FDog

Here's a link to a story about what the UK spy folks perceive as the damage being done Snowden:

http://news.yahoo.com/uk-spy-bosses-al-qaida-loving-snowden-leaks-152732409.html

And here is a link refuting those claims. Specifically a D notice that determines the damage that could be done, they found there wasn't any. Also senior officials said there was no damage.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/03/guardian-not-intimidated-nsa-leaks-alan-rusbridger-surveillance

I am inclined to not believe either a thief or a liar.

The problem is that it isn't him that's saying anything. It is the records of the NSA. So believing him has nothing to do with it. He is purely providing the facts.

So if you don't believe the information coming out then what you are saying is that you don't believe the NSA is doing any of this.

Please tell us how anyone is supposed to blow the whistle on govt wrongdoing without doing what he did? Going to Congress wouldn't do any good as we all know that the Head of Intelligence already went before the committee and lied about what they are doing.

The only thing Snowden did was to make sure that the world knows what the NSA and intelligence agencies of other countries are doing in the name of national security.

I have no idea how Angela Merkel could be a terrorist or a threat to national security though.

Great work Snowden, showing up a number of govts for being the liars they are.

He has said he has given them nothing. I have seen no proof he has. Until you provide any evidence he has given them anything then I'm iclined to believe him instead of a govt with a history of lies.

How can Snowden be a traitor to the UK when he is isn't British.

No names have been published either. All he jas done is tell the world the US govt is spying on them and also their own people. Nothing wrong in him doing that.

UK govt now going after the editor of the Guardian. The UK doesnt have free speech in its constitution so is coming on strong. So much for an open democracy. The US wont do that.

Snowden has not revealed anything that can remotely be considered life threatening. All he has fone is cause embarassment to a number of govts.

Fantastic, about time.

And yet it would seem it is OK to publish the arrest warrant in a newspaper where many 10's of thousands more will see it

I have no doubt that the court would have also reprimanded them on that point, since that also clearly constitutes contempt of court.

Any warrant that is issued by the courts is recorded as a single document, and the record is not complete until the details of the service of the warrant are returned to the courts; thus, no copies are ever made of the document since that could complicate the procedure and potentially forewarn someone that they have been targeted for warrant service.

This is a very good precedent by the courts in Thailand, as we are unlikely to see any of these documents presented in the press in the future. Furthermore, this could be the forerunner to disposing of names and pictures of "accused" persons in the newspapers.

In the UK, where I undertook my legal studies, the solicitor of any accused person who had been named, or whose photograph had appeared, in the press, would stand before the judge and call for a dismissal on the grounds that the case against his client had been prejudiced. The court would immediately agree and dismiss the proceedings, whilst also handing down a clear reprimand to the newspaper concerned.

All that it would take here in Thailand is for an astute law firm to start pressing for dismissals on the same grounds and we could well see an end to these nonsensical finger-pointing photos in the press of people who have not yet been tried and convicted. I'm not against freeing those who are clearly engaging in criminal acts, but they should remain anonymous until they have been found guilty.

And while we're at it, what the hell are the press doing publishing photographs, names and addresses of victims? Once again, in the UK, any individual who was treated in such a way would file a suit against the newspaper concerned and receive a handsome settlement, whilst the person responsible would be out of a job...!

Kudos to the courts in Thailand, once again, for showing that they really do have some teeth...!!

. I am mystified by your post George. In newsworthy cases defendants are always named before going to court. For example 'x was charged with ... and will appear in court on ...' Victims of crimes are named in court cases too. I understand there are restrictions on what you can say and the word 'alledged' is always used when referring to offences but names are not withheld as you suggest.

I too am perplexed by the post, and the assertion that a judge would dismiss a case because an accused is named is just plain wrong.

You also don't have to use the word 'alleged' when you say xxxx was charged because he is actually charged. But do use the word alleged when saying what he/she is charged with.

The only time an accused and a victim are not named is when the victim is under 16 and is the alleged victim of a sexual offence.

Quote " - Employees at CCP state owned "enterprises" as they're called work two days a week; those who work five days sit around for three days - they all get cash bonuses and special benefits to buy housing and food. This is in addition to being paid exceedingly well, much better than the ordinary citizen.

Where is the proof of this ? That they work so little hours

For a moment, I could have swore you were describing senators in USA, MPs of UK and even the richest prime minister in the world from Singapore.

I see MPs sleeping in live TV in Singapore too and they are paid a healthy sum...don't see any pitchforks thrown at them yet. Or how about the Thai MP who was thrown out recently for surfing porn on his smart phone....silly if one thinks your local MP is working hard for average Joe....most govt officials are held in high regard in most countries.

As a Chinese parent would teach their children...better depend on yourself than the government.

The truth doesn't sit well with the Sinophobe.

That is because they are wrong. Passport is irrelevant. If the airline doesn't get you to where you are supposed to go through their fault then they pay compensation. Regardless of where you are from.

Under the Warsaw Convention (which applies here), if you are travelling to your country of residence they do not need to pay compensation for delayed baggage.

Link: http://www.mcgill.ca/files/iasl/warsaw1929.pdf

Thank you for the link to prove the airline was wrong. She had a Thai passport but was not travelling to her country of residence. She resides in NZ/

Seems a lot on here are just in a dick measuring competition. China doesn't want war, doesn't need it. The US doesn't want war with them either, would be a complete mess as China would not try and do anything to the US, they would simply bomb the shit out of other countries nearby as retaliation.

But what China IS doing is becoming an economic superpower, many nations rely on it. And that is what doesn't sit well with the US. The US wants China to open up for capitalism but China is resisting. This annoys the US as it is fighting a losing battle. Many many countries rely on China economically and that gives it great power.

China doesn't need to fight or start wars to gain territory, they will simply buy it.

Err, not dick measuring. Adult discussion of the topic under the thread header. The Chinese Navy. Obviously in a real world it would only be an issue if one wonders what they plan and whom they might square off against in a conflict. What they intend.

Clearly, their potential rivals are Japan and S Korea. Both allies of the US therefore the US Navy is the force they should be measured against.

As to a Chinese superpower status and what the US wants (in your perception) I find that interesting. Truth is the only thing the US wants (as a government) is to allow their economy to operate openly. But either way they aren't a big enough problem to worry about yet.

The only countries that rely on China economically are those who are their customers for production of goods. Production can move to other places and rapidly in modern society. Corporations could relocate to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, back home etc. The US is fighting no battle with China other than an internal one where we are overspending and China is ONE OF the creditors buying the debt on the national credit card. Please note that China is not the majority debt holder of US bonds. And by the way, if they were it is the US holding them hostage as they don't want those bonds made worthless if they crashed our economy. Plus the idea they can suddenly demand full payment is funny. Bonds have maturity dates and are not redeemable on demand.

China will not become the worlds next superpower IMO. In fact the concept is fading with time as warfare becomes more local and insurgent based and less national set battle stages. The US might be the last superpower in our lifetimes and will likely retain leadership in economy and military for another 20 years or longer.

Yes, eventually that will change. Every empire falls and the US is no different. It is slowly eroding from within. China next? Who knows but this temporary surge is over blown. They may be a nation of a billion people but most of them are living in farms and not a factor in national economy or future naval expansion. Predicting massive success for a nation of so many uneducated people is kind of funny really. Yeah, they are a big country even when eliminating the farmers from the equation. But their internal problems are large and many. Let's see how they survive the clamor for more of the pie from the peasants in the next 20 years.

Read up on Australia's trade with China. If the Chinese economy goes belly up then Australia goes bankrupt.

You also may wish to have a look at who is currently in China trying to get more trade deals. Mr Cameron.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e1e05d5a-5b31-11e3-a2ba-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2mKVC4TMQ

Edit to add link

Let me put it this way.

I used to live in Brisbane. About 6 years ago I was going from Brisbane to NZ, via Sydney.

At Brisbane airport there was an issue with the plane. I think it was Air NZ. The end result was that we couldn't go that day. The airline paid for all passengers to get taxis to a hotel they had booked for us and also paid for meals. So even though I have an Aussie passport, lived in Brisbane, I still got put up in a hotel.

Does anyone have a link to airline regulations in this regard?

At 21 days delay baggage is considered lost. Compensation under international agreements is required to be paid

For baggage delays, airlines are required to fully compensate customers for replacement of items until the baggage is delivered. ie: you can buy replacement clothes/toiletries.

But how does it apply to OP? as he said they refused to pay compensation for his GF because she is travelling on Thai passport,

so is there a regulation in this regard? ie any passenger of any residence or passport is compensated same?

That is because they are wrong. Passport is irrelevant. If the airline doesn't get you to where you are supposed to go through their fault then they pay compensation. Regardless of where you are from.

Qantas terms and conditions below. I didn't bother reading it but it may have some information.

http://www.qantas.com.au/travel/airlines/conditions-carriage/global/en#jump7

Yes that is correct, it is country of residence. Passport has nothing to do with it. I have 3 passports I use depending on the country I wish to visit.

Thai law has nothing to do with compensation, compensation is between the carrier and the passenger. It all depends on where you purchased your ticket as to what laws are in place to cover you.

It is incumbent on Qantas to get your wife's bag to her. They stuffed it up and they should fix it, regardless of where you live.

I stopped flying Qantas about 20 years ago, even back then they made you feel like you should be privileged just to be allowed to be on their plane, and the trolley dollies are way too up themselves and can't really be bothered actually serving people.

Oh and to top it off, they have now asked the Oz govt to give them money to assist against competition from other airlines. Yet only a few years ago they were very fast to make it near impossible for any new domestic airline to operate in Australia.

A big thumbs down to them in every way.

Seems a lot on here are just in a dick measuring competition. China doesn't want war, doesn't need it. The US doesn't want war with them either, would be a complete mess as China would not try and do anything to the US, they would simply bomb the shit out of other countries nearby as retaliation.

But what China IS doing is becoming an economic superpower, many nations rely on it. And that is what doesn't sit well with the US. The US wants China to open up for capitalism but China is resisting. This annoys the US as it is fighting a losing battle. Many many countries rely on China economically and that gives it great power.

China doesn't need to fight or start wars to gain territory, they will simply buy it.

The economic development model of Deng Xiaopeng has hit a proverbial great wall, which was inevitable as it was a specific response to a particular point in time and its unique circumstances. The CCP needs totally to restructure and reorganize their system of economics, finance, political economy.

The resistance to such radical restructuring is great, powrful. The CCP places itself above the law and there is only the CCP rule of the CCP law, whatever it happens to be on a given day in a given instance depending on the person being charged. In the CCP-PRC you are guilty unless proved to be innocent and lotsa luck with that.

The CCP's economy is in a huge bubble, from the property sector to the state owned banking sector, to include the shadow banking system, to the numerous local governments which alone account for debt equal to 40% of GDP. People all year have been taking loans to pay off loans. No bubble ever ends well. The national debit of the CCP is now 200% of GDP.

When the first bubble bursts the others will cascade after it. The CCP's economy will be no more.

It's been observed that the only greater concern to peace than a rising CCP-PRC is a falling CCP-PRC.

Quick, get on the phone to the British PM and tell him is visit to China to encourage trade is all wrong. I'm sure he will listen to you.

Seems a lot on here are just in a dick measuring competition. China doesn't want war, doesn't need it. The US doesn't want war with them either, would be a complete mess as China would not try and do anything to the US, they would simply bomb the shit out of other countries nearby as retaliation.

But what China IS doing is becoming an economic superpower, many nations rely on it. And that is what doesn't sit well with the US. The US wants China to open up for capitalism but China is resisting. This annoys the US as it is fighting a losing battle. Many many countries rely on China economically and that gives it great power.

China doesn't need to fight or start wars to gain territory, they will simply buy it.

It would have been nice if the interviewer had held the microphone closer to the young Thai lady so that her voice would have been more audible. Instead, we hear the interviewer's questions booming out while the important advice was quite faint - at least it was on my Nexus 10 which doesn't have a very strong speaker.

Same issue on the laptop. Was stretching the old ear drums to hear her. But my eyes were well pleased.

Why do people always say the government was elected? They PAID for there votes…. That is Not democratic. That is Corruption…and that is what the Yingluck Government is.

I am sick of hearing people repeat this nonsense.

My girlfriend and dozens of other people in my neighborhood NEVER received a single baht for their vote.

In the contrary, they spend a lot of money to go to the votes.

On the other hand, the democrat candidate offered a free ride in a brandnew Toyota minibus and a free meal to everybody that wanted to vote for him.

Stop with that partizan propaganda please.

My gf, and each of her family, received 300 baht from the reds to vote for them. The little cherub happily took the money and voted for the yellows.

What an absolute gorgeous girl. Wow.

All the assessments are educated guesses because unlike the USA which showcases everything for the world to see (silly) ..the PLA have wisely kept their cards to their hearts and without knowing what your enemy can do ...it's silly to strike against that

If you think we've seen it all, you haven't been following the tabloids. Or studying your history.

Recent history has shown that the most effective way of fighting the US is not to fight them on their own terms but to go back to stone age tactics which has stymied their superpower arsenal and tactics.

Keeping it simple.

But really, so what if China goes on a boat tour. Big deal, lots of countries do it.

If ots ok for the US to go there why is it not ok for China to go there. Nothing wrong with it at all.

Happened to me twice in Australia. Took $300 in $20 notes. I counted and only had $280. Another time same thing but with different amount.

Next morning contacted the bank and both times within 48 hours the missing funds were credited back into my account.

It happens quite often, so the bank informed me.

Good work China.

Seems that is all I am allowed to say.

That's right, this f@@kin numb nuts is a Kiwi (NZ), listen to his funny accent. Why the f@@k this moron gets any publicity is beyond me.

Of course he is. There are no scumbags in Australia.

I did not say there wasn't. Unfortunately a large percentage of them emigrated from NZ, just like your mate in question.

Always thought scumbags were not allowed to enter Australia , unless of course they turned scumbags after having lived in Australia , in which case really does not say much for Australia

Kiwi's are afforded special privileges under 'mutual recognition' when it comes to moving to Oz. Many people from other countries who want to move to Oz do so through NZ first.