Gecko123

On the assumption that it turns out to be a homicide, that could be a very challenging case to solve. You'd have to assume that a female dentist didn't do the throat slashing herself so tracking down who proverbially pulled the trigger could be tough, as there' are multiple victims. Interviewing a medical professional for possible murder is going to be a little dicey. And you can't rule out the wife. Not Thai wife bashing here, but anytime the wife is out of town when the husband gets murdered, a little bell goes off in my head. Just a few comments to get the "Aseannow detectives will be along shortly to solve the mystery" crew riled up.

You made a sweeping generalization about the activity and productivity level of the expat population here, i.e., "nobody is doing pretty much anything here." That's the dumb comment that got my hackles up. By what yardstick are you judging the retiree expat community? Of course they're not likely to be as productive as someone in their prime working years. Also, kindly share the link backing up your "statistical facts" about the activity and productivity level of expats in Thailand in comparison to expats in other countries and retirees in their home countries.

Kindly speak for yourself, sir.

In my opinion, Thailand is neither a cycling nor a camping paradise. Thailand is too hot for most of the year to make camping an enjoyable experience, although you can perhaps find cooler weather in the north and up in the mountains. Without a power source, you will have neither a fan or air conditioning which makes it challenging to sleep at night. Plenty of people cycle in Thailand, but you really have to scope out the roads extremely carefully from a safety standpoint (adequate shoulders, speed of road traffic, etc.) A bicycle touring holiday to Thailand, along routes which you are unfamiliar with is a very unwise idea. After moving here, you can get a better handle on the driving culture, traffic patterns, and road conditions in your area but thinking, for example, pedaling down hwy 4 from Hua Hin to Koh Samui is going to be a safe fun filled adventure is sheer madness, again, in my opinion.

I seriously doubt 7-11 clerks think regular customers are wealthy. The truly wealthy have someone do their shopping for them, and their personal assistants aren't running to 7-11. 7-11 isn't exactly a health food store either. They're probably thinking: him shop 7-11 too much, him die soon.

Suggesting a freebie is rarely well received.

That's because this forum is a refuge for the maladjusted.

You gotta study GoogleMaps to find these back roads. Telltale sign that there are few houses (and dogs) on the road is the absence of utility poles. There are several black top roads in my area which have 7 km + stretches without any houses, problem is there's still road traffic. I get up at 2:30 - 3:00 am in order to be able to safely let the dog off the leash. I can usually see cars coming from a kilometer away.

I live out in the countryside and while things are peaceful and generally relaxing, it is still hard to get away from it all and find true peace and quiet. I have recently been taking daily hikes with my new dog, and discovered two possibilities for getting away from it all. There are these temples which are like spiritual retreats, often manned by one or two caretaker monks, with very few visitors which provide a very spiritual and relaxing environment (once the dogs stop barking.) Some have interesting art work as well. In central Thailand there are these rocky hills and small mountains all over the place. The farmers till as far as they can up to the hills and then there's often an access road between the farm land and the mountain. It's very peaceful and quiet in these areas, and you can really get a sense of getting back to nature. Have met many interesting characters on these walks as well. "Buddy"

The points you and @Patong2021 are making about globalization of the supply chain and labor inputs are well taken, but the profits from the sale of the final product accrue to the US corporation.

I'm not buying your "what's the point, it's so interconnected, and its all gonna fizzle out shortly anyway" propagandistic rhetoric. It's undeniable that traumatized and alienated from the government consumers are spending less. The worldwide Tesla sales numbers speak for themselves, and other retailers are reporting a drop in sales as well. Your comments about Canadian consumers still buying American products and travelling to the US flies in the face of numerous news articles reporting that they are deeply upset and aggressively avoiding American products. According to my research, 82% of McDonald Corp's profits come from franchisee licensing fees, with the balance coming from rental income, and company owned outlets.

BTW, I am an American. I view resisting the Trump administration as an act of patriotism, much like the Indian boycotts against British colonial rule were acts of patriotism. I like the description of this grassroots movement as "shadowy," a movement without a figurehead which can be targeted, something you can't put a finger on. Amorphousness seems to be adding to the fear factor. Just ask Elon if you don't think that's true.

I was surprised by your comment which seemed to suggest that you think the motive behind a boycott of American goods is retaliation for the tariffs trump has imposed on various countries, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to clarify this. My motivation for advocating the boycott of American goods and services has little to do with retaliation for the tariffs Trump has imposed. In my view, the boycott is intended to: (1) economically punish the corporations which are explicitly or tacitly supporting the Trump regime, (2) economically punish the MAGA movement for supporting the Trump regime, and (3) protest against a wide range of right-wing social policies which I disagree with: lack of support to Ukraine, lack of support for NATO, hostility towards racial minorities, hostility towards women's rights, hostility towards the LBGTQ community, hostility towards climate and environment related issues, the undermining of democratic institutions (freedom of the press, independence of the Judiciary, independence of separate branches of government, disrespect for the Constitution), his horribly unqualified cabinet choices, the disrespect he has shown towards America's traditional allies, the blatant corruption and self-dealing, the support of Israel's genocide and crimes against humanity in Gaza, his regressive tax policies, etc. The list goes on and on... Against this litany of concerns, the tariffs, while I disagree with them as well, aren't high on my list of motivating issues. The boycott is intended to throw a monkey wrench into the economic machinery in order to thwart the direction which the government is headed, and to economically undermine Trump's base of support.

American products and services most vulnerable to consumer boycott: fast food restaurant chains, junk food brands, beverages, cars and trucks, car parts (i.e., tires), home appliances and electronics, cell phones, watches, hotel chains, airlines, social media, internet retailers, big box retailers, banks, American stocks, bonds, securities. Somewhat shielded from boycott out of necessity, but still vulnerable to consumers curtailing purchases: clothing and footwear manufacturers and retailers. Anyone who can help flesh out this list, is more than welcome to do so.