womble

Alcoholic-Beverage Control Bill Rejected

The Cabinet Tuesday sent back the Alcoholic-Beverage Control Bill for further discussions among relevant authorities.

The bill is designed to impose many restrictions on alcoholic-beverage sales, including a ban on people under 25 years old age to buy the alcoholic drinks.

According to the bill, discounts and promotional gimmicks for the sale of alcoholic beverages will also be banned.

An informed source said the Cabinet extensively debated on how to implement control measures with proper balance. It also raised questions as to how to identify which person is at least 25 years old of age, which will allow them to buy alcoholic drinks legally.

The Cabinet has assigned the Education, Commerce, Industry, Social Development and Human Security ministries to send their representatives for further discussions on the bill.

The Nation

Looks like there may be some concessions, my guess is they will drop the over 25 thing and possibly print media advertising.

I reckon a blanket ban on TV and Radio will go ahead.

Much better now that all relevant departments will debate this rather than just the health ministry.

Will sence prevail????

And what do they know at that age?

Only what adults tell them, they probobally can't even read the signs and don't really understand what they are doing.

There are definatley some powerful people pushing an agenda here, they had power when Thaksin was there and they have power now, I wonder who it could be???

Ban on booze adverts set to be issued today

To take effect after 45 days in Royal Gazette

POST REPORTERS

While Thailand is supposedly ranked fifth in the world for alcohol consumption, other countries with strict controls on alcohol advertising consume less.

Thawat Sundrachan, chief of the Disease Control Department, cited the World Health Organisation's findings that the number of alcohol drinkers in countries such as Iceland, Norway, Jordan and Egypt was 16% lower than in countries with no ban on adverts.

The number of casualties caused by drink-driving in those countries was also 23% less than those with fewer controls on alcoholic drinks, he said.

Bangkok post

http://bangkokpost.com/News/17Oct2006_news08.php

Ok, two of thosew countries are muslim where alcohol consumption is very low anyway and the other two have among the highest alcohol taxes in the world, what the hel_l does that have to do with advertising?????

If they really want to cut deaths and help all they need to do is reduce tax on beer and wine adn increase it on Whiskey particulary Lao Khao which should be made illegal.

This is not transparant. Tax and eductation are methods that have been proven to work, prohibition is doomed to faliure, what is it with these people???

In all press reports I have only seen people coming out in supports, nowhere have I seen anything from groups opposed to this ban.

It seems the new health minister is trying to make a name for himself, and those pushing their own missguided agenda are coming out to support him.

Where are the people with knowledge and education to shoot down this foolish idea that is doomed to faliure and will economically damage the country.

They are now saying they want to ban alcohol sales on sundays, what will that do to tourism???

Idiots!

There is still a hel_l of a lot of room for movement on property prices, especially Samui, Phuket less so, but still some room, and Bangkok is still very reasonable for a city of it's size and popularity.

Actually I think the current slowdown is very welcome and also very healthy for the property market long term. The was a real danger of a bubble appearing, some believe it had already started to form. This current slowdown has allowed things to slow down and correct itself.

Next year I believe we will see things start to take off again. Friends of mine in property have told me that since the coupe things have improved, particulary the high end properties.

The finance minister and previous head of BOT did an extremely clever thing that has resulted in stopping another property bubble like the one in 97.

Things are quiet, definatley quieter than any other period over last 3-4 years, but it's not dead. We have had several people look around the house that we rent, so that shows people are still searching.

It always seems though that agents will talk things up and generally try to make things appear more rosy than they are.

On the other hand there are those that post on TV who will do all they can to make things seem as bad as possible, I expect most of these guys eigher live on a budget and are jealous of those with property to sell, or they themselves were ripped off or screwed by someone and so hope everyone else gets screwed up.

There are many bitter and twisted farangs in LOS, and many of them seem to post on this forum.

I have not been feeling myself for the past few days.I an a 35 year old man with no paticular problems. I keep bursting into tears for seemingly no reason at all. For example I heard the phrase "lion man" on telly today which started me off. It is also happening in publc too, which you will understand is most embarassing. Should I visit a doctor or psychiatrist or what? I am very confused. What should I do? Please do not flame me on this one.

sounds like your having some accute anxiety..........go to the pharmacy get some zaniax and go for a thai massage followed by a good meal and a good sleep,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,it 'll pass

I know you probobally meam well, but that is really crap advise. For starters self medicating with Zanax is a foolish thing to do if you have psychiatric problems.

Secondly it often takes a bit more than some food and a massage to sort things out. I'm sure he wouldn't be asking on here if it could be solved as simply as that.

Majority favours free medical care, ban on alcohol ads: Poll

BANGKOK, Oct 15 (TNA) – Most people support the interim government's free medical health project, revised from the Thaksin government's Bt30 universal healthcare scheme, and are in favour of a plan to impose a ban on ads and public promotions of alcoholic beverages, according to an opinion poll.

Noppadol Kannikar, director of the ABAC Poll, said the poll was conducted among 2,538 people over age 18 in Bangkok and four other provinces: Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen, Chon Buri and Songkhla during October 13-14.

According to the poll, 75 per cent of the respondents support the new free healthcare programme as it could assist low income earners while 16.5 per cent are against it as they fear that medical treatment may not reach the standard required while the government may not be able to maintain the programme in long-run.

Touching on a plan by the Public Health Ministry to impose a total ban on ads and public promotions of alcoholic beverages, 65.7 per cent of the total respondents agree with the plan while 19.1 per cent oppose it, citing that business of producers could be hurt.

A strong majority--78.8 per cent--of respondents favour not allowing an opening of shops selling alcohol within 500 metres from educational institutions while only 8.8 per cent disagree with the idea.

A majority of 55.2 per cent of the respondents say they agree on a plan to prohibit ads or billboards for alcoholic drinks as they create a bad image while 15.5 per cent say there should not be a problem as they are made purely for business purposes.

Interestingly, a resounding 87.4 per cent of respondents say that public utilities and infrastructure such as roads, bridges and pedestrian street crossings would improve if there was to be no corruption by officials.(TNA)-E111

Wow, I find it hard to believe that the majority support such autocratic laws.

Perfect example of how so many Monopolies in Thailand are created by paying off the right people. This kind of thingh is detrimental to the whole country, the prices are a complete rip off, more expensive than bangkok, many tourists buy stuf assuming it is good value, then when they get home and see a conversion of the cost into their home currency on their statement realise they have been ripped off.

Disgusting!

The shopping at the new airport is rubbish and over priced, same as the food, monopolies in these situations are terrible for the consumer.

I can understand bans on tv advertising before 10pm or the baning of marketing the products in certain ways such as in UK, but a blanket ban does nothing on it's own except damage the economy.

It will be a complete waste of time unless it is combined with education and stricter enforcement of laws such as underage drinking and drink driving.

They claim deaths on the roads will be less over new year as a result of the ban, this I very much doubt, people will not just stop drinking just because it isn't advertised. We'll soon see anyway.

Taxation is the best way of controlling consumption along with education.

There are 100 other more important things that need to be addressed with more urgency than this.

bkkmadness,

You may loose a few things that interest you if the advertising is scrapped. Mainly international sporting events and music events, not sure if this interests you, but both interest me and I would be sad to here that certain events have to be cancelled due to the ban on advertising.

What a joke. We're all going to miss the old airport. Can't they do anything right? They could copy any major US or Asian airport and have a winner, but noooo

It's still better than the old airport, but a huge dissapointment none the less.

I was dissapointed to see the same taxi system as before. The system in singapore is far superior and you never have to Q.

Quite simply anyone can offer a perpetual leasehold but........

After 30 years the landlord does not have to honour the contract. So you can have it in writing but it is not enforceable by law as the courts only recognise leases up to 30 years, 50 years in very exceptional circumstances and with prior permission.

Thailand longstay is 30% owned by TAT, they are selling a product that is of no use whatsover. You can get a 30 year lease without their help, an to have an extension after the expiry of 30 years cannot be garanteed. Similar to elite card with the 1 rai land ownership it will fail legally as thai law states leases can only be had for 30 years.

A law will have to be changed before this is any use.

Frankly i'm shocked that they are allowed to market it!

This isn't so much the fault of the propety agent, it is the fault of Thailand long stay and TAT for not reigning them in.

Anyone wanna write a letter to TAT and see what they say?

Anyone know who the right person to contact for clarification is?

I have just come back from Bangkok and used the new airport on the way up last week and back today.

My impression is that it is a very big airport and the teminal is an extremely impressive building from the outside. However the design and finishing on the inside is shockingly bad.

The first thing I noticed was how crowded it was as soon as you first walk into the terminal. The design does not leave enough space for people to walk between the various check in areas. The space between the ticket offices and the check in is far too thin and there are many obsticles which means people are channeled through gaps which are far too small causing bottle necks, particulary when someone stops with their trolley.

The same can be said for the area after you have checked as you walk to the departure area. Areas are also sign posted very poorly, I found myself heading upstairs to a restuarant thinking it was something else (maybe i'm stupid), and I wasn't the only one.

Walking through the airport to the domestic departure area I thought there were far too many concrete pillars in places they shouldn't be and concrete beams coming down from the ceiling which looked really ugly. Actually it really reminded me of being under the sky train or expressway.

One thing that really annoyed me was there was only one place to get food, some lucky connected person has a good monopoly there! The selection of food is very good, but it is outragously expensive. I understand that things will cost more in an airport as rents are high, but the prices border on ridiculous. 50 baht for a bottle of water, 180 baht for a sandwich and 150 baht for a bowl of noodles.

The area where you wait to get on the plane is far too crowded, not enough seats. The one positive that pleases me greatly is the electric walkways, this means there is hardly any walking.

Overall it is better than the last airport and it took about 10-15 mins longer to get than the old airport. I would like to see the monopolies on food and shopping gone and more choice. You can smell the corruption in the air and see it visibly in the use of cheap concrete supports which havn't even been covered. The finishing on the tiles and the roof is substandard and looks cheap.

The point to this is that Thai's do not care about each other gaining wealth, only themselves. Ofcourse they would rather the wealth went to another Thai than a foreigner, but they would still much rather it all went to themselves.

Blocking foreigners is a way of the rich protecting themselves from business they know they cannot compete with. Most foreign businesses will offer better value and better service.

The reason there are so many monopolies here is that if there is a level playing field they know they have no chance.

When running a business it's best to keep foreigners out, when selling a business you need foreigners to get the best price.

Well surprise surprise. This was all enacted to cover up shady property deals by TRT members, the main one being Sudarat. Now they are no longer in power, there is no urgency to prosecute meaning a payment can clear any problems.

Whilst these guys were more than likely anything but innocent, I hate it when people are arrested to cover up other peoples missdeeds.

All concerned have been out on bail in bangkok for ages anyway, all charges will now be dropped.

It's a nice club, much better than the one in Bangkok. Personally I don't like the Bangkok version althought the drinks are very good. The design of the Samui one is much better and much more impressive.

With the price of a beer at 180 baht, that is a little steep for samui, but when you look at the money spent on construction and the service they need to charge that in order to make any money.

I think it will be popular with local Thais and expats, especially those that avoid the centre of Lamai and Chaweng. However the cost of drinks and it's location I think will put many tourists off. It'll be interesting to see if it can attract enough people on a regular basis to create a decent enough atmosphere.

I also notice the soundproofing isn't so good and a few influential Thai's live very close, hopefully they don't put a stop to it. I know a few of them are not happy about the lakeview parties, i'm sure this will displease them further.

Anyway this is a very welcome addition to the island, hopefully before too long we haev some more clubs open.

so let the bars and clubs open late and also the street stalls and let people vote with their feet.

If they arn't paying tax though maybe they should be closed??

The double standards created by the Thaksin government were quite disgusting

The double standards created by the Thaksin government were not created by Thaksin, they are part and parcel of Thai culture.

And I would add, a part that foriegners moving to Thailand are often very happy to adopt...... When the system works in their favour.

Double standards are not specific to Thailand, however it is my belief that the previous government took it to a level beyond what it had been before in recent years. Granted Thailand has lots of dark periods where those incharge overstepped their mandate and abused the peoples trust.

Hopefully the present government will try to make things a bit fairer for all Thai's rich or poor.

If this is a sign that under the new government soon all the laws will be enforced and corrupt police officers will no longer be allowed to take bribes to allow illegal businesses.........then I'm all for it.

Seems like the general consensus at TV is that it was good that Toxin was given the boot because he was so corrupt........wellllllll.......if you want Toxin out because you are against corruption then ok....let's end corruption...enforce the laws...change the bad laws but in the mean time enforce the laws as they are written....let's all root for an end to corruption and applaud this first move towards a better, corruption free life in Thailand!!!!

Chownah

You make an excellent point here.

Most expats in Thailand are very selective about the types of corruption they want to see erradicated. Happy to pay 200 baht to be alowed to drive drunk, happy to drink all night in back street dens operated by the Police etc. Then somehow get all moral and jump on the anti thaksin bandwagon.

For me, I always love the hustle and bustle of Bangkok life, day and night. For those that hate Sukhimvit Road at night or in the early hours, it really is easy to avoid so give it a rest you complainers.

I agree but.....

There is a very big difference to a policeman who recieves 5000 baht a month salary and taking a 200 baht bribe to a Prime Minister who facilitates and implements methods to skim off a large percentage of the countries GDP to enrich himself and his cronies.

Really anyone who cares about this country and it's people should be against having leaders such as Thaksin.

I'll bring this back on topic and say Thaksin has proved that he wasn't bothered about people drinking late as the street stalls were allowed to carry on unhindered in the most obvious palce possible where as bars and clubs tucked away were harrased on a regular basis making operation at the same times as the stalls impossible.

The double standards created by the Thaksin government were quite disgusting.

Some of the best times are had in those outdoor street bars

What are you trying to do depress me.

depession for you or not, those places are wildly popular with locals and tourists alike

Yeah cos the other option was going home. When there is no where else to get a drink at 1:05 am what are you to do.

I've spent a few nights there, and depressing is what i'd call it, hot dirty crowded streets are not where I would have a drink if I had any choice to get one elsewhere.

I think the vast majority of people would rather get a drink in a hotel bar, a go go bar, Q bar, Karaoke bar or any bar for that matter.

It's interesting that they were told to close by the military and not the police. It's no secret that a huge number of entertainment venues are owned by the military. By closing those early and allowing street bars maybe that was channeling money that used to go to the military towards the police?

I'd be very surprised if we don't see entertainment establishments opening later before too long, I think the canceling of closures on Birthdays is the first of many changes we will see in this area of law.

About time they closed these street bars that were somehow obviously profiting Thaksin supporters. For someone so strict on stopping clubs and bars operating and serving late, it seems amazing that such in your face street stalls could continue to operate.

Hopefully the next thing we see is tax paying venues being allowed to open until the early hours. Keeping the riff raff off the streets and the taxes where they should be.

It is bad, especially when you are not resident in bangkok and you have to wait 5 days for your visa. They give out numbers for the Q, but no one follows them, everyone just pushes in. There are loads and loads of agents some with 20-30+ passports, so it can take ages.

I guess Kao San Rd. would be the area to find an agent.

duplicate post deleted.

If you want to make it in the US music bizness, it probably helps to be from the US, UK or Australia. I can't think of any offhand that were not.

I can think of a few reaching moderate success, although admittedly there are not that many...

U2 (Ireland), Shakira (Colombia), Van Morrison (Ireland), ABBA (Sweden), Roxette (Sweden), Ace of Base (Sweden), Cardigans (Sweden), Enrique Iglesias (Spain?), Rammstein (Germany), Gypsy Kings (Spain).

Actually Enrique Iglesias is part filipino. His mother comes from a very wealthy spanish-mestizo family in the Philippines.

Ofcourse it helps to have a famous father who is a successful singer.

Having twice been to get a visa for india at the embassey in Bangkok, I really don't think I can handle doing it a third time, it's so disorganised.

I could see there were loads of agents with piles of passports doing the visa's for people.

Does anyone know the details of any agents that will get the visa for you?

I don't think I can handle doing it myself again.