swissie

Thanks! But I rather await a respones by some ASEAN NOW administrators.

On the verge of starvation, actually goats will eat everything. (Including paper, prefferably old tax records). Having the choice they still prefer leaves.

Thats what I always do. Still I am being "timed out" when my "inserts" appearantly take too long. Not that I post "massive" posts. It's the number of posts that are (apperantly) allowed within a certain period of time. Nevermind. I am confident that a "administrator" will soon deliver a satisfactory answer.

Any vegetable that has some sort of leaves is condemmned to death if a goat is nearby.

Theoretically, I should post this under "IT", but I post it here for more "reach". Situation: If I hurry, I manage to place 1 post. No time for a second post, because in the meantime I was "timed-out" and automatically set back to "logged-out". The second post is not being posted, it has simply "evaporated". WHY ? I post here since 2006. According to the above, it turned me into a "discrunteled" participant of ASEAN NOW. In a time, when Thai Forums encounter increasingly "less demand", I can not believe that limiting "on line presence" of posters here is part of some sophisticated "foreward strategy" by ASEAN NOW.

Goats are "foragers". They prefer leaves, not grass. Sheep are "grazers" not liking leaves much. Conclusion: You need Goats as well as Sheep. How many? Depends on the size of your property.

Agreed. But most major religions are based on the reward/punishment principle. = You do good you go to heaven, you do bad you go to hell. (collecting positive/negative Karma points). Without this concept, religions would lose a great deal of appeal. Possibly folks living by the motto "sex, drugs and rock n' roll". ????

Wife will retire with good monthly pension benefits. But she will probably drain her savings in favour of her children. Until the last penny is gone. Fine with me, it's her money. The kids will not bother to access my money, I have told them that I never liked them and their hedonistic lifestyle and they will never get a penny from me. They also know, that upon my demise, all my assets will not go to my wife, but to a charitable organisation. PS: Can do, as we divorced for technical/financial reasons years ago. Other than that, we still function as husband and wife in perfect harmony.

The pipeline between Europe and Thailand: In short: After marriage, I took my Thai-Wife to my home country. I managed to get her a good paying job, practically from day 1. Ever since, upon mutual agreement, "your money is your money and my money is my money". A perfect constellation since 2003. She financed her 2 daughters truh university. Both of them having very well paying jobs in Bangkok for the last 10 years. She financed their homes in BKK as well. BUT: Inspite of it all, the daughters are still in need of money to the tune of 300'000 Bht per year. My wife pays gladly. (= Family is sacred in Thailand and it increses my "Karma"). Long have I realised that the daughters are part of the hedonistic new young Bangkok "elite", seeing her mother in Farangland as an endless source of Karma related hard currency. It's her earned money and she can do with it whatever she wants. If it would affect "my money", I surely would have stopped any "Karma related money transfers" to Thailand a long time ago. --------------- Still: Even without suffering any financial disadvantages myself, I wonder how long the "ironclad family obligations" in combination with the collection of positive "Karma-Points" can lead Thailand into the new age? Do you have a similar "pipeline" between Europe and Thailand? Or a pipeline between Bangkok and the Isaan perhaps ? As a consequense, every time a Thai-National tries to explain to me something in connection with "Karma", I realise that we are culturally incompatible. With or without a marriage certificate between a Farang and a Thai National. Can still function in daily life, as long as individual "Karmas" and Bank Accounts remain separated. As we did. All is still well.

Quote: "Unsanitary conditions, inadequate nutrition and unrelenting hard labor made slaves highly susceptible to disease. Illnesses were generally not treated adequately, and slaves were often forced to work even when sick". This is the description of the situation of "todays slaves".

Play a Wagner Opera for 24 hours at full blast. = No more rats. Drawback: Your wife may also have left.

Yesterdays slaves: To buy a slave was a hefty investment. To keep a slave healthy was in the interest of the "owner". Underperforming slaves were sold off, not whipped to death (mythology!) Slaves paid no rent, therefore could not be evicted. As of "retirement": They just stayed on the farm until death. Arab traders bought the slaves from African Chieftains mainly and brought the "merchandise" to African ports, where Europeans bought and shipped the "merchandise" to the New World. Todays slaves: Low income earners have to work 2 to 3 jobs and/or have to live in their cars. No health insurance. No retirement benefits. Who was/is better off, I ask.

How old are you? If still "young", go for it !!! See it as a "life adventure" that you can tell your grandchildren about someday. You will find the weekly drive to Suphanbury "exiting". Crucial: Learn some basic Thai fast. This is the ultimate door and (hearth) opener.

At the crossroads? The strong fundamentals are starting to sink in. Copper is doing better than other industrial metals. Technically, all indicators put copper in a "overbought" situation. A setback "should" occur. If this setback doesn't happen and copper forges ahead, this could well mean that the market proclaims: "Damm the torpedos, copper is beautyful". Thus kicking off the next leg of a bull market. The next few trading days will give a clue. PS: Long term investing in commodities requires the observation of "carrying charges". The CC for copper has risen from 2% to 4% anuallised. As a consolation, the CC for US Natural Gas is 85%. Both reflecting "long" positions, well understood.

No Farang has ever been refused a 1 year "non immigrant visa" if the proper paperwork plus "financial requiremets" have been fulfilled. The only thing that could prevent future "extentions" is having accumulated a criminal record in Thailand.

Whenever the Mexican Govenment proclaims "to work on it", it is bound to get worse. Past, present and future Mexican rulers must accomodate US Investment-interests in Mexico. Above anything else. A case in point: All those US manufacturing plants consume a lot of water. With the result that groud-water resources are even depleted faster than the Oglala Aquifier in the US. And that is to say quite something. A former Mexican President summarised it nicely: "The problem of Mexico is, that is so far away from God and so close to the US". Still valid, today more than ever. A holiday in Mexico can still be appealing. Permanent residency only for US passport holders, as they can hop back across the border, in case the country of Mexico starts to "disintegrate".

The western "butterflyes" and the Thai "butterflyes" (in combination) made Pattaya "great". Nobody else.

Wh-Mongers. They made Pattaya great and nobody else.

This summarises the essence of my thread nicely. Enjoy living in Thailand. As long as it lasts.

No. Have been into stocks since 1972. Buying, hardly ever selling anything. Started with little money in 1972. So, today I am fine. For spice, I always traded commodities as well with a limited amount of money. With limited success. Just for spice.

Category a): Of course, only if they bought their property 20 or 30 years ago in Farangland and now collecting todays rents. How sweet it must be for those that havn't sold their property upon heading for paradise.

Of course, it is customary for Farangs to bitch about something in Thailand. In Europe we also have something to bitch about: From Stockholm to Madrid a Family spends 30 to 40% of their income for housing. There are 2 kinds of Farangs in Thailand: a) The ones that have property for rent in their home country (earning tons of money from rental income). b) The ones that can still rent an appartement for little money in Thailand (compared to the rental situation in Europe). So, both groups of Farangs are winners. One less reason to complain. But plenty of reasons remain for the "Complaining Farang Crowd" in Thailand. Until the day comes, when they realise that the Thailand of 2023 was "easier" than the Thailand of 2030.

Used to go to "Bush Mountain" quite a lot. Thais with "lodging problems" stay there. An open minded Farang, bringing along a sixpack is welcome. Many a good afternoon chat comes to mind. Mostly good Thai folks, just not benefitting much from the Tourist Circus. Of course, there can be had more than "friendly chats" on Bush Mountain. Considering the fact, that Hostess Services have far outpaced the national inflation rate, "Bush Mountain" might come in handy for "frugal" Pattaya visitors, seeking a relaxed afternoon athmosphere, combined with the possibility of further reasonably priced entertainment.

As always, very comprehensive and straight to the point. This post answered my question(s) I had concerning this issue. Thanks Sheryl.

A Vision: Imagine plenty of elderly Farangs, suffering from ill side-effects of regular "blood-pressure-medications" like I do. Imagine further, that Cialis lowers blood pressure and at the same time increases "virility"for elderly Farnags. A "win-win" situation, except for manufacturers of standart blood pressure medications. Worth further investigation me thinks.