landslide

I am an American who has never owned a gun, and have no plans to ever own a gun. The problem in America is not permissive gun laws, but a lack of enforcement of those gun laws on the books. Until there are real consequences for the use of a firearm in the commission of a crime, ie. a 10 year sentence enhancement for the non-fatal use of a firearm in the commission of a crime, mandatory life for use of a firearm in which a death occurs, 20 year enhancement for a felon in possesion of a firearm, there will be no reduction in weapons use by criminals. Stop and frisk dramatically lowered murders and assaults in New York, but the new mayor, de Blasio, catered to the minority complaints and suspended the law. Murders and assaults immediately increased. 91% of Chicago's firearms crimes are black on black, and the majority of those are gang related. If stop and frisk was implemented in Chicago, there would be a dramatic reduction in firearms crimes. Taking guns away from law abiding citizens is not the answer, throwing the book at the use of a firearm in criminal activity is.

I know the OP said that she had no friends and family in the USA but I wonder if she belonged to a church back home.  If so, perhaps contacting the minister in residence at the US church could shed some more light on her situation.  Also, if she transfered funds to Thailand, there will be a record at her bank in the USA.  At least it will be able to tell her if the funds were received, by whom, and at which bank and branch.  I feel sad for the woman, having lost her only son, and so soon after reuniting with him.  Even though life in Thailand can be substantially cheaper than the US, healthcare insurance at her age will be virtually impossible in Thailand, but in the USA, Medicare will take care of most issues, including longterm care, if it comes to that.  

I'm sorry, but life is too short. If you don't trust her, find someone else. It is not like you have no other options.

I see no advantage in having a US Dollar acct. in S'pore vs. using my USA Morgan Stanley acct. I can quickly have dollars transferred (in 12 to 24 hours) to my Bangkok Bank acct. with no fees on either end. Maybe I'm missing something here, so what advantage would a S'pore acct. have over what I'm already doing?

Exactly right. I do the same with my Fidelity account. Transfer as I need from Fidelity to Bangkok Bank, generally a 24 hour transaction, and no fees.

General Prayuth and his merry men have done more good for Thailand in under two weeks than almost anyone before them.

Yet the western press and especially America seem to want an election that could bring back Thaksin. Have they forgotten that Thaksin was the one who ordered the massacre of almost 3000 of his own people without due process, a basic human right in America, a basic of democracy.

Don't forget. America at the moment is the America of Obama and his ilk. You don't matter unless you are Muslim, or a wealthy liberal, williing to spend dollars to keep the libs in power.

I am an American so I am looking at that time from a US point of view, but the philosophy is the same. At age 59, I am not ready to check out yet, but you never know what can happen. I have set up a will, with my younger brother designated as my executor. I have also given him power of attorney over my affairs, in the event of I am unable to direct my own financial affairs. All of this was put in place by an attorney in the US, and a corresponding will is registered in Thailand. 90% of my assets, excluding the house (which is in my wife's name anyway) are in the form of a revocable trust, and will go to my wife, the balance to my sister. My brother and I have gone over the will, and he understands my intention is to insure my wife is relieved of this chore at my death, and is taken care of financially after I am gone. My brother and his wife know my wife well, and will insure that my wife has immediate cash to maintain her lifestyle while the will is in probate. My brother will arrange for Social Security spousal benefits as well. Since my wife is younger than I, this has been a concern for me. By getting my affairs in place now, I do not have to worry when the time comes. If you care about your spouse, it is the least you can do. My wife is educated, and quite intelligent, and is more than capable of managing her financial affairs, once the problems of dealing with the US laws and regulations are done. The point may be moot, as my wife swears I will outlive her. Who knows?

I was under the impression, that as an American, you cannot will any assets inside America to foreign nationals.

You need to consult an American lawyer, currently working in America for current legislation (not your brother).

I may be totally wrong of course.

The will was drawn up by my attorney in the USA. A corresponding will was completed by an attorney in Thailand. My wife is a legal US resident (with Green Card and Social Security number), and we spend most of each year in the US. Full time residency in Thailand is a couple of years away. My brother is only the executor, and is someone I trust to help my wife navigate the US system, though my wife reads, writes and speaks english fine.

I am an American so I am looking at that time from a US point of view, but the philosophy is the same. At age 59, I am not ready to check out yet, but you never know what can happen. I have set up a will, with my younger brother designated as my executor. I have also given him power of attorney over my affairs, in the event of I am unable to direct my own financial affairs. All of this was put in place by an attorney in the US, and a corresponding will is registered in Thailand. 90% of my assets, excluding the house (which is in my wife's name anyway) are in the form of a revocable trust, and will go to my wife, the balance to my sister. My brother and I have gone over the will, and he understands my intention is to insure my wife is relieved of this chore at my death, and is taken care of financially after I am gone. My brother and his wife know my wife well, and will insure that my wife has immediate cash to maintain her lifestyle while the will is in probate. My brother will arrange for Social Security spousal benefits as well. Since my wife is younger than I, this has been a concern for me. By getting my affairs in place now, I do not have to worry when the time comes. If you care about your spouse, it is the least you can do. My wife is college educated, and quite intelligent, and is more than capable of managing her financial affairs, once the problems of dealing with the US laws and regulations are done. The point may be moot, as my wife swears I will outlive her. Who knows?

You must be reading impaired. "I had dialed a wrong number, reversing two digits." A calling card in the USA accesses a reduced rate line. You then have to dial the number you wish to reach. It was not automatic. Foolish is making assumptions about things you know nothing about. We've been together 9 years now, so I think I am safe. She also has no "brothers", or "sisters" for that matter, and her parents have been dead since shortly after I first met her. Never have been asked to pay for a sick buffalo, a hospital stay, or even her parent's funerals.

if you had dialled a wrong number ,how did her kid give the phone to a thai man who answered it ?

his dad perhaps ?

you may not like that she has a bf when ur back in the good ole us of a but its very common in thailand

for girls to keep their first man and father of the kids at the village while having a farang in another location

who may or may not be paying the bills

You REALLY need to work on your reading skills. "if you had dialled a wrong number ,how did her kid give the phone to a thai man who answered it ?

his dad perhaps ?" This was posted by thamteak, not me. You really have a passionate distrust of Thai women. Just how many times were you burned before you learned your lesson?

That happened to me with my girlfriend (now my wife) while I was back in the states for a short visit. I was bothered until I wised up and checked my call log. I had dialed a wrong number, reversing two digits. I felt stupid, but frankly, It happens. Up until that time, I never really worried about her fidelity, and frankly, have never had any suspicions since.

nobody dials numbers thesedays ,modern phones you just scroll to the persons name and maybe even picture as well ...........

you guys are amazing making excuses for what is probably a lying cheating bitch

Well, numbnuts, since this was a landline, and I was using a calling card, there is no scrolling feature. You seem like a very cynical individual. Get burned in relationships a lot?

no because im not as foolish as you appear to be ,you just admitted you dialled the correct number and a man still answered

just dont come back in 6 months time and say shes ran off with her "brother" and all your money

You must be reading impaired. "I had dialed a wrong number, reversing two digits." A calling card in the USA accesses a reduced rate line. You then have to dial the number you wish to reach. It was not automatic. Foolish is making assumptions about things you know nothing about. We've been together 9 years now, so I think I am safe. She also has no "brothers", or "sisters" for that matter, and her parents have been dead since shortly after I first met her. Never have been asked to pay for a sick buffalo, a hospital stay, or even her parent's funerals.

That happened to me with my girlfriend (now my wife) while I was back in the states for a short visit. I was bothered until I wised up and checked my call log. I had dialed a wrong number, reversing two digits. I felt stupid, but frankly, It happens. Up until that time, I never really worried about her fidelity, and frankly, have never had any suspicions since.

nobody dials numbers thesedays ,modern phones you just scroll to the persons name and maybe even picture as well ...........

you guys are amazing making excuses for what is probably a lying cheating bitch

Well, numbnuts, since this was a landline, and I was using a calling card, there is no scrolling feature. You seem like a very cynical individual. Get burned in relationships a lot?

http://www.bangkokdiaries.com/can-you-tell-the-difference-between-a-thai-lady-and-a-thai-ladyboy/

You could take the test here.... I got 9 out of 10, pretty chuffed with that, but I reckon I might still do most of them....lol

Oz

10 out of 10, but a couple almost make me question my orientation.

That happened to me with my girlfriend (now my wife) while I was back in the states for a short visit. I was bothered until I wised up and checked my call log. I had dialed a wrong number, reversing two digits. I felt stupid, but frankly, It happens. Up until that time, I never really worried about her fidelity, and frankly, have never had any suspicions since.

I think their attorney sees a big cash payday from the couple, as I am sure he knows there is no chance of recovering damages from anyone in Thailand.

"five assault rifles, an M79 grenade launcher, a large amount of ammunition, three hand grenades, explosives contained in 120 bottles, eight home-made bombs, a pistol, three cameras, a bullet-proof vest, and nails and metal wires meant as shrapnel for the home-made bombs."

For SELF DEFENSE???

For SELF DEFENSE???

Are you kidding me???

The best solution I always found was tell them your Roman Catholic, even if your not and for some reason they run a mile...don't know why that is..

That has been my stock response (I am Roman Catholic) with the Mormon Missionaries, Jehovah's Witness and other proselytizers. Exactly the same reaction.

I was checking the cost of hotels in Bangkok. It appears that the prices are going up, just when there is a drop in tourism.

Americans are required to own firearms by law--its actually in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights or something.

Can our Thai "brothers-in-arms" make that claim?

BTW, only 25 posts and you are already fishing the big waters with a topic like this.

I see a bright future ahead ;-)

I am an American, and proud of it. I have never owned a gun, and don't plan to. I do not have a problem with law-abiding citizens owning guns. I guess based on your uninformed comment, I have, and will continue, to break the law. People shouldn't comment on things they know nothing about.

I have a neice with ginger colored hair. A really lovely girl, both in looks and in personality. She is 24, and currently teaches english and spanish outside Tokyo. The only uncomfortable thing for her about having ginger colered hair is complete strangers (Japanese) approaching her to touch her hair. It was novel at first, but gets old fast. Even with that, she still always smiles and lets them touch it.

WE stay at the Nam Khong Riverside Hotel, http://www.namkhongriverside.com/ river view room with buffett breakfast /air & wifi 650 baht low season

walk in rate, very popular with thai's

We've stayed there many times, as we have friends who live in Chiang Khong. Very clean, comfortable and a reasonable price, even in high season.