Saladin

I thought sex toys were illegal in Thailand

This sentence is incomplete "We cannot just draw up regulations on our own" to which should be added "as we have been doing for the past five years?.

Maybe the poor little bugger just voluntarily bangs his head when he has to listen to 21st Century "music". I know I do.

I recall seeing a movie in which the main character made the comment to his drinking mate, "My father always taught me that anyone who can't be bribed can't be trusted". There's some truth to that. Bribery is endemic throughout Thailand and so much money that should be used for the benefit of the people goes instead into the pockets of people in authority. That is bad enough but it strikes me that, what is worse is that these people don't have any incentive to perform their jobs efficiently. They are seemingly not answerable to anybody. They are making a good living from payola, so why work? I accept that bribery is part of the way of life in SE Asia and isn't going to be eliminated anytime soon but let us hope that the newly elected politicians will tackle the problem of indolence and complacency in government departments and hold the bosses accountable. 

Thai governments can employ satellites, drones, and human intelligence to pinpoint forest fires and crop burning, and subsequently identify the violators. Whacking them with hefty fines and sticking them in the can for a few weeks or months and pyromania would soon become a lot less popular activity. Where is the logic in jailing bar and restaurant owners for serving booze on alcohol-free days while irresponsible farmers can, with impunity, damage the health of millions of people, no doubt causing the deaths of many, and costing the tourist industry many millions of dollars. This pollution was all preventable. Let us hope that the new crop of politicians are a lot brighter than the present ones.

7 hours ago, Farangwithaplan said:

As much as I love goat meat and wish it did become a staple here, what will the farmers do with the goats when it comes time to start replanting? Farmers will grow crops in every last square metre of land from what I have seen. No room left for goats.

 

That would be the time to slaughter them. Or maybe they could be moved to some other problem plants that farmers would like to control.

With the dangerous levels of air pollution we have endured in recent weeks, surely it is time to think outside the square. Obviously the best solution to getting rid of crop residue is to turn it over, back into the soil to become fertiliser but this requires equipment that small farmers cannot afford. Burning is cheap but disastrous. 

As they will eat anything why couldn't goats be employed ? They would cost nothing to maintain, would return the nutrients to the soil, and would bring in additional income from milk and cheese, hides and meat.

We are advised to stay indoors but isn't it the same air we are breathing? Does air conditioning clean the air?

Here is a prime example of why the death penalty should be retained.

Voters should remember that Tony Abbot's wrecking crew got in with no policies whatsoever other than dismantling whatever Labor had done, and despite the Australian economy being in good shape at the time. This time let us hope that the voting public is bright enough to ignore rhetoric and party loyalties, and focus on policies and demonstrated performance.

1 hour ago, THAIJAMES said:

Their seniors are getting a majority cut of all the cash collected.  That cash is needed to pay off the price they paid for purchasing their senior positions.  They can't spend time on more productive duties because those won't generate enough cash for them to keep their positions.

Between 11PM to midnight on any night of the week a few cops positioned in Nimmanhaemin Road with a funnel net could pick up at least 100 traffic violators, which would put at least 20,000 Baht into the piggy bank. Not bad for an hour's work. With sustained policing like this, bike riders and drivers would soon start to get the message.

23 hours ago, topt said:

Is this a recent epiphany.........

Are you just venting or do you think you are imparting some new wisdom.........

My message is not directed at we who are enlightened but rather to those in authority to stop coming up with lame excuses and quick fixes, and take action on the real causes of the mayhem on the roads.

Let us hope he is not supporting Suthep after all the trouble he caused leading up to the military coup. I seem to recall that he had arrest warrants against him that were never enforced, and travelled around with a bunch of goons for protection.

For every difficult question there is always a simple answer - and it's always wrong. Just banning plastic bags is not the solution. No bags at all is impractical, paper bags are not strong enough and fall to pieces when wet. If man can send space ships to far flung galaxies, surely we can develop a low cost biodegradable alternative to plastic as a material, even if it costs a little more.

21 hours ago, natway09 said:

Finished the rant ?

The rule changes are designed to stop "borrowing" the money to obtain the visa & then giving it back.......which is against the law as you state that it is yours.Sounds reasonable to me.

& yes, you are right they don't care if you stay or go & why should they ?

They should care for otherwise they are going to lose a huge amount of unearned foreign currency

I understand that the main reason for this poorly planned requirement concerning income is to make sure foreigners have sufficient funds to cover costs in case of death, injury and sickness. The Catch 22 is that most retirees can't get health insurance because of their age. Surely the government, in conjunction with Thai insurance providers, could come up with an affordable plan to cover us. In this case it would be sufficient for us to just have a monthly income of 40,000B (app. normal pension) plus verifiable insurance cover, either from a foreign insurance company or through the Thai government sponsored plan.