Name that country

[Hefe]

I would say Laos "yes", but not sure about Cambo or Albania.

[seven]

I would've thought Albania too , but its wrong( i checked).

One asian country is also wrong , to replaced by another asian country.

[Hefe]

Jeeezus, of course....... No Korea, Cuba, Laos, China & ..... Vietnam!  Sometimes the most obvious escapes us.  (And I'm not so sure I would've said China at first either since it is so changed this past generation.)

 

 

Here's another: Who is the richest monarch (or monarchy) in the world? 

[seven]

 

 

Here's another: Who is the richest monarch (or monarchy) in the world? 

Queen of UK?

[Hefe]

Nope.

[pacman]

Here's another: Who is the richest monarch (or monarchy) in the world? 

 

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia?

[Guest sustra]

someone with his face stamped on the notes to buy singha?

[Hefe]

Sustra got it. Surprised me but I've heard it from several sources with no Thai ties.  I wondered what the source of the fortune is based on: 

 

Last year Forbes estimated his net wealth in excess of $30 billion, beating oil-rich Brunei’s Sultan Bolkiah into second place. A gaggle of Gulf potentates and European royals round out our list. (His) top ranking is controversial in Thailand, to say the least. .... Royal courtiers insist that Forbes has it all wrong, that the billions on the balance sheet belong to the crown, not the man. ..Yes, they say, the monarchy is sitting on prime tracts of land in Bangkok and central Thailand.... In central Bangkok, (he) owns 3,320 acres; town and country holdings stretch to 13,200. ....... One prime site is CentralWorld, a shopping mall that was partly torched in 2010 red-shirt riots. Another is the nearby Four Seasons hotel. In total, the CPB says it has 40,000 rental contracts, of which 17,000 are in Bangkok.

Much easier to measure are the crown’s corporate jewels. The CPB holds a 23% stake in Siam Commercial Bank, one of Thailand’s largest with a market cap of $13 billion. It also owns 32% of Siam Cement Group, a $12.6 billion industrial conglomerate. Add those together and you have stock worth $7 billion. . (more facts & figures).....That’s why Forbes ranks him as the world’s richest monarch. ... His anointed successor, Crown Prince V*, will inherit the keys to the safe. In other words, it’s a family enterprise in which the assets are gifted to the next generation.

 

 

After I posted this I wondered how the Pope would rank since he is considered the prince of the church, but that isn't a family dynasty.

[JaiDee]

I would have thought the King of Bahrain?

 

  And yes, the 5 remaining commie countries are Laos, Vietnam, China, North Korea and Cuba.

 

  Albania was a holdout under Envar Hoxha but once he died I believed they moved to some sort of half-assed democracy but not really sure.     Nepal has a Maoist government and *could* be considered commies as well but for some reason doesn't show up on lists like this one;   http://geography.about.com/od/lists/tp/communistcountries.htm

 

      And yes,  Angel Falls in Venezuela is the highest waterfall in the world, I remember seeing that as a child in the old Guinness World Records books we got every year.

[williethepimp]

I would have thought the King of Bahrain?

 

  And yes, the 5 remaining commie countries are Laos, Vietnam, China, North Korea and Cuba.

 

  Albania was a holdout under Envar Hoxha but once he died I believed they moved to some sort of half-assed democracy but not really sure.     Nepal has a Maoist government and *could* be considered commies as well but for some reason doesn't show up on lists like this one;   http://geography.about.com/od/lists/tp/communistcountries.htm

 

      And yes,  Angel Falls in Venezuela is the highest waterfall in the world, I remember seeing that as a child in the old Guinness World Records books we got every year.

i think queen liz of the uk is the richest monarch.......in fact a lot of her wealth cannot be valued as its priceless(2,000 Old Masters) for a start......lots of priceless jewlry....and NO,it doesn't belong to "the crown" ,it belongs to Madge....

 

Yes the Angel falls,named after the man who first spotted them from the air mr Angel.....

[JaiDee]

i think queen liz of the uk is the richest monarch.......in fact a lot of her wealth cannot be valued as its priceless(2,000 Old Masters) for a start......lots of priceless jewlry....and NO,it doesn't belong to "the crown" ,it belongs to Madge....

 

Yes the Angel falls,named after the man who first spotted them from the air mr Angel.....

 

   I remember speaking to a British subject in Kathmandu one time, around the time when Kate and Wills were getting married. He was disgusted by all the pomp and circumstance and told me "The royals will be done away with in my lifetime'' [ he was about 35]. And he stuck to his guns, insisting they were a product of a bygone era and that most people in the U.K. wanted to make them a part of history.

 

I had never heard that before and still haven't since.  Are the Royals really on their way out?  And if so, what will happen to all that wealth?

[williethepimp]

   I remember speaking to a British subject in Kathmandu one time, around the time when Kate and Wills were getting married. He was disgusted by all the pomp and circumstance and told me "The royals will be done away with in my lifetime'' [ he was about 35]. And he stuck to his guns, insisting they were a product of a bygone era and that most people in the U.K. wanted to make them a part of history.

 

I had never heard that before and still haven't since.  Are the Royals really on their way out?  And if so, what will happen to all that wealth?

Hmmmm,good question,some of us (me included) would like to see them pensioned off....others love them....i actually think there is a North-South divide in the uk regarding even the monarchy...those in the South being much keener on them...There is also a huge coterie of hangers on,bureaucrats ,landed gentry and aristocracy,the rich and famous,business magnates etc who thrive on having a royalty.....

 

Personally ,i was more disgusted with Margaret Thatcher having a state funeral ,than anything the Royals do.....so the 35 yr old won't be seeing the dissolution of the monarchy imo....maybe his grandchildren will.

[seven]

   I remember speaking to a British subject in Kathmandu one time, around the time when Kate and Wills were getting married. He was disgusted by all the pomp and circumstance and told me "The royals will be done away with in my lifetime'' [ he was about 35]. And he stuck to his guns, insisting they were a product of a bygone era and that most people in the U.K. wanted to make them a part of history.

 

I had never heard that before and still haven't since.  Are the Royals really on their way out?  And if so, what will happen to all that wealth?

I really really hope so.

The french got it right some 200 years ago, while some countries kept these outdated leechers.

UK, scandinavia, Holland, Monaco. Like willie says, the support for them by the rich is strong so i don't think we will see them resign unless theres a revolution.

 

Re: richest monarchs. I don't think theres enough transparency of the royals and their assets, but my guess is old europe , like queen Elizabeth,  should hold at least 5 first spots on that list 

[SiamSam]

Time to dust off and oil the gullotine!

[JaiDee]

Which country hosted the 1936 WINTER Olympics?

 

   67 and P Dogg can not participate!

[SiamSam]

Germany

[seven]

Germany

Yup. The pro-nazi games in Berlin.

[SiamSam]

For Hitler, getting the 1936 Summer Olympic games and showing off his new Germany to the world was a big propaganda coup. He pulled out all stops and staged a world class event. What Putin did for Russia this past February with the 2014 Winter Olympic games was not dissimilar. They both desperately needed to show the world how great they were/are and cost was no object.

 

Hitler felt Germany had been humiliated  after the first world war and wanted to elevate Germany's status to greatness once again. He wanted the world to respect Germany once more. He also wanted to regain lost territory.

 

Putin feels the Soviet Union too was humiliated after the fall of communism. He also wants to elevate Russia's greatness and have the respect of the world that he felt the Soviet Union once enjoyed. And he desires to regain lost Soviet territory. Hitler started with the Sudentenland and moved on to Poland. The world stood by and let it happen. Putin started with Crimea and I suspect will move on to Ukraine. I hope the world does not stand by and watch again. 

 

These two guys are very similar. They are small little men with delusional egos. As such they can be reckless and dangerous. 

 

They say that people who do not know history are condemned to repeat it. I pray this is not the case. 

[JaiDee]

Germany is the answer! They hosted BOTH games in 1936.

 

We had that question at Quiz night recently.......

[JaiDee]

Here is a photo from the Lofoten Islands;  which are where?

 

 

 

[seven]

Norway. Beautiful scenery.

[SiamSam]

Norway. Beautiful scenery.

 

Yes, and a day when the sun actually came out. 

[Guest sustra]

which is the name of a possible twin planet of the earth just discoverd on the via Lactea where life could be possible???? ( and thousands of ladyboys never seen before could live? )

[JaiDee]

Norway. Beautiful scenery.

 

Norway is correct!

[williethepimp]

which is the name of a possible twin planet of the earth just discoverd on the via Lactea where life could be possible???? ( and thousands of ladyboys never seen before could live? )

keppler 186 or 168 .......named after the keppler telescope that discovered it...