YORKSHIREPUD

But the "reds" on here would have us believe that this weekends attempt to paralyze BKK is NOT about Thaksin. ...

yeah right

Yeah Right, not about Thaksin, what planet are they on. There's going to be trouble for sure.I've told all my friends coming out here to avoid Bkk for the next week or so.

Stay safe

Stay low

Don't go out in red,

Stay home in bed :D

Obviously those who stay at home are afraid of violence! If demonstrators see that just walking around the town in the sun does not produce any results and the government is not concerned then some of the bad guys will get the idea to perhaps liven up things a bit and like last time to throw some petrol bombs, some grenades, some excrement that is men mak mak because is not hom.

I do not believe anybody believes that paid protestors will make a great change. In my opinion there will be violence. I really hope that I am wrong but history likes to repeat itself. It is hard to control such huge masses of people.

Peace, peace, peace.

The 2,000 Baht payment is to get all the Northern supporters to travel down to BKK,my Thai wife looking at the clip from Nakhon Panom said that people are told that, if they don't go to BKK, they have to return the cash..................Yeah......Sure.............That's what will happen.......But don't hold your breath

It's not going to work as planned.

Ok, maybe a bunch of people will show up, but the existing government will be fine after the dust settles. Have there been reports of payments for attending?

The Abhisit government is legit and decent. There's no real groundswell against him and his administration. It's another last-ditch and desperate means for an extremely selfish man to try and put his hands back on big money and absolute power.

I see the OP photo of Thaksin with the words "Thailand needs change" He's trying to copy Obama's success with that line. Yes, Thailand needs change, it needs to get good people in leadership roles, and get away from the ugly patterns of having people like Thaksin in the driver's seat. Thailand needs to change being so tolerable to treasonous people like Thaksin. It needs to change being so forgiving to Thaksin's puppets, like Sae Daeng, who toss explosives here and there.

The sooner Thailand changes from being harassed from Thaksin and his followers, the sooner Thailand can get moving forward to improving quality of life and cleaning up the environment and doing the many other things that have been put off because of the incessant hassling from Thaksin and his paid intimidators.

I agree and I hope we are correct that it will not work, I also don't want to see the fall of the present power.

Thaksin did some good and gained a lot of brownie points but then did the dirty deed of using his position in power to further his riches at the cost of the people who put him there.

I'm just a Farang who loves The country, the people, the food, I just love Thailand, I want what is best for Thailand in the future and I don't think that Khun Thaksin is the way to go.

It's up to the smiling people of Thailand.

Violence will not succeed in anything, it will put the economy in further jeopardy due to the drop in tourism AGAIN, why do they shoot themselves in BOTH feet every time there's a chance to boost it with a show of solidarity from all sides and boost tourism, help the Thai export buy weakening the Baht and encouraging more investors than a Thai bar on Bangla.

' Nough said

I truly do not understand the headline " Guilty !" --- this was not a criminal trial ! Is this headline from the Nation? It is a misleading and inflammatory headline.

Now we must read the verdicts to understand the reasoning !

LannaRed,in your quote,you do not understand "GUILTY",No matter what kind of trial you deem it to be,it was a COURT OF LAW and so HE was charged for an act that was commited during his time in office and found " GUILTY " of that act, I hope this is a simple enough explanation for you to understand my friend.

The Law is The Law and the Courts are ALL Courts of the people of this great THAILAND.

Any one have any idea on when the ruling is likely to be made?

Quiksilva, Tha not so quick at allYou didn't read the first report or you wouldn't need to ask that dumb question mate!!!!

Saved? Hmmmm seems the White Knight Farang has come along and saved the poor thai lady. Oh my some have heaps to learn about thailand.

Hey friend sarcasm is the lowest form of ***T, take that anyway you see fit but if you are such an expert on the ways of Thailand ? Why don't you enlighten us instaed of coming up with a stupid meaningless sarcastic one liner ?????

That's of course just for the headlines ONLY.

What would make sense would be a 'crackdown' on drug salesmen, pickpockets or other shady appearances

one can see there daily. Instead they focus on the poor girls again who try to make a living and who support the

Thai economy by helping the house construction and buffalo breeding industry back home in Issaan ...

Continued without irony: at least these girls distract from the ugly and dirty water and the ugly statues they

have put on Beach Road about 2 years ago.

In fact, Pattaya would be a boring, ugly and uninteresting city if it weren't for the nightlife in all its variations.

And who doesn't like that doesn't need to come here ... as a matter of fact, Pattaya is busy during the whole year,

while the rest of Thailand's tourism industry is totally dependent on the absence of Red Shirt rallies and economic

ups and downs.

I read an interview with the Police chief - he seems to be a very decent and committed guy, but please focus on

areas that are real problems in Pattaya and leave these poor girls - of which most belong to the most innocent

(well not literally ) people who live in Pattaya - alone.

p.

I'm with you Pal but the BIB have never seen real Blood thirsty Prostitutes of europe who don't do. it to support their Families, they farm themselves out to make cash for themselves, B/F or PIMP who have MAYBE forced them into it.

I cannot listen to some IGNORANT farang calling them Whores Or Prostitutes, Whilst in definition that would be grammatical correct but we, knowing the circumstances behind all this have more of a brain to Sympathise with them.

I myself went way up northern Thailand looking for a lady to make my wife, she had just finished her education at 19, it was in the middle of nowhere with no Bars nor' prospects of work, I've been with that lady for 18 months now and we've been wed for 8 months, WE have never been so happy. The point I'm getting at is that if you want a non bar G/F, It is possible and you will have saved one other poor girl having to degrade herself.

THINK ABOUT

That should sort that problem.

But hang on. It DOES sort out a few serious problems - namely the end of the month tea money and bumping up commission from fines (and probably a few free knee tremblers into the bargain)!

Should we all be surprised ? As you said "I'ts tea money" " Give us 200 Baht and a feel 'til Friday : OR it's up against the wall for a freebie.

What a frigging joke the Boy's in brown are, TIT

No excuse for Lotus Tesco...........

I have some super re-usable bags from Tesco in the UK, all purchased at under 50 baht a time.

The best one is a Bottle Bag divided to hold 6 bottles upright.

You cannot compare Thailand with the UK, wake up to reality, do you know what 50 baht relates to here in Thailand? you are looking at 1 quid for a poxy plastic bag. Wake up, travel and see some of the world.

victor bout has caused tremendous pain and suffering in the world.

my condolences to the friends and family

however the USA has and still does cause more suffering (through their arms sales, terrorist propagander and WMD red flagging) in the World than any other country combined. But as they have the big stick they can silence their detractors and or competition.

Victor is an amateur

and was only making sure that the rest of the World enjoyed the same rights as the USA citizens

The Second Amendment (Amendment II) to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that protects a right to keep and bear arms.[1]

AN AMATEUR he may well be but he made money by selling weapons to dissidents and terrorists, the bill of rights may well protect the right to bear arms but NOT THE RIGHT TO BE A GUN RUNNER, and I'm an English man.

The fact that these purchasers were US Agents should negate any terrorism charges. There was absolutely no danger that the weapons would have ever fallen into the wrong hands should a successful transaction have been completed. It sounds like he was baited, lured and entrapped to me.

It is just amazing the ideas idiots come up with. You have absolutely no knowledge of law enforcement procedures, international law, or the history of Mr Bout. Not only are you not informed at all, you apparently don't want to be. Stupidity may not be a choice, but ignornce sure is.

HERE HERE, I'm with you on this but you know what they say "ignorance is bliss",extradite him to the USA, many of the people on here are so ignorant but they make statements that they know nothing about, they have NEVER experienced being in a combat zone,they juse feel the need to post something/anything to boost their post adds. to them, I say "GET A LIFE"

Lock him up and throw away the key, he sold weapons to terrorists who in turn used them to kill our lads, he deserves NOTHING but life inmprisonment or EXICUTION that would be cheaper.

Jingthing you are wrong on the insurance issue. If you are insured and you lose your employment you can continue in the health care plan. There will be no partial payment by an employer, so you get to shoulder the entire cost.

Many of the group plans are not through a single employer. Small companies usually join with other groups to form one larger group plan.

There is a short term continuation available for private purchase. It is Cobra, a government mandated option. If the insurance companies had their way, they wouldn't offer it. After the time period ends, the availability to purchase it ends. Most laid off people cannot afford the payment anyway. Also now there are many millions of Americans who have been unemployed for years now who have given up, and with good reason. Not to mention the huge percentage of employment situations that do not offer coverage, less than full time hours, small employers that simply don't offer anything, and contract work, etc.

Why are you and your rambling friends going on and on and on about the US system,this is about THAILAND, not THE usa ?

Call me a cynic if you wish

Brilliantly typical Thai plan. Create a crisis,pretend you are doing something about it then queue up with the others angling for your share of the cashola based on all the work you have pretended to do and never mind the implications of your actions. That said, when the money,if there is any left by now,gets released there WILL be squabbling.

Yeah maybe but how about typical whinging expat who chooses to live in Thailand and then complain about the govt and their policies and the "Thai way". No one is forcing you to stay and I have no doubt that you knew what the country is like before you moved there.

Your post reminds me of a tool expat that I met on my first trip to Thailand back in 1998, he told me the "the only problem with Thailand is there are too many Thai people"

It amazes me the amount of expats that complain constantly about Thailand but still continue living there. Usually because they are exploiting the economy and the women.

JOKER,Don't tar us expats with the same brush, I've been living here 12 years because I love the country,the people,the Thai way,the Thai food, the Thai weather and I'm very happily married to a beautiful and loving Thai LADY.I am at present staying near Sakon Nakhon with my inlaws who are quite poor but happy and I'm happy here too,I will be driving through BKK around the time of the expected troubles but I'm an old soldier and will NOT alter my plans. THAI people are mostly calm,loving,respectful people always with a smile.

Pattaya would be a good place to start. Although I've only been there once and will probably never go there again, it is one of the seediest places I've ever been. Just an observation...

Then you have never travelled my friend if you think Pattaya is seedy, you only have a short journey to Cambodia from here and Vietnam,you have blinkered vision

It is refreshing to be proven right to quickly. As I stated in the other thread, the tourist got what he deserved. It isn't stated here but I'm quite sure by 'assault' they mean kicking the tuk tuk driver - you just don't do that in Thailand.

I do agree that this guy got what he deserved,He's in a place that is NOT HIS, Thailand has it's own customs which we should (as farang's) respect and follow, Yes,the majority of Tuk Tuk drivers can be arsoles but diplomacy should be first on our list, He is lucky thet there were no more tuk tuk drivers on hand. For 1000 baht, he should consider it a CHEAP lesson on how to behave when YOU are only a VISITOR.

Good result. Chonburi immigration is one of the exceptions where you can do the conversion process; most immigration offices will simply direct the applicant to Bangkok for processing.

Woha hang on there, you can do it hassle free in the Phuket Immigration Office, been doing it for 5 years now.

My biggest horror when swimming in areas with speedboats or jetskis.

As for diving, I am shocked that dive operators still do not advise their customers to use those inflatable "bananas" that mark resurfacing divers.

RIP

As an old PADI scuba diver instructor,we always used the BRIGHT ORANGE ELEPHANT CONDOM, sent up from 5 metres at the safety stop but if they were diving unsupervised and with little experience?

Who knows, even using the condom, I had some narrow escapes with jet ski's, they just don't give a shit or have no idea what a SUPER BRIGHT CONDOM 1 METRE ABOVE SEA LEVEL STANDS FOR.

RIP and condolences to the family

Typical of Thailand, who gives a <deleted> as long as I'm earning a few Baht

The suspects are British national Ahoor Rambarak Fath, 45, and Swedish woman Masobukwe Moiseng Patricia Segage, 45

Yeah they really sound like British and Swedish names, more likely Middle eastern and African

These days they could easily be British. Some parts of the UK even have Sharia (civil) law now. Not sure what John Nettles would make of it all....

The only thing left that is "British" in the way you remember it is the weather.

I agree with all you say,I've lived here in Thailand for 12 years and never want to go back to the UK because of all the migrants , it's not so much that the migrants are there, it's the demands they make to change our BRITISH customs and heritage, WE MISSED THE BOAT IN THE UK when we failed to make ENOCH POWELL the PM, he would have curbed the influx of migrants allowed in the UK and those that were accepted would have had to conform to our laws and customs.

Sounds like a good idea, but can I say please, about the term , " Farang".

I think it's racist as it means " Caucasian"

Thais don't call foreigners from other Asian countries by this term, only western, white skinned people.

And I am assuming other races are allowed to join your group ?

And presumably fully grown women, referred to as " Girls" really panders to the idea, and the resultant language usage- that being a "woman" is somehow undesirable, adult females should all aspire to be " Girls" ( i.e. young and sexually attractive.)

For perspective on the wide use of this term, " girls", ( I know it's totally acceptable, but that is what worries me,)

would a group of males of the same age as yourselves call themselves , "... Boys Club ?"

I know your club is about fun, but when I see these terms propagated, I have to speak up.

How about the Foreign Women's club?

Good luck

CFIT

I dont think the OP wants to sit about with a bunch of coffin dodgers knitting, making jam and talking about the war ?

Lighten up on the wording as well. Who cares if they want to start a girls club. As for being called Farang ? So what ! It has never been said to me in a negative way in all the time I have been here.

i agree dunc, what a twot !,i expect hes sat on the pc smokin a pipe with a flat cap on,! lol

If he's a TWOT ! as you put it, then you are a **a* and an ignorant one to boot, you shouldn't be ridiculing older people, show some respect to your elders, many of us have fought in wars so *** like you have the freedom of speech, some people just have no idea how to use that freedom without having a go at someone.

I think it's a great idea for the ladies, it will be a great way of finding out about Thailand and making some friends.

There's a need some basic geography lessons.

How does an earthquake 50km off Padang Sumatra propagate a wave that could come anywhere near the coast of Thailand?

Hey STOCKY, maybe you need the lessons Pal, remember the one in 2004 came from Acea Indonesia and found it's way to the East Coast of Africa, That's a long long way Pal and I was here in Phuket Thailand, I was involved in Rescue on Phi Phi Island.

Anyone got the youtube link of the Tourist threatened with gun?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5rh9SRp9Hc

4 minutes 30 secs

THANKS FOR THE LINK MATE, THAT'S A NORMAL ALMOST EVERY DAY SCENE HERE AS I'M SURE WE ALL KNOW HERE IN BEAUTIFUL THAILAND, DO ANY OF YOU REMEMBER DIRECTLY AFTER THE TSUNAMI, THE POWERS THAT BE STATED TO THE MEDIA THAT THEY ARE GOING TO GET RID OF THE JET SKI'S (IN PHUKET THAT IS) BY NOT RE-ISSUING A CERTIFICATE LICENSE, WELL THEY ARE STILL CARRYING ON PLYING THEIR EVIL EXTORTIONATE TRADE, THE POWERS THAT BE ARE AS CORRUPT AS THE TRAFFIC COP WHO STOPS YOU TO TRY TO GET TEA MONEY FROM YOU FOR NO REAL REASON OTHER THAN HE WANTS SOME CASH FROM YOU TIT.

ONE MORE THING, GOING BACK TO THE TSUNAMI OF WHICH I WAS INVOLVED, AGAIN, DIRECTLY AFTER BECAUSE OF ALL THE INJURIES CAUSED BY DEBRIS,THE WORST CAUSED WAS FROM THE " CHEAP TO MAKE ---HEAVY WOODEN SUNBEDS " IN A PANIC TO TRY TO REGAIN SOME COMPOSURE, IT WAS DECLARED THAT THEY ARE NOW BANNED ON THE BEACHES IN FAVOUR OF THE UPVC TYPE !!!!!! BEEN TO THE BEACH LATELY ????? TIT THIS (IS) THAILAND !!!!!

******S

No such things as Marriage Visas. Retirement Visas cannot be obtained out side of your own country of residence. Certainly not within Thailand.

No such thing as clear laws regarding anything to do with Immigration.

Every Office has their own set of rules when dealing with applicants.

Even their own set of fees. As a lot of people in Samui will know.

please update your information

I agree with you NAAM, this bloke is way out of date, I've been on a Retirement Visa for the last four years now and never seen the UK, I just go to local immigration respectfully dressed, polite with a smile, pay for the visa, say GOOD BYE to the couple hundred baht that found it's way into my passport prior to handing it over to the officer and then it's a polite Corp khun krup ( With a Whai ) Spelling ? I call in every 90 days to let them know that I'm still here and living at the same address ( normally takes 5 to 10 min's )

Thanks

THANKS FOR THE WARNING

I'VE CHANGED MY TRAVEL PLANS FOR NEXT MONTH

AFGHANISTAN HERE I COME

On your keyboard, to the left of the A key is Caps Lock key, turn that off. Learn to type normally.

Stop being so PEDANTIC, what's the difference if he types CAPITALS OR small case, we are NOT on here for a school lesson from YOU or anyone else, stick to the subject or maybe you enjoy upsetting people.

No rain here in Phuket today but I think we have had our share in the last 4 days, we got it so bad that I couldn't get down the south of the island even though I have a vehicle with high ground clear clearance .