Donga

... to continue their deluded pathways of unsustainable economics, immigration, foreign affairs and health deterioration. Democrats have to reinvent themselves big time to become responsible custodians and not sure they're up to it.

in deep underground mountains. No, no, not us.

Think the Vietnam War protests were much more justified than this ignorant lot e.g. So many US & Aussie troops in Vietnam for years, the IDF hasn't used napalm and the history of Vietnamese struggle was very different. Jihad was not a factor, and I for one never believed in the Domino theory.

The article was adapted from the BBC no less, hardly a Trump supporter. Soon the luvvie lefties will only be able to choose from diminishing pool of legacy media, fighting each other with their doom and gloom to try minimise their loss of market share of the deluded hard left. Those still supporting Iran, Hamas and all sorts of identity politics. Left wing parties will have to move towards the centre or continue to wither.

Hope we can all see how this article relates to border protection, as most countries of the world recognise it. He is an illegal immigrant, no free accommodation, no appeals for removal. At least he had a visa at one time and overstated it. That's the legal process, right?

If you don't understand the double standard, guess you don't understand who are the Good guys after all. Wake up Mike. Similarly those of you who don't understand why the US had no choice but to drop not one, but two atomic bombs to end WWII in the Pacific - dig into your history on the power of the Emperor and the psychology of the Japanese soldiers back then. Reminds me of the psychosis of the jihad movement today.

Yep another example of what I call left squirming and funny how they fail to see the ironies. We had TACO Trump, the bully who won't do anything. Makes the decision, then Trump is risky, illegal, AO-C says impeach him! Meanwhile the Middle East breathes a sigh of relief and Iranians hope they might overthrow the regime. The New York Times no less, carried a story about how the Tehrangeles, LA Persian community, wish for the regime change. This on top of how Lefties been behind Hamas. Didn't believe they use human shields, or their horrid jihadist background, Iran funding and objectives. Support Hezbollah and then have to pivot when Hezbollah is smashed and Assad is removed. Don't know how many famines Gaza has endured, been going on since early last year. Could tell some of these clowns Trump thinks 1+1=2 and they'd say he's wrong. I'm joking Chomper, just joking.

Firstly wasn't me than down thumbed your reply. My overriding comeback is that most media now use the term "far right" too easily. The most glaring is example is on this very topic of immigration. I put it to you that you don't have to be "far right" to subscribe to the right of nations, indeed societies to choose who should be allowed to live in their country, let alone the welfare entitlements and years of appeals made available for illegal immigrants. Indeed a lot of media have trouble with the concept, choosing to use descriptors such as "migrants", "asylum seekers" and the like. My grandfather and family were refugees after the Russian civil war. You say "eroded by right-wing doctrine that is absolutely less humane, less caring, completely focused on capitalism, doesn't give a hoot about the environment and when all added up, is hard to argue is NOT evil." The MSM loves this narrative even though it takes years and years to obtain environment and in some cases Indigenous approvals for projects. Projects that are required to advance society, and often essential for the low carbon transition like solar panels and EVs. Some people live in a dream world, I call them luvvies. Feel good, but either naive or hypocritical. As for "completely focused on capitalism" not sure what your alternative is. Why is capitalism essentially bad? I'd be delighted if you can articulate how your economic model works. As far as being evil is concerned, I'd be looking at societies where basic freedoms are denied and corruption is rampant. I'd include a popular movement that uses human shields as their main strategy in their struggle for what they call liberation (part of the jihad movement, which is disgusting) as inherently evil, yet so many people are able to condone this. I think it was evil that people during Covid were unable to return home in some instances or visit dying relatives in hospital, and yet it was accepted. People who protested were termed "far right" in a lot of MSM. I could go on but trust you get my drift. We won't change each other's views but I appreciate your approach. Is refreshing for a Leftie these days, which I used to be until they cared more about being "progressive" and less concerned about the lower echelons. Lastly, am very annoyed with the widespread disdain for Western civilisation. Is so inane and devoid of historical perspective, e.g. after thousands of years of slavery, which civilisation abolished it?

You're a youngster haha. As an Aussie living in London for a spell (not Earls Court), attended Glastonberry Fayr in 1976 and the more memorable Knebworth Festival with a distinctly cranky Mick Jagger et al coming on stage very late, after 10CC and struggling with sound issues. Magical times.

In their day, those media were well respected. I was a keen listener, watcher of ABC and subscribed to the Sydney Morning Herald, well into my 40s. That was last century, before the Y2K hysteria, followed by Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth and the "science is settled" mantra, which is an oxymoron in itself. My BS meter started to twitch. Then we had the BLM movement, and anti-Western civilisation permeating what were once well respected media. Been downhill ever since. You have to be living under a rock not to understand that these once objective media catered more and more to a left wing bias, market and truth become the casualty. You could say the same for Fox News in the US but on the other side. The internet has spurned hundreds of news sites, some more professional than others, but clearly MSM has lost support. They are now not nearly as respected as they once were and the younger folk hardly refer to them at these days. Sad. I find Al-Monitor the most objective site for Middle East news, and still searching for reliable wider coverage, other than Murdoch, who still provide counter opinions, which people pay for, unlike ABC, BBC, The Guardian. Hence read across the spectrum and search when my BS meter is aroused. Objective stuff can be found, but takes a bit of effort. What strikes me are two factors: 1. People now of the left persuasion are convinced they are more humane, caring while Conservatives are viewed as capitalist, environmentally blind and inherently evil 2. People of the left often have very strong views, but struggle to engage with the other side about them. They tend to hit back at the source, rather than the content and are fond of cancelling those with whom they disagree with. Sad. I've only stopped voting for Labor in the last few years, such was my own surety that I was on the right side of righteousness. Now see I was ignorant of the details on so many topics back then, e.g detailed history of Palestine. An idealist, rather than a realist. Very frustrating that many folk don't comprehend the notion of illegal immigrants. And is telling that old media, hardly mention the term, preferring "migrants" or "refugees", which was grandfather was 100 years ago. What do people think visas are for?

Oh dear, thanks for the education, Johnny. So Daily Mail is the polar opposite of BBC, The Guardian, ABC, The Sydney Morning Herald, Washington Post, The New York Times, CNN, Los Angeles Times and all those other tired old media, which cling to their steadily declining base who sleep smugly at night knowing they are clever and compassionate while the others are so cruel and evil. Go Johnny, only you know what a smart person you truly are.

And your take on the commentary? Perhaps you could strike out and do something most luvvies struggle with - discuss the content, not the source.

I have to trust that you understand her pedigree doesn't provide her with any more insight than a say a plumber. Our universities and most MSM have been woeful in providing people with an objective historical background of the region. I believe Corbyn paid the price for his views on the matter. I daresay that IF both allowed a proper examination of the history and IF most people bothered to look into it, they would overwhelmingly understand that Israel is more the victim and not the other way around. Even without this, I'd expect that a referendum today on the matter today would be more sympathetic to Israel than "Free Palestine", whatever that means. How would you see the wording of such a referendum btw, especially in the light of the Iranian clerics role. Similarly with open borders and identity politics, which is bringing down governments one by one. Policies that were implemented without enough community input.

The truth of US healthcare. Let's look at it... 1. Very high health spending per capita, if not the highest 2. Dismal health indices amongst OECD countries, amongst the lowest And getting worse, so trust you accept that what they've been doing has been a failure. So much spurious health research these days. Billions wasted. So yep, let's get back to basics, and that means firing the complicit CDC rubber stamp for the over powerful pharma and food industries. So mainstream media all screech together... RFK got rid of 17 experts. Often shudder when I see that word, as so many "experts" seem plain dumb or maybe ideologically challenged. He replaced them with 8, "including some with a history of vaccine skepticism and questioning pandemic restrictions." So a more balanced panel on vaccinations and also question pandemic restrictions. Restriction eh, as a Covid believer and 5x vax, I call them pandemic excesses, abused by left wing govts and caused so much misery among the lower echelons. The hypocrisy is outrageous. I'm not sure RFK will be successful, but wish him well. A lot of media will look for anything they can to discredit him, including "experts" who've been fired and previous admin spokesmen and women. MSM love that. Articles like this lack objectivity, are deceptive. I will seek an outlet in this space that keeps a fairer track of how things go. Will vaccinations plummet after all? Will we have a wave of pandemics because of RFK, stay tuned. Won't be easy to track objectively so we may have to look at those major indices in a few years time.

Leaders underestimate Trump (and his advisors) at their peril. You don't think Trump wanted to smash Iran? Netanyahu has been a perfect ally for him to sort Middle East with Trump comfortable with being portrayed as not his doing etc. TACO man haha. Can you think why he would adopt that posture? Must be hard for folk accustomed to the Dems way of kicking the can down the road in so many ways. Ukraine - how the hell has Putin got Trump's measure? The Europeans are coming to their senses and should be able to manage that conflict with the assistance of US technology. And so we look over to the East, and wonder what Xi is thinking. Depends how smart he really is. But I wouldn't be thinking about trying to take Taiwan while Trump is on seat. Forget what Trump says - he plays everyone, especially media (oh, he and Elon had a falling out did they, why would he play that one, think hard) - and focus on what transpires. He'll lose some support domestically as he expects, but racing to bring in long overdue reforms (look at nuclear recently) to try get back on top by the mid terms. Lets see shall we.

Putin is well out of his depth now, sounding more like an Iranian ayatollah. Trump has him where he wants him. Russia is bleeding, soldiers that it and also economically. Europe is stepping up big time, as demanded by Trump. And the Ukrainians are being compared to Mossad as they execute a number of deep penetration feats. Trump is grinning (as was Biden) with Putin's deluded mission. Could you imagine how the Russians would fare now if even just the Poles and Germans got serious? Throw in Baltic countries and the US airforce, and the war would end very quickly. But why do that, lose good people, while Russia slowly bleeds and everything gets worse for them day by the day.

So easy to get the bitter or depressed farang bitching away about diddly.

Am hopeful that army coups are behind us. If there is another election, hopefully PP doesn't have take a strong anti-monarchist bent, which kept it from power last time around. Many seem to forget they were unable to form government because not one other party shared their lese majeste policy. The vast majority of Thai still respect the monarchy even if they vote for PP like some of my relatives did. Lastly, agree Purdey, I'd be delighted to know which countries in the world don't have difficult problems.

Fair enough, Richard and I don't know enough about it, though do think about later health care from time to time, e.g. would I want to spend my last days here, or Sydney. Pros and cons with both. Having said that, am very proactive in looking after myself with activities and less drinking but know that age will catch up to me at some point. Have heard a lot of positive stories about Thai public healthcare e.g. sister in law doing well after 3 brain tumour ops in hardly the medical precinct of Det Udom, various farang tales including where they've paid for better rooms, but not that expensive. Also heard a few personal horror stories, but one hears about them back in Australia as well. There's always the private system, which can be expensive without coverage, which itself is not cheap and so far I've not paid for that, though have private coverage in Australia. I get 6 months free Credit Card travel insurance while here. I don't have a clue what it's like in neighbouring countries but suspect it would be no better.

Missing a few things, after our four weeks in Vietnam in 2023... * Food much better in Thailand, can still get a wide variety at decent prices - there is only so much banh mi and pho I can take, and that was just after four weeks. Big price difference to step up to more varied offerings, unlike in Thailand. * Their footpaths are largely taken over by motor bikes. Walking around Danang or Dalat not relaxing at al. Hoi An is fine for a day or two, but bit of a one trick pony. Can't imagine living there. * Vietnamese temples are relatively boring compared to elaborate and sometimes wacky Thai temples. Same for national parks, where Thailand has amongst the highest number in the world. Ha Long Bay is outstanding and they have some delightful landscapes, but I've visited many wonderful national parks in Thailand and delightful landscapes here also. * Struggle with this dual pricing whinge as vast majority of our spending goes on groceries from Lotus or market, cafes with menus, petrol, some beer, uh? Doesn't bother me to pay more when visiting a National Park, such a petty whinge. * Infrastructure generally in Thailand is superior especially the abundance of dual carriageways compared to Vietnam. Lastly, the Vietnamese people are fine, a little cold fish in some instances but overall welcoming. But not as cheerful as Thais - can't imagine having the playful sexual banter with my wife and her friends with the Vietnamese, but guess am not qualified on that one. I do find the Thais are more lighthearted, with tolerance in spades.

Am old enough to remember when I thought journalists were fairly smart, and would challenge the person they were interviewing, respectfully, but just don't see that anymore. MSM has become so polarised as they cater for their audience/readership. Things like Climate Change and Covid widened the chasm it seems to me and for some crazy reason left wing, largely emanating from colonial "guilt" and "saving the planet" with vacuous phrases like "the science is settled" became almost conventional wisdom. Independent news sources withered on the vine, or maybe never really existed, but I was too young to see that. The Australian ABC was reliable and enjoyed their programs so much, well into my 40s. Things seemed to change this century, after Y2K haha. Now I read too much - from the left like ABC, BBC, New York Times etc to conservative Murdoch and found myself heading towards the latter. They still enable contrary opinions to be aired/published. The others don't bother. They're scrambling to keep their falling market shares. Find left wing people often quite ignorant, for people who are not stupid, about issues they have very strong views on, but don't know much about the details/context. E.g. Anti - Western colonialism, after eons of empires across the world, doesn't faze them. Or the fact that it was Western civilisation that abolished slavery after thousands of years. I find it fascinating the way people, including myself as an old leftie, form and might even change their stripes. For me it was things like the hypocrisy of "environmentalists", followed by BLM coverage, and finally those Covid (I was pro vax and sensible safeguards for the vulnerable) extended lockdowns that decimated the lives of the lower echelons of society. The left wallowed in that situation and won elections in so many places as MSM reinforced they were saving us. My two bobs worth. I still read a lot but also search for credible data when something doesn't smell right.

Haha that's it, what I did when it was my fault. Bali airport, big new shiny bank ATM display and you'd think they'd have someone to sort nearby. No got. Rang the number provided, and advised as after hours Friday, I would only be able to retrieve on Monday. The CC was about to expire so I dug out the new one out and found an ATM nearby to use the correct debit card.

Good for you jacko, I've done a million miles with both Qantas and American Airlines, and know my way around. You've got a point with possible creative use of the card after three PIN attempts, so ok ATM keeps card. However, in one case the ATM was faulty. In the other I was very tired, didn't get the chance to do Pin 3x as ATM didn't like the card description I had entered. My point is ATMs keep the card too easily, have 30 year old software platforms and the banks could do more to contact the owner before they destroy the card.

Has happened twice to me. Once my fault as input wrong code, other time faulty ATM. I felt like tearing the ATM apart, especially as was at Bali airport with no staff around at all. Fortunately I had backup funding but what if someone didn't? They arrive into country and unable to get their funds. ATMs should not take cards, period. If someone has stolen a card and is trying with different pins, they haven't got a chance anyway. Let them try, after three times card comes out and unable to use for 24 hours or something like that. And the process of the banks destroying the card, before the person is able to collect once able to track down the relevant office is pathetic.

Looks like she was in the wrong profession