connda

This program by the MoE will be no more successful than sending me or any other NES to a six week course to learn Thai for the purpose of teaching English speaking foreigners Thai As A Second Language.

The idea is ludicrous. But if it happens, the other ASEAN member will walk over Thailand on the global stage where English is the standard language for conducting Trans-national business.

Those parents with the money and resources will continue to educate their children in private schools with NES or NCS instructors. The public schools will output students who speak Thai-english gibberish:

Q: "You eat or not?"
A: "Eat apple red good taste already."

Best of luck to the MoE. Ridiculous plan, but good luck anyway.
It will be the blind leading the blind.

But kudos to the Thai education system. They do have the sentence, "Good morning teacher," down to a science, regardless of what time of day it is.

Hate to say it, but most Thai teachers I've met either don't have the aptitude to become proficient enough in English to teach it, or they simply don't have the tenacity and motivation to shrug off their own cultural biases to reach proficiency. Most teachers I've taught would be more interested in the status that would come with receiving the moniker of Certified English Teacher, even though they would still be unable to correctly pronounce English words, let alone carry on a conversation.

He is a man who exemplifies the Buddhist concept of 'sila' or morality.

Ha... I think it's more pathetic if you are rich and still have to be with a bar girl

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If you're a Rich Robert then you can afford the discretion of an Escort service. Instead of going to the Cheap Charlie party, you can bring the Rich Robert party to you.

Same Same but Different: Same morality, different venue.

Sorry, I've been around Xanax legally prescribed. Any fools that can't tell they have a ground up Xanax in their drinks at the amount to eventually incapacitate them, which simple means falling asleep after playing 'Romper Room' in the hotel room deserves to be robbed. And rubbing Xanax on their nipples - rubbish. Complete, total, rubbish. Well, fine. The Thai government has been attempting to demonize Xanax specifically without any mention of any other classes of benodiazapines that are available on the market. Ban it. Big deal.

Once you start hearing this rhetoric, you can expect to see a spike in immigration of cheap labor who are willing to work for even less than the local Thais. Instead of working for 300 THB/day, the 'cheap migrant labor' will work for 150THB/day doing "jobs that Thai don't want to do". Right out of the George 'Dubya' Bush era immigration doctrine.

I guess Thai Visa will have to write another forum rule: No criticizing any Thai government institution regardless of the validity of the critique.

Guess TV will have to go back an delete all reference to any Thai government institutions. That should cut their database about in half.

They are going to recommend that they eat vegetables and fruit, and exercise? And not eat chocolate?

Did they legalize ganja!!! Errr...nevermind. Wrong 'high-season'.

I shouldn't think they have a snowflakes chance in hell of succeeding. The white house has the world's best security.

So unless they have long term plants inside - its all a dream.

Many posters claim Obama is a Muslim.

Don't get much more of an inside plant than that

Maybe he'll blow himself up!! I'm sure Billary would help him put on the vest.

Wow. That would make a great plot for a Tom Clancy book if he was still with us. RIP.

Not likely. Just ask Miriam Carey how that worked out for her. And all she did was make a wrong turn.

Isn't it time to crush this aberration once and for all. Let the A10 pilots do their jobs right along side the SU24 pilots. Get rid of these parasites on the back of humanity.

Russia and China are making trade agreement with countries throughout Asia. All one needs to do is look at the geographic proximity of these nations on a global map to understand why. Not any different then trade between Canada, the US, Mexico, and Central America.

The survey involved pointing a loaded gun at the "consumer" and giving him/her/it a choice of two possible answers, "yes" things are great or "boom"

I love these surveys done by the "govt"

In the US, 94 million people are out of work, and the unemployment rate is 5.1%?

Only the ignorant and gullible believe any statistics issued by government agencies. On a good day, they are self-serving SOBs.

Caperfriend / Northjohn,

My wife and I went to the I/O in September to renew our retirement extension, and our comments about the IM Officer are exactly the same as yours

Not polite and very rude

The guy who did the re-entry permit was worse, he more or less throw our documents at us

NO UNDERSTANDING OF "SERVICE'

Perhaps the new batch of Immigration Officers were sent the USA to get their 'Customer Service' training from the TSA.

If G4 is out of business why others allowed to operate

They were cheaper maybe the others paid G4 to close

We will never know

This done by many Business in Anerica

The others are now happy less to share.

If it was a private business, I assume that it's the option of the business owner to stay in business or quit.

However, I'd love to know who the actual owner of G4T is. In the US, that would be publicly available knowledge. Not so sure here.

Big Carl, I am also in Chiang Mai and tend to agree with you that the immigration offices up here are maybe not persecuting us, but are making as many obstacles and hoop jumps for us as they can.

There is a definate sentiment in the area I live that they would be better off without White Foreigners. This has never been noticeable in my area before but it is now.

In some ways you cannot blame the average people as it is day after day there are news reports from all over Thailand of farangs ripping people off, scamming with bank cards etc. Who would blame them?

But as you mentioned with immigration up here, (that must be the worst in the country) they seem intent in making our lives as difficult as possible.

Firstly they split the immigration offices into Airport and Promenada, I have still been unable to find out which one transfers an extension to a new passport.

Then they removed the queue online service forcing people to have to go there at 4 and 5 AM to try and get an appointment.

I wrongly assumed that the move to promenada was to set up a new all encompassing immigration service, how wrong I was, it looks more like divide and conquer.

It also seems like the more negative press they get in the west the more they get the hump and make life more difficult for us and align themselves closer to China at every opportunity.

There is a definite sentiment in the area I live that they would be better off without White Foreigners. This has never been noticeable in my area before but it is now.

I live in almost 100% Thai communities in Chiang Mai and our home in Lamphun. I speak Thais with the Thais, know many of the locals, and act as Thai do in many cases including going to our local Wats. I haven't perceived any real difference other that there is a bit of desperation in a number of business that I frequent because business is way down from what it was say 5 years ago. A lot less farangs, who individually would spend money, as individuals (Western culture, 'eh), and more Chinese who tend to be tour oriented. So the negative effect is on small business owners. Those that cater to both foreigners and Thais tend to do much better. So I haven't heard any 'Farang Go Home' rhetorical, but on the contrary, I'm hearing that other way around. "Business bad, no farang." Just my own observation. Your mileage may vary.

Other than Chiangmai Immigration, which as noted many times, is a nightmare, I've never felt persecuted here. However, lately, I do feel less welcomed. Not generally, but in a few places. Today I did my now and again escape from the city heat and congestion by riding up the mountain to Doi Pui. I skip the Doi Suthep temple, having seen it so many times and given how crowded it is.

I decided on a stop at the Mon Tha Than waterfall, which is located in a National Park. As I rode up I was asked for 100B. I said, in Thai, that I live in Chiangmai, and produced my Thai driving license. The woman consulted with someone else, and said "mai daay". I said, "used to work", and she acknowledged that it did, but said "no more". In keeping with my policy that I don't pay more than others, I thanked her and left.

I have the same policy. Note to self. No more trips to Naam Dok Montha. But also like you said, I've been to many of these places so many time that the novelty has wore off. I tend to like to go off the beaten path with my Thai family or alone.

Immigration is it's own issue and should comments should be directed to Immigration Promenada One Stop Service v2, because yeah, something is different here.

As far as being discriminated against, if you live here long enough you realize that foreigners are treated as foreigners in Thailand. Dual pricing, scams, etc are just part of the territory. I've lived in Bangkok, Korat, and Chiang Mai, and I can't say that I've experience a lot of difference in the different locations. In Korat I was treated more like a local than a 'potential tourist', probably because there are a lot less foreigners living their. As far as bar closing, no difference that I can see. The laws just are not applied uniformly.

Some OPs just aren't happy unless they can complain about 'sexpats', expats, and long-term residents who talk about their experiences with the negative aspects of this country.

I tend to stay away from those types of self-righteous ideologues who like to go on trolling expeditions.

Guilty in the court of public opinion. The mob has spoken, which sucks. His contributions to show business are legend.

Let's go back to the old saying, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

This is your brain on CO₂

_{Nothing like a young mind that is well scrubbed and clean!}

So the double agent is now free. Too bad. Now he can write a book and continue his espionage work during book tours.

Tough. Look at what just happened in Paris. Now close the borders and send these people who are peppered with radical Islamists back to where they came from.

If the UN wants a solution, then it should involve itself in stabilizing the counties that these people come from so that they can be sent back.

Did they apply for refugee status ? Pleading human rights violations at the border ? No, they "bypassed immigration". What happens to the Mexicans who jump the border in the U.S. and get caught? Don't you think some of them face torture from cartel gansters that were spawned by the immoral war on drugs ? Do the Americans give a rats ass as they mass deport them? Does the UNHCR ? Everyone on this forum is very well versed on legal entry to a country, it's not rocket science. Thailand has too many of its own unique problems to solve, the UNHCR should do a better job in guiding these refugees and providing safe passage if that is their mandate.

But do the mexicans claim and are granted asylum and about to be repatriated to a country that wants them?

You do talk some tosh.

If the UN wants to do something, then solve the problems in the countries where the refugees are fleeing from. Then they can all go back.