jingjai9

The Unholy Alliance by Paul L. Williams. It is a history of an alliance consisting of the Vatican, the Mafia and the CIA. The book is nonfiction and so far all of my fact checking has lent credence to the author's claims. There is a podcast of some of this book. The name of the podcast is Eyes Wide Open. LBJ biography by Robert Caro.

Non Asian tourists most often do not have an adequate perception of elephants in many cases. They are often not portrayed realistically in western media or Hollywood or even western newscasts. I think sharing living space with monkeys or elephants is a great mistake, for the people and animals alike. These tropical animals living in semi captivity is most dangerous. Not every animal can adapt as well as dogs to a domestic setting. Even kittens with a domesticated mother will act feral if they are born in the woods. Imagine letting wolves or wild boars run around in or near your community just because it looks cool or some opportunistic businessman found a way to make a few bucks exploiting wildlife.

Why can't the wealthy tech companies invest in US workers with more scholarships, training programs and other support to get US students interested in pursuing a tech career. If the tech industry is allowed to import foreign workers in large numbers, this saves them money which I am sure their lobbyists push hard for. Why can't there be a compromise - the tech industry can have x number of foreign employees if they invest x amount of dollars in training programs for US citizens. I used to l live in Microsoft's backyard, Bellevue Washington and I shared an apartment complex with a good number of Microsoft employees. My next door neighbor was an Indian man and from my many conversations with him, it seems that Asian employees are used to long working hours and they are less combative with employers than US citizens. This makes them easier to manage in many aspects. I work here in Asia and there is more tolerance towards a rigid hierarchy than I ever saw in The States.

We have to remember no one asked us to come here. No one promised me a better life as in "go east old man". I hear western people tell me they don't like their home countries because of the immigration policies. Their mindset is immigrants are being treated better than citizens. I cannot vouch for the veracity of this point of view but I have heard this story about 10 times from different people - USA, Germany, England, Austria, Netherlands etc.

Looks like he is already dressed for jail.

Does anyone have any information where in Udon this so called bad massage took place? It would be a public service if we knew.

I am really looking for someone who can tell me the steps to take for getting a US visa for a Thai person. I was hoping someone who has done this recently could point me in the right direction by sharing their experience or telling which part of the US Consulate's website is most useful. I understand if you have had a US visa in the past and the expiration date of the visa is not more than forty eight months, no interview is necessary.

So he did it last year but now cant remember how to do it? He did the visa ten years ago. The US visas are good for ten years. Things have changed

Does anyone know the procedure (steps) for obtaining a US tourist visa for a Thai citizen? I know about the income requirements, etc. What is the procedure? I mean what do you do first, second, etc. I have a Thai friend who has received confirmation for submitting his D-160 application online. The confirmation says this is the first step in the process. Does anyone know what the next steps are in the process? This Thai person is applying for a tourist visa renewal. The old tourist visa expired one year ago. Thank you

Trump and Musk all already bumping heads. So I think you are right. Musk will not put up with being told what to do for very long. I just hope at this point we get to see neo liberalism on trial to see how good or bad it is in action. Critics of Trump and the neo liberal model often mention that the main reason government agencies need to cut budgets is that the .1% are not paying their fair share of taxes. However, you cannot apologize for inefficient government agencies and maybe Musk and company can do something about this, but will it be at the expense of lower income people who cannot hire lobbyists to do their bidding in Washington?

The problem is that Musk receives billions of dollars a year in government contracts. Also, he will have the power to influence major decisions that could affect the success or prosperity of his own businesses such as Space X and its subsidiary, Star link as well as Tesla. I do not question Musk's ability as a knowledgeable advisor; however, are we supposed to assume he is a nice guy and will of course do the right thing for the country? OR could it be that his own interests come before those of the country and the public good? This is a dilemma - when the billionaire class is put in such influential, non-elected positions.

I have been told that the amount of time it takes to get a transfer completed on Wise depends not only on the amount, but the country of origin. Is it true that transfers from the USA take longer due to banking laws? Does anyone have first hand knowledge as to whether or not banking laws play a factor in international transfers?

I think Thailand has allowed weed and now possibly gambling because they are losing manufacturing jobs and they need revenue. I question how much gambling revenue will stay in the country? How many Thai people have the resources to invest in this kind of game? Will the average Thai citizen be able to apply and be hired for jobs at the entertainment complexes without paying tribute?

I had hoped to find some good information in this post, but it seems most of the energy was spent on disparaging "the other side." I think many people follow Trump because they feel no one else is looking out for them. As we enter the final week of another US presidential election season with candidates brought to us by the donor class, Americans are perhaps being forced to vote for the person they hate least. This election for many is a forced choice. I for one do not really appreciate Donald Trump, but 70 million people voted for him. It sounds quite arrogant to brush off 70 million people as A-holes or ingenuous because they think Trump is the best. Do you dislike Trump for all the things he says or do you take issue with the way he says them? One social critic has opined that Trump is the middle finger of US politics in the 21st century. Many followers of Trump see him as a vent for their despair as the quality of life has continued to diminish over the last generation for many in the US. People whose jobs have been out-sourced; people who feel immigrants are taking their jobs as well as a host of other threats which causes angst among a great percentage of the electorate. A goodly number of people also feel the US is less likely to go to war with Trump in office. Trump speaks using the vocabulary of common people and many admire Trump because he is not just another politician who has been in an elected office for the last 40 odd years. Many Americans feel the US needs a businessman to lead the country. My problem with Trump is that he is not the best person to articulate the viewpoints of his constituency. We do not need a president that exudes reality TV sentiment He can be quite brash, and he sets a negative tone by speaking at numerous rallies across the US with vitriol. I also think Trump is in large part responsible for the mess we find ourselves in today and that is calling people who disagree with us liptards. jerks or A-holes. I think history may look back at this era as THE AGE OF TRUMP. Have any of you ever heard Donald Trump laugh? I haven't and this gives me reason for pause. What happened to the days when people would say, "I disagree with you 100% but I would die fighting for you your to say it?" I am reserving my vote for a year when I have a choice.

The tourist revenue is not free money. The incident described herein is one example of the responsibilities the host country must assume when inviting millions of foreigners into their country; many of whom are ignorant of the culture. The perpetrator of the crime appears to be breaking the law, surely.

According to some social critics the empire has already ended.

Good to know that there was none of this happening under the previous administration. Wait, what? Crime statistics show a decline in overall crime. Ah, right is all a conspiracy to cover up. Every American involved is corrupt and covering up the truth … I would venture to say that many of the crimes involving well armed, violent gangs go unreported. The statistics show less crime but this does not reflect reality.

Didn't Harris turn down a debate with Trump on FOX? I don't blame either candidate because neither CNN or FOX are impartial.

Murdoch, in his quest for money, has singlehandedly caused the great division and hatred of the left versus right in GB, USA and Australia. He has stirred it up and convinced the gullible that they have problems that they don’t. Created unnecessary fear. And made billions doing it. And unashamedly they also use the line “you can not trust the mainstream media” of which he is. You can not trust his version of mainstream media because all he cares about is clickbait. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Award winning journalist Matt Taibbi has written a great book on this topic, entitled, Hate Inc. It is widely acclaimed. It is a historical analysis of how the US media has changed through the years from 3 network news broadcasters, to cable news and onto social media and podcasting. Taibbi states that Fox's decision to broadcast conservative news was a business decision as stated in the opening of the post I have quoted.

Is the nationwide drought officially over? I have not seen any reports about the level of the reservoirs.

Does anyone know of a good transmission service in Muang Udon Thani? It is for a 2015 Nissan automatic transmission. Looking for an honest mechanic who has experience with transmissions. I find dealerships charge inflated prices. Anyone have a similar experience? Any good experiences to report. Thanks

Three things: The sewer smells The uneven footpaths The stress that comes with driving a vehicle on the streets in urban areas.

Yes, the politicians want to make sure they get their two cents in saying the US should be tough on terrorists so they have a sound byte for their campaigns. Why haven't any of the people suspected of terrorism been tried in a court of law? Why should the secretary of defense have any power in this situation? Is the American government not confident that a judge and jury could make a good decision? My fear is that once we allow anyone to be convicted outside of the judicial system, we are eroding the democratic process. If terrorists can be held in detention for many years, then who's next? No matter how heinous a crime a person has committed, once you deny anyone due process, we are in trouble. We go against the principles of democracy.

Do you have any clue why your Thai is troublesome for native speakers? You cannot simply assume it is due to pronunciation errors. It could be syntax or grammatical errors. Ask yourself this: Can I say: I learn a new word in Thai every day. I learned a new word yesterday. I am learning Thai every day. I should have learned more Thai when I was younger. Can I express events in the past, present or future fluently in Thai language? Can I express conditional situations in Thai, for example: If it rains tomorrow, I will use an umbrella. Do I know common prepositions of location such as: up down next to above over in back of in front of I would think if you do not know 80% of this, even with good pronunciation you would have communication issues.

I think there are too many generalizations in these posts. Judge people individually not as "Thais". Often, as I have seen it, the foreigner is eager to give money to in-laws in the beginning , then often grows weary as time goes by. Then he feels taken advantage of. Rule or exception? Foreigners marry rural Thai women and visit the wife's family without being fluent in Thai or say, Isaarn language. They are unable to express their feelings or engage in meaningful conversation. The Thai family is clueless about the wealth of their foreign in-law. The foreigner with the new Thai wife does not know the extent to which Thai men who have a good income are obligated to help the wife's family as well as their own family if the Thai man is in fact the highest wage earner in the family. The foreigner is not well-schooled in Thai customs or protocol. The foreigner is made to feel more like an object than a person by his wife's family or even his wife. The foreigner feels the Thai wife is on "their side" During visits to the village the foreigner appears aloof/and or bored in the eyes of the Thai family. The Thai woman and the foreign husband do not share the same values about obligations to family, child rearing or personal priorities. Put these in order from 1-3 by importance: obligation to family, obligation to spouse, saving for the future of the immediate family (excluding in-laws). The foreigner and Thai wife have had an engagement of at least two years prior to the marriage. The foreigner feels he can make his marriage successful because he is a little smarter than other farangs who encounter problems in their marriage, like dealing with step children, building a house in Thailand, Thai in-laws or money matters. The foreigner gets the feeling his wife's family has developed a sense of entitlement concerning money matters.