SparklingCascades

No wonder things only "begin to happen" when the EU or U.S blacklist Thailand or ban imports. Left to clean-up on its own Thailand does nothing.....in fact politicians, police & the Army try to kill or jail people who raise their voices against corrupt practices. For the 'head investigator' of the people smuggling investigation to flee for his life tells us how low Thailand has dropped when it comes to being able to clean up corruption. It tells us that the Army has been for 10 years or more (and most likely continues to be) in close collusion with people smugglers.

How can the Thai Army which has corruption in its DNA, a police force which charges protection-money & takes bribes to look the other way or a Justice system where many judges have a price for giving out favorable judgments - be good for the Thai people. In many countries (Thailand included) the politicians are corrupt but the Army, Police & Judiciary can be trusted. In Thailand all 4 work in collusion to build up bank-balances.

No wonder when a rare situation arises when a voice is raised against corruption - like the 'Lead Investigator' in people smuggling - the poor man has to flee. Bloody disgrace my country has become. Kind of the laughing cow of the AEC.

Who will rid us of our trash??

There is something very seriously wrong in Thailand - if people fleeing persecution & certain death are not given either refuge or safe passage to another country. Given the 'people-smuggling' we have seen over the past 10 years (with the Army involved at Senior, Middle & Lower ranks), given corruption which is institutionalized, given 2 sides in politics who easily resort to violence..........add in Thailand's betrayal & brutal attitude towards helpless people like North Korean refugees. Shame. I weep for my country coz' things seem to get more corrupt & more mindless with each passing day. Thailand is becoming the 'basket-case' of Asia.

At least he has a conscience. Other scumbags would have fled the scene and never returned to face the music.

Next you'll be telling us that the killer was thoughtful to kill the victim whilst he slept.....other scumbags would have shot the victim when awake. The man has no conscience. The killer turned himself in since he knew that he'd found & apprehended since the bus company knows which driver is allotted which bus. Better to surrender peacefully than disappear in a hail of police bullets.

Pilot can pay lots of tea-money & apply for a job in Thai Airways or one of our many B-Listed carriers.

Ministry of Tourism & Sports forgot to tell the Ministry of Finance about their dreamed-up figures.....oh and these fake figures will also be a surprise to hotels, restaurants, malls, shops & tour operators. Then we have the matter of Chinese, Russians, Laotians & Cambodians on tight budgets when in Thailand and not really doing much shopping or dining out - which means the income from tourism figures for 2015 are very bad even if this shoestring tourist type is called "upswing". Again we have a govt. dept which fakes it and makes a public joke of themselves.

Some news article lines simply make no sense....absolute nonsense, like "Cambodia might lobby against the proposal as it stands to lose out". Really? Since when does one country lobby against a casino starting up in another country......er' which international law shall we refer to?? The quality of articles in several Thai publications makes me vomit.

Clearly 'Tell It As It Is' - cannot quite - tell it like it is else the military will set the writer adrift.

Blaming the West for ignoring the plight of economic migrants or genuine refugees, blaming Israel are hardly good reasons for the Thai navy to have presided over people-smuggling for the past 10 years or for the Thai navy to have repaired the engine of a boat last week before pushing it back into international waters.......Tell us how we can clean up our patch Mr. Tell-it-like-it-is before deflecting blame by pointing fingers at the behaviors in the West & elsewhere which upset your one-eyed thinking.

But then again if you 'Tell-it-Like-It-Is' the military may set you adrift so best to stay with a script which pleases ones masters.

As a Thai I feel ashamed of one-sided opinions like this one. It tells of a slavish kow-towing mentality among some Thais.

Analysis like this do nothing to address the corruption (people smuggling, slave labor on boats, an airline which is B-listed, yellow-card for fishing practices, black-listed for trade in wild animal parts, seller of fake duplicate goods..........) which is destroying my country. shame....try to 'Tell-it-Like-It-Is' please.

Welcome to the 'Land of Smiles'. NOT !

This is a side tourist do not see.....if only tourists were aware of the - People smuggling managed by Thai's, the slavery managed by Thai's, the killing of animals for tusks, hide etc....managed by Thai's, the Foreign Passport thefts & re-sell managed by Thai's, the money laundering with no questions asked at Banks run by Thai's - people would not call this the Land of Smiles.

Its a bloody disgrace & makes me ashamed to be Thai. We seem so behind the rest of Asia - like Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea.....how do we ever fit into the AEC or any group of civilized people. Are we going to remain a backward third world country for all my life??

Thailand has more laws & regulations than one can poke a stick at. Enforcement almost never happens.

In Thailand if we exclude "cheaters & corrupt" politicians it means there won't be anyone to run in an election !

Why do they keep going on about free tickets for board members? That's chickenfeed and tokenistic. They need to deal with the cost structures , the bloated staffing, the free tickets for staff, family and friends of staff etc. They won't do that because of the payback for the union's support. It will just limp on, dead in the water..

Think about it for a minute. If you want to drop the "free tickets for staff, family and friends of staff etc." would not the bitter taste be lessened by the knowledge that the top echelon had already lost their perks?

Plus, they've already stated that they are going to deal with the cost structures. I remember years ago when one of the major US carriers reduced the number of olives in the first-class salads by one, thus saving some $38,000 per year. For one olive. THAI has so much bloat that I believe they CAN be turned around with the right management and mindset.

"right management and mindset"

We Thais have stopped hoping for the right management and mindset when a company is govt owned & govt managed.

IF and when that ever happens the unions, politicians and other vested interests including the Duty Free Operator K....P...will make sure things move in a 'particular way'. These vested interests have drowned out national interest for the past 50 years and nothing is gonna change. Privatising the carrier is a first step if anyone is serious about changing things at Thai Airways.

Thailand's manufacturing sector & tourism have managed with little English.

The service sector is struggling. Most International Companies have opened their hub's and regional main offices in multi-lingual countries, which deliver English fluency. For example Philippines is now the call center capital of Asia (creating 25,000+ jobs in 2012 & 2013 alone). Thanks to its English proficiency whilst being able to retain its national language ie: Tagalog. Malaysia is another example of attracting service sector type industries.

Thailand has the highest number of English Language coaching classes in Asia but speaks the least English thanks to our learning style where we cram & by-heart stuff with little encouragement to practically apply stuff we learn - be it in math, science or with English.

The best way for a Thai to learn English is to either go to one of the International Schools in Thailand or live for some years overseas.

How do we hope to compete in the AEC with our backward approach to anything non-Thai (not just English) remains to be seen.

I'm still trying to work out how they came up with a figure of 13% from the numbers displayed.

Anybody?

And how is a child of 15 a woman?

Edit: Oh yes yes, the children between 15 and 18 with child are adult women, never abused and raped. They don't count.

27,000 participations in a survey, and they come up with 13%? B.S. : It's more like 40%, but in a survey people generally don't offer honest opinion when under observation!

Very poor study results!

They came up with 13% cos' some believe that 13 is an unlucky number. So 13% seemed appropriate.

When you say- "B.S. : Its more like 40%" ...

people in Patpong, Phuket & Pattaya may point out its more like 69%

As a black educated woman (Yes, black woman and educated). To add to this, I know quite a few black Nigerian men and women who are highly successful and it has nothing to do with scams and fraud.

Probably, the question that should be asked here is:

Why is it SOME of you don't know at least a few educated, decent Nigerians? I can answer that, you are not open-minded, you stick with people from your own race, culture and class etc so you lack depth and exposure. This narrow-mindedness has prevented you from understanding that many of these Nigerians are doing bad but that should never cause you to generalize.

I have seen those guys on Lower Sukhumvit and what they do is horrible. However, what about the middle-class white men who simply come to Thailand and places like Cambodia to prey on innocent kids? Are they mostly black? No! Can I therefore say all white men are pedophiles? No way!

One of my colleague's husband who is Black Kenyan was turned away from a bar because he was thought to be Nigerian. What if he was? Does that make him like the others on the streets? This news spread in my school and was on our school blog in minutes telling staff NOT to go to that bar.

People need to grow up, grow out of racist behavior. Your kids may well find Nigerian partners. Wow!! That's a crime.

Playing the race card, blaming others, name-calling and of course chest-beating does not sound educated.

You sound like people did 100 years back and many continue to sing the same song - in the hope that excuses will hide home truths.

If you spent the same 'imagination' helping Nigerians (and Africans) in Thailand wise-up & clean-up my country would not have sooooo many Africans behind bars. With these 1000+ jailbirds locked-up we can almost start a small African country in the middle of Thailand. Even Nigerian (and African) embassies want nothing to do with many of the Africans in Thailand.

Start with educating the African embassies with your story-line. If they listen to you maybe the rest of us will give your story-line a little attention

....... and your point is? Have you seriously read my post? You appear to be clueless as to what racism really is so I will not engage you in further discussion.

That's correct - You've got the hint. Nobody wants to listen to your story of 'racism'. Wise up, clean up or Get out of my country.

She left the baby in the bath for minutes while she got dressed.She will be prosecuted I guess but she will live with it for the rest of her life.Terrible accident happens all over the world every day,you cant let those kids out for your sight for a minute but still with all the regulations etc here kids still drown in back yard pools every year

Not everyone's Mum is frolicking with a near-stranger in a motel room at the time the child is struggling for life 5 feet away !! Lets not compare this to "accidents happening all over the world". Where 'Mum' is next going will allow her lots of time to frolic with near-strangers.

As a black educated woman (Yes, black woman and educated). To add to this, I know quite a few black Nigerian men and women who are highly successful and it has nothing to do with scams and fraud.

Probably, the question that should be asked here is:

Why is it SOME of you don't know at least a few educated, decent Nigerians? I can answer that, you are not open-minded, you stick with people from your own race, culture and class etc so you lack depth and exposure. This narrow-mindedness has prevented you from understanding that many of these Nigerians are doing bad but that should never cause you to generalize.

I have seen those guys on Lower Sukhumvit and what they do is horrible. However, what about the middle-class white men who simply come to Thailand and places like Cambodia to prey on innocent kids? Are they mostly black? No! Can I therefore say all white men are pedophiles? No way!

One of my colleague's husband who is Black Kenyan was turned away from a bar because he was thought to be Nigerian. What if he was? Does that make him like the others on the streets? This news spread in my school and was on our school blog in minutes telling staff NOT to go to that bar.

People need to grow up, grow out of racist behavior. Your kids may well find Nigerian partners. Wow!! That's a crime.

Playing the race card, blaming others, name-calling and of course chest-beating does not sound educated.

You sound like people did 100 years back and many continue to sing the same song - in the hope that excuses will hide home truths.

If you spent the same 'imagination' helping Nigerians (and Africans) in Thailand wise-up & clean-up my country would not have sooooo many Africans behind bars. With these 1000+ jailbirds locked-up we can almost start a small African country in the middle of Thailand. Even Nigerian (and African) embassies want nothing to do with many of the Africans in Thailand.

Start with educating the African embassies with your story-line. If they listen to you maybe the rest of us will give your story-line a little attention

Indian smuggler paid for by a Nigerian. It is driving me crazy on my visas here, what category do the Nigerians fall in? Please clean them all out.

Bad move buddy, at least change your profile picture if you're going to make inflammatory statements like that. Very poorly thought out I agree, however you probably have very little experience interacting with African people so I'm not going to call you a racist just yet. Look at the history of Nigeria, slavery, colonization,do you even understand the socia-economic effects? How they lead to crime? You could just as easily been a conman so desperately seeking to improve your life by whatever means, if your people had been enslaved. Also, using words like 'infestation' does make you seem intolerant and completely out of touch with reason and logic within the context of understanding the reasons for the behaviour of certain people from certain countries. Sure, Nigerians are known for scams and criminal activity in many parts of the world, what about Israel & and their unforgiving illegal genocides? All the evils caused by slavery from the West and American foreign policy? Should we admonish caucasians for colonialist arrogance?

Typical loser - blame the past, point to other countries and imply anyone who calls a spade-a-spade is racist. Spare us the usual chest-beating. Wise up & clean up or Get Out. Singapore & Hong Kong will not tolerate Nigerians (or Africans) who do not measure up to $$$ entry requirements and work-visa-quality.....neither should Thailand.

So you refuse any factual evidence pertaining to cause & effect in reference to the action of a sect of Nigerian people? Forget the past? No thank you, I refuse to ignore the reasons why things are the way they are now. How else are we supposed to devise appropriate reaction? Or would you prefer we act like a bunch of idiots and yell 'wipe them out!' because we don't know any better. That's what it sounds like you're advocating.

Your "factual evidence" and "past" and "cause & effect" etc..etc... are your problems. Plse don't bother the rest of the world with baggage your carrying around. If you choose to go someplace else leave your baggage at home. If that's difficult stay at home and cope with your baggage as best you can. The rest of us living in our home country do not need it.

Yes, "wipe them out" is the slogan more & more people world-wide are shouting when watching the rising tide of Nigerian (and African) crime. The rest of the world has a right of response and tough luck if you don't like that response.

The high rate of road accidents in Thailand (amongst the highest in the world) is not just bad-drivers, corrupt issue of licences but also bad courts & a brain-dead justice system. No wonder my country is sometimes mocked as the basket case of Asia. Sacking the govt. is not an answer to our problems. Cleaning up a 1930s stone-age mindset of the military & courts is the challenge we young Thais face.

How do we know what is breaking the law when the constitution has been suspended? What is the law now?

The constitution has been suspended.

Criminal law, civil law and of course common sense have not been suspended. Do something reckless if you want to test it.

Your 'confusion' can cause sane readers a daily constitutional.

QUOTE - New drivers will also have to get to grips with a more thorough and comprehensive driving curriculum that will include 4 hours and intense lectures, as well as a written examination on driving theory consisting of 50 questions. In order to pass the written examination, drivers will need to obtain a score of at least 90% or answer 45 questions out the 50 correctly. This is compared to the current driving examination test that includes 30 questions, with a passing grade of 75%. The new tests will be mandatory for all new drivers in Thailand. Any driver who wishes to renew their 5 year Thai driving license will also need to attend a one hour ‘refresher’ lecture in order to bring them up to speed with the new curriculum. Drivers who are applying for a 5 year license for the first time will not need to take this class. - UNQUOTE

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THAILAND needs more rules & new laws like we need a hole in the head !!

No matter how many new rules & how many new laws one dreams-up, getting around these regulations will continue - thanks to me being born & living in one of the most corrupt countries in Asia.

If one cannot enforce existing rules/laws what hope is there of enforcing new laws/rules.

Its the corruption stupid !!

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He's in serious trouble if he's still in Thailand.

Actually he is in serious financial trouble in the U.S. and I hope she proceeds with her lawsuit against him. Someone else posted that he hopes the judge throws the book at him... Well in the U.S. not every civil infraction is a criminal infraction like in Thailand. Nobody goes to jail for stuff like this, nor should they. But hopefully, if the case goes to trial, he'll be hit with large punitive damages. If it's true, what he did is so wrong.

And all of those making jokes. How would you feel if it was your daughter or sister whose pic was used on the cover of a book about whores in your country.

"how would you feel if it was your daughter or sister whose pic was used on the cover".............The silly woman is not unhappy about her pic being used but rather upset about Thailand being rubbished with the truth !!

"I am not particularly angry by the photo on the cover, because this is not the first time my photo has been abused for commercial purpose. What angers me a lot is the text on the cover and the contents of the book which greatly insult Thai women," the celebrity said.

So it is not the use of the photo but the book itself that angers her because it insults Thai women.

Well Miss Wattatana, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but Thailand itself has been building the reputation of Thai women for decades. You can't blame the farangs for Thailand's reputation.

Thats correct - I am Thai & studied overseas. The view among many colleagues was:-

Switzerland is the watch factory of the world, Belgium the chocolate factory, Edam the cheese-makers, France the kitchen of the world, Britain the bankers of the world, America the gun-slingers of the world........ and Thailand the brothel of the world. Many truths are spoken in jest.

In Thailand at every level from the top to the very bottom of society and again from grandparents to parents to children - the world's oldest profession gets eagerly encouraged and passed on - albeit this applies to a chunky 25% - at the minimum - of our population.

Not sure why this actress protests about the book's contents. Perhaps home truths hurt.

A shallow woman. Anyone with depth would be upset at getting ones face on the cover of such a book and express an eagerness to help clean up the country. Not so this pretty face. Her comments explain in part whats wrong with Thailand & Thai-ness. How do we fit in let alone compete in the AEC with so much baggage we carry.

We are neither Red-shirt nor Yellow-shirt nor White-shirt but left puzzled & confused as to why Sihanart Prayoonral who is from Anti-Money Laundering Office should get involved. After all its perfectly legal, very legitimate to use my 'declared earnings' to support whatever political view I like. In such a case, 'money-laundering' does not even enter into the equation. There's no accounting for stupidity even when the intentions are good.