Fat is a type of crazy

I think that's a bit much. I am no fan of De Santis but I can't see actions or treatments of blacks and others as that extreme or leading back to the pre Martin Luther King times. The laws relating to LGBT stuff are a concern in terms of some books and teachers having to be careful about what they say but in my opinion you can disagree with his take on things without suggesting he is sending LGBT people back to some 1950's world where they have no rights at all.

That's a good thing. Hard though to explain the details of this story to kids beyond making some generic statement about being respectful to others, and letting people be who they are, and that gender and sexuality are still not fully understood. The facts of this case: change in gender during life while keeping sexuality, basis of decision for surgery and ongoing relationship with a woman after surgery, are hard to explain with authority. The education could include not only about acceptance and respect and openness but that human psychology is complicated and that sometimes people make mistakes and bad decisions and may draw conclusions about themselves that may not be correct. Not saying it applies to this case.

I was looking for a present for a girfriend back in the day and looking at the perfume stand and a friend said don't go cheap, better to give one nice gift rather than multiple cheaper gifts, get the Chanel No 5. I did and it went well. My current flame likes CK which is much cheaper at some stores in Australia than Thailand so we are both happy.

I agree that it is no one's business and that they should live how they wish without harassment and good luck to them both. I also agree that American politics and the American media in particular, not so in Australia for example, give it an undue prominence. However, discussion or debate can be for other reasons, than feeling threatened by them: it can be about understanding where they are coming from, discussing what it means to redefine something with an adjusted definition e.g. based on feelings rather than anatomy or similar, and it can be to deal with tricky situations like dealing with trans people in sport. I think your post is mainly correct but to end with five laughing faces is what people don't like - it suggests everything is simple and clear cut and anyone who thinks otherwise is ignorant or full of hate when that's not the case.

A second reason woke gets a bad name is social media is so in our face now that we are constantly faced with reappraising whether we are good or bad or what we should think on many issues we never thought about. I have said before many so called woke types are, say, university students who are looking to do the right thing, and have a say, but they are young and sometimes get it right and sometimes get it wrong. Before they were in their own little world but now their views are magnified by social media and we are bombarded by these moral dilemmas that don't affect our actual lives and it can get tedious.

Woke in a positive context for me is to wake up to the injustices faced by you or others and to take action and bring awareness to and speak up on the behalf of others. Throughout history there have been injustices, of course, but to focus on say the era from the 50's to the 70's huge leaps and bounds were made in social justice by good and brave and woke people. One problem is the injustices in 2023 on things like black rights, women rights and gay rights are now much more subtle, and someone genuinely attempting to do the right thing for the right reasons can be seen as woke in a negative context. That's because fighting for these types of rights can seem redundant when many battles have already been won.

Definition then. 3 minute attempt. Woke in a negative context can be holding and advocating an opinion not based on a logical appraisal of the objective facts but based primarily on how you wish to be perceived by others.

A definition of woke in a negative context, for this situation, could be those who accept and strongly defend someone's description of their identity as a man or woman, where the motive for doing so is to fit in or to a certain part of society, or to seem clever or cool, or to gain a benefit rather than by the use of reason and logic. The alternative might be to say 'It could be that this human with a penis or who previously had a penis, may meet a certain definition of gender if that definition is based on how they feel, and science may show there is a basis for this one day, on the other hand it is not unreasonable for others to dispute that gender is based simply on feelings and apparently in this case feelings for only a relatively short period in their life given the facts of their previous life. However, each person should be able to live how they like but where personal preferences clash with the needs and wants of the broader society e.g. toilets, sports, there should be a polite and reasoned discussion to come to a fair and sensible solution. '

They'll be no civil war. I think there is a turning point. They'll always be core Trump supporters but bit by bit people will realise that Trump really did do the wrong thing and that deserves punishment. As Trump professes his innocence on stage most will see it is hot air, maybe they'll see it's always been hot air, and yawn and realise he is a spent force. It won't happen overnight but it will happen.

As a child I watched Dick Emery and he set the tone of what a man bag might represent Hello Honky Tonks

24 hours is a long time in politics. I think it will be a different kettle of fish today when they see the extent of the charges and the potential crimes.

I'm sure as an American that you feel if the charges are shown to be correct that Trump should face the full extent of the law and possibly a lengthy jail term. Apparently putting national security at risk in such a cavalier and arrogant and dangerous way. I am sure you are outraged and disgusted in your former President based on information presented.

At various junctures starting with the pussy tapes it seemed like Trumps goose was cooked politically but he got through but this appears to be the fatal blow. It can be called. He will not be president a second time. I think even his strongest supporters, beyond saying what about Hillary or Joe, can now see that he is done.

3 He saved the frogs

Fair point but if they see him as a goner i.e. see the writing on the wall that he is finally untenable as a nominee, they can show full support for him, complain about the weaponisation of Biden's Justice Department, hint that if they win they will pardon him, thereby gathering the support of his base.

You pays your money and takes your chances. It was a high risk bet and it didn't pay off. Cop it.

It seems he has a bit of a chance if Trump's problem's catch fire, and Desantis falls over, then all the others seem on a similar footing. Maybe running can be quite lucrative too with Pac's and influence peddling and taking your supporters to help some other candidate if you don't get sufficient support. And you might get lucky and be up against Biden in 2024.

You said being anything but non-heterosexual is abnormal. That means heterosexuals are abnormal. Tee hee. If I were to turn my mind to gay sex, trans sex, old people sex, old and young people sex, ugly people sex, even in many cases beautiful people sex etc etc the thought is not appealing and may be sickening. Look at them and look in the mirror. So whether it is normal or part of nature's plan or whatever doesn't have to be to do with whether it appeals to you. The issue could be bigger than your feelings and be about the fact of the actuality of the diversity of people that shows itself through history. Is the aim of EVERYTHING reproduction? There are 1000's of things people can do that lessen the chances of future people being born and non heterosexual sex is one. Your apparent conclusion that all gays and trans people are necessarily mentally ill or act against nature, based on these types of ideas, seems a bit iffy and if you can present a more coherent argument it might be worth further discussion.

If I have this right it is a human with a penis that had a wife and kids and now has a relationship with a new woman but that human feels like they are a woman who likes to have sex with a woman. It does push the boundaries of credibility if you look at it but best to let people call themselves what they like and as long as no authority is saying by law I have to say that I concur that someone who says they are a thing, are necessarily that thing and that it must be accepted by all and sundry, then who cares.

Thought those in robes held themselves to a certain standard which might preclude sucking on a fag but it seems not. I don't remember the bit about smoking being deemed OK on the path to nirvana.

There was a temple I would go to with my girlfriend where this guy in robes would stand around nonchalantly with a fag hanging from his mouth. Maybe not all in robes are monks but not a good look.

Had my first taxi in Phuket in 10 years a couple of weeks ago. He continuously talked about his lack of jobs, his baby, showing me pictures and straight out asking for a tip. Asked 3 or 4 times during the trip. Late at night and he took strange back roads too which made it feel a tad potentially menacing. At the end I gave him a tip - don't be so pushy about a tip and you might get a tip.

When covid happened I used a work iphone or ipad as a hotspot for the work computer and all online needs that can be used at the same time as well as making calls if necessary and it has been fine.

As a tourist I have to remember to get my girlfriend to say medium thai style. No MSG too. Some dishes no sugar. In Khao Lak last week we told them but they interpreted that differently and my Tom Yum was like a sweet tomato soup. Tourist prices too so not happy. Often green and red curries are sweet and boring. Given up on them a bit. The test of a restaurant can be for Massaman. Is it dark brown and thick and tasty or is it a light brown watery insipid generic curry.

I think we are only our physical bodies and the ego is a mind's eye picture of our place in the world. It is not a separate thing that can be removed, or a separate affectation, but an interpretation by our heart and mind of who we are in the world. Whether we can be at peace. Happy. Free. Whether we are on easy street or hard street. Whether we can relax a bit because we can deal with threats and have a good life or whether the opposite is true. So to me ego is not a bad or false thing necessarily but a reminder that we are bodies in a material world and we better be aware of that. In that sense it can be healthy or unhealthy, realistic or unrealistic, due to your concept of time and place. It can become bruised or inflated either because we over or underestimated how things are for us or new things come to light in the real world that change our circumstances. The inflation does not have to be based on a lie but could be a thoughtful reinterpretation that has us feel better about ourselves based on reality. It is a thought or idea that can and does change over time like any other thought or idea. Nothing spiritual or non physical or to do with a god in my opinion.