Opinion
The Thaiger Opinion Columns
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Paradise by the dentist’s drill
Article by guest author and featured on Substack, by Willing Life I decide to book a flight to tropically beautiful Thailand, known as the land of smiles. I think, to add to my beautiful smile, why don’t I get a problematic wisdom tooth drilled out on the first day I’m there. I mean, it’s not really a holiday in paradise…
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Royal reversal: Prince William’s ambitious anti-homelessness project sparks cries of ‘hypocrite’
Prince William has been labelled a “hypocrite” after his royal highness announced an ambitious, some say “unrealistic,” five-year project to end homelessness. The 41 year old billionaire prince, whose wealth is topped up by tax paying UK citizens, rightly stated that homelessness should not exist in a “modern and progressive society” and added that the Prince of Wales’s charitable foundation…
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Foot-shooting frenzy: US keeps stoking the flames of war with China (video)
Call it what you will: Shooting yourself in the foot, scoring an own goal, or simply provoking a bear in a cage with a big stick, the United States continues to stoke the flames of war with China. A day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, in a bid to ease tensions between the…
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An unlikely alliance: China and Palestine join forces, stirring US tensions (video)
In a move sure to infuriate the powers that be in the United States, China and Palestine yesterday agreed to establish a strategic partnership and seek to find solutions to peace and the “legitimate national rights” of the Arab state oppressed by Israel. Chinese President Xi Jinping yesterday welcomed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas with full military honours at the Great…
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Andrew Tate’s first serious interview since his release racks up 5 million views in just 24 hours
Internet personality Andrew Tate, known for his controversial statements and actions, has blown up YouTube with his first ‘proper’ interview since being released on house arrest alongside his brother, Tristan. And who better to conduct the interview, none other than the rising media superstar, Patrick Bet-David. Patrick and his Valuetainment media company were the first to interview Tate after being…
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A question that matters: What is a woman?
The question that had so many politicians stumped recently, a question that five years ago would make you think, why are you asking me such an obvious question? Well, it’s not 2018 anymore and the definition of a woman is no longer based on chromosomes and one’s ability to menstruate and mother a child. As we see in the recent…
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Is Leo Prinsloo the bravest person you know?
There’s something about those white South African guys that seems to make them much thicker-skinned than the rest of us. Perhaps it’s the fact that they live in a much more violent country than most, with South Africa’s crime rate being one of the highest in the world. Or maybe it’s because so many of them seem to work as…
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Can the BBC ever recover from their latest humiliation?
The supposedly politically neutral British national broadcaster has taken the humiliating action of offering a grovelling apology to their politically biased football presenter, Gary Lineker. This action is likely to enrage a significant portion of the BBC’s reluctant license payers, many of whom are now likely to reconsider renewing their TV License if they weren’t already. The BBC charges every…
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No chance of parole for Bangkok’s imprisoned gorilla
After the latest round of public outcry, authorities claim for the umpteenth time that little can be done about gorilla Bua Noi, 33 years old, confined to a small cell in a Bangkok shopping mall. According to Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa, the owners are free to continue doing as they please with the beast they have kept…
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Not so smug now – expat life in the grip of Truss
If you are British, and an expat, one of the few things you used to feel smug about was the government “back home.” The nutters may occasionally take over the asylum, but it’s a good strong asylum, fit for purpose. Mother of parliaments. The United Kingdom doesn’t usually have generals taking charge, water cannons in the streets, movie-star presidents or…
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No more Mr Nice Guy – dazed Putin seeks to emulate US glory in Vietnam
The United States had been secretly bombing Cambodia for years, though it wasn’t much of a secret to the Cambodians when The New York Times exposed the practice in May 1969. President Richard Nixon and national security advisor Henry Kissinger believed they had a game changer that would bring the victory the army failed to deliver, but of course, they…
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Goodbye, adios, good riddance Thailand Pass – OPINION
From today, July 1, there is no more Thailand Pass. The digital online pre-travel registration for people coming into Thailand has had a checkered history and left a bad taste in the north of many foreigners, and Thais, who have had a poor experience with the digital gateway. After the launch of the Phuket Sandbox on July 1, 2021 –…
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From Pattaya with Love, or How To Win Friends and Taser People!
A training session held last week on Wednesday, June 22, on Jomtien Beach has convinced anyone that public relations are not a strong characteristic in the ranks of the Pattaya Police. Thanks to Adam and The Pattaya News for the video and pics. The display was an apparent demonstration of the skills of Pattaya police to be able to handle…
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Flip a coin – bumpy ride for the crypto-faithful
The following is a news opinion and NOT financial advice. If you’re into trading or investing in cryptocurrencies you already know it’s been a rocky ride. Just one roller coaster crypto-ride – Bitcoin – stands out since it hit a peak on November 8 last year. And has tanked 70% of its perceived value since. Today the online crypto-gurus are…
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July 1 – Thailand more open than ever
OPINION On July 1, Thailand will be more open that it’s been since April 2020 when the boom gates first came down on the borders, locking out international travel. Since then it’s been a tedious and drawn out lessening of restrictions, with a few stumbles on the way. That finishes in just 11 days time as the country rids itself…
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Thailand tourism, innovate or die – OPINION
Red flags are flying in Thai tourism circles as the expected wave of international travellers is failing to materialise in the expected numbers. With the post-April 1 and Songkran ‘surge’ out of the way, the daily arrivals have been ‘flat’. So the TAT say they’re pivoting their marketing to short-haul tourism as the long-haul markets and traditional travellers to Thailand…
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Where Thai locals go for a happy ending
Thailand has a numerous amount of convenient and simple places to go to if you want a quick lovemaking session. There are literally hundreds of “erotic entertainment venues” in the Land of Smiles that locals like to frequent. It’s not because they dislike areas such as Soi Cowboy, Nana Plaza, or Patpong in Bangkok, or the walking streets of Phuket…
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Political fallout from the Bangkok governor election – OPINION
The winner of the Bangkok Governor election wouldn’t normally get so many headlines except that this election did, and there’s a few reasons why, and some take aways for everyone after the results became apparent yesterday. Really, the polls have been so clear on this election, the actual poll ended up a mere formality. Although the Election Commission has not…
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Happy Coup Day Thailand – 8 year anniversary of the 2014 military coup – OPINION
Yes, it was today, 8 years ago, today, when the elected PM Yingluck Shinawatra and her Pheu Thai government was unceremoniously dumped in yet another Thai military coup. The Thai army, under the pleasant name of the National Council for Peace and Order, argued that they had to seize power from the elected government to break a legal and political…
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Thai government unleashes the fear machine for Songkran – OPINION
Today a popular English-language news outlet led with a story that quotes Dr Suwannachai Wattanayingcharoenchai, DG of the Department of Health, who claims the public health ministry is forecasting daily Covid infections could hit 100,000 after Songkran this year. The Thai public health ministry, headed up by Minister and deputy PM, Anutin Charnvirakul, has taken a random stab in the…
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Travel in 2022 – how Russia is reshaping the world’s travel industry
Russians were the most visible travellers heading to Thailand post February 1, 2022, when the Thailand Pass Test & Go option was rebooted. Even with its 2 days of pre-booked SHA+ quarantine and PCR tests, along with US$50,000 Covid insurance (which has since been reduced to $20,000), the Russian travellers were delighted to jump on a plane and take the…
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Thailand’s long road back to ’normal’
OPINION Thailand is lagging behind the rest of the world with its turn tackling the Omicron variants of the coronavirus. The sudden surge, peaking, then dropping numbers of cases that define the waves of Omicron around the world have had their peaks at different times, in different countries. For the world, the peak was on January 21, for the US…
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The tale of two Covids – the world diverges
OPINION There are two Covid conversations going on at the same time, depending where you live in the world. In one Covid universe, countries are lowering restrictions, reopening borders, letting their citizens walk around with out face masks and, generally, get on with things. In the parallel Covid universe, countries are gingerly re-opening their borders but still with restrictions, expensive…
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Bangkok is back – Thailand’s capital roars back to life
OPINION Before the pandemic, Bangkok was the most-visited city on the planet – a thriving hive of energy and activity which attracted over 22 million international visitors per year. Then, without warning, it all went quiet. Now, following the reboot of the Test & Go re-entry into Thailand on February 1, 2022, Bangkok is back. The city is welcoming the…
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Intentionally catching Omicron is a really stupid idea
OPINION “Why not just catch Omicron and get it over with? It’s a mild cold and will boost immunity, right?” Not a day goes past when the opinion is expressed widely, and often, on various social media around the world, where they mix their school biology classes with various theories on the internet and come up with a “cunning idea”.…
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OPINION: Test and Go, up and gone, where to from here Thailand?
OPINION A crazy day in The Thaiger office as we pushed out all the latest Test & Go Thailand Pass info as fast as we could, translated and checked. I forgot a number of important meetings as we knew people wanted to know what was happening with the Thailand Pass. We wanted to know too as we are also directly…
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“All Thais are equal but some are more equal than others”
OPINION “We decided to adopt this system, so we must have confidence in the democratic system.” Words from the Thai Parliamentary president Chuan Leekpai urging, or willing, the Thai voters not to “become disheartened with the current state of Thai politics” and to have “confidence in the democratic system”. The democratic system? Constitution Day was on Friday as Thais commemorate…
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Bangkok is back – Thailand’s capital roars back into gear
OPINION Before the pandemic, Bangkok was the most-visited city on the planet – a thriving hive of energy and activity which attracted over 22 million international visitors per year. Then, without warning, it all went quiet. Now, following the long-awaited reopening of Thailand’s borders on November 1, 2021, Bangkok is back. The city is welcoming the world’s travellers once again,…
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Banking on a Shinawatra revival – Pheu Thai kicks off their 2023 election campaign
No surprise, despite some conservative media painting it as a shock political move. The official announcement of Paethongtan Shinawatra’s role at in the Pheu Thai election machine as “chief adviser in participation and innovation” has been spoken about for the past month. The return of a ‘Shinawatra’ – the former fugitive PM’s youngest daughter no less – will re-focus additional…
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Killing off retirement opportunities in Thailand – OPINION
OPINION Quite clearly the Government has simply not thought through the impact of the insurance provisions imposed by the Thailand Pass on “budget tourists” and likewise on current and prospective retirees in Thailand. The sobering reality is that it is well nigh impossible for individuals, 70 years and above, to obtain health insurance other than at exorbitant rates. The insurance…
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