Bob

Sorry, it doesn't add up to me for a whole lot of reasons. He's about 60 and worked in management for 35 years (hmmm...since he was maybe 25?) and he's totally broke? Makes no sense to me. And he's totally disabled? If so, he's entitled to social security disability (and that's not chickenfeed). And, of course, he expresses suicide thoughts which ought to provide some insight into his mental stability. Sounds like a twisted and sick political polemic to me. Everything is everybody else' fault (or, in reverse, he's not responsible at all for any part of the situation in which he allegedly finds himself (assuming any of it's true in the first place). I'm not buying.

It'd surely mean that if it said "co-pay" versus "coinsurance." I don't know what they exactly mean by coinsurance (unless it means that this particular policy will only cover 80% of diagnostic costs if the insured has other insurance coverage that might cover some of it). Hell if I know, perhaps time for a health insurance professional?

Yes, I do. But first we gotta find the irrefutable truth that they knowingly lied about it.

Just to be accurate, it's "farang" (or pretty close to that with a rolled "r" given it's difficult to use English letters to exactly transliterate most Thai) in the government-approved Bangkokian Thai. It's not "farang" to half of the country nor has it ever been.

I'd generally agree with that analysis. Given the education level GW attained, it's almost impossible to argue that he was intellectually stupid at least back when he was younger; however, he either has the innate analytical skills of a snail or drugs/booze truly damaged a lot of his brain cells. I believe he actually thought he was doing the right thing and had no clue that Cheney and Wolfowitz were leading him down the garden path. I don't think he even realizes it now (again, due to some unknown issue with how he thinks or can't think). As to war criminals or any type of criminal charges, it just isn't going to happen so no sense going there. If somebody came up with irrefutable proof that they intentionally lied to Congress about the wmd's, maybe; otherwise, not a chance.

I think the guy is almost insane and have somewhat followed him as early as 2001. Here's a Wikipedia article that generally outlines his history: Sondhi He's got an ego that seems to have no bounds and he's had more than one occasion where he liked Shinawatra and then didn't like him. In the 1990's, Shinawatra bought a bunch of the shares of Limongkul's multi-media company and they were the best of buddies (at the time, Limongkul was very rich with an estimated net asset value of about 600 million US). Then, for whatever reason (probably because he already made a huge profit), Shinawatra sold all of that interest [making several hundred million dollars (US) in the process and also causing Sondhi to lose some face - the sale being seen by him as Shinawatra saying he no longer trusted Sondhi]. Smart financial move by Shinawatra, though, as Sondhi went south (bankruptcy) when the 1997 crisis happened and, according to some reports, remained in bankruptcy until 2000. What's somewhat puzzling to me is how Sondhi somehow regained his wealth by about 2003 (rather puzzling at least to me). The second time Sondhi turned on Shinawatra was when the Shinawatra government caused the firing of Viroj Nualkhair, the then Governor of the Bank of Thailand, over some very dicey financial deals (some of which meant forgiving billions of baht of debt involving Sondhi's companies). You can read about this event in the Wikipedia article linked above but, since that event, Shinawatra has been Sondhi's public enemy #1 (less than 2 years after Sondhi publicly called Shinawatra the best Prime Minister that Thailand ever has had!). Following the coup, the army gave Sondhi use of its channels so Sondhi could continue his political talk show deal (where for years all he would do is rant against Shinawatra). They (the elite and military) tend to like what Sondhi says but even they seem to keep their distance (and I think that's because they also see he's a bit nutty). Sondhi does like to hear himself talk, that's for sure. Anyway, to me he's a disturbing figure that gets way too much attention and publicity than he deserves. In that regard, he reminds me of Sarah Palin.

In my personal view, it's allowed - especially by this group - because they represent by and large the views of the military and the elite. The temple issue is a new issue for PAD and one wonders why they have elected to use it to whip up some ill-advised nationalistic fervor; on the other hand, they previously used the "he's against the king" argument against all their other opponents in the past and, in a sense, that's a somewhat parallel and basically nationalistic tactic. The basic tenet of the yellowshirts is that they want the constitution amended to provide that 70% of the upper house be directly appointed versus elected. They take this position (I'd note that they've never really said who would appoint these MP's but it's a fair guess it would be appointment by the military and elite) because they flatly believe that the average Thai citizen is too ignorant to intelligently select a leader of the country (using the election of Shinawatra as a prime example). In a sense, the PAD reminds me of Fox News....you say something often enough ("fair and balanced news coverage" by Fox News and "People For Democracy" by PAD) and they actually believe with a straight face that people will actually believe it. Unfortunately, too many do (which might actually support the notion that people in general aren't the brightest bulbs on the planet). I continue to like and admire the Thai people but, with each passing year, I have more absolute disgust at the government, military, and elite who run this sorry nation. It seems they almost monthly go out of their way to try to prove that they don't even rank as a third-world country.

Ah, Rumsfeld, the man who (1) sometimes didn't know what he didn't know, (2) knew that what he knew wasn't all there was to know, and (3) pondered daily if he would knew he didn't know enough to realize what he didn't know. And, in the end, it turns out he only knew one thing: diddley (American slang for nothing or not much at all). Rumsfeld, Cheney, and Wolfowitz, the right-wing ilk that coaxed Bushie Jr. into the lovely Iraq expedition, the lovely resort at Guantanamo, etc.

Thanks Z, interesting area to consider. I've never played with currency futures but it does appear to me that the Chinese currency ought to appreciate against the US dollar a fair amount in the next 10 years (given the claims by the western governments that the Chinese currency is substantially undervalued and the apparent agreement of China to gradually let it appreciate). I'm not sure as yet how to play it and may end up not doing much of anything. In the past, I used to invest in some mutual funds (Matthews, for one) that specialized in companies in China, India, and other parts of Asia. Those did rather well and I luckily exited that scene before the big drop a couple of years ago. And I suspect they've done fairly well in the last year or so.

I understand your support of the government-approved Bangkokian Thai but that's not how it's pronounced in the north or northeast. I pronounce it here in Chiangmai just like almost all the Thais around these nether regions pronounce it and that's as "right" as I care to be. If that's considered being a hillbilly or whatever, I proudly join 30+ million other Thais. I'd note that it's been a while since I told the Kennedys how to correctly pronounce their "r's" either. It's "park" the car you boneheads, not "pahk" the car!

Here's the language directly from the Thai Customs Department website: Foreign Currency The travelers bringing foreign currency more than USD 20,000 or its equivalent into or out of Thailand are required to make a report to Customs. This report is required by the

Not sure I said it was easy and I really don't know all that much about wiring money out, having only done it in that direction (Thailand to the US) once. It was 3-4 years ago and it involved somewhat less than $20,000.00 (US value) and all I remember is I went to SCB with my US bank account information a couple of days before I went home, gave them some information and signed some forms, and the money was in my US account when I got home. Only time I've done it in that direction. On the other hand - as may be more typical - I've wired funds over to my SCB account many times and that's pretty easy. Usually $20,000.00 at a time (just a number I randomly selected, not because of any particular rule). I tend to send larger amounts less often because my US bank charges me $40.00 to do the transfer regardless of the amount.

Hmmmm.....Khun KT, I agree with you about the driving skills but I'm not quite on board that this relates to their view (as normal or abnormal let alone right or wrong) on corruption. Doesn't seem logically related to me. I used to think that the driving skills would improve if/when they instituted some form of reasonable drivers' education classes for those about to obtain a driving license. But, to be honest, some of the worst driving I see here (Chiangmai) seems to be by the older drivers and you'd think they'd gain some expertise by experience that they never received through any formal training. In the last 5 months, the only falang I've driven with up here has been Kuhn KT himself. It's rather fun to drive with him (he's a rather safe driver, folks) as it seems we get to almost simultaneously yell out "hey, look at what that moron is doing!" multiple times per trip.

Wow, that's gotta be fairly rare. Given your commments seem to indicate the funds were not involved in a real estate deal, could you give us an idea why all that money was brought here in the first place? (no problem if you don't wish to comment as it's none of our - or my - business in the first place).

Out of curiosity only, can you open in Hong Kong an account with Chinese yuan without any hassle and would you know what interest rates they pay? Given one can expect (hope?) that the yuan will appreciate to the US dollar about 5-6% a year, some interest on top of that might make it interesting. Also, do you know if there's any hassle or issue of wiring those funds back to the US or UK?

You've got the wrong number there (the number you mention only applies to exports of Thai currency). There's a difference under the Thai law about bringing currency in or out and there's a difference if you bring or take Thai baht or a foreign currency. For Thai baht, you have to declare if you're taking out more than 50,000 baht (why anybody would want to take that much Thai baht out is beyond me). If you want to take out more than 50,000 Thai baht, you need to declare it at customs before you leave. The Thai website (customs) lists no limit for the amount of Thai baht you can bring into Thailand so apparently you would have nothing to report on that occasion. For a foreign currency, you can bring in or take out any amount less than $20,000 (US dollar value - which currently means about 600,000 Thai baht) without declaring anything. If you want to bring in or take out more than that in a foreign currency (and I presume it's all foreign currencies lumped together in case you have more than one foreign currency), you need to declare it at customs. I've never had to report anything because I've never physically transported that large a sum of foreign currency in or out of Thailand - and it's difficult for me to understand why anybody would want to do it (it's unsafe to carry huge sums and it's much easier and no reporting is required by yourself if you simply wire the funds in or out). The Thai Customs websites does list some severe penalties (fines exceeding the currency amount and apparently some possible jail time). You'd have to be nuts to flaunt this law (nuts to carry $20,000+ on your person and nuts to risk losing even more than that).

I've kept this photo on my laptop for years (have no idea where I got it, somewhere off the net). I'd caption it "Hope Springs Eternal" or something like that..... Those summo guys are really huge.

The assistance I provided was minimal but it was done under the presumption that it was just a personal question versus something related to your personal commercial interests. Next time, please mention that up front.

TJ mentioned several months ago that, rather than publishing a whole new online report each week (or month....I forget), they were just going to keep adding new information for a while and then periodically do a whole new one. I understood there would not be a regular "new" report and that TJ wouldn't be posting regularly on the topic as he's done before. But, I'm sure TJ will see this sooner or later and let us know how badly I've got it wrong.

As an added note, you'll find a brand new nightclub named Infinity about 200 yards north of Tawan Daeng. It't somewhat like Warmup but a bit more upscale. It just opened at the end of December and appears to be doing quite well.

I would guess that Chiangmai probably celebrates the Chinese New Year more than other areas of Thailand, mostly due to its larger Chinese heretage. In any event, if you're around, you can join in the festivities tomorrow (or Saturday in between the Flower Festival Events) around Warorot Market (locally called Kad Luang market) next to the Ping River. There'll be a few dragons dancing around, a few firecrackers here and there, and a small stage with some activities (including, I've heard, some gymnasts from China). Wearing red clothing is welcomed (and isn't meant to express a political opininon!). Sawatdee Bpee Mai for the second time this year (you get a third one on April 15th).

The Thai writing on the first two signs says "bpat-saa-wa" and is simply the Thai word for urinal (not that you couldn't guess that from the drawing). Tawan Daeng, the music joint near me, also has a sign with a big X drawn over a revolver. Kind of a weird way to say "no guns" but it's maybe a reminder that things aren't always so calm and peaceful here in the Land of Smiles.

Based on that analysis, you just told a substantial number of the Thais up north they haven't a clue about their own language. Bangkokian Thai may be the official Thai government version of the language but it isn't all that often spoken up here. I went to trivia night last night at a British pub here in Chiangmai and sat with an Irish guy, a Welsh guy, and a guy from London. With my midwestern US language, I can assure you that none of us spoke the same language last night - or so it seemed. But I didn't bother telling them that they didn't have a clue about the English language.....

And you do hear quite a bit of regional differences. The southern guys will quite clearly say "krap" (sorta like the English word "crop") whereas more often than not you only hear "kap" (cop) up here in the north. I recently sat through several 1/2 hour conversational Thai sessions with a 23-year-old Shan guy named Dton who, with the assistance of a falang friend, is preparing to start a business teaching conversational Thai to falang. I agreed to act as the guinea pig to help Dton get comfortable in the role (although I have known him for year or more, he was initially extremely nervous taking on the role of teacher to a falang). What was a bit funny was the first time I said "cop" to him during these lessons. He gave me one of those looks saying "what are you, some kind of hillbilly?!?", admonished me, and made me say it the "correct" way. I laughed pretty hard the first time he did it but didn't tell him why (it was just somewhat ironic that this Shan kid hasn't even spoken Thai all that long and he is from the hills!) and I also intentionally failed to poke back back at him every time he said "tao Lai", "yaang Lai", etc. As long as you make yourself understood wherever you are in Thailand, it probably doesn't matter all that much how you exactly pronounce a given word as they'll typically understand you from the context. Yet, be careful at times with your tones. "Kee (with a low tone) motorsy" is to ride your motorbike whereas "kee (falling tone) motorsy" is saying shit your motorbike. It makes for some funny looks on occasion, especially from the Thai language teachers.

In the Thai language, when there are two Thai consonants together which normally aren't pronounced together, they often sneak in what one would call a 1/4 vowel with the short "a" sound. So, I'd bet a few baht that snake became "sa-nake" and "squirrel" became "sa-quirrel" or something close to that. As noted, we chuckle at their inability to say some normal western phrases, consonants, or vowels. But you ought to hear falang that absolutely butcher some of the Thai consonants and vowels. Now let's hear you say the word for "snake" (ngoo) in Thai!