connda

Yeah - my wife is assertive even to authority figures. That's not a Thai trait, especially for women.

P*ss off "little people." Your rulers know what is best for you: Cigarettes and alcohol. Cannabis will damage your lungs and make you feel too good. Bad. Not like cigarettes and alcohol. Cigarettes and alcohol good: good for your lungs and good for your liver - make you happy, so drink and smoke tobacco. Smoke cannabis? - prison for you peons. Fearless leaders say it's so. Now move along p*ss-ant peasants. You mean nothing to us you lowly commoner pond-scum. Get outta here. And you small cannabis business owners? Ha ha ha ha ha. Cigarette and alcohol monopolies say to crush you. Good bye lowly small business, sucks to be you. Ha ha ha ha ha.

Yeah - I haven't gotten any notifications. Sent it via EMS. It shows as "Delivered" but no signature, just a note on the EMS page (in Thai) that it was delivered to a "security guard at the US Embassy" Check the passport status page but nothing yet. So I've got notes in my calendar to start checking "two weeks" after it arrived. Patience is my friend I guess.

The marketing departments of large multinational pharmaceutical corporations, grant seeking education institutions, and the main-stream media still have an economic incentive to keep "The Zombie Apacalype" narrative alive. And I rest my case.

"But but but.....we never saw it coming."

Sing to tune of Instant Karma: Covid virus gonna get you, it's hiding underneath your bed. Better get your 49th booster, otherwise you'll end up dead!

If I was extended permanent residency status or had a path to citizenship like foreign gals married to Thai men - then I'd have no problems paying taxes just like a Thai national. But being just a "guest" on a one-year extension of stay to "visit" my Thai wife? For the last decade and a half? Nah - I'm going to balk at any attempts to pry my US income out of my US funds and put it into the Thai tax coffers. They get 7% VAT and take 15% of the interest on my Thai bank account. Past that they are being greedy. But grant me PR and Citizenship just like is granted to foreign women married to Thai men - I'm happy to pay.

Well said. Kick back, relax, wait for 2025 - or - until the Thai government publishes concrete laws which includes written enforcement measures (and still wait until 2025) and then see what shakes out. Then plan-act accordingly.

Ohhh wonderful. Tony consented to go to court. How nice of him. I mean, really...Tony is Tony - Teflon Tony. Well, I'm sure if he is indicted and convicted there will be a nice, comfy remand prison penthouse suite for him to while-away-the-time until his pardon. Of course, no doubt that "heart issue" will suddenly appear with Tony back on his death bed while weakly mouthing the request, "Please, please let me serve my time at home surrounded by my family and grandchildren <cough cough>." ""This is the big one! You hear that, Elizabeth? I'm coming to join ya, honey!"

Cock fights - legal. Betting on cock fights - prison. It boggles the mind.

No - can't watch the video. I saw the pictures and that was enough. I can just imagine the video and that's revolting. I posted something to Facebook when I saw the pictures, just an immediate, visceral reaction - Facebook took my comments it down. That's a first for me. I've never had anything taken down. I said I'd like to break that person's hands for doing that. It was a metaphorical statement: I don't know the person and in reality I don't have that level of violence in me. I've never hurt anyone for the sake of hurting them. Breaking someone's hands, pouring boiling water on them - that's not something I could do to animal or human. But in my mind: "The person deserves to have their hands broken for doing that." That's the little devil sitting on my shoulder. That's the immediate reaction those pictures exerted on me. The loathsomeness of that thought surprises me. That's not normal thinking for me. But what the person did to that Husky? That's not normal by any mean. The owner acted with intention to do harm. And I'm shocked at my own reaction. Like most people I'm simply abhorred at that act of cruelty. And I'm abhorred that the owner isn't in prison. The authorities came down on the side of the human, gave her a hand-slap, and ignored the fact that the Husky suffered terrible burns for no reason other than - "it ate her snacks?" - Lord...whatever. I find the entire affair repulsive. So what's left? Karma. I gotta shelve this. It hurts to contemplate. As a Buddhist, I really need to take a hard look at my own reaction.

Here is another issue that I personally see with my Thai wife and it's something I really have a problem with: Anthropomorphism: Attribution of human motivation, characteristics, or behavior to animals, or inanimate objects. I've heard this over the years wayyyyy too much: "<enter pet's name> is just like human." or "<enter pet's name> understand just like person." or <enter pet's name> understand what I say." I freaking cringe every time she says that. There is nothing human about our numerous pets which includes of menagerie of dogs, cats, and birds. They are animals and they function on instinct and a very low intelligence. My guess is that Anthropomorphizing pets is common with Thais. So this person probably was thinking like this: "Husky is just like human. She steal my snacks on purpose. I show bad dog who think like person and steal my snacks!!!" <pours boiling water on dog> I hope this vile excuse for a human doesn't have children. We hear horror stories of people doing thing like this to their children as well, but they usually don't take videos and share it on social media because pouring boiling water on a child would get you tossed into prison for sure. Pouring boiling water on a dog? A hand slap. This is pathetic.

I saw this on a Thai Facebook page and I'm simply livid. Saw the pictures - can't watch the video. That's just horrific. "The police have been notified blah blah blah." Nothing will happen other than this will be memory-holed and the guy who did this slapped across the hands with wet bamii noodles if anything at all. We'll never know.

The richest and wealthiest segments of the Thai population.

How many new taxes is the Thai government considering: Taxing foreign income Taxing any online purchases under 1500 THB that target most cash strapped Thais seeking to economize The coming Carbon Taxes meant to crush cash strapped Thais seeking to stop them from consuming Think this is going to get better? Think again.

Literally every day, I'm now hearing commentary about nuclear war. It's everywhere. It's reflective of the reality that war is being conducted, or is being planned for the future, pretty much across the globe and entails the participation of all of the nuclear "power-players" on the planet. So some people think that global thermo-nuclear war will be survivable by segments of the general population. Others, like myself, believe that the general population will not survive. So, what do you think: If we have an all-out global, strategic thermo-nuclear war - do you believe that it's survivable? Do you believe that you can personally survive? I'm purposefully limiting the answers to "Yes" or "No." Pick one and let us know the rationale for your choice.

I've had them done in Lamphun. Mods - you can close this thread. Thanks!

Well, that pretty much sums it up for the majority of women on the planet. There is nothing sexier than a man with money who is willing to lavish that money on their dates and girl-friends, therefore, most women are whores and prostitutes given that definition. Including Mrs. John bob smith.

Somebody already did that for you. If your wife is over 65, then add another 190K to the exemption threshold.

You're not going to be affected at all. Your tax exemption threshold at your age is something like 560,000 THB of income. You are way under that with 300K income. If they end up forcing us to file taxes, then claim all of the tax they take out of interest payments on your bank account. You'll end up making more money.

The risk tends to be higher for highly myopic eyes. I fit that category with one eye at -11 diopters so had my retinas "tacked" with laser surgery. The results is a retina that is attached with about 2.5 to 3 times the strength as a normal retina. Still putting off cataract surgery though. Eventually I'll have to have it.

With enough wealth, Gomer Pyle looks like Brad Pitt to your average woman - Thai or otherwise.

Yeah @South. Given the last sentence you do have a point. That fit's my definition of overtly racist.

No - they are generally hankering after a nice Thai gal. All of them. Regardless of sex. <wink; laughs>

Well - yeah! Over time they do get there. The process fits my 64 year old Thai wife to a tee.