Baloo22

Threres ton's of girls working in Pattaya with this same story. That's why many of them are there. They are not liiving a civilized country where there is a justice system worthy of the name and has any state agency to help track down the deadbeat father and forces payment of child support.

Or on the other hand, Thailand is one of the few civilized countries in the world that does have a FAIR justice system.

Their bodies, their choice to have a baby without a husband, their responsibility to support the baby.

Too many deadbeat mothers in the west, that expect somebody else to pay for their irresponsible choices.

So, in your view, it was a virgin birth? If I remember my biology lessons correctly, under normal circumstances, it takes two people to make a baby. You seem to want to excuse the father of the child completely. FAIL!!

"Thailand is one of the few civilized countries in the world that does have a FAIR justice system"

Some people are not going to like this comment but that's too bad for them.

As an American, I don't want the United States involved at all. Every time we go in all we end up getting is a bunch of shit for our efforts and our sacrifices. If the Syrians want to kill each other by the thousands, go for it. I really don't care anymore. And if Turkey or any European countries want to go in and stop it, go right ahead. Just as long as they do it with their blood and their money. I don't want one drop of American blood nor one American dollor spent on it. Of course, that dumbass piece of crap, Obama, will probably get us involved anyway.

You are confused. Republicans are the ones demanding more US involvement.

Yesterday, Romney called for the United States to “work with partners to organize and arm Syrian opposition groups so they can defend themselves” . Past activities indicate that such a policy would eventually have dire consequences.

Airirstrikes have been strongly advocated by Republicans Senators John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

The White House has rejected arming rebel groups, saying it does not know enough about them and does not want to “further militarize the situation.”

No, I'm not confused at all. Candidate Romney and various yahoos from the Senate can say whatever they want. They don't have the authority to order the US military anywhere. It's the President that has that authority. And whoever is in that office should keep us out of it. Let those medieval morons keep on killing each other.

Some people are not going to like this comment but that's too bad for them.

As an American, I don't want the United States involved at all. Every time we go in all we end up getting is a bunch of shit for our efforts and our sacrifices. If the Syrians want to kill each other by the thousands, go for it. I really don't care anymore. And if Turkey or any European countries want to go in and stop it, go right ahead. Just as long as they do it with their blood and their money. I don't want one drop of American blood nor one American dollor spent on it. Of course, that dumbass piece of crap, Obama, will probably get us involved anyway.

Thanks for your valued opinion, out of curiosity how do you think Reagan would have handled the situation?

Most likely he would have stupidly gotten us involved. He did in Lebanon. The result of theat "peacekeeping" mission was the bombing of the US and French barracks and the killing of hundreds of "peacekeepers". That's one of the reasons why I say screw these "peacekeeping" missions. We simply end up in the middle of a bunch of medieval morons who want nothing more than to kill each other. Let them do so.

You should take about 15 minutes and watch the following youtube video: [media=]

Also, since I don't believe I'm allowed to link directly to his blog, you should do a google search on "andrew drummond" and read some stories there.

Some people are not going to like this comment but that's too bad for them.

As an American, I don't want the United States involved at all. Every time we go in all we end up getting is a bunch of shit for our efforts and our sacrifices. If the Syrians want to kill each other by the thousands, go for it. I really don't care anymore. And if Turkey or any European countries want to go in and stop it, go right ahead. Just as long as they do it with their blood and their money. I don't want one drop of American blood nor one American dollor spent on it. Of course, that dumbass piece of crap, Obama, will probably get us involved anyway.

How does one get out of a rip?

Here's a basic informational site on rips and ocean safety: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=23792

That's an excellent guide. Most rip currents dissapate just a little ways off-shore. Then you swim perpendicular to the shoreline and then try to swim in.

For those that may try and rescue a swimmer in distress, remember that you are doing a dangerous thing yourself. Make sure that you don't drown also. Happens frequently. Always try to find something that will float and push it out in front of you to the victim. Let them grab ahold of that. If they are in a panic and you get close they can end up climbing right on top of you and pushing you down. If it happens, just let yourself go down until you are too deep to provide a support for them. They will usually let go and then you can swim out from under them.

I spoke to Mrs SP after posting this and I said " There might be some sort of family court to help" and she quickly dismisses it and says that the boys family has no money and this is why in Thailand there are so many single young ladies with kids. What a shame. I then asked if there was any kind of community support for young ladies in this situation and she quickly dismissed it and said no.

BTW, what is the age of being a responsible male adult here?

Threres ton's of girls working in Pattaya with this same story. That's why many of them are there. They are not liiving a civilized country where there is a justice system worthy of the name and has any state agency to help track down the deadbeat father and forces payment of child support.

Editorial seeks a noble purpose without action. Why doesn't The Nation really help out and "investigate and expose" the business and the Mr. Bigs? That would be a true journalistic purpose. If the newspaper knows what's really going on and doesn't get after it and make it public, it's really just a sham.

First of all, the first time they published a "investigate and expose" article on any one of the puyai "big people" scum, both the paper and the journalist would get the pants sued off of them. That's one of the purposes of Thailand's extreme slander/libel laws which include both civil and criminal penalties. Take a look at what Erika Fry went through here http://www.cjr.org/behind_the_news/fry_in_thailand.php?page=1

Second; The investigative journalist may very well end up dead. Like Wisut ''Ae'' Tangwittayaporn down in Phuket. He investigated and published about some shady land dealings. He got some 9mm bullets for his journalism efforts. See http://cpj.org/2012/01/thai-journalist-killed-after-reporting-on-controve.php

A ThaiVisa member sent me a PM for some additional details on the type of visa I had and how it worked for me getting another year (approx). I'll post my answer here in case any others might find the info useful.

I had a Non-Immigrant O-A visa that I obtained in my home country, USA, before I came to Thailand. I obtained mine from the Royal Thai Embassy in Washington, D.C. (FedEx there and back). See Royal Thai Embassy for detailed requirements for those in the USA. I have no idea if there are any different requirements for people from other countries. You should check with the Thai Embassy for your country.

My Non-Immigrant O-A visa had a "Date of Issue" of 24 May 2011 and the "Enter Before" date was 23 May 2012. Under "No. of Entry" it had an M for multiple-entry. I used it to enter Thailand in July 2011 and was given a "permission to stay" stamp that was good until July 2012.

So, I was good until July of this year. But by going up to Mae Sai, leaving Thailand and then entering on 18 May 2012 (before the "Enter Before" date had passed), I received another "permission to stay" stamp that allows me to stay in Thailand until 17 May 2013. Also, for those that may have the question; since my visa was multiple entry and I used it to enter before the "Enter Before" date had passed, I did NOT need a re-entry permit. I could have left and come back multiple times. Prior to doing my "border run", I confirmed this with Immigration Officers in the Jomtien office (when I lived there) and also the Chiang Mai office.

So, if you have a Non-Immigrant O-A visa, that you obtained in your home country, and by doing a "border run" just before the "Enter Before" date passes, you can get almost two years in the Kingdom out of that one visa! The visa cost me US $175 but I see that has increased to US $200 now.

In the last hour, shamed and encourged by your DIY advice, I've worked out how to open the liner... a hidden zipper... and replaced a self tapping screw that had fallen out.

It still worries me though, I believe that once a screw has fallen out it will continue to do so.

Maybe a slightly larger screw.... ?

Or some Loctite?

Perhaps the best situation for her in a divorce would be for her to be in Thailand, but I don't know about having her and your son both going back to Thailand. I'm fairly new here but from some of the things I have heard, she could take your son and disappear to Nakon Nowhere or the middle of Bangkok and it would be practically impossible for you, the foreigner, to even find them.

Whatever drama she performs, make sure that you are the model of self-control and do not give the police or child services the slightest reason to mistrust you.

I am not an attorney so I am not going to give you any legal advice. Going to an attorney for legal advice is the best. I would think that returning to Thailand with her and your son would give her many advantages and you, the foreigner, far less advantage.

You mentioned that your attorney told you that if you "filed for divorce I could ask for a motion to bar her from traveling outside of the US." I would ask the attorney if you could ask for a restraining order preventing your wife from taking your son outside the country during the divorce procedings (and how effective such an order would be). I would also ask the attorney if he thinks it would be wise to get a small recording device and, if possible, record some of your wife's threats to falsely accuse you of abuse. I know that could be risky!

I would also make sure that I had copies of the relevent police reports of her arrest and, if you can get them, any records/documentation of your wife's "attempted suicide by ODing on medicine or cleaning chemicals". Keep copies outside the house. With a trusted relative perhaps. Those may come in handy at a later date.

Have you gone through the process/paperwork to establish your son as a US citizen and does he have a US passport?

Tough situation. Best wishes for you and your kids.

"Why not stay in a decent hotel instead of a shit pit?"

You can stay in a "luxury resort" and still get done in by the stupid! Like the 91 who died in the Royal Jomtien Resort fire in 1997.

It was discovered that hotel staff had locked emergency exits to prevent people from leaving without paying. They found bodies piled-up near the locked emergency doors.

See http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/hotel-blamed-as-fire-kills-78-at-thai-beach-resort-1250217.html

If your dash cam has USB output and you need extended recording time, it might be possible to hook it up to one of those external USB hard drives. They are available in multi-terabyte capacity.

This link will take you directly to the WETV page to view and/or download the movie channel schedules:

http://www.wetv.co.t...st_download.php

They update the schedules on (or after) the first day of the month, but the times and titles don't always match up.

Thanks heymo! That link works!!!

I had previously tried the WE TV index page and tried to navigate to the movies and get a schedule but it just kept giving me a blank page!

I'm still a "newbie" here in Thailand, but I have been told that if you buy a condo, to make sure it is one (49% of the condo building area) that is allowed to be foreigner owned.

Also, I have read an account of one individual who went to purchase a condo thinking that it was one of the ones that could be foreign owned. The legal paperwork, of course in Thai, had this individual's name on it so he throught that everything was good. Luckily, he had his girlfriend with him (and she was honest). She noticed that the paperwork was actually creating a Thai company with exactly the same name as this man and that the condo was being purchased by the Thai company. In other words, the condo was NOT one of those available for foreign ownership and would NOT have been owned by him.

...The queue at the border was unusually long, about 20 people, so I would recommend at least a 2 hour turnaround time if you are heading back the same day....

That was one of the reasons I decided to stay overnight there and do my border crossing first thing in the morning. I suspected that it may be crowded in the afternoon with individuals arriving in the afternoon and also a bunch of "border-run" minivans arriving.

I realize that many people have work/business/family issues that require them to do the border run in one day or have been up to Mae Sai before but for those with the time, I would suggest making it a two-day trip from Chiang Mai. Especially if it's your first time to Mae Sai. I'm glad that I did. The Navy Home Hotel was 467 baht plus tax (US $17.69 charged to my credit card) through Agoda. So not a big hole in my budget. Instead of a tedious and tiring one-day trip with over 9 hours on the road in a bus, I had a enjoyable and relaxing two-day "mini-vacation"!

Sorry, I don't have a exercise bike. If you are not already doing it, I would suggest working some swimming into your exercise program also. Swimming is normally considered to be "low-impact" on bones and joints but still provides good cardio benifits. I have knee problems that put running on the no-do list but swimming has proven to be much better for me. Of course, start slowly and work up gradually. Worth a try!

I'm new to Chiang Mai and the cable setup at the place I'm renting has two english-language movie channels on channels 57 and 58. I believe that they are WE Movie II and WE Movie III. I'm trying to find if there is a website that has the daily listings of the movies shown for those two channels. Tried searches in ThaiVisa and Google but no luck.

Anybody know if such a website exists and has a link??

Also for any who may find it useful; Here are some TV/Movie URLs that I have found useful.

Universal Channel-Asia http://www.universalchannel.asia/schedule

Syfy Universal-Asia http://www.syfyuniversal.asia/schedule

Australia Network http://australianetwork.com/guide/schedule_thailand.htm

NHK WORLD http://www3.nhk.or.j...dule/index.html

Movie Seer http://www.movieseer...howtimes.aspx

(you can use this to see what’s playing at local movie theaters)

IMDB www.imdb.com

(Internet Movie DataBase – Has info on movies, TV shows/series, etc)

Recommend that you book a room for the first one or two nights at least. Do you really want to walk around town dragging luggage looking for a hotel after one or more long flights, immigration, and the trip into Bangkok?

I have used Agoda several times and have been satisfied with them. I usually look at their customer reviews and then also to to www.tripadvisor.com and check their customer reviews on the same hotel.

You don't really need to limit yourself to the Sukhumvit area. If your hotel is near one of the BTS or MRT stations you can move about the city fairly easily. Possibly problems very late at night/early morning but otherwise the BTS is great.

See http://www.bts.co.th/customer/en/images/master_routemap_nov2010_ok.jpg

and http://www.bts.co.th/customer/en/pdf/ServiceTimetable.pdf

As mentioned, the train system has overnight sleeper trains from Chiang Mai to Bangkok and from Bangkok to Surat Thani.

As for the bus, have her look at Green Bus http://greenbusthailand.com/ Much of the site is in Thai. I think that they have buses that go all the way to Phuket so it's possible that they also have them to Surat Thani. Long trip though.

Air Asia has flights CM to BKK and also BKK to Surat Thani. If you are flexible on dates, you can get some good prices. Watch the add-ons as you step through the booking process. Just say no to each add-on.

They are sooooooooooo pathetic, ranting away about the Thai image on their laptops with cracked OS........

Actually I recently bought a laptop that came without an OS. The store, one of Thailand biggest electrical retailers not only offered to install a pirated OS they were unable to tell me where I could buy a genuine OS.

Are you certain that you did not end up with an iPhad ??

That Chinese company that is producing all those tablets for the Thai Government had better check each and every note!

These few bills are likely just an advance test for the big printing once the tablets are delivered!

I don't understand all the couples visiting here though. Many Russian couples are renting here long term or buying up condos.

I also would love to know why the Russian couples/families come here. It makes no sense at all to me.

They probably do not have that many warm-water beaches in Russia, so the Jomtien beach may look very nice to many. Also, I think that for many of the Russian tourists to Jomtien, it may be their first time traveling outside of Russia (or at least first time to an asian destination). So, they probably are more comfortable traveling with a packaged group tour for relatively reasonable rates with other people from their country.