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11 hours ago, Upnotover said:

Thai Baht always.  Have a look at DCC (Dynamic Currency Conversion) and all will be clear.

I used to agree that it was always better to have the amount charged in the local currency and then to have the conversion done by your home bank. This wasn until I found that Barclays (and not just them, ALL banks in the UK do this) were exchanging so far from the mid-point of the exchange rate and it was costing me a lot of money. Even when I went to transfer a sizeable sum and tried to negotiate with them, they refused to - I use a different transfer service now rather than the banks that gives me better rates (mid rate at the time of ordering) and lower charges.

This change of heart with the Chinese may have as much to do with their changing fortunes in that they are now so low on foreign exchange that they have in effect put in exchange controls. This means that they have to play ball with the Americans, especially over North Korea. In the meantime, Vietnam has developed very good relations with other countries outside the region and now has rented out its very deep port for military shipping from countries like France, USA, Japan and so on.

Their change in economic fortunes coupled with their overseas financial commitments, such as the new Silk Road and the various rail and other high-visibility projects in the region mean that China cannot afford any instability

Well, the Americans like to do the "perp walk" too, which amounts to almost the same thing except there is more humiliation as the defendant is inevitably in some sort of prison garb and often handcuffed/chained or something like that so that they walk strangely.

11 hours ago, Rhys said:

....how did this guy ever become a ship captain...

One day, the boss said, "now you are the captain" and he was. There might have been a hat involved too.

49 minutes ago, Hayduke said:

The attorneys here were very smart in playing to the politically correct audience and in making the gender issue central to the case. After a while it almost seemed that the Manning person was being jailed solely because of gender issues.

 

Had the transgender card not been played, clemency would have been near impossible and Manning would still be looking at a long time in prison.

 

Wonder what Snowden’s thinking right now.  

Whether you are Democrat or Republican or something else, ask yourself this question, do you do things differently now that you know what you know because of Manning and Snowden?

The problem is that anyone can show up to apply and pay for Labour party membership and vote in the leadership contest. And what many suspect has happened is that the system has been gamed - extreme left-wingers and those who are plotting the downfall of the Labour party have joined up in their hundreds of thousands and will always vote for the Corbyn because they know that with him in place the Labour Party will never get into power. 

As a result, Labour as a political entity is falling apart and completely losing its way. What is truly astonishing is that former Labour voters seem more willing to vote for UKIP and the Conservative Party than for Liberal Democrats - the latter would appear to be closer ideologically to Labour than any of the other parties. This upcoming election will be very revealing - while Labour will not be knocked off the number 2 slot (in part because of tactical voting by Liberal Democrats and the demise of UKIP), they will most likely hit an all time low.

4 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Bibi is right on this one. Hamas is still a terrorist organization. They have not changed their stripes and they do NOT accept the existence of Israel. 

Welcome to the world of conflict. If the UK government never agreed to be open to discussion with the Provisional IRA, we would still have people being blown up and shot in various cities in England and Northern Ireland (remember that the IRA did not believe that the UK had any right of government over any part of Northern Ireland, rather similar to the existence claim of Hamas who believe that Israel government has no right to govern over the land they call Palestine). Same with the Basques. Same with any group that somehow believes, rightly or wrongly, that they have been done down and want to have their land or sovereignty back. Some day the talking will have to begin as the alternative is just too terrible to contemplate.

Something has been lost in the reporting here. There is no mention of a gun license. And as far as I understand it, if you have a license, there is nothing in Thai law that prohibits carrying a gun in a vehicle with or without ammo. My guess is that she did not have a license and that is what is at issue here.

Bibi, as constructive as ever when it comes to building bridges and making peace!

6 hours ago, colinneil said:

Meanwhile senior policemen are molesting young girls.

Hardly the crime of the century, come on BIB kick your back sides in gear, go arrest some serious law breakers.

OK, I don't know which country you are from but I am guessing that your country would impose a lot more tougher punishment on these two. While the law on nudity in your Western country may be more lax than in Thailand, the law on sex in public in a very public place where it is likely to be seen by children is likely to attract very serious charges under various sex offender laws.

With such clear evidence as is available in this case, you will be found guilty and then placed on some sort of sex offenders' list, the consequences of which can be catastrophic - travel bans (your country will withhold passport) for an extended period of time, having to live for years in locations far from schools or other places where children are (even though the offence did not involve children, the strong probability that children could see the act could include that element in the post sentence scenario). Such locations are usually terrible, far from any amenity and where your only neighbours are, you guessed it, most likely to be pedophiles!

Good luck getting many jobs; in some countries that would include most jobs (in the USA, the offence would be classed as a felony and it is really hard to get a job as a felon, especially with sex offence attached to your record).

So, while you don't consider such activities to be serious crimes, the law enforcement agencies in most developed countries do. Yes, it does not involve molesting underage girls which, all other things being equal, is more serious but then the BIB have already arrested a senior officer in relation to this crime with more arrests to follow.

Yes, it is always the case that there are more serious crimes going on than the one in question - that is true of every country -  but why should Thailand be encouraged to ignore what went on in public in that Tuk Tuk when it would be taken very seriously elsewhere? It is bad enough that the perpetrators were fined a miserable amount of less than 500 Baht each.

Clearly the writers of Thai Visa and some of its readers don't get out much. I have seen this "solution" many times, in offices, living rooms and in bedrooms

4 hours ago, scorecard said:

 

Why were the cops accompanied by people from the jewelry business?

 

Cops and Immigration officials are the only relevant people to decide whether anybody is breaking the law. No other people (especially outside of the aligned officials) should be involved in any way.

 

Taking people from the jewelry business could easily turn nasty, with the jewelry official making comments that were aimed solely at closing them down because they are business competitors or similar.

 

 

The gem business, Africa, Thailand - when you join up the dots, certain African countries, such as Zimbabwe, have big gem deposits, and the folks who run those countries make a lot of money out of the gem business for themselves.

So secret is the business, the gem mining areas are no-go and they do not even share the employment of gem polishing within their own country but immediately send the rough stones out to Asia for working - they don't want it generally known inside their own country finding out how much money is involved.

In this example, the Africans will no doubt be in Thailand to carefully audit the progress of the gems and if you ever want to find a place in Thailand where every African will have ALL his/her papers in order, it will be in that business. 

6 hours ago, tomwct said:

Socialism at it's best! Obama loved the Venezualin Socialist Government including the Hollywood Elites! 

 

You should really stop smoking that stuff. I am far from being a fan of Obama but if you read just a little you will see that he official declared Venezuela a national security threat more than once. He even RENEWED the executive order declaring the same country as a national security threat just before he left office and Donald Trump has not rescinded it.

There are also a number of other measures he took against Venezuela - targeted sanctions against specific persons from the country, travel bans, asset freezes.

The CIA had ideologically corrupted a North Korean with surname Kim?

Not a relative of yours, Oh Dear Leader?

10 hours ago, Thechook said:

It's a bloody prison not a holiday resort and people check in to be punished.  In Australia prisoners live in luxury in accommodation those on the outside can only dream of.

No one is expecting a holiday resort with pool and drinks all day. Many people held at Bang Kwang prison are not there to be punished but awaiting trial.

Even though prison is supposed to be a punishment, you don't want it to be inhumane. And when you see how easy it is for a poor person to get a long sentence for the crime of picking mushrooms in the forrest in Thailand while those who kill policemen with their cars and don't spend a minute behind bars, you begin to question the concept of punishment in these parts.

Lets get this clear - were they being prosecuted because they were selling fake DVDs or were they prosecuted because they has the gall to compete with the duopoly that is protected by Cambodian law?

A President of the USA knows he is in trouble "big-le(ague)" when the Thais start criticising him and offering advice!

We just don't get the message, do we?

If I break the law, even as part of an organisation, even if I am ordered to by a superior, I go to jail.

If you break the law, even as part of an organisation, even if you were ordered to break the law by a superior, you go to jail

But if the NSA breaks the law, no one goes to jail. Get it yet?

I use Bayticol 6%. You need to dilute it 10ml of concentrate to 15 litres of water and wear rubber gloves.

Get a garden sprayer - I have one which contains 2 litres and that is sufficient for spraying my sizeable lawn (which you should spray after the sun goes down) and all the other area. Ticks like to climb up to the top of grass and other vegetation and so don't forget those parts - don't just spray on the ground.

Yes, you can do it yourself or get a contractor to do it for you. If you get a contractor, make sure they do it properly.

If you have dogs, you can rinse them in the same concentration of Bayticol (this is according to their website) You have to treat your dogs as well otherwise you will get the ticks back again very quick. 

You will need to treat your property and dogs several times a year to keep the ticks away. Also, a good idea to keep the gate closed so that other people's dogs don't come in and bring them with them.

When you find a tick, use heat to kill them or you can put them in alcohol. Smashing them on the ground may just spread the eggs.

If they stopped off at Bangkok, I would consider taking it to Hua Him

5 hours ago, geriatrickid said:

LOL what changed?

The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Monday dropped its longstanding call for Israel's destruction, but said it still rejected the country's right to exist and backs "armed struggle" against it.

 

If you do not accept the country's right to exist and support violence directed at the country, what exactly changed?  It's like saying you don't wish someone was  killed in a mortar attack, but will support that person's death if caused by a sniper.

There is a world of difference between rejecting a country's right to exist as a separate country and calling for its destruction. For instance, there are many who wish that Scotland was a separate country but also more people who reject the right of Scotland to exist as a separate country. No one is calling for the destruction of Scotland.

In the deadly game that is played between the current government of the State of Israel and Hamas, one grasps at every straw that even looks like a softening in attitudes in the hope that one day one of those straws will be that which breaks the camel's back that is this conflict.

On 30/4/2017 at 7:50 PM, gk10002000 said:

I wonder if the Thai officials, notably the "tax man" or revenue department loves this new immigration enforcement because now the officials have a record that a foreigner is renting or leasing and paying the Thais money.  I am sure many landlords don't report rent income, now, every little place is on record as having received monies.  Will the government close the loop?

And maybe that is the reason why the landlord raise the rent by 100% - they now have to pay tax because a foreigner is renting!

Orban knows that he can make a lot of noise if he wants but that the EU countries that are in good economic shape and a main source of funds (located mainly in Western Europe) would be quite happy to shed the burden of having to carry some of those Eastern European states, some of whose governments are an embarrassment to the EU.

It is also noticeable that the EU managed to get all 26 EU states to agree the Brexit strategy in advance without a single hint of a leak to the press. Now that is quite an achievement for those who like to take a swipe at the EU.

I an unabashedly a pro-EU even though I am not in favour of the democratic deficit with respect to the EU Commission - but remember, it is each EU government, mine and yours (if you are from an EU state) who engineered it that way so as to keep their own sovereign rights and be able to directly appoint commissioners.

No wars between EU countries in 60 years - that is a first in over a 1,000 years! Fantastic trade leverage providing great wealth generation. Yes, there is very uneven economic growth but this is because individual states have kept to themselves certain powers over the running of their own economies.

And there is an alternative that our British chums are about to experience. Good luck with that experiment - when you see just about every British person who can acquiring an Irish passport (including recently the former British Ambassador to Ireland!), you have to wonder whether they know something that you as a Brexiteer don't know.

9 hours ago, ezzra said:

 

And that should make it alrright? errr.... sorry for shooting you

mate, just as well I missed and didn't kill someone.....

The last time the discharge of a firearm on a road from a vehicle at another vehicle was discussed on this forum, the charge was only punishable by a fine of a few hundred baht and they let the perpetrator keep the firearm, assuming that he has the appropriate license. So even if he had been charged, he would still have got away with it.