ableguy

I am getting REALLY fed up by the polemic nonsense that so many of you are writing since these troubles started !!

Specially the smart asses who know "everything" and give comments reaching the Nobel price of stupidity!

If you have an opinion so say it the civilized way - without insinuations like "Bravo good for them or those"

What irritates me here actually is that the US (as usual) is pointing with the finger!!

Now not you nor the US have ANY rights to tell or criticize Thailand!

DO NOT forget that The Land of Smile is experiencing the worst passage in its entire history - Scandals after scandals, gossips, corruption like never before and (saddest thing) a frail Father - venerated King.

Respect, be concerned (without inflammatory comments) and observe! Many of us have family here and the insecurity is at its highest level.

We cannot compare our so different cultures...

It is an immense task for Khun Abhisit, the parliament and all parties to solve the problem by themselves.

And, again I think that the US should better concentrate on other priorities like North Korea and Myanmar and assist if necessary instead of preaching!

Sorry I had to let it out !!!

Pesche - Living here since 18 years

Sad but another USA basher, lets face it if you are European you probably would not be around had not the USA saved Europes ass at the cost of thousands of US lives.

Something like what is being done in the west at this time could be suggested , billionairs have been asked to give half of thier wealth to agencies for the poor , billions of dollars have poured forth to aid the poor since the requests started and it seems more is to follow . Who needs that much money any way ?

Are you serious? have you ever known one single Thai willing to give away money .

This is just my opinion and it might offend people but I believe it to be true

The government has been far to nice to the red shirts. They have been more concerned about looking good than they have in punishing the criminals. The red shirts should have been crushed. As is they were merely coddled told it was not there fault and given free rides home.

Time to think of Thailand and not what is nice for the red shirts. Give them the same consideration they gave Bangkok. If the situation was reversed they would not handle you in such a nice way.

The problem with the label 'red shirts' is that there are many legitimate pro-democracy supporters who happen to be UDD member, or have a red shirt. To separate those from the minority who are militant is the main problem the government faces. Keep in mind that the lower classes (no offense meant by this label) have very valid grieves which need to be addressed in a constructive manner. That means education, self-sufficiency, self-reliance, participation in a democratic process. And start to forget about hand-outs.

Yes there is some truth in what you say. How ever I believe that most of those people have drifted away from the red shirts. There was a special on Air Asia about a week ago. All though it had red shirt leanings it showed a lot of citizens who are for democracy and condemned what the red shirts were doing. It was a real shock to me the size and determination of them. The English media well peaceful demonstrators don't sell news papers.

My question is if the red shirts want democracy and condemn the current system the same one used in Canada and Great Britain why don't they send letters and telephone calls to there ministers. By doing that there ministers will get the message and do every thing in there power to deliver what ever it is they are being asked to deliver. If the red shirts had the people they say they do and they all did this several times there ministers would get the message far better than invading hospitals sends it.

We some times forget that the first and primary job of a elected official is to get him self reelected and he will go to any length to do that. That is not a slam against Thailand that is the truth in most countries. Just a sad state of affairs.

Seems to me elected officials are interested in one thing only, self enrichment, getting their nose in the trough, your logic cannot be applied to Thailand.

Just a couple of points

1) Why haven't the the hotels with contamination been shut down.

2) Have recent guest and hotel staff been told of the contamination so they have the option of getting a check up?

3) If the elderly and smokers need to wear masks entering a contaminated site. How do they know the site is contaminated?? Did the hotel put up a sign in reception advising of Legionnaires??

Why shut the hotels down? its a simple matter of maintenance on the air and water systems in these hotels; this would obviate the need for 2) and 3). No need to use a hammer to kill a mosquito...

why

?I like to squash them

If this story is in fact true, it makes a total mockery of justice in Thailand. Might this be because Pletnev has shown he will fight the case in Court and the authorities are so incensed by the international media response (which has highlighted the fact that Thailand is a haven for pedophiles rather than the efforts of the country to clean up its act) that they literally want the case and Pletnev to disappear? Wherever he is now, he cannot get back to Thailand and report back to the Court as ordered. So he is doubly damned. Accused of being a pedophile and treated as one without any shred of evidence being brought out in Court! Yet not even allowed to prove his innocence (if that is the case). What makes this even more disgraceful is that the Immigration Chief has acted before getting a reply from the "Child and Women Unit". I am shocked and appalled.

MAYBE WE SHOULD WAIT UNTIL HE IS CONVICTED ? JUST A THOUGHT LA !.....

Perfectly fair point. But it seems the Thai Justice System will not even give him that opportunity! I hope there is an international outcry over this.

I think you may be looking at it the wrong way.

They've stopped his visa so he can't come back and face charges.

What if influential people from whichever country have found a way to let him go free without Thailand losing face.

The Thais can't prosecute him because they've put him on a blacklist and won't let him back into the country.

I wonder who gets to keep all the guy's assets in Thailand. Hasn't he got houses and businesses all over the place?

Makes you think.

Read the papers, he is back in Thailand, and reported to police in Pattaya on time, he said he was prepared to fight the case and added the police found nothing on his computers or in his home.

The only thing you have to fear in Bangkok is the traffic.

Does this mean the go go bars are breaking the law if they have five or more punters checking out the action?

a law enforcer (FROM ANYWHERE) that's HONEST....... whoever told you that LIED.

None are honest, never have been and NEVER will be. remember that `lawmen' were killers, theives and bandits first, that's how they got to LAWMEN. They are still the same today, except they now have uniforms, badges and guns. And the courts always sides with the crooks. This has been true from the start of time and it has not changed nor will it ever change...

What a pointless first post.

Worldwide law enforcement did not start in the States in the 1800s. There's more to the world than the "US Wild West". You've been watching too many westerns.

When Sir Robert Peel started the Metropolitan Police in London in 1829, do you really think he chose to only employ criminals?

By the way, in the UK the police don't carry guns.

ever seen the guys at UK airports with sub machine guns, funny they dress up in police uniforms.

btw, where is the investigation about the stolen jewels of the Saudi Prince ? The police had had one of its finest moments there .Wonder whether the Thaï thief is still alive.

Well, there would have been more than one. As I recall, the Saudi prince complained that about half of the items returned to him were fakes, and of course many items were not returned to him at all. I never did find out the name of the police general whose wife was supposedly photographed wearing one of the necklaces, but surely there would have been many others of lower rank who would have shared in the loot to reward their help in destroying evidence. The general would have been older (but still not sixty, the mandatory retirement age)so might have passed away by now, but most of the younger people would still be alive. Might be retired by now, though.

There has been several murders related to this case, I guess sending the message leave the case alone, the amazing thing is the Thai house servant who stole the goods in two large suitcases and unaided managed to get them back to Thailand today is walking a free man, albeit destitute.

Priceless! Only in Thailand and truly AMAZING Thailand

Is there one single viewer suprised by this, the only mysery is how the guy managed to get one set back.

"It was a terrible accident" yeah right, in a rage he stabbed this poor girl to death, what he accidentally lost his mind? What's wrong with people? After living in Thailand for several years do these men they loose touch with reality and all common sense, I think many do. Look at the suicide rate in Pattaya and the UK guy 3 years ago that tried a blackmail plot by sending threating emails to Tesco; Police say he has confessed that he tried to blackmail the superstore giant Tesco by threatening to poison food in Tesco's British stores unless he was paid 2 million pounds (about 138 million baht, $4 million). And the list goes on... RIP, my condolences to the girl's family and friends.

What is the connection?

A lot of people are saying that losing your internet connection is a poor defence. It is.

But think about when you lose your internet connection and how it makes you react. It shouldn't upset you as much as it does, should it?

Just go to a f_kcing 24 hour internet cafe and then you dont need to kill someone- what a sick world

I have dealt with many thousands of people who have internet problems (for a job), and while most of them would never dream of harming a person over something so trivial, when it happens to them, they change in ways you wouldn't believe possible.

I've had people break down in tears several times, call me a "fuc_king asshol_e, (insert my name here and repeat 5-10 times over one minute)", smash their computers, put holes in the wall, set their dogs on techs who came out to fix faulty wiring, belt their kids or partners, call the cops on us, turn up at the door of the office threatening us, multiple threats to go to the media or to sue us, and many many other things you just wouldn't believe a rational human being to be capable of.

People get the sum of the world's information and entertainment at their fingertips almost instantly, and they become addicted to it.

What happens when you withhold something addictive? Violent withdrawals.

I'm not saying what this guy did was right, but I can certainly believe it. You take a person who's had a string of bad luck and high stress, liquor him up, take away his addictive source of instant gratification and add another stressful failure to his life, and it's easy to see how he could snap. Everyone has a breaking point. This seems to be the straw that broke the camel's back.

I'm just glad they got him off the streets and I feel very sorry for his victim, her family, and his own family who will have to live with this in their family history.

EDIT: wow I should have read all three pages of posts before replying. It looks like a lot of people have already said what I just did

Hope you do not practice your craft in Thailand with Thais?

<BR>If part of the defence is that his internet connection had been lost, that gives so many people so much leeway!<br><br>Clearly the Thai police etc. do things totally differently to the UK.&nbsp; Bringing the accused before the press for a press conference and letting them read his statement??&nbsp; How bizarre!<br><br>And quite how you accidentally get a knife in the bedroom and stab someone is quite beyond me!<br><BR>

Great News.....give me an update in two years!

Great News.....give me an update in two years!

What a load of Cods Wollop!!!

Leave the guy alone to do his job.

How can they expect to move forward by bringing up bullshite like this all the time?

I think they got the idea from the Clinton sex scandal in the US. Really helped the US move forward, right? If that hadn't happened, Gore would have easily won in 2000 and the US would never have invaded Iraq. Be a whole different world.

But politics keeps getting crazier and crazier.

you must understand most of these guys are uneducated and they are not do gooders, they are in it fot the graft.

What and how exactly did PM gain financially from sending sms?

..Well said....."What and how exactly did the former PM Samak gain financially from hosting a cooking show..

Money and free publicity, that makes people jealous.

I actually like Thai Horror and Thriller movies and some of their Comedy stuff is very funny too, even if I have to watch them in Thai, I still like to go to the movies and watch a Thai movie, I watch enough english movies on the TV as it is, so the change is good.

Until Thai movies are about real world problems and issues and not a fat khatoey with a slide whistle up their rear then the Thai populace will continue remaining dumb.

They can console themselves by wiping their rear with their degree though.

If you live in thailand, its sounds like you need a new country or maybe a fat khatoey to tickle fight with. I think the populaces of most countries are considered dumb, even with the real world movies about problems and issues, after we elected george junior to a second term I new then that the good old usa was defining dumb-probably more like retarded. Who doesnt like Tony Jaa? The fat khatoey with a slide whistle up the rear brings a smile to my face.

Your not too smart looking at your spelling.

the thing is the thai soap operas r so good and the movies they make these days so bad , why leave the house ?

The natives need to be entertained, otherwise they would be revolting

many of the natives are revolting.

<BR>This is very old news for any patient treated in a hospital. I hope that those in an outpatient situation, capable of getting their own medication, get a script or note of the name of the medication from the physician to obtain the medication from a pharmacy outside the hospital. The mark up on medications within the hospital situation is a bloody disgrace. And over-prescription would have me suspect that physicians are on a kickback but would I suggest that???<BR>

Yes I am a UK citizen, this year I just filled in my usual tax return, not knowing about none residency, first year here and I got hit with the tax bill, I thought at the time my tax free allowance was 9000 gbp,

I would like to thank once again all you guys for your help. Today I will write to tax office asking if indeed I can go onto the remmitance basis as I

The OP can't be non-resident because he owns rental property in the UK from which he derives an income, if he were to sell it then he could become non-resident. Also, the OP doesn't state that he doesn't have overseas income, the presumption must be that he does, otherwise I agree that it makes no sense for him to choose the remittance basis. The only other option available to the OP is to chose the "arising" basis of taxation on worldwide income, that would give him the full tax allowances but would generate a tax bill on his non-UK earnings, only the OP can clarify that point.

In your case the answer will depend on where you generate income and how much. If the UK rental property is your only source of income then you are fine, you can keep your normal rate of tax free allowance - but if you have investments etc outside the UK that create income and you do not report this, HMRC will not be best pleased when/if they find out, logically they will want to know on which basis you want to be taxed on those earnings, the "arising" or "remittance" basis, if it's the latter then yes, your tax free allowance will be reduced.

Thank you for your clarity. My entire income is pensions and rental income from the UK, so I take it that I can continue to pay UK tax on the current basis, even after informing HMRC of my current address in LOS. Also, as long as I own a house in the UK and rent it out I can't declare myself non-resident.

This is exactly the same as my case.

<BR>The OP can't be non-resident because he owns rental property in the UK from which he derives an income, if he were to sell it then he could become non-resident. Also, the OP doesn't state that he doesn't have overseas income, the presumption must be that he does, otherwise I agree that it makes no sense for him to choose the remittance basis. The only other option available to the OP is to chose the "arising" basis of taxation on worldwide income, that would give him the full tax allowances but would generate a tax bill on his non-UK earnings, only the OP can clarify that point. <BR><BR><BR>In your case the answer will depend on where you generate income and how much. If the UK rental property is your only source of income then you are fine, you can keep your normal rate of tax free allowance - but if you have investments etc outside the UK that create income and you do not report this, HMRC will not be best pleased when/if they find out, logically they will want to know on which basis you want to be taxed on those earnings, the "arising" or "remittance" basis, if it's the latter then yes, your tax free allowance will be reduced.<BR>

I don't know where you got the £2000 threshold from. If you're over 65 (as you presumably are if you're drawing the state pension)the allowance before tax is payable is around £9000. I've never heard that this is reduced because you're living abroad. However, if your combined pensions and house rental income exceed £22000, the allowance is progressively reduced down to the standard taxpayer's allowance of around £6700. The exact figures for all that are available on the HMRC website if you can be bothered to go find them.

I retired last autumn and came out to LOS, but haven't yet decided whether to declare myself non-resident. I phoned up HMRC when I was visiting the UK last month, and they explained that the way it works in my case is that my state pension is paid to me gross. The balance of the ~9000 allowance is applied to one of my occupational pensions, and the other pensions and annuities come to me 20% tax deducted, as does my house-rental income.

I found the HMRC helpline quite helpful.

my combined income in total for the year was 8547 pounds from the uk , and this was my total income period, here is how the income came in

proffit form house rental 2985 pound

private pension 1302 pound

total 4287 taxed at 20% 857 pound

state pension lump sum as I did not claim it earlier 4742 p0unds taxed at 20% 948 pounds

total oweing 1805 pounds

they also want the same money to be be paid for next year on Jan 2011

I have written to them but no reply, I too thought tax free allowance was around 9000 pounds but they inform me if living abroad it is only 2000 pounds

thanks for your comments

Does the civil service have these "crackdowns" in their outlook calendars for yearly repeat or something?

Releasing these stupid stories year after year serves nothing but to show how utterly ineffectual Thai authorities/ministries are at enforcing rules, regs and laws. They can't even get schoolgirls to wear the correct uniform, what hope a rampaging mob?

Why is this the government's business anyway? The colleges have rules about dress codes, enforce them.

Doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result does come to mind.

You seem to forget my friend that this is Thailand, nothing makes sense here, and why should it as there job as is everyones in authority is to enrich them selves, how can they have time to engage brain before mouth, enrichment is hard work enough and a full time job.

Walking home Sukhumvit 68 with my five year old son at 8pm last night, just as we get inside the town house hear a gun shot. Look out the window and theres a Thai youth wriggling around on the drive just the other side of our gate. Take my son upstairs for safety and hear another two shots from the policemans glock. A few minutes later the policeman knocks on the door and asks for a glass of water. The youth is hand-cuffed and another two police officers are on the scene. Turns out the kid was selling Ya Ba at the top of the soi, they chased him by motorbike to where they corned outside my dwelling. The kid hadn't actually been shot, the shots fired were warning shots apparently.

My question is, has there been some kind of clamp down on drug dealers? What the hel_l is a cop doing firing a gun early in the evening in a resdidential area when there are children around?

I've lived in Thailand over ten years and never seen the police act so irresponsibly in all my time here (and that is really saying something).

Be careful out there.

If you hear or see shooting, drop down on the floor, going upstairs is not so handy.

If you need to flee the premises, being upstairs, where do you go, more upstairs?

That was quite irresponsable from you and rather stupid.

You brought danger to your son.

Yes, there seems to be a lot of anti-drug action.

And why would a policeman shoot, you think?

I guess being shot at, it might seem handy to shoot back, even in a residential area.

One might think that policemen will have an reasonable understanding of guns and shooting, while one can presume that a drugsdealer will not have that knowledge.

Yes, all Thai policemen have firearms training.

And yes, they will shoot, just because there is a huge amount of firearms going round in Thailand.

Guess, if a drugdealer shoots at a policeman he is only thinking about himself, and not about collateral damage, as they say.

One may hope the policeman will do just that, and will try to disarm or incapicitate the dealer.

Be certain that if a policeman hits civilians, that is not viewed upon favourably.

I really do not understand people like you, complaining about the policeman, and not about the drugs dealer.

I rather think that a drugsdealer going on a shootings spree in a residential area is slightly more dangerous.

And being a drugsdealer, I do have a feeling that I would not mind the bastard getting killed.

Espescially if he operates in a residential area where there are a lot of children about(= potential easy customers)

Good post but I suspect the reality is he was not getting his cut. the BIB that is