mfd101

1 hour ago, simon43 said:

 

 

 

You mean I have to get married..... again!?

I would cheerfully go the marriage route but, unfortunately, my Australian civil partnership with my b/f is not [yet] recognized in Thailand ...

Morrison starting to settle into his new job. The next 3 or 4 months are make-or-break before the Federal election.

13 hours ago, KiChakayan said:

Ohhh you remember  WW2, I remember the One Hundred Years War. Please don't be ridiculous. 

I guess there are a few like you across the Chanel, but I don't think even Farage or Johnson  could have written such nonsense.

Yes, fairy stories are still popular in Merrie Ol' England. St George and the Dragon doing particularly well.

6 minutes ago, totally thaied up said:

And if the Embassy did this, I would be very, very angry with them as this is a privacy breach. My privacy is just that- MY privacy but so many people here are so ready to sell it down the river, I cannot believe. 

Don't worry. What was written about the OzEmb having access to Centerlink or ATO details is rubbish. Just the usual paranoid drivel from some people on this site.

And the irony is that the Brexiteers want a 'soft' Irish border.

Well, as they crash outta Europe, the one thing that's unavoidable will be a 'hard' border, and that includes for Ireland. Tsk tsk.

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

It seems they do it the wrong way around.

Some minor officials from the UK and EU worked out something they would sign.

And now this draft will be shown to the people in charge and it is known already that they have other ideas and there won't be a majority about what the minor officials decided.

That seems like a total waste of resources to me.

I think the main players should agree on the big pictures first. And they should make sure they have a majority for this on both sides of the channel. And after they have that agreement in principle then let the minor officials work out the details.

Why don't highly paid politicians grasp these basic concepts?

As one of my bosses used to say to me: You're being rational again!

6 minutes ago, Foexie said:

Geeezzz,

 

they are on the verge of have peoples living on Mars but still can't find a proper way to count some votes on earth.

Yes, Usofa & its politics increasingly looks like the Great Britain of the C18th and C19th, as corruption & noblesse-not-oblige gradually came to terms with the reality of a growing middle class and a huge number of restless disenfranchised poverty-stricken peasants & workers.

I hadn't realized Trump was looking that far back for his plans to make Usofa great again. But it's true that people with high levels of scholarship & learning can produce quite dramatic outcomes - just look at Lenin & Hitler.

The downstream countries could certainly - collectively - apply pressure on China (more difficult to sign on Chinese contractors & investors in their countries, slow on joining or cooperating with Xi Jinping's New Silk Road project ... ).  But their own poor behaviours & general incompetence in managing their Mekong & related resources scarcely puts them in a strong position to negotiate.

Living the dream. Unpalatable choices on all sides.

3 hours ago, scorecard said:

Another OZ polie bites the dust.

 

Seems to me Australia is now a fine example of countries with many pollies not suitable and no up to the task / not capable to represent an electorate, debate in parliament etc., an don't have the desirable ethics. Seems to be quite trend.

And who elected them? The electors ... just like in UK or Usofa & every other modern liberal democracy.

10 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

Looking at pounds and pence, not looking or caring about consequences. English based FCO auditors looked at the TI regulations only  with no understanding of how things really work here made a decision but one could have expected the embassy staff to explain the nuts and bolts to them (assuming they had any knowledge)

Yes, the auditors I have known cared only about (1) money and (2) 'efficiency' [ie economic inputs and useful outputs - not even outcomes]. They would have little or no comprehension of other cultures or priorities and no ability to deal with the notion that someone might not speak English or that concepts do not translate one-on-one across languages.

Those of us who are retired in Thailand & whose income comes entirely from Oz should remember that (1) it is selling to China + Chinese investment in Oz that has kept Oz more than comfortably afloat for the last decade or more, and (2) it's Chinese migrants to Oz working harder & getting richer than most Australians & paying their taxes that keeps us in clover in our old age.

It won't be just 7000 watching B&W television, it'll be the whole 65 million of them!

40 minutes ago, rosst said:

Two things leap to mind, firstly, stop non Australian citizens buying our country and secondly, use the money for our suffering farm sector you <deleted> barstewards. 

Ah yes, perhaps the Australian government could seek lessons from the Thai government ...

Excellent. Nice boat ride across & slightly upriver will be just fine. Lovely way to travel (as is the train - though not when it's so crowded you can barely breathe let alone move).

IF there is a boat (preferably from Taksin) I plan to use it. Otherwise will have to wait 10 years for the BTS extension, I guess.

1 minute ago, wombat said:

the real problem is sharia law/islam doing to oz what it has done to UK with only 5.6% of the population being sharia law/islam.
China is not the problem. the left are using this as an excuse to blindside us to sharia law/islam

Yes, conspiracies everywhere.

Just now, namatjira said:

This is not going to help Australia’s trade with China....

There goes the iron ore and mineral market....this is going to cost them.........way more than a couple of billion.....

The art of diplomacy is eating your cake and having it. Something which Trump doesn't understand (only 'I win/you lose' as far as he's concerned) but the Chinese are sophisticated enough to understand win/win, as long as you're NICE to them in public. Not much different from the Thais in that regard.