TallGuyJohninBKK

On 6/30/2017 at 1:27 PM, blazes said:

Well, we can be pretty sure Trump will not be attempting to grab any  part of Merkel's anatomy.

I wouldn't want to put any money down on that kind of a bet.

From all appearances, he's the type who's willing to grab anything in a skirt, no matter how....

9 minutes ago, toast1 said:

A Left wing magazine has published a hate article describing the opponent as Hitler/evil/stupid/the devil/a Russian traitor/a clown.

 

How surprising. 

 

Indulging in hate-Trump hysteria makes you look childish.

How have the superior, intelligent elites on the Left not worked this out?

 

No one has to actually "hate" the man to know that what he does is evil, that he's in bed with the Russians and probably elected president because of their involvement, and personally a clown, not to mention a narcissist and evidently a misogynist, among a few other --ists.

But I wouldn't go so far as to compare him with Hitler or the devil. Although, if he stays in office for another 3+ years, he may well end up trying to prove me wrong. The thing about U.S. Presidents is, because of the power of the office and the country, they have the capacity to accomplish great things, or wreck both the country and even the world. Sobering thought to consider the character of the man who holds the fate of the world in his hands, literally.

I was reading an article the other day on how the Republicans in the Senate under McConnell went about drafting their health care proposal. They had one Republican moderate who's considered an insurance expert, and another who is an M.D., and both of them were left entirely out of the drafting process by the Republican leadership.  Just goes to show, what the Republicans are and aren't thinking about as they go about pursuing this travesty.

So the taxi driver was fake, and his taxi license was fake.

Does that mean the green and yellow taxi car he was driving was fake also? As in, it was really purple color and it was just an illusion that it was painted green and yellow just like hundreds/thousands of other regular taxis in Bangkok????

Or, perhaps someone should be asking, where did this guy get his taxi vehicle from?  Ooopps... no mention of that in the article.

It's the low-end malls that are considered to be at risk in the U.S.

The higher-end, destination malls -- the Paragons and CW's of the U.S. -- are generally expected to do just fine, and potentially benefit by there being a consolidation of available mall retail space as the weaker, poorer locations fall out.

5 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-malls-closing-20170531-story.html

Yes, but I wasn't asking the poster what would happen in the next 5 years. I was asking he what he reported seeing NOW --  store closings or actual full malls being shuttered.

1 hour ago, brewsterbudgen said:

The doom merchants are wrong. Central Group is doing very well and continues to expand. The one branch that is less successful is Central Embassy. Centralworld is doing fine.

According to the investor briefing document another member posted here earlier, Central is planning to open 2-3 new malls every year and refurbish another 2-3 every year for at least the next several years. Not all in BKK, of course, but some in BKK regularly.

1 hour ago, NickJ said:

Off Thai topic a bit. I'm in the USA for awhile. Lots if malls are closing. There just dead. Stumbled into a JCPenny store the other day. Place was closing everything 70% or more off.

 

Do you mean entire malls are closing, or individual stores in the malls are closing?

The former I'm not aware of to any great extent. The latter, yes, a lot of that going on.

15 hours ago, simple1 said:

Trump Signs Bill Revoking Obama-Era Gun Checks for People With Mental Illnesses

 

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/trump-signs-bill-revoking-obama-era-gun-checks-people-mental-n727221

Total insanity in my home country revoking required checks before allowing people with mental problems to buy guns. Thank you "President" Trump and Co.

BTW, I would have said the same thing before the latest NY shootings, whatever their cause and circumstances turn out to be.

Long way around, if you had earlier said the limited INTERNATIONAL VERSION of Amazon Prime Video isn't available on Fire TV devices -- because that Amazon hardware is already registered to its country of sale/origin such as the U.S. or the UK along with the user's Amazon account, and thus gets the much broader video catalogs available from those countries -- that I would have agreed with 100%.

But the nice part of that situation is it's still relatively easy for anyone to take their U.S., UK, German, French, Italian, Spanish or whatever Fire TV device on the road with them and still get access to their full home country Amazon Prime Video catalog, whatever that may be.

15 hours ago, SooKee said:

Prime Video is the international service available in 242 countries and launched with a very limited catalogue. IMO even at the reduced price the catalogue is way inferior to Netflix and much poorer value for money. And the FACT is, if you buy a Fire device AS IS and expect it to work with Prime Video to legitimately access the Prime Video content AS IS, and as Amazon intend, IT WON'T WORK! You are the one confusing the issue by dialing in the use of VPNs to access a regular Amazon Video account. The topic here is PRIME VIDEO.

 

Sorry about that, but you're simply wrong. Prime Video is also the name for the U.S. service that U.S. account holders such as myself get. So you're wrong to somehow think that any time I'm referring to Prime Video it means international, because it doesn't. And if you don't believe me, maybe you can check the email that Amazon sent me the other day re their Amazon Prime Video offerings in the U.S.

At least in my post above, I was clear in distinguishing between Amazon's domestic U.S. Prime Video service, and their international service.

Admittedly, Amazon has been somewhat duplicative in their naming of the U.S. vs. the international versions of their video streaming service. Although, it's true the international version does run through "primevideo dot com" whereas the U.S. version runs through "amazon dot com."

fi

If there's a reason the international version of Amazon Prime Video isn't available on the Fire TV devices, I'm sure it's related to the fact that the Fire TV devices aren't yet being sold by Amazon in most of the international countries where the international video service is being offered.

I would imagine from Amazon's perspective, they're assuming that if someone has acquired and owns a Fire TV device, they already have an Amazon account in one of the handful of countries where Fire TVs and Prime Video were available before the later international rollout.

Closer to home, in the other main running thread on this topic, there was a post earlier today by a guy who says a friend of his got deported after he was caught working strictly online -- after he and his Thai wife had a falling out and she ended up reporting him to the authorities. Hell hath no fury like a woman [who feels] scorned. Say goodbye to Thailand.

10 minutes ago, bwpage3 said:

Besides the work permit issue, who the hell wants to earn so little and live with all the BS required to live in Thailand?

 

Of course most digital nomads will claim they are wealthy, however, if they were, I can think of 1000 other better places to live with better women

 

I remember reading an online blog a year or so back about some American DM who was staying in Chiang Mai and writing about how great it was to be there.

But then the tourist visa and other visa crackdowns came, and he was posting about ways he was trying to avoid having to show the required $7000 U.S. bank deposit money to get a METV from the Thai consulates in the U.S. -- presumably because he and others didn't actually have that much cash on deposit that they could show to the consulates.

36 minutes ago, Maestro said:

 

Not declared illegal outright, but initially trading in bitcoin was discouraged or officially disallowed in Thailand, but later some people obtained the necessary certificate from whatever ministry or government agency was in charge of this and today there are several Thai websites trading legally in bitcoin.

I went back and looked, and apparently the news that hit back in 2013 re Thailand and bitcoins was, to use Trump's favorite term, a kind of "fake news."  I wasn't paying close attention at the time, just saw the headlines.

Some background on that past episode here:
 

Quote

 

On July 30th [2013], there was news that Thailand’s national bank had ruled Bitcoin illegal. Of course, this came in as a shock to many people who use the virtual currency, especially those who are not Thai. The ruling left those who follow the news wondering: can the bank make laws?

Actually, the answer is yes and no. Bitcoin exchange services in Thailand weren’t actually declared “illegal” per se, but Bitcoin Co. Ltd., the company this news originally came from, has been operating in Thailand without a license, which is illegal.
 

Any type of currency enchange service in Thailand needs to get a license from the Bank of Thailand, according to the Exchange Control Regulations in Thailand whether it’s “real” money or not. That’s why Bitcoin Co. Ltd. needed to be authorized to operate, and since it didn’t have that authorization, it was forced to shut down.

 

https://www.techinasia.com/bitcoin-illegal-thailand

Then there was the Bank of Thailand coming along somewhat later to say, no not illegal, but you shouldn't be using them:
 

Quote

 

Last month, the Bank of Thailand allowed the country’s largest Bitcoin exchange site Bitcoin.co.th to resume operation once again after forcing it to shut down in August. Prior to that, the bank ruled the cryptocurrency was illegal. Today, it seems the status of Bitcoin has taken another turn. The Bank of Thailand warned Thai citizens to not use Bitcoin as a mean of payment because Bitcoin is not a currency.

Here’s how the Bank of Thailand describes Bitcoin:

Bitcoin is electronic data. Thus, it’s not considered a currency and can’t be used for payments, and it’s not considered legal tender like money. With no self worth, the value of such data varies based on the needs of the market. Bitcoin changes in value very quickly and it could became something of no value if none desired it.

The bank also urges Thais to look at the ongoing MtGox’s controversy as an example of how Bitcoin is risky business. In addition, the Bank of Thailand also made it clear that in case of theft, loss of value, or fraud, Thai people cannot claim damages because there’s no law to regulate Bitcoin in Thailand.

 

https://www.techinasia.com/bank-thailand-tells-citizens-bitcoin-buy-products-services-currency

1 hour ago, Maestro said:

 

It was for playing bridge that some foreigners got into trouble with the law in Pattaya, not Mahjong, but this still doesn't make playing bridge legal, not even in Pattaya, unless the police have in the meantime changed their interpretation of the law in that regard.

 

I knew that, of course re Pattaya and bridge.

But I still said, Off to Jail with You!!!  Plus the Mahjong Mario has a nice ring to it! 

12 minutes ago, RichCor said:

I would think Thailand would be the LAST place you would want to be buying electronics, if you had a choice!

Thailand ≠ Taiwan

 

The ten cheapest countries to buy technology

1. Kuwait

2. Saudi Arabia

3. Malaysia

4. Canada

5. United Arab Emirates

6. Qatar

7. Japan

8. USA

9. Australia

10. Poland

 

The ten most expensive countries to buy technology

1. Venezuela

2. Angola

3. Brunei

4. Brazil

5. Guatemala

6. Singapore

7. Croatia

8. Indonesia

9. Bangladesh

10. Philippines

 

Lucy Handley, special to CNBC

That's odd. I never thought/heard of people heading to Malaysia to buy technology gear.

But on the other hand, often hear about people from Thailand doing technology shopping while in Singapore -- which would seem from your source above to be a bad move.

I thought the Thai government at some prior point had declared that bitcoins were illegal in Thailand????

As for Mahjong Maestro, off to the Pattaya jail with you!!!

I've read several news reports about this issue/case over time, and in typical Thailand fashion, what none of the news reports actually explain is just what happened/what went wrong when people bought these pans and took them home to use them.

Obviously, something bad enough to make a lot of Thais angry enough to pursue matters leading to a class action case.

I'd kind of like to hear from someone who has experience with them just what's wrong with the pans?  Since the articles don't seem to want to explain that.

4 hours ago, manhood said:

However, good some people force consumers rights: something very rare in this country as the consumers have mostly no rights and their rights are not enforced !!!!

I believe the legal ability for consumers in Thailand to pursue a class action civil lawsuit is a relatively recent development. I don't think such an action was legally possible until relatively recently.

Obviously, it much better and easier on the misbehaving companies if each ripped off or otherwise abused consumer has to fight for recompense/resolution on their own -- as opposed to being able to gang up, as it were, via a class action case.

It does even the playing field just a bit in favor of the consumer, but the desk is still vastly stacked here in favor of the business entity because of criminal defamation laws and other issues.

8 hours ago, petermik said:

Oh how I miss "woody,s" smiling face from the now banned ads on TV telling everyone what an amazing pan it was

Ya, I was going to say, the company behind this had some pretty prominent celebrities pitching this apparently shoddy cookware.

I didn't know it, and had no reason to know it back then. But looking at the product and the way it was marketed and sold here, I kind of figured back then it was likely to be some kind of a scam.

Another area where Thailand has certainly earned its reputation as a HUB.

10 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

 

It is not just Amazon type competition but every Thai with a source of things to sell is offering on Facebook these days - and although it is not a central registry of goods it is huge with no overhead (and likely no tax).  

The problem with the Facebook-based retail model, IMO, is a pretty serious lack of customer protection. If it's a good seller and you get the product you paid for, that's great.

But there are lots of shady folks and sellers out there selling counterfeit merchandise. And even thru Lazada, people end up getting products delivered that are broken or faulty on arrival.  And then, especially in the Facebook model but also with Lazada to a lesser extent perhaps, good luck in trying to get any customer satisfaction.

That's where Amazon has killed pretty much everyone else, in that they are totally customer focused, and didn't make a lot of profit for a very long time because they were focused on getting and keeping loyal customers and buyers.  I had an Amazon Fire TV stick die on me once shortly after the year warranty had run. Called Amazon, didn't even have to ask, they volunteered to send me a new one for free.

Just recently, aiming to take a bigger chunk of the retail clothing market, Amazon announced a new program in the U.S. where you can buy clothes from them online, and if anything doesn't fit or you don't like it, you can return it no questions asked for a refund in a postage-page box they'll provide. That's the way to gain business, loyal and repeat customers. But try to imagine anyone other than Amazon offering that kind of service in Thailand.

6 minutes ago, paul18620 said:

Thing is at the end of the day you think its innocent ,but to the Thai people and the people in charge it is not ,there is no getting around it without the correct paperwork and the Thai company which costs a lot of money ,most people can't afford to do this so this is why they go undercover as such and if they do get caught then they have to pay the fine or bribe ,what ever you want to call it ,but there is also people who go un-deteted and go about there daily business with their wife and make money to stay here long term in the coffee shops or selling fish .

My thinking about that is, if you're a single guy without any serious attachments, then maybe there's a level of risk that can be tolerated there.

But if you're a married guy with a wife and a family who rely on you for support and who are YOUR family with a home here, then my level of tolerable risk for getting caught and deported drops considerably. In that kind of situation, I really wouldn't want to be taking too many chances.

8 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

 

You're expecting public relations from a Thai business? How long have you been here? 

Not expecting... Just pointing out the lack thereof...

Central is a very large, publicly held company. But then again, so is CP Foods where the university student and 4 would-be rescuers died last week while trying to rescue her from a sewage pond.

So no, I don't expect much...

10 minutes ago, owl sees all said:

I am so worried about this I didn't even go to the farm to feed the dogs (work) tonight.

That's probably overdoing things, a bit.

Overall, it's the kinds of things a farang might do that are particularly visible to others, out and around town or village, that have the potential to create an issue. Far less so doing something on your own private property where you're not necessarily visible to all.

Right now, the whole issue is in a tizzy because of the government's newly announced restrictions and penalties, and then the decision shortly thereafter to at least temporarily suspend enforcement of SOME of the new law -- not clear exactly which provisions they're suspending, though I'm guessing it's those relating to penalties against employers -- since they were the ones griping and have some clout, unlike the average worker.

If it were me, right now, I'd probably pass on driving around with the wife to sell stuff. And wait and see how the whole thing plays out. But I wouldn't change my routine at home.

PS - Technically, legally under the new law, a worker caught working without a lawful work permit could be arrested on the spot, fined, eventually sentenced to jail and/or deported. What really ends up happening in any particular illegal worker case that arises, who knows under Thai law.

58 minutes ago, Jonnapat said:

What sort of world do we live in when the President of the richest country intends to deny basic healthcare to millions of its citizens. 

I've often heard European systems referred to as socialist healthcare as if it is somehow wrong to care for the entire population.

There's plenty wrong with the UK  NHS but at least they care.

Hard to argue with that.  My country was, at least, under Obamacare slowly moving toward universal health coverage.

Now under Trump and the Republican Congress, it's slash and burn anything with Obama's fingerprints on it -- no matter that an estimated 20+ million more Americans are going to end up without any health insurance at all as a result of their machinations.