Lacessit

Steinbeck's "East of Eden" is my pick of American literature. Of course, there are other great books authored by non-Americans - Dickens, the Brontes, Kingsley, Thackeray. Guy du Maupassant, Dumas. Tolstoy. AFAIK the first historical novel was "The Cloister and the Hearth" by Charles Reade. Published in 1861. Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke are giants of science fiction. In modern authors, it astonishes me how many Americans have never heard of John D. MacDonald.

I stayed for two nights. 4 bedside visits by doctors, speaking excellent English. Round the clock nursing care, all medications. I passed on the food. 7000 baht, which I regarded as a bargain.

Can you explain why I have had none of the problems you mention, after living here happily for 15 years? The roads in Chiang Rai are fine. WiFi is twice the speed my son gets in Australia, at one-third of the cost. In my 4 years living in Chiang Rai, I have yet to have a power cut. My son gets them like clockwork, has to have a backup battery to keep the refrigerator working. Power cuts can last for several days there. I have never been the target in criminal activity, or violence here. Tell me what country in the West has bum guns. Bidets are not flexible.

Bum guns, Thailand's greatest contribution to civilization.

Agree. I was triaged recently with bacterial pneumonia. After an X'ray and ECG, I was in a hospital bed with an antibiotic IV in my arm in about 90 minutes. Government hospital. In Australia, the same process would have taken 5-6 hours.

There is plentiful corruption in so-called clean countries. It is just better concealed.

The bilirubin backs up.

Tell me how that helps control inflation.

American exceptionalism works both ways.

Yes, it takes really bad governance to get unemployment to record lows, the stock market to record highs, and a 12% growth in GDP, with wage gains to boot.

Does not seem to be in most other countries with common sense.

IMO it's a two-edged sword. What cop or Secret Service person is going to take a bullet to protect Trump?

BS. The video shows the salute as clear as day. Twice. See an optometrist before you get hit by an oncoming bus.

Musk is on video doing a Nazi salute during Trump's inauguration. There's no doubt about it happening, He did it twice, and retweeted it. He had better not do it in Australia. He would be arrested and charged with a hate crime. Fines won't worry him, prison would. That's assuming he got to Australia, some people are refused visas because they are classed as undesirable.

The pre-emptive pardons are simply to protect people from Trump's well-known vindictiveness. Tell me what crimes you think Fauci, Milley and Liz Cheney have committed, apart from not kissing Trump's @rse.

A broken clock gets the time right twice a day.

So we have Trump pardoning the J6 rioters, and Biden blocking Trump from going after Fauci, Milley et al by issuing pre-emptive pardons. Farcical. Assuming he is still alive at the end of his term, I am wondering if Trump will pardon himself. He has asked if it is possible. Pardoning the insurrectionists is an attempt to rewrite history. It's what most dictators try to do.

I have three implants, done in Thailand. About 8 - 10 years ago, function perfectly. I also had a partial denture fitted here. When an Australian dentist saw it, he said it was high quality.

Guess who's sucking up for a job in Trump's administration.

I am prediabetic. HbA1C is OK, fasting blood sugar is high. I consume fenugreek seed every day, soaked in water overnight. Some studies suggest it helps with blood sugar, and increases insulin sensitivity. It's not very palatable.

So do I, over the next 6-12 months. Guess who will be saying I told you so?

Gin and tonic? What better way to announce on this forum you are British.

The comparison between Trump dancing and a hippo dancing is irresistible. Seriously, stick to making speeches. What am I going to do? Watch the tennis in Melbourne.

Let's review the fact none of those offenses carry the death penalty. However, that's what Floyd got. Or the shooting of Justine Damond, an unarmed woman in a nightdress, shot by a policeman responding to her 911 call. The shooting cost ratepayers of the city of Minneapolis $20 million. Trigger-happy bunch, Americans. Tell me it is not so.

I did mean Barack; however, you knew that already. Happy now you have had your troll for the day?