impulse

Here's a good start... At the start of 2023, the net cost of illegal immigration for the United States – at the federal, state, and local levels – was at least $150.7 billion. FAIR arrived at this number by subtracting the tax revenue paid by illegal aliens – just under $32 billion – from the gross negative economic impact of illegal immigration, $182 billion. https://www.fairus.org/issue/publications-resources/fiscal-burden-illegal-immigration-united-states-taxpayers-2023 Here's another: The left continues to press for amnesty for illegal aliens. Using figures from the National Academies of Science, the net life-time fiscal cost of current illegal aliens following amnesty would between $3.8 and $4.2 trillion (in 2022 dollars). https://www.budget.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/rector_testimony_913.pdf And here's why (from the 2nd link): I am 100% in favor of the legal immigration of properly vetted and invited talent. Just not the way it's being done.

As dystopic as it sounds, it may just work. Imagine, right after the lunch rush they made 25 too many burgers and will need to bin them after they time out. Or just before closing, when they generally bin a bunch of excess food. Put them on sale at 1/2 price and it could save them wasting a bunch of food. But that will require a lot of intervention of the local management. Who are just as likely to jack up the price when they see their nemesis pulling into the drive-in.

Speaking of Wendy's, this ought to be fun. Wendy's is trying out dynamic pricing, where the price goes up during mealtime: The fast-food chain’s unappetizing plans, set to be tested in a high-stakes rollout next year, will squeeze more money out of already inflation-battered Americans who may not have the option to eat their meals during “off-peak” hours. https://vigilantnews.com/post/wendys-to-roll-out-high-tech-menu-boards-with-prices-that-change-in-real-time/

The problem went way beyond the software bugs. Boeing hid the MCAS system from regulators and customers so the regulators didn't require retraining to fly the Max, and customers didn't realize their pilots would require retraining, or that their cost saving selection of a single sensor (as opposed to redundancy) would cause a tragedy. Had either of those crashes happened in the USA or Europe, Boeing employees would probably be going to jail, and Boeing would probably be bankrupted by the lawsuits. But they happened in the 3rd world where life can be bought. Here's some insight from a former Boeing Max executive. Key word: former I purposely scheduled myself on a non-MAX airplane. I went to the gate. I walked in, sat down and looked straight ahead, and lo and behold, there was a 737-8/737-9 safety card. So I got up and I walked off. The flight attendant didn’t want me to get off the plane. And I’m not trying to cause a scene. I just want to get off this plane, and I just don’t think it’s safe. https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/02/26/former-boeing-employee-speaks-out-00142948

According to the St Louis Fed, 0ver 100% of the "new job growth" over the past 12 months has gone to foreign born workers. Because native born workers' jobs have actually gone down over the past 12 months, from 130,000,000 to 129,807,000. Foreign born workers aren't exactly tearing it up, either, going from 28,692,000 to 29,842,000 jobs in the same period. For a total gain of about a million jobs, all of them (and then some) accruing to foreign born workers. Added to the drop in average hours worked, hardly a robust job market. But it's an election year, so count on the gub'ment indicators to look rosy... Edit: BTW, with around 1 million jobs added, and over 7 million "newly arrived residents", I wonder what the other 6 million are doing for a living? That's what's going to lose Biden Newsom and the Dems 2024. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNU02073395 https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNU02073413 https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CE16OV

Gosh. It sure would be nice to hear about these events before it's too late to participate.

In a perfect world, I'd be safe walking down the street with $100 bills hanging out of my pockets, at any hour day or night. In that world, I could leave my car running to keep the A/C cold while I'm inside a restaurant eating, and I could sleep with both my front and back doors wide open for that nice cross breeze. But in the real world, those would be invitations to victimize me. Same with a lone woman (especially a tourist) walking on the streets after midnight. Sucks, I know. But that's the world I live in, where the wee hours are for sleeping. I'm also curious whether she had traveling companions who also failed her...

+1. And if the DIY job isn't flawless and invisible, he's on the hook for a replacement tub when he leaves, anyway. May as well get the job done now and get some enjoyment out of the money spent. If he does decide to go the DIY route, the first thing I'd do is put some tape on the cracks shown in the photo then fill the tub to make sure that's where the leak is. It may be the hose under the tub, or the caulk lines leaking when the shower's on, or the caulk under the drain fitting. If it is leaking from those tiny cracks, I'd try 2 part clear epoxy. (if you can find white epoxy in Thailand, probably even better). Fill the cracks and then remove the excess epoxy before it sets, with alcohol. I've found that ethanol or methanol works best, but rubbing alcohol will work in a pinch. You may have to apply a few times to completely fill the cracks. And of course, make sure the surface is dry- even pouring some alcohol into the cracks to drive out any water. Then let the alcohol dry.

Nope. You won't find me forecasting any commodity metal prices. I'm one of those conspiracy wingnuts who believe (based on previous, sad experience) that there are pricing pressures at work beyond normal supply and demand. For years, I bought and sold machined goods with a lot of copper and nickel content, and the fluctuations in prices seemed pretty much unrelated to natural market forces, and more related to where the hottest money was flowing.

My biggest concern in the OP's position would be that the number of chargers will probably always lag the number of owners with EV's, and that will create (and/or perpetuate) issues over parking. Unless parking spaces are assigned, I'd expect friction when someone with an ICE parks in an EV charging space because that's the only space available. Or the EV owner who parks for 2 weeks in a charging space because that's how often he moves his car. In my case, the only time I moved my vehicle was one or 2 weekends a month, only to go on road trips. Otherwise, it stayed parked wherever I found a space for it in the unassigned parking. The cleanest solution is to just not allow EV charging, but that's not much of a solution. And once there are charging points, it may start a stampede of newly minted EV owners. And then, there's gotta be a whole spate of new rules to share them equitably. Obviously, that issue goes away with assigned parking spaces with their own dedicated charging stations. But how many condos can do that, especially if they weren't designed for the purpose?

I guess you're not following the more recent engineering studies showing that the copper, metals and other materials required to fortify the grid(s) to charge all the EV's they have forecasted, far exceeds the capacity of all the mining operations in the world. They're talking about millions and millions of tons of copper (more and faster than they're able to mine it), and distribution transformer deliveries that are currently in the 5-10 year range.

Musk's response to Google's "issues" (including one on misgendering Kaitlin Jenner vs Nuclear Armageddon) Given that the Gemini AI will be at the heart of every Google product and YouTube, this is extremely alarming! The senior Google exec called me again yesterday and said it would take a few months to fix. Previously, he thought it would be faster. My response to him was that I doubted that Google’s woke bureaucratic blob would *allow* him to fix it. Unless those who caused this are exited from Google, nothing will change, except to make the bias less obvious and more pernicious. Also has Kaitlin Jenner's response... https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/02/just-no-caitlyn-jenner-responds-googles-gemini-ai/

I don't see anywhere in the linked article where there's data showing that those who got Covid after being vaccinated fared any better or worse than those who weren't vaccinated at all. Like retarius, I've had chronic fatigue (among other symptoms) that started the day after my 2nd Pfizer, well over 2 years ago. It didn't get better or worse after I got Covid last summer.

In any other case, she'd have already been disqualified (or stepped down herself) and a new prosecutor assigned, just to avoid the taint. Apparently, the way it works in Georgia is that her whole office would then be disqualified and the new prosecutor would have to start again. Justice would be delayed, but certainly not denied. But that doesn't fit the timetable for the 2024 election. Proving on one more level that this is a political hit job.

I'd add that the different P/Ns often have different spec's including which CPU they're using, RAM and ROM, etc. So an A05s that I bought in Thailand may not be the same one I'd get if I ordered it from somewhere else. It's caveat emptor.

The OP isn't so clear on the exact nature of the issue... Is it getting the registration transferred to Pattaya, or is it already registered in Pattaya and now it has a new frame?

The revelation for me is that it goes beyond warranty and affects functionality. Some of the updates work, others are denied.

I have issues on the other side, where Samsung won't update my Thai bought phone because it's not a model that was made for the country where I reside. Beyond A05s, there's a part number that's different for each market. I have no advice regarding the OPs current dilemma, just some info for anyone thinking about importing a phone. It may not work out as easy as it looks.

Though I understand the moderator that squashed the concurrent thread, I wish they'd run concurrent threads with one down in the pub for all the Brit bashing, along with this one where discussion could be limited to law, consequences, mental health and impairment, etc.

I don't think they're proposing anything as dire as removing 6 billion people. They just want those 6 billion people to transfer a bunch of their money to a few who are pushing "the science".

Maybe. But it won't be happening in Fulton County.

Trump-Off. Soon available in a lotion or a spray can. The solution to all the world's problems.

Don't confuse him with facts. He's on another roll. A roll that starts with a T. Kind of like TDS does.

More TDS. Where does the OP even mention Trump? Rent free space. A real estate mogul's dream.

Assange must have a very incriminating deadman switch to have survived as long as he has. It'll be interesting if and when it finally comes out. But I suspect it'll be like the JFK truth that will take 60-70 years to leak out.