TheGhostWithin

I didnt know the BRN were a "team".. they could not even undertake coordinated ceasefire of hostilities over Ramadan.

The soldiers do not drive around on Honda Clicks, that is the Osaw (the private mercenary contractors who work with the army) with the AK47s or similar on their backs as they ride.

Slapping taxi drivers over the head, misbehaving, no manners, ok, these are things to look forward to if you want the Yen, you see,there is a Karma, its called chinese tourists...

You mean the Yuan, right my friend? The Japanese, although having a stereotype as being arrogant, are only arrogant because they have largely earnt their place from the "naughty boys corner" after WWII to the "naughty boys corner" at Soi Cowboy.. and leaders in the business world. They are an example of what Chinese should aspire to become.

And what are they going to do with it all. They can't sell what they already have.

I notice the rice seemingly pouring out of the truck straight onto the floor, and Tyre marks from another track to the right of the truck in focus.. it gives us some idea exactly how much those dropping off product truly value rice.. such as the rest of the world. Most supermarkets here are now going off Thai rice, and importing Vietnamese and Indian rice instead. This will not help the balancing of the books, PTP.

I notice there are very few replies to this, so I guess that there are quite a few that are sick and tired of reading the news about this man, his opinions and his control from the shadows of the current administration, their criminal activity, disregard for the people, and what clothes they are wearing... soo...

Who cares.. find us all something interesting and inspiring to read.

I don't get it with the THAI bashers. Whenever I checked with AirAsia, after the buggering about with prepaid baggage they were probably only 200 to 300 baht cheaper than THAI, flew to the wrong airport and just weren't worth the savings. Granted, people with the ability to book IN ADVANCE can get some really good bargains with AirAsia but that's not the way my travel usually pans out. Nok Air (also the wrong airport!) do tend to be consistently cheaper but I need the flexibility of being able to change flight dates at short notice as my international inbound connections (to the other airport) may be delayed and the cheap Nok Air ticket can't be changed.

There IS always the bus!

Unless I am time constrained, I prefer to travel by bus in Thailand. I get to meet the locals, and because it is so much cheaper I sometimes even find somewhere that looks interesting and get off the bus early, buying another ticket later in the day. I'm not a hippie, just someone that likes people watching, talking, and learning from what is around me. Terminal 21 makes me feel uncomfortable, as does Paragon. I travel to Thailand on Thai airways, but have also flagged them for Qantas this year from NZ as Qantas arrives late afternoon (Thai arrives at 9pm), and Qantas is $800 cheaper (1200NZD vs 2000NZD return) one way over the christmas period. Busses cost the same the year round and provided you book a few days in advance you are all sorted. Their international service is great value at the right price, but at nearly double the price of the local competition and late arrival times they have zero chance of getting my business no matter what is on offer in-flight.

Thai airways needs to seriously look at their domestic service offerings vs the "budget airlines" and ask themselves why they charge so much.. there were no meals served on my flights, only a glass of water.. I'm not paying an extra 2-300 baht as quoted above for a glass or two of water.. no thanks ponsy poo-yai managed state controlled TG.

Still nearly double the price of ALL other competition flying into many of those airports. Last time I took a Thai airways flight to Udon, I was the only foreigner on board, and everyone was given water during the mid-summers flight except for me.. all I got was a notification from the cabin attendant that they had no more water left. This after she pretended she could not speak English, and then was a little confused about how to deal with me when I spoke to her in Thai "Nam da mai khraab"

Oh Boy.. Animal hair too .... ok let's see the next truck load of dogs and cats diverted from Cambodia / Vietnam & China whatever as food for all ...Hey there buddies !!... Have good news and bad news ...= saved your lives from becoming breakfast, lunch and / or dinner, that was the good news, but sorry the bad news is that now we have to kill you by drowning you in the oil slicked sea to save our sorry asses.... This is Planet earth my friends.. didn't you know that before embarking on the Ark?? !! ... Please do come and visit us again in the future when you are reincarnated or whenever !!

Annabel,

I am an avid student of Dr. Pladprasop! I believe, that if we got all dogs currently in Sakhon Nakhon, as well as those already headed for the borders of Cambodia and Vietnam, and we release them on the beaches of Rayong.. we could have them all swim in synchronization in the same direction at the same speed. The movement of water caused by their paddling would rapidly increase the flow, change the tides and send all the oil back to sea! What an idea!

You offer up an idiotic suggestion to cut the salaries of "safety staff". Oh that's brilliant. You have no idea as to the cause of spill, but you want to punish all safety workers. The PTT board of directors is a who's who of the Thai oligarchies. These are the families that rule Thailand. This baord oversees the company and in most places would be held accountable. However, you want some poor low wage hardhat to be punished.

Despite the attempt to smear and blame the government for the actions of PTT management, your comments come off as extremely lame. Abhisit's PR efforts during the flood were just that, photo ops for political gain. The worst possible thing is to unleash unqualified and untrained "volunteers" on an environmental catastrophe. Do you really think Abhisit who has never been gainfully employed in the private sector and has no training in this matter is going to inspire people if he carries his pail and shovel to the beach? Right.

The "government" is not a supporter of PTT, but is an investor because PTT is a state owned asset. There is no point punishing PTT because the ultimate "owners" are the victims of the spill, the people of Thailand. The Royal Household also has shares in the company. PTT is Thailand. This is the real Thailand on display.

Thank you for responding, though I have first hand experience of natural disasters in recent times which I very much doubt you could compare with. In 2010 the second biggest city in my country was flattened by an earth quake, with huge amounts of damage to buildings and a number of deaths.

One thing which made an immediate difference was the fact that local students had the nous to get together while the political "leaders" were still too busy talking to act, and began cleaning up liquefaction in the streets. They continued for some time assisting fire and police in the streets - they even had a website where you could log a job and they would come by and help. 2 weeks ago we had a 6.7 magnitude earth quake in my city and there were no Police, Fire, Ambulance or Civil staff within site - it was my neighbors, the local business owners and "John and Jane from down the street" who kept myself and my fiance (from Thailand) from losing our heads.

"Mobs", as untrained as they are, do make a difference if they are directed, controlled and used in an effective manner. NONE of Thailand's political leaders have stepped up so far, on either side. This IS a political issue, because a business has managed to destroy a considerable proportion of the eastern seaboard without a measurable response from the government at this point (with exception to the announcement to "smell your fish before you eat it"). I am not going to get into a red vs yellow conversation, this issue is bigger than that and the whole short to medium term future of the Thai summer tourism industry is at stake - other countries have pollution free beaches which tourists will be happy to go to if Thailand cannot keep its own back yard clean.

The Langkawi and the eastern seaboard of Malaysia are probably looking mighty fine for a number of Christmas time tourists about now. It is time the government took leadership and governed the situation with some inspiration.

A sharp response from blunt tools. This is a case where the offenders should be hammered for life to prove to the world that Thailand is serious about protecting tourists and ensure that Thailand uphold its' reputation for"Thainess" and as one of the worlds most exciting places to holiday. No bail, no mercy, respect the hand that feeds you.

Love to see the "red army" out cleaning this one up, along with their yellow cousins.. Yingluck in her red gumboots and Sondhi in his sandals.. doing something positive for all Thai people for once - preserving their eco system, preserving their financial stability by keeping tourists coming.

I know there will probably be one leader standing by to help, and probably doing his fair share as he did in the floods. I will always admire Abhisit for what he did during the floods - perhaps other leaders (including Pladprasop, Dr. Weng and Chalerm) would gain some points with the public by spending whole days out cleaning up and bringing as many people with them as they can - not just for photo ops.

Come on leaders of Thailand, inspire the people and show them how it is done - then kick the backside of PTT (Petrol Throughout Thailand?) in the courts, even if the Govt is a big supporter of the company. Maybe a forced cut in all safety staff salaries for a period until the cost of the clean up is repaid would do the trick? Just a thought.

I am a Railway Network Controller in New Zealand and oversee the manual control of hundreds of passenger service movements daily as well as goods trains.

I personally feel terrible for those who come to Thailand (for the first time or first few times) and do not realise they are dealing with a system which does not consider safety as the main consideration when running services - we do not run services if we are aware of any risk that something such as a derailment will take place, especially not with a passenger train. Tracks infrequently used (less than once per day) are typically inspected by a trained track inspector to reduce the chances of something like this ever happening.

I shudder to think what I was in for when I was making inquiries on working as a network controller in Thailand so that my partner could continue doing what she loved in Thailand (consequently we are both living in NZ now).. and happy they refused me because I did not have a masters degree in engineering (I kid you not), saying that my work in NZ under a manual system as well as one of the worlds most advanced passenger train control systems amounted to nothing.

To those that say the State Railways of Thailand should be sold off, you need to understand that the reason it cannot make a profit is the huge retirement pensions and final payouts staff receive after periods of time with the company - and it is one of those companies you need to do something extremely dumb to lose your job with.

It is intended to keep the political establishment in the minds of the public. Unfortunately they have just annoyed a very large amount of the populace both directly and indirectly by reducing subsidies on rice after it being one of their big election promises. Perhaps the current cabinet should take a lesson from HM the King in keeping promises to the people... even if keeping that promise means a lifetime of servitude to the "mob". A true leader exists to ensure the needs of the people, the people do not exist to serve the needs the leader.

Thais do not like people that promise things and then do not follow through with them. Thais and Foreigners alike have been stabbed and shot for less. I wonder what is in store for the hairy fairy god mother. Cabinet reshuffling does not matter when the ship you command is already sinking.

And just so that you and your mob which go around poking fun and pointing fingers at those who put thought in to try to comprehend some of what is posted here in the news section, I am not part of any "mob" - unless you consider those attempting reasonable and rational thought a "mob". By the way, "mobs" have overseen the downfall of dictators, of city states, of countries, and of regions. Would I have been "linked" in coordinated attempts to skew the thoughts of others on this forum I would be honored to be considered part of an honorable "mob". Oh the irony.

Yingluck as a Fairy Godmother? Jeez. I nominate TS, a Dubai ex-pat, to be the Demon King. I ask readers to scout the fleshpots of Nana, Cowboy, Patpong, Soi 6 to discover a damsel to play the part of Cinderella.

I have seen many ladies far more deserving (both in looks, and in a few cases kindness and many in potential intelligence) of becoming a fair godmother after they too have finished important meetings at Central Bangkok hotels with people they will not discuss (unless of course over dinner discretely with friends!).

The article is utter rubbish, this woman does not have any impact on anything outside of the Kingdom and commands no respect unless she commands it using either the Thai judicial system, her red thugs, or a deformed, disgusting combination of both.

The BIB and the Thai mafia are like kindergarten kids compared to the Russian mafia. If they have enough people on the ground and get organised enough, it will be the BIB and the Thai mafia that will be paying tea money to THEM for the right to operate.

Now how would you know about that exactly? I confess I don't, but one hears comments like this from time to time, and you just gotta' wonder - how do you know? What enables you to make such a comparison? I do know I wouldn't want to tangle in any way to any degree at any time with the Thai mafia boys and sort of suspect that they can pretty well handle themselves in a home game.

In most cases you would be right Hawker, but Pattaya (and Phuket) are not "home games". These are western cities with fewer rules inside a Kingdom which for the most part does not want them there. The run of the mill Thai would like these two cities wiped off the map because they know what goes on there, though polticians do nothing as they understand the economic impact of "wiping out" the industry in these cities. Phuket has other attractions to offer, but neither would make the coin they do without prostitution, drugs and massively inflated real estate prices. It is these three vices which are the "keys to the city".

Prostitution is already a shared market within Pattaya (I have never been to Phuket so I cannot comment), with some eastern block and Russian women obviously doing more than "having a holiday in the sun".

Iranians have been caught multiple times importing large amounts of ya ba bringing the importation and pre-sale distribution of the product into question. At the ground level many of the "club managers" are either British or Russian.. so you figure out who pays who to sell drugs where.

Real Estate is still largely a "Thai game" being which foreigners cannot own land, however condo-orientated markets such as Pattaya, Phuket and Bangkok mean we can own, meaning Russians can own and already do so in a big way. You can expect to pay some sort of "tax" to build a condo block on prime property as is the case overseas, in the near future.

It is the drugs, prostitution and real estate markets which the red fellas have already mastered overseas which bring them here. Yes the Thais have controlled their market for the past 30 years or so, but the Russians have controlled a global market for the past 20 and have very smart minds planning 3-4 steps ahead of what will be done tomorrow.

Only 3 in that picture, where are the other 3?

They must have already paid their "ticket" for the crime and so were not available for photographs!

But seriously, this does not appear to be a typical "Russian Mafia" type hit squad. These guys were either low level trying to dip their feet in the water, or desperadoes.

- No surveillance on the house to establish movements of the victim prior to the event? Most groups would be watching this house for weeks prior to the event.

- No travel plan post event? Most would not travel in a single vehicle after committing such an act, and potentially would travel by motorbike rather than car in such an event.

- The world famous Pattaya Police actually made an effort to stop these guys? The Red mafia are well known for being able to bribe police, and "halt" any Police who attempt to interfere anyway. You either take money and turn a blind eye, you ignore the activity, or you are silenced, this is the way of the Red Fellas.

- Pratumnak is one of the "hot spots" of crime in Pattaya, and no doubt an area of increased Police activity as a result. A better move would be to have someone befriend him, invite him back to the condo to meet "the girls", and have act committed inside an apartment with no onlookers.

There are details missing in this article - there are 6 members in the "gang", I doubt all 6 were in the Honda accord, so either someone got caught on lookout (which I doubt judging by their other modus operandi) or someone within the gang squealed on everyone else. There is no "plea bargaining" in Thailand so this might not have been the smartest thing to do. Telling the BiB (a notoriously loose lipped organisation) why you did what you did was stupid too, as none of the members would be safe post their sentence, either in Thailand or back home. The red army has long arms.

Well, looks like the kid was expecting some trouble of some kind, so play with fire, expect to get burnt, and he did. Some would not show as much restraint as the alleged attacker. Many would not be brandishing a toy gun. Life is cheap everywhere now, its not just a Thai thing is it. The boy got out of it with his shirt on, and is alive to tell the tale. Should have copped the 10,000 baht and be happy.....go holiday in Pattaya with it, and try the same thing again. See if it works twice. So many women in this country, try find a single one, or at least one who says that she's single.

Jack as a polite suggestion, you might want to read the original article. This will explain that she DID say she was single, she DID stay with him for a period of time (not a single night go-go bang) and also that she lived in the same building as he did. He even went with her and some of her friends on a trip to Khao Lak..

The only way he could have POSIBBLY found out was to be doing the deed at her house and the "brother" walked in, or have her refuse him to go to her room and he become suspicious.. but Thai women in this situation would probably just send the "brother" to the family home to help out or something..

The Russian guy had done exactly what I would have done if I was looking for some fun, and possibly even a relationship with someone new.

Are you saying that these particular 'silent' people are hyperactive???

Two of the most important apps on my phone are my camera and the voice recorder. You would be amazed at the difficult situations you can protect yourself from using them. It is important obviously to understand the legal standing and implications of filming or audio taping in the setting you are in (e.g. I cannot film or record in a store in my country, but I can record and tape in a public place).

I am saying that Phuket people are voicing their concerns in the photo that this guy has tarnished their image (even though the Police claim it is the Russian tarnishing their image) however they are not doing enough to ensure that tourists are kept safe from such people in Phuket. You can claim it happens everywhere as some do on this forum regularly, the fact is it that it is being highly publicized in Phuket, and to a lesser extend in Pattaya. If Phuket residents love the tourist dollar, they need to understand that they are sharing their right to enjoy the towns and beaches with tourists in exchange for cash and for fair and reasonable treatment.

Being accused of "tarnishing" the image of the province because you filmed and published a home invasion experience as a result of something allegedly out of your control (the Russian did not know that the woman, Karn, had a husband) is not fair treatment. It is an outrage and the biggest tarnish on the image of Phuket out of all of this.

I forgot to say there are a lot of people on Phuket that are very nice and honest and don't want this kind of thing happening Anywhere

Yes I have to say that I know people like this too in Phuket. The problem is that they remain silent, and they do absolutely nothing to stop activity.

No protesting to stop the corruption and abuse of tourism, no protecting of the industry. How about they started carrying cameras or turned the cameras on that their phones have every time they see something being done and posting one copy to the police, another to the media. Having the media publish it if something is not done about it.

They can protest about if their selected political group controls the country, but they do not care enough to protest about the well being of the tourism industry in their province. Obviously Tourism is not an important funding mechanism for Phuket. I would suggest that perhaps the Russian Federation is about to provide a timely reminder of how important it is in the form of a reduction in tourism numbers and spending.

Not all Russians are from a Mafia, but all Russians (like Thais) have connections to Mafia.

What?

Lack of membership of an organisation does not necessarily indicate that one cannot cause an organisation to act on their behalf. It only takes being related to someone within the organisation, having worked in the past with the organisation, or perhaps a payment or act to assist the cause for them to act on your behalf.

I like Russian people, even if others say they are rude and ignorant on here - some are, but others are awesome to drink with and I know they will have my back and will not put in a situation I did not put myself in. At least not in my experience so far. Russians have an inherent sense of loyalty to those who are loyal to them, I have found. It makes me sad to hear some of the Russian bashing that goes on here, but everyone is entitled to their own opinions.

I believe the video is not staged, I believe this man suspected something was coming and protected himself accordingly. He deserves support for highlighting an issue which various ambassadors have highlighted in Phuket recently but that Thai Authorities have either ignored or denied exist.

He is my brother she said....... LOL.

I think this Thai chap just meet a "special date" with Rusian Mafia in the near future.

I hardly think he would have gone to the cops if he was planning to put a hit on the guy. You're stereotyping; not all Russians are Mafia, for godsakes.

Why not? If you can have two people gunning for him you are more likely that at least one will sting him. I do not condone crime but the red fellas are a presence in Thailand, which is why local thugs like this are trying to move Russians out using the tactics such as what we see on the video, and deportation for incorrect visas etc.

Not all Russians are from a Mafia, but all Russians (like Thais) have connections to Mafia. And I would bet that the life of a Thai is worth less to the red fellas than the life of a Russian to the Thai mafia groups. Just saying.

As for his reaction, he is either still drunk (he walks straight so it appears not so), is fearless (if this is the case I am in awe) or he does not understand the mans poor English. I did not see any reaction whatsoever from the Russian. Once the trigger was pulled and the bullet did not go off however, I would have stood and flattened the punk. then called his GF and told her to pick him up and not give out my address again.

I have posted extensively on this topic on other threads. I will not repeat it here my history shows me no one agrees with it. They prefer the status quo with no real end in sight.

Your response to me indicates pretty much the same attitude. I quote

"When a terrorist is found the BiB quickly establish who he is"

Looks good on paper but is not what is happening as a rule.

They cover up for him.

In a nut shell my proposal was have Yingluck present herself as a friend to these people offer suggestions and help in their day to day life gain there trust as a human being who really cares for them. There by facilitating what you say as it stands now it looks good on paper but translates into nothing.

Please provide evidence of Police covering up for terrorists in the Southern provinces as you claim they do.

Yingluck has no bearing on the south, she holds sway in the north and the north east, but neither her nor chalerm have the restpect of Buddhist or Islaamists in the south. The way she presents herself is un-Islaamic, and as a poor role model. Her open support for the select Bangkok elite supporters of the Shin clan whilst forgetting the south whilst many good people die has won her the ire of Buddhists. This is not the place for Yingluck or any of her red shirt cronies. The Buddhists and good Muslims of the south have already had red shirts for many years prior to her miracle "rise to fame", red from the blood stains of their loved ones.

I will re-post my comment, which I initially posted on the original Nation article:

It is OK for Muslim extremists to take a "break" from hostilities during their religious holidays but attack us on ours as westerners and as Thais side by side?

A good military strategist knows that fatigue is the enemy of any army and allowing your enemy to rest is simply increasing the risk of increased deaths within your own army and civilians. To allow Muslim extremists and their supporters to "rest" during THEIR chosen time is akin to allowing them to inflict even more deaths on innocent Thais at a later time. Not all Muslims intend to harm us, but those that do should never be allowed to rest.

What you say is true but when they are not operating as a unit doing various forms of murder how so you look out in the field and say that one is a terrorist and the man next to him working the same as him is not a terrorist?

The Muslims from the south are organised by village. They are linked between villages by their Poo Yai Bahn and their respective Imams. It is these people whom are the knowledge keepers and shot callers within resistance movements in the south. If members of the BRN or any other organisation move into the village, even for a visit, it is these two figures who will know and usually would have given permission for an outsider to enter prior to the arrival. This would stand particularly when a recruiter for the movement entered the area (often Malaysian or Indonesian Nationals who flee over the border either prior to the attack recruited for or immediately after).

When a terrorist is found the BiB quickly establish who he is, and therefore will know where he is from. Close information sharing with the army would also assist Police in tracking who this person is, where they are from, where they visit, who the associate with (who they share vehicles with or are noted travelling in a convoy with on more than one occasion). This does not currently take place in the south but should - for Muslims and for Buddhists, to provide a fair and equal hand.

Using information which should be gained from information sharing which should be taking place (but both of which are not), Police and Army would quickly be able to establish not only who is associated with those performing the attacks and linked to them, but also perhaps who has the potential capacity to carry out further attacks - this would include those from the same village as offenders, those who protect offenders and those who have lost family members against the army/police.

Potentially, it could also quickly give the army an idea of which vehicles they should be performing a thorough search through to locate weapons used against the innocent, and against themselves.

There is room for improvement, but nobody either wants to or understands the steps required to achieve freedom for all that deserve it.

I will re-post my comment, which I originally posted on the original Nation article:

The stock plunge of the SET is as temporary is the defunct financials outstripping growth within the Kingdom as a result of poor oversight and under investment in key infrastructure projects due to political wrangling which has failed to satisfy fears of major foreign investors within the Kingdom.

Countries with a more forward approach just a stones throw from Thailand ready to embrace a wide range of foreign investors and accommodate them in all their needs with minimal difficulty and red tape (Burma as a recent example, Singapore as a developed example) will continue to outperform Thailand until it realizes it must change and become more open to continue its' advancement if it is to fund its' growth through external investment.