JonnyF

I love the way they always say stopping foreigners owning land is about keeping land prices low for the poor Thai people. In reality it's about keeping prices low and ensuring there is no competition for the Thai Elites to buy vast swathes of cheap land from the very same poor Thai people, often via the banks repossessing said land that has been put down as collateral on high interest loans when the borrower defaults. All the while, the same Thai Elites are free to buy land in Europe with their ill gotten gains. It's ironic that while Thaksin wants to stop foreigners buying tiny amounts of land in Thailand, he cannot even set foot on Thai soil without facing arrest. He's still vastly better than Prayut though.

Heaven forbid that westerners believe in freedom and not being told what to do by authoritative regimes ????. Have you ever considered that's why most of the West is a liberal democracy while much of Asia is still run by illegal, authoritarian, borderline fascist Juntas? Gone native much? ????. Back to masks, I've noticed the waitresses in my local Sukhumvit pubs/restaurants have stopped wearing masks. A couple of Thais in my office have stopped wearing them during office hours (and I assume outside office hours). Other than that, most still wear them. I wouldn't criticize someone for wearing one or not wearing one. Freedom of choice and all that. I still wear them mostly due to habit and smog but if it starts annoying me it comes off.

I have a fat tyre e-mountainbike. Looks a lot like this one. I use it for short journeys around BKK, mainly to and from the MRT station. It's OK, does about 35kph without pedalling but the range is only about 25 kms which is fine for me, but limiting if you wanted to use it for anything more than the short trips I use it for. I'm not sure it's 100% legal but it looks enough like a normal mountain bike to never get stopped, and there are no cops on the route I use to the MRT station anyway. If I saw a checkpoint I'd whip out the key and pedal past them. As for electric motorbikes, I'm not convinced by them yet. Range is not great and neither is performance unless you want to spend serious money. Charging is a bit of a pain (the battery detatches on mine but it's still a lot of work remembering to do it, carrying it up to my condo etc. compared to filling up my Ninja 250 with petrol every 300 kms). Registering them is possible now on some models, but I am not convinced by the benefits over something like a Honda Super Cub for about 40k that will last decades and costs so little to run, easy to resell etc.

What's with all these 'good taxi driver' stories. Has there been more gold chain snatching ladyboys that I haven't heard about?

Very sad. Probably never know what happened. Could have leaned over the rail for a quick rest and had a heart attack. Could have been hit by a truck and tossed over the side. I had a schoolfriend in the UK. At age 21 he sat on the wall of a small bridge on the way back from a country pub, lost his balance, fell backwards about 10 feet down and broke his neck and drowned in 2 feet of water. I suspect a similar thing happened here. RIP fella.

Unfortunately, a few fancy hotels and imported European luxury sedans crawling around Bangkok's streets does not make a first world country. These things are the lipstick on the pig. A quick look at the illegal Junta in charge (having stolen power down the barrel of a gun), the corrupt police force, the corrupt judiciary and the massive, increasingly wide wealth gap tells you everything you need to know about Thailand's development. And those are just the things we are allowed to mention... Having spent 16 years here implementing new systems, it's very clear why we still have antiquated reams of paperwork. Thais are loathe to change any system they understand, no matter how inefficient it is. They cling to old systems using various stalling techniques and invent fake issues with the replacement. They hate change, and they certainly aren't going to inconvenience themselves learning a new system to make a farang's visa renewal easier.

Down to 4 now. I'm delighted to see Tom Tugendhadt out of the race. An ardent Remainer who plays the 'military card' way too often for comfort. Kemi has really impressed me during this race. Well spoken, positive, sensible political views, a Leaver. I really hope she survives the next round but I suspect she might not. Unfortunately I think Rishi is nailed on.

If Labour haven’t got the balls to remove that embarrassment from their party how can you expect them to take the tough decisions required to run a country? It’s symbolic. If you can’t fix a small issue you can’t fix a big issue. I support leaving her there. She embodies the party perfectly and ensures they won’t return to power.

"Youse are all skum". What's not to like about our dear, snarling Angela? The deputy leader makes Dianne Abbott's privately educated, nurse attacking son look cultured, intelligent and mild mannered. She embodies the mean, vitriolic nature of the left. Team "be kind" ???? They are exactly what they accuse you of being. And they wonder why the voters reject them time after time.

He takes a lot of flak because of his appearance, eccentricity, wealth and accent but he actually talks a lot of sense. A debate between him and someone like Rayner is like putting Mike Tyson against Mr Bean. Like The Moggster I also dislike Sunak. I think he will make it to the last 2 and lose the members vote. Politically I am most closely aligned to Kemi but I dont think she'll win so I'm hoping for Truss or Mordant.

The NHS is a complete mess despite the huge amounts of money thrown at it by the Tories since Brexit. It needs a change of culture and a change of management. I personally know an accountant who works for the NHS and his perks, holidays, salary etc. are unreal. He just traded his Porsche for an 80k Audi. Top bloke though. Nurses rushed off their feet but still have time for synchronized TikTok videos. A culture of bossing patients around and still acting like some kind of saviour. It's a disgrace and has been for around 25 years. Some great individuals but the culture needs to change.

It's never Labour's fault, is it? Their record while in power and their failure to own their mistakes is why they've been out of power for so long with no sign of a return. After Blair's war crimes they deserve at least a couple of decades in the wilderness. It could be more. Blair killed thousands. Boris had a party. The electorate are not as stupid as you wish them to be.

Do these guys not realize what that type of money can buy in Europe. And it's not subject to the whim of the next general. You actually own it forever. Your kids can inherit it. 40 million investment for 1 rai? Are they serious?

Have you heard the expression "Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me"? Well this was the first time Blair fooled everyone about the war. The Tory MP's could be forgiven for expecting higher standards from the UK PM than telling them bare faced lies. The shame is all on Blair for this one. His legacy will be one of immense deceit leading to thousands of deaths and decades of instability in the Middle East. Johnson on the other hand, had a party. The only thing destroyed was a bottle of decent red ????. I know what I'd rather be remembered for. But he had to go, and now we can get back on topic to his successor. I believe Kemi would be a great choice. Pro Brexit, anti Woke, anti Critical race theory. What a woman to lead the Conservatives. Marvellous.

Long winded fluff, again. Allow me to simplify my viewpoint for you. 1. We should help the most disadvantaged in society, irrespective of their race. It should be based on their needs, not their race. 2. We should not stop people from getting particular jobs based on their race. It should be based on their ability to do the job, not their race. Any policy that discriminates for (or against) an individual based on their race is by definition a racist policy. You can choose your own label for people who support racist policies, I have mine.

More desirable than being a lieing war criminal? I'd say the onus was on Blair not to lie, rather than on the Tories to correctly assess whether he was lieing or not. Lieing is not allowed in the House of Commons, nor is calling someone a liar. The Tories therefore can be forgiven for believing he was being truthful. After all, it takes a special kind of evil to lie about something in order to make war (and thousands of deaths) possible. Blaming the Tories for Blair's lieing and subsequent war crimes is frankly, ridiculous.

Because Kemi is in favour of ending such racist policies. She also supports ending the teaching of Critical Race Theory as fact in schools. Kemi is a candidate for hte Tory leadership in case you hadn't been following. Hence the discussion of her anti racist policies.

Oh how you must wish it could all be brushed under the carpet ????. Back on topic, good to see Kemi is still in the race for next PM. The more I read about her the more I like her. Femi doesn't seem too impressed though. A black PM would damage racial inequality? Who knew?

So why are white people being excluded from certain jobs due to "Affirmative action" or "Positive discrimination"? Sounds like racial discrimination, no? Positive discrimination? Maybe if you support racist policies, but not so positive if you are a white person being excluded due to your ethnicity.

Actually the Tory candidates are high calibre, a diverse range of people (different races, both genders) with a diverse range of skills. Maybe one day Labour will get elected again, and we can see a battle for who will be PM from their ranks. Just imagine, Abbott, Lammy and Rayner in a race to the bottom ????.

More fluff which simply restates the argument for this racist policy without addressing the question. Affirmative action is simply a play on words, a feeble attempt to put a positive spin on a policy that discriminates against people on racial grounds. Shameful stuff that should have been left in 1950's America.

So if we can accept that privilige is not based on race, why discriminate against white people that apply for a job, simply because they are white? Sounds kind of racist to me, no? I'm yet to hear a good argument that justifies it. Just posts like yours which are essentially a load of fluff that is a poor attempt to deflect from the question. I will ask again, why do you believe in discriminating against people on racial grounds?

I'd have thought fluid and oils fall under the 'extract' laws and hence cannot be more than 0.02%? Kind of weird that it's OK to vape 'Marijuana' fluids but not OK to vape normal 'nicotine' fluids. I'm going to take a wild guess that nobody in government considered any of this.

Similar story here, our farm now has Papaya, banana, coconuts, dragon fruit, lemon, lime, Mango, Rose Apple, Tamarind, Guava, Mangosteen, plenty of vegetables and 3 lakes full of fish. When I retire I'll get a few chickens as well. Surrounded by rice farmers so decent rice is available for trading with any of the above. Trouble is, unlike you - I love living and working in Bangkok too much so I'm not sure I can ever make the move permanent ????. Price rises are increasing like crazy right now. It doesn't affect most of us too much (apart from when they keep the price the same and reduce the portion or remove things from the menu altogether) but it must be pretty bad for Thais that were already struggling by, living hand to mouth. I don't see this as a short term thing either, those lockdowns savaged the economy and it's not going to be a quick fix. I think we might just be scratching the surface.

Sounds OK if they really provide the insurance as promised. I'd imagine making a claim will be like getting blood out of a stone since the money will have already been diverted into officials pockets with no intention of returning it to foreigners making valid claims.