redbull707

Hey guys (and ladies),

Does anyone have any information about the Thai governments action plan for Thailand's expat community?

I'm American and my government just sold Thailand's Army 16 state-of-the-art tanks. Thanks to the trade war with China, Thailand and the USA are best friends. Has the USA gotten Thailand paranoid about terrorism to the point where Thai's are blaming foreigners for it? Or maybe our countries want us back and they are working with Thailand about that? Thailand has always depended on foreigners to prosper... even in the Ayutthaya "golden age" when the Portuguese were running politics behind the scenes and supplying the kingdom with weapons to fend off Burma. So what gives? 

Thailand has slipped down 7 spots in the world expat rankings (Thailand was #20, now #27 in one year!) while Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Portugual and Singapore hold the top 5 for 2019.

Over the past few months, we have been attacked with TM-30's and, recently, dual pricing for hospitals. Yes, Coconuts reported a quiet piece of legislation saying that after 30 Sept, all foreigners (expat and tourist) will pay more than Thai at all public hospitals.

So what's going on politically?

Should expats be worried?

I've never known Thailand to be xenophobic. I've been protecting the environment here and inspiring locals to speak English since 2012.

I'm back! I posted last year in December, I think, about how a private school screwed me over. I busted my ass for them, teaching 14 different classes, and volunteering to spend my weekends at school getting work for them done quickly too. What can I say, I'm American. We get <deleted> done.

Long story short, after I fulfilled all of my tasks that we agreed upon for me to collect my last paycheck, they wanted additional work done. I said "No, we had an agreement and I recorded our verbal agreement too." I went to the police (city and tourist) who ended up siding with the school despite my evidence of a verbal agreement. Yes, I'll get it down on paper next time. Lesson learned ???? Meanwhile, I had 1,000THB to my name and the school owed me two months of pay.

Most of you said I was <deleted>. Other Thai visa expats and couch potatoes blamed me. It's easy to wag the finger of judgement from the end of a computer connection ???? 

Well, I remained hopeful as most American's do and everything changed when I lost my wallet. Yeah, my wallet fell out of my messenger bag while I was weaving my bicycle left and right around pedestrian traffic on Chinese New Years.

I thought, could my life get any worse?? No job, no money, no enforcement of the law and now I lost my wallet. I was struggling to be positive. I was actually grateful that all of these life challenges happened in one perfect storm.

Well, I got a call a few days later. Apparently, a Thai lawyer picked up my wallet and she say my name card inside. TIP!! PUT A BUSINESS CARD IN YOUR WALLET! IT WORKED FOR ME AND IT COULD WORK FOR YOU TOO.

This lawyer was super sweet and I told her my story. She helped me talk to the director of the school. After negotiating with the school, they agreed to pay me half of what they owned me. It was better than nothing! And get this! The only reason why they paid me is because the laywer knew the business friends of the school director and the director didn't want them knowing about his bad business practices. 

Well, life kinda worked out better. Maybe this Buddha karma stuff is real because the school is in bankruptcy and most of their classes have less than 5 students. Word around town is that the directors daughter and her husband are getting divorced and so that means their school ( a different one) is being sold.

I really do wish this family the best, but I think it's a good example of how the universe words - cause and effect. If you do bad <deleted>, bad <deleted> will happen to you. If you do good <deleted> and stay hopeful and positive, then good stuff will happen to you. 

What do you think?

6 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

What is it in the smoke that you know makes it "toxic smoke"?

Dixoins and Furans. They are created when various plastics and metals are burned.

9 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

Ken, 

 

If there was a tax base then the local government would probably be happy to buy some trucks and do pick up. In certain parts of Bangkok the pickup is daily. In rural areas there simply isn't the money available to do that. 

 

If anything I am a champion of common sense . The burden of common sense is that one has to coexist with people who don't have it.

 

Sadly you lost me when you claim to be an educator, which I translate as cultural imperialist.

Thank you for your idea. Tax money is a good idea but maybe without transparency, the money would be squandered?

Your man of common sense? You sound like the kid in my university classes who plays pubG in the back row and only attends college so this parents don't kick him out of the house. Living in a society where people operate on "common sense" would be chaos. For example, very few people in thailand are educated about how to drive a car.  They use "common sense" which has resulted in Thailand being the second most dangerous country to drive a car. The problem with common sense is that its only common to you! haha. Think about that. There's no such thing as a collective knowledge that everyone should know automatically. When you come into a conversation about something, you should have a toolbox of information that's filled with more than your opinions.

On 4/3/2019 at 3:06 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

They have no interest in "solving" the problem, nor are they even remotely interested in taking advice from anyone outside their own circle...  If you've been here. you should be well aware of that reality.

 

They do. I've spoken to many Thai.. The problem is the same in the West, no leadership.

10 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

Ken,

 

You need some up-to-date info here. Almost no one makes that any more. Chlorine Free is the Key and all that.....

You are wrong. The next time you say something like this , give me your sources, not your opinions. Do you seriously think that paper pulp comes "white color" straight from the tree?? haha. No. Many toxic chemicals are used to make paper and make it white. Check out this quick google search and please back up your claims. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_chemicals

Finally, even if you were right (which your not), Thais are still burning PVC which is known as the Poison Plastic. They also burn single-use plastics (plastic #1) which can contain BPA (those destroy your reproductive sytems) and plastic #6 which have carcinogenic chemicals. I used to be a researcher on toxic issues with an organization in Bangkok. Please don't argue opinions with me on this. We can argue about certain materials. Maybe I'm wrong a few materials. It doesn't matter because burning trash creates very toxic chemicals that are a direct and immediate threat to public health. Can we stay productive and solution based instead of bickering about details? I'm here to help ????

21 hours ago, haymanpl said:

 

What worked very effectively for me was standing on the property border with a video camera recording the fire, as well as the people around the fire and vehicles/motorbikes on the property. This stopped the fires. Now i have proof, i can take it to the authorities and see if anyone will charge them. Regardless, it worked.

Have you thought about finding a Thai who cares about this issue and starting a Change.org petition in Thai language? I can give you information about the dangers of burning. Thailand recently is considering banning cigarette smoking indoors because its "an attack on innocent children". Well, by the same logic, trash burning should be banned because its more toxic than cigarette smoke and it contaminates our rice feilds, livestock, laundry and it enters our homes.

Source:

56 minutes ago, MartiniMan said:

Very easy - first of all you talk to them and you are very polite and explain how its no good

If they continue - you turn up and again politely remind them

They lost face now

Like a small boy essentially they just have to be given a bit of a reminder

Eventually they will get the point that this is awkward or embrassing to them so they will stop the practice

But first you must make them feel awkward (very easy to do they have VERY thin skin)

Just make them very awkward and use a lot of talk about karma, bad luck, ghosts and spirits

You can tell them you just saw and heard a ghost talking last night and you are sure it is cursed now - just keep a straight face and offer a candle and incense stick to remove the bad spirit watch how long they hang around for

They are children minds learn how to play games with children and enjoy thailand u will never meet adults that are this basic anywhere in the world - ENJOY IT

You've lived here a long time. Wise words! haha

On 6/30/2019 at 11:35 AM, VocalNeal said:

 

Or the public dumpster. 

 

The reason there is no pickup is probably because the area doesn't get enough tax revenue to pay for it. Same for most "government" services.

 

Do you support the status quo? You seem to be a champion for carcinogenic pollution, a failed waste-management system and laziness. Pollution is an enemy of every human in every country. It's nothing something that goes away like a mosquito. Historically, the greatest threat to human civilization has been disease. Where does diseases come from? T R A S H. There are somethings that we cannot our culture about when public health and environment are at urgent risk.

This is fantastic! Thailand really does a great job of maintaining their culture amongst a profitable tourism economy. Indonesia could take notes, particularly Bali. Bali has chosen profit over cultural sovereignty. I wish I could have visited it in the 80's... wait! I take that back. I would have only been 3 years old. haha. 

I'm a freelance pollution campaigner in Thailand and I just wanted to give my three cents on the trash burning epidemic in Thailand.

Is Trash burning a big deal? According to public health and environmental authorities, the World Health Organization and Greenpeace, the short answer is "Hell Yes!" Without getting into too much chemistry, we know that the mixing of some chemicals creates new chemicals. When you burn products made from oil and toxic chemicals like plastics (single use, clothes from polyester), white paper products made from chlorinated wood pulp, metals and other material, you are creating a toxic and carcinogenic smoke bomb. One chemical, more scary that Thanos from Avengers, is called Dioxin. The EU and New Zealand have a ban/regulation on it because it's so nasty. Basically, it's a cancer-causing chemical from burning trash and it accumulates in your body fat. While there it destroys your DNA, weakens your immune system like HIV and causes reproductive damage that makes your babies look completely alien. Do you remember the Vietnam-American war? Agent Orange? Yeah, that nasty stuff which causes mutations in new born babies has an active ingredient called Dioxin which is what you make when you burn chlorinated stuff like PVC (the "C" means chloride) and white paper products. The WHO says, "Dioxins are highly toxic and can cause reproductive and developmental problems, damage the immune system, interfere with hormones and also cause cancer." (1)

Is Trash burning illegal? I have an official Thai document from the National Government that says that it's illegal to burn. Upon request, I can share it with you.

Why do Thais burn their trash?  Well, I think several members have touched base on this accurately. Unfortunately, trash burning  is the issue that NO ONE in the world wants to talk about. Approx. 40% of the world burns trash and that's mostly in SE Asia, Asia and Africa. As a result, tons of carcinogenic smoke circulate our earth and it's not thoroughly researched. We blame cars, planes and factories for their carbon emissions and contributions to climate change, global warming and the fact that air pollution is killing more people per year than cigarettes. Perhaps, we should be focusing our efforts on waste management. Thailand is a country of convenience which is not much different than the west. The difference is that for some reason, laws are not enforced in Thailand unless they have to be enforced. For example, the BKK government is converting boat engines of the boats to electric motors to help curb pollution. Why? Well, I think it's not to protect public health. In fact, during the no wind/PM2.5 crisis in Bangkok, the government was quoted saying (Bangkok Post) that they wouldn't do anything drastic to improve air quality unless the economy was affected. Thai's have always thrown away their trash because they used to use biodegradable coconuts, leaves and sticks for packaging. That mentality has continued in the era of Plastics. We do what's easy in Thailand. Why do you think this is the Land of Smiles?

What Can We Do?

You can join my efforts! I campaigned against trash burning with help of some alumni students and after 7 months, we won! That was back in 2015. I got fired for "damaging the reputation of the school" but I saved many students from pollution, so it was totally worth it. In Nonthaburi, a Thai women started a community group to establish a sustainable waste management system and she won! Her community remains trash burning free to my limited knowledge. In the 1990's, the daughter of the Bangkok Bank president, launched a successful campaign to educate Thai's to be more smart about not littering. It was called the "Magic Eyes" campaign.

I have learned that (1) foreigners cannot complain about anything in Thailand; your a guest in this country with the voice of an ant. (2) change comes from having a thai partner who is as passionate as you are but influential. (3) any change is possible if your thai partner can get support from many thai and if your campaign can make people in high office look better.

Let's Make Clean Air!

My name is Ken and I've been fighting for clean air since 2015. Living in a pollution-free community is a basic human right. I'm not trying to "westernize" Thailand. I'm simply informing Thai's about the dangers of pollution so that THEY can take action on this issue. I'm an educator, that's it. If you know of any Thai's or influential farangs who want to work with me on this issue, I'm happy to talk about my current strategy. I love Thailand very much and I believe that Thai people have a right to know about the negative effects of burning and littering waste has on their health and environment as well as proven sustainable solutions to prevent such pollution from making them sick if they so choose.

(1) https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dioxins-and-their-effects-on-human-health

I'm a Thailand-based freelance   environmental consultant with a certificate in waste management for developing countries and former experience as researching on trash burning issues with Greenpeace in Bangkok. I would be happy to help solve this problem for free. Who can I contact in the government specifically about this issue? Email please? 

I'm a Thailand-based freelance

 environmental consultant with a certificate in waste management for developing countries and former experience as researching on trash burning issues with Greenpeace in Bangkok. I would be happy to help solve this problem for free. Who can I contact in the government specifically about this issue? Email please?

On 10/31/2018 at 10:59 AM, robblok said:

No its not legal to kill dogs.. it is actually punishable. 

 

You could start a petition maybe it helps.

 

I do find it telling that yet an other American starts about killing dogs, maybe being a vigilante is a bit more normal over there then in Europe. 

You are correct, its not legal to kill dogs. I think everyone knows that.  0 points. 

I could start a petition. That's useful information. 1 point. 

I find it telling that you stereotype people so quickly without asking question to understand them. If all Europeans are the brilliant descendants of the Age of Enlightenment, then wouldn't they use their philiosopher mind to understand people before making quick remarks? 0 points.  

Are you implying that being a vivilante is more normal in the USA than in Europe? It makes sense on the outside. American's are shooting each other, while the European are eating their wine and cheese whilst disagreeing in a french accent? According to a very quick google search, we are actually very similar in terms of modern day vigilantes. London and NYC are roughly the same population and according to the Independant, London has 22 murders in March 2018 while NYC had 21. But if you want to argue that the UK isn't part of Europe, we can look to history - Europe is the location of the most bloodiest horrific acts of violence: the crusades, 3rd Reich, ect. Just because I am opposed to my governments irresponsible drug wars, ridiculous support of guns for citizens, ect, I'll give you 1 point. But you shouldn't ALL Americans are gun happy cowboys. I hate guns and violence. You would know if you asked questions.   

Ok, that's 2 correct of 4 points. Lets try better next time! Lesson learned: don't assume. ask questions. remain curious. people treat others the same as they are treated. smart replies get smart responses. 

2 hours ago, wildewillie89 said:

There is a proposed law to tax/tag dogs...450 baht (annual fee) from memory. But that is being met with heavy complaining by the locals so if history tells us anything the chances are it will not get up in the near future. Will be another people in the back of a pick up law. 

Thank you very much for this update. I'll search about it online to find out more ????

1 hour ago, wildewillie89 said:

Firstly, whether farang or Thai, government departments treat you the same if you follow the correct procedures.

Not in my experience. Police have always sided with the Thais. In the USA, particularly California, it's more fair. If you can't speak English, you get a translator and the judge will listen to you. I haven't been to court in Thailand, I've only been to the Police and they are the laziest group of idiots. The detective lost the CCTV to the guy who stole my 20k Italian bike 2 times! I was never updated about my case either. When they caught the theif, I wasn't called or notified despite the fact that they have my phone number and email. You know the movie, Deadpool? Deadpool is famous for saying, "Maximum Effort" before going into battle as a way to build confidence and do a good job. If that character was representative of the Thai government about farang, he would say "geen kao! bai non!" In sharp contrast, when my Thai girlfriend (young like me) complained to the police about her boss making her work too much. The judicial system metaphorically-bows down to her and forces her Chinese employer to give her 50k THB in unemploymet for causing stress. I've lived in Thailand for 6 years which isn't as much as most of you guys, but we all know the system is bias towards locals (as it should be!). This is Thailand, not Farangland. Sometimes we forget and assume that it should be like our home countries. What do you think? 

On 10/31/2018 at 11:15 AM, Cochrane said:

I believe the thai solution to problem dogs is to feed them some special food that quietens them down ... permanently. That does not mean that you should adopt the thai way yourself, but perhaps you could mention that a certain animal is a problem to the thai person with perhaps a 500b thank you.

Myself, I live near a house that has five noisy little buggers. I bought a plastic chicken from a market that makes a loud crowing noise when you squeeze it. It used to drive the Shitzus crazy. After a while the owner got the message and now keeps them inside for the most part. One last thought, dogs rarely bite the hand that feeds them, so you could try to make friends with the dog(s) by giving them some leftover food now and again.

It all depends on how much of the dog's behaviour is intolerable.   

Someday, I will wear my gopro and bicycle as normal. You got to see it to believe it. I only see this in thailand about the dogs. Sorry about the title of this post, everyone! I thought it was a clever way to get attention. The internet can be so sensitive! I guess a few bad apples over the decades have destroyed free speech.   

On 10/31/2018 at 11:11 AM, CharlieH said:

In an ideal world, pets would be licensed, the revenue used to round up strays, healthy animals offerred for re-homing and unhealthy/unwanted animals destroyed. 

This is Thailand where "live and let live" is the standard, so dont hold your breath, it wont happen, not in our life time.

 

Edit : It is illegal to kill dogs in Thailand.

The topic title has been edited as by your own admission it was used to "attract attention" and could be regarded as "trolling".

Trolling? By your definition, all magazine titles are trolling. It's marketing 101. We can stretch definitions and nit pick about grammar and spelling, but at the end of the day, shouldn't we stay focused on solving problems like harassment of citizens and expats by an out of control stray dog population. It's arguing about the small insigificant things that make living in the WEST so unbearable. England, USA and Australia. Everyone has an opinion, preference and pet peeve and the traffic noise of everyone complaining prevents any real action form taking place. I've noticed here on this site that some people like to be "spelling /english police". I'm not sure if these are the people who work 70 hours a week at Wall Street english and, thus, cannot stop teaching or if these are just bored lonely friend-less farangs who just want to feel important somewhere. I'm not sure, but I'm a member here for good-ol-fashion Western problem solving. And yes, I realized that english is spelled with a capital E. Sorry, this is my own personal pet-peeve. It's kinda like when your driving on the highway and there's always that one <deleted> who creates traffic because he/she drives the speed limit on purpose instead of driving with the faster flow of traffic because they want to teach everyone a lesson on road safety. You know what I mean? Let's just stay focused. 2 million stray dogs in Thailand. Let's work together to solve this because I'm sure there are others searching google for solutions on this and we have an opportunity to not only be a top search result, but also to give practical solutions instead of bickering about things that don't matter. Am I wrong? 

7 minutes ago, johng said:

Recent law change gives dogs more rights than humans !

...so killing them is certainly not legal.

And it wouldn't be the buddhist thing to do. As the Lord Buddha said, "Don't kill. Just let die." Or atleast that's what I read on a sign nailed up to a coconut tree on Koh Phangan... 

2 minutes ago, robblok said:

No its not legal to kill dogs.. it is actually punishable. 

 

You could start a petition maybe it helps.

 

I do find it telling that yet an other American starts about killing dogs, maybe being a vigilante is a bit more normal over there then in Europe. 

Not serious about killing. I work in marketing. I used the title to capture peoples attention. I agree about petition... it would have to be in Thai though. Not sure what else to do. Thank you for your comment! 

Hey Everyone, 

Did you know that dogs are the most dangerous animal to humans? That's right! More people die a year from dogs than any other animal. According to the World Atlas, "Dogs kill 25,000 people yearly. These deaths are not because of vicious maulings by household pets, however. Feral and stray dogs infected with rabies attack people and spread the disease."

1. MY RANT

I live in a quiet tourist town where tourists and Thai's are often barked at (and sometimes bit) by territorial street dogs. I love Thailand, but there is something about dogs in Thailand that make them the most suicidal specie of dog. I see dogs with broken legs (caused by chasing/attacking cars and motorbikes) who continue the same behavior! Do these dogs have a death wish? 

I'm American. We LOVE dogs. Hell, dogs are iconic with our cowboy culture. But territorial street dogs that charge at bicyclists and motorcylists will cause an accident or fatalitiy as cyclists are pushed into the middle of the street with traffic. 

2. YOUR SOLUTIONS! WHAT CAN WE DO? 

Not all dogs pushing cyclists and motorists into the streets are homeless. Some have owners who allow their dogs to chase/bark/bite people. It would seem common sense for them to put their dog on a leash. What to do in this situation? I think Police wouldn't care about a farang's complaint. Should I start a petition? There's gotta be a solution.  

This is racist!

I've lived in Thailand for almost 10 years and I always see Thais urinating in public. Everytime I use an ATM at K-Bank in my small thai town, I feel like vomiting because the smell of the tuk-tuk mafias piss stains the walls around it. Have you guys had your nose get a seizure from the stench of piss from Thais in your towns? However, when ONE foreigner has a bathroom emergency in a car, it makes front page news?? 

Thailand needs to stop discriminating against foreigners since their economy depends on them. Thai's get away with a lot and I understand that it's their country, but there's a reason why there are laws and law enforcement. 

Perhaps someone can create a hashtag for social media (#useatoilet) to photograph and shame the local Thais about pissing everywhere like a soi dog. Foreigners are no angel themselves, but at least they ask for a toilet instead of "whipping it out" like a cowboy.