Larry

Nine years ago, the riots between the yellows and the reds gave the military an excuse to stage a coup, draft a manifestly unfair constitution, and take over or stifle all aspects of society in the name of anti-corruption and law and order. The following nine years have been a period of stultification and stagnation. None of the progress and enterprising spirit on the Thaksin years remain. Not only has Thailand failed to progress, the country has actually gone in reverse in many fields. Thai cinema is a case in point. Now a party has arisen that shows the way forward, and the Thai people have spoken loud and clear in favor of their program.  But that voice is now threatened on the flimsiest of technicalities. It is up to the Senators, judges and other parties not to let this happen. They should put the country and democracy first, as the greatest and most beloved Thai of the past hundred years probably would have counselled. If this doesn't work, however, the Thai people in their righteous indignation must launch a protest movement much greater and more determined than anything seen before.  It has been observed that "freedom isn't free", and that "all that is required for injustice to triumph is for good people to remain silent." If not, "Cry, the Beloved Country" will apply to Thailand.

Thanks.....very helpful.  No point getting into trouble.

Thanks.  I should add that I have had a non-immigrant visa up until a few months ago, but no longer have it, as I am generally not in Thailand

I  am a citizen of two visa-exempt countries. Is it OK to enter on one passport, exit within the 30 days, go abroad, enter on the second one for 30 days, and then exit on the second passport?  Does the two tourist visa exempt periods per year rule apply per person or per passport.  My name differs between the two passports:

Thank you.  That's what I suspected. And yes, I do know the difference between my original visa and the extension of my status.

I have had a long-stay (retirement) visa, which I have extended at immigration in Thailand, every year for about eight years.  I am currently abroad and will remain abroad for the entire the renewal period this year.  I still have some time before the deadline, so I wonder whether there is a way (e.g. through a Thai consulate in my home country, for example) to avoid losing my visa and needing to go through it all again.  I want to be as informed as possible beforé I go to the consulate.  Thanks in advance.

Thank you, Sheryl.....nice easy solution!   And thanks to you too, elviajero.

I have a long-stay (retirement) visa, and will be making a trip to the US, where I will be getting a new US passport.  I know I can have the stamps transferred once I am back in Thailand. However, my question is, how do I get back into Thailand with my new (unstamped) passport, and my old (expired or cancelled) passport, without having to go through the hassles of starting all over again to renew my long-stay visa.  I should add that the date of my return to Thailand is within the period of validity of my long-stay visa.  I apologize if this has been answered. It is just that so much has been changing.

It seems that every day now, some farang is found dead. Makes me wonder.

Once there was a dictator in Thailand by the name of Phibun Songkhram. In addition to being a fascist, he promulgated a number of "mandates" regarding virtually every aspect of Thai socieity. Most of them were silly or bothersome, and were later abandoned. I am sure if you read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_cultural_mandates you will say as the French do, "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose"

Don't be surprised if you see a lot of scantily-clad young ladies sitting in front of newly emerged hardware stores, seven-elevens, office supply stores, jewelry shops, travel agencies, language schools and other non-entertainment venues.

What a pathetic piece of Shi'ite...

And one more thing....You need a Sunni disposition, or else you'll bomb. No Shi'ite!

I think the best idea is to make Red Lanna a part of the United Kingdom, with Parliamentary elections using the first past the post system, sending Thaksin and his family to Whitehall.

This would create huge benefits:

For me: I wouldn't have to renew my Visa every year and report every three months;

For the Mrs: We wouldn't have to go through a thousand hoops to get her to the UK on holiday every year

For Thaksin: It would give him the opportunity to buy the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and another football club

For Yingluck: She would get some protection from Britain's political correctness

For the Reds: It would give them some idea of what democracy is about.

For the police: They would have access to all the training facilities that the British Bobby enjoys

Shall I propose all this to Doi Suthep and Chalerm so they could have the basis for some negotiation?

Sure...after all, the UK is likely to lose Scotland with its beautiful highlands, so they can get Lannaland with its beautiful highlands, instead. Better climate, at least.

I can see Lanna becoming a tax haven, or at least a duty-free zone between China, the new Burma, Singapore, etc. Naturally, rules against reasonable foreign ownership of land would change. Employment, education and transportation would increase markedly once Chiangmai and the north change from spoke to hub.

RETRACTION!

ScandAsia apologizes unereservedly for publishing the a photo we mistakenly thought was that of the mother of the child and we have immediately deleted it. We did try several times to reach by phone the contact person mentioned in the outcry for help published on Facebook, but the phone was not taken. It was not explained on Facebook which nationality the mother was – it was widely assumed by people who helped spread it, that she was Thai. We have deleted any reference to the mothers nationality.

Gregers Moller

ScandAsia

Good to see they retracted the article!

Can't blame Thai visa for quoting another news source. Although this story breaks the record in the most mistakes in one article! At least you were smart enough not to publish the second picture of the article quoted (see below). I wrote the following to Scandasia.com:
1. The couple in question is NOT a Swedish/Thai couple. The father is Swedish and the mother is a Swedish citizen of Iranian origin, working for the Swedish government.
2. My friend (a Thai academic)and I, who live in Chiangmai, met the baby's mother on a long-distance train in Sweden about 13 months ago. We invited her and her child (then 7) to visit us in Thailand if she and her family wanted to do so. She was pregnant at the time.
3. She and her bf (father of the baby) stayed at our house for several days. They had a fight and he ran off with the baby.
4. My friend took the mother of the baby to various police stations and called hospitals, the consulate, etc, in an effort to locate the father and the baby.
5. After seven days, the father returned from Pai with the baby, stayed a couple of days, and left together for the south.
6. My friend never met this man before he arrived in January. It is most embarrassing for her (and for me, a lawyer and Swedish translator) to have to confront questions about this matter, particularly as you include a picture of my friend and the baby, which seems to identify her as the mother.
[name redacted] and I INSIST that you publish a retraction of this article, and an apology for being so irresponsible.
Lawrence (surname redacted)

Why can't Chalerm and Suthep just shoot each other? It's done in the movies all the time. Both would go down in history as having performed a great public service.

For the first time, we can go shopping, take in a movie, etc. without taking the car or spending time trying to find parking. We live about 300 meters away from Maya in Mooban Nantawan. Going food shopping, arranging for delivery and walking home in ten minutes. What a pleasure! Did anyone see the new Rimping Supermarket?

Once they complete the sensible connection of the right end of the wrong-ended Makkasan station, there will be an easy connection to the MRT and to taxis going in the direction of Sukhamwit. After completion, they should widely publicize the improvement in order to win back passengers who were burned by this "station to no where."