jackspratt

I just returned from Pai, where I was told Sgt Maj Uthai had indeed passed through town. The police chief reportedly ordered him to return to his inactive post in Soppong to await trial and not show his face in Pai again till the trail was over.

Sgt Maj Uthai appears to be in worse shape than ever, drinking-wise, according to acquaintances of his. If he is indeed carrying a weapon, it's a travesty the police haven't confiscated it. He obviously doesn't have the pistol used the night of the shootings, and as far as anyone knows the only time he's ever fired a weapon outside of target practice was the night he was allegedly provoked by Carly and crew. I suppose finding a replacement in Thailand isn't difficult since police officers buy their own weapons anyway.

The Pai police chief is being transferred out and is currently awaiting his replacement. No idea whether the transfer is routine or related to the crime.

I am sure we are all thankful for the update.

I do find your choice of words interesting - maybe even revealing. I would have thought a more concise and accurate description would have been "the night he shot Carly and crew".

All about emphasis, isn't it

No it halved actually. It's now only 5 times more for foreigners to enter these boring and barren sites whereas previously the difference was 10 fold!

Its really encouraging to arrive at these places and the first thing you see is a sign advising that Thais enter for 40baht and foreigners pay 200/400baht.

Encouraged me to turn round and go elsewhere!

Are we to assume you only discovered these (unnamed) sites were boring and barren after you were required to pay the farang price?

Otherwise, why were you there?

And where elsewhere did you go - I assume to places neither boring nor barren, and a lot cheaper?

I do not understand why the US would have juristiction in an illegal arms deal between a Russian and a terrorist/drug organization in Columbia. Even if the US was pretending to be FARC, it should still have no juristiction. That would be like the US claiming juristiction on some guy from France that goes to Germany and commits a crime in Germany.

You may be surprised as to the extent of extra-territorial "jurisdiction" the US claims for itself around the world - often with total disregard for the legal systems of the affected 2nd country, be they friend or foe.

Then of course there is rendition........but we won't go there!

Hello,

I dont see any advice in the forum as I search already, but I need help about my current situtation.

I live in a house in Korat, Land/house style village. Beside my house not part of the village are some stupid neighbours... and they polute very badly behind my home... (Not my land) but the smell is horrible they make coconut icecream and throw remains there! also the wash water and all that empties behind my home also throu a concrete pipe.

I attached a photo of the mess and layout...!

I have been to local council, and they spoke to the 'polluters' but they said the polluters are stupid and don't want to care... they play stupid music all the time... accelerate pickup all time loud... among other annoyances i dont wanna get into..

so we've complaned many times and nothing is being done...

can anyone help with possible own experiences, or any advice would be so much appriciated...

Advice..OK. You are fukced. Good luck.

Perhaps the OP should have been more specific ie he was looking for intelligent advice.

In that case, would you be capable of contributing anything?

Nice idea... Noble thought.....

What country are you living in???? Surely not Thailand!!!!

Cloud Cuckoo Land maybe

Hello all .... particularly those who provided useful information to me

For many people this topic has probably been discussed to death but for the newcomer it may be of some help. It's basically my experience with the visa process.

I have known my gf since last July and we have met on two occassions, last November and recently in April. We went to Hong Kong for a few nights and returned to Bangkok for the remainder of my stay. While we were in Bangkok we applied for a tourist visa for my gf to enter Australia. The original application was for 12 month but we were told visa's for this perood would only be granted for exceptional circumstances.

We produced various documentation with the application, eg Western Union receipts, telephone accounts showing text messages, date stamped envelope addressed to me from my gf, emails, hotel and flight documentation showing both our names, proof of income etc .... I also included a stat dec stating I would be responsible for my gf returning to Thailand and would provide financial support while she was in Australia. They were particularly interested in receiving photos taken of me with my gf's family which fortunately we could provide. The only thing I didn't supply was a copy of my passport, which I had to fax to them.

We applied on the Friday and due to a public holiday the visa was approved for three months the following Tuesday.

All in all the process seemed easy ..... this time .... maybe future applications may be viewed or assessed differently. My gf will arrive Perth 8 June 2008.

I hope this has been of some benefit and given hope to future visa applicants

Howard

To the contrary, Howard, if she acts within the terms of the visa (ie returns to Thailand within the 3 month period), you will probably find the next time is a lot easier.

After that, it is likely to get more difficult, as Immigration will be looking for signs of a long term relationship, and for her to seek a visa appropriate to that status ie a tourist (visitor) visa will be a lot harder to get.

DownTown DF have a hold on Sydney Airport for booze similar to what King Power had in TH. Kinda leaves me wondering which politician's families have shares in DownTown...

If you are so interested, why don't you look it up:

http://www.thenuancegroup.com/media/mediar...asp?pressID=364

Or maybe you are happier living in a world of speculation and conspiracy?

Not as many as when these fabricated and planted stories make it around the world and reach the Weird News section of your hometown's local paper, the very reason why they were created in the first place. Thailand's answer to fighting crime doesn't lie within the police force but with it's imaginary heroes.

So does this mean the starting point, when reading any story in a Thai newspaper, is that it is/maybe "fabricated and planted"?

Are we to apply the same standard when reading what a villain and crook Thaksin is?

And everyone writing with such venom on this thread about the Thai police and Pol Sgt Unthai are conveniently overlooking the three New York detectives cleared this week of shooting and killing a man with 50 shots on his wedding day in November 2006.

Writing without any venom, <deleted> has one apparent injustice in the US got to do with a looming further potential injustice in NW Thailand?

Can you please name which publications you write for, so I can make a point of avoiding them.

Avast.

Would any of us want your kids learning English from our wives?

"daddy why you no give me money for chocolate?"

Well mine don't ask me like that.

doesn't

If you are going to attempt being a pedant, please learn the language. 'Don't' is correct in the above sentence assuming more than one child

Careful, your arrogance in questioning the age of a father, or assuming the intelligence of a person will bit you in the ass before you know it

Umm!..............shouldn't that be "bite you in the ass"

Slightly off topic, but something I have noticed in the back clocks of Issan, where I live, is that several native English speaking fathers, and others, will talk to (their) children as though they were talking with their wife eg "why you not put your shoes on".

While I can understand the (limited) use of English "shorthand" when communicating with the Mrs (I do it myself sometimes), I strongly believe if you are trying to teach your child English, then it should be correct English.

Or even better, correct Australian

jackspratt quoted........ " Unfortunately tud is no longer with us....."

................................................................

Care to elaborate WHY tud is no longer with us.

I always enjoy threads from 'tud'

I have no idea why tud has moved on. However, you will notice that he is banned, and that some (?all, I haven't checked) of his looney threads have been pulled.

Perhaps you could start a new thread "Where is Tud?"

Oasis star Noel Gallagher tells BBC Radio Five Live that Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra is "a nutcase" and "living in cloud cuckoo land" ..........

Presumably Mr Gallagher has not heard of the saying about kettles and pots.

The duty will not be anywhere near 100%, but there will be something to pay,

even if it is only VAT.

Sorry to disagree but check this out re import tax and duty: http://www.customs.go.th/Customs-Eng/Sampl...?menuNme=Sample

This webpage has very little to do with the rate of customs duty on computers imported into Thailand - which is actually 0%.

It may be more enlightening to have a look here instead:

http://igtf.customs.go.th/igtf/en/main_frame.jsp

BTW, laptop computers are classified under 8471.30 in the Import Tariff, if you get that far.

If you can't do the time, don't do the crime.

if you dont do anything wrong you wont end up in there ,its that easy

How trite!

I wonder how many others share your obvious confidence in the veracity of the Thai legal system.

Publicity stunt following tourist murders?

I perused this thread with the sole intent of seeing how TV posters could twist it to put Thailand and it's people in a negative light, as that seems to be the favorite pastime of most, and I wasn't disappointed. Thank you Tony.

Well put, CSS.

Unfortunately tud is no longer with us, so I await Padthaiguy's response with interest.

When I started sponsoring the forum, I was already a mod. However, the forum software does not allow a member to be in two member groups, so I opted to be classed as a sponsor, but am also still a mod. Sponsors, generally, don't have mod access.

I hope that clears up any confusion.

Scouse

Thanks scouser. All cleared up

As a point of clarification, I note that the scouser recently closed a topic.

Whilst I have no comment on the merits or otherwise of the closure, I have reviewed the list of Moderators and I am unable to see the scousers name on the list. I note however that he/she is a sponsor.

Does this mean that sponsors, in addition to moderators, can close threads?

And why would you think anyone is speaking for you? As far as I can see this is your first post in this thread?

On the assumption that I am part of the whole world - have another read of the section of the post I highlighted.

The second part, which I didn't realize until I lived in the area for a sustained period, is the Chinese belief of domination and total control of people and land. They honestly believe that all of SE Asia, Korea, Japan +++ are their rightful territories. It's a dangerous ethos and it's wrong.

........ The Chinese have that side whilst also holding a deep belief in their psyche that they are the rightful owners of Asia.

The second is a Chinese trait and very dangerous for the region (World?).

Hmmm............a bit more evidence about this speculation would be most welcome.

In my 3+ years living in China I never encountered a single incidence of this "deep belief".

Try to smuggle in 320 pills of illegal drugs to the U.S.A as a tourist and see how they will threat you!

This is the same outcry story drug smugglers tell every time, if it is viagra, heroin, ectascy, ect....

You know it is illegal and still you do it? You propably got away with it several times and every trip you increased the amount of drug carried, you are hailed as a proffesional drug smuggler, proud of it, joke and brag to your friends about it.

Now you got arrested and thinking that the whole world is against you, well we are, dude!

Don't presume to speak for me on this, thank you.

Fortunately the authorities in most countries can distinguish between viagra on one hand, and heroin and ecstasy on the other hand - even if you don't seem to be able to do so.

Come on, Emperor....we're waiting for you with bated breath!!!

It does prove his initial point though, so he should be given credit.

What initial point - about "rogue customs officials"?

The fake police have been arrested at the airport - the real police have done their jobs.

Meanwhile, the (perfectly legal) excise officers are still doing their legally sanctioned work at the airport - questioning potential cigarette smugglers, and imposing the legally prescribed fines on the transgressors. Those without cigarettes go on their merry ways.

So, with bated breaths we still wait.................

He made a valid point, yet the rose tinted spectacle brigade question it. I agree that the real Police have done their jobs, but that's not the point is it? Or am I missing something.

What was the valid (or initial) point? If you can answer that simple question, then maybe I can take off my spectacles

That there were bogus officials working in the Airport, claiming to be Police etc

If you read thew article in the Daily Express, it states that this has been a problem, and that people should always wait for a fully uniformed officer to arrive before allowing anyone to conduct a search.

I'm not going to get into pedantics about what officials do what, but it does highlight a valid point that people do need to aware.

Unfortunately the "bogus" officials Tud described way back were legitimate. He just chose to describe them as bogus, and then maintain that description pretty much up till now, despite very strong evidence to the contrary from numerous posters.

C'est la vie!

dmk belongs to the airforce and most of the concessions for various services required to run an airport there are probably granted to related entities...

next question please...

What is AoT's role at Don Muang?

Perhaps you should have a look here before you respond:

http://www2.airportthai.co.th/airportnew/i...th.html?lang=en

AoT = Lessee

Airforce = Lessor

and you should look here

Thank you - I have done that.

13 Directors

10 are government/civil service, 5 of whom also hold company directorships, and another who is also in the airforce

1 is retired airforce, with no directorships

2 are employed by private companies, one of them an accounting/audit firm.

Which all proves what?

That the Airforce is granting concessions to related entitites?

Or AoT, which is responsible for business conducted at DM, is granting concessions to related entities on their own initiative, or at the behest of the Airforce?

Come on, Emperor....we're waiting for you with bated breath!!!

It does prove his initial point though, so he should be given credit.

What initial point - about "rogue customs officials"?

The fake police have been arrested at the airport - the real police have done their jobs.

Meanwhile, the (perfectly legal) excise officers are still doing their legally sanctioned work at the airport - questioning potential cigarette smugglers, and imposing the legally prescribed fines on the transgressors. Those without cigarettes go on their merry ways.

So, with bated breaths we still wait.................

He made a valid point, yet the rose tinted spectacle brigade question it. I agree that the real Police have done their jobs, but that's not the point is it? Or am I missing something.

What was the valid (or initial) point? If you can answer that simple question, then maybe I can take off my spectacles

Last time I looked, the "cigarette smugglers" went their merry ways too

Luck of the draw I guess

Some unlucky airport users get stopped, harassed, intimidated, fondled and set upon by taxi touts - and that is on a good day