Douggie Style

The theory the USD will eventually lose it's 'safety' premium (primary currency) has been around a long time, I first heard of it 15 years ago (it was supposedly an imminent happening then).

The Euro is attracting a safety premium; it represents the largest economy and is composed of a multitude of different economies, so it appeals.

However, in the short to medium term, I do not see it as entirely replacing the USD as the currency of safety because the European economies are generally very exposed to energy shocks. Secondly it takes time to change demand at a basic level. The questions is how rapidly? I don’t know but tend to think it will take some time.

I would think a prudent fund manager would like to keep both currencies for some time to come.

Short term currency predictions are entirely different and personally avoid that area (not enough brains).

I think it is always good to consider the fundamentals behind a countries currencies first.

This is just an opinion only.

EUR / USD / GBP/ THB ???

I really do not give a sh#t if I am paid in coloured beads (or AUD ) as long as I can exchange them for items of value when I need them. (Ciggarettes, Beer and BG's ) AND the pile of coloured beads or magic beans (or "Great British Pounds" ) I receive is big enough for me to decide to exchange my labour for (or to use the few brain cells I have left after too many trips to Nonsense Land).

Of course not to say I would be dumb enuf to keep my life savings in THB or AUD.

BTW at the moment teh FX rate for Magic Beans has strengthened against Coloured Beads; now up to 2.37..........Analists ( ) predict strong growth, but warn of possible sharp correction

I think the AUD would be one of the safer currencys to hold in the longer term>

1. Location between India & China

2. Supplies the resources they need

3. Has between 40 -60% world supplies of uranium and thorium, plus coal, gas etc

4. FTA agreements with US and others pending (Japan)

On the down side, in the short term, the stock market appears over priced.

& make sure you wear lots of gold

Seriously, avoid any type of 'meeting' designed to foster romance, simply attracts the wrong type.

Meeting a girl through a day to day activity is best, eg work, tour, snorkelling.

Or simply find a girl who is working in a regular job and slowly work your charms.

The OP seems to be paralysed midpoint between his emotional and rational brains.

This is not a reason to condemn him...whatever decision he makes, he alone will have to live with it and that is something to consider.

These girls are very good at playing nice guys; in fact they do it professionally.

Part of the relationship is undoubtedly 'real' (the part the OP is holding onto) and will be ‘felt’ by the girl. However in most cases this becomes insignificant when weighed against the girls own conditioning and beliefs (and advice from the other BG’s), weighting economic survival far above love.

I would not expect anyone to accept the above statement until they had practical experience to confirm this is the most probable outcome. I am assuming this is the OP's first time with a BG relationship, thus explaining the quandary in his mind.

Further if he responds in a way he sees as being overly harsh, he can be left with years of overbearing guilt that can slowly destroy a person.

The key to overcoming his mental paralysis is education, the OP needs to become aware of the many many similar cases, this will help clear his mind and heart.

Practically this can be done through searching any immigration case law database (try Thai + domestic violence), speaking with a lawyer who handles these types of problems, the TV forum, more educated Thai people and so on.

More background info please>

1. A few years ago she had an American born boyfriend, after she discovered him cheating on her, she unceremoniously moved out and got on with her life….

How long was the relationship?

2. he has lived in the kingdom long enough to speak enough Thai to get by …

How long has the stalker been in Thailand?

3. one morning when she left for work and noticed him around the building, she has always assumed morning time was safe because he was working…

She knows he works and must know where. Is stalker legally allowed to work?

4. …university educated Thai national… but at heart she is a simple girl from the country… ran right on a bus heading for her hometown.

Who paid for her education, herself, the country parents or third parties?

1, Just over 18 months

2, I believe he has lived in the kingdom for more then five years

3, As far as she knows, He has never been convicted of a crime, that is why we are searching for a legal method to throw him in jail e.g. a protective order

4, I am not sure, but I believe her family paid, as she is paying for her brother and her sister now

I want to extend my heartfelt thanks for the practical advice given by members, I have not posted because I had to work and sleep. As far as the flaming, I have no one to blame but myself if I had stuck to the facts instead of writing an essay. Attention would have focused on the very real danger this young girl might be facing

Thanks Jay,

On point 3 above, so the stalker has been here for 5 years and has been working.

Does the stalkee know where he is working and what type of visa he is on.

(It is highly relevant to her situation)

cheers

More background info please>

1. A few years ago she had an American born boyfriend, after she discovered him cheating on her, she unceremoniously moved out and got on with her life….

How long was the relationship?

2. he has lived in the kingdom long enough to speak enough Thai to get by …

How long has the stalker been in Thailand?

3. one morning when she left for work and noticed him around the building, she has always assumed morning time was safe because he was working…

She knows he works and must know where. Is stalker legally allowed to work?

4. …university educated Thai national… but at heart she is a simple girl from the country… ran right on a bus heading for her hometown.

Who paid for her education, herself, the country parents or third parties?

I want to apologize for bad words.

What triggered me was - improbability of the situation that someone picks my baby from the prem, and whan I turn my head - she is not there. Never happened to me and I can't imagine otherwise.

Instinctively, even non-humans know not to mess around with someone else's offspring.

Hi think_too_mut (good name!), my wife who is Thai constantly warns me about our child being abducted, mostly in the MBK mall.

In all earnestness, she has told me this has occurred, kids have simply been taken, sold to a waiting customer!

Now she is a bit of a trickster, but she seems so serious, I cannot work out if this is her cunning plan to make sure my eyes are glued to little pugsy or if this has really occurred in the past?

I think you have misread my posts. My son does live in an environment where he is treated as special - he is in a daycare centre which is like a family and recieves a lot of love and attention from the people that care for him while I'm working, as well as from family and friends. On the occasions he gets to go to his father's village he loves recieving attention from his Thai family and extended relatives. When he has had enough of the attention he is passed back to me. This is a situation where he knows the people and this is absolutely fine .... you're right that this creates a well-rounded happy child.

What I am talking about is unwanted and inappropriate attention from complete and utter strangers that appear in his life for 10 seconds to pinch his cheek, kiss him, grab him and then walk off on their way never to be seen again. I object to it because it distresses my son and as a parent I don't like to see my son distressed and upset. Fair enough, I think.

Well thanks for clarifying that, it does put a different perspective on the situation and apologies for selling you short.

So to answer your first post, if it was inappropriate attention, my trick was to say 'sorry sick' and make a few arm gestures around the throat, with a polite smile, this crossed over any cultural barriers.

A pram with a net is good, if not too hot.

all this bickering about some bloke begging on the streets.

not really a scammer is he. i mean his asking for money...not like his doing it without you knowing.

so if you want to give money then give it.if not then tell him to f"ck off.

ok, now the fact that his a white guy begging in thailand is the main problem here.

white guy in england ,australia, any other western country begging and most of you wouldnt look twice at the guy.

obviously mentally unstable.

known to all.(except newbies)

complete idiot

BUT

still getting the sympathy of many

WHY

cos nobody likes to see suffering.

and this guy is suffering.send him home.seems to be a good idea, but send him home to what......

another street to beg on in the cold.less caring people in canada im sure,probably end up dead within a month.

Tropo is right,but so is everyone else who commented on this subject,its opinions, nothing more.

kill the prick now..put him out of his misery.

just my opinion

Hi splitlid, he is definately a professional scammer, if you came in late on the thread he has been at it since 2002, it is not just a few baht here or there.

The Dude brought it up in another thread last year and Maizefamers 2 posts set the background...have a look, cheers.

(Anyway I've posted too much on this thread so will retire)

Yes ....live and let live....but that applies both ways, the best thing for this gentlemen is to get some help, which pratically means he has to return home.

It's become clear now that he doesn't want to go home. I suspect being homeless in the harsh Canadian climate is not on his wish list. What now?

The reports are he is an addict, and therefore not likely to save his funds but is living day to day. This is the classic poverty trap.

Eventually he gets sick, bashed or has some other problem so that he cannot scam for a while…what happens then?

Thailand has no obligation to him at all, Canada does.

Canada is a first world country and has first world social and health services, Thailand is not and has little if nil social services available to a Farang.

I also think Maizefarmer answers this point in his post above, with an actual example of the German guy who spent many years in jail, which is a far worse fate than being in a Canadian homeless shelter.

ColPyat, I often read your posts and enjoy your point of view, however have to disagree with your assessment here.

The key points are this guy is a professional scammer who has apparently been living of the same method since 2002, secondly I don't see it as victimless crime, the scale of what he is doing is quite large.

It is in quite a different category to someone down on his luck and needing a few baht.

He needs help, we need to be protected, Maizefarmer has again got some excellent background info, indicating he has a serious substance problem. As Maizefarmer goes on to point out the long term ramifications of his behaviour can be a lot worse than the alternatives of a return home.

Yes ....live and let live....but that applies both ways, the best thing for this gentlemen is to get some help, which pratically means he has to return home.

It's fine, does the child good, except maybe for the kissing.

We stopped the kissing by telling them the babies hadn't had their immunization yet.

BTW: No offense, but the happiest kids I have ever seen come from an environment where they are treated as special, held, touched, spoken to by the whole village. From your post the impressions is you are the one objecting most...why is that?

Some good points by Maestro, tropo, Bendix re a student not spouse visa...(I missed that entirely ..doh)

However, a key point from the OP was:

'..anyway i am her sponsor and i would rather not she be living in london under my nose so i want to send her back to thailand. she has a work permit but only part time, 20 hours and i have got some of her wage slips showing 30 plus hours. obviously a breach of the restrictions.

i am also worried she will bugger up my future chances of ever sponsoring someone else.'

Generalising terribly, most student visas have minimum financial criteria, which can be met by a third party including a sponsor, if the sponsor is no longer willing to meet that commitment it may provide grounds to cancel (because the reasons for the original grant are no longer present). Relying on attached work rights alone is not generally permitted as a means to self support.

However it may avoid a possible advantage and therefore attack on DV etc grounds as any relationship is not connected and merely ancillary to the reasons for the visa grant.

Secondly, again generalising terribly, there is always possibility of getting bad record with the powers that be, and that alone can influence any future sponsorship. I think the reasons and behaviour of OP towards relevant department in any cancellation of the sponsorship would be recorded and be highly relevant in any future sponsorship.

All the above is just pure conjecture as I am not aware of the regs nor likely permitted to advise on any personal situation in your jurisdiction…

I think it was Maestro above who makes the point at the end of the day the legal position overrules the other considerations so again get an qualified opinion. They are not that expensive if you list out the pertinent questions beforehand.

So it may be you have much less to worry about from a false attack on DV etc grounds (because it is not connected to the visa) and just have to worry about all the other dramas.

Tropo, I can see where your coming from, to summarise (please correct if wrong)

1. Basically to report him to the police would be overkill, and the punishment would not fit the ‘crime’ and

2. There may be good reasons he is begging, so think twice before condemning him.

I basically agree with your points, Maizefarmer confirms that there is some sort of problem.

However it has been 3 years scamming (see The Dudes previous thread), so it is fair to classify him as a professional scammer, not someone who needs a meal or ticket home, but someone who has adopted scamming as a lifestyle.

I don’t see it as a victimless crime. If you gave 500 baht for a good cause one day, it is likely to decrease your propensity to contribute to a worthwhile charity, multiply this by the scale this guy is operating on and he is doing damage to genuine charities.

Again, with respect, this guy needs some tough love (preferably not the police but if needs be), which seems is on its way.

While my general philosophy is to live and let live, it does bother me that this guy has collected 500 baht *x times daily * 3 years.

The way I see it some of those 500 baht ‘donations’ would have gone to a more deserving cause...especially in Thailand.

The guy is only able to continue the scam through taking advantage of others kind intentions.

Continuing in this behaviour is limiting his ability to get back on his own feet; his energy and intelligence is spent honing his scamming skills. Secondly, it burns people who may think twice in future about giving to a genuine cause.

The embassy should provide assistance to return in case of need.

Finally continuing the scam for 3 years is indicative, the gentleman has either a specific reason to not return or has simply become stuck in a pattern of behaviour, which really has no future.

In this case, I would consider it a case of tough love and not think twice about informing the appropriate authority [or call Dr. Phil>> a ticket home and free mini bar...].

......abridged....

I think the message here is clear: do not do anything that contributes towards any breech of the rules & regs which governed the issuance of the visa, and if there is a change to the situation, keep yourself on the right side of the fence and report it.

After all, what else can you reasonably be expected to do.

Another great post.

(Agree!! it's nice to see walg get a range of well thought out and different opinions...it is impressive!)

I'd find out first what she's up to. It may be another guy, it may be the old tricks - pun intended.

If its the latter you need to get yourself distanced from her ASAP. Getting a bad mark at the British Embassy in BKK is one thing, but it pales into insignificance against being accused of bringing women into the UK to ply the old trade.

Exageration? Not at all, it happens.

Eitherway, I'd fire off a question to Scouser on the Visas section and ask him what your options are after relationship breakdown and where you have no idea what she's upto.

If there is nothing you can do through official channels then get what help is available from your local authority 'Black Plastic Bin Liners' stuffed with her stuff and thrown out on the street.

What ever you do, DO NOT get into a fight with her. Wording within the rules for Indefinate Leave to Remain invite women in her situation to claim physical abuse, un proven or not, you get a police record and she gets her visa.

Why do I mention this so often, because it happened to one of my very best friends. Over a year after his Thai g/f disapeared without word, he received a call from the police who charged him with domestic abuse. No Evidence, No Medical Records, No Witnesses and No Police Report at the time of the alleged abuse.

His name is now on the police's file of wife/ girlfriend bashers and she got her visa.

Where did she get that piece of advice from?

No matter - Don't ignore this piece of advice.

Hey walg, the above advice is spot on....I have also seen this occur numerous times [in a professional capacity]..if the law provides an advantage and you threaten her interests [education and lifestyle] the temptation is obviously great to fabricate damaging allegations...these girls are professional liars and can be extremely convincing.

The upshot is, you may quickly find yourself under attack from all sorts of government and non government agencies keen to protect the poor abused 'victim'.

I suggest go slowly and do nothing in the heat of the moment, it may be wise to bite your lip and cool the waters.

Begin collecting evidences, and if possible get written statements and shore up support amongst your mutual friends before any problems. If may even be possible to obtain some sort of written evidences from her (for example, a personal letter, postcards) which can go a long way to disavowing any potential future false claims.

Make no mistake, if things go pear shaped you may find yourself looking at charges for DV, trafficking or even slavery...although most break-ups don’t go that far it certainly happens and regularly! [Obviously there are people who are guilty of those offences who I have no truck with at all]

However the first step is contact a lawyer, who is EXPERIENCED in this area, and seek advice. One in the family/immigration area.

good luck..

So the consensus seems to be the embassy will help him out.

Which assumes he wants help and is not suffering from some type of mental illness.

'I Go With You' are you going to have another word with him? if so can you kindly update the thread.

thanks.

BTW is he suffering from any obvious mental impairment (excluding the chaang)

This is quandary..my immediate reaction is one of suspicion...however if this is genuine, I will kick in a few baht, whether he wants to go home or not, he needs a few coins...better than eating garbage.

As to how to get it checked out???

Apologies if this point was made before...

What country are you from? You should check out what is offered from the home country first, in the way of OU and any possible financial assistance.

Secondly, once you narrow it down, research courses relevant to your previous education/experience and what credits are possible. Some Uni's will give you some credits for life experience, and you may even get some from other stand-alone courses you may have completed. The credit policies are all different.

You may be lucky and find a pathway that is not that difficult to complete, in a shortened time and follow another strategy for your immediate problem.

For those devotees of the martial arts, is it possible to learn how to avoid getting hit by your opponent while never throwing a punch or kick yourself? In other, words let the aggressor tire himself out to the point of exhaustion. Just curious.

In a word YES but you would need to do something like Ju Jitsu or kung <deleted> where they use a variety of arm and leg blocks

Now don't quote me on this, but I seem to recall reading about an ancient roman boxer who did just that, take all the punishment and not respond, once a bout went on for hours until his opponent dropped dead!

[if it is true, what a great form of self defense]

the problem of "sharia law" for thailand, is that it neither contains democratic principles nor pragmatism. it's basis is theological, with the accompanying intolerance inherent to religions.

From OP

'... said Tuesday that Islamic law should be given a bigger role..(in the far south)]'

From a practical point of view they should introduce measures that will work. Whether they come from elected or appointed government is secondary.

Thaksin government was elected, did it do them any good?

It's assumed that democracy would bring out the best government. Not always, and certainly not in Thailand.

It could be said that democracy represents the collective will of the nation, then, logically, if 40 mil vote that further oppression is the way to deal with the South, so be it. It should not be allowed to happen.

An excellent point in the last paragraph, which touches on one of the troubling aspects of democracy.In another context the majority in say the UK would almost certainly wish to see the death penalty restored there.The great Anglo-Irish philosopher Edmund Burke worried a great deal about unbridled democracy and the often wrongheaded passions of the mob.He felt strongly that in a democracy the elected representatives should vote with their conscience not the wishes of his constituents.It's a real dilemma.Obviously once every five years the people get the chance to change their representatives but that's not enough to satisfy the upholders of pure democracy.

It seems to me that in Thailand as elsewhere what's needed is not a guided democracy as such but a system of checks and balances.

Two excellent points, democracy is often promoted as a one size fits all panacea.

In this case, the PM is only being pragmatic, attempting to incorporate elements of both Muslim and Thai law (classed as democratic for discussion purposes) in order to promote harmony.

This seems to cause fear amongst some posters, why is that?

Is it because of the negative associations to Sharia law or Muslims generally?

If the law was to be called the DEMOCRATIC pragmatic amalgamation of Thai and local customary law to reduce violence, would there be the same response?

The test should be what the legal system delivers on the ground. As an example, basic measuring systems may include respect for human rights, tolerance, ability to do business and so on.

Pragmatism not ideology.

There are parts of Sharia law, (as reported through the media filter), which make me very uncomfortable; however opening a discussion with the insurgents provides an opportunity to trade off/ dilute these sections.

In this regard, applying Thai pragmatism here is far superior to an ideologically driven approach (typically Western) which may be fettered by fixed ideas of right and wrong and produce a system unwanted by those it governs.

Max, a lot of posters (and I am ashamed to say including myself) have doubted your story, so to make amends I have located the other guy who is willing and able to have a mature, rational discussion, here he is:

We can also arrange a secure, private, conversation:

I can see that you all are having a lot of fun with this but it is a serious situation. The way I see it is that I have one goal and that is to get her to break it off with the other guy. I know the whole thing sounds crazy but this is what I have been trying to get done unsuccessfully. Surely there is a way to get this done.

Call Z.i.g.f.r.e.i.d from KAOS (on the shoe phone it's got flat rates).

Just in case you are serious, take these tests and report back to me (next month):

Classical Intelligence Test

http://www.queendom.com/tests/iq/classical_iq_r2_access.html

Mental Toughness (Hardiness) Test

http://www.queendom.com/tests/personality/...ess_access.html

Accident Proneness Test

http://www.queendom.com/tests/career/copin...s_r_access.html

Sleep Hygiene Test

http://www.queendom.com/tests/health/sleep...ene_access.html