beautifulthailand99

The proprietor tried to kick out my wife and I when we went to eat there in 2003. I showed her my business card and there were huge apologies and a fine table was found. I lived just don the road at Soi Ruam Rudee. It was quite a place.

He was part of the old Thailand like this place now fading into obscurity. I used to buy the Nation and Bangkok Post every day - religiously, and consume them like a ravenous creature. Those were the days.

Blimey, the things you learn. Probably asked to have it done himself so he could crawl back here, tail between his legs. Cap doffing on the way.

Ditto

You've got a wrong apostrophe there - I assume you are referring to the plural, as there were 2 of them. So "Tossers" would be correct. You'll thank me for it on your deathbed.

Slightly different, the monks are fed by their local populaces and don't as such get public money or have any direct representation in the Parliament and don't fight (a few corrupt bad apples excepted). And yes Thailand is occupying the 4 southern provinces 'gifted' by the British for a railway from Singapore to Burma and the unrest has elements of that in it to this day, but it's relatively quiet at the moment , I visit there regularly as my wife is from Yala so know it well. I don't hate the Haredi far from it and why would I - they are Torah scholars who refuse to fight and have the good fortune that the Israeli state keeps them in clover to study their ancient texts. Harmless enough but can an Israel fighting for its life support this burden particularly with their large families that keep ever growing ?

He's got to keep his alliance of nutjobs together. They won't work, and they won't join the army but can probably tell you how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. https://archive.is/Zvp5t Even before the war with Hamas erupted last year, the almost complete absence from the military of the fast-growing Haredi community — who make up an eighth of Israel’s population and are expected to account for a quarter by 2050 — had long been a point of contention among the rest of Jewish Israeli society, where at least 24 months of obligatory military service is a rite of passage. But with Israel fighting its longest war since its foundation in 1948, Yosef’s comments sparked criticism from allies and opponents alike, and laid bare the simmering tensions over the issue in Netanyahu’s coalition, which contains both ultraorthodox parties such as Shas and hawkish ex-soldiers determined to abolish the exemption.

BTW there is an excellent new 1 hour long documentary out on Al-Jazeera called October 7th that critically analyses the timeline of the day in detail and with numerous experts both Israeli and international to determine what we can and cannot know about that fateful day and isn't afraid to condemn both Hamas and the IDF.

Have read reports that the original target was the uber-nationalist singer Shaman and Putin fan who was playing at Crocus at the weekend the US warned about. With increased security they called it off and here we are.

She's a good-looking tall blonde women. Just saying - 500 baht you say.Hmmmm

Well he does and since this was an official meeting I suggest that he should have done further due diligence before breaking probably was what a meeting had in confidence. His scant details lead me to think he is trying to smear the US State Department here in the Israeli press in order to try and stymie counter narratives of IDF committing sexual crimes take root. What war teaches us is that brutalised men do brutal things in the execution of it. Just look at Vietnam for instance and all should be unequivocally condemned.

Fair enuff as good answer even for a scouser, I come from Preston, and we regard you guys with suspicion ! I used to love Alan Beswick who used you troll you guys on local radio.

Well if you don't doubt the veracity of The Brig Gen - then a State Department Official said that to him in the State Department therefore on official business and reported in an authoritative source the Jerusalem Post - there's a case to answer at the very least unless you want to smear female US officials as somehow in the pay of Hamas. But then as the whole of the UN is smeared now whither the truth ? The BG can surely not know more than anyone else, especially so since he is retired and the State Department official is not. No wonder that for Joe Biden the premise that everyone but Israel is lying is wearing pretty thin all round. Even their British foul mouthpiece Elon Levy was suspended for his daily fact free diatribes.

https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-793420 IDF Brig.-Gen. (res.) Amir Avivi met with the holder of the Israeli-Palestinian portfolio at the US State Department, who accused Israel of "systematically" sexually abusing Palestinian woman, the general explained in an interview on 103FM. Recounting his meeting, he explained, "It was a meeting that shook me. We sat there, talked about the situation, and suddenly she accused Israel of systematically sexually abusing Palestinian women."

And yet it seems you left Blighty for such a place. Forgive me if I called wrong.

Most of our Thai friends and contacts in the UK are desperate for Thai staff - working holidays under the radar would be a big thing for sure.

Do we know it's hidden for sure ?

Are you acquainted with the noted paintings of Anthony Hancock the celebrated existentialist painter ?

Your paintings and writings look very good I fear though you are too erudite and educated for this declining cess pit of washed up expat humanity. Turn back now before all is lost.

He was briefly a mod at the 'other place' - much hilarity ensued !

I can see why Thai babes would get him.

We should post our old wizened faces to compare - you first !

He looks like this btw so I would hazard a guess, greying, bald beer-bellied old geezers wouldn't get the same response.

Shame Cuba wasn't left in peace to develop its own alternative to rapacious US corrupt control pre Castro of Chile under Allende for that matter. Backyards and borders matter to superpowers. Meddle with them at your peril. Kennedy was actually prepared to nuke Russia - contemplate that.

The risks and costs are significant - not least that other autocracies will read the runes and realise their assets could be sequestrated if they fall foul of western sentiment and take out and avoid European sovereign funds. The intention is to create a bond which will be traded using the frozen assets as security, and these bonds will be traded - the funds released are a loan and debt to Ukraine not a gift. Now if these bond issues fail to raise the funds necessary on the open markets and most seasoned investors and institutions will avoid them like the plague (though I'm sure some of the Ukrainian supporters will be keen to invest some of their retirement funds in them !) then central banks become the buyer of last resort, buying them again with QE money further debauching western currencies. They can cause massive damage on European banks. Here are global funds stuck in Russia - they will all take enforced haircuts. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/stranded-assets-how-many-billions-are-stuck-russia-2022-03-03/ Not quite 300 billion, but the difference is that the 130 some billion is private assets, and holders won’t even be able to sue Russia for confiscating it. Raffeissen would probably need money from the government to stay afloat if they have to compensate their customers. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/14/eu-profit-frozen-russian-assets-ukraine The move is likely to be met with retaliation in Moscow before and after the end of the war, and officials think some of the money should be held in Euroclear as a defence buffer for any future court costs. “We need a significant amount in Euroclear … because Euroclear will face a lot of claims,” the official said. Russian courts do not recognise western sanctions and could move to seize €33bn in Euroclear’s assets held in national securities in Moscow This has been covered in the rand's Corporation excellent report Avoiding a Long War - my money's on it as sabre-rattling to bring Russia to the negotiating table rather than a firm policy intention. https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PEA2510-1.html The United States, the European Union, and other partners imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia, including the freezing of more than $300 billion in Russian central bank assets and the imposition of export controls that will severely limit the country's future growth. Thus far, U.S. sanctions have largely been framed as a punishment for Russia's actions, not as a tool to affect Russia's behavior and bring it to the table. As Daniel Drezner has pointed out, the United States and its partners have not been explicit about "what Russia can do to get the sanctions lifted." The "lack of clarity undermines coercive bargaining, because the targeted actor believes that sanctions will stay in place no matter what they do."[68] The promise of sanctions relief contributed to Iran's willingness to negotiate over its nuclear program and conclude the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2015 and to Libya's agreement to renounce weapons of mass destruction in 2003.[69] Although not perfect analogies, these experiences suggest the plausibility of using the promise of conditional sanctions relief, as part of a package of policies, to influence a rival's calculations.