Misterwhisper

Note to Mr. Anutin (in case he isn't aware):

- Portugal already has decriminalized "ganja" years ago.

- Hemp cigarettes are freely available in Switzerland, Luxembourg and Belgium (and perfectly legal).

- CBD oils and extracts (the supposed panacea praised so highly by Anutin) for medical purposes are available on prescription practically everywhere in the EU. So are CBD e-liquids for vaping, while e-smoking in Thailand is banned, thus illegal.

- Very soon Germany will completely legalize cannabis, including the THC-rich varieties whose possession and/or consumptions still leads to lengthy jail terms in Thailand

- Canada and a number of U.S. states already have legalized cannabis, too.

In short: Europeans and North Americans do NOT need to embark on an expensive and time-consuming flight to Thailand just to partake in your ganja bonanza when they can legally obtain "the real thing" in their neighborhood.

Thailand's so-called "cannabis liberalization" is a complete misnomer, if not to say a sham. The only cannabis strains that are legal (if a license is obtained through an extraordinarily convoluted application process, mind you!) are those that have been cultivated around the world for millennia  for their fibers, which are used to make linen. All THC-rich strains - and particularly the female buds/flowers - remain just as illegal in Thailand as they have always been.

So... what "liberalization" are we talking about exactly, Mr. Anutin?     

2 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Exactly true.  Allow us already here to also invest in certain asset classes as well as enjoying the same special interest rates Thai's are able to obtain on certain instruments.  I tried today to do an online e-savings account through K-bank as well as sign up for a new insurance type of policy and I was denied because I am not a Thai national.  This needs to stop.  Elsewhere in this world as a Thai immigrant you can own property, invest in all asset classes and even own a business and work without any caveats, at least in the US this is possible.  My now Ex-wife has bought herself a house and opened up a business and she is not a US citizen yet but just a permanent resident.  We as expats can not even become permanent residents just classified as a long-term stayer....ridiculous.

It's the same in the European Union. Place is swarming with Thai people who actually are allowed to purchase property and own businesses without any restrictions. Now just imagine we treated them the same way Europeans are routinely treated in Thailand... it would prompt the Thai government to bitterly complain how "racist" and "unfair" it all is.  

7-Eleven franchisees across the country are already preparing themselves for the impeding influx of millions of Indian tourists -- including stocking up on plastic straws so they can give away 4 or 5 of them with every bottle of beer purchased.

That sycophant party should have renamed itself from "Pheua ThaI" into "Pheua Shinawatra" long ago. For that's exactly what it is, merely a vehicle to promote and foster the political aspirations of the members of one single elitist family (plus their "self-exiled" patriarch). 

That the youngest Shinawatra sibling's official title within the party is an ambiguous, non-sensical and wishy-washy "Head of Participation and Innovation" already speaks volumes about what is going on. The party only considers fielding her as a potential PM candidate because she has "the right last name". There is nothing else. Qualifications, competence, experience.... all of these mean nothing. And if she should indeed make it and become head of government, she is going to be used as precisely the same Thaksin puppet, mouthpiece and proxy as her aunt (Yingluck) and uncle (Somchai) before her.

I remember it as if it were yesterday: When Yingluck had been confirmed as the country's new PM, several surveys found that voters were elated about the choice, citing one or several of the following reasons:

1) she was female ("Thailand's first female prime minister, yay!")

2) she was pretty ("Prettiest prime minister we've ever had, yay!")

3) she had a good fashion sense ("She knows how to dress well, yay!")

4) she was a Shinawatra ("We have Thaksin back, sort of, yay!")

Almost nobody pointed out reasons such as "competence", "political savviness", "moral integrity", "honest servitude", "incorruptibility", etc. -- mostly because there was nothing there, I guess. And the voters KNEW that.

And now possibly that Ing thing? It's like deja vu, some sort of wicked Groundhog Day-ish scenario. Whatever Ing thing chimes, "daddy" ALWAYS pulls the strings and she'll be nothing else but yet another puppet.

Does this country really have no choice, no options? Does it really have to be either a Shinawatra or a military junta? It's so sad. 

Note 1: Just because the average consumer is lazy and takes advantage of ordering products online does not make Thailand a "digital economy".

Note 2: A large proportion of commercial companies still actively using fax machines is not exactly the marker of a "digital economy".

Note 3: The myriad of unusable and constantly broken apps "developed" by government authorities may warrant a rethinking of the "digital economy" concept.

Note 4: Practically everyone spending 5 - 6 hours a day engaging in and interacting with social media trifle is not indicative of a functioning "digital economy".

Note 5: The continued requirement of authorities to have citizens file documents for practically any application and purpose as PAPER copies and often enough in duplicate or even triplicate is not the sign of a "digital economy".

Shall I go on?   

1 hour ago, webfact said:

“The party’s administrative board has yet to discuss the reasons for the resignations,”

Here is one plausible reason:

12 hours ago, webfact said:

he received the British Empire Medal (BEM) from British Ambassador, Mark Gooding

Could've been worse. He could've been awarded a parachuting badge from Uncle Too -- you know, of the kind that every single one of Thailand's felt 5 gazillion police and army generals so proudly sport. 

British EMPIRE Medal??? Did they find that one in a dusty drawer when the embassy had to vacate its former premises after peddling it off to Central Group?

1 hour ago, webfact said:

1. Tactics

2. Assault

3. Rescue

4. Towers and 

5. Obstacles. 

Had there been the "right" competition categories, I am sure they'd have come out on top without much effort:

1. Turning a blind eye

2. Moonlighting as security guard/bouncer/debt collector/hitman

3. Accepting bribes in an inconspicuous manner

4. Fabricating incriminating evidence

5. Buying your way up the ranks