realfunster

On 7/6/2025 at 5:15 AM, Georgealbert said:

As one senior figure put it, “National security cannot be bought with money, it must be built by our own hands.”

Hilarious. Except for Chinese submarines, of course.

The Generals won’t like this kind of attitude which would limit envelope opportunities. 

15 hours ago, Reddavy said:

If he fully recovers if i were him i’d stay in Thailand Cwmbran is a s******e

I respectfully beg to differ.

It’s a few years old now but the Cwmbran Tourist Association did once release an excellent video highlighting the numerous attractions of said charming town.

I haven’t been myself yet, saving it for my retirement bucket list.

11 minutes ago, MikeandDow said:

Who designed it  who approved the design   Again typical Thailand sweep it under the carpet    

I've lost track now, which is probably the ambition of all involved.

I thought it was designed by a credible international firm, could be wrong though.

The article appears to throw more emphasis on poor construction, rather than design. 

10 minutes ago, black tabby12345 said:

Probably when this kingdom implements a realistic enough penalty; car confiscation on the spot

 

That'll be no use, will just increase the RTP's bargaining power for a "settlement".

Reading between the lines…

They are not happy with drivers from one or more countries.

In order not to single out and therefore annoy aforementioned country/ countries, they make all foreigners do the test.

Makes sense….punish all for the actions of some. 
 

Anecdotally, there have been numerous reports on AN of a certain East Asian country’s citizens being involved in crashes, likely a direct impact of both their poor driving and the significant increase in numbers over past 5 years. 

51 minutes ago, frank83628 said:

do you think a pharmaceutical company wants people smoking weed instead of using their drugs? 

Probably yes, as based on this study smoking weed leads to ill health and that's where they can really rack up the bucks via health insurance & government health systems 🤷‍♂️

Or are you suggesting a ban on weed will force stoners to rush to the pharmacy/doctor to get something else prescribed ?

It's not really a great leap of faith to believe that smoking weed has negative health effects is it ? 

It's no pandemic anymore but it is still a "thing".

Clearly weak, elderly and compromised people can have major problems with it, perhaps the 'flu is a reasonable comparison.

I've had it twice.

First time 2022, very mild, a very runny nose.

Second time 2024, mild, bad headache/fatigue for 24 hours.

I have spoken to many who have had it much worse over the past 5 years, especially in 2020-2022, with the more virulent strains.

One of the challenges of discussing COVID is that personal experience, on which we place great value, varies greatly.

Might have had it for a third time recently as it ran through the office. Felt rough for a few days but didn't test positive.

Most people in the office were fairly mild apart from one guy who lost his voice for 1 week and developed a gravelly vocalisation that Rod Stewart would be proud of for a week. Weird.

I'm not planning any special measures but should I feel bad and test positive, I will at least stay at home for a few days to avoid spreading it.

Just like I would with the 'flu.

21 hours ago, xtrnuno41 said:

Once they had them and closed them. Leaving me no choice to go outside and have a smoke.

I know it isnt allowed. Happily , not much of a control, not even by cam.

 

This year flying Emirates, Dubai. Wow surprise they have smoking area's !

Dint expect it and was just passing one, leaving me flabbergasted, but used it.

All though I had a nicotine plaster on. It sure helps.

The smoking area's arent shown on signs, so for the fastest way ask an Emirates employer.

Once you leave certain "nanny states" you will observe that many countries, whilst limiting where you smoke, do actually provide areas for smokers in Airports (airside) and elsewhere. From memory, the UK is one of the toughest on enforcing no-smoking airside.  

15 hours ago, Banana7 said:

Thailand should also look at Canada. LNG Canada, on the west coast, phase 1 will begin shipping later this year. Multiple other LNG plants on Canada's west coast are currently  being built or are under consideration, and will be built far before anything emerges from Alaska. Phase 2 is looking for new customers.

 

During winter, lots of icebergs near Alaska's port that can delay shipping.

Yep - but that wouldn't help reduce the trade surplus with the US would it.

I'm guessing that is part of the evaluation here.

On 5/26/2025 at 9:39 AM, webfact said:

Picture courtesy of Daily News

 

In a recent update, Dr. Thira Woratanarat from Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Medicine reported that COVID-19 cases have skyrocketed, now exceeding influenza cases by tenfold. This alarming trend was highlighted on Dr. Thira's Facebook post.

Who is this smirking usurper, this is hardly appropriate behaviour for such grave news, and where is our Dr Yong ?

Remember folks : if it's not Dr Yong, they could well be wrong.

Well, it's a headline grabber for sure, job done and some attention brought to this new "neo-conservative" party.

"Tough on corruption, tough on the causes of corruption".

However, if you think about it for more than about 2 seconds, you will conclude it's completely unworkable.

11 hours ago, petedk said:

 

I did that recently and to my surprise he turned the meter on. When I asked why he just laughed. 

 

When we arrived at the destination the meter showed considerably more than the arranged fare, and he charged me the meter price plus 50 baht "Grab fee". I protested for a few minutes but he gradually became more and more aggressive, so I ended up paying the amount he asked for.

 

I haven't used Grab cars since, but I use Grab motorcycles often.

That appears unlucky and unusual in my experience.

1) getting any crap from a Grab driver

2) the meter fare being higher than Grab fare (subject to ridiculous Bangkok traffic)

In my typical Grab usage, I know the routes well and usually Grab is at least 50% more expensive than meter in standard times, more so in busy times.

Not hugely unreasonable, they will drive to pick you up from your pick up point and they remove all the hassles. 
 

Whatever happened with you, there was the option to report your issue with Grab. 

First mistake, getting in the car when “he turned on the meter and laughed”.

You need to self-advocate in Thailand. People will often try to bend the rules.

If not comfortable or not to mutual advantage and polite and clear “no” is required. 

11 hours ago, KireB said:

This is fascinating news for Thailand's tourism and economy! MGM Resorts' push for a Singapore-like 17% casino tax rate and substantial local access really shows they're serious about a multi-billion dollar integrated resort in Bangkok. It makes sense, given how much more revenue Singapore's two resorts generate compared to many in Las Vegas due to their more favorable tax and market conditions.

The preference for Bangkok as a prime location is no surprise – it's a global tourist hub with great infrastructure. And the 10% casino space limit in Thailand's draft bill seems quite reasonable when you compare it to Japan's 3% or Singapore's sub-5%. It looks like they're aiming for a balanced approach to boost the economy while managing potential social impacts. It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Two hopes - Bob & none.

US FACTA/FCPA/other regulations will not be welcomed in Thailand's casino industry, it will be a brown envelope machine the likes of which we have never seen on these shores.

8 hours ago, redwood1 said:

 

Yea but most Singaporeans are pretty well off and can afford to lose money...Most Thais can not afford to lose money......99% are guaranteed to be losers in casinos....Even the winners will be losers over time.

So what you are effectively saying is that access to such places should be means tested ? The comfortably off can enter, plebs cannot ?

Are there other aspects of Thai national life where we should be implementing such an approach ?

Perhaps we can means test access to alcohol and cigarettes as well.

After all, the comfortably off have private health insurance, the plebs just run to the local state hospital and are a burden to the taxpayer.

Hmm, on the other hand, perhaps just giving all citizens freedom of choice within an overarching general regulatory and legal framework might work better ?

16 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

MGM Resorts, renowned for its integrated resorts globally, operates in locations including Macau and is set to launch MGM Osaka by 2030. The company is seriously considering expanding into Thailand’s emerging market with a significant casino investment.

Yes, good luck with that mate.

I suspect the powers that be will prefer a more "grey" operator who is, let's say, more familiar with "Thai business style" and is not keen on or subject to much regulation/oversight.

Knock me down with a feather if in due course the chosen operator is not Chinese.

25 minutes ago, NorthernRyland said:

 

even my wife honks at people for doing this. It's so slow you'd think they were playing games with you.

True but to be fair the left turners are often facing unseen to us hazards when entering the side road, double parked cars, food carts, packs of dogs and random motorbikes etc.

On a similar note, one of my faves is the car drivers (using the term loosely) who swing out right a few feet to do their left turn, it's a classic. Especially appreciated on dual carriageways when you are bombing along at 80kmph in outer lane. 

One of the less publicized impacts of the earthquake was it revealed the large numbers of pets in condos.
 

As all and sundry hastily evacuated their accommodations, often with their animal chums in tow, I believe many building managers and co-residents were surprised to note the resulting menagerie assembled in their building’s front car park. 
 

Talking to Thai colleagues, some buildings have continued to turn a blind eye, some have offered a monetary solution (mandatory purchase of an “animal condo residency license”- never miss a trick, do they) whilst others are playing hard ball. 

19 minutes ago, Dogmatix said:

There seem to be a number of factors above that support the idea of having some portion of your assets in gold and silver and gold and silver mining stocks.  

Agreed. Diversification. I hope the OP is not suggesting going heavy on Gold or Silver.

Despite some of the comments above, may I remind everyone that Gold pretty much had a 12 year bear market very recently.

I've taken some profit off the 50%+ since early 2024 and reduced my GLD ETF holding. I own a couple of mining stocks, focused on Gold & Copper.

Whatever the underlying fundamentals, the kind of massive short-term run-up seen in Gold usually has a sting in the tail...

2 hours ago, NoDisplayName said:

 

Are the two engines not identical, apart from the label?

 

the offered Chinese engine, CHD620 is actually a licenced-manufactured version of the German MTU396 engine.

 

https://www.defensemirror.com/news/35501/Chinese_Submarine_Engine_is_a_Licensed_produced_German_Powerplant__Thai_Navy_Chief

 

And the German engine is no longer in production.

 

Production of all MTU 396 diesel engines has been discontinued from 2020 as well that makes Chinese-style submarines equipped with diesel engine propulsion MTU16V396SE84 such as Type 039A/B/C/D (NATO) diesel-electric attack (SSK) submarines (class coded Yuan) built after this will have to be replaced with a CHD620V16H6 diesel engine.

 

https://defense-studies.blogspot.com/2023/08/china-completes-certification-for.html

 

Great, so the plan is to buy a Chinese knock-off of an technologically obsolete German engine 🙂 What could possibly go wrong ?

Any imaginary enemies in the Gulf of Thailand would be laughing their heads off.

I did a quick Google search for available 2nd hand engines, it seems like the Thai Navy have beaten me to it !

On 5/9/2025 at 7:28 AM, thesetat said:

Had to take family to hospital as we all got sick with sore throat and coughing and congestion. The hospital told us….

Kindly allow me to step in right there, you didn’t really “have” to go to the hospital did you ? You and your family have common respiratory infection symptoms. I would suggest only worth visiting a Doctor if any of those symptoms persist or become worrying. A cough, sore throat and runny nose are best treated by home rest and if necessary, can be supplemented by a visit to your local pharmacy. 
 

Be careful not to fall into the Thai hypochondriac mindset, and start running to the Doctor demanding 8 different and useless medicines whenever you are feeling a little bit off colour.

After recent events, I was completely unsurprised to note that, as the Thai press had dug up and published articles about Earthquake Dizziness Syndrome, it became the latest de rigueur medical condition in my office. Quite impressive, as it had previously only ever been diagnosed in areas suffering from major, multiple and long running after shocks (think Ring of Fire) , so absolutely nothing at all like what we experienced in Bangkok then….

1 minute ago, Harrisfan said:

Too late now

Could be, we've had something of a rally after correction/bear market but not sure we are out of the woods yet. 

Any troubling US economic data could see a further slide in markets...