simple1

Why not ban alcohol and cigarettes and unhealthy food also? Why not ban TV and force people to exercise? And so on...

People should be allowed to do what they want to do if it is a crime with no victim. And no, people cannot be victim's of themselves. And another person's emotional distress does not make them a victim, either.

Perhaps you should stop & think about your statement "a crime with no victim". Aside from the accident victim themselves, the victim is the State, tax payers & society in general with the massive costs of road accidents from police time, medical care and loss of investment in education etc etc by the State & the families.

A World Bank study in covering the period 2005/2007 states that road accidents in Thailand cost the economy 2.8 percent of the country’s GDP. That’s 60 percent more than what the Thai Government spent on health service delivery; if you wish to learn more go to:

http://web.worldbank...:574066,00.html

@MaxYakov: The report you referenced is from Civil Liberties Australia and reviews the use of electronic monitoring and reporting tools used by governments and alledged abuse of around the world by law enforcement & intelligence organisations. A sophisticated example, that is known of, is “Echelon”; for detail go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON

With reference to this topic, it is in my opinion, perfectly acceptable for law enforcement agencies to utilise electronic web monitoring capabilities to identify unlawful access by individuals of material such as child pornography and things such as chat sites for targeting and grooming under age individuals for sex. For instance, these capabilities have been reported in the media when arresting and charging pedophiles rings operating at the global level for sharing content; often as a commercial endeavour. For those who are inferring that this is Police State intrusion, I say to you ‘think again”

Thanks for the ECHELON Wiki link. It's nice to see fairly-shared, taxpayers' money hard at work, even though it was developed for intelligence-gathering, not specifically law enforcement. It is a little disconcerting, but not surprising, that it could have been (is?) being used for purposes of industrial and economic espionage.

To quote the Wiki article you linked (citations and hyperlinks removed):

"In 2001 the Temporary Committee on the ECHELON Interception System recommended to the European Parliament that citizens of member states routinely use cryptography in their communications to protect their privacy, because economic espionage with ECHELON has been conducted by the US intelligence agencie".

There is at least one 'slippery slope' exposed when systems such as these are developed, wouldn't you say? But this is another topic (or is it?). Here's an additional quote from the CH report (to jog your memory, I'm sure):

In an Electronic Police State, every surveillance camera recording, every email you send, every Internet site you surf, every post you make, every check you write, every credit card swipe, every cell phone ping... are all criminal evidence, and they are held in searchable databases, for a long, long time. Whoever holds this evidence can make you look very, very bad whenever they care enough to do so. You can be prosecuted whenever they feel like it – the evidence is already in their database. Perhaps you trust that your ruler will only use his evidence archives to hurt bad people. Will you also trust his successor? Do you also trust all of his subordinates, every government worker and every policeman?

If you had carefully read both my reply and the report, you have seen that, according to CH, there is a broader definition of a police state implicit in their 'seventeen factors', many of which have little or nothing to do with electronic surveillance, such as Constitutional Protection (providing one exists and it is, in reality, upheld), Habeus Corpus and Enforcement Ability to cite a few. Obviously, the definition of a police state, according to them, has graduations of degree. This being the case, why do you suppose Australia was ranked as it was at #18?

No idea why Australia was ranked 18th, seems OTP to me as Australia does not have a national identity card system and those lobbying for implementation have been rejected on a number of occasions. However, if you go to CH (www.cryptohippie.com) who reference the Civil Liberties report you will see that they are a commercial organisation selling encryption software Basically a waste of money if you're involved in criminal activity as by law they have to provide the algorithms to security agencies, so who is scamming who?

Getting back to the topic the reason I referenced electronic monitoring was the allegation in the media that the accused was identified using this method. So to cut to the chase do you agree or disagree for law enforcement to use these tools?

Thanks for the replies. So it sounds like the answer is to apply for a partner visa (and try and do it before the price goes up next year....). Is that generally able to be done whilst in Australia on a tourist visa or is that also a problem ?

Thanks again.

This URL enables you to download the info booklet that hopefully answers any questions you have.

http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/booklets/books1.htm

Thanks for all the advice guys. I am an Australian citizen, as is our 1 year old son (dual citizen). We arrived here in Australia about 3 weeks ago and initially were planning to stay a month and then return to Thailand, but I was fortunate to gain a job here just after arriving, so now we want to stay here.

I realize that it's just a tourist visa and eventually we will do the partner visa, but it could be a problem that I have been off the radar(and worked on the internet) for a number of years and have lived in Thailand for the major part of 5 years.

So if it is a multiple entry 1 year visa (basically same as the non-o 1 year in thailand ?? ) then she would basically have to go back to Thailand every 3 months ? I guess if we booked flights in advance it might not cost that much...

Take a look at the URL below, it should point you in the right direction.

http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/family/family-visas-partner.htm

@MaxYakov: The report you referenced is from Civil Liberties Australia and reviews the use of electronic monitoring and reporting tools used by governments and alledged abuse of around the world by law enforcement & intelligence organisations. A sophisticated example, that is known of, is “Echelon”; for detail go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON

With reference to this topic, it is in my opinion, perfectly acceptable for law enforcement agencies to utilise electronic web monitoring capabilities to identify unlawful access by individuals of material such as child pornography and things such as chat sites for targeting and grooming under age individuals for sex. For instance, these capabilities have been reported in the media when arresting and charging pedophiles rings operating at the global level for sharing content; often as a commercial endeavour. For those who are inferring that this is Police State intrusion, I say to you ‘think again”

Extramarital affairs are a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and possibly subject to court martial proceeding. He had no choice, but to resign

Something doesn't sound right - he's just returning home now after 2 weeks in Thailand, yet, they seized material (presumably with evidence) in Australia two weeks ago, presumably before the alleged offence had taken place. Thy guy was stupid enough to leave evidence of his planned activities? Thanks for stitching yourself up

Based on your post, I can't help wondering what kind of monitoring the AFP is doing on individuals. Was he individually targeted for some reason or was he part of a general monitoring effort? Can any of you Aussies comment on the state of the police state in, pardon the expression, down under?

First of all Australia is not a police state.

Where have you been living for the past decade? Australian states are one of, if not the most over policed (as in laws) in the western world.

I suggest you look up the definition of a "Police State"

I have nothing but admiration for Australian Police in their efforts for the protection of children. A 12 year old Thai girl living with her Thai mother, who was an alcoholic, was violently assaulted by her mother. The girl phoned my wife (she had locked herself in her bedroom) and we then called the local police. Six police were at the home in a matter of minutes, including a female officer & a senior police officer. They were excellent in their handling of the child , dealing with the mother and very professional follow up liaison/coordination with the local child protection services.

Something doesn't sound right - he's just returning home now after 2 weeks in Thailand, yet, they seized material (presumably with evidence) in Australia two weeks ago, presumably before the alleged offence had taken place. Thy guy was stupid enough to leave evidence of his planned activities? Thanks for stitching yourself up

Based on your post, I can't help wondering what kind of monitoring the AFP is doing on individuals. Was he individually targeted for some reason or was he part of a general monitoring effort? Can any of you Aussies comment on the state of the police state in, pardon the expression, down under?

First of all Australia is not a police state. The AFP has a specialist unit that monitors chat / web sites for content such as child pornography, grooming etc. The accused was alleged identified by the AFP (see today's Bangkok Post) as regularly accessing online child pornography sites. When traveling to Thailand the RTP were notified, the RTP monitored his activity throughout his stay in Thailand and was subsequently arrested. Other posts have referred to the Australian justice system, but I would assume that as offenses were allegedly committed in Thailand, he will first have to face the Thai Courts. All in all a not so subtle warning to Australian pedophiles intending to travel to Asia for their criminal activities.

OP: What visa do you have? Do you have a 457 visa; if so you can apply for a visa for your wife to stay in Australia for the duration of your 457 visa

Nong Prue Amphur do have staff that will respond to complaints about dogs in the Moo Baan. The catch is they require agreement from a few Thais in the Moo Baan that they are a nuisance. The Thais agree in conversation they are annoying but will not confirm with the Moo Baan people when they visit. They take the Thai approach & poison the dogs when they run out of patience. This has happened to a few dogs owned by foreigners who let their dogs out of the house to wander the area pissing, defecating and triggering constant barking from the other dogs.

One of the reasons it's difficult to meet a "good girl", is they are sick of being approached by foreign men looking for females away from the bar scene and have completely lost respect for them. At least this is what an attractive, mid twenties family member has told me when I asked her if she is interested in meeting a westerner. She also asked me why can't they meet women in their own country, what's their problem?

OP: My stepson lives in Australia & is half Thai and speaks, reads & writes English & Thai fluently as he was encouraged by his Thai mother. Thais in Australia meet regularly and socialise in Thai. He also communicates in Thai with his Thai family In Thailand via social media as well as Thais living outside of Thailand.

I very surprised that you never, at a minimum, spoke Thai whilst in Australia - you must have lived in an Australian cocoon. Thailand has very many faces & the one that you are currently experiencing is a small aspect of Thai society - one day your Thai bubble will burst.

Well with an Aussie dad and no brothers and sisters, as well as no family on my mothers side there, it makes it pretty hard when noone else in your family speaks it whilst your growing up. Its not so much a cocoon, but i was born there and had no thai friends, my mother had some but i always hung out with my dad and his family. Australia is very multicultural, i have friends at home from all different races and a lot of them can't speak their parents native language, its not like its taught in schools or seen as an important aspect growing up there.

And as for other thai faces, i already know there is, otherwise i wouldn't still be here, but on this particular forum i'm just staying on topic. I don't hate Thailand, quite the opposite, i just thought this was an open forum with some people who could handle being challenged in a conversation whilst using only logic without emotions to cloud their judgement.

To answer your original question, yes Thailand attracts weirdos, some of whom are Australians. Many expats also lead perfectly normal social lives. You've had a few suggestions of venues to check out, go for it...

"There was nothing to "patch up". The anti-American attitudes by a handful of lower-class Europeans"

I am not European or American but that is really putting your country on a higher stool and looking down on everyone else. Maybe it is this higher than thou attitude that creates the anti american attitude. I don't know just a thought. A little like the hiso's calling the rice farmer a soi dog, an insignificant little person and not worthy of shopping in the same mall.

You need to read my entire post.

I did and it appears that you have a beef with europeans except the rich upper class. Just the way it comes across. I actually know some well educated people in good jobs, non europeans who also do not think to highly of the U.S. Personally I don't mind fried chicken.

Who cares what they think of Americans. Like someone else said in here, it seems to be ok to bash Americans in their faces here. I used to swallow my pride and say, I understand because of what we are taught in school to be courteous to other and especially those that are less fortunate than us because they will act out and say mean things. They taught us that ignorance has no boundaries and it shows here in Thailand, mostly from people that are from the UK or Europeans.. I'm just curious why we would care what they think. We are the masses not the few that make the decision and neither are you or the bigots and slim balls who think that their back yard politics are correct. None of us truly know what is going or who is really in charge and America wouldn't be doing the things they are doing without the help of other countries. There is a long term agenda and it wasn't solely written by the USA. Most of you have problem on with in your boundaries that you would be best to focus on that instead of the face that has been chosen for all the wars and problems right now. I walked up to groups from Belgium, and groups from England you guys think your superior but because your such weenies you decide your going to take your ignorance out after a few bottles of beer and tell off Americans or treat him like shit.

But most of you don't realize how your own countries is over in our country on all fours just like Monika Lewinski was Clinton for cash hand outs that the American People not the government have worked for, the same people that would die for your country if something came about, not send a couple of Americans to hand out blankets like the Japanese do. The average American would lay down his life for likes of you ignorant morons. I have never seen more cronyism before in my life than I have here from the expats. At least I know where the Thai's have gotten it from.

So you are saying US policy is not driven by self interest?

OP: My stepson lives in Australia & is half Thai and speaks, reads & writes English & Thai fluently as he was encouraged by his Thai mother. Thais in Australia meet regularly and socialise in Thai. He also communicates in Thai with his Thai family In Thailand via social media as well as Thais living outside of Thailand.

I very surprised that you never, at a minimum, spoke Thai whilst in Australia - you must have lived in an Australian cocoon. Thailand has very many faces & the one that you are currently experiencing is a small aspect of Thai society - one day your Thai bubble will burst.

EDIT: He visits Thailand once every year or so & he never talks about foreigners with younger Thai girls, but the embarrassment he experiences as a Thai regards the endemic corruption and the lack of opportunity for Thais due to the generally appalling quality of education for the 'average" Thai.

he does enjoy the attention he gets from Thai girls being Luk krung

I very much doubt that as you do not have to do any such thing for normal transfers into a new passport and they have copies of the original visa on file.

OK, I hope so, but I'll post an update on the outcome with Jomtien immigration - wouldn't be receiving my replacement passport until 20th November

Poster appears to have a one year extension of stay for retirement so that and the information from original visa is transferred into the new passport - there should be no need for a new visa.

Sorry to update my previous post. If the O visa was applied for in Thailand & after 90 days the retirement extension is provided, then yes the visa & extension is transferred to the replacement passport. In addition you have to complete Thai immigration lost/stolen passport form. However, if the O visa was granted overseas & the retirement extension was provisioned in Thailand, you have to apply for a new O visa in Thailand and of course a new retirement extension. At least this is the advice given to me by Jomtien immigration

Additional info at following URL for USA ID documentation requirements. I recently had my Australian passport stolen and Thai Immigration(Jomtien) requested I complete their lost/stolen passport form. They also advised me that if my "O" visa was applied for overseas I need to re-apply locally. This does not require medical and home country police report, only relevant proof of funds for a retirement extension.

http://bangkok.usemb..._passports.html

I would recommend your company researches the possible advantages of the Australian/Thai Free Trade agreement. Don't know if accountancy falls under the services definition within the agreement, but does permit the formation of a company in Thailand with 100% Australian ownership; as well as additional easing of business visas requirements etc for Australian nationals. Refer:

http://www.dfat.gov.au/fta/tafta/index.html

If there is any part of Bangkok that Barack Hussein Obama would hang out, it would be Sukhumvit soi 3. He seems to be very comfortable around that crowd.

Or he'd be down in Khaosan road to hang out with the NGO & back-packer types to sit around and bash America and learn how America can be more like Europe.

Your post is a good example of one of the reasons Romney did not get elected; having to pander to right wing idiocy during the selection process.

Given the outgoing head of China, Hu Jintao, spoke today of the danger corruption poses to the future of the ruling power structure, I wonder if Obama will have a quite word with Yingluck on this topic.

K-Bank have a credit card application form that only requires a 50k baht fixed deposit if you have had an account for more than six months, no work permit needed. Deposit refunded if you cancel the facility. It's available for O visa holders who have a retirement extension, assume same would apply for marriage extensions. Do not know the monthly spend limit.

I am glad to see that the authorities are trying to do some good. Generally Thai people are very good to their dogs. Remember these are intelligent and affectionate animals. The big problem is the demand has to be stopped in other countries. Loong and Artist you are sick in the head, I wish you would be collected and put into a crowded cage for maybe several days and you know the rest. How can you complain about something so mundane and suggest such a practise. Get a life.

How many Thai people do you see exercising or positively disciplining their dogs. Majority do neither, just leave them alone all day & half the night in small compounds with the dogs bored and constantly barking though lack of socialisation and anxiety. Same applies to many foreigners

Which intersection is it ?

Suk Road & Pattaya Klang

Pic 3 & 4 look to be Pattaya Klang, Pic 6 looks to be Pattaya Tai, Pic 5 could be Thepprasit / Kao Thalow, and 10 & 11 could be Pattaya Nua.

Think they have tried to represent them all????

I cannot locate the press article making the project announcement, but from memory funding has only been allocated for upgrading the Suk Road & Pattaya Klang intersection.

There are Way to Many Dogs running around the Streets everywhere in Thailand, The More they get the Better! Only 200? They could take 200.000 off the Streets and You still wouldn't notice! Of Course it is Not the Dogs Fault that Selfish People don't take Control them and Stop them Breeding everywhere? Before You Comment it's the Dogs I am Talking about not the People!!!

In 2011 it was estimated there were 7.4 million pet dogs in Thailand, so taking into account stray dogs the population in Thailand is huge, rated 10th in the world. In Bangkok there are an estimated 200 stray dogs per square kilometer. Tthe Thai authorities are reluctant to take any action, but the dog population wandering the streets and beaches in completely out of control. The sight of countless poorly cared for skinny dogs in the streets and tourist destinations with rampant skin diseases is an embarrassment for Thailand.