Donga

A little tough and certainly premature as suspect he'll do better this time, and last time was wasn't shabby. Forget his stupid comments. Believe he's got a better measure of how to run things, likely more stable & loyal advisors with the house & senate behind him. Also suggest the left loves tokenism way more, e.g. BLM, MeToo, Free Palestine, 100% renewables by 2050.

Yup another left leaning media outlet trying to frame the election disaster as only due to cost of living from inflation. Nothing to do with extended lock downs in left wing states, excessive bureaucracy in so many areas, (DC voted 92% Democrat), environmental extremism, pithy foreign affairs, woke everywhere including education and porous borders. The left induced media continue to shoot own goals with their hubris, e.g. Biden was mentally fit as a fiddle, until everyone could see he wasn't and by then it was too late.

One huge area not even mentioned in the beat up is that RFK intends to reform packaged food, which is largely responsible for alarming obesity and climbing diabetes, worldwide. Well overdue. Big pharma needs a big stick taken to them and I do disagree with taking fluoride from the water supply, let's see if that comes about. The shrill emanating from the hypocritical Left and the complicit media is breathtaking and will take years for the average voter to put aside. But that tide is turning and Trump and Republicans just gave it a major shove 🤗

Think you need to consider the Left went too far, which Trump could see along with the impact on the economy and workers' lives. People who really care about the tenets of the left should look closely as to why the Democrats now represent the urban professional class - lawyers, professors, activists, public servants and care about "progressive" issues more than the economic realities, with their righteous posture, e.g. DEI and associated tokenism, environmental extremism, anti-west sentiments etc. Tend to find cancel culture more pronounced when trying to discuss issues with people who are stuck in their "left" mindset - they often can't articulate, is something they glean from various headlines and protest movements. No matter what their education, and as an old Leftie, I find them increasingly shallow, devoid of contextual history (e.g. western colonialism & slavery, where the West were late in the trade and the first to ban it) but above all seem to think they hold some moral or intellectual high ground. The Republicans now stand for the workers and Trump was able to achieve that despite being hounded and villified by most mainstream media. He's turned into a hero despite his obvious character shortcomings, which media highlight ad nauseam.

You crack me up Lacessit 😅 You started this with "I understand thermodynamics. Clearly you don't" , so yep, I responded on your "little word". Like a good new Leftie (in days of olde, Lefties cared mostly about workers and general equality not the crap of today) you say I'm shooting the messenger - where did that come from? Are you truly an oracle? More like a rabid sheep, amid tales of doom & gloom. And then you assert I'm as "dumb as a can of soup". Incredible. Btw - I believe we should do what makes sense to mitigate global warming but with some caveats: 1. Ramp up nuclear energy and recognise the limits of intermittent renewables 2. Stamp on the media, professors and teachers from their wild assertions, often far more alarmist than the IPCC 3. Foster more debate instead of the BS, "science is settled" oxymoron - lets start with temperature records and weather events

I don't know nor really care about whether "he did it" - kept some files. I also don't think 34 payments to keep some high class hooker quiet should be termed 34 counts of felony. And morally believe Bill Clinton, who I admired and still do, did far worse with a recent uni grad in the White House. He paid the price you could say with impeachment, but find the constant moral barbs directed at Trump a tad shrill.

Haha so proud of your little word are we?

Except all outgoing Presidents have done it to some degree, Biden on much the same level as Trump for Pete's sake. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/05/17/not-just-trump-and-biden-every-administration-since-reagan-mishandled-classified-records-national-archives-finds/ The Democrats don't get it - their abuse of the legal system and thinking celebrities would get them home, just shows how out of touch they really are. They got smashed, and not just in the main race.

Keep the reading The Guardian, BBC, The Economist, ABC, Sydney Morning Herald, CNN, MSNBC, NPR, The New York Times and all the other mainstream left media and you'll wallow in doom and gloom until to you shuffle off this mortal coil - likely believing Western civilisation brought this calamity along with slavery, and all the other miseries of the world. And please don't assume any moral high ground or intellect - totally unwarranted hubris. Or others might say... useful idiots.

Moderate Moslems must disassociate from the extremists, not just in Gaza but everywhere these cretins are allowed to wield jihadist power - Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen, Iraq and in the West where extremist moslems are emboldened. Moslem extremism, i.e. doesn't recognise any other religion and sometimes against either Sunni or Shia, must be eliminated. People not seeing this are naive. If they're backing Hamas, or Hezbollah, or even some notion of From the river to the Sea, they are truly useful idiots for the extremists.

Pardon? Israel withdrew from Gaza nearly twenty years ago, as agreed. Hamas brutally beat Fatah in the 2006 elections, on the platform of eradicating Israel - so tunnels, weaponry, command centres in schools, hospitals, one command tunnel was just below UNRWA Gaza HO. The UN is appalling useless at best, complicit at worst. Do you remember when Egypt occupied Gaza? You ought to read up a little more.

Not terribly smart, cunning not savvy, hoping the TikTok younger folk will outweigh the experienced older folk and she's losing ground - including Black, Hispanic and male voters generally. The creative talent is wasted, and can be seen as patronising - the vast majority of peeps don't give a toss who Bruce or Beyonce vote for. Dems are done this time. Been too weak on many fronts. Trump will win but relax, only be for one term.

Murdoch empire influence is exaggerated continually by the left. In Australia, Sky News on TV is subscription, same for their website news, and have no radio. The left/Green/Free Palestine/Woke ABC have free to air TV, free web access and radio throughout the country. Fortunately their regional radio is not as biased as the capital cities. Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in Melbourne are not as biased as the ABC, but certainly not given to conservative views. The Guardian in Australia is not far removed from Al Jazeera in their view of the world. In US and UK there is a range of left wing media - BBC, The Guardian, Washington Post, CNN, New York Times. Murdoch knows his market and reaches out to them just as the others reach out to theirs. So why do left wing folk blame Murdoch when they lose an election, but unwilling to credit the support of the many friendly media when they win?

So Ukraine has been invading Russia in the battle for their existence and Israel did the same after being attacked. Ditto Australia "invaded" Papua New Guinea in WWII. Not sure you understand the nuances of invasion in terms of resisting attack, or simply choose to ignore the context.

Walz is a dragging anchor in a sinking ship

"Invaded" is incorrect and unsure if you're smart enough to know it, and like many of the Left, don't have much respect for the truth when your cause is at stake, or whether you really have no clue. Akin to wrong use of the word "genocide" - when one side is accused, after advising residents to get out of harms way - while the perpetrator deliberately places military command centres and weapons amongst civilians, schools, mosques, hospitals. Then fires guns and missiles from same civilian centres. Elements of mainstream media have no shame. If not well read, read history of these "invasions" since 1948 and also consider what victors have done for eons - and especially relevant when Islamists continue to threaten and regularly terrorise - they create buffer zones. Pity UN couldn't fulfill their role over 18 years with 10,000 soldiers to maintain the South Lebanese buffer zone. Btw I'm certainly not Jewsih - more Buddhist than anything else ☺️

One way or the other the world has to condemn and crush extremism on any level, not an easy task. Best to start with by far with the most destructive for so many people, worldwide over decades, extreme Islam or Jihad. The shocking Iranian regime will be toppled, hopefully from the inside, sooner than later. Israel is taking the lead, Western societies hopefully cotton-on before they are further consumed by anti-Western movements, which embrace the "oppressed". And the United Nations... as useful as tits on a bull, and complicit in sowing hatred with UNRWA. They require a major overhaul, with once Socialism International President, Guterres replaced by someone more centrist than a left wing shrill. My wish is a two state solution supported by modern Arab states, the US and Israel with Netanyahu gone and a more sensitive Israeli government for the negotiations and integration into a vibrant Middle East economic zone. Is it a dream?

Some more moralising and in my mind, naivety - "power imbalance", "exploitation", "socially disadvantaged" but especially loved "Sexpat: May involve both transactional and semi-permanent relationships, including “girlfriend” or “wife” arrangements that still carry an economic component." People would understand Thai society and demographics more, if they travelled around, talked to the women, including the bar girls to understand the realities of "socially disadvantaged" (hardly a Thai concept, other than hi-so Thai), especially after a Thai woman divorces. From my observation and discussions, Thai women are generally content, what ever their circumstance, and above all very pragmatic and also loyal, trustworthy. For those that sell their wares, Thai society is less judgemental than Western societies, and expect Buddhism plays a big part in this. Other ladies might look for a farang on a dating site - what is so "exploitive" about that? I've witnessed many older farang, younger Thai relationships and the vast majority are successful in that they enjoy each others company, share common interests and above all, seem to have less angst than many Western unions - is this "power imbalance" or Thai tolerance mixed with farang gratitude? Bit of both I expect. Had a wry smile with: "still carry an economic component" - most relationships carry an economic component whether in Thailand or the West. Could argue that in Thailand it is clearer what that component is 😅 We're fortunate to live in Thailand for many reasons - their culture, smiles, food, varied landscape, magnificent temples, ruins and right up there - freedom and tolerance. See very little exploitation and yet to see any underage stuff. I live near an entertainment area, but I'm not a bar guy, so maybe I'm naive in this case.

He ought to stick to laying on peaceful Thai beaches until he researches much more, or gets over his anti-Semitism. He might also pause to reflect on the 39 Thais were killed on Oct 7 and 31 taken hostage. Barbarians.

You haven't explained why you think it is acceptable for Hamas to use civilians as human shields - they are responsible for most of the civilian casualties, but they don't care. "Indiscriminate killing" that's rubbish - that's what terrorists do and they are still trying to do it. Israel sent Gazan civilians messages throughout on how to avoid harm and now do the same in Lebanon. They warned Hezbollah to stop firing missiles across the border, which the UN is meant to police. That Jewish kid must have got under your skin real bad chum.

Guess you must have beaten by a Jew at something when you were a kid and never got over it. Pls clarify how you see Hamas and Hezbollah as the victims. How do you reconcile Hezbollah's presence in Lebanon and the harm they has caused that society over decades. Same for Hamas in Gaza. Much like Taliban in Afghanistan and ISIS in Africa etc etc. How can't you see what militant Islamists believe in and terrorise for? Btw I lived in Nigeria and Indonesia for a number of years. I have no problem with moderate Islam but the extremists are ruining lives for moderates and causing angst for non-Moslems around the world.

Thaibeachlovers - How would you wage war with barbaric militants who place weapons and infrastructure in civilian areas and surround themselves with family? Who does that sort of thing - is it acceptable for "resistance fighters"? They are brainwashed Jihadists who create chaos across the Moslem world - wake up! Iran and it's proxies, including complicit UNRWA these days, need to be brought to heal. Check out how many people are killed each year by these mongrels, mostly other Moslems https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_major_terrorist_incidents Scourge of the Earth and Israel is right to ban that moron from the UN, who as a world socialist has been of the same mind as Jeremy Corbyn with his clear anti-Semitism.

I recall that incident where the protest boat clearly caused the collision and Watson lied through his teeth as he instructed the protest vessel to be sunk to garner sympathy... https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/oct/07/sea-shepherd-accused-protest-boat Moreover the claims of whales becoming extinct are even less evident than the demise of the Great Barrier Reef. I also suspect the Japanese are not as irresponsible with their whaling quotas as the activists squawk.

Yep, I second that, pls clarify RayC as smells like denial of Hamas and Islamic world generally on the horrors of building military infrastructure as well as firing missiles from civilian buildings. What kind of sick society does that and why are so many useful idiots silent about it. I may be wrong so excuse me if there is some other meaning to "genocide of children" but see it all the time in connection to "Free Palestine" which is only missing two words "from Hamas".

Agree with much of your analysis, however believe you're being a tad harsh in some areas, e.g. "And let us not forget, Thailand is but a "coup" away from becoming exactly like Cambodia and Myanmar." Thailand has had military coups but not conducted themselves in the same way as Cambodia or Myanmar, and now less likely to go down that road again in my view. Thailand is quite different compared to its neighbours. I suspect you overestimate the power of Russia, China, Iran & North Korea (I don't see Pakistan going to war with India) vs US, Europe, Japan, India, South Korea, Taiwan, even Australia who would have a role to play depending on the theatres of conflict. The economies of the evil lot are also in disarray, compared to US, Europe and Asian democracies. Frustrating that UN is so powerless where it is required, while posturing as ethical carers in Gaza. While things can look harrowing, I'm not as worried as to consider contingency plans. Thailand and Australia work for me and just hope we're in the right place if the tensions blow up in Asia Pacific.