brahmburgers

Caretaker PM should hire me to think of more creative ways for him to garner sympathy. I'm cheap, for just $500 per day and mid-day 3-hour massage break, my scripts would be much more believable and better crafted than the 3 Stooges stuff we're being fed in the media.

.....The plain fact is that Thailand is vulnerable to a flood of 'undesirables'.

When there's in influx of people to anywhere, there's bound to be some 'undesireables' - and granted, those types should be dealt with as well as the populace and authorities can.

I meet many farang who come up to northernmost Thailand - most of whom are looking to retire here with their Thai wives. About half are not yet 50, so can't qualify for type O visa. Yet nearly all the solo guys and couples (and some single farang women too!) I meet are fine folks who are willing to invest a prince's ransom in developing a home (in the wife's name, of course) and in every case, they contribute handsomely to the local economy - whether indirectly (purchasing skads of products & services) or directly (scholarships, grants, etc for needy causes).

Putting a crimp on visa availability might filter out some of the "undesirables" (though doubtful, because they're often a wiley bunch), but it will certainly dissuade many, many good people who simply want to relax in Thailand with their Thai wives and spend boatloads of their ATM money. Rather than making Thailand more difficult, the Immigration Dept. should be making Thailand more accessible. Xenophobia is not pretty.

as with all such directives that come from on high, the interpretation will be rife with subjectivity.

Two scenarios:

1. Joe Blo buys a few beers and takes them to visit his immigration official friend one evening. They exchange niceties, inquire about families and jobs, then the farang asks; "I heard about a change in the immigration rules, will that farce me and my Thai wife and child to be deported." the kindly official laughs, "of course not, you won't have a worry in the world!"

2. Joe Blo is coming across a border into Thailand. He's sweaty, tired, and eager to just get home to be with his family in Chiang Mai. ....and he's hoping to get a 4th 30-day visa extension. The border official frowns while leafing through Joe's passport and directs Joe to go to a special room to start deportation procedures. Joe mentions his Thai wife, the wife's family that he just built a house for, the child, the 30,000 baht he has in his pocket, ....all to no avail. The immigration official has been told earlier by his superiors that he clamp down on wayward farang. Joe is booted out.

Regardless of what rules get put on the books, there are two things for certain:

A. the rules won't be consistently applied. Different officials/Entry points will apply them in different ways. It's always been that way, and there's no reason to suspect there to be any changes.

B. The rules will be subject to the whims of the officials. If a farang does a border crossing dressed neatly, that's added points. If he does a border crossing with his Thai wife in toe, additional points. If the farang and his Thai wife reek of money - it's guaranteed he won't get in trouble. Additional points awarded dropping names of important Thai people, and also for children in toe.

I have one farang friend who carries a card around in his wallet with the name and seal of someone close to the royal family. He says he's used that tattered card to get out of many uncomfortable encounters with Thai officials. We should all be so lucky.

I live in CM and there must be hundreds, if not thousands of foreigners living here that do this. Do the Thai government not want these people spending money in LOS?

no they dont and rightly so....if you are on a perpetual rotating tourist visa run (or perpetual visa exempt re-entry merry-go-round), then you are cheating the system and have no right to complain if the authorities decide to stop the cheating (even if you are supporting three buffalos and an entire bar)....

get the right visa and get legal not fair to those who comply with the system and take the time and expense to comply.....

cheating the system?!? with such a byzantine system subject to the whim of a few malinformed myrmidons - what's there to cheat? Dems dat got should not look down on dems dat are strugglin' to stay in Thailand by whatever means - even if at the fringes of legality. Overall, foreigners do a lot more good for Thailand than the Thai do for themselves - and foreigners certainly bring in tubloads of outside money.

if the tuk tuk driver is found guilty by scientific evidence - and then winds up getting off easy because 'the girl was drunk..." then my already very low opinion of 'Thai justice' will sink ever lower.

It's the 14% who were victims of sexual assault which shocks me !

It's the 14% who were victims of sexual assault which shocks me !

Thought it would be much higher, but then again lot prob goes unreported.

Either Ive read this wrong or this survey is complete and utter nonsense!

34% of new mothers in Bangkok are 13 years old and under!!!!!!

it said 34% of new mothers in Bangkok are under 14 - get your numbers straight.

....even it it's 3% it's a scary number. Another questionable number is the "14%" who suffered sexual assault. We all know that sexual assault is not something a girl wants to come out and admit publically - so the number is likely quite higher. Plus, girls often don't even know (or admit to themselves) that they were heavily coerced, drugged or assaulted for sex. Yes, education should be everywhere - for girls boys and parents. consequences for assaulting males should be severe - and include the boys parents/guardians. abortion and contraceptive should be readily available. ...very serious stuff - traumatizing girls for life, and bringing in millions of unwanted and fatherless kids - many of whom will doubtless continue the cycle.

it's assumed that land transfers dropped only because of Thai authorities (supposedly) taking a closer look at questionable ownerwhip arrangements by proxy corporations, etc. The original article mentioned 'land transfers' without specification so it appears to cover all transfers.

If you look at all transfers among foreigners, you'll find that the majority are in the buyer's wife's name - so that precludes the proxy biz shenanigans. Even so, a dramatic lessening of land transfers in Phuket could well have much more to do with the increasing awareness among (some) foreigners that quality of life in Thailand is declining. It's particularly true in places like Phuket where locals are getting more surly, prices padded, environment detriorating and noise increasing.

hate to say 'I told you so' but when I first heard of Karr, I told friends that 'giving detailad evidence of the crime was not difficult - if some nut so chose to do so. There has been at least one extremely detailed TV documentary about the Bennet case - even showing such video footage as where, exactly, an intruder's bootmarks were at a basement casement window. The documentary, by the way, gave strong evidence that exonerated the little girl's parents. I think all in all the Denver police could have done a better job from the get-go.

two things to watch out for re; getting a well drilled;

1. for a 4" PVC casing they're required to put little screws in at the junctions of the 4 meter pipes. I didn't know that when I had already paid the well driller and was trying to lower my submersible pump down the hole. The well was 27 meters deep, but the pump only went down a few meters. I found out several headaches later that the ding dong who put the screws in used screws that were too long - thereby sticking thru the casing and obstructing the pump. We devised a way to break off the screw ends (an old motor cylinder attached to rods) and now it's ok.

2. without asking/telling me beforehand, the driller dropped a 4 meter length of smaller diameter down my well. So I couldn't lower my pump closer than 4 meters from the bottom. I already knew that pumps are supposed to be a couple meters or so clear from the bottom because of silt build-up - but I didn't want my lower well blocked without prior being informed.

It's part of a series of constant reminders; - if you get any sort of uncommon work done by a Thai (someone who has not worked for you earlier, or who is doing some new type of gig) - it's imperative to stand right at their shoulder to make sure they're not going to screw up. You never know what sort of weird surprises will crop up - especially if you turn your back for a moment. If you start to explain some new gig (placing elec wires within a wall cavity for example) a Thai worker will invariably cut you off and say he understands, "no problem" - but as often as not, you find out later he didn't actually understand. ...can be especially frustrating for things that can't be readily be undone, like cement/tile work or planting a tree much too deep, or...... the list goes on.

jdinasia says there will be a free shuttle - is that to mean free shuttle buses driectly from the airport to various places downtown? That would be cool - but I rather doubt such a convenient service (for free!) could pass muster with airport authorities.

Thaksin is playing to the crowd in the NE bleachers. Those are his staunchest constituecy - besides being the most pliable, they're numerous and they respond very handily to several hundred baht for their individual votes. What we'd like to see, is the Nor'Easteners take the money and go vote for whomever they ###### well please - tho that was not easy in last April's election because the voting booths were arranged so that individual's vote could be seen by officials. Are ballots signed or otherwise marked to identify a particular person?

TRT top honchos pressure Provincial heads to get the vote - who in turn pressurize village headmen, who in turn pressure villagers to block vote for TRT. The incentive that greases the gears is, not surprisingly, money by the bucketload - sometimes tressed up in the guise of community projects etc.

To many Thais, Thaksin can do no wrong. No matter how farcical the ruse (faked bomb threats, etc) there will be hard core support with blinders firmly fastened - buffeted (and paid) by dirty tricks TRT faithful. When that support inevitably lapses, it will do so all at once, like a dam break. You can bet Thaksin has a sure fire exit strategy - that will jet him and his family out (my guess; to London) in the shake of a lamb's tail (shake of a residence gate's chain). Already, it's likely the lions' share of his vast wealth is safely tucked away overseas. Doubtful whether his billions are circulating in Thailand to benefit Thais.

"unforgettable Thailand" ...in the sense of unforgettable bump on the head for participating in a initially -peaceful protest - perchance?

What's next in the unforgettably cunning mind of the caretaker PM:

Will he lose his credit cards (before he loses his marbles) to an unsavory Malaysian character - who suddenly empties the Thaksin family bank accounts. Then the PM can stand before his minions with a tear in his eye and declare he's broke. Within days, millions of identically scripted cards will get mailed to him - from the NE and Chiang Mai - expressing heartfelt sorrow.

"According to recent statistics, more than 50,000 girls between 14 and 19 years old have unwanted pregnancies each year."

50,000 unwanted pregnancies per year is WAY TOO LOW a number. Yes, sex education should be available throughout, but just as important; the un-Thai trait of RESPONSIBILITY - particularly for men that sexually prey on girls should be instilled in whatever ways possible.

I meet dozens of young women, mostly legit massage girls. I'd say over 80% have at least one child and NOT ONE OF THOSE SINGLE MOMS receive a satang of support from the salivating dogs that hit 'em up. It's disgusting how easily men can get away with irresponsible screwing - and amazing to me how Thai society as a whole yawns a collective 'mai pen rai' about it all - at the family level, at the wats, and at the legal level. Indeed, the deadbeat dads' families would threaten bloody murder to anyone who so much as insinuated that their precious son should take responsibility for the deprived kid he's brought in to the world. Though farang are generally more responsible in the 'screw 'em without a condom and to hel_l with the consequenses' attitude, there are still some farang in Thailand who are despicably irresponsible - and that burns my biscuit - I jest not. To me it's as despicable as knowingly giving someone an STD.

When Thaksin mandates, "instructions were given to police to strictly enforce the law when dealing with demonstrations..." he means 'enforce the law as he wants it twisted.' He still has a lot of cards to play.

The sorry-assed scapegoat who got grabbed for driving a car around Thaksin's block with non-functional 'bomb' will get let off with a wrist slap - and oddly turn up later with a new house - clandestinely paid for with TRT money.

When it gets too hot in the kitchen, Thaksin and the Thaksinettes (and other marionettes) will get their billionaire buns to London. Disgraced despots usually sneak off to Florida, but that 'Land of the Hanging Chads' will revert back to a swamp in 50 years.

little money = little respect

big money = big respect

gargantuan money = prime ministership

'love' is some quaint notion that Thais become peripherally aware of by watching TV or movies or reading books. Oh forgot, Thais only read books if they have to.

instead of ambulance chaser, we have chaser ambulances.

....racing to an accident scene at full speed. That could be someone's son or daughter getting whacked by the speeding blood stained pick-up. Broken bodies at the scene get slung in to backs of pick-ups - with nary a thought to exacerbating vertebrae dislocations.

Yes, it's easy to stereotype. If such a 'reporter' hears of a Pakistani or a Malaysian doing come certain bad thing - then he can raise red flags and smear the whole bunch - most of whom are probably decent folks. It is bottom-feeding journalism that may inspire the Thai constables to take a firmer grip on things - though more often than not the cops' well-intentioned measures are off-base and wind up hurting the good folks instead of weeding out the bad apples they're supposedly aiming at.

As for forged Thai identities. It's not unusual up where I am in northern Thailand for people to check around with corrupt village headmen (headwomen don't exist) - indeed a couple Burmese women friends of mine of successfully made it stick - and are now doing legit little businesses in Thailand - whereas before they were kept in brothels. Obviously, western looking farang couldn't pull the ID ruse - it would have to be someone who looks Asian or middle eastern - though wouldn't the Thai authorities catch the fact (during periodic checks) that the ID fraudsters couldn't speak decent Thai?

wow, popular topic - lots of input, including some 'newbies' right-o!

Some succint points:

>>> Even with the supposedly thorough checking of police records, whether from the 'home country' or by the amazingly inept Thai authorities, would not have screened Karr.

>>> Thailand needs more native English speakers - indeed as many as possible who are willing to devote their time and skills to teaching English. If the qualifications become more restrictive, less farang will be on hand to share their knowledge.

>>> if the proposed restrictions are enforced, richer schools will get degreed teachers (though degrees don't preclude lusting after young students) - and poorer school students will slip further down the slope of not being able to converse in English.

>>> Currently, the level of conversational English, even among educated Thais, is generally abysmal. A hill tribe kid from a thatch & bamboo house is more likely able to converse in English than a government bigwig - and that's because the kid has had interactions (hopefully positive) with farang.

Apparently there are quite a few people posting here who regard themselves as "teachers", yet have no teaching degree/qualification.

Why is it so difficult to understand that if you want to teach you need the proper qualifications? and I don't mean the Kao-Sarn type of degree!

Especially when it comes to teaching children, knowledge about a language is just not enough. A proper education in pedagogical science is an absolute must!

opalhort

A teaching degree does not a good teacher make. More important is whether English is the teacher's native language. Next in importance is whether the teacher has a propensity and alacrity for teaching. Someone with a fistful of degrees might make a crumby teacher and could just as likely be lusting after students as any other teaching candidate - Thai or farang.

The original news item in this thread mentioned the added scrutiny will apply to farang "applying" for teaching jobs. What about the current teachers, both Thai and foreign, who have dubious qualifications and lust after students? Along with or instead of background checks - a more effective way to gauge teaching adeptness is to simply ask fellow teachers and student leaders about the current teacher's ability and moral terpitude.

one would expect, even in Thailand, for all rafting outfitters to mandate bright orange life jackets for every client. If so, she'd likely be alive - and certainly easy to find - either way. A helmet should be an additional common sense requirement - but maybe that's too much to expect in maipenrai land. where everyone (in my town) immediatly takes their motorbike helmets off at 5 pm every day, and all day Sundays because that's when the cops don't give a hoot.

let's hope radicals don't commandeer the "Arab Town, as they have with so many places in the middle east. One worst case scenario could be like the imbroglio when there was a fire in a Saudi girl's school The girls ran down a stairwell, but the exterior door was locked. Firemen arrived on the scene and could hear the girls screaming inside, but lo and behold, praise be to Allah!, a group of Muslim fundamentalists blocked the firemen from doing their job - saying the girls didn't have face scarves and plus, it was not proper for fireMEN to be in proximity to girls. The result: nearly 20 girls roasted alive while the firemen were kept at bay.

Of course the cops will cordon the youngest, cutest gals - rather than talk seriously with the bar owners or older girls. Similarly, cops here in Chiang Rai, whenever they do a "helmet and ID' stop - 95% of the people they detain are beautiful young girls - who are naturally giggly, nervous, compliant, scared, a bit angry, and perhaps willing to do a little tit for tat to avoid a 200 baht fine. Certainly tel#'s are occassionally garnered (am I jealous? yes). Incidentally, in 8 years of daily driving in the region, I have never seen a ticket written for driving thru a red light or speeding or driving on wrong side of the road or a pick-up overloaded with kids, or for any of the dangerous things that transpire continually here.

....and whilst we're at it how about background checks on politicians?

known criminal associations

fraudelent business transactions

evidence of corruption

Lets sweep the country clean of "undesirables"

Thai authorities, though well-intentioned, will continue to miss the mark. They're so easily impressed by appearances that they'll continue to hire those that look impressive (spiffy attire, bogus certificates, etc.) - and pass over those that don't (casual attire, stubble, no fake resumes, etc).

The Thais that bind will never quite grasp the fact that teaching ability rests not in (usually bogus) certificates and James Bond appearances. Perhaps each school could have a silent ballot sort of 'peer review' wherein student leaders and staff 'assess' the abilities and rightousness of each teacher. There should be two main criteria for teachers in Thailand: (A) teaching ability, and

( the 'hush hush' topic of whether the teacher is lusting after students.

Peer review could shed light on those - but as time goes by, Thai administrators might get chummy with certain teacher(s) and often chumminess leads to protectiveness. The recent news of Thai teachers getting accused of sexually assaulting several 8 year old students is case in point. Right away the administration firmly sided in defense of the accused teachers - as if the admin knows of all the private things that go on between teachers and imressionable students. In all such cases, the students should be given a threat-free environment to express their concerns - and if the accused are found guilty, the chips should fall heavily.

I'm a middle aged man - usually go about town on my own. However, I did get a definite disgusted look once from a farang woman who saw me walking with three early teenage gals - middle of the day in downtown Chiang Rai. She had no way of knowing, but the two girls are like daughters to me. They're petitte brown-skinned immigrants from Laos and I've been close friends with them and their parents for years. The girls bop over to my house whenever they want - to do internet, to sweep the floor, to get a snack. ...and I help them out with things like buying school supplies - and we all (parents and grandparents included) sometimes go on outings together.

A couple times, the youngest gal (11) has even reached out to hold my hand while we're walking. I don't know if women can understand the immense heart-warming feeling a guy gets - when a girl does such a thing - but it's true. and has nothing to do with sex - and everything to do with love.

Even so, I can understand if an unknown person looks askance at a middle aged farang walking with a much younger gal (or two or three). Once a Thai shopowner called the girls over to ask who I was. I thought that was completely decent thing for the shopowner to do - and I don't begrudge it at all.

Nobody asked me Dept; I had stated on my website that the Don Muang space should be set aside for something inspiring and different. Perchance a park? no way jose, Thailand is abysmal for parks. Bkk has one small park and a muddy river. There is no such thing as a decent park in any Thai town or city. Also worth considering for Don Muang: a museum with an emphasis on alternative energy and environmental husbandry coupled with features to encourage budding inventors. Can't happen. The caretaker gov't who, by law, are not supposed to enact any new legislation have decided on ......a giant market - a decision expected from the money worshiping TRT heads who are completely devoid of any creative and uplifting concepts. What a let down.