billsmart

"Much nastier." At least we agree on one thing, But, it is your belief that some animals are "more worthy" than others that is the crux of our disagreements.

Plants are beings. In fact, they are "sentient beings." They are not mammals or birds or lizards or fish or oysters, but they are living beings. I stated in a previous post, I have no problem with anyone killing and eating other beings, including dogs.

IMO, humans are much nastier and slier than any dog. And the article you posted was about a dog attack in the USA by the owner's dog, not a soi dog in Thailand. How about this image for a sample of human's killing innocent animals?

No, you, like a lot of people, read things like this all wrong. All living beings sustain their lives at the cost of other living beings. They don't necessarily kill other beings, but they survive by eating/absorbing other being's remnants. So, yes, I eat meat and plants, and I don't disapprove of killing animals and plants for food - even dogs - even humans, if it ever came to that. The point of all this isn't whether you kill or approve of killing. The point of this is WHY you kill. If you kill for food, that's fine with me. If you kill for self-defense, that's fine with me. But, if you kill for your convenience, or worse yet, for fun, that's not fine with me. I believe most all of the supporters of killing soi dogs do so for convenience, not for self-defense (although that's what many suggest) and not for food.

I did suggest that the "victims" might indeed have themselves to blame, or their attacks might be the result of some other humans' actions which have harmed the dogs. Why do you think soi dogs attack "innocent" humans? Do you think they see them as food? As intruders on their territory? As a danger to themselves and their pack? Why would they attack a human? And, the next time you see a report of a "horrific" soil dog attack, or if you have any references to ones that have occurred, send me the links. I'd send you links to instances where humans kill animals for fun or for their convenience, but there would be just too many of those for me to handle.

My references to "mothers, fathers, etc." in my previous post wasn't about my relatives. They were about the relatives of the dogs that you are suggesting ought to be killed. I was speaking about them. Of course, you don't seem to consider anyone else's feelings except yours. I have never heard of anyone getting their "face chewed off" by soi dogs in Thailand. I have heard of people getting their "face chewed off" by dogs, but they were either already dead when that happened or an attack by their own or their neighbor's (or neighbour's ????) dogs. I have heard stories about soi dogs attacking kids or acting aggressive towards people walking down the soi, but, of course, we never hear the full story and if there was any provocation or history of provocations by the humans involved. My point here is if some humans go out into the soi and chase and beat or kill dogs, that would, IMO, increase the likelihood of these kind of interactions. My point is, killing ALL the dogs in an area even if one person was attacked by one or two is not an acceptable suggestion to me. I find it abhorrent.

Here's a list of good books to read... W. D. Smart (books2read.com)

I eat meat and plants.

Yes.

I've never heard of anyone being injured like that. Have you, or is that just a convenient rumor or fear you have? If you call "getting your face chewed off" a "catastrophe," what would you call your mother, father, brother, sister, or friends being poisoned or rounded up and given a fatal injection? I'd call that a massacre. ????

No, I'm from the USA, so I don't have any "neighbours." I do have "neighbors," and all of them have multiple dogs.

Yes, we disagree completely on this subject. Killing dogs just because you consider them a nuisance is not acceptable at all to me.

If you kill them, IMO, YOU are the problem, not them. ????

I currently have adopted 14 strays. How about you? How many do you have?

Excellent! This is a much better approach to solving this "problem" than killing them. ????

A teacher should never hit a student for disciplinary purposes. IMO, the only reason a teacher would be justified in hitting a student is for self-defense, like if the student hit them or pulled a knife on them.

I lived here in Thailand for almost 20 years on an O-A visa and always got one-year stay extensions based on retirement. About 3 years ago, I was told I needed health insurance to continue doing that. So, I went to Laos and got an O visa. I've had that ever since and have been able to continue to extend my stay based on retirement without health insurance. I have no idea why Thailand has different rules for the stay extensions of O-A and O visas, but they do. As an aside, just last year, just before I turned 76, I did get the type of health insurance required for a stay extension on an O-A because I'm afraid Thai Immigrations will soon require that type of insurance for stay extensions on ALL visas. It's very difficult, if not impossible, to get a new health insurance policy when you are over 75. I found one that would satisfy Thai Immigrations for about THB 12K. It has a very high deductible, but still meets Thai Immigrations requirements.

The "story" above says, "The Thai Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders sentenced Palang Pracharath MP for Bangkok Thanikan Pornpongsaroj to one year in prison today (Wednesday), suspended for two years, and fined her 200,000 baht after finding her guilty of allowing another MP to use her ID card to vote in parliament." But, no, I didn't read any other accounts than that. If she did not have to serve one year in prison, were the two-year suspension and the 200K baht fine also dismissed or reduced?

I think the penalty is excessive, but there certainly should be one for doing something like this. The one who used the card and voted for her should suffer some consequences also.

I changed from an O-A to an O visa about two years ago. I went to Laos. I had no problems. I stayed there for two nights. I drove to Nong Khai, crossed the border, took a taxi into Vientiane, and stayed the first night in a hotel. I went to the Thai embassy there the next day and submitted my application. I had to spend another night at the hotel in Vientiane, but then went back the next morning to pick up my O visa based on marriage. I then took a taxi to the border and reentered Thailand. I picked up my car and drove back home. I've had no problems with extending my stay on the O visa ever since, in fact have switched it from an extension based on marriage to extensions based on retirement because there is a lot less paperwork required.

This is not a requirement in Phetchabun Immigrations - at least a couple of months ago, the last time I extended my stay.

I think all the criticism and restrictions placed on the LIV Golf Tour and those golfers who join it are justified. I'll never watch an LIV tournament and will drop all my support for those golfers who participate in one. ????

There was no suggestion in the article that the Indian tourist was associating with the ladyboy. The ladyboy could have just been walking down the same sidewalk, grab the necklace, and ran. I do think wearing such expensive items while out in public is dangerous. Items like these should be saved for parties or special nights out, or, as I do, not possess them at all.

I hope I'm taking your above remarks in context... Yes, if someone in Immigrations hands you a blank form, they want you to fill it out - by hand using blue ink. I don't know what a "document check person" is, but if they are working at Immigrations, that's good enough for me. Yes, as of a couple of months ago, I know Thailand/Immigrations require a current TM30 to finalize a lot of their services. They required one from me to approve my one-year stay extension. I showed them the one I filled out onlinw (for my wife) that shows me staying in our house. It's about three years old. Yes, filing a TM30 is the responsibility of the owner of the residence, but if THEY don't do it, it's YOUR paperwork that Immigration will hold up. You can't just stand in front of the Immigration officer and claim that the fact of you not having a filled-out and registered TM30 is not your fault. That doesn't matter. So asking "Why?" you should fill one out for the hotel is useless. Just do it, or at least take it to the hotel and have them do it or at least verify it has been done. You're the one who'll suffer if it hasn't been done. That's my point.

I don't think I took your post out of context, but I may have. I don't know how my first response, however, could have been taken out of context. My point was, if Immigrations tells you to do something, do it. Don't ask why, or if you do, be ready to suffer some consequences. I think the problem with the original poster and a lot of people ("Farangs," like me) in Thailand is they do look for some context, some understandable reason for how things are done here. I've decided that is useless. There isn't a "valid reason" this person should have to fill out that form, and, in fact, I'm sure you could find a lot of documentation to back up that claim. HOWEVER, even if you do, Immigrations (or any other Thai autohrity or even a person) may still require you to do it, or, like I said, face the consequences, which will often be much more difficult to take than just doing what they asked.