simon43

The policy of freezing pensions has nothing to do with racism or discrimination. It's available to UK pensioners in those countries which have signed a double tax agreement with the UK, such as the Philippines. For whatever reason, Thailand (and Laos and ...) have not signed such an agreement, probably never even requested such an agreement with the UK. Therefore, if you want to moan at someone, moan at the Thai government for failing to request a double tax agreement with the UK!

Huh? I'm not heterosexual! Whatever my sexual preferences are, there is no reason to shout these details out to everyone. The only relevant person is my partner (if I have one) or a potential partner. So zero points for you to assume that I'm announcing all over SM that I'm straight.....

Well, it's a base (alkaline) actually. But indeed it could be nasty. Think of blocked loo pipe cleaner >> similar kind of chemical.

Why you don't drop your teeth at the dentist today and pick them up later in the week? 🙂

As others have said, your sex life should be your private life. No-one announces to the world that they are straight. I don't announce to my family and friends that I like rubber gimp suits and dressing up as a French maid whilst being slapped with a smelly kipper.... and then wait for their questions about when I discovered that I liked this fetish etc etc, blah, blah blah! Maybe I'm old school, but sex of any kind is for the bedroom, not something to announce and plaster all over social media.

You seemed to have missed out my opinion about corrupt, elected representatives. It is a waste of time voting when no mainstream political party has the gonads to do what is needed to restore order and to start giving power and preference back to the indigenous population and legal, integrated migrant communities.

Personally, it is of little surprise to me that there is a growing number of right-wing English people who are outspoken in their views about the state of the country, immigration, deprivation etc. If you are a middle-of-the-road patriot, then your view is ignored by the government, by the London Lord Mayor, by elected MPs (who IMHO are nothing more than a bunch of corrupt b*st***s who line their own pockets, regardless of whart party they belong to). I hold the same view for almost ALL elected representatives right across the world. There are very, very few honest elected representatives. I foretell that if the views and wishes of patriotic English people continues to be ignored by whatever government is in power, then widespread civil unrest will occur, possibly leading to the overthrow of the government by a combination of honest, patriotic citizens with the support of the armed forces.

I am of the opinion that this old lady is in fact dead, and has been for some time. This is clearly a scam to obtain 5,000 baht each year... 🙂

Not quite a scooter, but a story about downgrading from a big bike to a small bike: 25 years in when I lived in the UK, I rode a beautiful Honda GL1000. It was a very heavy machine (obviously!), but it took me to and from work every day and al around the Swiss Alps 2-up with lots of luggage. Nowadays, and living in north Laos, I do not want a large cc bike. At 65 years old, I'm not as strong as I was all those years ago in the UK. Furthermore, the roads in Laos are rough! You need an off-road bike and a light bike that you can pick up when you fall off, (as you will many times on the mountain roads which have potholes inside potholes!). When working in Burma around 2017, I had a genuine Honda XR150 which was an excellent bike to get me over the hills in Shan State, (the yellow helmet photo is just above Inle Lake). Then I used to ride a KLX in Laos around 2019, but sold that a few years ago when I left Laos just after Covid. Now I have a Honda XR150 again (this time a Chinese clone, but very comfortable and reliable). Scooters are fine for me if I stay in town, but useless on the 'red roads' and tracks when you leave the town.

[quote] ... In related news, Buriram celebrated BLACKPINK Lisa’s 27th birthday with a feast of meatball consumption and the unveiling of themed pants. ... [/quote] The mind boggles!!

Another personal example of corruption in the Land Office. Many years ago my ex #2 wanted to borrow some money with the land plot as security. She borrowed privately but a charge was placed on the chanote by the lender and therefore this charge and the loan contract were registered at the Land Office in Phuket. I went along to the office with her. The loan contract stipulated that the loan had to be repaid in full after 12 months, or the land was forfeit. We both checked the loan contract and then the lender went into an office with the Land Office official, emerging 10 minutes later with the contract to sign. I spotted that the period '12 months' now read '2 months'!! Rather than accusing them of attempted fraud, I politely suggested that their printer had a problem.... They forced a smile and reprinted the contract with the correct term. Anyway, it actually made no difference, because dopey ex failed to make the payment after 12 months and the land was forfeited! 🙂

Well, in a similar vein, the AI chat-bot (Natachata) that I wrote almost 20 years ago did just that! I programmed it so that if an end-user was abusive to the chat-bot (believing it to be a real person) then the program would reply back with the most abusive 'put-down'. The end-user felt compelled to reply and argue with the chat-bot, and then be on the receiving end of yet more abuse and withering comments about his virility, manhood etc. And so the argument would continue... with the end-user willingly paying out 1.50 quid each time to receive the abusive text message!! Believe me - I made a lot of money from AI all those years ago 🙂 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3503465.stm

A usufruct simply allows you to 'use' the land, not own it. If he gets divorced, he still doesn't own the land. I just watched the video. Nothing new at all - he has a usufruct to use the land. But that means nothing if her brother and friends come along with knifes and 'ask' him to leave the land.

I don't think he is doing anything new, and AFAIK pre-nups are not legal in Thailand. Look, you can create any type of usufruct or contract if it makes you feel better. But the bottom line is that if he falls out with his wife (or vice-versa), no amount of legal paperwork will protect your body if the 'ban nork' in-laws want to make things difficult for you... Not related to a Thai wife etc, but years ago, I was forced off my land/guesthouse in Phuket by the local police who were working with the local yaba dealers. Life got 'dangerous' for me and I had no choice but to make a speedy exit 🙂 Sometimes, it simply ain't worth the trouble and I like my kneecaps.... I hope this Finnish guy doesn't assume that he's legally OK if his relationship goes south...

From this morning I see that a pop-up on my laptop reminds me to remove my ad-blocker when viewing AseanNow. As one of the oldest forum members (in terms of membership length), and an internet 'guru' to boot, I can say that it is better to use a 'carrot' rather than a 'stick'. More pop-ups and more intrusive ads that slow down and spoil the user experience will not end well for the new owners......