jonclark

17 hours ago, ELVIS123456 said:

Sounds exactly right to me.  Many Expats on TV have bees n their bonnets - and think everything is about them.

 

Listen closely - foreign workers taking jobs from Thais threatens their lives - as in their living and family lives - they need work to live here - there is no unemployment payments - this aint your nanny state. 

 

Why they put that photo of some Russians with Visa issues is more about TV journalism.  But if it was meant to stir up the 'kittens' - it sure worked.

 

The picture is not as black and white as you paint it when you consider the following points.

1. Thailand has an unemployment rate of less than 1%.

2. Thailand has an aging population and declining birth rate.

These two points indicate that there juat aint enough thais to do the jobs needed to keep the country developing. And that in itself maybe a bigger threat to the lives and property of Thais than the superficial threat being painted here.

"..while the man was putting petrol in his car."

I do hope that is not a euphamism.

40 minutes ago, 1SteveC said:

I doubt that Nate has a work permit for selling clothes and hats in Thailand.

 

http://www.mymatenate.com/store.php

The problem with Thailand is that its work permit system is just not fit for purpose. Does anyone really give a crap if he sells at most a couple of hundred items of clothing - I mean printing them no doubt put pennies in the hand of the Thai screen printer, which fed his family and paid his bills.  The work permit system functions more as a deterrent to work legally than as a useful system to encourage gainful, tax paying employment. 

And when you compare it to the brown envelope system of patronage encouraging people to look elsewhere here it just smacks of utter, utter hypocrisy to say one is illegal and the other is acceptable   - Just a nonsense. 

As for cruelty to animals - This is Thailand - The front page of another newspaper today commented on elephants at an open zoo, being forced to swim underwater for the amusement of visitors who watched the spectacle from behind a specially designed glass viewing area! And those old pachyderms are forced to do it several times a day, each and everyday while annoying kids bang on the glass window and the parents coo and take photos of the whole thing. Cruelty???  Again total hypocrisy. 

BTW - I'd imagine the cat has forgotten the whole thing by now. 

This is great publicity for him.

Bet his youtube channel get a load more clicks and as a result his monthly royalty cheque from you tube gets bumped up. 

As for whether he is working well  before you all jump on the band wagon screaming for his deportation - just remember that if you post a video that get popular on youtube and they pay you advertising royalties you too could be deported for working without a permit! Pretty messed up i'd say!

As to whether the royalties go into a Thai or US bank well that should make proving his status interesting.

Obviously the bloke is a complete tool, but that's another bag of worms altogether. 

Odd mentality that people are more worried / proud of the amount being consumed as opposed to the lack of correct disposal methods for the waste created. 

The defamation lawsuit is being prepared by the governments lawyers as we speak.....

17 hours ago, halloween said:

PAD court cases are proceeding, most finalised, Jatuporn et al precede PDRC, and AFAIK most UDD members waiting court have not left the country.

 

Justice delayed is justice denied, and a deliberate tactic of the PTP government.

Why would the military want him to go to jail

Keep him as a free man - a couple of years down the line he will no doubt start stirring up trouble and give the military and elites another reason to stage a coup - Big picture thinking!!

Whilst it is understandable - given that tourist generate about 20% of Thailand GDP and the actual numbers involved here are pretty low - I remember a Phuket hospital - Think it was the Vachira - stating that they treated 330 foreigners (uninsured) which cost them 1.2 million baht in 2008 (including funeral rites as well). I know its a bit old - but the numbers here seem pretty small when the overall contribution is factored in. 

It seems the insurance company will make a killing as 99% of insurance will remain unused. 

53 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

Is it not on the visa application form somewhere. But of course, somebody MIGHT not be doing job properly. Did you have to have fingerprints done EVERY time at VFS, as we did.

Fingerprints - you surely are joking - no never - we fill in an online form, pay by credit card, drop off the passport at Trendy as per our appointment and pick it up 10 days later job done. 

You seem to be having a very different experience then me..

Anyway ...back to the topic at hand - Insurance? 

3 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

You cannot get a tourist visa to UK without a valid health insurance policy, been there and done it three times.

Well someone at the UK embassy hasn't been doing there job properly then as we have had probably in the region of 18+ visas and never shown documents for insurance once? So I am surprised to hear that. 

3 minutes ago, Muzarella said:

A goodl accident insurance by a Thai company is about 6000 TH/year. The typycal tourist visa runs for about 2 months. Will be no ptoblerms in charge an insurance  "fee" at entry of 500TH to tourist,  and another 500TH on every 3  months extension, or even 6000TH to every one year retirement or work extension to uninsured foreigners. In most countries tourist and foreigners have to have a credit card to get medical attention if not having insurance. Asking Thailand to do for free, do not make sense, and probably is a burden to Thai hospitals at the moment. In my opinion any car or motorbike rental needs to includes mandatory accident insurance. 

All cars and motorbikes legally must have insurance rentals or otherwise - the vehicle is often what is insured (which includes the people inside). 

The insurance for a scooter, basically covers the cost of wiping your remains off the pavements and comes when you tax the scooterand if memory serves me correctly its called por raw bor  (phonetic Thai sucks - sorry.) There is some accident insurance but it is minimal. This could be the same for a car too, in addition to the above mentioned car insurance. 

6 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

Your a bit too quick - the article announced there is a proposal and it doesn't yet give any details about what the proposal includes.

 

 

You are very right...but what is your gut telling you? - and I'm not on about last nights curry!

6 minutes ago, Toshiba66 said:

Not to Australia.

My wife has never been asked for insurance to the Uk when we go every year/ 

How will it be enforced at the airport. You have god knows how many different nationalities coming through. If i wafted a piece of paper which i claimed was my insurance document and was written in Hindi, Mandarin or Korean will the immigration office be expected to understand its contents. I could just as well be showing him my car insurance

This whole idea is probably on the assumption that all documents will be in either Thai or English after which it becomes a nightmare for the immigration officers with huge lines of tired, impatient and frustrated people and more documents to examine and then argue over. 

And what if 30% of people simply refuse to buy - There is neither the capacity to refuse them entry in terms of space to be held at the air port and then chartering enough flights to take them back to their various departure points

And then what happens if after being forced to buy it....the insurance doesn't pay out - The brains behind this need to show some accountability here???

14 hours ago, GuiseppeD said:

 

No condemnation and I note that on the balance of probabilities you haven't contributed as I have done in the past.

 

Let's look forward to a proactive regime where we help people weigh up the odds between having insurance or chancing it, which has been my point all along.  Education for the nation!  Too late for this particular family but let's make the world a better place in helping people consider their options in advance.  If you can afford a flight ticket to LOS then a little extra outlay for a comprehensive travel insurance policy isn't going to break the bank.  This also ensures that you receive the best possible treatment and repatriation with no stress. 

 

My wife and I have an annual rolling BUPA travel insurance policy, that includes motorcycles, for a measly 140 quid.  This covers all of our international and European trips over the course of a year.  Spread the word, Bluespunk, if you are willing to, otherwise you do a disservice to your friends by leaving them uninformed.  Up to you.

The actual OP is pretty vague about whether or not the family has insurance. 

It may well be that the medical care that has been received has exceeded the policy amount, especially if you add in the likely hood that the mortal remains will nee to be sadly repatriated. - Like yourself I have a very comprehensive BUPA package, but like all insurance it has its limits - I think mine is $10 million a year. It might well be the case that the family has exceeded the premium - ie  AXA smart travel plans has a maximum payout for accidents and medical expenses of 1 million to 4 million baht depending on the level of coverage you take for a Thai national travelling abroad.

So it might be worth considering that possibly the insurance has been milked and the costs are still rising. There is a lot that the OP misses out. 

Just don't give the machines a work permit - problem solved Thai style!

Hope they don't collect too much intelligence, there is hardly enough collective intelligence in the local population as it is. 

Or are they deliberately trying to dumb down the population. 

2 hours ago, steven100 said:

sorry jon, I only answered yes to all because of all the No's.

correct answers :

1. Do you think, in the next election, we will get a government which has good governance? Not unless it's the Junta in control.

2. If not, what will you do?  leave thailand

3. Election is an important integral party of democracy, but election alone without the regard for the future of the country and others is right or wrong? wrong

4. Do you think bad politicians should be given a chance of political comeback; and if there is conflict again, who will solve it and by what means? No chance of comeback

Steve - the big problem I have with your answer to Q1 is that without an open media how are we to know that the Junta are good at governing? Do we accept it a face value? There are no real checks or balances in place for the people to verify this with the current lot  - I personally think they are okay at best (but that is an opinion no more or less).

As for Q2 - well the option of leaving Thailand is not one most Thai people have, so what will they do? Do the accept the level of governance or try to change it? 

As for Q3 - an election is an integral part of democracy as it provides the people with the opportunity to decide the future path the country will take - once that path has been decided rightly or wrongly / for better or worse, it needs to be allowed to play out. Until the next election allows the course to be maintained or corrected. Hitting the reset button is not a solution. Democracies like anything worth doing take effort, persistence and require people to be resilient in the face of set backs (aka - corruption, nepotism, etc etc) . That level of maturity will never be achieved by resetting to day zero. 

I agree with Q4.- There needs to be a system to get to rotten apples out of the cart, however that needs to be overseen by an independent, open and impartial body to ensure people are not labelled bad for political expediency. 

The one thing I have learned from my many years on this planet and Thailand (and I've lived through three coups here, something my younger self would have never imagined! )  is that all governments (the good, the bad and the ones in between) have an expiry date. There will come a time when the Junta will have to go. How they go - quietly or with a bang will shape Thailand's future in almost immeasurable ways. 

I think the tide is turning - like all juntas, the economy will be their undoing. 

1 hour ago, steven100 said:

Question 1: yes

Question 2: yes

Question 3: yes

Question 4: yes

 Khun Prayuth Chan O Cha  

Odd answers:

Q2) If not what will you do? ....Steven100 replied "Yes".  Not sure I understand your reply Steven? Or is it a purposely incorrect? 

You agreed with Q4 - Do you think that bad politicians should be given a chance of a comeback?  - I never thought you would be a fan of the shins and their extended merry band of men aka - UDD/PTP/TRT given your love the Junta. You do surprise. But nice to see you think everyone deserve a second (or third) chance in politics and that you have such an open mind. 

11 minutes ago, ratcatcher said:

"Ménière's disease (MD) is a disorder of the inner ear that is characterized by episodes of feeling like the world is spinning (vertigo), ringing in the ears (tinnitus), ..."  wiki

 

I believe that Prawit ought to have had a chat with our old friend Chalerm Yubamrung. He was always in possession of good quality "ear medicine".

Get well soon general, "ear today, gone tomorrow" as they say."

 

 

Oh very good - well remembered that man!

50000 defamation cases - no wonder the whole court system in Thailand is bogged down and so slow moving. 

15 minutes ago, MartinL said:

Yes. UK has a General Election in 2 weeks and a deadly bomb attack yesterday. Terror Threat level has been raised to 'Critical', meaning another incident is expected imminently. Election campaigning was postponed but it will resume soon. The election will go ahead as planned.

 

But, of course, 'Thailand is different'. 

 

Prayuth should read the news occasionally and he'll see that many, many other countries manage to continue the democratic process despite the same problems as - or worse than - Thailand.

 

But what he means is "I like being PM and don't want to subject myself to an election that might boot me out of office".

Well that does seem to be the underlying and poorly camouflaged excuse doesn't it.

For all its faults, and there are many, the UK is very good at returning to a normal state of affairs as swiftly as possible after tragic events such as manchester. Whereas in Thailand gets in a complete tailspin and politicians and leaders use it to advance their own agendas. 

If you look further back in the UKs history, elections were never once postponed due to the mainland bombing campaign of the IRA in the 70'S and 80's, which were far greater in damage, frequency and sophistication than those slightly inadequate fireworks that have been passed off as bombs in Bangkok in the last couple of weeks. 

Other places such as Iraq, Indian Kashmir, Afghanistan and Southern Sudan have all managed to hold elections under security conditions far, far worse than anything in Thailand has experienced in the past 100 years. Countries which Thailand would consider itself superior to I have no doubt. 

Clearly no excuse or reason to use this as an opportunity to not hold an election.

If the PM has failed (by his own admission - which is what this statement is) to bring peace, reconciliation and change to Thailand after 3 years in power, then he has failed. If he has failed, then he needs to step aside (to paraphrase the good general - 'to self- sacrifice for the good of the nation'), and let a better / another person try to succeed.

Is the PMs (and his cabinets) rhetoric and rhetorical styles also included in this statement I wonder?