DaddyWarbucks

Yes, that's a reasonable proposition to make. He would probably be more secure and safe from assassination attempts.

If you can't - or won't - assimilate in a few basic ways, then bag-out... the sooner the better. Not speaking the language is a sensory impairment akin to being deaf and dumb. You don't know what's going on around you. Living long-term in the expat bubble results in the kind of chronic irritation that is on full display in the forums day after day. Constant complaining and the nasty denigration of Thais become a familiar refrain. It isn't confined to Thailand alone. Wherever large numbers of people go for a "better life" is where you can see this disillusioned bitterness show itself among them.

See'um rape... maybe.

It's incredible that a kite string would have the strength to do this. TIT, I guess. Anywhere else and I would suspect some kind of video trickery.

The ineptitude that resulted in the shooting down of this aircraft is typical of the modern American Military. Otherwise they would win more of the armed conflicts they engage in. Saying that "South Vietnam" is now one of "...our allies." when that entity ceased to exist with the Fall of Saigon in 1975 is beyond ludicrous. The initial successes in the assault on Kuwait and Iraq in the early '90s led to the full scale invasion and occupation of Iraq that ended in 2011 without anything like a "win" by any conceivable metric. It would be like pointing to the success of the Nazi Blitzkrieg in Western Europe and ignoring subsequent events in WWII; D-Day; the carpet-bombing of German cities and the Fall of Berlin.

Spot on. The post-war relations after the fighting stops are an excellent way to judge ultimate success or failure in a war.

Since the Allied defeat of Nazi Germany and the absolute crushing of Imperial Japan in 1945, American Forces haven't won a decisive military victory of any consequence anywhere in the world. Incidents such as this characterize their actions and lead to deadly quagmires that more often than not result in ignominious defeats in the end.

Many of Ireland's elected officials have taken a principled and outspoken stand against the frightful war crimes committed during this never-ending conflict in and around Israel.

He looks ghastly. Back in power himself - instead of being a puppetmaster - he would very quickly degenerate into becoming Thailand's version of Joe Biden.

Mainland Vintage Cheddar makes an excellent mac & cheese. I've tried other types of cheese... Swiss (emmenthal), several Italian cheeses, but nothing compares to the Mainland sharp cheddar.

After reading the OP, the term "pussy-whipped" comes immediately to mind.

Agreed. If the alcohol tests are beyond doubt he should not only be defrocked but charged with a serious crime. Hopefully the outcome will be several years behind bars. It will all depend on how well-connected he is and how much money he can raise for his "defence". TIT.

Don't hold your breath on that one, CM Dad. That's the way it should be, but hey, TIT.

Nanny-state rules and regulations run amuck is what Michael Palin was talking about. A social safety-net that helps those who really need it, while excluding the able-bodied "sturdy beggars" in the prime of their lives is a different subject. Conflating the two is either confusion or pushing an agenda.

Agreed... "For what?" Maybe it was a feeble attempt to sound relevant and justify their existence here in Chiang Mai. After squatting in Dara Rasami's - once lovely - residence since before WWII they're about to move into a fortress-like consulate that must have cost the American taxpayers billions of dollars, not to mention creating a new eyesore in CM.