placnx

It seems that the Irish Republic is deferring to EU as an excuse for not seriously engaging Boris et al, and EU is saying that they will not do anything to damage the open border, so in effect deferring to Irish government. Catch-22!!! 

Meanwhile EU bureaucrats are making such a fuss about their standards, how there will have to be border checks if there is no backstop. Yet if Northern Ireland keeps to the same EU product standards, then after Brexit it should only be a question of goods going out of Britain to mainland EU or Northern Ireland needing customs treatment. It's not necessarily the same situation as with people, so I can understand the UK offer being rational, to maintain UK national unity.

So when people get off a boat or plane upon arriving on the island of Eire, there could be a door/lane for EU citizens just going to the Republic, while the other door/lane could be for foreign nationals or EU people wanting to also visit Northern Ireland and the UK. They could receive some sort of passport stamp and perhaps a QR code card or image on phone to pass or respond to any checking, especially if they go on to UK (over the water). If a flight is arriving from a non-EU country, immigration has checks, anyway.

For repetitive trade within the island, online pre-registration should be feasible. The technology already exists for checking vehicle registration plates, so cross-border shipments could be accounted without inspection stops.

Ireland should have requested a mandate from the EU to handle the negotiations for its border on its own since this could just be an elaboration of existing arrangements. But of course that would not accord with obstructionist agendas.

It should be obvious that the backstop would never end and that May's deal is a Catch-22 - endless blackmail by the 27 remainer countries. No wonder it was rejected 3 times by Parliament. The current impasse exposes, gives a preview of the dilatory game that would await the UK should it fall into the May trap. So it's better to confront this stonewalling now than to endure years of fruitless grandstanding by EU grandees.

Though we must remember that it's never over - up next - the trade negotiations!!! How many years will that go on? 27 with vetoes vs 1. Without serious reform, the EU may disassemble beforehand.

29 minutes ago, jany123 said:

What a croc!

 

i got my start in life thru my parents contacts, as do a whole lot of people... for example, the trump got started with his dad’s dosh, which kept coming, despite multiple bankruptcies. Imagine the string pulling to keep a multiple bankrupt in work!

 

meanwhile, regards the salary in question... the only way for this to be relevant is if his salary is compared to that of other board members at the time. 

 

Witch hunt! Hoax! Fake news! ????????????

Yes, I'm waiting for someone to check whether the reported $50,000 per month is in line with what others were/are paid in Ukraine. Getting hired by a foreign possibly state company in a corrupt country while one's father is a national leader in a democracy is tendentious. Smacks of influence peddling.

Is there a moderate core with a potential leadership in Likud that can annul the link with religious parties and definitively dump Netanyahu? Could Likud continue with a minimum of defections? Something has to give in Likud for Lieberman's party to join in a unity government. Could such a government get serious about a two-state solution? It's the ultimate question.

After May became Home Secretary she suddenly put out an edict requiring quite high level English for people (maybe meaning Pakistanis) to get a visa to study English in the UK. As a result of this Catch-22 many language schools were undermined. I don't know what happened after that, since I gave up the idea of helping a Tibetan exit Tibet (temporarily) this way.

This is a good assessment of May's record as Home Secretary:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/18/what-does-theresa-mays-record-as-home-secretary-tell-us

Regarding education immigration, scroll down to

Boris is proposing adding 20000 policemen. May reduced policing by 30000:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/07/05/theresa-may-disastrous-home-secretary-prime-minister-policing/

When the Referendum decided "leave", I was appalled  by the idea of May as PM, realizing that it would be a monumental nightmare dictated by Madame Catch-22, i.e. May!!!

If Boris had been PM back then, perhaps the EU and Ireland would have been unable to pass responsibility back and forth in order to prevent a solution to the Irish border, since there would have been adequate time to work out a solution. Instead we had a dilatory minuet between May and her remainer cohort on the one hand and, on the other, EU actors determined to sabotage the outcome for the first defector from the U.S.E. project [U.S.E. = United States of Europe] 

If needed I will further explain the bad faith game that Ireland and EU played in order to entangle the UK in this horror which the EU may one day fairly soon sorely regret.

The comment by JAG (#7) seems well reasoned.

I think that the PM has a duty to the people to see Brexit through. I find that the strategy adopted by his opponents, i.e. drafting a law to command the PM to do a specific action in a unique situation, to be a circuitous, if not cynical, avoidance of procedure.

Meanwhile, the PM may have further options not discussed here yet, namely to thwart the Royal Assent by either the Government refusing to present the bill or by the PM advising the Queen not to sign the bill. (This is discussed in an article entitled "Brexit Spat Tests Tacit Dictum: Never Put the Queen on the Spot" in Saturday's Wall Street Journal). While this has apparently not happened since 1708, we are living in tumultuous times.

The suggestion that the PM resign, if he cannot or will not execute such a command of Parliament, seems more like an act that a minister or bureaucrat would do in the face of a policy of the PM or the Government.

Rather, if the PM somehow goes against the will of Parliament, the Tories could through the 1922 Committee replace the PM or the Parliament could take a no-confidence vote.

1 hour ago, NCC1701A said:

i can remember JFK also. I was 8 years old.

I was watching on TV when it happened. A great irony is that Kennedy would have been president, not Noxin. Besides the China problem created by Kissinger/Nixon, the whole transformation of the Republican Party began with the Southern Strategy to bring what we see today, not to mention the rise of Trump. So the action by Sirhan, a Palestinian, finally means that chances for Palestinians to have a state are as a result practically dead!

1 hour ago, newnative said:

     Just ridiculous.  If they wanted the buildings preserved it was up to the Thai government to protect them from development.  Don't go crying to Britain now that it's too late.  Hopefully, this has taught you a hard lesson and you'll look around at what else should be preserved and protect it--but likely not.  This will probably just be repeated--wringing of hands after something is demolished.  And, yes, there are ways of developing a historic site while preserving important buildings, working around them, and repurposing them. 

In Chiang Mai the former British Consulate building was retained in the design of a modern hotel (now called Anantara)

https://www.anantara.com/en/chiang-mai This old building adds a lot - is used for restaurant & bar.

Perhaps the Bangkok residence was too big or poorly sited to be fit for a new use.

23 minutes ago, Handsome Gardener said:

I think I've asked a couple of times now so lets have another go - if Brexit was a well costed, economically viable idea that would thrust the UK into better times, why isn't the pound going up ?

The worst thing is uncertainty, certainly enough to depress the Pound. The backstop was a recipe for unending uncertainty.

I'm annoyed that May had three years during which her Brexit men could have worked out a solution for the border with the Irish Republic. Then there would have been no need for the backstop.

39 minutes ago, mikebike said:

I don't think they would be in today's predicament if the British govt didn't try to hang on to a lucrative part of the decayed empire about 40yrs too long. Shoulda let it go post WWII with Singapore et al.

The problem is/was that most of the territory was on lease from the Emperor of China. Now that there's a new emperor in town, it's difficult to conceive of democracy straddling any part of China. Taiwan people are watching in apprehension, no doubt.

19 hours ago, tifino said:

I'm thinking that the orignal plan will go ahead... but with one major change!

 

Hong Kong becomes 'the' Prison island itself

Maybe they can dredge sand on to a local reef so that HK can have its own Devil's Island prison. Otherwise they might have to spirit them across the border to ....

56 minutes ago, placnx said:

For those who are non-Brits, please explain why the Tories would not have a leadership vote after 3 September. This happened to May, but failed. Among the Tory MPs, what percentage seems to currently back Brexit?

10 minutes ago, AlexRich said:

I believe the vast majority of Tory MP’s will back Brexit with a deal and smooth transition ... the problem is a no deal Brexit.

My question regarding a leadership vote when parliament returns obviously assumes that there is no deal in sight. Anyone who understands Tory rules, please explain why no one above is debating this pivotal question! From all the above comments, it seems plausible that Brexit will go ahead (unless Irish PM does an about face).

For those who are non-Brits, please explain why the Tories would not have a leadership vote after 3 September. This happened to May, but failed. Among the Tory MPs, what percentage seems to currently back Brexit?

I found this link which describes quite well the requirements for a Thai will.

https://www.samuiforsale.com/family-law/forms-of-wills-under-thai-law.html

It is good to state in the text of the Thai will that it pertains only to assets situated in Thailand, if you have another will covering your estate in general.

If you do not have a will conforming to Thai law, I believe that you might be deemed intestate, and then your Thai assets would be distributed to recognized beneficiaries accordingly, if any, and hopefully not be seized by the state!!

My understanding is that for Thai assets you should have a Thai will, written by hand. You can have this registered, at amphur office, I seem to remember. For the sake of clarity, I typed a copy of this will, in case someone might misinterpret my handwriting.

Then you should have the will mentioned in your UK will, that this other will covers your Thai assets. As for getting the assets from Thailand, that is a separate question.

As some have mentioned conspiracy theories, there are two plausible ones:

1) Ireland is obstructing negotiations with the UK in the hope that the eventual result will be default unification of the North with the Republic. (Will some please comment on internal Irish politics, as I wonder about Varadkar's motivations.)

2) The UK Labor party and EU Commission are hoping for a general election to reverse Brexit.

Are these parties so sure that UK Conservatives would vote along with Labor to bring down the Johnson government? The result of a general election could well decimate the Conservatives to the benefit of LibDems.

1 hour ago, Brickbat said:

Most consumption is on borrowed money. Money is cheap now. Most people worldwide , and most Thais,  have no clue about simple home economics or consequences. 

Day of reckoning will arrive, worldwide,  as it’s inevitable rates will rise and the world will see another gfc. This bull run has been the longest and the fall will be harder. 

I think it’s late this year or 2020 when cash will be king as panic sets into a Sell frenzy. 

 

And...it’s just another opinion! Nice to have one!

The gfc (global financial crisis) is coming. It will probably be worse than 2007 since there has been all the borrowing worldwide, plus the difficulties of major countries unable to coordinate policies, plus the further difficulty of making economic policy to respond effectively to a severe economic dislocation, US and EU especially. Manipulating interest rates has practically run its course. Even quantitative easing has effective limits.

This will be a debt trap for consumers. For countries, it's hard to imagine the US Dollar getting much higher, so that's one consolation. On the other hand, deflation will be bad news for resource-driven economies. Rate rises are less an issue for major countries. That problem will come in countries, as in Turkey now, where excessive borrowing and inflation leads to a vicious circle where interest rates are a mechanism to stabilize the exchange rate of the local currency.  

You should check out the Dtac Net to Go roaming service. I was in Japan for almost 3 weeks, and this worked very well. Getting data and phone service in Japan is extremely complicated and expensive for non-residents, but with this service I did not have to have two phones or SIMMs. https://www.dtac.co.th/en/postpaid/services/roaming/net-to-go.html

This service works in 24 countries.

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

The GMP standards appear to be designed to set a standard for manufacturing and pharmaceutical production. How can this be applied towards fruit imports? It sounds a bit fishy to me. And more than likely the hurdles for qualifying are both expensive, and onerous. So, there must be an agenda in play here.

Here is link from FAO regarding GMP standards for fruit export:

http://www.fao.org/3/V5030E/V5030E0t.htm

21 hours ago, bluesofa said:

I take it they won't be doing a blood test to compare any claimant with the exhibit, unless they've kept his blood somewhere else.

 

They can get DNA from Si Quey to compare with collateral relations. Maybe it would be culturally appropriate to ship him back to China in a box. I wonder whether he didn't just drink the babies' blood, rather than eating intestines as was hypothesized. Cannibalism as a cultural practice in China is well documented, even in Imperial banquets!

57 minutes ago, Greenside said:

I'm not clear from your description if you mean that there is now an Immigration staff member who hands out the tickets to those with the appropriate documents who arrive before a certain time.  If that is 06:00, what happens between 06:00 and when the doors open for processing.  Can you put it more plainly, please?

This morning it was fine to get a morning queue number for retirement soon before 8 AM, but I suspect that you could arrive some time after 8 if you are OK with an afternoon appointment.

I'm doing a retirement extension this week, and normally I give a friend a power of attorney (POA) to get a queue number. Last week on another thread there were apparently cases where stand-ins with POAs could not get a queue number. If anyone has experience this week, please provide feedback.

Why don't you look up Nasi Jumpru. Not sure of open on Sundays. High end modern Thai food.

https://en-gb.facebook.com/Nasi-Jumpru-Chiangmai-653197674697731/

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g1380884-d3162575-Reviews-Nasi_Jumpru-San_Kamphaeng.html

I have a VAIO VPCEA16FH running Win 7 64-bit but can't get the Repair Disc to work. A CM shop wiped the HD and installed a circa 2011 Win 7 Home Edition, so there could be hundreds of Windows updates to replace. Horrible!! I have a System Image from a week ago, but going through the Control Panel the system cannot locate the System Image on a USB external drive. I have renamed the computer back to its name before the shop wiped the disk. I cannot figure out which F button to push on boot to get to a menu for copy back the System Image. Maybe I need a System Repair Disk, but so far have not gotten any to work. Maybe the ones I found are for a Win 7 32-bit computer. Not sure. Is there any really professional shop in CM to assist?