Hanaguma

Great idea. Now if only you could tell me what a "fair share" of taxes would be, that would be great. Maybe a nice simple flat tax, as proposed by Steve Forbes, would do the trick.

That is a good rate! I looked into GiCs at Royal Bank, they are at 4.9% for one year now, sliding back a little.

Hi and thanks, no not in Thailand yet. Just getting information and exploring options. Eg, if I put up the 800,000, I lose 40,000 baht a year in investment return if I assume a 5% return. So how much can I recover, if any?

Apologies if this is the upteenth time this question has come up.... What options pay the best return on the money that I need to deposit for an O visa for retirement? I accept that I will take a haircut on what I can get in the market or on GICs. Also, does my wife also have to make a deposit, or can she piggyback on mine? (we are both over 50, both non Thai). Thanks all!

True. When the name of the game is "get to Washington and stay there as long as possible", there is no incentive for politicians to do anything other than pander to interest groups. Even at the cost of the public at large. "I am taking away your benefits" is NOT a winning political message. Only cure? Balanced budget amendment, and strict term limits in Congress.

You really think the Israelis couldn't throw a good genocide, if they wanted? Really? The IAF has 300 attack aircraft and the best they can do is kill 2-300 people a day... come on, man.

Ah yes, the world's slowest, most ineffective, most poorly executed genocide. So terrible that the population in the 'genocided' territory has only tripled since 1990.

Good job. And if Biden was part of the decision making process and gave his approval, good job to him as well. The more that Iran learns that FAFO has real implications, the better.

No, the demonstations show clearly that a small but vocal minority of leftie idiots are easily manipulated and poorly educated. If they were so righteous, why do so many of them hide their faces?

Nobody enjoys either hate speech or attempts to regulate it. I'll take the First Amendment. As for Harvard, how low they have fallen. Past presidents were world class economists, former Cabinet secretaries. Now, a petty plagiarist and race hustler in the same position. At least she had the dignity to resign.

According to the New York City government, it costs between $360 and $394 per 'migrant' per DAY to feed and house them. Two BILLION dollars up to now, projected to grow to 12 billion. Just in one city. But the country needs them..... sure. https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/politics/2023/10/23/city-officials-provide-little-details-on-daily-migrant-spending#:~:text=The city has spent more,to understand why on Monday.

The President's schedule is a matter of public record. And also public scorn. He is (in)famous for having all events scheduled between 10 and 4. Nothing to do with the Bad Orange Man, the topic is Biden.

How about a 'remain at the border in detention ' policy? Along immediate deportation and blacklisting for crossing outside of designated ports of entry?

Never underestimate Joe's ability to 'call a lid' on command. Works 5 hours on a busy day, nearly 40% of his time on vacation, being President sounds like a good gig!

From what I heard, the JAL airliner hit a small Coast Guard plane on the runway that should not have been there. It was ferrying supplies up to the earthquake zone on the Sea of Japan coast. Tragically, the Coast Guard crew were all killed or injured. It is amazing that the A-350 was evacuated so quickly and with no serious injuries. A testament to JAL training, and also Japanese peoples' social cohesion.

Biden is a stuttering ruin, walks like a Roomba automatic floor cleaner. Trump not much better. More words but less meaning. How about both parties agree to kicking them both to the side and nominating someone under the retirement age?

If the economy is good, most people ain't feeling it. Car loans at 10% plus. Mortgages at 7%, added to the rise in housing costs in general. High cost of living brought on by inflation. I could go on. A strong majority of Americans disapprove of Biden's handling of the economy. You can argue how much of it is fair or not, but the man at the big desk always takes the heat.

This is good news! The terrorists are being confined to a smaller and smaller area, and can be hunted down and eliminated over time. Meanwhile in the north, the destruction of the vast network of terror tunnels can continue apace.

Apologies. The KFCs are actually located in the West Bank, not in Gaza. But your story was interesting- it freely admitted that there are HUNDREDS of tunnels used by Gazans to smuggle goods into and out of their area. Which is a first class, excellent reason why Israel needs to shut them all down. Again, not much of an 'open air prison' when KFC can be smuggled in. Or places like the Al Mathaf Hotel do business... https://www.facebook.com/mathaf.hotel/

Most of those problems are exascerbated by an overabundance of labor, especially vulnerable people who are easily exploited. If you want to solve those issues, tighten the border.

Why don't the asylum seekers instead go to one of the many American consulates in Mexico, or their home countries, or any country in between? It would save them a lot of shoe leather. If you want to know just one tiny cost of this fiasco, consider New York City. Housing and feeding the migrants costs millions of dollars a DAY. The city pays $33 per day just to feed one migrant- that is over a hundred bucks a day for a family, just for their food. And a lot of the food is thrown away by the migrants anyway. Needs to stop.

Nobody blames immigrants. However, people DO blame illegal aliens. They are two completely separate categories. If you believe that the working class is becoming the working poor, then you should also be on side with limiting all forms of immigration. Putting pressure on the labor market at the bottom will only cause wages for legal residents and citizens to fall. Also, adding millions of people who need housing when there is already a housing shortage will cause prices in that sector to rise. Perhaps the most basic function of a nation is to control its borders. Fail to do that one task and bad things happen. Tens of thousands of young, fit, military age men from myriad countries flowing into the US (especially from China) does not bode well for the future.

Funny kind of 'genocide' where the population of the supposed genocide victims actually GROWS. Grows by 400% since 1967. Same as the other tired shibboleth of Gaza being an "open air prison". Funny kind of prison which has KFC, 3 star hotels, and thousands of guests from outside visit for extended stays.

Neeranam; what is this "right of return" that you mentioned? Can you be specific about what exactly it entails? I have heard this phrase bandied about but nobody wants to define the term itself.

Not at all OK. I think Hamas should definitely distinguish between civilian and combatant deaths. But for some reason, they don't.