Siamwhiteelephant

One of the Kurds, controlled and the largest nation in the world without a country, straddling five countries, and who once had their own country.

Now we know why there are so many murderers and other violent offenders in this society, and of their school backgrounds. Loss of enforced discipline at school, the moronic 'no-one fail policy', and other factors choking out the chance for a good learning environment exacerbate the problem. This obviously is a very deep societal problem stemming from their home upbringing .......lack of parents' 'tough love', 'accountability', moral values, etc, etc???.

In the article, Prachuap, who lost land and his house on it, said. "Affected residents never get remedial measures for this trouble." Sad that the government has given land to poor farmers elsewhere in Thailand, but not to these very few poor owners having lost houses and the land under and around them. A little more of Thailand disappears into the sea from natural causes and there's no relief for those stricken???????

Poor girl. Is there ever any public outcry about these numerous robberies and attacks upon foreign tourists in any Thai social media? If there isn't from feelings of sympathy and compassion, is there any from concerns over the impact upon Thailand's deteriorating reputation regarding visitor safety and respect, the tourist industry and therefore the economy?

If only the authorities would lower their filter of face more and adopt the waste disposal of developed countries further. When will they tackle the Thai public's backward attitudes and behaviour about waste disposal? The annoying in your face ads are well down the road in trying to alter the public's buying habits, yet no-one seems to complain much about the crass ads. Why don't the authorities exercise some tact and taste into an ad campaign about recycling, etc? Why don't they organize systematic managed recycling and more ways of sustainable waste disposal? Why don't they set up colour-coded recycling bins everywhere with regular collections of them to well-run recycling plants?

Would have done camera shoots differently and, for the trailer, drawn the viewer in by more meaningful, developing transitions. I've co-produced a documentary, but it's only one person's opinion, mine, and maybe others' interest would be captivated.

Suiciders are a strange lot. You cannot apply common logic to them. Of course it would be cheaper and easier to kill yourself at home. But who knows, maybe he wanted to see something nice once before his act. Why not Thailand. Also, if you know about depression, it comes in leaps and bounds. It is very strong one day and totally absent the other. Typically, the impulsion to kill yourself occurs when there is not at present a material reason to do so, or that reason has ceased for the moment. When there is adversity, that stimulates the will to fight. You cannot, then, rely on always finding such al reason, such as a girlfriend who has left him etc.

I know what you mean. Clinical depression does ebb and flow, but never totally absent during its course

A young guy tragically died. Right, it seems he did something very foolish, but he paid the ultimate price. Joking is usually cool. But, I can't help but think of his family and friends. If any one of us was a family member, we wouldn't want to read these jokes. You never know, it can happen. Until after a few days hence, many would say joking may be in poor taste. Better to leave the joking til later, if at all.

Always astounded anew at the short fuse many of these so-called Buddhists have - and at the extreme measures how they resolve issues.

Expressing anger in any way to resolve issues is the Western way , completely incongruous with Buddhism [cough]. Showing extreme anger and consuming booze is quickly checked and dealt with. This is a focus held dear and intensely promoted by adherents.

As with all internal Army matters, this is completely transparent, and no, we are not inclined to prove it one way or another.

Love the royal 'we'.

Can I have some of what you are smoking?

Ohh, learry? They ain’t got no whiskeeee, no doubt about that. And that spirit is "completely transparent" or partially transparent, depending on which kind. “[We] hope that we will receive your generosity as usual [same, same as last year].” This is unthinkable.

The raft riders were sucked in as they headed toward the Abyss, much like elements in this society, as the staff sucked into safety overrides, shrugging off of “mai bpen rai” while funnelling downwards into the Abyss.

The ones truly being ‘sold down the river’ are the ones believing that their fate involves luck based in part on sending money down the river. The thieves are wrong and heartless doing this in front of these people. On the other hand, we all need to be free of superstitious beliefs, and I emphasize superstitious ones.

Well, at least they got in some finger pointing,

with the help of police guidance

And does the British Council voice support of existing British English teachers in Thailand to try and safeguard their jobs long-term here?

Why aren't two finger pointing to the fake cop, so we can know which one?

If The Ministry of Education is so concerned about the cost of financing foreign English teachers’ salaries, how about adopting the govt.’s initiative on curbing corruption instead? Where’s some of that allocated money going which never reaches the teachers’ pockets? Some say, in school administrators and Thai teachers’ pockets. To add insult to injury, in the 9 years I’ve been here, foreign teachers’ salaries haven’t risen. One foreign teacher, who’s been here over 20 years, told me they haven’t gone up since 20 years ago.

Also, instead, it should focus on developing core curricula with modern methodology intent on creating the basis for a good learning environment in the classroom and a convincing rationale for learning English. Meet the students’ learner needs they’re not conscious of. Good education drives forward development of a country, which in turn can create wealth to invest back into education..I read somewhere that per head, Thailand is the second biggest spender on education in the world, but the results of learner success don’t match with that.

So, that would suggest the way the budget for education be better managed than quibbling over the cost of foreign English teacher salaries which don’t rise.

The only “sustainable development” the public knows is sustaining the flow of garbage almost everywhere and developing greater quantities of it. The Department of Pollution Control has my permission to ‘lose face’ in being in charge of the alleged fifth worst polluting of the ocean country in the world and not developing ways to revolutionize the public’s way of thinking about waste disposal and organized recycling of it. To say little more than that a bread krathong causes water pollution doesn’t cut it and is pissing in the wind. What about all the other crap ending up in the water daily?

I can’t get my head around people’s blindness to the garbage eyesore and yet the government is calling for “wearing polite clothes”. All about appearances but not the appearance of the garbage everywhere. They’re in their denial paradigm . Many areas in the world have a garbage-free pleasant appearance; the pictures aren’t photo-shopped scenic fakes..

Preaching to the converted here ...

Booze always on sale at our local temple grounds during Lou Krathong, can't see this year being any different.

Oh, leary? And I'm gutted over booze not mixing with Buddhism not being the Disaster Prevention Department spin. Thought that'd be the obvious Buddhist moral they'd tout . I'd say the Disaster Prevention Department is setting themselves up for disaster

Military ideas of grandeur imported from new bf China?? Any impending massive war threat in these flat-economy days?

I took one of these flights with my wife back in 2010. Although tragic, it's a wake up call and safety will improve going forward. The operators probably felt the conditions weren't good, but to keep the dollars coming in went out anyway.

That might be the case. It's possible you could be right, although I'd tend to think the risk of loss of human lives (and the expensive helicopter) would yield to caution and trump that. There's a cut-off point. Often, in search and rescue operations, they're called off and postponed until conditions improve. I know in that exposed mountainous area conditions can deteriorate so rapidly from reasonable conditions that it's astonishing.. Let's see what actually happened, if any inquiry is instigated

I'm gutted there's no finger pointing photo to scrutinize. None whatsoever. How else can I know which ones are the good, the bad, and the ugly? That's all I come on this website to see .

The flag certainly is too similar to Australia’s one and people globally erroneously identify it as such . I’d like to see the Union Jack kept in the corner, showing continuing allegiance to the Commonwealth, but an adaption of the fourth from left flag proposal with blue being the upper background colour. Remember the All Blacks (rugby team) logo is the silver fern on a black background. Otherwise, as some posters have suggested, a stylised kiwi, instead of the fern may be another favourable option.

What I find offensive is that the referendum excludes New Zealanders who haven't been in the country within the past 3 years . Just because they haven’t done so does not follow that they have less love for their country or feelings of patriotism than those who have or who reside there . Elements of personal financial status, commitments, or others factors can thwart fulfilling the want to visit or return home permanently.

Interesting to see some posters often programming themselves as great humanists, jump through hoops to justify violence.

Focusing on just one of the victims, because it might be played to deflect the issue and muddy the waters is all very fine - but there were other victims. Two well within Israel's borders, and doing nothing more than praying. Another victim being Palestinian. Why ignore them? Because it doesn't fit the agenda. Sure, if it was just those two murdered in Tel Aviv, the reasoning would be that it is justified because Israel...whatever. Not as good a spin as focusing on the murdered US teen, obviously. And not a word about the accidentally murdered Palestinian.

But alright, for those making the murdered USA teen the main act here - recall a while back, a Palestinian kid, also a USA citizen visiting his family, was killed by IDF fire. Don't think there was much outrage over visiting the West Bank in that case etc. Same goes for foreign volunteers coming over to the West Bank in order to support Palestinian causes.

The usual derailing of any concrete topic to agenda driven versions of history, particularly those which are obviously incorrect and thoroughly discussed many times, is to be expected when self-proclaimed humanists find it hard to accept their pet side does bad things too. Seemingly, accepting it is a huge issue, hence the denial.

For those supporting the Palestinian cause, may want to stop a minute and figure the probable consequences of the Tel-Aviv attack. The Palestinian who carried out this vile stabbing attack was working in Israel legally - as in having a permit. Can't offhand recall when was the last similar attack took place. Pretty sure that it will bring about additional restrictions on issuing such permits, which would have a negative effect on the Palestinians.

If you’re referring to my earlier post, well, read OMGImInPattaya words again: “at the scene”, meaning the scene on the West Bank, not the one in Tel Aviv. Even if both scenes were lumped together OMGImInPattaya’s claim doesn’t make sense and is without foundation. Furthermore, in both incidents it was a Palestinian who carried out the violence.

Hold on. Didn't the Palistinians TURN DOWN the !949 lines? They have no right to that land.

Why should the Palestinians accept a plan devised by a foreign power to give 56% of their land away to 33% of the population?

Why did Zionists reject the 1937 Peel Commission Plan that would have saved the lives of 6 million Jews murdered in the Holocaust?

Without the intention of being personal, it is a departure from facts to claim that Zionists rejected the Peel Commission, exactly the opposite. It was the Arabs who rejected it, but: “The two main Jewish leaders, Chaim Weizmann and Ben Gurion had convinced the Zionist Congress to approve equivocally the Peel recommendations as a basis for more negotiation”. Is it any wonder that there was contention over it when earlier at the time of the Balfour Declaration in 1917 it was understood, that the Jewish National Home was to be established in the whole of historic Palestine, including Trans-Jordan (today’s Jordan). So they were losing out on a greatly diminished area of land allocated for their Homeland. Do you think the mythical Palestinians, who had been tribal, largely nomadic Arabs without state borders, were content with all of Jordan granted to them? No. Incidentally, Palestine was a name coined by the Roman invaders two millenniums ago. Also, it was the Jewish people, some of whom have maintained their presence on the land even during the past two millenniums, who developed the land from impoverished, arid land in the 19^th century to mostly productive, fertile land.

However, you are correct about the Holocaust. As Ben-Gurion later wrote after the Peel Commission: "Had partition [referring to the Peel Commission partition plan] been carried out, the history of our people would have been different and six million Jews in Europe would not have been killed—most of them would be in Israel".

Occupied Palestinians aren't a tourist attraction!

Half the Palestinians were extra-judicially executed at the scene.

Can you elaborate on this to support your outlandish claim? In summarizing the article, an American, an Israeli, and a Palestinian were shot dead by a Palestinian..... no mention of anyone else dying at the scene, let alone anyone “extra-judicially executed at the scene".