Showing 1 - 10 of 88
Restraint is needed
News, Published on 04/06/2015
» Eric Bahrt, “Balance lacking” (PostBag, June 3), extols the processes of law under a democratic system.
Electric daydreaming
News, Published on 06/06/2015
» The photo of the test run of the electric-powered No.511 bus (BP, June 3) caught my attention, not for the design of the bus itself, but for the sign on the front proclaiming the bus to be “0 Emissions”.
Naked emperor
News, Published on 11/06/2015
» As a willing guest of the Thai country for several years now I am well aware of my insignificant place in the scheme of things political here. However, as a locally taxed business and family man I also believe I have the right to comment on the latest political parade.
Sink the submarines
News, Published on 27/06/2015
» We should sink our plans to splurge 36 billion baht on two submarines.
Give them a say
News, Published on 03/07/2015
» A friend said these are “special times”, and so we should condone using a dictatorship to take us to democracy, that the junta’s heavy hand is better than the chaos we had.
Tackle graft first
News, Postbag, Published on 01/09/2015
» Re: "Democracy doesn't mean graft", (PostBag, Aug 30).
Web grinds to a halt
News, Postbag, Published on 24/10/2015
» Just recently all foreign websites have become incredibly slow in Rayong. It is not possible any more to watch a news video on the website of my European newspaper and streaming coverage of the stock exchange is also lagging. Is the internet not workable any more for foreigners? How can a foreign company work here?
The TEFL challenge
News, Postbag, Published on 14/11/2015
» The initiative to train Thai teachers in TEFL teaching to reduce the reliance on foreign teachers sounds promising, but the Ministry of Education is missing the point. English language tuition here is driven by the commercial sector, with parents paying enormous levies for their children to learn from native speakers, preferably Westerners. In other words, they expect a "white face" for their hard-earned baht. It’s superficial, and explains why there’s widespread discrimination against qualified Philippine teachers who work for lower wages, en masse, and solve the problem. But the TCT now expects them to have a Master's in Education before licensing them. In May, there was a crisis-like TEFL teacher shortage, which caused the industry to become flooded with gap-year students qualified with cheap "online" TEFL certificates. Those trained properly with a 120-hour practicum-driven course generally do a better job than locals, and teach using modern and effective methods. Thai teachers clearly have their work cut out for them if they are to compete.
Bridge goes too far
News, Postbag, Published on 06/02/2016
» News of the armed raid in Pattaya by a group of soldiers, police and district officials on a bunch of mostly old-age pensioners has gone viral.