Hawaiian

3 minutes ago, jas007 said:

I'm not an accountant, but, based on my observations, "getting down to the bottom of this" probably isn't going to happen.  Unless they can digitize every government financial transaction, synthesize the data from multiple databases, identify discrepancies. and trace those and synthesize the results, no one will ever know.  Maybe someday they'll have Super AI run by quantum computers capable of all that. Maybe then.  Otherwise, if they have to rely on current technology and human beings, it isn't going to happen.  Someone will shrug their shoulders and say "Why bother?"... " If the money is gone, the money is gone.  If it's not, then no harm done.  Start keeping better track of how the money is spent." 

Congress controls the purse strings.  Cutting funding can often bring some surprising results.

17 minutes ago, jas007 said:

What's "fraud"? Congress appropriates money for a certain purpose. Toilet seats, for example.  And yet the powers that be divert some or most of that money for a secret program.  Is that "fraud," or just a permissible way to hide certain expenditures from the public?    I'm not say that happens, but what if it does? 

Any one remember Jack Anderson, the investigative reporter?  He was always receiving death threats because of the corruption he exposed.

8 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

 

 

Unconstitutional for sure.....just like the military budget was raided to build 52 miles of wall.

 

 

One purpose of an audit is to track spending.  If the money was diverted, it still can be accounted for.

Forensic audits are conducted to uncover irregularities and suspected fraud.

5 minutes ago, jas007 said:

What's "fraud"? Congress appropriates money for a certain purpose. Toilet seats, for example.  And yet the powers that be divert some or most of that money for a secret program.  Is that "fraud," or just a permissible way to hide certain expenditures from the public?    I'm not say that happens, but what if it does? 

Of course it happens. It's not only fraud, but wasteful spending that needs to be addressed.  For instance, weapons that none of the services wanted. 

7 minutes ago, jas007 said:

 

I'm pretty sure the Pentagon's accounting systems have been less than ideal for years.  Discrepancies are simply kicked down the road from one year to the next.  Money seems to be missing in this program or that program, but nobody can figure out why.  Nonetheless, someone signs off on a questionable accounting opinion and life goes on.  The process repeats the next year.  Anyone trying to "audit" the system to account for all funds appropriated over the years is in for a surprise.  Where's the missing money?  Good luck with that. 

If there is a will there is a way.  A forensic audit coupled with Congressional subpoenas may be one way of getting down to the bottom of this.  These kinds of investigations may take awhile, but if Trump gets behind of it things may move along a little faster.  Let's see how much "will" there is.

45 minutes ago, placeholder said:

Just another case of Pavlovian thinking. Stupid would be thinking that the origin of the virus has any relevance at all to the therapeutic effect of vaccines or to the preventive effect of wearing masks. 

Is that what happens when you eat too pineapples?  Helps your physical heath.  Mental health????

The CIA has just announced that Covid-19 is "more likely" to have emerged from a lab rather than from nature.

20 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

It's too late for them to backtrack now. We've seen them in all their clown glory. Happily they got their big shoes in their rear end when Trump won. All they can do now is bleat impotently on forums like AN.

They provide my daily laugh.  The more Trump does, the funnier it gets.

14 hours ago, candide said:

Those are just the first decisions about immediate expenses. After that, the WHO will have to slash health programs helping developing countries. There's nothing funny about it.

Seems as if you are admitting that the U.S. has been responsible for much of the funding for health programs in developing countries. 

6 hours ago, Walker88 said:

MAGAs tried to claim their messiah was just playing 3-dimensional chess when he spoke about taking Greenland…by military force, if necessary.

 

Those who have IQs > turnips know better. We know the guy only says what he believes and what he intends, no matter how bizarre or whacked out it is, just like when he thought nuking hurricanes or injecting disinfectant were good ideas coming from his “really stable genius” mind. He still thinks he wowed psychologists by repeating “Man Women Person Camera TV”, as if any five year old couldn’t do it.

 

Well, he called the PM of Denmark---the nation holding Greenland since 1380---and told her she had a choice of giving it to him, selling it, or he would take it by military force. He also threatened imposing punitive tariffs on Denmark if they fail to bend to his bloated will.

 

Somebody tell the bone spurs coward that it’s 2025, and the days of Imperialism are long since dead.

 

If he does try to send US troops to steal the island, one should not be surprised if Putin decides to take back Alaska. Certainly, Putin has more claim to Alaska than the US has to Greenland. Until “Seward’s Folly”, Alaska was a part of Russia, and the State is certainly closer to Russia than it is to the continental US. Plus, Denmark has held Greenland for almost 500 years longer than the US held Alaska. Putin could re-rename Denali something like Dzerzhinsky Peak or Mt Beria.

 

The clown is going to make Americans personna non grata in every decent country on the face of the Earth. I wouldn't blame nations who might decide to ban entry to Americans, and send any American home who is currently resident. Americans are becoming a vermin the civilized world does not need.

 

Maybe all the MAGAs here, who support everything our convicted felon does, will volunteer for active duty in the Battle of Greenland? No, like their messiah, they’re likely cowards.

I find your possible scenarios quite hilarious.  Who's your scriptwriter?

7 hours ago, MangoKorat said:

Of course I do but I doubt 99.9% of tourists know about the TM30. Do you actually think a tourist would check to make sure they were registered if they moved to stay with a Thai friend for example? 

 

I've stayed at plenty of hotels where my girlfriend has dealt with the booking - my passport wasn't asked for so no TM30 was done.

 

In any case, you are just being obtuse.  My point in the post you initially quoted was that tourists are not going to like having a phone app or any other form of tracking. 

 

That is the underying reasoning behind all this - the Thai government have brought it all up before, several times.  They want the ability to track the whereabouts of a particular tourist - current and past locations. They think that by doing so it will help them to identify people involved in a crime or overstaying.

 

The last time this was proposed, they thought they could make tourists use a SIM card which they had to put in their phone and that would be used to track them.  Would you want to replace your SIM with a government one?  Its Thailand not China or North Korea - people on their holidays just don't want even the feeling they're being tracked.

 

Apart from that - have you ever known any Thai online system work properly?  Did you ever try to send your 7 day Covid test results?  When the App didn't work, were you worried you'd be stopped at the airport upon leaving, thinking you'd be arrested for not complying, even though you'd tried?  I and thousands of others probably had that experience but in fact nothing happened. In any case - even if the system did work and I had been able to send my 7 day test results - they had no way of knowing if I'd tested myself of the family dog.

 

I'll tell you what all this is about - its about money. Someone high up in the authorities will have a cousin who has a company that will create the app that tracks tourists and everyone will feed from the trough. They won't care one jot that the App isn't actually capable of tracking anyone because they don't care - they will have had their feast.

 

People entering bent on commiting crime would simply leave the phone in their room or take the govt SIM out, there would be no check on that or action until afterwards.

 

So I'll turn it around - 'do you not know how things work around here'?

 

I repeat what I said in the post you originally quoted:

 

This will really go down well with tourists.

I always let my Thai girlfriend handle the hotel check in process.  Sometimes my passport was asked for and sometimes not.  Most of the time we stayed at the family home.  That's the address I entered on the TM6.

6 hours ago, MangoKorat said:

No they haven't - they have just gone through the motions. They had no idea where most tourists actually went when they left the airport

 

Nobody ever checked if you were actually staying where you said you were.  There wasn't enough room on a TM6 to write most Thai addresses and there was no requirement for you to tell them where you were staying if you moved.

 

They didn't check before and they won't check this time.

I've always wondered what happens to all the TM6s that have been submitted.  Shredded up to use as mulch or stored in a warehouse owned by a connected someone charging exorbitant rent?

6 hours ago, MikeandDow said:

Well for one i think you are total  paranoid about this !! The TM6 And TM30 have been used for 15years i know of, no complaints, Thailand has always Tracked Tourist and expats,  it is just the way it is, never been a big deal, I was not in Thailand when covid was about so i dont know anything about a 7day test, now they want to go online so what !! there will be paper available, your bitching about some thing that has not happened yet !!  and iam sure if the Tourist dont want to fill out the forms they wont come !! thats up to Thailand to sort out !  and if you dont like it you know what you can do !!  

No complaints?  Lot's of them, but who listens to a bunch of tourists that contribute to the Thai economy?  "you know what you can do!!" is just the attitude why things can go south.  Successful businesses listen to their customers and the tourist industry is a business.

8 minutes ago, bubblegum said:

Only the best. For a day or 2 then "you're fired". Trump basis TV move. All he knows.

Be prepared to be disappointed.  Past performance is no guarantee.

7 minutes ago, herfiehandbag said:

Trump has a remarkably effective grip on MAGA and through that the Republican Party. Hence his unchallenged control. If he goes then MAGA goes, and Vance is just another politician. He won't have Trumps ruthless grip.

 

And without that ruthless grip, the punch up between various factions within the party, and the wealthy oligarchs who have invested in becoming the third part in government, after the legislative and executive branches, well that punch up will be spectacular and entertaining, and will give a whole new perspective on lame ducks. In fact I suspect that Vance will be reduced to quacking on the sidelines 

Charismat

9 minutes ago, herfiehandbag said:

Trump has a remarkably effective grip on MAGA and through that the Republican Party. Hence his unchallenged control. If he goes then MAGA goes, and Vance is just another politician. He won't have Trumps ruthless grip.

 

And without that ruthless grip, the punch up between various factions within the party, and the wealthy oligarchs who have invested in becoming the third part in government, after the legislative and executive branches, well that punch up will be spectacular and entertaining, and will give a whole new perspective on lame ducks. In fact I suspect that Vance will be reduced to quacking on the sidelines 

Charismatic leaders, like Martin Luther King, lead the charge and when they go the movement they started doesn't necessarily peter out.  This is not about personal character but rather an example of what may be in store if Trump leaves unexpectedly.  According some posters, they expect Trump to leave sooner than later.  We will have wait to see how accurate their expectations are.

1 minute ago, Yellowtail said:

Why should the President have people that do not support his agenda?  

He talks about sore winners, but fails to mention sore losers.  Seems as the sore losers are back on line again with their vilifying posts.

2 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

So your argument is because I thought that the strong man authoritarian Trump wouldn't win that my criticism of his policies and picks is made null. This is a pattern I've seen by the sore winners brigade. They actually think winning makes them or dear leader right and that critics are not compelled to shut up, or if not to be harassed and insulted. At the same time they crow about free speech. No no no. 

You are free to voice your opinion just as I am free to disagree with you. 

2 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I doubt he will do that and even if he did I doubt he has the competence to manage and effectively use them. He's only there as a yes man for Trump.

Doubt all you want.  You've been wrong a few times before or have you forgotten?

5 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

You think that stuffed suit from Fox weekends has a best mind? OMG!

I'm talking about Hegseth hiring "some of the best minds." Some people just can't wait to jump to the wrong conclusion.  OMG!

38 minutes ago, Walker88 said:

Just makes one prouder and prouder every day!  /sarc

 

----A drunk and alleged wife beater, alleged rapist, accused of malfeasance and for using funds ostensibly raised for veterans, but instead for staff Christmas parties where he was drunk....in charge of an $840,000,000,000 entity employing 3,000,000 men and women

 

----A convicted felon, convicted charity fraudster, adjudicated sex offender, serial philanderer, pathological liar, obese, willfully ignorant, whining crybaby, vindictive clown as POTUS

 

---A former softcore porn model who allegedly lied on her "Einstein Visa" application, worked illegally while on a Tourist Visa as FLOTUS

 

Yes, Madison, Jefferson, etc. are rolling over in their graves, while H.L. Mencken is saying, "I told you so".

Here comes one of the vilifiers I mentioned earlier.

39 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Going back to Rummy in 2001, the day before 9/11 announcing that $4 trillion was unaccounted for, that's over 20 years of not being able to handle money.  (And it didn't start or end with Rumsfeld) 

 

It's time to do something different, and I'm willing to give Hegseth a chance.  He doesn't need to be an audit and money guru.  He needs to know who he can trust to be the guru who's going to hire a team of competent people.  And I doubt that guru is even going to come with a military background.  Finance isn't what they teach...  

 

Even if you appointed a CEO with years of experience he still wouldn't be able to run the show efficiently without the help of others(advisers) under him.  Guess some people have never heard of "hiring some of the best minds."

This the same reason elected legislators have a staff of assistants to do research and write bills.

22 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

Ah difficult to track DOD spending.  I got a first look at it during my deployments to A-stan.  Civil Affairs officers had the mission to help the locals build schools, government buildiings etc.  In the end the locals were handed $100 dollar bills to get the job done.  How would this program be audited?  No receipts were generated. This is just one example of DOD spending.  There was also DCAA (Defense Contract Audit Agency) people in A-stan and I do not konw what they were actually doing.  The DCAA was supposed to ensure taxpayer dollars were spent in accordance with contracts but most of never knew exactly what the contracts specified.  Of course auditing DOD contracts at stateside bases or at Defence Contract firms could be simpler.  

In accounting there are ways to classify cash transactions, unless you are trying to hide something.  I don't know what the reasons for failing the audits were and I doubt you know either.

If there are suspicions of fraud then a forensic auditor should be used to investigate.

1 hour ago, theblether said:

 

I'm simplifying nothing. Your post was clear. You complained about the US arresting criminals for sexual offenses.

 

You made no attempt to explain or categorise. 

 

You have a delicious sense of self-worth. Everyone is dumb, especially compared to you. Your reply makes things even worse. 

 

Feel free to explain to the forum what sexual crimes Americans should be allowed to perpetrate in Thailand. 

Same question came to my mind also.  Exactly what are the sex offenses?  Ruin a person's life?  What about the life of the victim?  This old adage applies, "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime."

Now that you have had your ridiculous say you can go back to bed.