John Drake

Fine. Then stop military pensions and Tricare from going to overseas destinations as well.

There has been ongoing anti-Americanism since the 1980s, when Europeans all blamed Reagan for being about to start World War III.

Much of this is anti-Americanism that has been simmering beneath the surface in Europe and Canada for decades. What is interesting is to compare this hatred with other places also incurring reciprocal tariffs, such as Mexico. Nothing like the hatred you see from Canada and Europe comes from Mexico, and Trump is actually talking about border incursions into Mexico to take out the narcos.

And I don't want it to change. Trust me, once they start doing major changes to immigration in Thailand, the results will not be what we want.

The US at one time required foreign nationals to notify the government of any address change through a post card every year. I remember seeing PSAs maybe as late as the 1980s notifying aliens of this requirement. Like everything else with US immigration, however, it eventually became another ignored requirement.

I wasn't a Trump voter and I'm very, very anti-Musk. But these arson attacks are terrorism. Not only the actual arsonists need to be charged and convicted but those giving material and financial support as well. Incitement to riot also needs to be used right now, this moment, including political figures.

Bans on Thai officials traveling to the West is meaningless. It achieves nothing. I don't think they care much. Increasingly, they spend their time in HK and China. There are many, many actions involving trade that will easily get much better results from Thailand.

When Macron says "buy European," he means "buy French products that otherwise cannot compete." The EU and before that the EC was always about being led around by the French with the German lapdog licking up their droppings.

80 percent of the replies to this topic have nothing to do with the subject of the OP.

Living in Thailand during Covid was a lot better than in most other places.

Sounds like 36,000 potential members of Ukrainian bound construction battalions. BTW I see the estimate for the last ten years is nearly 200,000. That's a good number for an expeditionary force to face off with the North Koreans.

This is why . . . Prayuth was better.

Why does all this mayhem constantly occur in Pattaya? What sort of people are drawn to this activity? How the hell do people actually manage to live there full time? My part of western Bangkok seems so utterly normal.

My physician tells me I have an occasional "touch of gout," usually in the left ankle. I have elevated uric acid because of other medications I take for an inner ear problem. When I get a flare up--and it is not very often--I take a celebrex. Usually the swelling and pain is gone within six or seven hours.

Sooner or later, every marginal nutcase or worse makes his way to Thailand.

I look back fondly on Prayuth's tenure as head of government. He did well with Covid and those of us in Thailand enjoyed much more relative freedom of movement than did those in Europe, the US, and China. He controlled energy prices, walked a fine line between the US and China without falling into the control of China, roped in inflation, and, most importantly for me, he mostly left immigration rules unchanged. Things were better under Prayuth than they are now.

I realize we're referring to that body of water as the English Channel, here. But isn't there another country that borders the channel? Wouldn't that mean the Russians are challenging the French, too? Why not mention their perceived weak response as well?

Conscript the people coming over in the boats in the UK and rushing the borders in Germany and send them directly to the Ukrainian meatgrinder. While you'll help Ukraine, you'll also discourage illegal immigration. Win-win.

Yep. They're already turning on each other. Toldya so. "There are calls to buy European at the moment. But just wait once all these national European firms clear the field for themselves. They'll turn on each other, as they usually do, because the Germans and the French will try to manipulate things solely for their benefit."

While I like what Musk has done with SpaceX, I'm not much of an enthusiast for his other projects or his interference in government. But I do wonder if people are going to be worried about Musk taking over Tesla, why aren't they worried about the Indians who have now made theirs companies such as Microsoft, Google, IBM, Adobe, etc., etc.?

This could be good. Fewer generals and admirals is a place to start. During World War II, the US had around 2000 generals and admirals for a military of 12.2 million. Today there is almost 1000 for a military of only 1.3 million. Start cutting and get that ratio back down to where it should be. Also sell off the military resorts and golf courses where those general/flag officers spend way too much time. Bring in some of Elon's AI and robots to replace current logistics personnel where possible.

All countries in North America and a good number in South America are self sufficient in energy. So oil prices are not perfectly fungible, especially in a geopolitical crisis. Egypt of course loses all the fees it gets for using its canal. But I'd think the Europeans would be absolutely devastated. They're already paying emergency energy prices. And it will not be good for China and India either. China in particular is vulnerable to energy cut offs and export blockades. And perhaps the US would go ahead and push that scenario in the event of a war with Iran--because I'm sure China is going to howl. Better to strike China now rather than wait for China to strike Taiwan and the US later might be the reasoning (not mine, I hasten to add).

The countries that will be effected are: Middle Eastern, Germany, France, the UK, China, and India. Least effected: the US, Canada, Russia, Mexico, and Brazil. This all according to Grok. Thailand Grok says would fit in thusly: "Thailand would fall under the category of "Singapore and Southeast Asian Nations," which I (Grok) listed as number 6. To clarify its specific position relative to the other countries mentioned, I’d place Thailand roughly in the middle to lower tier of the most affected countries—likely around 7th or 8th in terms of severity—depending on how you weigh the impacts on larger economies like China or India. Why Thailand Fits Here Trade Dependence: Thailand relies on the Suez Canal for exporting goods like electronics, automobiles, and rubber to Europe, as well as importing oil and gas from the Middle East. While not as massive a trading hub as Singapore, it’s still a significant player in Southeast Asia. Impact: A blockade would increase shipping times and costs (rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope), disrupt its export-driven economy, and raise energy prices. However, its economy is smaller and less globally integrated than China’s or India’s, so the absolute scale of disruption would be less severe. Comparison: Thailand would be less affected than Egypt (direct revenue loss), Europe (massive import reliance), or China (export volume), but more impacted than the Americas or Russia, which have minimal dependence on the canal. So, if I (Grok) were to rank the countries explicitly from my previous list, Thailand would slot in like this: Egypt European Countries (e.g., Germany, UK, France, Italy) China India Middle Eastern Oil Exporters (e.g., Saudi Arabia, UAE) Singapore Thailand Japan and South Korea This ranking considers economic reliance on the canal, trade volume, and vulnerability to energy disruptions. Thailand’s position reflects its role as a regional exporter and energy importer, but it’s not as critically tied to the canal as the top-tier countries." So sort of good news for those of us living here and in Southeast Asia.

Hungary is only expressing a very tepid version of what is eagerly embraced in places such as Gaza, Syria, and Iran, where the EU can't wait to pour in money and support.

Nation of crows.