thaibeachlovers

What is the women situation like? Do they like foreigners?

I saw a doco about a sex hotel run by a Brit on an island. Prostitution is legal in Venezuela. Then I looked up the web site and the girls pics were on it. Not one made me think of trying a holiday there.

Thailand will do, thanks.

Turkeys a member and their border is not so strong.

Turkey's a member? A member of what? Not the EU, there are 28 country members of the EU and Turkey isn't one of them. They've been blocked due to human rights issues, they've been trying for a decade to gain membership. In fact, the EU is trying to bribe Turkey with membership in exchange for stemming the refugee tide! http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/turkey/11937537/EU-approves-Turkey-migrant-plan.html

NATO

do you know some agent do extension for you at the old immigration ? and how much for 60 day extension thai child

Any agent should do the job at either office ( several have been mentioned in the two threads ), though perhaps not the one next door to Prom Immigration. I have been told all extensions are 1900 baht, though others may tell you differently.

Some extra background to my case:

the Judgement also said that we should be charged for illegally trying to get around the restrictions on foreigners owning land.

The logic of this last point was due to us subscribing collectively for 49% of the company shares. These shares were be held for the duration of the lease ( and any extension), and to be returned once the lease expired. The lease structure was prepared by a Thai law firm, which is on the list of lawyers recommended by a number of Embassies, today. It was approved by each investor's personal law firm, in 2004. It has been used by 100's if not 1000's of apartment units sold, on Phuket alone. At Appeal, the Thai business man added an extra charge, that we had tried to defraud him. The irony of this part is he is a very successful business man, selling product to major non- Thai developers on Phuket. At the time of writing, there are apartments listed for resale, with similar lease paperwork registered in place. I have asked several developers and Property agencies if, what they are selling is legal . The answer is 'no problem'.

Now that our Judgement has been public, since early 2014, a number of law firms are reversing their long- standing advice. STILL, a number of law firms continue to say that there is nothing wrong our paperwork, except "maybe you should use a different set up for protecting your lease renewal option". so, legal advice in some cases is good for today - but you had better not go to court and have it reviewed by a Judge, as he may rule that you have nothing.

I think that the lesson learned is, no matter how careful you are with investing your money, in property, here in Thailland, no matter how good the advice you obtain from a law firm and a property agency, the advice may be useless, in hindsight. Because the system of regulations are not reliable. As Bill Barnett described it, you are safe if you buy from a major developer. The problem, is that, on Phuket, the major developers account for at most, 25% of the units sold. The 75% are subject to the laws of the jungle. And, although I love the country and would never leave, I and you are second class citizens. Excuse the length of these 2 posts. I hope there is some guidance i

maybe you should use a different set up for protecting your lease renewal option

In other words, you should use a different device for circumventing Thai law.

no matter how careful you are with investing your money, in property, here in Thailland

Had you invested in your own country and use the proceedings to live in LOS, you'd be sitting pretty now.

no matter how good the advice you obtain from a law firm and a property agency, the advice may be useless, in hindsight.

Of course it is.

The 75% are subject to the laws of the jungle.

"Due diligence" would have told you that.

I and you are second class citizens

Unless you have qualified for a Thai passport you are NOT a Thai citizen, and yes, all farangs are "second class" in LOS. How many zillions of times has it been said on these pages that our money is welcome in LOS, but us less so?

The lesson I learned in LOS over many, many years is never, never, never "invest" any money in LOS that I can't afford to lose.

It is heartening to know there are people like you who are so clued up on the Thai system. Somewhat less enthralling is the contempt in which you hold those who do not have your knowledge on the subject matter. Many people are coming to Thailand believing at least some of the hype and believing they can invest their money and that a system of justice exists that will not support scammers, thieves and cheats. Unfortunately the Thai system of justice, bent, corrupt gangs of lawyers who persecute foreigners and any lawyer who dares represent them, and judges who do not even try to apply the law in favour of a foreigner almost as if it is a loss of face on the whole country that a Thai could be a cheat, corrupt or otherwise scamming foreigners. The abject racism and scale of the problem is very much not know by all and sundry though I accept if you now know how to search and pick the right keywords you will no doubt find the horror stories.

The fact is most buyers are absolutely not aware of the facts as you know them or as I know them now. They are lied to by the TAT, lied to by the property industry, lied to by propaganda encouraging them to invest in the property industry, invest in Thailand, invest, invest, invest. One might be led to believe that with all the effort put into advertising Thailand as being a wonderful place to invest that there might actually be some laws that go to protect those who benefit the country by investing.

The reality is that you are on a hiding to a racist nothing here. Do not invest is right. Do not invest and do not believe a soul here because the lies are so plentiful it is impossible to find the truth that might lie somewhere. It certainly does not lie in the justice system that deserves to lead the Phuket property market into the annihilation because as a foreigner you will be targeted, scammed, lied to and led up the garden path by lawyers who have no morals and even less ethics.

However that is the story that needs to get out and your condescending tone to a retired couple is really unnecessary and in poor taste.

I have a great deal of sympathy for "sendintheclowns" and the situation he now finds himself in.

It is all very well for other posters to say to this guy (couple) that they should have done their due diligence, however what do you do when you want to find out about the law in a country and how it applies to property you are buying; well you go to see a lawyer in a reputable law firm, and even better if It is a well-known law firm and is well used by farangs, so that's what they did.

The fact that this law firm decided to put in place an illegal structure, and the fact that this illegal structure has been used in one form or another for a great deal of property purchases in Thailand would be unknown to this couple, mainly because it seems the norm; i.e. it has happened hundreds if not thousands of times already. So even if they did their own "due diligence" they would have found that this very structure was being used by just about all and sundry (legal firms that is) and was being recommended by them as "legal", so where do you go from there?

They followed what just about everybody would do with regards to the legal processes and they were stitched up by the very legal profession that was supposed to protect them and I'm afraid there is no "antidote" for this and no amount of doing your own due diligence would make the slightest bit of difference.

As I have posted before, I bought property here when I first came over and I relied upon a couple of law firms, and many farangs who had bought here and who were perfectly happy with their purchases, and with all of the investigations/due diligence I conducted, there was nothing in it which would lead me to believe that I would be stitched up by the legal system and developers for that matter, not to mention the justice system (I wasn't as it happens and I also made a profit on two properties, but that was probably more luck than judgement).

Now of course we know differently, this because there are/have been many cases coming to light, BUT, and here is the rub, you can still find lawyers/legal firms who will recommend purchasing a property utilising the nominee/share reallocation method, so newcomers are still at the mercy of a corrupt system, and that really is the crux of the matter.

I appreciate what you say, but even though I never intended to buy property/ business in LOS, even 23 years ago I was fully aware just from talking to people and reading ( no internet then ) that it was not possible to own anything other than a condo on the 49% deal.

I suspect that the people in question rushed into the situation, relying only on the lawyers words and not asking any expats, or even long time tourists as to the reality.

These days, I'm sure if one googles "scams in Thailand" one would find all the information that one could hope for re the real situation.

Regardless, if this thread saves even one farang from making a mistake, it will have been worth it.

You're wrong, because the Arab and Muslim world attacked Israel in 1948 and tried to wipe it out. That changed the game. Because they lost.

???????

That doesn't change the borders. If it did they wouldn't have had to leave Sinai.

On that thinking, Japan would have become American soil.

Don't be ridiculous. Look at a bloody map.

Look how small 1948 Israel was.

Instantly the Muslim/Arab world invaded en masse.

If they had accepted 1948 from the beginning, you'd have a point, but they didn't.

Any FAIR MINDED observer has to admit that those original 1948 borders were NOT DEFENSIBLE in the long run surrounded by so many hostile neighbors who never accepted the right of the Jewish state of Israel to even EXIST.

Your Japan comparison is pretty dumb.

There was no EXISTENTIAL security reason for the USA to keep any Japanese lands but they did run the place after the war and there is still a military presence in places like OKINAWA.

Like it or not, the 1948 borders are the only legal ones, until the UN changes them, and there is no chance of them doing that.

I will not be replying to that particular topic again, as it's just you say/ I say now.

BTW Egypt and Jordan have signed peace treaties with Israel, so other than Syria, who is threatening Israel now, that it requires more space for security? I have no problem with Israel occupying the Golan Heights as the previous situation was indeed intolerable.

On Tuesday went for my 90 day report at the Mall. From the time I left my house until I returned it took one hour, already had my paper work filled out upon arrival info desk checked everything and handed me 108. I went in and set down they were takeing care of 98,99,100, they called people up in threes present thepaper work process it and out you go. I arrived a bit after 1300 hours

I went after lunch too, but it does depend on how many turn up in the morning- tickets are limited.

I have had a very smooth re extension of O-A - retirement visa - or whatever the correct term is to date.

This year I am succumbing to the pressure. I am joining the expats who hire the services of a visa agent.

I resent it but that is the part of the price of being an expat.

If they have indeed cancelled on line booking, I will be joining you. Not for me hanging around from 4am in hope of obtaining one of the few tickets.

I wonder though how they are able to do so many on the same day when only 20 appointments are possible?

Is there a requirement to provide proof of residence when using an agent- anyone?

Why don't you guys get a room.

Only the lunatics are in denial. This one has been put to bed. Even the Pope signed off for Christ's sake!

Solutions please. Irrelevant if every scientist in the whole world agrees if they can't come up with a solution.

I have heard ZERO realistic solutions that China and India can implement.

These climate change threads only offer a choice between geeking out on scientific minutiae and endless charts - like we have witnessed in this thread or slagging matches based on ideological positions and gotcha attempts. This comment is a case in point. Wilful ignorance masquerading as an attempt at rebuttal but so deep in the denier ideological roots that it becomes moronic.

The idea of reducing the impact of humans on the environment has resulted in a huge range of strategies over the last decade; regulatory and market based; macro-level and micro-level. Emissions standards imposed by regulators on automobile engines has resulted in major improvements in the internal combustion engine. One of the main reasons electric vehicles haven't yet dominated the market is the reliability and proven technology of the internal combustion engine which remains competitive with electric vehicle technologies at current costs. This is en example of regulatory interventions.

The development of carbon markets also known as Cap and Trade is an attempt at market based solutions to minimising human impact on the environment. These markets aim to identify the true cost of environmental impact. Stock markets are quite efficient at determining the cost of capital (price of money) but stock markets are centuries old. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange was established in 1602. So these markets have had a long time to work out efficient, effective and fair market rules. At the moment carbon markets are not efficient, effective or fair but they may be. Establishing the true cost of what economists call 'externalities' is a worthwhile and significant exercise. When you drive your car, do you have to pay the full cost of externalities involved? Not just things like its emissions and other pollutants but the impact your choice has on congestion, the cost of building and maintaining roadways or the cost of disposing of the materials at the end of the car's life. If all transport methods were priced a the true cost of all externalities, you will probably find people choosing public transport which will be more efficient because investments will be made more easily under a true pricing model. This is an example of market based solutions.

At the micro level, there has been a movement towards residential waste recycling for many years. Solid Waste Management (SWM) technologies and systems are being introduced to sort and recycle waste and turn the waste into energy (WTE). Thailand is pushing the WTE option and it has implemented world class SWM systems and technologies in a number of municipalities over the past 15 years including Phitsanulok and Lampang. At the macro level, conferences and gatherings that are so derided and scoffed at by the Deniers actually helps in sharing information and developing consensus about goals, targets and strategies.

There are just 4 strategies. There are many more based in regulatory, market, micro and macro structures.

I do not care about who wins the Climate Change argument. It is political now. Sides are taken based on ideology. The Deniers are on the wrong side of history. It is no coincidence that the Deniers are also generally the ones who oppose liberalism and the emergence and, frankly dominance of the new generation of millennial in the culture wars. This new generation are tackling the issue and have no time for the silly old nay sayers. So the grumpy old white men should just sit back and try and enjoy their remaining years.

The one difference in this thread was the issue of the Pope. Some interesting observations at the start of the discussion but it soon degenerated into the usual slagging match. I believe a populist pope moves the established church closer to a position of refuting the existence of a god than a reactionary Pope (like Red Prada Shoes ret.). Without the need for a god, then more people will realise the importance of protecting the earth's environment. I look forward to the day when those people currently suffering under the psychological delusion created by religion abandon this fantasy and become true humanists.

And yet, none of the strategies that you have detailed are working sufficiently to make a dent in the increase ( or so we are told ). I'm interested in solution/s that can be applied in all countries, China and India as well, that are realistic, effective, affordable and that WORK.

You mention public transport, but countries like New Zealand have minimal intercity public transport, so most people drive. Some have good public transport but too expensive.

I have no problem with conferences, but flying to them rather than using video conferencing is just hypocrisy.

This new generation are tackling the issue and have no time for the silly old nay sayers.

LOL. Do you mean those people that are obsessed with technology and spend their days conversing with their imaginary friends? I haven't seen one that gives a **** about the environment, as they race around in their expensive cars wasting fuel. As for Thailand, they all want a car, and the town I live in is fast becoming a permanent traffic jam, as the roads were designed for m'bikes.

Otherwise, Thailand is well served by excellent bus and rail options for long distance travel- no need to drive a car.

While I do not believe that GW can be reversed, if in fact it is man made, and I am not convinced, even if the Pope does wear a very silly hat, that it is, I would like to see a restriction on the infernal private motor car. It is a pestilence on the planet, wasting vast areas of land and consuming zillions of $ that would be far better spent on affordable public transport options.

Lastly, while the human destroyers of the planet as we know it continue to increase at such a fast rate, no strategy will succeed in reversing anything. Population control is the only thing that will succeed in saving the planet as we know it. However, that is not going to happen, so I have no hope of a man made solution, though nature/ Gaia may have a trick or two to rectify the situation. Ebola perhaps?

It is absolutely hilarious how these old miserable gits are in every topic telling people to spend 500b on a Thai Elite visa.

Why the heck would anyone want to pay 500,000 baht just to visit a country and not for any kind of work opportunity?

so last week a visa was a 1000 baht and this week I am going to spend 500,000 baht for the right to come to a country as a tourist and spend money there?

and then they drop lines like

"Oh what, you can't afford it?"...

Like, I am trying to think how much money I would need in the bank before pissing away 500,000 baht on an Elite card would make sense to me... it would be a very large number.

Probably the same ones that are telling any of us that can't afford expensive condos that we shouldn't be staying in Thailand.

You're wrong, because the Arab and Muslim world attacked Israel in 1948 and tried to wipe it out. That changed the game. Because they lost.

???????

That doesn't change the borders. If it did they wouldn't have had to leave Sinai.

On that thinking, Japan would have become American soil.

The topic here isn't about making fun of funny hats.

All kinds of people all over the world wear funny hats.

cheesehat111.jpg

So what?

The topic here is actually

Death toll mounts in Israel and the Palestinian territories

which continues to be relevant now, day after day.

Any new comments on the actual TOPIC?

Given that it is a religious conflict ie Jewish vs Muslim, IMO it is not inappropriate to comment on religion.

First of all, it is very simplistic to see this as only a religious conflict.

The origins of Zionism, which found realization in the establishment of the Jewish state of Israel were for most part SECULAR.

As a POLITICAL movement for self determination of the Jewish PEOPLE.

Obsessive Israel demonizers and also open or closeted Judeophobes can spew all kinds of lies thousands of times that Jewish is ONLY a religion, but that is patently false. Jewish is much more complex than that. Here is one approach to explaining it the misinformed:

http://www.jewfaq.org/judaism.htm#Nation

• Judaism has been described as a religion, a race, a culture, and a nation

• All of these descriptions have some validity

• The Jewish people are best described as an extended family

Jews can't be considered a race, given there are black Jews and white Jews, they also can't be considered a nation, as a nation is a piece of dirt and Jews that never lived in Israel live all over the world. Extended family and culture- I can accept that.

Till Arab Israelis are shooting Palestinians in the street, I stand by my belief that it is a religious conflict.

.

How do the quotes appearing in the linked article relevant to "mass deportation of Palestinians"? And I do not mean your wild conjectures, but factually, where exactly is it even mentioned. Furthermore, it would take quite a leap of imagination to define most of the politicians quoted as wielding real power when it comes to hypothetical decisions of this magnitude, titles notwithstanding.

The question asked was discussed many times on these topics, including this one. Namely, that the Israeli right wing does not have a clear answer with regard to the implications of their current policies. That you refuse to accept that as a reality, does not change the way things are. Nor does it land credibility to conspiracy theories aired.

Predictably, similar quotes from the Palestinian side receive little acknowledgement (off the top of my head - http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/860733-israel-launches-airstrikes-on-targets-in-gaza/?p=9938708).

As for the second issue:

What you actually posted was "I commonly differentiate between the many righteous Israelis who are genuinely seeking peace and bigoted Zionists who only believe in racial supremacy." (http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/862271-death-toll-mounts-in-israel-and-the-palestinian-territories/?p=9966052).

If Herzog & Co, are deemed racist, who would be those "many righteous Israelis who are genuinely seeking peace"? And, if Herzog & Co. are racist, who is there for the Palestinians to make peace with?

I repeat the simple question that you failed to answer.

If, as most of Netanyahu's cabinet and Netanyahu himself said then retracted during the election, they are clearly promoting a one state solution.

What do you think/know from listening to them will be the borders of that one state? Most of Netanyahu's cabinet seem to suggest it will be the Jordan river and encompass what they call Judaea and Samaria.If that is the case what will be the status of the existing 2.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank within that one state solution?

The righeous Israeli Jews I refer to are such as Ilan Pappé, Miko Peled, Gideon Levy, Uri Avnery, Amira Haas, Israel’s human rights organization B’Tselem (http://www.btselem.org), Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions ICAHD (http://www.icahd.org), Breaking the Silence (http://www.breakingthesilence.org.il) and others.

If the US accepts those borders as being legal, they have negated their opposition to Russia supporting seperatists in the Ukraine, as they will be accepting land acquisition by force, surely that which the UN was set up to oppose.

Currently, only the 1948 borders are legal, and all other areas are occupied.

Just another woman showing her maternal instincts.

Merkel is just another politician who mentioned what our German constitution says. this and other threads referring to the present asylum seeker situation are stuffed with mostly irrelevant comments from ignorant smartbutts

Does the constitution say that anyone that turns up on the border and says they are a refugee should be admitted without papers or screening?

You could put all those people together and the sum total of "nutbaginess" would be way short of Pelosi. She is the nuttiest person I have ever seen, and that she was Dems leader in the house says it all about the Dems, LOL.

No one can seriously say the past years of the Dems in charge have been good for America. Just because the GOP aren't any better is not to say the Dems are good. The US political system is broken, and bad for the whole world.

The US political system is broken, and bad for the whole world.

It will self-correct, as it always does.

Frankly for the time being the world might well be benefiting from some restraint by Washington supported by the vast majority of Americans. Americans know from the 20th century especially we can't withdraw, self-isolate or ignore, so this won't be absolute nor would it last forever by any means.

And it's benefiting life expectancy in the USA by keeping the armed forces and Americans in general from foreign adventures of the Bush-Cheney kind, which are the worst kind imaginable by the United States, worse than the Vietnam debacle. Good for the economy too.

The basic lesson in the two calamities of Vietnam and Iraq is no more land wars involving large units of ground forces. Hence the new Pentagon Air-Sea Battle Doctrine adopted in 2010 and now being fully implemented. Next time will be blasting 'em furiously with accurate high powered barrages from sea and air. See how much they out there have a stomach for that.

Trump and most Americans and even fewer foreigners have any notion of it.

Hasn't self corrected in the past 13 years so I doubt it will any time soon, especially if another snout in the trough politician gets elected.

Let's not forget Trump already bought Clinton, ergo she can be bought by anyone with money.

Next time will be blasting 'em furiously with accurate high powered barrages from sea and air. See how much they out there have a stomach for that.

So in the future their doctrine relies on killing everyone. I can see that working when the guilty are mixed in with the innocent, or are all guilty in your brave new world?

For the record, no war is won by bombardment- it always comes down to troops on the ground.

So in the future their doctrine relies on killing everyone.

The right is just so self-defeating in its flawed thinking and in its OTT rhetoric, it is too easy to pick youze guyz off one at a time. A wild concoction of a statement indeed that leads with the chin. Your off the wall doozy has nothing to do with the statements made in the post, explicitly or implicitly, or with the new Pentagon Air-Sea Battle Doctrine (devised to defeat in war Russia, China, Iran).

All the same the second sentence of the post is not contested. No one said ground forces were abolished or eliminated. Just no more large units of forces as the lead doctrine of military engagement, that's all. The old Doctrine of Air-Land Battle as the lead strategy of US warfare is superseded, not abolished or eliminated.

Air-Land Battle Doctrine is now supportive, not the primary or the principal doctrine. Air-Sea is now primary. A-L Battle has rather morphed into light rapid and mobile forces to clinch the victory and to occupy the place. No more large unit forces of divisions and army groups of infantry artillery and armor maneuvering across vast land masses through deserts or forests and the like.

The US in Vietnam was overwhelmingly Air-Land. Soviets then US presently in Afghanistan Air-Land; US in the Gulf War and in the 2003 Iraq debacle A-L also. The US Gulf war was successful militarily but unsuccessful politically in Iraq in that Saddam was not (perhaps could not) be removed.

The very nature of warfare has changed radically away from air-land forces to air-sea-cyber-space. Russia and China are increasingly air-sea etc but with Iran remain wed to the ground. Think Trump and his boyz have any clue of this or could deal with it? Not a chance. Air-Land to Trump is a golf ball and course of 18.

Battle has rather morphed into light rapid and mobile forces to clinch the victory and to occupy the place.

LOL. Tell that to the grunts in the Iraqi "surge", without which Iraq would never have been pacified enough to let the US forces leave.

I shall not comment further on this topic as far from Trump related.

The topic here isn't about making fun of funny hats.

All kinds of people all over the world wear funny hats.

cheesehat111.jpg

So what?

The topic here is actually

Death toll mounts in Israel and the Palestinian territories

which continues to be relevant now, day after day.

Any new comments on the actual TOPIC?

Given that it is a religious conflict ie Jewish vs Muslim, IMO it is not inappropriate to comment on religion.

A genuine refugee is someone who cannot return to their country. How long depends on a lot of things. Those who have opposed the Assad regime will probably not be able to return as long as he is in power.

Thousands of people are displaced because of the situation in places like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of them do not give a tinker's damned who is in power; they would simply like to go home. They have no strong political leanings. The genuine refugees, however, cannot return. Sometimes it is just a matter of perception rather than reality by the existing gov't, but the threat of persecution is real.

Immediate family members are conferred with refugee status as a matter of course. In different countries the degree of retaliation varies, but usually family members also suffer. It is not uncommon for men to go first and women and children to follow. In some cases, the men may face execution and fleeing is the only option.

I believe that someone has posted some statistics that show about 40% are genuine refugees. That would mean 60% are not. The problem, of course, is that it can be difficult to repatriate those who do not meet the criteria of being a refugee.

statistics that show about 40% are genuine refugees. That would mean 60% are not.

There's the rub. The 60% that are not are poisoning opinion against "refugees" in general. Certainly I would not be coming on here to say that they should not be allowed to leave Turkey if I knew that only genuine refugees were going.

By their actions they are setting back goodwill towards refugees, probably for decades.

Hard124get posted the following earlier;

Quote

"It wa a classic honeytrap, the first woman arranged for the trip , invited Assange to stay at her flat, agreed to have sex, then after the alleged rape, she arranged a party for him and let him stay at her flat for another week ! The allegations of the complainants are not credible and were dismissed by the senior Stockholm prosecutor as not worthy of further investigation."

Unquote

My comments are;

I think you are being a little bit selective in your comments.

The honeytrap comment is pure conjecture! The agreement to stay in the first womens flat is not in dispute. The rest is

Yes one charge was dropped back in Aug 2010 but was re-applied 11 days later. Please see more time lines below;

1 September 2010

1. Ms Nye says she is reopening the rape investigation against Mr Assange, eleven days after a chief prosecutor announced the arrest warrant had been dropped. Ms Nye is also head of the department that oversees prosecution of sex crimes in particular.

"There is reason to believe that a crime has been committed," she says in a statement. "Considering information available at present, my judgement is that the classification of the crime is rape."

Ms Nye says the investigation into the molestation claim will also be extended. She tells AFP that overturning another prosecutor's decision was "not an ordinary (procedure), but not so out of the ordinary either".

13 August 2015

Swedish prosecutors drop their investigation into one accusation of sexual molestation and one of unlawful coercion against Mr Assange because they have run out of time to question him. A time limit on a further allegation of sexual molestation is due to run out on 18 August. The more serious allegation of rape is not due to expire until 2020.

Mr Assange says he is "extremely disappointed".

12 October 2015

1. Scotland Yard announces it will no longer be sending officers to stand guard outside the Ecuadorean embassy in Knightsbridge, central London. Officers have been there since 2012, at an estimated cost of more than £12m.

In a statement the Met Police said: "Like all public services, MPS resources are finite. With so many different criminal, and other, threats to the city it protects, the current deployment of officers is no longer believed proportionate."

However it also said it would be deploying "a number of overt and covert tactics to arrest" Mr Assange.

PS I agree the whole guarding of the Embassy is a fiasco.

But this man should face justice and stand trial according to the facts as laid out by the Swedish and UK authorities at present.

His alleged leaking offences should and must be dealt with on their own merits in the appropriate court(s) otherwise all accused persons can do the same as him and avoid their day in court

The whole point is that Assange is not an ordinary suspect, and that the US want to lock him up forever. That takes everything into the political realm. The US can easily end the whole fiasco by giving a written assurance that he will not be extradited to the US on that matter. The fact that they won't speaks to the heart of the case.

BTW, I believe that Assange was only wanted for questioning in Sweden. How difficult would it be for someone to travel to London to do so. The British government could have saved 11 million quid by paying Sweden for someone to do so.

Nice try. No indication the US wants him.

He's his own worst enemy, as are many cowards.

No indication the US wants him.

Would Chelsea agree with you? I think not.

I found an answer to my question while studying Saul Alinsky - another leftist community organizer from the slums of Chicago - his Rule #4 for Radicals is to "ridicule the enemy." Ie: instead of addressing them head-on, or doing something to actually improve yourself, Alinsky's idealogy recommends the "powerless" seek power by ridiculing the powerful. I'm not suggesting all of Obama's crew studied Alinsky for their tactics but that explains a lot. Funny that these radicals never actually talk about where wealth comes from - in a free enterprise system, from providing services or products that actually solve problems people face - but instead suggest ridiculing and defaming successful people, ie: people who have actually contributed to the world. That explains a lot about Obama and his mob.

IMO people like Obama and Alinsky hate people that actually contribute to the world as it shows them up for people who have nothing other than hatred of those with money to give them a power base by recruiting those that want it all without doing anything to get it. Hence the mantra that the poor are poor because they are discriminated against ( not because they were too lazy to get off their butts and work their way up by getting a job and an education- tell that to Carson ), and the desire to "redistribute" wealth from those with to those without, for free.

Still only the mantra that GW/CC is real, and not a single solution. Says it all really.

??

Obviously you also know of ZERO solutions to the problem you believe in.

I guess it's your right to discount that statements from the most elite scientific groups on the planet.

Maybe the industrial polluters and their political representatives are correct and these distinguished scientists have it wrong?

Perhaps you can enlighten us as to their realistic solutions to the crisis they claim is about to kill us all? I have heard nothing from them, and they continue to jet about the world and drive cars.

Is this a silly late night post by someone that's been drinking?

Obviously you also know of ZERO solutions to the problem you believe in.

Sure, Judaism is full of superstitions etc, as any other religions, including Hinduism, Christianity and Buddhism. But it is how it is practiced, in real life, that really matters. I have live many years in a muslim country, and that's not something I would like to do again. Just a small example: I, as female, dressed in long sleeves and long pants, was riding a scooter in an african, muslim little town, and people were shouting at me "wh.re!, b.tch!", simply because they don't like to see a female sit on scooter and drive around. These are very backward people.

That is culture, not religion. There is no injunction in the Koran to abuse women riding m'bikes. However, agree they are backward.

Their culture relies on women being subservient and second class to men, so you acting as an independent person is threatening to them.

that the Israeli right wing does not have a clear answer with regard to the implications of their current policies.

If they do not know what the outcome of their policies will be then they are ignorant. They only have to look at what became of apartheid Sth Africa to know what will happen eventually. While the US currently uses it's veto to prevent anti Israeli votes in the UN becoming policy, that will change, sooner or later, and when that happens it really will be the end game for Israel, and very much self inflicted.

Currently, the situation is like a tsunami when the sea has retreated. It looks quiet, but when the water comes back it washes everything away in its path. Same will happen to Israel when they go too far ( as they will ) and ignite a rage against them throughout the world.

Israel is a specific case. It is not South Africa. It is not Nazi Germany.

This is true. They are not identical.

The occupiers have implemented their own unique brand of apartheid and despicable persecution.

By the way, Judaism is a religion. Not a race. Not a "people". It's just a religion, and it's as absurd as the next.

Ah, religion. The obsession with appearance always amuses me, especially when it involves stupid hats. It's as though the more stupid the hat, the more religious one is, as though "God" doesn't know what is in their heart.

Well maybe a branch of them, they do not understand conservatism due to inexperience or perhaps sheltered due to life in a gated community. That's my take but the Rolling Stone article is revealing.

More about the popularity of Trump: Ann Coulter implies Trump is proof that "God has not given up on America yet."

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIDjsKw1y8Q

You're quoting Ann Coulter? Man, that lady is the looniest of the looneys.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/world/1.676293

http://www.salon.com/2015/10/13/ann_coulters_nativist_bigotry_gets_ripped_to_shreds_in_debate_when_its_white_people_its_irrelevant_but_when_its_not_white_people_it_is_primitive/

This is why we have such a wide chasm in America right now. People that I think are complete nutbags (e.g., Limbaugh, Hannity, Coulter, Carson, Cruz, et al) you probably think are legit. Even the word "conservatism" means different things to different people. Those on the right and left will never agree. All we can hope for is that our side outnumbers the other side.

You could put all those people together and the sum total of "nutbaginess" would be way short of Pelosi. She is the nuttiest person I have ever seen, and that she was Dems leader in the house says it all about the Dems, LOL.

No one can seriously say the past years of the Dems in charge have been good for America. Just because the GOP aren't any better is not to say the Dems are good. The US political system is broken, and bad for the whole world.

The US political system is broken, and bad for the whole world.

It will self-correct, as it always does.

Frankly for the time being the world might well be benefiting from some restraint by Washington supported by the vast majority of Americans. Americans know from the 20th century especially we can't withdraw, self-isolate or ignore, so this won't be absolute nor would it last forever by any means.

And it's benefiting life expectancy in the USA by keeping the armed forces and Americans in general from foreign adventures of the Bush-Cheney kind, which are the worst kind imaginable by the United States, worse than the Vietnam debacle. Good for the economy too.

The basic lesson in the two calamities of Vietnam and Iraq is no more land wars involving large units of ground forces. Hence the new Pentagon Air-Sea Battle Doctrine adopted in 2010 and now being fully implemented. Next time will be blasting 'em furiously with accurate high powered barrages from sea and air. See how much they out there have a stomach for that.

Trump and most Americans and even fewer foreigners have any notion of it.

Hasn't self corrected in the past 13 years so I doubt it will any time soon, especially if another snout in the trough politician gets elected.

Let's not forget Trump already bought Clinton, ergo she can be bought by anyone with money.

Next time will be blasting 'em furiously with accurate high powered barrages from sea and air. See how much they out there have a stomach for that.

So in the future their doctrine relies on killing everyone. I can see that working when the guilty are mixed in with the innocent, or are all guilty in your brave new world?

For the record, no war is won by bombardment- it always comes down to troops on the ground.

Still only the mantra that GW/CC is real, and not a single solution. Says it all really.

Why don't you guys get a room.

Only the lunatics are in denial. This one has been put to bed. Even the Pope signed off for Christ's sake!

Solutions please. Irrelevant if every scientist in the whole world agrees if they can't come up with a solution.

I have heard ZERO realistic solutions that China and India can implement.