Watchful

Tightening credit controls is an excellent idea when bad loans are on the increase. It may prevent the need for those "bank bailouts" which continue in Greece, and Italy. Right now while the bailouts pump billions into Europe, things are going well. It's like a "sugar high". 

It must one day end, however, and these things never, ever end well.

41 minutes ago, tomwct said:

Yep, your Thai Wife got the house and her Thai husband moved in as soon as you moved out! Thai Love! Thai Style! Thai Ending!

 I just love stories with a happy ending.  Keep them coming!

Trump is really passed off about China's 40% increase in trade with North Korea after promising to put pressure on the rogue regime. Trump simply doesn't understand that the Chinese have been doing this for decades. That is, they promise much, but deliver nothing!

So, I expect Trump will seek ways to put pressure on China particularly through banking and possibly steel exports to the US. Trump will want support from other countries in addition to S. Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

This will put Thailand in a difficult position. Nevertheless, my guess is Trump will pressure Thailand to "choose sides".  One fine mess! 

2 hours ago, lubfishin said:

This gives me a really awesome idea Bikini Bar boxing matches. No full nudity no prostitutes just hot sexy girls going at it in the ring.

 

Any other people with experience or any other investors want to have a serious conversation. Or maybe instead of a permanent location. Can start a sexy bar girl boxing League and just rent out venues during the fights.....................    on second thought nevermind I don't want any of this kind of responsibility I am retired. But I will be the first one to buy tickets to such an event if anyone else would take on such an endeavor.

I would be interested, but only if these were professional wrestling events.

Now, I have a life long addiction to professional wrestling.

Oops, that's not entirely correct ... make that Professional Mud Wrestling.  

On 6/25/2017 at 6:38 AM, boomerangutang said:

                   By not allowing any new bars, the existing bars will increase their comparative business.  Methinks this wrong-headed policy is to cater to existing bar owners, most of whom are police brass or Thai-Chinese VIP's.

 

You could be right about that. The flip side is with reduced hours, many punters and many girls will get together after hours and completely avoid bar fines.

With Western punters already on the decline, the lost revenue from reduced bar fines will put some bars in a state of distress.

My sense is the big losers in all of this are the owners/investors in bars/go-gos.

3 hours ago, the guest said:

I was surprised that Thailand was even considered for an invitation, given it's u-turn on principles which are the cornerstone of the US constitution.

I think it's more likely a process of elimination. The new leader of South Korea is all over the place and fickle at best. Many in the Trump administration are fed up with China over their support for North Korea and their monetary policy. Trump like Obama gave China a chance to "fix their mess in North Korea".

The difference is Trump doesn't have the patience of Obama. He soon will be looking for other potential partners is SEA.

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

Don't worry, all this fuss over nothing, no-one is going out of business.
The bars will still run as bars, so you can go and get your drink as usual, yes you'll have to start mid evening as they'll close at 3am

the restaurants will be open as usual so you can get your dinner before heading to the bars

the girls will just go freelance, so you'll find them all along the streets winking at you for business... actually it might even be better than before as you'll not be paying a bar fine anymore.. just negotiate the best price with the girl of your choice, it might even get cheaper with all that competition on parade!

What's the problem ????

 

Good Observation!

The potential big losers in all of this might be the bar owners/investors.

Loss of bar fines will cripple bars and gogos.

4 minutes ago, whatawonderfulday said:

Then I guess you have never been to the likes of Valpariso or other Central and south American places ?

Wait a minute... it was you who mentioned and I quote:

"The worlds richest nations having a flourishing sex trade."

Since when did the poor countries of Central America get counted amongst the world's richest nations?  Seems to me you prefer the sex trade NOT in the richest countries, but the poorest of the poor.

1 hour ago, whatawonderfulday said:

Utter rubbish.  The worlds richest nations having a flourishing sex trade.  There is always a market for selling sex and has been for centuries, 

Yes, the richest nations do, but no where near the size of the sex trade in Pattaya. Also, no where near the cost!

Can you imagine our two week millionaires hitting the brothels of Paris, Berlin, London and getting two girls every day? They'd quickly become two day millionaires. 

Truth is this is NOT work that the girls are proud of. With better paying factory jobs,  fewer girls would enter the trade and prices would rise to Western standards.

On 6/18/2017 at 3:14 AM, WhyYouTalkMeBad said:

The jack o tar bar, the no hassle bar near the bottom of soi 6 is shuttered and a for sale sign on the door

Guess they saw this coming

Couple these crackdowns with the reduction in Western tourists and the devaluation of the pound, and you have to look at bar ownership as a very high risk enterprise. That is, the competition is fierce for a dwindling customer base.

Now, if your bar attracted Chinese customers, that might be different. I'm not so certain that even that is a good strategy. Chinese don't seem inclined to spend big $'s in bars.

I would advise caution on investing in any "partnership" devoted to the bar business. Yes, a partnership "spreads the risk", but you could be buying into a sinking ship that has no chance to right itself.

59 minutes ago, Iamtoofat said:

Nope.  I want thailand to develop. It won't develop by canceling the sex trade. There is nothing wrong with selling sex.  Do gooders should stay out of the bedroom of others. Usually the same people denouncing the sex industry are those same people promoting ideologies which drive the divide between rich and poor.  Thailand has plenty of money; it is just unequally distributed and corruption reigns supreme.  These are the things hurting thai people. Some 20 year old chick giving a guy a BJ  is utterly irrelevant. 

 

Regardless of development there will always be women in thailand offering bjs to foreign men; it is their competitive advantage and really isn't that cheap anyway.  No one is being taken advantage of. The girls are well paid. Just leave it alone. 

How can you be so certain that the sex trade isn't retarding Thailand's potential? 

If the sex trade was made illegal, won't sex workers and all of those on the periphery seek employment elsewhere? Perhaps even making things? 

Now, your comments about corruption are spot on. We must not forget, however, there is a relationship between corruption and the sex trade. It is very easy to demand payment from the sex trade (your employees appear to be underage, your employees are not working the correct hours, your workers are providing services in the wrong locations, your workers are not dressed properly, your workers are hassling tourists just walking on the streets, etc.). In short, due to the nature of the trade the possible reasons for demanding payments is ... endless!

Contrast this to attempts to demand payments from a factory where the police would have to show cause in court and be met there by corporate lawyers. 

5 hours ago, balo said:

I have predicted Soi 6 will be demolished by the military within a couple of years. This is just the beginning.

It's not always easy to determine the motivations behind a "cracked down". Many believe it's just part of an over all plan to clean up the image of Pattaya.

The true motivation may be far more complex. Something along the lines of let's put the foreign owned bars out of business so that Thais pick up the bankrupt businesses cheap and continue the businesses under Thai ownership.

Now, I am not saying that is what's going on. I'm just saying that the "official" reason should not be accepted as the only reason.

25 minutes ago, whatawonderfulday said:

Well those rose tinted glasses must be around everywhere these days then.  however your spelling mistake was quite possibly a correct faux pas. You stated "momentary policy", which is possibly very apt for May as she seems to be making up as she goes along.

 

I did not say the pound will strengthen when she is gone, although an improvement will most certainly occur. Once the UK have a stable government the pound will most certainly improve.  And if that comes about by still being part of Europe along the lines of Norway, Iceland and Switzerland than most certainly the pound will recover but it must be based on very long term commitments to that principal.  Not short term knee jerk policy.

 

Please also read the Labour manifesto. All policies were fully coasted, possibly providing a bit of confidence for the voters wheras May's policies are unclear, uncosted which would lead me and others to consider that most would be unworkable.  Certainly in the tin pot coalition she is building with the DUP the rational appears correct.

Well, since you made fun of my spelling, let me retuning the favor.

Labour is coasting and hoping the money for their "give aways" will turn up ... like magic. Don't forget they also want a 250 billion stimulus/infrastructure program financed exclusively by .... WAIT here it comes .... BORROWING!

This is nothing more than printing money and as I said before you simply cannot escape the consequences of borrowing.

1 hour ago, whatawonderfulday said:

Like many you are simply in denial of the facts.  Prior to banking deregulation by the Thatcher thieves in 1979 it stood at 2.05 to US $. Prior to the stupidity and inept economics of the Cameroon/Clegg administration the pound stood at 1.55. Prior to this latest election on 7th June it  slumped to 1.17 and time of writing it now stands at 1.29 after recovering from the post election debacle.

 

Incompetence breeds uncertainty and that is why this government has been the driver for the fall in the pound.   People vote on the basis of information given to them.  Misleading information spouted by both main parties prior to the referendum was perhaps the driver for the Bexit vote.   It was the government of the day who were responsible for the fall in the pound, and still are for the chaotic mess with the UK economy.  And guess what ?  it is going to get a lot worse soon due to May's incompetence ,  you going to blame that on the voting public as well ?

 

May's days are number according to members in her own party. According to your theory, once she is gone the pound will what ... return?

You are completely under estimating the ascension of the Labour party. This party is gaining ground on the promise of "free stuff" (increased welfare handouts, free uni education, etc) with no way to pay for it other than borrowing and printing money. The currency speculators pay attention not to politics, but to monetary policy.

In short, I believe KarenBravo is reading the results accurately. It's the UK voters supporting an unsustainable monetary policy than is causing them to dump pounds.

18 hours ago, whatawonderfulday said:

Considering how much the pound has lost in value since the conservative/Liberal con artists were in power 7 years ago run by the Cameron/Clegg duo , and has since been compounded by the incompetent T May , I would look forward to any well balanced socialist leaning government prepared to look after the disadvantaged, elderly and even importantly allowing our next generation to have free university places.  We need this next generation to get the UK back where it belongs.  we do not need those borne with a silver spoon or into wealthy families to rape and pillage the UK any further.  Thatcher started the decline and every government since, Labour or conservative, has not stopped it. Of course Tony Blair was not really a true labourite,  just a selfite .

 

The current PM has not only lost the confidence of her own party she has lost the entire world's financial confidence.  The longer she and her aloof cronies stay in power the more the pound will become further devalued.

Problem of course with "free university" is that it is NOT free. Somebody has to pay.

The days of using corporations as the piggy bank to fund these "give aways" is long over. In short, capital goes to where it is treated best.  Raise corporate taxes and you can kiss them and all the jobs they have goodbye.

So this leaves you with three options:

1. Raises personnel income taxes - what political will campaign on this?

2. Cut pensions and other government handouts - same problem as above

3. Borrow money and leave the payments to future generations - Ahhh the preferred solution of cowardly politicians

Huge problem with massive borrowing is it means the printing of money and results in a DOWNWARD spiral for the pound. There is simply no escaping the inevitable if you increase borrowing.

The OP asked about "faith in the pound". Interesting question with Labour gaining so much ground in the recent vote. Somewhere I read that Labour wants to spend/borrow $250 billion on stimulus/infrastructure.

If Labour continues to make gains this may become a reality. Think about it, once again politicians are going to "spend our way to prosperity". The only potential outcome of this disastrous policy is continued weakening of the pound and the enriching of politicians who let the contracts.

20 hours ago, iReason said:

Not a chance?

 

Au contraire.

 

There's a good chance the whole nest of rats infesting the White House will be run out of there...

And just who is going to run them out? The lying Clintons?

Now, I voted for Trump, but I'm not married to him. I prefer the far more conservative positions of Mike Pence.

Just remember if Trump is impeached, Pence becomes president. Liberals ought to be careful, as they just might get what they wise for.

Pence would put forth far more conservative policies than Trump. Plus Pence has far better relationships with the Republican leaders in both houses, so that gives Pense a far better chance to get those policies through Congress. 

As for foreign policy, I see little change as most of Trump's senior advisors were selected by Pence.

14 hours ago, Flustered said:

A few things. Not disagreeing with all of your post and I agree with your stance.

 

There is no such thing as AK47 ammunition. The AK47 uses 7.62mm  x 39mm 122 grain sub sonic ammunition. This is also used in many other types of rifle and 7.62mm is a standard round used by both "Warsaw" and NATO pact countries. Anyone who served in the UK military in the 60s/70s and 80s will have been used to using 7.62 high velocity ammunition in a GPMG, LMG,  FM SLR  or 9mm in an SMG or Browning pistol. The SMG and browning pistols were a joke and the Indian ammunition (purple ring) used so weak, you could see the bullets going towards the target.We were always taught double tap method.

 

The ammunition used in the M16 was 5.56mm × 45mm and notoriously inaccurate and subject to jamming. Also the M16 was touted as self cleaning.....no such thing and American troops we exercised with (331 ASA) hated the thing.It was only good for close quarter use (under 100mtrs) and above that, not very accurate as the bullets tended to "tumble". 

 

Police are not trained to use the automatic mode as normal procedure and instead use the double tap method which is far more accurate and deadly as the second round  invariably causes death by shock.

 

The good thing about our police marksmen are that they are better trained than these Islamic Terrorists and the weapons of a far higher quality.

 

Apart from that, I say give the police marksmen a medal and a drink.

My ammo is 7.62 x 39 123 grain (Barnaul) and 124 grain match grade (Silver Bear). I've come to regret the Silver Bear.

Anyhow, Flustered, I agree the M16 isn't all that accurate. Although when we qualified I had no trouble with full silhouettes at 300 yards. My semi is way better for two reasons:

1. Longer barrel

2. Auto mechanism is much smoother - doesn't "jump" as much

Flustered, I also had to qualify with the M14 and that would be my weapon of choice. It is a full automatic rifle, but cycles no where near as fast as the M16. Much larger round and cartridge giving you penetration and range. As for accuracy, it's far better than either the M16 or my semi.

It's disadvantage is weight - it's heavy and so is the ammo!

This is the weapon I'd recommend for police to fight terrorists, because as police you aren't going to carry that much ammo. Thus ammo weight isn't that important. Next, you want a round that can penetrate those Kelvar vests.

2 hours ago, Salerno said:

So they should have fixed bayonets on Saturday?

Are you asking this because the London attackers had knives?

Actually I heard somewhere that a police officer attacked one of the terrorists with the only weapon he had ... a baton! I hope that isn't true. I hope police have better weapons than that.

As for bayonets, I have no idea if the police rifles even accept bayonets. I can't imagine they would be very effective even if they did. 

My comment on "parity" of weapons had to do with the fact that we learned from Paris terrorists use AK-47's.

10 hours ago, Senior Player said:

Though I agree with your observations on Muslims, I cannot see the point the commentator was making with regards to Muslims observing Christian ceremonies. It's not as if Christians are blowing up children at concerts, running pedestrians over and attacking passersby with long knives and need to be monitored. Who cares now whether a Muslim supports the idea of being observed by our police (which isn't a religion anyway) in their own mosques? What I was alluding to in my comment was that the U.K. is far too accommodating towards their religion, more so than one would find in their own Islamic countries towards Christians where the Bible is banned outright. 

SP, you have made some truly excellent observations here!

Like you, I believe we must begin observing what's going on in these Mosques.

The poster objected and asked how I'd feel about the Muslims watching our religious services. My response was: they are most welcome. We don't turn anyone away! 

Further, the Muslims would never allow their members to attend Christian services in fear of their people converting away from this despicable religion.  Indeed, they activity promote the killing of any converts.

11 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Blame your lords and masters that brought in Pakistanis to work in British industry post war, and didn't insist on them returning to Pakistan when they retired or the jobs ended. IMO never fully accepted by the British their children grew up neither British nor Pakistani. No wonder they turned to the surety and acceptance of Islam.

Saudi has it right. Workers come for the duration of their job and go back home when their contract is up.

 

Now of course it's just PC stupidity that allows it to continue.

You make some excellent Points!

Just for clarification we in the US brought in Chinese workers to build our railroads. I am not aware of bringing people in from Pakistan. Anyhow these Chinese did not go home, but they tend to assimilate fairly well. In fact, Chinese parents push their kids to excel in education; so much so that the liberals now reverse discriminate against them. (And this is absolutely crazy!) 

On 6/5/2017 at 10:41 AM, geriatrickid said:

You are mistaken if you believe that  the semi automatic carbines used by police forces around the  world, including the  Met, means that the police are "outgunned". The reason civilian security agencies are provided with  semi automatic weapons is to reduce the potential for innocent bystanders  getting shot. There is no need for a police officer to carry a rapid fire "automatic" . Close quarter arms use requires accuracy, discipline and restraint.  Automatic weapons spray their bullets and this does not lend itself to accuracy in close quarter civilian engagements. The carbines deployed in the UK are powerful. The Glock sidearms are powerful and are the preferred sidearm of police forces throughout the world. If more powerful arms are needed, the special units are  readily available. Keep in mind that the killers were neutralized within 8 minutes which is impressive. Other terror attacks  have gone on for 30 minutes+ before the police could deploy and  stop the terrorists. It was a pretty good response.

I guess we're going to agree to disagree. I own a mid-power semi (uses the AK-47 ammo) and my rifle is surprisingly accurate.

Nevertheless, when I was in the military we were issued M-16's and if I were in a fire fight in close quarters, I'd much rather have the M-16.  Now, bear in mind most fully automatics have the option to operate in either mode (usually a switch). 

As far as I'm concerned full automatic is useless when you engage an enemy at a distance. The darn things just "jump" too much and even a small movement causes your round to be way off target. Where fully automatic makes sense is in close quarters, where even with the "jumping", your round can still hit the target.

I do understand your concern for bystanders, but remember the police have the option to switch back to semi. I believe police should be able to engage enemy combatants on a parity level, and these terrorists often attack as a team. Sometimes they are well trained and sometimes with little understanding of tactics or their weapons. So it's a mixed bag. 

Nevertheless, I prefer that our police, who are trained, have weapons equal to the terrorists. 

30 minutes ago, Kiwiken said:

The move to Europe is a result of the 4th crusade in 1204 This was Roman Catholic slaughtering Eastern Orthodox Christians this schism allowed the expansion of Islam into Europe. The 300 Years ago or so Europe pushed back into Islam and subjected it to Colonial rule. Now again Islam pushes out. Extremists have always existed on both sides. You can work on a so called securing of the West if you stay out of meddling in the Islamic World or you can accept you cannot have your cake and eat it too. 

Oh, but why do we have to let Muslims in?  Who said we have to allow Muslim immigration? 

Far as I'm concerned, I'm more than happy to allow the Muslims to keep killing each other in their countries.  Heck, I'm in favor of selling arms to both sides to improve their killing efficiency.

BTW Muslims aren't just expanding in the West. They are attempting to gain control in the Phillipines as well.

6 minutes ago, Kiwiken said:

No sadly even though these extremists kill more every day in Places like Afghanistan and Iraq and Syria it is only because the attacks happen in European Countries. Its a bit like after the second World war A lot of people said Germans were alright but the Japanese were Scum. kind of a White bias. Extremists come in all Colours and beliefs. The hatred poured out here just polarises sides. And achieves nothing

There is an element of truth to what you say.  You choose, however, to ignore the constant state of war that exists in Islam. The Sunnis and Shias have been killing each other for 100's of years. 

Thus the fact that the killing continues ... well, it's not really news.  It's more business as usual.  The fact that the Muslims have now expanded their killing fields is news! 

On 6/3/2017 at 3:45 AM, thaibeachlovers said:

All good then. The rest of the western world needs to man up and stop hanging onto America's apron strings.

They can still do all the things they would have done without the US, but without the US paying for it.

Go for it western countries, ban cars, ban air travel, ban fossil fuelled electricity and food production. Oh, they aren't going to do any of that and will only tax their citizens more! Good luck with that making an iota of difference in average temperature.

Those are excellent Points!

Now that Sugar Daddy Obama is gone, someone needs to step up and sent money to implement the Paris Accord. It's my expectation that TV members so concerned about this will stop blowing smoke and .... contribute!

Come on guys get off your soap boxes and start writing some big checks.

I mean the sky is falling!  Send some serious money to Paris! It's for your children!