bil2054

What the heck is going on? This cannot be a Thai person or group doing this! I say extremist Muslims. They love killing innocents and installing fear. I suspect the civil war in the south has caught the eye of an ISIS inspired group or lone wolf.

Bill, it wouldn't be the first time you got on the 'Muslims - hang em high brigade' as soon as there is a sniff of the word 'terror'.

Then again, I wouldn't blame you if you were getting your news from FOX.

In another era the likes Bill would be seeing pinko commies behind every plant pot as well,

...or pot plant.

Yes, it sounds like a typical AZ anti Muslim position, and I say that as a Bill in AZ.

Is it a new way of fishing? Many large catsfish down there.

Rather an old way Fred. Drop a quarter or half stick of "powder" in the water and "whump", wait a half minute and stunned and dead fish float up to the surface.

A couple of observation/opinions .... claims of a firework producing similar results are, IMO, extremely unlikely. The description of the "pellets" ejected are consistent with either a fragmentation grenade or a pipe bomb. Either case, the device would have sunk rapidly on striking the water. An M80, cherry bomb. what have you are relatively light, and would have detonated very near the surface, throwing a small volume of water skywards, perhaps ten or fifteen feet. Enough to delight a small boy, but nothing like the display in this instance. A bomb detonating at depth to throw water to that height would have been fairly powerful because water is heavy, and it would have to move a considerable mass of it.

This is based on experience as a kid, when it was still possible to buy a case of dynamite. My dad had been a hard rock miner in Bisbee, AZ, before joining the Marines in WWII, and knew what to do with it.... including using it to clear the weeds from a eutrophagous pond at our farm, My demolitions trrainig, albeit brief, in the Army OCS also informs my opinion. I am no expert to be sure, but I would say a knowledgeable amateur... who does not enjoy messing about once in awhile with det cord and C4?

I appreciate the views and experiences related in this topic.

I intend to retire in LOS, and as a diabetic, cardiac patient, etc., this is all near and dear.

Does anybody have experience with the variety of expat insurance programs, and how they work with the Thai health system?

Also, any advice on where to go for medical attention in Ubon Ratchathani?

I had been pondering the whole subject, as I mentioned to a couple of Thai friends that I was going to see my doctor

yesterday, just a periodic check and to get my prescriptions up to date, etc. They both seemed a bit alarmed; "What is wrong?", "You sick?"?"and so on. Preventative or ongoing care seemed to not be part of their expectations.

I found in the course of my two month visit last year that I can walk ok, due to a mile lower elevation than here on the Colorado Plateau, and the abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables also were a great advantage health wise.

Evidently the anti-Obamabots will make up any silly bloody thing to try and discredit him. There is enough basis for disagreement without turning to fiction, IMO.
The extended agreement was that the US would remain on station with the Patriot anti-missile battery until October of this year, This is not a sudden decision to withdraw, it is the end of the contractual period. Germany also has indicated that they will withdraw their Patriot battery next year, and The Netherlands is also retiring from the field. A Spanish battery will be rotating in. If you don't agree take it up with NATO.
As mentioned in an earlier comment ISIS has no missiles, thus there is no need for anti-missile defenses in Turkey.
As also mentioned they can be returned to service almost immediately if needed.
Patriot anti-missile defense systems are amongst the highest demand military units. As ISIS has yet to demonstrate any ballistic missile capability it is likely the Patriot installations would be better deployed as a counter to North Korea's recent threats, and they DO have nuclear and missile technologies.

Okay, jumping in with both feet now. I will be arriving at Soupy on 18 September. Finally decided on a 60 day tourist visa through one of the online services because I was frankly bewildered by the sometimes (seemingly) conflicting and/or incomplete information I have read in about 3,086 sources.
Here is my game plan.
I am a US citizen, 61 years of age, and a current retirement income of 1,200,00 BT. From what I have been reading it is possible to get a non-O visa via a "border run".
Okay, good so far. I will be staying in Bkk for a few months until my lady friend winds up some business. What is the best "border run" destination for that? I like the sound of Penang so far, but 1) How dya get there from Bkk. 2) Is Georgetown a district within Penang? 3) Is an income affidavit from the US Embassy acceptable there? I will have proof of where and when, but I have begun to read reports of some consulates being a little "testy" about it.
Would Ventiane be a better bet? I can walk well, if slowly. I am guessing the reason for flying to Ubon is proximity to the border. I will have my Social Security annual statement of benefits, i.e. how much and when, as well as a similar letter from my bank about trust income as well as a listing of the assets in the trust. Good enough if accompanied by an embassy affidavit?
Thanks for your consideration. I am pretty bright, but very attention deficit.... trying to thread all the considerations into a single effective narrative can be a tad difficile.
Oh, and then I will get on about a decent (cheap!) short term rental in Bkk, and any advice on medical insurance... if I do decide to stay I will drop Medicare with its $118 /month premium, $1,400 deductible, 20% co-pays WHEN they decide to cover something, etc......

Viagra is not just for the woody crowd any more. It was "discovered" during the search for a new blood pressure medication, so the booze maker's claims about "health benefits" are not completely bogus. It is a bit dangerous, though.
Pulmonary hypertension

Viagra is now marketed under the name Revatio for this uncommon but serious disorder of high pressure in the blood vessels leading to the lungs.

Mountain sickness

Viagra can reduce pulmonary artery pressure at high altitude and improve the ability to exercise in low oxygen conditions.

Raynaud’s phenomenon

In affected individuals, exposure to the cold triggers spasm of the small arteries that supply blood to the fingers, toes, or both, which become pale, cold, and painful. Both Viagra and Levitra have been helpful in clinical trials.

Heart disease

Studies suggest Viagra might help patients with congestive heart failure or diastolic dysfunction.

​

I rather enjoy my little solar/wind power energy system, and a few billion people across the globe seem to agree that a lightbulb is superior to the no-lightbulb style of life.
"Who will pay for all the blown lightbulbs?" is sort of a non-starter, as even impoverished hill tribe folks can afford the very occasional 13 baht, (quick price check from Tesco Lotus, Bangkok), replacement cost of a standard bulb.
I imagine it would not be difficult to find even less costly sources of supply, even donations, for the circumstances.
My greater concern would be eventual replacement of the deep cycle storage batteries. Those are still a bit dear in my experience, though still much less amortized than a monthly power bill from the utility company.

We had a similar thing happen in Chiang Mai 3 years ago due to high winds. Once the poles started falling the others followed. Here's a couple of pics of the "deconstructed" power poles. The rebar is not the same quality we use here in the US.

Couple of problems.... too much aggregate to cement ratio... I doubt these are pre-stressed, and apparently they prefer rewire to rebar.

I have some good cast iron cookware. Love it. I also have one or two decent Teflon coated sauce pans, which do not get up to the temps that cause "gassing off" from the Teflon, which I can manage with a skillet.

I also have some very nice stainless pieces, but they are not "non stick"!

Very strange that anybody having been in Thailand for more than a few does not pick up on the prejudice against darker skinned people. Actually it probably speaks to an innate racism on the part of those who did not "notice" it.

Skin bleaching products, etc., are pretty obvious clues.

I know a beautiful young woman in Bkk who is originally from Issan, and quite distraught that she is not pretty because of her darker than ideal skin.

I told her about my farang sister who regularly roasts herself in the sun in order to get a tan colour like this young lady has.

Sorry, but you must be thick as a brick to not be aware of that particular national racism, or xenophobia if the idea of racism really bugs you, (same thing... just sounds more scientific )

I also enjoyed the helpful and honest responses. It is quite likely that I too will look for a short term stay at a monastery once I have moved.
I do not understand the folks who wish to discourage someone who is a seeker. If you have no desire for self improvement then fine. No need to run down somebody else's life choices.
Just my opinion, of course.

Funny how they keep referring to it as "Obama's" treaty, as though he did the whole thing himself.
The "deal" is the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) (Persian: برنامه جامع اقدام مشترک‎, abbreviated as برجام) I; a nuclear agreement signed in Vienna on 14 July 2015 between Iran, the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council—China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States—plus Germany), and the European Union.
While the POTUS may have had a strong leadership role in the process, it was not conducted in a vacuum.

Hmm. My fiancée is in Ubonrachathani. I hope having lived in Arizona the last ten years will make the transition not too strenuous.

So the only evidence that the landlord was colluding in the crime was that he was collecting rent money from the tenet of the apartment.... Yikes! Looks like the LoS might be a rough place to be in the rental-income business!

Probably because he was collecting 3-4 times the rental rate for that location.

If a landlord is offered even twice the going rate for his place, he would be automatically asking himself why this person would pay so much if not to use the place for some fishy business.

Fish being walloped.

Your logic implies that if a Farang is charged double the going rate for something (e.g. jet ski), then the Farang is up to some fishy business during the 30-minute rental period?

Except... it was not a Farang, far more than a thirty minute rental was involved, and three to four times average is twice double the going price. The logic is spot on...something fishy was indeed in the works, and the landlord should have been a wee bit suspicious at the very least.

For commercial and/or international reasons I see the advantages of Thais being proficient in English as English may be regarded as the language of choice, by some, in this area. However, for someone to suggest that 37,000,000 Thais should learn English so that they may oblige the English speaking visitors (Which, by the very definition of holding a Thai visa makes us) to Thailand would IMHO reeks of racialism. Should you also expect all Thais to learn Chinese, German, French, Russian etc etc to cater for visitors from these non-Thai speaking countries. At the expense of offending some of the people whome may be regarded as arrogant English elite, may the more relevant approach be to ask the question, "Should visitors to, and especially long term residents of, Thailand, in an effort to preserve cultural identity and respect of human rights, be encouraged to learn Thai ?". (OK. Let the persistent racist Thai knockers now let loose).

I largely agree.... in fact the OP's title for this thread was a bit off putting for me. Why should Thai people learn English if they will not be involved in international business? English is the de facto international language of trade, and all airline pilots must know it, but not all people are in that situation. It would make sense for taxi drivers in Bkk to know a little, but I found rather more than fewer do know enough to get the job done.

Another poster mentioned a problem I am having, to whit as an older farang with some hearing loss I have trouble differentiating the tonalities. So far most Thai people I have met appreciate my bumbling efforts, and have been very patient with "No, no, say like this....", with the ubiquitous Thai smile.

I love it, and intend to do my best to learn as well as a cranky old Yank can.

Notes from a disabled person, who wishes they weren't....
I think that Senator Paul is full of donkey dust on this. I waited too long to apply... went through about a hundred G's of savings because I did not want the official designation of "disabled", and kept trying to find work that I could still do. I had to first get my doctor to submit an affidavit that in his opinion I was not able to work, and why. Then I had to go for a half day evaluation by a government contracted physician. I know of no way to skip these requirements, and if there is rampant skullduggery it is mostly a problem at stage two I would say.
My former neighbour had a heart valve replacement procedure and was turned down twice initially. It is not always a walk in the woods to get certified.
Anyway, I suspect the instances of fraud are certainly more than they should be, but not nearly as prevalent as Paul would have us believe, and more on the line of somebody continuing to cash their father's check after he dies, or improving their health and "forgetting" to inform the government that they have gone back to work.
I think the raising of the income cap would be the simplest solution to keeping the funding going.

Well, Thailand has moved their capital a few times in history, though I expect it would be more challenging than driving the buffalo to a new location now.
It isn't something that will happen in the short term I am pretty sure.
I like the gondola suggestion.... I will visit when they have that in place.

_{There are a number of sensible ways to handle the situation. The charge for overtime is reasonable as long as the policy is clearly stated and posted. Most places these days offer a receipt that is time and date stamped. so the charge can be accurately assessed.
The suggestion about politely moving folks along is also good, or suggesting it is time to order another latte', whatever.}

There is similar debate related to the protracted drought situation here in the South West USA, particularly relating to agricultural disaster facing California. One of the problems there is a too great reliance on what was once thought to be an inexhaustible resource, the mighty Colorado River, except it is not so mighty when its lower limit volume is parceled out by treaty at something like 200% of capacity..
There is also a huge furor over the policy of limiting irrigation while allowing millions of gallons to continue flowing through the deltas into the ocean. This is inaccurately blamed solely on concern for an endangered minnow, which while a factor is of less importance than the fact that below a certain flow rate the salt waters of the Pacific will back up into the channels and drastically alter the ecology of the entire delta area in a very short time, and irredeemably so for decades at least.
I do not know if this is part of the reason for allowing the waters to continue flowing even though the Bhumipol and Sirikit Dams were below previous optimal levels, but it is a serious and valid consideration.
Perhaps I should not give the current or former administration the "Yeah! Yeah... that's the ticket!", but knowing that it IS a situation here and mostly ignored because, you know, science is in such ill repute these days.....

I think the best result would be achieved with the SRI method. It does have its critics, but what doesn't? A four fold increase in productivity may be atypical, but any increase is to be applauded, and the water savings alone make it worth a trial. The organic feeding is also a great advantage IMO, as it does increase soil fertility and helps maintain the beneficial soil microbial population , which is vital to the nutrient uptake process of plant rootlets.
It is beyond the scope of this forum to really "get into it", but there are a number of studies from Cornell and Yale that address the issues, both generally and specific to rice production.
As the manager of a tree nursery it was gratifying to have some discussion of the general principles with a forestry professor from Yale, who brought a group of students out each year to see where the seedlings came from.
Here is a Wiki article which has some good road signs for the SRI production method.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_of_Rice_Intensification

They may provide comfy chairs, air con, bright lights and are clean but it is virtually impossible to get a good cup of coffee anywhere in Thailand. When they are not offering some 3 in 1 horror, it is usually as fresh as last weeks milk or so bland, it is almost unnoticeable.

Vietnam seems to be able to provide some superb coffee, even in tiny family back street places. And it is stupidly cheap. But then they have the French history, which also means you can get bread and pastries that are delightful and as good as anywhere in the world. I guess this also explains their love of coffee.

Even Lao and Cambodia are better than Thailand for a decent coffee.

I do not know about that particular shop, but I had some good coffee a number of places in Bkk. I found several Starbucks that were on parr with their US counterparts, (I know, not everyone cares for theirs...I do) The little street stall two blocks from my rented condo did a great cafe' filtre, and I was amazed and gratified to find a Dunkin' Donuts kiosk in Tesco Lotus near the Bang Na BTS station.

I bought some coffee beans from a roadside stand in the hill country in Chiang Mai, and wish I had bought more. It was really great!

I am a little bit of a coffee fanatic... I buy green beans from all parts of the world, and roast them to my own taste.... I agree that the 3 in 1 is "emergency" fare at best, but I would not settle, and kept actively searching until I found a few acceptable sources.

....it should be posted....or the customer approached and informed.....

...otherwise it becomes too similar to the karaoke bar ripoffs.....

...people often have business meetings over lunch or drinks......

...it does not state whether the patron in this case stayed for half an hour or an hour or more.....

...so can you be charged after 15 minutes....if the owner or whomever 'sees fit'....

...they should think this through carefully...

...seems like someone bowed to pressure from 'someone'.....

...franchise owner....who knows...

...and be sure that customer will not be coming back....

...maybe better let all of us know the location....

...I do not want to pay 2500 baht for 4 coffees...

..

The article did absolutely state the time the people spent taking up space at the establishment...

"According to a OCPB official, Bon Café clarified the 2,000 baht open-food charge on top of coffee collected from four customers who ordered six drinks, but spent two hours at the table to discuss business on Wednesday and later were presented with a bill for 2,260 baht...."

They certainly have the right, and they did have the policy posted.

That said I agree with the consumer group's decision that the policy needs to be more prominently displayed, and it would have been a good idea to stop by the table and inform or remind the group of the policy.

This further information does throw an entirely different light on the episode from what I thought from the initial posting with the bill displayed; it did not mention that they had been taking up space for two hours while ordering only a few beverages.

Another fine example of short sighted stupidity screwing with market. One would hope posters here might have taken at least one econ class during life. This will have effects of 1. driving real world, profit driven small vendors out of business (does army have to pay off cops for space, btw?) 2. being out of business will mean less taxes to government to pay for this 3. Ultimate goal is to use primary reinforcer (food) to "train" the public to love the military

And this from side that thought rice scheme was bad idea (which it was, but this is similar distortion of reality). How about raising the bridge (higher wages, lower taxes) rather than lowering the river (subsidized feeding of the masses).

Yes, we can see in the photos the huge masses of people utilizing this.

Point the first, the indicated menu is very limited. I doubt few but the very impoverished will make great use of this program. One thing I noticed is that Thais love variety in their meal choices.

Second, how many street vendors pay any kind of taxes? Plenty of deductions available, and anybody with net income less than TB15,000 pays no income tax.

.I may be incorrect, but my reading has led me to believe... none. Sort of deflates two of your points at once.... which is not the purpose, BTW. I just do not see the tax issue being much of a factor.

There will always be people who have nothing good to say or have some smartass remarks to make about the army. But to the poorer people who can buy their food cheap, this is a good thing.

So who is subsidising this? The army or the General population through taxes?

Of course it looks good on the army and I have no doubt it is appreciated, but its hardly coming out of army personnel money as some kind of benevolent act!

It is probably "self funding".

At least partially. The prices probably cover the cost of the ingredients at government purchase rates, and the troops get their pay whatever they happen to be doing. I think it is a good program... sort of a Thai food stamp program. Defo a PR plus.

Just a quick note/opinion;
I do not see any real use for a submarine fleet for Thailand. If they really want some they could pick up, for instance, a Whiskey Class 1,000 ton sub for less than TB 20,000,000...http://www.projectboats.com/whiskeysub.html