zaphod reborn

"The persistence of economic slowdown in Europe, the United States, Japan and China is the primary cause for the contraction of Thai exports, Pridiyathorn said."

Economic slowdown in the US? What kind of data are you smoking?

Listen up TAT.

Claimed Mr Hunnington threw the first punch.

Of course.

Funny. The farang always initiates these 'gang' attacks.

Bad farang.

He's drunk, he's a Brit, he groped a Thai woman . . . sorry, but he probably did throw the first punch. He allegedly punched the farang boyfriend of the woman he groped, not a gang of Thai men. The Thai men apparently came to the defense of the Finnish man.

"If they are not authorised, I'll be happy to find lawyers to sue whoever claimed to be the authorities,'' he said.

No, that's not what real governments do. Impersonating authorities for purposes of extortion is a rampant crime in Thailand. It needs to be treated as a crime, not as a civil matter. That means the government needs to be proactive, by assigning crime investigation teams and conducting stings. When suspects have been identified and probable cause of a crime has been established, you arrest the perpetrators and jail them. You deny bail because it is likely they will use their freedom to commit further fraud. You then prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law, and don't let them off with a slap on the wrist.

"The state media is warning the public that the sexual assault of women is caused by the clothing they wear."

Name and shame.

Fake land ownership documents created by corrupt officials are commonplace in Thailand. The real failure was on the part of the provincial government of Nakhon Ratchasima. Obviously, no plans were ever submitted for approval of the race track development. How can you allow such a facility to be built without an environmental impact statement, especially because, at the very least, this land was contiguous to the Khao Yai National Park? Either of these processes, development application approval or EIS filings, would have uncovered the encroachment. But, the developer, benefited from the lack of proper governmental controls, from the corrupt payment it made for fake land titles, and now must pay the consequences, by having the race track torn down. Unfortunately, the damage to the national park is done, and really can't be undone.

Again: Mr. P or the Ministry of Culture and Moral and Ethics and stuff...please...any comment?

Any time now, please!

You expect them to fix something that's been broken for centuries and has been made worse in the last 7 decades by rampant alcohol abuse?

Take a look at the domestic violence situation in your own home country. Have your country's leaders made any inroads to reduce it?

Probably the best immediate solution would be to get everyone off alcohol and onto marijuana. It's easier to satisfy a craving for munchies than it is a craving for violence.

She simply panicked because of mob gathering at the scene of first accident. Newbie in Thailand, that could happen. Of course some TV members expected from her to be a "man"...

I agree, she was probably frightened she was going to be beaten up. However, that doesn't excuse her reckless flight going the wrong direction on Sukhumvit. When she reached Sukhumvit, she should have stopped and found a way to contact police. She needs to be prosecuted for endangering so many lives. She's not in Kansas anymore.

So, after they announced he was 86'd (that's an American restaurant industry term for banned, or taken off the menu) he refused to leave. So, instead of calling the police and having him trespassed, their security beats him up. The club owners should be permanently banned from operating nightclubs. Self-help evictions are not acceptable in the hospitality industry.

Although I am not against student having technology to aid them in learning, I am against giving students tablets in Thailand. Unless they can make a tablet that blocks all social media and chats it is a waste of funding. I have seen how thai students who received tablets last year utilize them in the classroom. 99% of the kids only opened them to talk with friends or look at vdos in YouTube. Using them for learning was not on their agenda. This is not to say they can't be used in this manner. The Thai kids were just more interested in social than learning. If they want Thai kids to have technology they need to find another way that ensures the kids will use it constructively.

Unsupervised use of tablets won't further the students' education. Better computer centers with adequate monitoring software and supervision is the way to go. Have you ever seen a school library in Thailand? What a joke. A well-equipped and staffed computer center would help greatly.

If the fortune teller is so influential, give him a shot at running the government. Only idiots would report the lies and deceit of a fortune teller as news.

"Most of the boat captains are from Thailand"

And the boat captains have been shown to be the enslavers. Thailand is in need of some deep rethinking about their anti-human trafficking policies.