Jason McDonald commented : I think many people in the west, especially the US have lost some perspective on reality. When a US soldier threw a puppy off a cliff there was a major media storm and intense public reaction. About the same level of reaction occurred when a US helicopter gunship blasted a news TV crew and civilians into hundreds of pieces and followed up by shooting and totally destroying a small van containing school children who came to the rescue of one very wounded survivor. So do we say that one puppy is worth 20 Iraqis in terms of US public assessment? Now with all the troubles that are going on in Bangkok we discuss the showing of an anti US tee-shirt? When in all likelihood the thai shop has no idea what the tee-shirt says or means only that it has a US flag on it? I pose this question; Are we all losing moral perspective in this current time??

allennoble commented : Gohmer, I'm sorry that you are insulted by this joke T-shirt. Yes there are many people ignorant of America: including me. What exactly does this American Flag look like? I know several of the flags of nations on the American continents by sight, but I've never heard that there is one representing the continents as a whole. Since you are an expert on the topic, perhaps you can educate me? All sarcasm aside. Get over it. Even as you posted your complaint Thailand sat on the brink of civil war. Now there are people killing each other out in the streets of Bangkok. Is a bad taste joke t-shirt really important?

PeterAndyWolfe commented : From an American "Playboy" September 11th 2001 - On Vacation in Thailand. 14 hours after watching the towers collapse I and my girlfriend (from Hong Kong), were walking down sukhumvit. Peering inside this little bar, we caught the act of a Thai Rock band. They were playing American rock. The leader was draped in an American flag. It was pretty touching. Kid couldn't have been more then 25. Wasn't very anti-American then. After 2 relaxing "playboy" weeks in Phuket, (BTW we'd only been dating 3 years), we left Phuket with our pockets lighter by about $4k US, however we took with us memories of one of the finest vacations ever. In fact, the experience was such that my Son, who was married in 2006, honeymooned in Phuket on my advice. I Don''t think his bride would appreciate referring to her new husband as an "American playboy" while on his honeymoon). May-June 2009 - I needed dental work. Why pay $12k and sit home? My total trip to Thailand, great dental work, airfare lodging, food and entertainment for TWO was only about $7k (I wasn't feeling very playboyish this time with 8 temp crowns in my mouth and a brought from home woman with me. (the Thai ladies if anything were a bit P.Od that I WASN'T on the market so... get off the stereotyping of American men as playboys -that's about the most irritating thing I have read. I met more lesbian American women In Chaing Mai then I did American men anyway! Sadly, my Son, his wife, and, I were planning a trip to Koh Samui for the 22nd of May. Sorry, but we've canceled. We've booked for 2 weeks in Playa del Carmen and Isla Majora. That's about another $8k in revenue that Thailand would have received and I would have been more then happy to have provided them with. The Thai people are about 90% of the reason we keep coming back. I.e. it's the PEOPLE - there are plenty of nice beaches in the world. Red shirt/Yellow shirt - be damned. I am a tourist plain and simple. American - Ignorant - well some are! I've traveled through Texas where steer horns adorn the hoods of trucks, bankers strut around in stetsons and they name freeways after mentally deficient ex-presidents. There's a whole U.S. STATE filled with idiotic Americans and they travel the world leaving Anti-American sentiment where ever they go. So a lot of Americans ARE clueless. So what? A Texan probably bullied him at one time and left a bad impression. There are 30 million Thai. one store owner does not, a national sentiment, make. If I am boycotting Thailand at the present it's because I want to relax while on vacation - There are great deals right now on Bangkok hotels but wearing a flack jacket to dinner in 90 degree weather just doesn't sound like much fun.

charleskirk commented : My wife and I have been married for 34 years and look forward to the rest of our lives together. Our marriage has been wonderful and we have experienced the same trials and triumphs of any marriage. We are both christian now and enjoy working together in ministry as well as continuing to care for our children and grandchildren. I would not change any part of our life together and love my wife very much as she also loves me and has proven so many times during our marriage. We have two sons and several grandchildren with another on the way which we are looking forward to. I couldn't imagine life without my precious Song and hope to continue together for many years to come. The only problem we have is with the governments of the US and Thailand. The US is a hassle because we have to pay dearly to maintain her green card as she never applied for US citizenship and Thailand will not recognize our marriage legally even though she is now legally registered with my last name. It's all about paperwork issues and even the embassy people at Bangkok are sympathetic to our issue but can't do anything to help because of the immigration rules established after the 911 attack in the US. I would advise to make sure all your Thai paperwork is in order to save the hassles of not having a properly documented marriage in Thailand. Other than that give your love and be faithful and your Thai wife will be as great as a wife can be.

llegion commented : I lived in Thailand for 16 years. I had same kind of problems, well maybe not with dogs, but with people having parties until very late hours. First, it's true you should inspect very well the area before moving in. Second, if you like peaceful living, then you might have to take it "Thai way", But I don't really care about "Thai culture", there is no such thing anymore, just look at what they're doing with their political issues, they are all but peaceful. Police likes to mention "Thai culture" as a way of avoiding a problem. I personally care more about not to be a victim, so I often sued these people, including police, using competent authorities, usually I had justice 90% of the times but with some cost. If you have money and will enough to go thru with it, I can guarantee that it will not be you "not to be happy anymore" but them. It will not be easy or pretty, and you have to document everything, maybe even install security cameras to gather evidence. There are several laws that protect you against noise. Police usually don't want to enforce them, especially in rural areas, but you easily bypass local police and file a complaint to headquarter in Bangkok. Is it worthy? Well, I wouldn't suggest it to anyone, if you are particularly strong and you can afford a good lawyer fee, if you have time to spend in courts, authorities offices and so on, then do it; but make sure you have FULL support of your family first. It's not any different than a country like USA, where you must be wealthy and motivated to have justice done. And is not against foreigners only, even tho usually Thai police assist a foreigner less in these matters. Near my office there were so many quarrels between Thai: about noise, dogs, cats, etc... sometime ending up in shooting or other acts of violence. But I also want to say: it's not really possible to order a dog to stay quiet. It's in the nature of dogs to bark to each other and to unknown people. So in this case, try to understand that might be not easy to control an animal. Now that doesn't justify a tiny bit the bully attitude of the dogs' owner. But I can't suggest what is the right choice, especially if you are in a rural area, in a village or a close community, they can make your life very hard, as a matter of facts, of all foreigner friends I know living in Thailand, just a couple of them, plus myself, had the guts to fight back (and win). Yeah i used the word "fight" because that's what you will end up doing. Whatever you decide to do, I wish you good luck! And ignore all the "stories" about Thai culture...

Krumm commented : [quote="MrReciprocal":1gpigr5k]Nothing better than Mr Anuwat's comments highlight the need for all foreign countries, Western, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, etc. to bring in RECIPROCAL laws. I.e. laws which ban nationals of one country which ban nationals of another country from the same buying rights, to themselves be banned. I.e. Thais would be banned from buying in Western countries, Japan, South Korea, China, etc. - because our nationals are banned from buying in Thailand. Switzerland has laws virtually doing this. We should copy Switzerland. Mr Anuwat should be banned from buying in Western countries, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, etc.[/quote:1gpigr5k] That would be great but would never happen countries like the US and UK which regard it as a fundamental freedom for anyone to own land and actually want foreigners to invest in their countries, wherever they come from. Would also love to see Thais not being allowed to own their businesses abroad and being charged 10 times the going rate to enter museums and national parks too. No doubt they would scream blue murder. Anyway it seems that The Bangkok Post did get Anuwat to eventually publish a clarification and he apparently meant to say that it is illegal for Thais married to foreigners to buy land, if the funds are not their own and the couple doesn't sign the Letter of Confirmation. So he was indeed just shooting his mouth off trying to sound tough and score brownies points for foreigner bashing. What a useless old windbag and time waster! Can't they find some one a bit brighter to head up the Land Dept. Oh....I forgot. It's a political appointment.

boonfah commented : I understand Thais concern on this. I am one of those tourists and am horrified at the lack of respect some tourists show your country as all Thais I have come across are such a respectfull and friendly people. I try to stay away from Bangkok for that reason so i dont have to see drunk English in the bars their. But going up north I love Nakon Sawan and stayed there for a month recently. I love Thailand and I love the poeple (my girlfriend is Thai so am very biased). I only wish that my own country in England that people would have the same respect for others. Unfortunaltley your economy does reley a little too much on tourism which is shame for a country with such vast wealth. Of course without all the world bank and IMF debt that Thailand is in you wouldnt need to be so reliant on tourism or its money. It is only with these loans that countries like the US and the UK steal your vast natural wealth for themseleves as they have done all around the globe.

Stense commented : A tourist is a short time visitor on holiday, (in US, vacation), but in Thailand we are all "tourist/farang," in spite of having lived in the country for years!! In most other countries you get a resident permit, the best you can obtain in Thailand is the One year retirement permit , "work" and Expat.(if you qualify); who is the big spenders, those coming for two weeks or us taking in on an average Bath 100.000,00+ every month on a Thai bank account with 0% interest How many hundred thousand FOREIGNER have Thailand as their first home Thai Immigration can tell the Thai how much WE contribute with, understandably including HOW many Thai mouth each in this in other countries "Residents" feed BUT ARE THEY WILLING TO DO THAT, better is it persons on the FORUM who knows the figure? Each 3 months we are dealt with as "prisoner"on probation at The Immigration this in spite of having lived for years; Invested in property, spent the money we have saved in public and private pensions during long working days at home. Saving for our old age, in Thailand are suspicious individuals, as the Thai not do "same same" In front of an average immigration officer with a monthly salary of Bath 12.000,00 he /she is free to behave as an the Uniforms their power This officers harvest a huge income as money collectors, firstly for the country as well as their own pockets. Should not their clothing and behavior be accordingly How many, I indicated a "few hundred thousand" is to be found in the group I dear to name as "Resident " The Immigration office in Bangkok knows, they have copy of all individual files: Our Thai bank books, Certified income from our Embassy or Consulate, our health certificate, our residence a.s.o. Why do they not even dear to tell how many we are in this "one year" Retirement, Expat (work permit group) Tourism, 6% but is our contribution included

Sean Moran commented : [quote="Stense":3jh49m2o]A tourist is a short time visitor on holiday, (in US, vacation), but in Thailand we are all "tourist/farang," in spite of having lived in the country for years!! In most other countries you get a resident permit, the best you can obtain in Thailand is the One year retirement permit , "work" and Expat.(if you qualify); who is the big spenders, those coming for two weeks or us taking in on an average Bath 100.000,00+ every month on a Thai bank account with 0% interest How many hundred thousand FOREIGNER have Thailand as their first home Thai Immigration can tell the Thai how much WE contribute with, understandably including HOW many Thai mouth each in this in other countries "Residents" feed BUT ARE THEY WILLING TO DO THAT, better is it persons on the FORUM who knows the figure? Each 3 months we are dealt with as "prisoner"on probation at The Immigration this in spite of having lived for years; Invested in property, spent the money we have saved in public and private pensions during long working days at home. Saving for our old age, in Thailand are suspicious individuals, as the Thai not do "same same" In front of an average immigration officer with a monthly salary of Bath 12.000,00 he /she is free to behave as an the Uniforms their power This officers harvest a huge income as money collectors, firstly for the country as well as their own pockets. Should not their clothing and behavior be accordingly How many, I indicated a "few hundred thousand" is to be found in the group I dear to name as "Resident " The Immigration office in Bangkok knows, they have copy of all individual files: Our Thai bank books, Certified income from our Embassy or Consulate, our health certificate, our residence a.s.o. Why do they not even dear to tell how many we are in this "one year" Retirement, Expat (work permit group) Tourism, 6% but is our contribution included [/quote:3jh49m2o] I have a spare hankerchief if you need to borrow it...

Martinus commented : [quote="MustaphaMond":ntgckkre]In Phuket, between Patong and Karon beaches, tourists were regularly knocked from their scooters in smash and grabs. The local police were doing nothing. It wasn' until the Consulate starting major griping that the head police in Bangkok sent down some officers to deal with it .[/quote:ntgckkre] Obviuosly you have never wondered why in the US the rental cars are stripped from anything remotely showing it is a rental...... contrary to any other nation where I have rented cars.... Wake up man.....

ricepaddy commented : Our farang ways are paradoxical, not just seemingly, compared to the Thai ways. My father was KIA in WWII and mom went to work, so I was raised mostly by my grandparents, who were village farmers in Slovakia until WWI, when the Kaiser’s army conscripted grandpa, who was captured and sent to Siberia by the Russians. He survived until the war ended. Then grandpa and grandma immigrated as farangs to America. 17 years ago I was assigned to a five year farang work assignment in Thailand and after a few months was sure that Thailand was just a dirty, undeveloped, Third World country trying to put on a façade of modernizing with big buildings and a few road signs in English. Then I met an old long-stay farang, who patiently listened to my story and all my negative gripes about Thailand. He asked me to try and make a mental list of some good things about Thailand and we’d talk again. I took his advice and in the course of making my list, flashed back to some of my grandpa’s stories about the great things about America and how hard it was to assimilate into a culture so different from the one where he was raised. His vocabulary to a child obviously didn’t include “assimilate” and “culture” even though we were speaking in Slovak, but that was the gist. Learning the American language (my British friends insist I do not speak English) was high on grandpa’s list of difficulties, just as learning Thai was on mine. Fast forward to now and I am retired living on a village farm in Changwat, Surin and still adding to the old long-stay farang’s mental list of good things about Thailand. The list is quite long, and keeps growing because despite the negative things I see and sometimes comment about, the good and positive things I see and experience daily are what keep me here as a healthy, happily married farang whose ways are much less paradoxical than 17 years ago. My comment could probably have left out many details and just said that most people are different and some can assimilate well, some not so well, and others not at all, but I just finished a cup of coffee, booted the computer, checked email and Bangkok Post, looked out the window at the green rice paddies and got carried away. Thai coffee is on the good list (for talking and writing).

witsawakorn commented : [quote="VP":7810c548]The advertising board on the way to Airport is shown "Foreigner Zone.. Buying house (somewhere around Bangkok..) Foreigner, with Special Price!!" I know the property company may want to attract foreigners to invest in property in Thailand. But, what about Thais who also want to own the property in their own country but have to pay higher price than non-resident?[/quote:7810c548] The obvious comment is that foreigners can not legally own land in Thailand ( there are exceptions such as US Citizens under the treaty of Amity) so there is little value in being offered a special deal on a house:-)