willyumiii

A friend of mine stays at a resort in Kalasin. The owner told him the first year he made good money, and then everyone was building a resort and the second year he didn't do nearly as well. He said last year he barely broke even, but he said that's okay, because I don't have a loan, all my competitors have loans, they are struggling to pay the interest. I agree with Pianoman, a crash is coming, but I have been saying that for two years now. Obviously the finance community thinks different, because the baht is holding its own, if not rising against the US dollar, where just about every other currency is falling. It use to be that when the Canadian dollar fell against the US, it didn't really bother me, because the baht did too, so the Canadian dollar stayed the same against the baht. Not this time, my spending money is drying up quickly. It makes no sense to me. My experience is that usually when it makes no sense to me, I am right and the high finance guys are wrong. So I expect a crash in the next year, it may have already started, but will take some time until the banks get affected, and then some more time before the currency gets affected. I think I will be poor for the next year or two.

To the first part of your post...

That is Thai business logic.

If someone has a good idea and starts a successful business,

Soon there will 8 or 10 copycats within one kilometer.

So many, no one business makes any money.

I can not count how many times I have seen this happen in Thailand.

Sometimes the competing businesses are side by side!

To address the second part of your post...

My money is American.

For the time being, I am feeling o.k.

But, things change in America every time they change leaders.

The next regime may turn the banks lose like GW did and destroy the economy again...

Then I will worry...again.

I don't see where it implies that they are only promoting it to Thai tourist.

I would prefer no tourist come north. Yes, I am a nimby.( Not In My Backyard )

But promoting it to Thai tourist is better than promoting it to foreign tourist.

Better to keep tourist like them in the south where they have already done their damage.

Way too many foreign tourist are under the misconception that if most bar girls in the south came from Esaan, then all the girls in Esaan are available to tourist.

They are not.

I foresee big problems if foreign tourists are lured north.

I prefer the Thai tourist who may have difficulty keeping their car on the road to the foreigners who have difficulty keeping their pants on!

If he's happy, who cares?

I must agree.

Drunk or not...

<deleted> or not....

He has the same right to post on TV as any of us.

The problem is with those who do not like him.

If you do not like someone's posts...

Don't read them!

Don't waste your time and TV space coming on here just to whine about him!!

The are more posts here about the Op than there are about the topic!!

It's cos Thai is tonal.

If you sing your sentences in English you won't stutter either.

AOA:

Can you elaborate on this theory at all?

From an English standpoint, there seems to be plenty of opportunities to stutter in Thai as well.

I know I sometimes stutter in Thai, mostly when I'm struggling to find a word.

Can't sing and stutter, it's one of the therapies they use to stop stuttering.

Sing everything, seems to work.

http://www.coloradostutteringtherapy.com/additional_info/facts.htm

http://manpreetstammers.blogspot.com/2009/10/why-we-dont-stutter-while-singing.html

"Klaas Bakker says,

Singing differs in many ways from natural speech, and so any physical difference of singing could be part of the explanation of why you don't stutter (as much). When someone sings, or speaks in a sing songy manner, you may bypass some of the brain centers you typically use for speaking (I don't think people sing from the right brain entirely though). When you sing, usually much of the expression is in how you produce the vowels of your speech (they have a certain pitch, intensity and duration, while their stress is related to a rhythimical pattern). All of this could explain why there is less stuttering. Finally, often singing involves speech already formulated by someone else, so it comes from memory. However, if you speak in a sing songy manner, like you described, obviously you are still in control of that. These would be some of my first thoughts looking for an explanation. But any explanation would still need more research to definitely tell."

Agree!!! I had a so-called "nervous" stutter when a child and a speech therapist encouraged me to speak in a sort of "sing-song" style.

Then, when I found I could pronounce my words that way, i found I was able to pronounce them in the usual way too. That proves there was no physical problem and why I described it as a "nervous" stutter - which still happens, 50 years later if I'm under stress or very tired.

A lot of "impediments" are actually psychosomatic rather than purely physical..

A further thought: Could that be why different cultures with different thought processes suffer from different impediments in different ways?

I am looking forward to seeing you and your lady walking down the street singing to each other like Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland in some old 1940s musical!

I miss the good old days!

Nope...7/11....Southland Corp. Bought out by the Japanese.....Kfc.....well , another one...pepsi...coke....I think the list is endless........Even the automotive industry.....where does it end ...indeed ?. No country in the World has the right to assert dominance no matter what century.....No 7/11's in the UK. Thats the bar.....forget the Godforsaken golden arches.....or Starcraps........or the ability of one nation to pretty much shape the face of the World....

lets all get together at the UN and elect another nation to take old Lady Liberies Place....

Are you o.k.?

Do you need a doctor?

Or maybe just an education...

" The right to assert domination" belongs to whoever has the motivation and resources to achieve that position.

It is not a position anyone has ever been elected to, it is a position that is earned. This is not high school, and popularity contest do not apply here.

This is the real world and a capitalistic world.

The strength and power of any business is determined by the number of people who choose to use and support that business.

Did you really think an organization like the UN has any influence over this at all?

People like you scare me Nick.

Someone should be taking care of you and I do not think anyone wants the task.

I have seen the local "white squirrels" leap more then 10 meters from limb to limb, but do not think they have the 'webbing" of a real flying squirrel.

Anyone know the real name of the white ones? Look a lot like the Douglas Squirrel of California, but are as white as a ghost.

A lot in my area. I watch their antics every morning.

Colour alone will not identify the species as many species are the same colour as others and a number of species come in a variety of colours. However unless you live in the middle of protected forest, the squirrels you see will almost certainly belong to the genus Callosciurus. This genus is known in English as the beautiful tree squirrels. 6 species occur in Thailand.

They will have a go at some spectacular leaps and they sometimes miss resulting in a tumble. After which they usually go back and try it again surprisingly.

They are acrobatic clowns of a sort. Especially when playing in the tall bamboo.

They will climb out to the end of a branch until it bends almost to where they want to go and then leap.

It's pretty entertaining.

They also travel long distances on the high voltage transmission lines.

Thanks for the information.

I have seen the local "white squirrels" leap more then 10 meters from limb to limb, but do not think they have the 'webbing" of a real flying squirrel.

Anyone know the real name of the white ones? Look a lot like the Douglas Squirrel of California, but are as white as a ghost.

A lot in my area. I watch their antics every morning.

So if a look kung is half a person what does that make us falangs,zero?

In many cases,

not even a zero,

not even a number...

only three letters....A T M ! 555

Willy, I stand by what I say, maybe I put things a bit strongly, I have gone through my life without any criminal convictions, and have obeyed most laws, there is common sense involved here too, and I have never, and would never do anything that has a negative effect on the ordinary people.

I will give you an example, though I can only refer to the UK here. Do you honestly believe that any self employed person pays the correct amount of income tax on their earnings? The very people who make the laws are breaking them all the time, what is for the goose is for the gander, if you are a working class person from the UK, you will know what I mean.

As for my school, I had a normal education and left school at sixteen, I had respect for most teachers, but there were also a minority I did not have respect for.

Interesting..

I honestly believe that honest people pay their taxes, all of their taxes.

It seems you did not respect your teachers and school enough to finish your education.

Thanks, now I understand your attitude a little better.

The only change from the old rules, as far as I can see, is that the provision for purchasing "bulk" quantities outside the prescribed hours is now against the rules. This will affect businesses not the average punter.

Of course enforcement is another matter entirely.

I agree.

That seems to be the only change from the old law.

A law that has always been ignored in my area by all except Seven eleven and Tesco.

Nothing has changed for the "average Joe".

The school has a rule that the kids get hair cuts, what's the big deal?

There's plenty big deal, no one should have any right to dictate to others about the length of their hair. School is for education, not for people to decide how a students hairstyle should be.

As an adult, I have other people telling me what to do all my life. Society is full of rules, written and unwritten.

Why should children be excused from rules?

In the west the little darlings have been spoiled rotten and indulged, so much so that they grow up thinking society owes them everything, and it's a shock when they find out it doesn't.

An education should also be about life, and in life there are rules, period.

That's what's wrong with life, there are far too many rules, yes, some are necessary, some are not, personally, I am not going to start obeying other peoples rules if I don't agree with them. If you want to, then why bother getting out of bed in the morning? As for your 'little darlings' some are spoiled rotten as you say, mostly rich kids, and some are not.

I get the impression that you don't like kids, and I agree with you that education should also be about life, but what has that got to do with young boys getting their heads shaved. it's ridicules, so I suppose we will have to agree to disagree on this.

What a childish, selfish and irresponsible statement!

Very few if any laws and rules are agreed on by everyone.

But they need to be followed by all.

Those with your attitude and break laws they disagree with will eventually end up being incarcerated, fined or punished in some way.

If people only followed the rules they agree with, the world would be in chaos.

This is the kind of dangerous attitude children who are not taught respect and discipline in school grow up with.

If you strongly disagree with a rule or law, you should work to change that rule or law, not disobey it.

What kind of school did you go to???

Actually, I believe it is translated to " half person", not half blood.

Not so nice huh?

But they do seem to be adored and by Thais.

Many of their most popular TV, movie, and music celebrities are half farang.

They love the tall nose and light skin.

My daughter is one ( not a celebrity ) and it is almost a problem that she is so popular.

Actually she is kind of a celebrity. People she does not know and has never met know her name and insist on talking to her.

While driving down the road, Thai people yell out her name and wave to her.

She is only 6 years old and this does make her pretty uncomfortable.

First, it depends a lot on where you choose to live.

I live on the extreme outer edge of a good sized town and it is very quiet here.

When there are large celebrations in town, I can hear it off in the distance, but not very loud.

I have been told by Thai people that the location of my house is too quiet, and they could not live there.

Thai people are loud people and they like it that way.

The way they talk ( shout ), the way they listen to music, they even like their vehicles to be loud.

They are very social and get comfort from knowing others are in close proximity.

Have you ever noticed how people in rural areas live in villages clustered together and that it is rare to see a farm house isolated from others like you would see in many countries?

Most Thais are Animist and believe strongly in spirits and/ or ghosts.

They feel living in clustered villages provides protection from these spirits.

The only complaints I have ever heard about the noise level in Thailand is from non native people.

Years ago, a group of expats tried to get tuktuks banned in bangkok because they were so noisy.

There are still a lot of tuktuks in Bangkok.

Like you, I do not care for loud noises.

My solution was to consider this when deciding where to live.

The most popular Thai bashing forum in the world.

Full of disgruntled, disappointed expats who could not possibly be happy wherever they lived in the world.

TV ROCKS!!!!

It is common to eat rats in rural Thailand.

These rats live on rice and grains in the fields.

They are not the rats of the west who live in filth and eat garbage.

Without westerners like you poisoning them, they are a healthy source of protein for the indigenous people.

Who are you , with your preconceived western notion that they are filthy disease ridden rodents, to interfere with the indigenous life style that has worked well since long before you decided to grace these people with your "friendship

"?

Whatever poison you use will be far more harmful than her pet rats are!

Leave the old lady and her pet rats alone!!!

Signals from television here on earth also travel out through space.

What intelligent alien life would want to contact us after seeing that garbage??

This so intriguing, you can't expect aliens to converse in the same way we do. I hope they figure this out.

Our signals being sent out (in search of contact) are, by human logic, logic, ie binary "one plus one equals two" to try to show that there is intelligence transmitting and not some other phenomenon.

Any alien life (the rationale goes), if advanced enough to receive the signals, should be able to decipher, or at the very least recognise that there is a pattern and know that there is intelligence here.

It is imperative that these radio signals detected are analysed albeit they are of millisecond duration. Who knows....alien logic and thinking may take only a millisecond to convey.....conversely, all the bursts over the last decade should be analysed together as alien logic and thought may have sent one small message over a decade in several milisecond bursts.

Those signals should be analysed by chinese, Thai, African, etc., people to look for logic which is not "western"

Using western technology and equipment to analyse them no doubt!

You need to be analized! (spelling intentional )

The school has a rule that the kids get hair cuts, what's the big deal?

There's plenty big deal, no one should have any right to dictate to others about the length of their hair. School is for education, not for people to decide how a students hairstyle should be.

And a very important parts of that education should be discipline and respect for authority.

You are not well prepared for life as a responsible adult without them.

I honestly would not notice if they stuttered or not!

When I was about 10, I started to stutter a lot.

My father sat me down and told me to slow down and say everything to myself in my head before I said it vocally.

He told me that my brain was working faster than my mouth!

I took his advice and stopped stuttering immediately!

You might try that.

I found it very interesting when I read a study that said people who stutter, do not stutter when talking on the phone and do not stutter when talking to dogs and cats.

Is that true?

Choke dee!

oh, a new rule and you had to follow it?

Poor disgruntled Expat.

Other countries never change rules or expect you to follow them.

Silly old Thailand is just picking on you....again?

It was a law, but it was "relaxed" about two years ago.

Now it varies from school to school.

Up to the director.

When the law changed, I questioned the school about why my daughter still need to have her hair short.

"It is not a law, but it is a rule of this school," I was told.

They also told me it was done to help reduce the spread of head lice, and that is a major problem in Thai schools.

Since then we have relocated ( not because of the hair issue ).

At her new school, girls are permitted to grow their hair as long as they like, unless they have head lice, in which case they are required to cut their hair.

Also, as another poster mentioned, if your school requires short hair on girls and you do not cut it, the school will cut it.

I have seen the hair cuts the school gives and believe me...you will be wise to cut it yourself before they do it!

And no, you have no recourse if you do not like them cutting her hair....it is common in Thailand, you can't stop them.

So, my advice is : Cut it, or move to a school district that permits longer hair.

Permit me to ask a question of anybody that might wish to answer.

What do you think should happen if a militant branch of the Mexican government in Juarez, Mexico, began firing some 2,000 rockets into the city of El Paso, Texas?

Should the authorities of the city of El Paso, the state of Texas and the US government respond and what should that response be?

Your comments are solicited.

Edited to change "Drug cartels" to "a militant branch of the Mexican government".

Well a question/what if is fine .....but we would start at the beginning

Mexico would not have a grievance with the USA for stealing their land & blocking them like POW's in areas.

Nor would the USA be blocking their access to the sea

Nor would USA severely limit their imports of anything but weapons

Yet Israel does all those things. Limiting to basic supplies & at times not even that

As a sidebar this is what I found so funny about Morch claiming basically ........

"That Israel invests its best efforts to protect its citizens, and Hamas does nothing of the sort - is not debated"

Yet it is well known that the most severely restricted import is building materials of any kind. Especially

Concrete & Steel...Israel claims being they do not want Hamas to build shelters or tunnels

Mainly they do not want them rebuilding homes/cities they smash with bombs or bulldozers

in their ever greater quest for Israel expansion lands.

No country in the world that operates POW camp like blockades should be tolerated much less helped.

So basically to your what if the answer would be of course defend/return fire.

But again it would never happen as the US would not do what Israel does...

and yet our tax dollars in great quantities go to help these?

Maybe better to ask would the US fire on Mexico if Mexico did what Israel does?

Maybe Mexico grabs Texas & locks its people into areas denying them this or that

Should the US fire on Mexico? Should those locked in Texas seek revenge?

"Mexico would not have a grievance with the USA for stealing their land & blocking them like POW's in areas.

Nor would the USA be blocking their access to the sea"

Excuse me, but your knowledge of history seems to be severely limited!

The USA took Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and most of California from Mexico.

And yes, they did lose a lot of access to shipping from Texas and from California.

Have you ever heard of the ports of Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego?

Some pretty major deep water shipping ports there.

I could go further and start talking about the agriculture, and minerals ( California Gold ) and other things the U.S took from Mexico, but why bother?

Mexico was a very poor example for you to use!

God knows I am not in love with Russkies. And I do not like the Crimea business - yet another botched 'solution' by the West.

But insulting Lavrov and embracing Abbas on a Paris "walk of unity" against Terrorism was insane.

As insane as calling for restraint, understanding and acceptance of hysterically roaring "Death to Infidels" out of control mobs of Muslims.

How about when they saved Europe from Hitler with their bombing?

It seems their bombs stopped Japan as well.

Where are you fro and what has your country done to save anyone else..or even yourselves?

Just wondering...

Well, willyumiii, I have heard these arguments before...

Before repeating nonsense about saving Europe, you may consider a few facts:

1) compare the figures of lives lost in action for Brits, Russkies and Americans;

2) compare the economic positions for the same Trio at the end of war, say May '45;

3) compare the dates of declaration of war with Hitler with the dates of significant actions/battles;

As for bombing Japan - if I were you I wouldn't mention it.

A shameful act on the face of USA!

Dropping two A-bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki non-combatant population!

At the time when Hitler was finished!

At the time when Japan was practically defeated and in total blockade!

Even up till now - despite all the rhetorics in the World - USA remains the only country that used A-bombs on people!

The use of those atomic bombs are what ended the war and saves countless Japanese and American lives.

A land invasion of Japan would have been much more costly for both sides.

The US is the only country to use atomic bombs on an enemy.

The US was the only country who developed the bomb, as with many other major developments, the rest of the world copied what the US developed with their skill and at their expense.

The use of those two bomb on Japan were the first ( and last needed ) proof of what a devastating weapon they are.

I believe the results of those two bombs are exactly why more have not been used by others since.

I think Truman used a great deal of restraint, only dropping two on a country who attacked Pearl Harbour without any warning of provocation.

After demonstrating the power of the weapon with the first bomb, he gave the japanese the option to surrender. They did not surrender until after he dropped the second

Do you think others, like Stalin for instance, would have stopped at just two bombs?

I think he would have bombed them into the stone age if he had the weapons to do it.

*** You still haven't mentioned your country and what they have done to protect others or themselves in the world. Why not?

willyumiii, cannot see what my origins have to do with the topic discussed.

But since you are insisting, just for you, - I am an Australian. So what?

The idea of the A-bomb based on reaction of fission of heavy elements was 'in the air'.

Many scientists from many countries participated in American project. Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy, France, England to name but few.

It is true, Americans beat everybody to the finish line. Reasons - money plus enthusiasm of the International community of scientists. German scientists sabotaged their bomb development for Hitler.

French and British came up with their solutions on the heels of USA. Stalin got his bomb in a couple of years. All this is history, hardly any secrets involved.

USA was not the only country it was the first who developed the A-bomb.

Thanking USA for dropping them so that others didn't dare using them is a bit of a stre-e-etch.

I refuse to argue about pure speculations - was Truman showing restraint by dropping 'only two A-bombs' or not; would Stalin have stopped at two?

According to your logic we are still waiting for somebody to drop an H-bomb, - just to prove to the world that it is powerful enough not to be used.

But let us return to the topic.

Is it good or bad to have one centre of world power dominating all other countries?

Is it good Morally? Economically? Politically? Ethnically?

Will ever Russia agree with this world order?

Will ever China agree with this world order?

World dominance is never determined by "agreement".

It is determined by superior performance...economic, military technology ( all reltated ) and others.

The way the world is going, I believe there is a chance the U.S. will take second place behind China in the future.

Time will tell.

Russia? Once the powerful Soviet Union, is broken and shriveling up. Much like a dieing insect making noise as it does it's death dance.

P.S. Oz was a close ally of the U.S. in WWII and in Vietnam.

Kind of funny how you can dissociate yourself when we were in it together.

They are not only 'Nouveau Riche' but plain thieves.

Which has nothing to do with the topic.

When Iran will build what it is building the Western very Correct Leaders will need the help of Incorrect Israelis and very boorish Russians to deal with the situation.

Because all the West can actually do is bomb, bomb, bomb - but never solve anything!

Not in Vietnam,

Not in Korea,

Not in Afghanistan,

Not in Iraq,

Not in Iran,

Not in Syria,

Not in .... where did they solve anything?

As if they are hell-bent on creating problems.

God knows I am not in love with Russkies. And I do not like the Crimea business - yet another botched 'solution' by the West.

But insulting Lavrov and embracing Abbas on a Paris "walk of unity" against Terrorism was insane.

As insane as calling for restraint, understanding and acceptance of hysterically roaring "Death to Infidels" out of control mobs of Muslims.

How about when they saved Europe from Hitler with their bombing?

It seems their bombs stopped Japan as well.

Where are you fro and what has your country done to save anyone else..or even yourselves?

Just wondering...

Funny you mentioned Hitler. It was Russians who stopped Hitler. American "heroes" didn't dare come close to Hitler till the Russians started advancing towards Berlin. When Hitler's defeat was inevitable, out of fear that Russians would occupy whole of Germany, "liberators" finally opened the western front and "saved" Europe as you put it.

It may come as a surprise to you, but Fox News may not necessarily be unbiased.

Could be wrong, but thought the west was held back so Russia could be the Hitler victors......

That is the story I remember as well.

But, reading these different takes on the history of WWII makes me think of two quotes that I believe are both from Winston Churchill.

" History is the lies we choose to believe."

"History is always written by the side that wins"

I am American and I have talked to Europeans who have a totally different take on the end of WWII.

I have had young Germans tell me that all the U.S. did was show up at the end, just in time to pretend they won the war!

A lot of American casualties would disagree with them!

Seriously, I am sure many countries have their own version that makes themselves look as good as possible.

It's human nature.