backtonormal

In a country where everything is about status and class and money and social standing, it is school- uniforms, that are making the big difference?

What a sorry- a$$ excuse!

from a sorry ass bum wipe rag with an agenda hell bent on keeping the status quo. if you follow the dress code of government workers they look military so they can be wai..ed according to the breast salad dressing which indicates their position to other government workers. Army uniforms all head in one direction and we are not going there. Just ask yourself why most people dont argue their case with any government worker..because the uniform is the link between and ................. and to question such uniform may be construed as offensive to the moral fiber of a Thai

Surin Pitsuwan...look which political party backs him, look at the editor of this paper, look at the editors hatred of Thaksin, look at he power players who dont want competition in the form of ASEAN...who are supported by the dems and Yoon...mix it up and see if you get the same answer as me.

Does any foreign national really fall for this one sided bias political tripe. Take said article to the crapper and wipe you poop pipe with it

lots of talk, let us hope there is some walk to go along with it. If the pollies and other government officials can make a quid out of it maybe something something will happen.

one might be forgiven for thinking that corruption is actually the problem, that even head teachers are syphoning off funds that should go into education, as well as the other schemes such as one tablet for each pupil!

Not to mention the questionable qualifications of teachers to actually teach the subject they teach, and dare I say that includes some of those Farangs teaching English!

Considering the amount of cash from government funds that goes into education and how little of it reaches the front line, one might conclude that corruption is the first problem, actual teaching the second because the corruption drives the whole raison d'etre for the whole system.

I think a thread on personal experiences with corruption in Thai schools from TV members that teach here would be an interesting read.

I know a little story about 20 thai teachers who went on a 3 country European holiday to visit schools. The names of the schools were googled from a misplaced document and none of them existed. Just a jolly...oh forgot...they were all given 100,000 baht each to spend.

Or a school accountant who stood over a fire bin while the groundsman burnt 100's of documents. She never left until every paper was ashes.

I have been on a 30+ teacher jolly flying for 3 nights in 4 star hotel in Phuket. The cash comes from school fees and entrance tea money.

I have seen a country school director build four new air con offices while the classrooms had no windows and some had no electric. The same guy brought in heavy equipment to make a garden on 2 rai in the school and build a toilet block so far from the school building it was only used for students to have a cig in. He trousers 100's thousands of baht and thats in the village. I now know of a school who are about to build a four storey toilet block yet have no canteen facilities for 3000 students. big rake offs in construction.

I would love to hear the thousands of story out there

Suriyasai Katasila the spokeman of People's Alliance for Democracy . Same old paid for by the elite rent a mob. Why dont they crawl back up the orifice they came out. Politics has no place for these facist dinosaurs.

The court said the three men conspired with Anek Singkuntod to push a fruit cart concealing a homemade bomb, which was made from a gas tank, to the back of the Bhum Jai Thai Party's building near Paholyothin Soi 43.

The bomb damaged the building, a food shop and a car and left Anek blinded.

Oops. Poetic justice at work I see.

Poetic justice for the Pad supported who died with a ping pong bomb in her pocket.

I liked Chuan. He was PM when I 1st came to Thailand to reside. I think he's now getting a bit old and rusty.

Like him you may but his government was just as corrupt as this one. Land scandal brought his political career as PM to an abrupt end.

They lost their 'good' image the moment they colluded with the coup-making army generals to form the only post-coup government possible. Not that they had much of a choice at the time, I'd imagine. I blame the army's meddling in politics for all of this turmoil. Made a complete martyr out of Thaksin.

Did Taksin pay you to write such rubbish?. Or have you not lived long enough in Thailand to have seen many previous goverments come to power or changed in exactly the same manner as Abhisit came to power. The army-coup makers had nothing to do with him coming to power. All the MP's who voted for him had a free vote all transparantly shown on TV in spite of the huge bribes Taksin was offering for the support of his nominee. The choice of Abhisit with his integrity and fine education and expertise against a policeman!! Many chose what was best for Thailand. Taksin told his supporters that that it was the army and coup makers who put him in powers and unfortunately they beleived him.

What a load of borlocks. The coalition was formed in an army base with the invisible hand alledgedly making offers the Chart Pattana political party "simply could not refuse" to join the coalition. Newin made his infamous "its all over boss" phone call to Thaksin and jumped ship purely for cash promises but he learnt his lesson and Thaksin cut the Bhum Jai Thai party adrift into the political wilderness at the next election.

Integrity...jumping conscription. If you write nonsense I may be here to challenge you again

The education system is the core of the culture indoctrination that a young thai student talked about needed changing. To change education you will have to make Thais undestand that their so called culture has been holding them back for the last century. Thais need to challenge the norm

Its like trying to tell a story but not tell a story. Truth is the army have run the country for decades answering to nobody without money on the table. How they achieved that means you will have to check your Thai history. They are not stupid but they can see the broader picture and whats going to unfold in front of them...and from where they are standing its not pretty.

The army realises how powerful Thaksin is going to become, now Thaksin is a lightweight. When he really is ''the man' (and before you say it I dont mean being a president) the army better have made the right choice because most importantly the army wants its nose where it has been for decades...firmly entrenched in the trough.

Those that do have some idea about Thailand will undertand what I am saying...those that dont keep on ranting

Mr. Abhisit is walking on thin ice when he resorts to insulting the PM. It is a political blunder because the comment will accomplish the following;

1. Reinforce the public impression that the Democrats are desperate.

2. Encourage sympathy for the PM, especially from women, a demographic the Democrats do not do well with. Many professional families have daughters who are taking over the family business. The PM has made strong inroads with this segment of the Thai business class.

3. Encourage comments to bubble up in respect to Mr, Abhisit's lack of masculinity, including his entourage of "purples". The comment comes off as "catty".

4. Cause an unnecessary distraction from the issues at stake, and we will now be treated to a sideshow arising from Mr. Abhisit's inability to conduct himself in a civil manner.

5. He will be reminded of the fact that despite all of his advantages, he was still beaten by the "airhead" woman.

In polite Thai society, one does not make such comments in public. He comes off as low class and a sore loser.

The clock is ticking on the man who was unable to win the office of PM by way of a general election victory. He's a lame duck leader now.

Abhisit is just saying but many are thinking. He is angry that this country is being destroyed by this useless lady. He will be liked for that. The one walking on thin ice is the unqualified hypocrite PM who is running away from her responsibilities again. Thailand is in a really bad shape with loads of problems and the PM ran away from them (again).

Many of the no marks on this forum are thinking. Who is exactly thinking that this lady is a stupid bitch. Please expand

Lets change the rule that says that you have to have a degree to be an mp. If a so called uneducated person can win a seat they must have said something right...even if its only being honest.

It funny how the facist supporters on here have not made reference to this guy who was present at the demo

A group of militant anti-government protesters have been trained by former Army captain Songklod Chuenchuphol, in the same way as the late red-shirt strategist Maj-General Khattiya Sawatdiphol did, ahead of the red shirts' major rallies in 2010.

Hired help to cause trouble for this government. And we criticise the red shirts...cheek of it

Seems almost like a rerun of the old communist system of state farms producing to order irrespective of the consumers needs and the area involved.

The quota must be met, another fine example of the anus replacing the mouth from ill informed government sources.

No doubt yet another avenue is about to open to enhance the channeling of state monies into officials pockets.

Maybe it could be to improve farmers incomes and find an alternative to relying on rice

This whole situation has the stench of hypocracy and discrimination about it. The governments appeasement of northern farmers and disinterest with their southern cohorts is indicative of this governments perpetuation of a North/ South divide in this country. As these disenfrachised groups become more vocal and their demand ignored they will become more radical.

PTP reconcilliantion at its finest.

I'm also wondering whether the N / NE rubber farmers have been 'encouraged' by the local red schools to be quiet. No proof, just wondering.

Just wondering.....the mind is a wonderful thing..some links in your wonderings would be nice

I was afraid. I didn't know what happened but I think the attackers were not farmers but a third party.

Re; "I was afraid" and I don't know what happened/ who were attacking us. What that person described is exactly the way certain international powers want everyone to be living fulltime, in every nation.

Destabilisation, attacking the press, intimidating the police, union-busting, etc. and doing so covertly, is the MO of the people pulling Thaksin's strings. They want economic and sovereign-status breakdown, lawlessness and chaos in all nations that border China and Russia, as part of their final domination plan.

Everyone has the right to an opinion but whats in your pipe.....links please

Does anyone have any other thought than the rice pledging is a scam. Is that the best you can come up with. Not a link that proves anything suggested. The truth about the scheme is simple...its about putting a group of seriously powerful and wealthy exporters out of business, partly because it is alledged they were one of the major sponsors of the coup that ousted Thaksin.

Nobody mentions how many millions of dollars these 35 or so families are losing everyday in an attempt to service contracts to supply rice now they are having to fulfill contract with rice bought from other countries. Can anybody post a photo of a rice mountain other than in a government store. I think not because now they are all gone. The only people with rice now are the government whereas before there was mountains of rice everywhere but nobody posted on here about it rotting. Rice supplies everywhere so that if the isaan oiks kicked off they would starve before the stocks ran out. A well operated plan for decades and not a murmur on here.

When this all settles, if the exporters want back in the game they will pay a fair rate not the pittance that made them billionaires before. They will not be allowed to have emergency stocks of 3 times what is required, they will store an emergency stock which will be dictated by the government then pay a fair price.

I have given up on showing any concern for the collapse of the Thai economy, essentially because Thais themselves don't appear to give a sh1t about it...! When 'it' really hits the fan, Moody's and co. will pull the rug out from underneath this government and they will see huge withdrawals of foreign investment as their credit rating is slashed.

If, and that is a very big 'if', those who support this criminal mafia, loosely referred to as a government, eventually see the light, and get rid of them, perhaps an incoming government with greater concern for the nation can actually succeed in bringing this epidemic of rampant corruption to an end, then maybe they will be able to recover the economy in the long term. In the meantime, I am checking the GBP-THB exchange rate on a daily basis ... and loving it.

Who knows, maybe they will <deleted> everything up so much we will see the heady days of 76 baht to the pound....!

Rampant corruption is a concept only seen in Thailand since the arrival of Thaksin. LMFAO How did the financiers of the last coup make their money and that was way before Thaksin. History lesson and research for you

He said that Chuan should come out to avoid social criticism that he could have supported such behaviour.

Translation

The only language the PTPredshirts understand.

"Where is Khun Chuan? Has he gone from this world or Thailand? Why didn’t he stop Democrat MPs from resorting to violence? Five times of violent acts so far in the House chamber.

Translation

Why did he not try to stop the Democrats from stopping the PTPredshirts from screwing Thailand. He is probably off hiding trying to figure out other strategies to try to get the PTPredshirts to do some thing beneficial for the common people of Thailand. Not just the rich and politicians.

I find this unacceptable. I demand manners from the opposition party," he said.

translation

I demand the Democrats roll over and play dead. Face down preferably.

Yet again opinion...bereft of facts

The report in the nation is factually wrong..Ten ASEAN nations did not take part in the survey....only 8 did...So Thailand is the worst...

The other seven countries were Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Two other Asean members _ Myanmar and Laos _ were not included in the survey.

Now that is not to say that Myanmar and Laos are not ahead or close to overtaking Thailand. Encompass all the problems into Thainess (corruption, rote learning etc etc). Every Teacher in my EP program gets more than any Farang Teacher in the program. And they are rostered for 7 lessons per week which is greatly reduced because of extra curricular activities like temple visits, presentations, representations, ASEAN events etc. Thai Education is not in the toilet it has been flushed away already. FUBAR

Yes excellent stuff, however he should curtail the National Flag business in particular. His overall message will be drowned by that if he continues.

A good general doesn't fight every battle at the same time.

For his own safety he should keep the Flag business quiet.

Wow, great article. I really hope this young man can start some kind of ball rolling...but I wont hold my breath.

I have been teaching english here in Thailand for about 9 years. At the moment I am working at a government (albeit selective) high school. Working at a high school is something that I swore I would never do again. When I was offered the job I took into consideration the type of school it was and decided to give it a go (the money and working conditions were pretty good to). I have again been reminded why I prefer to teach older prathom kids for my bread and butter. There is a point, somewhere around matthayom three that all the conditioning of how to be 'Thai' has finally worn down the kids naturally inquisitive nature. This is why I chose to teach matthayom 1 and 2. I can still see remnants in those kids of what should be nurtured, but is not. My friends dont understand why I dont want to teach higher level matthayom students. I just find a lot of those kids (no not all) to be a bit soul destroying to teach. I have now been forced to teach a few periods a week of matthayom 3 and 4. I do try and some of the students are pretty cool but the mindset is just not there for me. By that time the indoctrination has kind of zombiefied a lot of them. I am in no way saying that these kids are not smart. I know for a fact that many of them are really very intelligent young people. I just cant see the spark in a lot of them anymore. Having said that I do try to bring it out in them and do succeed at times.

Anyway, Thailand is possibly about to be thrown open to the world a little more with the AEC coming into fruition in 2015. Perhaps having more contact with their neighbours, being shown up a little at times will make them sit up and really take notice. This country has so many good things about it, inspite of all the negative tripe that I read on here. Thailand does not have to veer toward being too western in its thinking, it doesnt need to lose its identity, but Thai kids deserve more. One thing they can take from our education system is our acceptance to question everything...even if just for the sake of a good argument! Respect should be given to all untill it is shown that, the respect is not deserved. However, the blind acceptance that older people are ALWAYS right is stifling the younger generations. Thai kids should be taught how to use reason when arguing a point. This is something that is sorely lacking. There are obviously many other problems, the no fail system......

This young man should be given more airtime. I am genuinely interested in seeing what is going to happen in this country over the next decade. I will be here, unless something strange happens. I hope more like him speak out.

Enjoyed reading that. Agree with most of your comments. I have heard recently that The Thai Education system will take its first major change or step to bring it in line with ASEAN. From the Chamber of Commerce in Khon Kaen (good Source) that at the end of the 2nd semester in March 2014 all educational facilities will shut down for over 5 months and reopen 1st Semester September 2014 to bring the semesters in line with an ASEAN directive. Can anybody confirm this as my kids school are saying 'dont know' lot of teachers scrambling for money if this is true.

In Thailand where nothing and no one is truly independent the Speaker is a disgraceful case in point.

Far from being a neutral arbiter, adjudicator tasked with ensuring House business is conducted smoothly, fairly and in accordance with accepted procedures he is unashamedly totally biased and prepared to do whatever it takes to look after his parties interests.

WE should not be surprised however as it's all part of the PTP total control policy.

Go on tell me what has he done that is 'unashamedly totally biased". I presume you have some first hand experience and not just snippets from articles? Oh no, they took a break and the opposition recommenced the discussion after the break. Yes that sounds hugely biased and totally unacceptable. Do you actually know whats going on in the parliament?

I do not.

Maybe smutcakes don't

But you, NK-kid, do you?

My wife is 100% Thai, very interested in politics, and what we might call neutral.

But she feels shame about the way the coalition in which PTP is the biggest is making a mockery of what democracy should be.

And indeed, she is very much annoyed by the speaker of the house who will not let a single stone unturned to silence the opposition.

He, and PTP, and the redshirts, are using intimidation in and outside the Parliament to further their doubtful causes.

Including the degrading of the law-giving body of the land to call in the law-enforcing body.

Shameful, and a massive loss of face for Thailand.

Bit like the article...we will have to take your word for it that your wife is interested in politics and neutral. In this forum opinions and emotions appear to hold sway over facts. Too many posters on here have started the story (me included) My wife says (skip to next post)

The government should reform itself first.. Fine statement coming from a man whos government were brought down by a land scandal when he was Prime Minister. Lets not forget about Chuans brother who absconded to Taiwan after swindling $8,000,000 + (thats US not baht) and came back scott free after 8 or 9 years. Cheek of the fellow

Let's not forget that his brother has absolutely nothing to do with the topic.

Let's not forget too that he was asked to participate and he gave his (valid) reasons for declining.

haha the irony!

wasting your time he wont see the irony......better spell it out for him

The government should reform itself first.. Fine statement coming from a man whos government were brought down by a land scandal when he was Prime Minister. Lets not forget about Chuans brother who absconded to Taiwan after swindling $8,000,000 + (thats US not baht) and came back scott free after 8 or 9 years. Cheek of the fellow

I take it that you disagree with him.

Maybe you can dig up some dirt on his sister or his mother to back up your position.

The only thing I would disagree with is the reform I would substitute resign.

The government should reform resign

I looked very hard and could not find a red or a yellow shirt in my closet so I just used common sense.

That post is 100% factual, unlike yours on occasions

The government should reform itself first.. Fine statement coming from a man whos government were brought down by a land scandal when he was Prime Minister. Lets not forget about Chuans brother who absconded to Taiwan after swindling $8,000,000 + (thats US not baht) and came back scott free after 8 or 9 years. Cheek of the fellow

Let's not forget that his brother has absolutely nothing to do with the topic.

Let's not forget too that he was asked to participate and he gave his (valid) reasons for declining.

Chuan stated that maybe the current government should reform itself first. So my response was correct, indicating, that a man who lives in a greenhouse should not throw stones. I further reinforce his unsuitability, as you have done by linking Yingluck and Thaksin (on many occasions) by linking his brother who is a thief.

Which planet are you from...phone home pal..somebody must miss you