Gecko123

Great summary of Wall Street bond market gurus about recent turbulence in the bond market: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/11/business/bond-market-trump-treasury-yield-rates/index.html

My first and probably last experience with a Thai coin operated laundromat was not good. Two machines were OK, but the third one started agitating when water level was maybe foot deep, and tore my underwear to shreds. Nowadays, if home washer goes out, and really have to wash something before repairman shows up, I just do it by hand.

More detailed analysis:

here's another example that disproves your contention that all left leaning posters are just parroting MSM. As early as March 7th, I was predicting that Trump's autocratic behavior and tariff policies were going to negatively impact demand for treasuries. See my post below: It has only been in recent days that the news cycle has started to highlight the potential of foreign holders of US debt using this as leverage in a trade war.

Thought the OP might be interested. This was a new word for me. pollard noun: a tree cut back to the trunk to promote a dense head of foliage pollard verb: to make a pollard of a tree

Despite how some are now trying to spin it, chaos and poor planning is not the same thing as playing three dimensional checkers.

1. How Trumps tariff polices are "poorly thought out?" (as explained earlier in thread): Look at the simplistic childlike ChatGBT way the reciprocal tariff rates were calculated. Look at the simplistic claims that trillions of dollars in tariff revenue were going to flow into government coffers with zero consideration given to the fact that government revenue would drop due to slowed economic activity. Look at the failure to consider how automation in manufacturing greatly reduces the need for labor in modern factories. Look at the unrealistically rosy projections about how quickly the transition to manufacturing period will be. Look at the failure to consider how the economic damage inflicted on other economies will affect demand for US goods and services abroad. 2. Please tell us what "inequitable tax policies are" It is well-established that the impact of the Trump tax cuts disproportionately benefit upper income groups 3. Tell us how the social safety net is being slashed. A key component of the House tax proposal is cutting of Medicaid benefits. SS offices have been shuttered making access to benefits more difficult for many recipients, Musk has made repeated false allegations that the SS system is rife with fraud. 4. Tell us what commitments we have reneged on with "allies" Hostile arms length relationship with NATO, commitments were made to Ukraine in exchange for them giving up nuclear weapons, Trump has ceded moral authority to defend Taiwan because of his stance on Ukraine. If you're that in the dark about what's going on, you need to educate yourself better. Don't expect me to do your homework for you in the future.

I think we can all agree that the budget deficit and national debt need to be addressed. I don't think that's the earth-shattering insight you seem to think it is. The question is how is this going to be accomplished. Is it going to be done efficiently and equitably or is it going to be attempted, as Trump appears to be determined to do, through poorly thought out tariff policies, inequitable tax policy, slashing the social safety net, and reneging on commitments made to allies?

You're twisting the phrase "at a glance." What is meant is that one need only scratch the surface of his tariff plan to realize that it was poorly thought out. Look at the simplistic childlike ChatGBT way the reciprocal tariff rates were calculated. Look at the simplistic claims that trillions of dollars in tariff revenue were going to flow into government coffers with zero consideration given to the fact that government revenue would drop due to slowed economic activity. Look at the failure to consider how automation in manufacturing greatly reduces the need for labor in modern factories. Look at the unrealistically rosy projections about how quickly the transition to manufacturing period will be. Look at the failure to consider how the economic damage inflicted on other economies will affect demand for US goods and services abroad. Yes, it takes little more than a glance to identify the analytical flaws in Trump's tariff plan.

How can you argue that this was all "just a negotiating tool, nothing more?" He's had to backtrack without having gained a single concession from any major trading partner. As far as your "they're all so rich already" argument, just look at the greed demonstrated in the proposed tax policies, the cruelty shown to the lower classes, and the wanton slashing of regulations and shutter of agencies which impact their business interests.

Jared Kushner? Marjorie Taylor Greene?

Economic moron manipulated by Navarro and Lutnick who are catering to his narcissistic need to be the center of attention. Anyone who thinks people in the administration aren't profiting from insider trading during these induced market machinations is an idiot.

He panics easily because his policies are never carefully thought through.

Per Priya Misra, JP Morgan asset portfolio manager, foreign investors hold about 8.5 trillion in US debt. She summed it up so beautifully and succinctly: "If the objective of tariffs is to take the trade deficit to zero, the rest of the world doesn't need to hold Treasurys." Uh-oh.

Good analysis of what's going on in the bond market:

This is the second day of hefty basis point increase in Treasury yields, even in the face of a sharply rising recession risk. It's like the world is waking up to the fact that they're not lending money to Uncle Sam anymore, but lending money to Donald Trump, a man who cannot be viewed as a good credit risk.

More holes: flat tires can usually be easily repaired without need for replacement. repairs are usually done in the front of motor cycle repair shops, not out of sight in back of shop it's inconceivable that the mechanic would have replaced both tires without first getting customer's approval what language was all this transacted in? If English, shop could easily have used Google Translate to explain need to replace both tires and cost before proceeding with repair. relying on GT is very common in repair shops these days, even the most humble or back alley shops can do this not a nice piece of creative writing if it unfairly portrays Thais as rip off artists, Bob.

Story doesn't ring true to life. If you really did speed off, the repair guys would have hopped on their bikes, easily and happily chased you down, and you'd be sitting in the pokey now.

Keep an eye on Treasury rates which are creeping back up even as recession fears continue to rise. Even if foreign sovereigns don't explicitly adopt a tactic of boycotting US debt, Trump has generated so much distrust and dislike for his administration that interest in Treasurys, both domestically and overseas has been dampened considerably. If rates stay elevated - even as the global economy tanks - this could easily accelerate the US's fiscal crisis simply because of the increase in debt servicing costs. Trump, with his singular fixation on the income tariffs generate, has completely overlooked the negative fiscal impacts of his tariff policy: decreased tax revenue from slowing economic activity, decreased tax revenue due to reduced exports, decreased tax revenue from capital losses in the stock market, decreased travel to the US, decreased tax revenue from cratering consumer confidence, higher outlays due to rising unemployment, etc. Another overlooked impact is the stress rising rates and slowing economic activity will have on the banking sector because of increased distressed loans and the spread between banks are able to offer and what depositors can receive elsewhere. I've read that the threat of a boycott of US debt is a hollow threat because the Fed can always just step in and buy US debt, but how long do you think that would play out before there was a crisis of confidence in the US dollar? I believe the failure of the Trump administration to recognize this major vulnerability, wallowing in its hubristic belief that America holds all the cards, will prove to be what forces them to reverse course on his ill thought out trade policy. Unfortunately a tremendous amount of damage which cannot easily be reversed has already been done to global trust and respect for American leadership.

@Purdey Show me evidence to support your contention. A comment on a 20 year old ASEANNOW thread unattributed to any source is not evidence. @johng It must be nice to live in a world where you can discount anything you choose not to believe. I envy you. Not.

Google is saying your comment about Tiger Woods is misinformation. There is no public information or evidence to suggest that Woods ever declined the Thai citizenship offered to him. It has long been my observation that white foreigners who are eager to falsely portray Thais as virulently racist towards black people are usually projecting their own prejudices in an effort to legitimize and normalize them.

May be inadequate if you get bitten by a monkey.

His main complaint about so-called farang wannabes is their attempt to learn the language. Every time I have encountered feelings of resentment from foreign men about other foreign men speaking Thai, the root of the resentment has always been jealousy and insecurity. This has been particularly true when the Thai wife is present, and even truer when the Thai wife's English proficiency is limited, as another foreigner speaking Thai is an unwelcome reminder of how the language barrier limits the quality of the communication between the couple. Anyone who has achieved a high level of proficiency in the language knows how much effort it takes to acquire that proficiency, and ought to welcome the opportunity to evaluate another foreigner's proficiency, and perhaps exchange tips on ways to improve further. They also ought to be able to easily relate to and be indulgent when another person takes pleasure in demonstrating a skill which required a tremendous amount of time and hard work to obtain. Furthermore, anyone who has achieved a high level of proficiency in the language would know how much goodwill language skills generate with Thai people, and would encourage every effort made by foreigners to learn the language, and never attempt to stigmatize or make people feel self-conscious for having made the effort.

It's a little hard to tell from the picture, but there is a variety of bee which is smaller than a typical Thai honey, and they are very aggressive and persistent when their hives are disturbed and are capable of biting or stinging multiple times almost behaving the way hornets/wasps behave when their nests are disturbed. You should be able to find someone locally who is skilled at wild honey harvesting who can tell you best way to manage. Usually smoke is used. Edit: @flare regular honeybees in Thailand are golden colored, and the smaller variety I mentioned are darker. But don't let their small size fool you their stings/bites can hurt, and cause swelling and itching. I had a big hive in a mango tree last year. I could be wrong about this, but when the honeycomb remnant was finally removed, it was all wax with no honey, so wild honey harvester might not be overly interested in the hive, but willing to remove it for a fee. @flare Probably gonna take a drawn out length of time to get an answer from tessaban. Just ask your puu yai or neighbors for a wild honey bee harvester reference. Probably take a little bird-dogging, but shouldn't be too hard.

Just to try to answer the OP's question about why this is done... The biggest reason is the logistical difficulty (and danger) of doing high elevation pruning. Thais have as much appreciation for nature and aesthetic sense as anyone, but this unfortunately is too often overridden by a poverty driven mentality which sees nature in terms of its monetary value, with aesthetics taking a back seat. Thais seem to be most protective of nature when a spiritual value is placed on it (caves, waterfalls, mountains, Bodhi trees, etc.)