impulse

Strangely, the most vocal and public agitator just got probation and a $500 fine. No prison time. As best as I can tell, no pre-trial incarceration, either. Or maybe not so strange...

Can't say I see the point in that unless they close the windows and run the A/C with properly maintained filters. (I chuckled just typing that) With the windows wide open, the air is just as bad indoors as it is outdoors. Most studies show indoor air is even worse- much worse. It may look better because you're looking across 10 meters of filthy air instead of 10 km of bad air where you can see how bad it is. Unless, of course, they keep the kids indoors specifically to minimize their activity altogether, so they don't breathe in as much air. But that can't be good for kids in the long term, nor much fun on Children's Day.

If that's accurate, it would shoot down the "killed by Euro diseases" theory, at least for this location.

That, or it looked to me like a sad attempt to stay relevant. Keep those speaking engagements and fat consulting contracts flowing in for another decade... Regarding Haley vs DeSantis, neither one has a chance if Trump is in it. And while Trump is still in it, we'll never get a true measure of their relative polling. I suspect that Trump supporters would more likely migrate to DeSantis than Haley if Trump exits the race. Fair assessment or not, she's the candidate of the entrenched class, the Swamp. I think either one would be foolish to drop out before the end.

More good info. Thx When I worked in Thailand, getting a replacement K-Bank card was fast and easy (though I never had one eaten). I never really thought about the implications of losing an int'l card, but getting anything delivered from "back home" has been hit and miss, especially since I've become a reluctant nomad this year. Tough to nail down how to intersect with an int'l delivery. And I never really considered it, until now.

If we didn't know there's an issue... This is a good cautionary tale for me because I get lazy, using the ATM at my nearest MRT. Losing one card wouldn't be catastrophic (I have others), but it sure would be an inconvenience, especially since I generally spend only a few days a month in Thailand. And getting a replacement is tough since I'm usually a "moving target" for mailing purposes. From now on, I'll only be using my int'l debit cards at the ATM's in front of the bank, and during open hours. Trop, thanks for the reminder.

Dems left and right lefter seem to be saying his decision to bomb the Houthis is illegal. In the interest of fair play, ya figure they'll be impeaching him? I wonder if he'll be getting immunity after he leaves office? Probably doesn't matter, because Trump's prosecution isn't about illegal acts. It's about politics and election interference. They won't be going after Biden the same way. https://dailycaller.com/2024/01/11/this-is-illegal-biden-takes-heat-from-fellow-dems-after-greenlighting-houthi-strike/

Bad news for any buyer, not just new home owners. Anyone considering a move to get a better job... Forget about it. You can't afford it. You are stuck. Family outgrew your 3 bedrooms? Tough. There is no way you can paint this as a good thing. Unless, of course, you're a Dem, a bankster, or one of the hedge funds that has been snapping up real estate since the pandemic. Edit: Speaking of "since the pandemic", notice how Redfin stays with "the start of the pandemic", when the curve really trends up at the "start of Biden". Probably why they also left off the dates on the horizontal axis, so it's harder to tell...

Speaking of Bidenomics, the hits just keep on coming. Sky-high mortgage rates and still-rising home prices have made it harder than ever to afford a home, especially for first-time buyers. The typical buyer needs to earn 15% more than they did a year ago–and wages are only up 5%. It’s harder than ever for Americans to afford a home. A homebuyer must earn $114,627 to afford the median-priced U.S. home, up 15% ($15,285) from a year ago and up more than 50% since the start of the pandemic. That’s the highest annual income necessary to afford a home on record. https://www.redfin.com/news/homebuyer-income-afford-home-record-high/ Those mean tweets and an occasional gaffe don't look so bad...

Perhaps a more thought provoking question in Thailand would be whether I'd hang out at a bar that offers up underage girls, even if I never personally touched one of them. A moot question for me since I don't drink, or hang out in bars at all. But I did work with mongers that I'm pretty sure dipped their pens in underage ink. Hard to avoid guys like that, working in Thailand. Probably not unlike hanging out with the uber-elite in any country. Edit: I think some of them associated with Epstein in spite of the young girls, and some hung out with him for the young girls.

Bad judgment isn't a crime. Stupid, maybe. But not criminal. Don't vote for them. Don't hire them. Don't do business with them. Sure. But you can't toss them in jail just for schmoozing with a pedo.

The difference is that some of those social programs amount to pooling everyone's money for projects that benefit everyone, and some of them amount to flagrantly taking money from one group and giving it to someone else. Basically, voting yourself money from the treasury.

A few "big picture" question... Is it by rai, or is it a percentage of assessed value? Are they just taxing the land, or are they also taxing improvements? Are they taxing condos that don't really include any land? Is the tax rate (and policy) different by province, city, etc? Is there a mechanism to foreclose on the land if tax isn't paid, or will it only affect the next sale? If it's just a few bucks a month, I can't see it affecting the buy/rent decision. But who knows what the future brings?

Yeah, That's a closer call. But the answer is still the same. Debate performance isn't the same as actual performance. And there doesn't seem to be a throng of people moving to SC. Being behind DeSantis on actual performance, I suspect Haley knows her opportunity is in the debates. Where, I freely admit, DeSantis looks like a wood plank. I'm still a fan of what's happening in Florida.

Possibly because debate performance doesn't mean actual performance. Newsom is proof of that. He's a polished, articulate speaker. But California is a train wreck. DeSantis isn't anywhere near as slick, but people keep moving to Florida, people keep leaving California and CA's budget has gone from a surplus to a deficit under Newsom. If I were to choose between the 2 knowing nothing but debate optics, it would be for Newsom. But that would be dumb.

I'm not sure bragging that a record number of Americans now need gub'ment help to pay their medical bills is something I'd be running on...

My stand on weed, since the '70s has always been "Legalize it, control the quality, keep it away from the kids, and tax the beejeezus out of it."

2 months later, thousands and thousands more dead. Has the situation improved for the Ukrainians? How many more dead do they need before they accept reality, even if it isn't fair? Maybe a whole generation of young men. Many being chased down by recruitment squads. Who are dying for the right to live under one corrupt flag instead of another.

Excellent point. But I don't think the pizza flippers have the same political clout as the beer brewers.

I have no experience staying longer, so no advice. Other than, "don't do what I did, then". Best of luck.

It would be interesting to see their books, and whether their booze sales and profits suffered more (or less) than their weed sales grew.

But a poster on this very forum (not this thread) claimed that he used to spend thousands and thousands of baht a month on booze and now he only spends 500 baht a month on weed. So, not only is that a net negative, it's also not going to the powerful interest. Follow the money...

No, but he sure didn't convince them not to, like the Bad Orange Man did. But there were those mean tweets... Sooooo much worse than hundreds of thousands dead.

Catch and release explains the increase in illegal immigration under Biden.

But if you fall over dead from some tainted beer, you can trace the bottle back to the company that made it. Probably even the exact minute it was bottled, and the batch it came from. I've got a pack of chewing gum in front of me, and I can tell you what company made it, and the exact time it was made. And that's chewing gum, not a pharmaceutical.