mfd101

So she's a Thai woman, Thai nationality, speaking (I assume) fluent Thai (which almost no non-Thais ever manage) ... and they thought she was a foreigner? Doesn't make sense.

In principle a good move. KPIs etc. In practice, if 'Western' bureaucracies are anything to go by, it won't make any difference. The only thing that works is governments reducing the numbers of bureaucrats and stopping financing for 1001 projects that have been plodding along for years, or even decades, with no known outcomes. This applies to every country in the world.

Yes. Much of the huge increase in life expectancy in The West in the 20th century was due to the near-elimination of infant mortality by the 1950s. For comparative purposes over time or between countries, it makes much more sense to take expectancy at, say, 25 or 30 (ie post-infancy & post-teenage risk years).

As someone who first visited Thailand in late 2011, I've never been able to work out what the Democrats are supposed to stand for (at least in theory as opposed to practice). Can anyone enlighten me? or is that simply an impossible task?

Diabetic's delight.

I suspect if you live every day like it's your last, there's a good chance it will be.

Look at Kissinger - he was still lucid and articulate at 100.

Not living out here in south Surin. Air is not the pure quality that it was in Canberra but not too bad all the same.

Yes. For most expats it's life expectancy at, say, 60 or 65 that is relevant. I hope - at currently 74 & 95% healthy - to live happily in to my 90s and, barring accidents & violence, I see no obvious reason why not. But, as my best friend (who drowned in Oz at 62) used to say: Noone knows when they're going to die.

I suspect there are still many people in Oz unaware of all this. Some of them will be sending funds o/s regularly to family members. Others contemplating becoming expats ...

It would certainly put me off having an American breakfast. Thai brunch infinitely healthier.

Useful item in today's 'Australian': Wise chief exec Kaarmann points to the enormous hidden costs Aussie banks charge their customers for transfers overseas. They do this through the margins they charge on foreign exchange rates. As an example he says Wise charges cAUD40 for a transfer of AUD10000, using the market rate, while the Big Four banks charge between AUD370 and 615. Good to be getting the news out to any innocent Aussies still using the Aussie banks. (I hate to think how much money I wasted when I was bringing 100s of 1000s of AUD across in 2016-17 as we built our mansion here. Hadn't heard of Wise in those days.)

Looking for someone who speaks English.

Can't help noticing that the first report above says "tourists". The second report above says "Thai youth". I assume they were young Thai tourists ...

Same again next Monday.

Spelling police ...

In Thailand the difference is rather small.

Yes, poor Usofan health stats & performance go back well before covid.

Petty theft & drugs use & peddling in my part of the world, the latter getting steadily worse (in my perception).

They were all on their 4th or 5th packet of ciggies of the day.

Compared to the rest of the 'Western' world, these numbers - and going back now at least a couple of decades - say nothing good about the evolution of Usofan cultures, lifestyles and health arrangements.

The court's decision in this matter, being judicially complex, will take at least 12 months before it can be announced. By which time the decision will be that there is nothing to investigate.

New TAT campaign to reach 50 million visitors in 2024: 'Adventure Tours of Thailand. Anything can happen! Come prepared!' Chinese pouring in to escape Communist conformity ...

Impossible for Thailand at any rate. S&P rates 11 countries AAA, excluding Usofa. Fitch rates 10 countries AAA, excluding both US & Canada. Moody's rates 12 countries AAA, including Usofa & Canada.

Never heard of irony? You must be American.