Enzian

I was "out on the town" the past two nights around Asoke/Nana and I could almost always see someone nearby vaping. Isn't this going to be like the recreational aspect of the pot initiative, once it gets to this stage it's never going to be walked back or stopped?

The country needs more like him, and in fact we all need backups for him, to take his place when he is possibly taken down. For the entertainment value even if nothing is improved--but I think it will be. Can you imagine a half dozen like him, each coming up with something new about every two weeks or so?

Could this be Chuwit's next news release?

So hash, which I guess is just concentrated pot, is illegal, but pot itself is not? Does anyone know why hash is still listed as a narcotic? How this works? The larger issue, tip of iceberg: I still wonder how all this pot said to be from California and for sale all over Sukhumvit is getting into the country, though I assume however it is, it's not the way this mule/amateur with the hash was trying. (I want to add that I'm sorry for the guy in any case, what he will go through: he was likely not the source.)

Like I told a younger business partner, do the work but don't get greedy. Like that couple arrested for using the same MO to break into 34 gas stations. These guys were involved in more than issuing visas, stuff more humanly serious, and probably by more than association. There has to be more details to come out.

A friend who passed away a couple of years ago was probably one of the half dozen top Pali scholars in the world, and he would say The Thais are not Buddhist. But you don't have to be a Pali scholar to know what he was talking about.

Is the writer of this piece being intentionally dense? It's all a function of the fact that western countries have a normal income 3 or 4 X Thailand. Same as why half of Syria and north Africa wants to move to Europe. Enough.

This is the very most No. 1 slippery slope.

They are good at "driving" IMO, if that's defined as moving the vehicle around. The biggest problem as I see it is that they speed and leave no margin for error, which has to be some kind of fatal cultural blind spot. Would it help if, as in the US, killing someone through negligence would result in financial ruin for years or life?

Off topic, but only a bit. If Chuwit would expose the "agents providing evidence of 800K in the bank" system at Immigration, maybe the whole thing would blow up and instead of losing (tens of?) thousands of spending farangs the government would reform the system allowing a much more reasonable reserve requirement. I'm probably dreaming.

mirabile dictu, we are now reaching never before seen levels of disingenuity.

All this continues to give me hope that fewer people (aka tourists) will be coming. If they screw up just a few more times maybe most of the world will scratch LOS off their bucket lists. Then I'll have the place to myself, such as it is--all mine! all mine! Living in this madhouse that's all I care about any more, economy be damned.

My day will be complete if he will just say one more time I'm going to eliminate corruption.

The whole lot of them involved in this fiasco should resign, or be forced to; if they were Japanese maybe they would do away with themselves. How can they continue this way? Who will listen to them? I don't need to hear any complaints about "it's just Thai bashing" for a while. The upside is there should and probably will be a lot less people coming, competing for space on the sidewalks.

"You are not paranoid if they are really out to get you." Old hippy saying.

Redemption. Isn't that the Hollywood favorite? Or like Lord Jim. Do one thing really wrong and then spend the rest of your life living in a way to make up for it, or trying to. If I could see into the Thai psyche I would say he really doesn't like seeing Thailand owned even more and more completely by China, and he is tired of living in a country where the police are a joke--but I can't. But I'm equally skeptical of those who are cynical about his motives.

If one had an idea as to the net asset value of all the pot shops (and the inventory of even the informal vendors) between Suk 23 and Nana 4, that might give a clue as to what is going on. Some of those places are palaces.

My translation is that there will be collateral damage but the money will be worth it. Also, the problem with this recommendation of boosters is that the Thai government seems to have no plan to import the latest mRNA vaccines (they cannot be found here at this time if my info is correct), and may in fact stop imports in general and begin to rely on in-country made meds entirely. That did not go well the last time.

then I will be forced to decamp again to Europe and California in turn, best thing that could happen to me.

Seems Chuwit hasn't yet specifically brought up the 800K/400K requirement issue; it will be interesting if he does. I assume Prayuth has always known about it. I prefer adherence to a rule of law in most situations, but half my friends might have to find a different country if that became an issue.

If a vaccine prevents the virus from taking hold in one's body during an encounter, then one may not pass it to another. You might disagree.

And (I should have added) are what's available said to be the latest mRNA for the latest variants (which I got on doc's recommendation in the US in August) or the same as what's been available for a year or more? Thanks!

My gf has had two Pfizer and for herself would not get a booster, but she's 42 and I'm 83, so she says she is open to a booster so as to reduce the chance of giving the virus to me (I've had 5 shots, but still had a mild case after #4); is there anywhere she can go? Thanks, and sorry if this has already been covered, I wasn't sure where to look.

It does look like someone is following the new policy of not reporting the nationality of foreigners accused (and convicted?) of crimes. But they have not stopped reporting the nationality of foreigners involved in unfortunate accidents, which to me makes the crime restriction seem absurd. Also the crime restriction is contrary to freedom of speech, but yes, I know, there's none of that here anyway. ALSO: if it is really China that caused the change in crime reporting I think we have a right to know, but again I feel absurd even using the word "right". And what Thai ID card are they talking about? That has confused me for a while, since I have a "pink card", perfectly legal for me; but of course it doesn't say I am Thai. So they are talking about a similar card saying one is Thai?

But what things exactly was he accepting bribes to approve, construction on park land, or what else?