jas007

How much of Gaza is left, at this point?

I don't know about the "best in Thailand," but I've had a few that were pretty good. PrimeBurger in Pattaya at Central Festival, and a place called Craftburger, I think, on Sukhumvit Soi 11, in Bangkok. Of course, with a grill and the right ingredients, I could make something really good. CraftBurger: PrimeBurger:

I didn't "think" much about it, actually. In my mind, there was only one issue: Free Speech. The Democrats had devolved to a point where they seemed to think was OK to spread their nonsense propaganda around the world while at the same time censoring, controlling and cancelling anyone they could possibley reach who didn't agree with their insane agenda. To me, that was crazy. Once you lose Free Speech, you lose everything. And for what it's worth, I didn't bother to vote. I knew Trump would win. Harris? LOL. There was no way. Only in the delusional minds of some people, and delusions don't count for much when they tally up the vote.

I've been trying to eat "healthy" these days, but it isn't easy. No sugar, no high fructose corn syrup, no seed oils, no processed food, no ultra processed food, etc. Take away all the unhealthy food and there isn't much left. So, I buy grass fed beef and cage free eggs and eat those a lot. I can cook that at home and that's what I usually have for breakfast Also, the right green leafy veggies, and some fruits, in moderation. So, I usually skip the Thai food carts and it costs me more money to eat. On the occasions when I do eat out, I try to keep it healthy. And once in a while, I just eat whatever I want. Yesterday afternoon, I had a pizza from a local place. 220 baht. That seemed reasonable to me. It wasn't the biggest pizza you could imagine, but it was good for one person. For what it's worth, I'm at Wongamat Beach, which is mostly loaded with tourists, so the restaurants around here aren't exactly cheap. I'm from the USA, though, and I've never really adjusted to the real Thai economy. If I eat a meal and it's 350 baht or less, I don't feel like I'm being ripped off.

They're probably just keeping up with real prices. The official "inflation" numbers are BS. Everybody knows that. Ever hear or the "Big Mac Index"? From The Economist magazine. I haven't looked at it lately, but the general idea is that a Big Mac is a Big Mac anywhere in the world, and they list Big Mac prices around the world with a US dollar benchmark. The result is the PPP or "Purchasing Power Parity." How is the local currency doing, in terms of value, against the US dollar?

The US dollar isn't going anywhere anytime soon, but, what value will it have, going forward? I'm sure that most people reading this have seen the value of the dollar pretty much destroyed during their lifetimes. And, that trend will likely continue. Nothing goes in a straight line and there will be fluctuations along the way, but my advice is to not save up too many US dollars in an effort to get rich. That would be an exercise in futility. What to do? Diversify. Have some dollars to "buy the dip" when the stock market tanks. Maybe buy some gold and hold it yourself. Maybe buy some silver. Once the real estate market crashes (which is only a matter of time), certain real estate might be a good investment. As for changing dollars into other currencies? All around the world, central banks are dealing with debt problems and would like to lower interest rates to spur economic development. The USA doesn't have a monopoly in that regard. I think I saw a story just yesterday about Thailand and its desire to lower rates. They aren't the only country playing that game. The impact of Trump's economic agenda remains to be seen. No country ever got rich trying to borrow their way to prosperity. Maybe the USA will become more of a producer and less of a consumer of junk made elsewhere in the world. As for BRICS and the alternate monetary system they're trying to set up? Whatever happens, that system won't be a threat to the US dollar anytime soon. Trillions of dollars change hands around the world on a daily basis. The only place that can currently happen: The USA. Wall Street. Perhaps years from now things will be different. For now, do the best with what you have.

The political party surely lines up, right? Democrats then. Democrats now. Only the costumes have changed.

He did win the election and he is now President. And I think most people would agree, even any this point, that the alternative, Harris, would have been a disaster for the country. So, perhaps people should get over it and try to have a positive attitude.

I'm not so sure they're full members, yet. As far as I know, they're just a so-called "Partner Country" of BRICS, which is a step towards full membership.

I thought they just applied to join BRICS? Anyone know what kind of cars they make in Thailand and ship into the USA? I can't imagine, off the top of my head.

It's not the countries that are new, but the "order" that they (the Globalists) were trying to establish. The WEF is one of the culprits. We're lucky that all that nonsense might be history. At this point, some of the damage may have already been done, though, with the COVID jabs. According to some, the jabbed people will be dying over the next few years in mass numbers. I guess we'll be finding out.

I'm in Pattaya, and every once in a while I think about moving to Bangkok, just for a change of scenery. Big cities can be fun. I once lived in New York City, so it's not as if a big city would be anything new for me. Anyway, I think about it and then I finally come to my senses and decide I'd be better off maintaining a condo at the beach in the Pattaya area as a base of operations and then travel around when I want. Bangkok isn't that far away if I ever want to go and spend a month there. It doesn't have to cost too much to stay there for a month. Ditto for trips to just about anywhere else in Thailand or even elsewhere in SE Asia. Just hop on a plane and in an hour or so, you're there. There's no real reason why I have to be anywhere, so long as I have my laptop, my phone, and my iPad and internet access.

Most of the people on the left running around defacing Teslas are too dumb to know what they're doing. They've been programed to respond to everything they don't agree with labels such as "Nazi" or "Fascist." Or, perhaps with some other term they probably don't even understand. Ask any of them what an "oligarchy" is. See if they know.

I still think nothing much is going to come from any of this. At the News conference where he signed the order about auto tariffs, Trumps was asked about the Signal thing. He didn't seem to think it was a big deal, and he expressed the opinion that the attacks were very successful. In other words, it's over, no harm done, move on.

Much ado about nothing because nothing is going to come of this. It's over. I guess they won't do that again.

There's probably more to this story than anyone seems to know right now. Is the Signal chatroom thing something new? Or is it typically used for group chats? Is there an alternative for more secure group conferences? If so, why would they use Signal? It sounds to me like this journalist got added to the room somehow, but it wasn't by any member of the Administration, at least not deliberately. Can Signal be hacked? What makes "secure" communication secure?

For sure, there will be midterm elections. There always are. And yes, the balance of power in congress can matter. That's always the case. So, if it makes you feel any better, it's all political theater for political purposes. Swaying an election one way or the other. Just so you realize the "facts" and the "truth" may not much matter. Propaganda can be a powerful tool, as can control of the media.

Political theater. The Lefties are equally guilty with their scaremongering. Does any of it matter, at the end of the day? Perhaps at election time. But the election is over, at least for this Trump term.

Much ado about nothing. It's not as if it was any kind of big secret that Yemen would be bombed. There are only so many ways a country can be bombed. That usually involves airplanes and bombs. Maybe missiles. But, count on the Lefties to try to make it seem like the end of the world. Trump will stick with his team, I think.

One minor correction: those receiving Title II Social Security disability benefits can live overseas, provided it's in a part of the world where the treasury can make direct payments. That's most of the world, with a few exceptions.

Maybe you should go back and read your own post: Are you a mind reader? How do you know what their motives are? How do you know what their agenda is? We do know that Musk perseveres in his falsehoods about Social Security despite dispositive evidence that he's lying. Musk has history of massively lying that predates his Doge service. And why do you refuse to look up the facts of the case? Sounds like you're the one raising the issue of motives and intent and a certain person's supposed history of lying. Perhaps it's time to reframe this discussion, if it makes you happy. What we're witnessing is political theater. Bombastic claims by Trump and the Administration on the one hand, and people on the left blowing the issue all out of proportion to scare old people and score what they believe to be political points. That's politics. It happens every day and there's not much either of us can do about it. But don't pretend for a minute you have a monopoly on the "facts." I'm sure you'd like everyone to think so, though. And, at the end of the day, while the media reports the so-called "news," the issue will work its way through the system. The judicial system will be involved. Both the DOJ and the courts. And if they chose to get involved, congress an always correct any perceived problems. That's the way it works. That's the system. Maybe not perfect, but I haven't heard from you any solution for the problems that may exist. There are none you say? Everything is fine?

Since when does the media, any media, ever conclusively make findings of "fact"? They report what they consider to be "news." That's it. What's true? Maybe they're accurate, maybe they're not. In any event, what they report doesn't matter, at the end of the day. As for people''s "agenda"? Who knows? They say what they say. They do what they do. It's all part of the political process and it's not for me to decide. But make no mistake, it's happening and neither of us have much to say about it. Just hope the efforts at reform aren't sidelined by political bickering. The country is finished, otherwise, I'm afraid.

Too many bombastic claims on both sides? All that is going on here, in the end, is that they're trying to cut out waste, fraud, and abuse, where they find it. I'm sure they'll figure it out. Anyway, there's more fraud elsewhere in the government, I'm sure. Like kickbacks from the forever wars, perhaps? How many billions there?

Since when does "voluminous reporting" prove anything? Voluminous reporting as reported by the "fake news" media? In any event, how many people ever the age of 100 do you think are actually collecting benefits? There aren't many, unless they're all very well hidden. How many people over 100 do you know? The Lefties are trying to make a mountain out of a molehill with this story. Trying to scare everyone. All the Administration is trying to do is cut out waste, fraud, and abuse. If there's an easy way to do that, please, let us know. But don't think for a minute that "business as usual" will fix the problem. Business as usual is exactly why there is a problem now. People taking the easy way out. "We don't have time for this now, put it on the back burner." "Code in a fake birthday. That'll fix it." I can give you other examples of how shortcuts became the norm, but I'll skip that for another day.

I'm sure they will fix that. And I do understand much of what shows as money being paid to people well over 100 years old is likely being paid to someone younger. I understand that. But that does't mean there's no fraud to be uncovered. How would you fix things? Wait for "business as usual" to catch up to 2025?