smileydude

The UDD and its ideology would be honorable only if weren't so blatantly clear that they are working for the interest of one man.

It doesn't matter which scenario happens as it will not solve the political deadlock.

There is no win-win situation. One side will have to give up more demands then the other but I doubt anyone wants to budge an inch. Each side says they have legitimacy. Electoral democracy versus people fed up with corruption.

It will eventually come to a point when both sides are at each other's throat and on the brink of civil war and then the tanks will roll and Thailand will be back to square one. Thai's have never been good at comprising if it involves loss of benefits.

Thai men normally do not do this as it would freak most women out.

I guess you can get away with it when your a farang. Actually you can get away with a lot of different ways of approaching girls when your a farang because they assume your from a different culture and excused of any ignorance...but this does not make you immune to weird baffled looks or the occasional rejection.

Don't be surprised if girls are taken aback. It doesn't necessarily mean they are not interested just rather surprised.

I'd normally be concerned though if a thai women were overtly friendly and chatty.

If you are one of those gifted men who can read body language signals then you'll be okay.

I can't read for crap.

When you spend more then you are either given or earn you tend to be considered having poor financial management skills.

Then again the temptations have increased ever since credit cards and installment payments with 0% interest became accessible to many, all gimmicks conceived to to lure us into biting off more then we can chew and resulting in debt so that they can charge us +20% interest rates.

Its easy to blame the 3 lowest income bracket earners of poor financial management skills when in fact equal blame should be placed on the society we have created that worships and glorifies everything trendy, brand-named, and expensive.

Thailand is clearly a materialistic society and will continue to be one unless we teach our kids that "The only time they should look into their neighbors bowl is to make sure they have enough. You don't look in your neighbor's bowl to see if you have... as much as them."

Through out history migrant labor from less developed countries have always been treated with disdain.

Think slavery, coolies, mexicans, Eastern Europeans, etc. etc.

Thailand is no exception and like the human beings we are we tend to both consciously and unconsciously look down on menial jobs but work is better then no work and for these people its their rainbow.

I actually admire their hardworking nature and how they appreciate the opportunity to have work which many of us take for granted.

Instead of admonishing the people or countries that offer better opportunities for them (with fair wages) we should be asking what the hell is going on in their own countries that offer them little hope.

I think Clarkson gets his kicks from messing with the heads of politically correct people.

I doubt anyone is stupid enough to publicly spew racial epithets at this rate unless they enjoy it in a rather humorously sadistic way.

Rules are rules and despite inconveniences they need to be strictly adhered to.

Thats what makes a big difference between developed and underdeveloped countries.

I don't know how often it happens around the world but airports might consider providing capsule hotels for such cases.

Cut the gruesome details, the way she was murdered was sickening enough.

RIP, young girl.

I disagree. In this country there is still often the sentiment of "she deserved it" due to dress or attitude. There are many cases of sexual assault and rape that result in very minor sentencing (take the illegal taxi driver last year who kidnapped and assaulted a young female Chinese tourist - small fine (500 baht) and loss of taxi license he didn't have anyway!). It takes such details to raise the ire and pressure the courts to proper sentencing - there can be no excuse for raping a girl with a tree branch and battering her to death (before or after) - sentence will have to be custodial and investigation will be watched by the media simple because of that interest gleaned from the depravity of the crime. Just my opinion.

I think the details would be better raised in court otherwise it may become fodder for sick twisted potential copycats and those who enjoy snuff films.

The reason Thailand's political system isn't working is because most Thai's tolerate and actually accept corruption as "OK" as long as the wheels roll and mouths are fed. Political parties know this, so they make sure the mouths are fed via populist policies and everybody is sabai dee and mai pen rai while the elected help themselves to state coffers, our tax money.

The system only works when you vote in people who have integrity. Thai's vote for people who benefit them the most, not the country, which results in the parliament occupied by greedy opportunists and power hungry thieves.

By the same logic no representative of Thaksin or the PTP party are qualified to be mediators either. They don't understand reform or actually intend to reform their ways of populist policies to buy votes and corruptive practices.

Sad day indeed. I cannot fathom the level of evilness required to stab a baby but sadly it exists.

Its with crimes like this that I support capital punishment.

Rest in peace and hopefully karma exists and the murderer pays for it in several lifetimes.

Besides the attention-seeking hairdo I think what is pertinent from this study is that despite Thailand having some of the strictest laws regarding the sale of cigarettes (requring graphic health warnings occupying 55% of the front and back display areas of the carton) and all the anti-smoking campaigns the incidence of smoking has not decreased by much and has actually increased among women. Smoking is linked to a myriad of health problems that top the list of WHO's BOD's (burden of disease) such that even though we are living longer we are also living longer with disabilities from stroke, heart disease , hypertension and cancer which are all linked to smoking. The alcohol and tobacco lobbyists are powerful and I think the best we can do for a win-win situation is to promote everything in moderation. Drink and smoke in moderation otherwise the last years of our lives will be spent being sick and a burden to those who care for us.

_{This is so typically human. We love to hate because it comes so easily.}

_{Sounds like "The Purge" (movie) in real life is just beginning.}

Personally I'm not sensitive to derogatory racial remarks used as a joke.

Being politically correct all the time is great but difficult these days after thousands of years of slang vocab and hate.

I think there are a lot more important things to get riled up about so we should all learn to "chill" before we burst a blood vessel.

I'm sure criticizing the monarchy as a Thai person with British citizenship living in the UK takes a lot of courage (sarcastic tone).

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but as a thai (unlike a westerner) you have to be aware that such comments when made public will entail consequences that will negatively affect your entire family name, often with death threats etc. which I find to be a bit selfish especially when your safe in the UK under the protection of UK citizenship while your family suffers the consequences.

No problemo. Cut adrift with a huge severance payoff.

I'm sure he's living comfortably in Cambodia as Hun Sen's advisor.

Typical! Blame someone else. The family should first realise that their son was riding a bike at odd hours of the night without a crash helmet. That in itself is irresponsible and should go down to poor guidance from the parents. Societies acceptance of a lack of helmet does not help either. Yes, the Russians should have made a police report (it did not state if they did), and stayed back to closed up the loose ends of this accident. That is what it was an accident.

Either way, even if they had stayed back the end result would still be the same. A senseless death, why? because of clear disregard for safety.

This is more of the family not having the opportunity to milk money off these Russians for the loss of their child. IMHO.

Wow you have the true gift of a lawyer being able to turn around facts to blame the dead guy.

Are you anti-Thai or perhaps a bit nationalistic? Would you say the same thing if all involved were Thai? I doubt it.

I never thought that after this rice-pledging scam fiasco that any developed country in their right mind would consider buying Thai rice. I won't believe it until I see the rice actually delivered since politicians are fantastic spin makers.

By law if the Prime minister and the entire cabinet are removed from their posts due to the constitutional court rulings the permanent secretaries of each ministry assume control and together can propose an acting leader until a new government is formed. As to whether they can push through any reforms I don't think they can.

I think Suthep should step back now and allow the legal system to function. The protests have achieved much in terms of raising the level of awareness of rampant corruption by the government and PTP. I think that is progress.

As much as can be seen in the inherent faults and weaknesses of democracy I think its time to let the people decide for themselves otherwise we're justifying the legitimacy of red shirts and idiots like Nattawut.

When the sh#t hits the fan your military training might be what saves you. Having it as a mandatory requirement like Singapore and South Korea should in theory instill discipline in men, which I feel is somewhat lacking in the younger generation.

If Noah had to choose which people to save besides animals on his ark I bet soldiers, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, farmers, doctors and engineers would be high on his list. Politicians and lawyers are of little necessity in real life survival.

The K-Pop phenomenon did not happen just by accident.

Korea though a very old country has for most of its history been ruled by either China or Japan. In a way their ingenuity has been suppressed in the past but they are rebounding fast with a vengeance and conquering the world through the economics of supply and demand.

The government is actively supporting the export of not only its industrial products but also its cultural products e.g. K-Pop, K-Drama, K-plastic surgery etc.

They have surpassed Japan not only technologically (leaders in LED tech in TV's and smartphones) but also in terms of trendy marketing.

It will be interesting to see how they will dominate in the future.

I consider this as jobs for Thais which is good but the thai companies are only subcontracters as are most of the garment industry in in SE Asia. Most of the income goes to Nike and Adidas which is rightfully theirs due to the brand building and R&D in design and marketing but until Thailand invests more in R&D, innovation and building their own brands they will be forever stuck in the middle income trap.

Pay it forward. Thats the philosophy this amazing person has done. If only we all paid it forward imagine the good we could do.