All I know is that in my place with about 50k residents in Croatia, there are currently 30 shops which buyout gold and silver. Two years ago there were maybe 1-2 and these new ones opened inside 3-6 months and they all give amazing rates and all brag about being discrete (no personal id required like before, in case it was stolen). My conspiracy radar is going way off and I can't help to think it is a state sponsored operation (China?). It's even worse in bigger cities, I see one every 300 yards, shit is hilarious.
Et tu, Silver?
- Thread starter lukep
- Start date
These are UP TO penalties written in the law. The courts in HK have discretion on sentencing and are actually quite lax. Possession is only a fine, even if you're caught with a lot.
There was a article in the South China Morning Post about a lawyer who got caught with a massive number of plants that he was growing, and he only received a $10k HKD fine (Around 1300 USD). In the US, he would be sitting in federal prison for a few years if he were raided by the DEA.
Since SCMP.com is behind a paywall, I'm just going to directly quote the article here.
http://www.scmp.com/article/719066/lawyer-fined-growing-cannabis
Although I don't have the article on hand, there was another expat who ran a grow op in Hong Kong and he also got away with a slap on wrist and no jail time.
Most 'we buy gold' places have always bought silver as well. Silver today is $14/oz less than its 3 year high of $48/oz and much lower than the adjusted high of $118/oz in 1980.
Back in 1979-1980 , newspapers & stores would actually publish the daily trade-in value of coins for their stores. Big 5 and other large stores in California were actively having 'silver Saturdays' and 'Silver Sundays' where a person could buy a TV , chair or other expensive household good in exchange for silver coins. In one newspaper clipping I found a while back, you could purchase a TV for *Only* $20 in silver coins (Compared to $500 or so in normal currency). Gold during this period was an adjusted $2230 per ounce as well.
So , this whole silver/gold mania is nothing new at all. I think it's quite likely we will see similar things set up in the future, however the average American does not hold silver coins like they did in the late 70s/early 80s.
As for LukeP - You're getting lack of law enforcement confused with freedom. In a free society, you can do what you want without ANY fear or reproduction from local law enforcement. By your own admission , much of what you're suggesting on here is illegal in Thailand, as it is in the US (Tax evasion for instance) but you feel that law enforcement is low.
By using these standards, I could say the US is free too , since I can pick out areas where law enforcement is very low. The problem is, if political winds blow (like they can nearly anywhere) you can easily wind up in jail for the rest of your life, all that needs to take place is enforcement of already existing laws.
Back in 1979-1980 , newspapers & stores would actually publish the daily trade-in value of coins for their stores. Big 5 and other large stores in California were actively having 'silver Saturdays' and 'Silver Sundays' where a person could buy a TV , chair or other expensive household good in exchange for silver coins. In one newspaper clipping I found a while back, you could purchase a TV for *Only* $20 in silver coins (Compared to $500 or so in normal currency). Gold during this period was an adjusted $2230 per ounce as well.
So , this whole silver/gold mania is nothing new at all. I think it's quite likely we will see similar things set up in the future, however the average American does not hold silver coins like they did in the late 70s/early 80s.
As for LukeP - You're getting lack of law enforcement confused with freedom. In a free society, you can do what you want without ANY fear or reproduction from local law enforcement. By your own admission , much of what you're suggesting on here is illegal in Thailand, as it is in the US (Tax evasion for instance) but you feel that law enforcement is low.
By using these standards, I could say the US is free too , since I can pick out areas where law enforcement is very low. The problem is, if political winds blow (like they can nearly anywhere) you can easily wind up in jail for the rest of your life, all that needs to take place is enforcement of already existing laws.
Semi automatic and fully automatic rifles are illegal in Thailand.
Shotguns, bolt actions & handguns require a law enforcement license. This consists of a bribe to local law enforcement for the permit.
All permit holders are entered into a government database so they can be tracked should confiscation be necessary.
Here's the legal jargon for pistol ownership :
For a civilian who wishes to obtain a possessing license, he/she has to be over 35 years old and possess a saving account more than 1 million Baht ($32,325)at least 6 months. In case an
applicant for a permit license owns a business or is a company manager, the registered capital must be at least 10 million Baht. In addition, this act states that any government officer who desires to carry government issued guns and ammunition out of the office in a non-emergency case has to ask for permission from the head of the agency, and must have the letter of permission at hand.
CCW does not exist in Thailand and is illegal except for armed guards. This requires a total of $323,250 in capital to obtain a permit.
Penalty for gun violations varies from 1 to 10 years.
In addition to this, the cost of actual firearms can range anywhere from 2 to 20 times what they would in the US.
You also forgot the law of every country, that when in court:
National > foreigner
This is doubly true if you don't speak the language or understand the culture. Even if you kill the perp, imagine his mom crying in court while holding babies telling people how hard she worked to educate him... meanwhile you are a 'millionaire unwelcome foreigner' who 'murdered' one of their own... possibly a distant relative or the relative of someone they know (most people in third world have very extended families/social networks)
This is also where HK shines. Hk's legal system is based on common law. Civil forfeiture is not allowed, so you have better private property protection than the US. Proceedings can be handled in English. Many of the Judges are colonial hangovers too.
All the benefits of the first world with none of the tax burden.
Sorry; there are countries with less prejudice. But none without it.
National > foreigner is in every court.
Thailand has advantages and disadvantages. Every place does. It is just a matter of your priorities and your situation.
Sorry you're wrong about this. I've had the opportunity to experience the HK judiciary as well as US Federal court, and California District Court.
There certainly is discrimination in the sense that if you can afford a private lawyer, you will have far better representation and access to justice than you would with a court appointed lawyer.
I don't get the need to judge people for wanting to live in Thailand. It is in many ways a lot more free than the west. You're correct that there isn't legal freedom in the same way as Hong Kong or even the US, but the practical fact of the matter is that your everyday life is much less complicated in Thailand. It's not for everyone, but it's certainly not a bad place to spend some time, particularly if you don't have a family yet. To each their own. I don't live in the US, so I don't even enjoy the relative capitalist advantages that Americans enjoy. I also live in a cold, socialist, feminist country, so there's even more advantage to moving out.
If I had more money, admittedly, I'd move to Bali or Hawaii.
But if you've never even been to Thailand, maybe you should hold back on critizing it.
If I had more money, admittedly, I'd move to Bali or Hawaii.
But if you've never even been to Thailand, maybe you should hold back on critizing it.
I knew this was going to happen to Lukep a couple months in when he was averaging 50 sanctimonious, illogical epistles a day. Reminds me of UnripeArbiter, another weirdo who thought he was WF's messiah until everyone realized how much of a loser he was and got sick of him.
Of course it's China. I thought this was common knowledge. They're sucking all the real wealth out of the United States before the crash hits. Go research all of these places, you'll find all of that real wealth(instead of worthless dollars) is going straight to China's coffers.
