spidermike007

Fascinating. I am not a fan of Thaksin, but I despise Prawit. He said: "What? A general in charge of an anti-corruption agency? What does he know about all the laws involved?" I would change that to "What? A general in charge of an anti-corruption agency? What does he know about decency or morality? And how is he not corrupt?"

It seems highly appropriate for the daughter of a dinosaur to be using old, antique furniture in her office. Stuffy and truly "elite establishment" in appearance.

The really awful thing about situations like this is that they do tarnish the image of Pattaya, which is known the world over to be a very wholesome place, a very family friendly city, and an area where the locals are of great moral standing. Certainly the majority of the people visiting go out of their way to be free of vice and when they play, it is only on the golf course, or at the beaches.

Well without going into a very deep dive type analysis of and posters on this forum, the reality is that most Thais are not introspective. The entire educational process that they're subjected to denies the possibility of curiosity, and suppresses the desire to question things, and what you end up with is an infinitely less curious person than what you would have had. I know when I was going to school it was perfectly natural and perfectly acceptable to ask my teachers questions, and to even question the nature of the lessons I was being given, especially when it came to higher education. From what I understand that's just not the case here. So I think it's actually a very healthy thing for us to encourage our women to question things, question the system, question what they've been taught, question the nature of tradition and tribalism, and just question the nature of life. Introspection is a wonderful quality, and questioning things is is a great way to live your life. Why should we accept things at face value? Of course the elites and the authorities, and some in very powerful positions would consider this dangerous thinking, and this is exactly why I think it's a wonderful thing for a Thai woman to be exposed to. Without sounding overly important as an expat, I think it's one of the many things that we bring to the table here.

Nobody ever said gangland activity makes you happy, it might help you to establish some wealth, and it certainly helps you to establish some power. But we're not exactly talking about happiness and fulfillment with these goons, are we?

It is very likely that very few of these parties were dissolved for valid reasons, and it is likely that there's infinitely more corruption in the Constitutional Court and the anti-corruption committee, than there was in any one of these parties.

There are likely less than 20 people in Thailand who believe his lies and his nonsense, even his supporters likely laugh at a statement like this. Of course there was an agreement made, you never spent a day in jail, how gullible and how naive do you think we are? When you sell your soul, and when you sell out your party and your people, that is considered a political agreement.

I have a proposal for funding the program, just have each one of Thailand's 2000 generals contribute 100 million baht. That's petty change for them.

Okay, good information. I know one thing for certain, I never have a reason to return to Dark Tao. Same applies to Phuket. I still enjoy Samui from time to time, and I think Koh Phangan is amazing, but Tao, never again.

Around 15 dives there and I never saw better than 8-10 meters. Some days 3-5 meters. After trying the Andaman, the northwest coast of Bali, and some other spots, I realized that there's no good diving in the Gulf of Thailand.

I don't have any up-to-date information. I do know that he's the son of the headman of Sairee Beach. His name is Namsod. I don't even know if dad is still the headman, but he was for for a long time, and he got extremely wealthy from that position due to Illegal land sales throughout the island, as is the case with the other four ruling families on Dark Tao. I heard that he was banished for a while, as serial killing tends to be bad for business. He likely spent time in Paris or London, and waited for things to blow over. I'm pretty sure he's back, however I'm not sure if dad has been able to reign him in. Seems like less people are ending up dead there lately.

They have invited in lowlife gang members, and hordes of low quality tourists, by lowering the bar for visa entry out of sheer desperation, and unmitigated greed. They've invited the Russian Bratva, the Chinese Triads, and apparently the Indian gangs to ply their trade here. Perhaps that's why Srettha was fired? Too many officials losing too many billions of baht? Can't compete with these ruthless thugs? Too organized? Money talks here.

Such a strange story, such a petty incident, sometimes people just don't know how to let things go. China is so crowded that the people have to jostle for space, so bumping into people is just not considered a big deal there. Some Westerners are overly entitled, and can get very offended when someone invades their space, it's just so weak and thin-skinned of them.

They should be attacking Trump's plans for tariffs. Those will be a disaster. Several studies have examined the cost of the Section 301 tariffs on the U.S. economy. For example, economists Mary Amiti, Stephen J. Redding, and David Weinstein showed that by the end of the first year that the tariffs were in place, U.S. real income declined by $1.4 billion per month. More recently, trade analysts Tori Smith and Tom Lee from the American Action Forum found that U.S. consumers largely bore the brunt of the tariffs, paying a total of $48 billion—with half of this figure paid by U.S. firms that rely on intermediate inputs from China. A recent report by the United States International Trade Commission agreed that the cost of the tariffs was passed through to U.S. importers. Back in 2019, President Biden also agreed, stating, “Trump doesn’t get the basics. He thinks his tariffs are paid for by China. Any beginning econ student at Iowa or Iowa State could tell you the American people are paying his tariffs.” The evidence is clear—the Trump tariffs have failed and the costs on the U.S. economy continue to pile up. https://www.cfr.org/blog/cost-trumps-trade-war-china-still-adding Key policies that undergird so-called Trumponomics — a combination of tariffs, tax cuts and a crackdown on immigration — are likely to cause a flare-up in inflation, according to many Wall Street economists. That would be a painful outcome for consumers and businesses sapped by more than two years of surging prices. More broadly, renewed inflationary pressures would also come. If consumers "are upset now, they will be hopping mad a year from now" about inflation if Trump wins and enacts his policies, Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics and co-author of a June report on the macroeconomic impacts of either a Trump or Biden win in November, told CBS MoneyWatch. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-economy-inflation-tariffs-tax-cuts-immigration/

The man is a saint. A man of such courage and compassion. Such a shame his campaign is melting down.

Say it ain't so. We rob you of democracy, we deny and outlaw candidates of your choice, and you don't trust us?

For many, intellectual stimulation is the last thing that they're looking for in a short time girl.

Judge Udom is a highly corrupt man who is bought and paid for. He should be hiding his face in shame, rather than bragging about knuckle dragging his nation backwards. The level of both blindness and ignorance of these fools blows the mind.

I wouldn't call it a ghetto, but it's very crowded with very young tourists and it's quite expensive, in addition the quality of the diving is very poor, you typically visibility of 3m, if you get lucky you can have as much as 10m. Stay out of the bars in Sairee Beach. The serial killer still lives there, and he is protected. I learned there and it was convenient as I was living on Samui at the time.

He is not just a troll, he is a moderator! Talk about sinking to new lows.

Yes. America is ready for anyone but Trump. Anyone. We do not need a narcissistic, caustic, corrupt man who cannot negotiate his way out of a paper bag, and alienates every foreign leader he meets, other than Kim, MBS and Putin. Yes, we are ready for some hope, rather than Trump style destruction and desolation.

The disgraced Srettha and the authorities have done this to themselves with their very liberal visa policies. In an absolutely desperation bid to attract tourists they've lowered the standard to the point where this is what they're getting. In addition to the Chinese Triads and the Russian Bratva. Congratulations on lowering the quality of life for everybody. Thailand is likely attracting more than 90% low budget tourists now.

Very sad. That has to be about the scariest thing imaginable, being on a plane that is about to crash. What a horror.

Short time is absolutely brilliant, and Thailand is one of the top places in the world for it. If a man is single, or if a man is married it doesn't matter. It is up to him, only he can make that decision, and if he does decide to do short time, as long as he's discreet and as long as he's careful not to cause his woman any embarrassment or humiliation, everybody wins. Of course if you're going to apply a religious overtone, or get up on a self righteous high horse, then one is bound to come to a different conclusion. Several of my friends who absolutely refuse to pay for sex, have been celibate for years and it's not of their own choosing.

I agree and one of the worst things about the southern islands are the politicians, they're incredibly greedy, they're incredibly wealthy, they use the islands like vacuum cleaners sucking every last baht they can find. The only group that's more useless than them, is the army.