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"TGC", which I assume means Thai Gold Card.

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TGC is the Thaigolfer Card, nothing to do with the Elite Card. The Elite card covers several courses in that area including Laem Chabang and St Andrews 2000.

I’m probably in the minority here but having had a look at their web site it looks like it’s a good deal for someone who travel a bit, plays golf and have 1mil collecting dust in the drawer.

Following info from the website with reservations for my interpretations of the benefits, not always clearly described on the site:

Costs: 1mil entrance fee, 40,000Bath/year subscription fee.

Note: It is a life membership and it can be transferred. If it’s a hit you could even make some money out of it.

On the other hand it could go bust anytime. Considering the likelihood of many high profile high power members any default would most likely result in the initial entrance fee to be returned to save face for the government.

Benefits:

Stay:

Indefinite stay visa. This means different things to different people. For someone on a retirement visa it would mean no need for the 800,000bath. For someone doing the visa runs it could save something around say 20,000bath per year (not sure on what these costs are, could vary a lot I guess)

Arriving and departing:

Fast track immigration, use of business class check in, can bypass all queues, free use of Thai business class lounge (free booze and snacks). Maybe not much savings here but nice if you travel a bit.

Transport:

Free limo service from airport to city in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket. Savings depend on your normal mode of transport, say 2000Bath savings, plus the extra comfort.

Upgraded travel experience:

Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus Gold membership. This gives you free upgrades, extra luggage allowance and mileage points. Maybe no savings but definitely a bonus if you travel a bit.

A base in the city:

Membership in Pacific City Club. No savings unless you planned to become a member anyway.

Business:

Exclusive meetings and seminars with top business executives and government officials. Handy for the business oriented, probably some free booze and food involved in these meetings as well. No real savings.

Health Advantage:

Free annual health check-up. No info on the extent of this check-up. An Executive check-up at Bumrungrad runs at about 15,000Bath. Say 5000Bath savings if you normally have an annual check-up.

Elite Living Health Care:

Free consultancy and treatment at selected hospitals. No details on this benefit but mentioning anti aging and lasik treatment at Bumrungrad plus several others so guess lets put a 20,000Bath saving on this.

Assurance:

2mil accident coverage. Not sure what kind of savings this will give you, say 2000Bath.

Spa Treats:

Regular complimentary spa treatments. No info on how many per year. Say four treatments a year and that you normally have several Thai massages a year then you would save about 1,500Bath, much more if you normally do full monthy .

Special deals at selected hotels, restaurants and shops:

Probably no savings here.

Liason:

Access to unique and rare tour packages, priority booking for sporting and other international events in Thailand. Probably no savings here.

Member Service:

24 hours hotline with assistance to deal with any situations. Handy but probably no savings.

Golf:

Membership privileges with complementary green fees at forty golf clubs in Thailand. This is where you make a killing if you are a keen golfer. If you save around 700Bath per round and play three times a week like many golfers here do you will save over 100,000Bath.

Total savings for the average punter around 50,000Bath plus whatever you save on golf. Take away the 40,000Bath/year subscription fee and you save 10,000Bath or much more if you really maximize on everything, especially the golf part.

For the serious jet-setter/Businessman I can not really see any benefits except for the fast track immigration. He will normally be on expenses anyway and already have the travel and hotel benefits from his normal travel.

NOTE: I get nothing for plugging this card but would accept a free card if anyone from the Elite Card Company reads this .

http://www.thailandelite.com

I'm using prepaid 12Call and the charge is about 5Bath/hour, no other charges.

Of course they can fight the law but they have to abide by the law until the law is changed.

You can not just break a law because you don't like it and keep breaking it while you are trying to have the law changed.

In the example i gave, the gene responsible for the production pf polygalacturonase is known. The function of this enzyme is also known. It breaks down pectin in the cell walls of the tomatoes. Therefore removing it from the equation results in a longer shelf life for the tomatoe. Removing that particular enzyme is not going to have any effect on the expression of other genes, because that is not the function of this protein. The scientists responsible for this modification will have observed and taken note of the changes to the properties of the tomatoe, which in this case has changed in the way they expected and desired. Exactly what do you imagine is suddenly going to become dangerous about this? There is nothing there to harm you.

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So what you are saying is that any gene have one function only?

As far as I know a gene can have several functions, direct and indirect.

The same thing goes for the enzyme, it's more than likely that this enzyme has several functions. Many enzumes in food are nessecary for proper digestion of this food and are also used in the human body for other processes.

The same thing goes for the pectin that will be missing.

Also you are only talking about the properties of the tomatoes, not what happens to the insects, animals or people eating it or birds eating insects that have eaten the tomato or other vegetation growing where the tomato have fallen to the ground or to honey from bees collecting pollen from the tomato flowers. The chain of events are endless.

There are two ways to gain entry to Thailand without having a pre-arranged visa:

Tourist visa exemption. This gives you 30days and can be done for most European passport holders.

Requirements: A valid passport from a list of 40 countries and 10,000Bath per person for living expenses.

And

Temporary tourist visa, visa on arrival. This gives you 15 days and is issued to some Asian and East European passport holders

Requirements: A valid visa from a list of 20 countries, 10,000Bath per person for living expenses and a fully paid ticket usable within 15 days.

According to the MOFA website ( http://www.mfa.go.th/web/12.php ) none of these two cases require a passport to be valid for 6 months. All other visas (pre-arranged) have the 6 months listed as a requirement.

Most, if not all, countries have a law stipulating that the airline is responsible for your repatriation should you not gain entry to the country of your destination. Quite often this means they have to fly you back to your home country as you may not gain entry again to the country you departed from. Even if it is the airlines responsibility to repatriate you it is your responsibility to make sure you will satisfy the immigration requirements.

This means that the airline can refuse to check you in if they are not satisfied that you will gain entry to the country you are traveling to. Note that the airline or travel agency has no obligations to inform you of the visa regulations. I frequently travel without return tickets and have had to sign wavers promising to pay for any eventual repatriation costs.

To avoid problems:

Always check with the local embassy what the requirements are for your destination country. Never rely on the travel agency/airline to tell you what the requirements are.

Always make sure your passport is valid for at least 6 months until you return home. Many countries have this regulation

Remember that a visa is never a permit to enter the country this is solely at the discretion of the Immigration officer.

Your four questions:

1) Is it correct that a passport valid for 6 months is reuired for a Visa free 30 day entry? and if so why?

As far as I can see from the MOFA website this is not a requirement but then again it’s up to the immigration officer.

2) Any ideas why information about this requirement is not more widely available?

Not sure what you mean by widely available?? The only logical place to go for this information would be the local embassy and I’m sure they do have this information, you will not find it on the back of a Corn Flakes box

3) Was the airline responsible to check passpot validity before allowing her to board?

No, but they will be responsible for flying you back so they normally do.

4) Has the airline a responsibility (maybe moral rather than legal) to assist in such cases?

They can be nice and help you but it was your responsibility to make sure you complied with the immigration regulations.

The holocaust was a terrible event and should not be forgotten as it was a lesson learned. Having said that, we have since then had similar things happening in Mao’s China, Pol Pot’s Cambodia, Kosovo and Rwanda just to name a few. So a lesson learned is not always an assurance it will not happen again.

The holocaust is the only event where leaders from countries like Japan and Germany on a regular basis apologizes for what happened. What gets me is that now days the people apologizing were not even born when it happened and most of the people they apologize to were not even born when it happened.

How many apologies will it take until you get an apology accepted?

Surely that depends on that what the genetic modification is. There are certainly genetically modified plants that are safe. For example, tomatoes in which the gene which expresses the enzyme polygalturonase has been suppressed. The enzyme usually causes the break down of the cell walls of the fruit, causing it to soften. The suppression results in a longer shelf life. There is nothing there that is going to harm you or the environment.

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How do you know? I remember being told that margarine was good for you and much healthier than butter, now hydrogenated oils are being touted as strong carcinogens.

How do we know that altering this single gene doesnt cause a knock on effect with other genes or properties of a tomatoe. You have to ask yourself why that gene did what it did in the first place - how can we with decades of science argue with what nature has evolved for millenia.

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Spot on Ben,

Without 100% knowledge of how nature works there is no way to 100% guarantee safety. Just look at all the pharmaceuticals that are being researched and tested for hundreds of millions of dollars just to be banned a few years later because they are dangerous. In the case of GM it may not be as simple as banning it when it’s out in the open.

Everything out there is GM but this GM has been done by nature, very slowly in a state of equilibrium. What is happening now with artificial GM are radical changes in a very short time possibly throwing this balance out of whack and there is no way telling what the repercussions will be.

You have to get the SWIFT code for your Bank of Ayutthaya bank in Thailand and send that to your bank in US and tell them to send the money to your account in Thailand.

Maybe this guy could give you a lift:

If not try the bus service from Siam Bayview Hotel:

BUS TRANSFERS

Bell Service operates air-conditioned bus transfers directly from hotel to your hotel in Bangkok at Bht. 200* one-way. Pick-up times are 8.00 a.m., 12.30 p.m. and 16.30 p.m. Contact the Bell Counter at the hotel.

Beach Road, Pattaya, Cholburi 20260 Thailand Call: +66 (38) 423 871-7 Fax: +66 (38) 423 879 Email: [email protected]

Just the fact that there are such widely varied opinions on Pattaya from it being a vile place for kids to being as "good as Disneyland" should indicate Sharon has probably decided not to come. There are certainly no consistently positive notes regarding Pattaya as a family vacation spot for children.

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The one consistency I can see is that most the positive replies have actually had visitors with kids in Pattaya while the negative replies just give their own opinion.

..and how exactly do you register? 

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Bring your passport to any shop selling prepaid phone cards, like AIS Teleshop, and fill out the form.

Slightly outside the topic but apart from a copy of my passport I have made a credit card size, laminated, personal ID with a photo, passport details, blood group, insurance details/contact numbers and a few family and friends contact numbers.

Hope it's never needed but in the case I get knocked over they will know who to contact and that I'm insured so medical help should be no problem.

Agree 30+ is good, just a shame it has to take that long to get yourself sorted out

Could you imagine a biker in one of the silly looking tin caps the britts were using as helmets during the war ?

I think the kids will tire very quickly of Phuket, all you have is the beach and last time I was there (Patong) the water was not very clean. There is also just as much sex trade there as in Pattaya.

At least in Pattaya you have hundreds of things for the kids; tiger zoo, open zoo, aquarium, dolphin show (used to have swimming with dolphins, not sure now), croc farm, elephant riding, submarine ride, island trips and most kids never tire of Pattaya Park with all the water slides for all ages.

Would also suggest 3-4 days on Koh Samet, beautiful island with white powder beaches, no waves or currents and shallow at the beach, perfect for kids. Leave Pattaya about 7 in the morning and be on the beach before lunch.

The sex trade is mostly good fun and the girls in the beer bars are great with kids.

I think the population growth could be dramatically slowed down, very fast, if the US stepped of their moral horse and allowed contraceptive methods to be part of the aid to the third world. Also, there are other safer and more sustainable ways to increase the food production

I have to disagree here. It is not a matter of access to contraceptives (many US NGOs assist in distribution) but lack of education and cultural/religious beliefs. Many countries, including (even especially) Thailand has improved on the education but focus is on AIDs and not so much birth control.

I agree that education will play a major part in slowing down the population growth. The point is that the looming food shortage is a myth created by the GMO industry to have a moral reason justifying what they are doing.

Thailand has not focused on birth control as this is not much of a problem here. Thailand is one of the world’s largest exporters of rice, chicken, prawns, fruit and other foods. Still, the population growth here is slowing down dramatically as it is in the rest of Asia due to better education and urbanization.

The fact is that the only food problem we have is the vast oversupply created in the west. The only real shortage is in half a dozen sub Saharan African countries and this is mainly caused by war displacing people to places not suitable for agriculture. Give peace and some outside help to these countries and they will be perfectly able to feed themselves without GMO.

The main sustenance problem is the shortage of safe drinking water; this is the real problem not lack of food.

To me GM research is a bit like research in biological warfare, there will be some discoveries that could be very useful outside warfare but overall it must be kept extremely secure and never be used in the open.

As GM involves changing the basic structures of the source of life for all living creatures on this planet it must be 100% guaranteed that it is safe. With the knowledge we have today of how we and the rest of the inhabitants of this planet work it’s impossible to give this guarantee. A small change in a major staple crop could trigger a domino effect in the most unsuspected way.

Be safe in your research.

Humans have always "messed with nature" and not always had good results, but they have also had very postitive outcomes from such.  Yes, I am a research scientist but at an academic level not a business one.  As such my focus is not financial but attempts at benefits that can be obtained from such research. As with any research work, a full understanding and balance of the results must be taken into account before application.  Balance being the key word.

I realize that most scientists are working at the academic level and have the benefits of their research at the top of their mind. The problem is that with the scientists in the back room and the CEO’s, with a stock plan, free to pick the most profitable applications there is not much stopping them. Add corruptible governments, or government organizations like the FDA, there is not much control of what will happen.

The only balance is scientists in opposing/complementing fields like agro/bio/nature. The problem with this is that they do not have the big money backing needed to make much of a difference. This is where organizations like Green Peace play in to add the advantage of getting the public involved.

You posted a link to newscientist.com, this is an example of what I’m talking about. The newscientist.com is published by the biggest publisher of business to business publications (RBI). All their revenues come from business interests, much from the agro/pharma sector. It’s highly unlikely they would publish anything annoying their clients; therefore just about all the articles were positive to GM.

Have a look at this link for some interesting thoughts:

http://www.i-sis.org.uk/ispr-summary.php

(probably biased in the opposite direction but much more independent than the newscientist)

This is true but unfortunately they are only a very small percentage of where the population growth is taken place and it will be many decades before these countries will get to that point (if ever).  As such the need for improvements in food production will continue.

I think the population growth could be dramatically slowed down, very fast, if the US stepped of their moral horse and allowed contraceptive methods to be part of the aid to the third world. Also, there are other safer and more sustainable ways to increase the food production

GM will not go away and I’m sure there are tremendous benefits to be had from this research but to unsuspectingly put the stuff in Chips Ahoy cookies is exactly what we don’t need.

It would be a different story if it was just a matter of choice that could be solved with labeling but GM will affect everyone there will be no choice and there will be no turning back once this is out off the box, and the escape from the box have started……… .

You can also pay most bills on an ATM mashine if you have a bank account here. Not sure if the charges are less than at 7-11

Are GMO's harmful?

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In a way it is a different form of inbreeding which has been done for centuries to improve on the characteristics of various plants. In this case the gene is artificially modified to effectively speed up this process. Since it is a new technology there is insufficient data yet but the research and ultimate application is important for the future considering the population expansion.

GMO is trying to do something that takes hundreds, if not thousands, of years in nature in just a year or two. The problem with this is that nature, and the human body, can not adjust fast enough to adapt to the changes.

Just look at all the similar cases when humans tried to be clever and adjust nature by moving rabbits and cane toads to Australia or African bees to South America. GM is just another disaster waiting to happen for no good reason at all.

To claim that we need GMO due to the population expansion is &lt;deleted&gt; as we don’t need a population expansion and should put all resources to tackle this problem, not feed it.

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A true Green Peace advocate I see. You are talking apples and oranges (or rather rabbits and toads), no comparison at all. Population is going to expand, food resources are going to erode regardless of "don't need a population expansion". Do some research before spouting off drival.

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A true servant of the GMO multinationals I can see.

If you can not see the similarity with humans previous messing with nature and GMO I must say I very much doubt you will be able or willing to try and understand that GMO can be dangerous. Very scary, as it seems like you are involved in this business.

Most western countries, except for America, have extremely strict laws regulation GMO. This business is mainly carried out in third world countries where the big Multinationals have bribed their way in to use the local nature and population as guinea pigs.

You are right that the population is going to expand but only because nothing, or to little, is done to stop this. Most European countries are now very close to zero growth.

I’m not a great fan of Green Peace and their tactics but when it comes to possible irreversible disasters that GMO could cause I must say I favor caution and not the quick buck Monsanto and the rest are looking for.

As for research I wish it could be done in the Multinationals own backyard and under some sort of secure conditions. It’s a joke the way it’s done now and I can not understand how so called scientists can live with that, they if anyone should have more sense.

Are GMO's harmful?

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In a way it is a different form of inbreeding which has been done for centuries to improve on the characteristics of various plants. In this case the gene is artificially modified to effectively speed up this process. Since it is a new technology there is insufficient data yet but the research and ultimate application is important for the future considering the population expansion.

GMO is trying to do something that takes hundreds, if not thousands, of years in nature in just a year or two. The problem with this is that nature, and the human body, can not adjust fast enough to adapt to the changes.

Just look at all the similar cases when humans tried to be clever and adjust nature by moving rabbits and cane toads to Australia or African bees to South America. GM is just another disaster waiting to happen for no good reason at all.

To claim that we need GMO due to the population expansion is &lt;deleted&gt; as we don’t need a population expansion and should put all resources to tackle this problem, not feed it.

I think you can have a passport copy certified at imigration for a few bath. That copy should then be valid as identification for imigration purposes.

Well worth the time and effort if you are going to spend some time in LOS.

To many politicians and other VIP's taking a large cut of the illegal gambling to be able to make it legal just now.

Actually, the original Lucifer is in Bangkok, Patpong 1. I think it's the same owners that opened the second one in Pattaya.

I have used a prepaid VISA card from www.epassporte.com for a few years without problems. I understand that they can issue co-branded cards that could be of interest for TV.