Walker88

The numbers are there. The govt has been keeping track of quarterly GDP numbers for decades, even before traitor trump was born. Reality doesn't change just because Cult members refuse to see it. trump's quarterly GDP BEFORE Covid was in the bottom 30% of all quarters since the end of WWII. No matter how many times trump lies, it doesn't make anything he says true. To make it even worse, he added $7,800,000,000,000 to the then-existing $19.3 trillion of National Debt built up over 240 years. THAT profligacy led to the current inflation, as it represents a staggering $24,000 for every man, woman and child in the US.

You cannot possibly be that....well, the word would get this deleted. trump is a crying little baby, a clown, a traitor, and trying to get his Goobers to do his wetwork for him. Perhaps you've been manipulated by the clown.

He was behind before Covid hit. Obama's job growth dwarfed trump's even before Covid, too. You have to remember trump always boasts using superlatives, when what he says isn't even close to being true. Before Covid, despite his lying claims of "best economy ever", his quarterly GDP number was in the bottom 30% of all Quarters since the end of WWII. Once Covid hit he slipped even farther down. He is all hat and no cattle, as Texans say. Hyperbole and mendacity are his key traits.

What the little man fears most, even more than a perpwalk, is Stormy taking the stand and proving their affair by describing trump's mini-junk. Just as trump is wont to make disparaging nicknames for his adversaries, Stormy has taken to calling trump "Tiny". She once said, "Not freakishly small, but well below average". Once Stormy testifies, the prosecution can call to the stand Karen McDougal, Marla Maples, even melanie and ivanka, to corroborate trump's pint-sized boy-liness. The whole world will hear trump comes up short. THAT is trump's fear, which is why he's trying to prevent a trial with his fomenting of violence.

It is born out by data going back to before trump was born. I know it hurts some trumpers delicate sensibilities to learn their messiah is a goofball failure, but it's igh time trumpers got acquainted with reality. Worst economic performance since Herbert Hoover, and he did that by running up $7,800,000,000,000 in new National Debt. Just like in his personal business, trump is an abject failure...as a businessman, POTUS, father, husband, man.

The coming indictment in NYC is a warm-up. The big game will be when trump is indicted for Sedition for his part in 6 January 2021. Sedition is a capital offense, which means it can carry the death penalty. If convicted, trump could get a seat on Sparky, the electric chair, and the fat guy will sizzle like Sunday morning bacon. THAT will live up to the clown's silly slogan.

Perhaps you missed it, but the traitor and incompetent trump inherited 4.8% unemployment and a growing economy from Obama, then left Biden 6.8% UE and a Recession. trump also added 40% to the total US National Debt in just 4 years. That's $7,800,000,000,000, an astonishing bit of profligacy, befitting a guy who declared 6 bankruptcies even after inheriting $500,000,000 from his father. You call that 'entertaining'. As for the "geriatric", under Biden UE has fallen to a 54 year low of 3.4% and the economy is growing. Biden's deficit for FY2021 was $350 billion below trump's last year in office. Biden's FY2022 deficit was $1.3 trillion lower than trump's last year. Funny is how bad trump was. trump---even before Covid hit---produced the worst economic performance in the US since Herbert Hoover in the 1930s.

It was the comedian Rodney Dangerfield who said: "I'm such a philanderer! When I masturbate, I fantasize about my other hand."

Dropped by a major Bangkok agogo last night (inadvertently, of course....I thought it was a music store). Many large groups of russian men aged 25-35, plying the women with drinks and barfining a few. A bit boisterous and pushy at times with the wait staff, but I guess it is an agogo. One service person told me one bought many drinks for a lady, then did a runner. (The cost comes out of the service woman and dancer's pockets.)

Seems to be a little class warfare going on here. Some people do happen to have a lot of money. Some like to show off by ringing bells in bars or slowly climbing out of the Lambo Aventador so that the maximum number of people can see them. Others are discreet, but will open their wallets as the situation demands or the spirit moves them. You might not notice them, though the wealthy often have an air of confidence because they know they're not going to ever go without. Low stress can show on the face. Frankly, while great wealth does take some effort and skill, a very large portion is a result of dumb luck....where, when and under what circumstances one was born. Born a male in the West of parents with decent IQs, and the odds of becoming wealthy increase exponentially. Those with great wealth who are at least a bit introspective realize this fact, and thus don't mind sharing a little bit of good luck with others who appeal to them or who provide a good service or experience or are simply in need. No reason to be jealous. Perhaps some also realize that the old adage is true: you can't take it with you.

Regarding 'could' or 'couldn't' care less, perhaps we need a new term. "I am asymptotically approaching a state of the absence of caring" Everybody wins. As for this DILLIGAF thing...since moving here and running a business, I have found that many expats tend toward the negative. Lots of bitter people. I can understand why, I suppose, just by looking at them. Obese, drunk by mid afternoon, not looking as if they are financially well off....their life doesn't seem to have met the expectations they had for it, even if they will tell anyone who will listen that they are 'living the dream'. Personally, I think no matter what age one is, life is too short for negative. I don't want to hear it. Now empathy is one thing, and has value, but to be empathetic requires that a problem must be real, like cancer, or being a resident of Bakhmut or Aleppo. That somebody just doesn't like something or like himself.....I would rather not hear it. His failures are his fault. He can either pick himself up and better himself, or keep quiet.

There is an oft stated myth that Buddhism is unlike any Western religion. Perhaps at the wholesale level that is possibly true (unlikely), but as practiced at the retail level, it's every bit the same as any other manufactured belief system. Adherents expect some action they do will be rewarded or punished by unseen forces that supposedly know all and see all, or that actions have a reaction in the same way Newtonian physics describes laws of existence, motion and force. Those who adopt any belief system do it for the same reason: to wish and hope existence is not totally random and that a single individual is an important part of a gigantic Universe. No different whether its Eastern or Western, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Moslem or whatever. Also, most cultures had other beliefs systems long before founders made up new faiths, and what happens is that the new doctrine gets spread like jam over the pre-existing beliefs. Thus, amulets, luck, lighting candles, making offerings to imaginary beings, chants, etc. At the heart of almost all belief systems is superstition, which seems to be the first aspect of how all human societies since Oldavai Gorge tried to explain existence or make deals with it. The belief system practiced today in Thailand is no different. The oldest superstitions tend to endure, while new superstitions just get added on to what was already there.

For items or events of personal significance, I do this little trick called 'committing to memory'. It leaves no mark, and remains as private as I want it to be. Others choose public announcements via permanent ink. To each her own. We all have, and are entitled to opinions. I do not believe anyone ever looked better with a tattoo. Up to them, but I cannot make myself like them. I can ignore them, but never like them.

They were all terrorists and should have been napalmed. The scumball tucky---the trust fund kid with every possible advantage in life who still couldn't get into an Ivy---is gaslighting. The terrorists injured 140 police, some quite seriously. Typical sightseers don't smash windows, break down doors, and beat cops. Slime like babbitt got what she deserved---a bullet to her treasonous head. Where was "cop protector" kyle rittenhouse with his penis substitute AR-15?

The numbers are better than I might have expected. Relative to the per capita GDP, Thais seem to be slightly more frugal than Americans (though in both nations household debt is exploding).

Westerners are so caught up in that 'time is linear' thing. The woman may have screamed because the driver was about to hit the tree, but if one removes linearity, the scream caused the driver to veer toward the tree, eliciting the scream in reverse. It's easy when cause and effect are not bound by linearity. In fact, it may have been the broken leg of the passenger that prompted the driver, out of great concern and empathy for his passenger, to drive faster in the first place. The broken leg passenger should be grateful, not critical. In Thailand, anything is possible.

A balanced diet includes protein, carbs, fats and fiber. Salt needs vary by individual, generally related to one's blood pressure (Go get really sweaty wearing a cotton shirt. Let it dry. If you see salt lines on your shirt, you probably don't have to worry about too much salt intake). Carbs have gotten a bad name, but long term health requires carb intake. The latest research carried out at major medical schools like Stanford is finding that the keto diet, while leading to weight loss, has some negative long terms effects, particularly in how the body utilizes produces/insulin, but it also affects the gut microbiome and messes up hormone production. Ideally one never gets fat so never needs to adopt whatever the latest fad diet is. Certainly nobody gets obese overnight, so frankly there is no excuse. Deal with weight gain early, not after 50 kgs are added on. Fat kids lead to fat adults, since it is during childhood when the body builds up adipose cells. Rarely do adipose cells disappear; they expand or contract as the energy and fluid contained within is extracted. Thai kids are making themselves set for an obese adulthood, just as kids are in many other countries. In my estimation, the average expat in Thailand is obese. Spare tires, beer bellies, lack of definition due to blubber everywhere....rarely do I see an expat over the age of 40 who is fit. Most waddle from meal to meal and bar to bar. Perhaps they don't care, but it isn't doing them any good. They suffer Type II diabetes or are on the verge of it. Their immune systems are shot. Their hormones get messed up so, among other things, they cannot get it up without the 'blue pill'. They are mentally weak, undisciplined, lazy and lack self control. They get aches and pains they attribute to age, when in reality it is their weight and lack of exercise. If they've made a calculation that being slovenly and looking 8 months pregnant is a cost worth paying so they can eat and drink themselves silly, good for them. It's their life (and likely early, painful death). By the way, one does not void out fat from the backside; in essence one exhales fat. The C in CO2 is from the carbon chains in fats and sugars after the bonds have been broken. The OH part joins with another H to form water and some gets peed out. The poster who noted Michael Phelps' diet when he was training revealed a truth about carbs. Phelps consumed thousands of grams of carbs a day, yet he had body fat of between 5-8% and a resting heart rate of 45. The carbs fueled his activity. Calories in-calories out. To understand the right diet for a person, one must do a complete blood and hormone profile, because one size does not fit all. Still, the basic equation remains roughly true: Calories in - calories out = surplus or deficit. Cut back on portions, exercise more, and the lbs/kgs will drop without messing up one's hormones, gut microbiome or how the body works with insulin. It would take longer than the keto diet, but with far fewer consequences. Or...just don't allow oneself to get fat in the first place. Nobody goes to bed svelte and wakes up like most beached whale expats. It takes a total lack of effort and self-control to get blubbery.

This is when having an Oligarch-based economy and leaders who barely know military matters, much less economic matters, comes home to roost. I remind myself that during the Covid Emergency period, there were both debt moratoriums and banks were allowed to book imputed interest on loans, and then run these fantastical payments through their income statements. Not only does that give a false impression of profits, but since the profits were fictional, leverage actually increased over what the balance sheet says. Oh, and NPLs are likely a lot higher than reported. I don't have a solution (other than opening the economy wider in spite of Oligarch/Tycoon pressure), but I know I have lots of company in being without a viable solution other than "hope".

"Thailand’s household debt has seen a sharp increase over the past 10 years from 59.3 percent of GDP in 2010 to 86.9 percent in the third quarter of last year. " If one looks at this trend in combination with the increase in corporate debt over the same period, it becomes clear that Thailand's so-called economic boom of 2010-20 was debt-driven growth, not organic growth. If I remember correctly (can't find the data), corporate debt in Thailand average 11% growth per year over that time period. With monthly export numbers falling recently, it is likely NPLs are on the rise. The household sector debt is unlikely to include loanshark data, so the actual debt/GDP is probably higher, and loanshark debt is most likely to be repaid before bank debt, since banks have less 'convincing' ways of encouraging repayment. Thailand is not alone in this debt growth, but may be less able to handle it, as its system is neither as flexible nor experienced. The world has held off Recession longer than most pundits thought, but with debt increasing almost everywhere and rates rising at the same time, holding off Recession will become increasingly difficult. Covid changed some attitudes (spend now because we might die in the next pandemic, bring supply chains inside our borders rather than rely on Asian production), and these have yet to be fully felt. Not sure if there is any safehaven if Recession hits. Not property, not precious metals, not crypto, as each of those has issues related to debt or corruption or what is likely to be deflationary pressures. Maybe the safehaven is cash in a currency of whatever nation or area one feels is best able to cope. I can actually envisage a scenario of hyper-DEFLATION, kind of the opposite of 1921 Weimar Germany.

What the hell was a child with an AR-15 doing driving across State lines for that? He thinks he's better trained that cops because he plays Call of Duty? Maybe the Crypts from Compton or South Central can drive to the next Nazi or "Stolen Election" or Charlottesville Tiki Torch protest to "help the cops". I bet that would end well. Maybe folks thought he was another Adam Lanza, so THEY are justified pointing a gun at him. Good reason for the punk to stay home and let trained police handle things. He's a sick punk, a child cowardly version of the Robert De Niro character in Taxi Driver. So typical of the Never Served loser son of a Never Served coward (who used to run to the WH bunker when a Code Pink protest was outside the WH) to champion the punk.

If he was Black, they would have shot the scumbag. He's the coward version of Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver, except it's only the far right lunatics who see him as some sort of folk hero. Had I seen him, I would have assumed he's another Adam Lanza, Robert Bowers, Stephen Paddock, Patrick Crusius, etc. which he probably is. Anyone who thinks he's anything other than a deranged POS is a sick muthaf^kka

A civilian with an AR-15 running toward police in a protest area....what do you think the cops would have done if the little mutant kyle was Black? How about if he was wearing a ghutra? BOOM! Dead by cops. 100% guaranteed. I wonder why the little "hero" didn't drive to Washington on 6 Jan to defend cops and defend democracy? I know why, just as I know why his interviewer didn't. The people chasing him likely thought he was just another adam lanza. If you don't know who adam lanza or robert bowers are then maybe you should use your hands for something other than typing comments.

The POS rittenhouse is a rancid pile of subhuman filth. He drove several hundred miles with his surrogate penis in order to kill. Don't know where you're from, but how about if some non-law enforcement officer traveled for hours just to walk around like he's a big swinging dick---in civilian clothes no less and with ZERO authority---and all this in a nation where lunatics regularly show up with AR-15s to slaughter innocent people? I suppose you'd say, "Oh this yet-to-start-shaving lad with his AR-15 with its 30 rd mag is probably just a peaceful young man who thinks all the trained police officers in a State need untrained youths from a neighboring State to come give them a hand with the vast majority of peaceful protesters...must have such wonderful parents". Personally, I would think he's the next dylann roof or adam lanza or stephen paddock or robert bowers or any of the other lunatic white mass murderers, and I would either run or try to disarm him. There is a reason cops don't say, "little kids, we could use your help...please get in Mom's car, bring your AR-15, lots of extra mags, and come help us out." GUARANTEED if that mutant scum were Black, the cops would have dumped 100 rds into him. The kid and his interviewer (who enjoys shooting endangered species while being fully protected from harm) are the a waste of air.

I'm a longtime fan of Maher, but I do agree with some of your points. He has a platform, and he uses---maybe even abuses it. I think his main thrust is that while the size of the crazies on the right far exceeds the size of the crazies on the left, the right is adept as using the extremists on the left to paint broad brushstrokes of the entire side. Maher knows the right has no ideas (lots of slogans, though) other than maintaining power and demonizing those who might wrest power from them. Also, Maher has been pretty good at seeing how bizarre ideas fester, progress, multiply and become a plurality over time. Maher was the first public figure I know to see an environment coming where a willfully ignorant, vicious, vindictive, fascist, self-serving clown like 45 could take the stage. He was spot on from 2016 in his belief 45 wasn't going to just accept defeat and go away quietly. Maybe it's a stretch to ascribe the same threat to the rather small minority on the left that is so vocal today, but if the past is prologue, it can't hurt to point it out. That makes Maher kind of a canary, albeit one with the personality of Cassandra.

No, it's a real question. Why -eternity to -13.8 billion years just to toss one sentient species on one planet in a galaxy of a trillion stars in a Universe of 200,000,000,000+ galaxies? Why the need to be praised and loved? Sounds like a former POTUS I know, as in the worst of human frailties. It seems an inefficient use of 10^56 hydrogen atoms if all one really needs is a bunch of home sapiens to tell it how great of a guy it is.