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Spoken like a true woke leftist. You can't resist casting personal aspersions even though I was being completely polite and respectful with you and you put words into my mouth that I did not say. And you divert from what you originally said once backed into a corner because you were wrong and can't back out of it, so you think that by moving the goal posts you can salvage your sunk ship. This happens seemingly every time I waste my time speaking with someone on an ideological, but illogical, bent. I specifically stated that I was referring to my experience in the 3 States that I had lived in, which happen to be much more liberal, politically, and strict in their gun laws. And in your context, you were referring to what another individual commented on here, referring to "<deleted> the Slaveholder South." I mentioned that I had not experienced anything remotely similar whatsoever to your claims of being able "to buy and carry any gun of any kind any where (sic).... little to no training or restrictions..." Then, you now respond with a narrowing of your context to 2 particular States, which still doesn't match what you said, but does still match what I had said. For example, in Georgia you cannot carry a gun into a post office, into government buildings, onto college campuses, or in historic sites or recreational areas or parks. To interpret for you, since you seem to be the "clueless" one, rather than how you said that I "obviously have no clue" - this means that you cannot "carry any gun of any kind any where (sic)..." There are plenty of other examples I could use to show other aspects of your statements to be false (e.g., "Carry your gun into a bar or store, no problem" as a blanket statement, in Georgia, also inaccurate/false among other things you've said.) and make it appear to be a kind of fearmongering with no basis in reality, but you've already proven that it is very likely useless to go any further with you, as you immediately jumped into the usual sort of tactic that I encounter with ideologues spouting nonsense by denigrating my character and diverting the point at hand in an attempt to suit what appear to be disingenuous purposes. Or perhaps you were just having a bad couple of days? I don't know. I hope that's the case. I imagine you have friends who will agree with you. Maybe you could enjoy refining your ill thought out ideas, and learning to discern fact from fiction and general statements that are incorrect without qualifications, with them and dig a bigger darker pit because I won't be responding further.

Guns, guns, and more guns? Interesting how there are so many guns, but I've never seen one or heard one shot in a place other than a shooting range or hunting. I've also asked at least dozen or more friends in different parts of the US and neither have they. I guess none of us live where gangs proliferate. It's not some kind of widespread craze, which is how it seems that you are portraying. Not sure where you live/lived. I've never even seen anyone carrying a gun openly, other than police and security types. Buy and carry a gun anywhere? Wow, never heard of such a thing. Never seen any guns for sale at any stores other than sporting goods stores or gun stores. They sell them at novelty shops and supermarkets where you lived!? Sounds like you lived in an area that I can't even fathom existing. Carry a gun anywhere? Good luck with that one! Not happening. Carry a gun in the vicinity of a school, post office, government building, etc, etc, etc, you're likely to end up in some hot water with the police quickly. The restrictions are so severe in the 3 different states that I've lived in that it's nearly impossible to get a permit to carry a concealed gun, let alone openly. And the laws about carrying or transporting one at all are likewise very strict. And they change so often that I'm a bit paranoid to even carry one in my trunk to the gun range! God forbid a neighbor or a passerby sees me taking a gun from my house and putting it in my trunk! So many freaks around these days that they're likely to call the police and get me hassled. And it's largely because of the kind of mentality that you are promoting. An unfounded fear. Yeah, of course there are areas that you should be careful and rightly wary of being in. Just like some areas of Bangkok where there are shootings on a regular basis. They rarely get reported, unlike in the US. So many foreigners have no clue how often there are shootings in Bangkok. I lived a short distance from one of those areas and in less than three years, I heard a dozen or so shootings and witnessed the aftermath of two of them, blood all over the place that didn't even get cleaned up until the next day. It is not uncommon, if you didn't know. There are some areas that you definitely need to keep away from, just like anywhere.

Not sure what that stat might have to do with the likelihood of being shot in this same kind of scenario in the US...? Am I missing something?

That is such an ignorant comment, it is truly ridiculous. You apparently have no clue whatsoever about gun crime statistics in the USA. You say it's "likely" they'd have shot each other? That is so completely not likely, it is a pretty silly aspersion to cast. There are stereotypes, some of which make sense. That one does not. Unless you're specifically talking about gang member "friends" fighting, the likelihood of this happening, particularly among college friends, is so small, it is not worth even considering. I find the US bashing in this forum a bit humorous, but sometimes it's just too far and too ridiculous. There are good statistics out there on the demographics of gun crime in the US, if you care at all to see how far off you are. I don't imagine you care, but if you do.... check it out. It seems apparent that you'd be shocked at what you find.

Completely missed the point and made a side note your thing.... nice deflection.

Is that code for Prime Minister $2.5 Billion?

Don't know why you'd equate anti-Thaksin people to such a thing...? How about being anti-corruption. Does it matter if it's this habitual liar or Prayut? And with both of them, a lot can be added on top of simple corruption. Mass murder sure is taken lightly around here....

What a dumpster fire this country has become. continues to be, as it has been for decades....

Assuming that you're talking about the new PM...? What makes you think he has a decently functioning brain? He's a puppet. All about ฿฿฿. If you think he might have brains because he has a master's degree... even his MBA (has got to be the simplest and nearly meaningless master's, these days often earned in less than a year) is essentially a bought degree from an institution that a guy with brains would have felt ashamed to attend, more expensive than many of the top ranked MBA programs in the world, but a low-ranking nothing place, producing the likes of this guy. The rest of his adult life... connections.... that takes no brains at all. Although, I suppose that doesn't preclude the possibility that he has a decent head on him in other ways like street smarts/savvy. But to me, a guy who is savvy and plays the system, like he appears to have done his whole life, is blatantly showing his internal corruption. No integrity.

Let the soap opera begin... continue....

And on top of that, there's Jatuporn. He was/is a VERY steadfast loyal Red Shirt leader (one of the very top, if I'm not mistaken), following and supporting Thaksin through all the different iterations of parties over the years after Thaksin took off with his tail between his legs. And Jatuporn kept supporting Thaksin through all the years of his lies about returning, etc... But now Jatuporn has spoken out against both Thaksin and his sister. The idea that a majority of Thais are cheerful supporters of this man and what he's doing is an incredible take. It seems more like he is hemorrhaging support of the people.

Look a few posts up from here and you can see the pics for yourself. Pretty hilarious and typical of a politician. Not much to be skeptical of IMO....

That's funny... I think you might be a bit off there... or maybe a lot. "BANGKOK, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Most Thais disagree with the leading plan for a coalition government which includes military-backed groups, an opinion poll showed on Sunday, two days before a parliamentary vote aiming to end a three-month political stalemate. About 64% of 1,310 respondents disagreed or totally disagreed with the idea of the Pheu Thai party forming a "special government" with military-backed rivals, according to the survey by the National Institute of Development Administration." https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/most-thais-oppose-plan-pheu-thai-military-coalition-government-poll-2023-08-20/ So, if a majority already disagreed or totally disagreed with his party doing what they were doing 2 days before the parliamentary vote. Now that they've sold their souls to the devil for Thaksin's return and made them even more angry, you suppose that what was already a minority, by a long shot, is suddenly a majority, even by a tiny bit???

You may be unaware of the notorious unreliability of ChatGPT when it comes to politics and ideological leanings.

Anyone who has owned dogs or monkeys could tell you how they respond when the one who fed them them what they wanted and trained them to think the way they needed to get rewards....

Yep, that's pretty typical of what wealthy corruption can buy.

You would too if you had his money and a lack of a moral conscience. Makes life very easy.

Oh wow, that is hilarious! Jeep Sahara!?????

No doubt about that! Insane.

Yes, as do all foreign makes as far as I know. I'm no expert, but I didn't think price alone defines luxury. I guess it's in the eye of the beholder and in the eye of the taxman.

A Mustang is considered a luxury car!? That's funny???? It's a nice car, but it sure isn't a luxury car!

I agree with some of your sentiment, but your marginalization, or stereotyping, or prejudice against Americans was an unnecessary bit to throw in there. You're behaving the same as your criticism. I've seen plenty of that kind of behavior from Europeans, Brits, Aussies, Chinese, Arabian, Russian, Indian, Korean, etc, etc.... but you decide it's an American white thing????? Should I stereotype what Marxist wokeness is?

There is no such thing as a "Shan national". That was from what appears to be a poorly translated article from Thaiger. No other article that I've seen (In English or Thai) makes that uneducated error and they all simply mention that he is a Tai Yai person, of which, by the way, there are probably somewhere between 100,000 - 300,000 in Chiangmai province. I've heard all sorts of estimates. I've never seen an real studied estimate of how many of those may have been here for centuries and how many were born in Burma, but of certainly many were born in Burma and many were born in Thailand. Tai Yai people have been in the area of present day northern Thailand for ages and were clearly a part of the Lanna Kingdom before Thailand annexed these northern provinces. So, as far as anyone without more detailed info than news articles have given can tell, this guy is Thai. If he were from Burma, I'm sure the media would have gone out of their way to say so. They love to pin blame on anyone not Thai. That's probably why they labeled his ethnicity because their history has shown a long honored tradition of prejudice against the ethnic minorities, sometimes referred to as "hilltribe" people. So, they show their ethnocentric prejudice and others display their gross racism against Thai males here... all the same disgusting thing.

What makes you think he wasn't Thai? I agree with you on the racist part. People are nuts sometimes when they go on about that. But just because this guy is of the Tai Yai ethnicity doesn't mean he's not Thai. Thailand consists of people of multiple different ethnicities, just like everywhere else. He may have been born, raised, and educated in Chiangmai. No article I've read would lead anyone to think anything different (Other than the Thaiger translated article that appears to be poorly translated, calling him a Shan national, of which there is no such thing).

Thanks. I just saw your reply after replying to another answer on that. If it has any interest to you... it's likely the comment just above this one....