Enoon

Why are you babbling on about farmers? Just because the photo shows some harvesters? They do not own the farms they harvest on......they are itinerant farm labourers, which is not the same as being a land owning/renting farmer who qualifies for subsidy/compensation. Informal labourers have to wander around the country looking for any work that's going......anything from a few days to a few months on building sites, in warehouses, factories and, when the seasons right, they get agricultural work. And the rice harvesting is dying off because more farmers are paying for these to do the work:

This is the view from the hotel entrance (on the left) that the video shows. Looking in the direction from which the p/up approached. The next turning on the right is 210 metres away: I do not believe the MC was preparing for a right turn or was encroaching near to the middle of the road or in any way upon the p/up. In fact it looks to be moving to the left of the road (avoiding action) in the last frames before it goes from view. I believe the p/up driver lost control of the vehicle (50-100 metres away) due to excessive speed and was in mid spin when it crossed to the wrong side and hit the 2 MCs. The only reason the driver "was waiting at the scene for authorities" was that he was in no fit state to do otherwise.

"What makes this act even more remarkable is Peerapat’s family background. His father, Mr. Wiraphong, is a firefighter at the Laem Chabang Port, while his mother is a rescue worker. His grandfather, too, has a distinguished career as a firefighter." Which makes it as "remarkable" as anyone else following in a family tradition. That is to say.......not very remarkable at all. Given his "heritage" it would have been far more "newsworthy" had he become a pyromaniac .

He didn't highlight those places. See my post preceding this one.

But you didn't take those photos. They are the work of Ilya Varlamov, who paid the price for showing the world the true glory of Putins Russia: "On 23 May 2023, he was declared a "foreign agent" by the Ministry of Justice of Russia." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilya_Varlamov Looks like he got out https://www.instagram.com/ilyavrlmv/?hl=en

It's all on his FB page:

PS You might be tempted to conclude that the government, lending to bad credit risks at a higher than market interest rate, is acting like a loan shark. I would not dispute that.

These loans are for people with "registered debt".........bank debt. It is highly unlikely that they took the loans out with loan sharks. The repayments work out at 9% pa. K-Personal loan from Kasikorn starts at 8.28% pa so the scheme is not such a great deal. This is a scheme to help people who got their loans from banks........people who were, allegedly, "creditworthy": "The loans are aimed at those with good credit standing" ......who have already demonstrated that they are a bad credit risk! The banks won't lend them any more but the government will. It does nothing for those who were unable to get a loan from a bank, the poorest people......they are the people being exploited by loan sharks. The government gives not a **** about them.

500k of it wasn't hers: "Rungrat clarified that she lost 700,000 baht in total which 500,000 baht was borrowed from the Teachers’ Saving Cooperative and 200,00 baht was her mother’s savings."

There are several images available from photo libraries depicting a house made from Thai currency. Why use one made of dollars to illustrate this article? It's not Ben Franklins fault.

Not a disease.....an age. It is one of the "Ages of Mankind".......the big version of the "Ages of Man". It's something that mankind, as a species, has to confront, deal with, pass through and leave behind.....just as we do, as individuals, with infancy, childhood, adolescence, etc. There are many who have troubled childhoods and adolescence.......and many who do not. There are many on AN who clearly have not dealt with, or left behind, quite a lot. I did religion for a while......and left it behind. It will be a while before the rest of mankind does the same......but it will happen. We have, potentially, millions of years before us. Can you imagine "millions of years"? Time for one of my favourite references I think :

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This was a major **** up. The substance is a liquid (acid), used for skin peels, tattoo and wart removal, etc. The pill story is ludicrous. It was administered with a teaspoon, in a small cup, or by injection. Whatever way it was in complete contradiction to the way it is normally used....external only.

Maybe a good idea to see what ground level vis was like in the rest of the Bay of Bengal region before we decide which was the appropriate diversion to take.......maybe Calcutta and others were socked in as well?

Maybe a good idea to see what ground level vis was like in the rest of the Bay of Bengal region before we decide which was the appropriate diversion to take.......maybe Calcutta was socked in as well?

It would be illegal, as a "Compoundable offence", if your little friend decided afterwards that she wanted you prosecuted: "The Age of Consent in Thailand is 15 years old. The age of consent is the minimum age at which an individual is considered legally old enough to consent to participation in sexual activity. Individuals aged 14 or younger in Thailand are not legally able to consent to sexual activity, and such activity may result in prosecution for statutory rape or the equivalent local law. Thailand statutory rape law is violated when an individual has consensual sexual intercourse with a person under age 15. However, sex with a minor under age 18 is a compoundable offense, regardless of consent." https://www.ageofconsent.net/world/thailand Or her parents decided to blackmail you: "........what this means is that a young person having sex with another person aged 15, 16, or 17 may be prosecuted for this “compoundable offence” if one participant (normally the girl), or their parent, were to file charges against the other side when they later decided they regretted what they had done. In effect, this makes the unfettered Thai age of consent to sex to be 18 years of age. https://www.lannaist.ac.th/keeping-our-teenage-children-safe/ And just to make everything perfectly confused (TIT): "A person is deemed an adult in Thailand at the age of 20 or at the time the child gets married. Parents have obligations and rights to the child until such time." https://www.juslaws.com/articles/parent-and-child-rights-duties-in-thailand Memo to OMF: Strongly suggest you kick the teen habit.

The vast majority of that 3-4 million are not "expats" in the sense that is understood by contributors to this forum. They are foreign workers from neighbouring countries who bring zero foreign money into the country.

"......appears to not care what laws a German breaks as long as it isn't in Germany" Putting aside the subject of this thread subject for a moment, the same is certainly true of Thailand in the case of Mr Thamannat........4 years time in Australia for drugs but allowed to be a government minister: "The court said it did not recognise Mr Thammanat's conviction because the verdict was delivered in Australia, a foreign country." https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-57001674 Thailand is a country mired in distortion, corruption and "immorality".........which is what gives an air of absurdity, as always, to the "outrage" surrounding the incident under discussion on this thread. The German guy blabbed in a documentary and Thailand "loses face".......again. That's why the fuss. Meanwhile the roaring trade in teenage prostitution and the bribing of officials/collusion of them in the trade continues, and will continue, unabated and approved....."that's what they're like".

Absolutely wrong: "Adulthood occurs when the child reaches the age of majority which is 20 years old in Thailand or when the child gets married. Until this time, parents have rights and obligations to their child." https://www.siam-legal.com/thailand-law/rights-and-duties-of-a-parent-and-child-in-thailand/

Yes.

15 is the age of consent in Thailand but: "In Thailand sexual encounters with a minor under the age of 18 may be classed as a compoundable offence, even if this was with a person over 15 and with their explicit consent.........what this means is that a young person having sex with another person aged 15, 16, or 17 may be prosecuted for this “compoundable offence” if one participant (normally the girl), or their parent, were to file charges against the other side when they later decided they regretted what they had done. In effect, this makes the unfettered Thai age of consent to sex to be 18 years of age." https://www.lannaist.ac.th/keeping-our-teenage-children-safe/ That is advice concerning sex between teenagers, but obviously 18 and older may be prosecuted similarly if having sex with someone of 15, 16 or 17. To confuse matters further 18 is not the age of majority, it's 20: "Adulthood occurs when the child reaches the age of majority which is 20 years old in Thailand or when the child gets married. Until this time, parents have rights and obligations to their child." https://www.siam-legal.com/thailand-law/rights-and-duties-of-a-parent-and-child-in-thailand/ I would not bet on the certainty that a Thai could not have you banged up for boffing their 19 year old daughter..........the Thai legal system, and its "operatives", is/are tailor made for manipulation.

"This increase has been largely attributed to lifestyle changes induced by the pandemic, such as an increased reliance on food delivery services." "The Prayut Chan-o-cha government initiated a policy in 2018 to ban single-use plastic bags, but the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns hampered these efforts." You'll have to do better than that you useless *****. During the same period, also under "lifestyle changes......increased reliance on food delivery.....pandemic and subsequent lockdowns" , waste plastic in the UK increased by less that 2%: https://www.statista.com/statistics/995590/plastic-packaging-waste-generated-uk/ Your "policy" was/is as worthless and empty as is your alleged extra vigilance during what you call the "days of danger" on the roads. You really are ******* hopeless.

No, that is the real deal. https://www.thaiairways.com/en_SE/offer/special_offers/Mixed_Classes.page:

I would avoid anyone involved with Amway. "........noted that Amway founders Van Andel and DeVos "accomplished their success through the use of an elaborate pyramid-like distribution system in which independent distributors of Amway products received a percentage of the merchandise they sold and also a percentage of the merchandise sold by recruited distributors" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amway "Because it corrupts people with greed. Normally you go to work every day, come home, maybe do some shopping, and then you look forward to the weekends when you can go fishing with your best friends Bob and Suzy. But all of a sudden, Bob and Suzy start selling Amway - so instead of having a nice fishing trip with Bob and Suzy, it's just like your weekend has turned into Bob and Suzy selling you stuff because they want your money. They are no longer really your friends. They just see you as a source of more profit. Who the **** wants to hang out with Bob and Suzy anymore and buy into their stupid multi level marketing ****. Amway did this to them. Don't be Bob and Suzy. If you want to make money, do something you love. Don't beg your friends for money by selling them toilet paper and crap they can get at Walmart." https://www.quora.com/Why-do-so-many-people-detest-Amway? See also: https://www.quora.com/How-many-people-really-succeed-selling-Amway I suspect that many Thai people may be especially vulnerable to its lure and its methods. I was horrified when I first saw that it had a presence in Thailand.

I get quite the opposite.....only recently have I started wondering why complete strangers, wherever I am in the world, look at me and smile. I have been asked by friends many times, while out strolling with them, after they have witnessed one such encounter, "Did you know them?" or "Why were they smiling at you"? I also seem to exert a magnetic attraction upon anyone who is lost and needs directions. That's enough of the "topic" for now.......it's still light, still time for you to go out and cast your magic spell upon those unfortunate enough to encounter you.