rogercw

It is poetic (& very timely) justice that the forces that installed Abhisit & the Democrats to power are playing the most crucial role in their spectacular downfall. It's only the ThaksinVengeance.com red bashers that are refusing to admit the truth at this stage. Never elected, never respected.

What?

Assuming the PTP win as the polls show, either a plurality or an outright majority, it will be either the forth or fifth election in a row that Thaksin has won. It seems obvious that, right or wrong, he has more support than any other Thai politician. The large majority of Thai Visa members seem to oppose him but it is not our country and the Thais do not care too much about the opinion of the foreigners amoungst them.

If the PTP wins and the military or the courts once again overturn the election the probablity of massive discontent in the country will increase. We may end up spending our declining years in interesting times.

The tactics her political advisors have her using seem to be winning. Why change anything this close to the end?

I maybe accused of straight line thinking here but isn't it a fact that the Government doesn't have any money and all the cash in their coffers belongs to the Thai people? So why have an Oil Fund when the Thai people are going to pay in any event? They will either contribute in higher taxes or pay at the pumps. Cut out the middle men, something Thailand isn't very good at.

I hope that an eagle eye is kept on the oil companies to ensure that profiteering isn't taking place.

What oil companies are you talking about? Isn't a company's purpose in life to make a profit for its' shareholders?

I agree with FarangBuddha. It is a full-service barber shop, not a beauty parlor and I have been using it for three years. From the gold shop on the corner of Second and Central head towards Carfour (away from the beach) on Central and it is about the forth shop on the right.

This morning (Monday) I walked down to the Villa market and back. The signals at Tipp Plaza and near the Lek hotel both had uniformed crossing guards. When someone wanted to cross the crossing guard would push the button, blow a referee's loud whistle, go out into Second Road, and start waving a flag at the cars. When he had all the cars stopped he would then gesture for the pedestrians to cross.

I imagine that if someone runs their signal they radio a cop at Second and Klang who stops and fines them, splitting the fine with the crossing guard. I didn't think to look but maybe the crossing guard has a motorbike for pursuit and gets all the fine for himself.

I have lived on the 22nd floor Walking Street side for about 15 months on two one year leases. I pay 18,000 rent and with the condo market here in bad shape I hope to get that reduced some next June when I go for year three. My room is 48 square meters and I like it.

It made sense to someone in authority years ago for some reason. Since then Immigration just keeps on keeping on.

Catch a pirate, hang a pirate has worked for centuries.

All negative comments in your article just happen to be about opposition politicians. Nary a negative about anyone in the government. An observer would get the impression that The Nation supports the Democrats.

I may be in the minority on this board but there is a reason the PTP pushes for elections as soon as possible and the Democrats say wait, wait, wait.

It sure ain't because the Democrats think they would win.

Back home would you support a government that closes opposition media and censors what remains of the media and internet?

I do understand that Thaksin did pretty much the same when he was in power but that also was wrong under generally accepted democratic principles.

Point to ponder. Red-shirt media has been closed. The rest of the media is censored, officially or unofficially, by the Democratic government. Bangkok has historically been the stronghold of the Democrats and was recently under assault by the red-shirts.

Under these conditions the PTP showing was actually pretty good and shows that they will still be a force to reckon with in elections outside Bangkok and the Deep South.

A way to remove a nuisance to passengers and damage to the reputation of Thailand?

OR

A way to remove competition from the TAT taxi service available as you depart bagage claim which costs considrerably more?

OR

Am I just being cynical?

Probably all three are correct.

Press releases like this really do highlight the naivety of Thai politics. First, how do you legislate on how much people drink and smoke. Sure you can reduce the opportunity of doing so by banning smoking in designated areas and forbidding the sale of alcohol on public/religious holidays, but that is a mere drop in the ocean. Why not raise the taxes on cigarettes by say 200%? That would send shock waves through the cigarette smoking community and not only encourage them to stop and improve their health, but improve the health of those around them who don't indulge:bah:. As for trying to reduce the consumption of alcohol - this is nigh on impossible and seems to have become a world wide issue. I think the Government would be far better employed in making sure that drivers have driving licences, kids of 10 years of age are not riding motor bikes along the main roads, people are wearing crash helmets when riding motor bikes and they drive down the right side of the road. That would save a huge cost on medical bills!

Raise the price of cigarettes by 200 percent? Smugglers from Cambodia or Laos would bring truckloads into Thailand and zero taxes would be collected.

My Laotian girlfriend of four years decided to get legal the last time home, went to the Thai embassy in Laos, and got a 60-day tourist visa. Today she extended it for 30 days. At the end of August she will have to go back to Laos.

My question is in regards to her getting another Thai tourist visa. Can she get another 60 day tourist visa right away or is there some period of time she must wait after her original 60 days and her 30 day extension have expired before she can get another one? Is this possibly a case where different embassies have different rules, rules which may change from day to day?

The PTP is the red-shirt party, this is a given. Most of the red-shirt media outlets have been shut down by the government. Many of the red-shirt leaders are in prison. All operating media outlets are censored by the government either openly or not.

The red-shirts/PTP still, even in very adverse political coditions, got about the same percentage of the vote as last time in this district. The political stalemate will continue it seems with a government kept in power by military force.

Thanks for the replies folks. Sounds about like I expected. Don't really need any bank account as long as pensions are high enough but you never know what your local Immigration office may require. My office in Pattaya is very efficient and reasonable about things so I should be OK.

My plan is to change to a joint account. When I go to Immigration for my next extension I will go about three weeks before my current one expires. That way if there is a problem I will have plenty of time to open a new account in my name only and come back.

Thank you for a quick reply.

I have income from two pensions more than enough for the extension and have never had any problems in the past. It is my understanding that even with income of more than the 65,000 baht a month Immigration still requires a bank account and the statement from the bank of its contents. Rewording my question a little, will Immigration accept a joint account or will I have to open a second account in my name only if I convert my present account to a joint account?

I am thinking about making my savings account a joint account with the girl friend so that she will have access to a reasonable amount of money if I conk out suddently, always a possibility at my age. I only keep a couple of hundred thousand in it, which is what I have promised her if we breakup, so I am not worried about her running off with the money.

My question has to do with Thai Immigration at extension of stay time. Will they accept my savings account if it is a joint account or must it be in my name only?

A significant percentage of the Thai population supports Thaksin, the Red Shirts, or both. It may or may not be a majority but it is a significant percentage. It is pretty obvious that most posters on this forum have an opposing view. Let us call them "government supporters".

The current government has closed most opposition media outlets, put many opposition leaders in confinement and frozen their assets, and seems to be in no hurry to end a declared State of Emergency. Persons of high rank in the current government are starting to float trial ballons about the possibility of the elections due by the end of 2011 not being held if the country is not calm enough for all parties to campaign effectively all over the country. Most posters on this forum are from western Europe, America, Canada, Australia, or New Zeland and would vigorously oppose any government back in their homeland that followed a similiar policy, rioting population or not. Yet posters on Thai Visa, as a group, applaud the anti-democratic actions of the current government and indeed many complain that the current government does not go far enough in its attempt to crush the opposition.

I will grant that the Red Shirt demonstrators went beyond peaceful demonstrations. So did the Yellow Shirts. Yet at present as far as I know (someone correct me if I am wrong) zero Yellow Shirts are in confinement or likely to be so at any point in the near future. Not so for the Red Shirts.

Am I the only one who read the article all the way through? An even bigger laugh than the headline is in the body of the article. He states that the Thai economy will grow 45 percent this year. Talk about delusional.

The government seems to be very much interested in locking up the major players in the red-shirt movement and denying them bail. However, it seems to be unable to do the same for the yellow-shirts who also took over government buildings and the airport. A case of the winning faction trying to destroy the losing faction using the legal system and selective prosecutions?

8 million out of a 65 million population is too high. The work force is probably closer to 30 million and 15 percent of that would be 4.5 million. Still pretty high but not 8 million.

The Bangkok Bank rate for converting dollars to Thai baht at the open today Monday 17 May was 32.01 Thai baht for one US dollar. The rates are displayed on bangkokbank.com home page on the right-hand edge near the bottom.

"On a comment by a top economist that the baht was very likely to touch 31.5 to the dollar at year-end, Mrs. Suchada said the currency had both strengthened and weakened."

Nothing like an official who will firmly commit herself.