noitom

This is not meaningful for reasons that many posters have identified previously. Thailand users have high number of multiple accounts. The Facebook future strategy is to encompass a significant value in offering "location" and just in time offers to end point Facebook users from their advertisers. So it's not likely that a location pinpoint in Thailand would be that significant as well as the limited purchasing power. Maybe Thai advertisers will rush to spend ad money on Facebook to sell to their Thai market, but it's not a big claim to fame.

Lastly, Facebook has no plans to enter the market in China. It's preposterous of the newspaper to claim that Thailand's "explosive growth has helped "line the pockets" of Zuckerberg and Saverin. How much does the newspaper calculate that the 16Billion USD IPO would have been reduced without those explosive Thai users? It's a certainty that the newspaper has run the numbers on this in order to make that claim.

My Thai wife now has her Facebook shares. So she hopes that the explosive growth of Thai users like her does in fact "line her pockets" as well as Zuckerberg and Saverin, proportionately of course.

This reminds me of the movies Brokedown Palace with Claire Danes and the Bangkok Hilton with Nicole Kidman. Very good movies by the way.

Was there a tip off? It would be interesting to know more about the astuteness and cleverness of the police that broke the case. They are to be commended. Curious to see if there will be any follow up coverage on the fair trial that it is certain the Colombians will get. Come to think of it, there never is any coverage of any major trials.

Two very preposterous claims:

1. Police "these days" were not involved in drug trafficking or else they would be severely punished.

2. The existence of a top 25 wanted drug dealer list

Memory of this Thaksin and the removal of the litter bins recalls that he, Thaksin, was challenged to solve the throwing of garbage on the ground around the bins and overflowing with little regard for littering.So he warned that he would remove the bins if Thais could not use them properly. They couldn't , so he removed them. It was a moment of genius by Thaksin. It did serve as a wakeup call for Thais and littering. It didn't eliminate the problem, but it definitely improved the situation.

This survey is not believable.

Shouldn't he be charged with resisting arrest as well? What are the actual charges on this airport thing that is 3 1/2 years old?

particularly the dyke construction, which is aimed at helping upstream floodwater flow more naturally towards the sea.

The natural flow for flood waters is to use flood plains. The dyke construction is STOPPING the natural flow.

Good point! He doesn't understand how it works, but he is "confident of the measures."

Were these folks on the "top 25 most wanted drug dealer list?"

They are "launching" and cracking down again. A Thai launch is an oxymoron. Same as a Thai crackdown. A Thai "launch" however, is much more exciting because nothing needs to be done. Success can be claimed more fervently. All the fanfare is merely about the "launch." Even in any of their countless hundreds of "crackdowns" they usually show a token action/arrest/photograph or something. With a "launch" there is no need to followup since a launch merely means to catapult or set afloat like a ship or a rocket. The ship or rocket can always just remain in the air or at sea and never arrive at a port or landing. The rocket can just disintegrate like passing wind in church or a traditional Thai launch, the oxymoron.

Why is this mosquito launch called a launch anyway? Why isn't it just another "crackdown." As in, they are cracking down on mosquito breeding grounds. Cracking down seems much more appropriate than launching in this case. if anyone knows the difference between a "Thai launch" and a Thai crackdown," it would be very interesting to understand this distinction clearly. Even more interesting would be a comparison of a Thai launch, a Thai crackdown and passing wind in church for the benefit of clarification.

Hmm.... tricky...... let me have a go...

A "Crackdown" is when something has attracted popular attention in the paper and some MP has rung you up and said it's very important you pay attention to this as long as it's in the paper anyway.... 3 days.... forgotten.....(always excepting when you think you can get more tea money out of it - eg porn-street-seller crack downs - in which case it lasts for 2 weeks until you have finished collecting the extra)

A "Launch" is when you call up all the people you know doing it and warn them more money is needed to keep them out of the paper, and if any MP remembers in 3 days you'll have to bust one of them, but no worries, I'll lose the evidence and we'll drop the charges after a week when the paper forgets.

Is that about right?

*disclaimer - I love Thailand and I adore living here - the cost of up to 30% corruption in my view is much, much less than the constant annoyance of the nanny governments of the west - I joke because I love Thailand

Cheers

EDIT - sorry, forgot "passing wind in church" - I do that at every opportunity, so can't really call myself unbiased.

Thank you very much for the clarification. You made it easy to conclude that a "Thai launch" and a "Thai crackdown" are analogous to the "effect" of passing wind in church and all seem to have the same chemical properties.

They are "launching" and cracking down again. A Thai launch is an oxymoron. Same as a Thai crackdown. A Thai "launch" however, is much more exciting because nothing needs to be done. Success can be claimed more fervently. All the fanfare is merely about the "launch." Even in any of their countless hundreds of "crackdowns" they usually show a token action/arrest/photograph or something. With a "launch" there is no need to followup since a launch merely means to catapult or set afloat like a ship or a rocket. The ship or rocket can always just remain in the air or at sea and never arrive at a port or landing. The rocket can just disintegrate like passing wind in church or a traditional Thai launch, the oxymoron.

Why is this mosquito launch called a launch anyway? Why isn't it just another "crackdown." As in, they are cracking down on mosquito breeding grounds. Cracking down seems much more appropriate than launching in this case. if anyone knows the difference between a "Thai launch" and a Thai crackdown," it would be very interesting to understand this distinction clearly. Even more interesting would be a comparison of a Thai launch, a Thai crackdown and passing wind in church for the benefit of clarification.

In a previous story two days, this newspaper headlined that Thais were advised by their own legal team to "play the good child" and "follow strict orders of the ICJ." So what does that all mean? Foreign lawyers are probably used because it is an "international border issue."

Has anyone ever seen this supposed list of 25 "top drug kingpins?"

If anyone wants to send a thank you note to the USA and the US Army, for providing most of the funding, feel free to send it to the US Military HIV Health Research Program in Bethesda Maryland.

The results of the RC144 immunity mechanism lab studies published in the NEJM in April provided the first signs of hope in many years. Again, you can send your thank you note to Col. Jerry Kim of the MHRP. Col. Nelson Michael, the big boss over at MHRP, was a co-author with Dr. Kim. Those guys are brilliant.

The Thai research units recruit & screen the volunteers, administer the vaccines, take blood and do follow ups. All the key research is done at facilities in the USA.

They are doing the recruiting at Bang Lamung Hospital in Chonburi. Its a small 90 bed public hospital so you may have to sit with the great unwashed.

Thanks for this informative post noting that funding was provided by the USA and US Army resources, staff, and facilities. Curious that the newspaper didn't note this. It would be interesting to know what Dr. Punee thinks about the new Quad HIV drug developed by Gilead Sciences of Israel. Curious that The Nation has never noted anything about this new drug currently approved by the FDA in the USA.

Crime of passion.

They are "cracking down" again. This was news at least five years ago in this same newspaper. The newspaper is always writing about various "crackdowns" on this and that. But never following up to put pressure on the sources of the problem and doing the right thing.

"They were told to strictly follow orders of the ICJ." Doesn't sound like a fair court with an impartial view. Sounds more like a rogue Fascist group dictating terms. Is this a result of poor writing? Could Thailand's legal advisers be advising that Thailand "follow strict orders?"

The Road To Serfdom. or, the road back, depending on the case.

The story about the hijacked orange jackets by the mob and then resold to motorcycle operators or "leased" was in this newspaper over two years ago. The newspaper never followed up the. Why would they follow up now?

General Karen astutely deflected the allegations and issue to Thaksin. He reads the Thais well. While he rallies anti-Thaksin folks to his point, he adeptly dodges the main point about his leading a major drug cartel. It would be useful if the newspaper published this so-called "list" of top wanted drug "kingpins," if for nothing more than just attempting to do a respectable job of journalism.

You hang around long enough in barber shop, you will get a haircut. Surprising that we don't read many more of these sad stories.

it would be interesting to see how Father Joe would use the 25 million baht to provide medical and education services and training in the Klong Toey slum. It's a certainty that all the Thai Wildlife Commission "official" have visited and contribute to Father Joe's foundation.

This trip is a frivolous and preposterous use of Thai taxpayer money.