billd766

44 minutes ago, Social Media said:

Update: Israel Rebukes South Africa’s Gaza Genocide Claims at International Court of Justice

 

On Friday, Israel strongly contested South Africa’s accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. The hearing was part of ongoing proceedings initiated by South Africa, which alleges that Israel's military actions in Gaza constitute an attempt to commit genocide against Palestinians.

 

South Africa's legal team argued that Israel's limited offensive in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza, aimed to destroy what they described as the last habitable area of the enclave. They claimed this constituted part of a broader genocidal strategy and requested the court to order an immediate halt to Israel's military operations.

 

In a robust rebuttal, Israel's legal representatives accused South Africa of grossly distorting facts and misusing international legal procedures. They highlighted Israel’s continued facilitation of humanitarian aid into Gaza, despite the conflict. They argued that South Africa's interpretation of the Genocide Convention was an attempt to unjustifiably involve the ICJ in the tactical management of the conflict with Hamas, which is not within the court’s jurisdiction.

 

 

Israel's Deputy Attorney General for International Law, Gilad Noam, criticized South Africa's stance, saying, “South Africa presents the court for the fourth time with a picture that is completely divorced from the facts and circumstances.” Noam insisted that Hamas bears responsibility for endangering Palestinian civilians by embedding military assets among the civilian population in Rafah.

 

Noam emphasized that Israel has avoided a large-scale operation in Rafah to prevent civilian casualties, despite Hamas’s use of human shields and civilian infrastructure for military purposes. He warned that accepting South Africa's demands would undermine Israel's right to self-defense and embolden Hamas to continue its attacks without repercussion.

 

Israel also pointed to South Africa's political alignment with Hamas, evidenced by the recent hosting of Hamas officials in Johannesburg. Noam accused Pretoria of not using these meetings to press Hamas on crucial humanitarian issues, such as the release of hostages and the cessation of attacks on civilians.

 

Tamar Kaplan Tourgeman, legal adviser to Israel's Foreign Ministry, refuted South Africa's claims about Israel's alleged blockade on Gaza. She cited specific figures, noting that hundreds of aid trucks, including 365 on Thursday alone, had entered Gaza recently through crossings that Israel had reopened or expanded.

 

Kaplan Tourgeman dismissed South Africa's genocide claims as baseless, asserting that Israel's actual practices and governmental policies reflect a commitment to humanitarian aid and the protection of civilians, even amid ongoing hostilities. She argued that South Africa’s selective interpretation of statements by Israeli officials was misleading and intended to support their unfounded genocide allegations.

 

In conclusion, Kaplan Tourgeman warned against the dangerous precedent that accepting South Africa's request could set, arguing it would undermine international law and legitimize continued aggression by Hamas. She stressed that Israel’s military actions are aimed at combating a terrorist organization and not at targeting Palestinian civilians, urging the court to recognize the complexities of the situation and the inherent right of Israel to defend itself against ongoing threats.

 

Credit: Times of Israel 2024-05-18

 

 

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And if you believe anything that the times of Israel says and prints, then you must be blinkered.

1 hour ago, digbeth said:

it's not cardboard and bamboo, but pvc plumbing pipes full of black powder, unburnt portion is literally pipe bomb

 

NOTAM (notice to airmen) advisory are given in case of official events that managed to inform the relevant authorities but do all temple/local amphur run fair knows to do this? no

but the dates, times and places are all posted on social media, local and national newspapers, TV stations and radio. They are about the same times and days every year. Is it too much to assume that the government authorities can read and understand and post NOTAMs of their own, stating that is this area, on these days and times there will be a rocket festival, so stay at least 10 km away from there?

1 hour ago, Yellowtail said:

 

But they are leftists, yes? 

 

And as will all left-wing media outlets, the problem is not with opinion pieces, the problem is with opinion pieces dressed up to look like news articles. 

Who decides what is left wing, what is neutral or centre and what is right wing?

You, me, anybody else, social media, MSM. governments, nations, Blind Freddy's dog?

Who is to say that the decision is right or wrong?

6 hours ago, Classic Ray said:

Should be time to extend this policy towards separating compostable material from home waste. 
 

The necessary bins could be funded by the reduction in waste disposal cost, although there would need to be  some education of the public to encourage waste separation.

We have been doing this at home for years in rural Kamphaeng Phet.

What I could really do with is 

1   a good quality chainsaw

2   a good high quality wood chipper/mulcher

3   a good quality man experienced who has experience in pruning (not hacking) tall trees. Some of the trees are 15M plus tall and need to be cut down to 8M or less. Some around the houses are too close and will damage the roof and the houses if the fall.

There would be literally tons of compost available when the job is finished.

On 5/14/2024 at 3:01 PM, Georgealbert said:

The headline says torched, which would seem to imply a deliberate fire, arson, but the report states the suspected cause maybe electrical.

 

Damage on part of the top floor was reported to be extensive, but that should not prevent a conclusive investigation into the cause.

 

 

AI is not smart enough yet to differentiate between the two causes.

Neither, it seems, is the reporter.

On 5/15/2024 at 10:41 AM, placeholder said:

Only roughly 10,000 male deaths are verified. Yet Israel claims  14,000. Where do Israel's numbers come from? 

The Israeli Ministry of Information, Truth and Love.

On 5/14/2024 at 8:41 PM, Tropicalevo said:

Hamas terrorists exaggerating and telling lies?

Who would have thought that.

The Times of Israel, the Israeli government and the IDF telling the truth?

Who would have thought of that?

21 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

The ethnic cleansing accusation is meaningless until we know what happens after this war.

What would have been wrong with temporary evacuation to Egypt?

Did occur to you that Egypt might not want 2 million plus extra people? Where would they live especially, as they already had land and homes in Gaza. Who take over the homes, land, infrastructure etc in Gaza? Egypt or another country, such as Israel who are already doing so? Gaza does NOT belong to Israel It belongs to the Palestinians, and most of them want to keep it.

12 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Horrible Hamas for starting this war and their acknowledged murderous policies of using human shields and doing nothing to prepare civilians for wat such as building bomb shelters.

But for the umpteenth time, Hamas did NOT start this war. They certainly advanced it in October, but since then Israel has taken it to genocidal levels, though the war itself has been going on since the 1930s, firstly against the British, then against the Arab nations 2 or 3 times and now against the Palestinians in general and Hamas in particular. That last part I find odd, since the Israeli government set up Hamas itself as a willing partner in controlling Gaza.

I know this may be a silly question, but why didn't the accountants or the auditors pick it up as missing on the next bank statement?

2 hours ago, jaywalker2 said:

What about the transfer to your Wise account? They also charge for that, don't they?

Well my 3 pension providers in the UK send my pensions to Wise. So far, since 2018 there has been no charge for incoming bank transfers.

18 hours ago, msbkk said:

Wise also gave me on example based on my last transfer in SGD. The new fee would be 2% cheaper. Fees have changed but not in all cases up.

I got a similar email yesterday, and based on a similar amount last month the new charge will cost me an extra 66 pence UK per month. My total monthly transfers will probably cost me about GBP 1 per month or about 46 thb.

From the  Wise email

"This is because the fees for sending GBP to THB have gone from 0.69 GBP + 0.55% to 0.97 GBP + 0.60%".

On 5/14/2024 at 11:13 AM, DrJack54 said:

Here is ubonjoe general list.

Note his second point.

"Unless using CW you require 2 copies..." 

https://aseannow.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=843557&key=2caaa6b16bae18dd24e0a61253734932 41.52 kB · 327 downloads  

 

Not a big deal to provide 2 sets of docs. 

It is if you have to produce 37 separate documents twice, including 3 copies of the bank letter (1 for each IO, signed and stamped with the bank stamp) and 1 for your own records), which you cannot normally get until the morning of your application.

Bangkok Bank require 3 working days notice to produce the bank letter and a 12 month statement. Also the bank letter and the 12 months of statements have to be on Bank headed paper, and not generated at home.

Oddly enough, my KBank branch in the village can do the same task in about 1 hour, but they have to refer to "Head office" if you want a certified copy, stamped and signed of each FTT transfer form.

It is also a PITA if you live 70km or more from the IO as many people do.

On 5/14/2024 at 10:01 AM, Dr. Zorg said:

I need some clarification:

 

I have been on a Non O marriage visa since 2008.

Every year  two sets of documents and visa application forms are required by my local immigration office.

Now it seems that not all immigration offices require 2 sets of documents.

Is that true?

 

It depends on where and what your IO reporting office is.

AFAIK if your office is, for example a regional office, you generally only need 1 set of documents. My IO in Kamphaeng Phet comes under Region 5 office in Chiang Mai, and therefore needs 2 sets of documents.

I won't bother to go into why all the documents are not scanned into the IO computer, and from there they could be accessed by any IO through the intranet. That has been the subject of many other posts over the years.

53 minutes ago, AcuDoc said:

Okay I know this is a touchy subject and something nobody wants to think about... Myself and a couple of my expats were wondering about this... Worse case scenario and something we all hope never happens...

 

I am 70 years old and my wife is 39 so I am pretty sure and hope and pray that I am going to die before my wife but you never know... A year ago my son died from a heart attack at 47 and he was in relatively good shape... Our son, my wife's thru her first marriage was hit by a drunk driver when he was on his scooter and broke his leg and thankfully that was the extent of it... so again you never know

 

We (I) bought land last year and we are going to build a house so when I die she has her own place... She never asked me to do, my wife is very low maintenance, this is something that I wanted to do for her. I am not a wealthy man, do not have a lot of money in the bank and still working in order to make money to build the house which if I wasn't married that money would be for my retirement...

 

So here is my question... worse case scenario if my wife dies for some reason what happens to the land, does it just go to her family... I know that as a farang I can't own land but is there a legal document that could have the land go to me or that it could be sold... I get along great with my in-laws and believe that they would let me live there until I die which is what I prefer but I would feel better if a legal document was drawn up stating this... maybe it would be in poor taste, I don't know and hope it would not be a slap in the face to my in-laws...

 

I've seen a number of my friends lose everything to their ex-Thai wife or their family... I do not believe that my wife, or I would not have married her, or her family are like this but again you never know... They certainly know that I do not have a lot of money but my wife has a very good life with me and I do take care of her... we just live within our means... but on the other hand like I have stated I've seen things like this happen...

 

Your thoughts I am ready for some of you that might just blast me as a greedy bastard while others might understand where I am coming from...

AFAIR you can make a Thai will together with your wife and nominate who the house and land will do to if she dies before you. If you have legally adopted your wife's son by her first marriage (here I am not 100% certain), he will get the first chance, followed by her parents, followed by blood relatives (brothers and sisters in age), and then uncles and aunts, then your wife's cousins.

If your wife's son is underage he can still inherit the house and land though the court may appoint someone in the family as his guardian.

In a will any of them can be written out.

If the house and land are left to you alone, you are allowed 1 year to dispose of it.

Here is one link which you may find useful.

https://www.thailandlawonline.com/thai-family-and-marriage-law/legal-aspects-of-a-last-will-and-testament-in-thailand

You can also do an internet search along the lines of "What happens if my wife dies before me".

I hope that this is of some use to pointing in the right direction.

21 minutes ago, WhatMeWorry said:

Anyone who gets on a motorbike in Thailand is a potential suicide victim as they should realize that they are taking their life in their own hands.

BS

If I read the article correctly, what Trump is saying to the oil companies is, you guys GIVE me 1$Bn and IF I become president then I will help you out.

IF I don't become president, then you guys are $1Bn down the hole, and I am $1Bn better off.

He will need a lot of good luck to sell that one to people who are far smarter than him.

On 5/10/2024 at 1:21 PM, klauskunkel said:

His Russian handlers refer to him as Agent Orange

Would that be because he contaminates everything he touches?

Back in 1990 I did a job in the Bluebell Woods in Kent and all around there were acres of bluebells. Nowadays there are few if any bluebells that survive the <deleted> fly tippers.

I found a link to the Daily Mail but they want me to close my Ad blocker before I can read their post. 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13361073/Clear-historic-woodland-beauty-30-trucks-dumped-illegal-waste-cost-10m.html

The problem is not confined to Thailand.

8 hours ago, Pique Dard said:

..indeed! but this had to be done before the decision was taken to legalize cannabis.

By Anutin and the BJT party, who introduced the flawed bill during the last government.

It appears that Anutin is now backing the PM in relisting cannabis as a narcotic.