mfd101

And the wunnerful Sanctuary of Truth even gets a mention. Thai baroque gone mad. I visited it in 2011 when it was fairly new. Can't believe it could have become more truthful since then.

Read the whole article for the meat of the matter. Perfectly sensible.

One day their world will come crashing down, taking them with it. Can't wait.

They'll feel at home in Israel. Some 4% of Israelis are Jews of Russian origin and it used to be said (perhaps still is, for ought I know) that the internal language of Mossad was Russian.

Every inch forward is better than no inch forward.

To a layman that looks like gobbledegook for: Let's all pretend we've solved the problem.

Would need at least 1000 farmers and truck drivers/owners and bus drivers/owners to be arrested and imprisoned for 2 years before anything will change. Therefore nothing will change.

We used to say: Opposites attract but experience shows that people of similar backgrounds and expectations stay together. In my Thai Khmer family however they say exactly the opposite of that. But my b/f and I - happily together now almost 12 years - are about as different in personality & background as it's possible to be, which seems to break both views!

I think there's an age aspect to that too: People under about 50 or maybe 60 and not much education use the word 'peasant' as a term of abuse ...

Oxford English Dictionary: peasant - "A poor smallholder or agricultural labourer of low social status (chiefly in historical use or with reference to subsistence farming in poorer countries)". Which well describes over 50% of Thailand's population, including the people amongst whom I live here in south Surin.

Disgraceful. All Thais should be ashamed.

So the Yanks really are stupid. Gosh, I hadn't realized. Or perhaps it's just that they try quietly NOT to get in to a competition with the Chinese in every tinpot country but when the chips are down - as with the ridiculous request for 2 F35s - they know how to say NO (ever so politely).

Um, need? usefulness across a range of tasks? probability of a range of tasks actually coming in to play?

Here in south Surin: Currently 33 heading up to 35, dry & no breeze. Same predicted for tomorrow. Nice time of year. Lovely first thing each morning.

Yes, the Yanks will be super cautious on this one.

"Credit Suisse, an international investment bank, had earlier reported that Thailand had the largest wealth gap in the world. The Global Wealth Report and Databook published in December 2018 showed that the richest 1 per cent in Thailand now control almost 67 per cent of the country’s wealth. According to the Credit Suisse report, the bottom 10 per cent of Thais hold zero per cent of the wealth, being either in debt or having no documented household income. The poorest 50 per cent of Thais now hold only 1.7 per cent of the country’s wealth, while the richest 10 per cent control a massive 85.7 per cent." (Quoted from the op above)

No innocents in Thailand, it seems.

Not sure of the law but common practicality should probably suggest the answer. Fix it yourself, for goodness' sake! Are you completely helpless?

It's happening to you on a daily basis. Get used to it. (Do you perceive the world and think about it the same way you did 30 or 40 years ago? I hope not.)

I assume it will be your credit card that sets the xrate, not Agoda.

An interesting read. Nice to read a report of high-quality thinking and discussion on a sensitive subject. For the obvious demographic reasons, permanent migration to Thailand will become more and more important for economic health. Nothing surprising in that. This is the norm for Nth America, Europe & Oz ie for our C21st modernity. Thailand's capacity to head cheerfully down that path and accept - as it already (partly) does for the inhabitants of Isaan - 'newcomers' as new Thai citizens will be a test of its general capacity to move forward. Currently Thais are far from 'colour-blind'.

Thailand seems to have - along with Usofa - a disproportionate number of over-the-top clowns in public life. Not a healthy sign of national cultural or moral values.

But not in Thailand. Here a 'loan' is a gift covered in face-saving cosmetics.

Oh dear!

Oh dear, poor abbot. Still, he'll be better able to keep his vows now.