smileydude

Despite the shenanigans we often read about from tourists of certain nationalities, for tourism as a whole the the gross numbers of visits and amount each spends is undoubtedly what drives the business. Bad apples are everywhere its just the Chinese seem to do it louder and more tastelessly.

There's always someone at the number 1 spot.

Nothing new here just geopolitics. Countries go to bed with whoever benefits them.

In this case unlike how the US uses the CIA covertly, the regime openly wanted to show others if you don't like our style of democracy we can find new friends but as the saying goes "when you jump on the tigers back its hard to get down."

Having a less lethal option such as a taser would have been convenient in such a situation.

Watching the cop run away was a big undignified for the RTP and only emboldened the perp.

I understand that police protocol for dealing with a knife-wielding suspect charging at you would consider shooting him in the leg as appropriate.

The question is what are the Chinese asking in return for this agreement?

Even if the Thai government is footing the entire bill there usually are give and takes in these kind of G to G agreements.

Past rumors were that if the Chinese were to invest they would have property rights in a 3 km radius of the tracks to develop at will.

Shrewd move on part of the Thai government playing the Chinese against the Japanese card.

Neither country wants the other to have the upper hand in doing business in the region.

I'm guessing they had inspiration from the abundance of role models working for the Thai government with the motto

"The buck never stops here".

The following measures would greatly decrease accidents:

No motorcycles allowed to run during the holidays

No pickups allowed to run during the holidays

No buses allowed to run during the holidays

or

No drinking and driving

No yaba and driving

No one with half a brain allowed to drive

That removes about 99% of the casualties.

A true double tragedy. Lost family members and citizenship-less.

Last I heard 3000+ are still missing and presumed dead so there are still many more families that have not received closure.

Businessmen of the year should be awarded to whoever can make the majority of their employees lives better not just fattening the pockets of the top execs or shareholders. Lessen the income disparity by training the average employee so that their highly valued skills can make more for them as for the company. I see this in Germany's emphasis on vocational/technical education training and in Scandinavian countries where there are less billionaires per population then in Asia.

A company which makes a few people rich on the backs of others won't get my vote.

I think in Thailand SCG comes closest to this concept.

The irony of your statement about SCG is most apt.

I refer to those on the list, not all companies in Thailand.

SCG is all about profit, yes, but they do seem to value human resources and its development a tad more then the others.

Businessmen of the year should be awarded to whoever can make the majority of their employees lives better not just fattening the pockets of the top execs or shareholders. Lessen the income disparity by training the average employee so that their highly valued skills can make more for them as for the company. I see this in Germany's emphasis on vocational/technical education training and in Scandinavian countries where there are less billionaires per population then in Asia.

A company which makes a few people rich on the backs of others won't get my vote.

I think in Thailand SCG comes closest to this concept.

Don't disagree with you, in fact would support the indicators you suggest plus some others.

But look at the way "business" awards are made around the developed world. The distribution of wealth in most countries 1,2 and 3rd tier isn't exactly even.

The rich are getting richer, the poor get poorer and the middle class, for so long the lubrication between the two will go the same way as the white rhinos.

I agree, current "business awards" tend to value those who can squeeze the most profit for their shareholders. That's why it would be great to change what is valued by emphasizing that the new generation of businessmen not only need to develop profitable companies but also create ones with high degrees of social responsibility.

Growing income disparity does not bode well for social stability and sustainability in the long run.

A lawyer throwing accusations on behalf of his client is hardly credible.

Instead of lame mud-slinging conspiracy theories maybe her legal team should come up with some concrete arguments/evidence of how the rice pledging scheme was not corrupt and that the 12% is in fact incorrect.

Must really enjoy and desire to continue enjoying the ambiance of Thai prison cells.

While his friend gets deported Vladimir gets his visa stay extended for free.

I was looking forward to reading the words "punishment by castration or death for repeat offenders or those resulting in the death of the victims".

Sad but not surprising. Fear and ignorance often trumps compassion.

Seems like it was easy for locals to ID the man as caucasian-looking thiefs stand out like sore thumbs.

Thai culture has a lot of child disciplining threats linked to scary stuff such as "if you don't behave the tookae (gecko) will eat your liver, or the pee (ghost) will eat your liver. Having your liver eaten seems to be a common element that Hannibal lector would have enjoyed if he were a Thai toddler.

I think this mum was taking it a bit too literally by showing a sample. I guess she really wanted to get her point across but in a way is reinforcing a phobia that might last into adulthood.

Trying to reason with a "terrible two's" is very tiring but this short cut was a bit extreme.

I would think Thailand's immigration laws are no different then other countries:

To separate the desirable from the undesirables(criminals).

To separate the legitimate investors from the money launderers.

To separate the tourists from the ones planning to work illegally here.

At the end of the day I think any country would welcome anyone spending their hard earned cash there as long as it doesn't break any laws.

(Maybe not Thailand though with their full moon parties and shady night life activities)

Telling Myanmar not to reform like the current Thai military-led rule is like telling a cow not to eat grass.

Despite what people think, hope or wish Burma to be like, they are and probably will be for a long long time ruled by the military.

On the outside they're just opening up like China for the economic benefits but the insides are pretty much the same albeit with a more welcoming demeanor in order to allow private investors to exploit their abundant natural resources and add to their coffers.

A reminder that there are people all over the world that hate and will not hesitate to kill each other just because of religious and racial differences.

Despite all our technological and social advancements one thing that humans are definitely still stuck in the middle ages is religious and ethnic hatred.

What a waste of human productivity.

Like the mandatory requirement of travel insurance for people requesting Schengen visa's perhaps it should be the same for those traveling to Thailand? I'm not sure if travel insurance would cover injury resulting from brawling but assuming this young man was attacked unprovoked he should be covered. Many young travelers here travel on a tight budget thus travel insurance should be high on their priority list considering the relatively reasonable rates versus the risks.

Like another other poster said, the Australian embassy should step in to help.

Its pretty evident that certain behaviors come with higher risks of being drugged, conned or what have you.

Just legalize the profession so that everyone who wants to participate in it has a certified permit for your reference and peace of mind.

At least if you get ripped off you can call the consumer protection agency??

Humans by nature are prejudiced and fearful of what they are not familiar with = stigma.

Normally it is tolerable but when it becomes systematic then we might as well go back to living in the middle ages because all this knowledge we have learned over the centuries has done us no good.

I think the level of corruption is due to about 50% internal and 50% external influences.

If reform were to be effective you would have to also be able to stop all of the meddling that occurs from politicians and the powers above.

I use to think that instating fewer but higher quality police officers coupled with decent salaries would lessen the corruption but if they still need to answer to all those requests and favours in exchange for promotions then its a lost cause.

Contrary to what seems the consensus here I have ordered over 500 items from ebay (most from the US) shipped to Thailand and not a single parcel was lost.

Most of the ones with a declared value of $50 and more were opened to inspect the contents but nothing was ever stolen, only taxed.

Many sellers on ebay clearly state they will not ship to many african nations, Russia, Ukraine or Italy stating the high level of postal theft.

Since Thailand is not on this list I think Thailand Post must be doing a pretty decent job.

Of course shipping iPhones and other highly sought after stuff via post is risky anywhere unless you use courier services.

Criminal background checks is not a strongpoint of the Thai employment system. There are professional companies that do these for a fee and should be mandatory for TEFL teachers in Thailand to avoid further tarnishing of a respectable profession by a few rotten apples.