Emdog

Release from what? I haven't seen any limitations on what he can do, who he can plot with.... the only restraint was not being allowed to go back to Dubai for dubious medical reasons

"..a mental health checkup for all army supervisors and trainers nationwide." Ah, but what is the baseline for "acceptable mental health"? There's the rub. Thais are taught from day one to bow down and never question their "superiors" in the schools. Those who question are trouble makers. The military is just a slightly more extreme version of what Thais encounter in everyday life.

Cars aren't selling so well; the trucks are a joke and stock is down 40%. Maybe Thailand dodged a bullet by not having a factory...

Wondering about if any other "democracies" have the power to ban a political party.... too lazy to research, but I assume Germany banned the Nazi part.... I'm an old yank, but when I was a kid teachers would like to point out that USA allowed Communist Party to exist and their perennial candidate for president Gus Hall...

I wonder if his tour of black sites included the one in Thailand?

"offer dubious fortune-telling services " All fortune telling services are dubious.

Like Ben Franklin said "The school of life has a high tuition, but some fools will learn in no other" (more or less)

One branch of government wants to eliminate the street food vendors, another wants to support as per this article. Gotta love Thailand The left hand doesn't know what the right hand may be doing

These sorts of stories are not uncommon. I can't figure out how someone, no matter how drunk, might decide "oh yeah, take a nap on railroad tracks. What could go wrong?" Although the wooden ties are called "sleepers"....

"Soi Yen Sabai in Nongprue" Hmm I'm not expert in any sense with Thai language, but seems sort of ironic name if I have translation right: "Yen" can mean cool, temperature or demeanor, as in compliment "Chai Yen" (cool heart, not a hot head). And "sabai" generally means comfortable, at ease, etc... Maybe change name to "Soi Chai Rohn" as in "Soi Hot Head". That's my story and I'm sticking to it...

Another great avenue for money laundering and record breaking corruption. Licking their chops

"The ministry launched the Thailand Best Local Food: The Lost Taste project" I hope that is some error in translation.... in that lost taste can refer to an individuals liking/disliking some food or other experience: "I used to like Star Wars, but I've lost my taste for that".

It wasn't a "car wash in disguise". It was a gambling site disguised as a car wash. Tell that to your AI grammar banks

"The specific ways in which the vendors were exploiting tourists have not been disclosed to the public or the media" Well, we don't know what they did, but they'd better watch out or tourists will complain about.... what? there are so many ways to treat tourists "unfairly"

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet"

Rushdie's books are great. The Satanic Verses is amazing display of masterpiece writing. He is great with "magic realism".... get it, read it. But it is no Joan Collins offhand fluff.... His first novel, "Midnight's Children" got him the Booker prize in the UK, so evidently others in the know agree to his ability. I 100% doubt the Ayotollah read Satanic Verses, lazy bugger. If you are going to condemn someone to death, at least examine the 'evidence' that lead to that death warrant (Call it what it is, don't dress it up in some Arabic word)

Anthony Burgess, author of "A Clockwork Orange" and others, commented in a Playboy interview way back when "Never fly on an airline where the pilots believe in reincarnation". Stuck with me over the decades

Do tour packages include stops at stadiums for public beheadings? maybe do a round with religious police, cane women who aren't modest enough?

It would take about 15 minutes to find if credentials are legit or not, and that includes time for coffee. Also not uncommon for rich and powerful just to hire someone to do all the course work for sponsor

"Ignite finance".... maybe if you've got money to burn

The national archives tried for months and months to get those records from Trump: they are NOT his. Plus no top secret files should leave the safe rooms where they can be read. Trump was showing them to reporters... have that on audio tape. Biden returned docs, allowed FBI full access to his home. Trump refused to return all those documents, plain and simple. That is when FBI and Justice department were brought in to apply pressure, which Trump (and his hoodwinked lawyers) denied having... plenty of CCTV showing moving boxes about, hiding and otherwise obstructing FBI, lying to them, etc etc Then when FBI finally went to retrieve stolen items, Trump claims they went there to kill him. Moron, as are his followers who believe that. They timed the search to be when he was not in Florida.

Makes me think of the Yogi Berra quote, modified: "No one wants to go to the Paris Olympics.... too many people there"

On plus side, should be easier to find the bodies, or what once were bodies. "expect the unexpected": I imagine most on the big implosion didn't expect to be mashed to tiny bits.... I could be wrong, but....

Was there article last month about draftee having assignment of washing wife's "delicates"? No way wife of high up military is going to do anything that may be considered "work". That's what peasants and draftees are for

So... instead of getting stiff, you might become one?