Fat is a type of crazy

10 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

In my world view and I think by definition, it's not a "baby" until after it's born... So prior to birth, for me, it ought to be left to the mother to decide what goes.

 

So I don't see abortion as killing a "baby," I see it as removing a "fetus." 

 

"A fetus or foetus is the unborn offspring that develops from an animal embryo."  Note the term... unborn.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fetus

 

Not sure about this. I think it's hard to say an 8 month old fetus is not a thing. Leave it up to doctors if the woman's life is at risk. Leave it up to biologists as to at how many months a baby can feel and has brain activity. A woman's choice up to that point when a fetus is a human. Then I am not so sure. 

If about the people

Thailand Placid

Australia Accustomed

If about the country

Thailand Hot

Australia Huge

If about society

Thailand Unconcerned

Australia Legitimate

I didn't follow the rules to a T. Oh well. 

I had a holiday in Thailand and it was good. Immigration fast. Good weather. Nice hotels. Nice people. I felt fuzzy inside.

I'm a big fan of Mike Judge. Beavis and Butthead. King of the Hill. If there's a sleeper Mike Judge movie it is Office Space. Not successful on release but somewhat iconic since - highly recommend it - especially for office workers past or present. For me Idiocracy was full of really good ideas and it predicted Trumpism in a way but somehow didn't work as a whole. Might have to have a second look. 

Saw The Eyes of Tammy Faye on the plane on the way home the other day. Not successful on box office but thought it was good in that it held back from simply parodying her and the the religious right but still telling a good story and making the shortcomings fairly clear. Not old I know but similarities in theme to Idiocracy.

1 hour ago, scorecard said:

I was back in Australia until just recently, in the Northern Beaches area just Nth of Sydney. I paid for everything with my touch debit card. I was living in a very large war veterans village, 99% of the residents over 65 yo, many in their 90s. In the village coffee shop/family restaurant they accept cash but 99% of the residents using their debit cards. Also using debit cards for taxis and more.

 

A side point, in this area most of the banks have removed their ATM machines because of very few transactions to get cash. And some banks have closed branches.

Good point. I actually deleted the post when I thought that, though I don’t use the phone with the code things, I do use my card constantly which I guess is the same type of thing. 

2 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

It's still a matter for the Muslim community itself to sort out. Imagine what would happen if Muslims started telling Christians what to wear? It's also off topic here because the "burkini" doesn't resemble a burqua headdress at all, it's really a hijab.

I take your point that the burkini is no big deal. The first sentence though  I am not so sure. If the Muslim community, clearly controlled by men, said women cannot leave the home or be educated there would be an outcry. No doubt that does happen sometimes in different religions but should often not be tolerated. I think the full burqa is close to a human rights issue. These issues are not necessarily about personal choice or something for the community to work out where, for  a significant subset of muslims, half the community dominates the second half. 
 

9 hours ago, ozimoron said:

Muslim women in France are under no such repression and so if they choose to wear Hijabs, etc they are obviously doing it of their own volition.

 

You have not provided links to verify your photos authenticity, origin or age.

What about full burqa though. I can see a logic to banning them. It’s not ideal to ban something but I am guessing most French Muslim woman would be happy with that ban. 

15 minutes ago, blazes said:

I never said or intimated that I was a Trumpist.  I happen to believe that it matters very little who becomes (or became) the POTUS, because that person does not actually run the show (as Eisenhower warned us in 1960, regarding the military/industrial complex).  As you can see at present, the likes of Raytheon and other armament manufacturers are profiting hugely from the weapons that the present administration are lobbing over to Ukraine at considerable cost to the American taxpayer.

I think it was good to support Ukraine,  but I agree that none of the candidates on either side are excellent in terms of shaking things up to make America less controlled by the will of corporations, except maybe Bernie. Though he can go a bit too impractical sometimes in my opinion. Need someone new. 

In actual practical terms I think having the Thailand pass, getting rid of the TM6, having the cheap Covid insurance option to add on to say free credit card insurance that has no Covid cover, was good. Not hard and makes it easy when you get here. But I guess some dont like the mucking about before the trip, and think it is more than it is,  so better to go back to before.

3 minutes ago, blazes said:

This cosy analysis is really quite breathtaking in its naive assumption that ANY of the people mentioned above are worthy of the trust of the American people, especially the Clinton woman, whose contempt for the American people [the undesirables] is well documented.

I am not American but they are both smart and good communicators and appear to have some substance. If you beg to differ that’s no problem. You might frame it though in terms of policies these two have personally espoused that you think make a case for their lack of critical thinking or trustworthiness.

I think Hillary had huge potential to be an an excellent president. I think there is an argument that a subset of Trump supporters were at that time somewhat undesirable if only in the way they played up to Trump and his approach to policy and his approach to a range of individuals including her. You may have liked all that and seen it as refreshing. I found it appalling. Didn’t help her no doubt.
She made a few errors on the way, possibly played it too safe, and due to a range of  factors you got your guy. Not sure who on the Republican side you might see as electable. 

7 minutes ago, Netease said:

Where do you get cheap covid insurance

When you apply for the Thailand pass they give you insurance options and the FWD one is 650 baht. 

I wouldn’t be worried. Thai pass is easy. It’s just the masks that are a bit of a pain but hardly worn in beach areas. Hopefully decision today to get rid of them in some places.

Can recommend for Australians Bankwest credit card.. Card is nothing special in terms of applying for it but gets you free travel insurance except Covid without doing a thing and no fees for overseas transactions with no other fees. Then you get the cheap Covid cover for $28 and done.

On 6/15/2022 at 4:19 PM, KanchanaburiGuy said:

What needs to be proved, here, is not that people told Trump that what he was saying was false, but that Trump himself believed they were false. 

 

"...that several of Trump's advisers warned him against making false claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election..." 

 

Of course, Trump then has the simplest of rebuttals available to him.............. "They told me not to make false claims. I wasn't making false claims."

 

See, it's not important what his advisors told him. That only matters if Trump later wants to claim, "No one told me."

 

The only thing that is important is what he believed!.......... If he believed---truly believed---he was speaking the truth, then advice to stop saying false things........ would naturally fall on deaf ears! 

 

Indeed, Trump may have been mystified as to why his advisors kept insisting he START speaking in falsehoods, when he believed he was speaking the truth, all along! 

 

If you don't understand that there was almost certainly a role-reversal going on with Trump---what was true, he believed was false; what was false, he believed was true---then you'll completely misunderstand what his reaction would be when someone tells him to "stop saying things that are false!" 

 

To role-reversed Trump, to tell him to "not say things that are false".......... is to tell him to not say the things that are actually true! 

 

(It's a little like playing around with negative numbers, in math. Lol The thinking feels weirdly backwards! lol) 

 

So the committee parading a bunch of advisors who told Trump he was wrong......... really means nothing. Whether or not TRUMP believed he was wrong......... is the only thing that matters. 

 

So, who among his advisors, his friends, his family, and the thousands who heard him give speeches............ ever heard him say anything different from the things we heard a thousand times over? 

 

Are there ANY?

 

Anyone, anywhere? 

 

If there isn't........ then............ for all their showmanship, they're not actually building a case against TRUMP!

 

Then it all just becomes hand-waving and table-thumping. 

 

(Of course, we're still only in the middle, so it's not fair to criticize too much! 555)

 

Cheers! 

I think there is a problem with that argument.
Let’s say that Trump believed that Biden was part of a paedophile ring in a pizza shop basement and decided that, based on that, Biden’s candidacy was invalid. Everyone who has credibility, and even many who do not, tell him it’s not true, and that the way he’s going about overturning the election is not valid, except for a few individuals. It was easily identifiable that the few were clearly not in the mainstream and we’re not experts in their field. 
Would you accept your own argument that he has done nothing wrong if he believed it and took the actions he took.  You’d say a president has a responsibility to get expert advice, and he has access to the best in the world, and to act based on a at least a reasonable and sustainable argument. He can’t just say I believed it, and that’s good enough to show he acted in good faith, even if wrong.
Similarly with saying there was election fraud and the election was stolen. Unless he is arguing some mental illness,  or serious mental incompetence, acting in good faith would surely require him to show he had at least a somewhat sound base for his actions. Basing a decision on tales of dodgy voting machines linked to overseas dictators, and various other arguments state by state, is not a tenable argument if courts and real experts are showing they are false. Keep in mind too, he said he may not accept the results more than once before he could even identify the dodgy issues raised after the election, further affecting his argument that he genuinely believed the arguments for election fraud. 

57 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

The people that won't accept a gay president are mostly republicans anyway. 

 

A non complete list.

 

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/586948-ten-democrats-who-could-run-in-2024-if-biden-doesnt/

 

I continue to like Amy Klobuchar.

My concern, is that though Pete and Amy are good candidates, they could struggle. A brief google search shows findings that blacks and latinos are a bit less likely to be accepting of gays and that seemed to be the case in 2020 where Pete did poorly. Maybe things are changing and he’ll be better known next time. If Amy was the candidate I could see her getting the Hillary treatment. She can come across as tough in a way that will appeal to some but may turn off others. She should be made more high profile now so people can get to know her. That’s why Joe did so well. Nice guy, generic, and known to Americans. 

6 minutes ago, Fat is a type of crazy said:Deleted as I see Australian situation deemed off topic.

Deleted as it seems Australian situation off topic. Then accidentally created new thing.

Too old I would say for next time. Pete Buttigieg seems the most able communicator of the 2020 crowd. Should be better for four more years of doing high level stuff rather than just a local small time mayor. Can America accept a gay candidate. Or Bernie if he is still up for it. 

10 minutes ago, Sparktrader said:

 

 

I like bhp under $36. 

 

I like Anz at $15

 

 

Who wouldn’t. You think it’s going to go to those prices. 

9 hours ago, Old Croc said:

Phuket is a Province, not a town like Pattaya. It has many different areas to live or holiday in and prices vary. Dedicated tourist towns on popular beaches are expensive in the same way all major tourist destinations world wide are. Taxi transport in the Province is a major ripoff, however you are asking about bike hire which is not astronomically priced. Most expats live outside the tourist areas and pay similar prices to other major areas in Thailand.

 

Pattaya, a town, is cheap and taudrey, spawned as an R and R destination for troops from the Vietnam war. It doesn't have the natural beauty of the Island of Phuket and it's surrounding major tourist attractions.

If cheaper is your main consideration, Pattaya, the town, is the place for you, but do consider that all the nasty comments above emanate from the type of people who live there. 

Thought your perspective might be interesting as if I recall a fellow Australian CSS or PSS superannuation person. 

7 hours ago, Old Croc said:

Phuket is a Province, not a town like Pattaya. It has many different areas to live or holiday in and prices vary. Dedicated tourist towns on popular beaches are expensive in the same way all major tourist destinations world wide are. Taxi transport in the Province is a major ripoff, however you are asking about bike hire which is not astronomically priced. Most expats live outside the tourist areas and pay similar prices to other major areas in Thailand.

 

Pattaya, a town, is cheap and taudrey, spawned as an R and R destination for troops from the Vietnam war. It doesn't have the natural beauty of the Island of Phuket and it's surrounding major tourist attractions.

If cheaper is your main consideration, Pattaya, the town, is the place for you, but do consider that all the nasty comments above emanate from the type of people who live there. 

I thought I’d retire in Phuket or say Hua HIN for sure rather than Pattaya. During lockdown though I saw a lot of YouTube showing what you can get in Pattaya in terms of accommodation, with gym and big pool, and facilities eg restaurants, supermarkets, shopping and entertainment etc, all in a fairly close area. Beaches looked pleasant to look at and there are islands nearby good for swimming.  Used to live in St Kilda  in Australia for years and rarely swum at the beach but liked a ride or a walk on the foreshore so not a big deal if water not pristine.
I feel like Phuket doesnt have the same thing all in one place though I could be wrong. Maybe Patong but that might be criticised like Pattaya. Rawai looks promising but small. Transport though is so much more expensive. Could stay in Phuket town and get a car to go to beaches etc but how can you park at a nice beach eg Kata and Karon. Still might lean towards Phuket but I think the image of Pattaya Jomtiem Wongamatt etc as just simply sleaze is not all that fair. 

1 minute ago, Hummin said:

Silom changed my mind about Bangkok, best area so far I have been visiting. Before that could not stand Bangkok. Sukhumvit nice hotels and great restaurants  nearby, but horrible area. Silom nice river, parks, shopping rooftops, and decent variety of restaurants in walking distance of 1 km radius

Actually I like Silom too. I’ll be there middle of next week. My girlfriend likes to stay near the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple. I like the food and easy to get around if not by car. It is nice to have a few days there. 

I have found Bangkok hot, fairly polluted, and with terrible traffic. I accept though it may be fun once you get to know your way around but I imagine you would be living mainly inside. I’ll be honest that I am not into fancy bars and hi so restaurants and night life in general or hi so shopping except for from time to time. Seems an odd choice to go to a highly capitalistic busy modern capital city if you after a sense of Buddhist peace and happiness. Though sometimes if you want to be left alone the most populated places are the best.