Lacessit

"Wrong" has a different definition in Trumpworld, e.g. a failure to asskiss.

Your descent into senility becomes more obvious with every post.

15 years here, only food poisoning I got was from a Tops frozen meal.

I don't worry about waiting for takeout, I am reading a book on my phone while the food is prepared at the restaurant. Is takeout different to takeaway? Don't use Grab or Food Panda, as I don't see how the scooter riders handle it. For all I know, they spit in farang orders.

You seem to be laboring under the delusion America is disadvantaged by Australia in trade. Are you so economically illiterate you don't understand what the US positive trade balance with Australia means? I don't knowingly buy American goods and services. Not that they are superior anyway, that ship sailed 40 years ago.

Put simply, US treasuries are no longer seen as a safe haven in times of financial turmoil. OTOH, China has been on a gold buying spree since 2022.

The USA has a positive trade balance with Australia. Pure greed is Big Pharma in America lobbying Trump to sell medications in Australia at inflated US prices. Example: A year's supply of an inhibitor medication cost me AUD 100. In America, it would have cost me USD 70,000. Tough luck if I could not afford it. My comment about Trump and his supporters obviously applies to you as well.

I see, you are so much better qualified to comment on economics than a publication which was founded in 1843. Media does not last that long without a solid basis. Do you have any facts to bring to the thread, smart guy?

America is now less than 15% of China's export volumes. OTOH, China is in the top 3 markets for US exports. Xi understood during Trump's first presidency he had to forge new trading links with other countries. China has been sucking in gold like a whale sucks in krill. Xi is much better prepared for a trade war than Trump is. The Chinese think long term, Trump is a classic short-termer.

Been there once already. Vientiane. I was thinking of Luang Prabang. The scammers probably don't realise they are crapping in their own nest.

True. That does not mean the stance can't change. Public opinion guides politicians. Who would you prefer to trade with, someone who has zero tariffs on what you sell, or someone who taxes you 10%, with the threat of more if you respond in kind? Someone who wants to make your medications more expensive by forcing you to dismantle the PBS? I don't know about you; as far as I am concerned Trump and his supporters can go <deleted> themselves.

A better idea to avoid Laos as a destination. It's off my list now.

Wrong. They are praying for the demise of Trump and his lickspittles, who are dragging America into depression with their incompetence.

You are in denial of reality. China has 48,000 km of high speed rail. The USA has 80 km. That should tell anyone all they need to know about the current infrastructure of both countries. Australia has been approached by China to join hands. https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2025/04/10/pm-china-join-hands-tariffs?ahe Straws in the wind. Why should we stick with America, when we are treated like a trading enemy? The USA is good at making weapons. Not much else to see by way of useful stuff, is there?

"You keep your beliefs to yourself" That is what you said. Don't lie. Please explain why I should do that, when you are plastering your beliefs across ASEAN threads.

Bond markets decided the tariff issue for Trump. Either back off, or US treasuries will be sold off in a complete loss of confidence in the greenback as a reserve currency. Trump backed off.

Trump lost the last tariff war with China in his first presidency. The Smoot-Hawley tariffs of 1930 were a prime cause of the Great Depression. Why anyone thinks he can get a different result this time is beyond my comprehension.

No, you meant I do not have the same privilege of posting my views on religion on ASEAN as you do. I would have thought a God that wants more people to love him and worship him would have exhibited himself millennia ago, not relying on texts generated by humans. So your God is the only one? There's about 1.4 billion Muslims that disagree with you.

Trump thought he could do anything. The bond market showed him otherwise. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-10/donald-trump-met-match-on-tariffs-in-bond-market-rout/105160436

I don't know where your figure of 125 comes from. According to Gemini AI, the figure is 750. Harbours and airfields constructed by the Chinese in other nations only count if they are sovereign Chinese territory. Most US bases are sovereign American territory. Ask the Cubans what they think of Guantanamo Bay.

Grass-fed Gippsland eye fillet is a completely different taste sensation to the fat-laden feedlot rubbish America produces. You are confusing quantity with quality. Don't go to Australia. With your attitude to our biosecurity laws, we'd probably sling you in jail.

From my perspective, it is America that is doing all the threatening. The US has 750 military bases across the world. China has none.

We trained the penguins to crap guano in one spot, which was then exported as nitrogen fertilizer, so the US could grow soybeans.

Last time I looked, Cuba couldn't even keep the lights on. Neither can you, if Canada plays nasty.

Betting the house is stupid when you don't hold all the cards.