Purdey

Does it means there is no law against roller blading in the street without a helmet? He was charged with an offence that all Bangkok traffic commits. Nothing specifically pertaining to roller blading or wearing a helmet.

Just annexed bits of it á la Putin.

The linked article is very interesting. There is no god given right to own a gun here. They can therefore be heavily regulated if the government wants. I liked the point about gun violence being less in countries that trust their police to protect them. Obviously a huge hurdle in Thailand. I used to shoot as a hobby in the UK and appreciate how laws make it possible to do this - under strict control.

Money talks, the forest walks.

The new governor seems to be trying his best. More education is needed. In Kenya there is a US$ 40,000 (yes, you read that right) fine for having a plastic bag. However, while they successfully ended plastic bags being used, they are now cutting down more trees to make the paper bags that shops use. It shows that fines don't solve the problem without a lot of thought about the repercussions.

Not sure how it works when there are relatively few charging stations around the country. When a petrol engine car runs out of fuel we can walk or hitch a kilometer or two to the next petrol station and fill a can. What happens when an EV runs out? Push the car? Have it towed?

Let's not forget, Thailand was not the only country that abstained. Why should it take sides when it comes to a vote. You will remember that the Europeans didn't take sides when France annexed parts of Thailand. I used to know a very old Thai royal who informed me his father could never forgive France, in fact he kept a lifelong hatred against that country, for annexing its land in what is now Cambodia and Laos in the forties and vetoed Thailand becoming a member of the United Nations in order to shut Thailand up and keep those annexed territories. In 1941, France ceded some land back to Thailand but Thailand was forced in 1946 to cede land to France in Laos and Cambodia (which were part of Thailand's territory). Thailand owes the west very little.

Whatever the reason, physically assaulting a child for feeling different is not a great idea. I thought Buddha taught non violence? There are some very brave kids who wore skirts to protest school uniform rules. Nobody best them up.

Amazing number of people who appear to be as horrifyingly sadistic as the murderer on this forum. Good grief. He may well deserve the death penalty, which is available under Thai law. However, the evil old testament of the bible is hardly a reference book for punishment in the 21 st century.

I suspect there are innocent people in Russia. Just a thought.

How is this relevant? Is the implication that pork eaters are somehow sadistic? Ridiculous to mention it.

Politically, Thailand is a small player on the world stage. It has deliberately not aligned itself with one superpower or another many times. Yes, they have welcomed Russian tourists, who aren't coming these days but they were never enough to lead the tourism boom. Now the Indians are coming, the Indians are coming! I don't see tourism leading foreign policy.

Using the names of foreigners as recipients of cash doesn't mean they actually got any money. I suspect they went back to where they came from with one thousand baht while the teachers took the rest of the money.

I doubt many would worry about military coups if only the generals had economics and finance in their PhDs. Maybe some recurring retraining in #how to run a country" 101.

Perhaps it is about time the ministry of public health and the ministry of the interior had a chat about what other mild drugs could be taken off the dangerous drugs list and what laws could be adjusted to lower the number of custodial sentences. A war against drugs implies extra judicial killings and innocent lives lost.

Duopoly. just saying.

She may have been someone's granny or mother, aunt or sister. She may have had dementia or was too slow to judge speeds and distances correctly. Anyway, she doesn't deserve smug comments.

The USA has more people imprisoned than any other nation on earth. Freeing those whose crime is sleeping a lot and munching more than others, will free up some bunks for heroin dealers and murderers. Seems perfectly practical.

Westerners commenting here have forgotten history and the times when for example the UK had no national insurance and children worked in coal mines; Thailand still has no pension scheme for anyone except government officers. I remember this conversation many years ago. Me to government officer, "Why on earth are you happy to work in this ministry for 15,000 baht a month?" Officer, "I will have a pension at 60 and my parents will have health coverage until they die." Me, " Why didn't they save money?" Him, " How much do you think they could save on 20,000 Baht a month and two children to feed and send to school?" They are not given a pension scheme. They need their children to survive, so instilling the culture of filial respect is an absolute necessity, just as it was in early 20th century UK.

My experience with CNN Bangkok in the past was inviting them to join a helicopter trip to a Cambodian village in the jungle to donate satellite equipment so they could access the outside world. The guy on the phone (he was Thai) told me they were not interested but if the helicopter crashed they would cover the story. CNN are not the only news agency that has zero qualms about filming dead bodies or blood stained walls. Competition for ghastly news items is the norm. Nothing to do with politics, it is about viewership and advertising revenue. You have a remote control and can change channels or just switch off the TV. BTW, I thought it was illegal to work in Thailand without a work permit?

Maybe it was the same chap who "borrowed' watches from a friend?

The shop keeper was darned lucky. Apparently in a certain other country, hitting someone with a skateboard is a capital offense and will get you shot on the spot.

Too many kids dead. Similar to Uvalde. Time to ensure more unlicensed guns are confiscated.

Not sure how it works. Escape from France illegally but get sent back formally/legally? If the return requires French permission what happens if it is not given? The French will just say they don't allow economic migrants and the British will tear their hair out. Obvious that the UK has a better reputation than France for hundreds of years, which is why no one wants to settle in France, with its difficult language and horrible food smothered in sauces. Can't blame the migrants for opting for the better choice.

Not sure how the Ministry of Agriculture plans to reduce greenhouse gases. Farming that uses pesticides produce CO2 and methane (let's not discuss the methane from buffaloes farting here) so cannabis production will add to that. By 2020, the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere had risen to 48% above its pre-industrial level (before 1750). As a percentage of the atmosphere it might not look a lot but is higher that it used to be. As trace gases like carbon dioxide and methane increase, Earth’s temperature rises accordingly. This increases evaporation from both water and land areas so the concentration of atmospheric water vapor increases. The water vapor then absorbs heat and prevents it from escaping out to space (rain requires cold water). This further warms the atmosphere, resulting in even more water vapor in a positive feedback loop. In short, the trace gases create a rise in temperature, leading to more water vapor that increases temperature even more. As a heavily agricultural nation, Thailand needs to use a lot of water and a lot of pesticides that will hardly help improve the situation. It would be nice if the government could increase forest cover and close illegal farms down faster.