Orac

I think he is referring to the revolutions in 1848 which were led by intellectuals mainly disenchanted by limits imposed on free expression by royal regimes.

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Who exactly are these consumers that have been surveyed - I doubt your average Big C shopper would have his/her finger on the pulse of the eurozone debt crisis.

Very impressive. As someone who avoids Thai tv like the plague I am grateful to the OP for bringing such a rare gem to my attention.

Certainly, the Mayor could request his dad to make a call if he wanted the beach mafia cleaned up.

Nobody crosses him and gets away with it.

Bang On

Bit difficult with him hiding out in Bang Saen Cambodia from his murder rap.

Though I am no expert or remotely clever I would say it is highly unlikely.

Either the UK economy would have to have a significant upturn to have even the slightest upward effect or the Thai economy would have to collapse. Given the political turmoil and floods of the last few years have not really had an effect any situation that I can see having enough impact to cause that sort of shift in the exchange rate would almost certainly bring with it such social unrest and chaos as to make it very difficult to live here.

My first thought when opening this thread and looking at the picture was, 'shit.....is that the guy's missus?...he really must be on something!' .....read on to find it's the bin lady though, she looks like one.

Four tablets would surely be personal use.....hardly a large stash. He's well and truly fcuked if they hang a dealer charge on him.

If they were already aware that he was a dealer it could be that had been given up by someone he sold drugs to previously - similar to how he identified his dealer.

Of course, there are endless possibilities. However, if we stick to the reported facts, he had four tablets. In my eyes that would far from indicate he was a dealer. No doubt the BiB would have searched wherever he lived, and there is no report of them finding anything. The facts as I see it, point to him having it for a bit of personal.

The reported facts are that he was attempting to sell them to either an undercover officer or more likely someone acting for them. Also it appears he was specifically targetted which suggests someone tipped them off and, since we know it wasn't his dealer, it could well be someone he has sold to before. I agree that the amount seems very small but it could just be he is very careful about what he carries around with him.

My first thought when opening this thread and looking at the picture was, 'shit.....is that the guy's missus?...he really must be on something!' .....read on to find it's the bin lady though, she looks like one.

Four tablets would surely be personal use.....hardly a large stash. He's well and truly fcuked if they hang a dealer charge on him.

If they were already aware that he was a dealer it could be that had been given up by someone he sold drugs to previously - similar to how he identified his dealer.

If you want real leadership, get our lady from Burma to come and run the job. She doesn't need to pay billions out to vote for her, she wouldn't shirk her responsibilities to parliament, she would attend. This lady is loved -genuine love for all to see unlike the Family in command here, who pay for love.

The enthusiasm shown to her is heartwarming her charm is seen as being genuine. It is also noted the lady isn't spending time in Burberry shops and the like lavishly spending about the same as a Philipino from not long ago. The Thai people could do with a breath of fresh air, she is a dream for them here.

Interesting suggestion. It would really show how little is thought of Thai politicians if the people voted someone from Burma as PM if it were legal of course.

Do I understand this correctly,that in this country you don't need to be elected to run the country?

So A is elected and B who was nowhere on the list ,will be in the government.

Not exactly unusual - the UK and US are the same.

I don't know about the US but I am pretty sure in the UK you have to be voted in as an MP before you can become a minister.

Nope - Baroness Warsi is (or could be was by now) a minister without portfolio and sits in the cabinet.

Do I understand this correctly,that in this country you don't need to be elected to run the country?

So A is elected and B who was nowhere on the list ,will be in the government.

Not exactly unusual - the UK and US are the same.

Enjoy it while you can.

My personal opinion only....but the people in the U.K. who somehow believe that the Euro collapse ....(inevitable now that Greece will default and now Spainish banks are showing problems)..... and that Eurozone and Euro collapse will not affect the GBP are deluding themselves.

All the European economies are like a house of cards....Greece, Spain next, then Italy....and all the rest of the cards will be falling sooner or later.

Yes, the Pound will be insulated somewhat....but the Eurozone turmoil will cause problems for the pound also.

As for the Euro...it's basically toliet paper now.

In fact the whole world economy will shake. It's all smoke-and-mirrors anyhow....based on an illusion....and backed by nothing but hot air and illusionary paper profits.

The Euro first, then the Pound and the U.S. dollar will come under pressure. Exactly how hurt they will be it's anyone's guess.

The days of "western" economic dominence are going fast if not gone already.....and it's never coming back.

The old Europe is on it's last legs, and Asia (especially China) will take it's place.

And the last time I looked at a map London was closer to Brussels than to Beijing.

I think your faith in China could be a bit over optimistic. They are far too dependent on the western nations for their export markets to maintain the growth rates they need. Though a decline in EUR and GBP might be something that they could handle, a fall in the value of the USD would have too big an effect on them and, because their manufacturing is based on high volume/low margin production they are far too dependent on cash flows rather than profit margins to bring wealth to their own people to replace and lost demand. Think Japan from a 2-3 decades back but on steroids.

... snip

But at least the Japanese are doing a fair bit to reduce the anthropogenic impact on the world's resources.

Tokyo expects the population to fall from 128m in 2010 to 87m by 2060.

Jeeze, that doesn't bode well for the real estate business.

Don't invest in Tokyo properties, I reckon.

http://www.telegraph...o-the-West.html

George Friedmans book 'The Next 100 Years' which gives some very thought provoking predictions for the 21st century identifies the decline in population as being the single most important factor. It also points out how people overemphasise situations in the present.

Well worth a read as it makes some pretty bold assertions and backs them up with good analysis.

how is possible to overemphasise a genuine concern by some

that people are getting away with the same degree of financial fraud and

criminal activity today as they were in 2008 without any

retribution? No overemphasis just a simple question how and why

can this still be happening ?

in these 2 PBS videos they even say they know exactly where the

MF Global money is and yet nothing happens ??

Frontline On MF Global's Six Billion Dollar Bet

http://www.zerohedge...lion-dollar-bet

Since it was written back in 2009 he was not refering to the specific situation we are in today but more a generalised feeling that things appear worse than they actually are at the time and consequently there is a tendancy to overreact though his prediction is for a major crisis for the US around 2030 based on a 50 year cycle - the last being in early 80's where there was inflation over 10 per cent, interest rates at 19-20 per cent and 10 per cent unemployment.

I can see some truth in his arguments if you look back at previous problems that, in hindsight, were not as bad as it seemed at the time. By rights I should already dead from AIDs, SARs or Bird Flu, the world would have run out of oil, we would be in a new ice age/desert/underwater and just recovering from the dark ages when everything stopped working due to the millenium bug.

... snip

But at least the Japanese are doing a fair bit to reduce the anthropogenic impact on the world's resources.

Tokyo expects the population to fall from 128m in 2010 to 87m by 2060.

Jeeze, that doesn't bode well for the real estate business.

Don't invest in Tokyo properties, I reckon.

http://www.telegraph...o-the-West.html

George Friedmans book 'The Next 100 Years' which gives some very thought provoking predictions for the 21st century identifies the decline in population as being the single most important factor. It also points out how people overemphasise situations in the present.

Well worth a read as it makes some pretty bold assertions and backs them up with good analysis.

"Real men" wouldn't fall for some crappy, get-rich-quick e-book marketing scam.

To be fair, this book's author is not making any such "get-rich-quick" type claims

From the description on Amazon, it sounds like an interesting and informative read

Having bought the hard copy last week i found it very quite informative and, though a lot of it is common sense and is information that can often be found on tv, it certainly helped me to focus on what i needed to do (and not do!) in the future. I will also now be getting the ebook to take advantage of the many links to other sources that are in it along with more up to date info.

I agree. But surely, since, the implication is that his removal is politically motivated, his wifes connection wih the democrats should at least merit a mention in the aricle. Not doing so would be akin to talking about Yinglucks appointment as PM without mentioning Thaksin.

You would have thought that as well as mentioning that he was appointed by a Democrat government The Nation would mention that he is also married to someone who, at the time of his appointment, was an advisor to Abhisit and is now a Democrat MP.

A lot of denial in this thread.

But this is nothing. Wait until the coming EXPLOSION of HIV, thanks to the Africans, Indians, and Arabs who are now pouring into Thailand. Thailand isn't going to know what hit it in a few years. Count on it.

This could really have an influence.

On the other hand, the prevention campaign would be really easy in this case...

I suppose with Thailands visa reporting rules this could be fairly straightforward. A 'clean' AIDs test certificate presented on each arrival/report and automatic deportation for a fail though with Thailands record for corruption this could easy just turn in to a money making scheme.

The problem with any sort of profiling it is difficult where you draw the line, especially for a country has tourism as a major economic factor.

An education campaign would have an effect but the danger of identifying particular groups increase levels of racism and xenophobia already strongly present here.

There is also the question of if you should monitor or restrict high risk groups. Should there be a questionaire on arrival where you have to declare your sexual orientation so as to discourage homosexuals or bisexuals from entering - maybe a bit too easy to lie so maybe something more quantifiable such as any single males which would have the added advantage of identifying a lot of sex tourists as well.

But hang on, what about all those AIDs carrying african women plying their trade in lower Suk - better include single women as well.

Can't help but me reminded of Martin Niemoller's famous poem - Then they came for me.

All this still ignores the fact that the AIDs problem is mainly an internal one here and one of the key drivers is the domestic p4p market with, as you point out, high levels of infection in bordering areas.

Some excellent material on HIV/AIDS in Thailand here:

http://www.avert.org...m#contentTable0

The key issue is that having had a very successful campaign re HIV/AIDS in the 1990's the focus from government has slipped and so has public awareness. Organizations such as Avert fear that a second wave of HIV could hit Thailand unless the public (especially young people) are alerted to the potential threat of unprotected sex.

Key statistics:

Thailand Statistics³⁰ Estimated total population, end 2011³¹ 66,720,153 Estimated number of people living with HIV, end 2009 530,000 Adults aged 15 and over living with HIV, end 2009 520,000 Women aged 15 and over living with HIV, end 2009 210,000 Estimated adult (15-49) HIV prevalence, end 2009 1.3% Estimated number of AIDS deaths in 2009 28,000

• The majority of Thailand’s HIV infections occur through heterosexual sex.³²
  
• HIV prevalence among pregnant women, which reached a peak of 3.4% in 1992, had fallen to under 1% by 2009.³³
  

"Not all sex is sold in commercial sex establishments. Although it is difficult to monitor free lance sex workers (part time sex workers who solicit sex in public places or restaurants and bars), signs are that HIV prevalence is increasing within this group and among male sex workers in general. According to one study conducted by the government in Bangkok in 2007, HIV prevalence among freelance sex workers in Bangkok was 19 percent whereas HIV prevalence had declined to 4.3 percent in CSEs in that year.

⁵⁹

The percentage of sex workers who have had an HIV test and know there results has declined; whereas around half of sex workers surveyed had been tested in the past 12 months in 2007, this had dropped to around a third in 2009".⁶⁰

Wow, 19% amongst freelance sex workers.

Use a condom. Why take a chance?

I think that the 19 % could be refering to male sex workers - the currently quoted figure for female sex workers is around 1.8 % according to the AIDS Response Progress Report 2012 though a condom should still be used!

Edit: correction - the 1.8 % only refers to "venue based" female sex workers rather than "freelance"

ce_TH_Narrative_Report1.pdf

Why does he not just go to the current renters and ask who they are renting off.

It could be a simple misunderstanding - the buyer hasn't handed over the money because he wants the chanote in return and the Nirun office are looking for a commision on the deal so don't want the seller dealing with the buyer direct.

Interesting that the sign showing in the OP is in english and not thai - suggests that the publicity on this is not aimed at a domestic audience.

Both Central and Toys r us in Central Festival have Winnie the Pooh stuff.

"In order to solve the problem, he said Thailand should urgently enforce anti-money-laundering regulations and cut any support for terrorist acts."

This seems a very odd statement if it has come from the AMLO chief. Surely he is the one responsible for enforcing the regulations to some degree and also I would be interested to know what support for terrorist acts is currently being given if he wants it cutting??

Having to fill my own car up at the petrol station.

One Mexican woman, named by police as 57-year-old Mejia Zuluaga Maria Asseneth, managed to flee the scene, he said.

If this is the now famous 'large' woman, how come she is now a Mexican? Before she was reported to be a Malaysian.

Must be all those burrito's she gobbled.

Oh dear - not another mexican food diversion. JT will be along in a minute to point out that a burrito comes from the US not Mexico.

The increased minimum wage should have an impact on this and push Thailand down the list.