Iron Tongue

Prayut, or any leader anywhere, will always have their supporters. It doesn't mean that the entire country is still supporting him. In Russia, there are still people who miss the Soviet Union. It doesn't mean that everyone does -but it does explain why people support Putin. Their economy, wages, and future is in the toilet, but Putin brought back feelings of a strong & powerful Russia. (No. I do not feel this way.)

Obviously. However, I do condone the community beating of parents for the misbehavior of their children.

I think the amount depends on yours/his circle of friends. At 13, he's going to want to start buying some of his own clothes, shoes, video games, whatever. Depending on his circle of peers, he needs to at least be able run with them without developing any problems of not fitting in. 1000-2000, whatever you decide, make him at least WORK for it. He needs to feel he is earning it from work. Chores, helping-out somewhere, perhaps peg it to his grades.

You are correct that it's more than Venezuela! China, North Korea, Cuba, Nicaragua, Bangladesh, El Salvador, Mozambique, Namibia, and Rep of Congo, are also officially "socialist" countries. To be fair, Portugal is also a "socialist" country. But none of the Scandinavian countries are considered socialist anymore.

Huh? Socialists will take alright, but more than just compliments.

Whenever I see or hear " debunked", I know the person has identified themselves of having no individual thought, and certainly nothing informed to add, except for an almost rabid attitude towards using talking points. This includes both left and right of politics. I don't mind spirited discussions and I appreciate alternate views because it sharpens my own beliefs, but those who only deny & deny, usually throwing-in an ad hominem somewhere in there, are a waste of time and not worth engaging.

There were a couple of Chinese "wu mao"posters here a few years back, pretending to be white. Don't know if they're around anymore. Maybe China's AI is good enough to not need real humans post anymore. What I've noticed about the fake China posters is that they'd always try to establish that they were white by choosing names like " Jay from New Zealand" (a real one) or "Joe from Australia" and similar. No matter what the discussion, they'd insert something like "The US started Covid" in a conversation about banks, for example. It got pretty easy to spot them because of their choice of names (always an Anglo name and claims to be from Australia, usually), and an attempt to blame the US even though the topic had nothing to do with the US. This has happened on several forums I been on, even in CNN, which is why they finally took it down. One amusing observation is that from the time stamp, they'd all start posting at the equivalent of 9AM Beijing time -beginning of their work day.

Thaksin's voluntary return to Thailand has always been a mystery to me. What back room deal did he get to convince him to return? And now that he's back and has been convicted, then paroled, what fears does he have that we are unaware of? For someone who has likely socked billions away, he could probably arrange a secret flight out of the LoS on a runway made out of 1,000 baht notes.

Rubbish. Denial is not a valid argument. You do not want to understand nor accept that Biden's attack on the Supreme Court is merely an election year ploy to stir up the emotions of morons, as any rational person would realize that a constitutional amendment could never be passed in 3-months time. After the election is over, this will be forgotten as new crises will be manufactured. By the way, do you really know what the Supreme Court does? They don't pass laws. Their sole purpose is judicial review to invalidate statutes and Presidential decrees which violate the Constitution. Checks and Balances. Have you ever read a Judicial opinion, both the majority and dissenting opinions? They are written by far smarter people than you or I and they reference case law going back centuries to support the decisions. Before you go screaming for change and charging corruption, perhaps you should understand what goes into each decision.

Because I am a constitutionalist, meaning that I believe in the strict interpretation of what the Founding Fathers intended. And I have a degree in Constitutional Law from UC Berkeley. I do not believe that there should be term limits for Federal Judiciary members or that they run for their office, as it was intended for Jurists to not be stained by corruption if potential Judges felt that they needed sponsors, make backroom deals, and the need to raise money to gain office. If Federal Judiciary held lifetime seats, they would not feel the need to"repay" anyone or any party, and could make rulings based on their interpretation of the Constitution. And based on recent rulings of the Supreme Court, judges elected by Democrats and Republicans often "cross the lines" to everyone's surprise. And except for RBG, who refused to retire -and death caused these problems, Supreme Court Justices and Federal Judges retire all the time without need to be forced. The 22nd Amendment was a special case that came about after President Roosevelt served 4 terms as President. If he didn't die, he had accumulated so much power that he would have remained President forever if he wanted. After Roosevelt, both parties realized that there should never be another President with so much power. But I'm not completely against term limits. But this current Biden issue is a manufactured crisis because of the Presidential elections. Stripping the ability of the Judiciary from "checking" the excesses of the Legislative Branch would be the beginning of real totalitarianism in the US.

Nonsense. Federal judiciary are set up to be named by the Executive and confirmed by the Legislative. As written in the Constitution. And since Federal nominations need to be confirmed by the elected Legislative, it can be considered a representative election. Been like that for over 200 years, several wars, financial crisis, and even a Civil War without change. Why now? Why Joe Biden, who is as competent as my cat (and I don't have a cat).

TBH, if you/family do most of your cooking on a steel wok, then stick with gas. A wok needs to be raised & have different temp areas that only flames can do right. If most of your meals comes from flat-bottomed cookware, then induction may be a better bet. And since you can set at exact temps, grilling steaks, chops, fish works very well.

Steel & cast iron are great, but Induction does not work with aluminum unless there is a steel insert. But you shouldn't be using aluminum cookware anyways. Autopsies on dementia patients' brains show high concentrations of aluminum. While there is no proven correlation between Alzheimers & Parkinsons from exposure to Al, autopsies of people with Alzheimers and dementia related Parkinsons does show high concentrations of AL in the brain. Al comes from many sources, but ingestion is the greatest cause up to 100mg/per day.

Sure, electricity costs more, but it depends on how often one cooks. And there is no " heating up" as induction reaches the set temp almost instantly. It also doesn't heat up the kitchen/house as you cook like exposed flames

The US government is based on 3 separate parts: Legislative, Judicial, and Executive. They are to remain separate. But now Joe Biden's handlers are upset that the Supreme Court (Judicial) keeps enforcing the Constitution, so they want to weaken the powers of the separate Judiciary arm. The first thing Putin did was weaken the judiciary. Xi in China weakened the judiciary in China to give himself perpetual rule. Chavez & Morales weakened the Venezuelan judiciary. See where I'm going with this? For a person who spent his entire life in the Senate & VP then President - perhaps he should first push term limits for the Senate.

Have you considered an induction rangetop? Slimmer, instant heat, you can set the temp, and safe to touch. You won't have to deal with propane tanks anymore.

At least Apple didn't film it in China, where their products are made.

I think you're reading too much from the picture. That food was ordered from room service, some which still has plastic wrap over it. As it is room service food, portions are served individually and not "family style". It just looks like food laid out so this group can have one last meal together before they check-out and go their separate ways. I don't know how or why they died, but I think the food was just food, no meaning or symbolism to it.

Nonsense. They won't be 50 year old airframes. They will be new fighter jets incorporating the latest technologies and likely the latest US munitions. F-16s have been the most successful fighters of the late Cold War - post Cold War eras. Grippens and F-16s actually perform different functions. By all accounts, Grippens are excellent defensive fighters more than capable of defending Thai airspace against anything their neighbors can throw at them (including China), while the F-16 can perform as interceptors, but they are also meant as force projection aircraft capable of carrying-out offensive actions over enemy territory. Now I don't claim to know what the Thais are planning, but I know that almost all militaries like having more options with their weapons systems.

"old stock" huh? You don't understand the meaning of the F-16 blocks. Block 70/72 is the very latest version of F-16 fighter and incorporates every new upgrade/technology as well as all past advancements. The F-16 block 70/72 is technically better than all the thousands built before it. The US must really want to make this sale, perhaps to keep Thailand always connected to the US' sphere of influence for another 30-50 years. If Thailand adopts F-16s, they will have the best fighters in SE Asia (next to Singapore), but will remain dependant on US tech, parts, upgrades, munitions, and training to maintain this dominance.

Don't forget that the Inland Revenue is going to want a cut of that. Depending on their gross income, they'd better plan a house minus 39-48%.

Last time I saw stainless steel like that, a Japanese Chef was flipping shrimp into my mouth from it.

You think you know, but you really don't. I'll bet you've never been to Japan nor visited a bar there, have you?

Totally legit claim. I understand that Joe Biden is claiming a neighbor's incessant Buddhist music as the reason for his poor debate performance.

So what does a fresh papaya cost in Limerick?