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Patong2021

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Everything posted by Patong2021

  1. Not unusual when there is a large jury award. The judgement is not being questioned, which is really what matters. The award may be reduced, but it will not be vacated, which means that Trump would still be found responsible for vile and illegal acts.
  2. Norway's riches come courtesy of its status as western Europe's largest oil and gas producer. In so doing it over contributed to global warming, at a cost to countries who are vulnerable to climate change. In effect, Norway has reduced its poverty by ensuring that hundreds of millions of people in other regions will suffer poverty due to the impact of catastrophic climate conditions. It's an inconvenient truth some people don't wish to acknowledge,.
  3. And your words bring to mind the dining experience of the gristle platter ala Sizzler.
  4. Consider an Asset sale. You sell the physical assets and retain the company rights. This is what is done with the purchase of bankrupt or failing companies or companies with legal issues. (Not a reflection on you or your company). Typically, the purchaser wants the inventory or some other property like a company brand name or location leases without the legal issues that attach to the company. In your case, you wish to monetize whatever the asset value is, while retaining legal rights that would protect you. A website, a lease, a client list, a general company name are all assets. This is an option to discuss with both accountant and legal counsel.
  5. The delusions, particularly the self importance is textbook perfect. It's as if someone read a textbook on geriatric mental health and then set out to mimic some of the conditions described in the textbook. It's just that I rarely meet anyone who has a touch of class.....and someone who measures up to my standards. That's nice, but does he measure up to their standards? Do they want to associate with him? I don't like to meet up with old women of class, of course.... Those old bags are just a total turnoff for the likes of me. Spoken like a movie caricature of a frustrated old Queen. This brings to mind a movie I have been wanting to see with some of my friends who are all Thai military veterans. Saving Private Tootsie (2002) - A group of Katoeys (ladyboys) are caught in a border dispute after their plane crashes, when a group of six straight soldiers reluctantly takes on a mission to save them. It starred the late Sorapong Chatree who was in the Ong Bak and Beautiful Boxer movies. Perhaps a change in medication to minimize the delusions?
  6. I'll bite. The are far more powerful factors than the exchange rate on a baht. The total financial impact is one small factor. If the typical Chinese visitor spends at least 25,000 yuan, the impact of the FX change is that the cost of the week in Thailand has increased less than 14,000 baht. The article interviews someone from Chanburi and he is describing the "trend" seen for Pattaya. It is not necessarily a national trend. The annual number of Chinese visitors numbers was increasing year on year, so at the very worse, the visitor numbers are holding steady. There are significant concerns with Chinese domestic real estate investments and it is spooking the Chinese who travel internationally. International airfares have increased 10-20% on average and while not a deal breaker it acts as a negative incentive. Domestic Chinese airfares offer a better value since they are indirectly subsidized in large part by the national government. Chinese consumers are being cautious. Another disincentive that is not being considered is that Pattaya is crowded and really not as alluring or attractive as a holiday destination for Chinese families and elderly couples as are other Thailand destinations. Popular Thai destinations such as Samui and Phuket are also over crowded, and over developed. The beaches are dirty with polluted water. The traffic congestion is frustrating and the air pollution that can envelope some places is choking. Pointing at the FX as the reason some tourists are losing interest in Thailand is a convenient excuse to avoid the real issue: A poor tourism strategy and a refusal to plan ahead and to protect the assets that once made Thailand worth visiting. No one wants to walk through trash, or risk slashing open their feet at a beach because of the broken glass and discarded metal containers. Sitting in traffic choking on car fumes is not a holiday. The traffic on Hua Hin's main road from 5 pm until 7 PM in high season is one long tailback, in large part because of poor traffic management and out of synch traffic lights. A tuktuk or sangthaew ride from Market Village or Bluport to the main market takes 10 minutes at night in off season. In high season, it can take 30 minutes+. So many of Thailand's beaches are covered with trash. Condos and restaurants encroach some of Thailand's best beaches etc. Yes, the FX is not helpful to tourism, but it is not the reason why tourism is slowing, Multiple factors are involved and the fact is that the value proposition isn't there.
  7. The case is interesting, and based upon the allegations to date, I think that unless there is direct evidence of the Mayor having directly broken a specific law there isn't enough to secure a conviction, because the laws are so weak. (Not excusing wrongdoing, just pointing out the easy to circumvent rules on accepting gifts.) As a reminder, U.S. prosecutors charged Adams with accepting illegal campaign contributions and luxury travel from Turkish nationals seeking to influence him, and that allegedly helped to underwrite Adams' 2021 mayoral campaign. Adams is accused of accepting free rooms at luxury hotels and meals at high-end restaurants. The Turkish interest wanted zoning permission for the construction of a 36 storey "consulate" building. Here are some of the benefits the man is alleged to have accepted; Year Destination Benefits Value 2016 India (via Turkey) Free upgrade to business class for two on a roundtrip from New York to India $12,000+ 2017 France, Turkey, China Free business class tickets for three on a roundtrip from New York to France, Turkey, and China. Heavily discounted stay at Bentley Suite of St. Regis Istanbul $41,000+ 2017 China (via Turkey) Free business class tickets for two on a roundtrip from New York to China $16,000+ 2018 Hungary (via Turkey) Free upgrade to business class for two on a roundtrip from New York to Hungary $12,000+ 2019 Turkey Free upgrade to business class for one on a flight from New York to Turkey; free stay at Cosmopolitan Suite of St. Regis Istanbul; free meals, transportation, and entertainment in Istanbul $9,000+ 2021 Turkey (solicited and accepted but then canceled) Free upgrade to business class for two on a roundtrip from New York to Turkey; free or steeply discounted luxury hotel and resort stays, transportation, entertainment, and meals $21,000+ 2021 Ghana (via Turkey) Free upgrade to business class for two on a roundtrip from New York to Ghana; free meal and transportation during Istanbul layover $12,000+ Many politicians and some judges accept junkets and freebies. For over 20 years, SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas accepted luxury holidays from Harlan Crow, a large Republican donor. H got away with it because there are no rules saying a SCOTUS justice could not accept such gifts. Both Democrats and Republicans accept gifts and holidays from donors and lobbyists. Some are declared and others are not. This has nothing to do with Biden or the Democrat party itself. It is all about big city political operations. There isn't a large city in the USA, where this sort of disgusting allegation does not occur in some form or another and that includes Republican dominated cities and states. It's all about the laws in respect to lobbying. The late Republican Senator McCain was a sponsor of some important bipartisan lobbying oversight and control laws. These were never passed, in large part because of Republican objections. Before complaining about corrupt politicians, US citizens should ask themselves why they did not speak out in favour of tougher rules and laws that would forbid such practices, and why they did not support their Representatives and Senators in both parties who wanted the changes. And note too that the case has been investigated for several years and is not a new investigation.
  8. The eye issues have been reported for years. It has more to do with the use of mobile phones and tablets long before covid.
  9. Thailand's results are impressive. 8 Thai hotels have 3 Michelin Keys. Compare that to countries like; USA - 16 , Japan- 6 , Canada -2, Italy - 8, Mexico - 3 , Spain-5, France -24 The listing for the Thai hotels is an exercise in exclusivity. Highly unlikely anyone from AN will have stayed at them. The Bangkok Mandarin starts at 27,000 baht/night. A junior suite is 65,000 baht/night 🤗 https://guide.michelin.com/ca/en/article/travel/every-three-key-hotel-thailand-michelin-guide-2024
  10. There is now significant evidence of Iran's multiple attempts to harm former President and presidential candidate Trump. U.S. intelligence officials briefed Mr. Trump on Tuesday about threats from Iran to assassinate him, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-briefed-ongoing-iranian-threats-assassinate-campaign-says-rcna172588 In July, the FBI had previously disrupted an attempt to harm Mr. Trump. The implicated assassins are alleged to have ties to Iran. https://www.thedailybeast.com/fbi-stopped-plot-to-kill-donald-trump-with-reported-ties-to-iran In addition, Iran associated hackers attacked the Trump election data system and stole confidential information. There was an attempt to sell the information to the Harris campaign. The response was to immediately report the activity to the FBI. None of the above is fake or false. The Trump campaign did not make it up, so please do not go there. Whatever views one holds about Trump, I think we can all agree that trying to harm a presidential candidate is wrong and not acceptable. Nor is hacking acceptable. Something has to be done to send a message to Iran that further activity will be dealt with in a strong manner. What would you do? Targeted removal of the responsible parties? A few well directed missiles? I think both Trump and Harris would prefer to keep conflict with Iran contained for now. A confrontation tends to bolster the popularity of a sitting government, even if by a few points. Trump doesn't want to give those points away. Failing to respond doesn't work in Harris favour. On the other hand, dropping a few bombs on the Ayatollahs would not help Harris at the ballot box either. More sanctions won't work if Iran's enablers of Turkey, India, Germany and China do not cooperate. So what should the USA do? Wait until after the election? Send a message now? or just carry on? Do you think there will be a conflict with Iran in the coming year ?
  11. It was Adams administration that welcomed the migrants and made them feel at home.
  12. He is not close to President Biden. However as the duly elected mayor of the USA's largest and one of its most important cities, he had a significant presence.
  13. Yes. A medical exam by people trained in treating sexual assault. You readily accepted one Thai man's statement as a reliable statement. Had you taken the time to read the original article before your rush to judgement, you would have seen the following; The medical team have not yet confirmed the sexual assault or provided an update on her condition. It is only in the second article that there is a confirmation of injury. For all you actually know, someone else could have been the rapist. Children can be threatened and intimidated into changing their version of events, especially if the perpetrator is family member or a neighbour. Before condemning people, reliable evidence should be gathered, including semen and pubic hair collection. Rapists often leave this behind. Have you not learnt anything from the too frequent blaming of Burmese people for local murders that a case should always be investigated and facts established?
  14. Happiness would be reuniting with every cat and dog that was a part of my life, with them being able to communicate with me. We would then carry on in happiness. A return to my peak intellectual and physical era and being able to enjoy it all over again with my friends would be nice too. Unfortunately, none of this will occur. Instead, my body will be placed deep in the ground where it will soon rot and decay to be transformed into organic material. As that occurs, the world will have forgotten me as a human being just as the great statesmen of centuries past are forgotten today.
  15. Not playing today.
  16. How about making sure the guilty party is correctly identified? It is easy to point and to accuse. One need only read all of the angry comments to see how effective that is. Why not wait to see if the child was actually assaulted and if so, whether the accused left any evidence behind like semen, or pubic hair or anything else. There is always the possibility of the actual assailant accusing someone else to cover up his actions. Children can be so traumatized that they cannot provide a reliable version of events.
  17. The UN did not create Israel. It recognized Israel as a nation. The origin of the modern state of Israel is in the same agreement that recognized the modern state of Lebanon, of Jordan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It also recognized the borders of Egypt, Syria and Iraq. To deny Israel's right to exist as a state, is to also deny all of the other nations and border agreements.
  18. Your assessment is blind to reality. There are countries who take their friendships very much to heart. The Canada -USA relationship is one of the closest in the world. Canada is not a pseudo colony of the USA. Nor has the USA stolen the UK colonies. The UK and France are two former colonial powers who have invested in their former colonies and been very supportive offering generous educational and social development assistance. The UK does this through the Commonwealth and France through the Francophonie. In return, most former colonies have a good relationship with the UK. Look at how Russia treated its former occupied east bloc countries to see the stark contrast. The Netherlands has significantly assisted Indonesia and Surinam. Australia and New Zealand is another close relationship. Sweden, Norway and Denmark have a familial like relationship. Within the EU are relationships more akin to marriage than friendship. Where these civil friendly relationships show their value is in the settlement of border and trade disputes. The USA and Canada have an ongoing dispute over the resource rich Beaufort sea. They are in talks to determine a fair and reasonable border. Denmark and Canada have a dispute over Arctic territory. Denmark has occupied and claimed some of the territory that Canada claims as its own. There is no fighting, no threats, just talking and negotiating. The Danes wouldn't think of armed force to grab the oil rich area, nor would Canada. Compare that to the Chinese territory grab in the South China sea. Your interpretation appears to draw on 1950's era Soviet propaganda.
  19. Seriously? You expect the cops to work and the general public who visit the station on business to do that with a giant stinky turd deposit on the floor? The article says it was foul smelling. People would be choking back vomit after some time in an enclosed room inhaling that fragrance. I was expecting the dogs to pee on him or to start chewing on his limbs. And what was up with this; Wout ....... stripped down to just his underwear, and began dancing and teasing the officers. Teasing? What is he at home, a gogo boy at a gay bar?
  20. The Routh letter of premeditation has already been released. Your satire above could not even be remotely plausible because of the letter.
  21. Or maybe just objects inserted into tight spaces?
  22. Not too many fans of Korean dramas here, otherwise you would know of Beer + Soju = Somaek 😁 Soju is a fermented rice product. It has 1/2 the alcohol content of vodka. Somaek is prepared by mixing a few shots of soju into a light beer.
  23. But they can, just that they are coming from Russia, China, India, and the Middle East & Iran.
  24. Why? Legal counsel had a responsibility to defend the accused. It was their moral and legal obligation to do so. The judge applied the law based upon the facts presented in court as was the judge's duty to do so. You are angry because the rule of law was upheld. It is the law that must be changed. The lawyers carried out their duties as they were intended. Your argument is for a society without the rule of law. There are many boats and rafts that are available, donated to the UK through the generosity of new arrivals from France. I suggest that the group you identify be sent on a sea cruise to France using the aforementioned flotilla. They can apply for refugee status. No they did not let them in. Every time the government tried to stop the inflow, Labour, social activists, dogooders and radical unions vociferously opposed effective action. The responsibility of the debacle lies entirely with the people of the UK because they refused to allow the government to take action. The EU is also responsible, encouraging France to facilitate the dumping of the migrants. The people who consistently condemn Brexit, never ever acknowledge how much the EU is responsible for the crisis because of its policy of dumping migrants in the UK.
  25. Hummus. I really like hummus, especially the varieties that can include roast peppers or eggplant. It is "fattening", but very filling. No need for any condiments since good hummus will be moist. For some added crunch I will put lettuce leaves or bell pepper slices in it. I often do it as a wrap, using the high protein thin wraps that Tops has.
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