Transcript of the above video: 

Buckle up folks this is going to be a bit of a longer video. There's a lot going on in Thailand at the moment, and it's all fitting together around issues associated with both Thai Immigration as well as these nominee structures that seem to be of major concern to officials here in Thailand. And when I say that - we've talked about the paradigm shift before that I personally have watched over nearly the 20 years I have been here - where we have seen Immigration go from an issue that is kind of viewed as an administrative thing to it became kind more of a law enforcement thing, to then especially with the onset of the tensions that occurred, or the confrontation that occurred, conflict that occurred at the Thai-Cambodian Border this past summer, we saw that elevated to a National security type issue and we have sort of seen a paradigm shift within Thai Immigration. This video serves as notice if you will that Thailand is on a whole other level now, or the way we would say it back to Kansas a whole 'nother level when it comes to viewing matters pertaining to both Immigration as well as nominees and subterfuge associated with corporate structures as truly top tier national security priority. And this has major, major ramifications long term, I think, and especially in the short term as we continue throughout this year - especially going through this low season - and now with a newly empanelled Parliament I think and a new Government that has much more of a broad-sweeping mandate to especially maintain and protect Thai national sovereignty and Thai national security, we are seeing a major sea change. That's the reason for the thumbnail. The thumbnail is from the movie Rudy. There's a coach of Notre Dame where he says, "nobody, and I mean no one comes into our house and pushes us around." And I have got to tell you, as a naturalized Thai, I couldn't agree more. We will get into why we're talking in this language here in a moment with regard to the citation that I'm going to bring up. 

That being said, really quickly before I jump into that, folks have asked how they can sort of support us, even though they may not need to avail themselves of a law firm. My better half and I set up a restaurant here in downtown Bangkok, the name is Pancake Palace. As the name implies breakfast anytime as well as American Diner style food: hamburgers, cheeseburgers; we have also got buffalo wings, chilli bowls, grilled cheese sandwiches, and obviously pancakes. If you're interested, the link is in the description below, and if you want to drop by, we can always shoot the breeze about some of these issues if I'm around. I tend to be around there a fair amount of the day when I am not working on other matters pertaining to the Law Firm, so we'd love to see you. 

That being said, I'm going to jump into this, and I really cannot overstate the gravity of what is going on here, especially in light of the fact that we recently saw a raid down in the islands that involved the Army, the Thai Army and ISOC, and that's a big deal. That is a major sea change with respect to how this is viewed from an enforcement standpoint, but I think it's going to get even more, I think that this has moved up another notch. So not to belabour the point, let's jump in here. I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Pattaya Mail, that's pattayamail.com, the article is titled: The Koh Pha-ngan precedent: Dismantling the business of legal subterfuge. Now on the surface, we're still talking about nominees and things, but really quickly, before we get into that article, there was another recent set of events. I did do one video on it where I believe it was a Chinese National was caught here in Thailand with a great deal of ordnance, like C-4 as well as weapons and things, and that has caused a significant amount of concern. Well now on top of that, we are hearing reports especially from down in the islands that there is further cause for concern and I think that this is going to substantially shift the paradigm especially within the local domestic Thai population regarding these issues. Jumping in here and quoting directly: "The current upheaval in Koh Pha-ngan is far more than a standard enforcement operations against the illicit businesses in a tourist destination, it is a stark revelation of a national security crisis festering beneath the facade of a flourishing tourism industry. At the heart of this turmoil is the rapid and irregular expansion of the Israeli community’s influence which has effectively established a "state within a state" across strategic territories like Hin Kong and Srithanu. These investment groups have entered not merely as holiday makers but as architects of a closed economic ecosystem. From the acquisition of secluded luxury villas to the operation of restaurants and entertainment venues designed by foreigners for foreigners. They have systematically marginalized local labour in favour of undocumented foreign workers." Yeah, I have talked about this at length in other videos. The issue of work authorization is something that Thais take very, very seriously and no, it is not about taking a Thai job, it is about being forced out of their own communities by outsiders; that is what the Thais are concerned about. I don't know why this is so confusing; I'm not pointing to one specific group of foreigners, but from time to time, I have noticed an entitlement attitude amongst varying foreign communities with regard to the notion of this, and the only thing I can say is the name is on the door, it's Thailand, you're either a Thai or you are not, and that's what the analysis boils down to. It's not a matter of "Oh, are you specifically taking a Thai job or something?" No, it's are you Thai or are you not and are you on the land or are you not? That's the basis of the analysis. It is funny to me because I actually watched my better half go through Law School - she works in the firm here with us - and one of the first classes that  they teach in Thai Law pertains to nationality and they note the fact that nationality is the root of most of the legal system here because it comes down to the analysis of are you Thai or are you not, and if you are not, the laws don't apply to you the same way because you are not a Thai and you are in Thailand.

Quoting further: "This aggressive behaviour, characterized by organized influence and a blatant disregard for Thai social norms has forced national security agencies to elevate the situation to a direct threat against territorial sovereignty." This is serious folks. This is very serious. The Thais are not taking this as something akin to an administrative problem or even a legal compliance issue in a corporate sense or anything. National Security, territorial sovereignty. Anybody that knows the Thai National Anthem knows, in the lyrics to that, it pertains to the issue of, "we will spill all of our blood for the land"; that's what it means to be Thai, that's why I'm here. I like that about the Thais. This is Thailand; I made other videos about that. This is Thailand, that's what it boils down to. Quoting further: "The linchpin that allowed the occupation to proceed so seamlessly is the scandalous role of intermediary legal firms, most notably First Consultant 47 Company. This entity operated as a high-capacity "Nominee Factory" specifically designed to facilitate "grey" Israeli capital. Deep-dive investigations by the Department of Special Investigation revealed that this firm did not merely register legal entities, it engineered complex, multi-layered, camouflage structures. By utilizing" - and let me be clear. There is some hyperbolic language in there that I kind of wonder if it's warranted, but when we get to, let me go through the further citation, and this is why I find this so concerning. It's not really the corporate angle of this, it's what is happening sort of underneath it as this author points out. Quoting further: "By utilizing a handful of Thai employees as figurehead shareholders and directors for over 100 nominee companies often with a single individual fronting dozens of entities, the firm engaged in what is defined as a "commercial impossibility." The soul objective was to obscure the Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) and utilize these "paper companies" as instruments to seize vast tracts of high value real estate on Koh Phangan." Now that's an important data point here as well. We'll get to the further concern which is what has elevated this to a national security concern. But also, you have to keep in mind, again the name is on the door: Thailand. They are not interested in having anyone take over their land. I don't disagree with them; in fact I agree with him wholeheartedly. It is Thailand; the name is on the door. These restrictions exist, they are clearly enshrined in Thai Law and people are trying to utilize various different structures - and by the way not one nationality, in this article it seems to be focused on one nationality - as I pointed out earlier, there is problems with Chinese being here with weapons and other things like this, and there are also issues associated with that particular group associated with various corporate structures in order to again utilize them as subterfuge to circumvent the rules regarding acquisition of land by foreign nationals. Again, this is serious no matter how you look at it. I think focusing on one particular nationality is actually kind of counterproductive and I'm not quite sure if one is any worse than another when you sort of look at it from the broad big picture. But that said, quoting further: "This has driven land prices far beyond the reach of Thai citizens, resulting in a profound loss of national resource management to foreign interest groups through legal loopholes." So okay, this is kind of what we have been talking about all along. Issues associated with corporate structures owning land, issues associated with foreigners being here and working illegally. 

That said, this next paragraph is the reason for the thumbnail; it's the reason for my passion regarding this, and it's the reason that this is being elevated to a national security level issue, and the reason that I think we're very likely to see - and I'll explain it in another video I'm making contemporaneously with this one - why I think we're likely to see heavy changes, very major changes, fundamental changes, to issues associated with Immigration because there's about to be a top to bottom review over all matters pertaining to Immigration and I have to imagine that what I'm going to talk about in this next paragraph factors in to all of that. Quoting further: "What renders this case significantly more severe and urgent than previous nominee disputes is the clear link to security related crimes." And this is the key - "Tactical raids on private villas registered under this network uncovered evidence of stockpiled war weapons, tactical gear and illicit training activities." Quoting further: "This indicates that these influential groups possess the capacity for violence and are prepared to defend their interest through armed force. This discovery has shifted the government's stance from viewing this as a mere economic offense to a top-tier national security priority." And it should, it's a good thing. Now it makes more sense in my mind why we're seeing the Army now involved in this because if there are groups - and I don't care where they come from - if you're not Thai,  and you're coming to Thailand with ill intentions and nefarious designs on this place, yeah that's what I want the Thai Army to be doing; defending against that. That's so wrong.

I don't understand where this mentality comes from where foreigners think they can just come in here and do things. Why? Because the Thais are nice? Because they're kind people? Well, I was about to use another thumbnail but I felt it was too hyperbolic; it's from the scene in Game of Thrones - and I may go ahead and throw a link in the description below to the scene in Game of Thrones - where Tyrion Lannister and Jaime Lannister are sitting there and it's like the eve of a battle they are about to have and in comes old Bronn of the Blackwater, and he says basically, "I've been hired to assassinate both of you" - he basically is looking for a payoff for his forbearance in going after these guys - and they make a deal and everything, but there's a line in there where he says, "oh no, my fighting days are over, but I have still got a few killing days left." There's something to that, and when I say there is something to that, the mentality of Thais, the vast majority of Thais, is one of non-conflict or conflict resolution non-confrontation. Do not mistake kindness for weakness. These are not the kind of people that are interested in having any of their own land messed around with. Now I don't understand why this is hard to understand. They made it abundantly clear this past summer, but here we are. So folks that think they are going to be able to pull a fast one here in Thailand or be able to get the upper hand on the Thais in their own country, are sorely, sorely mistaken. As noted in the thumbnail, "no one comes into our house and pushes us around."