bendejo

I'm impressed it took 4 messages to go in that direction.

If I never have to smell that damned cabbage soup again . . .

It never was discovered how he came to have such a load of $$$, was it? My guess he was pimping to those to whom money was no object. Also a little in the way of stock market tips and investment opportunities can change one's standard of living impressively, ask nearly any US senator. And then there is the laundry service . . .

Xi was sitting on the doorstep, waiting for Vlad to get back from Mariupol.

Thing is, he supposedly has a $25 million offer for a television show that is there for the taking, and show biz people keep making jokes about it. So if he jumped out of politics tomorrow he'd have a job. The Apprentice: Former President Edition or Real Lives of Florida Derelicts

Interesting way to live: go to a developing country to live in a squat. And hi-rise, so no snooping by those just passing by.

I would think that Xi brought his own food and drink, cups and dishes, and has people to handle these things. And is wearing gloves and avoiding all direct-skin contact.

Open warfare with the US would result in China loosing the US market, which would hurt their economy, and the US losing it's main source of cheap goods (bye-bye dollar stores). I suspect the EU would drastically cut trading ties. This would be good for cheap labor ASEAN countries. On the other hand it's said that China is heavily invested in US financial instruments, and if they sell off woe to the US economy. Thing about the Belt & Road is that it deals with the governments, and the from what I can make of it the citizens are unimpressed with the Chinese entrepreneurs who have their fingers in nearly every possible business. China does not have morality stipulations about how these countries treat their people, no sanctions for inhumane treatment of citizens etc. But it could get to the point where the citizens get fed up with their new colonialists and murder them in their beds, especially Africa. Colonialism 2.0. While passing through South Africa a few years back I read a newspaper article about a Chinese big shot who went into a township in his gold Mercedes to collect what was probably protection/extortion money. What ensued was, well, the article said was too heinous to print, but there was subtle language that gave the impression dismemberment was involved. And this was just a small article buried in the middle of the newspaper. Can't help but wonder how often these things happen.

Notice how he is so in alignment with DT: he doesn't pay his bills, he's too eager to go to court, he can't get enough attention, and hey, maybe he'll get himself arrested soon. And of course he now sees himself as a political figure in this country, and is already gloating over the attention he'll get for it. The most un-T____ thing he's done is pay all that money for company with no tangible assets -- at least DT has the sense to stick with real estate (for the most part). I'm waiting for someone to come up with a twitter knock-off. Send him back to Africa.

DT said the same thing, "going to zero" back then. A prediction borne of a meeting of great minds. Now that he is Lord High Panjandrum of twitter you could say he is a professional troll, forever trying to boost the site's numbers.

Another policeman freaking out -- what the hell?

So he says none of this happened, fake news etc. Then he tries to sue her for breech of contract. ????

IMO Insurrection 2.0 will involve firearms and other ordnance. I would question how the individuals in the various police forces and National Guard will handle this. I could also see people like Bannon and Flynn and others taking to live media encouraging the violence and being arrested, if their locations are known. “There won’t be a standoff at Mar-a-Lago with Secret Service and the Manhattan DA’s office,” Joe Tacopina said. When these guys bring up something not previously mentioned, like this, it usually means just the opposite. The word standoff (which I heard Tacopina say on television yesterday) brought to mind something that happened in a certain town in Texas around 30 years ago regarding another cult leader (for those unfamiliar, search "waco standoff 1993"), and then I learned: Trump gears up for 2024 rally in Waco, Texas amid ongoing federal investigation, possible NY indictment

Cohen says MAGA now means "Make an Attorney Get an Attorney." This is going to be a real spectacle: DT with his lawyers, and those lawyers with their own lawyers. So DT whispers something to his lawyer, who then has to consult with his own lawyer before he speaks to the judge. A satire of something that is a living satire turns into an absurdity vortex. I'm waiting to see how Secret Service protection to the indicted former president will be carried out -- will his protectors become his captors?

I'll believe it when I see it.

It has become the 7-11 of coffee shops, pretty much globally, like it or not. I tried a knock-off cafe in KL, payed app. US$4 for the same local coffee that costs 50 cents. In Luxor, Egypt I had a most impressive cup of coffee in (brace yourself!) McD's.

In 2008 when the world economy took a blow the guy who was behind Reagan's supply-side push admitted (somewhat) that it was his mistake. My interpretation of it, during the Reagan years, was that it was a "band-aid economy": the actions were not a cure, but a band-aid to hold it together for now, and when it falls off those responsible could say "me? I haven't worked with that stuff in years!" The bandage held for 25 years. They did a similar thing with AIDS: Ronny ordered a study, the results of which would not be released until he was out of office.

The folly here is she didn't prepare an answer for what she should have anticipated as a legit question.

The right-wing's propaganda apparatus is quite familiar with how to get the rank and file riled up. They are actually quite good at it. Recall people making statements like "I don't know much about Obamacare, but I know I hate it." The same person could say "hey, I like this Affordable Care Act, they should go with that and get rid of Obamacare." And then there is the distraction aspect: the GOP voters are caught in this woke stuff and LGBT threats against their children etc, meanwhile their own GOP politicians are busy taking away and dismantling what they have, even their ability to vote. Welcome to the conservative movement! The less you know the happier you will be.

You've answered your own question: the answer is an Eastern European gold digger. I would guess it's like the LOS bar girls who fantasize about landing a rich farang (we're all rich in here, right?) and when succeeding realizes she hates him.

I have long suspected that in Bkk there was a rule that every 7-11 must be within sight of at least one another 7-11. There's more than 5,000 in the area. 12,000 in all of LOS.

There really isn't an upside to giving people the impression you are wealthy. You'll attract potential scoundrels likes flies to doo-doo.

I had completely forgotten about this silliness until I saw a certain obnoxious Brit comedian on tv a few weeks ago. It sounds like this stuff is going to be the new go-to cure for any malady that may come along.

fool & money = F&M pronounced effenem

Hopefully they'll teach the Thais how to make cafe con leche Cuban style. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Café_con_leche