spidermike007

Besides the deposit requirements, the marriage visa is harder to get and they continue to ask you to prove you are married, each and every year. It is sheer stupidity and I stopped using one, as my tolerance for abuse seems to be declining. Retirement is the way to go, if you are able to leave some money in the bank. If you can afford an agent, there are no requirements, other than paying the agent their annual fee. Immigration here is more corrupt than the cops.

Good riddens to those ridiculous face diapers. I am in Samui now, and only some Thais are wearing masks. Very few foreigners are engaging in the continued foolishness. Especially outdoors. Follow the science.

We are witnessing an astonishing degree of cowardice on the part of democratic politicians, who are not seizing the moment. The centrist element has been cowed into submission by the so called progressives. This latest fool just walked into a gun store on his 18th birthday, and bought two assault rifles and 350 rounds of ammunition. Something has to be done to restrict the ease with which idiots can buy guns. Some Americans have 20 guns at home. America is #1. In mass shootings and stupidity.

I am finished with the UPS mafia. Would rather have my system shut down every once in a blue moon, than cater to their low quality, over priced products.

The constant nonsense has to stop. Perhaps it is time the students start punishing the teachers. Something I have been advocating since I was 12.

I have never owned one that lasted more than 2 years. Name brands. All junk. Any suggestions?

I am talking about the account you use for your retirement account. Does that pay interest? And even if it does, what does that one percent really mean? The bank is still making a fortune on the spread between what they are paying you, and what they are lending money for. But, if it does pay interest on that retirement account, I get your point.

Alot. Likely hours a day, if you include the time she actually hangs out with her friends. But, we are very independent. We spend many hours of the day apart, and I love that, and so does she. And not only talking on the phone. Playing on Tok Tok, Facebook, etc. It is incessant. But, it is also a generational thing. I find my smartphone very handy, but I am not married to it, nor am I tethered to the dame device. Where I draw the line, is when we are spending a quiet evening together, or we are out to eat together. I ask her to please get off the call, asap. You have all day to talk to these folks, to your hearts content. Not now, please.

Not necessarily. I could print a receipt book. Who is going to double check this? How do we really know the money will find it's way into the accounts of the government? Do you really believe immigration and customs here are honorable men and women, and the departments are free of corruption? Do you think they paid by check, and the funds are completely accounted for? Really?

The Thai police claim to have made arrests in 193 human trafficking cases and in 200 cases related to child abuse between October last year and May this year. All the cases have been taken to court, with more than 142 million baht seized from the human trafficking gangs, who allegedly have 1.6 billion baht in circulation. Oh yeah? And how many top army, immigration, and other officials have been arrested and jailed? I have not heard anything about those cases. As usual, they are picking on the little guy, and trying to make an example our of him, in a futile attempt to look like they are doing SOMETHING. You get removed from the list, when you start to take this issue seriously, convict and lock up some of the big guys, no matter who they are, or how well connected they are, and show that you are serious people. Anyone who profits from human trafficking, should not only be locked up, all of their assets should be seized, and why not just execute them? Do they deserve the oxygen they greedily consume?

It is all about supply and demand. As long as some older guys are OK with older women, the old ladies will find work. Some guys are even ok with old, fat and ugly. It takes all kinds. I used to travel here decades ago. Some of the bar girls were stunning. Super model types. They had fewer options. The young stunners today have alot of options. Some of them get as much as 60,000 baht with high end escort services. Some of them make a fortune online. Things have changed alot. The selection today is a pale shadow of what it used to be. It is what it is. Everything changes and evolves.

Customs is a racket, just like immigration, the border patrol, the RTP, and the army. They are all corrupt beyond imagination. And the level of corruption simply escalates, the further up the food chain you go. The police and army are not expected to be honest, and they are not expected to engage in law enforcement, traffic or public safety, on any level. It is an irrevocably broken and dysfunctional system. Any hyperbole to the contrary, is just a smoke screen, intended to deceive the most naive amongst us. The Anti-Corruption Organization of Thailand (ACT) is one of the most feeble and ineffective of all the tools Prayuth has used to deceive the people into believing that he is fighting corruption. Who was the last high level authority, in the police, immigration, the army, or the active administration they arrested, charged, tried convicted, and sent to prison? Nobody. Zero. Nunca. Nada. Why? Because Prayuth has had a mandate from the beginning to do the very opposite. To protect the elite, the super wealthy who are guilty, those that are connected, and those who are in power. Just think Dark Tao. Just think Red Bull. The list goes on, and on, and on. Only the most naive amongst us believe he or ACT secretary-general Mana Nimitmongkol are sincere about this. It barely matters. These guys are above the law. Any and all laws. The only time they are arrested is when it becomes big news, or it is reported internationally, and Thailand gets a ton of egg on it's face. And even then, it normally does not result in a conviction. Very, very few current (not former) police, immigration, customs, cabinet officials, army officials, or administration officials are arrested here, tried, convicted and imprisoned. My guess is it is one of the lowest rates in the world. The corruption here is never ending. And to think that tiny P. came into office with the agenda of cleaning the place up. LOL. Nothing ever got cleaned up. If anything, things are filthier under the army, then they were before. When you have an administration that is built solely upon a foundation of cronyism, favoritism, and corruption, you end up with alot of morally bankrupt people, with ridiculous amounts of money. It gives them an Ivory Tower consciousness, and seems to foster a level of pathology that manifests itself as a dislike of the common man, a lack of respect for anyone who is not very wealthy, and a system of patronage, that only the toxic urchins within the army, the administration, the police, immigration, customs, and the elite of society benefit from.

Butter, consumed in moderate amounts is healthy. Margarines contain heinous products. Highly toxic fats. Highly saturated fats and oils. I avoid them like Bubonic plague.

If it was spread only by inhalation, the spread would have been much worse, as the cloth masks do not protect much against inhalation. Frankly, I think they protect others more, than they protect the one wearing the mask. Just another in the countless aspects of this thing we do not know much about. It has never really been defined as an aerosol virus. And it is a fact that it can be spread through shaking hands with someone who is infected, or touching something, like a surface they just touched. But, for how long? One minute? Eight minutes? Nobody knows. Remember the packaging craze? Wash everything you bring back from the store. And the Chinese have blockaded many imports, as they are afraid it lives on fruit forever. There is so much insanity and overly vigilant behavior surrounding this thing.

Immigration here is one of my least favorite aspects of living here. I recently switched from a marriage visa, to a retirement visa, as it was rather obnoxious having to prove I was married every single year, and jumping over some rather stupid, foolish, and extremely arrogant hoops. I think they make the retirement visa easy, as they are semi-sponsored by the banks, who love having money on deposit, without any interest payments. I believe immigration is one of the areas that make it evident that the authorities really do not want us living here. We corrupt the women, by encouraging them to be curious about the world, to ask questions, and most importantly (and likely most intolerable for the authorities) we encourage them to question authority.

1. I remember reading earlier that they were claiming a million tourists this month. Someone is changing their tune. Or, truth is being revealed. 2. This resulted in the number of tourists in the first quarter of 2022 increasing by 2,368 percent, compared to the same period in 2021, and the revenues increasing by 1,424 percent. Does not mean much. It is a bit like saying Burkina Faso has 7% economic growth. 7% of what? There was no tourism last year. 3. No matter how they spin it, tourism numbers are still low. Few like the Thailand pass system. Few want to grovel for permission to visit. Scrap the pass. Then there is a chance of 2 or 3 million tourists a year. Maybe even 5 million without a couple of years, but it will never be the same here, after all the sabotage and destruction, and purification campaigns.

I question everything coming from this administration. Who could prove otherwise? They are likely saying anything they want. I seriously doubt the veracity of these numbers. What do they include? What do they exclude?

Maybe they just smartened up, and decided they did not want to return to crappy teachers, in crappy schools, where they have to wear uniforms, are not allowed to question their teachers or curriculum, and get the creative juice drummed out of them. Smart kids by my definition. Unless the family has money, their chances of attending university are low. And what does a high school education buy you here? A 12,000 baht a month job? Sometimes the school of hard knocks and life can teach a kid just as much. Many do not seem to be learning much here, with their substandard education.

Why is crime investigation activist Atchariya Ruangrattanapong not considered a national hero here? I had never heard of him before. Imagine someone devoting their life to questioning the spectacularly incompetent and incapable RTP? This is incredible. I love it. This guy should be a household name. Question everything they do, say and conclude. Everything.

Since it is estimated at least half of Thailand's economy was underground, cash and off the books, these numbers are sheer foolishness. Likely 10 times that, at 15% nationwide. The economy here is decimated.

I see this kind of thing all the time. The parents take all kinds of risks with the families. The police don't care. There is no deterrent. Even the possibility of the kid dying does not seem to be of great concern.

You completely lost me. Is it airborne, or not? And why does walking in with a mask offer protection to those who are seated without one? You are referring to cloth masks, right? Where is the science?

Within MotoGP, there are three classes which luckily, follow along roughly with the classes from the other series. MotoGP, the top level series, uses 1,000 cc bikes that are limited to four cylinders and a maximum bore of 81 mm. Instead of each manufacturer making their own Moto 2 engine, those bikes all feature the same 600 cc four stroke, which is a Honda CBR600RR motor tuned by a company named ExternPro. The Moto 3 bikes are all 250 cc, single cylinder machines. And while extremely close in performance, this “baby class” is a hotly contested engineering competition for the manufacturers. Oddly, the cost of Moto3 is reportedly 2-3 times as expensive as running in the Moto2 class. MotoGP is the premiere form of motorcycle road racing in the world, and it carries two main distinctions. First, it attracts the best riders in the entire world. It's the main stage. The big show. To pilot a MotoGP bike is to be regarded among the best who've ever graced two wheels, even if you're a backmarker

I am hoping we can do away with the face masks. It is likely that washing your hands many times a day is 20x more effective than wearing a cloth mask, anyway. It is getting to the point to utter stupidity, and a total lack of common sense. The other day I was in an outdoor restaurant, and there was an entire table of people wearing masks. As soon as the food arrives, not only did they all take off their masks, but they were digging into the common area food with their own spoons, which they have already eaten with. The lack of science in this debate, and situation is stunning. It is really about keeping the people scared, at this time. Numbers continue to drop, standard cloth masks have limited effectiveness, wearing them outdoors is downright silly, and this ultra paranoid behavior has to stop. The government and goons like Anutin are largely responsible for an environment of fear at this stage of the game. This is about maintaining paranoia, control, and fear. After all, you would not want the people to get too comfortable. They might take to the streets again, and show their disdain for this thoroughly toxic, and nearly useless administration.

Thailand desperately needs heroes of any sort, at this time. And the government has nothing whatsoever to brag about, especially on the world stage. They are obviously grasping for straws, as they accomplish next to nothing on their own. So, kudos to Somkiat. Moto GP is a very big deal, it is a very prestigious level of racing, and the top platform for motorcycles. Winning a Moto GP event is very difficult and running a team is very expensive. This guy would have to be a truly excellent rider to be selected to ride for one of these teams, and win. Hopefully he will be able to move up to Moto GP 1. That is the biking equivalent of Formula 1.