We have heard the stories of pirates attacking cargo ships off the coast of Somalia, the question is why are they so successful in their attacks. Some common sense suggests merchant ships should be properly armed and willing to make toothpicks and shark bate of the attacking small boats. [Read more →]
Not too many people give much thought as to how banks are wired together. Many people think that if they want to transfer money from any two countries outside the United States it goes straight from bank to bank. The truth is all bank to bank transactions go through the United States first. [Read more →]
With all of the trouble in Thailand evolving around the fugitive Thaksin Shinawatra, many Thais who are friends or cronies of Thaksin have yet to discover a something that is very un-Thai. If you do something for Thaksin that brings harm to others, you may never be forgiven. [Read more →]
It can cause a rock in your stomach to suddenly appear when you stick your ATM card in a machine and it does not work. That is common when you have a balance lower than the smallest note the ATM dispenses, but when you have thousands of dollars in the account something is wrong. It is hard to say if this is related to the United States banking problem as a whole, but it does warrant your immediate attention. [Read more →]
It has not exactly been front page news, but the now open waters of the arctic that are a direct result of global warming are becoming a bit of a territory issue. If there is any sure fire thing that can lead to war, it is a dispute over real-estate. Planting a Russian flag in the sea bed at the north pole seems to say “MINE!” [Read more →]
As each day passes it becomes more and more obvious that we are on the threshold of major global changes. With crude oil in short supply, global warming taking it’s toll with extreme weather and a global food shortage, change is unavoidable. [Read more →]
Unfortunate as it was, Connecting the Dots was on target with predictions about global economic meltdown in June. Now 3+ months later part 2 of this series is outlining more of the same dire predictions. [Read more →]
As the world oil supply continues to dwindle, countries are taking a more aggressive posture to fight for the scraps. As the hunger for oil continues to grow, diplomacy will slowly give way to fighting. Brazil is one such country. [Read more →]
With talks of talks between Thailand’s ruling party, and the anti government protesters, the casual observer has to ask why the governments left hand is not doing the same as the right hand. On the same day talks were being floated in the media as a solution for the problem, announcements of self serving changes to the Constitution will commence as soon as the new cabinet is seated. With changes to the Constitution being a major flash point, at the very least it suggests insincerity on the part of the government. [Read more →]
What is going on in the United States economy and ultimately the global economy, the world has never seen before. When words like depression and economic collapse are coming from the mouths of government officials, a very sobering reality starts to become clear, and that reality is the crisis is tied to oil based energy costs. [Read more →]
It is generally expected that leaders of governments respect the courts and distance themselves from criminals. When one of the first orders of the new Prime Minister was to send someone to London to consult with Thai fugitive Thaksin Shinawatra about the lineup of ministers, it says the new Prime Minister is either inept or disrespectful of the Thai courts or even a little bit of both. [Read more →]
The thought no doubt going through many peoples minds is about trusting China. The recent and ongoing issue about tainted baby milk from China is just one in a long line of problems from China that has found it’s way to the rest of the world. [Read more →]
If you have been following the political turmoil in Thailand for any length of time you will find one common theme. The one thing that comes to the root of the problem is lack of education, and those who look to take advantage of the mass of lesser educated Thais for political gain. [Read more →]
It must be a bit embarrassing to be the second name in your introduction by others. Today the world is being introduced to Thailand’s newest Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s brother in law Somchai something or other. [Read more →]