spidermike007

The really dirty little secret here is that the Palestinians seem to be despised throughout the Arab world. How many Arab countries have offered them sanctuary or territory? Yet, they always use the attacks against them as a rallying cry.

And I know very few who are.

No, you cannot question him. We know he is corrupt but we all are. However, we are above the law and we are above nearly everyone in Thailand. The army appointed senators are weak, pathetic, cowardly, self entitled hooligans, who are accustomed to a perch atop the ivory tower, scared to death of being taken down a notch, and being asked to be accountable for their heinous and unforgivable actions. Of course they will resort to whatever dirty tactics they can. That is who and what they are. Filth. They are the deplorables. These lowlifes have been bullying the Thai people for many years now. Guess they never expected the favor to be returned. They all assume they are "above it all". Mightier than the masses. Too rich to touch. Well, perhaps things are about to change. Perhaps your lives are about to take a turn for the worse, and you and your families are going to be subject to intense harassment for the cowardly and highly dishonorable positions you accepted. After all, the fortune comes at some cost, right? Even their kids benefit from the fortunes their parents make off their illicit jobs. They are treated special due to their parents positions. They need to know that their parents are monsters. We must stop coddling the kids. Life can and should be ugly for those entire gangster families. Mothers, fathers, cousins, siblings and kids.

It is likely this happened. The Brits would not make this up and denial is the M.O. of the CCP. The Chinese ships and subs are likely poorly made. Thankfully the Chinese navy is incapable of traveling more than 1,500 km., in ideal conditions. Likely more like 600 km. in war conditions. And they have very few deep sea ports. Their navy is a threat only to their smaller neighbors. Thai naval forces have not operated submarines for over 60 years now, while neighboring countries, particularly those with a major dispute at sea with Thailand, such as Vietnam, are all equipped with modern submarines. Looks like they are willing to take a huge risk with the treasury. Why were they so timid with Covid? This government is a whirlpool of conflicting loyalties and interests. It's leader has to manage those interests, and effectively buy the loyalties of the various parts of the armed forces. The submarines are the price he has to pay for the navy supporting him. They will end up unusable and unaffordable, as did the aircraft carrier. There is no strategic justification for the submarines. There is really no military threat to Thailand, none of the countries with which it shares a land border have the capacity for anything other than the occasional cross border firefight. If you look carefully at all the military procurement of recent years, they are all to support ambitions, and thus buy the support of the various rival groups within the armed forces. They simply do not add up to any sort of a coherent modernisation or re-equipment of what remains a largely obsolete, immobile and under trained force, able only to undertake the most mundane of garrison duties, whilst it's bloated leadership occupies itself with playing politics or their own largely unregulated business ventures. The government however (or more realistically those to whom it reports) must rely upon the military to keep it in power. It was put into power for one core function; to prevent the nascent political, social and economic liberalisation of Thai society which arose with the arrival of new technologies and communications, which have allowed a (younger) population which has long been kept ill educated and dependent for any advancement on its elders and sponsors, to communicate, educate themselves and develop business independent of those elders and sponsors. The Covid crisis was in a dimension beyond that, and it's timid, chaotic "rabbit in the headlights" response to the challenges it brought were simply because it did not know how to react, other than to use some of the opportunities to exercise power, in pursuit of that core function, which the social and political restrictions they argue the disease has necessitated, and granted them.

You don't make up a story like this, it's likely that it happened just as she said and it's likely that the guy who did it is friends with the police. The police on Samui are some of the worst in Thailand, nearly all police in Thailand are corrupt but Samui is the leader of the pack when it comes to a near complete total avoidance of any sort of law enforcement. Kudos to the mother for pushing this thing, embarrass them to no end, and shame them to no end, it's the only way to get the attention of the Thai officials.

Just admit it. The taxi mafias are more powerful than the police and they always have been above the law. I never use a tuk tuk. They are always overpriced and unreasonable to negotiate with. They tend to look for naive tourists.

The problem with this proposed tax, is that like anything that comes from the sorry, and incapable central government, it is clear as mud. If they made a simple statement that clarified the new tax will only apply to those who are already taxpayers in Thailand, for example, it would help your friend and many others to plan. I believe this will be the case, anyway.

If Israel does that, it would be tantamount to declaring war on the entire Arab world, and could be the beginning of the end of Israel as a nation. The extremists Netanyahu has allied himself with are destroying the country.

Nope. Wrong. It is likely only tax evasion if you are already a taxpayer in Thailand, which most of us are not. This thread reminds me of covid. Alot of fear, few facts and a bit of an over reaction to what might be a nothing burger. After all, Thailand cannot even police their own population, when it comes to taxes.

If you look at the curves birth rates are falling all over the world, except in Africa, the forlorn continent. Falling in China, Thailand, Japan, etc. Some are predicting China's population to fall to 650 million within 50 years, the crisis is that bad. I don't call it a crisis. I think it's a huge blessing. We report on China whose birth rate in the last year has fallen to the lowest level on record while American research shows more adults who do not already have children are saying they are unlikely to ever have them. Hooray!!! https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/the-51/20220121-global-decline-in-birth-rates-should-we-worry Japan's population is projected to fall from a peak of 128 million in 2017 to less than 53 million by the end of the century. Italy is expected to see an equally dramatic population crash from 61 million to 28 million over the same timeframe. They are two of 23 countries - which also include Spain, Portugal, Thailand and South Korea - expected to see their population more than halve. Hooray!!! https://www.bbc.com/news/health-53409521

It will likely have no impact on those of us who are not Thailand taxpayers.

A life without kids is a very good life indeed. The world does not need more kids at this time. I have done the planet a favor.

Another hazard for humanity is over population. There are 23 nations that have the highest birth rates. 22 are in Africa, all are Muslim. I have nothing against moderate Islamic people. But, many others need to get their act together. Am I allowed to say that? Why are some of the poorest people in the world having so many kids? In centuries past it was necessary, as many would not survive long, and they were needed on the farm. Does that still apply? Fortunately, many are predicting a decline in world population, as many people simply refuse to bring a kid into today's world. That is a very good thing. Lower population and lower economic growth is a huge benefit to mankind.

I consider social media to be the most destructive force in contemporary culture today. Children are growing up now in a world where they expect immediate response, gratification and notification. Their brains no longer have time to evolve; they must adapt to change in an instant, and the results are distressing. The difficulties of growing up have never been so public. Social technology provides a platform where things can run wild. Imagine the stress of high school – the competition for popularity, the pressure to fit in, the judgmental nature of social activities – at an accelerated pace. We try to protect our children from wandering off into the darkness on their own, and it turns out they are doing exactly that – online. When they get older and “ready,” we send them off to college, where they face more pressures. But social media has an infamous dark side and the more people share, the more serious this side becomes. As it turns out, living your life online has serious consequences for your self-esteem, your relationships, and your career prospects. And it is a strong indication of just how bent, warped and misguided contemporary culture and society is, that someone can be considered an idol or celebrity just because they have alot of followers on Tik tok, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

There is a such thing as the art of parenting, and it has become a lost art for 90% of the world's parents.

Very true. We are moving backwards as a species. How backward and unevolved we are surely makes the argument that we are not alone in the universe stronger. If earth humans are the apex, the universe is a huge, sorry mass of space. That is impossible.

I agree. But, blowback comes in many different forms. I am not condoning the extremists. I despise them. They are insects, not humans. And the religious garbage is just a disguise that allows them to behave very badly.

Where were you when this creep was running around getting guns and ammo? Being a neglectful parents who turns remorseful after your offspring commit an atrocity only goes so far. Perhaps the parents of serial killers should be sentenced too?

The Democrats are questioning the army. This one is going to go far. LOL. Don't they know the army is above the law?

AC sounds like Phuket these days. Older and larger!

Since the vast majority of us are not required to make a tax filing here, it would continue to go unseen. Perhaps only current taxpayers here will be affected.

I have a friend in AC, and he says the bar scene has fallen off the face of the earth. Mostly online now, from what I hear. Is this the case?

For me, it is like Tijuana meets the Bombay slums. So much poverty.

I see them by the side of the road, in the air conditioned roadside offices playing cards, and at accident scenes. And at the annoying and in effective roadblocks. Never, ever patrolling the highways, where they would be of benefit in regard to traffic safety.

“Israel has long attempted to silence findings of apartheid with targeted smear campaigns, and the international community allows itself to be cowed by these tactics. Until apartheid is dismantled there is no hope of protecting civilian lives, and no hope of justice for grieving families in Palestine and Israel.” Under apartheid, Israeli authorities control virtually every aspect of Palestinians’ lives and subject them to daily oppression and discrimination through territorial fragmentation and legal segregation. Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) are segregated into separate enclaves, with those living in the Gaza Strip isolated from the rest of the world through Israel’s illegal blockade, which has caused a humanitarian crisis and is a form of collective punishment. https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/israels-apartheid-against-palestinians-cruel-system-domination-and-crime-against-humanity-enar