rkidlad

Wasn't

Normally when you live in someone else's country you're encouraged to embrace the culture and respect it. That's absolutely fine by me. But it just doesn't seem to work here. It's true that you have to keep yourself to yourself. (Really sad when you think about it) You're the outsider now act like the outsider.

When you get these stupid newspaper articles about 'migrants' doing drugs etc, it pisses me off. I've come across so many locals here that have let their guard down and admitted to doing drugs. I don't think any less of them. If you wanna chase the dragon, knock yourself out.

Anyone, Thai or otherwise is not perfect in this country. Amazing how the local media portray 'migrants'.

I think it's a great idea. It will stop all those tourists who come over and live on magic beans.

I always find that when something politically big is going to happen in Thailand, there seems to be a new rule at immigration or some big crackdown on foreigners.

I know this wouldn't distract any Thai's attention away from what might happen very soon. But it does seem to happen a lot.

I'm sure Thai lawyers are amazing.

If you're lucky, you'll get a similar lawyer to one of the ones who defended Warren Fellows. He came to court with shoes but no socks on.

If I was in trouble, I'd definitely plead the 5th.

Well I was either scammed by TOT or my apartment.

I couldn't find my mobile in my apartment so I called it from the land line. When I knew where my phone was I hung up. I didn't answer the call but had a 16 Baht phone charge on my apartment bill. The apartment told me that TOT charged me and it wasn't them.

Anyway, as far as I know you don't pay for a call if the reciever doesn't pick-up. Maybe I'm wrong in some cases.

I've called my cell from my TOT landline numerous times, without picking up the call on the cell. Have never been billed for any of those calls.

No I don't misplace my cell that often. I use this to trigger a reconnect for my ADSL modem, I have a crappy TOT line and sometimes my modem drops the connection.

Not sure if it actually helps, but at least it gives me something to do while I wait for it to reconnect.

Yea. I'm pretty sure my apartment ripped me off. 16 Baht. They probably think they're being very clever.

Well I was either scammed by TOT or my apartment.

I couldn't find my mobile in my apartment so I called it from the land line. When I knew where my phone was I hung up. I didn't answer the call but had a 16 Baht phone charge on my apartment bill. The apartment told me that TOT charged me and it wasn't them.

Anyway, as far as I know you don't pay for a call if the reciever doesn't pick-up. Maybe I'm wrong in some cases.

I don't understand why gays can't get married.

Gay couples should be allowed the same opportunity of being just as unhappy as straight married couples.

I have had a free The Nation iPhone App for a few months.

I feel for you. I really do.

useful addition

I like the Sky News app too.

I will definitely download this application. 'The Nation' is the most bestest newspaper in Thailand.

Is this okay, Thaivisa?

I hope they monopolise this market like they have the beer market.

Freedom of choice just confuses people anyway.

This award makes perfect sense. It's about transparency. All this means is that they get an award for corruption being so common place that they don't have to try to hide it, hence the transparency.

Last time I checked prostituion was illegal here in Thailand.

Thanks to corruption, it doesn't matter.

Correction, prostitution was made illegal in 1960 due to international pressure, i.e. to "save face." It is accepted and even regulated not because of corruption but because there is too much money involved for the country, and is in such demand that in could not be stopped even if they wanted to.

What????? Prostituion is illegal. That's a fact. Doesn't matter how and why, it's illegal here!

Prostitution could never be stopped? Niether can most crimes. They'll always happen. All you can do is punish people for commiting them and realistically hope to lower the number of crimes that occur i.e rape, prostituion, murder etc

Do the people who run go-go bars have to pay the police in order to keep them running? Yes! That's called corruption.

What a ridiculous reply.

Maybe you felt it was rediculous because you didn't read what I wrote correctly, and/or maybe you haven't spent much time in Thailand. How prostitution evolved it absolutely relevant. You need to understand the context. Things are not black and white here as you describe. I said, twice, prostitution was illegal. However, you can't even begin to compare prostitution to other the other crimes you mentioned such as rape and murder. Talk about ridiculous.

Nearly every business here pays the police or other government officials money to stay operating. The fact that they have bargirls working there matters very little in this respect because, as I said, it's tolerated.

No, it's not relevent. Prostitution is a crime. (I don't care how it started) How do you get around this crime? With corruption. This is my point! What happens to me if I get arrested for curb-crawling? Highly unlikely, but conceivable. 'Officer, do you know why prostitution is illegal? It was all about saving face back in the good ol' days'

'Really? Nothing to do with its connection to human trafficking? Well then on your way son!' (Obviously not before paying some tea money. My point goes on and on)

And in a country like Thailand where some girls are forced into prostitution, yes, I can compare it to any crime.

I'm not saying if a girl wants to sell her body it's right or wrong. I'm simply saying it's a crime which is accepted because of man's need and 'corruption'

This award makes perfect sense. It's about transparency. All this means is that they get an award for corruption being so common place that they don't have to try to hide it, hence the transparency.

Last time I checked prostituion was illegal here in Thailand.

Thanks to corruption, it doesn't matter.

Correction, prostitution was made illegal in 1960 due to international pressure, i.e. to "save face." It is accepted and even regulated not because of corruption but because there is too much money involved for the country, and is in such demand that in could not be stopped even if they wanted to.

What????? Prostituion is illegal. That's a fact. Doesn't matter how and why, it's illegal here!

Prostitution could never be stopped? Niether can most crimes. They'll always happen. All you can do is punish people for commiting them and realistically hope to lower the number of crimes that occur i.e rape, prostituion, murder etc

Do the people who run go-go bars have to pay the police in order to keep them running? Yes! That's called corruption.

What a ridiculous reply.

Kinda ironic that everyone on here moans about corruption and then when some body does enough about corruption to get noticed and commended abroad that everyone criticses it. Guess there are no believers on TV who think you have to start somewhere.

Corruption is part of the reason why so many foreigners come to live here. Last time I checked prostituion was illegal here in Thailand.

Thanks to corruption, it doesn't matter.

You do have to start somewhere. But you usually have to start small and go from there.

Handing out an award for anti-corruption. You can see why people don't take this seriously.

More likely because it was a partially farang owned business doing well. Those are always the first to go either like this or through official channels like what happened to Shark Discotheque in Patong.

I don't believe that Roxanne Bar was partly foreign owned. The Danish guy met the Thai woman owner after she was open a couple of years already.

I don't think that matters. If it was a rival bar, all they will have seen is this white guy with the Thai owner.

Always blame the foreinger. Happens all over the world.

Why does the headline read 'foreigner defends berserk elephant'?

What are we supposed to guage from this? 'Bloody foreigners. What do they know about elephants'?

That's right, blame the farangs.

Where does it mention Farangs?

The first time I was on Khoa samed I was walking on the beach and saw an empty 5 litre oil can lying there.

I said to the bird I was with 'That's awful! Who would just throw rubbish like this on the beach!' (It was a rhetorical question and I wasn't implying any particular race of people had done it)

To which she replied 'Yea, many farangs just throw their rubbish on the beach'

A few minutes later I thought 'Why would 'any' tourist here be buying oil?' But just kept that to myself.

Hope they include that male, middle-aged Caucasian who begs on footbridges around Victory Monument BTS, and at times around Baiyoke markets. Has the guy no pride? He even gave me the old story about his wallet having been stolen and needing money to get back to his home and wife in Chiang Mai. Gawd, how many times have I heard that one??! Anyway, his line must not have worked very well, since he was still begging in Bangkok 12 months later...I could understand him being trafficked tho, as no other country would want him...

There used to be a young white guy outside MBK. My misses 'lent' him 500 Baht because she genuinely believed she would be helping him. He was back there 6 months later. I asked my misses what his story was and he coinfirmed the same story.

I was fuming, but being in a foreign country I didn't wanna cause too much of a scence. (Just called him a lazy thief with no self-respect)

It can be hard sometimes. Walking past a beggar with young kids. You feel obliged to give them something without realising that a lot of them are just playing on your compassion for helping your fellow human beings.

Wow! The Malay side is finished but the Thai side isn't. Maybe Thailand isn't greatest country in whole world. Maybe Malaysia is.

It's all over now. There's definitely something rotten in Denmark, but we knew there always would be.

Why is it such a taboo to complain or question anything in Thailand if you're a 'foreigner'?

In England we complain a lot. I've spoken to 'foreign' people and listened to their compaints, too. If they these 'foreigners' in England were constantly complaining how crap the weather was; sure, I'd say go home then.

A part from things that can't be changed, I welcome critisism of 'my' country. If no one ever complained, we would think nothing was wrong and nothing would ever change. (Oh, the irony)

At the end of the day, if something is wrong or immoral; question it. Then by the grace of god, things might get better. This might be a foreign concept, but right is right and wrong is wrong.

I had a Thai girl complaining how much she hated studying in New Zealand. She said they were all racist and looked down on Asians. I simply said 'In any country, you get good people and bad people. I hope you'll learn from this experience to never look down on anyone and think you're better than them'

Anyway, I digressed. There's two-sides to every story.

By the way I live in England.

There are only one kind of strict human rights in the PRC. Absolutely prohibited.

The poster relates that the PRChinese businessmen considered the PAD "no better than the BNP in england [sic]" which is pretty clear since the poster relates the PRChinese businessmen's view of the BNP as "racist working class <deleted> and the PAD middle class racist <deleted>." Racist BNP working class "<deleted>" would not have human rights as their strong suit either. (No doubt the poster added some of his own choice words to the statements by the PRChinese businessmen.)

Either way, I don't think there's any doubt as to the meaning here.

Not really. What political party in Thailand is advocating human rights? (And when I say this I mean a party that will come good on their promises) If any political party were to do this then the rich and powerful would begin to lose theirs.

have had to fight and even spill blood to get them. I know it's an extremely draconian way to get things done, but I'm afraid in Thailand it's the only way things will ever change.

Sad but true.

It's commonly recognized that the term human rights refers to much more than a political party delivering on its promises, both qualitatively and quantitatively. You misapply the term and quite so.

What??? PAD do nothing for human rights and niether would any other party here do so. That's my point.

There are only one kind of strict human rights in the PRC. Absolutely prohibited.

The poster relates that the PRChinese businessmen considered the PAD "no better than the BNP in england [sic]" which is pretty clear since the poster relates the PRChinese businessmen's view of the BNP as "racist working class <deleted> and the PAD middle class racist <deleted>." Racist BNP working class "<deleted>" would not have human rights as their strong suit either. (No doubt the poster added some of his own choice words to the statements by the PRChinese businessmen.)

Either way, I don't think there's any doubt as to the meaning here.

Not really. What political party in Thailand is advocating human rights? (And when I say this I mean a party that will come good on their promises) If any political party were to do this then the rich and powerful would begin to lose theirs.

I don’t know any government in the history of the world that’s just given out human rights; people have had to fight and even spill blood to get them. I know it’s an extremely draconian way to get things done, but I’m afraid in Thailand it’s the only way things will ever change.

Sad but true.

There is a recession on. Thai companies are laying people off, and not too many want to employ foreigners at this time considering the inflated salaries and paperwork/work permit hassles. If you have some special skill that are in demand and there are not enough Thais available, you may find something. In normal times, the Bangkok Post would be worth a look. A search on google.co.th (not .com) might get some results too.

gh

I've lost count how many times Thai people have jokingly asked me 'Are you going to Santika for new year? he he he'

People were burnt to death you degenerate prick! Thais love Thais. No, they most certainly don't.

if the Thais are as bad as you say, what are you doing living in a country of which you despise the people so much .... they must make your life so miserable just by feeling that they are around you.

just go back home !

tkssss

I am back home. Not everyone who uses this site is in Thailand you small minded nationlist.

Respect other people and their culture. What do you say when something is bad; nothing?

Love him or hate him you have to admire this guy, he is larger than life.

And the biggest thorn in the side of the current government by far.

A fossilized brontosuarus turd is larger than life too,

can't say i want it visiting me either.

He is motivated by 'appearances of being of great importance',

and is willing to spend foolishly to gain that appearance.

I was speaking to some very well educated chinese businessman in kuala lumpur and they said their network of friends followed the thaksin/PAD saga and that they actually backed thaksin more than this government as thaksin was more open and did alot more for the country and the poor and realised that problems were thai not blame on others like farang. Also they stated that PAD seemed to want thailand to be same as china with very strict human rights etc.. etc.. They actully felt the pad was no better than the BNP in england the only difference being BNP are racist working class <deleted> and PAD are middle class racist <deleted>. Would like to hear view of other nations in asia and not the usual farangs on here!

Ok this was just one group of businessman from china but maybe these feeling are more widespread???

Very strict on implementing human rights, or very strict on not?