeles area has a GMP of $755 billion. 

Thailand has seen it's glory days. There are over 7,000 Japanese firms either manufacturing, or operating within Thailand. Where would the country be without them? Continued fiscal mismanagement, the complete botching of relatively high baht Western tourism, in favor of low baht Chinese tourism, and utter incompetence has led to this disaster. It will continue, as there is no sign of any really competent leadership on the horizon. 

4 minutes ago, Jeremy50 said:

I'm tempted to de rude, but instead, why don't you take a screen shot of your post, then refer back to it in ten years time, and despair that you ever wrote it.  'visionary stuff'

It is not often that I use the term visionary, and Thailand in the same paragraph, or sentence. I consider Thailand to be one of the least visionary, or progressive cultures, or countries on the planet. But, when it comes to mass transit, and infrastructure, I am of the belief that it is well worth the investment, assuming they are getting multiple, open bids on the projects.

Countries that look into the future, work on large infrastructure projects. This is a big step for Thailand. The railway has been substandard for decades. Bangkok has fantastic mass transit. It would be a good thing to bring that to the rest of the nation, and a great thing, to have viable alternatives to air travel, as the airports seem to be operating at near capacity. This is visionary stuff. So what if it costs a fortune. Thailand has the money to pull this off. Just have to wean the military a bit. Not like they have major battles to fight. Well, at least when one excludes the will of the public. 

4 hours ago, greatwhitenorth said:

To admit making an error would cause a huge loss of face. the teacher has much less face to lose. Was there ever any doubt what the outcome would be?

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.

Mugabe is so far past the sell by date, if defies the imagination. He can barely walk or talk. He should have been "retired" a long, long time ago. It is obvious he likes the power and fortune just a bit too much. And it appears he was intending to install his wife in his place. I am typically not supportive of military style intervention, but someone had to intervene. Very happy to see him go. He should have exited stage left a decade ago. Nobody will miss him. Except perhaps his bankers.

Bizarre and infantile behavior on the part of the Thai authorities. This government seems to have half way decent intentions, but due to the astonishing lack of talent and intelligence in the administration, nearly always gets it wrong in the end. 

Little P. - Moving Thailand backwards at an astonishing and alarming pace.

The government of Burma needs to be called out for what they are. Including the so called lady. She is no longer a lady. She has new revealed herself to be a pig. A bigot. A racist, and an official that is complicit in mass murder and mass rape. I only hope this worm, who was once considered to be a great woman, and a hero, is tried for genocide, and spends the rest of her life in prison, where she belongs, along with the entire top brass of this heinous military, in this God forsaken country of Burma. I like the people there, and my heart goes out to them. They are earnest, and hard working folks. They have lived under the control of robber barons, posing as army generals, for a long time now. And now they have to endure the leadership of a creton, who posed as a freedom fighter. Democracy? Hah. More like a despotic regime, desperately clinging to power, and not wanting to lose control of the multi billion dollar a year drug syndicate, and gem smuggling operations. 

Shame on the western nations for allowing this charade to continue. Shame on Trump, shame on Tillerson, shame on the UK, and the rest of Europe.

Good on them for calling out the insects by name. Retired teacher Wichai Pensawad, 61, faces charges of taking a minor under 18 away from her parents or guardian and rape of a minor, while the girl’s aunt, Pavina Thongchua, 20, faces charges including procuring a minor for prostitution, illegal detention and coercing the parent of a minor. They had better cover up their faces. Unless they leave the country they are market for life, regardless of whether or not the fabulously weak judicial system has the cajones to imprison them. And if they do end up in prison, they are sure to make some very close friends in there. 

The mother was beyond irresponsible, by allowing her 15 year old daughter to be away that long. What was she thinking?

Thailand has been number one in road deaths for at least a decade of two, already. They have a bizarre face saving measure, when it comes to counting road fatalities. If you do not die at the scene of an accident, it is NOT a road death, regardless of whether or not you die on the way to the hospital, or once in the hospital. Secondarily, they are second only to Libya. How many less road deaths would Libya have, if it were not for the little problem knows as IED's? 

And why are these drivers speeding in the first place? The primary reason is the toy police force. Nobody, and I mean nobody takes these guys seriously. There is absolutely nothing in the way of a deterrent here, and both the local governments, the central government (weak Little P.) and the police do not take traffic safety seriously. Not even one iota. The safety of the public means less than zero to the small men in charge here. Nothing. They show that on a daily basis.

When I was growing up, we took drivers education classes. They showed us these horrendous films, of semi trucks crashing into cars, and literally obliterating them, and everything inside. Also, they showed very graphic images of head on collisions. Even as a young kid, it left a lasting impression, and I realized driving was no joking matter. Especially when you have your friends, or loved ones in the car with you. I am constantly astonished at the kinds of chances people take here, with their entire family in the car with them. Why? What is the logic? What is the reason? Why take those risks? Often, when someone cuts onto the highway in front of me, as I am doing 100kpm or more on the highway, I look in my rearview mirror, and there is nobody behind me for quite some distance. Which means, had they paused, and waited 2 or 3 seconds, there would have been zero risk to them, their family, or me and my family. What can one even say? All of this matters even more when driving a motorbike, where there is no protection. 

The only way to survive here on the road, is to be patient, have eyes in the back of your head, drive with caution, and always, and I mean always watch out of the other guy. Chances are, he does not have much driving skill, nor patience, nor reason, nor common sense. You cannot be too careful on the road here. Especially considering that the toy police offer no traffic safety, nor enforcement of the law. 

Now for my scooter rant:

Many of us drive motorcycles or scooters here, and it is dangerous getting on the roads with some of these other drivers. 

Getting on a scooter, or a motorcycle anywhere in Thailand, much less Phuket, Phangan, Dark Tao, or Samui without a very good helmet, is like playing Russian Roulette with three or four bullets in the chamber. It is absolutely asking for problems. The degree of recklessness here is astounding. And many foreigners come here thinking "how much trouble could I get in on a little scooter, on a tropical island"? Well, the answer is alot. The amount of foreigners who are killed on the Southern islands is staggering. Most are not reported in the media. I had a friend who worked for Samui rescue for many years, and said the numbers were about 30-60 a month, on Samui, Phangan and Koh Tao. The official number is about 3 a month. Rider beware. Use as good a helmet as you can afford, and do not use these eggshells pieces of crap. They crack at the first impact, and what lies underneath them? Your skull, which is very delicate. 
 
Just ask yourself- do I have enough problems already, without a broken skull, or smashed head, or face injury, or lost eye? I have two friends who have been in motorbike accidents on Samui within the last two years. One still cannot walk, or talk or function on her own, from a motorbike accident, where she hit her head on the pavement going only 20 kph. The other one has lost alot of his mental capacity after hitting his head. He insisted for years he would never wear a helmet. Now, he seems 15 years older. 

I was told by a very reliable source. He did not have an agenda. He rescued alot of the survivors. He attended to alot of the ones who did not make it. The press here is highly censored. The report only what the so called leaders want them to report. Nothing else. Social media? Why would social media report these statistics? They report individual accidents, but not overall statistics. Anything you read about accidents on Samui in the media would be false. 

• Road deaths are now calculated based on fatalities on-site. Victims dying later in hospital not counted.
• In 2000 there was an average of 30 deaths a month on Koh Samui (official figures released each month).
• Now it is stated that Koh Samui has 3-5 deaths each month (using the new way of reporting road deaths).
• In the last ten years the population has almost doubled and there are now 5x more vehicles on Koh Samui.
• Based on ‘official figures’ today it is possible to estimate that Koh Samui currently has 60 deaths per million per year. (Compared to 23 in London.) Based on the population and traffic density statistics from 10 years ago Koh Samui has in reality 720 deaths per million per year. This is probably the highest rate of road deaths in the world. Samui is a fatality death spot that nobody is willing to acknowledge!

What I do not really understand about all of this, is that these guys who are in position of great power and possessing great wealth, are able to get pretty much whatever they want. Women are attracted to wealth and power, and men that are well connected. So, why do they need to force themselves on women who do not want them? And if they are married, with families, why not use high priced escorts, who guarantee their safety, and discretion? That is what most stars have been doing for ages now. 

Some of these stories sound real, like the Spacey stories and the Weinstein stories. Some sound fishy, like the Steven Seagal stories. He gets what he wants. Why the need to force himself on others? No doubt there is alot of opportunistic stuff going on right now. And no doubt, this is an escalation of the "war on men", that has been happening in the US for quite some time now. The women there are becoming increasingly aggressive, in their pursuit of what they consider to be a man's breach of etiquette, and most women in the US, continue to ask for nearly complete emasculation, of most men. 

Look, in the case of Louis CK, it is said that he invited two women up to his room. They were aspiring comedians, wanting to learn from the master. Well what did they think was going to take place up in his hotel room? A lesson in comic technique? And if he did undress, and he did start to go at it, they were certainly free to get up and leave the room, at any point. Right? As far as the stories go, they were not chained to the beds. Right? Something smells fishy with this story. 

During the campaign, China was enemy #1. His rhetoric was very strong. We will play hardball with China. Remember the references to the US getting raped by China? Now, he goes to China, the very clever Xi rolls out the red carpet, flatters him, and makes him feel loved and important. Walla. That is all it takes with this simple minded man. With the emotional development of a 13 year old boy, he succumbs to the soft sell, and the flattery. Now, China is out best friend. Overnight. Just another example in the litany of instances, where the small man got outplayed, by a far more clever foe. It happens alot. He is just not up to the task. And the real issue is that he thinks he knows it all, and more than likely refuses to take good advice, nor study up on an issue. He is dangerous. He is a circus huckster, pretending to be a world leader. God save us all.

I cannot even begin to imagine, the level of insanity, the degree of a warped mind, and the broken level of a soul, to even want to engage in something like this. But, the fact is, when caught he needs to be taken down with a vengeance, and if there is proof of his misdeeds, as there appears to be, he needs to be imprisoned for the rest of his life, castrated immediately, and put out of circulation forever. This kind of behavior simply cannot be tolerated.

I do believe there is a very limited amount of this kind of thing that happens here. Hopefully, I am right about that. Now, in Cambodia it is rampant. At least it used to be, according to a journalist friend of mine, who was responsible for finding a few perpetrators, and getting them locked up for decades. 

Kudos to the Nation, for speaking out. Yes, it is high time for this little man to move on. Nobody needs him anymore. He has outlasted his usefulness. And the very reason he claimed that he was staying on (a smooth transition) has now come and gone. So, move on little man. Find another line of work. The country is suffering under your tremendous lack of ability, intelligence, vision, leadership ability, and talent. 

However, as the days go by, the Army is showing how incredibly desperate they are to cling to power. And my guess is they realize this is the last peaceful coup, the country will ever see. There simply is no more moral authority to sanction another one.

On 11/6/2017 at 10:37 AM, Peterw42 said:

Interesting to look at trip advisor , a fair share of negative reviews and the manager arguing with (even abusing the reviewers) the reviews. 81 reviews, and 18 say poor or terrible, and the manager arguing the point. Manager is saying the reviews are fake, they are not fake if someone stayed there and its their review.

Basil Fawlty would be proud.

Anyone familiar with the cyber world knows that 18 out of 81 reviews, that are negative, is a devastating percentage of unhappy customers. If this is true, they are better off just closing the hotel, and moving on. Maybe try house painting, or something that requires less diplomatic skills. 

As far as their complaints go, what on earth is the crime called malicious posting? Can one actually be charged for that? In Thailand? Good luck.

I was never a fan of King George II. But, at this point Trump is making him look like statesman of the past couple of decades. If that is possible. He seems warm and fuzzy compared to the hostile huckster. And also honest by comparison. If that is possible. Amazing what one court jester can do to sway an opinion of a past president. Nobody, but nobody is as big a fool as Trump. Something very traumatic happened when he was young, to make him the nasty piece of work he is now. Something very bad.

One can only hope that Watcharin Phiwchuang and Natthaphon Yatphrom spend a very long time behind bars. What fools. What cretons. I understand avoiding checkpoints. I do it alot, when it is safe. I simply drive around the policemen, whenever possible, or I turn around prior to reaching one. Same applies to getting flagged. I just pretend I did not see the policemen. If they want to chase me, no problem. But, to mow down a cop? This is just beyond comprehension. What on earth were they thinking? Were they thinking? Anything going on in there?

This is a real step in the right direction. Thailand is perhaps 10-20 years behind the curve, when it comes to alternative energy, environmental policy, and moving into the future in a sustainable fashion. This might be a good first step, to encourage the production of electric, or hybrid vehicles here. They stopped production on the Prius in Thailand. Probably due to it being severely overpriced. 

One has to assume, the incredibly smart people in charge of city planning, have already thought of some brilliant approaches to traffic mitigation. Always looking towards the future, and planning with great vision. LOL.

I am a despot leader, posing as the PM of a democratic nation. Please, please do not blow my cover. I steal land, maim and murder people at will, amass great wealth, and suppress the political opposition for sport. And NOBODY calls me out. Not one nation. So, please allow me to continue what I am doing. Do not criticize me. I am perfect. I am the ultimate strongman.

I am not a rocket scientist. So, I do not have all of the answers. But, it does appear that the van was driven by just another Kamikaze zombie. One has to surmise he was either going to fast to avoid the turning truck, or was not paying enough attention. Talking on his phone, perhaps? Or dozing? Either way this is an incredible tragedy for all involved. And another boil on the face of Little P. and the terribly incompetent police, who just do not patrol the highways, do not issue enough speeding tickets, and refuse to ever pull anyone over for reckless driving. Do you job men. Man up. Do what you are expected to do.

Sen is a weak minded despot, who is desperately clinging to power. He enjoys the tremendous wealth he acquires, from suppressing his people, stealing a lot of land, stifling political opposition, and continuing to pose as a democratic leader, with the full sanction of the entire Western world, who absolutely refuse to condemn his actions. He is a monster. A freak. A man without a nanogram of kindness, love, or compassion in his tiny, shriveled up, black heart. A multi billionaire, who robs, maims, imprisons, and kills at will. Has Thailand ever uttered one word of condemnation toward this super freak? No. Of course not. No moral authority within the entire nation, at this moment in time.

Sen is a weak minded despot, who is desperately clinging to power. He enjoys the tremendous wealth he acquires, from suppressing his people, stealing a lot of land, stifling political opposition, and continuing to pose as a democratic leader, with the full sanction of the entire Western world, who absolutely refuse to condemn his actions. He is a monster. A freak. A man without a nanogram of kindness, love, or compassion in his tiny, shriveled up, black heart. A multi billionaire, who robs, maims, imprisons, and kills at will. Has Thailand ever uttered one word of condemnation toward this super freak? No. Of course not. No moral authority within the entire nation, at this moment in time.