Stray

Doesn't he have someone to take care of this trivial stuff for him?

When you grant yourself absolute power, no, you cannot trust anyone else. Regardless of how trivial it may appear.

Anyone else see the irony of opening up the program on this date?

No

Because it's on 'Civil Service Day'?

BANGKOK: -- PRIME Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha vowed yesterday that he was building democracy for the country - but said it would not be 100 per cent like democracy in Western countries.

So not democracy then.

correct like the man said not 100% but who wants that anyway ??

According to all the happiness/approval polls it will only be 3% of the population that will not be happy.

97% democracy for 97% of the population, 97% of the time.

The remaining 3% of the 'unhappy' populace can be imprisoned and have their attitudes adjusted, or be deported.

Some may just be happy they are not being shot at, beaten, assaulted, murdered and having grenades thrown at them for daring to protest about a criminal trying to subvert the legal parliamentary processes and grant himself, family and friends blanket amnesty to effectively put them above and beyond the law.

Some may be happy the protests and murderous attacks on them have been stopped.

Some are very unhappy that they've been removed from the gravy train they so enjoyed and maybe are a little worried they may be held accountable now.

Democracy would be great for Thailand and something completely new for the Thai people.

Are you talking about the situation in the south or Bangkok?

Some are unhappy that they've been removed from the gravy-train but the new hogs, who now have their snouts in trough, are extremely happy.

Just like the last coup, and the ones before that, the situation will not change. Only the faces of the people will.

BANGKOK: -- PRIME Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha vowed yesterday that he was building democracy for the country - but said it would not be 100 per cent like democracy in Western countries.

So not democracy then.

correct like the man said not 100% but who wants that anyway ??

According to all the happiness/approval polls it will only be 3% of the population that will not be happy.

97% democracy for 97% of the population, 97% of the time.

The remaining 3% of the 'unhappy' populace can be imprisoned and have their attitudes adjusted, or be deported.

Is this yet another one of those marketing tricks aimed at coaxing me into opening an account with FakeBook?

I went to a book store and purchased a paper map, a notepad and a pencil.

Now, before I want to travel somewhere, I simply check out the route on the map, jot down the relevant directions on the notepad (with the pencil) and away I go.

Have never had to shell out any money for expensive software or hardware and have never had to worry about flat batteries.

Interesting to note that the technology that has served us so well, for so long, is being so easily discarded.

"to attend the 3rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction."

Is it official? Or, should they rethink the wording in the article?

Errrr, Aussies are not generally aggressive people, especially when drunk.......

This must have been an exception.......

RIP, Sanya Khlueawaengmon.

Hope the man that killed you gets what he deserves.

Costas, read a few Australian newspapers and you'll see that this occurs frequently over there. That's even after they banned the possession of knives when out in public.

With cheap airfares comes the ability for the riff-raff to travel around the region (and the world) and transport their 'kulcha' with them.

Hong Kong? Sharjah? Dubai?

How could these places not make the top 10 for traffic snarls?

Sharjah and Dubai have a lot to answer for! Built in the middle of the desert but couldn't make a little room for more bitumen and public transport? Not like they had to cut down trees and upset the greenies. How hard would it have been to lay a little more black-top over some sand? Not like they were short of cash.

The Thai government tells the world that the US does not understand Thailand and the Thai people, but when they go out to meet a range of people who are not just government spokespersons the government gets all upset.

Thainess at it's best.

The US Government does not NEED to understand Thailand and the Thai People. It's NONE of their business to intervene not take sides. They don't do it for people of Thailand, they only do it or their own interests. They keep pushing their nose into sovereign countries' affairs never for the benefit of the local people but only for their own.

None of their attempts to "help" any nation has ever really helped the people. Most often it only made things much much worse

Reading your last sentence, the US stepping in to help Australia, during World War 2 didn't, as far as I'm aware, make things much, much worse for Australia.

But, according to your post, that's the only time that the US has done good?

im to busy to hang about with expats in bars, in fact i dont know were there are any bars were ive lived for the past 8 years,

i work offshore and when im home the last thing i want is to hang about with expats,

to busy with the pigs ducks chickens dogs pigeons budgies finches fish the veg garden the fruit trees and jobs i didnt get round to doing on my last rotation,

its a hard life being busy,,

did i mention playing with the kids and keeping the wife happy,,oooooooooops

I'm hearin' ya, pigeonjake!

Not to mention that I'm also a misanthrope so, when I'm off-hitch, the last thing I want to meet up with is people outside of my family.

How do single countries with 3 or 4 different time-zones cope with the so-called 'challenges' mentioned in the article?

For existing economic unions, how do they currently cope with such 'challenges'?

Hey, why not just introduce a global, single time-zone? Then we can all do away with trying to work out what time it is at different locations around the planet.

Why on earth, anyone would want to add to the enormous cat or dog population in Thailand is beyond me.

Why on earth anyone would want to throw their sperm around and add to the enormous unwanted people population in Thailand, is beyond me.

When we took our cat to Thailand, we didn't download or fill out any forms for the Thai authorities. The vet took care of the pet passport, vaccinations and whatever else was required from a 'health' perspective. The airline (Thai Airways) took care of the transportation documents and all other paperwork.

When we arrived in BKK, we fronted the appropriate counter, let them look at our cat, showed the pet passport, filled out a form, paid a fee (don't recall the cost but it was minimal) and we were on our way.

Things have since changed but our cat travelled in her cage in business class. She was put in the overhead locker during take-off and landing but sat on the arm-rests, between us (within her cage) during the flight.

So they are going to copy the Singapore system

This idea has been brought up many times since the late '90's.

Ah, dreams of Singapore. The group of HCM government officials that arrived back from a trip to Singapore and demanded zebra strips be painted on roads all over the city. For many years the stripes held no purpose until only recently. If a pedestrian gets hit by a vehicle, at the stripes, the vehicle is at fault. If the pedestrian gets hit by a vehicle, somewhere else, the pedestrian is at fault.

Never mind. They won't need to implement the restrictions on personal vehicles as the new metro is going to solve all of the traffic problems. Just like the old Star Bus system did . . . NOT!

Or how about the bans on cyclos, three-wheelers, market stall trolleys, pavement seating . . . ???

Oh no! Not global warming!

Got so cold, last night, I had to turn off the air-conditioning . . .

Someone is twisting the facts here. He was a lone criminal from Iran had nothing to do with IS or terrorism.

It was simply a hostage situation. Apparently the police who were patient at first lost patience so they executed him along with two hostages.

While the incident is being fully investigated and there is yet to be a conclusive statement, initial reports suggest that the police did not lose patience. They reacted to a situation which arose within the cafe, at that time.

As can been seen in the ABC News 24 footage, flashes of light can be seen within the cafe (alleged gunfire) prior to the reaction by the police.

While it is merely speculation, it would suggest that the gunman had started shooting the hostages prior to the entry by the police.

Full details will be released following a full investigation of the incident.

Half your age, plus 7.

The cost of the feed stock may have reduced, but the cost of refining hasn't decreased, the crude price is only a small component of the overall cost of the refined product, if crude price drops 20% this doesn't translate into a 20% reduction at the pumps, further most petroleum products are bought on a forward contract type basis at a negotiated price, therefore over the short term decreases in crude price will not have real affect on the pump price, until the new contracts are negotiated

BTW the "oil price" is not set by the Thai government

The oil price ain't but they certainly fiddle with the price of petrol at the pump, which is what it's all about.

"if crude price drops 20% this doesn't translate into a 20% reduction at the pumps,"

Well it should even out over time once old stocks have cleared, unless refining a cheaper barrel somehow magically becomes non-linearly more expensive. I get the forward contracts concept, but it's all BS at the end of the day... you just watch how fast those contracts are spent once the price rises! The whole oil business is bonkers, from the overpaid people pulling it up out the ground who pick a spot and stand around all day, to the grubby oil bosses and the governments that fiddle the figures and tax the pump to the hilt. The world will be a better place once it's all gone and we're forced to draw our energy from appropriate sources.

You really don't know much about rig pigs and oil trash, do you daveAustin?

Try spending long periods of time away from family and loved ones. Often in countries that are less than safe, no holidays, no sick leave, no days off during your hitch. Working 12+ hour tours, every day of your hitch and, even when you are off-tour, you may be called to hit the deck. Sometimes, no contact with anyone beyond the confines of the rig (particularly during rig moves). You believe the people who choose to do that should not be properly remunerated for the hardships.

As far as standing around all day, you really don't have a clue.

You, daveAustin, are an ignorant buffoon!!!

Here in the sticks. . .

The original 'shop' was opened in the spare front room of their house. No frills and no airconditioning. Since that time, several additional bamboo structures have been built around the front of the shop which now house eating and drinking areas. These were built from the profits of the shop, not from a hand in anyone's pocket.

This, to me, is a success story and I wish you and your family every luck in pursuing your own goals. It's not easy but, if you are doing something for a living that you are enjoying and not answering to a boss, can it really be considered working?

This is great, and I have no doubt that this "business model" works, it does for most Thai businesses. However you did say and I quote "The original 'shop' was opened in the spare front room of their house."

Which meas there was no electricity, water or rent costs, was this factored in? The OP said they were going to rent a shop, this is a BIG cut into the overheads, and is not visible so, would it have worked with a potential extra 30% overhead or was the profit because the overheads were kept to a minimum and probably "subsidised"?

The original shop is still being run from the spare front room of the house. The shop pays the electricity bill for the entire household (1200B/month).

There are no water costs as there is no running water in this area (in the sticks). Water is pumped from a wells on the property.

There are no rental costs as their previous farming successes meant that they could purchase land and build a house. The shop is their next venture and, from what I see and hear, it is doing very well.

The only 'subsidy' was the outlay of 25 000B, by the girl's husband, to purchase the original stock. All additional items (shelving etc.) have been purchased gradually as money (profit) from the business permitted. Refridgerators and freezers have been supplied by companies that wish to sell their merchandise in her shop. It has gotten to the point where some suppliers are even giving free samples and merchandise to the shop to see how it will sell in this area.

Getting back to the OP, this is a success story I see in the countryside and some ideas on how a Thai and foreigner are making it work. Rather than ending in tears, the girl is happy as she has her own business to keep her busy, make a living and make her happy. Hubby is happy as he is not financially supporting a girl who is doing nothing, as is a very common thing in this part of the world.

there are costs involved in running every business. Perhaps you just dont want to acknowledge them as it takes away from your sucess story.

If a girl can use her house to incremntally increase revenue to the family- thats great. But it doesnt mean she is legitimately running a sucessful business.

If familly ran a profitable farming operation. Why are they now selling peanuts and cold beer? i smell fe c e s somewhere?

The family are still running a successful farming business and are in the process of buying more land for other family members to expand on it.

The shop is the girl's business and would not have gone ahead if the money was not readily available. The fact that the girls husband pitched in with the initial stock purchase only made the business open earlier than intended.

But, getting back to what creates and maintains a successful business. They have done their homework on what would work in this area. They have started small on the money they had available to them, at the time. They are expanding as they can, when they can with money earned, not loans.

Is the business making money? Yes. Is the business supporting those involved? Yes. Can the business expand under it's own merit without further cash input? Yes. Are there any savings made from profits? Yes.

All successful businesses have to start somewhere. Just because they don't have a franchise on every corner and an outlet in every shopping mall, does not mean that it is not successful.

This, to me, is a success story and I wish you and your family every luck in pursuing your own goals. It's not easy but, if you are doing something for a living that you are enjoying and not answering to a boss, can it really be considered working?

its not fair to compare an operation conducted from a familys home.

you have to judge success as if the business were paying for rent,etc. otherwise its just delusion.

Why is that so choochoo?

The family have already worked hard (rice, rubber, tapioca and sugar) in order to purchase land and build a house. The fact that they have done that already shows that they can build a successful business, from scratch. They were renting their first property and eventually purchased it. So, in your view, does that count?

But, I still need to know why the only way to judge a successful business is one that is run from a rental property?

Are you saying that all the people who own 'shop-houses' (those rows and rows of buildings that are springing up on the ourskirts of any large village and town) can not be considered as a successful business as some do not rent the premises?

I don't know anything about economics but can someone please ratify what choochoo is saying? I may be a little air-headed but I always thought the way to running a successful business was to get incoming high and outgoing low. A great way to get your outgoing low is to buy, and own, the premises.

Something that kills many businesses? Taking on too many loans when starting up and then trying to expand too quickly while still trying to pay off the principal.

Please don't lead me to believe that you are just bringing in skewed logic to perpetuate the belief system you hold when discussing the success of others.

Simply because that is not the ACTUAL cost of the business, you are combining electricity, water costs and (as the OP stated) rental costs as part of the business!!

That's great but it is not a true reflection of the ACTUAL cost of the business is. Electricity for runnin 4 refrigerators which becomes par of your monthly power bill is actually a business cost, therefore you are "subsidising" the business from your personal income. Go the other way, you have a sandwich shop and you eat for free, where did the money for the sandwich come from.

Tis is the problem, you may have more money at the end of the day but not as much as you think, at the end of the month you have to settle up, if you are "disguasing" it then you will NEVER know how much you are ACTUALLY making...

Let me make the assumption that you work for a living. Your wage/salary/remuneration pays for your costs of living (accommodation, food, entertainment, luxuries). What you have left, at the end of each month, is what you call savings.

Let's go to the little shop down the highway. At the end of each month, after all expenses are taken into consideration, the money left over is called profit. Now, as the shop is supporting the household expenses (electricitiy, in this case), the shop is subsidising the household so the shop's profit margin is lower than it would normally be. After expenses, the remaining profit from the shop is used to improve the shop, used for the usual costs of living and, what is left over, goes into savings.

So, no, there are no free sandwiches. If anyone wants a sandwich (the girl, her husband, her family, or a customer) they have to pay for it.

Their 'business model' is based on the fact that they are not borrowing money to purchase anything so they have no outstanding loans sucking the business dry. They are also not rushing into expanding the business until the business has produced enough money to support any expansion. That is why they estimate it will take them around 2 years to build the new shop premises.

The OP wanted to know if it was feasible to go ahead with his girl's idea to open a shop. Yes, it is feasible and these are some ideas they can take into consideration.

Now, going to choochoo's assumption, and the one that you followed up on, can a successful business only be judged on one that is run from a rental property? If the answer is yes, I'd like to take you guys up on a game of Monopoly any day.

A business can start out in a rental property but, a truly successful business, is the one that has advanced to the stage where it is buying the property.

Here in the sticks. . .

The original 'shop' was opened in the spare front room of their house. No frills and no airconditioning. Since that time, several additional bamboo structures have been built around the front of the shop which now house eating and drinking areas. These were built from the profits of the shop, not from a hand in anyone's pocket.

This, to me, is a success story and I wish you and your family every luck in pursuing your own goals. It's not easy but, if you are doing something for a living that you are enjoying and not answering to a boss, can it really be considered working?

This is great, and I have no doubt that this "business model" works, it does for most Thai businesses. However you did say and I quote "The original 'shop' was opened in the spare front room of their house."

Which meas there was no electricity, water or rent costs, was this factored in? The OP said they were going to rent a shop, this is a BIG cut into the overheads, and is not visible so, would it have worked with a potential extra 30% overhead or was the profit because the overheads were kept to a minimum and probably "subsidised"?

The original shop is still being run from the spare front room of the house. The shop pays the electricity bill for the entire household (1200B/month).

There are no water costs as there is no running water in this area (in the sticks). Water is pumped from a wells on the property.

There are no rental costs as their previous farming successes meant that they could purchase land and build a house. The shop is their next venture and, from what I see and hear, it is doing very well.

The only 'subsidy' was the outlay of 25 000B, by the girl's husband, to purchase the original stock. All additional items (shelving etc.) have been purchased gradually as money (profit) from the business permitted. Refridgerators and freezers have been supplied by companies that wish to sell their merchandise in her shop. It has gotten to the point where some suppliers are even giving free samples and merchandise to the shop to see how it will sell in this area.

Getting back to the OP, this is a success story I see in the countryside and some ideas on how a Thai and foreigner are making it work. Rather than ending in tears, the girl is happy as she has her own business to keep her busy, make a living and make her happy. Hubby is happy as he is not financially supporting a girl who is doing nothing, as is a very common thing in this part of the world.

What about monitoring the Thai criminals?? There are a little more of them around!!

For some unfathomable reason, you blokes persist in forgetting that you are "foreigners", and "tolerated", long-term guests in the "Kingdom" of THAILAND ; not the EuroZone or North America, where you actually have an entitlement , to a modicum of civil rights.

1. a person who is invited to visit someone's home or attend a particular social occasion.
2. a person staying at a hotel or guest house.
3. a small invertebrate that lives unharmed within an ants' nest.

I was never invited to Thailand so I'm not number 1.

I don't stay in a guest house or a hotel. Number 2 is off the list.

Oh no! I'm a small invertebrate, living in an ant's nest . . .

By your post, are you suggesting that non-Thais, living, residing, staying, holidaying (whatever) in the Kingdom do not have any civil rights, under Thai law?

Not even those of us who are working or, in some other way, contributing to and supporting the Thai system.

So the contract (which I assisted in drafting) and has been signed by myself and by all employees of my company, does not protect me or any other non-Thai?

In part, the contract states that no person will be discriminated against on the basis of race, gender, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, colour . . . etc. etc. etc. (Civil rights.) The contract includes disciplinary measures which can be enforced, including criminal action. (Which then goes over into the realm of political rights.)

So, back to my point, in your view, civil rights are not enforced for foreigners in Thailand? And this contract, including the disciplinary and criminal actions which can be taken, are unenforceable for the protection of non-Thais?

If this is in fact correct, many foreign companies will need to take this into consideration and reassess the committment and continued business ties within the Kingdom if basic civil rights do not apply to foreigners.

Can anyone with any knowledge please weigh into the discussion? I know it's getting way off topic so is there another thread where we can go with this topic of civil rights (and the use of the term 'guest')?