Uptooyoo

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Of course. There are maniacs all over the world. I am simply saying in the age of white (supremacist) glorification in America, quite the opposite is the case, in many instances. White men are anything but innocent of grave crimes, racism, hatred, murder, mass murder, genocide, rape, robbery, enslavement, and many other crimes. And they are portrayed as being far less dangerous and culpable than they truly are. Just look at European and American history. Look at the sheer number of genocidal rampages that have been committed by white men, throughout the course of history. We do not deserve the (self) elevated position we occupy. As Pelosi said very accurately, make America great again, simply means make America white again. God forbid. If America needs anything, it is more color, and not less color. Color is at least part of what made America great. Now? That greatness is highly suspect in my opinion. 

Advocating for 'less whiteness' in America smacks of racism. So, you would give preference to people based on skin color rather than the content of their character? Are you for race-based immigration over merit based? Are you carrying so much white-guilt and self-hatred that you'd support a political party that would 'de-elevate' a person's position in life solely because they are white---guilty for lacking skin pigment, and thus, undeserving, even though they put in the hard work, got the degree, and became successful?

I suppose all of the credit for the great inventions of the last century were undeserving too, You probably think the moon landings were faked too, just a ruse to make the white guys look great, so therefore, "is highly suspect." If what you are advocating for comes to pass, you ain't seen nothing yet.

If you want to go to the water, try an inland lake. Most are remote and peaceful, jungled and green, with virtually no foreign tourists and no motorized watercraft, a rare experience in noisy Thailand. So go ahead, drive deep, deep into the mountains and find yourself a tranquil place to recover. Return to sanity, return to nature. Enjoy a place where soothing breezes blow and gentle waves lap. Don't forget your hammock.

Where's the "GoFundMe" promotion?

3 hours ago, canopy said:

I think the naysayers are simply resisting change. You could bring that exact laundry list of complaints above if the government proposed raising the speed from 10 to 20. So why aren't you jumping up and down that these facts prove we need the speed limit to be 10km/h? And by the way why are you omitting the advantages to society of higher speed limits? Seems rather biased.

 

We had this exact same argument in America when the speed limit was locked at 55mph maximum everywhere. Thankfully that nonsense ended, common sense prevailed and higher speeds became common. If all factors are taken in balance, 120 is a comfortable speed and everyone that uses the motorways are already used to this speed in Thailand. I would welcome this proposal and see no good argument against it.

 

More like "everyone is used to killing each other at this speed in Thailand." I agree 55 mph was much too slow in America; because in America, for the most part, roads are designed by competent engineers, allowing for higher speeds. Not so in the Land of Smiles.

In first-world countries, highways have cloverleaf intersections with long merging lanes to allow traffic to accelerate.  Similar when you exit: long lanes peeling-away from the main road allowing one to adjust speed before entering the next. In addition, developed countries don't have roads with trees, utility poles, and car-swallowing ditches running the length without guardrail protection. What would be a minor spin-out in America or Europe becomes a fatal crash in Thailand. Also, first-world countries don't have food carts, parked vehicles, and wrong-way drivers (with burned out head and tail lights no less) obstructing traffic. Neither do they have side streets dumping traffic directly onto major thoroughfares. It's incredulous that people who want to make a turn must first come to a complete stop at a laughable, almost non-existent, median strip, usually just a faded paint stripe, and then pray for a miracle that they not get bashed from either direction, all the while, looking for a chance to throw themselves into a small gap of 120 kph traffic....only in Thailand.   

Hopefully no repeat of "ghost towers" dotting the Bangkok skyline.

23 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

people are getting so uptight. what is the problem?

The whole country is uptight now. It's not the Thailand of 20 years ago, before social media.  Everyone has a cellphone now; everyone is connected.  The world of western values is at their fingertips 24/7. Thais have been connected to a world where everyone is defined by what they own, not by who they are.  They've been brainwashed into joining the rest of the world on the hamster wheel of mindless consumption, having been sold on the deception of having more stuff equates to having more happiness.  So now, the chase is on in pursuit of the trappings of Hi-So life: a big truck, a big house, and a big mortgage.  The smiles and wais have all but disappeared as the wheels of capitalism spin ever-faster as Thais struggle to make monthly payments on first-world debt with a third-world paycheck. 

Be honest people. How many of you were hoping for him to slip down the roof and fall into those high-voltage power lines?

4 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

Same here (way below my ears) but there is clean long hair and dirty looking ones... it's all a matter of general appearance... long pants, closed shoes and avoiding tank tops and anything sleeveless which is not appreciated in this part of the world...or anywhere else for that matter... 

 

 

...length of hair not so important as long as it's clean. No one says we have to walk around like clones, but you don't want to appear unwashed. It's all about first impressions. It's not my game, not my rules, I just try to play it.

5 hours ago, mstevens said:

 

It's easy to say that with prices so high that it's unsustainable and that there must be a correction coming. Many things could cause property prices to fall such as a major economic slowdown causing a sharp rise in unemployment. But it's going to have to be something like that because interest rates are so low that in many ways they offset the higher asking prices - and it doesn't look like interest rates will be going up any time soon. In some countries like USA and Australia interest rates are tipped to go down more...

Interest rates may never be "normalized."  There is too much debt in the world now. Since money costs virtually nothing, corporations have borrowed massively to fund share buybacks that have created a stock market bubble like never seen before.  With banks offering an effective rate of 0%, consumers have shunned saving money, borrowing instead to buy houses at ever-increasing prices to fuel a global property bubble. Total student loan debt is $1.52 trillion and growing as cheap money inflates tuition fees.  And it's not only consumer and corporate debt that is an issue.  The U.S. government has gone on a borrowing spree to take advantage of the low rates.  The interest payment alone in 2018 was $479 billion on the $22 trillion U.S. federal debt and projected to rise to almost $800 billion by 2025.  How much higher would that be if interest rates were to normalize?  The world economy would likely implode under the crushing weight of debt servicing. Other countries are in worse shape: Japan, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium all have higher debt to GDP ratios.  The world has cornered itself into an inescapable debt trap thanks to the easy money policies of the Federal Reserve and ECB since the financial meltdown in 2008. 

Shock collars next...don't even think about not reporting..

9 hours ago, webfact said:

He had said earlier in the year that a crash could come in 2019 but this has so far not been seen despite properties being discounted.

Properties being discounted seems to be one of the precursors to a crash. Prices begin to fall and then plunge as people panic, thinking their values will fall even more.

22 hours ago, ravip said:

The UK is now a fascist and racist state...

History says it was always that.

So Thailand has a model government on which all governments should strive to emulate? And Thais have no history of making race-based distinctions when dealing with farang and other outsiders?  All human beings, and all countries, exhibit varying degrees of fascism and racism. These tendencies will never go away completely; they're part of the human condition. The UK has made innumerable positive contributions to the advancement of humanity, most notably English Law, and to ignore that while making the extreme statement that it sits squarely in the political camp of a Nazi Germany, a Maoist China, or a Stalinist Russia is unfair, extreme and ridiculous. 

It won't be to long before my currency, the US dollar, dives. $22 trillion in debt and the USA still refuses to turn off the money printing-press. Helicopters continue showering free money from the skies even though unemployment is at record lows and the economy strong.  The current administration is on a mission to devalue in order to help the export sector. The whole world is in a currency war to the bottom. If this continues the last man standing will be Gold.

On 7/30/2019 at 9:28 AM, JingerBen said:

I feel the same way.

Whenever I'm tempted to complain about Thailand I think of the possible alternatives, such as a return to the USA.

For me, that would be a fate worse than death - although nowadays death might be part of the package.

If I returned to the USA, I would move deep into the mountain-west or the Alaskan frontier to live off-grid. I'd hunt for elk and fish for trout and then smoke my kill for winter consumption. I'd cultivate a garden and preserve the vegetables in canning jars; I'd chop and stack firewood; I'd power-up with batteries and solar panels and drink from clear mountain streams. I'd finally be free from man's bullshit... Eventually, though, my dream fades as I gaze into the crystal waters of the beachside pool clutching an ice-cold Leo, my motivation destroyed under the balmy tropical sun as all of my worldly needs are met without hardly lifting a finger.  Think I'll stick around for a while longer.

Pattaya will change or it will die. Tourists from other parts of Asia don't want to sit on a bar stool and drink their day away smelling sewer gas while looking out over a putrid sea they wouldn't dare swim in. The Chinese are shifting to Vietnam, and to Cambodia where they're building world class hotels and casinos next to clean beaches. 

You won't like Da Nang if you like open spaces, maintained parks, clean streets, clean beaches, clean water, and clean air.

Looking good has more to do with genes and physical fitness, rather than the clothing one wears. Too much time on a bar stool will even turn Brad Pitt into chicken(leg)man. 

On 7/27/2019 at 4:28 PM, justin case said:

the heat seems to melt common sense of most farang where they start to defend thai open xenophobism ....   imagine this :  a thai married to a farang in farangland, cannot buy land in farangland, even he has money, married, let's see if he wants to work...does he need to employ 4 farang ?  does mister married thai peson need to do police checks (tm30, 90 days, yearly papershow for extension) ?  guess not ...

 

does mister/mrs thai not get nationality after a few years of residing in the country ?

 

so get your butt out of your head 

 

you and me are long term tourists, arrived yesterday or living and working here 40+ years, married, children, grandchildren ...  NOTHING MORE

You can fly to my country as a tourist, plunk down the cash, and enjoy all the property rights of a citizen....boy are we stupid!

31 minutes ago, zydeco said:

https://www.groundwater.org/get-informed/groundwater/overuse.html

Great article. Groundwater is being removed faster than it's being replenished. It seems freshwater production, rainfall that is, has remained constant, but it's being pumped at ever increasing rates to keep up with population growth. More people needing more food, means more irrigation for crops. 

On 4/13/2019 at 11:06 AM, vinniekintana said:

Wise words

This being said, even if we were back home (and over 50) life wouldn't be any kinder.

At east here, I will never see winter again????...and plenty of other extras.

like never seeing a fat, pasty-white, whiskered grandma, smelling of Bengay, wanting to snuggle up with me....