John Drake

Hey, Thailand, how's that application to join BRICS going? And hasn't Thailand joined a local group already to exclude the dollar? There goes that $10 billion trade surplus with the US.

Anybody want a donut?

This is not about buying submarines. It's about having a permanent posting for Chinese submarine "technicians" in a port that effectively will be a Chinese naval asset.

Have they finished counting the votes in California. They could still be counting them this time next year.

After listening to that drunken address she just gave, I think I know where all the money went. Bottom's up.

Will it do any of these things?

I do want to see reciprocal tariffs applied, especially to Thailand.

The film business in Thailand is a race to the bottom. So many "freelancers" out there willing to take almost any job at any price.

Per the Reuters article above, China consumes 741.732 tons of gold per year, while only producing 268.068 tons. Why would China elect to continue buying from abroad, instead of using their own domestic stock of gold? And then there is Uganda, as I mentioned above, where it's a free for all. Find it. Mine it. Sell it. Not to mention the environmental degradation gold mining causes even in the best of circumstances. https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/mad-rush-as-artisanal-miners-flood-namayingo-for-gold-4789890 Look, I like gold. And people still revere gold. That's the only reason it or any other substance has value. Because human beings want it and perceive it as a rare commodity with unique traits. But what would happen to that 4 or 5 Olympic size swimming pools full of gold, btw, if it was all released into the commercial sector for actual use? Gold depends upon hoarding in order to retain its value. And as for bitcoin, I think people are coming to "revere" it as well as a rare commodity with unique traits. Not to mention that corrections in bitcoin prices are becoming smaller and smaller as an overall percentage. Because it is being stabilized as a prized commodity. I guess it could fall 80 percent are so as it has done in the past once or twice. But I don't expect it, too. As for gold, I still remember buying it at $250 for Gold Eagles not so long ago. And then there is the price when you sell gold, which is never what the market shows you but what the dealer will pay, which is often at 20 percent below spot.

The only people I know who have lost money on bitcoin are those who have traded themselves out of it. That's not to say that people can't successfully trade bitcoin, but just that the only way at this point to lose money on it is to trade out of it and mess up your new buy point. Everyone who has bought and held has made money, except perhaps for a few the last couple of days. But if they hold, they'll make money too on the eventual break through of 100K.

Are those tattoos on his legs or is he some hairy variant of a lowland gorilla? Also tattoos and no apparent helmet for the motorbike. Prospective Go Fund Me account in the making.

Why not? The article says China consumes much more than it produces. This mine would save them from buying from abroad. But your statement does underscore an important fact: the amount of gold is constantly expanding, with more and more of it produced each year, while bitcoin is finite. And remember Uganda also discovered a huge gold field two or three years ago, of 31 million tons of gold https://www.mining-technology.com/features/uganda-gold-deposit-investment/. You're also right to point out, I think, that many once precious stones and metals are not so unique anymore. Not only are there more than enough natural diamonds to collapse the market, man-made diamonds are virtually the equal of natural ones. That goes for pearls, rubies, and emeralds as well. Seems to me that bitcoin is a much more stable and predictable market than gold. And I used to invest in gold mines. But if you want to see a bunch of thieves, look at the people that run gold mines, especially Canadian junior miners. I'd much rather trust someone like Saylor and bitcoin who I believe are a thousand times more transparent.

Michael Saylor just purchased $5.4 billion in bitcoin last week, with more purchases to come. I don't think he did that because he thought he would lose money on it. As long as Saylor is confident staying in bitcoin, so am I. He's got a lot more to lose than I do. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/microstrategy-spends-54-billion-buying-another-55000-bitcoins-shares-slide-165131332.html

What do you think this news will do with all the gold the story mentions coming into the market?

Need to close these care homes in order to make room to house more asylum refugees.

I think of the Ike-JFK years as the apex of American civilization. Everything was going in the right direction, investments made for the future, foresight, strength married to humility. There was enough momentum to keep things going until throughout 1965. After that, it's all been downhill, as far as I'm concerned, as the LBJ-Nixon years began a decline that has never been checked seriously. I don't know where Trump is taking us. I just know I want to alter the present course America is on.

Whatever they've done, just lock them all up. Wearing tattoos is enough. That's what the guy, Nayib Bukele, in El Salvador did. Lock up the gangs and never let them out again. Seems to work pretty well. From the most dangerous to the safest country in Central America. Oh, and buy bitcoin like Bukele did. Would solve crime and the budget problems at the same time.

I'm still not a Trump voter or enthusiast. But if he can do something to turn the US back towards an Eisenhower type America, I'm all for it.

She can start first thing on day one by cleaning out the Justice Dept. She may not be able to fire civil servants--at least not easily--but she can transfer them. Barrow, Alaska, would be a good place to put them. Beatty, Nevada, might be a nice option for those who like warmer weather.

Go to Stocktwits and Yahoo Finance Stock conversation boards. Lies are everywhere. And they actually cost people money. Comparatively speaking, political discussion boards are mild stuff.

Scarborough watchers simply cannot tolerate anything that deviates in the slightest from their worldview. I think a lot of these people are right on the brink of total mental breakdowns. I expect a wave of violence from them, assassinations, bombings, and other terrorist acts. Before I came to Thailand, I used to watch Scarborough for part of the morning. Even though it mostly included a lot of head nodding, it was somewhat interesting at times.

That's true. We are restricted in things we can say about Thailand and people, places, businesses in Thailand. But we are much freer to say things in Thailand about our home countries that could get us lawsuits, arrests, or mob attacks back home.

Let's see. This is indeed a good test. Perhaps in response, the US should classify the court an international terrorist organization and subject anyone supporting the court or giving aid to its so-called prosecutors and investigators to US sanctions. Also issue US arrest warrants for the court and its members.

This all doesn't go without notice by American citizens. It will also show up as a direct impact on citizens' lives very quickly. So the irony is that this virtual amnesty the current regime is conducting will end up making mass deportation easier when it's carried out. People are going to want them gone, no matter how.

There's no stopping him now.