mfd101

Yes, just within the assorted Anglophones there are considerable differences of 'jokeability'. Irony for example is clearly quite alien to many Usofans but quite basic to British & Aussie humour ...

Lots of plans - or at least proclamations - for lots of hubs. But do any of them ever become real out there in the real world? Is there anywhere an actual hub of which Thailand is it? Seems to me the hubbery is rubbery.

A nice summary of the (for many years) situation.

Drinking tap water? Fine but only if you have suicidal tendencies. When we lived at the Trendy a few years ago I used to get occasional tummy upsets. One day I noticed a sidewalk cook washing the dishes in a tap stuck in the ground, when I could easily smell the sewers a metre down (as you often can in Bangers). I thought: So, no more sidewalk eating for us. Never had a problem since.

I assume the opening sentence of the Op is a joke.

Yes, fiddling the figures rather than addressing the issue. Typical! Not that there is an issue in my view: The world needs fewer people, not more. And not that looking after the children of migrant workers is a bad thing - long overdue (like so much else in this country).

Yes, since we moved back from Oz to south Surin in late 2015, the increase in traffic here on the ever-widening roads is remarkable.

Not obvious what the connection is between a government-mandated arbitrary increase in the number of flights and a reduction in the price per flight ... There could possibly be a connection but nothing says there has to be.

(1) In democracies The People get the governments and the politicians they vote for, for better & for worse. If their governments turn out to be 'imbecilic', The People have noone to blame but themselves as the power to make change is in their hands; (2) Thailand is a make-believe democracy: actually an oligarchy - that is, a collective autocracy (3) in autocracies of various kinds (personal dictatorships, collective dictatorships ... ) The People mostly get the governments they deserve - because the autocracy is the product of the collective culture of the country as a whole. If Usofa is tempted more and more by the authoritarian dramatics of Trump, that is permitted by the evolution of Usofan collective culture.

Your words were: The leaders of governments WORLDWIDE are imbeciles.

Even in democracies where the people get to vote in free & fair elections? Golly, I wonder who's to blame for the outcomes.

It's called "Being economical with the news".

"allegedly ... according to partisan sources ... " What counts as strong evidence in Thai politics.

He's trying to empathize with The People. When most issues are insoluble at least in the short term because of slow-moving cultural barriers, what else can a politician do?

Freshwater crocs in Oz are harmless. I have walked amongst them in the Nthern Territory. About 2 metres long. Not sure about here though ...

I like your subtle touch there.

Um, I was talking about the lovely Prince Harry.

Golly, who'ld have thought anything could go wrong? And so many bills to pay!

Mmmm, hard to decide whom I despise more - The Loudmouth on one side (who sometimes says something sensible) or The F/Wit Weakling on the other.

And on that front he's doing what exactly?

Currently, it depends on lifestyle choices and where you live. Here in the rural NE you'ld be very brave to make the change at the moment. But change will come, and then perhaps another. At my local PTT in Prasat there's a 2-car recharging installation right beside where we often eat brunch. It's been there about 3 months not operational. Became operational (as far as I can judge - covers removed) a week ago. Will be fascinated to see my first (ie someone else's) EV pull up for a dose ...

Female officer ... Could have appealed to the boss?

A nation of former immigrants and offspring of immigrants, plus unloved new and would-be immigrants. Oh the irony! (Just like many other countries in the world actually. H. sapiens is a migratory species.)

For Australian end of things (by contrast): I transfer AUD2K or 3K or 4K at least twice a month according to need and always noting purpose as Long-term stay in TH. The fees for $2k & $3k transfers have increased by only 2 or 3 cents in the last couple of months.

I think I'ld want to keep my eye on him during the operation.