JAG

41 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

 

I don't think so.

 

Out of hundreds of officers, quite possible that a handful understood it that way.

 

The one described in this post seemed to.

Information becomes corrupted as it is passed down...

Unfortunately named "Chinese Whispers"!

Legend has it that one message passed from mouth to mouth in the trenches of the first world war, initiated as "Send reinforcements, we are going to advance" ended up as "Send three and fourpence, we are going to a dance".

Yours is not an entirely incredible suggestion.

54 minutes ago, BritTim said:

If immigration officials should have the power to make such a decision, surely the law should be changed such that it does not explicitly forbid them from denying entry other then pursuant to Section 12 of the Immigration Act. At the very least, any policy to ignore the law should be publicly announced. Trying to claim that Section 12 (2) was intended to give officials the power to arbitrarily deny entry to those the officials believe should not have been issued tourist visas does not strike me as reasonable.

An Immigration Officer's prerogative to refuse entry to visa holders is by no means confined to Thailand, it exists in many/most countries, including the UK and USA. There is I believe an "on the spot" appeals procedure (form TM12?) which can be used to challenge the refusal.

Perhaps the law should be reviewed, although I am not sure how we, as expatriates, could lobby for that, and if we did it may well be counterproductive!

The arbitrary nature of these powers, and how they are exercised are I suspect more a result of a culture of keeping power in the hands of uniformed individuals, for reasons of face status and self esteem, an unintended if welcome consequence rather than a legal intention.  Probably not reasonable from a Westerners perspective, probably untroubling to those in authority here. Not fair, yes, but as my father used to say (in a Lancashire accent): "it's not fair (fur) it's rabbits wool!"

It results of course in the sort of occurrence described by the OP. I imagine we all feel these occasional twinge of insecurity - I am shortly to make my annual (well 15 monthly) trip to Savannah to renew my O visa ( based on marriage); there should be no problem but you never know! Similarly, when taking my quarterly stroll across the bridge at Mae Sai, (I only live 40 minutes drive from there so it is "sabai sabai"), It does occasionally cross my mind...

Thailand maintains a visa system which allows them to control the categories of people that they are prepared to allow to live in the country. It is being more rigourously applied of late - because of some significant abuse, which has often been boasted about here and elsewhere, principally in the area of proving income for retirement and education visas. I don't think changing the law will make a difference.

Good luck "Tayout" at Nong Khai

Where did Peugeot build them?

Locally or imported from France?

3 hours ago, car720 said:

How's this for paradox.

My wife, who is Chinese, and most of our Chinese friends absolutely love him.  They are all praying that he will do something to get rid of the CCP but I don't think he has ever had any balls.

The only people that will get rid of the CCP are the people of China.

Should/when that happens the rest of the world, however great Mr Trump makes America again, will merely be bystanders.

Worried, interested, enthusiastic? That will depend upon our political view of, and economic entanglement with, China; but mere bystanders.

Meanwhile, the North Korean regime exists simply because it suits China. Essentially I suggest because they do not want the USA's sphere of influence to come up to the Yalu River. If that worry ever subsides for any reason, then I should imagine that Kim III and his gang of psychopathic thugs will be dead inside a week.

That would be a shame wouldn't it now?

Given that most of the stuff sold in Robinsons seems to be 40%+ more expensive than elsewhere, the discounts don't really mean much do they?

Work permit...

????

Well now, with Thai Raksa Chart out of the running, how will that affect the mathematics?

Since Pheu Thai weren't standing against them, I wonder where their ( Thai Raksa Chart) votes will go?

Future Forward?

Is it a case of one down, two to go?

Out of interest, what proportion of that sentence would she be likely to serve?

In the UK, for example, I imagine she would be unlikely to actually serve more than half in prison. How does it work here?

14 hours ago, Thakkar said:

 

How did it go?

"Lock her up! Lock her up!"

"Drain the swamp! Drain the Swamp!"

Still, at least he is white, (well, a bit orangish I grant you), and in certain circles (where there are some very good people) that is all that matters after the horrors of the preceding two terms!

7 hours ago, EricTh said:

 

China is already using AI for face recognition, it is most likely that Thailand is buying their software.

Well I can see a problem - after all we all look the same...

1 hour ago, Psimbo said:

Yup, sports definitely take priority over a 'minor event' like an election, don't they!

Well, the results of the sports competition are probably significantly less predictable than those of the election!

2 hours ago, digger70 said:

What a load of rubbish this is ,Do they really think that's going to make any difference? If they want Alcohol they will just buy before or go to the corner shop that will sell it anytime Ban or not.

It's just another opportunity for some bloke in a uniform, Mickey Mouse medals and para wings, to strut his stuff and tell people what they can and can't do.

Most of the locals ignore them. Do the same.

1 hour ago, Baerboxer said:

 

I think you have a point about a cadre of influential elites who might want to influence (and always have) exchange rates to take advantage.

 

But I doubt your example. More than enough in foreign currency earnings to maintain substantial investments in various currencies to hedge against forex movements.

Yes, to blame the Red Bull fellow is probably an exaggeration. That said, in the "Alice in Wonderland" world in which the most influential echelons in this country live, such behaviour (on the part of all of all of them) is both likely and credible!

2 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Congress is supposed to make the laws, and the president approves or vetoes them. I don't understand how it became the presidents job to run the country, and it should stop.

The best presidents are figureheads, like the Irish president, who has no power.

 

I'm not an American, but it is my understanding that there are three parts to the Government of the USA: the judiciary, the legislative branch (Congress) and the executive (President and his Cabinet). They are supposed to be independent of each other, although obviously the executive and legislative branches should work together to make government happen.

The President is therefore more than a ceremonial figure, as in many European countries; more than the monarch in a constitutional monarchy.

When one of the trio overreaches him/her/itself, an upsets this balance. Key indicators of such an overreaching may be selecting judges based on their known political leanings rather than their judicial qualities, and attempting to arbitrarily override the decisions and deliberations of another part of the trio.

Ego and personal traits play a part in this, anyone who aspires to be The President will of course have both of these, lots of them. But sometimes...