DaddyWarbucks

Nanny-state rules and regulations run amuck is what Michael Palin was talking about. A social safety-net that helps those who really need it, while excluding the able-bodied "sturdy beggars" in the prime of their lives is a different subject. Conflating the two is either confusion or pushing an agenda.

Agreed... "For what?" Maybe it was a feeble attempt to sound relevant and justify their existence here in Chiang Mai. After squatting in Dara Rasami's - once lovely - residence since before WWII they're about to move into a fortress-like consulate that must have cost the American taxpayers billions of dollars, not to mention creating a new eyesore in CM.

Yes, thank you all for directly or indirectly supporting the Shinawatra clan's return to power in Thailand. Now we can pick up where we left off in plundering the state with our corrupt schemes. Let's start with the "Digital Wallet" boondoggle.

Anyone who would go to work in a warzone needs a check-up from the neck up.

Brilliant riposte

Kamala Harris' father Don Harris is a Marxist who played a role in the formation of the Workers Party led by Trevor Munroe in Jamaica. That wasn't mentioned in the CNN article. Just an oversight, I'm sure.

Don't let the facts get in the way of The Old Bull's daily <removed> ejaculation.

The husband is conspicuous by his absence.

Because of the highly intelligent Sino-Thais who make up the majority of the medical professionals in Thailand.

The answer to the OP's question is "both".

The obvious answer is that they don't have what it takes to put a stop to it.

Spot on. Too many people profit from the War on Drugs for it to end anytime soon. Thailand's recent experience is a prime example.

It might be true. This clown is probably told things only on a need-to-know basis.

Dear Poo is almost home free at last. Thaksin's meeting with Srettha the other day probably began with the invocation "Let us prey", and proceeded to work out the final details.

What, no honour among thieves?

As well he should.

Get out the word to everyone everywhere about the poisonous air we are breathing here in Chiang Mai and all over Northern Thailand. Let tourist numbers tank and only then will you see any meaningful steps taken by the authorities to improve the situation.

This sock-puppet just does and says what he is told.

What a crock of codswallop.

Just another populist vote buying scheme. It has Thaksin's dirty fingerprints all over it.

Not as comprehensive a ruling as it could have /should have been, but a good first step in isolating Israel and the radical Zionists that run it.

The most incompetent SecDef in recent history. He goes around with a perpetual expression of worried confusion. The man is clearly out of his element and in over his head.

Thanks, I'll try that.

Anyone who drinks 100 Pipers, Benmore, or Bell's has lowered their standards already. You can't get much lower and still seriously call it Scotch whisky. That said, Benmore is not bad as a mixer on the rocks with soda and a slice of manao. I was spoiled recently when my son-in-law gave me a bottle of Auchentoshan single malt. That can be enjoyed neat like a cordial whereas the cheaper blends can't.

Yes, I've heard the same thing about the success Singapore has had recently in taking on the agribusiness polluters in the region. But that's Singapore where things get done efficiently more often than not. This is Thailand {TIT} where business and government are joined at the hip following the US model. A symbiotic relationship that almost guarantees corruption and dysfunction insofar as it relates to the general good. As Napoleon is supposed to have said: "The surprising thing is not that every man has his price, but how low it is."