sambum

The Council on Samui removed the rubbish bins because people/business owners weren't paying a very small fee to have them collected and emptied, hence hundreds of black rubbish bags in piles around the island, which are subject to "investigation" by soi dogs and rats alike!

Basically, it sounds like they want it swept under the carpet. Of all the cases of politicians (supposedly) breaking the law by not declaring their assets, there are 2 that immediately spring to mind. One, where a politician does not declare a number of very expensive watches, claiming first of all that they are not his, merely "borrowed" from a friend (bow lox!), and secondly he can not return them to the friend as he is now dead (more bowlox) and thirdly, he had forgotten about them anyway (yet more bow lox!) Result - no action taken, and the findings and facts of the investigation kept under wraps. Two, where a politician does not declare his shares in a now virtually defunct media company therefore no financial gain. Result - barred from being able to stand as a Member of Parliament with the result and facts of the investigation made common knowledge. No prizes for guessing which 2 parties these 2 politicians represent!

"No Assassination Moves detected" "It's quite safe to come back and be arrested and fired into jail Mr T - we haven't found any plots to kill you yet - honestly!"

There are surely much more worthy projects to spend money on than "space" projects and Chinese submarines!

The main concern by onlookers/staff seems to be for the stool which is moved by one of the "hostesses" to a safe place!

"Wissanu asks Thaksin not to return on weekends or public holidays During those days, the courts, which would assign a jail for Thaksin’s detention, would not be working, which would make things difficult as we would have to find detention venue for Thaksin instead,” he said. Unbelievable! A high profile "criminal" wants to hand himself in to the authorities, but he is asked to not do it on weekends or public holidays!!! Maybe because it might increase the number of his supporters in the Big City there to give him a "hero's return welcome" which might lead to a conflict with the authorities?

"................no such monks were found, and the nearby temple school had no knowledge of the individuals or the alleged actions, as confirmed by local residents." Plenty of notice given - no doubt now moved on to "inactive posts"?

"Anutin can be PM as he has 250 senators to support him....." Absolutely disgusting that such a situation should be there in the first place - regardless of who is in power. That would be bad news for expats as Anutin has already made his feelings clear about farangs in general. How he can work with TAT who want to see as many tourists here as possible is unclear - unless they would rather have the convoys of Chinese tour buses again, which is a possibility as TAT are obsessed with numbers - it doesn't seem to matter to them how much money they spend. Surely an expat who lives here all year round and puts app 500k per annum into the economy, puts more into the system than a bus load of penny pinching "vultures" frequenting all you can eat buffets that are included in the tour price? This "news" about Anutin coupled with the recent comments made by "Big Joke" implying that the amount of money to be deposited in a Thai bank by retirees may be increased in order to deter criminals is a big joke in itself, and comments by other officials saying they want to make Thailand an attractive and safe place for people to retire to flies in the face of what Anutin and BIg Joke seem to be advocating! Yes, folks, welcome to "even more amazing" Thailand where almost 3 months after an Election, they still haven't been able to form a Government! (a·maz·ing -adjective - causing great surprise or wonder; astonishing.)

So, the answer is to be pro active! Fine any hooker that is found in the company of any Middle Eastern "gentleman", and the market forces will soon illustrate to these "gentlemen" (OK - "Arabs") that there will be no honey for them here!

Ah well - change of flight destination - another reason for delay!

I was being sarcastic! If there is the slightest chance that he will be serving 10 years in a jail cell - he won't be coming, he'll just trot out another excuse for the "delay"!

"Believe It Or Not, Thaksin Will Return In No More Than Couple Of Weeks" Believe it or not - what a very suitable turn of phrase! Samuel Beckett would be proud of that one!

Not being pedantic thought he was supposed to be landing at Don Mueang Airport - I wouldn't want the arresting party to be waiting at the wrong airport for him!

I see what you mean, and "a required document" that appears on the requirements of the Police Order 654/2564 is probably essential, but you also have regional variations on "required documents" as you probably know - that is one of the main problems, and you often wonder why it is a requirement at all - what purpose does it serve?

I agree with Imm being very pedantic, but if it is physically impossible to get the info they require, then I have found that if you explain WHY that info is unavailable (as in previous employer closed down) then they would accept the details as shown on the document from the Government/Inland Revenue/IRS. I had a situation where the IO wanted "family photographs" and although not an official requirement, she asked for a photo of the roof of the house.(!) My Thai wife explained that we couldn't get a photo of the roof of the house because there was a big tree in the way, so she accepted that and moved on to the next item. I think that for a "Marriage Visa" they can be a bit more pedantic than a "Retirement Visa", but in both cases if you have a logical explanation or suggestion to rectify the situation, then most times it will be acceptable.

"They could accept only Government and large company pensions as some S American countries do." My local (Thai) Immigration Office already makes that stipulation in order for me to get an Extension of Visa based on Marriage (Marriage Visa) I have to provide them with a copy of the form (P60) that the Inland Revenue Department (IRS in the USA) issue me every year as proof of my income through whatever means - in my case, Old Age Pension, and Company Pension. I also have to get a letter from my previous employers (every year) to verify that the Company Pension checks with the amount on the P60!!!

Got something to hide?

AS was said in an earlier post, the criminal element are probably the ones who could most easily afford to pay any increases in visa fees! Without wanting to sound like I'm just blowing my own trumpet, or go off topic, I am in a position where I have been retired in Thailand for quite a few years, (and consequently spent a few million baht here) and have seen the Exchange Rate drop from 73 baht to the British Pound to about 40 baht. Also, being honest, I notified my Government that I was retired here and they very kindly froze my Old Age Pension so I no longer get annual increments. Add to that, the increase we have all seen in the cost of living, and I am the kind of person that Big Joke would want to penalise by increasing the amount of money I have to put on deposit in a Thai bank, rather than the criminal element that he is supposed to be trying to eliminate?

Which IMHO should be mandatory anyway!

Maybe due to his condition "where there's a will(*) there's a way" is sadly not an option.

"..................enjoy their favorite wines today,............." I would do if they weren't so darned expensive in Thailand! ????

Quite agree! I got caught smoking a joint many years ago, and was immediately branded a drug addict!

I think the poster was saying it tongue in cheek.

"The initial return plan for Thaksin was for Thursday, August 10." I think "the initial return plan" was way before this one and merely a "guesstimate" as to the timing of his return! This scenario strangely reminds me of a book I had to read for my "O" Level English Literature called "Waiting for Godot" by Samuel Beckett:- "The play follows two men, Vladimir and Estragon. The men wait beside a tree for a mysterious man, Godot. However, we learn that Godot constantly sends word that he will arrive tomorrow but that never happens."

Quite high I would think!