submaniac

1. The Estate Tax ("Death Tax") is unpopular in the United States (and other countries) and there have been calls to eliminate it. The main reason is that people already paid tax once to accumulate the wealth, and payment on death is double taxation.

2. Lawyers and accountants already know how to (legally) mitigate against it by making inter vivos transfers or transferring assets to a trust. (Note that this is not tax evasion, which is illegal, but "tax mitigation" which is to use legally allowed exceptions contained int the law).

3. The NCPO and the NLA are not elected officials. It's one thing to pay a tax. If you are from a democratic country, then you voted the legislature in that imposed the tax. (I..E. you're to blame.) But, imposing a tax when the legislature is not elected is not palatable to me. "Taxation without representation." Boston Tea Party. Led to revolutionary war.

I am reading 6 pages of posts here, and more understanding of the historical context needs to be discussed. A large part of Thailand’s “alliance” with Japan was the result of the military dictatorship of Plaek Phibunsongkhram who had seized control of Thailand both from the Thai populace and the Thai monarchy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaek_Pibulsonggram

Thailand's position during the war is very similar to that of Italy or Vichy France. For Italy, it was not so much the Italian people’s idea to join Hitler as it was the idea of the dictator in control (Mussolini). During WWII, the French had organized a resistance to the German occupation For Thailand, the decision to ally with Japan was the decision of the dictator that had seized power by military coup.

Prior to 1932, Thailand was an absolute monarchy. In 1932, a military coup, of which Plaek Phibunsongkhram was a leader, seized control of Thai government.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1932_Siamese_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat

Thus in 1932, Plaek Phibunsongkhram became commander of what was then known as the Royal Siamese Army, and became prime minister of Thailand.

In 1933, a rebellion (the “Boworadet Rebellion”, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boworadet_Rebellion) led by a Royal Thai Prince attempted to remove the government of Phibunsongkhram from power. After the rebellion had been crushed , the reigning Thai Monarch, King Prajadhipok (Rama VII) abdicated.

In 1935, Prince Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII, older brother of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Rama IX) became King. At the time of his ascension, Ananda Mahidol was 10 years old, and a student in Switzerland.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ananda_Mahidol

Plaek Phibunsongkhram himself was a facist, which explains Thailand's position in World War II. In 1939 Phibunsongkhram changed the name of the country from “Siam” to Thailand (So that’s how that happened, in case you’re wondering.) In 1941, Phibunsongkhram joined Thailand among the nations which supported the Axis .

On January 25, 1942, Phibunsongkhram gave the order declaring war on Britain and the United States. (However, the Thai ambassador to the United States refused to deliver the declaration of war to the United States, as a result the United States never declared war on Thailand.)

Despite the fact that Phibunsongkhram had allied with Japan, there was a resistance among the Thai people. The Seri Thai—the “Free Thai”--was an underground movement opposed to Phibunsongkhram and opposed to the Japanese.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seri_Thai

One of the leaders of the Seri Thai was Pridi Banomyong.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pridi

Pridi Banomyong was codenamed “Ruth” by the allies, and assisted in providing intelligence to the Allies to fight the Japanese. It should be noted that Pridi Banomyong was the regent of King Ananda Mahidol, Rama VIII. So during World War II, it was the King’s own regent that was assisting the allies in defiance of the government of Phibunsongkhram.

It should also be noted that during World War II, the Seri Thai operated in parallel to the official Thai government and operated a network which forwarded intelligence to the Allies, as well as assisting the rescue and return of downed allied airmen.

See also: http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-forum/thailand-information/5665-seri-thai-free-thai-thailand-during-world-war-ii.html

As the tides of war were turning against Japan, in June 1944, the Seri Thai succeeded in ousting Phibunsongkhram from power.

After the war ended in 1945, HM Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII) returned to Thailand. HM Ananda Mahidol was now becoming mature enough to govern and was very popular among the Thai people. On June 9, 1946—four days before he was scheduled to return to Switzerland to continue his studies for a doctor of laws--HM King Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII) was found deceased in the Royal Palace with a gun shot wound.

The death of the King caused turmoil in the country. In November 1947, army officers under the control of Phibunsongkhram seized control of Thai government (again). Despite numerous coup d’etat attempts, Phibunsongkhram remained in power until 1957 when a coup led by Field Marshall Sarit Thanarat finally removed Phibunsongkhram.

Phibunsongkhram was forced into exile in Japan, where he died in 1963. During Phibunsongkhram’s time in power, he attempted to reduce the power and authority of the Thai monarchy.

It was Sarit Thanarat who made efforts to restore the authority of the Thai monarchy.

I quote from Wikipedia on Sarit Thanarat:

“Under Sarit, the public role of the Thai monarchy, which had been restricted by Phibun, was allowed to resume. Sarit arranged for King Bhumibol Adulyadej to attend public ceremonies, visit the provinces, patronise development projects and personally present diplomas to Thailand's government university graduates, helping to bring the monarchy closer to the people and raising the stature of the king to that of high reverence.”

“Sarit's relationship with King Bhumibol was evident when the King ordered 21 days of official mourning in the palace after his death, with Sarit's body lying in state under royal patronage for 100 days and their Majesties the King and Queen attending his cremation on March 17, 1964.”

I grew up in the midwest (Fargo, ND), middle of the bible belt. When I was in high school, I remember the first gay bar that was opened. It was called "My Place". It was subsequently firebombed by the locals. (No joke.)

Anyways, Thailand is an open and accepting place. Gay, straight. TiT, no one cares one way or another, which is one of the beautiful things about the country.

EDIT: electric six "gay bar" song posted while I was writing my post, so I deleted it from my post.

According to many posters on this forum...this harbors the prospects of a US invasion of Australia.

Don't be silly. The U.S. was planning on invading Australia anyways. The fact that there's oil there is mere coincidence.

There has been too much violence. Too much pain. But I have an honorable compromise. Just walk away. Give me your pump, the oil, the gasoline, and the whole compound, and I'll spare your lives. Just walk away and we'll give you a safe passageway in the wastelands. Just walk away and there will be an end to the horror.

Shisha is much less harmful way of smoking tobacco. If you've ever tried it before, you would understand what I'm talking about.

Poor guy. 29 is too young. RIP.

It doesn't matter if she is a woman or a man. It doesn't matter if she is Iranian or American born. It does not matter if she is Muslim, Jewish or Christian.

I will tell you all that really matters is this:

She teaches at my Alma Mater.

It should have a plug in for a monitor, so even if you don't have a laptop screen (and saying even if you found an old Acer laptop screen, same vintage and size may not work because different models are peculiar) you could just use old desktop monitor.

54 guns

They were supposed to be presented at a trial on July 23-24

Seems like an awful lot of guns for one attempted murder. Seems like alot of fail that someone went through the effort of procuring 54 guns for one murder, yet failed to actually succeed in the murder.

Seriously, maybe Junta could address the entire Thai electrical wiring is dangerous thing. First off, I am very saddened to hear about the death of a toddler. RIP. Unfortunately anyone who has consistently read Thai news knows that this is not the first time people are getting electrocuted. It's almost shockingly (no pun intended) a regular occurrence.

I was accosted by 2 ladyboys in Pattaya without any provocation what so ever. One grabbed me by the nutz (which became my center of attention) while trying to remove my wallet from my rear pocket.

That was the first thought that I had when I read this story. LB probably grabbed victim's crotch and may have been up to something else.

Almost certain to buy a used car as cannot handle the cost or depreciation of new, and i'm not totally ignorant of fixing cars.

Just a friendly suggestion, so please don't take it the wrong way. But if buying a car in Thailand, don't think the same way that you think in the USA. In the USA cars drop significantly once you take it off the new car lot. Doesn't work that way in Thailand. Because of duties and taxes cars are significantly more expensive in Thailand and there is not THAT much of a depreciation (perhaps not at all) for used cars.People often list used cars as much as new cars. In Thailand, unlike the USA, the cost of a mechanic's labor is inexpensive. Take to Somchai, pay a couple hundred baht. This contributes to the fact that the car doesn't depreciate as fast as USA. In USA people don't want to buy old cars because it will be expensive to fix. Not so much a problem in Thailand. In USA, people regularly do routine maintenance such as oil change. In Thailand, not so much. In USA, fairly easy to get a car loan. In Thailand, very difficult for people to qualify for a new car loan. Used car loans at higher interest rates are more prevalent. I.E. people have to buy used cars because that is only loan which they qualify for. This also contributes to the fact that used cars aren't as dirt cheap as they are in the USA.

So it may be in your best interest to buy a new car if it costs the same as a used one. There are really cheap cars available, but they are very very old.

 

When Mr Meredew returned around 12pm the following day with his other two friends a British consular told the group that Mr Whitaker had hung himself in a police cell during the night.

There were no witnesses to his death.

I don't want to comment too much. From my understanding (and I don't have personal experience as I've never been arrested in Thailand) Thai jails are overcrowded and it seems unlikely to me that he would be in a cell by himself.  Usually they throw someone in a big cell with other people, which is what they do in the states and other places as well. (It's a jail, not a hotel where everyone gets their own room.) The fact that there are no witnesses at all seems weird to me because I would think there would be other people in the cell. 

I think it is Honda "dumping" its Japanese market spec bikes in Thailand.  Japan has some strange laws, and alot of what Honda did in the past was related to satisfying Japanese motorcycle laws.  Japan had a restricted licensing system, where a special license was required for bikes over 400cc.  Hence that is why you see alot of Honda (and other Japanese) 400cc bikes in Thailand.  Bikes under 250cc were exempt from a certain road tax...hence you had the NSR250 and the (original 4 cyl) CBR250RR, which in its day, cost the same as a 400cc/600cc bike.   In Japan, an unrestricted 1000cc bike is only for export (otherwise a 1000cc bike is limited to the required maximum hp which I believe is 120hp).  So to have an unrestricted bike in Japan you have to "export" it from Japan, then "import" it back.   Otherwise you are stuck with the neutered bike.

What you are seeing imported into Thailand are the bikes that are made for the specs of the Japanese domestic market.   It was specially de-tuned to meet Japanese law.   This wasn't an emissions thing, this is a "we have to make it lose power to meet Japanese law" kind of thing.  This is also why it will be a pain in the ass to deristrict it.  It's not just the ecu.  Honda specifically made the bike for Japan, so it's also the gearing, the throttle bodies, the exhaust...alot of stuff is different from the ROW CBR1000RR.

Ao Manao is supposedly one of the best beaches in Thailand.

Here's a pic for those unfamiliar with it.

The half moon shaped bay is all owned by the Thai Air Force, so not commercially developed like you see in Phuket or Pattaya.  Unfortunately, a bit off the beaten track (i.e. not near major cities)  so hard to get to compared to other places. (Which may be a good thing.)

Well, technically yes.

nice to see a news story with the word "Iranian" not followed by "developing nuclear". So good for her.

I do think the title is also inappropriate. She may have been born in Iran, but if she chooses to adopt the United States as her own country, I think she should be considered American.

This is weird. My 2006 CBR1000RR was supposed to make 158 at the crank...so the bike has evolved to less hp?

Yeah, you know you have a problem when the unrestricted 600cc version of the bike makes more power than the 1000cc

The navy military beaches are the hidden gems of Thailand's beaches.  Unlike public beaches, they keep out vendors and hawkers (though the Junta seems to be handling them on public beaches now).   They are usually clearner than the other beaches because the military makes the lower ranking enlisted men clean it.  

Scam or not, I think OP did a good deed and should get Karma points (for whatever that is worth). Yes, I am very leery when someone asks for money. Food?!? I'm happy to buy someone food to know that the money isn't used for gambling, drugs, alcohol, etc.

^^Thank you for suggestion. I just posted there.  Great idea.