CaptHaddock

Of course, everyone dies, but few deserve it so richly.

Coming up next in the USA: Constitutional Crisis! The Repub Senate will certainly not approve any Obama nomination to swing the Court 5-4 to the liberal side. They will probably refuse even to hold hearings on an Obama appointee. If so, that would be a first in American governance. So only 8 justices for the next year. Now what happens if there is another Florida like in 2000 where the Court got to decide the election (which it die in true banana republic fashion?) An eight member Court might be unable to decide. In any case, no major decisions can be reached by the Court in the next year. So, now the Court is gridlocked just like the Congress. American government seizes up.

I hope the new constitution reverts to a parliamentary system, but I couldn't rule out military dictatorship.

Being a pedestrian in Bangkok affords useful insight into the class system that dominates Thai society. In the West pedestrians have sidewalks allocated to them, in some cases, very broad ones, that express the right to accommodation for walkers. In Bangkok, by contrast, sidewalks, where they exist at all, are usually just the scraps of public space that remain after the rich have taken what they want. But that's not a problem for Thai society because pedestrians are justifiably at the bottom of the social hierarchy and so not entitled to anything more. Thanon Rachadamri is an oddity having broad sidewalks that someone must have thought would recall the Champs Elysees or something. They have painted lane lines to separate bicyclists from pedestrians. Naturally, the motocycles don't hesitate to zip right up to snatch the sidewalk for themselves since they have no safe lane for themselves in the streets and are bigger than pedestrians or bicyclists.

More information in this article:

http://elpais.com/elpais/2016/02/10/inenglish/1455115142_352013.html

Bad judgment by the cavers in charge.

Mothman,

I had the same problem with my Lenovo A680 phone. Android is a primitive operating system that puts on the user the burden of storage maintenance which is not unified. So, this is what you would have to do to address the issue fully.

1. root the device. Look up your model on forum.xda-developers.com for suggestions on which tool to use for this purpose and what the steps are. From this point on everything you do is dangerous and may result in bricked phone. Kingroot worked fine on my phone.

2. Install Titanium Backup and give it root access. Backup all the apps on your phone to the sdcard. Then review each user (not system) and move it to the sdcard freeing up space on the phone storage. Most apps are movable, but some aren't. Reboot frequently and test each relocated apps. You can move back those apps that don't run well from the sdcard. If you repent of a deletion you can always restore from your first backup.

3. You can delete bloatware using Titanium Backup as well, but it's risky since you don't know ahead of time which apps can safely be deleted. However, Titanium Backup will let you freeze an app so that it will never run. You can freeze some of the likely candidates for a few days and see if your phone still runs ok and then move the app to the sdcard or delete it. I was able to delete all the mysterious apps with Chinese descriptions without a problem.

4. My A680 has 2.4 GB internal storage. If the free space on internal storage drops below 200 MB I start to see the dreaded "insufficient space" when trying to install a new app. Doesn't make sense since the apps themselves are small, but that's the observed behavior.

It's possible to accomplish some of this using Titanium Backup without rooting, but I didn't go that way and don't know how successful it would be. You might try that first anyway.

What a complete pain in the ass. I couldn't believe that Android is such a piece of junk. Nevertheless, mobiles are pretty useful these days, so I put up with it.

Bloomberg won't run. He's just threatening the Democrats with throwing the race to the Republicans by taking votes from Hillary. In the end he won't run, because he knows will lose.

I'm not from New York, and I don't follow the guy, so I don't know if he has a history of teasing for attention, as you seem to suggest.

On seeing the headline, I assumed something quite different: that the inside info (and no one is more "inside" than Bloomberg) is that Hillary Clinton will indeed be indicted, and will soon withdraw from the race, and that opportunists are therefore now circling, knowing that the dominant Wall Street/Hollywood wing of the Democrat party will not get behind Bernie Sanders.

Your science fiction fantasy about Clinton aside, Bloomberg has said that he would only run if Sanders were nominated or Hillary moves too far to the left to suit him. That amounts to a threat to start a third-party just for the purpose of taking votes away from the Dems which is indeed what would happen. I don't know who he imagines is listening, not Sanders' supporters, for sure. But that's his game: to try to push the Dem candidate toward the right. He won't run though because, although he is as vain as any other politician, he doesn't want to lose. No NYC mayor has ever gone on to higher office. It's the graveyard of political ambition.

Clinton won in 1992 because Ross Perot took votes away from the Republicans while Ralph Nader threw the 2000 election to Bush II by taking votes from the Dems. No third party candidate has ever won, except for Lincoln. Therole of third parties in the US is only a spoiler role.

When Mike Bloomberg became mayor of NYC in about 2001 his wealth was reported as two or three billion. By 2011, it had ballooned to $27 billion. Maybe more by now. So, dropping $1 billion on a presidential campaign would hardly make a dent. Bloomberg had a reputation as a technocrat, but he didn't accomplish much in particular during 12 years as mayor. After his second term he needed to get the city's charter amended to remove the restriction on a third term. He did this by making contributions to many non-profit organizations in the city who then lead the charge to amend the charter, a campaign which succeeded. Other than that his administration was known for supporting the unconstitutional "stop-and-frisk" laws under which the police searched black people relentlessly whether or not there was any reason for suspicion.

Bloomberg is the quintessential plutocrat, who throws his money wherever he has to to get his way.

Bloomberg won't run. He's just threatening the Democrats with throwing the race to the Republicans by taking votes from Hillary. In the end he won't run, because he knows will lose.

I rather like the term "Third World". The term 'developing nation' requires far too many caveats to be accurate.

There are many reasons why Thailand deserves the title 'Third World' near the top of which is a raft of laws that make it a criminal offence to publicise the occasions when one of those 'first rate' hospitals destroy a patient's health or 'kill' them.

We get a lot of posts here on TVF complaining about 'negative views' of Thailand, and yes there there are people who focus on the negative, but the truth of the matter is, the real negative side of Thailand, corruption, abuse of power, organised crime, the abuse of the legal system by criminals, these things are not discussed.

Doing so could land the person discussing these issues in jail.

So while I agree with the OP, there are very many good things about Thailand, the difference between these good things in Thailand compared with the same good things in the west, is in Thailand merely discussing failures in service, incompetence, or criminality is in itself a crime.

It is this ability of criminals, the incompetent and the corrupt to silence any discussion of their crimes and failings that ensure Thailand has a rightful place in the list of 'Third World' countries.

'Developing country' would imply some semblance of continuing improvement, which apart from the window dressing, there is no other evidence of.

You're a hard man, my friend. Imagine! Coming to Thailand and calling a spade a flat auger.

Too many dimensions to Third World aswell - but the notional concept is accepted. But Third World Banana Republic has a better ring to it than developing world banana republic. So in the end, it's all semantics, and whether you've had the rough end of the pineapple today.

To be elevated to the title "banana republic" a country first has to be a "republic", doesn't it?

republic (noun)[ri-puhb-lik]A state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them.

You misunderstand. A banana republic is a republic in the same way that Hobson's choice is a choice, i.e. not at all.

Per capita GDP in Thailand is less than $6000. In the US it is over $54,000. In the UK > $46,000. Mexico > $10,000. Get the picture?

data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD

The US State Department's Foreign Service Institute rates Vietnamese as equal in difficulty to Thai for a native English-speaker and Khmer and Burmese nearly so.

http://www.effectivelanguagelearning.com/language-guide/language-difficulty

I've not used Uber, but if you use the expressway how do the tolls get paid? By you in cash like a regular taxi or included in the charge to your card?

Driver either pays in cash or uses an EZPass. Toll then gets charged to the passenger's credit card.

Volunteer work in Thailand does require a work permit.

Some states use voting and voter registration as a basis to collect state income tax from expats. Consider whether your vote is worth that risk.

Hi i just wanted to share my experience with 3 years worth of taxes. I used someone recommended by a financial guy here in Thailand for 2014. He recommended someone in America, I forgot the name of the company but the accountant was David. The process was grueling, I had to re-email 2 and 3 times and he never full explained anything. I ended up getting fined for late payment because he did not file the extension. The whole experience was grueling and painful.

I recently completed some back taxes with a different company. I found good reviews and a good rating on the BBB. The experience was extremely smooth! I got answers the next day each and every time to my emails, things were explained to me and their entire system was automated and easy to use. I normally don't promote companies but this was just such relief! The company is Taxes for Expats located in New York.

For 2015 I want to be totally ahead and through their online system I can at least get ahead start uploading information while I wait for final tax documents to be sent from banks and employers for 2015. 2015 will be tricky as I moved back during the year but I definitely will use this company again.

Just wanted to share my experience.

How much did it cost with the NY company?

National Geographic has new allegations about illegal trafficking in wildlife at Tiger Temple.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/01/160121-tiger-temple-thailand-trafficking-laos0/

Medicare does not pay benefits when out of the USA. But, if you want to return to the US for any medical treatment, you must continue to pay your monthly Medicare premiums. Also, my supplemental policy has coverage for the first 3 months, I am out of the country.

The supplemental policies to Parts A and B (no supplemental or Medicare Advantage insurer will cover you unless you're already paying into Part) that I've read have a very strict and limited coverage of anybody outside the US for the first 90 days only. It's emergency coverage only....and not even a very liberal emergency coverage.

You either opt in or opt out of Part B. If you opt in, you pay every month regardless if you're in the US or not (SS deducts it from your monthly check). If you've opted out, no supplemental or Medicare Advantage plan will pay anything as noted above. And, presuming you've opted out, you have to pay some significant financial penalties (much higher monthly payments) and will end up with a time gap in coverage that could present a real problem for some people needing immediate care.

Not 100% sure on how he done it, but I know a guy that was out of the US for a few years and had dropped Part B. He was able to immediately start Part B back in the US using some special rules they have about enrollment periods. From my understanding being out of the country during the last enrollment period is a qualifier for a special enrollment period that will allow you to get Part B back immediately. Since I was not involved in this and got the story after the fact, I can't vouch for it but I see no reason for someone to lie about it.

You can certainly enroll in Part B at any time whether or not you are in the US. If you enroll later than age 65 you will be penalized by paying a 10% surcharge on your monthly payment for every year over age 65 that you were not enrolled, unless you were covered by other qualifying insurance such as from an employer. For other Medicare programs such as Part C, D, etc. you cannot be enrolled unless residing in the US. If you return to the US after living abroad you have a two-month window in which to enroll in those programs without financial penalty and without exclusion of pre-existing conditions.

The problem with rice cookers is that nearly all of them come with teflon-coated pots for the rice. The estimates of the temperature at which the teflon deteriorates releasing unhealthy compounds into the food keep going down. Since rice cookers are designed to reach only the boiling point of water it may be that the teflon does not contaminate the food, but why take a chance? Better to look for a cooker with an aluminum, ceramic or stainless steel pot.

Scaremongering simple as that.

However, given the evidence of adverse health effects in animals and the uncertain effects in humans, the EPA has asked companies that use PFOA to reduce and eventually eliminate PFOA from products and manufacturing plant emissions.

Per the Mayo Clinic. http://riversideonline.com/health_reference/Cancer/AN01293.cfm

So, the teflon rice pot may not give you cancer and may not contaminate your body with PTFE or PFOA, but why take the chance when there are clearly safe alternatives like stainless steel available? Is any health risk worth it just for easier cleanup? Not for me.

The problem with rice cookers is that nearly all of them come with teflon-coated pots for the rice. The estimates of the temperature at which the teflon deteriorates releasing unhealthy compounds into the food keep going down. Since rice cookers are designed to reach only the boiling point of water it may be that the teflon does not contaminate the food, but why take a chance? Better to look for a cooker with an aluminum, ceramic or stainless steel pot.

Why is it that those who know the least seem always to be the most sure of themselves?

so why no Thai Shakespeare then? seems like a crude language to me with a limited vocabulary. The story appears to be just that.

Thai language seems crude and with a limited vocabulary to you because your Thai vocabulary is probably a few hundred words at best and your grasp of it is correspondingly crude. And likely always will be.

Indeed, be not deceived.

Everyday language may be simple but a meaningful discourse may offer a very steep learning curve to the uninitiated.

You can not separate the language from the culture and the Thai vocabulary borrows heavily from 2500 years of Buddhism.

There are a lot of pali sanskrit words steep with meanings that can not be so easily explained but require a separate initiation into the philosophy.

These are not rarely used among Thais as you would think but frequently employed to get a very, very complex point across in just one word.

Men in Thailand traditionally enter monkhood for a period as they come of age and so your taxi driver might know what would seem like highfalutin words and concepts.

Needless to say Thais don't try to spring such on foreigners as it would be cruel.

There must not be many Thais whose command of English reaches as far as the correct usage of the word "highfalutin." Just how did that come to pass?

so why no Thai Shakespeare then? seems like a crude language to me with a limited vocabulary. The story appears to be just that.

Thai language seems crude and with a limited vocabulary to you because your Thai vocabulary is probably a few hundred words at best and your grasp of it is correspondingly crude. And likely always will be.

Your "true story" would also have point if you were able to express the difference.

I am guessing it means "is also said" or "is also used" because it appears after variant forms.

Alas this is my experience all too often, I think that it comes from not comparing Thai to English in the same way as everybody else. I learn my rules from Thai books and reference the RID often because I don't possess the certainty that you have in seeing words like นี่ as the noun 'here' which is quite wrong from a Thai standpoint. Incidentally 'here' in English is not a pronoun either it is a noun with the meaning 'this place' ที่นี่ is the Thai translation 'place this' I believe.

นี่ as a pronoun I believe is 'this' in นี่อะไร นี่ represents 'the thing or the person or a thing or person which is close by.

Anyway the reason for my post of the sixth was to see if the Thai examples I gave were correct and since you say "certainly not out of agreement" I take it that you disagreed with my syntax. Conscious of my impoverished state regarding Thai I provided the English which I took to be the translation of my 'prose'! I hope that you will put the English into Thai so that I may see my mistakes. Naturally if you still consider these sentences to "be not worth bothering about" we must all wonder what you do find worth bothering about.

You are being obtuse. I already explained the syntax and meaning of the prepositional phrase ที่นี่. The translation and syntax you propose are just wrong.

The English word "here" is an adverb (of place), not a noun. In Thai นี่ is a pronoun, not a noun.

It would evidently take more than my explanation to get you to see your mistakes.

Very best of luck to you in all your future endeavors.

Rather than try to remember rules, I posted some situations on the 6th. I said that I had no idea whether I am right or wrong. I can explain my logic and was hoping to get the opportunity but nobody demurred so I take it we all agree.

The thing is that we never encounter these problems reading, only when someone comes up asking for rules without any context so examples are the way to go in my opinion.

Here is an example of a difficult question:

What is the difference between Is บ้านนี่ and บ้านนี้ is there any difference? I avoid นี่ in any role other than pronoun or, emphasiser as in มานี่ อยู่นี่; do you see นี่ as a วิเศษณ์ ?

Your posts are often not clear enough to know how to respond. I can tell you that I for one declined to respond certainly not out of agreement, but because your posts were too muddled to be worth bothering about.

If you imagine that you can learn another language without remembering the various kinds of rules involved, then you might as well give up now. Like the poster above who believes tones in tonal languages are somehow optional, you are dooming yourself in the hope of making your task easier. The last chance you had to learn a language without remembering grammar rules was when you were two years old. Unless you acquire a new mother, you will have to learn your next language by understanding its grammar explicitly.

Your "difficult" question is only difficult because you don't know the grammar, i.e. rules that you don't want to be bother remembering.

นี่ is the pronoun meaning "here." (นี่ may also mean "this" the pronoun, as in นี่คืออะไร, but not "this" the adjective.) นี้ is the adjective meaning "this." You can say "the house is here" by บ้านอยู่ที่นี่ using the prepositional phrase ที่นี่ as a modifier for the verb อยู่ where ที่ is the preposition with the object นี่. Now, if you want to say "this house" you are going to use an adjective to modify a noun. When you do that in Thai you have to consider whether that particular adjective calls for the classifier and, if so, which classifier goes with that noun. นี้ indeed calls for the classifier. The classifier for บ้าน is หลัง. So, "this house" is บ้านหลังนี้. You may also hear บ้านนี้ without the classifier even though it is not strictly correct.

There is therefore no correct phrase บ้านนี่.

When you don't know the grammar, it's impossible. When you do, it's trivial. This is the level of grammar you would learn in the first or second month of a course with a competent teacher. If you are not studying with a competent teacher, well then, that explains it.

A search got me to this topic :-)

So, similar to the original poster, my wife has a U.K. passport in her married name, and Thai passport in her maiden name. So when we travel to Thailand, is the best procedure:

- buy air ticket in married name

- check in with UK passport and pass through UK immigration with same

- boarding pass is therefore in married name same as ticket

- on arrival in Thailand she switches to Thai passport at Thai passport control (but is it an issue that the boarding pass and ticket are in different name to that ? I think it may be essential to take the marriage certificate as well)

on the return journey

- have to check in with UK passport in married name again, to match the ticket

- switch to Thai passport to pass through Thai passport control

- on arrival in UK, UK passport of course

On both legs, it is Thai passport control that could be tricky. Any advice ? I really wish she had got the UK passport in her maiden name, I told her to do that, but bless her she wanted to sound more British, so chose the married name.

To cut the Gordian knot, she should register the marriage with the Amphur and get a Thai ID card and passport in her married name. Otherwise, headaches may occur.