Lacessit

Thailand's history has always been one of accommodation. They avoided colonization with negotiation, and were left untouched when the Japanese swept through the rest of Asia. it does make me think if Thailand ever got into a real war with anyone, its generals would all be skedaddling to Switzerland.

As one of my now-deceased friends remarked to me, he would rather have a good s##t. I'm probably getting to that state of mind too, except my Thai GF is a lot more attractive than his wife.

IIRC, each time the Chinese have tried it on with the Vietnamese, they have had to retreat with a bloody nose. The Vietnamese fought the most powerful nation in the world, and won. They know it, and so does China.

I was limited in my options, because I had my Thai GF with me. Strangely, every Vietnamese thought she was a Filipina. I took the two night Ha Long Bay cruise, it was spectacular and also depressing. A lot of visual pollution with floating plastics, and having 600 cruise ships there indicated how easy it is to spoil a natural wonder with mass tourism.

I don't mind having what I do at present tracked, because it is not a complete record. Different story entirely if governments can track everything I do. Think about it, let's say you are having a bit of fluff on the side your Mrs. does not know about. Hypothetically, of course. She gets a regular stipend from you. Would you be comfortable with your government having that information?

Actually, I'm the guy with a well-developed BS meter.

I am wondering whether posters on this thread who favor cashless are aware Big Brother has them in his grip. Cash is anonymous, governments love cashless because everything is trackable.

I do think it is interesting my massage shop can accept phone payments, and it is definitely not in a tourist area.

Not me......

I would not be homeless, but living with my son for the rest of my life is not a burden I would want to place on him.

Buffet has made a $1 billion investment in a crypto-friendly bank, after years of calling bitcoin "rat poison". That does not indicate full faith to me, more like a bet each way.

IMO selective deafness is better.

Not a problem for me, Starbucks never gets my business. I suppose some people like to look trendy while drinking weak dishwater.

Certainly, the police presence in Vietnam is a lot less obtrusive than Thailand. Fresh bread rolls and coffee for breakfast were very welcome; however, eating pho bo and spring rolls, however well made, for the other two meals of the day palled quite quickly. It's not infrastructure, but I also got the sense Vietnam is far more puritanical when it comes to relations between foreigners and Vietnamese. The days of Saigon as Sin City appear to be long gone. If I had to pick a highlight of our trip there, it would be the water puppetry show in Hanoi.

I really hate it when I am at a supermarket lane with my purchases, and some person with the attention span of a goldfish is fumbling with their phone to do whatever voodoo is necessary. I hand over cash, gone in 20 seconds. It's a paradox, smartphones are purchased by some very dumb people.

The neighboring countries do not have the infrastructure of Thailand in terms of hospitals, dental clinics, communications, roads, and choice of what one can buy in a supermarket. I've been to Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Nice for a couple of weeks, living in any long term is a different matter.

Not the way you used the word.

Why do you think Kissinger is sinister? Realpolitik, yes. Highly pragmatic, yes.

Plenty of good-looking women in their forties and fifties crying out for someone to "take care", and quite happy with what's coming in by way of a Western pension. As for hooking up with a 20 yo stunner, I am not suicidal, or interested in wearing horns.

I am posting facts, if you don't like them I have others. Such as the most expensive medical and dental system in the world. I have visited America many times, and there are a lot of things America does very well, others not so well. Labeling me as an American hater is as shallow as a mud puddle.

I don't tolerate posters who call my honesty into question. You are on ignore now, goodbye.

Example: The Pentagon has bought up most of the rare earth production of Mt. Weld in Australia, to quit dependence on Chinese supply. Yeah, I might buy a Chinese car, if I was dumb enough to believe the reliability would match that of established Japanese and Korean brands, and the servicing would not throw a customer under a bus. They are cheap for a reason.

You probably would have said the same thing about Hitler. Are you Chamberlain's love child? Ukraine is not going to lose. Whether it has to cede the Donbas is moot; however, Russia has already lost. An economy without the ability to import spare parts, a banking system cut off from the world, and a demoralized military running out of tanks to burn. A population with a standard of living returned to the days of the USSR. The butcher's bill in Ukraine is already more than Russia had casualties in Afghanistan over 9 years. First time I have seen a dozen senior military commanders killed in battle, not to mention the purge of espionage personnel and generals back at the Kremlin. Russia has nobody by the balls, except apologists and defeatists. The pivot away from dependence on Russian oil and gas is already happening, just as countries have started pivoting away from dependence on Chinese supply chains.

Russia's own Putin-approved economists are saying Russian GDP will shrink by 10% in the coming year, and that forecast is probably gilding the lily. That fact makes your statement Russia is not paying complete BS. You would rather see Ukraine subjugated so you can keep warm? That's the spirit.

I would have thought my use of the word "may" would be comprehensible to most people.