smileydude

This story shows the darker side of a human's capability to think. Our intelligence is a double-edged sword for humanity.

Hopefully justice will be served due to the technological crumbs of intent left behind.

Some common assumptions:

Privatisation = better governance and efficiency

State-owned = nepotism and corruption

versus

Privatisation = Bottom-end is profit and not public benefit

State-owned = Can be tailored to benefit the public via populist polices (think diesel, LPG, rice subsidies etc.)

Best option may be a hybrid where the state still has a say on what the bottom-line is, profit and/or public service while using the governance, accountability, transparency and efficiency management often seen in the private sectors.

A lot of recent activity like this is about collecting more income via taxes.

They're going after people who bought cars valued at more then 3 million baht and houses > 40 million to see if their declared income matches their spending habits.

Next they're going after people buying stuff abroad worth more then 10,000 baht to make sure they cough up custom duties.

Now they're going after small-time luxury good import tax evaders.

Soon they'll being taxing us based on much we crap out in the toilets. The more you crap the more you consume perhaps?

Its a no-brainer that most of Thailand's tax income is lost to corrupt politicians and government officials. Customs is number 1 on the list.

God knows how much, 30%, 40% 50%?

Okay I know the government needs more money to pay off farmers but following Pareto's law you'd get 80% results just by targeting 20% of corrupt practices.

...you'd think he'd bought first class tickets to be entitled to be butt-hurt but ego's know no boundaries.

Possibly banned for life from flying Nok Air? Now he'll have to pay the price by being scalped by Thai Airways rates.

It comes from the belief that certain weather changes, especially rainfall is associated with catching viruses and other bugs.

Which basically translates in scientific terms to the proven fact that temperature fluctuations and prolonged hypothermia/hyperthermia can lead to circulatory and metabolic changes that depress your immune system via mechanisms such as dehydration, unproductive inflammatory responses and impaired immune/macrophage activity. And I haven't even touched on the subject of how certain pathogens thrive in certain weather. Though we don't think about it much we are constantly bombarded by pathogens everyday but the reason we do or don't get sick is because of how well our immune system is working so thus the origins of the wive's tale which does correlate scientifically.

Best defense? Strengthen your immune system by getting enough exercise. Enough sleep/rest. Keeping adequately hydrated (alcohol dehydrates the body). Chill out more (lower your stress). Avoid junk food and all those nasty habits.

Simple and common knowledge but how many of us actually do it??

I'm rather surprised at their show of loyalty since everyone else basically toed the line.

Fear of prosecution for other infringments of the law?

Paid well?

Strongly ideological?

Fiercely loyal?

Prefer living in Dubai, Cambodia or HK?

Only they know the answer to that. I'm curious to see when or if they will ever be able to return.

Junta or faux electoral democracy?

Sometimes you have to pick the lesser of two evils

Some were fed up with the rampant corruption

Others with the stalemate

Puea Thai already had their chance and they screwed up

Time will show Prayuth's intentions

As much as I admire the feminine curvature of the victims finger I think its about time the Thai police/media got rid of that finger pointing ritual.

It just comes across as unnecessarily denigrating and uncivilized.

Maybe it would be more appropriate to pose a pic of the victim punching the assailant in the nuts for what he did to her.

Nationalistic butt-hurt sentiment? I see it as a world stage where countries have to act out their parts but the real wheeling and dealing goes on behind closed doors. Geo-politics and interests always come first, principles second.

Thailand should accept the EU and US stance for what it is, a stance and constructively try to find a way to address it instead of listening to nationalistic butt-hurt shooting-from-the-hip knee-jerk emo reactions.

No one is forcing anyone that doesn't have to or want to be forced. Thailand needs to reform at its own pace, under its own restrictions and develop its own style of democracy. Along the way it should tell the world how its going to do that and not be arrogant that its not anyone's business.

No country is an island and friendships should be valued.

Paying off 8 agencies does not guarantee you will not be extorted by the 9th, 10th, 11th.......

The only guarantee is doing it by the book. As long as its possible to bribe, shady business practices will continue to flourish.

Each person has different tolerance levels to drugs and alcohol. The sad lesson today is that there is no guarantee users will not overdose when taking drugs/alcohol no matter how how "soft" the type is or how little you take. You can practically overdose on any OTC painkiller drugs if you take enough or have a predisposing medical condition you might be unaware of. You would think its a no brainer that your playing russian roulette with your life everytime you decide to get high yet people do.

A man of action is better then a man of words.

The General and the NCPO seem to fit the bill. I just hope they continue doing it without sparing the well-connected to send the message home that entitlement and privileges that defy law and order are no longer welcome.

I'm sure if Cobra gold were cancelled it would disappoint many jar heads and military personnel who trade cases of bullets for weed or cash to play with the ladies.

Hmmm.....so perhaps maybe this is a really expensive publicity stunt in the guise of incompetent driving skills?

I feel these pyramid or MLM schemes add little real productive value to the economy other then getting a few people super rich (pyramid top) by feeding off the greed of others who then feed off the greed of others.

I'm more worried about box jellyfish in which venomous species the size of our thumb can release potent neurotoxins enough to be to fatal.

Its hard to spot something that small. Divers in the know wear protective swimwear as the box jellyfish only release toxins upon contact with open skin and not clothes/swimwear.

http://thaiboxjellyfish.blogspot.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_jellyfish

Fortunately for us the venomous species of box jellyfish are almost entirely restricted to the tropical Indo-Pacific but I do recall a few cases in the South of Thailand. Many of these cases are probably reported as drownings so stats are sketchy.

I think its because of the human nature of greed, gullibility and exploitation that drives stories of human trafficking like this.

Some obviously know what they are getting into but are willing to take the risks to make a quick buck.

Some are more naive and believe fairy-tale stories fed by recruiters who are often friends and relatives.

Some get into it like a multi-level marketing (MLM) pyramid scheme, you get lured, you lure another person who then lures several others for commision and soon you become a mama-san.

As long as the demand is there the supply side will supply and for some reason, sex-trade exploitation in society seems less evil then dealing drugs or robbing someone as can be seen in the punishment metted out on offenders.

So is the majority greedy or gullible?

The rate of new infections has dropped since its peak in 2004 but the demographics are slowly changing from a majority of cases being MSM (men who have sex with men), Intraveous drug users, and those in the sex industry to heterosexuals which is alarming because this group is larger, less likely to believe they are at risk and thus take less precautions, and not as tolerant to social pressure so they will avoid the stigma by denying that they may have possibly contracted HIV and/or seek proper treatment.

The Thai national healthcare system offers free HIV treatment to everyone so there really is no reason not to seek treatment other then the lack of knowledge of the their healthcare benefits, not getting tested (a form of denial or lack of knowledge of their high risk behavior), or avoiding the stigma by not seeking treatament altogether.

With the effectiveness of current HIV treatment regimens, most can live without symptoms of AIDS and progression of the disease.

Many people do not know this. Educating the public is of course important and more can always be done but the individual also needs to take the initiative to educate oneself which is much easier now with the internet.

People tend to develop a defensive mechanism of denial by convincing themselves "only gays and drug users" will get it but a person with HIV on the outside looks just as normal as you and me so in actuality everybody we come into contact sexually can have it.

Thats why the medical profession takes universal precautions when doing surgery by assuming everyone may have it and thus takes precautionary measures when handling blood. If everyone did the same with sex I think we'd lower the transmission a thousand-fold.

I'd prefer to see the title "People with mental issues e.g. low IQ will be banned from politics"

Capable or not when you associate with tainted people you tend to become tainted yourself.

Strange experience indeed. I don't see why Thai's would be any different then Indonesians or any other country in terms of having the ability to partake in a meaningful conversation. Issues on intellectual or linguistic capabilities aside, I think certain conditions are usually necessary for a good conversation to occur such as familiarity, trust, shared values, similar interests and hobbies, and an amicable personality.

Having fresh minty smelling breath also helps.

In any society, unappreciative people will always be unappreciative. I don't think Thai's are an exception to this rule of being over or underappreciative on average.

Your bad experiences may incline you to believe otherwise but don't let it block you from seeing the good side of Thai people or any person for that matter.

As a rule if I'm going to do something nice for people I tend to stick to 2 principles.

I will not lend money to people, I prefer to just give it to them if they really need it for good reason, or ask them to earn it by working for me.

I will not be a guarantor for anyone wishing to take out a loan on a house or car.

Money matters tend to ruin friendships.

I've seen that they mean business first hand.....a dozen motorcycles lassoed together with a long chain and locked on soi Wat Thepleela around the Ramkhamhaeng area. Most of the cartel/mafia's are people in uniform and politicians so it will be interesting to see if they can cleanse out the system. I believe in their good intentions to stamp out corruption but experience has proven that the snakes will slither away and be back just as quick if we lax on the stick.

Getting annoyed easily is a farang trait. The longer you live here, the more patience and tolerance you will have to the point that eventually you will develop a "mai pen rai" like Thai's. Life is not always fair and will never be so we learn to adapt otherwise the frustration and unhappiness eats you up.

The internet has certainly changed the way we are now held accountable for our words, actions and pictures.

Once released into cyberworld via FB, IG, Twitter etc. our personal life is at scrutiny to be dissected at will by others.

In a way the new generation and some of us old timers are becoming "exhibitionists" addicted with a need to be "recognized and accepted by society" via likes. Like an addictive drug, kids nowadays seek highs via "likes" to feel good about themselves but a small misstep can instantly produce a "low" from being insulted, ridiculed and bullied.

For some reason people are meaner on the internet. Has it brought out more honesty in us or has it produced a generation of people who do not understand the need to respect the opinion of others?

The title is misleading ala TAT style?

Thailand has its charms no doubt but all these polls are at best starting points rather then reference material.

Depends on each individuals definition of desirable so for me I try to do my homework before planning a vacation.

Some people like Singapore and Japan. I find them a bit sterile and boring though I get a real laugh watching the look on tourists faces as the Shinkasen bullet trains whip past your stop at +200km.

America is family friendly and great for cross country road trips but the glamour of major cities like LA and New York are a bit overated.

Europe is as romantic as can be and who cannot be in awe of those scenic crystal blue rivers and snow-covered mountain back drops but to some its just alot of old buildings, expensive bland food and rude waiters.

Each to his own.