haroldc

"German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has worked with Ivanka on related issues, dismissed the kerfuffle at a news conference after the G20 summit ended.  'The delegations decide who will sit at the table if the president isn’t there, which can happen from time to time. And Ivanka belongs to the U.S. delegation,' Merkel said, noting other delegations do the same thing. 'It’s well known that she works in the White House and is responsible for several initiatives,' Merkel said."

Once again, mainstream media focuses on anything that they can twist into an excuse to denigrate President Trump.

In 1983 I received a Master's Degree from the Joint Program in Religion of Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary.  Although my field of concentration was Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, the curriculum required coursework in all the world's major (and a number of minor) religions, including Islam.  At that time, Islamist terrorism had not yet become a global phenomenon.  Nevertheless, after reading the Qur'an, I could only conclude that it propounded and condoned actions that were condemned by every other religion that I had studied.  Therefore, I do not see the horrific events that are now occurring regularly as being unexpected or inexplicable, but rather inevitable.

As for the effect of Islamic immigration on non-Islamic societies, as another member of this forum recommended, listen to Enoch Powell's 1968 "Rivers of Blood" speech (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MtIF6tw-Io).  Although the migrant populations to which he was referring were, for the most part, non-Islamic, the issues that he raised are equally, if not more so, applicable.

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

Makes no sense. They're private citizens. trump is to so called president. He's supposed to be working for the citizens.

Makes perfect sense.  The protesters want to know if President Trump is not working for the best interests of the United States.  Why should we not know if the protesters are not working for the best interests of the United States?  What's good for the goose should be good for the gander...

Perhaps all these protesters should release all their tax returns before demanding that President Trump releases his.  As Mr. Dinkin said: "Without seeing his [their] taxes, we'll never really know who he's [they are] working for."

Does anyone know if there is a taxi service at Buriram Airport that would go to A. Sikhoraphum in Surin?

Thank you for your assistance.

Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced photo studio for a family portrait?

Thank you for your assistance. 

The muscles in my right leg have weakened (a side effect of treatment for cancer) to the extent that I can no longer stand up or walk without assistance.

Does anyone know of a physiotherapist in Bangkok who makes home visits?  It is very difficult for me to go to a hospital for physiotherapy because I do not have a car and thus need to arrange transportation that can accommodate a wheelchair, someone to accompany me, etc.

Its about time the USA stopped kowtowing to the Chinese - a viscous, repressive regime intent on establishing a pan-Asian hegemony.  BRAVO!!!

Does anyone know of a company in Bangkok that has an emergency medical alert button service for an elderly person?

Where can I get nicotine patches in Bangkok?

18 hours ago, thurien said:

 

so they are Chinese ?!

One may already have refugee status in India (and some sort of Indian travel document).  They other two probably escaped from Tibet and crossed over into India as they have stateless person documents (which can't be used for travel),  They are not Chinese - and like most Tibetans, probably have no desire to live under the Chinese occupation.

The names of all three are Tibetan.

The technology-based company I work for has subsidiaries in Thailand and Laos - we're tripling the size of our Lao office and reducing staff in our Thailand office.  Our Lao employees are more productive.

Security cameras show the shooter walking into the mall with no weapon.  Ten minutes later he has a rifle.  Where did he get the rife?

17 hours ago, Sheryl said:

18 hours ago, haroldc said:

The Mayor of NYC says that it's not linked to international terrorism?  Did he recently get a lobotomy?

 

Read the articles, the title is misleading. The mayor did not say any such thing.

The governor said “At this time there is no evidence of an international terrorism connection with this incident- but it is very, very early in the investigation”. The operative words being “at this time” “no evidence” and “international”.

The mayor said ““It was intentional. It was a violent act. It was certainly a criminal act. It was a bombing. That’s what we know” and, later: “"We're going to be very careful and patient to get to the full truth here…We have more work to do to be able to say what kind of motivation was behind this”. He at no time said it was not linked to international terrorism.  he is refraining from drawing conclusions until the evidence is in.

No-one has stated it was not terrorism.

Personally I doubt an international group did it as (1) too small in scale for them and (2) none have claimed “credit”. But could very well be home-grown terrorists. These could have been Muslim fundamentalists but could also have had different motivations/agendas as well. It is too soon to say.

It should be obvious by now to anyone who hasn't been lobotomized by political correctness that when something like this happens THE INITIAL ASSUMPTION SHOULD ALWAYS BE ISLAMIC TERRORISM.

The Mayor of NYC says that it's not linked to international terrorism?  Did he recently get a lobotomy?

4 minutes ago, anotheruser said:

 

There should in reality be no problem whether he is on site, signs documents, or even picks up a fricking hammer. He should be allowed to work period. There is no reason this job should be prohibited under the law. These laws are outdated and ridiculous. 

 

Before anybody jumps up about work permits, yes, sure you should have one but under these laws they are impossible to obtain for his work. These laws need to go. Period.

I agree completely -- its a major reason why my company's headquarters was moved to Singapore.  You still need a work permit, but for professionals the process is almost automatic.

5 hours ago, anotheruser said:

 

I am going to guess with a project like this the architect would have been on the site once or twice.

No problem with his being on site occasionally or even periodically, as long as he doesn't actually work as an architect -- not even signing a document.  He can attend meetings and go on tours, anything he wants except working (with or without remuneration) as an architect.  They company I work for has many overseas consultants and contractors who cannot actually work IN Thailand.

This is all nonsense.  A foreigner cannot work as an architect in Thailand, There is no law that says architectural services cannot be purchased from a non-Thai person or company if those services are performed outside of Thailand.

1 hour ago, NickJ said:

Plus sized is not pc?  What would work then? A few bars in C, la- la.-la large? 

How about fat or overweight?  More PC bullshit... 

17 minutes ago, prakhonchai nick said:

 

Around 6 million Isaan voters work in Bangkok. They could only vote if they returned to their villages. They didn't. In previous general elections, they had their fares paid to return home and received money from political parties for voting for them. Didn't happen this time. No incentive to come home and vote.

 

Not true.  There was an opportunity for all voters living other than in their home districts to register for distance voting during the period 1 May - 30 June.

33 minutes ago, MyFrenU said:

Plastic Copper then,Tourist Police?

No, "nakwittyakorn piset" in Thai - translates roughly as "special adviser."

1 minute ago, Chapelroad said:

 

Your consultations to numerous governmental bodies over 8 years, does not seem to have helped the country. 

Well, the job of a consultant is to analyze and advise.  Whether the advice is taken or not is entirely up to the client.

8 hours ago, Mudcrab said:

Or any knowledge at all...just cut and paste

FYI, the information that I provided has nothing to do with "cut and paste."  It is based on my direct experience and knowledge gained during 28 years of living and working in in Thailand and Laos, including 8 years as a consultant to numerous Thai governmental bodies, including the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Royal Thai Police.

Consider the issue with regard to under-18 sex workers from Laos...  Outside of Vientiane province, some 50% of women have had their first sexual experience at age 15 or younger (read the UN and health-related NGO reports).  With some of the minority groups, the Akha for example, it is customary for girls to be initiated into sexual intercourse shortly after their first menstruation, as early as age 11, after which they are considered to be adults.

The minimum wage in Laos is currently 900,000 kip per month (about  3,600 baht), up from 626,000 kip (about 2,500 baht) prior to 2015.  Of course, the minimum wage only applies to workers in formally operated factories and businesses.  The most one can expect to make working in a small, local business is about 1,500 baht per month.

Even in the most rural areas, they know that it is possible to make far more money selling sex in Thailand.  The first step is to make contact with a broker - some are referred by a friend, some meet a recruiter who travels from village to village.  For 25-50,000 baht (this will be a debt, and the amount depends on the broker's estimate of the girl's potential income), the broker arranges for a Lao identity card showing her age as 18 and then a passport.  The girl is then escorted across the border to her first workplace in Thailand with a 30 day visa on arrival.  The first workplace is usually in a province bordering Laos.  The girl starts working and for the first months the manager holds most of the service fees (75-80%) to repay the debt to the broker.  If the girl gets tips, she can keep them or use all or part to repay the debt more quickly.  Every 30 days, the girl goes back to Laos for a few days and then returns to Thailand with another 30 day visa.  Once the debt has been repaid, the girl is a free agent and typically gets 50% of the service fee.  If she wants to move to a different workplace to be with friends or relatives, or where there is the possibility of making more money, she needs to pay an exit fee of 10-15,000 baht after which she will be placed at the new venue.  If the new venue is high-end, she may also need to pay an entrance fee.  Or she can pay the exit fee, stop working, and go back to Laos.  If she leaves a venue without paying the exit fee, she won't be able to get work in Thailand again (the business is very well organized).

There is no "sex-slavery" or deception involved. The girls who decide to take this route know in advance exactly how it works and do so of their own free will.

Note that none of the above applies to Burmese or Cambodian sex-workers in Thailand, nor does it apply to sex-workers who are placed in countries other than Thailand --   these are different businesses of which I have no knowledge.