Easy Come Easy Go

26 minutes ago, mauGR1 said:

Although i have not spent a significant amount of time in Laos since 2005, my impression at the time was similar.

Refreshing experience, although the buses and transportation in general  seemed a bit too old and slow.

I understand how many Thais may get annoyed with foreigners after decades of mass tourism, but i guess most of them can see the difference between polite or impolite guests.

Yeah the public transport is pretty old run down and slow, but I used taxis for long journeys and tuktuks for short distance journeys. 
To reiterate though, I didn't mean many or most Thais hate foreigners, it is a small % that do. Plus I think also social media tends to exploit the worst in something, so when a stupid drunk farang does something, it gets shared like crazy, and thus an image is painted in people's minds. 

Going back to the subject of Laos, I really would move there if they had better medical facilities and a beach or 2. It also helps that the language is so similar to Thai, and being able to more or less speak Thai, I can get by there with ease. One thing I do not understand though is how everything is more expensive there in general, yet they have a weaker and poor economy / people. Rent, food, and general living seems to be more pricy 

I just applied for and got y 3rd ED visa in Vientiane last week, nothing related to a bank in any which way is ever needed, apart from money to buy the thing lol.. Which of course you can draw out at an ATM from any bank.. 2,000 baht 

25 minutes ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

A university in Thailand is currently testing some products, we can assume it would be these products not flowers, and I think it safe to assume it would be a prescription drug, what license could it be?

Like in the US in some states, you need a green card (license) to be able to purchase from places. 
This is a step in the right direction, and maybe CBD oil, with it's next to no THC values will also be brought in soon after for the public. 

4 hours ago, orientalist said:

According to Khaosod yesterday, medical marijuana will be available for some ailments in 9 months time.

 

"Medical marijuana will be available in Thailand nine months from now, a top health official announced Tuesday.

After the cabinet moved to legalize the use of medical cannabis, Sophon Mekthon of the Public Health Ministry said the law will come into effect April 2019.

He said that the junta-appointed legislature accepted his office’s proposal last month on a schedule to implement the policy following successful testing of cannabis to treat several conditions."

As much as that would be awesome news if true, it's still vague as usual lol.
Would it be available only in hospitals, and what conditions would it be granted for. 
Would it literally be cannabis flower, or would it be oil, sprays etc
Would you need a license or just a prescription from a doctor 

1 hour ago, tpthai2 said:

CDB Oil.  From CNN paid content section Web....Monday, July 2, 2018.   Rather confusing.

It's probably an IPS targeted advert, so wherever you live in the world, the country of origin will change. This is my guess anyway. You don't use a VPN I take it? 

8 hours ago, Satcommlee said:

CBD oil does not contain the psycho-active ingredient THC which gives the Cannabis users their buzz, Medical Marijuana is not legal in UK but CBD oil is available over the counter in health food stores.

 

What you are using is an extract from the hemp plant, I'm no expert but what you are taking is also used to make rope.

 

Sheryl is an authority here and I'd never disagree with her but distinction between Cannabis and Cannibinol, could be similar to comparing Cocaine to Coffee/chocolate.

 

Thailand has recently licensed Hemp farming for processing into this oil for medical purposes, while its availability may be round the corner - I wouldn't want to be caught by a naive customs official that thinks you are some sort of junky.

 

It can offer relief in Parkinsons disease diskensia + I'm sure many other real medical benefits

 

I just don't think you should chance it right now.

 

 

 

 

Yeah you'd have to be daft, desperate or both to chance it. Realistically though, what would the punishment be if caught importing the stuff? I know what the law says, but it's rare to get a maximum sentence. For example, I've never heard of someone getting caught with a little of weed and getting 5 years in jail. 

Not sure why the government doesn't legalise it, and make a huge amount of money from doing so. Either they are clueless to the fact that it has no psychoactive properties, or clueless to the demand - or maybe I'm missing something... 

16 hours ago, chrisinth said:

Doesn't look like Penang is a fun place anymore for visas. Authority seems to be stamped down.

 

That said, they are probably being realistic with the 100 applications a day, I wonder how many they have been receiving? A little bit of extra planning might be required for applicants from now on, a couple of days planned stay extra instead of just an overnight stop.

 

Good luck to one and all.

I've been there twice in the past, quite some time ago actually. And I was surprised at how the place is basically in a suburban residential area, and almost appears to be a house! It's tiny   

wow.. 
That image though. Empty beer bottles, ashtray, cigarettes, everything everywhere... I guess wisdom doesn't come with age after all 

I still stand by the fact that making or maintaining such a thing to be illegal is both disgusting and ignorant. Not only can it benefit government in monetary ways, it can benefit the people in medical ways; and nobody will become stoned. Utterly ludicrous 

It's lovely waking up in HH today, knowing Songkran is basically over for another year 

23 minutes ago, tropo said:

 We get Bangkok, Naklua and Pattaya Songkran rolled into one long week. Being close to Bangkok, all the Songkran crazies up there come down for a second round.

Pattaya? And now with the ferry open and in service, you may get Songkran revellers from here in HH who want some more action lol 

2 hours ago, balo said:

Songkran is fun for 1 day , not 10 days . That's the whole problem with Songkran in Pattaya and why so many expats escape the city. 

 

I have escaped myself , to Bangkok and the OnNut area,  Today is the first day of Songkran and I am still dry , I haven't seen anyone trying to throw water at people, I went to the shops , had a coffee , everyone were relaxed.  Not a lot of foreigners , mostly Thais dressed up for the occasion. We had a parade here with Songkran music in the street . Everything was very respectful.  

 

So Pattaya is just a wild mess and I can understand that expats wants to get away from 10 days of nightmare , the other option is to stay indoor for 10 days and that's no fun either.

I've lived in Hua Hin for 8 years now, and I am thankful they only celebrate it for a day, some areas 2 at most. 10 days is insane, and I would suggest 5 is way too much! I find a single day annoying though, so I may be biased on that 

because it's pointless and causes problems 

How much water is wasted, during the time of year where there will be droughts..
How many accidents are caused from the roads being wet, or as happened to me today, riding a motorbike and water is chucked onto me, blinding me for a couple of seconds when a car in front broke.
The atmosphere changes around this time of year, and people show their silly and careless side more than usual. 
 

On 4/8/2018 at 7:45 AM, JT65 said:

Where do they grow it, and do you require a permit?

Sent from my G3226 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Here is what I have found 

https://news.medicalmarijuanainc.com/thailand-legalizes-hemp-farming-medical-purposes/

10 minutes ago, johng said:

No I don't   as I don't care  because my TV is not smart

It was @Easy Come Easy Go who brought the TV into the conversation I was just saying  don't buy one or don't connect it to the internet if you are afraid it can be used to spy on you..

 

I believe some of them have webcams and microphones  so could be used to spy.

https://wikileaks.org/ciav7p1/

Take it or leave it..

My point in the initial post was not about TV in Thailand being used, but the potential of them being used in the near future in combination with the 5G smart grid. It's already happening in other parts of the world, and things slowly progress over time. Apart from actually going and hacking CIA computers yourself, the link above is going to be the most trust worthy source of information you can get. 

30 minutes ago, Thaidream said:

Actually, the OP has a point although the damage that can be done by a 5G network has not been satisfactorily proven.  Technology is great but it creates a window for Governments; Intelligence Agencies and others to obtain huge amounts of data to do with what they may.

The CIA does have programs that can turn on your smart phones, TVs and other smart devices and listen to you or watch you. The NSA has huge resources to capture data and 'mine' it when necessary.  A US Passport has an implant in it supposedly to locate it if stolen- I suspect it can do other things if needed.

 

Facebook; other Social Media; Credit Reporting Agencies; Department Stores where cedit cards are used; ATM Machines all have either been hacked or gather data through various means.  Some countries force everything to go through a central server enabling them to control the flow.

 

People ask- what does it matter- I have nothing to hide.  Really.... How about privacy- the ability to live a free and open life without every aspect of it being recorded; stored; analysed by a computer program and then fedback to a human being to use for whatever they want to use it for. At what point will the human oversight not be needed and the computer system make the decision/  This is not freedom- it's the start of potential tyranny.

I don't understand the people who insist it doesn't matter about disregarding privacy for convenience, because they 'don't have anything to hide' - I guess that's the point, governments and the elite bank on the fact most people will throw their privacy away for convenience.

Like I said in the OP, it has already started in China where computer algorithms have started to blacklist people, and it most likely won't be long before it starts to happen in the West and globally.

Imagine if you're in your bedroom at night and you make love to your partner, people could be listening in and watching. After you're in bed with your significant other and are talking about topics and discuss something hypothetically that the algorithm doesn't like, and bam you're blacklisted. There's no way to appeal it or to dispute it. This isn't a far-cry of a possible future to come. Orwell imagined cameras watching and listening to us in our own homes, and that has essentially happened now.. 

23 minutes ago, johng said:

It would seem this new 5G  is going to be using   the  frequency ranges similar to C band satellites  which have been operating for a very long time now.

 

 

 

Remember when mobile phones first started getting popular...all the hoo- har about  they would fry your brain and cause unborn babies damage...no one wanted a transmitter near their house...now "everyone"

carries a phone around with them are we dead yet ?

 

Smart TV dont buy one or don't hook it up to the net.

"those silly home pod things"     yes definitely don't get one of those they record all sound,or practice "Chinese whispers"

 

 

Yes of course they can  I don't dispute that for a moment.

 

If they can do that and the device is really "turned off"  then there has been some revolutionary discovery meaning electronic devices  can work without electricity !  someone should have the Nobel prize and be extremely rich.

It was found only a few weeks back that mobile phones cause cancer in mice. Granted that is mice, but it's still a mammal and should be taken into consideration. 

Cancer in humans has risen and risen over the last century, and that could be down to many different things. But adding to the already high number of sources isn't an ideal plan of action. 

Satellites, yes they are high up in the atmosphere. That is slightly different than having a 5G tower on every street corner of your town. 

I do not watch TV period, so no smart TV for me. Don't have a home pod no. 

About the devices before turned off
In the case of a tool called “Weeping Angel” for attacking Samsung SmartTVs, WikiLeaks wrote, “After infestation, Weeping Angel places the target TV in a ‘Fake-Off’ mode, so that the owner falsely believes the TV is off when it is on, In ‘Fake-Off’ mode the TV operates as a bug, recording conversations in the room and sending them over the Internet to a covert CIA server.”

Not sure about you, but I personally wouldn't be happy with having 5G towers all over my town. However, most people are conditioned and are controlled by the ruling powers and they will except it, moreover many will applaud it. 

2 hours ago, sirmud63 said:

its awiting aproval from the FDA.

Any sauce to go with that comment, I am intrigued .. 

3 hours ago, orientalist said:

There was a report on CBD on TrueVisions Anywhere Channel 18 just now. I think the gist of it was there is an application to have it approved by the Thai FDA. Let's see if there is any English-language news about this in the next few days.

I sincerely hope so, I still cannot understand of fathom why such a thing is banned.. it's insanity