Nickcage49

But for how long?

This has been going on forever. They can try to enforce it, but taxi drivers will still act badly in BKK. When I lived there if someone wanted to charge a flat fare I just got out of the cab.

What a guy.

Is Thailand really "competing" for us? The way they treat foreigners here makes it seem like they're inviting us to go somewhere else.

Love the guy's outfit. Where did he get that? LOL

Simple. Stop doing construction on every single road all at once!

Once again I'll say it...

Here's an article from the Washington Post on what's been happening here regarding the leadership changes in the country. It's a good read: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/08/17/thailand-move-forward-party-dissolution-democracy/ Here's the text for those who don't subscribe: Headline: Opinion Thailand’s democracy takes two steps back The Move Forward Party is dissolved, the prime minister is removed — but the country remains a critical American ally. Thailand’s fragile democracy suffered two major setbacks this month at the hands of an unaccountable, all-powerful court whose rulings cannot be appealed. The latest developments once again show the limits of the Biden administration’s attempt to put democracy promotion at the center of its foreign policy, especially when democratic regression happens in a U.S.-aligned country that serves as a crucial bulwark against China’s rising influence. First, on Aug. 8, the country’s Constitutional Court unanimously ordered the dissolution of the Move Forward Party, the country’s most popular political party and the winner of last year’s parliamentary election. The court also banned the party’s top 11 officials from politics for 10 years, including its charismatic young leader, Pita Limjaroenrat. That ruling was widely expected — the same maneuvering felled the party’s predecessor, the Future Forward Party, four years ago. Then on Wednesday, the court ordered the immediate dismissal of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin for ethics violations after less than one year in the job. Mr. Srettha hails from the Pheu Thai Party, the second-largest party, which campaigned as a pro-democracy ally of Move Forward. Mr. Srettha only got the job when Mr. Pita and Move Forward were blocked from forming the government by a coalition of conservative business tycoons and pro-military and royalist parties that saw Move Forward’s reform agenda as too radical. The two rulings show the country’s entrenched old guard reasserting its control. Instead of military coups, the anti-reform, anti-democracy camp now practices “lawfare,” subverting the popular will through the use — or rather, abuse — of the legal system. Lawfare has become a common weapon used by autocratic governments that want a veneer of legal legitimacy to cover what is still just old-school repression. Move Forward’s transgression was its proposal to open debate on the role of the monarchy in Thailand, where the king serves as the constitutional head of state, campaigning to reform a draconian law against defaming the monarchy, section 112 of the criminal code known as lèse-majesté that has been abused to silence dissent. It is considered the strictest such law in the world, with a penalty up to 15 years in prison. At least 272 people have been charged with lèse-majesté since 2020. The court’s ruling effectively disenfranchises more than 14 million Thai voters who gave the Move Forward Party a stunning victory in the 2023 parliamentary elections and a plurality of 151 seats in the parliament. Mr. Srettha’s dismissal stems from his appointment of an ethically tainted lawyer to a senior cabinet office job, though he resigned after less than a month. But the real reason, many analysts believe, is that the conservative old guard wanted to send a warning to Mr. Srettha’s patron, the billionaire former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra who is still believed to control the levers of his Pheu Thai party behind the scenes. The practical effect of these rulings might be limited. The day after Move Forward was dissolved, all 143 of its remaining members of parliament announced the formation of a new party, called the People’s Party, with a new leader, 37-year-old Natthaphong Ruangpanyawut. He said the new party will continue to push reform. But the legal attacks continue; some 44 Move Forward politicians are being investigated for ethics violations by the country’s anti-corruption agency. Also, on Friday, Pheu Thai and its coalition partners in parliament overwhelmingly selected Mr. Thaksin’s 37-year-old daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, as the new prime minister despite her thin résumé. Though both her father and her aunt served as prime minister and were overthrown in military coups, and it is unclear how long Ms. Paetongtarn will last in the job. Thailand poses a difficult dilemma for the United States. The country remains a critical American ally in Southeast Asia, and the U.S. and Thai militaries hold annual joint exercises. The United States is also reportedly looking to sell sophisticated F-16 Block 70 jets to the Thai air force. The State Department said the United States was “deeply concerned” by the dissolution of Move Forward. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, said Congress would “continue to evaluate” how developments would impact the bilateral relationship. The question is: What will the United States’ and Thailand’s democratic allies do? If history is any guide, the answer, sadly, is not much. Thai officials largely brushed off the criticism over Move Forward’s dissolution, saying the country wouldn’t be swayed by “foreign interference.” They know that in the geopolitical rivalry between America and China, Thailand is too important an ally to seriously sanction. As long as the United States pays only lip service to promoting democracy as a guiding principle, they are probably right.

Has she ever heard that you can pay the airline to do this?

"Political uncertainty". What else is new? It's been quite a week in Thai politics, even by Thai standards.

Those aren't potholes, they're lakes!

All that for nothing. So he is a selfish pr*ck. That's what the article should have said, lol

Something tells me there's more than this to the story. Bouncers don't go out of their way to hassle people. They usually only get involved when there's some kind of a dispute. I don't think leaning on a car would do it.

What could possibly go wrong?

Well, at least this time they're not trying to say that the sex trade doesn't exist. But common, Pattaya will never be known as anything more than a place for sex. At least twice a year I see an article like this and it always makes me laugh.

I couldn't agree more. Unfortunately there is no Democracy here. It's limited in the states too.

Now that's funny!

Sexual service? At a massage shop in Thailand? SHOCKING! It's an outrage!!!

How could anybody underestimate Trump at this point? We all did it in 2016, but never again.

He was probably taking a selfie on the cliff.

Now that's funny.

Pity...

This country is so behind. It's being lapped by the rest of the world. And it's very, very anti-foreigner, making it very hard to set up a business here. They make everything very difficult and their policies blow like the wind. This country needs some real leadership by someone with a business background. Unfortunately, the people in power are all out for their own gain at the expense of the rest of the country.

"Pol Maj-Gen Panthana Nutchanart, the deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, stated that the advertisement is not illegal since it does not offer Thai passports. He remarked that the sale of foreign passports is a common practice in several countries." Whaaaat? It's not illegal???