Topic: Jumping sharks

[Bewildered]

Warning Note: This has nothing whatever to do with teaching! It is sort of the JJ of the posting world. 

Probably this is old hat so you will all roll your eyes, but I recently came across this blog, entitled "Thailand Jumping Sharks".

http://thailandjumpedtheshark.blogspot.com/

Have a look, I think it is uproariously funny, even though it really shouldn't be.

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[Geekboy]

Very interesting site? Just the kind of site Thailand needs at the moment!

 

[sabai_sabai]

Thanks, that site is worth a look, for sure.  Too bad we don't have newspapers with articles like this blog... hmmm.

[Veritas]

   Interesting blog.

   Yes, Thailand slept under the Banyan tree during and after the Industrial Revolution and didn't begin to stir about until someone from the West installed air conditioning a while after the Great European War of 1914-18. Now comes the shopping mall, the mobile telephone and 48% of the population still engaged in agriculture. The latter contributes 12% to Thailand's GDP. Well, that's progress. (Fifty years ago 75% of the population was engaged in agriculture which contributed something like 70% of GDP.)

   However, in between Thaksin and a powerful peoples' democracy is a huge chasim called greed, corruption and a forever ruling clique.

[freedom fighter]

The more I see how this country is being run, the more I mourn the decision of the British 7th Army. 

After the British forced the japanese out during WWII they decided, with persuasion from the States, NOT to annexe Thailand as part of the Empire. 

Thais say they are proud that they resisted colonial rule but one thing the Brits did well was organising countries and what this country desperately needs is organising!  This country needs a responsible adult to grab the authorities by the scruff of their necks and tell them to stop playing silly games.

FYI I'm no a pro emperialist just anti incompetence-ist.

Is it too late to march the troops back here?

FF.

P.S. Don't get on my case about this.  It's at least 50% joking. 

[snottgoblin]

Bewildered.
   
A superb site "Jumping Sharks" ,I only wonder how long it will be before the local Ayotollahs thought police block this site (Jumping Sharks) ?

[anyonefortennis]

FF, maybe you have a point, there again maybe if it had happened Thailand would be more a akin to present day Burma.

A couple of good things that may of come from it of course are that there would be a damn site more cricket pitches around the country and the locals may well of learned the art of making a decent cuppa tea - on the downside there wouldn't be so much demand for native English speaking teachers. 

[freedom fighter]

Ahhh the empire... a double edged sword.

FF.

P.S.  Burma went to pot AFTER they moved out.

[fortuneguy]

Great posting.

Most of this checks out as there are similar reports appearing in the Bangkok Post. I took one paragraph from the article which sums it up:

Thailand doesn't really have an open door policy that says "welcome to Thailand, please do business, and keep your profits." Instead, it has the policy of "welcome to Thailand, please do business until we can screw you out of all your money, snicker, snicker, snicker, then go home."

Is it going to far to say that Thailand is the world's scrounger ? I don't mean beggar, as beggars never have enough moneynd need to beg.

When dealing with any Thai, I have always been left with the impression that they think the farang owes them a living.

I taught Thais in England in mixed race/culture classes. They consistently came bottom, didn't really try, and didn't get along with classmates.  So I can relate to the probability of this happening on a bigger scale.

I think Thailand has reached a crisis point: the world at large has finally woken up to the scale of their collective dishonesty, stupidity and incompetence. Harsh words - well, I'm sitting on sizable investments that I feel might be grabbed at anytime. Let's face it every rule change in the last year suggests they want out of the international arena, so they can get back to being poor little Thailand holding out their hand to the rest of the world.

Most reports seem to suggest that things will get back to normal when the political situation resolves itself. "Normal" are you kidding ? And is it so certain that a Junta will move over that easily ?, especially now it has got it's fingers back in so many big pies. Elections are already behind schedule and most of the elite politicians are facing charges in the next couple of months that could rule them out of elections.

Thailand drove out the fox, but quite how it will rid itself of the pack of wolves I don't know.

I can only see a prolonged downward trend, which will eventually be resolved by another Thaksin like push for modernisation.