Luxius

If you want a Western society, that's what you will get.

Why has no one mentioned what a red license plate means? (hint: their salary is paid from taxes)

Need money? You can sell your passport in most bars in Phuket, providing you have an un-used visa in it. I used to live there, seen it happen too often.

"I am sure there are many foreign teachers working without the proper visa, either because they can't be bothered to obtain that visa, or (more likely), their employer can't be bothered to provide/assist to obtain the correct visa."

Then you're <deleted>, and you asked for it.

Let's hope they dish out work permit visas in the future, no matter what this means to the current illegal work force in Thailand. They still can't speak enough English, so they badly need the teachers.

/Lux

Her shirt says it all

And she probably don't even know what the symbols on the shirt means. [...]

In this case it is most probably the other way around.

....but people reported an explosion...???......if so, there has to be a third explanation......

With so much BS and conflicting statements going around, is it possible it was a terrorist attack, and this is a big cover up to protect Phuket's tourism industry????

Just throwing that thought out there because, for me, something doesn't sound right about this whole incident, especially with reports of an "explosion" just prior to the fire.

I'm sure I will be heavily critisised for this post, but TIT, and one must consider all possibilities.

Sure. Have you considered U.S. drones?

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Unlike yours, mine was a serious post.

Also, you would be very surprised at what flies into Udon Thani Airport, out of hours, and what is/who is onboard.

No no, I'm as serious. I believe chances of a U.S. drone attack is as possible as a terrorist attack.

....but people reported an explosion...???......if so, there has to be a third explanation......

With so much BS and conflicting statements going around, is it possible it was a terrorist attack, and this is a big cover up to protect Phuket's tourism industry????

Just throwing that thought out there because, for me, something doesn't sound right about this whole incident, especially with reports of an "explosion" just prior to the fire.

I'm sure I will be heavily critisised for this post, but TIT, and one must consider all possibilities.

Sure. Have you considered U.S. drones?

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Funny how witnesses heard 2 transformers exploding ( What does an exploding transformer sound like ???? Bet nobody knows !! ) but the Electricity Chief can show them both working. Who is telling porkies ??

I have seen them and heard them explode, There is a flash and some sparks flying and often hot oil, If one of these transformers had exploded it would,nt be in working order now,

I think this PEA guy is living dangerous as it seems he,s blown their first excuse out by claiming they are still in working order but i,m sure they have a backup plan or two,

Does anyone know why these transformers explode? have only ever seen it happen here.

I have also "seen" it. I heard a loud BOOOM and looked in the direction, then saw a power cable twisting and turning all over the road. This happened in Patong 3-4 years ago (when I was living there for about a year) in one of the streets near the fire station.

I don't exactly know why they explode, but I suspect it has to do with over-heating? Bad maintenance?

Anyway, Tiger disco was a death trap, that's for sure. I've been there many times, but always hated going deep inside the cave, as it was near impossible to get out again once there was a crowd.

I would imagine the Thais who actually know something about WW II are rather thankful they were on the side of the Nazis and Japanese. Burma lost 272,000 people compared to 7,600 in Thailand during the war.

They were absolutely thrilled! Finally, France gets cut off, unable to send supplies and troops to Thailand, and the Thais are able to capture the French tanks and kick out the invaders!

Thailand has ALWAYS been an expert in sly diplomacy. I don't blame them, in a world of extreme imperialism. LoS = Land of Slyness.

Sort of like turning up and giving it a kick when it was already down,

Speaking of bad taste. It is in incredibly bad taste to mock the US when half a million Americans died in WW II to among other things help save Australia.

Sure, and let's not forget the millions of Russians who did their part, shall we?

Americans who think they did all the hard work in WW2 are as ignorant as you say these Thai kids are ...

As a German i feel ashamed. Sorry.

You are a German of this generation. You should have no reason to be ashamed. The evil was commited by past generations.

That's right. And evil today originates in Israel. I wonder why nazism is on the rise again ...

The swastika is NOT a nazi symbol, as much as an ancient symbol for universal change.

Pla yay geen pla lek

So what the answer?

ใช่ครับ ปลาเล็กกินปลาใหญ่ไม่ได้

(chai khrap, bplah lek kin bplah yai mei dai)

That's the best I can come up with, it's most probably horribly wrong. However, I only studied Thai for about a year and a half. First school I went to was troubled by an owner, who sold a car she had rented, because she was in trouble with a boyfriend in jail. She had to sell the school, so our classes were interrupted. I moved to Chiang Mai and started going to Chiang Mai University, their language school is great! Unfortunately I had to leave in the middle of the course and go home to Denmark. Still, I did learn to read basic Thai (could read books for children) after about three months of studying four hours per week. It is not that hard to learn if you really cared.

You guys who oppose this, and very loudly do so in this thread, you are the real scum, the guys who should find a legitimate way to stay in Thailand - if you really love staying in Thailand so much. When you say your money contribute a lot, I think you are the scum of the Earth!

I'm not in Thailand anymore and I miss speaking, reading and some times writing Thai. I hope to return some day and that I don't forget all I learned in the mean time.

Ninjas will come after him!

No, seriously ... I bet the Yakuza didn't expect that kind of insubordination. I love Thai culture =D

I love the honesty in the title. It is only bars operated by foreigners they are shutting down.

Thai people have always known, that westeners are better at doing business. After all, it was the white man that invented capitalism. They have also always known how to deceive and copy. This is one of the elimination periods, where they stabilise their domestic economy by destabilising the foreign.

Isn't it obvious?

Why not aim for both (all) groups of society?

Can anyone say anything positive about any tuk-tuk anywhere in Thailand?

Sure, in Chiang Mai they are not so bad. They are polite, helpful, honest and know their way around the city.

They are noisy, dirty (terrible pollution!) , rude, dangerous, dishonest and all around bad news.

Same can be said about most tourists in Thailand, though. It helps a lot to show them respect, like all people.

That being said, I totally agree that Phuket is infested with mafia businesses, and I hope there will soon be changes made - especially for locals trying to get from A to B.

Hope they catch the man who attacked these Tourists.

Having said that though, It is like Parking the Car on a Motorcycle Taxi Rank - There are no signs telling us not to, we just use our common sense really and not park there to avoid this type of trouble.

The tourists on holiday should have moved on really to avoid this, afterall, they are visitors in this Country.

That is what I think anyway.

Anyone who condones violence should be beaten to death with a blunt weapon.

That is what I think, anyway.

So populations get it coming or going, i.e., a couple of billion living in rathole conditions on less than USD $2 per day or some couple of hundred million (aggregate) in rich countries with their noses pressed against the window. It seems unresolvable under any ism or any mix of isms.

Wrong. It seems unresolvable under any ism - or rather: any government - currently practiced.

See my previous post for more information.

1% of <deleted> all...is <deleted> all.

Percentage pay rises are used for just the opposite.... to keep the raise low and the low paid in that place ("that" is intentional).

Once you know how money is made and who controls it, you dont need to be a Nobel prize winning Economist to work out who is doing the exploiting.

You will though if interested have to investigate the information,.....revelation is the word that comes to mind.

Issan was given a very small taste of political influence under Taksin, I doubt the powers in Bangkok will open that Pandoras box, it'd be better to keep them in there place tied to the rice fields for generation after generation after generation.

60 Baht a day in the year 2009, they ARE Slaves...it makes me sick!

You are absolutely right. I was about to cheer for the little extra the poor are going to have, but little will it help them when the chain of events unfold, in this system you so well put on display. How could I forget? Thank you for making it obvious.

Ballpoint, I like your posts, but I suggest you (and others) take a good look at alternatives to capitalism and democracy (one doesn't make the other necessary, by the way):

http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com

http://www.thevenusproject.com

Techno-anarchy is the future.

Maybe the correct term should have been "open awareness about the state of corruption is on the rise" instead.

*A lot of paranoid babble*

You are way too paranoid, dude. Maybe that's why you can't find the concentration effort to learn another language, or maybe it is as you stated in the beginning: you are not interested.

Well, ED visas should only be for those, who are actually interested in studying (what ever it might be).

Oh, and for those who miss no opportunity to bash Americans, well, 'nuff said.

I find it true, that Americans do a much better job bashing themselves.

Enough said (in proper English).

ps: americans and brits have it so much more easy to learn a new language

as they only speak english in general

in my case, Thai is/would be my 5th language ...

as where english is my 3rd...

any consideration ???

I don't find this true at all, and I base it on my experience with speaking Thai with Americans - who in particular have difficulties with many of the vowels - and other nationalities as well. So far I have attended two different classes, and the same pattern emerges. It is also the tonal part of the language, that has many confused and they quickly give up. In fact, for English native speakers it is much harder to learn other languages, because they are used to others learning their own.

I am of Danish nationality, and I speak 5 different languages as well (some better than others). In the beginning I thought it would be almost impossible for me, to comprehend the differences in Asian and European languages. Two days ago I picked up a Thai-Thai dictionary published by the national department of language (or equivalent), and my love for learning this language grows every day. I wouldn't personally have a problem with passing a test at the immigration office, as I read and filled out the form in Thai last time I was there. I do, however, understand the frustration it might cause, amongst those who truly find it difficult to decipher Thai language.

At the school I was taking my first term there was a lot of change in the rules, and the owner/teacher was not at all sure about the law, so there was a lot of uncertainty and change of plans. The students didn't exactly know how to go about, and it was new to the school as well. After 6 months it was decided, that we simply put our signature on the days we took classes, writing what we had learned that day on the line. After 6 months we were all capable of doing it in Thai as well, so for us it was no obstacle at all. This was a request made by immigration, according to my teacher, and was to be widely spread on all private schools in Phuket.

I also find it about time, because I would hate to see the ED visa exploited to the brink of extinction, as it is my only means of being able to continue studying Thai language and culture. Make an official test, like all other school systems around the world already has. It isn't hard to make one, that it is impossible to tamper with. You just have the entire region meet up at a designated hall, and have immigration officials oversee the process. The test should of course range from easy to hard, being able to write the Thai alphabet, draw lines between words and pictures, and maybe even read and translate whole sentences. This would at least confirm, that students have some understand of the written language, which should be an absolute minimum for any serious student.

Now, if you are not at least going to exclude the possibility, that YOUR piece of equipment was faulty on ALL four mentioned connections, then who is being... stupid?

You don't want me to answer that question do you>

No, I'd rather you answered the other question: has the connection been tested on a computer you haven't tampered with?

I take it you already excluded the possibility, but you forgot to use the scientific method. You know, the scholastic era (also known as Dark Ages) is already over and long gone, it's not enough to have a strong belief to make a valid point anymore.

But go ahead with your ignorant attitude, it'll leave you in that dead end for life. It doesn't really make a difference to me, because my Internet connection works just fine.