fusion58

In other news, the chocolate ration was increased from three grams to two grams...

"The law is the law — whether you are rich or poor you have to pay for what you've done," national police spokesman Songpol Wattanachai said Monday, asking skeptics to have faith in the police. "Justice will be served. Just because he is rich doesn't mean he won't go to jail. I'm asking people not to think that way."

You're concerned people might assume this s*%@ stain won't have to do any jail time simply because he's well-off and well-connected?

Gee, it's hard to fathom how anyone would get that impression.

Japanese investors have raised concerns that Thai workers are not able to meet the needs of major companies.

Not exactly a bombshell here, is it?

10 people to do the job of one person, and they still can't get it right.

Shiro Sadoshima, Japanese ambassador to Thailand, has called on the government to invest in education.

LOL.

Doesn't the ambassador understand that "face" is more important than education?

In a culture where deficits and mistakes can't be acknowledged, education is impossible.

Pol Gen Chakthip Chaichinda insisted that police had treated all cases without any discrimination or favoritism.

This thread jogged my memory re: the first time I heard the word "queue."

It was in the Rolling Stones tune "Live with Me."

And there's a score of harebrained children

They're all locked in the nursery

They got earphone heads they got dirty necks

They're so 20th century

Well they queue up for the bathroom

Round about 7:35

Don'cha think we need a woman's touch to make it come alive?

I was about 13 or 14 years old and living on a steady diet of British rock and roll.

You might want to consider Vancouver, Washington, which is just across the Columbia River - spitting distance - from Portland.

Seems pretty gloomy and rainy overall, and chilly a good part of the year. But, at least, not freezing most of the time.

Yep - this is true.

He said he didn't mind winter as long as it wasn't extremely cold.

It's still roughly half as expensive as Southern California was for me. That's my own personal yardstick.

That "pretty" looks hideous.

Yeah, there's a point when all the cosmetic surgery just looks...scary.

Blame Netflix.

"My list" was originally "my queue."

;-)

There is always a reason for the low price! But I can't afford a high price.

I get why people love Portland. I just don't. C'est la vie. Just as well as I can't afford it. I like Seattle a lot of better which I also can't afford.

Apparently there are a lot of SNAKES in Phoenix? Could be a deal breaker.

If Portland ends up on your short list, then here's another thought:

You might want to consider Vancouver, Washington, which is just across the Columbia River - spitting distance - from Portland.

About a 15 minute drive.

Houses are considerably less expensive than in Portland, and the lots are larger.

I rented a nice 3br ranch for $800 in 2012.

No sales tax on food items, and no sales tax at all when you cross the river to Oregon.

Every time I have been to Taiwan, it has been overcast, humid and the people very unfriendly compared to Thai people.

In fact, I can say it is the most unfriendly country I have visited in Asia.

Some people I've encountered in Taiwan have been very unfriendly, but others have been more friendly and helpful than anyone I've ever met while living in Thailand.

If you look lost on the streets or at a metro station in Taipei, for example, its not unusual for locals to ask if you need help with directions.

As I indicated in my earlier post, I would definitely consider Taipei as a permanent base were it not for my distaste for rain, typhoons and earthquakes.

The infrastructure alone is worth the price of admission. Almost like a poor man's Hong Kong.

^

LOL.

That reminds me of something I read the other day.

I was interested in a condo, so I was searching the web for info about the building.

I came upon a page which gave a breakdown of the building's residents based on nationality:

"70% Japanese, 20% foreigner and 10% Thai."

Govt Wants Motor Show Model Outfits to Reflect 'Thainess

This in spite of the fact that "Thailand" is almost synonymous with "sex for sale."

I'm surprised their heads don't explode from the cognitive dissonance.

"Transferred?"

LOL.

Sounds a bit like those parish priests who get caught molesting little boys.

Quite the shell game.

^

I was able to schedule my wife's second appointment on a day of the week when the aforementioned contact person inside the embassy will be working, so, hopefully, this will present an opportunity to bypass the obstructionist half-wits at the point of entry and take my case to someone whose IQ is greater than his shoe size.

Thanks to all for the helpful replies.

I was fortunate enough to reach a staffer inside the embassy who subsequently contacted me by phone to sort my difficulties out.

Upon examining the PDF copy of the aforementioned rejected invitation letter, the staffer advised me that the letter was, in fact, perfectly acceptable in its existing form.

Just as I expected, my wife had been sabotaged by the Thai "gatekeepers" who initially screened her application and supporting documents.

Thanks to these chimps, we had to schedule a second appointment at the embassy, and my wife will have to take even more unpaid time off from work.

And the farce doesn't end there.

As mentioned in my original post, I'm a U.S. citizen.

Prior to my wife's appointment, I contacted the embassy via e-mail and asked for advice re: supporting documents which would be required in the event that I planned to cover all of my wife's travel expenses while in Germany.

I received a response from a consular official who indicated that statements from my "main bank" (which, BTW, is in the U.S.) would suffice.

Lo and behold, on the day of my wife's appointment, my bank statements are summarily rejected on the grounds that they cannot be "verified (<deleted> does that even mean?) The Thai staff advise my wife that only statements from a Thai bank are acceptable.

OK, are you trying to tell me this is the first instance in which a U.S. citizen has proposed to pay for his Thai wife's travel expenses using funds located in a U.S. bank?

The stupidity is just breathtaking.

At any rate, my attitude at this point is "if you grant my wife a tourist visa, I promise never to ask again!"

Perhaps telling children the reason Bubba Clinton was impeached as POTUS for lying about stains on a Blue Dress might be deemed inappropriate too?

Not nearly as inappropriate (and creepy) as the GOP peep show which elected to concern itself with Clinton's genitals in the first place.

My wife (Thai national) was turned away from her initial visa appointment at the German embassy in Bangkok today.

The explanation for her rejection by the document screeners was that the letter of invitation from our host in Germany did not contain all of the required information.

My dilemma is that no one seems to be able to tell us exactly what that required information includes.

I have scoured the web in vain in search of an explanation or instructions in English.

I was hoping to find some kind of invitation letter template, but no such luck.

I am a U.S. citizen, and our host in Germany is also a U.S. citizen (a U.S. Army physician who is stationed at a U.S. military hospital in Germany.)

My wife is applying for a 'C' tourist visa.

Thanks in advance to anyone who might have information to share on this topic.

I have already said that I can give the contact details of Frau Ahrens who deals with Schengen Visas, she did my MILs, no appointment necessary, although the Thai staff do not know this rule, from appointment to getting visa was exactly one week.

I would very much appreciate those contact details as well.

My attempts to obtain a tourist visa for my Thai wife have turned into a nightmare insofar as my supporting documents are all in English, and the Thai staff who do the initial documents screening have a very limited understanding of English.

For example, these same Thai staff advised my wife that my bank statements were unacceptable as evidence of funds because my bank was located in the U.S.

This same staff person advised my wife that only statements from Thai banks were acceptable. (Apparently this sort of dishonesty is preferable to admitting you don't understand English and "losing face.")

Amazingly enough, when my wife sought a "second opinion" from another Thai staff person, she was assured that the aforementioned bank statements were, in fact, acceptable.

My wife was also turned away because the invitation letter from our host in Germany didn't meet all of the requirements.

Trouble is, I've scoured the web for specific information in English re: those requirements to no avail.

Talk about an exercise in frustration!

I have to concur with the last two posts.

Taipei is considerably more developed than Bangkok. First-world infrastructure, a metro system than puts Bangkok's to shame, and, most importantly, REAL Chinese food.

Condo and apartment rentals tend to be more expensive than BKK, but almost everything else is less expensive.

That said, I couldn't live with earthquakes, typhoons and rainy winters, so I had to pass.

Brought to you by the leftist PC BBC.

Think again...

"Shameful," "Disgusting," "Despicable" - Fox News Focus Group Slams Fox News Debate

FRANK LUNTZ: Megyn, I don't know how happy you all at Fox are going to be, but I want a word or phrase to describe tonight's debate, and I'm going to start in the second row.

FOCUS GROUP MEMBER: Sophomoric.

FOCUS GROUP MEMBER: Embarrassment

FOCUS GROUP MEMBER: Disappointing.

FOCUS GROUP MEMBER: Shameful.

FOCUS GROUP MEMBER: Despicable.

FOCUS GROUP MEMBER: Angering.

FOCUS GROUP MEMBER: Low on substance.

FOCUS GROUP MEMBER: Disgusting.

FOCUS GROUP MEMBER: School yard brawl.

http://mediamatters.org/video/2016/0...focus-g/209015

people must be told to empty containers that are holding water that are kept outside because of the risk of getting dengue fever from mosquitos.

Until the Thais figure that one out, I guess I'll go on sleeping in a wheelbarrow full of deet with only a straw to breathe through.

Thailand forecasts record visitors

And, in other news, the chocolate ration was increased from three grams to two grams this week...

Q: "Could this be a transitional period to non-democracy?"

A: "Could this be is a transitional period to non-democracy?"

No need to write a whole article about it and use question marks, we all know what's up.

At least those of us whose IQs are greater than our hat sizes.

The recent single Internet gateway maneuvers should leave no doubt.

Here we go again...

Limited or no access to Facebook all day today. No problem with sites hosted in Thailand.

Anyone else experiencing the same?