Walker88

"Woke" is the silly passion of a small, albeit vocal, minority of the far left, while far far more ubiquitous is the absurd "Alternative Facts", fascism and lies of the right. The first is an irritant that may well already be long in the tooth, while the latter threatens the very foundations upon which all good has emerged---perhaps since Locke and Rousseau---and certainly through the Founders, who set the new nation of the USA on a path toward "a more perfect Union". The cult of personality that is the refuge of the failed, the forlorn, the losers of society---people incapable of accepting personal responsibility for their abject failure at life---could destroy what infinitely superior people, through hard work and sacrifice, built up over 250 years. Far more dangerous is the insane ramblings of the quintessential loser, who now has even adopted hate speech and even Orwellian doublespeak, that resonates with his loser cult. Give the forlorn an excuse for their failures, give them a target to blame, and become their messiah. The vernacular of "Woke" may be the opposite of what it states in many ways, and to a great extent---like the Cult of Personality on the other side---it tries to re-manufacture or redefine reality (e.g., there is absolutely nothing 'body positive' about obesity; it is merely an excuse for laziness, lack of discipline and self-control, as it is with ALL fat people, whether woke or of the Cult of Orange Blubberbutt). What the Cult of Personality represents was best expressed by the now-disgraced former "America's Mayor" Giuliani, when he said, "Truth isn't truth". Hence, a free and fair election was 'stolen', phone calls with obvious ulterior and self-serving motives are 'perfect', the 'best economy ever' isn't even in the top 30% since WWII ended (even before Covid), a silly clownish man-child can create NFT playing cards where he is portrayed as everything he never was and never could be, an independent govt entity is 'biased' when every witness related to major criminal charges was of the same Party and even part of the Administration of the alleged felon, and where people encouraged to 'march to the Capitol", and to 'fight like Hell', when all that was happening is a pro forma confirmation of free and fair election results, and who subsequently attacked and injured 137 law enforcement officers and threatened to hang the VP, were 'just typical tourists' and have now become---in the bizarre ramblings of the wounded loser---"hostages". "Woke" proponents speak of 'inclusion' and 'fairness' when neither is their actual goal, while the Cult pines for a 'greatness' that never existed in fact, while it tries to run to ground where their ilk is awarded the kind of privilege their (lack of) skills and talents do not deserve. Nobody wins those wars and all either does is increase the inefficiency of society. Merit becomes meaningless. The difference is that one can be fixed while the other will completely destroy everything good about the society, because it is based purely on hate and its goal is destruction. Its vernacular include violent words like 'stolen', 'deranged', 'radical, 'rot in Hell', 'vermin' and 'spoiling the blood'. Also, the 'woke' are verbally violent and address transgressors to their dogma by 'cancelling', while the Cult addresses infidels and apostates to its dogma through physical threats, genuine violence, and calls for retribution. The cited author recommends not doing business with woke. I will neither do business nor spend a satang on anyone who is a member of the Cult.

This is pretty good for Thailand:

Purests will still find fault, but there are a few places, at least in Bangkok, where the restaurant ages the dough, uses a wood-fired oven, uses Typo "00" flour, and uses fresh Bufala Mozzarella, which is made by Italian cheesemasters resident in Bangkok who import the buffalo milk from Italy.

For those who think they know everything, go into Siam Paragon, EmQuartier, BTS Stations....even K-Bank branches in various parts of Bangkok, and try to deposit to your account via the CDM/ATM. Perhaps those residing in Nakhon Nowhere, the changes are slow to be introduced, but in Bangkok the law is fully enforced.

Louie, it's the law, as of 11 Nov 2023. Maybe the rollout of the new ATMs/software is slow, but eventually it will be everywhere. I asked in all of my banks, and was told that foreigners must now go to a teller and provide their passport...not even a passport copy.

Apparently you are in a different Thailand than I am, or you are not in Thailand at all. Maybe you can go inform the folks at SCB, K-Bank, Bangkok Bank, et al that you, as a foreigner, can still deposit using the ATM machines. The first screen that comes up when one enters "Cash Deposit" is "Enter your Thai ID". Oddly, this is done whether one uses Thai or English.

After 1929 the Dow did not reach a new high until 1954---and only because the index replaced the bankrupt companies. Japan peaked in Dec 1989 at 38.915.87 on the Nikkei, and 34 years later has yet to fully recover. Of course both of those instances involved wildly overpriced markets. That is not quite the case today. Let us not forget Oct 19, 1987, when the Dow fell 23% in one day.

I suspect those machines have merely been overlooked, or K-bank is waiting for delivery of new ones. I first noticed it in BTS stations, but it was the same at my banks (K-Bank, SCB & Bangkok Bank) in shopping malls such as Siam Paragon and EmQuartier. The tellers at K-bank told me that it is now the law, ostensibly aimed at money laundering. Ask any Thai person, and they will tell you they now must enter their Thai ID #. Before 11 Nov '23, all anyone needed was the bank account number into which they wanted to deposit funds. Enjoy it while you can. Soon enough you'll be in a bank, taking a number, and then sitting and waiting for the next available teller to call you.

It's all Thai banks as of 11 Nov 2023. You need a Thai ID to deposit cash in an ATM. Foreigners---even business owners---must go to the bank teller, show their passport, and then deposit at the teller window. You might have noticed all the ATMs with a deposit drawer that were outside, in BTS stations, even in bank lobbies, have been replaced with machines that now ask for a Thai ID. My staff can deposit cash in my various company or personal accounts, but I must go to the teller at a bank branch.

You mean like the guy who barged into the dressing room of naked 14 year olds when he owned the "Miss Teen USA" contest?

Ivermectin doesn't work? Oh my! Next the experts will be telling us injecting Lysol or sticking a UV light up your fatuga is also ineffective. Frankly, it's just a conspiracy to keep a Nobel in medicine from the Bloated Orange Orifice. Incidentally, post-Covid, research seems to indicate there is a high correlation between obesity and severe Covid, and also low serum Vitamin D3 and severe Covid. In the US, 78% of deaths occurred among the obese, and 85% of deaths were people with low levels of D3.

Approximately 35,000,000 more marrying age males than females in China. Triads, in cooperation with the PLA, are 'importing' women from border regions of Myanmar, and auctioning off the women as brides. It has become quite dangerous for young Kachin women in Myanmar's northern Kachin State.

The gender of the offspring is a function of the sperm. Maybe the 'son hunting' guy can order a new Johnson on Alibaba and try again. It does give me solace, however, that on matters of intergalactic importance, Thailand is quick to put its #1 Top Cop Big Joke on to it. An "Influencer" deserves no less.

Who knew? There's a new addition to The Most Contentious Subjects 1) Pizza to go along with: 2) Israel-Palestine 3) God, Gods & Superstition 4) Face Masks 5) Can a "bargirl" make a good mate? 6) Circumcision 7) trump 8) Tattoos 9) LGBTQ+XYZ And the answers are: 1) Personal preference 2) Pick'em 3) We'll know, or not, when O2 to the brain stops 4) Consider the health, or fears, of the Thais around you, and just be polite 5) Yes; people are people, some good, some bad everywhere, even agogos 6) I just looked and 'she' seems to like it 7) Lock Him Up! (Gender equality, as "Her" had its day in 2016 8) Your body, your abomination or art/special memory 9) Live and let live

Depends on what the meaning of 'good' is, or rather what an individual's taste and experience says. Like everyone, I have my own preferences, which is Napoli-style. Real Napoli pizza is not NY-style, or Chicago-style or absolutely not Pizza Hut or The Pizza Company. The use of pineapple is a non-Italian preference. Yes, some Napoli-style places will make an exception, because North American and Thai female taste tends toward Hawaiian, but they do so begrudgingly. Italians are quite particular about their flavors. It is said that for every two Italians, there are three opinions on how to make real espresso. Some parlors use only Italian ingredients, such as imported Salsiccia, Nduja and other Italian-made meats, along with San Marzano tomatoes for the sauce. Cheese is more difficult, but I know there is a company in Bangkok, started by a couple of Italian expats, who import Buffalo milk from Italy and make Bufala Mozzarella and Burata. That cheese is available in a few retail outlets if one makes pizza at home, and is used by the better pizza parlors. I lack a proper oven at home, so if I want something truly tasty, I go out to the few places who know their stuff. In a pinch I'll make at home. I've found a few pizza joints in Bangkok who are as close to Napoli as one can get, but I have yet to find one in Pattaya (though there might be one). Again, it's a matter of taste. If one likes NY-style, I'm sure one can find it in Patts. If one likes The Pizza Company....oh my! I once stopped in a small restaurant way off the beaten path in Northern Thailand, and sampled their "pizza". It was a slice of white bread, topped with ketchup and some spray cheese out of a can. That was NOT Napoli-style!

10 minutes? I envy you. I wish it was that easy. What's your trick? My latest Non-B Business Visa renewal was 170 pages. It was a huge pain in the thoot, though I had help. Are you an employee or business owner? I own a company, so perhaps my renewal is more involved. My renewal had, inter alia.... ---Copies of my DBD forms ---Company tax filings for 2022 ---My personal tax filing for 2022 ---Copies of my Work Permit ---Passport copies, all current and past visas, latest entry stamp ---Proof of all VAT payments ---List of all employees plus proof all are on Thai Social Security ---The transcript from my highest level of education ---Bank statements ---Proof of all licenses ---Several pages of 'action shots' of me pretending to order employees around, sit behind piles of paper on my desk, looking deep in thought mulling over a business decision ---Additional photos of me standing in front of my office building with the address visible ---Copies of all shareholder and directors' meeting reports Every paper had to carry my signature as well as the company stamp I am told the most coveted position at IMM is in the Business Visa area. I'll leave it to readers to guess why, but......."there are ATMs in the basement should you be in need of one".

I think the OP knows by now, but once you hit your final destination, you will not have access to any lounge. Lounges are in the Departure area, and once you've passed Immigration, only an ongoing ticket and security check will get you into the lounge/Departure area. As far as lounges go, I'd put Qatar as tops, followed closely by Etihad. All the ME airlines have nice lounges, including Emirates and Oman Air. If transferring in Muscat, the entire airport, lounge included, is quite empty. That's kind of pleasant. Hit Doha at the wrong time and even Qatar's massive lounge is crowded. The airport at Abu Dhabi (Etihad) is always mobbed, and any transfer seems to involve long walks through a scrum. The worst lounges tend to be the US ones, with United near the bottom. Plus, United flight attendants always seem miffed that they have to work, rather than just schmooze with each other while finishing off the Godiva chocolates ostensibly meant for passengers. I'd also swear some of United's FA's were with the Wrights at Kitty Hawk. Inside the aircraft, Qatar's Q-Suite is tops. Slide the door shut and chill for 12-15 hours. Window seats on Oman Air are almost like Q-Suites, as they have unfettered access to aisles plus privacy. If you fly private, lounges are not as nice as, say, Qatar's lounges, plus you share them with inbred monarchs, oligarchs and international arms dealers.

I don't have your level of contempt for women. I find them lovely and easy to get along with. I rarely see them getting sh!tfaced drunk, getting into fights, exhibiting road rage, going on mass shooting sprees, engaging in genocide, they're much less likely to engage in terrorism. Most I know even work harder than men, and they don't beef and moan as much. Maybe I've just been lucky and met good ones. Oh, and their bodies are glorious. Given the toll pregnancy takes on their bodies, I fully understand why many are now choosing not to have kids.

Besides the obvious hypocrisy of being an immigrant in Thailand while bemoaning how 'immigrants' are ruining their home country, those pensioners are lucky there is immigration to their land. All pensions have been created based on the belief that population will forever rise. All the pensions are Pyramid Schemes. Many countries today are shrinking. The pyramid is becoming inverted. Fewer young people will be paying into a system from which the retired folks withdraw. That is not sustainable, except via massive money printing and subsequent currency depreciation. How loudly will the complaints be when it's 20 baht to the pound? Japan is at the forefront of this pyramid inversion, and already the yen is suffering (despite its recent rebound from 152/$). China, South Korea and Italy aren't far behind. Even Thailand announced its lowest birthrate in 71 years, though its system of taking care of the elderly relies more on direct payments from offspring. Those guys with their fat arses hanging over a barstool might find their home currency depreciating even more as money has to be printed to cover entitlements. Immigrants will help sustain the system. Many in the US get apoplectic about migrants at the border, but the reality of what migrants actually do, vs the myth they all go on public assistance, is quite different. Some woman who has the determination to drag her kids for 600 miles just to get a chance at working in a safe environment is quite likely to work hard and pay taxes, which will help sustain the US Social Security System. Unlike the clown who forever babbles about 'prisoners' and 'mental cases' and people 'destroying the blood' of the US, immigrants are what keeps the US economy vibrant and the entitlement systems somewhat flush. I would much rather have that woman from Guatemala who walked 600 miles to find work than the masses of bloated SSDI parasites in Red States, who bark about 'keeping government out of my SSDI and Medicare'.

I'm firmly in the expat camp, and will remain as long as I find the place enjoyable (provided the authorities allow). No complaints at all, save for the yearly Non B Business Visa renewal, which this year actually reached 170 pages of documents, photos, duplicates, etc. Despite that tome, IOs still find 'something missing', but that is always cleared with a tribute. I lay off some of the risk by starting an office pool to guess how much this year's tribute will be. When IOs see "Owner/Director" on the DBD form, the price goes up. I just have learned to accept---begrudgingly---that it's part of the culture. Absent that, Thailand is a welcoming and entertaining place to spend a few years. Should it ever become less than that, I'll try another place, but for now it suits me just fine. One of the beauties of being an expat is that even if the local politics and social structure are unpleasant, none of it is mine, and none of it affects me directly. Back home one owns his or her politics and society, and it can be a source of constant irritation. Being an outsider, or spectator, rather than a player, has some very selfish advantages. That's what being an expat means. If I were Thai the recent election would be an irritant, especially the presence of the stacked Senate. But I'm not, so it doesn't. Back home, one major Party has become a cult which has lost sight of the ideals on which the country was founded, such as democracy and rule of law. Also, our beloved 'separation of church and State' is clearly in jeopardy, and willful ignorance and superstition are on the rise. I have mostly given up on my home, and am content to spend the next few decades in places where I have no direct skin in the game. For now, that means the lovely land of Thailand.

Old news, and right when the trump lies were peaking. Canada didn't want to use any voting machines, Dominion or otherwise. That doesn't mean there is anything wrong with Dominion, as Fox found out with its lies. Of course, trumpers cried about paper ballots, too, claiming the 'found' bamboo in some ballots, suggesting the ballots were made in China. Of course, there was no bamboo, and no ballots from China. It was just another silly lie from trumpistan and Goober Central. trumpers are the world's biggest snowflakes, whining about everything, and always wrong. Rudy lied about 'suitcases' and 'thumb drives' in GA (You know Georgia; that's where trump tried to pressure the GA SecState to "just find me 11,780 votes") Rudy was convicted of harming the two poll workers via his lies, and the aggrieved parties were awarded $148 million, leading to the drunk Rudy to declare bankruptcy. As for trump and his pressuring of Raffensperger, trump faces charges including RICO violations, which carry a mandatory 5 year jail sentence.

The Bloated Orange Traitor, aka, the convicted sex offender, convicted charity fraudster, convicted corrupt business owner and the guy facing 91 felony indictments, is now trying to claim he has immunity for what crimes he committed while POTUS. He really ought to be careful what he wishes for, as if the Supreme Court rules a sitting President is immune, Biden could task SEAL Team 6 with doing an Osama bin Laden on trump. Double tap, and then "Pardon Me, I'm immune." As it is, trump is going to have lots of trouble when the NY judge takes away his NYC properties owing to his years of bank and insurance fraud. trump still owes billions to Russian oligarchs, who funneled money through SIVs set up by Deutsche Bank. trump's evil spawn Uday and Qusay Eric and Donny, jr. have both stated in the past that "We get all the funding we need from Russia". They were referring to the off balance sheet SIVs DB set up. Those oligarchs do not take kindly to being stiffed. A couple of Secret Service guys on GS-14 salaries are not going to be able to stop some Wagner Group guys hired by the oligarchs to take a pound of flesh from trump.

There is reality, and then there is what you believe. The election was in Nov 2020. It's now Dec 2023, in case you've forgotten. ZERO evidence. None. Oh, and Hugo Chavez is still dead and did not program an Italian satellite that changed votes in Dominion machines. trump's batshoot crazy lawyer admitted she made that up.

Yes, all Pres Biden has done is preside over the greatest job market in US history, has the economy growing faster than any other OECD country, rebuilt NATO and unified it behind a common cause, dealt with the massive inflation trump caused by running up new National Debt equivalent to $24,000 for every man, woman and child in the US, got a bipartisan infrastructure bill passed, and has the US producing more energy than ever and more oil and gas than any country in the world. As for the migrant issue, Border Patrol and Homeland Security say they are understaffed. Do you know why? Because the repub-led House slashed the budget for Border Patrol. In any event, I'd take a woman who walked 600 miles with her kids hoping to work in the US before I would want all the Red State losers on Social Security Disability Insurance, who are a drag on the Fed budget. The largest "Employer" in several Red States, like KY, TN and WV is SSDI. Immigrants are the lifeblood of the US.

I suppose men who are insecure in their manhood are wary of women with experience, as the man might come up short. I'm not defending my lifestyle about which you made an incorrect assumption. I just know I did not get pregnant at a tender age, was not forced to drop out of school, and did not have a family who saw me as an ATM. There but for the grace of Zeus might have gone I, so I can muster a little more empathy than sanctimony and scorn.