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ballpoint

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Posts posted by ballpoint

    SURVEY: Do you want Trump to finish his first term?

    in World News

    Posted

    3 hours ago, bendejo said:

    Is it possible that if it truly hits the fan then Air Force One makes a visit to the boss in Moscow and returns without him? From there, where he lives in a splendid dacha, he encourages his loyalists in the USA to cause mischief....

    I thought the same thing when it was revealed that he had asked the Guggenheim for the loan of the melancholy Van Gogh painting "Landscape with snow".  He wants to get used to the view before defecting.  (And sell the painting when he gets there).  Next he'll be requesting a comic strip version of "The cherry orchard".

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    Why Thailand if Malaysia is so much easier and nicer

    in General Topics

    Posted

    Ah, Malaysia, the land of milk and honey.  Having previously lived, and worked closely with Malaysians of Chinese, Indian and Malay ethnicity, in KL, and some state capitals, and still a frequent visitor for work, my comments are:

     

    You are far more likely to be a victim of crime in KL than Bangkok.  No one, expat or Thai, In my office here has been mugged, suffered a home invasion or been victim of a snatch theft in Bangkok, yet in three years in KL, from our office alone, an attempt was made to grab a chain from my neck by a motorcycle rider in broad daylight, one person was robbed at knife point in KLCC park, a female employee and her family were beaten and robbed during a home invasion,  one guy had his phone snatched while texting outside the office, and another had his arm broken by a group of Malay youths at 19:00 in the KLCC area, who then stole his mobile phone.  I lived in an up market condo on the edge of KLCC park and we received regular warnings from the management, as over 10 residents had been victims of handbag snatch theft in the area.  

     

    Corruption is just as rife, if not more so.  The first thing a number of long term expats there asked me was "is corruption in Thailand as bad as it is here?"  One English employee had his car stolen (more crime) and the police wouldn't issue a statement for his insurance claim until a fair whack of money exchanged hands.

     

    Dual pricing is even worse than it is here.  At least in Thailand most places will give Thai price if you show a drivers license, but for the attractions in KL, including KL Tower, the KLCC acquarium and the zoo, you need to either show a Malaysian national ID card (MyKad) or pay the inflated price, no matter how much tax you pay in the country, or wave your iPass about.

     

    Racism is not only tolerated, it is government policy.

     

    The whole place has a seething undercurrent of racial tension, which will one day kick off.  My closest co-worker, of Chinese origin but third generation Malaysian, was frequently told to go home by Malays, which is quite ironic since many of their own families came across from Sumatra during the colonial days, probably more recently than his, as he goes a long way back.  There are racial events that are not reported by the government controlled media, and a number of seditious websites that play a cat and mouse game with the government, who block them only to have them pop up again under new names.  Some of the content is quite disturbing, and that's just the ones in English.  According to my co-worker, the ones in Chinese are far more so.

     

    And the taxis are crap. 

     

    Don't get me wrong, Thailand is very far from perfect, but, on the whole, I like it.  Should I ever start to dislike it I will leave (but definitely not to Malaysia), and, just as I don't go on Malaysia based forums bashing the place, I certainly wouldn't return to Thai Visa and bash Thailand, like some sad individuals do, if I should ever decide to leave here.  And before someone argues that I am bashing Malaysia here, this is not a Malaysian forum, and I am following the topic, by explaining why I live in Thailand and not Malaysia.  I couldn't care less what expats in Malaysia are saying about the place, and Thailand, and wouldn't care less about what expats in Thailand say about the place should I ever leave here.  (And don't get me started on Singapore!)

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    Channel One apologizes Pheu Thai party over logo

    in Thailand News

    Posted

    1 hour ago, robblok said:

    Your right, but it really is how they all do it.. once in power they think they can threaten everyone only do things their way and they will be as arrogant as Prawit and the watches. I remember YL and the rice program.. saying there was no corruption no fake G2G and she done her own investigation. Also they threatened everyone who tried to talk about this a senior official almost lost his job. So the PTP does the same things the junta does and I am sure the Democrats are not much better.

     

    The moment anyone here is in power they put their people in the right places to make sure nobody can comment on what they do and bully the rest. I have given up on Thai politics until a real non corrupt party emerges.. but I think I wont see it in my lifetime. Its amazing how people change here once they are in power. 

    I agree with you, but is that so different to how most "people's revolutions" ever end up?  Overthrow the fatcat, corrupt elite and replace them with the skinny cat revolution leader, who very quickly grows fat and corrupt.  Some of the little folk die in the revolution, some of the little folk are jailed, but nothing changes for most of them.  I'd also add that any serious attempt to rectify the situation by a genuine protest movement here is quicky hijacked by one or other of the sides.  When the protests against Thaksin first took place they began as real grievances by real people, but the PAD rapidly took them over.  Similary, the original protests against Abhisit were absorbed, and then controlled by the redshirts, and the ones against Yingluck, which started out as a genuinely spontaneous show of dis-satisfaction by Bangkok residents, were mugged by Suthep and his self serving band.  No doubt, had the walk to Khon Kaen protest really kicked off, we would have seen Jatuporn et-al pushing their way to the front and taking over.   

     

    The one thing that both sides fear more than the other is a real democracy movement gaining momentum and sidelining their own unelected leaderships and agendas, which rather makes a mockery of any claims that either has the moral high ground.

    Do you think Trump will be impeached or forced to resign?

    in World News

    Posted

    On 1/25/2018 at 1:28 AM, Jingthing said:

    The "malignant normality" of trump being trump.

     

     

    Trump is very normal.  He's the normalist person in the world.  Far more normal than people realise.   And that normality is very very stable.  He has the best brains, which also appear to be orange too.  He is a huge success.  He's managed to stay in power for one year, which is only 3 years less than the next lowest tenure of any recent president.  And he's medically still alive.  And very very normal.  And sane to boot!

    11 billion pieces of plastic bringing disease from Thailand to Great Barrier Reef

    in World News

    Posted

    11 minutes ago, quadperfect said:

    They do forensics on the plastics. That tells what country produced it. Probobly all 11 billion of them are from thailand. The other 50 billion come from the other countrys you mention. But this article is about thailands plastic.

    And let me tell you first hand. The plastic on the west coast of phuket just off shore is a force to be recond with.

     

     

    The article is not about Thailand's plastic, but well done for the Thai bashing post of the day.

    Trump in 'excellent health,' White House doctor says after exam

    in World News

    Posted

    8 minutes ago, Credo said:

    Again with the misinformation.   Do you remember when he was on his first trip to Europe as President and all the other leaders walked and he took a golf cart?   And the government has had to spend $150,000 on golf cart rentals for him:

     

    Trump Golf Trips Have Cost Nearly $150,000 in Cart Rentals for Secret Service

    http://www.newsweek.com/trump-golf-trips-have-cost-nearly-150000-cart-rentals-secret-service-727933

     

     

    So, he could have saved the country $150,000 by walking around a golf course.  Not only that, he goes to his own resorts and charges the secret service to stay there as well as to rent the carts.  Even if this is legal, which some are questioning, there is so much wrong with it ethically.

     

    "The Secret Service reportedly paid Mar-a-Lago more than $63,000 over a few months for hotel costs ranging from $1,300 to $11,050".

    Trump says 'I'm not a racist,' willing to reach deal on DACA

    in World News

    Posted

    Putting aside the question as to whether it is diplomatic for any world leader to be publically calling a sovereign nation, or an entire continent, a "shithole", we're still left with the fact that he lumps all citizens of these nations as being "shithole" people.  He didn't say "we're open to good people from all nations, no matter what state those nations are in, and similarly will keep out the bad, irrespective of their nationality", he actually said he doesn't want anyone from a "shithole" country, and made it clear just what he meant.  "Bad" = black nation, "good" = white European nation.  Add his remarks following Charlottesville, the whole "Birther" issue, the statement that Mexican immigrants are rapists, and the lawsuit against Trump Property for racist housing policies, and the evidence would suggest that he is (yet again) lying when he says he's not a racist.

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