Kitsch22
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Posts posted by Kitsch22
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We begin to ask the very fundamental question: "Why should others die so that I can live?"
To which we give the very fundamental answer: "Because those others are so tremendously tasty. Especially when served medium-rare and with a dash of Lea & Perrins"
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The Titanic is sinking and the band is still playing, but for how much longer?
And if the band had stopped playing, the Titanic would have remained afloat?
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and in some countries it is even forbidden for parents to slap their children's butts to punish them.
slightly off topic I know, but what country is that?
Back on topic, the Thais have a saying: "Rak wua hai phuuk. Rak luuk hai dtii" (If you love your cow you should tether it. If you love your child you should beat it)
That should have the PC brigade positively foaming at the mouth.
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Early days yet (only 2 December) but you so far lead the race for the "Troll of the Month" award, in my book at least.
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Than read some history. Always the Americans went with very good intentions in conflicts (therefore we love the Americans) and every time it was not appreciated by the conflict partners and it ended with cruel and murdering millions of people, in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq (therefore the USA is hated).
Neither you nor the USA are the judge here or anywhere else who tells this is right this is wrong. It is simply not your business.
I think we appreciate the help the Americans gave us.
Of course we appreciate it. And we also recognize it as a spectacularly clear example of the Americans taking the sensible course and keeping out of a fight (that was not theirs) for as long as possible. They became parties only when (a) the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and (
Hitler declared war on the USA. Regrettably, today's Americans have been force-fed the John Wayne version of events, which does not have very much to do with reality. As a result they (or some of them) now think that they have a God-given right (the comparison with fundamentalist missionaries is compelling) to force their worldview, their systems of social organisation, and their laws and hence their decadence on Thailand and the rest of the world. In this they may succeed or they may fail; at present it is not looking too good for them, worldwide. I take solace from the fact that if they do succeed, at least it will not be in my lifetime. My own feeling is that in the longer term it is more likely that Thailand will end up as a satellite of China than as of USA; I find it extraordinary difficult to decide for myself which of those two outcomes I would prefer. At the moment, in terms of probability, the Chinese are in the lead by a short head. Their culture and mind-set are so much more similar, you see. -
I'm glad I still have some faith in humanity. Sounds like you don't. If I see a woman being beaten on the street, (were all assuming it was domestic violence, but we really don't know) and I decide to call the police, I am "exercising cultural colonialism"? So you're telling me you would have just driven right past and ignored them? Wow.
Faith in "humanity"? No. Too well aware of Belsen, Palestine, Darfur etc. etc. etc.
Would I drive past and ignore? Depends. I could stop and listen and understand what was being said. I could give a clear explanation over the phone to the cop, in his own language. "No same-same you."
Most probably I would end up doing nothing and if the Missus was with me that probability would become 100%
And yes of course you are exercising cultural colonialism. Your GF who knows and understands has given you good local guidance, but you as the Big White Boss think you know better. 'Twas ever thus.
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Your reaction is an entirely creditable emotional response by a Westerner. However, your final paragraph strongly suggests that you have neither understanding of nor insight into the incident which you witnessed.
Your GF was right. The apparent victim made no appeal to you for help. None of your business; not your country; not your culture. Keep out of it or there is every risk that you might find yourself in really serious difficulty.
Thank you for your comment Kitsch. I appreciate your honesty, however your position makes me sick. I may be in Thailand, but I am still a human being. There are a lot of different cultures with different values, and some of those values and traditions I may disagree with. In the end this is very connected to human rights, something this part of the world does not have a very good track record on, and I believe this indecent is symptomatic of that. (And yes I realize western countries have been guilty of violations as well.) I realize I am looking at it from the perspective of a westerner, however, I would contend there are some things that transcend culture, or at least should. Quite honestly I don't really give a shit about finding myself in "serious difficulty" as you define it. Besides that, I am not sure how making an anonymous phone call can land anyone in "serious difficulty". A "serious difficulty" for me is knowing I did nothing to help a probably innocent person be seriously hurt or worse. It is the same reason I took EMT training. Sadly I have had to amend my own rules when I see a person in need since I know of two farang EMT's in Thailand that were arrested by the police for stopping to help motorbike accident victims. Even the I will now only stop if it is a farang or a child of any nationality, since I don't really care what the police do to me if I am able to possibly save the life of a child.
It is a part of me so ingrained I cannot, nor do I wish to change it, no matter what backward view the culture I live in has on the subject.
Here is a good article detailing the sad state of affairs concerning farang's that have first aid training in Phuket.
Phuket News Good Samaritans told to walk on by
http://phuket-post.com/article/phuket-loca...-to-walk-on-by/
I very much appreciate the fact that you (unlike some others) understand that my comments represent no more than simple factual observations. I hope he will not mind if I analyse some of what you have just said.
Saying that "I am a human being" frankly does not amount to very much. The person whom you thought to be guilty of a criminal assault on a weaker person was also a human being. I am a human being and I happen not to agree with you. You cannot separate a human being from his culture. But (I am afraid) what you are trying to do is (with the very best of intentions) impose your culture in a land that is not your own and that does not share your culture. You cannot separate your idea of a "good track record" from your culture. My wife heartily approves of extrajudicial executions of known drug dealers and suspected drug traffickers caught in flight and also the fact that (up here in Chiang Rai at least) new admissions to the local jail following sentencing get a heavy beating from the prison guards. Some years ago when one of our neighbours habitually beat his wife quite badly (only when drunk) I was told very firmly that I must not intervene in any way and that "She will run away if it gets too bad." And indeed she did run away eventually. My wife and I have agreed to differ at the personal opinion level on these things and we have reached a working arrangement whereby she tells me how I should behave while I am in Thailand and I tell her how she should behave while she is in UK. While I do not follow her instructions blindly, it is a long time now since I have overridden any firmly expressed instruction received from her in this area. If you think about it in a detached fashion, do you really believe that you have the right to exercise cultural colonialism so as to override the life's experience of your girlfriend?
There are no absolutes in human rights; it is all relative. The perspective changes according to where you find yourself standing: in geography, in culture and in time.
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Your reaction is an entirely creditable emotional response by a Westerner. However, your final paragraph strongly suggests that you have neither understanding of nor insight into the incident which you witnessed.
Your GF was right. The apparent victim made no appeal to you for help. None of your business; not your country; not your culture. Keep out of it or there is every risk that you might find yourself in really serious difficulty.
Oh you forgot to add, you just dont understand the culture......your post is absolute cr*p..
Another Farang who is "one" with his Thainess....put your head in the sand....
No; I didn't forget - I specifically said "not your culture", and the OP's GF had already remarked upon that.
I really do not mind if you or any other self-styled Sir Galahad thinks that he can barge in and, without being able to speak the language (your means of expression are evidently impoverished even in your own tongue) sort out a domestic argument in a strange land. By all means go ahead.
My head is not in the sand; my eyes are clear and well-focused in the environment in which I find myself.Â
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Your reaction is an entirely creditable emotional response by a Westerner. However, your final paragraph strongly suggests that you have neither understanding of nor insight into the incident which you witnessed.
Your GF was right. The apparent victim made no appeal to you for help. None of your business; not your country; not your culture. Keep out of it or there is every risk that you might find yourself in really serious difficulty.
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My wife has had this (or something so close as to sound identical) on her phone for the best part of a couple of years now. In Thailand it freaks the people out because it is so realistic. In UK it freaks the people out because they do not know what it is!
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A recent lunch at Don's. Mine was the mixed platter, which was more than I could eat. My mate whinged the chili wasn't hot enough but I tried it and found it very tasty.
Very reasonable total cost and the atmosphere and scenery superb.
With help from TV and by the grace of Garmin I made it to Don's for breakfast on Thursday 26 November. Excellent food, very fairly priced, and the (separate) meat/sausage purchases were all that I had dared to hope. I had been half prepared for some slowness in the service but in the event it was outstanding - timely, attentive and friendly without being pushy.
The rather remote location means it cannot be a frequent dining venue for me (nearly 70km each way) but I shall certainly be back to buy meat in the future and I shall try to arrange to be hungry on the occasion of any such visit.
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I'm a bit of a movie buff, and a car fanatic. I drive a red Yaris, so if you want to know anything about these lil cars, let me know
A movie buff? Then you must be familiar with Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange" - If so, you must keep quiet about it at all costs. Especially if you have a French Connection.
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Unfortunately, the way the information/claims are presented undercut the substance. It's hard to take seriously an article that leans heavily on sensationalistic hyperbole. As others have said, it seems the supporting information was left out. Maybe the story is true. If so, the victims have been done a disservice by turning this into a wild sex story.
When I see the mention of a Clockwork Orange all I can think of is a bunch of weird adolescents with repressed homosexual desires wearing mascara and dressed up in long johns. Sorry, but I am not very sophisticated so the reference didn't help me.
That simply bespeaks a hole in your education if you are British. The book is formally recognised as an important literary work. Sadly, there is a local determination that states of ignorance such as yours should be maintained.
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Cuba is an attractive alternative. No visa required (nothing stamped in your passport) and instead you get a "Tourist Card" which costs only GBP15 and seems to be issued more or less as a matter of course. Last time I took Ee Gaae (to Havana and Varadero), our Tourist Cards were included in the package and she was not even required to sign an application form.
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That looked like a "yes". Was it?
No. My final paragraph was a "Yes". If you had trouble in understanding that, then I dare say you will have failed to comprehend the generalisation which explained why that final paragraph was a "Yes"
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Most of the anti-Thaksin sentiment you will find on this forum is exactly that, anti-Thaksin. The queues of people you speak of supporting Generals is a figment of your imagination, born out of desperate desire to in some way defend your cause.
A Classic TV hypocritical cop-out.
If you are anti-Taksin (as I am) then unless you are also actively anti-coup (as I am) then it follows that you are a de facto supporter of the Generals (as you apparently are).
Democracy in Thailand is relatively new-born and has never been allowed an opportunity to establsh itself and grow strong by a process of learning from experience. You clap and cheer the continuing attempt (successful thus far) to smother the infant.
At least Phetaroi has the integrity to declare his shameful and craven choice; sadly it seems that you do not.
I am against coups but unlike you, i blame the 2006 coup on Thaksin, not the Generals. Had Thaksin been running the country with honesty and integrity, the coup wouldn't and couldn't have occured. Thai people wouldn't have accepted it. Broadly speaking they did.
Kitsch i have a question. Please think before you answer. Are there any circumstances in which, in your opinion, a coup is a necessary evil?
I always think before I post (accidental keypresses excepted). On this occasion my first thought is that your question is so unspecific and lacking in context as to leave it unrooted and so of questionable relevance.
If your question were asked in Thailand in 2006, my answer is, certainly, "No."
If your question were to be asked in England in 2009, I would have to think very much longer and harder before answering.
To attempt to produce a generalised response: Where a government (notwithstanding its being guilty of corruption and similar or comparable misfeasance but falling short of genocide such as to render probable international intervention) enjoys the support of a significant democratic majority of the voters under a system of general adult suffrage (even in circumstances of poor education, misinformation, bribery and so forth) upon a fair and open vote taken in private (which must exclude circumstances where the party in power has disqualified or otherwise excluded its opponents) then a military coup cannot be justified and amounts to an act of war upon the populace.
I do appreciate that that proposition can lead to a situation in which power remains concentrated in some very dirty hands. Nevertheless, if the people are to be ruled by a despot, let it be a despot of their choosing rather than a despot chosen by the military.
If, on the other hand, Taksin had declared himself to be "Prime Minister For Life" and had abolished elections, then a coup would most certainly have been justified. But in actuality, he did the opposite. When in trouble, he turned to the people. And they backed him. To say that they have "accepted" the post-coup situation is firstly untrue and secondly begs the question of the real nature of one's acceptance when one is looking down the barrel of a gun.
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Once or twice a week? They obviously find you extraordinarily alluring.
I get it maybe three or four times a year. I always say "You don't know me and I don't know you. Go away." And they do.
No racism on my part. I would say exactly the same if it were a honky. But in fact it has always been a black African. And always somewhere within 100m or so from Sukhumwit.
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When you book your Air Asia tickets. It ask if you want to choose your seat. If you don't want to pay 50 baht and choose where you want to sit. Then you get what you get. I would understand if it wasn't on the web site. BEFORE you even pay for your ticket it gives you the choice to choose or not to choose. I'm not really sure I understand what it is your complaining about. You choose not to pay the extra and pick your seats. Then when time to check in your upset that you don't get to sit where you want???????
THAIRICH,
You and I both know that 100Baht is not that important, nor my complaint. I was and still am curious to know why a simple computer programme adjustment cannot be considered so as people travelling together automatically sit together as with the hundreds of flights I have previously made. I am quite happy with all other aspects of AIRASIA service.
Thanks to all for replies.
If they did as you suggest, how many passengers would pay to book adjoining seats? Their online booking system is very clear and explicit. If you wish to "avoid disappointment" you must book and pay. Those are their terms. I have five bookings pending with AA at present. For two of the flights I needed three adjacent seats, so I booked and paid - for the other three flights seat location was unimportant so I did not book and pay. Would I be pleased if you got for free the benefit for which I had paid? No, I would not. The charge is modest enough, after all.
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I suggest Bangkok Bank as having the most transfer agents and the most experience with this sort of thing. But check it out for procedures that you might not be normally accustomed to. In any case, the number of branches able to do this might be limited, and don't expect immediate domestic inter-branch transfer of funds. Anyway, check it out. If you are in Chiang Mai, I think the Kad Suan Kaew branch manager knows his business.
And if you are in Chiang Rai, please be aware that my wife and I were informed that the only branches there equipped to set up such accounts are those at Chiang Rai and Mae Sai. I recommend the latter where Khun Malai Buasarot (the Provincial Manageress) proved to be exceptionally helpful and generally pleasant. Any Thai bank manageress who keeps an effigy of Albert Einstein on her desk and is able to engage in a discussion of his work surely gets my business!
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Most of the anti-Thaksin sentiment you will find on this forum is exactly that, anti-Thaksin. The queues of people you speak of supporting Generals is a figment of your imagination, born out of desperate desire to in some way defend your cause.
A Classic TV hypocritical cop-out.
If you are anti-Taksin (as I am) then unless you are also actively anti-coup (as I am) then it follows that you are a de facto supporter of the Generals (as you apparently are).
Democracy in Thailand is relatively new-born and has never been allowed an opportunity to establsh itself and grow strong by a process of learning from experience. You clap and cheer the continuing attempt (successful thus far) to smother the infant.
At least Phetaroi has the integrity to declare his shameful and craven choice; sadly it seems that you do not.
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When a Thai sells his vote, who is cheated? Nobody. When a popular political party is disbanded and disqualified for doing what its opponents were also doing, who is cheated? Everybody.
The comparison question could just as well have been answered: "He was declared a criminal by a kangaroo court set up by a totalitarian and undemocratic regime" - as was Mandela; as was Aung San Su Kyi.
Everybody knows that Taksin is a corrupt self-serving politician, but the way correspondents on TV queue up to support the Generals and their works is nothing short of sickening.
I'm sorry, but I disagree. When someone sells his vote, the whole nation is cheated. Depending on who is buying the vote, the voter is saying, "I don't care if this candidate will work for the good of the people and the nation, I'll help him win because he just gave me 4,000 baht. If I had a choice between massive vote buying or a responsible military coup, I'd swallow hard and pick the latter.
(Allowing for the fact that this is a discussion between a couple of farangs neither of whom is entitled to vote in a Thai election) I take the view that the disposition of my vote is my business and not yours. There is no established criterion to guide me in the casting of my vote. "National Interest"? - Baloney! "Base Selfishness" - yes, that sounds about right, and entirely respectable. My wife gets to sell her vote (the payment comes from the party she would have voted for anyway) - some benefit to her. In UK I am offered only lies and subsequent betrayal by the politicians. "Putting one's money where one's mouth is" represents a positive and not a negative act.
I am afraid that your use of the expression "a responsible military coup" is a sad and stark revelation; have you really thought about the implications of your words? But General Pinochet would have embraced you warmly, no doubt. You are probably still mourning his passing.
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What did he do that he has the face to compare himself with Nelson Mandela or even Aung San Sui Kyi?
Achieved resounding victory in popular election(s).
Semantics perhaps, but I see a difference between achieving and buying.
Such is always the response of those who are outraged that a vote can be given in return for a politician's cash but happily accept that it can be given in return for a politician's lies.
When a Thai sells his vote, who is cheated? Nobody. When a popular political party is disbanded and disqualified for doing what its opponents were also doing, who is cheated? Everybody.
The comparison question could just as well have been answered: "He was declared a criminal by a kangaroo court set up by a totalitarian and undemocratic regime" - as was Mandela; as was Aung San Su Kyi.
Everybody knows that Taksin is a corrupt self-serving politician, but the way correspondents on TV queue up to support the Generals and their works is nothing short of sickening.
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What did he do that he has the face to compare himself with Nelson Mandela or even Aung San Sui Kyi?
Achieved resounding victory in popular election(s).
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Don't ask the rest of us to pretend Samak was a rose.
Nobody is asking you to good things about the man, but if you have nothing good to say then say nothing at all.
Are we permitted to express the hope that his next incarnation may be as a much better being than was his last?
Hitler declared war on the USA. Regrettably, today's Americans have been force-fed the John Wayne version of events, which does not have very much to do with reality. As a result they (or some of them) now think that they have a God-given right (the comparison with fundamentalist missionaries is compelling) to force their worldview, their systems of social organisation, and their laws and hence their decadence on Thailand and the rest of the world. In this they may succeed or they may fail; at present it is not looking too good for them, worldwide. I take solace from the fact that if they do succeed, at least it will not be in my lifetime. My own feeling is that in the longer term it is more likely that Thailand will end up as a satellite of China than as of USA; I find it extraordinary difficult to decide for myself which of those two outcomes I would prefer. At the moment, in terms of probability, the Chinese are in the lead by a short head. Their culture and mind-set are so much more similar, you see.
Is There A Decent Strawberry In Thailand?
in Western Food in Thailand
Posted
GM? Not necessarily so. There are lots grown up here in Chiang Rai and the story that I was told is that the original stock was imported as part of a Royal Rural Development Project years and years ago. Certainly there was (until about 10 years ago, anyway) a commercial soft fruit nursery in Norfolk, UK, that had on its notepaper supply warrants for both the Queen of England and the King of Thailand, related to soft fruit propagation stock. I knew that nurseryman well and he would turn in his grave if you suggested that his business ever went within a million miles of GM.