allanos

"That thought, analysis and planning was deficient, because Putin had surrounded himself with yes-men. He did not have anyone in his inner circle of advisers to say this is a bad idea".

Do you have intimate knowledge of this, or is it simply conjecture on your part? Are you privy

to the strategic inputs of Soviet central command?

"Russia does not have undisputed control of Ukrainian airspace".

No, but they could have, if they wanted it, and was my point which you have overlooked.

What Putin and his troops are doing in Ukraine is abhorrent, no question. Thailand's stance in all of this is a side-show, not to be even a footnote in history. 

Aside from the hysterical chants that he is a psychopath or a megalomaniac, what does a reasoned analysis of the bigger picture say? The man is an ex-KGB major, after all, and no doubt has an above-average appreciation of geopolitics.

He did not wake up one morning and say, "I think I will invade Ukraine today"; a lot of thought, analysis and planning would have gone into making the decision. It is also true to say that he has only wrought a small percentage of Russia's overall might upon Ukraine; he could have used the vast Soviet air-power to quickly bring the whole of Ukraine to its figurative knees. But he hasn't done so. What is the game-plan?

What too, is the endgame? Mr Putin will surely have one in mind. We have yet to see it play out.

And to the poster who said wars are all about money, I agree wholeheartedly. There are bankers and middlemen no doubt rubbing their grubby little hands with glee, for, no matter the outcome, they will exit far richer than when they went into the war.

"I am doing my best to minimize contact with others  by coming Q suites with Qatar".

I don't think this will help much if you are flying banjo class with QR, as I did recently.

An Arab gentleman, sitting next to me, coughed and spluttered the whole of my journey

to Doha, where, thankfully, he disembarked. Similarly, many of the other pax around me

were coughing, the whole of that leg.

I picked up a serious cold (not covid) from my particular flight nearly a month ago, and

it is still with me.

My advice is to fly business or first class to avoid close contact with others. 

Posted twice

The OP states that his forex broker is "listed" on the MT5 platform, which is quite incorrect.

The broker has simply purchased the rights to use the MT5 platform to allow his clients to trade.

MT5 is not endorsing the broker in any way, which is a totally different thing.

It is clear that the OP did not perform any due diligence before involving himself with this particular broker. The important warning, "caveat emptor", applies in all such dealings.

Nevertheless, it occurs to me that rather than being a scam, the broker may have certain parameters in place which do not allow a swift withdrawal of trading funds; there may be a delay in place.  Such parameters may be detailed in the fine print of the contract the OP entered into at the outset. It may be worthwhile taking a closer look at the agreement.

Something else: how was the account originally funded? If by a credit/debit card, then it is possible any loss by way of a "scam" may be clawed back from the card issuer. It may be worth a look.

Is the broker licensed, registered with a particular Authority?

Start there!

Until recently, "climate change" was called "global warming" by alarmists, until it was shown that the globe ain't warming. So another narrative had to be introduced to feed the sheeple, and further enrich the powerful elites.

Nonetheless, it cannot be gainsaid that the climate is changing, as it has done for millennia and longer. What is contentious is how much anthropomorphic (man-made) activity has contributed to it in modern times, which cannot be proven. Furthermore, do the doomsayers believe, (if they have thought about it), that reducing egregious human consumption, pollutants and harmful gases to some kind of "net-zero" will actually impact, much less reverse, climate change? The argument is tenuous, to say the least.

Not to say that curbing large-scale, industrial waste and pollution is a bad thing, of course. But we shouldn't overlook the advances that have been brought to human civilisation because of industrialisation.  For example, plastics have brought life-changing benefits to mankind; it's disposal leaving much to be desired, however. This latter "side-effect", or unintended consequence, is something which can be improved, even eradicated, given sufficient will.

My instinct is that an immense amount of the supposed impending perils wrought by climate change are invoked by vested interests; primarily, a case of "follow the money".  Much of the  disaster scenario timelines painted by Al Gore in the misleadingly titled, "An Inconvenient Truth", did not eventuate and have proven to be a crock of faeces.  Those leading scientists who attempt to portray a different reality are ignored, sidelined, shouted down, or have their funding cut off.

At this stage, the bandwagon would appear to be unstoppable, as politics, and vast sums of money being made by those with an eye on the main chance, are the main drivers, no matter the truths or absence thereof behind the move.

Back when Zimbabwe was called Rhodesia, and South Africa was employing a domestic policy known as Apartheid, what the OP is suggesting, (trans-shipping etc) was called "sanctions busting"!

If Thailand sows the wind, it may reap the whirlwind!

Post your graphs from the EA showing drawdowns and we will see how profitable you are using the robot, and which pairs you are trading for profit.

I'm speaking under correction, but I think the Thai tax authorities have kicked the can down the road, for now.

PayPal has done cross-border instant payments since the early 2000s.

There is something the poster clearly does not understand here.

Payments systems using the bitcoin network, like Lightning, are instantaneous, and IRREVERSIBLE.

Final settlement is immediate

In the case of banks, Pay Pal etc, final settlement can take up to ten days, and transactions can be reversed within that time frame.

13 minutes ago, lkn said:

This does not exclude it being a ponzi, and furthermore, the finite amount is pretty questionable. Yes, there will only be 21 million bitcoins, but then we have a handful of forks, each adding another 21 million, and then we have split one bitcoin into 100 million satoshis, so multiplying by 100 million, and then we actually trade bitcoin in USDT and other stable coins, which seems to have near infinite supply without anything backing them, and then we have MicroStrategy as a proxy for buying bitcoins, which can issue infinite stocks, etc.

 

But what does it even mean? It is just numbers, nothing underlies it, no value generated, and that is why it resembles a ponzi so much.

Sorry chum, your ignorance of, in particular, Bitcoin, is shining through with everything you post. A million bitcoin forks can be attempted, but none of them will replace Bitcoin. Reason? There will be zero adoption.

As to MicroStrategy, their capital structure cannot be infinitely diluted. That would be plain dumb.

Blackrock, with ten trillion dollars AUM is a substantial shareholder. Do you seriously think they are going to underwrite a Ponzi scheme?

I have now concluded your are trolling and shall no longer respond to your posts.

1 hour ago, Longwood50 said:

You are correct.  typo.  There are many ways to make money.  You can go to Las Vegas and bet on red vs black at the roulette wheel also.  I have to admit to not being an expert in crypto currency.  However my years in the investment business always taught me the value of an investment was a multiple of a businesses expected profits.  An earning multiple.  Cryto is really a commodity but unlike a true commodity such as oil, soybeans, orange juice etc it really doesn't exist.  

Value is determined by "perception"  When people perceive something has value they price it accordingly.  Perhaps I am naïve but the only way cryto appreciates in value is because a new purchaser is willing to pay more for it than the person who already owns it.  It can not generate income.  Contrast that to Apple who makes products and sells services.  Apple sales and profits can increase which in turn makes the owning the company more desirable to own and hence valuable. Perhaps there will be many who make vast fortunes in crypto currency.  I personally don't like investing where the only avenue for making a gain is someone who is a bigger fool than I am for buying the intangible in the first place.  

Will you change your thesis when Apple buys Bitcoin for its Treasury? (It's gonna happen)!

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

 

As others have explained there is indeed a downside and no responsible doctor will implant you without a definitive biopsy first.

 

Treatment in India will be far less expensive than Thailand. Do your research though to select good hospital & doctor in India.

Thank you, Sheryl,  very kindly for your excellent advice,  which I fully accept. You will understand that I am exploring possibilities, answers to which are leading me in the right direction. 

Take care

56 minutes ago, dj230 said:

Just because something is a Ponzi doesn't mean you can't make money on the way up, that's how ponzi's work

 

Curious education background in tech, school/degrees?

 

Learning how to not fall for typical gambling mentality helps a lot with trading, it really isn't that hard to make profits in the stock market if you understand how to calculate risk / reward. A lot of my profits were just from small trades adding up and compounding. 2-5% each trade, sometimes 10-20% a trade if I got lucky, I sell all my loses quickly, don't have much losing trades and if I do they're all miniscule. Unfortunately most people don't, they just buy and hold all the way down. 

 

I was in high school in 2012, was suggested to buy some from a close friend, was too skeptical for me even though I had a decent amount saved by then. I make my calculations based off risk/reward, and bitcoin then and now has too much risk for the reward. Congrats on buying it early on, will see if the Ponzi can continue though. I'm surprised you're still working with such a big win on bitcoin buying at 2013, you must have made tens of millions? I myself have already quit work, I just trade & invest for income now. 

 

It's down near 50% from all time highs, gambler/bagholder mentality, lots of people saying the same about GameStop's stock and AMC stock, "it'll come back one day" 

 

 

It is not clear how you have been smart enough to calculate the risk/ reward at any stage of Bitcoin's upward trajectory. 

The downside is limited to the size of the investment in BTC. The upside is incalculable; in theory, it is infinity (which is why bitcoiners talk about the Moon).

Please enlighten us on your methodology to calculate the risk/ reward (I prefer to see it as reward/risk), and which has kept you out of this "Ponzi" scheme.

As an aside, do you understand what a fool you are making of yourself by calling Bitcoin a Ponzi scheme.  Unlike a Ponzi, Bitcoin cannot be inflated; there is a mathematically finite amount of it. Then there are the mining adjustments, and the halvings to take into account. It simply speaks to your lack of understanding, lack of research in this crypto in particular.

26 minutes ago, Boomer6969 said:

It isn't one implant, but 60 to 120 seeds, which will have side effects. After implantation you'd have prostatitis symptoms which can worsen and in some case lead to urinary retention. Over the subsequent years you may become impotent. Incontinence is less frequent.

 

So you don't want to jump into any radical treatment without knowing the location and size of your tumour, the biopsy will be needed to assess its malignancy. 

 

The silver lining is that may be able to delay any definitive treatment if the tumour is small and has a Gleason score of 6 possibly 7. Many people live 10 to 20 years with their prostate cancer and die with it, not from it.

Excellent, cogent reply. Thanks a lot. I shall take on board what you have to say.

51 minutes ago, phutoie2 said:

Vibhavadi Hospital in Chatuchak District. On Vibhavadi Rangsit Road has a good urologist. It's a private hospital but the Doc is a good bloke. Supports Liverpool and we spent some time talking about English footy. I cannot remember his name but they sorted me out. One of those mysterious infections from a liaison.... 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for the recommendation. The fact that he supports Liverpool might just give him the inside track. Lol

2 minutes ago, allanos said:

 

Hello, again, Sheryl. I'm sorry to bother you, but there is another thought which occurs to me.

You no doubt have read between the lines that I am self-funding and am looking for the most

cost-efficient route I can go to ameliorate my (supposed) condition.

In light of my urologist's considered opinion that the small lump on my prostate is a cancer, in

which he has come to the conclusion also aided by pathology lab reports over the past nine months in respect of my PSA and free PSA readings, how would you comment on the possibility of my electing to go straight to brachytherapy, by-passing both the MRI and the prostate biopsy?

If this is a possibility, is there a downside to carrying such an implant in my body should the lump not, in fact, be cancerous?

Thank you, once again.

24 minutes ago, JoePai said:

Dr Niti at the Bangkok Pattaya Hospital has been looking after me - very good, would recommend

Thank you for taking an interest, JoePai, and for the useful recommendation. 

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

"Thank you for your kind help, Sheryl. I am still in South Africa, so my main purpose is to see if I can get some quotations on procedures which appear to be necessary, from Thailand clinicians. On your earlier recommendation I have recently consulted with a urologist, who conducted an ultrasound scan and an internal examination. Sans an MRI, he is very convinced that a small lump he has found on my prostate is cancerous.

He believes the next steps, in my case, should be an MRI followed by a confirmatory biopsy, after which a surgical implant of a radiation pellet. I am 77 years old and in reasonable health."

 

In this case you do not need to contact a urologist first but rather email the hospitals and request prices for the specific procedures:

 

multiparametric MRI of prostate (only a few hospitals in Thailand can do this)

prostate biopsy

brachytherapy (Radiation implant for prostate cancer)

 

In your emails to hospitals keep it brief and just ask the estimated price of the above. The people who will read these emails have no medical training and will just refer to a price list. Any added medical details will likely just confuse them.

 

I would be surprised if, taking travel costs into account, it will save much if any money to do this in Thailand vs South Africa. Thai government hospitals would be cheaper but their use involves a lot of red tape and long waits and thus is not very feasible for travelers. Also they now have long wait lists for elective procedures due to COVID.

 

If the issue is that you plan to be in Thailand anyway, then I suggest to get the MRI and biopsy in SA first then think about just the radiation treatment and follow up here.

 

Hospital emails:

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

 

 

Thank you for the valuable and great advice, Sheryl, it is extremely useful. I am awaiting final quotations for all of these procedures and processes to be done locally, hence why I should like to make an overseas comparison. Yes, of course I have to factor in return airfares, but I am expecting exchange-rates to be very much in my favour as far as Thailand vs South Africa. I also intend trying to obtain comparative quotations from a couple of clinics in Mumbai, India, where I also expect to find the exchange-rate to be favourable for me.

 

You have been really very helpful.

Thank you and take care.

 

 

 

 

18 hours ago, Sheryl said:

I don't know of any you can contact first by email. You'll need to make an appointment and see the doctor in person.

 

I could advise better if I knew the type of problem.

 

In Pattaya, several TV members have spoken well of this urologist:

https://www.bangkokpattayahospital.com/en/doctor-profile?v_id=205&depid=28

 

In Bangkok, many good choices. Depending on the nature of the problem:

 

Dr. Charuspong Dissaraan at Bumrungrad. US trained and excellent. Very good interpersonal manner. https://www.bumrungrad.com/en/doctors/Charuspong-Dissaranan

Dr. Viroj Chodchoy at Bumrungrad   - UK trained,  has treated a number of TV members for prostate cancer and other problems  https://www.bumrungrad.com/doctors/Viroj-Chodchoy  

Thank you for your kind help, Sheryl. I am still in South Africa, so my main purpose is to see if I can get some quotations on procedures which appear to be necessary, from Thailand clinicians. On your earlier recommendation I have recently consulted with a urologist, who conducted an ultrasound scan and an internal examination. Sans an MRI, he is very convinced that a small lump he has found on my prostate is cancerous.

He believes the next steps, in my case, should be an MRI followed by a confirmatory biopsy, after which a surgical implant of a radiation pellet. I am 77 years old and in reasonable health.

I shall make contact with the urologists you have mentioned. Dr Chodchoy, as he appears to be a cancer specialist, may be helpful in my case, and I do thank you for taking an interest, once again.

18 hours ago, Sheryl said:

 

18 hours ago, Sheryl said: