sambum

What a good idea! I wonder if anybody else has thought of that?

But if you want a slice, you'll have to die first!

".............. he wants to care for his grandchildren and is ready to serve the 10-year prison term from which he fled." It's been said before, but how on earth is he going to "care for his grandchildren" from a jail cell - in 10 years time they'll be able to take care of themselves!

"The blatant corruption suddenly improved." A bad choice of phraseology to get your point across!

Ridiculous - not your post - the facts! "(anyone ever visit Thai immigration?)." Yes - many times, and I have learned that on my last 90 day report before my extension is due is to ask for a checklist, and ask (a) Has anything changed since last year?, and (b) Is there anything that is not on this checklist that should be? Prior to last year, my Immigration Office said that my Bank Book had to be updated within 3 days of coming to Immigration - now it has to be done on the same day!!!

"......the political leader’s authorship of four books and asking the Election Commission if this may be construed as the operation of a newspaper under Thailand’s Printing Recordation Act of 2007." Talk about clutching at straws! You've been beaten - own up - admit it, and let the DEMOCRATIC Government VOTED FOR by the people do their job!

Do they not make watches that have optional "motion sensor alarms" on them? I'm sure at the price they go for, they should have! Maybe one of the makers could market a "Prawit Special"?

"Within the next three months, the number of overstayers should be reduced to zero, as they are more likely to engage in criminal activities, which can adversely affect Thailand’s tourism industry, Pol. Lt. Gen. Pakphumpipat said." Any bets, anyone? No? But the Pol Lt Gen has promised/vowed that it will happen! Still no bets? "Oh ye of little faith"

"Occupation Lockdown"? Merely a confirmation of Thailand's long standing outdated rules regarding the jobs that foreigners can do because Thais don't want to!

Knife making? I suppose I get the point, shoe making and hat making if you want to keep one step "a head" of the opposition? I'll get my coat! (does that come under "dress making"?

Another Committee - that'll sort it!

"........the Military won't dare to intervene." They will follow orders or be court martialled!

'.........the United States respects the integrity of Thailand’s democratic process ........." And the 250 senators "democratically" put in place by Prayut?

"The Watch Scandal" indeed! Prawit must have the lamest excuse(s) I have ever heard for his possession of those timepieces - so poor that they are laughable! Firstly, to say that he "borrowed them from a friend" is bad enough! I don't know, or have ever heard of anybody borrowing a watch from a friend - let alone the numbers he is talking about. Secondly, to say that he couldn't return them because the so called friend he borrowed them from is dead? Ridiculous -should he not have returned them to the "next of kin"? Thirdly, to say "I had forgotten about them anyway" Who "forgets about" millions of baht's worth of watches, when he was actually pictured wearing one? (I suppose he could say that was one of his own - in fact they all appear to be his own now that the friend is dead!) And to think that this conniving piece of humanity has even a chance of becoming Thailand's next Prime Minister beggars belief!

As is borne out by today's story of the unfortunate lady who had to have part of her leg amputated due to it getting trapped in a moving escalator - tragic.

I don't drink spirits, and the beer here is like fizzy lager, so any reduction on the price of (imported) wine would go down well with me - along with probably quite a few others who would drink more if it was more affordable.

Head line :- "Two deaths linked with cannabis use and violent incidents reported in recent days by Thai police...." "The suspect told police that he had been smoking marijuana but had also taken two methamphetamine tablets." The man admitted to police he had taken methamphetamine pills and smoked marijuana So, why is marijuana blamed? I think the headline could have been more appropriately worded more appropriately, e.g.:- "Two deaths linked with methamphetamine use and violent incidents reported in recent days by Thai police...."

Guilty until proven innocent seems to be the guideline! When the the Covid restrictions were at their peak, a mate of mine sat down with some others outside a bar that was selling alcohol illegally. He hadn't actually ordered a drink, but was roped in with the others who had drinks in front of them. He was going to plead not guilty, but was persuaded otherwise by the Court interpreter. She said he could plead not guilty, would probably spend the next few nights or a week in jail, would have to hire a lawyer (not cheap) and at the end of the day she "guaranteed" that he would still be found guilty, and end up getting double the sentence that the others had received - so he pleaded guilty!

"would of" - hate that misuse of the English language!!

More emotion shown by her lawyer No, the lawyer is after "MONEY"!!! Should be "End of" but most certainly will not be! Without being callous, the baby is dead, so the death penalty is a possibility- any bets on whether that happens? Forget it - I'm in my late 70's and can't wait that long!

Not good news for Thais or ex pats. To attract more doctors the obvious answer is to make the job more attractive financially, and that would partly be funded by charging farangs even more for medical services. A friend of mine has just been told by a doctor at the local Government Hospital that if he requires a certain treatment he can expect to pay double that which a Thai pays. And that is at a Government Hospital - Private Hospitals will probably charge substantially more.

Only one comment to make about your post above, because you seem to accept all the official data rather than the facts that fly in your face when you walk down the street which is this:- "And, once again, observations of empty bars, restaurants, hotels, etc., in your 'neck of the woods'---wherever that might be and whether accurate or not .........." implies that I am a liar and consequently I will have no further discussion with you and you are going on my "Ignored" list.

"You can't, however, make the leap that if 'they ain't here' they must not be anywhere else, either,...." I didn't - TAT said that they were "elsewhere" as I stated earlier - "Ooop North"! "An empty bar is just that--an empty bar.........." But taken in context, with all the other empty bars, the empty restaurants, the empty hotels, and empty streets, the message would appear to be that "things were quiet"! And let's face it, even the Chinese/Asians have to eat and stay somewhere? Oh, I forgot - you said they were all over Thailand - yes? (P.S. I am actually quite glad that the Chinese in particular were not swarming over my neck of the woods!), I must admit to being a bit of a cynic as far as "data" is concerned, especially from TAT, because I have seen too many U turns in their figures to class them as a reliable source - and before you ask - no, I do not have any examples to hand, because they went strangely quiet over the "Covid years", and we were talking about 2019 figures?

"............it has been blatantly obvious from the empty streets, hotels and bars that their figures were way off the mark." I don't need "data" - that's where the doubt creeps in! I go by the above - not "an empty bar", and the testament of quite a few bar owners, hoteliers etc who said that if there are so many tourists, where are they all, because "they ain't here"!!! "Lies, damned lies and statistics" (Mark Twain)

Maybe their figures in this post have been taken from the wrong out of date source, then:- "Despite concerns surrounding China’s current real estate market downturn, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) remains optimistic about its prospects of attracting 5 million tourists from the Asian country in 2021. Hmm? 2021, I thought that was a bad year for tourism worldwide? I have seen posts in the past (pre Covid) where TAT have been trumpeting their success about so called tourist numbers, and it has been blatantly obvious from the empty streets, hotels and bars that their figures were way off the mark. Their justification (from memory) was that people weren't staying in the tourist resorts, they were going "oop North" to see and stay in "the proper Thailand" to investigate its culture by "visiting temples and places of cultural heritage" ????