spidermike007

What percentage of ex-pats who have families here have permanent resident status? And what restrictions will they face, upon their return?

What can one even say? If a relationship is not working out, what real men do is discuss things, and try to deal with the issues. And if it cannot be fixed, or if it is beyond repair, or you are not making each other a better version of each other, you move on. He is fairly young, and had a whole life in front of him. Not anymore. He has done the unthinkable. He has basically self revoked the right to consume oxygen. In my book, if it is proven that he did commit this act, he should be put away for decades. I am sure he will make alot of good friends in prison. I hear they really take a liking to guys who abuse their wives. It is likely in his new prison home, he will be able to find fights that are far more fair. 

Oh, the utter irony in this. Twitter was likely largely responsible for getting this incompetent man elected. And now, they put a warning on a tweet that is totally fake news, for the first time ever, and the unhinged man loses his small mind. Twitter should start doing this will ALL of his posts, since he rarely tweets anything that is "fact based". This man has the most peculiar relationship with truth, I have ever witnessed. Remember, "truth is not truth". Wonder how this is going to play out. He cannot afford to alienate Twitter. And Twitter likely needs him, with his 80 million "devotee followers". Yet, Twitter holds the upper hand, for sure. Trump is not much of a poker player. He is far too emotional, and far too fragile, with his ultra thin skin, and incredibly delicate ego. Will be fascinated to see how far either side is willing to push this. The fact checks are a very good idea, and people deserve that. 

In terms of "shutting down social media", he would have better luck installing a new Politburo in China, or replacing Kim! It is fascinating to watch a pathological man, who is spectacularly unstable, and does not have any filter, nor a diplomatic bone in his body, rant on and on. 

Why have his approval ratings continued to nosedive? Usually, when a leader is taking the right course of action during a crisis, the approval ratings tend to soar. In this case?

To that end, it is important for any dominant leader to demonstrate empathy, humility and, most importantly, that his or her actions have been governed by the need of the hour—to help others rather than to promote his or her own cause. Our findings show that people are willing to pardon the negative actions of even a dominant leader if she or he comes across as caring and empathetic—demonstrated attributes of a prestige-based leader. Modi and Xi, despite harboring classic authoritarian leader traits, have done exactly that.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-trumps-popularity-surge-faded-so-quickly/

Approval ratings for the federal government have slipped as the pandemic has stretched on, from 40% approval one month ago to 31% now. State governments continue to get higher marks from the public, though support there is slipping as well. About half of Americans — 51% — say they approve of the job being done by their states, down from 63% in April.

Trump’s troubles do not end here. Continuing a trend first evident in the 2018 midterm elections, he is losing ground among white working-class women, who supported him by a 27-point margin in 2016. Because opinion among college-educated voters has hardened against the president since he took office, he needs strong majority support among the entire white working class to prevail.

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2020/05/08/new-polling-data-show-trump-faltering-in-key-swing-states-heres-why/

13 hours ago, EricTh said:

All these scare-mongering are without any proofs. I live in a village and nobody here has been infected. I don't know anybody in my town who are infected either.

 

I do not know anyone in all of Thailand that has been infected. I have a friend who is a surgical nurse in a  major hospital, and she tells me they have done thousands of tests, and not one has come back positive. There is alot going on with Covid, that totally defies the narrative. This is definitely not the Zombie Apocalypse.

Open the economy now. End the lockdown now. 

16 hours ago, GAZZPA said:

Making way for the transition into a high end tourist destination. Maldives, here we come. ????

Never going to happen. A total pipe dream, on the part of the authorities. They cannot think clearly enough, nor do they have the perspective to know why the wealthy shun the place. One 8 hour session with a foreign travel expert, and they would have all the information they needed. But, since the rest of the world does not know anything, they would never do something really productive, like that. Plus you have guys like Pipat running tourism, so no talent, or progressive policies, whatsoever. There are a dozen good reasons why over the past 10-15 years, there are less and less wealthy tourists coming to Thailand. I have outlined them before, so no need to bore you with the details. Thailand has shot itself in the foot, when it comes to wealthy, or even affluent tourists. It is a low to lower middle income tourist market. They are stuck with China and India primarily. A small number of Americans and Europeans will come, but they represent the minority for sure. 

19 hours ago, ftpjtm said:

Then why are schools closed, beaches closed, no alchohol allowed to be served at restaurants, islands closed, a state of emergency extended, interprovincal travel restricted, and why do a litany of other regulations remain in place which deny Thais to earn a  living?

 

It seems from the government figures that the ban on foreign arrivals is all that's needed. 

 

Let Thais get back to work!

Either they are being super paranoid, super careful, or simply clinging to the power and do not want to let it go. I fully agree about letting the people get back to work. A friend of mine who lives on Samui, said it is like a ghost town. Most Thais have abandoned their shops, and fled the island, since there are few foreigners there at this time. Most restaurants are either closed, or empty. Millions could end up without jobs, for a long time to come. The longer this inane shutdown lasts, the harder the recovery will be. Thailand is likely looking at negative 8-15% growth this year. International tourism is not returning anytime soon. The group that Thailand targets, was the hardest hit group by this shutdown. 

17 hours ago, JCP108 said:

Yeah. I'm concerned that there are different ideas about what it means to be super careful. 

 

Do you restrict people from places with highest number of infections, or highest number as a percentage of their population? That would make a big difference. For example, if half the people in the country of Aruba were infected, that would still be only 50k in raw number. So, comparatively speaking, the U.S. (say, with current moment figures) with about 2 million cases would look like a better candidate for banning. But, in that scenario, Aruba has a 50% infection rate and the U.S. less than 1%. As a ratio to the population, the U.S. would be much, much safer than Aruba. There's also the point that in big countries, cases are centered in some areas and mostly lacking in others. In the U.S. a large percentage of the cases are in just 3 or 4 states. To really be careful, people from states with a high percentage of cases to the state population would make more sense. 

 

Also, what about countries whose reported numbers are just not valid due to either inadequate testing or dishonesty? 

 

Hopefully there is a reasonable and careful policy but one that is not too restrictive. And, being from the U.S. and missing my daughter quite a lot, I hope that whatever the case, travel between here and there is possible. I agree that those certificates are going to remain impossible to get because they are stupid and however dysfunctional the medical system is there, I've worked with many doctors in my career and can't think of one that would quickly produce a fake certificate like that just so someone can travel. Too many rules against malpractice there for that to happen much. 

I was discussing this with a friend last night, and he suggested that certain countries will emerge, as centers for Covid free letters. Makes alot of sense. Mexico, Norway, who knows? A $200 letter, and as Americans we can travel freely. Just because we are from the US, does not mean we need the health letter from the US. 

3 hours ago, totally thaied up said:

Think about it if they open borders to tourist then. If we get a few Covid-19 cases with each plane load of returning Thais, think about how many imported cases that their will be once they do open borders up. People will slip between the cracks for certain and away we will be back at the start of lockdown again.

Now that it is under control they are going to have to be super careful when it comes to international tourism. Especially from super Covid nations (highest number of infections) like the US, Brazil, Russia, Italy, Spain, Germany and the UK. 

My guess is nobody is coming in from any of those nations without a covid free letter (since you cannot get one in the US, may be a year or longer until another American is admitted into the Thailand) and possibly health insurance with a pandemic exception. Much care needs to be taken. Thailand cannot afford another economic shutdown. It could throw the place into a years long economic depression. 

2 hours ago, JohnBZ said:

This sounds like a great idea.  I like to get together with you to explore further if you have time. Where do you live now?

Not something I would be in a position to get involved with. It would require alot of capital to set up properly. But thanks. 

6 minutes ago, khunjeff said:

I agree that it's a big, big stretch to call it human trafficking - that label is probably just applied so they can hold it up to the US and EU in an effort to avoid watch lists - but surrogacy and fertility treatments for foreigners really are illegal under Thai law:

 

"Thailand bans commercial surrogacy for foreigners - BBC News"

 

Thai police arrest man smuggling semen into Laos - BBC News

Well, we all know there is a huge gap between what is illegal, and what is immoral or unethical. Perhaps this ban is nothing more than blind nationalism, or based largely on xenophobia. One of the most bizarre aspects of Thai culture, is that mixed babies here are literally worshipped. Most of the movie stars here are from mixed families. Yet, the administration and immigration are totally racist and very fearful of outsiders. 

Though I am not fond of the dictators in China, but a high speed rail project is desperately needed here. After this route is finished, they can start on the Bangkok to Singapore route. Alternative transportation is really lacking, and the 60 year old trains are an abomination, for a nation that considers itself modern. The army has plenty of money to fund this, but they are too greedy to help the nation in this manner. They would be far better off using a Japanese company, but it is likely all about easy financing. China has nothing but bad intentions, long term. 

4 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

At the opposite end of the population, there is very little available when it comes to taking care of young children.

 

When I needed them, during the previous decade, I couldn't find a kindergarten and a babysitter, the latter being apparently an unknown job in this country.

 

Among the many well off people of Bangkok, some might enjoy this kind of services, if they were available.

 

The trick would be to recruit the necessary reliable staff...

Another good idea. I think with this economic climate, finding staff would not be difficult. Reliable is always a challenge here. But, it is possible. There are alot of hard working people here, and if they are well paid, it can be done.

Sounds like this kind of thing would have been completely legal, had he been licensed to do so. So, all that was missing was the revenue paid to the appropriate persons or agency? Or, am I missing something here? How is this considered human trafficking, when all parties are consenting?

I think this entire story is deflection. Thailand wants desperately to appear to be doing something about trafficking and slavery. And they are doing nothing, thanks to an administration that does not have any interest in pursuing convictions against anyone who is in power, the police, the army, very wealthy or connected. So, they pursue a lowly individual for doing what, exactly? This does not sound like trafficking, at all. Not on any level. 

Now, to make up for his astonishing lack of qualifications as health minister, he has taken to wearing a doctors shirt. At least he looks the part. If only he knew anything about the health field. To think that Thailand survived, and did as well as it did, despite Anutin, is amazing. 

And what else would you be offering hotels, to use their facilities for, besides money? 

I am seeing 37,000 as a total. Is this number correct? UK, is already number two. But that is an extraordinary number. Of course nowhere near the crazy US numbers. But, they are the world leaders!