Brits In Trouble Abroad: UK FCO Reports

[anterian]

The caliber of the staff at an embassy is an indicator of the importance of the host country to the originating country. I would think that a Moslem Ambassador would be most useful in an Islamic country, he would be more in tune with the culture of that country. Having a Moslem dealing with mostly Christians in a Buddhist country, sounds like the classic square peg in the round hole.

[Soutpeel]

The caliber of the staff at an embassy is an indicator of the importance of the host country to the originating country. I would think that a Moslem Ambassador would be most useful in an Islamic country, he would be more in tune with the culture of that country. Having a Moslem dealing with mostly Christians in a Buddhist country, sounds like the classic square peg in the round hole.

When have you known anyone in the British goverment/FO etc to apply common sense to any situation...

[softgeorge]

I see in this report that falls from a Balcony is listed as a common cause of death. The balconies must be very unsafe in Thailand.

[sirchai]

I'm not surprised with these figures, though it would be interesting to see/know what percentage of the Brits visiting, cause these problems. I feel ashamed of being a Brit because of the bad behaviour of others.

Some hospitalisations in mental health facilities are due to drug-use causing mental illness.

I do not think that the mental problem was created by using drugs here in Thailand, the illness was already existing when they traveled to Thailand. Brother in law had to stay in a "See Maha Po" in lower northeast.

Electroshock after electroshock didn't change his attitude, it got worse. But indeed people should know where they are going to regarding behaviour and visa purposes. Please see attached photo of some nurses you'll not find in a mental hospital. Chock Dee.:jap:

[sirchai]

I have been informed that ""Mr. Ahmad and his wife have imposed a strict Muslim regime within the Embassy compound in Bangkok and British Breakfasts are served to guests with no pork products. When I challenged him about this, saying it was hardly British and why should he impose his strict Muslim minority values on us Brits he simply said "you better get used to it, nothing will change whilst I'm here" He's simply a career diplomat. Spent 14 years as a banker then joined the FCO, hopping up the career ladder at every available opportunity. He also knows how to ride the extreme political correctness wave to his every advantage"". That simply is not cricket old boy!

No more champagne cocktails and Pims either....... the consular staff must be spewing, Is smoked Salmon Halal ? Thai Embassy in BKK no longer a soft posting....

Whats next at the BE in BKK....Burqa's for all the female staff ?

the British Embassy will be a mosque within a year !

Looks more that mosques will replace all churches in the UK, because they do reproduce more often.......:jap:

Edited August 5, 2011 by sirchai

[Soutpeel]

I have been informed that ""Mr. Ahmad and his wife have imposed a strict Muslim regime within the Embassy compound in Bangkok and British Breakfasts are served to guests with no pork products. When I challenged him about this, saying it was hardly British and why should he impose his strict Muslim minority values on us Brits he simply said "you better get used to it, nothing will change whilst I'm here" He's simply a career diplomat. Spent 14 years as a banker then joined the FCO, hopping up the career ladder at every available opportunity. He also knows how to ride the extreme political correctness wave to his every advantage"". That simply is not cricket old boy!

No more champagne cocktails and Pims either....... the consular staff must be spewing, Is smoked Salmon Halal ? Thai Embassy in BKK no longer a soft posting....

Whats next at the BE in BKK....Burqa's for all the female staff ?

the British Embassy will be a mosque within a year !

Well at least it will give the staff an excuse to do even less than they do now !!!.....they will be on their knee's praying 5 times a day.....

[MaiChai]

Better stay at home; its safer and cheaper! They even give you money if you don't have a job!

[witsawakorn]

What no Jokes about the Brits

Alright alright..."The British Ambassador Asif Ahmad" could you imagine the histeria if the sentence was ..."The Thai Ambassador Sir John Smith".

Or if the US president's name was Barack Obama. Who cares what his name is? Let's see how he does his job. Get over your prejudice. And by the way what is the name of the Thai Consul in Hull and Liverpool?

Edited August 5, 2011 by witsawakorn

[tim73]

"Latvian Interior Minister Mareks Seglins called the British "pigs" after another British national was arrested Tuesday for urinating on a Riga monument. Police arrested a fifth British national caught urinating on the Freedom Monument, which is Latvia's national symbol, in central Riga. "These people think it is a tradition to mar our monument. They are pigs, those British. A piggy nation," Seglins told reporters angrily."

Some Brits really have attitude problems and always looking for a fight after getting wasted.

[Soutpeel]

Some Brits really have attitude problems and always looking for a fight after getting wasted.

And Norwegians, Swedes and Danes are any different....

[bunnaag]

What no Jokes about the Brits

Alright alright..."The British Ambassador Asif Ahmad" could you imagine the histeria if the sentence was ..."The Thai Ambassador Sir John Smith".

Or if the US president's name was Barack Obama. Who cares what his name is? Let's see how he does his job. Get over your prejudice. And by the way what is the name of the Thai Consul in Hull and Liverpool?

Nothing wrong with this name.Could have been Adolf Schickelgruber.

[Mooner]

Brits misbehaving abroad? Nothing changes then! Been happening since the boat was invented.

[random]

i don't think the figures for other western Nationalities would be that much different. In an age of mass travel, there are still some people that really shouldn't!

I guess Mr Asif Ahmad is going to come in for grief every time his name is mentioned for the foreseeable future, but for the record and having met him, he is a a former businessman who was a late entrant to the diplomatic service and was based at the FCO in London advising embassies throughout SEA. He earned his spurs in the field during the monk riots in Burma last year when Britain ended up without an ambassador when we really needed one and Mr. Ahmad was sent to fulfil the role.

He is a typical diplomat - says nice things without ever promising anything. He is intelligent and articulate. As a Moslem Briton of I believe, Bangladeshi origin, he doesn't drink, though he seems to have no problem being in the company of those of us that do! He is a decent representative of modern Briton. Unlike our former ambassador, the hugely likeable, Mr Quentin Quayle, I would guess he is unlikely to quit and join Beer Chang!!!

He's got a difficult job to do representing Britain - and especially Britons in Thailand and the sooner we can quit the 'Paki Bashing' stage and get on with supporting him the better for all of us!

I have been informed that ""Mr. Ahmad and his wife have imposed a strict Muslim regime within the Embassy compound in Bangkok and British Breakfasts are served to guests with no pork products. When I challenged him about this, saying it was hardly British and why should he impose his strict Muslim minority values on us Brits he simply said "you better get used to it, nothing will change whilst I'm here" He's simply a career diplomat. Spent 14 years as a banker then joined the FCO, hopping up the career ladder at every available opportunity. He also knows how to ride the extreme political correctness wave to his every advantage"". That simply is not cricket old boy!

Rubbish post, full of typical xenophobic stereotyping.

Having had a meeting at the embassy today in relation to an event that we will stage there, I asked regarding the pork issue as we will serve pork at our event, the pork has been banned from the ambassadors residence only and does not affect the rest of the compound. Also there is still a bar in the grounds that will serve alcohol, so in reality the pork issue is confined to his residence, which is his home while he is here so I see no problem with that.

[sydneyjed]

Well they cerainly are in Pattaya and Phuket that's for sure!...Acapulco has nothing on the degree of difficulty associated with 6th floor balcony diving in Pattaya...All 'misadventure' of course!!!!!

I see in this report that falls from a Balcony is listed as a common cause of death. The balconies must be very unsafe in Thailand.

[chaoyang]

What was the title again -- Challenges faced by drunks abroad?

[Shotime]

What no Jokes about the Brits

What a conglomeration of a-holes.

[wolf5370]

What no Jokes about the Brits

Alright alright..."The British Ambassador Asif Ahmad" could you imagine the histeria if the sentence was ..."The Thai Ambassador Sir John Smith".

Or if the US president's name was Barack Obama. Who cares what his name is? Let's see how he does his job. Get over your prejudice. And by the way what is the name of the Thai Consul in Hull and Liverpool?

What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.

Never believe these reports - don't trust the people that put the stats together, don't trust the people that write the reports and don't trust the people they got the data from. Percentages are always rubbish - especially here - just who is "resident"? how many people live here year after year that are on tourist or ed visas - non-residents? How many of those deaths are considered tourists? Thailand is a mecca for retirees more than any other (age) catagory simply because in most other countries we Brits tend to invade expatriate to, we can work in and thus a large percentage of immigration is economic. It stands to reason that a country that has most of the visitors being young (and high risk due to lifestyle, chances taken and sex/drugs/rock and roll) and elderly (high risk due to being old!) that there will seem like a greater propensity to shuffle off the old mortal coil. Lies, d4mned lies and statistics.

[snarky66]

Bring extra cash is case you decide to rent a jet ski.

[snarky66]

What was the title again -- Challenges faced by drunks abroad?

Me too. I thought beer by the pint would rate the top 2 or 3 most dangerous.

[kevbap]

What no Jokes about the Brits

Alright alright..."The British Ambassador Asif Ahmad" could you imagine the histeria if the sentence was ..."The Thai Ambassador Sir John Smith".

Or if the US president's name was Barack Obama. Who cares what his name is? Let's see how he does his job. Get over your prejudice. And by the way what is the name of the Thai Consul in Hull and Liverpool?

Alan Taylor Hull & the ambassador to Uk is

H.E. MR.KITTI WASINONDH

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Thailand to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland

Edited August 5, 2011 by kevbap

[creck]

The caliber of the staff at an embassy is an indicator of the importance of the host country to the originating country. I would think that a Moslem Ambassador would be most useful in an Islamic country, he would be more in tune with the culture of that country. Having a Moslem dealing with mostly Christians in a Buddhist country, sounds like the classic square peg in the round hole.

This is the most to the point, and sensible comment about the new Ambassador in this thread.

Was he really the best man for the job? There are a lot of other factors of course, but this does seem to be important. Can he easily understand and empathise with the Thai/Buddhist attitudes he will find here? Some Muslims I have met have been the least flexible and understanding people; except maybe orthodox Jews.

As for ‘The Report’ who trusts statistics? The FCO seem to.

[craigt3365]

2 inappropriate posts have been removed. Please keep it civil! :jap:

[jalansanitwong]

Why do some westerners think its great to have Indians or Chinese as their national representatives but realise its heresy to consider it the other way round. In Australia we had a Chinese man as mayor of one of the biggest cities in the country.During his term he gave an interview that was published in the Bkk Post. He said Australians were racist. He said this even though he was the incumbent Mayor of Melbourne at the time. Can anyone imagine a City leader in any Chinese or Asian city being an anglo saxon westener????? Can anyone imagine the Thai Ambassador to the UK being Archibald Winston-Smythe ??? I cant stand westerners who are apologists for foreigners.

[philw]

The caliber of the staff at an embassy is an indicator of the importance of the host country to the originating country. I would think that a Moslem Ambassador would be most useful in an Islamic country, he would be more in tune with the culture of that country. Having a Moslem dealing with mostly Christians in a Buddhist country, sounds like the classic square peg in the round hole.

This is the most to the point, and sensible comment about the new Ambassador in this thread.

Was he really the best man for the job? There are a lot of other factors of course, but this does seem to be important. Can he easily understand and empathise with the Thai/Buddhist attitudes he will find here? Some Muslims I have met have been the least flexible and understanding people; except maybe orthodox Jews.

As for ‘The Report’ who trusts statistics? The FCO seem to.

Very racist and insulting.

Obviously the FCO seem to think he is the best man for the job and his origin or religion has no bearing on the performance of his duties

[ableguy]

i don't think the figures for other western Nationalities would be that much different. In an age of mass travel, there are still some people that really shouldn't!

I guess Mr Asif Ahmad is going to come in for grief every time his name is mentioned for the foreseeable future, but for the record and having met him, he is a a former businessman who was a late entrant to the diplomatic service and was based at the FCO in London advising embassies throughout SEA. He earned his spurs in the field during the monk riots in Burma last year when Britain ended up without an ambassador when we really needed one and Mr. Ahmad was sent to fulfil the role.

He is a typical diplomat - says nice things without ever promising anything. He is intelligent and articulate. As a Moslem Briton of I believe, Bangladeshi origin, he doesn't drink, though he seems to have no problem being in the company of those of us that do! He is a decent representative of modern Briton. Unlike our former ambassador, the hugely likeable, Mr Quentin Quayle, I would guess he is unlikely to quit and join Beer Chang!!!

He's got a difficult job to do representing Britain - and especially Britons in Thailand and the sooner we can quit the 'Paki Bashing' stage and get on with supporting him the better for all of us!

Well sAID GOOD POST/

[ableguy]

The caliber of the staff at an embassy is an indicator of the importance of the host country to the originating country. I would think that a Moslem Ambassador would be most useful in an Islamic country, he would be more in tune with the culture of that country. Having a Moslem dealing with mostly Christians in a Buddhist country, sounds like the classic square peg in the round hole.

This is the most to the point, and sensible comment about the new Ambassador in this thread.

Was he really the best man for the job? There are a lot of other factors of course, but this does seem to be important. Can he easily understand and empathise with the Thai/Buddhist attitudes he will find here? Some Muslims I have met have been the least flexible and understanding people; except maybe orthodox Jews.

As for 'The Report' who trusts statistics? The FCO seem to.

Very racist and insulting.

Obviously the FCO seem to think he is the best man for the job and his origin or religion has no bearing on the performance of his duties

There is nothing racist in this thread, the problem today is it is often difficult to speak the truth for fear of insulting someone or being politically incorrect.

[cup-O-coffee]

What no Jokes about the Brits

Alright alright..."The British Ambassador Asif Ahmad" could you imagine the histeria if the sentence was ..."The Thai Ambassador Sir John Smith".

The British Ambassador Asif Ahmad?

You've got to be kidding!

[StreetCowboy]

i don't think the figures for other western Nationalities would be that much different. In an age of mass travel, there are still some people that really shouldn't!

I guess Mr Asif Ahmad is going to come in for grief every time his name is mentioned for the foreseeable future, but for the record and having met him, he is a a former businessman who was a late entrant to the diplomatic service and was based at the FCO in London advising embassies throughout SEA. He earned his spurs in the field during the monk riots in Burma last year when Britain ended up without an ambassador when we really needed one and Mr. Ahmad was sent to fulfil the role.

He is a typical diplomat - says nice things without ever promising anything. He is intelligent and articulate. As a Moslem Briton of I believe, Bangladeshi origin, he doesn't drink, though he seems to have no problem being in the company of those of us that do! He is a decent representative of modern Briton. Unlike our former ambassador, the hugely likeable, Mr Quentin Quayle, I would guess he is unlikely to quit and join Beer Chang!!!

He's got a difficult job to do representing Britain - and especially Britons in Thailand and the sooner we can quit the 'Paki Bashing' stage and get on with supporting him the better for all of us!

To right! It's not the likes of Mr. Ahmad who make me ashamed to be British it's the racist slurs and digs that i regularly see on TV aimed at the poor man based solely on his origins and not his performance. Why these racist fools move to South East Asia to be surrounded by Asians is beyond me. Mind you they tend to be the same types who are constantly moaning about Thailand. All I can say is that this country has always treated me well.

I suppose we like to immerse ourselves in the lower end of a foreign society, so that we can feel superior to our swarthy neighbours, and the ability of a compatriot of colour to thrive in our own society when we could not simply highlights our own inadequacies. The level of wit of many of us is such that we have to post "SATIRE" warnings on notthenation quotes; perhaps Alf Garnett should have had a "LAMPOON" warning round his neck. At least it would have enhanced our vocabulary, and given us exercise in working a dictionary.

Personally, I am not sure that British louts comprise a larger proportion of our compatriots compared to other nationalities, but because our ears are tuned to their accents, we can hear an English lout or a chancing scouser or a miserable scotch git from three pubs' away.

SC

[StreetCowboy]

The caliber of the staff at an embassy is an indicator of the importance of the host country to the originating country. I would think that a Moslem Ambassador would be most useful in an Islamic country, he would be more in tune with the culture of that country. Having a Moslem dealing with mostly Christians in a Buddhist country, sounds like the classic square peg in the round hole.

This is the most to the point, and sensible comment about the new Ambassador in this thread.

Was he really the best man for the job? There are a lot of other factors of course, but this does seem to be important. Can he easily understand and empathise with the Thai/Buddhist attitudes he will find here? Some Muslims I have met have been the least flexible and understanding people; except maybe orthodox Jews.

As for 'The Report' who trusts statistics? The FCO seem to.

Very racist and insulting.

Obviously the FCO seem to think he is the best man for the job and his origin or religion has no bearing on the performance of his duties

I don't think it is insulting. I think Anterian did his best, but really all he managed was to display his own opinions. Flaunting one's stupidity and ignorance should never be taken as an insult, unless we share those characteristics.

SC

[onionluke]

i don't think the figures for other western Nationalities would be that much different. In an age of mass travel, there are still some people that really shouldn't!

I guess Mr Asif Ahmad is going to come in for grief every time his name is mentioned for the foreseeable future, but for the record and having met him, he is a a former businessman who was a late entrant to the diplomatic service and was based at the FCO in London advising embassies throughout SEA. He earned his spurs in the field during the monk riots in Burma last year when Britain ended up without an ambassador when we really needed one and Mr. Ahmad was sent to fulfil the role.

He is a typical diplomat - says nice things without ever promising anything. He is intelligent and articulate. As a Moslem Briton of I believe, Bangladeshi origin, he doesn't drink, though he seems to have no problem being in the company of those of us that do! He is a decent representative of modern Briton. Unlike our former ambassador, the hugely likeable, Mr Quentin Quayle, I would guess he is unlikely to quit and join Beer Chang!!!

He's got a difficult job to do representing Britain - and especially Britons in Thailand and the sooner we can quit the 'Paki Bashing' stage and get on with supporting him the better for all of us!

To right! It's not the likes of Mr. Ahmad who make me ashamed to be British it's the racist slurs and digs that i regularly see on TV aimed at the poor man based solely on his origins and not his performance. Why these racist fools move to South East Asia to be surrounded by Asians is beyond me. Mind you they tend to be the same types who are constantly moaning about Thailand. All I can say is that this country has always treated me well.

I suppose we like to immerse ourselves in the lower end of a foreign society, so that we can feel superior to our swarthy neighbours, and the ability of a compatriot of colour to thrive in our own society when we could not simply highlights our own inadequacies. The level of wit of many of us is such that we have to post "SATIRE" warnings on notthenation quotes; perhaps Alf Garnett should have had a "LAMPOON" warning round his neck. At least it would have enhanced our vocabulary, and given us exercise in working a dictionary.

Personally, I am not sure that British louts comprise a larger proportion of our compatriots compared to other nationalities, but because our ears are tuned to their accents, we can hear an English lout or a chancing scouser or a miserable scotch git from three pubs' away.

SC

And the three of them both could well be Mr Khan , Mr Park and Mr Gil .