Baloo22

So, Snowden is reportedly now asking Russia for "asylum". Perhaps we will get a chance to really see how well Barrack and Hillary's "Reset Button" has worked out!

“We all know dogmatists who are more concerned about holding their opinions than about investigating their truth. ... if they are mistaken, they will never discover it; they have condemned themselves to perpetual error. Human beings sometimes use their beliefs for wish-fulfillment. Too often we believe what we want to be true.”

― David L. Wolfe

Yes UG ... in the same vein as your post - some obama zealots are satisfied to believe that if a controversy fades a bit for a while - then the egregious wrong doing of the obama Administration was correct and justified - out of sight out of mind regardless of lawless deeds committed .... But contrary to the wishful thinking of obama zealots ... evidence mounts - the populist becomes aware - then even former defenders shout for accountability and reform... those who are brainwashed obama leftist robots just keep on cheerleading and wishful thinking ...

Most posters have wised up to focus on the institutional nature of the issues before us. They have quit trying to personalize the issue. Yet the above post continues to hammer at the "anti-Christ" and seeks to personalize the important matter of institutions of the U.S. government probably gone awry.

The vast majority of Americans, the center-middle, don't necessarily see the president as the devil incarnate in the NSA controversies. Yet the above post continues in its tired and tiring off-center campaign of trying to demonize Prez Obama. This only detracts from the great importance of getting to the bottom of what is going on at the NSA and perhaps other national security agencies of the United States.

As long as the usual suspect wing nuts and tea party people continue to personalize the issue, they will meet resistance and continue to be viewed by the vast center-middle of the U.S. as the weirdos of the far right political extreme that they are.

This is not a "personalizing" or "demonizing" of these issues. Obama is the chief executive of the United States government. He is the top manager of the executive branch. This makes him responsible for these actions. At least with this NSA action he is not playing his usual and lame "The first that I knew about it is from the news reports" excuse. But, as usual, the buck seems to stop everywhere but with him.

Oh, just so you know; Senator Mark Udall, Senator Ron Wyden, and many others that are bothered by this are not "wing nuts and tea party people" or "far right political extreme". The extreme is a more apt description of the people who believe that Obama is beyond reproach and that those who criticize him must be "wing nuts", "tea party", or "unpredictable".

Does anyone take The Nation serious? Objectivity? Not present. I once gave them a 18 million baht fraude story 1st handed......no reaction, not interested, no investigation done. Because there were high level influences involved. The Nation buys interesting (international) articles from Agence France Presse, Reuters etc. and publishes. Fair enough. But to fill millimeters about TH they come with this cliche story about the Struggle against Corruption. And when there is a story to investigate they are not home......Good night.

Pity you just want to shoot the messenger.

Read post No. 10. No newspaper here can properly investigate corruption because of the ridiculous defamation laws. They cannot name names. Even posting anything against anyone on the likes of Facebook is likely to land you in court. Corruption can be tackled if the government are serious about it. The number one problem is that they're not and up to their neck in it themselves.

Yes! Reform of the libel/defamation laws and "press shield" laws must be enacted to allow a free press to function effectively with aggressive investigative journalism. Read about Erika Fry in Escape From Thailand and Escape from Thailand: Epilogue.

Also, I am not going to be too mocking towards individual journalists and news organizations now working in Thailand. I recall what happened to journalist Wisut ''Ae'' Tangwittayaporn in Phuket.

Apparently it's no holds barred when it comes time to steal an election.

George and Jeb Bush can write the book about stealing an election, as in the 2000 one. Their additional co-authors would have to be the five Republican party "justices" on the Supreme Court who got to vote twice in the election, giving it to Bush.

This "Bush stole the election" is a obvious and proven piece of left-wing fantasy. The factual account is that there was a dispute on the conduct of the election. In many countries, you would have seen tanks in the street and machine-guns firing. This did not happen. This dispute was resolved in the exact manner that it should have been. It was argued and decided in our courts of law. Our independent judiciary.

The justices of our Supreme Court each voted in their decision because that was their job to do so. It was their responsibility. It was exactly what they were supposed to do. Some people continue to spread fantasy about this for the simple reason that they did not like the end decision. Those are the facts!

Real simple:

Visas are obtained outside of Thailand by Thai Embassies and Consulates

Permission to Stay are issued inside of Thailand by Thai Immigration

Once you understand that, all the terminology bantered around here makes sense

The biggest advantage of the O-A Multiple Entry Visa is that you can get two years out of it by doing one border run right before it expires, thus giving you plenty of time to get a residence, set up a Thai bank account, and decide where in Thailand you want to settle.

Excellent post Langsuan Man !!

There is one other item that would sell me on recommending a person obtain an O-A Multiple Entry Visa from the Thai Embassy in their home country. In the two years I stayed in Thailand, I met a number of people personally and also read accounts on multiple message boards of people having various problems/obstacles dealing with a local immigration office. Often it is simply because some local immigration yahoo decides that he or she wants form x now instead of form y or adds on some other additional requirements that require additional running around. Granted that if you are permanently staying in Thailand, you will eventually have to deal with them for the Permission to Stay. But having an O-A Multiple Entry Visa gives the new retired gent or lady a good stay before having to run through a bunch of hoops. Just my 2cents!

The Gallup survey and you say two opposite things. Whatever makes you think or believe the Gallup survey has found, or that I believe, there's a White House mystery here and it's the president whodunnit? There isn't any such thing. Get real.

No, you and I don't agree on the time of day, so forget that notion.

The reality is that the moderate middle of the United States, the people who twice voted to elect Barack Hussein Obama president, know that for the past four and a half years the Republicans have obstructed and have sought to nullify anything and everything Prez Obama advocates. Republicans from the loony birthers to the present gang of inquisitors have put their ideology above country, and the American people know this.

Now, no one believes the gangster Cong Darrell Issa who already has sent a number of Republicans in Washington dashing away from his outrageous and impertinent assertion that the White House spokesperson is a "paid liar." You've got the wrong guy out front in this particular Republican inquisition against the president. You people are screwing the pooch again in your obsession against Prez Obama and the American political center. And the majority of Americans who comprise the center know this.

I watched the Sunday morning news programs, to include CNN's interview of Chairman Darrell Issa - a bomb thrower with a checkered political past

I find this to be insulting & outrageous.

In fact the dear leader has a friend by the name of William Ayers who makes bombs & kills people.

This is not "some guy from the neighborhood" but a radical professor who says "I wish we had done more"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ayers

"... that conducted a campaign of bombing public buildings (including police stations, the U.S. Capitol Building, and the Pentagon) during the 1960s and 1970s in response to U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. (which killed people)"

And here you are claiming to be "fighting for the center" NOT.

It is not up to me to caution you BUT your uptopian statism is showing.

You think and believe I am some sort of utopian statist, when I am instead a classic Western liberal of the Judeo-Christian tradition. You have this all wrong in your own head, which is not a responsibility of mine to treat or to rectify. You yourself have to get your head screwed on right. I can't do that for you. All I can do is to correct you and leave you to yourself.

The current topic is the political bomb thrower and literal arsonist Cong Darrell Issa. Issa is in a position in Congress that makes him a clear and present danger to the republic. It's Issa's imbalance and his unstable character we need to focus on because the wild and irresponsible Republicans in the House chose Issa to chair the committee that is the lead committee in the inquisition against Prez Obama. The Republicans in Washington are again trying to engage in nullification, this time concerning the outcome and result of last year's election of the president.

That the R's in Washington chose this guy to lead them in this political hatchet job makes me shutter. The Republicans in Washington are out on the far right extreme of the American political spectrum, while the majority of the country remains in the political center. The center must hold against the constant onslaught and barrages from the current crop of unreconstructed Republicans who reside on the extreme radical right of the spectrum.

You say "The Republicans in Washington are again trying to engage in nullification, this time concerning the outcome and result of last year's election of the president."

Not true at all. The House of Representatives is performing it's duty of oversight of the Executive Branch and a federal agency. That is one of the jobs the U.S. citizens hired them to do in last years November election.

You say "The Republicans in Washington are out on the far right extreme of the American political spectrum, while the majority of the country remains in the political center. The center must hold against the constant onslaught and barrages from the current crop of unreconstructed Republicans who reside on the extreme radical right of the spectrum."

That cannot possibly be true. The citizens of the United States chose those Representatives in the elections just last year and they do so every two years. So this far out idea that they are the "extreme radical right of the spectrum" has been shown to be nonsense. They are the people's representatives!!

Yeah, it's the implications, the slippery slope and a great indication of what happens when a power hungry little man, GW, with a small mentality cuts deals with Christian right and Evangelics to appoint activist judge's willing to erode stare decisis of Roe v. Wade for votes in 2004 election. GW had promised to put one of theirs, Harriet Miers, on court even though she had zero experience and the Evangelicals carried him in 2004. Even Rublicans nixed her and were shocked by this selection.

Bush's appointments will be around for a while. Goodbye 4th and a lot changes in areas of personal feedoms. Afterall, Christian right knows how everyone should live, what they should do with their bodies and will save us from ourselves.

More of: Blame Bush! Blame Bush! Blame Bush! And throw in the "Christian right and Evangelics" for extra kicks!

Sorry, your attempt to blame this on President Bush and Christians is ridiculous and way, way out in left field.

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy and Justice Stephen G. Breyer, certainly no conservatives, were part of the majority is making this decision. Justice Antonin Scalia, the usual scary "boogeyman" for the far left, was one of the dissenting justices.

I agree with this decision. Good work by the U.S. Supreme Court justices!

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority decision “taking and analyzing a cheek swab of the arrestee’s DNA is, like fingerprinting and photographing, a legitimate police booking procedure that is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment.” I agree with him. I don't see a cheek swab as an overly invasive procedure and regard the use of DNA as a legitimate and needed tool in the public safety work of law enforcement and criminal prosecution.

If you really want an OA visa just apply to the Thai Embassy in London. You will have to show police clearance. a medical certificate and adequate finances.

Or you can follow the advise given here.

You cannot obtain an OA visa in Thailand

Yes for the OA you need get a medical form from the embassy and have it done in England. Police report also needed.

For retirement extensions in Thailand you don't need ANY kind of medical form from any country, and no police clearance form other.

You've been provided misinformation from Hull. It's not the first time nor the last. You've come to the right place to get that misinformation corrected.

If I were you I would learn about the pros and cons of starting with an O-A vs. not, so you can make an informed choice best suited to your particular situation.

Thanks for the info

I've just looked at the London thai embassy website and it says the following about applying for a O-A visa

3. Channels to submit application

Applicant may submit their application at the Royal Thai embassy or

Royal Thai Consulate-General in their home/residence country or at the

Office of the Immigration Bureau in Thailand located onGovernment Center

B, Chaengwattana Soi 7, Laksi, Bangkok 10210, Tel 0-2141-9889.

Strange how the Hull consulate has got it wrong. There website is wrong and I even phoned the consulate in Hull and they have got it wrong. Earlier today I actually phoned up the Embassy in London and got through to the visa section but could not get an answer.

So would you recomend a O multi - entry visa for Thailand.

A little over two years ago, I was doing just about the same thing you are doing (except from the US). I found that I had a much better experience dealing with the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington, D.C. I retrieved the requirements from the Embassy website for Non-Immigrant Visa Category “O-A” (Long Stay). Put together the packet with all the required documents and FedEx'd it off to the Embassy with a FedEx pre-paid return envelope. Received my passport back in a little over two weeks with no problems at all. I would recommend you deal with the Thai Embassy in London instead of any consulates.

When you get your O-A visa (this is the one you get in your home country) it will have a "Date of Issue" and a "Enter Before" date giving you one year to enter Thailand. Upon entering Thailand you will receive a stamp allowing you a one-year stay. You will need to do the 90-day notification of residence during that year. A few days prior to the "Enter Before" date, you can take a quick trip to a border crossing, exit Thailand and then enter back into Thailand. You will then get another stamp for one-year stay. So getting the Non-Immigrant Visa Category “O-A” (Long Stay) from your home country will allow you (almost) two years in Thailand. I was staying in Chiang Mai and did my "border run" to Mae Sai

Keep in mind people on this thread are talking about two different options:

One, a Non-Immigrant Visa Category “O-A” (Long Stay). This is an actual visa that you obtain from a Thai Embassy or Consulate in your home country.

Two, a "Permission to stay for Retirement purposes". This you obtain from an immigration office within Thailand.

You will find people that are partial to each. At the time, I compared the cost of each method and, for me, it worked out about the same. For me, I liked the O-A visa because I could get everything done before I traveled and I did not need to transfer a large amount of money into a Thai bank. But to each his own. Whatever way works for you.

On another note, it appears that Mr Holder has stepped in it and will likely lose the AJ position on perjury charges I can only hope that he does jail time and is not allowed to retire with pension or benefits.

Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod called the Justice Department’s surveillance of Fox News chief Washington correspondent James Rosen “disturbing.” It looks very likely that Holder is going to get thrown under the bus by the White House.

This thing keeps on growing.

It is revealing how the comments by Obama are eerily similar to some of the comments by Nixon!

Another interesting parallel is the fine examples of Legislative oversight actions provided by the investigation of the Obama Administration in 2013 by Congressman Darrell Issa and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the investigation of the Nixon Administration in 1973 by Senator Sam J. Irvin and the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities..

The most reputable and reliable polling organizations say you guys are doing a lot of talking to yourselves.

Just as in the case of the failed impeachment and trial of Bill Clinton by the Republican majority in the House, which was seen as partisan by the vast majority of Americans, the vast majority of Americans see the present Republican majority in the House pursuing a partisan and personalized agenda in the IRS investigations.

Americans believe the IRS (and Behghazi) issues deserve attention and inquiry, however, they do not trust the Republicans in Congress to do it, despite this being the traditional role of the Congress, i.e., to hold hearings to find out facts, who, what, why, how. Americans know all that matters to the House Republicans is that they find a way to "get" Prez Barack Obama. ...

<snip>

More of the same old - same old Boogeyman Defense of "beware of the mean Republicans". Notice that there is no defense of how Obama could be so clueless of the actions of the IRS in his own administration. Thinking people realize that the Boogeyman Defense is nothing more than a prime deflection tactic. It is very popular with today’s defenders of Obama but only the ill-informed fall for it. Or those whose minds only work in blind adoration of Obama.

The facts are that Congress has a long-standing authority and responsibility to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch and federal agencies. This is an integral part of the American system of checks and balances between the branches of the federal government.

The House of Representatives is the prime representative body of the citizens of the United States. Their current oversight activities are not only well within their authority but are a duty to the citizens of the United States. Representative Issa and the other Representatives on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform are doing the job that they are supposed to be doing. No amount of scare-mongering by the Obama administration or Obama supporters changes that fact.

Revealed: Obama Donor Sat in on IG Interviews with IRS Employees

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/05/24/Revealed-Obama-Donor-Sat-In-On-IG-Interviews-With-IRS-Employees

EXCERPT:

On Wednesday, House hearings on the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) political targeting of conservative groups uncovered a startling revelation about the interview process used to construct the Inspector General’s report: Obama donor-turned-IRS director of tax exempt organizations Holly Paz sat in on 36 of 41 interviews with IRS employees.

“Why was Holly Paz... in almost all of the interviews you conducted?” asked Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC). “Why would you have someone from the IRS in those meetings? Is that proper protocol?”

“I am unaware of it,” said Inspector General J. Russell George. “This is the first I’ve heard this.”

George then requested time to research the revelation. “This is the first time that I was made aware of this,” said George.

George then clarified he and his agency performed an audit, not an investigation.

“The operative word, Mr. Chairman, is audit,” said George. “It was not conducted as an investigation.”

So now it was an "audit" and not an investigation. This revelation comes after multiple Obama mouthpieces frantically attempted to paint the House investigation as unneeded and a witch hunt because the "IRS has already conducted an investigation!!" And even as an "audit", it was closely monitored by an Obama operative. Yet, Obama still plays the clueless buffoon saying "The first I knew of it was when the media reported it."

What the average American doesn't seem to understand is that the rest of the world is looking on at this, and howling with laughter! The cradle of democracy! Yeah right!

Actually, the United States is providing an excellent example of representative government. When a section of government oversteps it's authority, we have others that are stepping up, investigating, and bringing the issue out into the open. In this case, our House of Representatives is providing the check and balance that our government is designed to have. It is also a good lesson of the value of a free press. This is the case even with the initial reluctance of the various "lap-dog" media outlets to report on these issues.

I was watching Miller being grilled in Congress on tv today. Seems to not know much though, which makes one wonder why he had such a top job if he was so incompetent, or more likely, he is covering up for the real culprits.

Should be an interesting few weeks ahead, as more info gets dragged out of reluctant participants.

BTW, it's good to see the IRS getting a damn fine kicking!

He is definitely following the lead of the Big Boss in the White House. Obama's routine answer is now "The first I knew about it was from the same news reports as you." It's sad that Obama's defense strategy is now "See here, you can't blame me for this mess because; I did'nt know what was going on in my own administration!" The new "Clueless, Incompetent Bungler Defense".

I wonder how many of Obama's senior White House advisers are going to be fired for ever dreaming this little scheme up in the first place?

None, because this White House does not stand for accountability.

Spot on!! The motto of Obama is "The buck stops anywhere else but me!!"

According to Obama's own statements, he seems to become aware of the actions of his own adminstration by the reporting of news media sources instead of from the people within his own administration. We are seeing a new "Obama Defense" being formed as we watch events unfold and Obama explains "You can't blame me for these actions because I was totally clueless on what was happening!"

Oscar's is definitely still open and also has proper cheese. It's the best breakfast buffet I know of in Jomtien but I haven't tried those other two yet. They will be on my to-do list for early next week.

I also recommend Bistro Oscar. They serve a Brunch from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm every day. Top quality food, well-prepared and well-served. In the past three years, I've probably eaten their brunch 50plus times and never had a bad meal.

Is this brunch a buffet & what does it cost?

It is mostly a brunch buffet. Your eggs are cooked to order and your coffee or tea and orange juice is brought to your table by the wait staff.

They may vary some of their menu items but here are some of the items they had on one visit. Coffee or tea, juice, eggs cooked to order or omelet, several kinds of sliced meats, cheese, a variety of breads and pastry items, pancakes and French toast, fried potatoes, deviled eggs, lasagna, vegetable soup, a stir-fry type veggie dish, salad items, variety of fruit, yogurt, and several custard/pudding items.

As of late April 2013, the cost was 199 baht (tax included). Some may consider that high but, IMO, you get what you pay for!