ronnie50

Yes. Can't have pesky foreigner competition with the local oligarchs now can we? Lots of American brands and products here - but can only be available as a 'franchise.'

How could the DOL get the monthly employment figures so dramatically wrong over three months? Maybe there's a calculation error by journalists or the Comms dept at DOL - it can't be that much different..

That's what I did on first extension (still on it) with SCB. Even though no branch at CW, they have many close by and I just updated my passbook and got the letters on the spot that day. SCB very efficient (so far).

I think the main perk of the 'Wealthy Pensioner" visa is not how many times you report to Thai Immigration, but everything to do with a taxfree status..though maybe not for him, as it appears he has a US passport so he carries the US Income Tax ball and chain with him worldwide.

I also noticed they are trying to get young people to start taking them. Having said that, if you have high amounts of plaque (calcification) in your main arteries, statins and that other drug (zetia?) could reduce the chances of a heart attack or stroke and give you a few extra years. You can get a CT scan of your main arteries attached to your heart after the age of 40 (men) and 55 (post-menopause women - apparently estrogen protects against artery plaque prior to that age). You wouldn't know your vulnerability unless you took the CT (CAC) scan. Western countries with universal health plans try to avoid offering the scans (too many would want one - so they aren't advertised), and that's why so many seem to drop dead at 65 (especially smokers) whose doctor just gave them a clean bill of health after doing little more than listening though a stethascope once each year.

Also, the longer one stays in Thailand - or any country not their own - (e.g. like 2-3 decades), the possibility of returning to one's homecountry on a permanent basis diminishes due to a variety of reasons: lack of close family or old friends (e.g. many deceased), fewer employment prospects (and maybe too old to find a job anyway), perhaps not enough financial resources to maintain a reasonable standard of living, no property ownership there, having a Thai spouse that has no legal right to live in the foreigner's country (or she apply for permanent residency, but it could be a long, drawn out hassle), a changed outlook on life or 'world view' that isn't in step with the current/conventional thinking, or they just see the place through different eyes - and it no longer seems like the place they once fondly called home. So as some others already said, there can be a sense of entrapment in Thailand for these reasons and others.

Seems to be getting quieter on the border today, some reports claim, despite the propagnda machines that are still churning out stuff.

You made my point. Maybe they weren't 'behloden' to the previous one either. In fact maybe they are running their own scheme..from the get go.

And they make up a large proportion of sex workers in the UK - so it's likely their (violent) pimps are also Romanian. A 2019 survey of sex worker nationality in Northern Ireland identified Romanians as making up more than 20% of all sex workers. So the rest of the UK probably has a similar over representation. Other nationalities didn't come even close to 1-in-5.

Wow, if he's a Beta living in Canada, and he most likely is (Beta), what's his life like? Watching the country's Alpha females win gold medals in sport after sport and watching the rest of them jog past his window in yoga pants - or go to the supermarket and see the flipside - heavier than him. Sad.

Since the two PM's agreed to this it should hold. If it doesn't, then it means they're not calling the shots. No other way to look at it. I'd have trouble believing that Cambodia's generals would cross Hun Sen's son. So let's see.

Interesting, I wonder where they place the cameras in these 'tourist hot spots'. Soi Cowboy/Nana? Pattaya walking street? Toll booths? Bus stations? I guess they won't say..

Hope it lasts, but have my doubts. Maybe just a photo op. Let's see.

Trump's deal will increase the costs of good imported from Europe by 15%. American consumers will pay that. So who is winning? Not US consumers.

I'm not suggesting Trump should pay. The US should pay - he's their president and he's on holiday and he needs security so it's up to them to pay if it's not a State Visit. Certainly not the British taxpayers. It's a private visit.

All Western countries should join the majority of other countries worldwide that have already recognized Palestine. The problem, of course, is that Israel itself has no intention of ever sharing that land they occupy with the Palestinians, nor ever recognizing Palestine as a country. That's clear by the the ethnic cleansing and starvation of the Palestinians in Gaza. Israel is basically bombing and bulldozing the place out of existance. And for years whacko Jews from the US, South Africa and some other countries have been moving to the region and setting up illegal 'settlements' on Israeli occupied land in the West Bank. That stealth takeover has been sanctioned by every Israeli government for many years now. The only way a two-state-solution would ever happen is if Israel would agree to a land swap - with both countries sharing a border running from the river to the sea. But unless someone can force Israel to do that (a crippling boycott, sanctions, etc.), it will never happen.

If it's a State Visit, then UK needs to pay as host. But if Trump is there to golf (on holiday) and then meet with the head of the EU (of which UK is not a member), then that changes things IMO about who should pay for security.

All of this is happening precisely because the Thai ultra-conservatives want the army/right-wing authoritarians back in charge. This conflict was not a coincidence, it was and is a means to an end - Thai style.

I know. Despite the board, in general, being very US-centric and right wing, no one counters with facts, just thumbs down. It's like they'd love a coup. But back in the days of Thaivisa, it was even worse.

I doubt that (well not necessarily killing him, but they shot at him on purpose - and you don't do that without someone much higher up telling you and other comdrades that you can shoot to kill in a situation like that). More recently, though, this declaration of martial law "by the Thai military" in border areas is worth looking at. Not a surprise of course, but isn't it the pervue of Thailand's civilian government to make such a declaration, not the subordinate military commanders? Yes, I know, Thanksin has been yapping away on social media that the Army can call all the shots going forwward - but he's not 'officially' in charge - no one elected him. So has the government - not Thaksin - given the authority to the military to make all such declarations as it sees fit? And when was that government directive announced exactly?

don't let *it be Chinese (too late to edit..)

Ha! So did I!

Good to know. What 'testing' was required?

I'm 90% sure of that too. This was pre-planned, a manufactured crisis to enable an eventual coup. The demand by the People's Party (formerly Move Forward) to disolve parliament and call an election is, in my view, the only way to head off the ultra-conservatives' plan for a coup and more right-wing dictatorship in Thailand. But there are rumblings that Thaksin may be trying to do yet another deal with the conservatives to avoid an election (which PT Party would clearly lose, but so would the conservatives).

Notice how there's video footage of the aftermath, but none of the actual strike? Even though there is a clearly visibile, apparently, unscathed CCTV camera in footage showing damage at the hospital. Let's see CCTV of the rocket landing..