#Poll #pledges 'not sustainable'🧐
"According to #TDRI, #policies pledged by te 5 largest parties with strongest chances of forming a #government: People's Party, Pheu Thai, Bhumjaithai, Klatham & Democrat cld cost🇹🇭 up to THB740bil/yr.. proposals r designed to appeal to #voters r "easy to promise, but difficult to deliver".. criticised "overly #optimistic #assumptions" abt funding sources, & the use of off-budget financing thru SOEs, state-owned banks & special funds"🤔
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/3188940/poll-pledges-not-sustainable

Life #insurance for #depression on the cards
🧐"According to #Thailand's Department of #Mental #Health, more than 1.5 million people aged 18 through #retirement age -- or around 17% of te population -- are living with depression. Of every 100 patients, only 28 are able to access #treatment.. Thailand recorded an average of 6 #suicide attempts per hour, or more than 53,000 attempts a year, with around 4,000 #deaths, making suicide one of te country's leading #causesofdeath"
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/3189130/life-insurance-for-depression-on-the-cards

Instant commerce reshaping #Thai #retail
Natee S brand lead #CocaCola 🇹🇭, said te traditional fight for "share of shelf" has shifted to "share of attention" on phone screens.. brands need to invest in 3 areas. 1st is #visibility by dominating screens.. also invest in #searchability by optimising te right people to find prods.. "Marketers must stop #marketing only to #consumers & start market'g to te #algorithms & systems tt serve those consumers" Natee said"🤦‍♂️
#sick #cringe
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/3188363/instant-commerce-reshaping-thai-retail

#BangkokPost - #Survey shows #Japanese #companies optimistic🧐
"Despite optimism, Japanese firms highlighted #challenges requiring #government #action, including #labour shortages, rising #energy #costs, #household #debt and #inefficiencies in tax audits and refunds. They also urged improvements in #transport #infrastructure to strengthen #competitiveness."

🤔These are valid and long-standing structural & societal problems in #Thailand - what has been done? #BOI #tonedeaf
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/3189045/survey-shows-japanese-companies-optimistic

#China bans hidden car door handles in #worldfirst safety #policy
💪"China has banned #concealed #door #handles on #EVs, becoming te 1st country to outlaw a design popularised by #Tesla tt's now facing #global #regulatory #scrutiny owing to a spate of #deadly incidents [at least 15 killed by Tesla!👇].. For carmakers, the door handle rules represent a historic shift in global #safety #standards, where #PRC (not #EU & #US) will increasingly be te dominant force"
#TeslaKills
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/china-bans-hidden-car-door-handles-in-world-first-safety-policy

'It wasn't working': #Canada province ends #drug #decriminalization
"BC's experience mirrors tt in US state of #Oregon which #rolledback its drug decriminalizatn prog in 2024 aft a 4-year trial.. A flashpoint moment in BC was a 2024 incident where a person was filmed smoking a narcotic inside Tim Hortons, popular coffee chain frequented by families.. Local politicians attributed te incident to a #permissiveness abt #drugs ushered in by decriminalization"
Don't try drugs✋️
https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/3187903/it-wasnt-working-canada-province-ends-drug-decriminalization

Who are ‘we’? Why some #Singaporeans bristle at ‘we first’ #inclusive #society call
🧐"user questioned why it was only “we first” on te benefits, such as high-paying jobs for #foreign talent & #tax breaks for #familyoffices, but not for speaking English & #nationalservice, referring to 🇸🇬males undergoing mandatory 2yr #military training.. te reaction speaks to a desire for more #social #justice in terms of how equally rewards of economic growth r distributed within society"
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3341573/who-are-we-why-some-singaporeans-bristle-we-first-inclusive-society-call?utm_source=rss_feed

Latent #misogyny - isn't this is why #Japan keeps performing below its true potential?🤔

#Female #candidates account for #record 24.4% in Japan #lowerhouse poll
"still falls short of the goal of having nearly equal numbers of male & female candidates, as mandated by the country's #law promoting #gender #equality in #politics.. ruling Liberal Democratic Party put forward 43 women, or 12.8%🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ of 337 candidates. The number is down from 55, or 16.1%, in te 2024 election" #日本
https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/69476

Where have all #Thai #doctors gone?
"Private hospitals retain profitable, predictable cases while transfer'g complex, high-risk, resource-intensive #patients to state hospitals. Tis "cherry-picking" & cost-shift'g mean #public #hospitals r left w te sickest patients, te highest risks, & te heaviest burdens - w/o commensurate resources or manpower.. Public teaching hospitals shoulder cost of training Drs.. Once these mature into skilled specialists, many r recruited away"🤦‍♂️
https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/3184848/where-have-all-the-doctors-gone

#China #executes 11 linked to #Myanmar scam compounds
"criminal gangs, including “key members” involved in #telecom #scam operations, state media reported. #Fraud compounds have flourished in Myanmar’s lawless borderlands, part of a multibillion-dollar illicit industry.. thousands of people have been repatriated to China.. Crimes of te executed included “intentional #homicide, intentional injury, unlawful detention, fraud & #casino establishment”, report said"☠️
#exemplary
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/china-executes-11-linked-to-myanmar-scam-compounds

Esto debería aplicarse en todos los países.
👏👏👏👏👏

RE: https://mastodon.social/@CAPETOK/115974583542270253

When will #Israel #JailNetanyahu or is it really a banana republic run by a #dictator?🤦‍♂️

Old rules hurting #Thai #economy
🧐"Tariffs r only part of te prob. Other trade barriers, such as a quota system, often do more harm.. under #Thailand–China #FTA, fully built EVs fr #China enter duty-free, while key components face tariffs. Tt discourages local production.. Lax #environmental & #health rules hv turned🇹🇭 into a destination for #polluting #factories relocating fr countries w stricter controls.. #Competition #law is weak esp'ly in telecoms & digital platforms"
https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/3184903/old-rules-hurting-the-thai-economy

#Japan’s top #university apologises over #bribery #scandal
"Sato is suspected of accepting favours fr #Tokyo gp exploring business opportunities in te use of #cannabidiol for skin products. Japan #Cosmetic Assoc wanted to conduct a joint study on #CBD, hoping to use te university’s prestige & show te product’s effectiveness on skin conditions.. Univ Pres Fujii acknowledged Tokyo prosecutors were investigat'g a former asoc prof of #dermatology who worked w Sato"🧐 #CBDlobby
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/japans-top-university-apologises-over-bribery-scandal

#LetterOfTheWeek
Forum: Do more to help victims of #creditcard #fraud
"affected consumers r expected to file a police report, obtain a formal rejection letter fr te bank, escalate te case to Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Ctr, possibly report it to #MAS, & even consider te Small Claims Tribunal.. process is lengthy, complex & daunting🤦‍♂️.. With #scams & fraudulent activities rising rapidly in #Singapore, I believe our #consumer #protection framework needs to evolve"
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/forum/forum-do-more-to-help-victims-of-credit-card-fraud

@CAPETOK 🏆
Pimp this clip up by changing the music to Bonnie Tyler's "I need a hero"😉

#German Economists Call For Full Repatriation✅️ of Germany's #Gold Held in US Amid Colossal Loss of #Trust
🧐"US’ gold holdings hvn't been subjected to a comprehensive #audit since 1950s🤦‍♂️.. Germany has te 2nd largest gold #reserves in te world, ~3,550 tons, ~half r stored abroad. 1,236 tons r held at Federal Reserve Bank New York while another 405 tons are held at BoE.. nearly ¾ of German public now see US as an #unreliable partner (most recent ARD-Deutschland trend poll)"
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2026/01/german-economists-recommend-full-repatriation-of-german-gold-held-in-us-amid-colossal-loss-of-trust.html

More #young adults, teens in #Singapore being diagnosed with #cancer
“Researchers hv identified a ‘birth cohort effect’ ..” Dr Poon said.. someone born in 1990 is 4 times more likely to develop colorectal cancer cf w someone born in 1950, she noted.. emerging evidence points to changes in the #earlylife #exposome as likely contributing #factors. These incl te rise in #ultraprocessed #foods, #obesity, sedentary lifestyles & alterations to the gut #microbiome" #health 🧐⚕️
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/more-young-adults-teens-in-singapore-being-diagnosed-with-cancer

#NUS team launches #AI #headset to help #visually #impaired commute, shop
"AiSee can detect te #bus stop users are at thru GPS.. The device draws bus arrival timings from LTA’s database, providing users w an est'd arrival time for the bus of their choice.. users can speak to #AiSee to book a private-hire ride & receive verbal alerts when te car arrives.. AiSee’s #opensource code allows developers to build their own hands-free, screen-free applications"🏆
#UsefulTech #SG60
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/i-wont-have-to-trouble-anyone-nus-team-launches-ai-headset-to-help-visually-impaired-commute-shop

RE: https://hachyderm.io/@oswaldosrm/115955641914849921

This timelapse of yesterday's monumental (all puns intended! 😉) #freesolo climb by #AlexHonnold up the #Taipei101 skyscraper in #Taipei #Taiwan makes us feel that spiderman does exist amongst us and that he's a very special #humanbeing - #exceptional ! 👏👏👏🏆
#TaiwanRocks #臺灣酷 #臺北101