thailandfaq

Tourist police have no right of arrest, they are basically a waste of time and only useful to negotiate the price a foreigner has to pay a Thai (if involved in an accident etc),,,thats why if something serious involves a Tourist the Tourist Police must call the Local police to sort it out!!!!!!!

they are just translators

I was in Pattaya once and noticed all the farang dressed like cops walking around with 'brazos de croissant' (spanish for 'croissant arms' meaning they try to look tough)

ne half of them looked like tattooed beeerbellied old englishmen with faces like they been thowing bottles and glasses at members of the other football team in UK before they came here, and the other half looked like a lot of child molesters or other kind or wierd thing.

I remember in boarding school how all the <deleted> and cowards and people with no friends were prefects

I think the inclination and mentality to want to 'help' an institution such as the Thai Tourist Police is probably derived from various immature attitudes (Dhitti in Thai) which attract your backstage bullies, immature show-offs, and downright judases.

anyway what i wanted to say was that all the foreign 'pseudocops' i have seen look like they have done time at one time or another or look like very shady characters.. i wonder how much the Thais check the past of these 'volunteers' because they dont look very savory

I see them as five year old mentalities in adult bodies who are just looking for childish ego kicks and think they look important in others eyes (when really they look like a bunch of idiots and turncoats). Maybe the British Swiss and German Ploice should start recruiting Thais to police our asian ghettos? loooooool@

i can just see it a Thai in UK helping a British cop investigate his own kind!

have you tried looking on the website about sak yant in english?

there is an ebook there for sale but is not printed. Its probably the one that has most info till now.

The author is a very close friend of mine actually.

I am surprised that sabaijai doesnt know about it as he knows that website very well.

oh dear silly me i just realized how old this post is.. there were no books in english about sak yant back in 2006 (as far as i know) apart from the ones Sabaijai mentions

have you tried looking on the website about sak yant in english?

there is an ebook there for sale but is not printed. Its probably the one that has most info till now.

The author is a very close friend of mine actually.

I am surprised that sabaijai doesnt know about it as he knows that website very well.

Example

we are going on a trip to the seaside

so we inform ourself about;

the weather forecast, if the beach is open, if the funfair is open, if there are rooms available

we check if we have the car in order, brakes, tires etc

we check our picnic hamper and baggage etc

swimsuits, medical..

then about ten kms before the destination, there is a massive roadworks and a 150 km detour.

We complain why they didnt put the news out

they say 'it is your job to go to the local council office and inform yourself'

can't think of the unexpected

Who would expect the immigration officer to search through your passport for a valid visa? That's not his responsibility -- it's YOURS to write the visa information on your TM form.

Haha so if i have a stamp in there saying 'forbidden to enter thailand'

its not his job to look for it ???

passports and visas are there for immigration officers to check

If they dont look through all pages and check, and only are there to stamp then why not make everything digital?

They have to check the book to see its in order. There is no other country i have ever been to where i have to point to the visa.

Immigration officers are not just there to stamp, they must assess and inquire

They must read situations and be alert

Of course i shall be pointing to my visas in future, but it is or should be the responsibility of the officer to check

What if i hadnt stamped out the last time? or a multitude of other possible scenarios?

As to the TM form i assume you mean the white card they give you on arrival and departure?

i did write my visa number correctly

It was not a mistake it was deliberate because my sons passport was brand new and had nothing in it except a thai tourist visa on first page so it is impossible for the officer to miss that

and he spent about five minuytes talking to me and flicking through the book

once in Ranong the officer took my passport to stamp out (going to Burma for visa run), made a stamping motion with his hand under the desk and gave me back

i go over to Burma with the longtail and as i get into the immigration there they tell me i haven't stamped out!

I said the officer took my pass and stamped his hand. The Burma cop told me thast they send farang back constantly and that Ranong immigration like to play this joke on tourists to make them go twice

I went back to Thai immigration and said 'sir you forgot to stamp me out!'

he smiled a wry smile and said 'oh dear' 'i must have forgotten'

Now was that my job too to see he had stamped for real?

maybe so, but it definitely wasn't his job to take my pass to leave thailand and pretend to stamp me out as a joke.

You can point at who you like to say who is 'technically and legally' responsible

But its still in truth a deliberate attempt to be bothersome to foreign visitors, i have no doubts about that.

One thing i did notice about modern Law all over the world especially consumer laws;

this seems to be the basic policy

It is not their job to inform us, it is our responsibility to inform ourself

This is obviously always the best thing, and i normally always check.

But it is always that one time you forget to check that they get you

Murphys law maybe

My main point however is, that perhaps it is so that we must inform the officer. But then it is also written that we must be psychic and know that we must inform ourself that we must point to the visa.

If we dont know that we must point to the visa and there is no info telling us when we apply for it, that we must show the visa to the officer, then how on earth will we know that we must inform ourself about something we dont know we need to be informed about?

There lies the problem Gentlemen;

It is legally not their job to inform us that we must inform ourself

And we cannot know every possible glitch which we should inform ourself about.

Which is why the Sadao immigration told me to post this info, so that at least thaivisa.com members will stumble across the fact that you have to point to the visa when crossing the border.

If you dont know you have to point to the visa, and you dont know you have to inform yourself (about something you are not aware of needing to be informed about), then how will you avoid this problem?

"This is of course why multiples are normally the ones given unless they cant get out of giving you a single entry; in order to prevent you from being able to apply for residence."

OP, thanks for the laugh. The only thing funnier, is that I think you really believe that.

Terry

Yes i do believe that especially after talking with someone in the Ministry of Immigration who smiled in agreement after i rose this point.

The Thail law is striclty regulated and influenced to prevent foreigners from having rights equal to indigenous citizens. Unfortunately this defeats the object. For example, the problem with selfishness and lack of 'samakee' which is currently becoming a rather big problem in Thailand (to the point where tv has to constantly show little child psychology ads to try to instigate more mutual helpfulness between each other). This problem would be solved in a Multinationally integrated society (yes i know of course there would be new different problems appearing). The Western world has a more moral and ethical conditioning. If Thais and Westerners could integrate and live together more on an equal basis then i feel that people would not have so much of a corruption problem. Even the veg shop on the corner who i have known for ten years still tries to short change me/ This is an attitude problem which needs help in curing. The only way for this to happen is to stop the legal segregation and allow us to integrate as equal foreign citizens.

The only way to do this is to begin by opening up the discussion and causing waves, cause people to think and change

Unfortunately, few people are willing to become active in such areas, either out of fear, or out of laziness or just out of the old 'im allright jack screw the rest' mentality

Lastly i would like to say that thaivisa.com has always been the best place for sharing info and help each other, but unfortunately the grand number of people who only like to ; flame others, be sarcastic, make fun, or insult others are predominant and totallty have turned thaivisa froma useful place to collect info into a (still useful for info) forum that is full of people slagging each other off or trying to make each other look stupid.

reminds me of the kids on you tube who call each other noobs etc in the comments

The funniest thing is that the ones who manage to make fun of the others most seem to be the biggest noobs of all with their petty attitude of criticizing or making fun of others instead of just trying to be helpful

Looking for kicks i suppose when their lives are so boring that they need to try to stir up inauspicious communications in order to seek entertainment.

Anyway glad you got a laugh out of my theory sir. Don't see why though. Because laws are not made randomly, they are specifically created with specific aims in mind as well as sub-aims/peripheral aims

The reason that visas are 90 days and the registration rule is 91 is directly connected with the permanent residence rule

The only such visa that allows a one year stay on entry is the non immigrant O-A visa issued to those over age 50 with proof of 800k in bank/or 65k income or combination to meet 800k and also requires police report and medical certificate.

Extension of stay for one year criteria are listed in police order 777/2551 which you can download from useful information pinned items at top of forum or Google.

Thanks for this info. I think i can do that

No i dont mean a single entry 90 day visa.

I mean a visa where you can stay more than 90 days, namely 365.

Please don't tell me they dont exist because then the 90 day reporting rule wouldn't exist either.

I mean non multiple one year Visa. o, b, or even e - i dont care really, so long as it allows staying the whole year without a single Visa run.

I have no reason to go anywhere outside of Thailand

It appears that Siam Legal are controlling everything now

Someone has paid someone a lot somewhere and got this deal.

Perhaps also the website has been blocked per ip from Thai servers but i doubt it

look at this wierd one

http://www.thai-cons...ulate-hull.html

check out the links on the menu tabs when you hover the mouse over them where they point to.

i would really like to know if single entry Non-O or Non-B is as easy as multiple in Hull?

I see no reason why Hull would not happily issue a single. Provided you have the necessary means to extend your stay in Thailand it would be a cheaper option.

Apart from this, a secondary question

A friend of mine sent his passport to a friend in UK to send to Hull. He was in Thailand and still on a valid Visa at the time he sent his passport to Hull.

Hull stamped him a Non Immigrant B and he got the passport back with new Visa. He then stamps out with his still valid old visa and stamps in again on the new one

Your friend has an invalid visa. The fact that he got out of Thailand without it being spotted and cancelled probably means he's never going to get caught unless a particularly vigilant immigration officer spots it. If it is spotted there could be a world of hurt coming as every entry made on that visa would be invalid.

Note to the 'you never get locked up' brigade. We try to provide accurate and legal information here, just because one (or indeed several) got away with it doesn't mean you will, there is at least one report on ThaiVisa of a traveller who did the send from Thailand trick being caught and having his visa invalidated.

Thank you for the concise and clear to understand answers

It is as i thought with the 'friend' i mentioned, who actually isn't so much a friend rather af friend of another person i know whom i all consider to be a bunch of idiots and of those 'never get locked up brigade' types, who will probably one day end up on their asses. The kind you feel sorry for because they are more dumb than anything else.

I will try applying for a single entry and put that if not possible that a multiple would be second choice.

They seem a reasonable bunch at Hull and seem definitely interested in helping Westerners and foreign husbands/wives to be able to ease their immigration problems. At least in comparison to Asian Thai Embassies.

I shall post the results of my application later when it is through, to share with you all for our benefit.

Last years on the reason for application i put that my mum lives here and that i also live here and thats all.

Last time i went to Sadao returning on a Multiple entry Non-O, the officers only stamped me in with a fifteen day visa on arrival. After i noticed (in Hat yai) and went back, they said that they dont look for your visa and that they stamp automatically Visa on entry unless you point to and show your Visa that is in your passport.

They then said i should publish this on the web to let others know that if you are entering on a Visa you have purchased, then you should show the officer stamping you in, if not then you might get the wring Visa stamped on entry.

This is what happened to me my wife and son.

We all had to spend hours going back to Sadao and back to hat yai, which cost us another night in a Hotel, and my son becoming ill from the rain and travelling.

i would really like to know if single entry Non-O or Non-B is as easy as multiple in Hull?

Reason being that i don't ever have to leave the place really nor do i intend to if not necessary. My mum and all my family live here in Thailand and i have been here for the last 12 years or so, so single entry would be good.

Apart from that it is anyway more interesting to have single entries and stay over 90 days because once you can do that and register, if you stay on a one year visa for 3 years and don't leave the Kingdom then you can apply for permanent residence in the Kingdom of Thailand. This is of course why multiples are normally the ones given unless they cant get out of giving you a single entry; in order to prevent you from being able to apply for residence.

So i would love to hear news that Hull issue single entries as this is what i wish to apply for next time.

Any body got any info on that?

Apart from this, a secondary question

A friend of mine sent his passport to a friend in UK to send to Hull. He was in Thailand and still on a valid Visa at the time he sent his passport to Hull.

Hull stamped him a Non Immigrant B and he got the passport back with new Visa. He then stamps out with his still valid old visa and stamps in again on the new one

I have never heard of this before, and myself had to go to Malaysia and send to UK from these because i thought that we must first stamp out of Thailand to apply for new Visa.

Apparently not. Anybody else got info on this?

Because if its possible then i'm not leaving here anymore if necessary. I hate Malaysia and only other country apart from Thailand where i can really manage to get along in is Laos.

Living in the South makes that a long journey too. The Visa runs tire me out so much and i hate them. It is a disturbance to the rhythm of life and a reminder that one is not really welcome.

I feel sorry for my mum who is 76 and has to do all this Visa run crap. Shes not very well either.

Anyway if anyone has info on the single entry possibility in Hull consulate, plea let me know as that is what i wish to apply for

And if anyone can clarify the bit about sending from within Thailand (us that really possible?) then please tell us about that too.

Thanks in advance for any info contributions

Hello

My advise: Get a data-capable Hutch phone such as the Sanyo SCP 550 or SCP 588, or the newer Samsung ones (i use the S-179), plus a matching data cable (the latest Samsung even includes that cable in the package).

These phones are sold in Hutch shops even without SIM/contract, they are not locked and may be used on any CDMA carrier that uses SIM cards. Expect to pay the full price when not going with any contract (with contract you get the phones cheaper).

Another possibility is to get a second-hand such phone at places like MBK.

The Samsung phones are better than the Sanyo's because, when the data cable is hooked up, the battery gets charged too thru that same cable, via the USB port, so you won't run out of juice (data transmissions flatten the battery quickly, the Sanyo SCP 588 holds up less than one hour in data mode).

Having such phone you will only need CAT's SIM card and data details ("dial up number", as in *777 for Hutch), a modem driver (can be downloaded from Hutch's website for any of their data-capable phones) and there you go

As to EV-DO, i haven't seen any phone yet that is EV-DO capable but to my knowledge, there is no EV-DO service in Thailand as of yet (neither Hutch nor CAT), Hutch uses 2000-1x while CAT is mostly IS-95.

Best regards....

Thanh

i don't know if there is an ev-do service in Thailand but i do know that i use a c-motech cdma modem to connect to the internet with and it gives me an ev-do connection

also the thing doesnt have a contract with either cat or anyone. But it works since the 2 years ive had it and i get about 800kbps internet free everywhere,

i actually clicked on this post froom google because i was tryng to find a way to use this modem to make phone call internationally using my mobile phone in conjunction with this usb modem

Anyone know how to do that?

The modem has a usb connector but alkso has a small hoe for inserting some other kind of cable which i wondered if it might be for connecting a mobile phone with??

Can all those affected get on the phone NOW and start complaining to TOT. If nobody does anything we'll be stuck with the situation

just sign up with true move

they dont block any of the stuff tot does

including you pxxx dot com

torrent away as you like with true move

who would want to rent with tot anyway? they like to switch the dns adress off for a couple of hours a day very often - meaning you cant connect.

quote Lanna rebirth "That is not true. The current government was formed by a coalition of MP's each of whom was democratically elected. "

How can it be a democratic election when the original party for the redshirts was forbidden and disbanded.

Even the fachist Nazi national front in England is allowed to run for elections.

This is the meaning of democracy.

Every line of thought should have its chance - be it for better or worse.

This is democracy

Free speech is another thing

The current gov has banned lots of websites with political criticism against them.

This is not a democracy because of internet and news censorship, and the arrest and imprisonment of people for simply expressing their opinions..

There are other things too but i think the above points are enough and prove that the current gov is not democratic.

The above points or drivel prove that you are full of shit and have no idea whatsoever what you are talking about.

1. they are not drivel unless you can prove so with decent rhetoric

2. Your insults fall on deaf ears. when you point at someone with your finger there are four other fingers pointing back at yourself.. so keep pointing as much as you want.

Perhaps i know some factors which you don't.. things that are not in print or news or tv.

You cant answer my points with a counter obviously and thus resort to an insult.

Insults are drivel.

So if you are able to keep pace with me then please answer this;

how can this gov be a democratic one when they forbid free speech on the internet and in news, and forbid the formation of certain political parties?

if you cant reply and explain with more than an insult, then you are showing yourself to be unable to prove me wrong..

To all the Red shirt people out there, Why did they have to burn down my aunt Restaurant. What did she ever do to you. All you did was cause her problems and made her lose money.

I am so sorry to hear this bad news about your poor aunt's business, this is sad news.

But please do not get so angry at the "red shirts" that you wish to hurt them - remember tosa (โทสะ) is a fire which blinds us and makes us misbehave and do the worst things a Human can do.

These people were angry and did wrong because of their flariing anger blinding their logic and reasoning.

All problems can be solved by peaceful means - but we forget this when we are angry.

Please don't let yourself get angry and perhaps go do some more wrong to a redshirt in revenge.

because two wrongs dont make a right. Perhaps you would beat a redshirt who was passive and never hurt anyone.

Then their relatives get angry and go protest and hurt some innocent yellow shirts..

and so on etc.

Its not the topic of politics which is the cause of the unrest and wrongdoing

It is Anger.

Politics can be discussed or fought over

People chose to fight

because of anger

We must all pay for our actions one way of the other - Kamma is unescapable. You dont need to avenge your auntie - better to try to help her if you can, and practice ahingsa always.

Once again, i am very sorry about what happened to your Aunts business.

My old business place was demolished on sukhumvit soi 10 when Choowit and the hundreds of soldiers/cops came and demolished the whole bazar illegally.

No one was reimbursed or got their stuff back.

over 50 businesses destroyed by a person who owns prostitute massage salons, destroys peoples shops and source of living to re sell the land without having to evict, punches journalists and still is allowed to run for mayor of BKK.

So yes, i do know how your auntie feels, i hope she is getting some moral support (กำลังใจ) from her family.

Here - I'm going to cut and paste the lot. The best comment yet on international media. Apologies to those who've already read it.

The original is here:-

http://www.somtow.org/2010/05/dont-blame-dan-rivers.html

I have been composing a long, day by day account of the "troubles" of the last three days, which I have not yet posted. The reason is that I've been getting a lot of mail asking me to explain "the truth" to people overseas. A lot of people here are astonished and appalled at the level of irresponsibility and inaccuracy shown by such major news.................................. etc etc

This is a very interesting article with some good points made.

I also see that those who do not speak read and write Thai and have a good understanding of The current Thai Zeitgeist, can never either report on the issues here nor can the readerships get a clear picture.

What also doesn't help is that the other main issue underlying the red and yellow dispute has never been mentioned!

this is of course because of the les majeste law.

This is of course why i can't tell either what it is about

quote Lanna rebirth "That is not true. The current government was formed by a coalition of MP's each of whom was democratically elected. "

How can it be a democratic election when the original party for the redshirts was forbidden and disbanded.

Even the fachist Nazi national front in England is allowed to run for elections.

This is the meaning of democracy.

Every line of thought should have its chance - be it for better or worse.

This is democracy

Free speech is another thing

The current gov has banned lots of websites with political criticism against them.

This is not a democracy because of internet and news censorship, and the arrest and imprisonment of people for simply expressing their opinions..

There are other things too but i think the above points are enough and prove that the current gov is not democratic.

IF Thailand is undemocratic at the moment, AND the "reds" represent democracy.

Then Thailand seems not mature enough for democracy.

Either way the country seems to be heading sadly towards military rule or dictatorship.

Sad

heading for?

This is a dictatorship and we have military rule.

And its not a matter of maturity.. there is no such thing as a mature human even the biggest genius does silly childish things

Its a matter of honesty and integrity

Corruption is rife in Thailand and you can see how everyone from the taxi drive through policemen right up to politicians can be bought for a price. This reflects the high percentage ration of corrupt hearts in the Nation.

Education starts at home - this is the problem. A corrupt mother and father will give rise to a corrupt offspring.

So how do you break the circuit?

In the schools.

One thing i have noticed is that morality is not taught in schools here.

Right and wrong is.. but rules like that are just temptations to break them.

A sense of shame and responsibility is necessary to instill into people when still being educated.

Thats my theory anyway..maybe im wrong.

I often wonder though what the root cause is why certain countries and cultures are predominantly corrupt, and others not?

Any more ideas or opinions on what causes this?

Why don't you ask your hero Thaksin?

Did i say i liked Thaksin??

You obviously dont read me well.

I was one of the first to jump for joy when he was ousted - i didnt say that i think the current gov wasnt good - i said it is a Dictatorship, which it is in legal terminology. Half the news agencies of the world use this word to describe the current gov. This doesnt mean they are angry with this gov.

In the same way you dont call a gov which ousted the previous through a military coup a democracy.

I am talking about semantics, not political opinion or disapproval/approval.

I dont like any political party to be honest and think that all politicians are thieves and con men and liars. - But some are worse than others.

So no, Thaksin is not my hero.

I was just defining the legal definition for the present gov.

Shame you didnt have any ideas or opinions on my question though. It would have been more entertaining than the stupid response you gave .. however did you come to the conclusion that Thaksin is my hero??

Dear Thaksin,

There is no pit in hel_l low enough for you. Your role in the suffering of Thailand will be a permanent stain on Thai history. A human travesty.

I do understand what Thaksin has done for his part in this mess

And also that the intervention of the current government was to save the day back then when the Military coup came.

But we still must see that the current gov is still classifiable as a dictatorship

take Thaksin away and there would still be a mutiny, at least later if not yet, because Thai people don't want another dictatorship and want democracy.

Unfortunately i have to agree with a famous Thai monk who has been part of a tv campaign to make Thai people understand and find peace with each other;

he says it is only when our hearts change that corruption will be gone.

That each person should start with himself.

As long as people have corrupt hearts then corruption will be reflected in the face of society

The intent of the heart of the majority is what makes a nation corrupt or not.

Instead of arguing about different views, people should just focus on trying to behave well themselves - it is only by example that we can teach others to follow the lead.

The current government is not a dictatorship. That is ludicrous and a false comment. Your post makes me question if either you or the "Thai people" you speak for understand how a democracy works.

The current gov was not voted in a democratic election.

The current government usurped the previous one with a military coup

Whether they did a good thing or not or are heroes or not is not something i wish to discuss.. they can be good or bad and their action may be necessary or not.. thats not my point.

My point is that a gov which got in with a military coup, and did not have a fair, and democratic election process allowing all parties to enter the challenge, is a Dictatorship, and undemocratic.

This doesn't mean i don't prefer them to Thaksin though

But it is not a democratic government, it is a Dictatorship in the legal definition of the word.

IF Thailand is undemocratic at the moment, AND the "reds" represent democracy.

Then Thailand seems not mature enough for democracy.

Either way the country seems to be heading sadly towards military rule or dictatorship.

Sad

heading for?

This is a dictatorship and we have military rule.

And its not a matter of maturity.. there is no such thing as a mature human even the biggest genius does silly childish things

Its a matter of honesty and integrity

Corruption is rife in Thailand and you can see how everyone from the taxi drive through policemen right up to politicians can be bought for a price. This reflects the high percentage ration of corrupt hearts in the Nation.

Education starts at home - this is the problem. A corrupt mother and father will give rise to a corrupt offspring.

So how do you break the circuit?

In the schools.

One thing i have noticed is that morality is not taught in schools here.

Right and wrong is.. but rules like that are just temptations to break them.

A sense of shame and responsibility is necessary to instill into people when still being educated.

Thats my theory anyway..maybe im wrong.

I often wonder though what the root cause is why certain countries and cultures are predominantly corrupt, and others not?

Any more ideas or opinions on what causes this?

Dear Thaksin,

There is no pit in hel_l low enough for you. Your role in the suffering of Thailand will be a permanent stain on Thai history. A human travesty.

I do understand what Thaksin has done for his part in this mess

And also that the intervention of the current government was to save the day back then when the Military coup came.

But we still must see that the current gov is still classifiable as a dictatorship

take Thaksin away and there would still be a mutiny, at least later if not yet, because Thai people don't want another dictatorship and want democracy.

Unfortunately i have to agree with a famous Thai monk who has been part of a tv campaign to make Thai people understand and find peace with each other;

he says it is only when our hearts change that corruption will be gone.

That each person should start with himself.

As long as people have corrupt hearts then corruption will be reflected in the face of society

The intent of the heart of the majority is what makes a nation corrupt or not.

Instead of arguing about different views, people should just focus on trying to behave well themselves - it is only by example that we can teach others to follow the lead.

The good people of Thailand do not deserve the viciousness of Thaksin's red horde. May they all rot.

Thaksins red horde is a sentence with three words meaning a certain number of thai people

Thai people hurting Thai people

The people of Thailand do not deserve that the people of Thailand beat the people of Thailand

The good people of Thailand.

Which ones are the good ones?

No one is all good or bad - but anger which comes from dissatisfaction (for example when people disagree on politics) can arise in the heart of even the most harmless seeming granny, and cause a person to commit terrible deeds.

Simple good Farmers in red might be convinced that yellow is wrong and simple hard working people in yellow who love their King might be convinced that red is wrong.. that is irrelevant, because there is something wrong,and something right about both perspectives if you look at all the arguments.

It is because of 2 main things that such atrocities and injustices happen;

1. People Hate when they are angry, and get violent when they hate - they get angry when things dont fit with how they want things to be or not be.

People forget to see oneness and start allocating people into sectors and separating themselves.

Red shirts and yellow shirts dont exist really its just an assumption.

In the end there are only Thai People. Thats what was there before and thats what will be there after.

To say "May they rot in hel_l" is also not fair. Because they are Thai people too.

The people who burn things are making the same mistake as the soldiers who shot people.

Thai people too have forgotten this, and have slipped into the us and them mindspace.

They are Us, and we are them... there is no us and them.

The same anger which makes you say "may they all rot" is the anger which made those people burn the city.

If they weren't angry they wouldn't have done it.

Now you find yourself wishing for other living beings to rot - what then is the difference between yourself and others with harmful thoughts towards other beings?

I do understand the anger.. I cannot stand to see Humans being cruel to each other either. And this is what i am seeing.Not red shirts being cruel to yellows.. i see both sides being cruel to each other. And when its over there wont be sides anymore there just be Thai people again.

In my opinion the problem is neither a political nor a human rights issue;

1. the people instigating people to get angry are the politicians (the mouth)

2. the people demonstrating are the folk (the hand)

It is no longer any use to tell the mouth to stop (yuti)

because it is the hand which is responsible for taking action, not the mouth.

Tell the hand to stop, not the mouth.

If the hand does not obey the mouth, then there would be no strife.

The problem is a social one not a political one. The famous "samakee" (live and let live) which Thailand likes to boast of, is nomore in existence.

Even to drive to work in Bangkok you can see drivers deliberately harassing each other swerving in front of each other or making bluff "im going to swerve and drive into you" movements, to notice that the Thai people are now so hung up, distraught and frustrated with the situation that the water has flowed over the brim of the cup, and Thais are expressing their frustration to each other even in everyday life.

The fighting would still happen without taksin and abhisit

They would find something else to hate each other for.

It is a case of mass mindset which has become intolerant and hateful.

Thai does not love Thai anymore that is the problem.

The hearts of the folk has to change, not the political party.

If all human hearts are corrupt, then corruption will always be present

Only when the general mindset becomes incorrupt and genuine will Thailand be free from corruption and opression.

RIP fellow ozzie dude...

but,

Slashed with a machete? This is becoming like Somalia!

Sad, very sad for Thailand.

Machetes are used very commonly here. When i used to rent a condo in the complex of the Ramkamhaeng University, and knew very many students there, i would see most students carry knives, machetes (at least hidden in the bushes near where the kids sit and drink or hang out) and another thing which is a triangular blade (3 sided like a star shape) which is used to stab the stomach and twist as you pull out to rip the guts. Most youth carry a knife these days. There was a murder or mutilation every night at Ramkamhaeng university .

Machetes isn't like Somalia.. its just like Thailand.

In fact, the machete (or "meed sparta" [spartan knife] as the Thais like to call it) is perhaps the most common weapon used by "wai run" (adolescent youth) these days.