Jonathan Swift

Yes, I find it quite challenging to be living amongst such perfect human beings, knowing that I will never measure up.

Something like a perforated stomach ulcer might do it. Ruptured aorta or pulmonary artery? Although I suspect "liters" was an exaggeration. Were they measuring it with water bottles?

More likely a perforated stomach ulcer. No doubt 20 20 hindsight will reveal a number of errors

There is another fairly credible story on this topic here on aseannow, which stated that yes, any money brought in to Thailand is taxable. The exception would be for US Social Security, which is not "assessable". The question would be, if a third party such as Wise were used for the transfer, would we have to provide proof that this was Social Security income? And what proof? I have Social Security benefit letters and tax form statements and am hoping if necessary they would be sufficient. Another question would be, will Thai banks now voluntarily submit reports of such transfers to the Thai tax office, or is there any privacy protection for the bank account holder to prevent that? In other words, is this an honor system where the accountholder is responsible for declaring the transfer as income? In my case I transfer my Social Security income once a month using Wise. I have no idea how this will work out due to the aforementioned unknowns. Also, will immigration get involved when expats provide income information for visa renewal purposes? That sounds like a hot mess in the making.

Right. Exactly. The Thai vendors get to make their money on them so nobody really loses. Outsourcing manufacturing to China is the way of the world now, literally everywhere. So truth be told China is helping fuel the Thai economy by making these. On the other hand there is really no shortage of affordable Thai manufactured products, I have a whole closet full of those colorful shiny Thai silk shirts.

Agreed. It comes across to me as a phony attempt by silly foreigners to look like they're part of a culture that doesn't belong to them. I understand the sentiment of wanting to belong and be accepted here, but I manage that without looking silly.

And what are the facts that prove that pedophilia is caused by celibacy? Or do you just make up your own scientific theories without the benefit of facts? Just because two phenomena exist within the same time frame and place, i.e. "celibacy" and the commission of sexual abuse, does not mean they are cause and effect. That is a common example of flawed thinking and failure of logic. There are just as many pedophiles per capita out in the public sector. The catholic church is HUGE. The only major difference is that the catholic church engages in massive coverups. Out in the public more of them get caught. In the case of the church it is more scandalous and draws major headlines. Anywhere you have the air of secrecy and at the same time a large number of children exposed and vulnerable you are going to see an increase in child abuse crimes - summer camps, schools, day care. Parents leave children in what they think is a trustworthy environment. That's how the logic of statistics work. That's the way facts are properly interpreted. You know, it's never too late to go back to school to polish up on your reasoning skills. You don't want to be lagging behind the whole rest of the world. Unless you just don't mind making silly, uninformed, and baseless statements, and we all know there are plenty of those kinds of people.

The writer obviously thought he was being clever with his vocabulary using trashy puns. Empathy doesn't exist. What passes for news writing is in fact rubbish, but that's what they get paid to do, write rubbish instead of well thought out and useful stories. It doesn't help that at the wages paid they aren't going to get college graduates. It's not just here, news has descended into tabloidism everywhere.

Surely you're not expecting a thoroughly researched and written story? Not exactly the standard here.

All one has to do is learn to drive defensively and watch carefully for any impending danger. 99% of accidents can be avoided if you are highly aware of what is going on in 360% around you. For example, if I have a green light going through an intersection I expect someone may run the red light and cut in front of me and I'm prepared to evade. Anyone who is not experienced on these motorbikes should not drive them. I've ridden bikes for many decades, never an accident other than a guy bumping me from the rear at a stopped traffic light.

And how does the accident rate in Thailand compare to your home country? Matter of fact, what ARE the statistics? Do you bother to check? These are news stories, just like they have all over the world. Accidents are a common topic. Accidents occur over the world, everywhere that there are vehicles and highly populated areas. But it's certainly not carnage here, and the overall risk to any one individual is statistically minimal. Based on my personal observations over many years here, including many bus trips to Pattaya, accidents are no more common than in the US where I'm from, and there is certainly less road rage, shootings, and roadside beatings. In 10 years of trips to Pattaya I have never in any way felt unsafe on a bus. Probably a good idea that you become desensitized, seems like you overreact and draw inaccurate conclusions as a result.

Your bigotry is just as malevolent a force as any behavior on the part of the Chinese or Russians. Leave Thailand, we don't want or need people like you.

I do the same, but have a few fails because the barber couldn't see the small photo clearly, and because my beard is white they think there is no beard in the photo and then shave mine off. Next time I bring my ipad with big photo, and I put duct tape over my beard, haha

How does what the commenter said have anything to do with ego? Are you a psychiatrist? He interprets the story and makes a practical decision based on what he read to not do business with them. There were no emotions involved. As to ego, how's yours doing? Seems you have a high opinion of yourself as to the relevance and quality of your views. You sound like a sanctimonious bonehead to me.

Interesting how all these commenters are revealing their own character flaws and lack of humanity while sanctimoniously judging something that is between two people and of no one else's concern. As if some compassion and generosity is somehow wrong depending on who and where it is.

How about "judge not, lest ye be judged"? That's an old one.

Every professional performing musician knows about the necessary work visas and work permits required to perform in foreign countries. This was an incredibly stupid and avoidable mistake on their part. I'm a musician and I knew all about it as of the first time I came here. I knew about it when I performed in Norway and Iceland. If a foreigner is going to entertain here he has to make sure he is at a safe place and under the radar, necessary brown envelopes exchanged, otherwise someone will report them, often a Thai person who feels that they are taking jobs away from Thais. I wonder if these guys were misled by some unscrupulous "sponsor" or agent?

Of course he does, but he's not telling

“blew the lid off Brown’s alleged misdeeds. ” Love the 1940s pulp fiction cliches

Yes, dead people are known for murdering their widows after the fact. Where do you think the money came from? You might want to read the linked story

This is about generating revenue for the gov't. He'll pay a "fine" and be let go. Just my useless opinion

Ignorant entitled backslackers got what they deserved

What's not to like? False and ignorant statements like yours, utterly detached from reality. None of those things have ever been liked to Marijuana. Do you think your comments are taken the least bit seriously? Guess again.

There have been hundreds of studies, which you could easily have found were it not for laziness on your part. Most of your questions could have been addressed online with a little research. Too much actual work though, right?

Quote the studies. Which ones? Copy paste from them the evidence. Let's see it. You don't know what you're talking about. Marijuana is nowhere near the same league as other substances. It has dozens of positive and medicinal benefits. And these points ARE backed up with research, and were that not the case it would not be getting legalized at warp speed throughout the world BASED ON THE RESULTS OF ACTUAL RESEARCH.