impulse

It is now.

Russians have a dog in the fight. Last time I checked, the US border still ended at the western shore of the Atlantic.

Or perhaps Ukraine should stop sending old men (because the youths are mostly spent) to the front lines to die in an already lost cause.

Sanctuary cities all over are declaring states of emergency when they receive less than 1% of their population in illegal immigrants. NYC metro area has about 18 million population. Adams says that receiving 100K illegal immigrants will destroy the city. That's a little over 1/2 of 1% of their population. Martha's Vineyard declared an emergency and called out the National Guard when they received 50. That's about 0.4% of their population. Under Biden, between 5.8 and 8 million illegals have crossed the border. That's between 1.7% and 2.4% of the US population. I'd say it's time for Dem cities (especially sanctuary cities) to suck it up and take their fair share of the burden, instead of leaving it to the border states. But the Dems don't need more voters in already Dem cities. So that ain't gonna happen.

A couple of hours before dusk, I'd head over to Lumpini and rent a canoe to paddle around, using a litter picker to pick up trash off the water. Not so much for picking litter as to make paddling more interesting and hone my paddling skills. After an hour or so, I'd paddle back to the dock and give one of the recycling ladies the trash I picked up, for them to sell. Then buy a water and find a nice bench with a good view of the joggers going by. Used to do the same at the park by Queen Sirikit Convention Center, but that doesn't seem to have come back after the construction shutdown. In either location, a constructive way to spend an evening and I met a lot of nice people... One of the keys to staying sober (and being happy about it) is to expand your network of friends who don't live to drink. Not necessarily tea-totalers, but people who have a life outside the bars. And nothing vested in sucking you back in.

$325 million... I wonder how many poor Ukrainian kids' lives that buys, to get tossed into the meat grinder. Biden will fund the folly, down to the last Ukrainian.

Of course I can smell the borscht. Just like Grandma used to make when I was a kid. But I can also smell the cow paddies when I tune into Fox, and smell the smoke that CNN tries to blow up my butt. I don't want to live in an echo chamber where all I get is one side of a discussion. Even if I vehemently disagree with their interpretation of the facts, it's good to see what facts the different outlets do present (and which they leave out). Also good to see how they analyze what they've laid out, if only to understand an adversary.

Because he's on the right side of history. Needed to keep him around to save the world from the bad orange man... Yes. That's sarcasm.

Do I value the opinion of a woman who accused Biden of rape, was skewered by the powers that be, and finally ended up seeking refuge in Russia? She could have just as easily come out and compared Brand to Biden and called for him to be hanged. But she didn't. She called for an actual investigation before stripping him of his ability to make a living. Something that she claims she didn't get.

Interesting support coming from Tara Reade (of all places...) Recently, actor and comedian Russell Brand has used his celebrity status and his internet-based show to lift up independent-minded people like US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He questioned the US and NATO involvement in the proxy war against Russia in Ukraine, as well as the mainstream media narrative on Covid-19. The establishment neoliberals were having none of it. -------------- The questions that need to be asked when discussing the allegations against Brand are their curious timing – his alleged misconduct dates back a decade, but came to light soon after he started speaking out against the establishment narrative on Ukraine – and how the same neoliberals Brand has always been critical of are now leading and boosting the charge against him. All that said, if crimes were committed, they must be investigated and brought before a court – but the media, especially media with obvious political bias, is not for that. This kind of trial by media is never accurate and always harmful to the truth. https://www.rt.com/news/583231-russell-brand-metoo-accusations/

Most power supplies are rated between 100 and 240V, but you really need to look at the small print on the power supply itself. Good news... If you do blow up the power supply, it'll protect your speaker and you can order a replacement power supply for about $10 USD. https://www.lazada.co.th/products/19v-65w-ul-ac-13ft-jbl-xtreme-3-xtreme-2-xtreme-extreme2-jbl-boombox-1-2-i4583899459.html?spm=a2o4m.searchlist.list.9.440c333eIprIfs Edit: Looking at the photo above, it appears to be a USB C charger, which is even easier to find, given that there's not a bunch of different OD's and ID's like there are for (for example) laptop chargers.

Which input are you planning to use, and will it be 1/8" stereo jacks, 1/4" stereo jacks or RCA plugs? If it were me and I was in a hurry, I'd forgo traipsing around and just order it from Lazada. Select "Local Delivery" so you don't end up waiting for something from "up north". Found a lot of choices searching "bluetooth RCA" assuming your Marantz will use RCA input plugs. Unless (like me), you like scrounging. In that case, head over to the Ban Mo area near Chinatown and start on the little alley directly across from the McDonalds. Look especially off to your left as you're walking away from Mickey-D's. Wander all over that area, but don't bring more money than you want to spend. Because it's like a toy store for audiophiles (Edit: and electronics geeks and "makers" using Arduino, etc). https://bkk-lifestyle.com/must-see/ban-mo/

At least until Yingluck comes back.

Catch me up... Did that high quality foreign made rolling stock ever actually get paid for?

I've always wondered about those shops in Chinatown (BKK) that are openly making and selling license plates, in the wide open light of day.

A UK tradesman wouldn't even get out of bed in the morning for what HomePro probably paid your guys for a whole day of work. Maybe even a whole week.

I can understand US companies' reluctance to invest in a country where violating the FCPA is pretty hard to avoid.

Some of the crazy ones are the most fun as well. I'm pretty sure that would qualify as a sexual assault. All kidding aside, the idea of taking advantage of an obviously mentally challenged woman doesn't paint an attractive picture.

Reading the headline, I'm reminded of the words of Al Bundy (Married with Children) I'm paraphrasing: Yeah, it sounds good. But for every hot woman with nice legs, there's 10 chubby ladies with stinky feet. He was talking about being a shoe salesman. But I think the concept applies here.

Simple misdirection. When you're busy counting what's in the envelope, it's easy to miss what's going on in the back.

Reminds me of one of my favorite AA stories, about a widow at her husband's funeral. He had just died of cirrhosis. They asked her if he ever tried AA. Her response: He wasn't that bad.

If alcohol is causing problems in your life, you have an alcohol problem. If it's not, enjoy. You're the only one who can answer whether it's causing problems. Coming from one who took the oath in 1988 and haven't missed it at all. (Except when I go dancing... So I don't go dancing. Life is so simple)

How many times in the past have we read about crackdowns on nominee companies and on dodgy real estate deals? Tough to predict what this crackdown will ultimately mean, unless we know what happened in all the previous ones. But we never seem to hear the results. I wonder why that is?

Nope. TMI, but in 6 years of working in Thailand, I never slept with a Thai woman (or man). Partly because my Chinese GF of 20+ years owns ducks and a pair of scissors. (Google it if you don't get the reference) In fact, at the office, I held her out as my wife when she occasionally came to Thailand, just so there would be no temptations. With my part of the company's budget being in the $millions per month, I also avoided vendors trying to "entertain" me at the usual spots. Limited my after hours contact to weekend (stag) fishing trips and I always paid just to make sure there was no appearance of conflict. Speaking of vendors, I had a lot of them and that's where I heard a lot of the stories. They're the guys in their 60's pushing their toddlers around in strollers. Some paying child support for kids they never get to see. And they weren't dummies. It would be arrogant of me to think I'm any smarter. I thought very highly of the Thai men and women I worked with. But I'm also open to the possibility there's another side I didn't see, having mostly dealt with people who had great jobs. Making enough money that funds didn't affect their choice of a spouse. Strangely, very few of them married westerners.

That's easy to say, having read dozens (hundreds?) of posts in dozens of threads over the years. But to a noob, who would blame them if they consulted with a real estate company or an attorney? That's what they'd do back home, confident that they'd get honest advice and a clean deal. Also, I'm curious... What percentage of dodgy nominee companies have actually been caught out, and what percent of dodgy real estate deals have actually gone bad? I suspect it's a small percentage, but again, that's a guess.