JCauto

This is a precursor to that. By getting him on the random inflating and deflating of the values and nature of his properties, he was able to commit bank fraud and insurance fraud. Once those are proven, it's a very simple task to demonstrate that as a result, he paid less in taxes than he was supposed to. Remember he used these same methods to claim billion dollar losses that meant he owed no tax on quite high income several times. So it will be there, just a matter of time.

Perhaps you should write in a more thought-provoking way then? All I read were a bunch of banalities wrapped in trite generalities. There were no thoughts provoked other than "why did we both waste our time?".

I see another patriot has chimed in showing his deep love for America and freedom by advocating for moving to a totalitarian state run by Putin. How red, white and blue of you!

When the biggest creep is the alternative, one votes for a lesser creep? One would think having a non-creep might be a better choice if offered, but few if any of those can run the political gauntlet and emerge on the other side unscathed regardless of their origin or political belief. It appears that having principles is no longer a beneficial position for politicians.

Don't worry, you won't be "demonized and or ostracized" - your statements are a bunch of blah blah blah with no actual positions taken or points made.

Guessing there's not going to be a release of the no-doubt world-class high-integrity statistical survey and study that came to these conclusions. After all, when it is described in such amorphous terms as "Medical professionals...have noticed a rise in health issues, particularly among children, resulting from recreational cannabis use, reported Bangkok Post." That's about as meaningless as could be.

Odd argument. The Finns fought the Russians in the Winter War in 1939 and then settled the dispute by ceding 9% of its territory in 1940 with limited assistance from any allies other than Estonian refugees and the Swedes. The Finns and Germans started cooperating before the Germans launched Operation Barbarossa to invade Russia, but this was primarily an offensive operation where the Finns were able to achieve their objectives to recover the territory they had lost and some additional land from Russia. The Finnish front was mostly quiet through June 1944, but then the Russian counter-offensive was able to recover the land and an armistice was eventually settled in September 1944 on the 1940 lines that became the final territorial boundaries. This was not what Finland wanted, but was a compromise that enabled them to continue their independent existence. So the Finns were able to maintain their territory (although with the significant loss of Karelia) by fighting for it with some material and economic support from allies, but the fighting was done mostly by the Finns. They had to concede territory to maintain their independence from a hostile and much larger neighbour but were able to build leverage through their resistance that allowed them to maintain their identity and the vast majority of their territory when the war ended. This is also probably the likeliest result for Ukraine - an eventual agreement to settle on the pre-war lines where Russia keeps the Crimean peninsula.

Your libertarian concepts extend to policing other people's conversations? Bit odd if you ask me. When someone raises a quotation of interest, describes the speaker as being "wise" and asks us to discuss, it is reasonable to ask "who said this and why should we pay attention to it?" as a first query when it isn't obvious whom we are talking about or that they're well known to be "wise" in society's view. If this had been said by Einstein or Bertie Russell, we'd already understand that it was a wise old head who had said it. I hadn't heard of this person (although of course it's quite a common name) before, and it seems he's not that widely known hence I wished to understand what makes his knowledge authoritative or worthy of interest. That is relevant to the conversation. Otherwise I could simply counterpoint by saying "a wise man said this" when it was in fact me who said it or my drinking buddies or anyone else under the sun. Did I denigrate the person? Please point out to me where that was.

Thanks. What exactly has qualified Mr. Smith as "wise"? Has he a body of writing or research that has achieved any level of significance or has been widely referenced? What is his expertise and qualifications? Not saying he isn't, but that usually these are the things that "wise" people have that demonstrate their knowledge and understanding.

You can't even provide us the name of this "wise" podcaster?

You've been around for quite a while - what on earth would give you the belief that the Thai police still have some integrity left in them in any circumstance whatsoever? You demand that we provide you with evidence of the police incompetence or malfeasance in this case? How on earth would one do that? Do you think that this happens in Thailand as a matter of course? I thought you lived here. I presume that when the two Burmese fallguys were presented as the murderers of the British woman, that you were totally on board with the police investigation and result? Did that satisfy your criteria for addressing the requirements of the grieving mother? Actually, could you just point us to a proper investigation of a single instance of a foreigner's death here so we could see one example of proper police investigation and conduct?

Billy didn't commit felonies did he? He was just trying to graft a legit business for being in proximity to his famous bro. Billy Beer!

Or January 6.

Just wanted to note that the best prevention for dengue fever is also the simplest - don't get bit. How can you do this though? First, removing areas where mozzies breed or fogging is utterly useless, especially in a wet season as moist as this one. They're going to find an infinite number of places to breed. My advice based on 30+ years of residence and 0 times contracting dengue is quite simple - wear socks, long pants and long-sleeved shirts in the late afternoon and early evening. If you really can't stand the heat (and loose-fitting clothes aren't hot), then at least wear the socks. The ankles are where these little bastards love to bite and they WILL get you if you've no socks on.

True other than that last bit - the only places where malarial mosquitoes live is deep forest, no worries for anyone in any city, town or district where there's no protected areas.

The mathematics dictate that something like what happened in Samoa could happen again, hence they're being more cautious. In addition, there's no doubt some hay to be made by increasing the amount of freight cargo based on the results. They ought to ask for weight during booking.

LOL - I at least know how to get a visa and a train ticket! Speaking Lao helps, perhaps you ought to try that next time you grace us with your omniscient presence....

Oh dear. I seem to have offended you somehow, I assure you that wasn't my intention. However, I do happen to live in Vientiane so perhaps may be better informed? If you'd like the number of a visa agent in Vientiane, why not ask? I'd happily give you two immediately - both of whom run quite successful businesses here providing services including running visas for expatriates (business, retirement, long-term residence) and also buying and delivering train tickets. That you are unaware of this and willing to state unequivocally that there are no such people in existence or that it could not possibly be viable given the market makes me think you're perhaps not as well informed as you claim to be. I haven't asked whether they do Thai visas, probably I should think. One travel agent in town to help you book the train - again, LOL. I'll give you three others if you like. "VT is seriously shut down" - what does this mean? Are the restaurants and bars I frequent figments of my imagination? As I noted, there's no real girly bar scene here, is that what you mean? Is your claim that mosquito abatement is 100% effective and stops Dengue Fever in its tracks? They do it in Cambodia too, probably helps, doesn't completely eliminate it ever. Best is to avoid being bit, and the mozzie that transmits dengue is the black-and-white striped one that is active between around 4-7pm, hence my clothing suggestions. Seems to me that according to WHO Thailand is more problematic for dengue... https://www.who.int/southeastasia/health-topics/dengue-and-severe-dengue

Oh look at you! What a marvelous person you are! You can tell by the way you look down on other people and brag about buying breakfast at some NGO project restaurant - no doubt you carefully inspected the books to ensure your dollars were completely helping the poor, not some scam. And the depth of your research speaks for itself - the words of the social scientists were written on the restaurant wall! Around 98% of statistics randomly written down as graffiti are completely made up including this! I'd make a bet with you that despite all of the lentils you've weaved into handicrafts to warm old Khmer grannies during the cold season that this fellow would contribute more to the economy in one season than you would in several years. So what does this fellow's pool villa have to do with the kids' education?

You can get superb French and Italian food in Vientiane for a ridiculously cheap price. Lao food can be good, although lacking in comparison to the neighbours. But there's all sorts of restaurants that cater to all sorts of tastes, eating here is a delight.

Vientiane's status as a capital city and at the same time a ghost town is part of its charm of course. I didn't get the impression though that this fellow was out in the clubs until late in the evening, so they might find the laid back lifestyle there perfect when raising a family of small kids. Tax- and bureaucracy-wise, you'll find it easy to deal with since you can simply pay an agent or company to do all the necessary things for you. Taxes aren't particularly high, and they have zero ability to deal with your income outside of Laos, so you won't be bothered unless you actually open a business here, in which case you will be bothered, but not unduly as in Cambodia for example. There are decent international schools and lots of available teachers for tutoring, nannies, etc. Mozzies? Yeah, they exist pretty much everywhere, the countries that do mosquito abatement also still have dengue outbreaks. I've been living in Southeast Asia for over 30 years without dengue, wear socks, pants and a long-sleeve shirt towards the end of afternoon until around 7pm and you're good to go. I should think Laos would be a quite pleasant place to retire to and raise your kids, good crowd of expat folks here without a lot of the sexpat crowd, and the lack of the bargirl scene will likely keep them away indefinitely. Don't find a lot of scammers and other lowlife who are trying to maintain their sad existences at the expense of other expat suckers.

There was another thread about just this topic the other day.

Mentally, probably about right. Peter Pan syndrome. Treating women as commodities for pleasure not humans for companionship. Let's try to guess where his political proclivities lie, no prizes unfortunately.

That's it! Disqualify him from future elections. For...I dunno, find something.

Having lived and worked in all countries mentioned other than the Philippines, I'd say this is a reasonable take for older Thai-based expats. Cambodia is basically coming on like gangbusters and Phnom Penh is starting to resemble a "mini-Bangkok" but will obviously have quite a ways to go to get to the level of the "Big Mango" if that is your ideal. On the other hand, the food there is becoming good and diverse and there's tons of high-end spots to party at to go along with the usual low-end dive and girly bars. It is definitely more expensive than Thailand on a day-to-day basis, and always has been. No 800K issue or likelihood of someone deciding to turn the screws on the expats. Health care getting better, but the best plan is to get on a plane to Bangkok if seriously ill or in an accident. Siem Reap is becoming a nice little enclave a la Chiang Mai, but has a ways to go to get there. The other towns like Battambang and Kampong Cham would be similar to living in Isaan. The beach is there for the modern age hippies in Kampot and the Chinese in Sihanoukville, but it's second-rate compared to Thailand. Laos is like living in Isaan when I arrived there over 30 years ago. There's quite a bit of charm to that, but I understand this is mostly not what the older and better-heeled expat crowd are looking for. There's great food also in Vientiane; it's the cheapest and best place for high quality European food in the region in my opinion. Rent is cheap, living can be cheap, beer is less expensive than soda and the people are laid back and pleasant. Countryside is spectacularly beautiful so hikers, bikers and nature lovers will enjoy it immensely. Working here is a source of frustration for most due to the lack of industriousness prevalent in Lao society. This again can be more of a positive than a negative depending on your perspective. Health care is located in Thailand, if you are in peril here you're in trouble. So probably not the best place for most older people (I'm over 60 and I love it, but not the norm). Also no girly bar and other action sufficient for the many sexpats on TV considering a move. Lao currency is volatile and not convertible and the government has put themselves in rather a bit of bother financially, so there are concerns it could all blow up at some point. But probably not, this is after all Laos. They just float on by. Vietnam is a place I've worked a number of times and always enjoyed the work - but I wouldn't want to live there. There's a fundamental difference between the Theravada Buddhist countries and the Confucian ones, and the former are quite a lot warmer than the latter in terms of human interaction and general attitude. Vietnam is also a more insular place and one where there's a longstanding tension between actual communist bureaucrats and the private sector and between the North and the South. Can't really comment on the costs or pros/cons of living there since I haven't spent long periods. Food is okay, but overrated in my opinion. Provincial food gets pretty similar and pretty old pretty quickly. Love the vibe of Hanoi, but again, not a place I'm keen to live especially given its awful weather. Saigon just doesn't do much for me. Myanmar was a fascinating place, but until they get rid of the Junta, it's going to be one for development aid workers and adventurous travelers, not expats. China...no. Philippines has little interest for me due to terrible food and an ersatz culture with disaster management being the default government mode. I'm also happily married so have no interest in the bar scene other than non-girly bars. Malaysia is probably the most similar to and likeliest bolthole for the better-off expats, they offer a lot better deals for long-term residence and have all the modern conveniences in KL and Georgetown. Their government is pretty stable and unlikely to collapse or suddenly take away the privileges of the expat community. There's no problem drinking and the food is good and can be great. Singvegas is like someone dropped a Western city into the tropics. Better have a lot of dough and if that's your style, why did you move here anyway?