TallGuyJohninBKK

He's ALREADY out of prison, and has been since the night he arrived back in Thailand!

And apparently, the girl's mother and father nowhere in the immediate picture, based on the OP article. No indication in the OP article just exactly how the rape occurred or the context of it. But I believe, in general, Thailand pays a societal price when parents ignore their parental responsibilities and foist their children off on elder relations, who may or may not be up to the task of substitute parenting. Too many of these stories where the children are basically left entirely to their own devices, with no meaningful parental/adult oversight or supervision. And then the girls end up getting raped or shacked up in a quickie motel somewhere with some guy 20, 30, 40 years their senior..... And it's all an entire surprise and mystery to grandma.... Yeesh.

Blah blah blah... some ole, same ole... We're gonna launch an investigation statement, and then this is probably the last you'll ever hear of this sorry matter again.... Truly amazing how many of these guys are basically unhinged nutters... And yet they're the ones running around armed with pistols and rifles that, seemingly very rarely, get used for legitimate purposes.

Why do these things keep happening here? Answer: because the authorities (police, public health, consumer protection) do little to nothing to prevent these kinds of illegal clinic operations. Examples of why: --the fake doctor here is not named. --there's no mention of any criminal charges pending --there's no mention of what clinic was involved, where, etc etc. It's a crime against women. And police here in Thailand have never been particularly concerned with that category of crimes. They've got bigger fish to fry.

And there's absolutely no credible proof for the claim you're making... as has been your custom in the past. What to know about the COVID-19 vaccine and the immune system "It is a myth that the COVID-19 vaccine weakens the immune system. After someone receives a vaccine, their immune system is better equipped to protect against subsequent infections." "there have been concerns from some European regulators that giving COVID-19 booster shots too frequently could weaken the immune response to the vaccination. This is not the same as weakening a person’s immune system overall." https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/is-your-immune-system-weak-after-covid-vaccine#does-it-weaken-the-immune-system

Eventually, the newer version of the COVID vaccines will end up here in Thailand for expats... probably if the past is any indicator... via donations from more medically advanced countries like the U.S., Korea, France, etc... all of whom have donated COVID vaccines to Thailand in the past for use among expats. The rollouts in Thailand, even for Thais, have always trailed those in other places like the U.S. and the UK.... The newer vaccines have been approved there, but they're just starting to roll out there right now.... so Thailand likely will be a ways further down the road.

I think someone above said 50-60 countries in total, and I reposted most of the individual ones a bit earlier here (linked below) that would be among those with expat communities here. By my reading of the list, most of the biggies do have DTAs with Thailand, though I'm sure there are some exceptions. FWIW, there are just short of 200 total countries in the world, many of whom probably have little to do with Thailand.

I understand what you're saying, but practically speaking, I don't think the Thai revenue department is going to get down to that level of detail on different kinds of revenue sources...across all the many different nationalities present in Thailand. I'm betting that the way it will end up working is IF the person is from a country with a double taxation agreement with Thailand, they're basically going to leave you alone regarding foreign source income, and let you continue to pay whatever tax you do or don't owe on your income at large to your home taxing authority. Note the language in the OP report... It doesn't say this or that kind of income source will be exempt. It basically says people from countries that have DTAs with Thailand will be exempt from this new policy. "The program will begin January 1, 2024 and apply only to tax residents in Thailand meaning tourists and short term workers will be exempt. Also exempt will be those who have been taxed in a foreign country that has a standing Double Tax Agreement with Thailand." I'm an American, and a full time resident of Thailand. I have only non-Thai income from the U.S. and I pay taxes on it as required to the U.S., which has a DTA agreement with Thailand. Therefore, I ought be off the hook for all of this.

Worth repeating for folks who come into this now very long thread toward its now very long end....

From what I'm reading here, you need to start with the critical comment in the full OP article that the whole policy being announced supposedly WILL NOT apply to citizens of numerous countries with whom Thailand has double taxation agreements..... And those include Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States, among others.

The streaming providers I mentioned are legal, and you're paying the providers for their content with the U.S. address and payment method that they require. As opposed to the gray market providers being illegal and not legally entitled to be distributing the content at all, in the UK or anywhere else.

That part is true as far as it goes... although, she also was breaking the law by both a) vaping inside a theater in the seating area where it's not allowed by Colorado state law; and b] videotaping a theater performance presumably in violation of its copyright protections.

I wasn't complaining about the prior poster's @essex boys comment regarding his 55 pounds per year subscription... Just asking WHO he was subscribing with... to try to understand whether it is some legal subscription or, charitably, a "gray market" one. But being an American, when it comes to sports, I'm more inclined to ESPN, Fox Sports, NFL+, etc etc... all of which are available on the Fire TV devices as legal and legit apps and subscriptions, provided you're using the appropriate VPN. I don't know whether there are comparable legal options available for UK sports streaming services or not, assuming the person is capable of setting up a VPN connection.

I've got some older spare Fire devices at home, like the regular Fire Stick 4K (non-Max). And so for some time now, whenever I'm traveling INSIDE Thailand with a hotel stay or back to the home country for that matter, I take along one of my spares, plug it into the HDMI port on the hotel TV, and bingo, with a VPN app installed, it's just like my setup at home.... And much better than what the Thai hotels typically offer thru their local cable subscriptions. [Depending on the hotel, sometimes I need to take along a power strip extension cord or a micro-USB extension cord, because sometimes the hotels don't have an available AC outlet close to their TVs... Although technically, you often can just power the Fire sticks using only the micro USB port on the TV... as long as you're not going to do OS updates that require restarts... In that latter case, you need an actual AC power connection in order for the OS updates to work properly.]

What (and with whom) exactly are you subscribing to for 55 pounds per year on your UK Firestick? I'm guessing it's one of the UK-oriented "gray market" streaming services?

I agree. The Max stick is the sweet spot among Amazon devices in terms of price vs. capability...including because it comes with Wifi 6/AX capability. Although the Max only comes with 8 GB of device storage, about half of which is used up by the OS and related apps, it's not that difficult to expand its storage with a USB thumb drive that ends up being formatted as internal storage for the device. However, Amazon supposedly is going to be announcing its new update of Fire devices in the coming days, and the Fire followers are predicting one of the soon to be announced devices will be a new version of the Max stick... So stay tuned for that.

With all the publicity this case is attracting, I wonder if the Denver City Attorney's office will cite Boebert for violating the state's law against indoor public space vaping? "We prosecute persons charged with municipal crimes including domestic violence, assault, shoplifting, trespassing, and traffic violations. We handle nuisance abatement cases and licensing violations." https://www.denvergov.org/Government/Agencies-Departments-Offices/Agencies-Departments-Offices-Directory/City-Attorneys-Office

I'm not surprised by any means... But just wanted to point out, all these folks mentioned above are part of (or affiliated with parties belonging to) the current Pheu Thai-led coalition government. Led by a former prime minister convict who's currently NOT serving his now-reduced one-year prison sentence for corruption in an actual prison. And so it goes.....

By the way, it also appears to be technically illegal to be filming a stage presentation without explicit permission (which is also what Boebert was doing), due to copyright and other laws: "Theater officials later removed Boebert and her date after Boebert was caught illegally videotaping the performance. ... The video shows Boebert almost constantly in motion, talking and shifting in her seat, with the theater camera picking up regular flashes as she uses both a vape and her phone. ... About 10 seconds later on the video, theater officials show up to help Boebert find the way to the exit, but not without an extended argument." https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/15/2193433/-Lauren-Boebert-s-already-sketchy-reputation-goes-up-in-smoke

Lauren Boebert’s claims go up in smoke as new video emerges ... "it is illegal to vape indoors except in businesses that hold a “marijuana hospitality” license. The Buell Theater explicitly prohibits vaping except in designated areas. And then Boebert, through her spokesperson, lied about it." https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/15/2193433/-Lauren-Boebert-s-already-sketchy-reputation-goes-up-in-smoke

Indeed, indoor vaping in public areas is illegal in Colorado: Coloradans Can’t Vape In Public Indoor Spaces Anymore — And Smokers Outside Have To Be Farther From Doors · Jul. 1, 2019, 4:00 am "Colorado lawmakers have told vapers and e-cigarette users to take it outside. A change to the Colorado Indoor Clean Air Act, effective on July 1, adds vaping to the longstanding prohibition of traditional smoking in most indoor public spaces." https://www.cpr.org/2019/07/01/vaping-law-colorado-indoor-clean-air-act-smoking/

This may seem strange, and the news reports don't seem to say much about it, but at least one source I'm reading says vaping in indoor public areas is illegal in Colorado. Current status as of 2023 "Colorado’s vaping laws continue evolving but include strict regulations as of 2023: ... Indoor vaping bans for nicotine products in all public spaces, workplaces, transit, etc." Fines and Penalties in Colorado Colorado has implemented fines and penalties for violating vaping laws: ... "Public vaping in prohibited indoor areas results in fines around $500 per infraction." https://www.coloradoclassic.com/are-vapes-legal-in-colorado/ So, if the above is correct, what Boebert and her date were doing wasn't just rude and inconsiderate (ignoring the complaints of a pregnant woman sitting nearby), but also in violation of Colorado law. "Surveillance video captured during the "Beetlejuice" musical in Denver appears to show Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) vaping inside the theater, which contradicts her claim that the smoke was emitted from fog machines." https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2023/09/16/lauren-boebert-vape-theater-beetlejuice-ebof-vpx.cnn

Boebert -- Republican Party MAGA poster woman: --arrested and charged multiple times for minor criminal offenses prior to running for office. --pregnant at age 18 and a high school dropout. --Now a 36-year-old grandmother Lauren Boebert is now a 36-year-old grandmother after her teenage son fathered a boy with his girlfriend ""Now my son, when I approached him and told him, 'Tyler, I'm going to be a 36-year-old grandmother,' he said, 'Well, didn't you make Granny a 36-year-old granny?' 'I said, 'Yes, I did.' He said, 'Well then, it's hereditary.'" https://www.businessinsider.com/lauren-boebert-grandmother-son-baby-2023-6

Sounds like an upcoming Republican campaign slogan.... "Vote for us. We're brainless boobs who love Trump." But we're definitely NOT trashy.... Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene calls fellow Republican Lauren Boebert a ‘little bitch’ during heated argument on House floor: report Published June 21, 2023 https://nypost.com/2023/06/21/marjorie-taylor-greene-calls-lauren-boebert-little-bitch-on-house-floor/ Sounds like it's well past time for voters to sweep out the trash here.

Boebert's on the market again now...for any MAGA types here who swing in her direction. Perhaps that's part of the reason behind the theater fondling episode: Lauren Boebert's divorce is likely to be finalized next month, and it's unclear if her husband is cooperating "Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert appears to be on track to have her divorce finalized next month, ushering in a new chapter for the conservative Republican who is never far from the headlines in Washington. According to the court docket, Boebert and Jayson Boebert have a non-contested hearing scheduled for October 10. After nearly two decades of marriage, the congresswoman filed for separation in May." https://www.businessinsider.com/lauren-boebert-divorce-is-likely-to-finalized-next-month-2023-9