Tom100

As an American, I assume based on your ____ comments, that you do not understand the US political system. Let me explain, unlike the Un-democratic EU or failed UK, the US has a democracy. Peoples' votes determine election results. See attached. Why not fix your own poor and failing countries before bashing the USA -- the country that you rely on for your defence! I hope the USA will leave NATO ASAP. It is time for Europeans to learn Russian and Arabic: these are the 2 forces that will dominate your future.

Several international research studies show that the average Thai IQ is in the 88-93 range, ranking #11 in SE Asia. Go Thailand! I have only been in LOS for 2 years, and -- as a retired teacher -- have been shocked many times by the lack of thinking. In Canada & the US, teachers are brainwashed and required to say that all people are equal, that IQ tests are racist, and that differential academic outcomes are the results of systematic oppression by the "white power structure". Of course, 80%+ of teachers support DEI and the democratic party and actively harass white male teachers with other opinions. Lynn, R., & Vanhanen Research Summary: - Top Performers: Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan consistently rank highest, with average IQs above 104. These regions have strong education systems and high living standards. - Mainland China's Variability: Estimates vary (100-104), with urban areas likely scoring higher than rural ones. - Southeast Asia: Countries like Vietnam and Malaysia score moderately (90s), while the Philippines and Indonesia rank lower (80s). - South Asia: India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh have lower averages (70s-80s), which some studies link to nutrition, healthcare, and education disparities.

Excellent answer. See and decide based on what feels right for you. Before I moved to LOS I asked people online where to live -- most said near Asoke in BKK -- biggest mistake was listening to others rather than making my own decision as HarrisDude suggests.

Excellent and very thoughtful analysis. Well said. " It's like a play that everyone knows everyone does, and they keep playing pretend somehow. It's insane." The only upside is that the Baht will stay weak forever.

Totally agree with BangkokDude. Why do you reject an entire analysis based on a one letter typo? Educated in Thailand maybe?

While Thailand lags, and wonders why It cannot attract more international investment (duh!), China and Chinese international students excel in testing. One research study showed that Chinese HSstudents studied spent 200% more time in school and studying than american sudents. I visited Chengdu, Sichuan a few years ago and saw that many US tech companies went there for the intellectual talent. No investments in Thailand...none ever likely. These are all in Chengdu: Intel, Texas Instruments, Micron Technology, Qualcomm, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, Amazon, Google, Meta, Electronic Arts, Blizzard Entertainment, Dell Technologies, HP.

Thailand standardized test scores vs. OECD averge since 2000. The gold line is the OECD average. This test is only taken by students that stay in school until age 15, and the dropout rate is high, so the actual average abilities are lower than shown in the test results. The large decline in the last decade may be partly attributed to Thai social media addiction, as usage has soared and many studies show a negative correlation between increased social media usage and academic results. In brief, those that spend more time on social media than studying have worse performance. Thailand criticised the OECD PISA study results and started the O-Net testing...which showed similar results...so Thailand killed the national O-Net testing. Really! Bad messages are simply rejected... TiT! Retired teacher

The poor educational results have been well known for decades based on standardized testing. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2044427/long-overdue-end-of-o-net-exams.

Agreed. The Costco chain pays quite well and is highly productive. Costco is the world's largest retailer of beef, poultry, organic produce, and wine, and just under one-third of American consumers regularly shop at Costco warehouses. Costco is ranked #11 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.

81 countries and economies took part in PISA 2022 testing. Thai results are relatively bad and deteriorating.

In my daily bike rides i have seen that Chiang Mai has at least 3 very large hotels that have been closed since covid that would be suitable for a gaming complex. 1) Chiang Mai Plaza Hotel 2) Lotus Pang Suan Kaew Hotel 3) A large hotel less than 1 km NW of Lotus Pang Suan Kaew Hotel on the road between the old city and Maya Mall Reopening these huge hotels would create a lot of jobs...although any money lost by locals would partly offset that economic benefit

Trump’s Final Term Ends in about 1400 days on January 20th, 2029. If he keeps up his current pace the US and the world will be a very different place in 2029, possibly a post-nuclear-war apocalyptic pile of radioactive waste. At least that would put an end to the AN trolling epidemic! Always look on the bright side of life (Monty Python)

Should this diktat be applied to hollywood movies too? Are you also opposed to the use of technology like computers? Luddite thinking? Maybe we all go back to stone tablets....?

I think Putin would win a fight with Musk -- a guy who does not exercise at all. The only muscle Musk exercises is his mouth! (oh, yeah, he has 14 kids so another one gets exercise 🙂

In 2023 Musk challenged Mark Zuckerberg to "one-on-one physical combat" but chickened out after he learned that Zuckerberg trained in MMA. lol!