Thai at Heart

So at last, now, a decision to make. The USA voices it's disapproval of thailands-economy behaviour about these dissidents and china's behaviour in the south China Sea.

Let's see how much favour spending bazillions on trains can buy you in Thailand.

So, maybe these two "dissidents" were actually involved in trafficking Uighurs through Thailand. Maybe the U.S. and U.N. should butt out of this, so they don't make the same mistake that they did about the deportations of the Uighurs, who were being trafficked through Thailand by ISIS.

I think they weren't involved in anything like u mention whatsoever and we're politic critics of the system in China. They weren't smuggling anyone.

Well an 8 year sentence isn't a moral lessons is it, it's a legal one. Duh

I guess they will ask CP, Central, Siam Cement what the strategy should be for a free trade deal.

Getting everyone around cheaply in Bangkok is a necessity. Keep it going.

General fogging, which is what they normally do, catches only those mosquitoes that happen to be buzzing through the zone at the time - which is not too many, since most come out only in the evening. The district offices, responsible for the fogging, also provide (free of charge) small pellets. The mosquito responsible for DHF, aedes aegypti, lays its eggs only in still water. Place one pellet in any still water you can find and it will kill all mosquito larvae for about six months. Fogging looks good and dramatic, but pellets have more punch!

Not if u do the sewers. They are absolutely chock filled with mozzies. I dropped my keys down the drain once at night and we had to hook them out with a pole.

To say I was eaten alive was an understatement. Billions of them

The funny bit was the gymnastics they performed to Interpret the word. "and"

http://asiancorrespondent.com/2012/06/thailand-how-the-meaning-of-and-starts-a-constitutional-crisis/

I don't get the people who want to write her behavior off as being "typical hi-so" or whatever. What percentage of Thais have hit similar speeds while chatting away on a telephone or texting? People need to quit finger pointing at the hi-so class like their stupidity is any different from the general stupidity of people in as a whole.

She is just like any other idiot teen or twenty-something social media attention whore who can only achieve self-worth via posting a totally unrealistic version of life that they hope others actually buy into. These people exist in every country and every culture everywhere in the world.

The issue is that the so called hiso are held up as educated and respectable and apparently better than the rest.

They are alas a very sad let down most of the time, incredibly arrogant with a dash of entitlement and are normally really rather dim. As proven here.

They aren't better, and if actually educated, thus in fact worse than the general population who can claim ignorance as a defence.

You may or may not have missed my point. In what ways are Thai hi-so's different from our own hi-so's? I can find zero you've said (or that anyone else has said) that doesn't apply to Paris Hilton, the Kardashians, or an entire army of unskilled, ignorant, idiots who grace our televisions and social media with their inanity.

This girl is no different than the millions of other YouTube and reality television "celebrities" out there trying to build a career out of showing people a lifestyle that their viewers can dream about living themselves.

Why make it a Thai hi-so thing? It's simply another example of the worldwide decline into the abyss of egotistical bliss.

And my point being that unless you're some sort of expert on the Thai upper-class, I'm guessing that you probably see of the Thai hi-so what a Thai might see of American or British hi-so's if they were to visit our countries. Spoiled brats that spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on their pampered children birthday parties (there are reality tv shows about this). The Housewives of _____________ where being ignorant, slutty, and completely useless human beings are the norm.

These are the idiots the media puts in front of us. It does not encompass the entire spectrum of wealthy people. In fact, the vast majority of truly wealthy people in the US live a lifestyle that is absolutely nothing like that.

Is it too far a stretch to think that Thailand has the same fixation on the most extreme examples of narcissism and stupidity while there may be far, far more wealthy people who you never hear about?

If any of those were videod doing 260kph they would end up in court. However, they probably might not be stupid enough to make the video in the first place.

That is a big difference.

That's a good start after the government had zoomed in on what sectors it would focus on as "future" sectors.

Governments around the world are notoriously bad at predicting which sectors will be the growth engines of the future. One exception might be South-Korea which smartly focused on ship building and later on electronics (or maybe they just had a lucky streak there).

The role of the government therefore should be to give flexible companies everything they need to grab an opportunity when one comes along. America is not leading in IT because the government chose Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Apple to be the focus on growth, they are leading because they created a business climate where companies like Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Apple could grab their opportunities when those opportunities presented themselves. And companies that were unable to compete were able to go bankrupt (or chapter 11 to restructure) instead of being kept on life support and destroy opportunities for other companies.

What the government should focus on is creating a business environment where private companies can flourish. Some things they might want to pay attention to:

- education: if you want to lead in any sector you need human capital

- expats: if you don't have the human capital yet you need to open the border so companies can "import" that human capital (immigrants are the main drivers behind London's prosperity and huge percentages of successful entrepreneurs in the US are foreigners who started working with a green card)

- rule of law, stability, predictability: if you invest billions in a company the investors needs to know they can reap the benefits of their investments 20-50 years down the line. In Thailand the government makes announcements weekly, retracts them the week after, chooses to enforce laws which they never enforced before, etc, all at the whim of whatever pops up in their head. Besides, Thailand really needs to lay down the rule of law where police officers are accountable, judges follow the laws, and your status or wealth does not influence the outcome of a legal battle.

- privatize some government enterprises and limit government investments in certain sectors: this distorts how markets function and takes away opportunities from companies that could do better more efficiently

- improve the investment climate by the things "The MacMan" just mentioned: foreigners should be able to hold more than 49% of their own company, foreign investors should be able to hold land, etc.

Thailand is still stuck in the idea that if they have 2 or 3 massive family businesses in each major market the fact that these families make billions is actually good for the country.

You are correct in your ideas, but you are speaking a language Thai business and politics doesn't get. If a market cannot be controlled and exploited, Thai businesses don't want to play in it, and they also won't let foreigners play in that market in Thailand.

His fingers are crossed behind that bunch of flowers. So what if he delivers a constitution that the junta don't approve of?

I don't get the people who want to write her behavior off as being "typical hi-so" or whatever. What percentage of Thais have hit similar speeds while chatting away on a telephone or texting? People need to quit finger pointing at the hi-so class like their stupidity is any different from the general stupidity of people in as a whole.

She is just like any other idiot teen or twenty-something social media attention whore who can only achieve self-worth via posting a totally unrealistic version of life that they hope others actually buy into. These people exist in every country and every culture everywhere in the world.

The issue is that the so called hiso are held up as educated and respectable and apparently better than the rest.

They are alas a very sad let down most of the time, incredibly arrogant with a dash of entitlement and are normally really rather dim. As proven here.

They aren't better, and if actually educated, thus in fact worse than the general population who can claim ignorance as a defence.

They really don't understand the unity that is created by fatwa do they. How the hell can they say there is no sympathy in the Muslim world for the situation in the south?

If this is what the Thai army really thinks they really are misguided.

Chickens in a mooban. Why?

For the same reason as having dogs.

Just simply to have them.

Just like every 5 year old wants to have a goldfish in a small bowl.

When the 5 year old feels like it, he will look at it, talk to it, show it to his friends, or even feed it.

But he will never refresh the water.

Huh?

Can't chicken be bought in the city? And eggs too? Is it even legal to have chickens in a mooban? Most moobans don't allow it

He actually said Thai politics is complicated? Anyone really believe this?

Nothing. Maybe they are right.. Not everyone is capable of smiling in the face of the problems they see every day.

Which alarming lapse is this they are talking about?

Now this will really annoy a lot of people. Passing this type of law on the quiet is absolutely outrageous.

But French law cannot prevent a British person bringing their spouse to live in France! Daft perhaps but equal! The so called Surinder Singh route.

Only changes in EU law will change this or a decision to leave the EU. There will be many, many people avoiding national laws this way.

Doctors need to demonstrate a good standard of English. Not sure that the pharmacist does yet. Attempts are being made to change the rules so veterinary surgeons must meet English language requirements. Hopefully it will come to every job where lives are at stake!

No it is not equal. The spouse of EU citizen has more rights in the UK than those of the spouse of a British citizen.

It is the EU citizen that has the rights, not the spouse. A British citizen has equal rights should they chose to live in another EU country.

The more strict immigration rules only apply to nationals of the country settling in their own country. If you are British you can take up residence in another EU country and your spouse will receive the available healthcare etc in that country and will be exempt from language requirements etc.

Everyone is treated equally. It is one of the oddities of EU v's national law.

There is no language requirements to take a spouse to France. None.

Although I am a Brit, I have lived in Spain full time since retirement 15 years ago (see the post above)

I brought my Thai wife to Spain and applied for and eventually got her a Spanish "Foreigners" ID without any language requirements.

This ID allows her to come and go as she pleases, no visas or form filling and it's wonderful.

Exactly. If you were Spanish, you can bring your Thai wife to Britain with no income or language requirements.

As a Brit, you have to jump through a more stringent check than a European union citizen. This is a gross incongruity that should be changed.

The level required for non EU spouses married to EU and British citizens should be identical.

But French law cannot prevent a British person bringing their spouse to live in France! Daft perhaps but equal! The so called Surinder Singh route.

Only changes in EU law will change this or a decision to leave the EU. There will be many, many people avoiding national laws this way.

Doctors need to demonstrate a good standard of English. Not sure that the pharmacist does yet. Attempts are being made to change the rules so veterinary surgeons must meet English language requirements. Hopefully it will come to every job where lives are at stake!

No it is not equal. The spouse of EU citizen has more rights in the UK than those of the spouse of a British citizen.

It is the EU citizen that has the rights, not the spouse. A British citizen has equal rights should they chose to live in another EU country.

The more strict immigration rules only apply to nationals of the country settling in their own country. If you are British you can take up residence in another EU country and your spouse will receive the available healthcare etc in that country and will be exempt from language requirements etc.

Everyone is treated equally. It is one of the oddities of EU v's national law.

There is no language requirements to take a spouse to France. None.

But French law cannot prevent a British person bringing their spouse to live in France! Daft perhaps but equal! The so called Surinder Singh route.

Only changes in EU law will change this or a decision to leave the EU. There will be many, many people avoiding national laws this way.

Doctors need to demonstrate a good standard of English. Not sure that the pharmacist does yet. Attempts are being made to change the rules so veterinary surgeons must meet English language requirements. Hopefully it will come to every job where lives are at stake!

No it is not equal. The spouse of EU citizen has more rights in the UK than those of the spouse of a British citizen.

Chickens in a mooban. Why?

But a French man is not allowed to bring his 'illiterate' wife to France. A British person can bring their 'illiterate' wife to live in France!

Perhaps not logical but not racist and not discriminatory. The rights of nationals of both countries are roughly equivalent!

Ah, but a French man can bring his illiterate wife to Britain, whilst a British cannot.

The ultimate discrimination.

They have got themselves into a horrible mess because of the EU rules. Right now I am working with 2 Indian labourers in London, one with a Portuguese residency and another with Italian.

Neither can speak a word of English, but are free to work and live here. Both have their indian/european wives sitting in Portugal and Italy waiting to come to the UK once they have cash together.

British law cannot stop them.

British law cannot prevent the entry of the spouse of an EU citizen or resident, but it can prevent a Brit. This is ridiculous state of affairs.

And Mcdonald's is not linked to burgers, somtam not linked to spicy food and and and....lol. Talk about head in the sand.

You believe the Southern Muslims are affiliated or connected in some way with ISIS?

What makes you think that? Or is it just tarring every Muslim with the same brush?

The Southern insurgency has got NOTHING to do with jihad or Islamic ideology.

Really? There are people in Malaysia affiliated to Abu Saif who is affiliated to ISIS. I think you are living in another world if you think there is no connection. Would like to think there isnt but I am pretty sure I would be fooling myself if I thought that

I presume you mean Abu Sayyaf the Filipino terrorist group not Abu Sayyaf the dead former high level commander of ISIS. Anyway, Abu Sayyaf having launched attacks in Malaysia says nothing about the insurgency in Thailand, and why didn't you bring the Philippines into this, why Malaysia? The border with peninsular Malaysia doesn't just automatically link Filipino terrorists in Borneo to Thailands separatists.

Ye I do mean the Filipino group. If you have read over thee years there are a few Muslim clerics in Malaysia who have been shown to be linked to Abu S. and it is considered highly likely that the Philipine group have connections, albeit not strong ones at the moment, with ISIS and Al-Qaeda. The border doesnt link anything and I never said it did. One Malaysian cleric has stated openly that he wll not rest until the entire SEA region is Muslim. Maybe he is crazy, in my books he is, but people like that have links around the world.

How much effort would it take, and would the Thai authorities know and be able stop the insurgency in the south becoming radicalised like that which is seen under Isis?

Even if it isn't quite yet, it would need a few hundred radicalised idiots with guns to terrify the local population and start indoctrination and it could happen in a few months.

The fact that it isn't apparent today doesn't mean it isn't already happening anyway. Relying on the support of the local Muslim population to quell any major radicalisation is hardly a plan is it.

I thought the rules were one had request political asylum before or on arrival, not when the were found to be in Thailand illegally.

Maybe next time they should be allowed to apply to the America for asylum... then when refused let the American branch of Amnesty International lambaste its own government.

They have to get there first.. Note Cubans not being refused entry once they get foot on American soil