mfd101

Governments have to deal with other governments. When the earth begins to move in a neighbouring country, then you have to prepare to shift ground yourself, but you don't want to make a premature, possibly bad judgment about the likely outcome next door. So you shuffle around and try to minimize the overflow. All perfectly normal behaviours everywhere in the world.

So the rebel forces clearly have staying power. And the regime forces beginning to melt away ... Lots of planes heading to Zurich, I guess.

Nice rain here in south Surin this morning (roughly 1 hour of medium rain), the first since November (apart from two barely noticeable little showers a week ago). More needed.

'Upkeep'? Wot dat?

But apart from that they're pretty good fellas?

Item no.1: How to do nothing while pretending to be worried by the upcoming collapse of our friendly neighbour's current regime? Item no.2: How to lift the number of Myanmar tourists visiting Thailand this year? Item no.3: Is it lawful to repaint military planes in tourist plane colours? Item no.4: What does Beijing think? Item no.5: What should we name the committee to be established to consider these urgent matters? Item no.6: How many sub-committees can we afford?

Do what the local peasants do: Up at 0500 for outside labour; 1000 brunch; light duties including sleep & chat till 1600; outside labour till 1800; 1800 dinner; 1830-1930 close down outside.

Depends largely on where you live (BKK/Pattaya/Phuket vs just about everywhere else), your personal circumstances (partner with or without English, children, wider family ... ), and your personal inclinations. I have several European languages and a strong inclination for learning thru reading. But my early efforts at Thai were miserable, not helped by a b/f who has no education and no ability or wish to help. If we were still in BKK I would (now) enroll in Thai language classes, but here in south Surin where people swap back & forth between heavily-accented Thai & northern Khmer it's a bit hopeless for me so I have resigned myself to being the 'rich' but silent 'learned man' (I wear glasses - a sure sign).

Yes, my b/f is Thai. And Yes we had all of that - my divorce papers etc etc. So? Why is all that going to be impossible for a gay couple at the local amphur? (Accepting that, here in south Surin, it may take a little time for the news to filter thru ... )

Why wouldn't it include that? Though the 'marriage conducted at an Amphur' will likely be just filling out a form with 2 photos and signing the form before a witness behind the desk. (Which is how it was in Canberra for my b/f & me in 2013 (pre-gay marriage in Oz) for a recognized partnership. Still valid & all we need in Oz.) What's the problem?

So permission was granted, of course it was, we know who this military government supports. Allowing them to land isn't the same as (1) allowing them to stay, or (2) deciding what to do with them whilst in Thailand (eg intern, refugee camp, hand over to international authorities ... ).

Thailand stands for dithering in the middle of every international problem - looking left & right and up & down simultaneously.

Just about sums it up.

So, at least one nasty dictatorship on the verge of collapse. Only another hundred or so to go ...

US4 million? Generous?

I think there's a POSSIBLE 6th category: Opportunity. At least for an Australian like me who brings in roughly 2 million Baht a year, income entirely from OZ Federal Govt superannuation (ie former public servant, NOT OAP), and has been declared non-resident for tax purposes for the last 3 or 4 Oz tax years. The Oz Tax Office (ATO) now in effect confiscates 32% of my income. Calculating the Thai alternative suggests I may well be better off paying all Thai & no Oz tax. Particularly if I can also get refunds on the Oz tax paid for the last several years. Working on it.

I have had no sense of taste for the last 12 months, since catching Covid for the 3rd time last April in BKK. And no sense of smell since (I think) the bout before that some 3 years ago. Neither sense has ever been very strong in me, since childhood allergies and the appalling diets of the time in Anglophile NZ (inter alia gallons of full-cream milk every day). I notice now with food that I still have the same favourites here and I enjoy the look & feel ... Nothing to do except wait and hope.

Thais are very sensitive to language and have - at least where I live here in Isaan - what to a Westerner looks like primitive superstitions in regard to language. So you can't say of Uncle Somchai lying on his bed groaning: Mmmm, he's not looking too good, probably won't be with us by Xmas. Horror! horror! you've just condemned him to an early death ie words can kill. Similarly, asking a question - particularly what we would think of as a 'pointed question' - will very easily be received as a challenge to authority, that is, STATUS. Are you questioning my authority to make this statement? Can't you see the uniform I'm wearing?

Yes, I made 2 transfers this week via Wise with the xrate showing at 23.936 and 24.274. At least the trend line is pointing in the right direction.

Time is not money here, which is one of the main reasons why productivity is low, which is in turn one of the main reasons why most Thais live in poverty.

'Nuff said.

Yippee! Two for the price of one! It's a deal!

The proof of the pudding is ... Or will be ...

The logic is that the 2014 coup & its military government lasted till 2023 before the restoration of at least the appearance of some democracy and more certainly of civilian control. On average then we might expect the next coup shaping up around 2028 or 29. An average is indicative. It's not a fixed date with destiny.

Too early for the next coup. Since 1947 there have been 15 coups or attempted coups including 2014. So, on average one every 4.5 years. Besides, why stage a coup with all its risks if you can rely on the EC and the CC? Who needs soldiers when lawyers & bureaucrats will do the job much more reliably and tidily?