Jonathan Swift

I'm sure some of that information is being researched, but they might want to keep their investigation tactics secret, other than these people might have made it easy for anyone who is looking to find them. Could be that they were turned in by the locals. Maybe the Pakistani guy just did well in the suit business. If you think about it, anyone who comes here gets entered into the database, so just conducting a search there could turn up thousands.

Well that would work, but having anecdotal reviews has a bigger impact. There are bumps in every road

Absolutely right. I'm a musician, and a dispute about cancellation fees (they had let me actually show up at a wedding party and then cancelled me without cause) led to a guy completely fabricating a review on the booking agency's page. He removed it when the agency caught on, I could have sued for defamation and won, but I had a lot of things going on at the time.

Huh?

Jerking what? Oh, puppet strings you say?

Bait and switch. A time honored tradition for con artists in every walk of life, especially politicians

I think Thai people just don't understand the humor. I've told jokes many times that Thai people don't get because of cultural divide. Many Americans don't get British humor. This to me is a collection of dysfunctional doofuses trying to make their way through humorous situations which are exaggerated for comedic effect, whereas Thais just don't get comedic American satire and visual buffoonery. I think if Thai people are familiar with American culture they'd understand the humor and not take it as and insult. They might just as well have chosen New York and made fun of all its quirks, the New Yorkers would have laughed because it's their city and they know its quirks.

As right as you may be, governments don't tend to do any of the things you suggest, and that's the problem

I agree, the only real ɑsshοIes I've ever run into here have been foreigners. Most of the criminals are Russians. Maybe this article will slow down the influx. But placing 30th isn't that bad, although I think the US isn't safe either, but mostly for Americans. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2535740/russians-top-list-of-crimes-by-foreigners

And did Austin Powers show up in his Mini Cooper? Do the easter bunny and Santa Claus pay you regular visits? Have you always been a pathological liar? Next time you want to make up a story you might want to try and make it minimally believable. Most of us know that Interpol is not a law enforcement agency and has no agents with arresting powers. It functions as an administrative liaison among the law enforcement agencies of the member countries, providing communications and database assistance, mostly through its central headquarters in Lyon. Good luck with your next fairy tale.

Absolutely right. Why ignorant people post such things is baffling. Overinflated ego? Probably some need to feel important for people who are otherwise losers with no self respect or self esteem. Interpol indeed. Next you will hear him claim that Austin Powers once saved him from Dr. Evil.

Nobody's business but his. He's a grown man. Likely he had a falling out. We can be glad nothing has happened to him. I'm sure that he doesn't want all of this attention.

Man, you're about as shallow as a mud puddle in the street after the rain. You're hallucinating - the voices in your head - they're not real., don't listen to them. Get onto some medication before it's too late.

So you're looking to single out Thai people for what reason? Do you think this stuff doesn't happen anywhere else? It happens everywhere, your country, my country, why are you oblivious to that? I'm wondering if there's something wrong in your brain. "All kind of news like this" comes from an Asian news source aseannow.com, Thaiger, Bangkok News, which mainly cover Asian news, duh. You are drawing erroneous conclusions because you do not seek and find the big picture, the world picture, world news. On the other side of the coin, Asian news gets little coverage from media in other countries. Go to yahoo.com, huffpost.com. AP, CNN, Al Jazeera, and read what happens in the rest of the world. It's all the same, only more so in the west. There was just an assassination attempt against a US former president last week. Did you hear about that? There have been several mass murders in the past month in the US. Did you know about that? A kid was stabbed 18 times. An old woman was punched in the face as she walked on the sidewalk. No, Thailand doesn't even compare to the violence and murder in the US. You need to get out more.

I think there are many facets to this, as you say. I think they are using a very simplified logic in - the more people coming in and staying longer, the more tourist money, which is true on its face without looking at any down sides. It remains to be seen if crime rises as a result, when and if it does, there might be an about face, but if the advantage in more money coming in is sufficient, they might accept the risk. If there are 1 million tourists and 1000 undesirables now, and 5 million tourists under new rules, with 5000 undesirables, to them the math might make it worth it as to revenue, but we don't exactly know how much revenue that represents - perhaps they HAVE done the math. Remember how badly Thailand needs the revenue. This is merely my speculation, not presuming to know all the answers, been here on retirement 10 years and that is of no hassle to me at all. Pay 1900 baht once a year, 65,000 baht once a month in the bank, file 90 day TM47 online, they even remind you online for each of those, TM30s are automatically handled by room managers and tracked online, what's to complain about? If I want to travel to Laos or Cambodia I can do it as I see fit and not be forced to do it. All those elite VISAs seemed to make no sense to me, just a big waste of money.

I believe a few have already confirmed this - read on

Vientiane is still a nice place to visit, but yes, like I say someones, sometimes governments do sensible things. After all, as far as harmlessness, why should there be a necessity for border runs when everyone knows that so many do it repeatedly. Why not make it easier for people to come and stay here and spend their money on things other than "agents"?

One of my rules is, be mindful of your personal space at all times, especially when your wallet or money is out, even with your phone.

What are the police like in China? A communist totalitarian state. And you ask if Chinese are in fear of the police. Duh.

"overwhelming support they’ve received from their family, friends, and the New Zealand Government." Nothing about the widespread condemnation they deserved and got. They don't deserve anyone's support. What do you want to bet that they have a police record for the same thing in NZ?

Someone has grave misconceptions about the properties of reflective surfaces. A flat steel surface cannot focus sunlight in such a way as to cause a fire. If it were concave like the shape of a radar antenna or a satellite dish then yes, MAYBE.

Paint is not durable enough to with stand the expansion and contraction of metal with the range of temperatures, and would be unlikely to withstand the wear and tear of people sitting on it. The reason they used stainless steel is because it is durable in and of itself. and doesn't have to be painted to withstand weather. But anyone who has used tools in the sun knows that steel gets blistering hot unless you keep them shaded. Someone in the loop didn't understand basic physics.

He can't sue for libel or defamation, there is no liability for filming someone in public. If anything the guy should be arrested for disorderly conduct, or the Thai equivalent. . I don't know how you transfer money, but I use Wise to send money to Thailand and it usually comes in 12-24 hours, flat rate of $20, and they charge the actual exchange rate. I have an account at Kasikorn Bank, and their phone app lets me do international transfers back to the US, they convert it to dollars before it leaves, it shows up to my bank as a common ACH deposit with no fees on that end, and Kasikorn charges 250 baht. Thailand to the US in 12 hours. I send my income to Thailand once a month which covers me for my income requirements for my non O retirement visa, It appears once a month, and then it's back to me in 24 hours. Also, the phone is a machine and a tool, the problem is behavioral, the people who can't get their noses out of it and become addicted to it. It's like blaming the car for the accident. I use mine for phone calls, sometimes texts which include security codes that are necessary in today's world, I use it for shopping and other lists, it has photos of all my documents from drivers license to passport and bus/train/airline tickets, it's a guitar tuner, a flashlight, skype for free international phone calls, and a hundred other useful things. I'm sorry if you're having all this trouble in your old age, but old people always have a hard time keeping up with changes in the world. As to "normal", normal is not the things that once were, normal is in the now. It's as they say the new normal.

American here, yup. One of the reasons I moved here, too many entitled a$$h0Ies.

As far as I know per my experience with the 60 day tourist visa, it is treated no differently on arrival. You go through the line, they review everything, take your photo, stamp it, and you're on your way. The only difference is you get 60 days rather than 30. You can extend it once for another 30 days.