JAG

4 hours ago, milwaukeeboy said:

Shame on Trump for not directing an appeal to the Pope to fast track John McCain to sainthood for all of his noteworthy and angelic actions and deeds in life.

/sarc off

Can't say what I and many others think here.

umm, you just have!

3 hours ago, Esso49 said:

I posted very early this morning about Kasikorn.  Other banks are effected.  Strangle in our area not only is fibre internet a problem but AIS comms seem to be experiencing a major problem with 3G/4G , no internet from time to time etc.  Could this be a nationwide cyber strike that the government are not admitting too ?

Or rain?

?

1 hour ago, helloagain said:

Likes my thai wife, my home. Cheap labour and can download good tv. Money you can make buying land when you first come here and sell 12 years later.    Hates piss heads who smoke in bars and resturants. Corruption in all areas. Most peoples lack of driving skills. No police checking licence or helmits at markets. Shop staff who come to you the second you look at something and cant speak english or understand if you were selling something would you employ these staff. The way many thais have quick anger issues. People who are too lazy to find things out themselves and just ask on thai visa christs sake ask google or get your ex bar girl to phone up. Crazy prices at international hospital. I think i better stop there 55555

So all in all, you don't like it very much?

I won't ask the obvious question...

10 hours ago, Srikcir said:

"started day one" excludes all officials that require Senate confirmation.

So as a quick answer would be his senior advisors Kushner and Ivanka and VP Pence.

For further answers the GAO identified 321 presidentially appointed (PA) positions government-wide that do not require Senate confirmation. PA positions fall into one of three categories:

• 67% of the positions serve on federal commissions, councils, committees, boards or foundations;
• 29% of the positions are within the Executive Office of the President; and the remaining
• 4% are in other federal agencies or departments.

https://www.thoughtco.com/presidential-appointments-no-senate-required-3322124

So basically people who were not required to have their backgrounds vetted?

Rather says it all doesn't it?

On 8/26/2018 at 10:53 AM, Credo said:

It should be removed.   It is so disheartening to hear things like:

 

--Sandy Hook never happened and it was staged.   

--The Parkland shooting didn't happen and the students are actors.

--Hillary Clinton ran a child sex-trafficking ring (causing a shooting)

etc., etc., etc.,   

 

Agreed it is disheartening. But such claims are obviously rubbish. The best defence against such idiotic banal conspiracies is to take the piss out of their proponents quite mercilessly. With luck that will make them so furious they will make even bigger fools of themselves, and make their followers look even more ridiculous. Social media is quite good for that...

Best nip round to the Benz dealership then Mr Director, before they are all sold out ...

4 hours ago, Snow Leopard said:

Education is the key here and not fines and this for sure will take time to filter through. Rome wasn't built in a day so they say.  

Absolutely right!

Mind you, have you seen the way Italians drive?

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2 hours ago, doremifasol said:

1.3 billion a misunderstanding?

 

Wow.......that's a big understatement.........

Indeed, it's an incredible amount of tea isn't it?

1 hour ago, watcharacters said:

 

555555555555555555555  After how many BILLIONS left?   

Yes, he has a lot of cash, but according to one report I read (The Times I think) the cash is dwarfed by debts coming due.

Well he had better get a move on. By some accounts Mr Musk's business is on the way to going bust!

28 minutes ago, robblok said:

When you were a soldier did you only train in rain .. or did you have desert training too even though there are no deserts in the UK ? I think I know the answer but I could be wrong.

 

The Dutch engineers are not only trained for Dutch water management but for jobs abroad too. Its an international problem and while it varies from place to place the basic ideas stay the same.

 

Though I doubt the Dutch engineers can do much here as you need cooperation from the locals and last time they were here their ideas were trashed. 

 

Also as i mentioned before here you got the problem that dams are used for 2 different conflicting purposes. 

1)  keeping flooding in check something that requires dams to release water when they can and keep reservoirs as empty as possible without creating floods.

2) keeping dams as full as possible to have lots of water for farming.

 

By doing both it goes wrong its like building a sports car that can carry lots of goods too, it just wont work. You either accept there will be flooding and have enough water for farmers or you accept that flooding is the major problem and accept that sometimes you will have not enough water for the farmers. By trying to find the middle way it often goes wrong. This is of course my opinion but it is logical and I don't claim to know more about water management as others because I am Dutch. This is not what i studied for but I can use reason and logic. 

 

 

Rob, calm down.

My tongue was firmly in my cheek!

"If it ain't raining, it ain't training", OK?

59 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

We are getting run offs from snow melting in neighboring countries which floods our rivers.

Fair point - I hadn't considered that...

4 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

Invite some Dutch companies who have handled these issues for a long time. Half of the Netherlands is below sea level and they are doing fine.

Whilst I bow to none in acknowledging the ingenuity and skill of the Dutch in keeping the sea at bay, I'm not so sure that they know that much about coping with the monsoon run off from jungle covered mountains.

Mind you, the present bunch...

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No I don't suppose Mr Trump, or many in his support base could give a damn!

Are not most Puerto Ricans various shades of brown, do not far too many of them speak Spanish?

They're not real 'muricans after all.

Good enough to be drafted though - quick let's move on...

Something to be proud of America!

7 hours ago, holy cow cm said:

They don't have to and it doesn't really matter as the military controls too much. But all Thai men think they are free and it is not the case. Under the older law, ALL the conscripts and ALL the Ror Dor kids who finished are still military personal (reserve) until 23 years have passed. So before if this is grandfathered all the military has to do is just call everyone into service for that period for the next 23 years when put on reserve. So, just say if you are at your 22nd year and almost free, they can call you in to serve. Average age would be from 41(18+ 23) - 44 (21+23). Now, if it is the newer law in true effect, then they reserve your life from 18-40 years old. so if Pheua Thai does away with it, it doesn't matter one bit except for the new kids!

For FYI: Article from Feb 2016. The junta passed a new bill called the Reserved Forces Act. The junta-appointed legislature passed the bill with four abstentions. Other than an online petition, there was no outcry of debate. Under the new law, 12 million male citizens aged between 18 and 40 are subject to a random draft for two months military training regardless of their past duty. The annual drafting number would be 300,000, 2.5% of the target citizens.

The provision certainly exists, and the school age Ror Dor graduates have always had a reserve commitment - do you remember how Abhisit was able to mince around as a reserve Second Lieutenant on the strength of his school cadet service?

But there are many practical differences. Firstly you have to keep track of all these reservists in order to call them up. The British Army struggled to keep track of it's (ex regular) reservists, I very much doubt if the Thai Army would be any more successful.

Secondly, if you are going to magic up a further 300,000 blokes, more than doubling your army in one fell swoop, then you are going to have huge problems making it work. You are going to need huge numbers of experienced officers and NCOs to command and train them. You are going to need huge amounts of weapons and kit, and transport and rations, and accomodation. You are going to need a massive command, communication and control effort to turn them into any sort of a remotely useful force. What you will end up, if you can ever collect them together in the first place, is several hundred thousand virtually untrained and untrainable totally pissed off blokes, useless in any military sense. Let us not even consider the effect upon the economy of the disruption to the labour force...

All this proposal ever has, and probably ever will achieve, is a nice wet warm sensation in assorted senior officers underpants.

2 minutes ago, zzaa09 said:

It appears that many don't keep real Thai company and circles nor have any true kinship with Thai affairs, yet continue on fancifully as if they know what they speak of. 

 

All too typical of this usual crowd.

Ah, a loquatious version of what is sometimes known as a "Harry Enfield moment":

" Oiy am considerably more successful than you!"

58 minutes ago, kevvy said:

My wife and some of her friends are so excited about voting now in the election. The reason is that they all have children coming to age for Conscription . What a great policy this is , and to sell submarines for buildings new hospitals is great . I might get lucky tonight ....

You live up here in the frozen North don't you Kevvy? Don't get too worked up about your wife being able to vote - last time the Thais went to the polls (the constitutional referendum) there simply weren't any polling stations in this neck of the woods - so no one in the amphur got to vote.

1 minute ago, baboon said:

Indeed. For example there is a rumour going around that I have a 12 inch ding-a-ling. I know bec quiteause I started it...

Be careful the junta don't get their claws into it...