BKKBike09

One immediate and no-cost initiative would be a 'no questions asked' amnesty period for people to hand in illegal / unwanted guns (e.g. formerly legally owned by a deceased relative, now sitting at home because no-one wants it or the hassle of trying to transfer ownership).

With big stories a large news organisation will often fly in a regionally-based crew / correspondent (as CNN did here). Very often it's a bad idea to apply for a journalist visa even if there's time because then it flags you as a journalist. That can be a very bad thing if you're trying to report on something sensitive / don't want to be flagged as a journo on arrival.

When you cover a fast-breaking news story there's no time to apply for a media visa. I'm sure any non-Thailand based reported coming here to cover this story would use visa on arrival/tourist visa. Nothing 'unprofessional' about that. I don't get the witch hunt here: it looks pretty clear - watching Thai language news and 'Big Joke' explaining what happened - that the CNN crew thought they were allowed to go into the building because some local officials said it was okay. Everyone and his dog wears a uniform in Thailand; how were the crew to know the officials weren't authorised to give access? Add language challenges to the mix and away you go. The ethical / moral debate as to whether they should have gone in, regardless of whether they thought they had permission, is another question. As is why the RTP hadn't cordoned off the scene immediately after this obscene incident.

"Among the most common figures on gun ownership are personal estimates by knowledgeable observers. Their impres- sions are useful, but they can also differ dramatically. In some countries, such estimates have diverged by a factor of ten (Small Arms Survey, 2007, pp. 45, 54). Expert estimates can be much higher than other country totals, often double or triple other estimates, sometimes even higher. Expert estimates are important and should be considered seriously, but in our methodology, highly divergent expert estimates are usually discarded as outliers." https://www.smallarmssurvey.org/sites/default/files/resources/SAS-BP-Civilian-Firearms-Numbers.pdf The figures for Thailand are 'expert estimates' (the survey also claims that China has 49 million unregistered private firearms ... ). Regardless, however counted, Thailand has a large number of both legal and illegal held privately-owned firearms. The potential for mass shootings has been here for ages. The more pertinent questions are a) why do they not happen here more often (thank goodness) and b) are they now going to happen more frequently.

There are no comprehensive databases of crashed vehicles because the insurance companies still don't share info. Assuming the vehicle isn't older than say five years or so, consider: 1. Look at the service history - where has it been serviced? Call the dealer that's done the servicing and ask if any history of repairs. 2. If it has first class insurance, for how long and with which companies? If it has always been insured with Company A, that suggests it has not been badly damaged. Call the company and check. If it has only recently been insured with Company A, ask seller who it was insured with before and why did they change company. Then call the previous insurance company. 3. Go to a larger dealer for that brand and ask if there's any record of the vehicle in the company's service history database (some brands - Honda for instance - will have service history etc for all of their vehicles that all dealers can access). Easiest option is, as you note, careful inspection by someone who knows what to look for.

not on the bts... or in the cinema. No need to wear a mask on BTS. It is recommended, but not mandatory. BTS is privately-operated so, under local 'logic', isn't 'public transport'. Go figure. And still mandatory in cinemas? Get real (not that there's anything to see film-wise these days).

If you mean Suvarnabhumi, then no, based on direct personal experience most recently 2 weeks ago. Can't speak for Don Muang but would assume it's the same.

Hmmm, my comment "That's a rather binary choice: if your child doesn't study online, someone you love will die?" was based exactly on what you said: "You're entitled to your opinion, but most people were OK with kids having a year of studying online if it meant their mother, father, husband, wife, etc., didn't die." That seems pretty binary to me. Nothing about reducing chances. But I do find it pleasantly refreshing that you argue your position in a reasoned and reasonable manner.

That's a rather binary choice: if your child doesn't study online, someone you love will die? I suspect the people who were okay with kids having a year of studying online were nice middle-class folk with the infrastructure to let their children study at home (dedicated space, a laptop/Ipad, high speed internet), likely with their children attending a private school. I can assure you that the home learning experience for many poorer pupils at state schools was not a good one [my sister being a teacher at an inner city primary]. If not studying online for a year = someone in your house will die, then of course that's a pretty clear cut choice. However the reality was study online for a year = potentially long-term and significant impacts to your child's educational progress, and a mildly enhanced risk that someone in your house might get sick.

I had to give both passports at LAX when checking in but I don't know what airline put on their system. I used ESTA to enter the USA so that was tied to my former passport (in the ESTA application I did state that I also had a Thai passport). I asked several IOs on my way back in: answer was still that the new 10-year passports (unless serial begins with AA - mine is AB) don't work but 5-year passports do. However a friend told me that his (Thai) wife got a new passport some weeks after me and it works fine. I think next trip out I will try it just to see ...

Curiously when I came back in a couple of weeks ago from the US the immigration officer asked me if I still had my foreign passport. Naturally I said no. Not sure why she asked, and my answer seemed to satisfy her. It was slightly odd only because I flew in from Taipei, rather than direct from a country that would have required a visa in a Thai passport. I've been in a couple of times before that on direct flights from Europe and never had the question. I wonder if the Immigration system now receives passenger information direct from the airlines showing where a passenger's journey first originated. If you flew Airline A from Europe all the way to Thailand but with a transit stop in say Singapore, the info would show the origin as Europe. Whereas Airline A to Singapore and Airline B SIN-BKK would show a Singapore origin.

That would be good. In the past the show has been criticised for having mostly repro art. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/seoul-banksy-show-complaint-fake-art-2002916? That said, I bought a Banksy T-Shirt in MBK a few years back: bloke selling it assured me it was an original ...

Since when?

People who mask toddlers deserve a good slap. As do people who wear masks on the beach.

Depends where you live. Bangkok is much easier for permits than upcountry. Regardless, if a gun is registered to someone else and you get caught with it (like going to a range to practise) and the registered owner is not present, big problem.

Airguns (.22 / .177) need a firearms permit here to own legally. The same permit / hassle as required for a small bore/fullbore rifle or pistol. BB guns don't need a permit.

Leaving the medical stuff to one side, there has been (unfortunately) a 'need' to be vaccinated, until very recently, in order to travel internationally with any degree of ease. I just went to the US and 'being vaccinated' was mandatory and checked rigorously by the airline here at check-in (but not, of course, on arrival in the US). Of course, the fact that my vaccination was a year ago and so unlikely to be of any use to anyone was irrelevant as far as the CDC criteria are concerned.

Like so many others. How about 'Fortress Australia'? Forbade entry AND exit to its own citizens for more than a year, and now ... From 9 September 2022, masks are no longer required on flights travelling to Australia. From July 6 2022, the way you travel to and from Australia has changed. All travellers should be aware that: - People entering Australia do not need to provide evidence of vaccination status https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/covid19/entering-and-leaving-australia Question is whether Thailand will also do away with the need to be vaccinated. I was asked to show proof of vaccination at Suvarnabhumi when returning last week.

The sharia concept of 'an-nushuz' may help you out. For a wife, it would include: She does not beautify herself for her husband when he desires that from her. She disobeys her husband with respect to coming to his bed and she refuses to respond to his calls. She leaves the house without his permission or without any legal right to do so. She does not perform her obligatory religious duties, such as failure to perform some prayers, fasting Ramadan, covering her 'awra, or any other obligatory act of Islam. Very progressive. (https://www.islamswomen.com/marriage/fiqh_of_marriage_9.php)

Out of interest, what does a bank account, whether in Thailand or UK, have to do with "capital gains protection"? If your friend is selling a UK property, unless it's his primary residence then CGT liability will arise regardless of tax status / residency.

Might be some clues here ... "CCTV however did capture the incident and was shared on social media." https://thepattayanews.com/2022/09/01/one-british-man-dead-second-seriously-injured-after-motorbike-collision-with-a-garbage-truck-on-samui-island/ If there were beers under the seat it sounds like a scooter, not something more sporty.

There are EV pick ups manufactured locally?? Who would ever buy a pick up priced at more than 2 million baht?? The main question of course is whether an EV one-tonne pick up truck is still capable of doing 140 kmh while loaded with three tonnes of pineapples / 27 migrant workers / a 20-foot high spirit house [select as appropriate].

I'm sure DPM Wissanu is right on it. After all, apparently he's the only person in Thailand qualified to fiddle with the constitution. Plenty of quality candidates: Prawit Anutin Thammanat My cat

I don't think you can say they're a Thai company. There are Thai entities incorporated here but the directors and shareholders are all Chinese (actually the shareholders are HK companies but I suspect they'll be ultimately owned by BVI or Cayman holdcos). GREAT WALL MOTOR SALES (THAILAND) COMPANY LIMITED (incorporated Jan 2020, Reg Cap THB 330 million) GREAT WALL MOTOR MANUFACTURING (THAILAND) COMPANY LIMITED (incorporated 1992 Reg Cap THB 8.8 billion) IMO Chinese companies are ahead of the curve with EV development, with exception of Tesla, because the Chinese motor industry has made EVs a core focus. Would I buy one in Thailand? Only if I lived in Bangkok, which is where the sales and service network is currently focused, and where an EV makes the most sense if cutting out short duration high emission journeys is a goal. Yet they're still niche brands. And since modern cars are usually stuffed full of tech, dealer servicing is mandatory unless you want to void warranty. More stuff to malfunction, too.

Indeed. It's a sorry tale. From the rambling Walter Mitty statement of 'facts' allegedly penned by the boyfriend: "It was intoxicating being around someone so inexperienced and green behind the gills ... Ashley had no street experience. Hardly any life experience either. She’d never attended university ..." Anyone who's a parent of a typical 'normal' 19-year old should empathise with this poor girl's situation. The boyfriend's statement has been redacted in places. However, whoever did the redacting didn't do a very good job and the underlying text is still there. It makes for very interesting reading. For legal reasons I shall neither provide a link to the statement, nor make any reference to its content other than the excerpt above.