Chip Allen

Always outsiders to blame. Never local miscreants.Farang mai dee.

Trump is creating a coda to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Threatening the insane is never a wise course of action. In the case of the Russians, the average American had no idea that the Ruskis were far less crazy than we thought they were. Khrushchev blinked.

Will Blighty ever grow a pair????  Quit following the USA around the globe. Let them go bankrupt but don't follow them into it. North Korea will implode sooner or later. Let the Kim family bluster and blather and threaten, but don't take them seriously. Paper tiger.

Unbelievably sick and perverted.

Just more "make work" projects to keep it looking like someone is doing their job. I was a bit upset about the information forms required by IO in Jomtien until I watched the officer shred one of them. This is nothing but busy work for people who do not have much of a work ethic.

The same answer to any problem. If you kill enough of them.....they stop fighting. Thais handle their problems this way because they have no fear of reprisal. The key is to make sure that accountability and retribution accompany every act of violence.

I'm sixty seven and I am happy to report that life SUCKS at ANY age. It's just a matter of degree. You're welcome. I enjoy living here and I am glad I could live out my final years in a country like Thailand. I don't give too much thought to pain and suffering because they are a constant at any stage of life. I was suffering from  back pain in my thirties. It's only slightly worse now and mitigated by painkillers. FInd things to be HAPPY about and forget the downers. Cheers, mate.

Always interesting to see Thai racism rear its ugly head. The skin color hierarchy here is always a source of mirth and wonder. Even vitamins are advertised as "whitening".

The owner will be extremely lucky if he is not charged himself. Thai always right, farang always wrong.

RTP needs a few of their number hanging from scaffolds. Amazing that the police and the Army run a country which promotes itself as a "democracy". Treason is always rewarded in Thailand.

Risky business.

Smart answers

Yingluck was aided and abetted by the Junta. She could not have escaped from Thailand without their help.

American sabre rattling is never a good sign. I am American, though not excessively proud of it, since I had nothing to do with the geography of my birth. America needs to tend to its own and get out of the affairs of other nations, unless directly threatened. The buffoons that run North Korea are almost as much of a threat as Ireland.

Translation: Just give us ALL your freakin money and everything will be okay. No worries, mate.

No attention to REAL crime. National obsession with foreigners who illegally SPEND MONEY in Thailand. Pathetic.

As noted, the "Conversion Desk" is a nightmare. The woman running the desk seems to be menopausal or just a bitch. When I tried to convert three years ago, I ended up being told to go to Laos to get my O-visa. Not a bad experience at all in the end and got to see another SE Asian country.

Very sad. Why do these people have to come to Thailand? Simply spreading misery everywhere they go.

This is almost beyond belief. How do people become so evil?  There is a strong undercurrent of this in Thailand that frightens and disturbs me. The low-key reaction is even more disturbing.

One of the tragic facts of being American is that we assume that ALL countries want freedom. Many thrive and prosper without it. Being a jerk is not exclusive to Americans. Thais take the trophy for xenophobic worldview and would much prefer than you did a bank transfer of your money to Thailand and never bothered visiting. Just too much hassle to deal with people who get angry and upset for entirely legitimate reasons. The actor's comments were certainly unwise, but I encounter situations on a daily basis that would end in violence in many western countries. Bow down and obey.

Far too often, "respect the culture" translates as "lie down and let my culture steamroller you and pick your pocket". Culture respect does not run both ways in Thailand, The buffalo needs new roller skates that cost 200 thousand baht, farang must pay. Mama's leg needs amputating for the third time. Isaan is a black hole where your money disappears.

Hardly surprising. The high crime of "overstaying" is nearly as dangerous as defamation and LM laws. It is entirely out of proportion to any possible harm done.

"Hate" is a bit of a strong word, but when the mask is torn off Thai people and society, you see some very ugly things that you wish you had never seen. The "Thai right, farang wrong" mentality is so pervasive and resistant to reason and compromise that you sometimes feel that the former European colonies of Asia, such as Cambodia, actually offer more in terms of pliability and adaptability to sane social norms.

Though not a believer, I would be proud to help this group in any way I could. Contact information?  I live here in Jomtien and I often wonder about ways to help the less fortunate, especially those in jails. This is good work that these people do.

I would like to think that this actually MEANS something, in terms of "zero-tolerance" of human slavery and coercion....THEN.....I remember where I am. This is most likely another dog and pony show to placate the social justice warriors in the USA. Sad....but this is reality.