pizzachang

Upon listening to my wife explain Suthep's proposals, I found them eerily similar in scope to the rants of Hitler. Seems this guy wants everything his way and anyone that is non-Thai (not pure?) is causing the "problems" for Thailand. Scary that any people listen to this nationalistic rot.

Windows 8 works great. I bought online from the MS store when it first hit the market for $39usd, full version. Not even sure I want to "upgrade" to Win 8.1 (MS keeps asking) I did register my original MS account inside the US.

Good riddance...

Individuals are usually the Thai people "we" have to deal with. How "you" treat those Thai people is a reflection of who you are - how they respond, reflects them. I was in True Visions paying my bin and observed a foreigner trying to pay or do business - mostly I heard him complaining about how "no one speaks English" . This, to me illustrates what I mentioned in the beginning sentences. I grew up in the deep south of the USA and I can tell you that there were a lot of folks there that thought foreigners were from north of Virginia and west of Iowa. Bigotry, racism and just pure stupidity were common - or common in my experience and neighborhood. Those things exist everywhere, in some degree (in my limited experience). Mostly, I get along fine in Thailand - when I have a problem(so far) it has been my own attitude and responses that have caused my problems. So far, I still enjoy living here and going through the hoops to stay. It is the easiest and historically common tactic to blame foreigners for the problems in any country. You have to have a common 'enemy' to get others to join your group and this Maejo teacher is not forming one of those groups (I don't think so) Officially, foreigners are welcome and when official policy becomes too much of a burden, "we" can still leave.

Have you observed this situation?: Young, obnoxious man with young woman,

woman ends up going home with older man - a man who knows how to actually have a conversation and has something to offer, rather than something to prove. "It" is all in the mind, anyway.

I usually don't stop if someone tries to 'flag me down'. Sometimes you are rude and sometimes you are not. 2 young guys on a motorbike usually do NOT need "help". Bad guys are everywhere in the world. My wife(Thai) can spot them easily. She says, Thais normally would not stop someone randomly like the o.p. described, they would call a friend if they needed help or pay a sawngthaew.

I believe the O.P. has confused xenophobia with racism. I have noticed some of the former - i.e. anyone who is not a Thai. But I have noticed on occasion some references in 'Thai conversations' to some person being not 100% Thai. Part Chinese get the brunt of this, I think. Or someone from Myanmar.

I am hoping that you could apply at a different office and even possibly use one of the legal services, owned and operated by Thais. This is scary as I also use Embassy letter to verify my US Social Security and a State pension. Let us know what happens.

If there is enough left of the bullet, I suppose origin 'could' be determined - bullets are fairly generic though. Brass or nickel-plated brass casings are usually stamped on the base w/ enough marks to discern manufacture. "Specially modified" sounds strange to me as well as determining where the supposed gun was manufactured. Probably more info here than is public.

Just because the logo appears similar is not a reason to sue. The Starbung logo is not a copy, it is different in many points. Copying something (to me) is where it is hard to tell the differences - not the case here. No one has confused the 2 logos, or the coffee. No one has come forward and complained that they were 'deceived' into buying 'fake' Starbucks coffee. I hope a Thai jury decides that no "infringement" exists.

In reality, Immigration should know exactly how many visa's of any kind have expired. You are entered into a database when you enter the country and even if Immigration doesn't immediately locate you, their computer will eventually flag you. The 500 baht seems like a different issue than overstays and the overstays are more than likely dominated by Thailand's neighbor countries.

This is not world first.

Many country have such law.

Some even force you to exchange x dollars per day to their currency.

What countries are these "many"? No place I've visited. I'm not doubting you but which countries have such a tourist unfriendly law?

No doubt this is yet another hare brained idea that will die the death it deserves.

Seems like I remember Mexico charged a fee, maybe an exit fee?

Legal immigrants to the USA have always been welcome. Thailand welcomes, for the most part, legal immigrants and long and short term visitors. I don't see much difference in the 'official' stance but in practice, illegals in the USA can expect lots of benefits supposedly reserved for citizens, such as tax refunds when working illegally and drivers licenses in several states. Probably more stuff that I haven't researched, too.

The really cool thing is: the right hand lane on the 4 lane roads is the 'fast' lane. That is the lane where the U-turns are. Most of the U-turn lanes are not long enough for the number of cars using them and many do not have a real lane, just a wider area. I think it is why I see more 'white outlines' on the road in these places than anywhere else. Instead of changing which "side" of the road is driven on, (it is actually ambidextrous - only the steering wheel is different) just change the fast lane to the left.

Only 10 streets? They could actually accomplish something if only 10 streets are monitored.

Catholics worldwide and especially in underdeveloped countries are just as superstitious as these folks. I am surprised that many Buddhist monks get involved in the pre- Buddhist magic, since the founder never taught magic as part of 'the path'. Guess it is not much different than Catholic priests and monks adopting pre-Catholic religious practices. Sad case, because it is generally known that drinking anything to excess will cause death.

Your Thai license is good in California without getting the International Driver's Permit (IDP) for it. Easily verified on the California DMV website. Without a credit card though you're out of luck renting a car although you might look for one of the rent-a-wreck places that rent crappy but serviceable cars.

Actually, if California's new law about DL's passes their legislature and is signed into law, YOU can be an illegal from anywhere and get a DL! That means no passport, visa, former expired DL and you can still drive LEGALLY.

As a former user of "Vista" and now a Windows 8 user, I find the OS to be safe, reliable and easy to use. Drawbacks are incompatibility with older programs (nothing new in that experience) and most apps are sort of a 'dumbing down' versions of older type programs that worked fine. Does anyone notice that "apps" in general, are 'too simple'?

Very bad precedent if this is passed. It is wasteful of resources to just keep making new cars, instead of recycling(which is a great tradition in Thailand)

This is all about appearances, IMO. Why not just deal with problem vehicles on an individual basis. I am sure that the existing law would cover unsafe vehicles as they are encountered.

This area needs to be declared Trash Free Zone immediately!

That works well because people all over the world obey signs...

If you want a quality tool - check out the Alibaba site and look under rotary tools. Much better quality than the Dremel style. Most have an inter - changeable handpiece w/ a chuck. More useful than a collet style, like the Dremel.

Never understood why Disneyland in a foreign country is different than one in the US. Diving, snorkeling, eating different foods and beaches is the best part of Thailand for me.

I am amazed at the misunderstandings about law. The 'law' prevents nothing. Nearly all laws are 'after the fact' punishments for the lawless. Other kinds of laws, which are more preventative in style, are aimed at controlling behavior before the fact of many behaviors[some of them crimes]. Some, would call the former "Draconian" if they actually punish or otherwise end the antics of the particular lawbreaker. Unfortunately, the real Draconians are the latter kind - which target the behavior of the lawful - the lawbreakers do no care if they break a law. All of my friends do not need a law or a lock to keep them from going into their neighbors house and stealing his TV! You are probably much the same. Mass killings are the work of mentally disturbed people. Years ago, in the USA, laws protecting the public from mentally ill people were dropped from the books. Many of those laws were poorly administrated and had little oversight - and they cost money. Now, the belief is that 'integrating' the mentally ill into society is the best course - again with little oversight. It is too bad that guns are blamed as the 'culprits'. I guess the collateral damage in the recent wars should then also be blamed on guns.

You are getting a bit spiritual here - not that I disagree with your o.p. but you are outlining the human dilemma. Only the individual can change him/her self. And changing human nature involves going against instinct, evolution and genetics. I'll refer you to a Huffington Post article to make your same point about perspective "How to Get Flat Abs, Have Amazing Sex and Rule the World in 8 Easy Steps".

I've learned about this perspective from many sources, the latest being my Thai wife. Her life experience and mine are quite a contrast {another story] but she has maintained a balance in her perspective and world view. A long time ago, someone told me that the perfect picture of peace [encompassing happiness and contentment] was the 'scene' of a seabird sitting on a rock in the middle of a terrible storm. Nothing could be done by the bird except wait. Yes, people are more 'complicated' than seabirds but the analogy is clear when you see your own nature.

Cut off the affected branches. Go to garden markets and get a sprayer & chemical for mango; mix and spray the trunks and branches. These type of insects attack many species of trees here. This from my Thai wife. There is also an anti-fungal that we apply 2 times per year and it comes as a pelleted compound, blue in color ( can't recall the tradename as I'm writing) you can find it at the garden markets.