impulse

https://babylonbee.com/news/white-house-says-there-is-no-direct-evidence-that-hunter-biden-exists "It's a shame we didn't start questioning the notion of this 'Hunter Biden' fiction a long time ago," said Meet The Press anchor Chuck Todd. "How could we have been so blind to the deep deception of the far-right? The whole thing was a hoax! This is an attack on democracy.

Healthy people don't spend as much on pharmaceuticals, so I'm not seeing that happening...

I don't know about Thailand, but back in the USA "Mook" would be a dead giveaway.

Nah, It's an entirely expected reaction to woke PC liberal policies. If you take the bad orange man out of the picture, what American would disagree with Make America Great Again? PC liberals...

You're suggesting that a $15K e-bike is a viable alternative to a $5,000 Wuling Mini EV? I have a Specialized bike in the USA. Made in Taiwan.... But you're right. I'd never pay 15,000 USD, EU or GBP for a bicycle. The value just isn't there unless you're competing at the top levels where 1/10 of a second can make the difference between 1st and 2nd place. Or you go for an ostentatious show of wealth. When did I work without a WP? I often toured factories, placed orders and followed those orders on a business visa. Never turned a wrench. The reason I know that was legal is because I'd occasionally have to get a visa extension by going to the Public Security Bureau (CN Immigration) with a chopped copy of an open PO and a letter from the factory. They'd cancel my existing visa and give me an extension until the end of the year. During the 2008 Olympics, they weren't doing extensions so I'd fly out to Seoul for a weekend and a new visa. I'm in Kanchanaburi right now on a visa run from China. Where I'm on a 10 year tourist visa. I haven't worked since 2017. Don't need to....

Sadly, the US gub'ment has lost pretty much all credibility when it comes to statistics like "the border is secure" or "safe and effective and necessary for kids". They want so bad for people to buy EVs that I don't trust them.

I had 3 in Thailand and still have 2 in China. Never spent more than $800 and that was for one in Thailand. In China, the most I spent was $600 USD. I loved them as an alternative to a pedal bike. But they are no substitute for 4 wheels, doors, a roof, and seat belts when it comes to safely getting the groceries, especially in the rain. I even thought about importing them to the USA until the news covered the fires they cause. Making a few hundred $$ on a product that may burn down a million dollar home, with associated fatalities, didn't seem like a good risk. Of course, if you're selling a $600 e-bike for 15,000 Euros, you can probably make the numbers work. Edit: On a related note, my US car insurance company started sending me solicitations for e-bike liability insurance a year or so ago. So that's apparently a thing now. But I don't know if it just covers road hazards, or includes cover for structure fires. I don't have an e-bike in the USA so I didn't look into the details.

Lord, I hope it's not the EV owner, because I typically get $500K of coverage. That doesn't even cover one nice condo...

Id agree with you there. But I wonder if there's been a number published about the actual likelihood of an EV fire (perhaps by brand?). Is it a one in a million fluke, or 1 in 1000 and you better keep them outdoors? Edit: And I also wonder whether the typical auto insurance policy covers an entire apartment building if yours is the car that sets it off. I can see where it may not be just the car's fault if there's a problem with the charger, etc. So I would anticipate a lot of finger pointing between the parties.

For those of us who would gladly buy an EV as our other car, I wish they'd scale back on the battery size and cost to build a cheaper EV with about 100 miles of range. That would do about 80-90% of my daily driving which is usually a 30 mile R/T to town and back. Something along the lines of the $5,000 Wuling mini EV. I don't even care if it meets highway safety standards because I'd never intend to take it on a highway. (In fact, I'd propose it as an island car for where I live, not allowed over the expressway bridge to get off the island) Just a much safer alternative to a scooter for getting the groceries. Charging wouldn't be an issue, because it would be in my driveway before and after every <50 mile trip. For a road trip and towing my boat, I'd still go with my soccer Mom Toyota van. Edit: I'd add that makes me a good candidate to buy a cheap 2nd hand EV, because I don't really mind if it's lost half its range (if the price is right, of course).

I don't claim, nor aspire to be Thai. But I worked with several dozen who were extremely competent. I'd give a Thai a much better chance of succeeding in a western company than I'd give a westerner to succeed in a Thai company. Edit: You know how to get an extremely competent Thai to come work for your company? You offer them 1/4 of what you'd have to pay a marginally competent westerner to fill the same role. Instead of 1/8, like most western companies seem to try...

Maybe with a doll and a pointer...

I always love the guys who run down Thai thinking. If you put a Thai guy, an Indian guy and a western guy in a room with just one $100 bill, I don't know which will end up with the money But I know who won't. The western guy.

You must love the JEATH museum in Kanchanaburi. Though I prefer the Aussie run museum for WW2 details, I was astounded at the JEATH museum's collection of coins and notes and other Thai antiquities. I suspect it's politically incorrect to even ponder, but I couldn't help but wonder how much they could get for their collection.

Volume... Sure, they lose some money on each and every ticket, but they make it up in volume.

Danish tyranny doesn't worry me at all. The WEF scares the crap out of me.

Kind of like telling homeless people they just need to buy a house... Problem solved.

"You will own nothing and you will be happy" is the brainchild of Danish Politician Ida Auken in a 2016 essay for the World Economic Forum (WEF) Is that specific enough?

So what happens if your toaster starts smoking when you're away?

I recall watching several interviews with "modern women" asking what they demand in a man. The criteria they came up with put their minimally acceptable man in the top 1 or 2% in terms of earning capacity and height. And although these women were cute, they were not in the top 1% by looks or how they came across in their interviews for personality. Some of them not even in the top half...

You will own nothing and you will be happy. As an individual, I'm sure they couldn't give a rat's butt about me. But they sure seem to have plans for "humanity" as a whole cash cow.

10 years ago, who would have thought it even possible that your bank account would be frozen for participating in a very popular protest? Wingnut conspiracy theory, or spoiler alert? Getting harder and harder to tell.

And that's Peterson's prevailing message. Quit looking at the externals and focus on getting your own life in order. Then (and I'm paraphrasing here) screw anyone who says you're not good enough.

Except he wasn't crying for himself. He was showing empathy for the 95% of guys who get swiped left in the new reality. Kind of like I cry at a funeral even if I barely knew the deceased. It's empathy for other people's loss.

30 years ago, long before woke, it was described similarly. In both big cities and small towns, 99% of the people are decent and law abiding and 1% are scumbags. In big cities, 99% of the people live in fear. In small towns, it's 1%. I grew up in Chicago, and now I live in a small redneck town on an island in Texas. Give me rednecks, any day of the week. And I'm an agnostic, with a mechanical engineering degree and a yankee accent. (Or so I'm reminded)