TimCM

I am sure some TV members would believe the Junta if they came out and said Thailand have won the World Cup.

It worked for all their great military victories, so why not.

Again still no mention of concern for the victims of this disgusting trade. All they care about is what money it may cost them.

That Thai society is not outraged by this shows what a morally bankrupt society it is. Is is an insult to real Buddhists for Thai's to call themselves a Buddhist society

One could be led to ask what are the chances of those western nations invading Thailand so as to restore democracy as they see want it ?

The delights of a perfected system of imposing a democratic system upon Thailand which has been honed to a fine art in say Iraq for instance, a rerun of Vietnam, an invasion Bay of Pigs style?

Indeed the possible future of Thailand being liberated from tyranny as viewed by the west is an interesting prospect.

No real need to worry though,there's no mineral wealth here is there.

No chance as you said.

But theoretically, it would be the shortest war in history that would likely be over in a few hours. Between Vietnam war era equipment and soldiers that would be more suited to ladyboy shows, it would be a massacre. Most would run home crying to their mums.

The best bit would be the spin that they were victorious which would just be history repeating

Well, with the quality of a Thai degree, at least they will have something to use in the toilet

Before anyone complains, I worked at a uni in Thailand for one wasted semester. Most of the students would not pass a primary school exam in Australia but were passed regardless of my protests.

Yes come and inspect. Sadly this will likely mean a few slaves are thrown overboard in preparation.

Of coarse, if we don't like your findings, you can't go home as we will file deformation charges on you.

So it takes someone who probably has a PHD here to know what a 5 year old knows in most countries.

Pity the BIB only care about how much they can extort

They also have the POTENTIAL to become the intellectual hub, the morality hub, or the integrity hub as well but none of us are holding our breath!

As soon as they find a translation dictionary to work out what all those big words mean.

Then they can be a translation hub too

Hi Chris

Currently in Aust myself but was living in CM a few months ago so will try to assist

1. No issues getting an Ed Visa, just do it before you go. The school can arrange the needed paperwork for you and will take a day to get

2. For the bank, I would wait until you find a place so you have a local branch nearby. There are a number of banks here and you will need to be here with your visa to open an account. No real difference in quality between them or risk so choose convenience.

3. B50k per month would be reasonable providing you were not living too extravagant. The average wage is less than a third of that and man English teachers around Thailand live comfortably off B30k and still save for their holidays. If you want to eat western food out each night, this would not hold true. Hire a scooter for B1500 month and street food is B30 a meal. Rent will vary but you can find some nice large western apartments for under B15k. Internet can vary depending on the quality, but I am not the one to ask for that

Apart from that, there is heaps of apartments around at the moment so no need to rush, just get someone who has been living here to advise on the areas to look.

Hope this helps and if any of this advise is no good, could the long ter residents please correct

Cheers

Can someone confirm if Australia has similar laws to the US on corruption in offshore locations. If so, it would be a big risk to try to get anything done here with all the brown bags required to get anything done

Don't know about similar to the US, but yes there is Australian government legislation

http://www.dfat.gov.au/issues/measures-against-corruption.html

if interpreted correctly, the President of Austcham has indirectly referred to corrupt practices in Thailand, seemingly with lower level bureaucrats, with his observation "over a number of years the rule of law in Thailand has been dropping and dropping, especially on the street level".

Never heard of Australian companies being prosecuted over corrupt practices in Thailand by the Oz government, but a few Oz citizens have been prosecuted by Thai authorities over Thai based scams.

Australian company successes in Thailand

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.austrade.gov.au%2FArticleDocuments%2F1418%2FWhich-Australian-companies-are-thriving-in-Thailand.pdf.aspx&ei=hJmnU5LAEI6KkwWhoIH4Cg&usg=AFQjCNHbcWZgPmuitOzZL-Adf1tkm6ESMg&sig2=UnJ9e6gE1-7krxhYQ3x-LA

Thanks for the reply. Very informative

Seems to mirror the US laws so the companies here better hope no one starts investigating

That was one hell of a puff piece from the Aust embassy. Not sure if I would agree that there is no corruption outside the Govt sector.

Will be interesting to see what happens with the economy over the next few years as I think the high debt levels will be a major drag on the economy

cheers

Can someone confirm if Australia has similar laws to the US on corruption in offshore locations. If so, it would be a big risk to try to get anything done here with all the brown bags required to get anything done

Nothing says corruption like the announcements of MEGA Projects.

I wonder who will pocket all the brown bags now there is no Thaksin to blame

What about the criminal ways Thai employers deal with farang workers too?

Although this is bad and another blight on the country, it can hardly be compared.

Do you think murder and rape are the same as not paying wages on time, constant lies or no work permits?

Yup it is murder and rape in question too, not just wages or work permits, damn right its comparable because its all part of it and happens... you do understand the term slavery and slave labour right ?

If you think slavery (which involves rape, beatings and murder) is comparable to <deleted> (hate that racist word) workers issues then you may have moved to the right country. I am sure most of the expat community are free to go home when they like and don't have their daughters taken to be locked up as sex slaves for the entertainment of the locals.

It is a complete different issue as we have choice

What about the criminal ways Thai employers deal with farang workers too?

Although this is bad and another blight on the country, it can hardly be compared.

Do you think murder and rape are the same as not paying wages on time, constant lies or no work permits?

Not an unexpected result. Looking at that graphic, even the Tier 2 watch list looks like a bit

of a rough neighborhood. Now at Tier 3 things have really turned bad, when North Korea

is your neighbor...... Now in the past, there would have some blustering face saving,

and indignation ( how dare America make critical decisions about Thailand". And of course

nothing would change, and Thailand would adapt to the new sanctions.

But now there is a new sheriff in town, Super Prayuth. I would not be surprised to see

him appoint a committee to fully explore the allegations about trafficking. And then fix

them all.......A bit of a taint for the military in this matter, as they faced allegations of being involved in

the movement of the trafficked Rohingya refugees. Hopefully that was on a small scale...

And maybe instead of fishing, they will move their slaves to the growing flying pig industry

Try reading the report, and see that your saviors of Thailand are part of the problem

Thats an average of just below B40 million per business which is over US$1m. Given many of these firms would be small or investing conservatively, given the political climate, there was either a few very large new firms or TAT did the figures

If it is that important to you, you could make your own. Then sell it to others that share the passion