Etaoin Shrdlu

Perhaps the convictions he received were for the weakest of the charges he could have faced given J6 and the Georgie election. He certainly could have appealed his conviction.

Well, I think for non-violent offenses, perhaps community service might be appropriate. But serving as POTUS isn't the type of community service that is appropriate.

Against convicted criminals.

Trump was sworn to uphold the Constitution. When asked if he was obliged to do so, he said "I'm not a lawyer. I don't know". That tells you all you need to know as to whether he's "doing his job".

Wanna bet?

Lindsay Graham may have reasons to dislike Vladimir Putin due to Putin's stance on LGBTQ+ issues.

I also don't put much stock in Russians eating dogs, although I believe anyone in extremis probably would. Donald Trump hasn't shown any sign of standing up to Vladimir Putin so far and Trump's the leader of the Republican party. Trump kneecaps anyone who resists. Who in the Republican Party would challenge him on this point?

There is no evidence any of the Haitian immigrants in Springfield Ohio were eating dogs or cats.

Trump makes a fool of himself every day and twice on Sundays.

When I hear of an LPG tanker overturning, I'm reminded of the inferno on New Petchburi Road back in September 1990. What a nightmare that was.

I can't deny that those types exist in Thailand, but my my experience is a bit different. Most of the expats that I have come into contact with are in these categories: Senior management or industry specialists sent by their multinational company employer to work here Entrepreneurs who own successful companies. (Perhaps Bill Heinecke is the most successful of all those I've met, but since he's renounced his US citizenship I'm not sure he's still considered an expat. But there are many others.) Teachers at international schools and local universities who have relevant degrees and credentials. Lawyers who are owners of, or who work at, local law firms. Perhaps it depends upon why one came to Thailand in the first place, or perhaps on the company one keeps.

I think Patpong started to go downhill in 2001 or so when Purachai was Minister of the Interior and required things to be toned down. The Pong never recovered.

I agree. There is lots to been done in this area. High fructose corn syrup in almost any foodstuff. Hormones and antibiotics in animal feed. High levels of sodium in processed foods. Chemical preservatives. I do find it a bit strange that this would be part of the MAGA manifesto given the "drill, baby, drill" rhetoric when it comes to the environment, something also tied to human health.

Here's another graph showing the price of eggs:

The Republican tax bill contains a provision to impose a withholding tax on foreign remittances. Initially set at 5% of the amount of each remittance, reports now state that this has been lowered to 3.5%. It seems that US citizens may in most instances be exempt from this tax, or be able to claim an income tax credit for such withholding, but there are conditions. One condition is that the bank or money transfer company be a "qualified" remittance transfer company (RTC) and there seems to be a path by which a US citizen could be out the 3.5% tax: The remitter is a US citizen, but uses a remittance company that is not a "qualified" RTC. The remitter is married to someone who does not have a SSN. This applies regardless of whether tax filing status of the US citizen remitter is single, head of household, or married filing separately. A good writeup of this proposed law is here: https://taxnews.ey.com/news/2025-1108-new-5-percent-excise-tax-proposed-for-remittance-transfers

I don't think any separate portal would be needed. Just include the proof of insurance along with the other documents when submitting the visa application to the embassy abroad. Sure, some people would submit fakes and some might struggle with the technology, but the majority would probably not have much of a problem and it would cut down on the number of tourists who can't pay hospital bills after their motorbike accidents or slips at waterfalls.

It would make more sense for the tourist visa to require proof of travel medical insurance.

Amazon is selling both 8646 and 8647 stickers. If these numbers do indeed constitute a threat, then Amazon, the manufacturers, and purchasers would all have to be interviewed by the Secret Service and possibly prosecuted. Otherwise going after Comey for tweeting a photo of shells on a beach is simply harassment of a perceived political enemy.

This is openly sold on Amazon.

Yes, I certainly believe it is in a person's best interest to determine whether their insurer is financially sound. AM Best ratings can be found online, but AM Best doesn't provide one for WRLife.

Technically, AA has always been restricted by OIC regulations to using insurers licensed and regulated by the OIC. But asking for financials does not constitute placing business with an offshore insurer and therefore would not constitute a breach. I doubt AA or any other party would receive audited statements in any event, but I would be happy to be proved wrong.

The OP appears to be using AA Insurance Brokers to look into this issue, howver.

If the insurance company based the exclusions on incorrect information, then the regulator would probably have required the insurer to remove the exclusions and pay your claim. I have advised in the past that anyone when first applying for health insurance should submit all of their medical records along with the proposal form. While this is not required, it can avert lots of problems later on. In fact, the lack of a requirement to do so is actually kind of a trap that often gives the insurer a get-out-of-jail card for use later on. Quite often there will be test results or doctors' notes in our medical files that may indicate a condition, but one which the doctor has not expressly pointed out to us. Sometimes the threshold for an insurer to apply an exclusion is below the level at which a doctor would raise an issue with the patient, especially if the doctor was focused on something more significant when the patient presents. A doctor's view of what may be clinically significant at the time may be different from an insurer's view as to what may constitute a pre-existing condition. We also may not always know or understand what is in our records and how an insurer might view them.

When I was an insurance broker, my company had a procedure for onboarding insurers with whom we could place business. It included an analysis of their financial statements as well as a general assessment of their overall reputation in the marketplace. Obviously if an insurer refused to supply copies of their financials, they wouldn't be approved for use. Every once in a while we would get a request from a client to place their business with an insurer that hadn't been vetted. In such cases, we would make the client sign a "chicken letter" that stated that the insurer had not been reviewed and approved by our firm, but that if the client wished, we wold make the placement at their direction with the explicit disclaimer of any responsibility for the insurer's performance or financial integrity. We did this even though an insurance broker isn't usually legally responsible for the financial security of an insurer. There's nothing wrong with asking your insurance broker to obtain copies of an insurer's audited financials. There is something wrong if the broker refuses to request them or if the insurer refused to provide them. If your insurance broker is indifferent to the integrity of the insurers it works with, then you're quite possibly using the wrong insurance broker.

One possible origin of the term "86 it" was Chumley's Speakeasy in New York City during Prohibition. It had two entrances, one of which was 86 Bedford Street. The cops would call ahead and warn of an impending raid and say that they needed to 86 their customers, meaning the cops were going to enter on the other side of the building. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chumley's