Enzian

If I were one of those being held by Hamas I would think of myself safe and lucky in the sense that I may soon be in a place where I will never again feel pain, for eternity.

So if I stay over 180 days. My residential rental property in the US month to month generates a free cash flow over and above expenses, though that money is only tangentially related to what my year end US tax return will say is my taxable income for the year (because of depreciation write-offs, etc., etc.), and it's that declaration that I will definitely pay US taxes on in the next calendar year. But during the current year my manager transfers some of that cash flow from the main business account to my Thai bank for my living expenses. (He's also transferring my SS monies that accumulate, but that alone is seldom enough.) Technically I haven't paid US tax on that transferred money yet, though normally I will. So is that money from the business what Thailand may want to tax? And how would that play out? And when will we know? And how do I/we proceed until we know? And after we know?

"If anything happens to the hostages, the Israeli forces would be blamed." By you, apparently.

They had to opt for something more rather than less expensive because there were already the "sunk costs" of the submarine deal!

This is going to get very interesting because mainstream Thai culture (though not the highest levels) is gentle, conciliatory, willing to listen, respectful of others and their differences, while currently staring into the face of an evil so profound that it makes even the student killings of 1973 and 1976 pale in comparison. What will the mood be if we slowly learn drop by drop that every one of those hostages is forfeit and defunct, that Hamas could not care less, that Thailand means nothing to them because their eye is on a far bigger prize, and there is nothing anyone here can do to change that, it's hopeless? I'm not predicting, but if you think I am, then I hope I'm totally wrong.

If the patient is on any kind of government subsidized health plan then he should be given the choice of following the doctor's recommendation or paying for it himself when the time arrives that he likes; otherwise, if his condition has deteriorated by then, he is taking resources away from other patients.

The hostage holdings are working for Hamas just as intended by Hamas from the time they started this crisis. This article just explains how Iran, which bankrolls Hamas, thinks about how the hostage situation should work for them.

The first paragraph refers to "Hamas militants". Can we stop this!? I see it on Reddit, I see it on mainstream news services, the UN probably loves that expression. They are terrorists! They don't wear uniforms, they don't follow any recognized rules of war, their stated goal is the death of all Jews in the middle east, they lack any shred of human empathy.

I want to say something serious. To illustrate, my father was an alpha male and made a lot of money and was fairly good at handling it. He lived a long time, but when he reached a certain age I had to to take control of his finances and learn when to say no, which was a complete reversal of our relationship. This should be common understanding. Take over. Do not let them make mistakes. Dominate. Period. And I doubt if I will object when my son starts doing it to me, which he already has in small ways.

After what just happened it is simply incredible that someone would say this. Peace be to your soul.

Taiwan.

Everyone knows how this goes: you have to hope for the best and expect the worst. They are all dead men (and women and children) walking until proven otherwise. Besides a strong smattering of Buddhism I am not "religious", but if I were I would be praying that I will live to see the end of Hamas as an organization of any kind.

How can this official say Thailand remains neutral and then advocate a two state solution, the ultimate view of total outsiders? Hamas doesn't want a two state solution, they've shown that over and over. They want one state, with every Jew dead; it's part of their charter. But they may get what they want ironically because Israel now has little choice but to incorporate Gaza as the only path to any sort of security; they can't keep letting this happen over and over. But if Hamas is allowed to survive this, will Thailand want any of its citizens to stay in that area? Is removing them neutral?

That's because it's nothing close to a real democracy; it's actually run by autocrats who have some lines they will not cross, at least not yet. But what if we all put out some PSAs to insure that every person paying the incoming tourist tax connects it in their minds for a moment to a deranged random killing of foreigners in a mall--and don't let them forget! The baht today is 37.07/dollar; keep it up Thailand.

Ah but we do have benefit from the vote-buying populist schemes! Foreign investors and other entities will not miss the fiscal mismanagement and growing national debt, and the failure to do anything meaningful to curb rising household debt. The baht is hovering around 37/dollar and may well stay in that range or worse (for Thais, not us) as long as this goes on. I can criticize (because I do wish the best for the people even if they do not understand how that is to be obtained), and still benefit in a sick way.

I suggest that citizens put this albatross around their own necks by who they vote for. It seems that being "advanced" is not the problem as much as being "democratic" with a small "d". AFAIK no one has disproved the theory that democracies eventually self-destruct due to the propensity of its citizens to vote themselves benefits from the public treasury, regardless of the consequences. And no, I have no idea of a solution for this problem.

They could put that money into something like improving education, but noooo. Because then people might start to think. A week after the handout the "poor" will still be poor, and will be poor for the rest of their lives, waiting for the next handout. But looking at where the baht has fallen, I'd say don't interrupt your enemy while he is making a mistake; the way PT is going, it looks like the baht may be in a range with a floor of 35/dollar for some time to come.

You missed the part about the army helicopters they will use to drop money over Isaan.

It reminds me of time when I was in the Hell's Angels club house in Oakland, but they didn't allow me to take pictures. Similar organization though.

The point is that there is are optimal rates for different classes of goods that would maximize total revenue. And though it's hard to be precise what those rates are, the present rates are almost certainly too high. So either they are too stupid to understand that, or they don't care. Setting aside protectionism and the like, I think that they don't care, because with lower rates the upper middle class might look too much like themselves, and can't have that.

This goes along with the article above worrying about the economy in general. Thailand is becoming less competitive in various ways--talent pool, political stability, taxation policies, control of corruption, lack of competition in retail, and on--and the new government is responding with talk about handouts and debt suspension which will just create moral hazard. Ah, the good old days! Sanook is great when the tide is rising for everyone, but atm the tide is going out for many parts of the world, and Thailand is in a holding pattern for the status quo. "Competition" in general seems to be a dirty word for the Thai elite, and I've yet to see that PT party is any different in this regard. But today the baht is headed toward 36.5; there's always a silver lining!

Specifically it's come increase out tax base so we can pay for the upcoming farmer bail-outs, welfare give-aways, effective vote-buying of our populist policies without driving up the national debt to the point that voters think twice about us in the next elections--assuming that the next elections will mean anything at all.

I spent a fair amount of time in Provence and the Cote d'Asur in the past year and saw not only many examples of this work but also a lot of the landscapes and locations that were the subjects. It's one of the most beautiful parts of the world of course, that's why so many worked and settled there, and the artists were not apologetic about searching out heart aching beauty. You have to remember that this is a time that the French middle and upper middle class was on a historic high; life was not just good, it was great. But all this changed with one catastrophic event, the First World War, which to many seemed like the end--or at least the refutation--of European Civilization. Personally I can't look at this body of work without at some point reflecting on the sadness and irony of what followed.

Because those countries socialize carefully selected segments with restraint and intelligence. Need I spell it out? TIT. Price controls never result in optimal outcomes for everyone. Sooner or later (and it can take a long time in some cases) prices will revert to the mean, except that that figure may actually be higher than that which would have resulted with no controls and better policies. There are so many moving parts in any situation that economists can't be exact, but the general rule holds. I like populism, but this new government is already trying too hard to have its cake and eat it too. One thing that would help Thai consumers greatly would be genuine competition in a range of consumer product prices, which I dare say is minimal right now in many areas.

Gold shops are too tempting, and should be shut down; every time a Thai female friend comes close to one they lose their minds. Oh, and I've heard anecdotes that robbers like them too.