MarkyM3

Nothing against Russians, met some good people, but the majority do not mix well in my experience and generally have few social graces. Plenty of anecdotal evidence on this forum and elsewhere would back that up imo. Also, it seems plenty of those who fled to Thailand still support their dictator-for-life's endeavours from afar while the poor are sent to the meat grinder in Ukraine. It wouldn't bother me if their expat population stays in Phuket and Pattaya, I don't go to either place. Btw, I am not in favour of farang ghettos dominated by any one nationality, including my own. But Westerners tend to mix better with each other, that's my experience. As for China, at one time I would have agreed they would become the world's dominant power but nowadays I think you're dead wrong. The economy and real estate sector is in a total mess and the demographics are not favourable. Deflation is about to set in, like the lost decades in Japan. The government, where power is concentrated in another dictator for life and his acolytes, seemingly have no business acumen at all and assume rebalancing their economy to high-value exports will just "happen". The youth unemployment figures are no longer published after going north of 20% - fact is, China has hordes of graduates and nowhere near enough decent jobs to offer, people didn't go to university to take low-paid factory jobs. If you want further evidence of the economic stagnation, the Hang Seng Index is around the same level it was 27 years ago....Hong Kong's role as a world financial centre is widely seen as doomed. Solution - pass an ill-defined National Security Law to stop anyone complaining. I (foolishly) invested in China and HK in the past and am well down so I do keep a close eye on what goes on. Xi's leadership has been a disaster. Covid lockdown for 3 years and suddenly abandoned when people could finally take no more. His policy. No surprise he was wheeled out recently when various US CEOs were visiting recently, asking them to invest in the country. It smacks of desperation. The reality is, overseas investors are fed up with the unpredictable investment environment and are looking to places like India. If you think an axis of China, Russia, North Korea and Iran is gonna take over from the Western nations, I honestly think you're totally deluded. Remember China is an export economy and relies on Western custom, like it or not. One reason they aren't selling weapons to Russia, they can't afford to be sanctioned. The West innovates, your axis rules by dictatorship, fear and censorship. I know which side most people will prefer to be on so no way will that succeed. We've even seen Chinese nationals trying to cross the border into the USA, sadly some dying in the process. Not seeing many going the other way are we?

I would focus your energy on trying to rustle up a 65k per month income....if you're near 50 and can't even do that how are you going to survive in Thailand. I wouldn't worry about my teeth btw - visited a great dentist in Bangkok in February and will be revisiting them in June when I'm next in town. I won't comment on your home country, safe to say you're not really in a position to be dissing your neighbours. 😄 Nor the "orcs" who still supply a lot of your gas which is funding their war chest.

Didn't realise Terry <deleted>wit was posting on AseanNow 😄

True and that was airbrushed over as well. As per Wikipedia (which of course is freely editable but other sources seem to be broadly comparable)..... "In July 2006, the Menachem Begin Heritage Center organized a conference to mark the 60th anniversary of the bombing. The conference was attended by past and future Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former members of Irgun.[47] A plaque commemorating the bombing was unveiled, stating "For reasons known only to the British, the hotel was not evacuated." The British Ambassador in Tel Aviv and the Consul-General in Jerusalem protested, saying "We do not think that it is right for an act of terrorism, which led to the loss of many lives, to be commemorated", and wrote to the Mayor of Jerusalem that such an act of terror could not be honoured, even if it was preceded by a warning. The British government also demanded the removal of the plaque, stating that the statement accusing the British of failing to evacuate the hotel was untrue and "did not absolve those who planted the bomb."[47][48] The plaque of the King David Hotel. The Hebrew version has an additional line saying that among the 92 people killed was an Irgun member shot dead. To prevent a diplomatic incident, and over the objections of Knesset member Reuven Rivlin (Likud), who raised the matter in the Knesset, changes were made in the plaque's text, though to a greater degree in English than the Hebrew version. The final English version says, "Warning phone calls has [sic] been made to the hotel, The Palestine Post and the French Consulate, urging the hotel's occupants to leave immediately. The hotel was not evacuated and after 25 minutes the bombs exploded. To the Irgun's regret, 92 persons were killed." The death toll given includes Avraham Abramovitz, the Irgun member who was shot during the attack and died later from his wounds, but only the Hebrew version of the sign makes that clear.[35] The Hebrew version has words which translate as "including an Irgun man who was killed in a shootout which happened there" (Hebrew: כולל איש האצ"ל שנהרג בחילופי יריות שהתנהלו במקום) at the end.[citation needed]

Israel now actively bombing aid convoys, the routes for which were agreed in advance with the IDF. The latest in a number of "mistakes". This one just happens to be more visible since foreigners are involved. I had plenty of sympathy for Israel when this conflict started. Not so much now with the reckless conduct of this war and the overall attitude evident to the Palestinian issue. The PM doesn't even believe in a 2 state solution, never has done and actively promotes illegal settlements aka stealing land. This war has turned into a huge own goal in the long-term and they've just radicalised the next generation of Palestinans. Hamas' leadership, sitting fat and happy in Qatar, got what they wanted here while the people on the ground suffer. And, for the record, I have no particular liking for the Arab countries in the region either or their agenda/religion. Strikes me there will never be a solution to this issue unless some compromise is reached on both sides, otherwise this will drag on for another hundred years. And Israel isn't always going to be able to rely on the US to bankroll it or justify reckless conduct. The cracks are already appearing with Biden refusing to veto the recent UN resolution and condemning the war conduct. A great pity they aren't more vocal.

Says the poster who can't even spell one sentence correctly LOL.

Indeed. The illegal settlement movement can't wait to move in and live by the sea. Screw whoever used to live there, they can <deleted> off cos the Bible says it's fine.

Spoken like a true National Socialist eh. Why not get rid of them all and finish the job? No wonder people have had enough of the extreme Zionist narrative pushed by Netanyahoo, the illegal settlement movement and the like who have played moderate Israel straight into Hamas' hands and ensured it's lost much of the initial sympathy for the initial atrocities. And...for the record....criticising Israel's foreign policy is not anti-Semitic. Utterly weak arguement.

Yep, a few years sleeping on the floor in a room of 50 people with one bog and fish head soup on the menu sounds good...and guessing you won't be availing yourself of the NHS and other public services in that s**thole should something serious crop up? As for the bloke, what a fcukwit. 45 years old and knocking out crap coke to eke out of a living in a rental room in Thailand is scraping the barrel. Great hair and pointing skills tho 🤪

They referred to Putin as the most rational statesman of our age in another thread, believe it or not...says it all!

Seems to be the elderly ones inhabiting this forum mainly, thankfully not representative of your average Aussie I met when living in the country 😄

Whingeing Aussies eh 😉

You need to work on your English comprehension and language skills. The poster you responded to never said you were Thai and the rest of it sounds like it's come (badly) from Google Translate..... Also, it's an interesting but somewhat bizarre leap to turn a thread about NZ "colonialists" behaving badly into a post about Chinese global supremacy. This is a Thailand-centric forum, not a China one. Are you a columnist for the China Daily by any chance?! You mentioned colonialism - would you acknowledge China is doing its best there with the Belt and Road initiative bankrupting economies like Sri Lanka and Laos? Or is it just "westerners" you object to? Perhaps you could also comment on why the Hang Seng Index is barely above its 1997 level and the real estate market has collapsed in China and HK. And why Chinese youth unemployment figures are no longer published after exceeding 20%. Hardly the sign of global economic domination. In the same time frame the US economy grew several hundred percent. I used to subscribe to the SCMP but it was full of rent-a-quote CCP shills like yourself taking over comments on every story. I can only assume things must be bad these days because they've been running a 85% discount subscription offer for over a month. 😄

My choice from LHR-BKK, EVA, is getting expensive. Business £3250 return and premium economy near £2k. The latter used to be around £950 pre-pandemic. However, changing planes isn't ideal if you want to sleep or keep journey times down and Thai Airways are sub-standard imo. No other direct options. I wouldn't use BA from Gatwick, since I'm near Heathrow, and BA long-haul doesn't have much of a reputation in any case. But agree it would be good to have some more point-to-point competition. Not sure why it has taken BA so long to get this route going again tbh, the last 2 winter seasons have been busy. Unless they sold/lost the slot.

You and the 8 people who left laughing emojis need a lobotomy. Wonder if you'd appreciate the same for your wives/gfs/daughters. Sick f**ks.

If they do choose freely they can forget about free choice thereafter. It will be a case of turkeys voting for Christmas. Look at what the National Security Law has done to Hong Kong. Here in the UK, we've seen people moving here from HK who have British Overseas Passports (i.e. born before 1997 handover). Many had good careers but were willing to take low grade jobs just to get away from HK. Sad stuff.

Anyone paying close attention to what's going on in China and HK now can't have helped notice the economy is slowly imploding. Stock markets have been mainly been in freefall over the last 3 years as the CCP tightens its grip and overseas investment evaporates and their foreign policy alienates the West. It's the Great Leap Backwards. What a waste. Hang Seng Index is at the same level as it was in 2007.... The Chinese army isn't geared up to fighting a war either and Xi knows the consequences of a prolonged engagement and more economic turmoil from sanctions could destabilise his grip. He will probably try and play the long game imo. He's President for life, remember. Someone mentioned the West depends on China. We do but they can be replaced. India along with contributions from Vietnam and other SE Asian countries are going to take their place over time imo. Already seeing Western manufactures beginning to look at reducing their footprint in China. There is no predictability on CCP policy - it's increasingly done on a whim. Look at yesterday - sudden announcement that they are looking at video game restrictions - Tencent (a huge tech company) plummets 12% in a day, NetEase down 28%.

I definitely feel the proposed income benchmark needs to take account of liquid assets like savings (property isn't liquid) in the qualification criteria where the person is retired. It should be be tweaked to do so, if it doesn't already. That way, most financially secure retirees would be able bring their wives to the UK. But retirees are hardly the focus of this new policy. It's come about because the UK has seen its population increase by 15%+ over the last 20 years. Last year's net migration figures of 750k have prompted action since it's not sustainable on a small island. Housing and infrastructure is creaking at the seams. The government of the last 10+ years was elected on a manifesto pledge of keeping net migration under 100k pa, something it's never met. Bear in mind the median income in the UK is just under 35k and the new 38k benchmark is being staggered over 2 years - 29k in 2024 and 38k in 2025. The idea is too add skilled people to the working population where a UK citizen can't be found to perform the work rather than allowing employers to suppress wages and use imported cheap labour.

The OP makes a point of it. Several different usernames over the years on this forum and much the same throughout. Was supposed to be going back to Canada but hasn't followed through unfortunately and still posting bait carp like this thread.

"On the death certificate" is the key phrase here. What was the average age of the people involved and what other conditions did they have? Saying "Hey, it's just 300+ UK Covid deaths per week" suggests they were directly due to that. Which isn't the case at all. As someone who primarily been living back in the UK over the past 2 years, aside from a 6 month period in Thailand last year, I can say that no-one gives 2 hoots about C19, public or media, save for the current public enquiry going on which will only benefit the lawyers involved. Masks are pretty much non-existent. People I hear from are talking more about how the lockdown has left future debt of over £400 billion due to the loss of economic activity, furlough schemes and C19 loans being abused - all of which will be paid back by future generations. Meanwhile, the delays in treatment for serious illnesses or missed diagnoses have probably killed a lot of people too - perhaps you can find a stat for that? The lockdowns also missed up kids' education and had adverse social effects on those without close immediate family networks, amongst other things. Interestingly, one of the most vocal critics of lockdown policies I know works as an NHS nurse, though it couldn't be voiced in public as they'd be shut down/sacked. At their hospital, significant hospital resources were set aside for C19 and were hardly getting used, overflowing beds never happened. Neil Ferguson and his 500k a week scaremongering using a carp computer model riddled with rubbish code has a lot to answer for. Meanwhile, lockdown critics - scientific (e.g. Great Barrington signatories) or otherwise - were ruthlessly shut down by the media - they got no air time whatsoever and were treated as quacks. "Won't Get Fooled Again"....

Median salary in UK is just under £35k. If you are doing a Family Visa then surely a retiree + spouse earnings should be able to meet the new qualifying figure of £38k with comfort? Bear in mind a FT minimum wage job is not far off £25k annualised. The UK has had a population increase of 10 million in the last 20 years, it's not sustainable. The net figure of 750k in 2022 has finally triggered some action but it's way too late in any case. No one asked for the boat people either and they are a fraction of the net migration figure. They aren't wanted here but France is keen to get rid as we all know and the government hasn't got a solution, the courts have overturned any solution thus far.

750k net migration in 2022, 10 million population increase since the Millenium. The country is bursting at the seams but you may not have noticed if you live in Thailand. How is that supposed to be sustainable? As for salary requirements, £38k is hardly a huge salary in the UK these days. Minimum wage is approaching £25k annualised. For a Family Visa with a pensioner and spouse income combined, surely that £38k figure should be achievable if the spouse is able to secure a job, even at minimum wage.

Nothing wrong with a Spam fritter or three! I always have a tin for that purpose in my cupboard. And...wtf does Biden have to do with price of Spam?!?!. The Trump v Biden obsessives on this forum are ridiculous at times, this is taking it to new heights lol

Ah Liverpool Lou operating in a parellel universe as ever. 16.7k posts of drivel lol. And I'm not surprised if you did agree with Gottfrid but you're on my ignore list so I wouldn't have seen it. I only read this comment since it was a direct reply to me. Jog on.

I understand exactly what I said, I'm a native English speaker. You were roundly condemned by everyone who read your comment, bar none, despite your half-hearted attempt at back-pedalling after the event. Go back and re-read the thread if you want.