allanos

If Mr Patel (it means farmer or peasant, in Hindi), holds a false passport,

then how can he be described as British in the OP? Fake British, maybe . . .

When interviewed, Mr Svetakov said, "no one knows the roubles I have seen" . . .

Quote: "Gold will not go as low as bitcoin, so it's still a good investment".

Not really sure what this means. 

Both of these assets are volatile. Ten years ago, Bitcoin was trading at below six US dollars

per coin. Today, it is in excess of $20k, having reached a high of close to $70k a few months

ago.

Ten years ago, gold was trading at 1585.00 per fine ounce, today at $ 1707.00. It reached a

high of $ 2074.00 in August, 2020. However, in ten years it has essentially gone nowhere.

Now, one can cite various arguments as to which one of these assets, one physical, the

other crypto, is better, and depending probably on what your reasons are for favouring

one over the other, given a choice.

Arguably, though, what would seem clear is that the days of gold being seen as a long-term

store of value are probably numbered, and perhaps more especially because of the era of

high inflation which appears to have set in for the western world particularly.

Bitcoin, especially when the next halving event comes around, even in inflationary times, is

likely to go a lot higher (but don't hold me to this, Lol)!

As globalism descends into its nadir, there is less and less incentive for political blocs

or individual nations to pull together to achieve common goals. Each is defending its

own turf in a new dog-eat-dog world unfolding before our eyes; a case of

survival of the fittest. Blinken is trotting out a theme which many don't, or never have,

really subscribed to.

The new world order does not allow for statesman-like visionaries to hold sway.

Many countries, and including the larger power-blocs, are led by inward-looking dwarfs,

(not to cast aspersions on the vertically-challenged in society), who cannot see beyond

their ego and grip on their own power-base. A common theme is a reluctance of such

leaders to relinquish hard-won power (lots of fatuous speaches, hand-shaking and baby-kissing).  We must not expect the US leadership to be any different, led, as it is, by a self-serving political hack.

The dynamics at play between rules-based order, or international laws-based order,

are unlikely to change for the foreseeable future, short of a world war.

In the latter scenario, if there is no outright winner, who is going to pick up the pieces

in a resultant power-vacuum?

I have traveled with Qatar Airways many times over the years.

In February, I bought a return ticket, the second leg of which (the return portion) I have

changed twice over the past 6 weeks.

Each time, I have paid zero for the upgrade, and, it seems, I am able to make further

flight changes, should I wish, at no additional cost, right up until 30th September.

I have always found Middle East airlines, including QR, to be of much better quality than

say, BA or Virgin, even though travel times are much longer due to stop-overs in the

hub country.

An added bonus is the hold-baggage allowance of 2 x 23kgs, around twice what most

other airlines allow.

For the record, I have never once had a gripe with Qatar Airways.

58 minutes ago, LaosLover said:

Google tells me that the term African American became popular in the early 90's, popularized by noted and frequent baby daddy, Jesse Jackson.

 

Black people in America are very tribal (no racism intended). American blacks do not listen to reggae. There's a big north/south divide. AA was a unifier and also a demand for respect. 

 

I grew up in a very Italian American neighborhood. Those nice people knew nothing of Renaissance painters, opera, or sauce that didn't have a head of garlic in it. You would have to poll approximately ten million Italian Americans to find one who could name the current prime minister of Italy.

 

Funny story, in the film GoodFella's there's a scene in where they're cooking in prison and one guy says you can't put garlic and onions in the same sauce. Many Italian Americans have repeated this back to me. But the director made it up. He's an Italian American.

 

Most so-called culture is made up. Partic in America. The term hillbilly was invented by a New York Jewish show biz agent. People where I live proudly call themselves hillbillies.

 

Being American means being joyously ignorant of the entire world, without singling anyone out specifically for ignoring. I recall a NY Post headline: Cinder Block Falls On Model's Head. And then a sub-headline, 50,000 die in Earthquake.

 

We don't know where in the world those people died. We only know for sure that they weren't that good looking.

 

 

Perhaps because of its vastness, or richness of local variety, the United States has long been seen to be particularly parochial. It has been my opinion that the majority of Americans would not be able to find Africa on a map (unless it was already identified as such). This would also apply to places such as Australia, China, Russia, and many others, in my view, and which the average European scholar, for example, would easily be able to identify.

8 minutes ago, CM Dad said:

What a stupid comment.  This man is enlightened.  What exactly do you mean with that silly term "woke"?

Enlightened. Woke. These terms have a "modernistic" ring about them.

Why try to pin a label on this man?

The values he espouses may be his world view, and ones he has held throughout his life! 

1 hour ago, VocalNeal said:

Anyone who has been to Laos knows they ask "race" on the visa application form.

 

My 6ft+ blond haired Dutch friend used to write "Master" and was never questioned.

Are you sure he wasn't German?

The protagonist in the video is entitled to articulate his viewpoint, as are we all, providing we don't live under a  censorial or totalitarian regime where

free speech is verboten. 

The fact that HE says he is angry doesn't make him "an angry white man", 

in my opinion.

I don't believe his message to be contentious in the slightest, whilst I do disagree with some of the things he is seemingly in favour of.

To me, his basic message is that of "live, and let live".

Who can argue with that?

The US has to project military might around the world, and fight any wars

it deems necessary, in order to maintain and bolster dollar strength as the

world's reserve currency, a position it is not going to give up readily.

Something like 40% of the world's trade is conducted in USD, whilst the USA

itself only accounts for around 10% of international trade.

Protecting dollar strength is one means of restraining galloping inflation at

home, which is already at its highest in forty years. If the mighty dollar were

to fall, its purchasing power falls too.  The consequences domestically are

enormous. 

Mr Biden and the Dems have already figured this out. He wants a second

term. He can kiss it goodbye if inflation gets out of control.

12 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

"If the RTP provided the evidence for an Interpol Red Notice..."

They did and a Red Notice was issued.  The issue is that Interpol's notices are advices to member forces, they are not instructions, and he cannot be extradited from countries where he has not been arrested.

In any case, there would have to be an extradition treaty in place between the country where he is, let's say detained, and Thailand, in order for extradition to take place. It is not as straightforward as some appear to believe.

First, you need to have a life, not an existence!

There is no one size fits all or blanket answer to the OP's question, surely, unless

lawyers acting on a contingency basis are prohibited from doing so under Thai law?

Sure, it may not be the norm, but if a case is big enough, with a potentially large

pay-off to a lawyer who takes it, and he thinks it is win-able, then why not? His costs

are marginal, with the possibility of an above-average return.

The OP needs to dip his toe in the water, and see what may be out there, IMO.

The lady in question doesn't sound to be a rank amateur if she was

able to eject the magazine, place the live round in it, replace the

magazine in the pistol, jack the bullet up into the chamber, and fire it. 

In my view, it makes her conduct even more puzzling.

It is possible that the instructor died from the shock of sudden

blood loss.

There is investing, trading, and speculating. One has to understand the differences yet

none of these is for the faint of heart. If you don't understand what you are doing, stay

away and put your money where you are most comfortable. Be aware that low risk equals

low reward, however.

Not all crypto's are the same and it is important to do the homework before entering the 

market space. Only a few have real value propositions (use cases). 

Although called a cryptocurrency, Bitcoin is a tier-one long-term store of value, much like

gold has proven to be over a vastly-longer period. However, tier-two protocols have come

along, or are being developed, like the Lightning Network, which allow greater speeds and

functionality, and are allowing Bitcoin to be used as money.

Broadly speaking, Bitcoin is correlated to the S & P, and Nasdaq, although it will de-couple in

time, and will be a stand-alone asset.

Volatility is a given, how else has it wildly out-performed other risk assets since its inception?

It may be likened to the early days of the internet, which, don't forget, was once written-off

as a non-starter. Just look at it today, though. Where would we be without it?

Bitcoin adoption is growing twice as fast as the internet did. Essentially, it is the internet of

money. For those who recognise this, the long-term rewards are enormous. It is easy, 

however, to bark and disparage it from the sidelines, largely by those who have not made

the effort to understand its true value. Time will tell!

A case in point: Amazon was hugely volatile in its formative years, even dropping as much

as 90%. For those who kept the faith, their money has multiplied by thousands of a percent.

Expect Bitcoin to do the same.

It would appear to me that the deckchair/ coconut vendor

was simply setting out the ground rules of his particular,

individual operation, and in the manner peculiar to his

culture.

This affronted the OP's Eurocentric and delicate sensibilities, and who will never darken the vendor's doorstep again! Lol

National inflation numbers are massaged or manipulated.

Anyone who believes government-published inflation figures is living in a fool's paradise.

Regular trips to the grocery store tell you all you need to know.

Individually, our personal inflation rates are highly skewed one way or the other from

those produced by governments.  What if you don't own a car? No gas/ petrol, maintenance

costs. What if you live in a home which has been fully paid for? No rent to pay, etc.

ACTUAL inflation numbers, those in the REAL WORLD, are 1.5 to 2 times what governments are telling you.

Lastly, keeping your money in the bank is not a smart move. Simplistically, if inflation is running at 10% and the bank is paying you

2% interest annually, it is costing you 8% each year to keep your money in the bank. After around 6 years, the TRUE value of your money is around a half of that you had when you started.

There is an interesting "take" on Karma, if one believes that time is on a loop - a continuum - as posited by Albert Einstein. This means that the future may have already happened.

Thus, is one paying for a bad deed done in the past, or paying forward for a bad deed done in the "future"?

8 hours ago, Flink said:

 

8 hours ago, Flink said:

I think you misunderstand the OP's point. It's not that he doesn't like foreigners. What, I believe, the OP is getting at is how foreigners arriving in their home country are changing it in ways that are not necessarily for the better. When you live in a foreign country, like Vietnam, you expect not to be able to read the road signs, find shops catering only to people of a different ethnicity/nationality to you. When those things begin to happen in your own country it begins to show you that the foreigners in your own country are getting the upper hand. Case in point, the recent furore over the new signs appearing at Whitechapel Underground station. When a council decides to change the some of the name boards at an international airport or arrivals hub to a foreign language we understand the logic. Lots of foreign tourists so make it easier for them to understand. When it is happening at a local underground station it conveys the notion that the area is no longer an area dominated by the natives. When you fancy a "City Break" with the wife for a weekend but find it hard to book a hotel because they've been block booked by the government to house people who entered the country illegally. When you see churches closing down but more and more mosques being built month after month. When you find yourself being accosted in the street by men in strange costumes calling your wife unspeakable things because she is wearing a sleeveless summer dress on a hot day. THAT is the "too many foreigners" people don't like. It is not a xenophonic thing, more a feeling of losing your own national identity.

Exceptionally well-argued and explained!

I cannot remember the source, now, but I once read that The London Rubber Company, then makers of the "Durex" brand condoms, had to make a smaller size than normal for the German market!

No problems at all at Doha! I came through Heathrow on 8th March. The immigration queue was not an issue and moved along quite rapidly.

I encountered a slight delay using the automated (British) passport-reader, and had to ask for help from a "boundary-rider". She advised that I remove my passport cover before inserting the passport in the scanner, and my problem was immediately resolved.

Upper implants I received twenty-five years ago eventually worked loose and came out.

Two years ago I researched the costs of having the work re-done, either in Thailand or

India. Indian prices were far cheaper than those of the dentists in Thailand. The dental

practice I corresponded with most in India was also prepared to negotiate on price,

Thailand practices less-so.