Walker88

The DoJ can prosecute him for unauthorized possession of classified documents. It may do so, though likely his criminal lawyers would demand the docs be exposed as evidence. trump stole---there is no other word for willful removal---documents rated TS, SCI, Codeword, HCS and RD. He did not declassify, and he certainly cannot declassify in his mind. There is zero paper trail of any declassification. When confronted with his theft he lied (felony). He instructed his minions to destroy evidence (felony). ANYONE else in illegal possession of such sensitive docs would already be jailed pending trial. Even his goobers can offer so reason why trump would steal all of those docs. The obvious answer is trump hoped to monetize them. POTUSs never have a security clearance, not even when serving. Certainly they do not have one after being soundly defeated. Perhaps you do not understand the nature of the docs trump stole. HCS is Human Clandestine Sources, meaning identities of agency assets are in them. Not even a sitting POTUS is given identity details, only things like "a long time source whose previous reporting has proven accurate". trump would have had to get those docs from one of the goobers he appointed as DNI, such as Grenell or Ratcliffe. No way Coates would have given him such things. Clandestine assets and potential assets now know a reckless clown like trump could expose them and put them and their families in danger. That means some will refuse recruitment or quit, leaving the US more vulnerable. trump's big mouth with Lavrov and Kislyak ended up getting an Israeli penetration of a Moslem terrorist group beheaded. Another point...with RD classified docs, there can be no claim of declassification, because only the Dept of Energy can declassify RD rated docs, as they pertain to nuclear matters about which a moron like trump would know absolutely nothing.

You seem as bitter as Neem Oil and as knowledgeable as a US Republican House member. In one post you said nobody here is in a 35% tax bracket. Wrong. I'm in the highest US tax bracket just through TBill interest alone, never mind dividends and capital gains, and I suspect there are some other members here (maybe Mr Rolex himself) so burdened by good fortune and dumb luck. I bought a Thai business during Covid, I make a nice profit, and I'm not miserable. My business pays Thai taxes, both VAT and income. I'd gladly be a sex tourist, but I have a lovely Thai girlfriend and am content with her alone. Membership here varies considerably. Don't make assumptions or spout inaccurate generalizations. Unless I'm mistaken, the only thing this new program will do to me is require many more forms and document submissions, as I already pay more than the Thai top income bracket, and the US has a tax treaty with Thailand. I bring no outside funds into Thailand either. I do have sympathy to European pensioners, as it may cost them.

Ask to see her passport, take a photo of it, tell her you're reporting her to the police, and that scamming in Thailand is a capital offense punishable by hanging. If she starts crying, maybe it's not a scam. If she bolts out the door...scam.

Always been drawn to photography and the great photographers, such as Henri Cartier-Bresson or Sebastiao Salgado, Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, etc. Part of the enjoyment of photography in the past was the procedure....loading film, capturing an image, wondering if it was captured as hoped, developing it in the darkroom, then making a print. I had favorite films and gear...B&W such as Kodak Technical Pan or for color, the glorious Kodachrome 25. Using something small and discrete such as a Leica Rangefinder allowed for all sorts of shots and an easy way to capture the moment exactly as one wanted (with proper depth of field, etc.). I know one can still do most of these things with modern digital equipment, and editing via a computer is much easier than in a darkroom, but I still prefer the old ways. Yes, Leica now makes a great Monochrome Rangefinder, and computers allow for conservative color saturation that can approach what Kodachrome did naturally, but in my opinion too many photographers today go overboard on sharpness and saturation. Maybe that is what the market wants, but I prefer the old ways.

Many threads along these same lines as of late. Most countries teach myths to their young. This is done for various reasons. Thailand does it better than most nations...so thorough is it, in fact, that there are even laws that make the questioning of the myths a crime punishable by imprisonment. There are those who benefit greatly from both the teaching of myths and the failure to provide a good education, and the benefactors are not about to change. The Thai elite or 1% control 75% of all wealth in the country, creating one of the worst qini coefficients in the world. Unleashing the ability of the Thai people, which would take both a revamping of the system and a generation or two, would likely create a much larger pie from which the elite could benefit, but even if net-net they would gain more, they would control a smaller overall percent of the pie. Both wealth and control seem to the the goals, so absent a majority---rather than a mere plurality---in an election, no change is going to come.

I don't know the answer, despite it being obvious to you. I'm getting a little worried that NBA basketball players will never be able to have a girlfriend, because in a relative sense most all women are so small. I've lived in Thailand for a while, and visited over many years before that. I've seen many very tiny Thai women (under 5 feet, under 90 lbs.). Thais---men and women---tend to be shorter than most Westerners. Maybe it's genetic or diet related; I don't know. The small women don't look like the ten year olds I remember, as they have all the equipment a grown woman has. Sometimes I'm surprised when a Thai woman tells me she's 42 kg, as she looks proportionately like any other fit woman. Thais just happen to be smaller than the average Western woman. I don't think guys seeking beautiful or friendly women are going to turn a beauty down because she's too small. I am sure there are bad guys who come to Thailand in search of underage females, just as I am sure there are plenty of Thai men who seek underage females. I don't think the number of foreigners who do that is so high. Granted one is too many, but guys like Gary Glitter and Arthur C Clarke, who could have gone anywhere to feed their predilections, did not choose Thailand. Thailand is known for lovely women, not vulnerable children. As to the OP's question, I don't know about Scots, but I do remember when I was younger that one or two Irish women in that Corrs group could have had me.

Honeypots are one of the oldest, but tried and true, means of espionage. Mata Hari was one. A late friend wrote a book about such things, later made into a movie with Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton and Jeremy Irons....Red Sparrow.

I'm either terribly shallow, or else driven by instinct. It's probably a little of both. I enjoyed dating in the US. Some lovely women, and my colleagues on Wall Street (my obvious pool) were doing well enough financially that there was no push for money. They didn't need my money. Relationships went beyond financial need. Admittedly, it's a bit rough and tumble in that world, so successful women had to assume many traits that have been viewed as traditionally masculine. Maybe that is why I pulled up stakes and left. I took residence in a host of countries where I could do the same work. Japan kept me for many years, and as the internet became more reliable, other countries beckoned. Lovely women in all of these lands, though most not as flush as the women back home. With time, my preference was for women younger than myself (this is where the shallowness comes in, though I do think it's also instinct). I understand that with the passing years, my wallet would likely become more attractive than me, so I have always tried to be discreet and not wear my good fortune on my sleeve. No doubt I'm dead wrong, but I've also always been of the view I should bring the best 'me' into any relationship, which means both emotional and physical. I dress well and hit the gym regularly, so maintain my university build to this day. I try to keep up on a host of topics, too, so that I might have something in common with any woman I meet. I also laugh a lot and love life. Now living in Thailand, I find the women quite appealing. That 'sanuk' thing puts them over the top. Many are appealing physically, of course, but from time to time I meet one that is much more than a beauty. My shallowness continues to have me leaning toward women who are younger than me (though it might be that instinctual search for fertile women). It seems to work here, a guy a decade or more older than his date is okay. That might make me a loser and keep me out of hi-so Thai society, but that is not something I would seek even if it was wide open to me. I live according to the blueprint I have drawn for myself, and since one gets no bonus points for following societal convention, the only person or thing I will have to answer to on my last day of life is myself. I'm sure my memories will bring a smile on that day.

Get a trumper to read? Only if it's a comic book version. Their messiah has said proudly that he's never read an entire book.

Maya Angelou said it best: When someone tells you who they are, believe them. trump is a corrupt, criminal, self-serving, dictator wannabe. He is willfully ignorant and driven by too things: woeful personal insecurity and vindictiveness. He absolutely wishes he were a dictator. As his former golf caddie and White House Adviser Dan Scavino said before 20 January 2021, 'the boss' has no intention of leaving; he doesn't care about the rules'. That is not someone who believes in democracy and the peaceful transfer of power. trump has already stated that he would invoke the Insurrection Act and put the military in the street if people opposed him. How funny, given that he incited the terrorist attack and attempted coup back in 2020 and 2021. SC Smith, who can add charges to the existing indictment, should add Sedition, as it is a capital offense that carries the death penalty. I always wonder how trump's cult justifies 6 January, the fake elector scheme, the attempt in Georgia to 'find me 11,780 votes', the theft of highly classified documents including TS, SCI, Codeword, HCS, and RD. trump called his goobers to DC on 6 January, Tweeting "It will be WILD!" for what purpose? He told them to march to the Capitol on 6 January for what? Buy souvenirs? One has to be a dumb as a trumper to believe trump's actions were aimed at anything less than overturning the election and destroying US democracy. The cult has spent 3 years trying to rig the system for next time. They've changed voting laws in many States, gerrymandered wherever they can, and made some rules that will severely limit who can vote. The current Speaker is a pure Talibangical, a moron who insists the Earth is only 6000 years old, that Jeebus looks like the Italian Renaissance version, and that the US is a Christian nation. Like Bimbobert and MTG, Johnson is 'sick of that separation of church and State thing', and believes the US should be run via the writings of a Bronze Age collection of fantasy and pabulum than the US Constitution. It seems to have escaped all of those goobers that almost all of the Founders were atheists and specifically made sure no religion would be part of the new nation.

If you mean 'elite' Thai society, I do not think it is anything special. Mostly ill-gotten gains by folks who are morally bankrupt. No thanks. Several years ago I was invited to a party at the Thai PM's residence. The guest of honor was Tiger Woods. The entire evening the elite mothers of Thai society, decked out in Chanel and Valentino, Manalo Blahnik shoes (an old GF has 100 pairs, so I know the look), and baubles more gauche than what Harry Winston or Graff would dare design, desperately trying to pawn their daughters off on Tiger. Eventually Tiger literally said, "Eff this", walked out front, and had his limo bring him back to the hotel. The mothers were chasing fame and face. Oddly, perhaps, Tiger looks Black, has more Chinese blood than Thai, but apparently tying up with him was viewed as kosher among the khunying set. It was not a display that made me think "I want to be accepted by them".

It's the Commonwhinge Games.

Brits don't have a monopoly on that. A certain demographic from the US, prompted by their bloated political messiah, always bark about the migrants destroying US culture----all while perched on a barstool outraged that the Thai service staff 'can't speak friggin English'.

If Big Joke wiped out the prostitution, age appropriate or not, that doesn't exist, would that increase or decrease tourism? Is this just another example of tit for TAT? I know what the international reputation of Pattaya is: beaches that put Bora Bora to shame, & a deep religious piety that puts Tora Bora to shame Thus, I understand the need to get BJ on the mission(ary). Ideally, he will bring this to a riveting climax and leave all of Thailand, from the hoi polloi to the elite, with a happy ending. That will be good for me, and I hope it will be good for you, too.

Most threads where money is discussed, or about Thailand seeking 'quality' tourists, lead to absolute comments about 'what the wealthy really want'. Invariably, these absolutes are wrong. The wealthy want what they want. For some it might be showing off the Bugatti, but for others it is living low key and anonymous, but content. I also find it funny when people say "The wealthy don't need hookers", as if money makes the libido go away. The movie Pretty Woman is actually representative of a certain segment of the wealthy. Most everybody likes sex. It relieves stress, plus it's fun. Sometimes one just wants sex but not any sort of commitment nor any expectation from the woman. Some people like filet mignon, but that doesn't mean they want to marry a grass fed Black Angus. They will have a meal, and then tomorrow something different. Some might condemn that kind of morality, and they're welcome to do so, but morality doesn't necessary increase with wealth. I left my industry when I reached a goal I had for wealth. Most of my former colleagues are still working. More will never be enough for them. Their choice. A couple are billionaires (in USD, which is 10+ figures in American English). A couple are catalogued in the Forbes 400. Let me just say not all of them are 'one woman' kind of guys. There are at least two regulars in a BKK agogo who come to Thailand on their own jets. The actor Hugh Grant got picked up for hiring a streetwalker on Hollywood Blvd to give him a $20 hummer...and this while he was dating Liz Hurley. The author Graham Greene was a habitue of agogo-type nightspots. So was Nobel Prize physicist Richard Feynman. Jack Kennedy had a fling with Marilyn Monroe, while married to Jacky. Bill Clinton made Cohibas even more famous. Does anyone think Bill Gates just strayed once? Or Jeff Bezos? How many baby-mommys does Elon Musk have? Not all bazllionaires are the same.

I have good experiences with Thai staff, so no complaints, whether for food, clothing, electronics, hardware....always good. The best service staff I've ever come across, on average, is actually Myanmar. They know everything about the product they supervise. Everything. It doesn't matter if it's a cheap toy or a smart TV, they know everything about it. They know how to assemble whatever they sell, or start it up and get it registered, or how much inventory they have in the back. I never had even a mildly frustrating experience shopping there.

Actually, I found my experience at Yodobashi kind of irritatingly humorous. It was so very Japanese. In the time I lived and worked there, there were many experiences that lent incite into the cultural peculiarities of the place. One time, near Christmas, a female colleague asked me if I celebrate. I told her "Of course". Her: But you're Jewish! Me: What gave you the idea I was Jewish? Her: Because you wear glasses. Me: So Takahashi-san is also Jewish? (he wears glasses). Her: Don't be silly, Walker-san! Another time I commented on the katakana spelling of the firm Salomon Brothers on a Japanese trading screen. They used the katakana character pronounced "So", not the one pronounced "sa". I asked another female colleague about it, remarking that Solomon was the king of the Jews. She asked, "In America?" I replied, "No, that would be Alan King". She said, "Oh" Of course I would not expect her to know any biblical history nor Catskills' comedians, but I just found it funny.

Please do us all a favor and list the infractions that are punishable by a lead pipe to the head. Some of us are not as culturally sensitive as you, but prefer to avoid death by lead pipe.

April only? Those other eleven months are going to be envious. Thailand: The Land of the Eternal Wet T-shirt Contest The tag line is getting as long as the holiday.

[I did have some trouble once shopping in Japan, many years ago] It was in 2005. Fortunately, the world has changed. (I also used to buy something at Yodobashi called 'film', which I used in my Leica rangefinder cameras, and only knew what my camera captured after some time in what we called a Dark Room, with which I am sure you are familiar. There was a certain joy in that experience, back when humans had patience and did not need instant gratification. When I saw the digital revolution unfolding, I emptied out all of my favorite films that Yodobashi had in stock, before they were discontinued. I still have a refrigerator full of Kodak Technical Pan and Kodachrome25. I develop the Techpan myself, but no labs remain that develop K25. Yodobashi was one of the two last who did it.)

I prefer to call it top shelf salesmanship.

I did have some trouble once shopping in Japan, many years ago. I'm sure things have changed, but.... I needed a new black cartridge for my printer. I went to Yodobashi Camera. They did not have the specific cartridge for my Epson printer, even though it was the latest model. Unfortunately Epson Japan had made different cartridges for its US models. So I thought...just buy another printer here. I asked the sales woman to show me printers. We looked at a few demo models on the floor. All of the interface was in Japanese. At the time I spoke Japanese, but could not read it all, if it used Kanji instead of hiragana. I asked her if she could switch it to English. She said it was Japanese only. I remarked that I could not read all of the Kanji. She suggested it would make sense to learn (true, of course). I asked if the printer would work with my computer, which was a Toshiba of Japan I had bought in the US. She said probably not, but she had many models of Japanese operating system computers in stock. I then recapped out conversation to that point, and posed it as a question: "So I want to buy a (inexpensive) cartridge for my Epson of Japan printer, but since it won't work with my Epson of Japan US printer, I need to buy a Japanese printer. But since that printer will only work with a computer whose operating system is in Japanese, I also need to buy a Japanese computer. Since the Japanese computer does not have English on it, I also need to hire a teacher to teach me all the Kanji I would need to read the computer, which could operate the printer, whose cartridge could then print out the single page I need to print?" "Hai" (with a bow to boot).

If you want to play the odds for a long and healthy life, you will use protein powder. Strength has a strong correlation with longevity. Muscular atrophy that comes with age + no weight training is positively correlated with all cause mortality. A person utilizes protein less inefficiently as they age. That means as one ages they should ingest more protein, as if the amount is high enough, even with inefficient utilization you will get what you need to maintain muscle mass. Yes, one can eat lots of eggs and meat, but protein powder is an easy way to take in a quick 30 grams of protein. The body can only process about 30 grams at a time, so protein intake should be staggered over the day. Amino acids stay in the bloodstream for only about 30 minutes, so one can add more protein with that in mind. Researchers such as Dr Don Lehman and Dr Peter Attia now recommend a target level of 2 gm per kg of body weight per day. That's a lot of protein, so powders are an easy way of hitting the target amount. Use it or don't, but people have a better chance of living healthy and longer if they take in a lot of protein (plus engage in strenuous exercise). A person can have the vitality and the body of someone 20 years younger if they do this. Is that not worth it?

For rock, I'd put Prince over Beck. If fret tapping is one's thing, I'd listen to Stanley Jordan playing Georgia on My Mind. For classical, and maybe best guitarist of any type ever, Julian Bream For something a little different, Michael Hedges.

One of the oddities of this Forum is that members are always posting about how 'the rich' live or what the rich like or where they want to be, as if 'the rich' are some monolithic entity. "A friend" of mine is rich by any measure. He lives well below his means in Thailand. He enjoys Thailand for the time being, and may one day move on to another place, as there's always something new to experience. He has no budget, so buys what he wants, eats what he wants, does what he wants. Sometimes what he does/buys/wants costs a lot, sometimes it's pretty simple. If you saw 'my friend' you would never guess what he's got, though he might look more than skint, as he's quite fit and dresses neatly all the time. He smiles a lot, too. The great benefit of wealth, or so 'my friend' says, is that it takes away almost all the stress most people experience in life. It allows them to live as they choose, which may not be in the Hamptons or Pebble Beach or Monaco. Heck, such people might not even be particularly demanding, as they're just happy with what life has allowed them to have. To raise the subject in a recent thread, if there's a fly on their pizza, they just pull it off and---unless it was a long one that spread across the entire dish---they'll eat what wasn't touched by the hair. If it spread across the whole dish, they will discretely point it out to service staff and ask for a replacement. No attention drawn. They know stuff like that happens even in a Michelin Star restaurant.