AussieBob18

????  One artist eating another artists work as a piece of performance art.

I wonder what a $120K banana tasted like ??  ???? ????

I might go and have a 50c one myself right now.

10 hours ago, Genmai said:

 

Spoken exactly like somebody who has never been through the hell that is called hiring Thai workers. Management, the owners, the rich, the lizard wizards, the greedy CEOs, blah blah - you realize that all those terribly evil businessmen who risk their capital to provide something of value to society only get whatever money is left AFTER paying all those poor hardworking esteemed individuals FIRST, yes? The armies of obnoxiously useless HomePro staff who graciously take a break from Candy Crush/zit popping/nose picking to shlepshlop behind you while mumbling something about a promotion all get paid before the shareholders do, no matter how half assed a job they do, how many holidays they take or how many costly mistakes they make. Don’t like seeing these fine young men getting screwed by the system? Then start your own company and pay them x10 the minimum wage! See how long you last.

 

We’re a comparatively tiny company, and yet we’ve already seen such amounts of BS that you wouldn’t believe. People straight up stealing, lying, not giving a ****, not showing up, excuses “not me” “you don’t understand”, etc. then you break their fragile ego and 99% of the time they quit at the drop of a hat. Then you’re back at square one looking for and training for the nth time.

 

by the way, such comments aren’t exclusively made by internet permavirgins raging on a farang forum. Every Thai small business owner I’ve known shares these frustrations and works their ass off to pick up the slack for their staff. 

Well said and 100% true - Thai friends of mine/wife always have problems with staff, and what I thought were problems back in Australia are nothong compared to what they have to doeal with in Thailand.  In Australia it is about 'rights and costs' - but in Thailand it is actually getting them to give a ***t and actually getting them to work.  This is the reason why so many small businesses in Thailand are family and friends, and why nepotism is rife in larger organisations, and why so many workers you actually see working a lot (like at construction sites) are often Laos or Myanmars.  Most farangs have absolutely no idea about it, or most things in Thailand - indeed in the World. 

15 hours ago, DrTuner said:

Not quite yet, the opposition party (Perussuomalaiset) is still gaining popularity. Better to wait until the time is ripe. 

You are probably right - let them hang themselves with their incompetence and stupidity. A year or two of radical socialist feminism in charge should result in the majority of Finnish People seeing that change (to the Right) is desperately needed. Marin is a self-confessed feminist liberal with a heavy bias towards unions and public provision of all services (employing only union workers) - but she is a 'moderate' compared to the other 4 female leaders of the coalition that is now the Finn Govt.

But like that friend of mine who is planning on leaving Sweden, so many other males that he knows in Scandinavia feel the same and are looking to get out. They have been marginalised and feminised - it is either comply or shut up - any dissention is shouted down as sexist, bigotted or chauvanistic.  Like him I thought feminism was about equality? But then I grew up years ago when I saw that whereever they were given whatever they wanted, it resulted in them taking over completely - and implementing far-left liberal social and Govt policies that even Bernie Sanders would have a problem with.  There is no 'balance' in Finland.

15 hours ago, candide said:

If you had read the Vox article, you would have found that link

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/6103

 

You read that link - it is about the Tax Codes and a lot about the disclosure of tax information obtained.

There is nothing that states it is a Law for the House to subpeona the POTUS tax records, nor that the POTUS must provide them.

See my previous comment.  Wasting my time with you lot here (and anywhere).  Have a great day/life - enjoy 2020.

18 hours ago, AussieBob18 said:

 

I'll come back tomorrow for that link then shall I ??

 

Obviously no link.  But I understand. Facts and Liberals with TDS often dont meet - and never on same page.

2 hours ago, AussieBob18 said:

I have no intention of entering into a debate with someone who has no understanding of legal definitions. 

But seeing you asked so nicely - Where is that Law? Do you have a copy? Link and Reference?

Gotta go - will read/respond later.

3 hours ago, bristolboy said:

Do you understand that there is a law that authorizes the House Ways and Means Committee to do exactly that?

I'll come back tomorrow for that link then shall I ??

1 hour ago, bristolboy said:

Do you understand that there is a law that authorizes the House Ways and Means Committee to do exactly that?

I have no intention of entering into a debate with someone who has no understanding of legal definitions. 

But seeing you asked so nicely - Where is that Law? Do you have a copy? Link and Reference?

Gotta go - will read/respond later.

8 minutes ago, Credo said:

I'll try to make it simple for you.   It is the law:

 

The letter cites a 1924 law that gives the House Ways and Means Committee the power to request tax returns from the Treasury Department for review in closed session.

 

https://www.vox.com/2019/4/9/18296806/trump-tax-returns-congress-legal-experts

I will make it even simpler for you. This is from your Vox article (liberal organisation that it is):

Presidential candidates are not required by law to release tax returns, but every major-party nominee in modern American history has done so — until Donald Trump. Trump’s refusal to adhere to this norm has set up a massive legal fight between Congress and the White House.

--------------

The Constitution applies to Congress. The Supreme Court has repeatedly told us that the Constitution permits Congress to perform investigations and subpoena documents only when it pursues a legitimate legislative purpose.

----------------

I will also advise you that Congress has the authrity to issue a subpeona - but that does not make it 'The Law'.

Have you seen that movie 'Judge Dredd' - the one with Sylvester Stallone? 

22 minutes ago, henry2109 said:

Thailand may have its share of problems, and not everthing is rosy. But your post concerning golfing and hotels in Thailand vs. China/Vietnam is not comprehensibly. 

 

The choice for golf and hotels in Thailand is huge. The No. 1 spot for golf, Pattaya, offers more than 20 courses. The quality varies, but there are top notch courses available. My average price for a golf round is 1500 Baht (1'000 green fee + 350 caddy fee + seldom a cart, 600 Baht), so around 50 USD. What I have seen from courses in China and Vietnam, they charge USD 100 - 250.

 

A similar pattern applies to the hotels, I generally cannot imagine finding cheaper hotels to a better quality in China and Vietnam. In Bangkok you will get a 5 Star hotel for USD 120 - 200. There is really nothing to complain about that.

So why did those 8 guys go to China? And not to Thailand?   A golfing holiday by 8 'mature' blokes is a lot of money spent in China - not like those packaged tourist groups from China/India that TAT claim are spending billions.

Mate - the issue is that China (and Vietnam) is getting better, and Thailand is getting worse - as a golfing holiday location - and that seems to be the case across all toursim types.  I should add that my contact said there was many other Westerners and Asians who were staying at the same hotel (attached to the golf course) - it was clearly popular - but it was not full.  

52 minutes ago, Tug said:

Trump is the only potus I’m aware of who hasent released his records he has been ordered to comply he refuses and delays the dude is dirty and most likely compermrised that’s the reason for the pressure also his constant deference to putin and spouting of russan disinformation is another reason for this pressure

Wrong.  Trump has refused to release his Tax Returns and he does not have to do so.  Every POTUS since Nixon has done that voluntarily - none did so before Nixon - but none of them were a billionaire businesman - see my reply to Credo. 

The Dems want all his financial records (and his family's) because they cant get his tax returns.  But they want them for political reasons so that they can troll through them.  But they need a real reason first - and IMO the SCOTUS will uphold that right for Trump and every other American citizen.

18 hours ago, MeePeeMai said:

Comparing the Threats

So which is worse – driving while drunk or driving while drowsy?

The answer is a simple and scary one. Both drowsy and drunk driving are equally dangerous, and recent studies have shown that there is actually no difference between the two when it comes to the threat to public safety while on the roads. Driving while drunk or drowsy can both more than double your risk for causing an accident.

While the possibility for danger is the same with drowsiness and drunkenness, there is no test to determine if someone is too sleepy to be behind the wheel of a vehicle. This makes drowsy driving an even bigger threat in terms of going undetected by authorities and being removed from the road.

 

https://lull.com/blog/drunk-driving-vs-drowsy-driving-which-is-the-biggest-threat/

Actually, I think that drowsy driving is far worse for a Thai.

I can drive when drunk - it is a 'skill' most of us learned in the 60s - go slow and only on roads you know. But I cannot drive when I am asleep.

The problem for Thais is that they seem to lack that 'reflex' that jerks you awake when your brain senses sleep is an innapropriate thing to do at this time.  I think some Thais could fall asleep when falling out of a plane if they were very tired - and that might actually be the best thing to do now I think about it.

Quote:  The material sought by the committees include records of accounts, transactions and investments linked to Trump, his three oldest children, their immediate family members, and several Trump Organization entities.

Do you Trump haters know what this will mean if it is successful?  All future POTUS' (Dem or GOP) will have all their financial accounts, transactions and investments - for themselves and all their children, and all their family members - obtained by the opposing Party if they have a majority in the House/Senate.  Remember - there is no actual 'reason' for the request, like an offence or a specific breach.

The Dem House Committee just wants to troll through everything - maybe they wioll find something and maybe they will not.  Should any political Party be able to troll through the financial records of anyone and all their family members, for purely political purposes?  Remember - if this precent is allowed by SCOTUS - this will apply to all and any Americans.  Do you think that when the GOP wins back control of the House that they will not use this precedent to troll through all financial records of the Clintons and Obama?   

There must be a line drawn. If Trump, or anyone, has committed any specific financial offence or a specific breach, then I think it is OK for all records related to that specific offence or breach to be released.  But ALL records of Trump? And his children? And their children?  Surely any rational person can see the downsides to this Dems demand succeeding - for both sides of politics.

The only place is Bangkok as Mapguy has said.  My wife and I needed it for her Migrant application to Australia when we lived in CM, and I searched high and low - BKK only.  Maybe it has changed in last 2 years, but if not then BKK it is.  If the matter is urgent - the standard delay is 4-6+ weeks - then talk to a lawyer/visa organiser and pay - we paid about 4000 Baht if I recall and we got them in 3 days.

Lots of good advice given already.  What I would add is that learning to 'hear' and 'pronounce' the sounds of the Thai language first is far far more important than learning word literation. Only once your brain has learned how to hear and say the unique sounds of the Thai language/s, can you then learn the language such that it sticks.  Otherwise, what you are learning is how to transliterate Thai and English words and that can and will work, but not as good as learning the sounds and pronounciations first.

If you do this via learning to read first, or via a phonetics type course, you will benefit in the long run.  It takes longer, but it sticks more.   The reason that an English speaker can learn German or French etc etc via transliteration is because the languages all have a common basic structure and a lot of the counds are the same (historical ancestry).  The Thai language is neither structured or sounds like English or any European language.   

An old friend of ours in CM is named Pun - I was the only 'farang' that pronounced it correctly.  It is not 'P' as it is written in English, but it is not 'B' as it at first sounds to someone who knows English.  It is the sound made when you get your lips ready to say 'P' but you actually say 'B' - you do not force air our between lips like in 'P' you get ready to say 'P' but then say 'B'.  At first it sounds excatly the same, but to a Thai 'ear' they can instantly hear the difference.  There are many many more such unique sounds - learn them first - both the say but more importantly to hear them - then you can learn the language much better.  After all - children hear a language long before they can speak that language - that is how the brain works when learning a language for most people. Tip - when learning the sounds also watch TV and try to hear every word - listen closely but dont worry about what the words mean - just listen to their sounds - it takes time - but slowly you will 'hear' more and more single words being spoken and they will not all meld together.

I do not believe that learning to speak/read Thai to an extrmemely good level is required in Thailand, because the English language is pervasive in Thailand and is used a lot (example road sign and licence/ID). English is basically the second language of Thailand and being the language of the World and the Internet it will only increase in usage.  Thai children are all taught English at school (not very well is true), and most well educated Thai people speak English OK.  However, if I didn't speak/read English very well and was living in Thailand, then I would learn them both.   PS - maybe if the Chinese take over even more than will change? ????

Thai quality tradesmen - they never cease to amaze. 

Nor do the bureacrats with their 'advice' to be happy.

Unbelievable - just unbelievable - but so common.

When. That is all I want to know. When. 

1 hour ago, Skallywag said:

 "research" for a history degree?  Guess he couldn't afford WiFi and didn't like Libraries. 

Yeh - very dubious - he was doing something while there for XXX?

Either way - good outcome - spy for spy.

All USA University students should avoid going to Iran ????