Neeranam

18 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

It is coming, in fact my bank, SCB already use blockchain tech. for cross border remittances. 

They use stablecoins now but a few years back used XRP for remittances between Japan and Thailand. US and Mexico also had/have such a corridor using XRP. 

 

Also, a Former Finance Minister who told me personally that everything will be digital very soon. 

 

Trump also is on the ball in this areas -  

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/23/trump-signs-executive-order-on-crypto-digital-asset-stockpile.html

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to promote the advancement of cryptocurrencies in the U.S. and to work toward potentially developing a national digital asset stockpile.

2 hours ago, Guavaman said:

The fungibility dilemma -- only solvable using digital funds with blockchain for tracking or some such system.  

It is coming, in fact my bank, SCB already use blockchain tech. for cross border remittances. 

They use stablecoins now but a few years back used XRP for remittances between Japan and Thailand. US and Mexico also had/have such a corridor using XRP. 

Also, a Former Finance Minister who told me personally that everything will be digital very soon. 

16 hours ago, NoDisplayName said:

.unless TRD continue to have us self-determine assessablility of remittances

this is what the rule is

Damn, I remember how big a hero he was in 1996. 

I remember meeting him when I was in Khon Kaen and he seemed like a nice, humble guy.

I heard from a reliable source, he is NOT going to jail, which isn't at all surprising if you know the police in that area. 

15 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

He was Afghani - Afghanistan is an overwhelmingly Muslim country with Sunni Muslims accounting for approximately 85-90% of the population and Shia Muslims for approximately 10-15% of the population. 

 

So yes, absolutely I am 'stating' that there is an overwhelming probability that he was Muslim and mostly likely Sunni Muslim....   

What about the percentages of those who have fled Afghanistan? You'll find that very different; the one who are other religions or non practising Muslims.  It's weird the number I talk to who say they are not affiliated with a religion, despite coming from a Christian country, yet brand all those from a Muslim country fanatics or fundamentalists, bizarre. 

11 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I believe immigration policy should be reformed to the point where it should be staged, and all Muslim families should show a willingness to assimilate. I also believe that families with Muslim daughters who are teenagers can start by proving that they have participated in a bikini contest, and for teenage boys they must show a burden of proof that they're not affiliated with any of the local madrasas. 

You are joking I hope?

What you write is  intolerant and discriminatory nonsense  that goes against the fundamental principles of equality, freedom, and non-discrimination which we have in both the UK and US Constitutions.

What else do you suggest, forcing Hindus to eat Beef or other religions bacon?

As an immigrant yourself, I truly hope you are making a poor attempt at humour only. 

9 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

The relationship between the Saudis and extremism is not merely one of affinity. The Saudi government and Saudi individuals have directly supported terrorist groups in the Middle East and beyond. 

Do you think these terrorist groups were formed in a vacuum or was there some kind of resistance to foreign invasion/occupation/Colonialism?

On 1/21/2025 at 4:21 PM, Purdey said:

I am interested to know how one finds out what locals pay as opposed to foreigners. Is there a dual language price list?

There is at Hua Hin hospital premium clinic. 

I make sure I read it carefully as they usually try to charge me the foreigner price when I'm actually Thai. 

4 minutes ago, James105 said:

You are doing it again though and trying to make it seem like christianity is in some way equivalent to islam.  In 1970s America gay people were not being thrown off of buildings.   You need to go back 500 years or so to when witches were being burned at stakes to find a comparable level of barbarism.   That is how far behind they are.   

 

Once again.  Imagine it was the "far right" doing these things.   Would you be trying to come up with equivalences from other groups to make it seem like they are not uniquely barbaric in this world?  Of course you wouldn't.  

You miss my original point. 

I was trying to emphasize that barbarism, intolerance/extremism are not unique to one religion, ideology, or culture. They are human things that can appear in various forms across different times/places. It's important to  address these issues  rather than framing them as exclusive to a single group.

If the far right were doing what? 

The adage that comes to my mind is "Hypocrisy is the compliment vice pays to virtue".

There is no need for the Trump administration to pay that compliment anymore, they don't have to be hypocritical, they just say what they feel. They don't have to be Fascist, they can get anything they want and do anything they want already through Congress and Senate, and judges who were chosen Constitutionally in the Supreme court. 

Dems don't have the right to denigrate/cancel those who they disagree with, call them hillbillies, rednecks etc. 

59 minutes ago, sungod said:

Nothing to do with Islamophobia, that's just an excuse you use as you got nothing else. People just dont like terrorism which is predominantly committed by Muslims.

Excuse for what?

1 minute ago, James105 said:

 

You realize that is the old testament stuff and christianity was reformed over 500 years ago?  Islam is 500 years behind which is why it is so incompatible with the west.  If christianity was in the same barbaric place as Islam then perhaps you would have a point.  But it isn't.  So you don't.  

 

Islam is barbaric.  There are death penalties for apostasy.  Women in every single muslim country are at best second class citizens.  Gay people are still getting thrown off buildings for being gay.  Women are being stoned to death for being raped.  Why do you appease and revere this backwards ideology?  Try and imagine it was the "far right" that were doing these things and how you would feel about it.  

I do not appease and revere this ideology!

I agree with you Islam is behind Christianity by a few hundred years. 

Mind you, homosexuality was still considered a mental illness by the American Psychiatric society in the 1970s! 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/hide-and-seek/201509/when-homosexuality-stopped-being-a-mental-disorder#:~:text=Key points,fall out of the DSM.

Cultures change. 

I was making a point by someone quoting the Quran. 

11 minutes ago, sungod said:

 

Something little more recent for you, and global.They are all Muslim.

 

I'll forgive you if you delete your post as it looks rather foolish.

 

https://www.visionofhumanity.org/deadliest-terror-groups-in-2024/

Hmm, that site is owned by Steve Killelea, who says.

Fewer terrorism deaths in the West

In 2023, the US accounted for 76% of terrorism-related deaths in Western democracies, amid a 15-year low in incidents.

Terrorism incidents in Western democracies recorded a drop of 55% compared to the previous year. There were 23 attacks that resulted in 21 fatalities, marking a 15-year low. However, the US recorded 76% of these fatalities from seven attacks. Five of these attacks were linked to individuals with far-right beliefs yet none had an affiliation with a far-right group.

Ten countries account for most deaths

Terrorist activity remains highly concentrated in a small number of countries, with just ten countries accounting for 87% of all terrorism deaths in 2023. These include Burkina Faso, Israel, Mali, Pakistan, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Nigeria, Myanmar, and Niger.

https://defsec.net.nz/2024/05/31/global-terrorism-index-2024/

3 hours ago, proton said:

 

For telling the truth?

Surah 47.4

47:4 So when you meet those who disbelieve strike [their] necks until, when you have inflicted slaughter upon them,

 

 

That's as ridiculous as saying all Christians take these words to heart about infidels.

Deuteronomy 13:6-10  

"If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, 'Let us go and worship other gods' ... do not yield to them or listen to them. Show them no pity. Do not spare them or shield them. You must certainly put them to death. Your hand must be the first in putting them to death, and then the hands of all the people. Stone them to death, because they tried to turn you away from the Lord your God."

10 minutes ago, proton said:

 

Quotes from the Quran are not insulting, this is what is preached and what they follow, or dod you think they get their inspiration from the Readers Digest?

I could quote similar things from your lot! 

Like the Word of God given to Moses?

Deuteronomy 20:16-18: "However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them.

Numbers 31:17-18:

"Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man."

1 minute ago, richard_smith237 said:

but make no mistake, its (nearly) all illegal.....  with the exception of those who have moved there with solid employable skills who do move and have made a better life. 

Same as us lot here, many are using agents to bribe immigration officers to bypass immigration requirements. 

46 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Given my working environment and nationals I am exposed to I have been on friendly terms with many nationals from various countries famed for their 'immigration and seeking of asylum to the UK.... 

 

... The patterns are nearly always the same...

 

... Many educated asylum seekers are able to secure decent work and actually seem to contribute well to society. 

... others have secured business which may or may not fly close to the law, however, they provide jobs and pay taxes.

... then theres a strong majority who do very little and are able to secure funds and healthcare, they overstay visas, they lie about their true nationality, they smuggle, they are involved in smuggling others...  the stories are wide spread amongst the people I've associated with (and yes, had beers with too - as many are not as strict about that as we may be believe).

 

.... The one very firm constant... none of these colleagues or acquaintances mentioned anything at all of female asylum seekers...   They are ALL males, working or obtaining money where they can and sending it back. 

 

They are NOT in the UK due to persecution in their home countries....  they are in the UK purely for financial reasons - the friends of the folk I'd call passing acquaintances and a few I'd call friends are in the UK simply because they can be.....

 

The 'only group' who do seem to be genuine are those who have established themselves professionally and integrated into society, they don't live in Bayswater or other decrepit armpits of the UK etc they live in areas such as Leeds, Coventry, Cambridge etc... 

 

 

 

Nothing wrong with that, you and I have emigrated for a better life.

3 hours ago, proton said:

 

For telling the truth?

Surah 47.4

47:4 So when you meet those who disbelieve strike [their] necks until, when you have inflicted slaughter upon them,

 

 

Shame on you for posting such off topic quotes in an attempt to insult all Muslims.  I would have thought it is against forum rules

3 minutes ago, proton said:

 

The truth is not bigotry, he was a muslim terrorist killing with a knife, possibly crazy but more likely inspired by his faith, Afgahnistan was not successfully colonised by anyone, so you can forget that excuse.

US, Occupation, Pipeline, Al Queda formation reason, Middle East. Come on man, it's not a hard puzzle to fit together. I never said it was colonized although some say it was. Al Queda was not formed in a vaccuum. 

3 hours ago, James105 said:

 

The racists, the Nazi's (if they even exist nowadays) and anti-democrats are not killing little kids with knives on a regular basis.  Only one group is doing that and it is always islam.   It has shown time and time again it is completely incompatible with western culture. 

 

I wish it was the nazi's or the racists that were doing this as if it was there would be no stone left unturned to eradicate it from society, but since it's muslims that means nothing will be done and the tiresome appeasers continue to come out in force with their "what about the Nazi's" nonsense.  

Unbelievable how you can be so naive and brainwashable. 

8 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

While meditating in the temple grounds I have had some aha! moments, once coming out of meditation, for a few seconds, I knew that the trees were aware of my presence, I spoke with the Abbot about this....he thought it was quite normal, and once I encountered such bliss and peace for 5 seconds I shouted WTF was that! Usually however I get nothing from meditating even though, very unusual for a lay person, I can clear the mind completely of thought at will without any technique, even while walking, not even background clutter.

Lucky you! 

I had one when shaking the Dalai Lama's hand, and another when going to one of the few Brahma temples in India in Pushkar. But for another thread or forum 😉

7 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

I've read the teachings of Nisargadatta (complicated and needs repeated readings) and looked at Ramana Maharshi whose message and method is simple and I have used it with some success but it was nothing I didn't know already, Papaji who is the same as Ramana.

Interesting, I plan to visit his town in South India this year and walk around the mountain there. 

6 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

I've listened to some Eckhard Tolle but not in this context. Neither of my parents or my grandparents (all white and British) were christened, we were a heathen lot, doomed to everlasting fire no doubt.

 

 

"Many misunderstandings and false beliefs about Christ will clear if you realize that there is no past or future Christ. To say that Christ was or will be is a contradiction in terms. Jesus was. He was a man who lived two thousand years ago and realized divine presence, his true nature. And so he said, 'Before Abraham was, I am.' He did not say, 'I already existed before Abraham was born.' That would have meant that he was still within the dimension of time and form identity.

Thus, the man Jesus became Christ, a vehicle for pure consciousness.

The second coming of Christ is a transformation of human consciousness, a shift from time to presence, from thinking to pure consciousness, not the arrival of some man or woman. If 'Christ' were to return tomorrow in some externalized form, what could he or she possibly say to you other than this: 'I am the Truth. I am divine presence. I am eternal life. I am within you. I am here. I am Now.'"

17 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Who happens to be Muslim at a time when such attacks appear to be religiously motivated rather than simple 'madness'... 

Are you assuming he was Muslim?

9 minutes ago, proton said:

 

My friend used to process asylum claims she said 95% were fake. Those claiming to be afghans today are mostly Pakistani or Bangladeshi with no grounds for an asylum claim, it's become a scam. Muslim terrorism has nothing to do with colonial history, and everything to do with thier religion.

I said nothing about terrorism. 

But, of course it is to do with Colonialism, to say otherwise confirms your bigotry.