Gecko123

You might be interested to know that Thuringia was the very first German state to elect an NSDAP (National Socialist German Workers Party) representative to parliament in 1929. Sad that this dark history has been forgotten by so many.

I would argue that one of the biggest drivers of housing un-affordability in the US is the entry of institutional investors into the single family housing market, which in my opinion, can be traced directly back to Trump's massive tax cuts for the wealthy. Some of the resulting wealth accumulation flowed into the housing market. Interest rates were artificially suppressed by the Fed during this period resulting in a stock market with abnormally high PE ratios, further making institutional investment in the housing market more attractive. This institutional money in the housing market, (particularly in the single family market which is a relatively new phenomena) priced more people out of home ownership, forcing them into the rental market, driving up demand, and exacerbating the housing affordability crisis. There is also evidence that in many markets institutional investors are manipulating the market through price fixing. Thus, the sharp increase in housing inflation (which is a big component of the inflation statistics,) can be traced directly back to Trump's policies, even if the true impact of these policies did not become evident until after he had left office. Your and @maesariang 's analysis of statistics like rates of inflation, housing affordability, homelessness, etc., is flawed as it ignores the fact that there are often considerable lag times between when policies are enacted and when effects of these policies, desired or undesired, are observed. Another good example would be an infrastructure bill passed during one administration not having an observable positive effect on productivity until after the administration has left office.

Main take aways for me were that Kamala appears to be a far more charismatic politician on the retail level than I gave her credit for, and she also seems to be having far greater appeal to Southern voters than Trump initially imagined she would.

This whistle-stop tour culminated with the rally in Savanna, and the successful CNN interview. Trump is trying to portray Kamala Harris as a San Francisco Marxist, but what he's overlooking is that because she attended Howard University, a historically black college, she has excellent rapport with African-American AND southern voters, and this was abundantly evident in watching footage of her whistle-stop campaign stops through southern Georgia. That rapport is what may be driving her rise in the polls in southern swing and purple states like North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Texas. At the very least, this footage shows how natural and comfortable she is in black social settings, and how ridiculous and insulting Trump's attempts were to suggest she has only recently leaned into her black heritage for political gain.

Makes me wonder whether the previous owner knew the dogs had a propensity to attack and unloaded them on an unsuspecting buyer. Another thought which occurred to me is that if the dogs were cooped up in Bangkok and had little opportunity to socialize with other dogs or people, their true nature may have been difficult to assess.

I already gave you excellent advice on this subject here:

I admit that I've been struggling for over a day to devine your intention by posting the above meme. Are you trying to imply that because I posted a meme of what I believe is an African-American man, that I must not only be (a) African-American but that (b) I must also be Muslim? Rather presumptuous, don't you think? Coupled with a picture of Putin in the background, is this meme suggesting that Putin is behind Muslim immigration into the UK? So you're implying that anyone who doesn't have a full-throated appreciation of British humor must be some sort of "outsider" who ought to go back to wherever they came from? Not only weird, but if you ask me, because of the above multiple leaps in logic (not to mention the xenophobia and racism), a complete fail in the humor department.

Would not a more accurate headline have been....? Birds, babalicious ladyboys, booze, and banter remain the Pattaya attraction for Brits

Some of you guys are starting to sound like you're living in denial. As in, "the only way Trump will lose is if the election is rigged" denial. You and other die-hard Trumpers may want to start psychologically preparing yourselves for Trump's defeat, and the very real likelihood that America is going to have its first female African South Asian president. Be careful out there. Wouldn't want to see anyone else end up in jail. Look at how key voting demographics have shifted since Harris' ascension to the top of the ticket: young voters, women, black, Hispanic, Asian, Indian-American, independents, moderate Republicans, etc. Those constituencies are not going to magically drift back to Trump in the next couple of months. Have you seen the latest democratic campaign contribution totals which are nothing short of staggering? The Harris/Walz ticket is holding out the promise of optimism, unity, community, prosperity for working families, and more equitable taxation, while Trump's vision is totally dystopian. Then there are the issues of abortion rights, the rogue Supreme Court, Project 2025, the militarization of the police, Trump's criminal history, and his authoritarian tendencies. People are sick to their back teeth of him, and I think people are flocking in droves to the attractive alternative they have been offered. Also, the more Harris looks like she is going to prevail, the more people are going to rally around her because they want to back a winner. With all due respect, thaibeachlovers (and others on this thread), I don't think you have a good handle on the mood of the American electorate. People are ravenously hungry for change. Americans go through these oscillations periodically: the rejection of McCarthyism, the end of the Love Revolution, the shift away from Carter's idealism, etc, just as a few examples. What you're witnessing now is one of these "turnings", and IMHO, the chances of this opportunity not being seized with both hands by the American people are next to zero.

Two of the best convention speeches of all time. It was like watching a flawless baton handoff in a 400 meter relay race. In terms of re-invoking the optimism of Barrack's 2008 bid for the White House and reassuring the American people that Kamala will have a tremendous brain trust of support behind her, the Obamas speeches had incalculable value. As the convention nears its conclusion, I have growing confidence that the post convention bump in the Harris-Walz poll numbers will be record setting.

I'm guessing someone made an unkind remark about someone's weight. As true as that might be, it's totally understandable how that type of hurtful comment could trigger someone at the end of a long and quite possibly unlucrative evening.

Interesting points. Would add to what you said by saying that because foreign men often hook up with Thai women younger than themselves, they imagine that Thai men of any age group ought to be similarly interested in socializing with them. That's no more true than a teenager or guy in his 30's or 40's back home wanting to hang out with someone his grandfather's age. I have found that Thai men in my age group are relatively receptive to shooting the breeze.

That's an accurate observation, but who do you suppose constructed the shop housing the wife's small business? And where do you suppose the husbands are while the wife is running the small shop? I'll tell you where. They're out in the fields plowing, planting, spraying, fertilizing, harvesting, loading and hauling, etc. Or they're resting after making an overnight run to Bangkok wholesale markets to buy the fresh market produce their wives sell during the day. Almost all heavy farm work, especially involving machinery, is done exclusively by men. Most foreigners have little appreciation for how taxing farm labor is, and that there is a natural cycle of intense activity followed by periods of reduced activity. I'm forever mystified by how anyone could conclude that Thai women are harder working than Thai men. The only thing I can come up with is people generalizing based on "hard working" bar girls compared to "lazy" moto taxi drivers waiting around for their next fare. I suspect that there's a lot going on behind the scene and at odd hours that may be being missed by the casual observer.

Bingo. That same lack of language skills also prevents many foreigners from appreciating the substantial bodies of knowledge held by less educated Thai men (farming, construction, mechanical, engineering, political).

At the police line up... nine months later...

The cow didn't appreciate being treated like a piece of meat.

Show of tails, ladies, who thinks this guy should be deported...?

I saw something interesting in Le Monde the other day that might shed some light on why there seem to be a lot of mid-easterners involved in these motorcycle riding disturbances. Apparently, this is a popular activity for young Arab men returning to their home countries when they come home for vacation. Gunning motors, parading, and racing as a form of machismo and showing off that they've "made it" abroad seems to be generally more tolerated in less congested areas of the city, because their vacationing back home is perceived as a boost to the economy. My guess is that some of these guys have gotten it into their heads that they can normalize this activity no matter where they are on vacation, and the Thai police are going to have to set them straight that Thailand isn't Tunis. But the main point I want to make is that this looks like a cultural acceptability issue rather than a criminality issue.

Not in the least. It's just that I have seen scarce evidence that without a solid foundation in the language (reading, writing) beforehand, the so-called "immersion technique" rarely gets anyone beyond a rudimentary level. This is especially true in rural Thailand where language learning resources are very limited. I have never seen someone move to rural Thailand with minimal Thai language skills and progress to advanced level. Typically, they have an English speaking spouse, English is spoken at home, and very limited progress is ever made. The only reason I'm pushing this issue with you is to forewarn people that the notion that "I'll just pick up the language after I'm on the ground" usually doesn't work out that well, and there's no substitute for hitting the books, ideally before you get on the plane.

I was talking about a level of fluency that goes beyond "phrase book" Thai.

Plain and simply, you're giving out bad advice based on the false assumption that everyone's got nothing better to do with their time than teach you Thai for free. It's especially bad advice today when so many Thais speak at least a smattering of English.

Everyone thinks they're an expert on everything these days with the internet, but thanks for reminding people that 20-30 years ago you had to learn so much about Thailand through trial and error.

Biggest myth out there. Studying the language for close to a decade before moving here was the best thing I ever did.

I would be terrified if I were either Donald Trump or JD Vance. He's helping make Kamala Harris a better candidate, boosting her confidence and turbo charging the change, relatability, energizing, and optimistic messaging. Love that the "USA" chant, co-opted by the very un-American MAGA movement, is popping up more and more at these campaign rallies.