spidermike007

So far, they seem to pertain only to the potentially weakest area, and that is the Stormy hush money. It is a huge strategic error in my opinion. Either that, or it is a deliberate way to get around having to convict the crime lord.

Note to Prayuth. Just to put the fires into perspective, they are one of dozens of areas where you have failed. You have been a dismally poor PM, you have failed at your promise to be a short term, interim PM, you have utterly failed as a leader and you should get out of politics.

In my opinion, they are pursuing the wrong line of attack. Nailing him for the Stormy thing seems lightweight. I think it is evidence that they are not sincere about putting this crime lord away. If they were, they would go after him for bank fraud or tax fraud. No doubt he is guilty of many counts. And no doubt those charges would not only stick, they would likely result in this sad mans spending many of his remaining years in prison. But, I don't think there is political will to lock up an ex president. These charges would appear to confirm that.

Rotten to the core. No doubt. And we all know this is a pyramid scheme. So, while top cop Joke pretends to be nabbing bad cops, and one does get convicted now and then, he no doubt collects millions per month in bribes that have filtered to the top of the pyramid scheme. Rotten to the core. The RTP.

I understand every nation has its laws. I am fine with immigration backing up those laws. A ten year overstay is quite an accomplishment. However, I consider integrity and honesty to be important. Saying this is about stopping some kind of loss to the nation is disengenuous. The average Thai earns around 20,000 baht per month. The average pensioner gets how much? 35,000 baht? 50,000 baht? Plus potential income from other sources. So, I just don't see any loss taking place. It is so typical of Prayuth to be dishonest.

Very ironic that the people who are subject to the government which is the greatest organ harvester in the history of the world, are afraid of this while overseas. Note to the Chinese people. Be afraid. Be very afraid. But, don't be afraid of the Thais. Organ harvesting is not their hobby. It is the domain of Xi, and your horrific CCP. “Forced organ harvesting in China appears to be targeting specific ethnic, linguistic or religious minorities held in detention, often without being explained the reasons for arrest or given arrest warrants, at different locations,” they said. “We are deeply concerned by reports of discriminatory treatment of the prisoners or detainees based on their ethnicity and religion or belief. “According to the allegations received, the most common organs removed from the prisoners are reportedly hearts, kidneys, livers, corneas and, less commonly, parts of livers. This form of trafficking with a medical nature allegedly involves health sector professionals, including surgeons, anaesthetists and other medical specialists.” https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2021/06/china-un-human-rights-experts-alarmed-organ-harvesting-allegations

I recently switched back to the retirement visa. I found myself getting very frustrated with immigration. I did not feel it was worth the aggravation. The upside to this visa, is that only 400,000 is needed as a deposit, and it does not have to stay in the bank, once your visa is granted. The downsides are: The hurdles you need to jump over, in order to get a marriage visa are stupid, ridiculous, unnecessary, draconian, wasteful, and silly. I understand the need for them to verify that you are a legitimate couple. Upon the first application. But, the dumb requirements should not relate to renewals. You should not be required to show fresh images of the house each time, copies of the marriage papers, the house documents, either come with a local Thai witness, or bring a signed affidavit from a local Thai each time, provide new maps to the house, and dozens of other requirements. I just do not even know what to say about the process. I felt like a street dog by the time I left. After hours of paperwork, copy after copy after copy, each page having to be signed, and then being grilling by the surly officer, I literally felt like a street dog. The level of disrespect that immigration shows married couples here, and foreigners in general, is totally uncalled for, beyond the pale, and inane. The copy woman, the guy sorting our papers, they were all nice. But, the officers? Such sourpusses. The woman who was helping us was so difficult to work with, when she finally rejected us over the tiniest thing she did not like, after nearly an hour of reviewing every document with a microscope, so to speak, and finally I responded by saying YES, you are going to do this. YES, you are going to do this right now. YES, you are going to stop saying NO to me right now. This ends now! She looked at me and did not know what to say. I asked for the manager. The top brass came over, and we had it sorted in 30 minutes. Took nearly 3 hours. And as usual, it will be a month, until I have final approval. Is it worth it? NO. It was my last marriage visa. I went back to a retirement visa. It was that, or leaving the country, before I subject myself to that abuse one more time. Frankly, I think at least some of this comes from the rather extreme level of xenophobia and the toxic racism of the army. It filters down throughout the government. I do not think they want us here. And making these procedures difficult is one way of expressing that. Fortunately, I feel very little of that sentiment from the non governmental Thai people.

1. America is in love with both guns and violence. 2. It is no good to have the right to abort a fetus, but when kids get gunned down, no big deal really. 3. The NRA owns congress and the senate. I doubt we will ever see any meaningful change. 4. America is going downhill fast. And I sure hope that does not mean a future world with the heinous CCP (People's commy party) in charge of things. That would be very ugly, as they do not wear their power with any grace.

As we all know, Thailand is one of the whale centers of the world. Bull whales. Certainly no lack of blowhard officials, though.

These guys love to make rules, but rarely enforce them. A rather strange paradox. Will they enforce this one? I doubt it.

The RTP chief preaching correct and responsible bahavior. This is rich. Try setting an example for the people, and yakking less.

Having kids is a valid and lovely thing to do, if you are really feeling it and prepared to be the best parent you can possibly be, are in a position to support and love the kid, and provide a great environment for them. Sounds like you are doing that. For me, I never felt it. And I am glad for that. It has simplified my life and we have a good life partly due to the lack of kids and that responsibility. One thing is for certain, though. This planet does not need more kids. And bringing kids into this world, at this time, requires a certain degree of self absorbtion, and a buy in to the traditional family dream. There is alot of concern about zero, or negative population growth. There are about 25 countries with the highest population growth. If memory serves me correctly, at least 23 of them are Muslim nations. The rest of the world seems to be coming to their senses, and having far fewer babies. Kudos to those who choose not to spawn, at this point in time. Smart move.

Most are likely Russians, and not Ukrainians. Therefore, they likely would not qualify for refugee status, no matter where they were. When your leader is a serial killing madman despot, who seems to enjoy targeting woman and children, sympathy tends to be in limited supply. You were simply born in the wrong country.

You combine poorly justified nationalism, with money, and it can be a toxic brew. In this case, add in the title of doctor. It may or not be racism, but it sure is a heavy dose of arrogance, with absolutely nothing to back it up.

A little off topic, but I know a guy who bought many properties in central Prague around 23 years ago. He paid an average of $50,000 for a 4 or 5 story townhouse. Yes, they needed work. But, they eventually ended up being worth 15 million euros each, and he made himself a tidy $200 million. I do not foresee that ever happening in Phuket or Bangkok.

I find there is little in the way of any sort of class structure in the US. I have a number of very wealthy friends. They mix it up with me, and all sorts. Wealth is rarely a factor. Very little judgment or arrogance. Not at all the case here. The so called hi-so (I think it is a very bad descriptor, as it indicates some level of sophistication, when it is often not the case at all) here are incredibly arrogant, full of themselves, fairly useless, and can be quite toxic.

Easy for me to say, being one of the fortunate ones to have avoided having kids (I like kids, but have had zero interest in having any, in this lifetime) but don't have kids. It simplifies your life to no end, it makes breaking up or getting divorced alot simpler and cheaper, and in my opinion, the planet simply does not need any more people. I know many will say this, or that, but this would be my best relationship advice.

What do you want to bet a Thai who can afford business class on Thai air, is a difficult passenger to please? Many wealthy or affluent Thais I have met have bad attitudes and think they are very special, and of course they are not on any level. They just have some cash. That is all. On the other hand, many Westerners who are affluent, can be quite humble about it. And certainly not believers in a class structure due to their money. That attitude is very Thai and incredibly bogus and offensive. So, in this case, my guess is that this guy is an over entitled clown.

I don't like government officials much, and the same tends to apply to law enforcement and immigration. But, this is one area where the US beats Thailand. I find most immigration, customs and border protection agents in the US to be serious, but pleasant. In Thailand they are rarely pleasant. They are often surly. Surely, they could change this attitude if they cared one iota. I don't think they do. I think they are too arrogant to care.

I feel like I do detect people noticing the lack of a mask being worn. But, I don't see any still eye. It is closer to envy. Wow, you have no fear, and you don't conform. What a state of mind that must be.

Likely correct. I don't argue with them. I do politely remind a friend from time to time, who will wear a mask outdoors, that covid is long gone. How they might look at me means far less than zero. What they think of me means far less than zero. When covid was around, I would wear a mask indoors, to be polite. Now that it is gone, no reason for me to wear a mask because they are scared. That is on them, not me.

I am not a virologist, yet I know far more than 20% were not infected here, and worldwide. I also can presume it has alot to do with the immune system, diet, lifestyle, and many other factors. Do these guys even take any of this into account? Or, is their knowledge and wisdom so lacking? It is a virus. Not everyone gets a virus. Duh.

There is a very simple solution to this problem. If the authorities were interested in solutions. The burning has to stop. There are alternatives, to this 19th century technique of burning after the sugar cane harvest. Either the government starts to encourage farmers to switch to more environmentally friendly crops, or they start to penalize farmers for burning. This heinous burning, is leading to a tremendous degree of environmental degradation, and alot of lung disease. So here is what I propose- 1. Fine the farmers 5,000 baht for a first offense, and give them a stern warning, that burning is now prohibited, and the second fine will be very harsh. 2. For a second offense, fine the farmer 100,000 baht, and warn them that if the burning continues, their land will be confiscated. 3. On the 3rd offense, confiscate their land. Period. No questions. No legal proceeding or appeals on the part of the farmers. Allow others to come in and purchase the land at a fair price, with the caveat that sugar is prohibited as a crop to be grown on that land. The news would travel faster than the toxic smoke, and farmers would change their ways overnight, and move into the 21st century. Then they can move on to tackle the sale of diesel vehicles, and the government's enthusiastic support of such. It is inane in this day and age. Most nations are moving away from diesel for good reasons. When they are not well maintained, they foul the air, with large, nasty particles. And who properly maintains their vehicle here? Lastly they can convert all of the 10 remaining diesel and coal fired power plants. Thailand has already done a very admirable job with renewable power plants. There are over 50 powered by hydro, geothermal, wind, solar and biomass. That is impressive. The government should offer incentives, for the farmers to switch crops. This is 2021. Rice and sugar worked in previous centuries. Now, they do not make any sense. Too labor intensive, too much degradation of the land, water, air, and resources. Let's get with the times. Let us move forward. Likely far more than that amount of people that are suffering right now. And the authorities do not seem to care, one iota. If they did, something would be done. Instead, only hollow promises. We will enforce the ban on burning. And it never gets enforced. No penalties, no nothing. We will do something about poorly maintained diesel vehicles. And nothing is ever done, because the cops are too lazy, and the highway patrol refuses to patrol the highway, and the special hotlines you set up, do not know anything about the program, or the laws.

Fake news. There is no centralized database, and I doubt there ever will be. We have gotten countless speeding tickets, with the unrealistically low posted speeds on alot of highways, and ignored all of them. No issues with license renewal, nor registration renewal, ever.

I have a friend who is a surgical nurse at a large, local hospital. She says she cannot remember the last time they saw a covid patient. It is over. Some have a hard time letting go of the panic. Some don't want to let it go. Masks serve little to no function now, other than preventing inhalation of pollution.