mfd101

As far as I know, none of them make the top 500 universities in any of the various standard world rating lists - which in general emphasize research rather than just teaching bored undergraduates ...

I've used TW twice now (Dec & Feb) to transfer 65K+ into my BKK Bank accounts. [January was when I had a seniors moment & transferred by Swift from my Oz bank to BKK Bank. Sob sob.]

All fine. Quick & easy to initiate. From Oz it has - so far - taken 1.5 days to show up [from 0700 initiation one day to around 1600 notification next day]. Shows as FTT in my bankbook.

[On the latter it strikes me that it would be inefficient & costly to TW if their transfer to a BKK Bank account went thru a different Thai bank, given that the deal with them has already been agreed by you hours in advance. Doesn't make sense, so I expect it may be a rare event - perhaps (I'm speculating) when, say, BKK Bank computers are down or overloaded?]

I take it Dee are still only for exporting funds from Thailand, not importing to?

Lots of Thai illegals in Oz. That's why you have to go thru the hoops to get your Thai partner in the door.

I'm not a technical person but here's my observation (based on TOT fibre here in Surin) and trying various speed tests:

(1) Your service provider always LOVES Speedtest/Ookla and the reason (I think) is because it shows you only your PEAK speed during the 20-second test. If it showed the AVERAGE you get during the test (as does, for example, testmy.net) your results would then be MUCH less impressive.

(2) Your service provider always wants to run just the local (to BKK) service, which is quite impressive. But for most of us (including me) that's almost entirely irrelevant. I want to know what I'm getting from Sydney or LA or London or Paris. And again, the results then are MUCH less impressive.

43 minutes ago, Artisi said:

Falls far short of "designed to prevent the poorest and least educated from casting a valid vote."

I think it had that effect fairly consistently over its first 80 years and it would be astonishing if the various generations of politicians had been unaware of that.

Indeed, how could they be? It was often discussed in the Oz media, particularly from the 1970s on as Oz society changed, becoming more open, 'liberal' (in the proper senses of the term), practically egalitarian as opposed to merely theoretically, & multicultural.

2 hours ago, Artisi said:

Would you like to explain how the Australian system is designed to prevent the poorest and least educated from casting a valid vote. Looking forward to your considered response. 

It has a complicated history & I'm not about to type out a 3-page history lesson. You can look at Wikipedia for that. Three points:

(1) At the federal level - and no doubt at State level as federal practice spread across all States & territories - for the first 80 years (roughly 1920-2000) preferential voting favoured right-of-centre parties because there were 2 or 3 such parties. That's why preferential voting was introduced in the first place in 1918 & the 1920s. [All that of course quite apart from the much greater mathematical 'fairness' of preferential over first-past-the-post voting.]

(2) And it was the right-of-centre parties that, from the 1970s to 1990s, refused all moves to simplify the Senate proportional preferential voting system. And there's not much doubt why that was so. Once the changes were made by an ALP government, the heavens did not fall (contrary to conservatives' expectations).

(3) Ironically at present the system favours the ALP (left-of-centre) because of the multiple small lefty parties & assorted ratbag 'independents'.

In politics, as in life, perfection is a counsel of despair.

31 minutes ago, Zack61 said:

If what you say is true why would they make voting compulsory? Not sure you have thought this through. 

Voting is one thing. Casting a valid vote - one that will be counted in the election outcome - is another.

31 minutes ago, Fex Bluse said:

False equivalence. Western countries would not have had the benefit of someone else with mastery teaching them - because they were pioneers.

 

OK, but - at each stage of technical advance or at least change - they still had to build from what was there before. No different from here, except somewhere like 20-50 years behind the educational & skills game here (the quantity depending on the particular skillset).

1 hour ago, Fex Bluse said:

So, they will need to train the Thais first. That's terrifying as Thais know everything already and can hardly be trained, especially by nasty farang. Terrifying that we could all be flying in planes serviced by Thais. 

Have to start somewhere. I don't suppose 'Western' countries would have been much good at producing an Airbus A380 in 1960.

Yes, you wouldn't need bullbars for the kangaroos in Oz.

1 hour ago, LazySlipper said:

As long as there is no social security scheme or welfare system in place the ageing are doomed. Specially in this more and more Narcistic society we call the world... By the time they wake up the Thais will not be able to organize a welfare system for the poor and elderly because there will be no one left to pay for it.

Isn't that precisely why old people - and the middle-aged - need to look after themselves better?

Never mind. I'm sure it's all going to be wonderful. As the ship goes down, the people will be assembled in their serried ranks on the foredeck, singing 'Land of Hope 'n Glory'.

Oh dear, I have tears in my eyes already.

If I hadn't been told otherwise I would have thought he was Thai!

Whether or not you're doing it on a weekly basis or an occasional holiday basis, your driving in or out of BKK needs to be counter-cyclical. Unless you enjoy the heat, the fumes & the frustration ...

40 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

What are you dreaming about?

It's their primary goal to show zero service prices on search to lure you to the site.

Be prepared that they might even "improve" that.

It's the nature of "low cost carriers".

And even reputed airlines start fiddling with such downgrades to look better.

No meal, no or less baggage, no seat reservation incl.

 

When I see a AA starting price I add 50% to have a rough idea of the real price for me.

Yes, I think most low-cost airlines are the same everywhere. Damned annoying till you get used to it but.

More time = More shekels pouring into the coffers.

10 minutes ago, Eligius said:

Yes. I've said for years and years to my brother back in Europe that Thailand is like a living Carry On film (but without the lovable humour!).

Well, certainly, Kenneth Williams would have been very helpful beachside.

2 minutes ago, Eligius said:

Yes, it is very disappointing, isn't it? Today I was talking to a Thai friend who lives and works in the deep south of Thailand (he is moderately well educated, as are his friends): he told me that he and his whole group of friends at work are definitely going to vote for Prayut.

Oh dear!

Sad really. A bit like the Usofan South ...