TIT – This is Thailand

My last post was about our local "officers of the law" and our experience with them recently. By the way, the guy still hasn't been brought to the police station to our knowledge.  He's back out there selling food like nothing happened after a couple of days off.  But he is leaving my wife alone, which means he's learned his lesson (hopefully).

I just saw this piece in the Bangkok Post.  It's a good example of what the police here do and don't do, especially in Nana, which has lots of crime:

NANA THUGS STRIKE FEAR INTO ELDERLY STORE OWNERS

A family running a clothing store in Bangkok’s Nana area say they are being intimidated by thugs in a dispute over pavement space.

A woman known as Farida and two men dressed in black attire went to the front of Bob’s Fashion on Sukhumvit Soi 3 on Tuesday at about 6pm. They attempted to remove merchandise displayed on the pavement.

‘‘I told them that if they touched our stuff I would charge them with trespassing,’’ said Jazz Ratisatien, 38, the daughter of the store’s owner.

An argument lasted for about 30 minutes. The police arrived, mediated but refused to press charges.

‘‘They [the police] told us to go the court and complain ourselves,’’ said Ms Ratisatien.

This wasn’t the first time. On the evening of Jan 4, seven men threatened Ms Ratisatien’s two elderly parents, who have been running Bob’s Fashion for 35 years. Four of them were wearing army jackets, two were in black and one was a known local gangster by the name of Sua Dam (Black Tiger).

There was a minor scuffle as the men attempted to clear merchandise from the stall on the pavement. Ms Ratisatien said a glass was thrown at her mother. Ms Ratisatien suffered a wrist injury.

The police showed up, but Ms Ratisatien said they had a private talk with the gang leader, who claimed to be a military officer. After the talk, the police tried to smooth the situation but did not press charges.

The conflict is over the pavement in front of Bob’s Fashion, where Ms Ratisatien’s father had allowed an acquaintance, Ms Farida, to sell her merchandise. The arrangement lasted for three years until Ms Ratisatien’s father asked for the space back and Ms Farida refused.

Ms Ratisatien alleged that Ms Farida hired the thugs to intimidate her parents.

By law, pavements are public spaces and it is illegal to use them for business, but most pavements in Bangkok are crawling with hawkers.

Ms Ratisatien says that in Nana city inspectors, tesakij, charge 500 baht per month for hawkers to use the pavement. Normally, the shop owner gets priority to rent the pavement in front of the shop.

She showed a document that stated her parents had the right to the pavement space, for which they pay tesakij 500 baht per month. She said tesakij kept records of all the street hawkers, detailing who owned which space and the payment.

Wattana district chief Sajja Kontrong said in principle a right to occupy the space would belong to those who registered themselves, not to subcontracted vendors. He said his officers would investigate the case and asked police for their cooperation.

Pol Col Ittipol Atchariyapradit, deputy director of the Metropolitan Police Bureau’s Division 5, said he had heard of some tesakij doing business outside the system. However he denied that police were involved.

He said Nana is home to many foreigners and there are many cases, but he had never received a complaint about bribery. ‘‘But if anyone has trouble, they can inform the police. We will examine the case,’’ said Pol Col Ittipol.

Tong, a painter selling his art on the pavement space near Bob’s Fashion who witnessed the incident on Tuesday, said: ‘‘The police normally don’t like to get involved. When there’s a dispute, you go to Seh.’’

According to Tong, locals refer to this figure as Seh Dam, Seh Daeng or just Seh and there is speculation he has military connections.

‘‘Mama’’, a well known figure who runs runs a group of prostitutes in Nana, says that whenever someone has a problem, they go to Seh, and then things can be arranged. But she denied any knowledge that Seh might be linked to the military.

Normally, according to her, if violence erupts or muscle is required, 40 or 50 thugs from nearby slums can be hired to do the job. ‘‘Two weeks ago, a policeman and a soldier shot at each other inside a club,’’ Mama claimed. ‘‘Then someone cleared it up.’’

Funny, the police were not aware of any bribes.  They wrote the book!

Everyone is on the take here, especially the cops.

There are lots of articles about corruption and how to get rid of it.  Unfortunately it's a way of life here and in many third world countries like Thailand. Of course it exists in the first world as well, it's just better hidden.

These illegal shops and bars that are in virtually every square inch of the tourist areas wouldn't exist without graft.  Of course, the government could charge these vendors rent and turn the situation into a revenue making opportunity for the country, but then too many government officials would lose out on their bribe money.  They don't take these low paying jobs for the salaries, that's for sure!  Kind of like the politicians and the police.  They're all on the take, from the bottom to the top.

As for the police, especially those in the Nana area, they are famous for letting things go. You may have heard about all of the kiddie porn that was available, for all to see, in the Nana area a while back.  Finally a task force came in from outside the local precinct and cleaned things up for all to see. Too bad the local police wouldn't deal with it.

And porn and sex toys are illegal in Thailand, as is prostitution, funny enough.  If you've ever been to the Nana area you know that sales of porn, sex toys, dick pills, creams and of course girls is rampant in the Nana area.  How is this possible you may ask?  Maybe you should ask the local police.

Until next time, enjoy your day!

Posted on February 5th, 2012 by webmaster
Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »

While I hesitate to address this topic, for fear of retribution, I'm going to anyway.

We live in an area that has we have found to be progressively low end.  That's why we will be moving in less then a month.  We are in a beautiful townhouse at a great price, but the neighborhood is in a word, shit!  More on that in a subsequent post.

Last week there was a stray dog (in Bangkok, no you say!) in front of our house that one of our dogs was barking at.  So my wife went in front of the house and tried to shoo the dog away.  Across the lane we live on the food vendor told the dog to stay and started yelling obscenities at my wife!  She came inside and told me.  I wanted to go out and confront the guy, but she convinced me not to.  Too many people with weapons in this town.

The next day she walked by the food stand and asked the guy why he yelled at her.  He again started yelling bad things at her and got in her face, stuck his finger at her and started threatening her.  My wife called the police.  That's where the fun began.  The police, of course told her to come down and file a report.  They couldn't be bothered, even though he threatened her.  Amazing!  

So we went to the police station.  

When we went to the police station to file a report, while my wife was talking, the cop was doodling on a piece of paper, playing with a paper clip, but not taking any notes.  Very professional!

He didn't do the report and told us to go up to dispatch and get an officer to come out and meet us at our townhouse. Then they said they'll go to his house and talk to him.

Two cops came out on one motorbike (I've always been amused by this by the way) and the asshole was on the corner drinking with his motorbike taxi buddy. They talked to my wife and him and told us to meet them at the police station. 

We walked by the guy, who was still sitting there and he said to my wife "sister, why do we have to do this".  She ignored him.  

So we go to the police station and wait about a half hour. Lek calls a neighbor who tells me the moron is still sitting on the corner drinking.

After another 30 minutes of waiting she asked the cop what was going on and he told her to go upstairs and have dispatch call to have him picked up.  So they go to get him and he's not there.

About a half hour later she sits with an officer and FILLS OUT A REPORT! 

After another 45 minutes of my wife talking to various police, including the ones who came out on the motorbike, we finally left. They said to call them when we see him and the police will come out and ask him to come to the police station again. They said they couldn't go to his house at night.

This is the Thailand Police at their absolute finest.  It's no wonder that Thailand is the worldwide haven for the wanted criminals throughout the globe. Come here and hide and you won't be caught.  That's what they say.

Our frustration with the police since we moved to this location has continued to mount.  Down the block from us are a group of drug dealers.  It is well known throughout the neighborhood.  They blow off fireworks at all hours of the night.  They ride their motorbikes loudly by our town home at all hours of the night and the police do nothing about any of it.  You would think that drug dealers would be a little more subtle.  Not in Thailand, they don't have to be!

In fact we talked to our landlord about the issue.  He said that he was paying someone at the police station on a monthly basis to patrol his properties (he owns 4 town homes on this block).  Do you know that in the 9 months we've moved here I've seen the police on our soi a grand total of 3 times! And that includes when they came out the other night for our issue!

We have called them numerous times about the goings on in this soi and they never respond.  The landlord finally called his buddy to find out why they weren't doing what they were being paid to do and that was when we saw the police the next day.  That was 2 months ago and they've only been seen once since, when we called them.

Bottom line, the police in Thailand are completely and totally useless!  Say what you want about the police in America, but at least they do police work and aren't just wall dressing like these guys.

Posted on February 2nd, 2012 by webmaster
Filed under: Safety in Thailand, Thai Culture, Thai Oddities | No Comments »

Since I moved here to Thailand I had pretty much always gone to Bumrungrad Hospital for my medical care.  It's a beautiful place and has very good care.  Unfortunately I lately came to the realization that it is ungodly expensive.  And since I now have a health plan with a $5,000 deductible PER CONDITION, it's pretty much all on me.  So I've been re evaluating things.

Recently I tried Samitivej Hospital.  I went for an issue with my hip and they were excellent.  So I went back for my annual physical and again I found the prices rather outrageous.

So my wife and I went directly from there to Camillian Hospital on Thong Lor.  It was suggested to me by my friend Mr. Happy.  I should have know at that point that I was already in trouble.  You see, despite the fact that Mr. Happy has about as much money as god, he hates to spend it.  ANY OF IT.So he goes for the cheap way out.  And boy this is it.

Camillian is a nice enough place, albeit old.  They use the old blood pressure machines and thermometers, which is kind of charming actually.

But there is little English spoken there and quite frankly it's rather unprofessional.  More on that later.

Today I went in for my Physical.  The first time I went last week they said they preferred I wait for everything until I did the fasting blood tests and urine, which was fine with me.

The good news about Camillian is that it's ot as outrageously priced as Bumrungrad and Samitivej.  The bad news was coming up.

My plan was to only have certain things done, but the 2 girls spoke such poor English that I just took the 3K package, 12-15 k at the other places! So I didn't feel so bad.

First was the EKG. The girl didn't seem to be very experienced. I could tell the way she kept looking at all the connections and counting on her fingers and toes.  The first reading was bad. So was the second. Then she asked me if I have a phone in my pocket. Who doesn't? After turning it off she got a good reading.

Then urine. This bottle was smaller then a small pill bottle! Must be a commentary on Thai men's penis size. Peeing into it was a challenge, but nothing but net! Not making a mess was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do!  Here is what it looked like.

The guy doing the chest X-ray had a dress shirt hanging out and sandals. Not your typical radiologist uniform.

Said to sit down to see the doctor. I asked an hour later when that would be. They said test results take 2 hours. Wonderful.  Thanks for the information.

After lunch and coffee I saw the doctor. She was hot, but in a hurry. Must have had a tee time. Got the bums rush even though we had some important things to discuss.  Like high cholesterol and a spot on my chest X-ray.  But whatever she had to go to do was more important I guess.

I talked to my wife after we left.  I had come back about 2:30 pm.  They had said to be back to see the doctor about 2:30.  So when I got back from coffee I went to the restroom.  She told me 2 minutes later the doctor came out and my wife said I was in the toilet.  Then 2 minutes later she came out and said "what's taking him so long".  So my wonderful Thai wife said the only thing she could think of "he's shitting".  I mean, what did she want her to say.  And I'll be damned the doctor came out 2 more minutes later, obviously pissed off that she had to wait.  Again, not professional at all. Although I do admit to enjoying the short skirt she had on.  Unprofessional, but hot!

Then they charged me a doctors fee on top of the cost of the physical. What?  The cost of the physical didn't include talking to a doctor?  I guess that's extra…

My wife had asked for a health certificate for my drivers license earlier in the afternoon after we arrived. We asked for it when we were ready to leave. They said I'd have to come see another doctor. I said "BULLSHIT". Guess what, they made one appear.

Time for another hospital, number 4. UGGH!  Or back to Samitivej. Now I don't mind paying more.  This place is a joke.  I guess it's ok if you're a Thai person who is used to lousy service and unprofessional people in the medical profession.  I'm not!

Posted on February 1st, 2012 by webmaster
Filed under: Thai Companies, Thai Culture, Thai Oddities | No Comments »

If you've read my blog for a while, you have never heard me mention an establishment by name before. Well, I'm about to break that rule, just because the experience was so bad.

There's a place I used to get my hair cut at. The name is Vana Spa and Salon. It's on Sukhumvit Road near the Phrom Phong BTS.

I never really liked the attitude of the manager, who turned out to be the owner, I started out getting my hair cut there, but the young kid did a decent enough job, so I kept going there for many months. I also started getting some waxing done there as well as massages.

But I started to be bothered by the kid's attitude as well after a while. One day I went in there and he was working on someone else. Instead of giving me any kind of greeting, he made a rude gesture toward a chair. I guess that meant to sit down and wait. And it wasn't a language barrier either, he spoke very good English.

So I sat down. Then I asked how long it would be. He said about 30 minutes. I said ok and waited. So he finished with the lady he was working on and I got up and expected to get my hair cut. But he said, "I have to do the boy". I said "how long will that take" and he said "30 minutes". I had enough at that point and walked out. It was driving rain at that point, but I didn't care. I was pissed. I didn't like his attitude or the manager's attitude and I was ready to go to a new place. They didn't care how much of my time that they wasted and they weren't getting my money anymore.

But I decided to come back, only because I liked the job the girl did on the waxing and massage. I figured that she shouldn't have to pay for the other's lameness. So I went back a few times, but the manager was more rude then ever. The girl that did my massages let me know that the kid who cut my hair was the owners' son. Made a lot of sense now.

I went in one day last week and I told the manager I wanted a massage. She was a total bitch to me so I asked her "what's your problem lady?". She got all up in arms and started yelling at me. Then her dinky little husband came out and started yelling at me. I told him I didn't like her attitude and that I was a good customer and the asshole told me not to come back.

By the way, when you're getting a haircut or a massage their dogs are making lots of noise and the husband smokes in the back, making the whole place stink.

While I won't endorse any places as a rule, I will tell people which ones to stay away from. This is one of them!  Don't go to Vana Spa and Salon. With all of the beautiful people in this town there is no need to give money to assholes.

Posted on January 27th, 2012 by webmaster
Filed under: Thai Companies | No Comments »

As you no doubt have heard (unless you've been under a rock for the last few months), Thailand has been inundated by severe flooding.  Here in Bangkok things have gone from bad to worse.

A few weeks ago my wife was already freaking out about things and I have to admit my attitude was one of almost disinterest.  I mean, the areas that were flooded at the time were so far away from where we live in the center of Bangkok, that I thought she was going overboard.  As it turns out she was right.  I guess this is another example of why us guys get married.  

She started filling everything that would hold water with water.  She bought drinking water urns, dry foods, gas stoves, boots and other essentials in case we are at some point without food and water.  At the time I paid for them to largely humor her.  We got sandbags, even ahead of the landlord bringing them in.  She moved a bunch of her stuff upstairs.  I refused, saying I'll move my stuff, such as the stereo equipment, wine cabinet and tv when I can see water in the street.  As of yet I haven't had to move anything.

So we've been ready for a while for an emergency that still hasn't arrived.

And as time has gone on, the situation in the capitol has gotten worse and worse.  Central Bangkok still may not be flooded at all, but I have to admit that we live in fear that we will be.

You watch the tv and you see all of the neighborhoods that are deep in water.  You see heartbreaking scenes of the suffering that many Thais are experiencing.  You go to the store and you can't even buy bottled water, as well as many other essentials.  I receive text updates now of the news and information pours in hourly, much of it of a conflicting nature.

Many have left Bangkok, making it a much nicer place for a while.  Traffic is down, the sky trains aren't packed like they usually are and I read today that half the taxis have left.  It would be nice it the taxis and all those people wouldn't come back.  Of course that won't happen.

I have to say that the Thai authorities have handled this like they handle everything, badly.  One agency doesn't know what the other one is doing and is often blaming the other one for something.  At least 3 times a week our wonderful lady PM Yingluck goes on TV and cries.  Well that will get something accomplished now won't it?  I think it's ironic that Thailand is having it's worst crisis in a long time at the same time that the new inexperienced government is just taking charge.  And man have they shown their inexperience.  Of course the rival party has jumped on their every mistake.  Ahhh, Thai politics at it's finest!

Supposedly the worst will happen in the next 7 days.  Of course they've said things like that before.  A week and a half ago on Saturday night we were supposed to all get flooded when the tides were at their highest.  Of course that never materialized.

If I was a betting man (and I am) I would bet that the inner city won't feel the effects of this crisis.  I'm hopefully of this as well of course.  But I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

So for now we wait and wait and wait.  And hope for the best.

Posted on November 7th, 2011 by webmaster
Filed under: Bangkok Cabbies, Thai Politics | No Comments »

I’ll start out by saying that I’m not a morning person AT ALL!  I normally work until about 1 or 2 in the morning and by the time I get to bed it’s often after 2, so I’m not usually up until mid morning.

A couple of days ago my wife informed me that there would be a ceremony at our condo today at 7 am.  9 Buddhist monks would be coming here to bless our building for the new year.  My response was “that’s nice honey, what does this have to do with me?”.  Well, she wanted me to attend.  After some discussion I gave in and told her I’d go with her.  She broke me down when she said “all of the families will be there, the husbands, the kids, I don’t want to go by myself, it won’t look good.”  So I said, “ok and for how long?”.  She told me it would be about 15 minutes and then I could go back to bed.  Didn’t seem too bad.

OK, so after buying some juice, fruit and cookies at the store yesterday we were ready for the blessed event and this morning at 6:52 am my alarm clock (my wife) informed me that I needed to get up.  So I threw on some slacks and a nice shirt and came downstairs with her to bring the monks the offering.  When we got downstairs we were told that the monks were running late, “traffic”.  Imagine that, traffic in the morning in Bangkok!  You’d think even monks would know about that.

So we stood there with the rest of the people and waited and waited and waited.  Oh and by the way.  These “families” consisted of about 20 other women, 2 Thai guys and one other western guy who looked about 99 and a half and was probably glad to be still breathing.  There were just a few kids.  All the better, less irritating at 7 in the morning that way.

7:15 came and no monkmobile.  7:30, no sign of them.  Soon after that I informed my wife that my drop dead time was 7:45.  No monks, no me.  Well much to my chagrin they showed up at 7:44:30.  Man and I was almost out of there!

The 9 monks got out of the monkmobile and went down the line with their bowls, accepting the goodie bags from each “family”.  Then the security guards from the building proceeded to put the goodie bags into each monk’s own personal Hefty trash bag.  Then the head monk went down the line, splashed each of us with holy water and they were gone.   Back in the monkmobile and down the road to the next event I guess.  The whole thing took about 10 minutes, if that.  And for me it was back to bed.

By the way, we’re living here full time now and I do plan to start posting much more often.

Until next time, enjoy your day!

Posted on January 21st, 2011 by webmaster
Filed under: Thai Culture | No Comments »

Hey everybody!  It’s certainly been awhile.  The reasons are many.  One, I was in the U.S. for 8 months.  When I’m not in Thailand, it’s hard to find things to write about.  I used to write often about the politics, but all of that has kind of gotten “same, same”, as they like to say here.  I’ve been back over 2 months now and to be honest with you, I haven’t felt very motivated to write.  I guess a lot of the things I used to consider crazy are now quite commonplace.  Maybe it has something to do with being married as well.  I don’t know.  Anyway, I’m back, at least for now.

The reason I picked now to write is that I had to share an experience that has to do with the condo building that I live in here in Bangkok.

About the time we returned in November, we started noticing a strong smell of cigarette smoke in our bedroom at night.  Now being a militant non smoker and also being allergic to the stuff, I was mad as hell and wasn’t going to take it.  So I went down to the building office and was told through my interpreter (my wife) that smoking in the rooms wasn’t allowed and that the guy in the next room would be told to stop or be fined.

The next night the smell was back.  We called the evening manager and he told us that smoking is allowed in the rooms and that there was nothing he could do.

So the next day we went back to the office.  We were told they were mistaken and that the problem would be fixed.  So “engineering” came up to our room.  The reason I use the quotation marks is that these guys must be the lamest group of “engineers” on god’s earth.  Anyway they looked at my air conditioning duct, said something to my wife and were gone.  They told my wife that they would take care of it.

That night the issue remained.  We went back to the office the next day.  They told me they had to fix something in the neighbor’s room and that it would be fixed in 5 days.  5 days later the issue remained.  So we were back in the office.  So they sent engineering back up.  One of the guys got on a ladder and looked into our ceiling.  He asked me to climb up and take a look.  I did and sure enough there was a crack in the wall and I could see into the neighbor’s unit.  So the guy put some temporary insulation like stuff into the hole and once again I was told the problem would be fixed permanently in the neighbor’s unit.  In fact the office even confirmed to us that it had been fixed.

This exercise repeated itself many times more in the next couple weeks.

Some more time went on and I didn’t smell anything, so I just assumed that the problem was solved.  Occasionally I told my wife I thought I smelled it, but she said it was my imagination.  Keep in mind that every time we did smell it before we had to air out the room by opening the sliding doors and turning on the fan.  Not the way you want to go to sleep at night with the sounds of Bangkok keeping you awake.

Well last night the smell was back and it was stronger then ever.  We went to the office and they sent the head “engineer” up.  He looked back in the air duct as did I.  Because it was late afternoon I could see sunlight coming through that insulation.  Sure enough they had never even fixed it!  And to make matters worse, when we went back down to the office they told me it was the owner of the next unit’s responsibility to fix it.

I spoke with the unit’s owner tonight and we are trying to get it done ourselves.

Just another example of the incompetence of Thai “professionals” and of their ability to change the story to suit themselves.  2 months have been wasted.  If I knew from day one that it was up to me and the owner of the unit next door to fix it, the problem would have been fixed in a couple of days.  Instead 2 months had to go by and I have had to spend countless hours dealing with it, lost a lot of sleep and had to deal with a lot of frustration.  Just today we dealt with it for over an hour.  And trust me, the conversations that my wife had in Thai with the building staff, engineers, etc. that took over an hour would have taken a matter of minutes if they were being conducted by two English speaking people.  I guess I need to learn the language to understand what takes so damn long for Thais to communicate.  It’s just amazing.

Well, until next time, enjoy your day!

Posted on January 13th, 2010 by webmaster
Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »

Just when things had settled down in Bangkok it appears that Thaksin Shinawatra is once again attempting to tear Thailand apart.  I just saw this item on the Bangkok Post’s website:

Sondhi Limthongkul, the Manager media mogul and founder of the People’s Alliance for Democracy, survived an assassination attempt Friday that police said left him and two others wounded.

The gunmen fired about 100 rounds from assault rifles through the windows of Mr Sondhi’s car as he was on the way to record a programme for his ASTV station before dawn on Friday.

He suffered head injuries, the most serious of which occurred when a piece of metal, apparently from the car, penetrated the right side of his skull, causing bleeding in his brain, according to director of Vajira Hospital Dr Wanchai Charoenchokethawee.

“Doctors are performing an operation, which is expected to be completed around noon,” Dr Wanchai said, adding that there are no injuries to his body.

“At least two attackers followed Mr Sondhi’s car, overtook it and sprayed it with about 100 rounds of gunfire from AK-47 and M-16s,” said the commander, Colonel King Kwaengwisatchaicharn.

“The motive for the attack is still under investigation,” he said.

The car was attacked at a petrol station near the central bank at around 5am, according to PAD spokesman Panthep Puapongpan.

Mr Sondhi’s driver was in a serious condition, while an aide suffered minor injuries.

So now Thaksin’s latest plan appears to be to bring the PAD back on the streets and incite a full on civil war with his UDD.  The two sides clashed during the PAD’s protests late last year.  Many were injured and some died.  This time if the PAD comes back it will be a bloodbath.  As for the motive for the attack being under investigation, it should be apparent to all concerned who ordered this hit.  It’s fortunate that Sondhi wasn’t killed, but the end result may very well be what Thaksin wanted.  Hopefully the PAD won’t play into his hand.  The people of the PAD are very dedicated and love their leader.  They feel that they accomplished a lot by their protests.  The huge change in the government that was needed finally happened.  Now Thaksin is not only trying to undo it, he is trying to cause all out anarchy in the country he supposedly loves.

What’s amazing that Thaksin’s followers, the ones who aren’t being paid to protest, don’t get it.  They still can’t see what he is trying to do.  He only wants to get his 2.3 billion dollars back, not to mention the power of running Thailand.  But he doesn’t just want to be Prime Minister.  He wants to be the supreme ruler of Thailand.  Where that leaves the monarchy is anyone’s guess.  While he says he loves Thailand and the monarchy, his actions say otherwise.  Apparently he only loves himself.  And a bit too much in my humble opinion.

What’s also surprising is that Thaksin would order a hit on a political opponent when if there is one person who is the most likely to get assassinated at this point it’s Thaksin himself.  And now he doesn’t have a valid passport so he shouldn’t be able to travel.  If I were him I’d tread a little more lightly.  But that isn’t the man’s style.  Hopefully it will be his undoing.

Until next time, enjoy your day!

Posted on April 17th, 2009 by webmaster
Filed under: Thai Politics | 2 Comments »

I was pleased to see this piece in today’s Bangkok Post:

Thaksin’s passport revoked, retains citizenship

The passport of fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been revoked for his role in inciting the protests that caused the cancellation of the weekend Asia summit in Pattaya and subsequent rioting, the chief government spokesman said on Wednesday.

Thaksin still retains his Thai citizenship.

”The foreign ministry has cancelled his passport,” spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said.

”The incident on the 11th [of April] is the reason.

”The decision to cancel his passport was based on passport issuing regulations, which state that the ministry can cancel or recall a passport if it can prove that a person has caused damage to the country,” he said.

“The cancellation will hinder Thaksin’s foreign travel as a Thai, although his Thai citizenship remains intact,” the spokesman said.
So the Thai government and Prime Minister Abhisit has further tightened the noose around Thaksin’s neck.  Without a passport he should be unable to travel, despite now having his own plane.  I wonder what took them so long with Thaksin not only wanted for many crimes, but for his causing so much political unrest in Thailand.

The next step should be either to go get him, wherever he is and that shouldn’t be too hard to find out.  The Thai government should arrest him and bring him back to justice.  If the “red shirts” see their man in shackles, maybe they will finally realize what he really is, a common criminal.  He has stolen from the Thai people, killed numerous Thai citizens in his so called “war on drugs” and caused Thais to fight with Thais over his causes.  He has also caused irrevocable damage to the Thai economy.  Over 200,000 are expected to lose their jobs in the tourism industry in addition to the many who are out of work already.  This is because of the political unrest caused by Thaksin and the world economic downturn.  The bottom line is that he wants his 76 billion baht back and would like to rule Thailand.  In jail that will never happen.  In fact a friend made a great suggestion to me.  Thailand should confiscate the 76 million baht and use it to fuel Thailand’s economic recovery.  After all, Thaksin stole most of his money from the Thai people during his rule.    Thailand should benefit from the money instead of letting it sit there.

One more point I’d like to make.  Although Prime Minister Abhisit has made some mistakes along the way in handling this fiasco, he has remained a strong leader that Thailand and the monarchy can count on to do what’s in the best interests of Thailand.  Revoking Thaksin’s passport is the latest positive move he’s made.  He’s shown that he will do anything to bring Thailand back to what it was before the trouble started.  He has the good qualities that Thaksin had and he seems to be an honest man.  Hopefully in the end Thailand will be a better country for surviving all of this strife.

Until next time, enjoy your day!

Posted on April 15th, 2009 by webmaster
Filed under: Thai Politics | No Comments »

You may have noticed that I haven’t posted for awhile.  We’ve gotten settled back into our lives in the states for the spring and summer.  But I’ve been reading about the daily political news coming out of Thailand and I’ve stayed silent.  I can’t be silent any more.  Thaksin Shinawatra is ruining Thailand.

Now Thaksin and his goons have given Thailand a huge black eye by ruining the Asean Summit. UDD protesters have caused the summit to be canceled and the leaders of the summit countries have gotten out of Pattaya with their lives.  How do you think Thailand looks to the world now?

After Thaksin was thrown out in the 2006 coup he got corrupt candidate after candidate put into every significant political office in the land.  He did this by buying votes.  One by one these corrupt political parties and candidates have been thrown out of office.  Now the Democrats have put themselves into power.  Are they the choice of the people?  No.  Unfortunately the majority of Thai people are too ignorant to realize what Thaksin is doing and how they are being manipulated.  They are also too ignorant to realize what is best for them and their country.  But the current PM Abhisit is doing a good job and is a strong leader.  He seems to want what’s best for Thailand and despite the actions of Thaksin and his goons, he forges on.

But because of Thaksin’s actions, Thailand is stuck in a political stalemate.  This man is too egotistical and stubborn to let things alone, even as he runs from country to country to escape extradition for the crimes he has committed.  In the meantime, the country he claims to love is being ruined and he’s the one that’s doing it.  Tourism is about to become non existent.  Think about it, if you didn’t already know Thailand and it’s people very well, would you take a trip over there.  I try to explain to people that politics don’t affect tourists.  But they can’t be convinced.  Thailand already has plenty of negative connotations to the person that doesn’t know it.  This situation just makes it much worse.

The time has come to do something about Thaksin.  He either needs to be brought to justice or taken out.  Either way Thailand could move forward and start patching up all the wounds that have been created.  If this doesn’t happen things won’t get better.  At lease until Thaksin gives up or dies.  The economy which is already hurting will get worse and Thai people, many of which support Thaksin, will continue to suffer.

Until next time, enjoy your day.

Posted on April 11th, 2009 by webmaster
Filed under: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »