thaibook

In all countries with a constitutional monarchy (UK, Spain, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Thailand, Japan, etc) the monarch is head of state and a prime minister is either the leader of the party that won the election (the largest party) or is selected by mps and so is usually the head of the largest party in government. The system in countries with a non-executive president is the same. The prime minister in Germany, Austria, Italy, Russia, India etc are all the leaders fo the largest party. It is the exception - USA, China, France where people get to vote for someone pre-selected by the leading party or to chose an alternative if an oppositon is allowed.

Thank you. I have just ordered such a system.

When I was young, some 55 years ago, we lived on a soi off the road leading to the That Luang in Vientiane. There were very few foreigners around in those days. When my siblings or I walked through a village the local children would gather in groups, hide and then dance around us singing "farang dang boh" (not sure of the transliteration but basically foreigner with long nose) and then dash away. We were not put out. Just as the Meo were not put out when we called them that - in fact the invitation to their new year festivities in the mountains by HE Touby Lyfung and Mrs and General and Mrs Vang Pao, refers to the event as the new year of the Meos peoples. If you get upset, my recommendation is chai yen yen krap.

Is he allowed to make them sweat, or are forced marches also banned? What use of live amunition on exercises? And is competition allowed or are all grunts supposed to get killed at teh same time?

a you a Scottish adherent to the wee Krankie party?

Perhps others have said the same. Indeed, get over it. But then I think the same applies to a host of words that seem to upset the poor little things of today. Does anyone remember "Sticks and stones may hurt my bones, but words don't harm me"? I think we should use words according to their meaning and not be blackmailed by those with oversensitive natures. It is nto the speaker who gives offense - unless he wishes to, it is the hearer who takes offense. So use farang, fat, spastic, queer, primitive, idiot, moronic, slit-eyed, kraut, white, black, pink, common, working class, impotent, sexy, ugly, etc

Be careful if you use Twitter. An account of a literature professor was cancelled because his tweet included a quote from Shakespeare.

when you say "it may not look the best...", do you mean the filtration equipment or the water coming out? Is 50 gpd sufficient ? How large is your household? We are a couple. It would be in the kitchen for food preparation, cooking and drinking (me - my wife has her favourite bottled water) but my wife does a lot of cooking and washes all the shopping.

thank you Oxx, and the others who have answered.

super

I need to apply for my first extension of visa based on retirement. Do I need to make an appointment or can I simply turn up at Chaeng Wattana? The link provided by Oxx gives an option for retirement extension but all the dates are greyed out and say "no information".

No information on cost.

Lets face it, in Thailand there are anecdotes, stories, tall stories, lies, damn lies and statistics. The statistics use data that either are at best only partially relevant to the topic, are collected in such a way as to ensure the outcome is as desired, or have been selected appropriately. In the past in France it was all about "cherchez la femme" (of course now in western Europe this is called rape) while in Thailand it is "where is the money" or "who loses face".

Thank you all. The key seems to be a good broadband wifi and a smart tv. So find out who provides good/the best wifi service to where I will live. Then sample TV offerings, not neglecting free or less popular offerings.

So there are five age groups each with approximately the same proportion of the eligible voters. All this academic has done is to provide a justification for academics and pollsters to ask for five times as much money as tehy will argue each age group needs to be polled and analysed separately because it is well known (and if you pay us we will find the evidence) that people vote according to their age.

but I expect I shall have to buy one to be able to watch using internet streaming or downloads

At the moment I do not have any TV

I am about to move into a condo in Pak Kret, Nonthaburi. In the past I have used the hotel or library wifi and a DTAC telephone wifi package. Now I will have an established base and may watch some TV and expect that my wife will wish to watch some. I am sadly deficient in knowledge of what is available and what is needed. what makes a bundles package worthwhile compared to an internet service and connecting directly to individual services? with a bundle does the there have to be a cable to the TV box or is it wireless between the router and the box?

EU member states and even Ukraine are of course speaking loudly and highlighting some actions while hiding others. Russian gas is still flowing through the Ukraine pipeline, earning Ukraine $7 billion a year and Russia more. Ukraine wants EU member states to stop imports of Russian oil and gas but it does not close the taps on the pipeline. The reason, other than it is earning money and funding the Russian war machine, is that there are alternatives. As if that is not always the case. EU member states have implemented a swathe of sanctions on Russian companies and individuals but they have been careful not to target any that are involved in nuclear energy. Why? Because they need them and collaborate with the m. Of course this is kept under wraps. GE bought the French turbine manufacturer some years ago and now wishes to sell it. The French government is putting together a consortium to buy the large turbines used in nuclear power palnts. Just a few weeks ago, well into the war, it invited the Russian turbine manufacturer to participate in a joint venture. Each time you hear a European policitician make a statement about Russia, see if substituting China would still make sense and if so consider what those same politicans and countries are saing and doin with regards China.

If it is national forest the title should be revoked, just as all Nor sor 3 kor titles should be revoked. No private use allowed. All animals on this land are fair game - chickens, cows, the lot. No new buildings, permanent or temporary, and existing buildings are free for all to use. No compensation but all who benefitted from such titles must do public penance.

What is the evidence? Prior to covid, Thailand was fiscally conservative with limited government borrowing and with a current account surplus. Hence one would expect as a general trend appreciation of the currency. Interest rate differences between it and its major trading partners can play a role as can domestic borrowng and liquidiity issues. Overall, I would say changes to the trend whether up or down are more determined by the trading partners' economies than Thai policies.

There is inflation but with growth of even 2%-3% I doubt it could be termed stagflation.

It is common in extremist cults for the annointed ones to exhort others to keep to the narrow path - with suitable penalties for failing to do so - while they are exempt. This is explicitly the case with socialism/communism where the perfect state is only reached after the dictatorship of the proletariat which as Lenin explains is a dictatorship by a group of Bourgeois over the proletariat until the latter have been inculcated with the right thoughts and behaviours.

Fining people for not eating is eco virtue signalling gone mad. Can they ban fat people or hingry people or poor people? How anbout people who use clean cutlery for each plate or "too many" paper napkins? Better approach is to charge a price per plate and then give a discount for all plates eaten more than x%. Same idea as in Texas where in some places if you finish the steak it is free.

The world has always been changing, as has climate and so the primary issues. Defending against vikings plundering western Europe, establishing the US navy to protect shipping from the predations of Algerian slave traders, Victorian zeal for providing education throughout the Empire and beyond. What has never changed is the need to be able to provide food and energy and to survive agression and subvertion.