heychay

Hey, maybe this could added to the perks for all those "elite card" holders - play golf with a real thai astronaut. Or get to do the 10,9,8... countdown with the PM.

The sooner Cliff Richard gives up his singing career (sad as that may be) and get's into politics the better, so HE can sort out this crazy messed up world.

What about Keith Richards?? Better suited for the positionl

Kind of depends where you live. thats my experience anyway. outside of bangkok its hit and miss. parts for anything above 150cc can be VERY difficult to find, and expensive. i just bought a '98 honda shadow 400cc. wouldnt ride inside bangkok city limits for anything, but outside the city its nice to have. check out this link- lots of good bike talk/advice......

http://members3.boardhost.com/thaimotorcyc...html?1080634493

[The only ones they're making exceptions for are English teachers. At least the govt. has enough sense to figure that one out.]

Where does this information come from? The regulations say nothing about teachers being exempt.

I hate to be serious here, but doesnt he have a country to run? Or have all the problems been solved already? How is he going to take time off from running a football team, merchandising (which includes getting all the fake stuff off the street), running a football camp and getting Thailand into the World Cup finals? I guess drugs, education, problems in the south, poverty and traffic can all wait.

[Mr Nikon said the government was working on better road design, correcting danger spots, educating young motorists, more vigorous testing of driving licence applicants, and law strict enforcement.]

The other night a friend and I sat at a roadside pub and counted off 500 motorcycles going by. How many drivers were wearing helmets? 35. We waited an hour and tried it on 100 more. about the same result. 8 out of a hundred with helmets. a week ago i was waiting at a red light, the guy in front of me got tired of waiting and just went thru. in the next lane over was a police pick-up. they did nothing. get ready for some more insane numbers over the holiday.

It seems as if every office has its own rules. i went to the cha-am office and they didnt even look at my work permit- didnt care- just wanted my name on a house registration- my condo rental contract was not good enough. so i found someone to add my name onto their house registration. that, pp photocopy, 2 pics, doctors note and 500 baht for each (!!!- robbed i know, but didnt want to argue, just get out of there) motorcycle and auto and i was out in 20 minutes. i kept official copy of house registration for renewal.......

First of all- i am not defending drug dealers. lets get that straight- i am not defending drug dealers. But in civilized / democratic societies a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. as much as we dont like it, even the bali and 9/11 bombers have that right. this is not to give criminals an advantage- it is to protect law abiding citizens from the abuses of government. it protects us from living in a police state. so as much as we might not like it that drug dealers have a right to a trial, their right means that if you or a member of your family is accused of a crime, they too have a right to not be shot down in the middle of the street, they have the right to defend themselves in court. yes, drug dealers should be locked up, and if thailand wants to execute them after a trial, then thats up to the thai judicial system. but to give police the right to go our and commit summary executions because someone has been accused of being a dealer or addict, then where do you stop? ever heard of south american "death squads"? you want death squads roaming around the streets of thailand? what happens when they run out of drug dealers? two other points- first, thailand is getting a reputation of no longer being a democracy. second, when a politician is in trouble, an easy out is to pick on an easy target. it gets people's minds off bungled policies.

yeah, sometimes life here is frustrating at best, but i didnt see anyone mention what i would write about my hometown in the u.s.: worried about being shot at random or in a crime every time i go out for a night on the town; said night on town costing a minimum of $100 and no happy ending in sight; seeing 40% of my paycheck taken out every week in taxes; road rage- and i mean ROAD RAGE; bitter cold, freezing rain, slipping on icy sidewalks; walking into 7-11 or mcdonalds and being greeted by a bitter, bored clerk instead of a smile; having to see george bush for prez commericials every 15 minutes; etc., etc............

as for thailand, for all its faults, theres nowhere else i'd rather be!

[/They seem to have all the momentum or should I say money, on their side]

Not only do they have the money, they also now have the police and military. you think this guy is going to give up his job as ceo of his country just because a few voters tell him its time to go? he'll take a cue from his buddies over in burma. THEY have been in power 20 years and know how to do it.

It is not the puritanical part of things that is frustrating, it is more the hypocrisy of it all.

Exactly.

The early colsing isnt going to have a big effect on me. But it is going to have a big effect on a lot of thais. lost jobs, not just to bar employees, but to hotels, street vendors, taxi drivers, etc. 2 questions:

if the point is to reign in kids, why is RCA allowed to stay open until 2?

and, if i want to go out with "respectable" types for a late night drink, we now have to go to an "adult entertainment zone"???????? how thoughtful.

I was planning on a trip to Bali to get away for SongKran, but now looking elsewhere. So Indo immigration can figure in what i would have spent on air, 5 days hotel, taxis, food, etc, etc... while they are figuring out their big successful program.

I am at a loss as to why the schools are a target. Why would anyone burn down a school? the shots on thai tv of the kids breaks your heart. one of the reasons i dont consider myself a christian is because of they seem to be able to do some pretty un-brotherly love type things to one another in the name of religion (and i'm assuming that this has a religious/political background, not gun running or gambling or whatever). so if i were of the same religous/political faith as those responsible i would question the whole belief system. its a tradgedy for the children and teachers, its devastating for everyone who relies on tourism, both from foreigners and thais.

"Mr Paisit said the company's current income was sufficient to cover the estimated 40,000-baht-a-year cost for each member for services such as airport transfers."

This is a great statement, very inspiring. They've got 200 million baht in income so far (well, a little less than that since several cards were given away, not sold). I assume they have to pay salaries, office rent, some sort of commission for sales, promotions, etc. So I guess all that would be left is enough for airport transfers.

But again, I think their target group is wealthy Asian, Middle Eastern, Eastern Europeans. Not western Europeans and Americans. First of all we complain too much. And we probably wouldnt be saying things like "before i buy it you'll have to double the price". Dont get me wrong, i wish them all the luck in the world with this. I'm enjoying the show.

in the u.s. 20 years ago if you walked into work and said "woah, cant even remember driving home last night", you'd get laughs. say it now and you get looks like you said " i cant remeber last night, except i think i fired a gun into a crowd". what changed? the overall consciousness of people in general. how did that happen? with the cooperation of government (including law enforcement) , media, the medical profession, and citizen groups- MADD, SADD, etc. And, grudgingly, the liquor and bar industry. I dont know the exact figures, but deaths and injury from drunk driving have dropped dramatically, although it still happens way too often. so media messages from victims and drunk drivers helped. punishment like drunk drivers being sentenced to speak at schools about how it feels to have killed someone is pretty effective. mandatory alcohol counselling for repeat offenders. unfortunetly a change cannot be made over one or two new years weekends. people have to be educated and believe that law enforcement is serious.

unlike, say thailand. i went to a local upcountry fair on new years eve, attended by thousands of people. thousands of kids and families on motorcycles. i'd guess the percentage wearing helmets was close to, oh, zero. there were plenty of police around, who did nothing. why not set up a block at the parking lot and no one without a helmet and who cannot pass a breathalizer drives home? that makes a point. but unless people are educated about why its bad to drive drunk or not wear a helmet, its just a stop-gap.

use public service announcements on tv (thai, not ubc) that feature victims, their families and those who have injured or killed people. it takes time, but it can be done. just takes alot of effort and cooperation. will it happen here?

One reason its so expensive is the fact its the only satellite tv company in the world that is not allowed to advertise. TIT.

true, but do you think if they changed the law we would suddenly see lower bills? i believe when the two companies were allowed to merge 5 or 6 years ago as UBC, they agreed to the no commercial rule, probably assuming they could weasle out of it sooner than later. but hey, people complain about their cable/satiilite companies all over the world. i subscribe to UBC because of the sports- no other way to get it. but if someone was to offer me a way to get the sports without the 4 year old sitcoms, re-run movies, and assorted other cr@p, at a cheaper price, i would be tempted.

another problem where the solutuion is "report your passport stolen". it is no wonder embassies are getting a little tired of tourists/ex-pats showing up claiming "a "lost passport". the answer to this one is if a shop wont take a copy of your passport, just say "mai pen rai" and wave good-bye. not too many places in thailand where there is only one bike rental shop.

The inaugural cardholders _ nearly half of whom are Chinese _ include executives from Bank of New York, Mitsubishi Corp. and Japan External Trade Organization.

.

While there are alot of valid questions raised about the card, unless you are a. CEO, Pres., etc of a large corporation. b. Chinese and rich c. both, no one connected with the card cares what you think. The card is obviously not aimed at westerners. It is something rich Chinese, Indians, Middle Easterners, Eastern Europeans can flash around to be self-important (i worked for a rich Chinese- this is just the kind of thing they love) and use to smooth their entry into Thailand. It is just something that says "treat me right" to officials and service people.

You know, if every country had someone who loves his people like the King of Thailand loves the Thai people, and who was loved in return the way the Thai people love their King, this world would be alot better off.

Francois,

Just wondering- Did they ask you for a "receipt of notification" for reporting your address?

"this other lame piece of plastic is not elite, only an attempt to make money off naive farangs and thats a shame."

It seems from news reports that so far most of the buyers are chinese. They are just after money, it doesnt matter where it comes from.

A little information: Immigration is fining people NOW. If you go to Room 401 and tell them you want to report your address, they will look at the entry date stamped on the back of your arrival card. You will be fined 2,000 baht for EVERY 90 day period beyond that date.

Simple question (I hope) Are holders of work permits exempt from this?