Ever check those of the U.S. Congre$$, you hypocritical, agenda-pushing, demonizing pos?
"Thai prime minister, an ex-general, is millionaire"
BANGKOK (AP) — Asset disclosures by members of Thailand's military-dominated post-coup Cabinet reveal they are quite well-off, a trait shared with the civilian politicians they accused of corruption.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission on Friday released the asset declarations of the 33 Cabinet ministers, 25 of whom are millionaires in dollar terms.
Allegations of corruption and inappropriately gained wealth have played a major role in the country's fractious politics in the last decade.
In AmeriKa, both parties work for them.
The current government has made fighting corruption a priority, though its critics believe the policy is being wielded mainly as a weapon against its political rivals, particularly those connected to the elected government it ousted.
Thank God AmeriKa doesn't have such fractiou$ politics.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who as army commander led a May coup d'etat, listed $3.9 million in assets and $20,000 in liabilities. He also reported the transfer of $14.3 million to other family members.
Before his retirement at the end of September, the general received a $43,000 annual salary as army chief.
The richest Cabinet minister is Deputy Prime Minister Pridiyathorn Devekula with $42.3 million of declared assets, mostly stocks, other financial investments and land. He also holds lifetime memberships in five golf clubs. The former Bank of Thailand governor does not have any debts.
Pridiyathorn's fortune is dwarfed by that of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who listed more than $3 billion in assets during his 2001-2006 governments.
In other words, the US-backed prick stole a lot more.
Thaksin was ousted in an earlier military coup after being accused of corruption. He was convicted on a conflict of interest charge in 2008 but fled the country to escape jail.
Did you see how many times they used coup?
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I don't know about you, but I think the Globe's coverage of Thailand $tinks. Sorry.
I gue$$ it's just greedy Asians, huh?
"Asia finds money brings happiness, according to survey" Associated Press October 31, 2014
SINGAPORE — Emerging Asian nations are finding out what developed ones did years ago: Money — and the stuff it buys — brings happiness.
I was told my whole life it does not -- by those that have it and are accumulating more. Go figure.
And the buying of stuff can provide a high like drugs, gambling, or any other vice used to excess. There is your happine$$. It usually wears off about the time you open the credit card bill.
Levels of self-reported well-being in fast-growing nations like Indonesia, China, and Malaysia now rival those in the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom, according to a Pew Research Center global survey released Friday.
Yeah, agenda-pushing Pew $tinks in more ways than one.
The pollsters asked people in 43 countries to place themselves on a ‘‘ladder of life,’’ with the top rung representing the best possible life and the bottom the worst.
But the data also suggested that there is a limit to how much happiness money can buy. For example, 56 percent of Malaysians rated their life a ‘‘seven’’ or higher on the ladder, significantly more than the 36 percent in Bangladesh, a poor country. Yet the public in Germany, which has far higher gross domestic product per capita than Malaysia, expressed a satisfaction level of 60 percent, just 4 percentage points more than Malaysia.
While wealth is clearly important to happiness, other research has indicated it is far from the only factor.
What? $ince when?
Women tend to be happier than men, for example, and unmarried and middle-aged people tend to report lower levels of well-being than married and younger people, respectively.
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Would you expect the pre$$ of the 1% to say anything different?
Asian greed must explain this next item because this quality is sure to follow:
"SAT score delay in China, South Korea has students on edge" by Edward Wong and Richard Pérez-Peña | New York Times October 31, 2014
BEIJING — The announcement by administrators of the SAT college entrance test that scores are being withheld for students from China and South Korea who took the exam this month has infuriated many and raised anxiety about what for a number of them is a high-stakes college application process.
The Educational Testing Service, the company that administers the test worldwide, said Wednesday that it was withholding the scores of those who took the test on Oct. 11, at least temporarily, because of suspicions of cheating “based on specific, reliable information.”
Yeah, greed will do that to a per$on.
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Related: Hong Kong protesters suggest talks with Beijing
Those umbrellas are Made in U.S.A. What a switch, huh?
Politician who called for Hong Kong leader’s resignation is formally penalized
Did that help?
Ex-general admits taking bribes, China says
China doesn't pay cost plus?
Chinese official allegedly hides $33M in bribes
He escaped by a whi$ker and is now on the run:
"SUVs gain new worldwide following; Downsizing, gas efficiency cited" by Dee-Ann Durbin | Associated Press October 28, 2014
DETROIT — Once a hulking symbol of American excess, sport utility vehicles are quickly becoming the world’s favorite way to get around.
It’s a surprising rebirth for a vehicle that was the subject of obituaries when gas prices spiked in 2008. Automakers won back customers by making smaller, more fuel-efficient SUVs that also appealed to newly wealthy buyers in Asia and South America and former skeptics in Europe.
Indian drivers want SUVs to navigate rough roads. In China, they’re a status symbol. European and American baby boomers buy SUVs because they’re easier to climb in and out of. Upwardly mobile Brazilian families like their spaciousness.
Earlier this year, SUVs overtook four-door sedans for the first time as the most popular vehicle for individual buyers in the United States. By 2018, analysts expect China to be the biggest market for SUVs.
‘‘The SUV genie is out of the bottle. They’ve been discovered by enough people that you’ll never put them back,’’ said Karl Brauer, a senior analyst at the car-buying site Kelley Blue Book.
**********
Automakers are finding some surprising converts. France — where environmentalists used to roam the streets slashing SUV tires — is second only to China in the growth of SUVs. Turkey is third.
Shrinking the SUV — and making it more fuel-efficient — was the key to saving it....
The new crop of tiny SUVs is small enough to appeal to buyers in emerging markets but nice enough for downsizing buyers in Europe and North America. That’s good for automakers, who save money by designing one vehicle that suits many different customers.
With smaller size comes better fuel economy, another lure for buyers....
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‘‘It’s the car everybody wants.’’
