impulse

Do a balance sheet. How much free money does the US send abroad, and how much do we get back? While you're at it, look up how much US exports pay in foreign duties, vs how much we levy on incoming goods.

Trump made it clear that he's not interested in business as usual, the one sided trade and defense agreements that have the US paying for so much and getting so little in return. That's what you get when you send "seasoned diplomats" that have never held a real job in the real world. I wanna see some junkyard dogs negotiating on my behalf. Tom Homan is a great example, though on the domestic front...

Before you do, make sure they're not location limited. My E-Scooter in China has GPS and knows where it is, and I can program it to not go outside my home range. My GF can look up my location, speed, etc from our home computer. (I deliberately allowed that option) I suspect rental companies use the same tech to keep theirs from disappearing.

Notable are the absence of any death or serious injury. And the lack of scooters in the story... That's not a coincidence. I'll bet the 16 year old's parents are thankful for that.

The same unelected aides who have been running it since his first day.

And that's why so many Thai drivers flee the scene of an accident, and don't seem to get in trouble for it, if they turn themselves in later.

One main difference is that Trump has a competent VP that can take over the reins if he's 25th'ed, or steps aside on his own. Biden had insurance against being shunted aside by cognitive decline, or impeachment. In the form of an incompetent DEI hire.

If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, looks like a duck and swims like a duck, that's probably a picture of a duck. It's the same with pictures of Bondo.

That's not unusual at all, and often negotiated in advance. Especially if someone's taking a risk to accept the job. If it doesn't work out, they get more than the legally required severance.

If you're using polar coordinates, the earth is flat. Well, almost flat. There are mountains and R is a little bigger around the equator.

The appeal of the Mini NEO is flying indoors. They had one zipping around the DJI showroom when I was shopping. Looked like it would be fun to chase the cat, just for practice. Maybe not so fun for the cat...

I ended up buying a DJI Mini 3, because it has a better camera, and the other choice (Mini 4k) was out of stock. Plus, if I like it and decide later to buy a Mini NEO, the controller will work. 2388 RMB, which is about 12000 baht. Not cheap, but, oh well. In for a penny, in for a pound. I bought it in China instead of waiting a few days until I hit Thailand, because I was concerned about activating it in Thailand, then not being able to fly in China. They activated it (and in English) before I left the store. The other reason for the DJI is that's what 90+% of the locals fly at the park I frequent. I'll fit in better, and the locals in China know the best deals. They're notorious deal shoppers. I'll post back once I sit through the numerous DJI training videos and actually fly the thing.

I want them to base their accusation on something the beside dock rash in that photo, and get the right guy. I've hit submerged and floating objects on a jet ski and never had damage like the photo, especially so far above the water line. BTW, what do you call that 3mm thick white layer below the peeling black paint? We call it Bondo.

Most of the rest rooms I frequent nowadays have vending machines selling toilet paper. 'Cause, we're not in Kansas any more, Toto.

Is that why the uber-expensive airlines advertise the piano bar on their premium flights? Jeez. It's a holiday flight and they're acting like they're on holiday. We from the nanny states have been incrementally castrated over the years in the name of safety and the illusion of security.

When you look at your account statements, are there any service charges added for pulling out your American plastic for a $0.76 charge in Thailand? I'd be afraid the bank would tack on some horrendous fee.

I'd be fine with that, but I just go in to pee and wash my hands. I don't surreptitiously adjust my makeup, brush my hair and all those other things that happen in Ladies' rooms. I'm glad they have that space to be chicks, because I like how they look.

Break down and buy a new computer. They're cheap as chips nowadays. Sooner or later, entropy gets the better of them. Do it while you're still able to copy your important files and settings over to the new one.

Somewhere, there's an Indian guy complaining about how constrained he was on a flight because nobody was allowed to get up and chat and have fun. It is a holiday, after all.

If there was more than one jet ski on CCTV (there were at least 2 according to the OP), and the only criteria they used to determine which one hit the swimmer was "damage", I think they have, at best, a 50:50 chance of having the right guy. Even lower if there were several jet skis out at the time. If witnesses and/or CCTV could differentiate between the riders, so be it. Good on the police for getting the guy. But it needs to be based on something other than damage shown in that photo.

That's Bondo.

Maybe, but that's a long running jet ski scam. Covering up damage with water soluble or poorly bonded paint that gets washed off while the renter is bopping around. Then claiming damages when the innocent renter returns it. Obviously, I have no clue whether that's the case here. But I'd hate to see an innocent rider getting banged up. If that's the actual photo, I doubt that was cause by a collision with a swimmer. And I see quite a bit of Bondo, indicating previous damage.

Given how many people show up with incomplete or just plain wrong documents, I can see where the Embassies/Consulates would farm out the work of going over the submittals to make sure nobody's wasting their time. That includes the applicants. Especially the ones who get downright belligerent when they have to come back tomorrow with the right stuff. First time I ever saw it was trying to get a China visa in Korea during the 2008 Olympic Visa Debacle. That's not to say that was the first time it's ever been implemented, just the first time I experienced it. In that case there was a slew of agencies approved by the Embassy, not an exclusive arrangement with just one. They all tried to make the applicants think they were the only one, but there was a whole street full of offices in Seoul. I'd prefer to see using the agencies as an option, rather than mandatory. And some healthy competition to get the best value in terms of service/cost. But you can't always get what you want.

I ascribe that to the stigma attached to renters (project dwellers) when we were growing up. It's tough to get past years of indoctrination, even when the conditions change. Like living where the risks of "ownership" outweigh the benefits. I'd agree with your characterization of "nothing new". Since I first arrived in 2011, they trot out crackdowns on illegal shell companies a few times a year. Probably before I arrived, too. Usually in response to some kind of political imperative. Or casting greedy eyes on properties controlled by foreign entangled companies.

Do you need the calls to come from a US phone number, or receive calls and texts?