impulse

Remind me, what was Trump's last year and Biden's first year? And what did Iran do with all their Bidenbucks? Oops. Here's my link: Iran Crude Oil: Exports, 1980 – 2024 | CEIC Data https://www.ceicdata.com

Back home, traffic violations are not considered crimes unless they lead to someone (or property) being injured. Helmet law violations are considered civil infractions, not crimes. There's a reason the cop in the OP apologized. He's in the soup for violating checkpoint policy.

I think that the police should adhere to their announced policies, including those related to checkpoints. If they don't, I wouldn't blame citizens for suspecting they're corrupt and up to no good. They do have a history of that... Which is why they created the checkpoint policies.

From the OP: The incident occurred near MBK Centre, where the traffic police allegedly did not establish a formal checkpoint. Instead, they acted upon spotting the passenger without a helmet, leading to a chase and subsequent fall. The officer did summon medical aid and apologised, but the family seeks legal action. It sure looks that way. Probably closer to 1000 baht.

I'm recalling a few years back when the cops specified how a checkpoint would look, what resources they'd have in place (including receipts), how they'd be supervised, and how they'd make sure the checkpoints weren't just rogue money grabs. That seemed to all go out the window in the OP story. It appears that a cop or 2 saw some low hanging fruit and said, "screw the rules".

Closer to the OP, don't forget Trump had Iran on the ropes with frozen accounts and sanctions on them selling oil. Without oil money, they couldn't afford the shenanigans. Biden removed those sanctions and those Bidenbucks funded a lot of Iran's mischief. Both on their own and through the Houthis.

Not so hard to conceive... Look up USS Liberty. Every President since Eisenhower has had that moment where they're cheezed off at Israel doing something without asking.

There's a victim in shoplifting. I'd be more forgiving if the cops accidentally injured someone chasing a criminal where there's an actual victim. To a point, anyway. I'd definitely object if they started spraying bullets at a fleeing shoplifter. But that's not what we're talking about.

That safety Rubicon is crossed when I share the road with scooters, with or without helmets.

And exactly how will that improve the quality of your life? I'd rather see the cops focusing on behaviors that put me and mine at risk. Like speeding, blowing through red lights, riding on the sidewalks, etc. If they don't choose to wear a helmet, that's on them. Has virtually zero impact on the rest of the world.

If they're as smart as I hope they are, they already have a bunch of moderate Iranians onboard who will take over the reins of power when the zealots are gone. Back in the late '70s and early '80s I studied and then worked with quite a few Iranians in Oil, and they were smart and very moderate. I suspect that's true of many Iranians who will be glad when the zealots are gone. But there's no way they could drive them out without the US or Israel backing them.

I have this dystopian vison of these things randomly dropping out of the sky onto the noggins of innocent bystanders. Hard enough to keep the terrestrial scooters separated even with lines on the road. Imagine the carnage with no lines. I wonder when they'll start selling kits for the DIY'ers in Thailand. I'd buy one, but only if I'm the only one in town. They do look like fun. But crazy dangerous.

Incoming... Skyrider x6. At 70km/hr, 200km range and around $67,000 USD. Someone else try them out. I'm not onboard just yet. Edit: Apparently comes standard with a safety parachute.

Hopefully, Israelis are working with moderates in Iran to get rid of the zealots who have ruled the country since the '70s. Otherwise, this could go real sideways real fast. Edit: And I hope they took the lessons of Libya and Iraq and Afghanistan to heart and don't leave a power vacuum.

She couldn't have been much worse. DEIs are fungible if they don't actually have to do anything. Like being border czar...

You spelled that wrong. Billions starts with a B.

But that's all they've got. No coherent argument, much less a plan. Just call out the other side as fascists or racists or transphobes and hope that shuts them up. And it actually worked for years. But not any more.

Who were they putting at risk by not wearing helmets vs the cops putting everyone at risk with a poorly conducted chase?

I certainly wouldn't bet the farm on the honesty of the cops.

Nothing says "good governance" like an exodus: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ Edit: Drill a little deeper and you'll find that the CA middle and upper classes are fleeing in droves, being not quite replaced by the welfare class. The homeless and illegals, in pursuit of free stuff.

Hard to tell. One day, they say it's up. The next day they say it's down. Here's an interesting tidbit from a current AN thread about Kokotel: From January 1 to June 8, Thailand recorded over 15 million foreign visitors, marking a 2.87% decline compared to the previous year. I wouldn't characterize a 2.9% YoY decline as "the sky is falling". Where did I get my figures? I did a Bing search. The number of commercial flights is public data that's easily found, though I'm sure that a different source may have slightly different numbers.

Alcohol kills way more i doubt anybody has died from smoking pot DH--d I tend to think he was channeling the classic Reefer Madness, and not being serious. Of course, I may be wrong. It happens.

Not nearly bloodshot enough to tell.

Completely incoherent. I can almost feel the spittle hitting his keyboard.

Slow down, take a chill pill and use spell and grammar checkers. Maybe then, we can understand your point- even if we vehemently disagree.