Orac

"Korn also implied that value-added tax might also be increased because the current 7 per cent was very low."

So there is a plan to reduce income tax which is paid by the relatively well off and possibly increase value added tax which is a regressive tax a therefore tends to effect the poorer more.

Surely at this stage, a few weeks before a general election, any plan to increase sales taxes should be made clearer to the voting public??

This story seems very confusing. Either there was only one Cambodian who was an army colonel who, after been arrested and put in detention ten days ago, then escaped and managed to take with him the data collected and other documents - ie. the evidence - or, there were two cambodians, one who was never caught (the colonel) and a second one who escaped after being arrested.

So it is a Cambodian colonel of unknown rank???

If only 'good people' are voted for then they will probably be able to fit all the MPs in one tuktuk.

I seldom have any rubbish. I only eat fresh fruit and vegetables or what I catch and kill. Any of the plastic bags I have get re-used until they finally break. What little I have goes into my hotel's garbage can when I'm in Thailand, or in my garbage can in Canada. I seldom have more than one or two small bags of garbage a week.

Read this Ian, might make you change your habits.

dangers of re-using plastic bags

That article is written buy someone who also writes articles on religion and addictions.

I dont see any proof and basically anyone can write anything on here.

I am sure their is many other articles countering his argument too.

I think Ians longevity pretty much counters the argument as well.

what happenned to the PAD no vote or are they in the undecided group - or did i miss something???

Perhaps the PLO should not be making alliances with a terrorist organization sworn to destroy the country of Israel (that makes decisions on who can build where). You catch more ants with honey than with vinegar ...

slightly off topic i know but since your post has not being removed i assume it is reasonable to discuss it.

It needs to be remembered that the PLO also used terrorism and didn't recognise the state of Israel until 1993 when Arafat met with Rabin for the Oslo Accords and renounced terrorism.

It seems to me that the sooner there are some negotiations between these parties, the sooner there is a chance that some of these issues can be dealt with.

The loud pipes arguement that it is so that other road users can see you coming sounds no different to me than those well mannered car drivers that flash their lights and occasionally use their horns to let you know they are coming and will pass you any way they can.

I would appreciate a review from someone on this before I go and see it - I have visions of a male appendage rearing out of the screen towards me and I am not sure if i can handle that

This thread makes an interesting read. The should I buy / rent dilemma is pertinent to me as I have decided to settle here after numerous visits and now a year, more or less full-time, here.

I pay rent of 13K per month for a 55 sq.m., one bedroom condo in Central Pattaya. This building is exactly where I want to be; between Beach and 2nd Rd and a stones throw from The Avenue complex. I guess a similar condo would cost approx 3 million THB according to some of the adverts in the local newspapers, perhaps a bit more.

Keeping things simple (i.e. not allowing for rent inflation or appreciation of a purchased condo or long-term currency fluctuations), that capital cost equates to almost 20 years of renting ! I think I would be mad to buy at the moment, or in the near future.

Simon

Its worse than that:

By the time you've factored in the transfer tax, business tax, yearly property taxes, condo maintenance fees, extra costs of fixing things that owners need to pay for, renovations blah blah blah you would probably find its more like 30 years of rent to breakeven.

The only way it makes sense to buy is if you believe in significant capital appreciation.

the problem with this is that you have not factored in any rental increases over the 20/30 years. Also, provided your property has some residual value left after the 20/30 years it will not be a break even point since the renter has nothing.

Transferred out for political violence giving another chance for it to happen in the new district..

What happened to "YOUR FIRED"...where's trump when the police need him.

Jail Sentence?

Not for political violence, just bias.

I wonder what they did - surely more than just wearing those yellow shirts???

Interesting report here:

ABSTRACT: A study was made of post-traumatic stress disorder in 200 children aged 7–11 years who had witnessed a public hanging next to their school in Isfahan, Islamic Republic of Iran. A standard checklist was completed through interviews with the children’s parents 3 months after the event. Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms were identified in 104 children (52%), with 88 suffering re-experiences, 24 avoidance and 62 hyperarousal. The mean stress severity according to the Child Post-Traumatic Stress Reaction Index was 39.1, indicating a moderate to severe severity of stress. The study highlights the serious emotional effects on children who witness traumatic events.

http://www.emro.who.int/publications/emhj/1201_2/article7.htm

"A task force of 300 police officers has been set up to track down these gunmen and members of their gangs."

This statement implies that these 75 hitmen are possibly gang leaders as well and i would assume that the police are applying the shoot to kill policy to the gangs as well. Far too much opportunity for 'mission creep' here me thinks.

What is a minor and what makes the difference?

I take your point, my bad of course a minor is below 9 years of age in Iran based on the Islamic textbook and it's literal adoption by the mad mullahs taking us back to 7th century norms. Most of the civilised world recognises the universal declaration of human rights, except for Iran, Egypt and most Islamic nations who don't think universal is a good idea - For instance the rights accorded to children.

Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the right to life which, to me, pretty much covers all capital punishment no matter how it is carried out.

As long as you have a working original remote, just get a universal remote with a learning function. OFA and Logitech make them, as do loads of Chinese no-name brands.

Bump

Got the same problem with Yashima ac unit in Pattaya - old remote nackered.

Did the OP manage to find a new remote???

There is an interesting situation that has developed in our village when one of the local girls has been hit by her husband - this has happenned about 3-4 times now. She has left him and gone back to her parents who have told him that if he wants her back he must remarry her (local ceremony not amphur) and pay sinsod again. If he hits her again she will leave him permenantly apparently.

First time i have heard of sinsod being paid twice by the same guy for the same woman!

Old wives' tales.

Actually true - friend of my wife. Sinsod has been set at 8000 baht!

There is an interesting situation that has developed in our village when one of the local girls has been hit by her husband - this has happenned about 3-4 times now. She has left him and gone back to her parents who have told him that if he wants her back he must remarry her (local ceremony not amphur) and pay sinsod again. If he hits her again she will leave him permenantly apparently.

First time i have heard of sinsod being paid twice by the same guy for the same woman!

You can give blood and that counts as 12 hours I think - you can only do it once within a 6-month period though.

Not if you are a Brit - our blood isn't good enough apparently

I guess there are so many undecided as the money hasn't reached them yet. I seem to remember an article a year or so back that found that Bangkok was the 2nd most likely place where people would sell their votes after Isaan.

^ it was about 2 weeks if i remember rightly - I filled in a DHL courier note at the embassy so was able to track it back which took 3 days from arriving in Thailand to getting up to darkest Isaan but, according to a previous post, they may have changed things again if the come from the UK now.

When I got a passport for my daughter a year or so back (about a month after the HKG bit came in) I was also struggling to get a countersignature. In the end I got my local bar owner to sign it but unfortunately he only put his first name down and i didn't know his surname - this was pointed out to me by the lady at the British Embassy. Since they take your mobile off you at the embassy i couldn't phone him and check but the lady said that it wouldn't be a problem. Sure enough a couple of weeks later we received the passport so if they accept "Terry" occupation Bar Owner and a thai mobile number I am pretty certain they will take anything as long as there is a british passport number given.

So, just to briefly get back on topic, is there an English subtitle version of the movie? or do you need to understand Thai and Isaan / Lao?

I saw it with english subtitles

No star wars or matrix?

Who lived there and who ruled there?

n

How about St George???

"Saint George was a Palestinian Christian"

That was the Jewish country that the Romans called Palestine way back in history. There has never been an Arab country with that name.

How about Shakespeare

The Life and Death of King John: Scene II.1 "Richard, that robb'd the lion of his heart, and fought the holy wars in Palestine"

Othello Scene IV.3: "I know a lady in Venice would have walked barefoot to Palestine for a touch of his [Lodovico's] nether lip."

Clearly Palestinians lived in Palestine. As for who ruled them it would depend on when you were refering to.

How about St George???

"Saint George was a Palestinian Christian"

That was the Jewish country that the Romans called Palestine way back in history. There has never been an Arab country with that name.

How about Shakespeare

The Life and Death of King John: Scene II.1 "Richard, that robb'd the lion of his heart, and fought the holy wars in Palestine"

Othello Scene IV.3: "I know a lady in Venice would have walked barefoot to Palestine for a touch of his [Lodovico's] nether lip."

it's always the same stupid arguments made in this forum..it doesn't matter that your opinion is that there was never a Palestine, despite the fact that in any pre-1948 map or newspaper the levant is refered to as 'Palestine'

Palestine was a geographical area - pretty much a desert - with very few people outside of Jerusalem which was dominated by Jews. No country. No "Palestinian" people.

That is why you can not answer any of the questions that apply to a real country. Name one "Palestinian leader" before Arafat and so on....

Why is there the need to have a "leader" to be recognize as "people"?

In other words there has never been an Arab country called Palestine or people called Palestinian (until some Arab immigrants started calling themselves that in 1967) and don't forget the other 10 unanswerable questions.

That kind of blows the Jews came in and stole the country Myth doesn't it.?

How about St George???

"Saint George was a Palestinian Christian"

from

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2007/apr/23/hewasbornin