waders123

Yep...A lot of tea for a few sticky fingers.  "The majority of tourism businesses hit by the pandemic" will never see a baht.

I am always up for a good laugh!  ????????  LMAO

19 hours ago, sqwakvfr said:

Waders123:

 

I never said that:" you are NOT entitled to Catastrophic assistance from the US government?  "

 

So Thailand is currently in a Catastrophic State???

Your words; not mine.  Please go back and read carefully what was written.   Stop twisting what is stated into a drama statement for entertainment.

17 minutes ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

I am wondering what the term expat  means?  Is a US expat more special than the other expats?

   As it was pointed out, many expats likely do have the means to fly back to their home countries

and get their COVID shots. Or fly back part way to some country that has Pfizer or Moderna shots,

take a 2 month vacay there, pay for the shots,  and come back to Jolly old Thailand all protected. Problem solved.  But  No. lets

just go on Thai visa and complain and plead.  Just think of the poor Thais who do not have this option.

   Something to ponder indeed.

Geezer

Expat means many things; depends on the person you talk to.  Why should an "expat" have to leave their family or their job just to get vaccinated?!?  He pays his tax dollars to their government just like all citizens are obligated to do. Why can't they ask for and receive their immunization shots against covid in the country they are presently in?   

24 minutes ago, bkkcanuck8 said:

Assist is mainly for government assistance.  If you are arrested overseas, they will give you a list of local lawyers that can provide services needed (they do not vet them or rate them in any way).   They will not provide you with legal services, or pay for them.    If you need medical services, they will provide you a list of hospitals and doctors (similarly).  If you require your passport replaced, they will accept your application (for a fee) -- this is truly a government service, so they provide it.   If the situation in a country deteriorates rapidly, the US government may organize and provide evacuation for government employees and citizens.  Citizens however will not get a 'free ride', you will have to sign a promissory note to reimburse the government.   [I believe if you don't repay promptly you will be charged fees and interest - and when you go to get your passport next time.... you will find you have to pay them back first].   etc.  I could go on, but there is a pattern developing here... the government is not a provider of anything other medical, legal or other services normally provided by the private sector. 

You are taking what I said and turning it into a different issue.  In my response that you are quoting, I said that US citizens abroad should be entitled to the same treatment as US citizens on US soil.  The "spirit" of the statement content of my response was toward the covid pandemic and the catastrophic situation that is happening now.   I am not indicating that US citizens should be "spoon fed" while they travel by the US government.  I'm certainly not advocating a "free ride" for anyone.  I am simply stating that the US government has an obligation to assist their citizens, regardless of where they are at in the world, in gaining immediate access to an American approved covid vaccine in this catastrophic situation where their life is in danger.  

On 5/12/2021 at 6:47 AM, VocalNeal said:

Why do Americans think their Embassy is a hospital. 

I don't think any American sees the Embassy as a hospital.  "The primary purpose of an embassy is to assist American citizens who travel to or live in the host country." , this statement was taken from https://diplomacy.state.gov/diplomacy/what-is-a-u-s-embassy/ website.  US citizens in a "host" country should be offered vaccinations for covid-19 in that country to assist them in staying alive.   After all, the US government doesn't stop asking for taxes from citizens while they are traveling or residing in another country so they deserve the same respect, benefits, and vaccines as afforded to citizens living at home.    

RIP  So sad; my condolences to all the family and friends.  

Governments tend to bandaid the situation to quickly show the public they are doing their jobs.  One that is popular, for obvious reasons, is roadblock stops.   This type of enforcement is shown to be less effective than using a quality educational campaign to sway the public that the behavior of drinking and driving drunk is not an acceptable behavior.  Educational programs are not an overnight fix.  It takes years to correct/change bad behaviors that are ingrained in a culture.  You start with educating the young; they will help bring their older family members toward a no drive and drinking solution.  Don't reinvent the wheel; look to other countries at how they succeed, (or not), in their drunk driving campaigns.  Take the best part of their experience and modify it to work for Thailand.  I wish them all the best as it isn't easy no matter which way you go.  

Just what a victim needs while recovering from a brutal assault; a fruit basket.  The victim needs to be compensated for his medical expenses and money for his pain and suffering, not to mention the vacation "downtime" because he is laid up recovering and can't get on with his vacation.  Mandatory Jail time for this taxi bike driver and anger management if he is allowed to stay as a taxi bike driver. 

Probably the Wai, verbal apology, and fruit basket is likely all the victim will receive, and the bike taxi driver will continue to do business as usual as though nothing happened.  This just reinforces that it is ok to attack anyone that angers him and not have serious consequences with the law.   If Thailand want to improve their image, (they keep saying they do), then this would be a good time to start.  I hope I am proved wrong and the laws of Thailand prevails in favor of the victim.

15 hours ago, JWRC said:

You have lead a sheltered life if you think Pattaya is electrifying and makes you feel alive.

WOW!  You know me sooo well; thank you for your insight.  You are the perfect person to preach to others. 

2 hours ago, Salerno said:

 

Why on earth would TripAdvisor get involved in something that has nothing to do with them whatsoever?

Why on earth would TripAdvisor get involved with a hotel that appears to be shown sub-standard to the industry?!?  Hmmmm  I don't know, maybe because they are in the business of reviewing said properties?!?!   And these reviews come from individuals like the man in this article? 

Why wouldn't they make their powerful platform available in combating the very thing that threatens their business model!?!   

<removed>

On 2/17/2021 at 12:48 AM, KhaoYai said:

As I clearly stated, based on the reports I've read that is also my Opinion but it is not a 'Proven Fact' as stated bt the pervious poster so what's your point?

My point is this:  Every legitimate lab is verifying that the virus is shown to originate in China and it is only a matter of time before the majority of scientists with agree with the evidence; China is ground zero.

The hotel should be held accountable for substandard service.  The Thai man called the authorities and reported the situation, so the evidence is there, now the proper action needs to be taken.  This business with hotels being able to sue a person when they have a legitimate complaint about their establishment is hogwash.  It is big business and big money being a bully to the public.  They shouldn't be able to get away with it.  I hope Tripadvisor gets involved in this; they really gave strong support of the falang that got harassed by the hotel/restaurant.  

11 hours ago, PGSan said:

Well keep hoping then.  It does nothing of the kind!

Well Mr. PGSan,  Proof your point.  All you have done is bash the other side; show your proof!  You seem to be all knowing; lets see what you know!

21 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

I neither support your view nor deny it - I actually think its pretty certain that Covid 19 originated in China but that's my opinion, its not a fact. If you're going to state that its a proven fact, you should provide evidence of that.

Data and research has been presented and it leads to the origin of the virus is China:

Researchers at ETH Zurich released a study in early March that placed the origins of COVID-19 in November at the earliest. Research published by the Scripps Research Institute in February strongly implies that the virus in humans arose naturally through interspecies transfer, putting its origin in late November or early December 2019. Both studies point to the virus’s origin in Hubei province, China.

Above I underlined the research centers that did the research and the papers are at the web addresses below:

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-03-coronavirus-epidemic.html

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-0820-9

I would hope this gives you enough information to show that China is almost assuredly ground zero for the start of Covid-19.  As the research continues, there will be more and more labs and research centers confirming what is already known about where the virus originated.

2 hours ago, irishman25 said:

this Virus has been around for over 18.months before anyone knew what it was then they called the COVID-19 virus look what is happening now with  this strain now we can discover sooner.  Now did you know where the so called SPANISH flu started do your homework because you wont like the answer   

While it’s unlikely that the “Spanish Flu” originated in Spain, scientists are still unsure of its source. France, China and Britain have all been suggested as the potential birthplace of the virus, as has the United States, where the first known case was reported at a military base in Kansas on March 11, 1918. Researchers have also conducted extensive studies on the remains of victims of the pandemic, but they have yet to discover why the strain that ravaged the world in 1918 was so lethal.  Spain was one of only a few major European countries to remain neutral during World War I. Unlike in the Allied and Central Powers nations, where wartime censors suppressed news of the flu to avoid affecting morale, the Spanish media was free to report on it in gory detail. News of the sickness first made headlines in Madrid in late-May 1918, and coverage only increased after the Spanish King Alfonso XIII came down with a nasty case a week later. Since nations undergoing a media blackout could only read in depth accounts from Spanish news sources, they naturally assumed that the country was the pandemic’s ground zero.  The virus infected as much as 40 percent of the global population over the next 18 months. Of these, an estimated 20 to 50 million perished.

Regardless of what Mr. Heinecke's motivations are when he  wrote the letter to the Prime Minister,  some of the comments he made are still valid. 

1. Such as, hospitality employees are front line workers and as such, it would be prudent to include them in the first round of vaccinations.   
2. Thailand jumping on board with quarantine free travel for vaccinated travellers is not only smart but will encourage more travelers to come to Thailand.  Really, it's only a matter of time that other nations will allow it; why not get ahead of the curve and offer it? 
3. Consider more vaccine options.  That is certainly not a bad idea and/or suggestion.  With the urgency of this pandemic nothing should be off the table in getting ANY vaccines to utilize against the virus.  More options is the better way to go in this instance. 

Thailand needs to step up and start paying their police officers a wage that they and their family CAN maintain a decent lifestyle on.  After adjusting their wages to reflect this, it would be prudent to increase and/or implement harsher penalties for taking "brown envelopes".  Decent wages would help decrease corruption.  You can't ask anyone to work for peanuts and expect them not to pursue other avenues to get money for their families.   

On 10/6/2020 at 11:28 PM, thaibeachlovers said:

Never been in a skytrain station that doesn't have an up escalator for many years ( took a few years from opening to get them though ). Only at one end though. I always seemed to enter at the wrong end.

The airport train was without though. Fancy that- people going to the airport have bags- how bizarre!

Besides a escalator, elevators will be installed to handle the wheelchairs and other people that need that sort of conveyance.  

Indeed "High" was the buzzword.  The participants seemed "heady" alright, with all the highs!  Me thinks they may have gotten into the medical stash again for there "lofty ideals"!

Hashtag OMG!

Why not just offer a FREE 90 day entry to countries that now have 30 day entry? With the 90 day visa no need to check in with immigration; it would be handled like the 30 day visa is now.  That would draw more interest from tourists; certainly more so than a 45 day visa!   The tourist would view it as getting a little perk back for the extra down-time and costs of the mandatory 14 day quarantine and the covid-19 insurance.  Maybe the traveler wouldn't want to use the whole 90 days but knowing they could would be a good lure for some people!  Just not having to go through the hassle and stress of the immigration office visit for your vacation would be, oh so wonderful!