On 11/21/2017 at 2:10 AM, Grumpy Duck said:

Perhaps the juntas recent activities to foster relations with Communist China will offset losses with Australia? Coming soon Australian products being charged duties as high as American products...

Does anyone really believe Beijing has intentions of outsourcing jobs to Thailand? Or building factories in Thailand?

All Beijing wants is cheap raw materials to be transformed by Chinese factories into products China intends to export.

By so cavalierly dismissing that Thailand has to pay any compensation has set the wheels in motion for Thailand to pay ... dearly.

Not in compensation, but in driving away any investment in Thailand by private companies.  Think about; what board of directors would approve building a factory in a country that cares so little about damages the country may inflict upon them?

Pretty small pic, sooo I expanded and surprised to find Al Franken in the pic!  

3rd guy on the right of the model!  At least his hands are innocently posed.

Good work, but they are not done.

Until they arrest the scum that buys the stolen bikes for pennies on the dollar, more young people will be sucked into the game. To end this crap you have to cut off the snake's head.

22 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

'Pissing in the wind' comes to mind !

20 hours ago, Basil B said:

A very nautical term... 

Noooo!  Actually, it's that warm fuzzy feeling you get as your shoes begin time fill up.

On 11/14/2017 at 6:50 AM, hugh mckee said:

thanks newnative, I think a seaview and next to the beach would be special and if I were to bail out and instead choose cyprus or tenerife I'm not going to get as close to the beach for what it costs in Pattaya, probably add 60%, 70% or more and out of my budget.

 

seems the reasons i bought I now ignore and focusing instead on the bad stuff, I admit i do listen too much to the bad stuff, I'm an indecisive person who was decisive when choosing my condo and now read all the bad shit and I shouldn't, it was not my intention to encourage people to post good stuff but admit I am enjoying reading the positive messages and feel better for reading them and have a decision to make in early new year about staying or selling and I am encouraged by the positive posts.

 

seems for now the negative posters are having the day off?.....I did expect to get hammered but wanted to get my thoughts off my chest and here on my own so thought why not post what I am thinking?

How do you know that a real estate investment in Cyprus or Tenerife would hold its value?

Condo market is under pressure in Thailand right now, but who says it will continue?  What makes this market so complex is Thailand's constantly changing immigration policies. Right now Thailand is actively courting foreign investment. That will NOT work with very strict immigration policies. They'll have to open things up if they really expect foreign companies to invest in Thailand. A loosening of immigration policies could significantly impact the condo market so do not be too quick to take a loss.

Enjoy your vacation and just watch what the government does. They change so often and so fast, that I would not despair. Prime real-estate with a good sea view will always be in demand.

On 11/14/2017 at 2:08 PM, Mansinthe said:

In germany i would have to pay alot for property tax and insurance stuff that i prefer to rent a place.. not to mention what repairs would cost...

Your reasons for renting (ie avoiding property tax, repairs, insurance, etc) are NOT valid reasons for choosing renting vs owning.  Believe me as a landlord for over 30 years all of those costs PLUS are included in my rent rates just as they are included in my competitor's rates.

You don't really "avoid" costs by renting. Now, clearly you can avoid "risk" by renting. That is you avoid losing some of your investment when you sell in a down market. But that "risk" is a two edge sword. You also never experience any return should market values increase.

In my case I lost a little on one unit, broke even on another and won big time on the third. That big "win" however was due to a great deal of effort (evicting all tenants and replacing with better people allowed me to get repairs under control and that mean higher profits. Higher profits = higher value upon selling).

If I am not mistaken, it was on this forum I read:

"If you want a true, loyal friend in Thailand ... get a dog."

8 hours ago, Andaman Al said:

Yikes what will they do about the 120 M the Saudi's gave to Ivanka's fund.

 

So the Clinton fund that has been completely open and the subject of many audits, and is basically a AAA fund and a model as to how a fund should be run with money going to the needy (and if you can steal 145M off Oligarchs and give it to the poor then that's cool), and the Trump fund where you get money in and spend it on your own personal legal fees and portraits of yourself. There was NO money laundering, the Clinton foundation has been audited time and time again. Hmmmmmm. let me think.

AAA ratings from Charity Watch ... huh?  You do realize that Charity Watch was once part of CGI.  WOW, what an inconvenient coincidence. 

According to that darling of the Democratic party, Bernie Sanders:

"Do I have a problem when a sitting secretary of state ... collects millions of dollars from foreign governments ... dictatorships," Sanders said. "Do I have a problem with that? Yeah, I do."

Sanders probably said that (according to the Trump leaning CNN) because he wanted to show his support for Trump's contentions.

Honestly if you can't smell a rat with all of these Russians giving money to CGI,  you could make a killing working in sewers.

2 hours ago, Andaman Al said:

Why does anyone with more than two brain cells and an ability to read still think that HRC was involved in the decision to sell the Uranium? 

Well, there is this little "thing" that raises suspicion.  What thing? 

$145 million is contributions to the CGI by ... wait for it ...  Russians!!

Further, they have made no contributions since.  And it begs the question, are there no Russian charities that could help people? Why all of a sudden give so much to the Clinton?

I say follow the money trail into and out of the CGI.  Start arresting those involved with money laundering and thone arrested  will start singing like birds!

8 hours ago, sammieuk1 said:

Got a great idea from somewhere or some idiot ? build a wall . 

I gather you don't care for Trump's wall idea.  I don't either.

Walls are expensive.  Land mines would be much cheaper and far more effective. Further, land mines would insure all border crossings occurred at established entry points.

5 hours ago, Rc2702 said:

Better to feed something with leftover grub than let it rot.

Sure!  That makes sense.  Better to feed the rats than dispose of garbage properly.

Regardless of the justification, actively policing immigration laws is important for every country. Failing to do that and you end up in the mess we have in the US, where millions of illegals demand their "right" to stay.

It's hard to convince people that just because you have been illegal for a long time, you are NOT suddenly legal.

Actually, this is pretty funny.  I mean, "happylarry" is an expert on divorce?

How "happy" can he really be?

On 10/27/2017 at 2:14 AM, Artisi said:

So everyone scrapping a living off the streets is a drug addict. Suggest you get off your bar stool,  step outside and really see what is going on instead of talking nonsense. 

So what do we have here? A barfly telling me, a non-drinker, to get off my bar stool. 

The problem with alcohol addicts (like you) is they think everyone is an addict like they are.

Perhaps between drinks on your bar stool, you can educate yourself:

https://thepavlovictoday.com/afterimage-review/what-can-we-do-about-can-and-bottle-deposit-laws/

"In some cities, homeless people collect empty cans and bottles for the redemption value and this becomes one of their only sources of money.  The issue becomes controversial because the managers of some supermarkets feel that the presence of homeless people lining up at the bottle and can redemption machines may frighten away or intimidate their customers."

Anything that enables homelessness and the addictions that accompany it is harmful.

http://www.smilepolitely.com/opinion/bad_laws_-_illinois_needs_a_bottle_bill/

"Right now, homeless and underemployed people are scouring the alleys of Champaign-Urbana, retrieving aluminum cans from dumpsters (and pilfering them from recycling bins, depriving haulers and municipalities of income, but that’s an issue for a different column)."

As I said, there is another side to these deposit law and your "off handed", bar stool comment adds nothing to the discussion.

Just remember that in most major cities garbage haulers by law are required to sort and recycle. Indeed, the economics work in their favor to do so.

All bottle laws really do is help look after the "pigs" that toss their empties on the streets. My solution is to have these folks collect litter for six months while severing the balance of their day in the county jail.

On 10/24/2017 at 11:25 PM, PerkinsCuthbert said:

Holy Smoke, antiques! But where are the blunderbusses?

 

Perkins, you are correct; most of those "guns" are junk.  They are far more dangerous to the ones firing than to those fired upon.

In the center of the pic, however, there are three scope mounted high powered rifles. These are NOT trivial. They can easily take out targets at long range.  Somebody wanted to play sniper!

There is another "untold" side of these container deposit laws. Yes, they do seem to help reduce litter.

The other "untold" side is they enable drug and alcohol addiction. How? The addicts steal shopping carts and wander city streets on garbage days to scrounge for bottles/cans. Naturally, the money they get goes directly to fuel their addiction and there are 1000's of people engaged in this activity in some cities.

The argument is, "So what! At least we have litter under control." Problem with that argument is these folks are getting the bottles/cans out of garbage cans just hours before the refuse trucks come through.

Money finally ends up in the hands of one drug gang or another and street drug wars continue with death and violence spiraling out of control.

15 hours ago, GOLDBUGGY said:

Do you really think that all Brits are this greedy to take away a pension from somebody who paid into it of his life, but chooses to Retire in a different country?

 

As far as I am concerned, he paid into this pension plan, along with the company that hired him to work for them. That is his benefit that he already paid for and earned. I don't care if he decided to live on the Moon he is entitled to get this money that he put into it at least.   

GoldB, I did not re-quote above your entire post, because I agree there are better ways to spend money than engaging in useless wars. (For the record, Trump agrees with you. He is extremely critical of Bush's war in Iraq over "weapons of mass destruction".  So critical that Bush is now fighting back with the Dems applauding. Funny how Obama won an election being even more critical of Bush. Guess the Dems can ignore that.)

Oh well, back to UK pensions. When I said "smart" I was referring to a politician's need/desire to get re-elected. So, do I think politicians will take pensions away from expats?

Absolutely, they will!  Look when money gets tight, politicians take care of their voters, ESPECIALLY, when they can point to other countries (like Australia), and can argue this is NOT an unreasonable policy.  

Next,  my argument for taking pressure off the GBP lives on!

Regardless of other expenditures, sending pension money outside the UK puts further pressure on the GBP.  According to those opposed to BREXIT, the GBP is headed for serious trouble.  Not sure I agree with that, but some "pressure" is inevitable.

3 hours ago, cyberfarang said:

Who was this alleged government minister discussing about stopping pensions to expats after one year overseas?

This is the type of policy any smart politician would raise. Think about it, you have the following:

1. More money for those in the UK

2. Less pressure on the GBP as you stem the flow outside the UK

3. No resistance from voters as who is going to stand up for Expats?

The pressure on the GBP from Brexit could make a change like this happen sooner rather than later.

The wise would plan accordingly.

19 hours ago, mfd101 said:

If the Americans were to produce more of the things that a country like Thailand and its people actually want and can afford, they wouldn't have a large balance of trade deficit (with Thailand or any other country). But they are so blind & ignorant of the world that they think the only reason a country like Thailand could have a large trade surplus with them is because they are 'manipulating' their currency.

 

Mfd, you are looking at trade imbalances and assuming they are the result of ONLY currency valuations. Not so!  This is a multi-dimensional problem.

For example what are Thailand's border "adjustment" taxes on bourbon, Kentucky whiskey, cigarettes, California wine etc.??

These taxes also can play a huge role in trade balances. Thailand's exports come into the US duty free with no border adjustment taxes. Trump is correct to say this situation needs to be looked at.

I believe in reciprocity!  That is, if you hit our products with 20% to 40% taxes, so shall yours be hit at our borders.

Earlier I mentioned multi-dimensional and even taxes are only a single component. Countries can also introduce barriers to foreign imports via legislation around supposedly safety, environmental, etc.  That is, only "junk" made here can pass these tests. Chinese are notorious for "gaming" the system, especially when the local "junk" is made at government owned/runned factories. 

Am I doing something wrong here, because it looks to me like that DN was registered back in 2015

http://m.whoismind.com/whois/vacasianhotels.com.html

Also that first name of Jacob seems to me more like a Jewish name than anything.

This is a most confusing thread. The topic is something like: The most common scams targeting Australians

I though the most common scam with Aussies had something to do with smartly dressed sheep!  

That the Aussie subsequently found out was NOT an ewe.

1 minute ago, Credo said:

Before casting aspersions on someone, you should take the time to learn more about them.   In addition to writing several books (without a ghost writer), he was also a consultant for General Motors and served as an advisor to several gov't entities.   

Perfect!  Even better, a business consultant for Government Motors who went .... wait for it ..........   BANKRUPT and had to be bailed out.

Yes, this guy certainly has the creds.

8 hours ago, Skywalker69 said:

Former Wharton Professor: 'Trump Was the Dumbest G*ddamn Student I Ever Had'

 

Surprise, surprise. The president came to business school thinking he knew it all.

 

The late professor William T. Kelley taught marketing at Wharton School of Business and Finance, University of Pennsylvania, for 31 years, ending with his retirement in 1982.

 

"Professor Kelley told me 100 times over three decades that “Donald Trump was the dumbest goddam student I ever had.” I remember his emphasis and inflection — it went like this":

 

“Donald Trump was the dumbest goddamn student I ever had.” Kelley told me this after Trump had become a celebrity, but long before he was considered a political figure. Kelley often referred to Trump’s arrogance when he told the story that Trump came to Wharton thinking he already knew everything. 

 

https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/former-wharton-professor-trump-was-dumbest-gdamm-student-i-ever-had

 

 

Skywalker you are probably the very best example of TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome).  Now, your last post is a thing of beauty. What do we have here a dumb business school teacher saying the Trump is dumb.

Trump created a multi-billion $ empire.  And this teacher?  Well he retired on a teacher's pension.  

“Those who can do, those who can't teach.”

― George Bernard Shaw

15 hours ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

Actually it is only unsuccessful economies who believe in cuts to get out of financial difficulty, all the successful ones have seen fiscal policies involving spending their way out of the problem.  

 

There is a simple analogy of a tradesman, when times are getting harder what does the tradesman do, sell his tools to have some quick cash but lose his ability to make any money in the future, or loan some money to buy more specialist tools and to promote himself?  The first is how the republicans fiscal policy fails and the second is how the democrats fiscal policy has succeeded.

This has got to be one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. 

So you want Greece, Italy, Portugal, Venezuela, and  Puerto Rico to spend more??  That's your solution?  

Perhaps you would like to contribute so they could do so. Your contribution of say $2,000 per week would be most appreciated.