mfd101

In Usofa life expectancy is falling ...

Well, as for the poor people (Khmer peasants) amongst whom I live, there is no retirement (though thanks to Thaksin there is now a very modest old age monthly income from the government). That's of course the reason why poor people have so many children, to look after them once they're too old to fend for themselves.

You've missed my point but not appropriate to discuss further.

Which was rather my point.

That doesn't explain why higher prices are a threat to farmers.

His words aren't all he'll have to eat in the coming days and weeks and months.

He's supposed to be arriving at 0900, so by the time you need to head out to the airport he'll either be ensconced in the PM's residence or in prison. Either way you'll be safe to leave. Though perhaps not to return.

Not the same. Far from it, but depending on circumstances.

You'll be delighted when you see Thaksin get the vote for PM. Followed by a triumphant procession to The Palace for the benediction. ????

And what's the drill for Yingluck? Is she arriving too? Will she too get a luxury suite at the Hilton?

There's no reconciliation between mafias. Just convenience.

Hope you're right on the first item, but the record so far is that the EC & the CC will between them find some ridiculous excuse to do the dirty on MFP. They don't need either logic or good legal argument ... Fingers crossed. On the second item, just as MFP is the largest single party in the HofR but still in a minority, so in government the PTP will be the largest single party but in a minority both in the HofR and - I'm guessing - maybe in the Cabinet room too. Not sure how that latter point would pan out. In a Western nation the Cabinet generally works by consensus and not by actual vote, and - while the PM is greatly influential - he or she is not a dictator within the Party room or Cabinet. But in Thailand ...

My b/f gave me a lecture on the subject when we first moved here in south Surin in 2017. He said the locals can't afford to give tips and to do so ourselves would create expectations that others can't meet. So we just round up.

Why would any half-sensible person buy clothes unseen and untried-on?

Woops, I thought this was going to be a surprise new candidate for the Presidency ...

High risk whatever MFP and PTP do: (1) If MFP votes against Sretta & goes into (effectively) one-party opposition, it may last thru till the next election whenever that is and then triumph with a smashing victory. Or it may or may not be abolished by CC edict but in any case it gradually sinks in to irrelevance like the Democrats and more or less disappears from the scene after the next election; (2) Basically the same - more or less extreme - alternatives await PTP. They 'lead' a government dominated by dinosaurs and suffer a resounding defeat & irrelevance at the next election, or they retire next week into a dignified opposition party alongside MFP and live to hope for a better future after the next wunnerful exercise of Thai democracy.

I suspect Alibaba is under the gun in Communist China. Former owner Jack Ma ... Ergo: No longer dependable for anything.

Well, good luck with all of that ... I note in passing that pardons come from only one person so no guarantees there, I should think.

All the fun of a one-legged race. Except it's hard to tell which leg will get up.

Not me particularly. But I suggest than many of those who whine & grizzle about exchange rates are themselves consumers of products imported in to Thailand. And, judged by the whining that goes on, they don't make the connection between the 2.

Um, does that make sense? Solution: Try a smaller size!!!

I hope all those Westerners praying for a lower baht are prepared for the consequent inflation in prices, particularly of things that Westerners love to buy.

Here in Prasat Surin the price is still 60 or 70฿ but I give him 100.

What I notice in a status/face-obsessed culture is the sheer speed with which a problem caused by the other party is turned - in 1 second - in to a problem caused by you. Swivelling on the head of a pin. I think they are trained in this valuable skill from the earliest age. Perhaps too there are classes for learning this skill in early schooling?

Let's look on the bright side: The first meeting between the Watchman and Sleepy Joe should be fun to watch. Very peaceful, I should imagine. All decisions made in advance (as they always are anyway) and a very satisfying encounter. Outcomes: Relations between the two great democracies strengthened. Chinese worried.