connda

He didn't dare target the locals, said police.

He obviously was too stupid to believe that non-Thais would be more than happy to snuff him for a190K quid bookie bet that he didn't plan to make good on.  For someone who ran in mafia circles and was a bookmaker,, that was suicidal.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals?  That's expected.  Off to the Supreme Court.

If he was a Thai national, a simply wai and apology to the family would suffice.

I love going online to book domestic flights.

Wow!!! Only 999 THB from Chiang Mai to BKK.  Whoo Hooo!!!
<book, book, book>
<at checkout>

1999 THB in taxes, surcharges, fees, baggage, runway charges, other

Total cost 2998 THB. 

<books train>

33 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

call the Prayut government 'racist' for for not allowing illegal immigration/illegal work.  There is no difference.  Dwell on that conundrum long enough and it's impossible not to see the  hypocrisy

 

There are, by most accounts, ~ 3 million illegal/stateless immigrants living in Thailand, so ~ 4.5% of the total population; in the U.S. it might closer to 3.5%.

 

I am unabashedly in favor of the free flow of capital and labor, with some controls on immigration, and 100% in favor of immigration reform with amnesty/path to citizenship for those currently in the U.S.

Then you are also 100 % in favor of immigration reform with amnesty/path to citizenship for those currently in Thailand?  Visa-overstayers should have amnesty and a path to citizenship here in Thailand?  Those of us here legally - so sad too bad, you need to break the law first to get that amnesty.
This is what you're advocating in the US.
But what that really means is that those who break immigration law get a free ride to citizenship, and those who played by the rules, obtained proper documentation do not.

See, I think you have it completely backwards.  Those who have submitted their visa applications and have been waiting for months or years should be allowed access to work and a path to US citizenship because they have played by the rules.  To make room for those new migrants who have done everything legally, all the illegals need to be deported - just like they do here in Thailand.
Granting amnesty/citizenship to illegals is a smack in the face and a kick to the stomach of every foreigner who has sought to enter the US legally, especially those whose paperwork is in the queue.  I find that obscene and morally reprehensible in it callousness. 
It's no different than saying that if you steal a car, then the title should be signed over to you.  All those who have bank loans for their cars must continue to pay.  Why is this so difficult to understand how morally wrong that approach is?

Bottom line: "Good guys in; Bad guys out!"

One more point about the generosity of Thais who have become US citizens and hire illegal Thai labor.  These are not philanthropists. These are business owners who are 1) breaking US immigration law, and 2) paying their illegal Thai workers what amounts to slave wages.

A friend of my wife just experienced that fact first hand.  She went to the US to work for a Thai US citizen, she was paid a wage that was less than US minimums, her substandard lodging was docked from her wages, and she still needed to live off of the local economy which is magnitudes more expensive than Thailand.  This is just a step above human trafficking but not by much.  So illegal immigration opens the undocumented workers up to extreme exploitation.  Which is exactly why segments of the US business communities are screaming bloody murder (and pulling the race card) because the cheap, exploitable labor is going to dry up.  As it should.  Exploiting others is immoral (and illegal in the US). 

My wife's friend lasted two months then came back to Thailand.  I've talked to her about her experiences and it was really was criminal on the part of her US employer who coerced her to come with promises of riches, and then flat out exploited her labor. 

Excellent.  The Trump Plan is working.  A Thai Native, now US citizen, telling Thais that they can't come to the US to work illegally.  Perfect!!!  The word is officially out!

Dry eyes from this expat who legally used to work in Thailand and obeys Thai immigration laws.  Anyone entering the US can do the same.

Those who wish to call the Trump government 'racists' for not allowing illegal immigration/illegal work should, with that same breath, call the Prayut government 'racist' for for not allowing illegal immigration/illegal work.  There is no difference.  Dwell on that conundrum long enough and it's impossible not to see the  hypocrisy

1 hour ago, DekDaeng said:

And on Darwin Day

No doubt too old to contribute to the gene pool.  So not a Darwin Award candidate. 
I find it hard to fathom, but see the same stupidity all the time, be it crossing a rail line when the lights on flashing or pulling out onto the main road from a soi without looking for oncoming traffic.  Some people just don't bother to look.  Keep engaging in that type of suicidal behavior and eventually the odds in your favor run out.

2 hours ago, Ricardo said:

"The SRT was founded as the Royal State Railways of Siam (RSR) in 1890. "

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Railway_of_Thailand

 

And the project for a mass-transit system in Chiang Mai has been under-discussion for 20+ years, so I wouldn't hold my breath, on anything suddenly happening up here !

I'm assuming that there would be massive push-back by tuk-tuk and songtaw driver associations.  Anyway, Chiang Mai is built like a wheel spoke.  I can't wrap my head around how they would supply electric rail in sufficient locations to offset the traffic issues.  Best of luck planning that.  They have to build elevated rail lines up the major arterials with stations originating in the old city.  Talk about a 'Mega-Project.' 

1 hour ago, Jimbo2014 said:

DAFT! - what about actual policies to support.  Mother care allowance, proper day care centres government funded etc..  Oh and allow people to enjoy themselves - thats a good start.

Not really needed.  In Thai culture its highly likely and culturally accepted that the children go back to the villages to be raised by the grandparents while the adult kids pursue their careers.  The parents subsidize the grand-parents to care for the kids.  It's a win-win.  Which I agree with: children need to be brought up within their family units, not by some stranger, families bringing up family eliminated the need for government funded programs to pay surrogates to care for children which means less need for tax revenues to fund something that is not needed by Thai society.  Western societies could learn a lesson from the Thai model. 

I've got a great logo: 

Zoom-zoom to Boom-boom: Thailand needs you to pop out a baby today!

Thailand probably needs to pass a law that takes away young couple's smart phones until they pop out a kid.  One kid: Mom gets her smart phone back.  Two kids: Dad gets his smart phone back.  Than they can go back to being distracted. 

Use to live in Laksi 10 years ago.  I found the hanging cables amusing and sent pictures back to the US to friends who were electrical engineers.

10 years later and it's still the same.  TIT

On 2/6/2017 at 0:56 PM, chilli42 said:

You make a boat load of great points.  What it all comes down to everywhere in the world is the balance between stability and anarchy.  That balance is a lot more trickey than people credit it.  Authoritarian leaders always use this against us.  How much freedom are you willing to trade off to be safe?  It's a slow process, small seemingly pragmatic trade off's are made ... but it's never enough ... and more trade off's are made etc etc.  Once freedoms are gone, enshrined in some constitution or other, there is no going back ... without a return to anarchy.  I am not speaking to the situation in Thailand but embracing anarchy can be a road to freedom.  It has been so for many of today's most successful democracy's.

3 minutes ago, Destiny1990 said:

Well they know how to over regulate work permits procedures for us but for straw dangerous dogs all of sudden they got no clue where to start.

Yeah, they do cherry pick don't they.  Lol  Like you can't harm a dog which attacks you because it's cruelty to animals, but pet owner can under-feed their dogs, not groom them, not-medicate them, and let them run free in the road.  And yet their owners who have starving, flea-bitten, tick infested, mangy dogs which have been hit by cars aren't considered inflicting cruelty?  Interesting country, huh.

11 hours ago, FarangFB said:

The main problem is that dogs should NOT be allowed to roam free on the streets. They should not "own" a territory that is not theirs, but a public space.

 

The only way I see around is a government action:

1- A public service to collect stray dogs upon request - you want a dog out of that Soi you call them. What happens next, then it's another issue, but I'm assuming a large shelter and all the dogs in there get sprayed and vaccinated - yes it would be expensive. They would remain there for adoption.

2- If the captured dog belong to someone, this person should personally come to reclaim the dog and have the first warning to NOT allow it to stay on public roads.

3- If a reclaimed dog is captured again, a fine has to be paid by the owner. If the fine is not paid, the dog is not released. The fine doubles each time this happens.

4- If a rabid dog is captured, it will be put down in a painless way.

5- If a reclaimed dog bites someone, the owner (who paid the dog's bail) is responsible for all medical costs of the victim and is also heavily fined.

 

But I know this makes too much sense to actually happen, I'm just wasting my time writing here.

Great suggestions for a developed country.  Thailand is a developing country.  TIT.  It just doesn't work that way no matter how much you want it to.  Anyway, I left the developed world to get away from that kind of over-regulation and litigation.  That's the real trade-off. You take the good with the bad.  I prefer under-regulation to over-regulation.  Then you just deal with the way thing are. 

On 2/8/2017 at 4:17 PM, giddyup said:

Will that attitude work with Pitbulls?

It will work with Bullmastiff, Pittbulls, German Shepards.  Unless a dog has been poorly trained to be aggressive toward humans you can more than likely control them. And even the one's that are aggressive nutjobs - Show fear and you're definitely screwed.  Dogs in our village?  I ain't worried about.  Nobody I know in the village has a purebred that they've trained.  These are all Heinz 57 Thai-dogs that get no training at all.  What they know is pack behavior. 

13 hours ago, cerox said:

Hi connda,

 

I wear glasses too. There are two different (or maybe even more) models of the N95 mask. You can go to the 3M shop to have a look.

 

One mask is like a square - I cannot wear it, because you have to clip it behind your ears and then the glasses start to move. But the other mask I use (also N95) is formed like a rectangle - although it might not be correct I wear it with the strips behind my head and it works well, once you adjust it down to your nose.

 

If I wear it often and take the mask off quiet often, I need to change it after 3-4 days, not a problem because buying in bulk (3M shop) you get them for 20 THB each.

I'll have to check them out again at the 3M shop when I get back to CM.
Thanks!

On 2/8/2017 at 11:12 PM, madusa said:

I dont' remember any problem with air quality 20 to 30 years back in chiang mai. Is this a recent problem? Well, recent mean 10 years back at the most.

Is it the slash and burn method they use to clear the land for cultivation?

Someone out there please give me an answer.

 

 

 

 

The agricultural burning is only a part of the problem.  A major part of the problem is the arson fires purposely started in the mountain forests.  They are started because the locals want to clear the forest under-bush to stimulate mushrooms and to make collecting easier.  It's the widespread, arson set forest fire which really mess up the air.  The local governments can and do control local burning.  Our village leader lets the locals know when they can and can't burn.  But arson?  Uncontrollable with the present manpower and technology.  And 10 years ago it was bad.  I got here in March and the air was putrid. 

2 hours ago, Chip Allen said:

I know Jeff Sessions personally. I spoke to him frequently when I was an anchor and reporter for a news network in Alabama. Jeff was always civil to me, but I find his politics repugnant. He was always railing against "Judicial activism". If not for such activism, civil rights would never have had a chance in the United States.

As someone who does not consider the US Constitution to be a 'living document' to be altered via Judicial Activism, it sounds like Sessions is just the man for the job to protect the Constitution and to administer the law via the letter of the Constitution instead of the interpretation of the Constitution that judicial activists seek to use of obfuscate that document.

Yawn. "Slurp."   <page flip>

Tit for tat.  US citizens can't stay in Thailand or work illegally.  No tears from me for Thai citizens breaking US immigration and work laws. 
Follow the rules, apply for the visas, stay within the laws.  Just like we do here in the Land of Smiles. 

Remember:
"Good guys in; Bad guys out."  It's a two-way street!

That's hysterical.  China will simply step in to fill the vacuum.

No doubt it will still be another Charlie Foxtrot. 

Cambodia bar-girls are giving them a better deal than Pattaya? 

With Chanon's head at a 45 degree wai, the Korean should have gone for a right hook to the jaw and then pay the 500 THB fine, then wai back and apologize.