attento

On 6/21/2019 at 11:24 AM, jesimps said:

The EU? You mean France and Germany??

No.  They mean Germany.    The old English saying - "he who pays the piper, calls the tune".    Not saying that's wrong -  that's life.  Why should Germany be expected to finance the incompetent administrations that exist in many EU countries, without some level of oversight ?

"Don't vandalize in Thailand" - he says. 

So which country does he think it is acceptable to do that ?

Joke?    the EU imports massive amounts of products from China,  which has such an exemplary record on "human rights" - really ?

Truth = EU brave enough to take on tiny countries.  Ignores the elephant in the room

1 hour ago, Andrew65 said:

£16 million. I'm sure that the British police were highly impressed, when they've lost 20,000 officer's jobs to save money!

 

The main problem being that Assange's "home" was effectively overseas territory.

 

I have an old Brit friend who's a property agent in BKK and faced a similar problem. The occupier was refusing to pay the rent because one of his A/C's wasn't working. The property agent had the electricity cut off (apparently illegal to do so), but it did the trick!

or,  he could have repaired the A/C ?

The rest of the world used to say -  "That's OK, afterall, they are French. They really are the past masters at  street agro "

But, it must be contagious. It's spreading to London,  with the 'highly intellectual' activity of super-gluing themselves to the pavement.  Isn't that so clever?

'MeToo'-ism anybody ?      Look at me.  Look at me.  Look at me.

If there is an intellectual argument to be had,  make it in an intellectual fashion.

Don't play childish games.    This so often demonstrates a high level of hypocrisy of many of the participants.   e.g. so called 'celebrities' jetting in (big carbon footprint) to be part of the scene (or photo op).

11 hours ago, Benmart said:

Hun Sen does not respond to traditional political means. Money and remaining in power is the driving force for him, his family  and his uniformed cronies. Unfortunately, if the masses are made to suffer enough, perhaps they will take back their country from this former Khmer Rouge despot.

The point is that the problems lie with Hun Sen and family and cronies, rather than the poorest levels in that society who have suffered enough over recent decades.   Surely, sanctions against the target are the way to go,  rather than a shotgun approach to the whole country.  e.g. for the whole gang: ban International banking for their corrupt money, ban international travel, etc.   Hit the guilty parties where it hurts.    

How will damaging their export trade be of any help to the already poorly paid work force ?   Encouraging trade is more likely to create employment, where before, there was none.      'Labour rights' and 'Human rights' are  political issues and should be addressed on a political basis,  and not by damaging whatever work prospects are available to the poorer members of society.    

Do the 'enlightened' inhabitants of the ivory towers of Brussels really believe that their action will not impact on the poor, while leaving the political classes unaffected ?

This is an admission by the EU that it carries so little political clout in the world,  it's only option is to resort to this crass behaviour.

Sure,  the Cambodian president and his gang maybe reprehensible,  so why not concentrate the response onto his administration,  not the poor.

Announced a few days after Hong Kong announced it is seeking a ban on e-cigarettes.  Who is leading the way ?

Most countries do not accept 'illegal' immigrants, so why should Thailand?  Thailand policing may be very far from perfect, but that is no excuse for 'visitors' to abuse the law.     

23 hours ago, dbrenn said:

Steven who?

Seagull

Next task - send the "processed pork " to a laboratory for analysis.

Interesting to see a list of the other ingredients  (apart from beetle).

My guess is the thought of that analysis being made public would have the manufacturer's on their knees.

Sellers need buyers.   If it is the "poorer" people trying to make a living by selling,  who are their customers ? 

Is it likely that "poorer" peoples will have anything of value to sell,  or are they selling cheap tat back to other poor people.  

Sure they can create a lot of net traffic,  but no great economy.

The money is made by those offering online sales platforms.

Does any such organisation come to mind,  Mr Ma ?

Good Riddance to the European Union and all the M.E.P.'s with their sinecures and massive pension plans. Mr & Mrs Kinnock will now have to find another gravy train. Yes, the pound will drop at first but markets will recover.

Hopefully, a drying up of the cheap labour from Poland and Ukraine.

A typical example for you.......Bae Systems in Scotlands Shipyards recently laid off hundreds of Scottish workers....then hired Polish workers at about 6 pound an hour less.....

and what did Ms Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon have to say about that ?

of course completely legal to take off clamped wheels in Malaysia and Police there can also take 'pity' on offenders and not apply the law without fear or favour when they feel like it

yes, maybe they do if you are Malay. But just let a Chinese or Indian try it

and what about all the food stores where the rodents keep out of sight ?

Who thought it was necessary to announce a new ownership ? What is the PR angle here ? Surely Barclays have no interest in broadcasting their loss of assets, and the Chinese are usually secretive about such matters.

At least it shows that the Chinese don't believe that Brexit would diminish London as a significant, international financial centre.

CCP Boyz in Beijing want UK out of the EU cause with all the new CCP investment there it opens the door to Britain becoming a tributary state of China......

Doesn't look like Harriet Tubman from here

CCP Boyz in Beijing already own a controlling stake in Standard Bank so why should the Boyz not do business with Barclay's Bank eh...

On 1 February 2015, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited (ICBC) acquired a controlling stake in Standard Bank’s London-based Global Markets business. The acquisition included Standard Bank Plc, the Standard Bank Group's UK subsidiary and the primary legal entity in the UK, as well as other international operations. Standard Bank Plc was subsequently renamed ICBC Standard Bank Plc to incorporate the new parentage.

The union of ICBC and Standard Bank creates a platform to serve the growing demands of Chinese clients for global commodities, fixed income, currency and equities products while continuing as a distribution platform for African risk.

https://www.icbcstandardbank.com/CorporateSite/AboutUs/Overview

Youse Brits around here speak any Mandarin?

Arabic maybe??

Arabic and Putonghua are not too much of a problem. It is translating the American language that causes headaches.

Who thought it was necessary to announce a new ownership ? What is the PR angle here ? Surely Barclays have no interest in broadcasting their loss of assets, and the Chinese are usually secretive about such matters.

At least it shows that the Chinese don't believe that Brexit would diminish London as a significant, international financial centre.

While I do think building the subs in Australia is the way to go, I just wonder what the

increased cost is. What were the Japanese bid numbers and what were the French

bid numbers to build the subs in France.

Just hope the Australians get their money. Keep checking your bank account Mr Turnbull, to see the payments arrive.

France has no money ! The country is practically bankrupt.

Police couldn't break up the attack until they shot into the air... if they had shot the attackers then maybe the victim would still be alive... can you imagine western police standing by?

Sadly, yes. Slightly different situations, but with similar outcomes.

The British police on a number of occasions in recent years, have stood by and let children drown, because they didn't have official "training" or permission to enter water, even shallow pools. Fortunately, this is extremely rare in the UK, most British police would rush in and answer for it later.

.....riding by, and just happened to have knives in their possession .... ?

Do repossessed properties attract a lower sale price than those sold for other reasons?

If so, where is the "catch" ?

I have always believed that if something is sold below market value, there must be a reason (but not necessarily bad).

t would be a rather more credible plea if it came from the men in their community.

Maybe there is no immediate upside to Brexit.

But what they fail to mention is there is no upside for the British to remain, either.

There will inevitably be more and more taxation imposed from Brussels.

Surely, the government should be setting a high standard and only drivers with clean records should be considered fit to drive any Public vehicle.

Are they so short of suitable applicants for Public vehicle licences ? A Licence should be something to be aspired to, to be respected., not an automatic right.

The President was promoting his view of American political self-interest. And so he should ! So all nations leaders should !

As for the USA/ EU trade deal, it is not the UK who is holding it up. The French are concerned about the invasion of Hollywood, the Greeks are worried about American erstaz Feta cheese, many countries are concerned about the "liberal" use of antibiotics in American meat production, and so it goes on.

The UK is the USA's largest export market in Europe, being greater then that of France,Spain and Italy combined. Has the President consulted American industry about his idea to make life more difficult for American exporters ? Just maybe, the President believes that with the UK inside the EU, his trade deal stands a better chance of success.

Maybe, American politicians have a different understanding of the word Democracy. That is their right.

But, the UK has it's own values, and they are not consistent with the lack of democracy and the corruption that is evident at the heart of the EU bureaucracy. Nationals from other countries may snigger at this British view, but that is to misunderstand the British sense of fair play. (That is not dead)

Is it really true that the USA administration is so short of competent staff that they can only manage one trade deal at a time. If not so, then why the threat of snubbing the UK for a separate trade deal. That stinks of the worst form of politics, not common sense.

" Has the President consulted American industry about his idea to make life more difficult for American exporters ?"

I think you are misunderstanding the issue. The American president is not threatening to "make life for American exporters difficult" if the UK leaves the EU. He is stating the obvious. IF the UK decides to leave the EU , the trade situation with Europe will become much more difficult.

With respect Sir, the opposite may indeed be the case. There is far more opposition to the trade deal in continental EU, than in the UK. The USA and the UK talk the same language in trade terms and in national economics, The UK and the USA would be far more likely to strike an amicable deal, than that envisaged with the EU. Difficulties usually arise when mere politicking gets in the way of commercial good sense. The Trade deal as it is proposed (by the USA) is totally outside most Europeans concept of "open and fair trade". However, the British and Americans, operating 1 to 1, would be capable of reaching an acceptable deal.

There is a great deal of opposition to the TTIP in the UK,especially how it could effect the NHS,as it could force the privatization of the NHS. This could lead to the American health care providers gaining control of the NHS and leading to an American health system. However one notably supporter for TTIP is the Secretary of State for Health mr Jeremy Hunt.

The money transferred to Brussels from the UK every year would certainly be used to greater benefit within the NHS.

The bureaucrats in Brussels have little liking for the NHS, most don't understand it ( how could they?), so they wont take any steps to preserve it.