billd766

Because that would be too easy, and it wouldn't fit with his usual anti Thai rants.

If you think about it, had DeBeers not dug for diamonds then nobody would have dug the diamond out and there would be no fuss or bother. A bit of whatiffery I know, but still very true. It is only worth a large amount of money because of its size and being in one piece. If it was cut into small diamonds it wouldn't have the same value, and nobody would care or want it/them back.

Would that also apply to virtually EVERY country in Europe and not just the UK. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II_of_Belgium Did you know that King Leopold II of Belgium Leopold was the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free State, a private project undertaken on his own behalf as a personal union with Belgium. He used Henry Morton Stanley to help him lay claim to the Congo, the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo. Having said that then this follows. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atrocities_in_the_Congo_Free_State In the period from 1885 to 1908, many well-documented atrocities were perpetrated in the Congo Free State (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo) which, at the time, was a state under the absolute rule of King Leopold II of the Belgians. These atrocities were particularly associated with the labour policies used to collect natural rubber for export. Together with epidemic disease, famine, and a falling birth rate caused by these disruptions, the atrocities contributed to a sharp decline in the Congolese population. The magnitude of the population fall over the period is disputed, with modern estimates ranging from 1.5 million to 13 million. In 2020 King Philippe of Belgium expressed his regret to the Government of Congo for "acts of violence and cruelty" inflicted during the rule of the Congo Free State, though he did not explicitly mention Leopold's role and some activists accused him of not making a full apology. King Philippe of Belgium born 15 April 1960 apologising for things that happened decades before he was even born. Should the president of Italy apologise for the Roman invasion and enslavement of the UK? Or perhaps the King of Spain apologise for the Incas? How far back do people want to go for apologies, or is it ONLY the west who should be apologising? As a further example you take the slave trade in Africa. Who was responsible for capturing the slaves in the first place, Could it be Arab traders who bought the slaves and sold them on, or perhaps an African tribe who turned them into slaves in the first place? Why are they not being asked to apologise?

really? The Queen worked every day of her life up to 2 days before she died aged 96, and you call that not working. I quit working at age 65. She started working and training before I (and most of the posters here) was born and her last official task was 2 days before she died. She made a commitment in 1952 to work for her country and her people however short or long her life may be, and she kept her word for 70 years. AFAIAC she did a brilliant job and she was worth far more to the country than the country ever paid her. Of course you can go to Pattaya, not be recognised and do what you want, as can 99.x% of the people in the world as yo, like me and the other 99.x% are nonentities, but the Queen and her family are under the glare of the spotlight 24/7/365. with TV and still cameras and reporters around 24/7/365 just waiting for that little slip to happen. I couldn't and wouldn't do that job and certainly for the salary, houses, perks etc that they earned.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Party Wikipedia give the name as the The Nazi Party,[a] officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei[b] or NSDAP), was a far-right[7][page needed][8] political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers' Party (Deutsche Arbeiterpartei; DAP), existed from 1919 to 1920.

What you seem to forget is that he was a very rich person with more than one home and a lot of land. He also had a lot of people and relatively few dogs. I doubt if he personally met with many soi dogs though he did his bit and took some in, but leaving millions of other soi dogs across Thailand. Decrees are like the laws of Thailand. All well and good, but rarely if ever enforced.

You sound a bit like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxD-5z_xHBU

They never have and under this government they never will.

Good for you. You must be one of the few companies that have taken on extra staff. BTW Insults are not really appreciated. You are absolutely correct that so many countries shut down a lot due to Covid. From what I can read however, unemployment has gone down greatly as well, though not nearly enough for some reason in Thailand. Many posts on this forum suggest the same. So in 8 years the daily rate has gone up by ONLY 60 baht a day, though without checking I suspect that the cost of living has gone up more than that.

But they are not really tourists, are they?

Naturally you have proof that it was stolen and not simply dug up from deep underground, owned by the company that had it dug out, and was given by the owners 117 years ago.

Well from December 2008 until August 2011 it was Abhisit and the Democrats and from August 2011 it was Yingluck and the Pheu Thai, followed by Prayuth and the current lot. Does that make you happy? Of course you could have done a Google search here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prime_ministers_of_Thailand all by yourself.

Correct me if I am wrong but the current government was in power at the time and shut most of the tourist industry down resulting in massive job losses? How many workers did you lay off during that 2 year period?

No, but just like the others you mentioned they took power at the point of a gun.

Perhaps the current lot don't want to let Thaksin's lot into power, as that would expose their own failures. I don't know if there is a real choice a true PM for Thailand because if the current lot are kicked out, and a decent lot comes into power, then it won't be long before yet another military coup, as sure as KFC makes chicken nuggets. Having said that at least the Thai people got something from Thaksin, and twice the square root of SFA from anybody else in power.

AFAIR it came from the BKK post which is why I cannot post any link I could find. However here is a link from the ILO dated June 2020. The sectors that are most at risk to experience a significant (medium or high) reduction in economic output as a result of the COVID-19 crisis employed nearly 21 million of 37 million workers in 2019. The impact on workers within the impacted sectors will come in the form of reduced working hours and wages or even complete job loss. From 6.6 to 7.5 million workers in Thailand are expected to experience such disruption first hand. Already the number of hours worked in Thailand declined by nearly 6 per cent in the first quarter 2020, which is the equivalent to the loss of 2.2 million full-time jobs (assuming a 40 hour working week). The decrease is expected to increase to about 10 per cent in the second quarter, thus bringing the estimated loss to a full-time equivalency of 4 million jobs. or here https://thailand.opendevelopmentmekong.net/topics/covid-19-impact-on-thai-labor-market/ or here https://www.bot.or.th/English/MonetaryPolicy/MonetPolicyComittee/MPR/BOX_MRP/BOX1_MPREng_Sep20_labormarket.pdf

You forgot to add Prayuth and his cronies to the list.

And what has the current government, (you know the one that stole the country from its true owners at gunpoint, the Thai people), ever given the people in return? Not even scraps off the table. 8 years of misery, 2 million job losses, unhappiness and NO reconciliation for the people, students jailed under the LM law, for peacefully protesting. No wonder the current lot are terrified of Thaksin or anybody who would stand against the. They may win the next election by hook or by crook, (IMHO by crook) but that doesn't mean that the Thai people will accept it. Can you remember Prayuth in2014 declaring that there will be NO military coup? Or after the coup that he promised would never happen, the promise to reform the police, the military, the civil service that never happened either. Or the promise to restore harmony and reconciliation to the Thai people that STILL hasn't happened? I do and so do millions of Thais. quote from your post "Thaksin only gave scraps from his dining table... a few crumbs for the rice growers of the NE so they would vote for him, while he helped himself to billions." At least they got something.

What has the current government and employers offered, other than another 8 years like the last 8 years. Twice the square root of FA? The loss of another 2 million jobs? Another 8 years of bringing happiness and reconciliation to the Thai people the military way? I can remember back to the Thaksin era. There were a lots of jobs available, there was a lot more money around and Thais were a lot happier. Compare it with nowadays.

Why don't ALL the big owners here in Thailand give a few billion of their own money to distribute?

Very true. Could that be why he suggesting that it be phased in over an 8 year period?

At least when he came to power he didn't completely forget his supporters, which is probably why he was elected to a second time with an overall majority in parliament. What has ANY military government, especially this one, ever given to the people of Thailand?

Good for you. You have done tour bit, Bills Smart has done his bit with his dogs, I have done my bit with no dogs. However that doesn't fix the big problem of soi dogs. There are literally millions of them and sadly for the dogs, nobody wants them. Many Thais believe that they are doing their bit for Buddhism by simply feeding the dogs and walking away. In fact they are part of the problem too.

It is NOT a microscopic view here. It is reality and every road you travel, every village you pass through, in Thailand has the same problem. It will not go away and every stray dog that is fed, every stray dog that is spayed or snipped contributes to the problem. There are very few dog owners in Thailand who even make any effort to look after dogs, so the problem multiplies to add to your destruction of the environment. Get rid of the soi dogs and that will be a very small part of the problem cleared. Leave them to breed and multiply and the problem grows.

Actually "WE" that is me didn't bring any dogs here, neither did my Thai wife. Like you we did our bit looking after 3 dogs on her 15 rai, that multiplied and died off. None of our dogs were inside dogs, they all lived outside. As we got older we realised that we couldn't look after the dogs properly (I am 78 now) so we got rid of them to other homes over 10 years ago. To properly secure 15 rai will take a 2 metre high wall 1.6 km long with a proper front gate and a couple of side gates, and the cost will be horrendous.