sambum

We also had discipline and respect in the classroom, which seems to be missing these days. My ex wife in the UK was a full time teacher who retired to have children, then returned a few years later as a "Supply Teacher". She was amazed at the changes in just a few years, and I remember her saying that she wasn't teaching any more - all she was doing was trying to keep order!

Just Googled "Education in Thailand and got this:- "The Thai education system is seen by many American Chamber of Commerce member companies as inadequately educating students in two important areas: English and critical thinking. Science, math, and Thai language skills have also recently been dropping to levels below international standards and lower than its neighbors." OK, it is a report by the American Chamber of Commerce companies, but it is indicative of how the education system in Thailand seems to be deteriorating rather than improving.

When I attended Grammar School in the UK many years ago, we were actively encouraged to ask questions!

From Worldometer today:- 33 Thailand 3,111,857 +22,984 And from yesterday:- 33 Thailand 3,088,873 +22,073 (The figures highlighted in yellow are listed on their Web page as "New cases". Sorry if I'm wasting your time!

"The government has assured that Songkran celebrations next month will be allowed to take place, while noting that health and safety precautions will still need to be taken." I wonder how "Social Distancing" will fit into the "safety precautions"?

Thank you for your honesty - I admire your stance! I started smoking pot in my late teens, along with "uppers and downers", and in my 20's/30's used a bit of cocaine occasionally, but was never tempted to use "smack". I did try LSD a few times too, but after a dodgy "trip", and a few "flashbacks" called it a day on that! My own personal opinion is that smoking pot should be legalised everywhere - I believe in the States (and probably in the UK) prison guards will turn a blind eye to the use of pot as it has a known calming effect on the inmates! However, regarding the legalisation of ALL drugs, I am afraid we will have to differ, but as I said earlier - I admire your stance on the subject!

Limelight seeking troll more like

Oh, for Buddha's sake, not a retired teacher - just someone who thinks that you should be able to write the language you speak! It was meant as a "jokey" kind of comment to someone who was making a comment about Education, but obviously he/she took it in the manner that it was intended!

"Foreign tourists will flood into Thailand after marijuana law changes - Thai ganja called country's "secret weapon" The post itself is implying that tourists will flood in because they think that they will be able to get legally high, which is NOT the case, which is why I made the observation that it "would not be strong enough to give a lab rat a buzz". Just look at some of the posts on this thread suggesting that there will be loads of spaced out potheads in Thailand adding to road fatalities, causing aggro, and generally making a nuisance of themselves. That is also NOT the case. I also made the comment about "every pot smoker becoming a drug addict" because I thought it was relevant to show how even qualified police professionals are giving out misleading information. I agree that it is a possibilty that some pot smokers may end up becoming drug addicts, in the same way as some underaged teenager having an illegal pint may end up becoming an alcoholic, but it is by no means a certainty! And to be honest, I have never heard of anyone suffering "permanent psychosis" from one pot smoking session! I agree that prolonged use may well cause problems, but not one session! I think you may be getting confused with LSD, where one "trip" can lead to the "permanent psychosis" to which you refer, but I believe that to be very rare indeed.

Just so you know that education in English is something we all take for granted - corrections highlighted and underlined:- My daughter had a male teacher in high school that smoked pot. Then they decided that kids were getting into it mainly from parents or other adults, so the Education Department decided that they needed to be taught the rights and wrongs about it. (extra?) Guess who got the job? That male teacher! And what did the kids get out of it? How to chop up and to pack a bong, and tell the difference between a male and female plant. (Can't beat the Aussie education.) Just being a pedantic English Grammar Police (man!) ????

All these "plans" and "attractive offers" that are highly unlikely to bear fruit remind me of a book I had to read for my English "A" level many years ago. (Substitute "Tourists" for "Godot"!) :-

I don't think the goods on offer will be in the least "mind altering", just that "some people" are trying to convince gullible travellers that it will be!

The strength of the cannabis we are talking about here would not be enough to give a lab rat a buzz! Your comment reminds me of an incident where a former colleague of mine who was a "Special" in the UK police force was undergoing training as a Cadet with a view to becoming a regular full time Police Officer. The instructor this particular day IMHO should not have been allowed to teach prospective Cub Scouts let alone prospective Police Officers! Acccording to my colleague, he said "Anybody who starts off by smoking pot is going to become a drug addict". Apart from that being a complete fallacy, this is what trainee Police Officers are being taught by people who are supposed to be experts in their particular field! It's like saying that any youngster who drinks a bottle of beer is going to become an alcoholic, and the chances of anybody ending up in a psychiatric hospital after smoking a couple of joints is equally remote.

Going by the text of your post, I think you've had enough! Whitey alert!

I think you mean "delusional" - they are too thick skinned to get "disillusioned"! Hence the constant barrage of new ideas to attract millions of tourists! This is delusional:- "claiming that "nine out of ten tourists" would want to try ganja and hemp products."

"He said that Thai ganja was highly regarded comparing it with Khao Horm Mali (Jasmine Rice) for its tourism pulling power". Yes, but the Thai ganja that the tourists regard highly is of the "Thai stick" variety, and not the variety that will be used for medicinal products! "I can see trouble ahead!"

"I know the modern way to a improved net profit is to reduce your prices and that goes for a bar too ". Not in Thailand it ain't! Thai logic is that if you have next to no customers, then you put your prices UP! A few years ago, in our resort, a new bar complex of about 8 or 9 bars was opened, and while all the other surrounding bars/nearby complexes were charging 70 baht on average for a beer, they were charging 100 baht. Needless to say, the complex was virtually deserted, so I asked one bar owner/mama san why they were charging so much for a beer. The answer was that because they only had a few customers, they had to put their prices up to compensate! And she was being serious! Needless to say, we had one beer and left, and the complex closed down a couple of months later, and they built some bungalows on the site. Another factor that comes into play here is that once they set their prices, to reduce them would have meant "losing face", and obviously they would rather lose the business than that to happen!

I think that it has got to be a "wind up"!

PayPal probably did it because they think (with some justification!) that that is the way to do it in Thailand!

"The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) aims to attract 10 million foreign tourists, mostly from ASEAN countries, in 2022 to revive global and domestic tourism industries." So THAT"S why their pie in the sky forecasts are so over the top - they aren't satisfied with unrealistic forecasts for the Thai market, they are now saying that they are going to revive the global market! ???? Good luck with that! (Originally I was just going to say "Yawn!" to the "TAT - 10 million......." but I see they have now set their sights further afield by declaring themselves responsible for World tourism!)

Every time I am feeling unwell - either self induced hangover or a bit of a stomach upset - regardless of what time of day or night it is, my Thai wife's response is "Go see doctor?"

Ist floor - no plomplem! ????

"only 1% of Thais are not fed up" Doesn't fit in with the rest of your post, or am I reading it wrong? Are you saying that in rural Thailand Anutin is liked and highly respected because he is a politician?

Correct - it's just Anutin trying to look good again. I have never understood the man's logic - it's like he's playing "catchup" all the time, but at the same time making out that he is so much "on the ball". Why should people with few or very mild symptoms ever have been dragged off to hospital/quarantine in the first place? - taking up beds that could have been used by genuinely sick people - and not just those infected with Covid. Also, as has been mentioned before, the logic of having to wear a mask on a motor bike eludes me completely! Up to 20,000 baht fine, whereas the fine for not wearing a helmet/no insurance is a few hundred baht! "This year Thailand has not seen a shortage of beds or vaccines" Why was there a shortage in the first place? Was it because he and his Health Department thought that the hot winds of Songkran would blow it away? Or was it because he wanted to strike a deal with the Chinese for a vaccine that has turned out to be almost useless? ("Our Chinese friends will have a vaccine by then") Or was it because if he held out long enough, other countries would give Thailand millions of doses for free? (But while he was waiting for the "freebies", Buddha alone knows how many people caught the virus) And a short time ago he was saying how Thailand and his Department in particular had done such a wonderful job in tackling the problem, and that the situation was "completely under control". So how come he needs to increase the capacity for people to report that they have Covid symptoms? I could go on and on, but I don't have the time or the inclination - I'm going to have a beer on the balcony instead!