Thailand, skitsnackstråden

[urmy]

Thailand.....dom skämtar ju att barerna ska vara stängda i jul för dom har val?Har ju precis varit stängt i 3 dagar för någon preelectiongrej dom höll på med. Är ju ändå ingen som tar deras låtsasval på allvar och vinner någon som militären inte gillar så blir det ju pansar på gatorna i BKK dagen efter ändå. Jag längtar inte direkt hem till Sverige men ibland längtar jag fan bort från Thailand. God jul tomtejävlar.

 

Första gången jag sett tomten utan brallor och med string.

[Jimbolito]

Första gången jag sett tomten utan brallor och med string.

 

Men hade fortfarande skägg?

[heltok]

verkar som att ppp vinner och samak får makten.... för er som inte känner till honom:

 

While Samak now rails against the military and its ouster of Thaksin, he hasn't always been aligned against them. Thai society was deeply polarized between left and right when Indochina fell under communist rule in 1975. On the morning of Oct. 6, 1976, police and right-wing paramilitary mobs invaded Thammasat University, raping, lynching and burning alive scores of students who were demonstrating for greater civil liberties. A few hours later, the military staged a coup. Samak was then appointed interior minister in one of Thailand's most repressive governments. Leftists and students were hunted down and jailed. "I blame him," says Prof. Thientham Thiensirichai, a former student who fled to the jungles and is now a member of the Matchima political party, a smaller TRT splinter-party. "He is my enemy."

 

In May 1992, Bangkok's middle class rose up to demand that the then coup leader, Gen. Suchinda Krapayoon, resign. Suchinda had the army open fire, killing scores in what has come to be known as "Black May." Samak, who was deputy prime minister, called the demonstrators troublemakers and communists, and said it was acceptable for the government to shoot them. After the King intervened and democracy was restored, Samak still won a seat to parliament in Bangkok's military-dominated Dusit district. During the late 1990s, he and Thaksin served as cabinet ministers in the scandal-plagued government of Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-archa. Samak and Thaksin were publicly admonished by the King for arguing with each other rather than solving the capital's notorious traffic problems. Nonetheless, in 2000, Samak was elected Bangkok governor, winning in a landslide. Though his term lacked notable accomplishments — and he's under investigation for alleged corruption in the procurement of fire trucks — Bangkok voters sent him to the Senate in April 2005.

 

good times ahead

[urmy]

fattar noll, betyder det pansarvagnar i bangkok eller inte? Vill ha lite fina bilder på mig och soldater som du hade i din blogg

[heltok]

fin sammanfattning

 

The election is over. The dust has settled and Thailand has turned the clock back 18 months, to a time of fraction and division between the pro and anti-Thaksin camps. The military coup achieved nothing, except to put the conflict on hold for a while. Squarehead will return, and it is a near certainty that demonstrators will return to the streets. Who knows if the army will react, and how.

 

An overlooked fact is that, when the coup occurred in September 2006, it was made known that His Majesty supported the action and the ridding of the country of Thaksin. Now the country has, in effect, voted for the return of Thaksin. Doesn't that suggest that the people do not really care what His Majesty thinks. An interesting development.

 

It is also interesting that the tainted PPP (the new name for Thaksin's banned Thai Rak Thai party) is preferred over the seemingly honest Democratic Party leader. But that only follows the trend in South Korea and South Africa, who have recently elected officials accused of corruption as President and Party Leader respectively. Samak is also, of course, under investigation for corruption over the purchase of fire trucks while he was Bangkok governor. That doesn’t matter to the Thais of course, for whom corruption is just a normal part of everyday life.

 

What is clear is that the country is still as divided as it was 18 months ago. What is frightening, really frightening, this time is that the leader of the PPP was, according to a Time magazine article linked to by Stickman in his Sunday column (link here), the deputy prime minister at the time of the infamous May 1992 crackdown in which protesters were gunned down in the street and many others disappeared. His comment at the time was that the demonstrators were troublemakers and communists, and that it was acceptable for the government to shoot them. That is the new leader of Thailand, gentlemen. If, as we might expect, protestors take to the streets again when Thaksin returns, what will Prime Minister Samak’s reaction be this time?

 

We live in interesting times, and need to take cover.

 

A further thought is that the election has demonstrated perfectly the 'elite's' policy of keeping most of the population under-educated, dumbed down.

 

How many who voted for PPP knew they were voting for a leader who thinks it is perfectly okay to shoot Thai citizens who don't agree with him and protests his policies? Next time there are protests, and there will be with the country still bitterly divided, then it might be members of their own family who could be gunned down. I raised this point with my wife, who just said I was being fussy. She wanted PPP to win, no matter what, even if it meant voting for a thug.

 

It reflects that Thai people cannot see what is not in front of their eyes. If it isn’t obvious then it cannot be perceived. They have been brainwashed to not question what they see or are told, or to think things through to the next step, to consider the consequences of what they see or do. Only now counts. Not the past, and not the future. It takes foreign observers and writers to reveal the true picture, but most Thais have no interest in reality, only illusion.

 

How will it affect us expats? Well, it was under the soon-to-return Thaksin that an increasing number of anti-foreigner rules were brought in. Visa restrictions, meant to get rid of a few undesirables, instead covered everyone regardless of their status. How much further they want to go is anyone's guess, but one thing I believe we can be sure of is that their policies regarding foreigners will not be reversed. While some neighbouring countries are increasingly opening up and offering opportunities to foreigners, Thailand will continue to go in the opposite direction.

 

I read that Thailand has had the lowest growth rate of ANY Asian country this year, and the only certainty is that the country will continue to struggle with the internal divisions it is suffering. Prices will continue to rise at an alarming rate. Several of the products I buy have leapt in price. Examples - four yogurts from 38 baht to 50, a couple of bread rolls a massive increase from 10 to 16 in one week. A friend has just toured Cambodia, and found people spoke the international language of English far better than they do in Thailand. In Cambodia, for heavens sake! Once they get their act together, along with Vietnam, those countries will leave Thailand in the dust, like Malaysia and Singapore have already done.

 

How Thailand becoming more and more of an economic and political backwater will affect us can only be a matter of speculation. But it is unlikely to be positive. Hopefully, when I move to my country retreat I'll be able to do what the Thais do. Pretend everything is fine and just watch the rice grow. But if you're young enough to be in business, then I'd feel I was walking on quicksand.

[DinJävlaKyckling]

tl;dr

 

cliffnotes ty.

[jacobmal]

tl;dr

 

cliffnotes ty.

 

det barkar åt helvete för thailand

[heltok]

http://grindblog.blogspot.com/2007/07/convicted-poker-players-aka-most-fucked.html

 

urk...

[Kollikock]

http://grindblog.blogspot.com/2007/07/convicted-poker-players-aka-most-fucked.html

 

urk...

 

Sick

[Dead-Inside]

http://grindblog.blogspot.com/2007/07/convicted-poker-players-aka-most-fucked.html

 

urk...

 

Böteslappen för brottet var lite kul.

[heltok]

TIT^^^^^2

 

It's all happening at the Erawan Shrine where a long time Stickman reader - and a friend - is doing his bit where the regular police, tourist police and other tourism officials have failed miserably - to crack the gem scam operators who prey on innocent tourists on a daily basis. You might remember a few weeks ago I mentioned that a friend had photographed the thieves in the area. He took a lot of pictures and posted them online with warnings that anyone in the area should beware of the scoundrels operating there. This scam buster went as far as to send multiple emails to the tourist police, outlining exactly what was going on, and how the scam was played out. In any developed country the police would have acted on it. He had in fact done their work for them. But not here, this is Thailand, known to some as the land of smiles and to others as the land of scams. Rather than act in the best interests of 14 million international visitors, the tourist police instead appear to have tipped off the scammers that they had been under surveillance. They then must have checked out the photos online and delved a bit more deeply into the gallery where found some self-portraits of the photographer. That is the only way to explain why the person who took the pictures found himself set upon and chased by the scammers when he returned to the area. It must have looked like a cross between a slapstick comedy and a police reality show when our hero was chased by a number of the scammers. As soon as he arrived at the BTS skywalk he saw them going for their mobile phones and within moments he was attacked by two of them. Heaving in the putrid Bangkok air, he used his long, lanky legs to good effect and legged it into the nearby Central World, screaming out for the staff to call for the police at the top of his lungs. But the scammers reached him, grabbed him and tried to part him from his camera, a very expensive recently-released Nikon. While being manhandled he pleaded with the manager of the Zen department store to call security but she replied that they did not have any security! She finally relented. He also asked her to call the Central World Security as the attack must be on video. She said there was no video! He then demanded that she call the police. All this time, several more of the Erawan scammers, some of whom looked VERY much like policeman in mufti, were circling our hero inside ZEN. It was like a scene right out of Africa, a pride of lions circling their pray. But our hero refused to be a victim. There was no way he was going to lay down. They were all on their phones communicating his location to others and yet more rushed to the scene. He was hopelessly outnumbered and began to realise that he was in real danger, perhaps even mortal danger. After what seemed like an eternity, finally, ever so finally, the boys in brown waddled on to the scene. You have to wonder what took them so long for the national police headquarters is all of 200 metres away! And you know what? The police treated him like a criminal. After much toeing and froing, now about an hour after the original attack, the police said no crime had been committed and left! But the story doesn't end there. Oh no, it's not even close! The Erawan shrine mafia crew were still like lions licking their lips. They were all over that shopping centre waiting for him to exit. He jostled for an exit but wherever he went he spotted them lurking. And they spotted him and immediately communicated his position to others. He had inadvertently brought the scam to a temporary halt as all members were guarding the shopping centre exits, waiting for their prey to exit, and the chance to attack! It took some convincing but the Central World finally showed him the video - by which time the cops had long gone. A fat lot of good evidence of a crime is when the police are totally disinterested. The staff at Central were eventually convinced to escort him to a side entrance and usher him safely into a taxi. A report of this incident was posted on a certain popular forum but the moderators deleted it. It was rather too spicy for them... In summary, the attack started on the BTS skywalk, continued on to the escalator and into the Central World atrium and then into the Zen store. There is no doubt in the victim's mind that video from all three locations would have provided ample evidence of what happened and that a crime had been committed but this is Thailand and if the victim is a foreigner and the perpetrators are Thai nationals then we must conclude that nothing is done. Why do they even have security cameras I wonder? Of course this story does re-iterate that one should never mess with a Thai's rice bowl. It also reinforces the impression that many have that the Thai police are not nearly as responsive as they could be and they are not necessarily sympathetic if the victim is a foreign national.

[Kollikock]

Thailand är äckligt, kom till Japan istället. Ett land som är totalt överlägset i världen när det gäller allt.

[heltok]

faktiskt, japan är rätt jävla överlägset mycket. funderar på att styra upp seriös grind på någon beach i okinawa eller liknande.

 

http://flickr.com/search/?q=okinawa

[mmiioo]

Heltok --> Orkar inte läsa igenom hela tråden men bor du i bkk på heltid nu eller är du där någon månad här och där?

[tetris]

http://grindblog.blogspot.com/2007/07/convicted-poker-players-aka-most-fucked.html

 

urk...

 

Gammal, men den summerar thailands rättsystem och alla deras procedurer rätt bra.

 

 

I övrigt håller jag med om att japan är överlägset thailand på vääääldigt många punkter. Blir förmodligen en ny tripp dit mot sommaren.

[heltok]

Heltok --> Orkar inte läsa igenom hela tråden men bor du i bkk på heltid nu eller är du där någon månad här och där?

 

någon månad här och där....

[Qualified]

1k

[HerrGringo]

I Thailand tjanar en normal thailandare ca 3k-10k bhat i manaden.

Sa visst kan man leva pa 5ksek = 25k bhat i manaden.

 

Har nagon bekant som jobbar som rese guide tjanar 10k bhat i manaden, hon klarar sig bra.

 

 

 

/HerrGringo

[Emilio]

Jo fast en tumregel jag själv har listat ut är att om man ska ha svensk kvalitét och standard på boende och mat får man betala typ som i sverige. Eller för att förtydliga så om man ska ha internationella produkter av hög standard så är det helt enkelt inte speciellt dyrt. Vill man bo bra i phuket med internet och göra allt annat som man brukar (äta på de dyra falangrestaurangerna, festa hårt åtminstone ett par gången i veckan.. med mera) så är det nog svårt att göra av med mindre än 15-20.000 kronor lite beroende på vad boendet kostar.

 

Thailand blir dyrt när man lever bra som vilken charterturist som helst..

[-PK-]

Thailand är vidrigt dyrt.

[shipitholla85]

Vidrigt kall lina oxå!

[Sylwester]

Allt är ju vad man gör det till. Boende finns riktigt billigt om man inte är så jävla kräsen. Maten ute som är hur god som helst och är ju inte alls svårt att hitta för 35 baht om man går dit thailändarna går. Har svårt att se hur just matkostnaderna skulle vara ett problem. Det enda som kostar lite är ju alkoholen men det löses ju ganska lätt med att man dricker lite hemma innan utgång.

[_Zodiac_]

När man ögnar igenom den här tråden är det svårt att låta bli att slås av hur proppfull den är av total dekadens och oförmåga till insikt och ansvar. Verkar som var och varannan mupp som håller till på forumet drömmer om att flyga runt och spela internetpoker i olika tropiska paradis. Ta lite ansvar för miljön era vidriga skitungar, flygplanstrafiken är en av de absolut värsta miljöbovarna. Hur ska ni förklara det för era barn och barnbarn sen när jorden bara är en rykande avfallsstation? Det mest tragikomiska av allt är de besserwissrar som aldrig missar en chans att rätta folk som t.ex råkar stava eller formulera sig fel, samtidigt som de själva , om än i liten skala, bidrar till en miljökatastrof. Perspektiv? Något måste göras åt utvecklingen och varför inte börja ta lite ansvar för något annat än eran egen njutning?

[Sylwester]

När man ögnar igenom den här tråden är det svårt att låta bli att slås av hur proppfull den är av total dekadens och oförmåga till insikt och ansvar. Verkar som var och varannan mupp som håller till på forumet drömmer om att flyga runt och spela internetpoker i olika tropiska paradis. Ta lite ansvar för miljön era vidriga skitungar, flygplanstrafiken är en av de absolut värsta miljöbovarna. Hur ska ni förklara det för era barn och barnbarn sen när jorden bara är en rykande avfallsstation? Det mest tragikomiska av allt är de besserwissrar som aldrig missar en chans att rätta folk som t.ex råkar stava eller formulera sig fel, samtidigt som de själva , om än i liten skala, bidrar till en miljökatastrof. Perspektiv? Något måste göras åt utvecklingen och varför inte börja ta lite ansvar för något annat än eran egen njutning?

 

[Kollikock]

När man ögnar igenom den här tråden är det svårt att låta bli att slås av hur proppfull den är av total dekadens och oförmåga till insikt och ansvar. Verkar som var och varannan mupp som håller till på forumet drömmer om att flyga runt och spela internetpoker i olika tropiska paradis. Ta lite ansvar för miljön era vidriga skitungar, flygplanstrafiken är en av de absolut värsta miljöbovarna. Hur ska ni förklara det för era barn och barnbarn sen när jorden bara är en rykande avfallsstation? Det mest tragikomiska av allt är de besserwissrar som aldrig missar en chans att rätta folk som t.ex råkar stava eller formulera sig fel, samtidigt som de själva , om än i liten skala, bidrar till en miljökatastrof. Perspektiv? Något måste göras åt utvecklingen och varför inte börja ta lite ansvar för något annat än eran egen njutning?

 

fanns det nåt pris för årets dummaste inlägg?