The NegativeThe Spin More violence. The deterioration of the situation in the South and the increase in terrorist attacks in Bangkok. Also, the Slapfest Index, which measures how many times women got slapped on prime time television from 6-8pm, showed a real spike in September.Better cocktails. It used to be really hard to get anything more complex than a screwdriver outside Soi 11. Now, every noodle stall has a mixologist consulting for them, and you can order a yadong-infused Old Fashioned with your bamee. So stop bitching, woman, and get us another drink.More censorship. Just Google “video of exasperated Thai teacher destroying her student’s Blackberry” and you may get a big fat block page courtesy of the Cyber-Police Crime Division.The baht is stronger than ever. Shopping in New York has never been this cheap. Heck, why not go to Greece, and snicker at their Third World living standards as you shower yourself in Euros.Ineffective government. The 3.9G Thailand Human DNA Conference. The Map Tha Put industrial projects. The Ukranian armored personnel carriers. There’s not a deal we can’t botch.There have been some really strong urbanism projects of late: K. Village, Paradise Park, Crystal Design Center, the Mahanakorn condo. Finally, our dream of traversing the whole city without ever stepping outside a mall edges nearer.Worsening diplomatic relations. The USA isn’t too happy about us running a bidding war for Victor Bout. And Cambodia wants Preah Vihear to turn it into a Korean casino (we have secret recordings of Hun Sen discussing this with Super Junior).Ikea is coming, and maybe Uniqlo, too. Krispy Kreme and Dean & Deluca just opened. We already have Top Shop and Zara. 7-Eleven sells wine, everyone knows how to fix an espresso and pronounce “a la carte.” That’s all the global relationships we need.