kwilco

Actually comparing GN&C in Thailand to other countries is rather pointless - it doesn't mitigate or justify it and it isn't a competition. But - corruption in Thailand has some very unique qualities that distinguish it from other countries and t=trying to say they are one and te same is to not understand how it works in Thailand - it is engrained in a millennium of Thai history and has the approval of 65% of the population.

thst's the point of the article - they can't directly say it though, can they?

A lot of sense in this article. One thing I feel I could chip in with is for motorists. If you are involved in an accident, however minor, if it looks like the police will be involved or a third party wants compensation RING YOUR INSURANCE AGENT. - straight away!!! Keep the number on your phone or readily accessible - within 20 minutes or so an agent from the insurance company will show up and act as intermediary between you and the police and third parties. Don't get involved yourself, don't argue te toss, just calmly and politely tell everyone the insurance man is on his way. Often just his appearance is enough to make complaints go away when the "injured" party realises that you have a champion and they don't. THe police will be able to seak calmly with the insurance guy/girl and you can sit back an wait for the situation to unfold or resolve. Don't get paranoid and think they are conspiring to stitch you up - the truth is the insurance doesn't want to lose money, they have a vested intrst in putting the blame on any other party rather than their own customer.

It now appears that the UK is actually lagging behind even Russia - according to the IMF. of the post Brexit trade deals, 73 were "rubber stamps" Oz and NZ are new but tiny and the Ozone is set to damage UK farmers. No deal with the US and no deal anywhere near te horizon. No deal with India Investment in the UK has stalled There are 330,000 less workers, 20,000 in the HS and 9000 Gps missing. since free movement was ended. UK is the only major economy that is smaller after te pandemic Brexiteers should be ashamed!

Any major civil engineering project is a target for corrupt practices. You can tell how corrupt a country is by looking at its roads. THe EC project has raised considerable concerns about the environmental impact, in a region that is already scarred by pollution and environmental malpractice. What people are prepared to "sweep under the carpet" in order to attract investors is anyone's guess.

UK visa for a Thai passport holder is usually for 6 months - multiple re-entries can be arranged as can extensions. Unpaid business trips are also allowed. Schengen visa allows unlimited travel all over 27 countries in Europe.

he wouldn't recognise human rights if they locked them up and threw the key away

Not only the LOS - since Brexit te whole thing has become chaotic - half the workforce has gone home so they have fewer trained operatives, ad then they had to source the new passports from France etc....but I was hoping they had got their poop together by now. In fact it looks as if those living abroad are getting theirs quicker than applicants in the UK itself

How long is it taking to renew a passport using the agency in Bangkok these days? Anyone know if it is quicker from Australia?

So where did you get that figure from?

I don't think you need to take that 60 million seriously - as the total number of visitors before Covid was 40 million. however there IS going to be a significant increase in numbers through U-tapao and this will greatly impact the region. " In 2015 only 170,000 passengers used U-tapao Airport. However in 2016 that leaped to 710,000 and in 2017, the figure was 1,200,000. Making it one of the fastest growing airports in the world. Terminal 2 opened in early 2019 and is now fully operational. It had small number of both local and international flights but, mainly due to AirAsia expanding their flights and an increase in Chinese airlines that number is ever growing. Terminal 2 is the latest phase in the expansion and upgrading of Utapao Airport. This addition means it has the capacity to handle up to 3,000,000 passengers annually." https://pattayaairportguide.com/#:~:text=In 2015 only 170%2C000 passengers, growing airports in the world. Or are you referring to Suvarnabhumi?

except it looks like Thailand doesn't recognise A1 bikes? It only seems to regognise "A" class "

Have you found the laws for this?

You answer is predictable - I think you should read it and think deeply about yourself. You aren't doing anything to allay the suspicions.

....and you see a lot of this???? - It seems like the problem is with you seeing glarers everywhere, It's called PPD - Paranoid personality disorder (PPD) is a mental health condition marked by a pattern of distrust and suspicion of others without adequate reason to be suspicious

You describe what it is now - the plan is to build another runway and expand the capacity dramatically. I think those who live nearby who complain about noise and pollution will find they are going to experience a lot ore in the future - I would also be concerned about what land will be commandeered for the expansion. Although the EEC is the baby of the junta it is a "private/public" project so the military's role is unclear - maybe yet another airport somewhere?

THe point is they really he no limit on the numbers they see coming or the effect it will have on infrastructure. U-Tapao will cater for business as well as tourism. Although it may take some away from BKK, the idea is to GENERATE more traffic - they already have new roads and railways are planned...... it is established the new roads generate new traffic and the industry panned in that region is quite disturbing too. THe established industries are petrochemicals and although the government has said they want to attract "other" industries, it is still the petrochemicals that will benefit and expand. THis will draw in a lot more traffic by land sea and air.

Like the psycho in the pub "what you looking at?" - I think you need to look at yourself more than any Thai person would.

THe airport is part of the governments "dream" the EEC - The EEC is primarily and industrial exercise - it is going to massively increase the industry urbanisation and pollution in Chonburi and Rayong provinces. It is accompanied by road and rail infrastructure developments. The problem is apart from getting millions more people in the area, there seems to have been virtually no consideration of the impact all this will have. Tourists in the region (and expats) are going to find themselves in the middle of the biggest industrial conurbation in South East Asia. THe air quality is already getting ruined. as is agricultural land and fishing - the future looks like being more akin to a sprawling BKK than a holiday area,

You still fail to understand that isn't what this thread is about. duh!

Again you seem to have a very tenuous grasp on Thai politics....ALL politicians in Thailand are either corrupt or sail close to that wind - to try and suggest one is significantly different from another is to ignore the evidence. The difference is the Thaksin was actually democratically elected. THe fact he was deposed in a coup says more about the leaders of the coup's attitude to politics than Thaksin's practices. you might want also to check out the history of Thaksin's relationship with the current monarch

I think you have a naive attitude to this topic, like a football fan you have decided you support the "yellow" team....unfortunately you don't seem to understand that this thread is not about who you support, it is meant to be an objective view of the political situation in Thailand, if you took that perspective you would see immediately that the "red" side holds and always has held an unassailable majority of voters The military side has spent a lot of time, money, coups and constitutional measures to ensure that no matter how much support they get, it would be virtually impossible for them to form a majority government. So you might take some comfort in that.

If they didn't waste their money on that, they could have got out to the opera more often.

What a lot of people don't realise is how Thailand's ruling elite - especially the military are also broken into factions. Most of the informative stuff written about thisis banned in Thailand.....

"If I stuck a bit of wire into an electrical socket should I blame that on human error or just outright being stupid." This just shows that you have no grasp of what human error is. You still don't understand what human error is and what a "factor" is in a crash Unfortunately "widespread research" is no real answer without a citation - and you have shown you don't understand by mixing in factors with human error. It isvery difficult to have a discussion with someone who so obstinately refuses to inform themselves of the facts.