The Red Velvet Lawyer

Making Sure Only Financially Secure Expats Retire in Thailand? In a recent news paper article , Thai officials announced new rules governing health insurance for expats staying for extended periods of time, including retirees. Health insurance has been made mandatory for foreigners aged 50 years and above seeking long-term stay in Thailand. The insurance policy must offer up to Bt40,000 coverage for outpatient treatment and up to Bt400,000 for inpatient treatment.  This is one of the measures the government has introduced to ease the financial burden placed on state hospitals by foreigners, many of whom have not paid for treatment.  “The Cabinet has already approved the new rule,” Health Service Support Department director-general Nattawuth Prasert-siripong revealed yesterday.   According to Nattawuth, the new rule applies to both new applicants for the non-immigrant visa (O-A), which offers a stay of up to one year, and those wishing to ren...

An Asian Thing?   A Chinese Thing?   Because I am planning retirement in Thailand in the summer of 2020, I am now a member of several Facebook groups formed by English-speaking expats living in Thailand.  One member posted this inquiry: Several people I know, including myself, have been “cut” in line when it’s clear (from our perspective) that we are next in line to be served— Whether this be at 7-Eleven, the coffee shop, or the French fry truck at the pool. Like, we will be waiting patiently when suddenly someone will just cut, order, and get served before us. It’s baffling, because in America, that’s a huge, rude no-no. So we wonder, Are we cue-ing incorrectly? Like should we be more assertive with the server so they (and everyone else) know we are next? Could it be a micro-aggression toward foreigners? Could it be a general lack of awareness of some people...? Has anybody else had this experience? Do you know why?! 😂 The ...

Rugged Individualism versus People Concerned About their Role in the Collective Well-being of Family I plan to retire to Thailand in the summer of 2020.  My weekly treatments with a talented Thai massage therapist, Mena, have suddenly involved language lessons and cultural translations over our two hour sessions together. Today, we skipped the language lessons.  Instead, I raised a question arising from my look at the postings on various Thai-related Facebook groups.  Male-dominated groups regularly discuss relationships with Thai women, both spouses and girlfriends.  I'll spare you the seedier details. One recent post, by a thoughtful 72-year old Western man, asked whether "farang" men had a hard time getting their Thai spouses or girlfriends to open up emotionally.  He had studied and written books about relationships, and so came at the topic with a scholar's curiosity. I asked Mena what she thought in response to the question....

Arbitrators and "Reasoned Awards" -  Smarter Tools, Inc. v. Chongqing SENCI Import & Export Trade Co Commentary and analysis from Professor SI Strong, University of Missouri School of Law: One of my students called the following case - Smarter Tools, Inc. v. Chongqing SENCI Import & Export Trade Co ., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50633 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 26, 2019) – to my attention, and I thought some of you might be interested in it as well (I don’t believe I’ve seen it circulated here yet).   The issue involved whether the arbitral award was sufficiently reasoned.   According to the court, reasoned awards are not required in arbitration, but if the parties contract for such an award, as they did here, they are entitled to receive such a document.   Upon review, the court found that the arbitrator in this case provided the parties a "barely colorable justification" for his decision, leading the court to hold that the award did not meet the ne...

Iran's Islamic Revolution at 40 Regional Cooperation: Prospects and Challenges By Dr. Kamal Kharazi Last night, I attended a lecture sponsored by the Al Jazeera Centre for Studies .  I have attended prior programs offered by the Centre and found them intellectually stimulating.  They always offer points of view I have seldom heard in the West. I have blogged about them in a series of posts beginning here .  The invited guest, Dr. Kamal Kharazi , Chair of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations of Iran, gave a lecture followed by a brief question and answer period at the Sheraton Hotel in Doha, Qatar.  The moderator introduced Dr. Kharazi as an "insider" to the Iranian Revolution .  That revolution celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2019.  He spoke in English from prepare remarks. Before I start, I want to note that I am working from my notes and apologize in advance if my summary contains any errors or misstatements.  I am h...

Qatar University College of Law  Wins Prestigious Award for its Legal Skills Program The Qatar University College of Law won the Law School Award for furthering Global Legal Skills Education at the 13th Global Legal Skills Conference (GLSC) held in Melbourne, Australia, from December 10-12, 2018. GLSC recognized the law school and its Legal Skills Department for its leading contributions to global legal skills, and in particular, the development of legal skills education in the Middle East and North Africa.  Dr. Conrad Sturm and Dr. Melissa Deehring accepted the award on the law school’s behalf at the opening plenary of the conference that hosted over 120 participants from law schools around the world.    Since the inception of its Lawyering Skills Program (LSP) in 2010, the Qatar University College of Law has incorporated legal skills courses and active learning into the curriculum in order to produce more competitive, skill...

Goal Setting Words for 2019:  "Expert" and "Support" "The process of setting intentions and joyfully reflecting on them is how, over time, we transform extrinsic into intrinsic motivations, and thereby sustain the energy and purpose to live true to our best aspirations."  Thupten Jinpa,  Two Exercises for Turning Intention into Motivation . Starting in 2014, I began picking three words to remind me of my goals for the year. Chris Brogan gave me the idea. Here are his words for 2019 with some tips on choosing the words. Here he describes the word-choosing process as part of a broader planning process based on the following steps: The Big Story Vision Goals Plans and Milestones Daily Calendar Brogan says: You could argue which goes first, a vision or a big story. I’d accept either. But to me, a vision is a story told in goals, so I put it below the big story. The big story is that which we want to believe about our life and o...