Kitsch22
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Posts posted by Kitsch22
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not sure whether AIS Sawadee SIMs still available;
used to cost 49 Baht; any top up and the validity is extended to a year
I guess you are thinking of the AIS Sawasdee Naan Naan card. Every top up gives you 365 days from date of top up. Those cards appear to be in short supply. Took me 10 days to get one here in Chiang Rai (and then I had to pay a 150 baht premium price). Other Sawasdee cards do not confer the same benefit.
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In the case of the Minister- though I doubt such individuals spend time reading online forums- I would guess s/he would have heard a lot of it before, and it wouldn't reduce such a person to such a silly binary quandary as you delineate. Probably s/he would see things from several of the sides mentioned, if s/he cared. It's hard to guess what Ministers of Education might think because they stay such short periods of time. I would also presume that such an individual would know that most of the other posters on the forum (for example, in the news threads) are not teachers and therefore that the matter would be off-topic to education- which is where this thread will not be going.
I would also like to say a quick word regarding the guidelines once more: it is considered inflammatory and against subforum posting guidelines to characterise the posters on the forum as a group negatively. Just a word to the wise- might be worth taking a look at the pinned thread on the matter.
It is of course entirely obvious that posters on TV are in very respect an admirable bunch. Impeccable! However:
You avoid answering what was a seriously intended and remains a relevant question. In the case of the 2 hypothetical Thai readers of the relevant TV posts, how do you estimate their likely ordering of the 2 conclusions that I have suggested?
This is not about how we perceive ourselves. This is about their perception of us in the context of what we say.
I make no attempt to hide my own position on the matter. The Thais have had the good sense to ensure that we cannot acquire ownership of their land and would be absolutely crazy to allow us to have any significant policy influence as regards the education/indoctrination of their children.
The Thais (and especially the Thais above the bottom layers in the social pyramid) do not much like us, nor the way we think and when one reads what we say about them, their attitudes in that respect are entirely understandable.
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Yes. And I doubt they'd accept advice from a farang who's fluent in advanced Thai.
Absolutely correct. Having paused for a moment to try (without much success) to divine the meaning of the expression "fluent in advanced Thai" I find myself posing the following hypothetical question.
If an administrator in a senior position within the Thai Ministry of Education were to find sufficient motivation and time to read initially this present thread (and its seminal predecessor) in extenso and then all postings in this forum within, say, the last 3 months, would he at the end of that process be more likely to be saying to himself:
(A) "Yes, we must indeed listen to these farangs so that we may turn our Thai students into little westerners" or alternatively
(
"What arrogance! We had better kick them all out and send these buggers home where they belong."Then answer the same question from the locus of a politician standing as a candidate in the (now forthcoming) general election.
Like the rest of the expat community, the farang teachers in Thailand need to be constantly aware just how thin and fragile are the eggshells upon which they walk.
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Perhaps. But I readily find students finding the odd mistake I make on the board and readily pointing them out. I highly doubt they would do this with a Thai teacher. They know not to correct them for fear of losing face. I happily make the correction and move on. Until Thia teachers can openly accept being corrected and having open and frank discussions, then not much will change. Knowledge here is treated as some static, unchanging entity which it isn't. It is something to be mastered - teachers here are the masters whereas the students are the apprentices. The transmission model of teaching prevails. It should be said that there are not just Thai notions, but was the prevalent teaching method in the west many many years ago. Thus, Thailand's government education system is still lagging behind the Western systems by a long stretch. I guess things will change as attitudes and culture change - culture again is not static, but this is not something readily accepted by Thais.
Much of what you say is correct.
Much of what you say is correct.
Much of what you say is correct.
I've said that 3 times hoping that you won't go bonkers over what I'm about to say..
Don't worry; that is what is known as "Proof by Bellman's Theorem".
But much of what he says is incorrect (or, perhaps, inappropriate), as well.
What if Thai society wants it that way?Do the Thais not have the right to decide what kind of education system they have?
Must they do it the Western way...which you clearly imply?
I'm not saying that's good or not good. I'm just asking.
Well, I will dare to say that much of it is not good. Not good here in Thailand and not good over there in the West. The education that everybody needs is about basic knowledge. 90% of its utility lies in a sound uncomplicated numeracy, fluent literacy and a good working command of (the individual's own) language. Nearly everything beyond that which is really needed to lead a productive working life can be (and is best) learned on the job.
Society needs a relatively thin crust of extremely able advanced analytical thinkers together with a rather more deep stratum (typified by the professions and the upper ranks of the civil service) of workers having the benefit of a much more detailed and specialised knowledge together with experience in decision-making.
But in most ordinary jobs free thinking, originality and a tendency to present a challenge to authority are disadvantages (from the point of view of the wise capitalist employer).
The fact is that the ordinary policeman, bank teller, copy typist, shop assistant, factory worker, agricultural labourer, truck driver, sex tourist or alcoholic expat needs no more than an ability to follow (with minimal deviations) paths that are already well worn and very clearly signposted.
For at least 75% of the students in the average Thai government school, the majority of the time that they expend in an attempt to learn the English language (whether under the traditional Thai system or under any enormously more unwittingly self-satisfied Western system) is effectively wasted because they will seldom if ever need to use what little they learn.
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They don't have to do it 'our' way. But the way they teach doesn't teach Thais well at all.
For some (Western) value of "well".
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cant really expect them to stump up for food and accommodation because of 'mother nature'..
be reasonable. this is totally out of their control.
if all the airlines had to stump up this time,,they would all be declaring bankruptcy next month..
Indeed. This situation furnishes a good example of why prudent travelers carry adequate insurance.
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Yes, the coup was illegal. Yes, Kasit's an idiot and probably not much better than Thaksin. Yes, there is plenty of corruption in Thailand.
But Thaksin was charged with laws based on the 1997 constitution and there were no changes by the coup junta to the judiciary that convicted him. He was as guilty as hel_l, and you can't deny that.
Thaksin is one corrupt SOB who stole money off the country. He fooled many in the N/NE with his cash handouts to buy their support, but he did very little that helped them in the longer term.
By supporting Thaksin, you are simply supporting corruption.
By supporting Thaksin, you are just supporting every other corrupt politician and business man in Thailand.
If I support free democratic choice and if the Thai electorate freely chooses to support Thaksin, does that mean that I support Thaksin? I answer that question in the negative but your post suggests that you would disagree with me.
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In most cases here the arrested person either manages to get out at police level or if he/she ends up in court, they will spend considerable time in jail and eventually be taken to court for, what would be called an arraignment. The difference to US or European courts is that here, the defendant is alone. Not even his/her lawyer can be present. He/she is alone with the Judge and the prosecution who tell him or her that if he/she pleads guilty, the sentence he/she will no daubed receive will be cut in half. If he/she pleads not guilty he/she will face a full sentence.
Considering that most can not afford a good lawyer and even if you can, that there is no rule of disclosure and the prosecution is not obliged to present any evidence that may exonerate you, meaning you will have to proof your innocent's and are not able to bring your own forensic witnesses etc.. a case rarely goes to trial.
Most cases are completed at the arraignment with the accused pleading guilty and the Judge passing sentence there and than.
If a case does reach the upper floors of the court building, it is open and can be attended by anyone unless the court finds reason to make it a closed trial.
A helpful and accurate account. One of the positive things about Thailand is the fact that they have thus far managed to limit (albeit not eliminate) the growth of the huge and immensely lucrative "Securing Acquittals for Guilty Defendants" industry which flourishes so perniciously in the West.
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I was driving a F-off fat capitalist bastard brand new white Fortuner.
Fortuner is just wannabe. Real 'Fat Capitalist' would have to be a Mercedes Benz or better.
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My iPhone 3G was originally acquired in UK locked to O2 to whom I had to pay 15 GBP (IIRC) for 'factory' unlocking.
It works fine in Thailand with an AIS PAYG (12Call) SIM but make sure firstly that you buy one of their good data packages (Internet Lover is the best value unless you go unlimited) in order to avoid 1 Baht/min EDGE/GPRS charges.
Additionally (unless you buy one of the unlimited data packages) you should set your iPhone to use data services only when you want it to do so (i.e. keep EDGE and 3G turned off by default).
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A good warning though. Who needs that crap on a holiday?
According to the OP a crap was likely precisely what he needed. His post gave no indication that he conducted any other kind of transaction at Darets. As observed in subsequent posts: "Chaos in motion!"
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I know the cases. I am from the US. There is NO COMPARISON between what Fidel did to the gays and also the barbaric anti-gay UK laws before they were repealed. People are not arrested in the US for having legal age consensual gay sex privately, period.
It's good to hear things are better in Cuba now. But get real, you can't forgive Castro for the concentration camps, the years of oppression, the Mariel boat lift. If Hitler had lived long enough he might have married Monica Lewinski and built a synagogue. SO WHAT?
First you said you didn't know; now you say you did. So disingenuousness, then. Mustn't let the truth hinder us in making our partisan political point, must we?
UK: effective decriminalisation in 1967
Cuba: effective decriminalisation in 1979
USA: partially effective decriminalisation in 2003 (having affirmed criminality in 1986)
This is one you can't win; best drop it.
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Canadians do seem to have a soft spot for the Fidel Castro's and Cesar Chavez's of the world. Pity these reds also happen to be totalitarian dictators. Inconvenient truth. Extremes of both the left and the right are a lethal brew. Also like right wingers, they have their scapegoats, in Castro's case gays (which Thaksin's reds show signs of copying) in Chavez's case Jews.
ISTR that Cuban gays achieved decriminalisation throughout their land in 1979. Can you remind me when their brethren in the USA made it to that same milestone?
I don't know. I don't remember homosexuality EVER being criminalized in the US in the same general way it was in the UK. Some states had weird laws, some still do. You are off kilter here. Castro put gays in concentration camps!
Memory lapse, ignorance or disingenuousness? Let me help cure whichever species of blindness it may truly be. You should read the decision of the US Supreme Court in Bowers v Hardwick (1986) which expressly declared anti-sodomy laws to be constitutional (not "weird") in USA; it was a decision which stood until 2003 when overruled in Lawrence v Texas (with three of the learned Justices even then dissenting). Seems that old Fidel was ahead of the States by at least a quarter of a century in this particular area of gay emancipation.
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Canadians do seem to have a soft spot for the Fidel Castro's and Cesar Chavez's of the world. Pity these reds also happen to be totalitarian dictators. Inconvenient truth. Extremes of both the left and the right are a lethal brew. Also like right wingers, they have their scapegoats, in Castro's case gays (which Thaksin's reds show signs of copying) in Chavez's case Jews.
ISTR that Cuban gays achieved decriminalisation throughout their land in 1979. Can you remind me when their brethren in the USA made it to that same milestone?
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Sure, if someone is knowingly aiding and abetting in a criminal act then that is illegal and should be punishable as you said, but that is not the case most of the time with these internet scams. Maybe only 20% of the time or less are people actually agreeing to do something illegal for the scammers and 80% of the time the scammer's format is based on something else which does not sound illegal at all. So if you want to talk about 419 internet scams we are now getting into a very different genre from the street scams I was alerting people about.
Most of the cyber scammers also promise the victim that the arrangement is "100% Risk Free" and "Violates No Laws". Since it is normal for the potential victim to be concerned and ask if they are getting involved with something illegal, the scammers usually lay these assurances out within the 2nd or 3rd scripted email exchange. So most potential victims are lead to believe what they are being asked to do is not illegal, and this point is cleared up even before the scam really gets under way.
Most of the particular type of 419 scams you are referring to though are done by scammers pretending to be officers of an actual bank in Africa and send fake ID cards etc to prove their authenticity. If someone contacted you as an officer of the bank you would assume the transaction is not illegal of course, again assuming you were gullible enough to believe he is really contacting you from that bank and that the scan of the ID card he is sending you is real in the first place. It is hard to believe that people fall for it with their poorly written emails with bad English, badly forged documents, and crap looking ID card scans, I know, but a report released in January of this year by an organization in Amsterdam known as the FICFF (Foundation of Investigation for Cross-border Financial Fraud) concluded that a total of 9.3 Billion dollars was lost globally to 419 scams in 2009 alone and that the figure is growing on average by 5% per year!
Also, many of the 419 scam mails also discuss the need for an overseas partner to help them transfer the money out of Africa because it involves problems with the current corrupt government not letting them conduct ordinary business in their own country, etc. The reasons why they need an overseas partner to receive the money on their behalf in this legal transaction goes on and on, but I think you probably get my point.
Again, I wouldn't call it greed. To me, greed implies some sort of sinister motive. I don't think even people who want to get something for nothing have any kind of sinister motive or are wanting to do something illegal. I think it's more that a good opportunity fell in their lap so they are going to take advantage of it.
Sounds as though you might think it okay to pick up and keep a bank-note accidentally dropped in the street by somebody else. I would classify that as (a) greedy, (
dishonest and © criminal.On advance-fee frauds generally, I can comment only on the basis of my own (admittedly statistically insignificant and unrepresentative) personal observations. I have seen only one approach that could possibly be described as "honest" in the eyes of the recipient and that was one where the funds in question were (supposedly) destined to do God's holy charitable work (with a nice commission for the "helper" along the way). In every other case there has always been an indication that there was a good reason why the party approached should not go to the authorities. Sometimes tax evasion, sometimes international currency control, sometimes unfair government oppression, but always something that a strictly honest person must recognise as being at least potentially "wrong".
I say again (so as to avoid any risk of giving a contrary impression) that I do not intend to justify the actions of the scammers by even an atom's weight. But so far as the "victims" are concerned, I have yet to see a case where "som nam naa" does not apply.
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And just how did you learn your multiplication tables?
I am really curious. I never did learn them. It's a hassle at times.
In my case that vitally important foundation was laid by bribery-assisted rote learning. At the age of five I was promised (the word "incentivised" did not exist in those days) a pound note upon demonstrating that I could respond to 100 "tables" in writing within five minutes with 100% accuracy. I vividly remember getting one wrong (carelessly wrote "80" instead of "81") at my first attempt and being absolutely devastated by that abject failure. Achieved my pound at the second attempt (the next day), though. To give some perspective, at the time one pound represented 40 weeks' pocket money. Possibly the sweetest pound I ever earned; very probably the best pound my parents ever invested. To this day my (Thai) wife marvels that I can perform calculations that are (to her) impossibly complex without resort to electronic/mechanical aids.
I say that Thai kids need more (and more concentrated) rote learning, not less. They can move on to all the 'critical/analytical skills' rubbish once they have a mental toolkit furnished with a proper grounding in the basics.
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You raise some good points. But to say the victims deserve what they got and should be punished for their desires is not right. It is just a simple and irresponsible way of not addressing the underlying problem of the need to get rid of the scammers by saying the victims got what they deserve. I actually see the victims as more gullible rather than greedy and the scammers the greedy ones. As for who they target, no, they target everyone, even people like myself who give them dark stares and ignore them as they try to chat me up while I am briskly walking by.
I am not really sure what truly is "deserved" by the (wannabe criminal) victims. Presumably it is the punishment which the courts would have handed out if their intended enterprise had succeeded and had been detected by the authorities. So (for example) a westerner who offers to assist in removing dishonestly, say, $10,000,000 from a "dormant account" at the National Bank of Nigeria ought really to serve a lengthy term in one of the tougher gaols in that country, wouldn't you say?
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You must work at Big C to know their products and prices.
One overhears the servants talking of such things.
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Yes the ad has been going a long time. It is illegal but hardly the crime of the century. I hope the guy doesn't have his life ruined over this.
What counts as "ruined"? In his country of origin he might face imprisonment for this crime, though likely a suspended term in the case of a first conviction.
He might get deported for being a criminal. For many expats who are settled here and like it that way, that counts as ruined.
I think that we can all agree - for an enforced return to UK, "ruined" is an expression inadequate to convey the true horror of the calamity. And if he's from Liverpool, doubly so.
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I think everyone is getting the issue of racism confused with national profiling. If the majority of the people coming from a country, or group of countries in a region, are known to be doing illegal activities when they enter others countries, then it is nothing but prudence on behalf of the host country to make it more stringent for the people from the problematic countries to get a visa to enter. If you go back to my OP, part of the issue I raise is about the ease with which these people are actually able to enter Thailand and remain here doing all sorts of illegal activities.
The whole problem is that it should be even more difficult than it is for these criminals to enter this country. Are the authorities aware of the activities they are doing here? Yes, but yet they still open the doors wide open anyway. It's obvious. Look how many West African street scammers and drug dealers have appeared on the scene in Bangkok in the last 18 months. So it is only through awareness and discussions like this one (since the authorities are not taking proper action) that there is a chance to deter these criminals from ripping off unsuspecting people in Thailand. Does this mean all West Africans that enter Thailand are criminals? Of course not, but we are not here talking about the non criminals at this point.
And to further say across the board that all scam victims are greedy is pure naivety. If you are a victim of the Black Money street scam I am talking about then you are basically looking to profit from what appears to be a business opportunity someone has offered to you. So are you greedy because someone offers you what sounds like a good business opportunity and you take it? Invest some money and get back more money than you invested. I thought that is the principal of investing. So that is now known just simply as greed? So if investment is greed then all people who invest their money in anything should be ripped off, right? Was Kevin Bacon and John Malkovich (who have millions already) greedy when they invested millions in Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme, which they believed was a legitimate investment company, and lost it? The got what they deserved, right?
Are you greedy because you take a job offer? There are many scams based on advance fee fraud offering people jobs which don't exist and are not based on greed. Are you greedy because you are paying the processing and legal fees to receive an inheritance that some scammer convinced you was left to you by a deceased relative? Are you greedy because you give money to a charity, when in fact it is a scammer posing as a large aid organization? Are you greedy when you send money to a scammer posing as someone in Africa who claims to be in a refugee camp and needs money to get out? Are you greedy when you send money to help rebuild an orphanage that doesn't exist? Are you greedy when you send some scammer money who claims to need money for an organ transplant?
Many African scammers who use the internet as a means of sourcing their victims often have forged credentials and use stolen identities such that the victim don't even know they are dealing with someone in Africa to begin with. Before you make blanket accusations about everyone being greedy who falls for a scam, I think you should do more homework first.
And finally, is greed a punishable crime? And is it a crime under which a penalty should be imposed that you lose all your money to some scammer? And who made these scammers the law enforcers to be handing down the sentences to these greedy people who deserve to be penalized? So the scammers are doing the world a lot of good by sorting out these greedy people and taking their money away from them, right? Just old fashioned good Samaritans these scammers are, right?
I say the scammers are being greedy for scamming people in the first place and should be punished themselves rather than being left to profit from their activities. From some of the things people write they make it sound as if what the scammers are doing is right and not wrong and it is the victims who are wrong for being greedy. A truly pathetic and pedestrian view really.
Get real, please. These guys not only trade on greed, most of the time it's wannabe criminal greed.
Black money scam is "sold" as a way of defrauding customs or the tax authorities.
Unclaimed account scam is an offer of a commission to help steal money.
Inheritances from "deceased relatives" you never heard of and who don't exist?
Don't get me wrong, I would send them all home in a heartbeat. But if they target you it's because they sense that you might (just might) be a tiny bit bent yourself.
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I fail to see how any forum could maintain credibility without cynicism.
TV is the way it is because that is the way it has to be.
TV is not a forum for free or uninhibited discussion and it could not be, even if it wanted to be (which it does not).
Inevitably TV is a product of (at least) three principal factors: its raison d'être (making money for its owners), its environment (the laws and social mechanisms of Thailand) and its fodder (the web page clicks of its users).
The second item on that list ensures that serious and open discussion of probably the most important single influence on power, politics and society within the Kingdom is strictly off limits, on pain of potential imprisonment. So if you want discussion of that kind you have to look for it outside TV and, indeed, outside Thailand.
Other restraint mechanisms are less obvious and more subtle but nonetheless real. A high level of usage can only be maintained by ensuring that the general atmosphere does not become unacceptably unpleasant and this is secured by means of moderation which (irritating and unreasonable though it may be in particular instances) is accordingly an element sine qua non, required for the stability of the TV edifice. An ironically amusing (or frustrating) byproduct is the fact that discussion of moderation policy is also contrary to the rules.
While these arrangements are evidently unsatisfactory in many ways, the fact that TV is still here and flourishing is proof in itself that the positive elements of the institution outweigh the negatives. But if you want freedom of discussion, you must certainly look elsewhere. To say exactly where that might be is (probably) against TV rules, though.
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Yes the ad has been going a long time. It is illegal but hardly the crime of the century. I hope the guy doesn't have his life ruined over this.
What counts as "ruined"? In his country of origin he might face imprisonment for this crime, though likely a suspended term in the case of a first conviction.
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This is coming to a head and very quickly.
From the redshirts. They claim to be from the poor, the downtrodden, the uneducated , well they are now proving it daily.
Think about this if you are pro redshirt.
They are using illegal tactics now without question
blocking traffic ways and impeding others from doing their daily tasks. .... is this redshirt democracy?
They by the spoken word are inciting mob action and insurection..... .... is this redshirt democracy?
their planning leaves much to be desired... their planned protest has forced , for saftey reason of the general public, the closure of business and malls...... is this redshirt democracy?
Their superb planning has led to the mall closures , now they demand that they be opened so they are able to use toilets........ is this redshirt democracy?
They demand that the muni authority rush out some portable toilets so they have toiled facilities so they can continue to try and shut down the government........... is this redshirt democracy?
While one appreciates the ironic humour of your repeated references to democracy, the Red Shirts have the very practical problem that they object to the terms of the military dictatorship under which they find themselves forced to live.
Put yourself in their place. Bear in mind for one moment that the politicians for whom you were last permitted to vote freely (rotten and corrupt bunch though they may have been) are now (by quasi-legal manoeuvres put in place by the perpetrators of the last military coup) banned from standing at the next election; what immediate step can you take in the direction of freedom and away from serfdom?
Having been disenfranchised by orders of the courts, what course of action is left open to you? It is no answer to say that the judicially banned politicians were corrupt. If all of the corrupt politicians had been banned, Parliament would be a lonely place indeed.
Thailand will continue to be run by crooks for the foreseeable future. The Red Shirts really are not asking for anything more than the right to choose which gang of crooks shall govern. Now I come to think of it, those last 10 words furnish as good a definition of "democracy" as I am able to fashion on the spur of the moment.
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Beware the possible side-effects.
A few years ago (specifically: 2:30p.m. on 6 May 2003) I abandoned an 80-a-day cigarette habit and since then have smoked nothing with the sole exception of a few decent Havana cigars on the occasions of my (rare) visits to Cuba. The nicotine craving was a serious problem during the first few weeks, but is now controlled to the point where I am not aware of it on a day-to-day basis.
The big consequent problem was that during the six years after giving up the cigarettes I added 50kg to my body-weight so that, in my opinion, the net overall effect on my general health was negative. During the last six months I have managed to shed 15 of the unwanted 50kg but losing weight is proving to be a much more severe challenge than was the cessation of smoking.
So be careful that you do not allow food (particularly sweets, cakes, biscuits (cookies) and between-meals-snacks) to become a supplementary substitute for the cigarettes.
"What arrogance! We had better kick them all out and send these buggers home where they belong."
Thai Passport / Uk Passport Dual Nationality...?
in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits
Posted
The second link (the one to the Thai text) yields errors in each of the four browsers that I have tried. If broken, could it possibly be mended, please?