Georgie-Porgie

I don't pay too much attention to what polititians say on TV, if that is what you mean by "my country", otherwise, "my government" lets me make up my own mind about Iraq, and everything else.

I haven't been to Iraq, but some old freinds have.

I am a prolific reader and don't only stick to American periodicals, but, just to let you know, their coverage isn't too much different than other countries. Most good newspapers and magazines in the U.S. present excellent articles supporting all different points of view, and they are often reprinted from other major news sources from around the World.

Thats the point though Georgie, I have been there, I also have mates there now and I also get first hand knowledge due to my history with this kind of thing. You get your info, third hand, so how would you know anything?

ITS NOT REALLY A MOVIE - ITS REAL!

There is another point, g-man. I can tell from your old posts that you retired from the military at least 6 years ago, maybe 10. That tells me that you were probably in that area for the first Gulf War, but how much inside knowledge could you get from then that would apply now?

Are you fluent in the Arab language (if that is what is spoken in Iraq)?

Also, you say that you have first-hand knowledge of what is going on in Iraq right now, but how could you? First-hand means that you experienced something yourself. You are in Phuket arguing with me on the Internet every day.

So, you have friends there, I have friends there. You read the newspaper, I read the newspaper. We are about even on that score.

On a federal level, we don't normally have referendums.  We voted to send them to congress and they have to earn their keep.  Not duck the issue and ask us to vote on it.  They (elected representatives in both houses) pay a fair amount of attention to 1. poles 2. letter and emails 3. Lobbyists.  But not in the order I mentioned.  And if they had referendums on important stuff, all those lobbyists might be on half pay. 

On a state by state level it varies widely.  Where I grew up in the midwest, there were darn few referendums.  Things worked pretty much on the state level as they did on the federal level.  The state I currently live in has a referendum everytime a bird poo's.  Well, maybe not quite that often, but close.  It is almost a waste of time to send anyone to the capitol since they are going to either 1. Vote to have a referendum or 2. Pass a law and then opponents get enough citizen signatures to vote on overturning said law in a referendum. 

Jeepz

Wow. What a coincidence. That was going to be my exact answer, but Jeepz just beat me to it (see, I am learning something from the gentleman)!

It is obvious that a very large segment of Muslim society doesn't want war with us, or with anyone else. The trick is how to get the majority of Muslims to control the maniacs who want to either take over, or destroy, the whole world, with no other options in between.

If Muslims can't, or won't control their rogues, then the West will have no option but to try to do it ourselves. Our path is not yet set in stone, Islam can still take over and monitor themselves, but we have already started down the road to self-defence.

Since no one else has answered yet, I'll take a stab at it.

I don't think that, up till now, the U.S. has been at war with Islam. Terrorists and rogue elements of the Arab world have been at war with us.

However, these elements are doing their best to widen the war, to draw other Arabs into it.

That is one reason that they have begun to look for popular issues to broaden their appeal. Al Quida, only recently started to champion the Palestinian cause.

The truth is that most Arabs absolutely despise the Palestinians, but they hate Jews even more. It gives them an issue that they all agree on to rally around, and, going after Jews/Israel has another benefit, many Europeans are inclined to support them.

It worked for Hitler.

Thank you too much. I shall trade One-Eye Randolph the two "attractively-challenged" young ladies for one stunner, and everybody ends up a winner.

There has been a post already about the meaning of "Kii Nok", and I have never heard it used by Thais in the way that you are trying to twist its meaning. Usually, the sort of fellows that hang around Pat-Pong just are the opposite of Kii Nok. They spend a lot of money on hotels, taxis, drink, sex and everything else, and are quite appreciated by most Thais that they come in contact with.

Kii Nok are really people like you and I, Farangs that live here, know too much and only pay 10 baht for a songtaew. Truth be known, to most Thais, we are the rejects!

I don't pay too much attention to what polititians say on TV, if that is what you mean by "my country", otherwise, "my government" lets me make up my own mind about Iraq, and everything else.

I haven't been to Iraq, but some old freinds have.

I am a prolific reader and don't only stick to American periodicals, but, just to let you know, their coverage isn't too much different than other countries. Most good newspapers and magazines in the U.S. present excellent articles supporting all different points of view, and they are often reprinted from other major news sources from around the World.

You ask awfully nosey questions, for someone who never answers any.

posted by the gentleman @ Fri 2004-02-13, 09:40:07)

posted by Basher,Thu 2004-02-12, 18:43:40]My time with The Gent, well I can't really go into that too much can I, 

Whats the 1st rule about fight club?

MYOB

Well, that isn't exactly what I was getting at.

What I'm trying to say is, if the Government of the U.S. is as evil and corrupt as the left makes out, what chance does humanity in general have?

All one has to do is look at the way that the left is acting during the Presidential Campaign in the US right now to know that they are no better than the right.

I don't have any doubt that America may not be perfect, but we are the best "leader" that the world is likely to get for a long time, and if all the conspiracy theories and lefty propaganda are correct, than America and mankind itself are so intrinsically sneaky, rotten and twisted that we might as well give up all hope of anyone ever governing anywhere righteously.

We should forget about trying to be a benign Super-Power. We should stop fooling around. We should just start strapping the Chiracs, Jesse Jacksons and Michael Moores of the world to live cannons/missle launchers and firing them off at the Arabs, like you Limeys used to do to your enemies in your hey-day!

Well, all that could be the way things really are, but I know that Americans, and the American Government, are no more evil than anyone else's people or Government. We just happen to on the top of the heap at the moment, so, all that means to me is all the conspiracy theories are true, He11 is our daily lives on Earth, and there is no point to anything, at all.

Go ahead and kill yourself and get it over!

Chiang Mai? A debonair, refined Frenchman wandering around Chiang Mai? Would one normally find you dining at La Veranda, or testing the wine at the Housewive's Club?

Only one problem, you haven't "won" anything.

Try to spin it however you want, I'm the last man standing!

posted by the gentleman

I like my new nick [Pop-up Dummy]by the way - great!

Thats the thing with me Georgie, I will always get back up!

George, I know you are on the rampage with the Gentleman still, but he does have a bit of a point in that the people advising Bush do appear to be able to make quite a lot of money out of this war gravy train, Cheney appearing as the ringleaderand with KBR and Halliburtons involvement in all things war and oil-like, doesn't it make you wonder...  who are the real winners?

Maybe Bush is the good christian Knight Templar on a white charger, but it does make you wonder who is giving him the bottom line...???

I personally have a feeling Bushy is a good christian and is doing what he thinks is the right thing, but like I say who are the 'new world order' croneys that are advising him.

Basher

Now, this is something I could at least think about. The truth is that when Europeans call Americans "stupid", maybe what they really mean is naive, and perhaps I could be accused of that. I don't feel naive, but, on the other hand, I can't believe that the American Government is intrinsically evil, which the lefties seem sure of.

I find it very difficult to believe that our elected leaders, usually men and women who are wealthy beyond belief, are so greedy that they would go to war with another country simply in order to get even richer.

Yes, if a war is necessary, and one can make little profit on the side, that I can understand, but that is not what the opposition are saying. "Blood for Oil" is their cry, and I, for one, simply can't believe it.

Hoi Ann is a few klicks from Danang and a much nicer town. Those on their way to Vietnam , don't miss it.

Basher, I did qualify that as the first real democracy, and I believe (not know, believe) that the reason the George I didn't go on into Baghdad, was exactly the reason that he gave. He was afraid that that it might destabilize the region, and at that time, we didn't want to take the chance. We were hoping that if we ignored terrorism for long enough, it would just go away.

This is one reason that I am so skeptical of the "gentleman"s "Blood for Oil" claims. We were so close in Gulf War I, and the war was already sanctioned by the UN. If we needed their oil that badly, why not just keep going the first time?

Actually, I was the little kid that use try to fight off the bigger kids, to keep them from sticking cheery-bombs up the kittens butts and lighting the fuses(jing-jing).

How bizarre, I was the one sticking bangers (cherry bombs) up frogs <deleted> ( I think you call them ass's).....

Maybe that's how I got into my line of work.... I always did like the blood and guts side of it..

Well, if nothing else, it might have something to do with how you got your name.

What I couldn't help but notice was that the most prominent, or rather, notorious areas where many of the types of forgieners (sex tourists) that Thais hate most congragate are still allowed to be open until 2am. With more tourists packing these areas, prices will move up, and possibly many locals will get squeezed out. This I can see leading to a backlash, not only against the government, but againt forgieners as well, even those of us who don't go near those places.

Special treatment for falungs buying sex from our daughters?

I'd be pisssed if it were my country.

cv

I doubt very much if "most Thais' hate so-called sex-tourists. If they do, it's only because they don't know what the term really means, and because some pinhead in the local sex, murder and scandal-sheet told them that they should.

Despite the malarky in your Lonely Planet, it is considered totally normal for Thai male tourists to sample the local lasses "wares" when traveling inside and outside of Thailand, and they expect us to do the same thing.

It is one of the nicest Thai customs, and one that I thoroughly approve of!

I believe Thailand is creating real productive wealth through capital creation. It is starting to reap productivity gains from the newly created productive wealth, niche winners in non-mass manufacturing, and greater economic efficiency through government reforms. The super economic cycle created by Khun Thaksin is a real and very strong business cycle, in my view. You cannot rule out sporadic overheating in the asset markets, this is a byproduct rather than a source of the strong upswing. Thailand is in the golden years at least until 2008 in my opinion. Time will tell, if I'm right.

Nice words but not realistic again, the well known economist Dr. Ammar Siamwalla has a different vision of the Thai economy and populist policies of Thaksin. Thai productivity has been given the lowest rating in an article in the Bangkok Post today out of a three point scale, Japanese investors complain about Thai productivity. Could you suport your opinion with some fact or research please?

What you mean with productive wealth is further a mystery to me and what you call the 'super economic cycle' need further explanation. Thaksin's populist policies have one thing in common, they're not funded out of participants' performance, the governmnet subsidizes everything, from hospitals to small villages. And appointing village headmen instead of electing them by a democratic process is the latest outrageous proposal of our dear leader. Thais fall for it because of the money, foreign reporters are more critical.

I'm a bit surprised to see such an optimistic picture based on what actually?

Cheers

Dutchy

Excuse me guys, but I think that I am lost. Where the he11 is the Bear-pit?

By the way did you hurt your pets when you were young? put kittens in sacks and drown them? that sort of thing? 

As for time 'in' country, I guess I may lose on the days actually in country but, I would like to emphasize this, it is usually about the quality of the time not the quantity isn't it?

Actually, I was the little kid that use try to fight off the bigger kids, to keep them from sticking cheery-bombs up the kittens butts and lighting the fuses(jing-jing).

As far as quality time in Thailand, I agree with that, and if you've been in and out of the country for a long enough period of time, you usually figure it all out anyway (as much as anyone ever does).

Do the French have something against Super-Powers?

No big deal, but you mean Hoi Ann, Basher. One of my favorite towns in Vietnam. If you think about it, I'm sure that you know where Hua Hin is.

I've been here a long time,

Why does Georgie always have to drop this line into is statements, is he insecure about something?

I too have been here a long time, but you don't see me dropping it in, in a 'superiour' demeanour.

Should we all have a pissing contest to see who can piss highest? lol

I suspect you're a bit of a expat snob on the quiet Porgie.

That is quite easy to answer. So many of the posters on this forum have been in Thailand for just a few weeks, or live elsewhere, but are fond of Thailand, however know very little about it.

There are others, possibly like yourself Basher, that base themselves here, but actually spend little time in country. I know that when I tell people how long I've lived in Thailand, I don't include the years that I spent part of the time here, and part abroad. I didn't really start to understand the place until I was here full time.

Usually, when I say that I have been here a long time, I am giving advice about Thailand. I want people to know that I do have a lot of experience with the place.

By the way, you were in the SAS with the "gentleman"? You two seem quite different. Were you sort of like the officer in the movies, that used to go and get Rambo out of jail all the time, clean him up and send him on missions?

You may be right, but the only way to stop the booms, is to boom the boomers, and that is what GWB is going to do.

posted by the gentleman:

I have nothing left to post on the Iraq issue Georgie Ill sit and watch!

I think that Bush did choose the right shrub. Right or wrong in your eyes, the only shrub that we could have gotten away with invading. If we can get this shrub to bloom, the others will follow.