BuckarooBanzai

Is it just me or am I missing something here. What are the actual tangible differences between Democrats and Republicans, I get that the Gays and welfare rent seekers vote Democrat and the religious right and gun owners vote Republican, as far as I can see that is about all that separates them.

Both are largely funded by bankers and large corporations, both prosecute wars of aggression with similar foreign policies, both run up the national debt, both have members who are considerably wealthy, both support the welfare state, both introduce icreasingly fascist legislation redicing citizems rights and ignore the Constitution.

So where are the big differences that actually gets anyone excited? Obama basically has delivered on none of his promises, change surely no one longer believes in, he even kept the same bankers running things as that fool Bush before him. Romney got rich stripping companies and firing staff, and spent the ensuing years dodging tax, another winner stepping up here. So what is it about all this that gets your partisan blood flowing, as I sure can't see any real difference.

Are you talking about the Reds and the Blues of the US or the Reds and the Yellows of Thailand. With all this political maneuvering I get confused. It boils down to the 1% against the 99%. This is a world wide phenomena and just scarey as hell. You need to closely examine the person and his/her motives to make a judgement. Trouble is most are not in a position to do so. I have no solutions to offer except those that can wade through the propaganda should clearly understand the consequences of their choices.

Here is a summary of Ryan's policies. Funnily enough they add up instead of being a tissue of lies, smallprint, ad-hominim attacks and the usual smears in lieu of substance, which sadly is all the left seem capable of.

http://www.newsmax.c...gn=widgetphase1

Newsmax asked vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan to provide his prescription for fixing the American economy and a defense of his proposed agenda, in light of the Obama's administration's refusal to address out-of-control entitlements. Here is his exclusive Newsmax Op-Ed.

Please consider the source:

"In March 2009, Forbes ran a feature on Newsmax describing it as a "media empire" and the "great right hope" of the Republican Party." "

In a January 2010 profile on the company, the Financial Times reported that the "Rise of Newsmax Defies the Media Trend" and said its website, Newsmax.com, is "one of the strongest conservative voices online"." http://en.wikipedia....wsmax_Media

Both the right and left can generate a great deal of biased misleading material. My post above about the extreme position of Ryan is an example of left wing clap trap that is equally suspect. If you make your judgements based on biased information I would expect that you could be "mislead" by those you hold in such high esteem. The reason I posted my left wing tid-bit was that it was an extreme example that a majority of the news I had been reading from many sources, including unbiased, was indicating that Ryan's position was far to the right. My post quote was clearly identified as from a biased source and the main reason I used it to express my point of Ryan's non-centrist dogma was that I liked the picture.

The "source" of the information was not Newsmax, it was Paul Ryan. Ryan wrote the op ed and Newsmax published it.

If you have problems with the content of the article you could detail your objections here, but don't kill the messenger.

Presentation is the key to any kind of propaganda and is generally controlled by the media. The question one should always ask is how was the information edited and by whom. Not to mention the consideration of speech writers. To consider anything is direct from the horses mouth is naive. And that certainly holds true for both the right and left. This is a case where actions speak louder than words. "propaganda is information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view or the the dissemination of such information."

Here is a summary of Ryan's policies. Funnily enough they add up instead of being a tissue of lies, smallprint, ad-hominim attacks and the usual smears in lieu of substance, which sadly is all the left seem capable of.

http://www.newsmax.c...gn=widgetphase1

Newsmax asked vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan to provide his prescription for fixing the American economy and a defense of his proposed agenda, in light of the Obama's administration's refusal to address out-of-control entitlements. Here is his exclusive Newsmax Op-Ed.

Please consider the source:

"In March 2009, Forbes ran a feature on Newsmax describing it as a "media empire" and the "great right hope" of the Republican Party." "

In a January 2010 profile on the company, the Financial Times reported that the "Rise of Newsmax Defies the Media Trend" and said its website, Newsmax.com, is "one of the strongest conservative voices online"." http://en.wikipedia....wsmax_Media

Both the right and left can generate a great deal of biased misleading material. My post above about the extreme position of Ryan is an example of left wing clap trap that is equally suspect. If you make your judgements based on biased information I would expect that you could be "mislead" by those you hold in such high esteem. The reason I posted my left wing tid-bit was that it was an extreme example that a majority of the news I had been reading from many sources, including unbiased, was indicating that Ryan's position was far to the right. My post quote was clearly identified as from a biased source and the main reason I used it to express my point of Ryan's non-centrist dogma was that I liked the picture.

If the following is indicative of things to come then the next couple of months are going to be interesting.

It would seem we need more centrists in our government instead of more polarization. I know there is a lot of literary license taken in the press but the majority of what I have been seeing seems to reflect the polarizing effect of Mitt's choice.

"Make no mistake. In his decision to make Paul Ryan, the zombie-eyed granny-starver from Wisconsin, his running mate, Romney finally surrendered the tattered remnants of his soul not only to the extreme base of his party, but also to extremist economic policies, and to an extremist view of the country he seeks to lead."

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/

I've never heard of this guy. What's his claim to fame? What are his policies like?

He Drove the WienermobileAs a teenager, Ryan, who comes from an established family of Wisconsonites and whose great-grandfather started a major construction firm, found a summer job driving the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile. It seems to have been just part of the newly-tapped veep candidate’s one-time responsibilities, but it’s about as genuine a slice of American as comes on four wheels. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/08/11/7-fun-facts-about-paul-ryan.html

Definitely recommend you find a helpful neighbor to play with your setup. Do you still have the instruction manual for your TV? Very easy to do adjustments if you enter "menu - setup - sound" etc. but if this is too much than find some help!

Who dug the hole that the US as well as the rest of the world now finds itself in. Seems to me to be the proponents of unregulated greed. I do not blame Obama for this.

The republican party needs to reinvent itself and the T Party is not the right direction to go, although Mitt seemed to support this group of extreme right wing uncompromisers during the preliminaries. We need to rediscover statesmanship and compromise in both parties.

The Bush years were catastrophic for the US as while we were preoccupied with terrorism we ignored the inner decay taking place in the US economy. And now we are paying for it.

IMHO Entrepreneurs are going to save this country and not the mega-rich with their funds safely tied up in overseas bank accounts. These oversea funds, I believe somewhere in the trillions, help no one except the King Midas's sitting on them.

If there are to be tax breaks give it to the entrepreneurs and not the mega-rich.

Mitt falls too squarely into the group of people with a particular mindset that caused the economic problems in the first place. As the separation gap of the wealthy from the middle class becomes more prominent and the living conditions of the middle class continue to decline one can only fear what lies down the road for the US and its peace and tranquility.

Although I fully support the maintenance of personal responsibilities such as working hard and keeping government out of ones personal life which has always been a hallmark of the Republican party my memory works for more then one presidential term at a time and it is quite easy to see which political party dropped the ball on this very depressed recession we now find ourselves in. Sorry Mitt and your new VP running mate, but I really do not think you stand a chance.Edit: added "and your new VP running mate" to keep on topic.

You can try an add on equalizer to adjust the various frequencies but another possibility is many modern TV's have an equalizer built in to their set up adjustments or at least they have pre-loaded filters for the sound. Specifically a "voice" setting will help to enhance the vocal portion of the soundtrack. If your TV is set up with these equalizer options play around and see if you can help resolve your problem.

I am looking for Thai language e-books on line if you have come across such a site in your internet searching. Will help to keep my wife content while we are out of Thailand.

Cheers

http://www.thaivisa....nguage-e-books/

I very much appreciate you reply.

What people fail to realize in all these judgmental posts about the US and visas etc. is the US is not ethically much different from Thailand. Sure, people have a much greater ease of living in the United States, but the key thing is that 99% live one life style and 1% lives like rich people with the ability to judge all others as they see fit. This phrasing was carefully crafted not to offend those who are offended easily. In the US they do not wear colored shirts but are adamant about the rights of "the people". The funny thing about Thailand is the 1% wear red, yellow, blue and any other color shirt they care to while the common folk sit there without a clear understanding of what this all means and go with one color shirt or another due to enticements. The US is giving T a fair reception just as it would those who arrived with any other color shirt with equal dominion. I have to close this as I keep thinking of the t-party which probably should be wearing some kind of colored shirt in the US but hate to think we have fallen that far. I know somebody is turning over in their grave.

If his next stop is Texas to meet with our US pre-esteemed ex-leader G.W. then T should really fire his itinerary manager. The two of them should buy an island and live their together with a perpetual mutual admiration society. And the rest of us can mark the island as radio active and mark it to be avoided at all costs for the next 1000 years in contrast to 1000 boats up the river. Edit - Made a mistake in my spelling. Many apologies.

It comes to mind that they can hire the T-Party to take care of any Tea service they may require.

If his next stop is Texas to meet with our US pre-esteemed ex-leader G.W. then T should really fire his itinerary manager. The two of them should buy an island and live their together with a perpetual mutual admiration society. And the rest of us can mark the island as radio active and mark it to be avoided at all costs for the next 1000 years in contrast to 1000 boats up the river. Edit - Made a mistake in my spelling. Many apologies.

It seems that the US rolled out the red face and not the red carpet. Those sneaky yanks.

Wonder what the gratuity each of the attendees gets from T for showing up. Could not have been much or more would have been there.

Really brings to mind the old adage the bigger they are the harder they fall. Anyone with even a degree of compassion can see how sad a sight this is. All will change though when he is back in Dubai.

Those who condemn the US for letting him in are really missing the impact through pictures that has resulted from his visit. It is not what I would call great press. One can only wonder why this itinerary was selected. The people with less than good things to say about the "visa" scandal should be thanking the US instead for the most prominent image of a fall from grace that I have seen to date.

You sure that is not a meeting of his South Korean security detail? I only count about 30 in attendance. According to all the facts on TV shows woman are always included on these security teams.

The governor has also urged people not to litter or dump any trash in canals or drains as they will be clogged up.Great effort by the governor in trying to stem the national pastime of littering. It's time for some major educational efforts from preschool on up on the negatives of littering.As for the adults who are beyond help some fines are in order and should be enforced with a vengeance. The transfer of all the cigarette police to country wide littering enforcement would be appropriate.Edit - formatting does not work.

Good discussion Docno and Ricardo. Good example of well mannered debate.

Thailand is the one who has acted in appropriately for their lack of respect for law and order, not the U.S.A.

How in the world can anyone or country including the U.S.A. have respect for Thailand and its powers to be,

when they do not even respect themselves, or

more appropriately, the powers to be have NO REGARD FOR THEIR OWN JUDICAL SYSTEM.

One cannot make chicken soup out of chicken feces!

Cases in point: Ez-bribe cards, letting convicted murderers go free on bail, and the list goes on and on and on and on infinitum.

While I agree with your sentiments I just wanted to point out to you that the article on the EZ-bribe was a satirical sketch by "Not The Nation". Sadly you still need to use cash for the bribery.This thread has been a catharsis for many TV posters as they get to bash both T and the US and sometimes even Thailand all at the sames time. It seems for some that bashing is their favorite past time in life and even better than a wet dream. But as all threads go this will eventually fade and they will focus their rancor on some other aspect of T or his sister or the reds or the yellows or the US or Thailand. Many of these people are very predictable.Wouldn't life be different if people used the power of positive thinking as a rule instead of the demoralizing and demeaning effects of negative thinking. Provides some insight into ones mental well being ie. "crabby old man syndrome". Hope T has a wonderful visit in the US and meets Montezuma at they upper class venue he is visiting in LA. See, only positive thoughts.

My point being when are we going to start bashing England for letting T in the door or isn't this as much fun as bashing the US?

why only bash England, its the UK, Britian or the United Kingdom and they pulled his visa when this all kicked off

From the Nation:

Fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrived in the United Kingdom on Friday night and would stay in that country for about a week, his spokesman said yesterday.

Noppadon Pattama, former foreign minister who also acts as Thaksin's legal adviser, said the fugitive former PM would travel to the UK more often although he would mostly live in the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

"He will travel more frequently between London and Dubai. He feels comfortable while in England. He has a house in London and the city is a centre of the world's news and information. He is likely to travel more often to England but he will mainly live in Dubai, where people can meet him more conveniently," he said.

Noppadon said Thaksin was also considering travelling to the United States to meet his Thai supporters there.

During the tenure of the previous government led by Thaksin's rivals the Democrat Party, the ex-premier's visa was revoked by the UK and he was denied entry by the American authorities. http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Thaksin-back-in-UK-eyeing-US-30180928.html

I was always under the impression London was in England but if you want to point the finger at the other countries in the UK for some bashing up to you. It appears his visa for the UK is intact.

For those that might not be aware:

Which countries have extradition treaties with Thailand?

Currently, the following countries have extradition treaties with Thailand: the US, the UK, Canada, China, Belgium, Philippines, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, South Korea, Bangladesh, Fiji, and Australia.

What makes offences extraditable?

Generally, offences which are considered by the country requesting extradition:

A crime punishable by death, or

A crime punishable by imprisonment of one year or more

My point being when are we going to start bashing England for letting T in the door or isn't this as much fun as bashing the US?

it depends really. i find chiang mai road here pretty straight forward, if its just about making trips to your hotel and various other attraction points a gps might alittle overkill. just briefly check out the map online before you head out

I enjoy exploring the Khmer ruins in the Northeast. These do not have big signs that say This way, Just ahead, Turn here, etc. To my mind the use of a GPS is far from overkill and in fact a necessity. I am adept at map reading but find the aid of a GPS unit similar to using a lighter instead of rubbing two sticks together.

Same Same

I am still wondering if the Korean body guards were from the North or the South of the peninsula. Can anyone enlighten me? It would seem better to hire local help but perhaps this is tied to one of the many connections and agendas.

I would guess they are South Korean. If you think it was hard for Thaksin to get a visa, you see what it's like for a North Korean.

If the North can make real "American" money it would seem they could make real "anywhere" passports or is this just an urban myth? My hope is that is a myth! But what if?