Gecko123

I always thought the expression "social security is the third rail" of American politics meant that any politician who messed with it would experience political death. After the killing of the United Healthcare's CEO, it might mean literal death as well. When you recklessly cut staffing and callously try to disrupt the timely payment of benefits, the impact is much the same as cutting actual benefits. There are proposed cuts to Medicaid in the House budget bill which Trump supports, and Musk is openly talking about the need to cut entitlements, so all the posters claiming this is all fear mongering need a reality check.

First reaction was hit and run collision knocked him into a ravine.

I've seen the tactic used before of filing frivolous counter claims in an assault case in an effort to pressure the injured party to drop the charges. If the couple was in the right, I would trust in the court's ability to fairly assess the relative credibility of the two parties. Only caveat is, on the assumption that they are unable to do it themselves, that they have a bi-lingual lawyer who can be trusted to effectively communicate their side of the story to the court.

According to a new study from the University of Toronto, low-carb diets may be linked to an increased risk of colon and colorectal cancers. https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/popular-diet-may-increase-risk-110000840.html

You're paying hookers to play cards with you?

Homemade larb moo

Legal and mailing addresses both in Thailand.

I had to Google 2FA (two factor authentication), but yes, I am now able to get 2FA verification messages on my cell phone from Fidelity. Just one other thing regarding the "I can't believe you didn't know you dropped the lead zero off your phone number when dialing Thailand from the USA" crowd. Even though nowadays it appears you can enter your mobile phone number with the zero omitted, I believe when I entered my phone number decades ago, the data entry field was set up for a three digit area code followed by a seven digit phone number which meant that you basically had to enter the lead zero in order to successfully fulfill the phone number data entry field requirements. My mistake was assuming that Fidelity would never call me as I lived overseas so it wasn't that important. I would also like to point out that when I originally entered my phone number decades ago, 2FA didn't even exist, so it has never even occurred to me that I might need to update my phone number format in their system. I was just trying to help people, because if you turn on the 2FA feature on Fidelity and then they can't send you an identity verification code to your cell phone, you can get stuck in a vortex where there's no way to remove the 2FA feature (because the system requires that before turning off the 2FA feature you have to verify your identity with a code sent to your cell phone, but you can't receive the code on your cell phone and customer svc can't turn off the 2FA feature manually on their end.) It was a hellish Catch-22 loop which required calling in every time I wanted to log on. Everyone at Fidelity was telling me the problem was that I had an overseas number, and it was only by luck that a customer svc rep had to call me back on my cell phone and in the process of double checking the format for dialing Thailand from the US that I realized the lead zero might be the reason I couldn't receive the security 2FA SMS messages. Once my phone number was updated on Fidelity's end in Fidelity's system, I was able to get the verification codes without any problems. And, again, several Fidelity reps told me that they get calls every day from overseas clients unable to receive verification codes on their cell phones, so I know I'm not the only one who experienced this problem. I only posted about this in an effort to help anyone else who might be experiencing the same problem.

The damage Trump has inflicted on investor, business and consumer confidence, and the loss of goodwill he has engendered around the world for American goods and services does not bode well for the US stock market. Building liquidity. Boycotting Treasuries (will need a 7% return on 2 year note to compensate me for political risk and profound distrust of Trump administration). Diversifying to overseas stock and bond markets. Trying to starve the Trump/Musk junta by minimizing and delaying taxes owed as much as possible, for example, no IRA withdrawals prior to age 73, considering municipal bonds. Boycotting US goods and services as much as possible. Grass roots consumer activism is how people need to fight back.

Do you feel better, Mr Smug? If you called Thailand from the US on a regular basis, yes, you'd probably know this, but you wouldn't necessarily know this if you lived in Thailand and rarely called Thailand from the US. Or if you perfunctorily filled out a phone number field 20 years ago when you didn't know this, and never had occasion to update the phone number because the vendor never had occasion to call you overseas, and it never occurring to you that the format of the number might suddenly become critical when you added dual authentication as a security measure to your account. As I said, Fidelity said many overseas customers experience this problem, so I know I'm not alone. I was just trying to give a heads up to my fellow expats. If you already know this, fine, thanks for smugly dropping in to share your dazzlingly extensive worldliness and technical sophistication. Feel free to run along now.

This problem was specific to Fidelity Investments, but may be applicable to other US on line accounts which require that an identity verification password be sent to your cell phone before accessing your account or authorizing a payment, etc. I turned on the dual authentication feature on my Fidelity account in order to make it more secure. The problem was that I wasn't able to receive the identity verification password on my cell phone, and for many weeks had to call into Fidelity to verbally receive the password (which obviously was cumbersome). My assumption was that the reason I couldn't receive the verification password on my cell phone was because I lived outside the US, and several Fidelity reps told me this was the reason, and there was nothing that could be done about it. There was no way to turn off the dual authentication feature either, even by calling into Fidelity. Finally...while talking this over with a Fidelity rep who had to call me back on my cell phone to verify my identity, it came to light that when dialing an overseas cell phone FROM the US, you have to delete the first "zero." For example, if your cell phone # is 085-555-5555, you dial the country code for Thailand (66) and then 85-555-5555 NOT 085-555-5555. The customer svc rep was able to change my number in the system with the lead zero deleted, and after a 24 hour computer refresh cycle I was able to receive the verification password on my cell phone. If you entered your full 10 digit cell phone number as your phone contact number on your account, there is a good chance that that is what will be used when attempting to send you a verification password, which will likely explain why you can't receive the password overseas. If you're experiencing this problem (and Fidelity said many of their overseas clients have this same problem) I recommend looking into whether your phone number for dialing FROM the US is properly entered on your account, and if not, you can probably call Fidelity (or whatever vendor you're experiencing problems with) and get it worked out.

Too late for that. The damage has already been done. He has revealed himself for who he is, and in the process ignited a class war against the oligarchs who forgot their Achilles heel, the consumer. Musk will die a broken man, perhaps meeting the same fate as Cromwell, whether figuratively or literally, remains to be seen.

A certificate of mental competency would translate to something like: ใบรับรองความสามารถทางจิต. You might want to ask the registrar for a sample letter of what they are looking for which you can show the hospital. Most government hospitals have a doctor who handles psychiatric issues and this person would probably better understand what the registrar is looking for.

With the rampant corruption, self-dealing, and blatant conflicts of interest running hog-wild and unchecked in Washington, and with a gutted SEC and department of justice, how anyone in their right mind could invest in any crypto currency these days is beyond me. It is not hard to imagine all the insiders with advance knowledge of Trump's announcement piling in ahead of time, and selling on cue after all the little investors had been suckered in. Pump-and-dump. Pig butchering. And, LOL, it's the gullible MAGA faithful who are being taken advantage of the most.

Suggestion for OP's playlist:

Now is the time to start your study of Thai. Your chances of becoming proficient in the language if you only start after moving here (especially as you get older) are very low, plus it takes a lot of time to get a handle on the language. Language skills are going to be key to making the adjustment, and will also greatly expand your options on where you can live. By the way, I'm not a native French speaker, but when I visited HCMC in Vietnam, not being able to speak a word of Vietnamese, I asked many locals if they could speak French, and I didn't find a single person who could. Perhaps I'm mistaken, but my impression was that the number of Vietnamese who have retained the ability to speak French from the colonial era is miniscule.

My advice would be to first figure out what you want to do in retirement, and only after figuring that out, focus on where you want to do it. The main risk of highly touristed areas with wild night life scenes isn't having your mindset "warped", but dissipation and rushing into a relationship with someone who has ulterior motives for getting involved with you, or with whom you are incompatible. Another question I'd be asking myself is 'suppose you got involved with someone and it didn't work out, or suppose you never got involved in a romantic relationship at all, where in Thailand would you like to live?' Many of the idyllic countryside or beachside retirement lifestyles envisioned when planning a retirement either expressly or subconsciously involve getting romantically involved, and not everyone is cut out to make that work cross-culturally over the long haul. I would look for someplace where you'd feel comfortable whether you were in a relationship or not, and where you can accomplish whatever retirement goals you have set out for yourself.

Stupid, incredibly short-sighted, egotistical reasoning on the part of Trump. Obviously, doesn't know his WWII history (i.e. parallels between England and France appeasing Hitler by allowing annexation of Czechoslovakia are striking). A free England was used as staging area for D-Day invasion of continental Europe. Brexit, in that it has weakened European Union solidarity and coordination, appears to have been a geopolitical mistake by the West. Trump's belief that Putin wouldn't break commitments he made to Trump (despite being confronted with countless examples of Putin breaking previous commitments) reveals narcissistic delusions of grandeur on a scale probably not seen since Napoleon. Difficult to not come to the conclusion that Trump is a Russian asset. The "reporter" (Marjorie Taylor Greene's husband) asking Zelenskyy why he hadn't worn a suit to the Oval Office was appalling, but Zelenskyy's response "I'll wear a suit when the war is over" was the perfect rejoinder. Trump and Vance revealed themselves to be soulless swines. I, as an American, am calling for a general strike and boycott of all things American until they are removed from office.

You are confusing the etymological roots of the word with how it is colloquially used in present day Thailand. In present day Thailand "farang" is synonymous with Westerners, quite often irrespective of their race. As several posters have pointed out, people with black, south American, middle eastern ancestry routinely are included under the colloquial umbrella term of "farang." In addition, treating the Royal Institute Dictionary (or any dictionary) as the absolute be all to end all authority on usage is a mistake. These reference tools have definitional imprecisions which oftentimes go decades before they are updated or corrected. If you don't believe me that the term "farang" is routinely used in reference to non-whites, ask the next non-Caucasian you pass on the street whether they are ever referred to as "farang" in Thailand. I can guarantee you that the answer will be 'yes.'

Finding someone to do repairs/maintenance on a bamboo hut might be a pita. If the roof is sheet metal will probably be quite loud in a rain storm. Security problems already mentioned. On positive side, no one will be jealous, but I wouldn't expect too many kudos for your humble love shack either. Will probably be viewed as an eccentric choice for housing. Why not rent a hotel room if all it is a weekend pied-a-terre? That type of construction nowadays is more associated with a field "house" used as a day/overnight shelter with no running water or electricity, and is more often constructed with wood boards than bamboo.

"Khon tang chat" doesn't mean person of a different ethnicity. It means person of a different nationality, i.e., foreigner. While this term is definitely more polite and, if you will, high brow, I think the main reason "farang" may have slipped in usage in more urban(e) settings is because Thais have picked up on social media that some foreigners dislike the term, labeling it as derogatory or even a racial label. It is however still widely used colloquially throughout Thailand.

In my opinion, the OP's suppositions about why foreigners use the word farang are almost entirely incorrect. It is not true that most foreigners who have lived in Thailand for a long time don't use the word "farang." In fact, someone who is in an area where they are mostly interacting with Thais on a daily basis ore the ones most likely to use the term because they hear the term used most frequently. "Farang" is a Thai word used colloquially as shorthand for "foreigner", i.e. a non Thai westerner, which foreigners have incorporated into their vocabulary out of habit of hearing it used. It is not a derogatory term, and most certainly not a racial epitaph, although if someone is angry at you, like just about any word, it can be used in a derogatory manner on occasion. The OP seems to be suggesting that there should be a rigid barrier between vocabulary used with Thais vs foreigners, which isn't how language is used in everyday usage. I don't think it comes off as "awkward, pretentious, unnatural or cringy" when foreigners use the term, nor does it sound "forced", "noob-ish" or in poor taste, anymore than someone with a limited knowledge of Thai incorporating "sawadee" or "khob kuhn" into their vocabulary. I think the OP's efforts to try and make people feel self-conscious about incorporating Thai words into their vocabulary whether they're long term expats or just here on vacation are misguided.

Would seem to bolster the argument that hiding out in the anonymity of urban areas is the best strategy. I don't think he would have been able to get away with overstaying that long if he had been out in the countryside.

Attached article says he is age 60, has a Thai wife and a child, and that he avoided detection by telling police he was in the process of renewing his visa. https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250225-thai-police-arrest-briton-for-overstaying-visa-by-25-years