Cory1848
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Thailand house of representatives approves same-sex marriage bill
Cory1848 replied to webfact's topic in Thailand News
Thank you for sharing. -
Quite right -- the US has a long history of making foreign policy errors based on perceived political needs, miscalculation, or just plain hubris. I don’t think that applies to eastern Europe after the fall of communism, however -- the eastern Europeans (including Ukraine) all clamored to join Western institutions on their own accord. While the US and other Western allies welcomed these nations if they qualified, the initiative was entirely on the part of the eastern Europeans themselves; they chose their own future. If this was upsetting to the Russians, too bad; the realignment was never intended to pose a threat, and in fact Russia under progressive leadership should be more than welcome to cooperate with and even join the same Western institutions. This would certainly go far toward preventing tragedies like the recent terrorist shooting, with the sharing of intelligence etc. Such cooperation might be a ways off still, but we have to aim for it ...
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Well, for one thing, while Russia and Iran are to some extent in alliance as you say, “Islamic Iran” is a Shi’a state and ISIS is Sunni, and these two branches of Islam have been in theological and often military conflict for 1,500 years. (Although it can get murky depending on a perceived third-party enemy: Iran supports Hamas, for instance, which is largely a Sunni entity.) As for your further speculation, while the US government has indeed engaged in “murky alliances of convenience” in the past and shown little regard for collateral damage, that makes no sense in this case, and as stated elsewhere US intelligence through some back channel did warn the Russians about chatter they’d tapped into leading up to this horrific attack.
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Transcending trouble: Thai transwomen tussle with tourists in Phuket
Cory1848 replied to webfact's topic in Phuket News
Couple of things perhaps. For one, every time a ladyboy flies off the handle, you read about it; every time a ladyboy *doesn’t* fly off the handle, you don’t read about it, because it’s not newsworthy. What’s the expression -- if it bleeds, it leads. And for another, it may be that sex work itself -- whether the sex worker is a woman, a man, or a trans person -- produces its own kind of pressure and leads to a volatile personality. I don’t live in a part of Thailand known for sex tourism, and I see trans women (or ladyboys as many here would prefer) every day, working in normal jobs, like anyone else. I’m sure that most are just as comfortable with their sexuality as you or I. -
Ralph Reed’s army plans $62 million spending spree backing Trump
Cory1848 replied to Social Media's topic in World News
Which of the Commandments has he not yet broken? -- I guess he hasn’t killed anyone with his own bare hands, though indirectly he might be responsible for more than a few deaths ... -
Ralph Reed’s army plans $62 million spending spree backing Trump
Cory1848 replied to Social Media's topic in World News
An interesting idea. Like a meme that made the rounds when Trump was still president and Elizabeth still the queen -- the meme claimed that, thanks to some medieval English law still on the books, the English monarch had the right to dispatch any visitor with a broadsword should the visitor be deemed “damaging to the monarchy.” (Trump did visit the UK and met with Elizabeth.) -
I saw that -- really informative, and really funny, too. Lays bare the excesses of unrestrained, unregulated capitalism.
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The fallout from Swissgate -- so much for tolerance
Cory1848 replied to n00dle's topic in General Topics
You’re not kidding. The demonization of foreigners in the US and many European countries for purely political purposes (i.e., finding someone to blame) is widespread. All things considered, Thailand remains one of the world’s more tolerant and welcoming societies. -
Your question is rhetorical; it’s irrelevant and stupid. You think Trump deserves some kind of medal? A better question would be, what public figure in US history has gotten away with so much malfeasance for so long before it finally started catching up to him? Given Trump’s increasing confusion and unhinged behavior, the “pressure” seems to be literally driving him insane, but that would be too kind an outcome.
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2 Russian women arrested for providing sex services in Phuket
Cory1848 replied to webfact's topic in Phuket News
I've always understood that white (mostly eastern European) sex workers catered to Asian foreigners and wealthy Thai men who were specifically looking for an experience with a farang, and they were willing to pay a high premium for it. So, as you say, the novelty aspect.