jayboy

Irrelevant.Makes no difference to the (not very high) standard of Thai language required. No you didn't because there are no "very creditable websites" giving details of PR.Most are appalling and are littered with errors including the one you quote which wrongly suggests a work permit comes with PR.The only source that can really be recommended is Asean Now/formerly Thai Visa (this forum) which gives all the information the applicant needs to know.It's a a lot to wade through but all the information is here.

There is a points system but I have been assured by an unimpeachable source that exceptions are made from time to time if a candidate flops in one or more categories including the Thai language test.In truth they couldn't care less for example whether a candidate is married or not or whether he has a patchy educational background.What does matter in these iffy cases is the amount of tax tax paid.If a well connected/ non crook farang has paid buckets of tax over the prescribed period, he will get PR - even if not generating enough points in other areas.

That has never been a constraint for Westerners. It isn't. This is the heart of it.The list of PR benefits is rather thin but the peace of mind it provides is incalculable. Is it not possible to go straight for citizenship and avoid PR altogether? Personally. I am not interested in citizenship though might have been 30 years ago. I had never considered this aspect but I see your point.

In 1787 Thomas Jefferson wrote: " What country before ever existed a century and half without a rebellion? And what country can preserve it’s liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."

They really aren't.

Dream on

Yes, I had the same thought - a different and less hidebound generation one hopes and less obsessed with face.

Recently on arrival (I have Thai PR) a youngish female Immigration official - steering the hordes to their queues - insisted I join the foreign queue despite having seen my white book and stating it's the nationality of passport that counts.I shrugged and complied but mentioned to her that the rules have apparently changed.She was adamant but to my surprise appeared a few minutes later and told me to come with her to the priority queue.I'm guessing my remark that the rules had changed had unsettled her and she had then consulted her boss.I should say the complete encounter was business like in tone and without a hint of hostility on her side or my side.

A report in the Economist this week, quoting from a 2019 study, notes that patients who used marijuana on a daily or weekly basis needed up to three times the typical anaesthesia dose to stay under while in the operating room.The article is headed, "Waking up in the middle of a surgery is the stuff of nightmares." I have no idea of the credibility of this suggestion though The Economist has greater heft than most publications.For those interested - eg smokers about to go under the surgeon's knife obviously more research would be advisable.. However as is so often the case, the comments beneath the article are equally as interesting.A common factor is the spluttering rage and indignation on the part of many when any suggestion is made that marijuana might not be perfectly safe.Most would accept that abuse of alcohol is more dangerous.But I can't help feeling that there are so many vested interests involved, certainly in Thailand, that getting a truthful response is unlikely.Can anyone point to a credible science based source of information on the medical risks of marijuana in general, which is not subject to unsound views from proselytes on either side? The obvious answer to the anaesthesia point is that the patient should be upfront and transparent with his/her medical team.Tall them what your intake is and they can adjust the anaesthetics as necessary

For nearly 15 years we brought imported American butterball turkeys from Villa Market - pricey but happy to pay given Villa's excellent roasting service. Then, for reasons which remain mysterious to me, the Government banned imported Turkeys. Villa then offered a local alternative which although still pricey was hugely inferior to the American bird - and generated much disappointment among my Thai friends who had become accustomed to a festive Yankee whopper. Anyone care to recommend the best available alternative.