Steely Dan

One thing you can't accuse the Egyptians of is subtlety, they are kind enough to let everyone know they plan to attack Israel well in advance.

http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2011/08/egypt-muslims-vow-anti-israel-million-man-march-coptic-churches-reject-call-for-massive-anti-israel-.html

After the PAD - Democrat divorce comes the P.T - Red shirt divorce. I look forward to see who takes 'personal responsibility' for the banged up redshirts.

People that fear social development projects such as education and public health?

Funny you should mention that but Boko Haram is local parlance for western education is forbidden.

She's an adult. She did a very radical thing. She ran for and won the PM position in Thailand when it appears to many rational eyes that she has no qualifications, no formed ideology or political convictions (except family loyalty), no experience or even any visible real desire to perform as a PM. No special sympathy because she's a pretty lady. If this wasn't an acceptable "role" for her to "act" in, it was her responsibility to decline. Why give her a pass? She asked for this.

There is also the issue that her complete lack of relevant experience twinned with her fugitive from justice brother seeming to control things makes Thailand into a bit of a laughing stock. I suspect world events and the small matter of a double dip recession means even a seasoned captain would be hard pressed not to come unstuck. My wife doesn't know whether to despair at Thai politics or buy shares in the phone companies as calls overseas should be one growth area judging by Yingluck's first performance.

Well, Although Islam doesn't approve such violence, it is very easy to mislead vacuum-headed idiots to violence which unfortunately happens easier in Islam community.

How long Thailand will show tolerance to this? There should be a limit in everything, including tolerance.

Thailand is not alone, this is a world wide problem. I first read of this news looking at the bigger picture - and here indeed is the bigger picture, though I suspect it will be removed as telling the truth about some things is not allowed, and that doesn't just apply to Thailand either.

http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/

2011.08.25 (Yala, Thailand) - A 3-year-old girl and her father are shot to death by Holy Warriors.

You go to war because you have to; not because you want to. You don't fight someone just because you can beat them.

Because we don't like Iran, or agree with it's policies is not a good reason to go to war with them.

Bush's Iraq fiasco left a country in complete shambles and distracted everyone from more significant problems.

As for Cheny's book, I think I'd rather read the phone book than something he has written.

I would agree, you only should go to war if you have to, by that logic the removal of an already neutered Gadaffi was just as stupid as removing a neutered Saddam Hussein, so the Obama administration have no high ground on that front, nor do they with respect to the number of U.S casualties in Afghanistan which are overwhelmingly worse under the current administration than the previous one. The neocons may have been a kneejerk reaction to 9/11, but I would suggest Obama's actions with respect to cutting Mubarak loose and frankly appeasing Iran on every issue have caused far more damage to world stability than the Bush administration did.

So had the Israelis not bombed the Syrian reactor as Cheney advised Bush to we may now have found ourselves in a situation where Syria had nuclear capability in danger of falling into the hands of the Muslim brotherhood. I would agree his Vietnam 'record' does sound hypocritical but look where appeasement got us with Iran, and should a war with Iran become inevitable, as I suspect it will, you can tot up the cost of fighting that war years ago against a probably far greater cost of doing so against an Iran who are constantly building up their capabilities as well as those of their terrorist network.

What's Thai for gottle of gear?

Looks like the quick jihadists can't even be bothered waiting till September.

http://www.debka.com/article/21236/

Israel-Egyptian frontier units went on peak alert Wednesday night, Aug. 24, following specific intelligence that Palestinian Jihad Islami was preparing to launch another cross-border terrorist attack on Israel from Sinai.

To relate this to the ceasefire being broken groups other than Hamas are looking for a fight either via Gaza or direct from Sinai, probably close to both in the hope of dragging Egypt into this.

The renegade leader has repeatedly said that the <deleted> should pursue independence in Mindanao, home to some four million Muslims in a region of about 18 million mostly Christian inhabitants.

So naturally the rights of the 4 million Muslims should supercede those of the 18 million Christians there who are subjected to the 7th century savagery that Islamic separatists seem to hold so dear.

P.S They should really get a new acronym if they want to be taken seriously, <deleted> does not seem very Islamic according to Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/<deleted>

If camfrog was anything to go by perhaps the concern is that older 'kids' will themselves produce 'improper material'.

You are absolutely correct. Many here fail to see that this kind of action by Thais are not directed towards farangs, but towards anyone who has money.

Mariage in Thailand is just a matter of money, love doesn't count here. Getting married for Thais is like securing assets. Most of Thai women (because they won't be the ones bringing the money at home) make sure they will have enough property for themselves if they were to divorce after their "expiry date". They do this with farangs, but they also do this to thai men too. There's no discrimination here.

I've seen many of these "arrangements" in purely thai mariages... and sometimes with the roles reversed (the husband securing some assets in case of separation)... but that's much more rare.

You can, however, find Thai women who don't play in this scheme. I know some. But it's pretty rare, as thai men do not give a great example of trustworthiness, the girls assume by default that they are going to be cheated on, one day or another.

I would tend to agree, Buddhist culture was born out of Hindu culture and though the caste system is less explicit for Buddhism I think there is still an ingrained belief that the best way to make money is to take it from someone who has more. Farrang often fit the having more criteria and the fact the law also favours Thais is just the cherry on the cake.

I've read some pretty inane stuff here on TV, some of it posted by yours truly (I love reading my own posts once I get sober). But this is award-winning inanity, so, kudos.

To go from: Buddhism derives from Hinduism which has a cast system straight to "there is still an ingrained belief [among Buddhists/Hindus?] that the best way to make money is to take it from someone who has more" is bizarre reasoning. I can only assume that you've had some bad Sambuca (been there) and will wake up tomorrow and chuckle at your own post, the way I often do at mine.

T

Nope, I'm sober now as I was when I posted originally. Starting at the top we have the special surnames followed by the army generals then the new money Chinese Thais then the educated middle class then the rest. Thailand is a rigidly hierarchical system which differs from the Hindu caste system only in that money will let you move up the ladder - and here is the rub, education is pitiful for most, wages are low and corruption maintains the status quo. This means realistically a sudden windfall is about the only way to escape from the bottom rungs of the ladder, Thais know this only so well which is why imho they are so preoccupied with magical thinking, lotteries and rich benefactors witting or unwitting.

Another NATO country that thinks it can bomb anybody it wants, anywhere it wants. Ought to be interesting when some of those American supplied Turkish munitions fall on Americans in Iraq.

NATO has nothing to do with this, Turkey have been violently suppressing their Kurdish minority for decades. They are probably taking action now knowing nobody will criticize as a big favour is required of them when war with Syria starts.

Can't they think of something less dangerous to do such as base jumping?

Whichever way you stack it we have military pygmies fighting a war by proxy based on excuses rather than reasons.

http://frontpagemag.com/2011/08/23/a-lovely-little-nato-intervention/

Any farang that puts 22 rai of land in the name of a Thai wife is insane. Do you think she married that old goat for love and companionship ? Thais marry all farang for money...nothing else.

to be fair I don't think Thais discriminate here..... one example, the 45 year old brother of my (Thai) girlfriend recently married a very cute 23year old Thai girl, he has a lot of rubber trees making about 200,000Bht every month, she made it very clear that if he doesn't give her a good part of this to her and her side of the family every month then she's off back to mummy.....

You are absolutely correct. Many here fail to see that this kind of action by Thais are not directed towards farangs, but towards anyone who has money.

Mariage in Thailand is just a matter of money, love doesn't count here. Getting married for Thais is like securing assets. Most of Thai women (because they won't be the ones bringing the money at home) make sure they will have enough property for themselves if they were to divorce after their "expiry date". They do this with farangs, but they also do this to thai men too. There's no discrimination here.

I've seen many of these "arrangements" in purely thai mariages... and sometimes with the roles reversed (the husband securing some assets in case of separation)... but that's much more rare.

You can, however, find Thai women who don't play in this scheme. I know some. But it's pretty rare, as thai men do not give a great example of trustworthiness, the girls assume by default that they are going to be cheated on, one day or another.

I would tend to agree, Buddhist culture was born out of Hindu culture and though the caste system is less explicit for Buddhism I think there is still an ingrained belief that the best way to make money is to take it from someone who has more. Farrang often fit the having more criteria and the fact the law also favours Thais is just the cherry on the cake.

Serious problem, according to The Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre, Sbpac then there was more than 7500 terrorist attacks in the 8 years leading up to January 2011, and in this past month of July , more than 50 people were killed. Past policies did not work, cannot really see any other way forward than to give the 3 restive provinces some kind of autonomy .

You need to ask yourself exactly what 'autonomy' would entail. If it's Sharia law then I can't see any Buddhists agreeing to the explicit discrimination that entails. You either get rid of the problem lock stock and barrel by paying the Buddhist population to be relocated elsewhere or you fight a perpetual guerrilla war as the demands will not stop even if concessions are made.

According to whom? Surely you aren't relying on the US govt for anything truthful.

In your quest to compare the U.S with the most odious regimes on earth perhaps you should think carefully about throwing stones in glass houses. How many Abo's do you think got wobbleboarded for going walkabout on white owned farmland?

Is this a thread on Aus aborigines? I don't seem to recal anyone justifying what happened to aborigines in the past, in fact our govt apologised for the treatment they received in the past.

I think it is quite pertinent to compare the US to Iran as it is Hilary making comment. I didn't know the oz govt commented on this issue so I don't see the point you are making about glass houses.

In Iran the hikers were brought to court and received a sentence. How many in Gitmo have been afforded that luxury? How long have they been held without charge? How many have been allowed to see a lawyer? How many of their families don't even know they are there? How many are tortured on the orders of GWB.

Seems a bit rich for Hilary to be throwing stones at other countries when her own country doesn't exactly play nice.

This has no more to do with Gitmo than it does to the treatment of the Australian Aborigines that's my point. To conjoin the two is to follow Iran's commentary hook line and sinker. They are trying to make political capital out of the naive actions of three backpackers. The admitted waterboarding of a couple of prisoners at Gitmo pales into insignificance compared to the Sharia human rights nightmare of Iran complete with stonings for adultery or amputations for theft.

And though waterboarding and the like is also not strictly relevant I prefer the views of one of your fellow Australian politicians who said on a talkshow.

"If hooking up one rag head terrorist prisoner's testicles to a car battery to get the truth out of the lying little camel shagger will save just one Australian life, then I have only three things to say: Red is positive, Black is negative, and make sure his nuts are wet."

Thanks JT, but I am still wondering if legally they can call for the extradition of someone who has served his time and been released--regardless of the grounds.

The 'grounds' were as I recall 'humanitarian' due to ill health for which you can read furthered British business interests. I know the U.S was rightly annoyed by his release and since release I seem to recall he made a miraculous recovery.

Putting on my tinfoil hat for a moment I can scarcely think of a better way to undermine the west than creating a power vacuum in a nation which was hitherto a major oil supplier for europe whilst also opening up yet another military front at a time when Iran is threatening to start a major war with Israel using Syria as a platform. Whoever could conceive of such a plan would be an idiot of the first order or more likely a quisling.

"NATO and Obama and mostly the Libyan rebels themselves deserve the credit"

You make it sound like they are all on the same side.

No I don't. The point is that Europe and America supported the rebels in their war to overthrow Quadaffi. The rebels will have their own government and outside countries will continue to offer support, if they want it.

I'm pretty sure outside Countries will offer support, but not the ones some might have hoped for.

And a voice was heard from above saying 'dam_n missed.'

A new Libyan rebel government isn't even in place yet! Quadaffi is STILL in Libya. Fighters there are dying right now. And yet this two faced chameleon republican president wanna be goes GRANDSTANDING to ALREADY make demands! It's obvious what he is doing. NATO and Obama and mostly the Libyan rebels themselves deserve the credit, and this central casting faux president is trying to steal the show. The implication is that Obama is "weak" and would not demand the thing he is demanding at the proper time and place. I find this political game Romney is playing with this totally disgusting.

"NATO and Obama and mostly the Libyan rebels themselves deserve the credit"

You make it sound like they are all on the same side.

Killing infidels does not actually have any sanction prescribed in Sharia law, I think this is a good one to push to see exactly which way the wind is blowing - I think this is why the Republicans would be well advised to push this issue very hard indeed.

According to whom? Surely you aren't relying on the US govt for anything truthful.

In your quest to compare the U.S with the most odious regimes on earth perhaps you should think carefully about throwing stones in glass houses. How many Abo's do you think got wobbleboarded for going walkabout on white owned farmland?