Soi Dog

I get tired of the old victim act. It's a big world and thailand is happy to export low cost veggies to the EU. Why can't pig farmers here be competitive with US pig farmers? The answer may not lie so much with subsidies in the US as with inefficiencies and protective ag policies here in Thailand.

I don't know which is more depressing - the fact that the goal is to be 25th or the fact that it will be almost impossible to get there.

I guess that's why they call it "dope"

THis would be great if it applied to Permanent Residents as well.

An interesting introspection. More thoughtful and objective than most. The observation that the two sides are similar is interesting - much like the observation that today's conflict is between new money and old money but it's still all about money.

He is blaming global warming... lolol

But of course:

>>>>thanks to the inclement weather like global warming and off-seaso

n rain

You get extra points if you can work "global warming" into your statements. It makes you sound intelligent to your superiors.

Given that Dengue Fever takes place in certain climates and large outbreaks can directly be related to weather and no informed person denies that Global warming is happening (may debate the cause) and that it has an effect on both climate and weather ....

So everyone who has data or questions about the reality of global warming is uninformed? I guess this must include the global warming experts themselves who have recently admitted that the atmosphere has NOT warmed during the past 10 years.

Perhaps the English can enlighten me on what constitutes an indecent assault. The implication is that there is such a thing as decent assault and I cannot imagine what that would be.

I am struggling to figure out what "fake" melamine is. Melamine itself has been used in cookware for years and has approval in the US, the EU and the WHO for contact with foods. This is not the same as the case when melamine was added illegally and in massive quantities to milk in China.

So let me get this straight. One of the worst run ministries in Thailand is going to help one of the other worst run ministries. Alrighty then.

There is no obvious right course. Lowering interest rates might help weaken the Baht but could worsen inflation. This whole Kabuki dance is blame shifting in the absence of leadership.

You mean there's a plan?!?!?!?!

I'm left wondering if they mean stepping up control OF guns or stepping up control WITH guns. Just saying.

No matter how hard they try to isolate the course there will still be motorcycles and vendor carts on the track going the wrong direction.

WHile I agree that private hospitals are getting to be more like factories where doctors spend as little time with patients as possible and prescribe as many drugs as possible, it is also true that they generally provide top notch care at prices that compare very favorably to, say, the US. This also keeps insurance premiums for even high end plans well below the premiums I would pay in the US for basic coverage with huge deductibles. I would much rather let the free market determine pricing than the government. If the private hospitals are no longer competitive internationally, the market will force them to adjust. If the government tries to set pricing, there will be a reduction in quality or availability or both. We see this time and time again when the government tries to outsmart markets and the markets always bites back.

What a tragedy. It is hard to imagine the grief of such an untimely death. It may have been that the child suffered a severe allergic reaction, which would account for her symptoms.

Scorecard and Arkady hit the nails on the head. In many respects this is like the US system where until recently there was absolutely no way to reward the good teachers and get rid of the bad ones because of the strength of the teachers' unions. Even now, progress in this area is tentative and spotty and until there is a way to make real progress the results will be same depressing results we have been seeing for so many years.

There are two issues that are not being given enough attention. FIrst, what kind of moron rams a jetski into a yacht? Yachts are generally big enough to be seen from far enough away that collisions could be avoided. So I have very little sympathy for the guy who did that and I think 100,000 baht is getting off lightly. He should have been fined a million baht on top of that just for being stupid.

Second, there is the issue of insurance. Shouldn't Jetski operators have enough insurance to cover these losses? Sure there could be a deductible that would need compensation but it looks to me that the current system is just the opposite, i.e. insurance pays a minimal amount and the customer is held up for an open ended compensation.

Just saying.

I view the proposed amnesties with a jaundiced eye but not for the same reason as most. I was on one of the very last flights to land at Swampy when the yellow shirted goons were storming the control tower. I could have had a very bad day so I am not one who views the yellow shirt takeover of Swampy as a harmless prank and great fun. And I certainly don't see the justice in none of them ever going behind bars while so many red shirts have been in jail for so long without trial. It will take more than an amnesty to even the score.

I had to look on youtube, now I know what happened to that Teddy Bear they use in the rape re enactments.

I think the choking of the chicken was a nice touch.

This form of idiocy is not unique to Thailand. There are spoilsports to be found in any country. But I like the idea of an anti-ageing medicine service. Since the only effective way to stop ageing is to die, they must be peddling deadly poisons, no? As for me, give me ageing or give me death.

Thailand has lots of IPR, except here the R stands for Robbery. However, the US could help themselves a bit by making legally acquiring online videos and music more accessible. Very few of the US suppliers of online content will allow business with computers having Thai IP addresses. Their concern is understandable but a) this does nothing to stem the tide of piracy and if people who want to pay for legally acquired media content can't do so, they join the ranks of customers for the pirates.

This should silence the critics who say the government doesn't know squat.