siampolee

Sad to say, '' but I do not believe we shall ever know the truth concerning this heinous deed.''

I don't really understand the fuss being made over this deal. If the local market catchment areas is capable of supporting a specialised market niche no doubt the store will carry on with the product lines that sell well and are profitable.

Management expertise will no doubt play a part in the decisions and if the store stops stocking and selling a line of products rest assured another outlet will no doubt step in and fill the gap. That outlet may well be a small business operation who is willing to cater to the selective specialised consumer with prices to match.

Being somewhat selfish we have always found Foodland reasonable in its pricing and indeed superb in its service, my wife will not shop elsewhere since I introduced her to Foodland some 7 years ago, we found that Lotus Tesco was not able to supply that we wanted, often the imported products were indeed overpriced and limited in range and in many cases not the brand leaders in their country of origin either.

When I came here some twenty years since, it was local produce like it or leave it, If we visit the U.K. we are able to buy Thai products and indeed dine on Thai food too.

Guess what though ?

There is a premium price to pay just the same in the U.K as there is here in Thailand. You want something you will pay for it you, the consumer controls the cash not the supplier.

If it's too expensive in your eyes find a substitute or adapt to the local lifestyle. Deli style outlets are not cheap anywhere so we don't really have a gripe about price or supply , if problems are bad you form a buying group and dispatch trustworthy members to the metropolis and its Mecca of foreign food shops on a buying expedition.

Not difficult, all you need as an individual is a shopping list, combine all the lists with all the other individuals and you may well find you could buy wholesale or possibly negotiate a discount for a monthly bulk purchase. I well remember such events from my life in the U.K. and trips across the English Channel to the French hypermarkets to satisfy our cravings for exotic ( or so we thought ) food and litres of cheap plonk.

Where there is a will there is a way.

Remember we actually choose to live here in Thailand in the majority of cases

This qualifies as world news ?

It seems a pretty small world to me if the O.P. is the most important news item coming in from around the world.

So there are no Criminals of Gaols (jails) in the Nirvana that you come from? People in glass houses should not throw stones. Yes the UK has its fare share of scrotes but so does everywhere else.

In modern parlance they are called Bankers and financiers, there it seems are no national boundaries regarding these types.

In essence the matters surrounding the fire and injury incident seem a little too clear cut on the girlfriends side for my view of honesty.

Still being a retired copper I would of course think like that wouldn't I ?

Remember there are three sides to the situation.

1. The girlfriends ( Som) account of the matter.

2. The injured boyfriends and accused's ( Sean) account of the matter.

3. The rarest of all sides, THE TRUTH.

One does indeed wonder if the true facts will ever emerge from this situation.

I am of the opinion that someone got the justice ( read verdict) they could afford.

We shall remember them

So many concerns about the perceived evils of alcohol , yet wailing and gnashing of teeth when sales drop.

As already stated by Rinrada and Cougar52, "the authorities have shot themselves along with the brewing industry and the hospitality industry in-the foot along with the revenue department."

Every action has a consequence.

Afarang.

Like you I too have lived here for some twenty years and I have very close links to Surin. I assure you that there is indeed a total mistrust of Thaksin and the Red Shirt leadership in its current guise and aims.

The Red Shirt movement was hi-jacked by power crazed self enriching megalomaniacs intent on restoring Thaksin to power so as to enable them ( his little toadying acolytes) to dive head first into the pork barrel in their quest for corrupt self enrichment and the massacre of democracy as so graphically demonstrated by the previous Thaksin regime.

Cast your memory back to, '' Animal Farm." Indeed the pigs were soon shown in their true light as we have also seen with the likes of the greater majority of the Red Shirt leadership.

The monies that have not been accounted for, the total ignoring of the rank and file members in gaol who have been left high and dry and with no legal representation, the list is endless, the pawns are worthless to the power crazed megalomaniac (mis) leaders. of the Red Shirt movement

Indeed a wonderful show of democracy from a self proclaimed democratic led movement.

Cast the mote from thine eye.

Correct, I got the dammed comment back to front .

I am indebted to you apetley

suggestions by the Pheu Thai party list MP Jatuporn Prompan, who is also a red shirt leader, that the PAD is holding the rally to pave way for a military coup.

Motor mouth running out of control(l) again I see.

If the idiot had brains for dynamite he wouldn't even have enough to, ''blow his nose.''

To think, but for a few days either way Jutaporn Prompan would have been but a brief period in his mothers life and we would all have been spared the inane hate rhetoric and ridiculious pontifications of the man .

I presume that the biggest stumbling block in the relationship would be when ''romance is in the air,'' the burning issue would no doubt be.

Who is going to what to who and how ?

Personally if the people involved in the relationship are happy with the situation I feel it is really is of no concern to others..

What is the difference twixt an illicit relationship outside of a one to one partnership gay or otherwise ?

The relationship described is open and above board, everyone knows what is what, and who is who, thus no one should be emotionally damaged..

Personally I wish the trio all the best in their romantic endeavours.

The tactics are a classic example of, "divide and rule.'' Thaksin his family and their toadying self serving acolytes are just manoeuvring themselves into position in a covert fashion within the party structure .

In the event of the party actually assuming the reins of power the façade will drop and the harsh reality of another vengeful, corrupt, self enriching, murdering Thaksin regime will arise phoenix like from the ashes of democracy.

The Thai people will be trapped in the charnel house of a more extreme no holds barred regime driven by Thaksins megalomania.

What is to my mind a somewhat perplexing matter is the fact that assorted countries can terrorise and destroy a nation like Iraq, Those actions being based upon a pack of lies, yet those same countries cannot drop into Somalia and crush the whole piratical scene.

Would this inaction be due to a presumed lack of mineral deposits, solid , liquid or vaporous types, or is it possibly the truth that there is no profit in a short term conflict for the arms manufacturers. ?

Personal life

Caf.

All the hubs they come up with are fairy tales anyway.

Not surprising given Enid Blyton was Thai.

Enid Blyton was born on 11 August 1897 at 354 Lordship Lane, East Dulwich, London, England, the eldest child of Thomas Carey Blyton (1870–1920), a salesman of cutlery, and his wife, Theresa Mary Harrison (1874–1950). There were two younger brothers, Hanly (1899–1983) and Carey (1902–1976), who were born after the family had moved to the nearby suburb of Beckenham.In Oakwood Avenue. From 1907 to 1915, Blyton was educated at St. Christopher's School inBeckenham, where she excelled at her endeavours, leaving as head girl. She enjoyed physical activities along with some academic work, but not maths.

Just to put the record straight concerning Enid Blyton.

Money , Money , Money , it's the rich man's tool.

Fr. Joe Maier should definitely be on anybody's list.

There indeed is in my view the number one contender for the title of the best foreigner in Thailand.Wrong of me to have missed him out.

Sad to say as he is not rolling in personal wealth, thus he is wrongly ignored by the foreign pundits, hence the omission of his name.

All very well but this move is likely to cripple , '' the white envelope industry .''

What about the coopers industry ( barrel makers in case you're not aware of the term coopers), that industry for the manufacturing of barrels for the storage of pork in bulk will indeed also go to the wall.

Indeed this move could have frightening repercussions upon the Thai economy in the long term.

Look into the mirror and then you will see the number one illustrious foreigner staring back at you.

One needs to remember that the way a nation treats its animals reflects upon the way it treats its citizens.

I now have my age against me as I am now over 50.

Rubbish, I took up my last position at the age of 62 and that was 4 years ago. I had been retired for 3 months., Money was not nor is a problem, however boredom and social contact was lacking. I love my wife and our three boys but I must have mental stimulation.

Believe in yourself, there is no such word as, ''can't.''

It's a case of, ''I can, I will, I am , I have."

i studied english in belgium with a belgian teacher who speaks with the harvard accent, much better than an english native speaker that can barely speaks my native language.

Methinks the above post is indeed the hallmark of someone who suffered at the hands of a non native English language teacher.

NHJ .

I am not belittling your English language usage, however the education you received in the use of English from your Belgian Harvard accented teacher is hardly a qualified success as we see a rather low standard in its written presentation in the above post.

You had what could best be described as, " A bum deal." regarding English language education.

Any language needs to be taught by a native speaker of that language. .

The free milk scheme was introduced under the Thaksin regime. You will find that the scheme is still working I speak from seeing our youngest (10 years old ) son actually bringing home as his friends do the surplus milk each week.

I also see our primary kids getting their free milk each day in the school were I work.

Heavens forbid Hanuman1, but I have the feeling that perhaps someone in the school your child attends has possibly branched out into commerce as a dairyman or dairywoman.

The free milk allocation has not stopped however I am aware there are areas where due to massive mismanagement ( corruption) the free milk scheme has had to be temporarily shelved.

Indeed amusing comments regarding salaries ,My monthly salary goes into the bank and I assure you it is way above 55,000 a month after tax etc. I also receive a yearly bonus payment and I have a private healthcare scheme as part of my salary package, my teaching load is some 17 hours a week within an English Programme teaching English and social studies.

I am a qualified teacher, who trained initially as a primary teacher and I then went further with my personal professional development portfolio, thus I am also capable of, and do teach years 7, 8 and 12 .

The assumption that all teachers teach English is somewhat skewed as many teachers within the local system are actually specialist teachers in other subjects.

Petedk and Artisi

I would suggest that you both take the advice proffered by Marquess and widen your horizons. I have colleagues who teach at university and their salaries are at a minimum level of 55,000 baht a month plus other increments.

If you have the skills and are a qualified native speaker of English the salary levels are good.Top end international schools pay upwards of 150,000 baht a month plus housing and home leave air fares and contract completion bonuses, Many if not all of the mid level international schools pay around 80,000 baht a month and similar extras as outlined above.

I often wonder why we see non native English speakers employed in schools to teach English.

55,000 a month for a qualified English or general class teacher ?

Good qualified staff do not even get out of bed for that salary.

And schools with EP/MEP still provides a Thai-style environment, so students do not adopt "Western values".

Therein lies the cause of failure, one needs to understand the culture of the language and the adoption of those Western values so as one can actually enhance the use of the language one is learning so as to become proficient in the use of the target language.

Teachers from other cultures and countries are expected to jump through hoops via the T.C.T.

Sad to say the quality of the T.C.T. Thai lecturers is very poor, a poor command of English an inability or reluctance to actually answer question when posed as it is seen as an insult to the lecturers ability and of course standing.The idea of teaching is based on an information exchange system, that information which a lecturer gives out returns as an answer or a question to actually drive home the salient point.

The ability to dance, the inevitable question do you like Thai food the inane conversations, questions that are indeed far removed from the reality of the classroom all combine to make the T.C.T. course even unworthy of being implemented in a kindergarten programme.

Yet again another example of ''squeeze as much money out of a foreigner as you can'' mindset.

rametindallas

You are to be congratulated on a splendid post, the truth is there for all to see. Abhisit is probably the best Prime Minister this country has ever seen. He took the helm when the situation was indeed a tinder box and he has worked to improve the long term prospects of the Thai people.

No false promise of ''Jam tomorrow,"unlike the mealy mouthed on the run I want my justice ex bandit of a Prime Minister who enriched his and his families coffers and those of his acolytes on the back of the Thai people..

In my twenty years here I find that Abisit is indeed a much needed breath of fresh air and indeed he has injected at long last that much needed elixir of youth into the political scene.

The financial and corrupt predator dinosaurs hopefully have had their day and I do hope extinction for their corrupt self enriching leeching off of the less well to do is finished.

Hopefully the extinction of strange disappearances, mass murders of innocents, and the shielding and indeed the assistance given to family members who kill at a whim then get someone else to take the blame (Chalerm) will also be buried in the past.

This up coming election when it happens is indeed the last chance for the Thai people to make the change from a despotic corrupt patronising political system that has prevailed over the years to a more benevolent more open and honest form of government.

Hopefully money will not rule and dictate the vote and return the corrupt to power where they will gather like vultures to feed upon the Thai people and the country until all that is left will be a stinking carcass of humanity.

Thaksin and his family and their acolytes rest assured will be far away from the stench of the death of freedom and democracy as Thakasin even now, is running from bolt hole to bolt hole whilst his puppets brown nose to his megalomania.