Patong2021

Time to give the labelling a rest, and to move on. Trump is President. It will be a hard core Republican agenda for the next 2 years. Either take a page from the MAGA collective and organize and agitate and oppose vociferously with litigation and protests, or accept the reality and invest in renewing a damaged and misguided Democrat party. Or do both. Whatever, it may be, life goes on and the bills still need to be paid.

This is fighting in der Nederlands. Why are migrant gangs roaming the streets? Why are migrant gangs violating Dutch laws and engaging in criminal activity. If a country is kind enough to extend hospitality it is incumbent upon the beneficiary to respect the norms of civility of the host.

The claim has yet to be corroborated, i.e. as in what led up to that alleged activity. What is certain is that individuals who were not involved were attacked. Nor does it justify running over people. What we are seeing now are attempts to downplay the incident and to quickly change the narrative to blame the victims of the violence. It is a tried and true messaging strategy.

There is no evidence to support your claim of cheating. Please give it a rest or are you now going to also insist that the bogus videos issued by Russians are legit?

The final data has not been released, but it looks like voter participation was less than last election. If the US population increases every 4 years, it is expected that the number of voters will increase too. The total number of votes is relatively meaningless if voter participation decreases.

I cannot find data for 22019, but I did find 2019. It goes against long held stereotypes, but does show that spending is consistent for some regions. Indians are not the sheap charlies they are assumed to be, but some Europeans certainly are. Which foreign tourists spend the least per capita in Thailand? In 2019, visitors from France spent the least per capita amount of $112.02 USD per day. Here’s the complete breakdown of per capita spends by tourists visiting Thailand: Per Capita Spend/Day in Thailand by Country of Residence (2019) Country of Residence $US/Day Kuwait $224 Egypt $222 U.A.E. $220 Saudi Arabia $220 Brunei $217 Hong Kong $208 Singapore $199 China $197 Bangladesh $187 Myanmar $186 Cambodia $185 Pakistan $185 Sri Lanka $180 Korea $179 Africa $178 Laos $177 India $177 Australia $174 Japan $173 Norway $170 Malaysia $168 Taiwan $168 Israel $167 Nepal $166 Denmark $163 New Zealand $163 Brazil $161 South Africa $158 Vietnam $156 Philippines $154 USA $153 Finland $149 Indonesia $147 Argentina $146 Switzerland $144 Sweden $143 Austria $138 United Kingdom $138 East Europe $137 Canada $132 Russia $132 Netherlands $131 Spain $129 Italy $126 Belgium $123 Germany $116 France $112

The myth of the low spending Indian has been deconstructed several times. You are using the Pattaya experience to represent the impact of Indian visitors. It is no more accurate than using the stereotypical elderly pensioner living in a cheap room hunting for cheap meals to portray the visitors from the UK. In July, the Nation had an interesting article; Thailand can expect up to 2 million Indian tourists, exceeding the initial target of 1.7 million. During the first six months of this year (January to June), the Kingdom welcomed 1.04 million Indian tourists. This reflects continuous growth from 2023, when 1.62 million Indian tourists visited Thailand, up to 14% more than the initial target of 1.42 million. The tourists spent 38,052 baht per person on average, generating some 61.97 billion baht for the economy. https://www.nationthailand.com/news/tourism/40039419 The total number of Indian tourists is relatively small. Indians are not considered to be long haul tourists, but short term visitors, staying for less than 2 weeks. This year, Thailand expects to welcome 9.6 million long-haul tourists, including 7.3 million from Europe, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/2897733/thailand-targets-8-million-european-tourists-in-2025.

That's nice. Please adjust for after tax and time value. Also, please reflect the reality. The vast majority of Americans are struggling to pay this month's expenses. The server at Denny's, the cashier at Walmart, the school teacher in Topeka, typically does not have $100 a month to invest like this.

Long term planning and strategy is not a trait of the US citizen or of US companies. Very few Americans are thinking about 25 years. Most are struggling to pay this month's expenses. Over several decades I have worked for large US multinationals. The emphasis, the focus was always on short term gain, of increasing share price and maximizing shareholder return.

Understood. However, A 2023 survey conducted by Payroll.org highlighted that 78% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, a 6% increase from the previous year. In other words, more than three-quarters of Americans struggle to save or invest after paying for their monthly expenses. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/banking/living-paycheck-to-paycheck-statistics-2024/#:~:text=or lost income.-,How Many Americans Are Living Paycheck to Paycheck%3F,paying for their monthly expenses. The Forbes article is potent and to be honest, I am oblivious to their plight. Like you, I am concerned only with my ROI on investments. I am still paying into the retirement plans, and doubt I will collect what I contributed to the government when the time comes to claim the benefit. The Trump campaign understood the fears and concerns of the paycheck to paycheck people and gave them something to dream for, to hope for. The Democrats did not. Desperate people will attach themselves to the candidate who offers a chance to do better.

Nope. Reducing the federal deficit and having a balanced budget would be more effective.

Depends. For those who claim he is a victim of Israeli occupation and subject to apartheid, he is a Palestinian holding an Israeli passport. If he is a citizen of Israel, he is an Israeli. The reality is that there was a crude attempt to label Israelis as lawless, assuming the person was juden. The attempt fell flat when it turns out the accused was a man did not qualify. When similar people from France, Australia etc do such things, the attempt to link nationality to behavior is not as forceful.

He won and achieved a majority, but a closer look shows that it is not "overwhelming". 68,060,409 votes (47.6%) Democrats v 72,721,684 votes (50.9%) Republican. Achieving 0.9% more than 50% is a very slim majority. In the swing states the Republicans achieved 50.5% - PA, 49.8% -MI, 49.7% WI, 51% -NV, 50.7% GA This was enough to win the election, but it is not a decisive majority. Fortunately, the Democrats are not filing lawsuits and claiming a steal. The Republicans won a tight election. In 2 years time, the Democrats will contest the mid terms and we will see if anything changes. They usually do. The American voter is angry and fickle.

If the intent is to relax muscles and to create a sense of euphoria, I would expect that it would mitigate discomfort. I have a difficult enough time with my annual prostate exam. 🫣

How so? The Canadian and US intelligence agencies have taken the incident seriously.

Russian agents operating in Lithuania. It would not be the first time.

Perhaps poppers are involved. Many homosexual males use a class of drugs called "poppers". It a product typically containing amyl nitrite and sometimes butyl nitrite, isobutyl nitrite, isopropyl nitrite, and cyclohexyl nitrite, The user sniffs the nitrite vapors to obtain a fast feeling of euphoria and a relaxation of the anus sphincter muscles to allow for easy penetration by objects. Amyl nitrite is a vasodilator that lowers blood pressure and raises the heart rate. When used inappropriately with sildenafil it can result in a cardiac crisis.

I expect that you , like me do not believe he is up to it. In a situation like this, it will probably require a special envoy, or point person, side stepping the Foreign Secretary, who is more comfortable uttering platitudes to Islamic lobbyists. Unfortunately, aside from Nigel Farage, I don't think there is anyone in the UK that Trump has any use for. If Farage goes to the USA and gets a rousing hug of hospitality, that will be a big, and blatant message to the UK. The UK is not in a position to alienate the USA as it doesn't have any helpful friends in Europe (aside from Poland, the Netherlands and Denmark). The EU is still pursuing a petty vendetta against the UK for its withdrawal from the EU. Maybe the UK will reverse course on its self destructive hostile approach to Canada. The UK had been trying to bully Canada in the negotiations of a free trade agreement. It had demanded easy access to Canadian markets but refused to reduce market access barriers for Canada’s agriculture industry. The UK walked away from the trade talks in January 2024 assuming Canada would cave. it did not. If Trump imposes his tariffs, the UK is going to regret not having a trade deal with Canada. This trade negotiation fiasco highlights the culture of arrogance that permeates the Foreign Affairs and the Foreign Trade Offices. A tough time with the Trump administration might be the enema the British civil servants require to reduce their bloated sense of self importance.

For sure. The loss is a significant repudiation of the Democrat election strategy and the way the Democrats presented themselves. If the Democrats do not learn from this shellacking, then they will not be a factor in 2 years. However, this election is going to initiate a purge that has been a long time coming.

The event you describe did not occur. If you wish to be taken seriously, don't lie and don't present your imagined unsubstantiated claim as fact. You are quick to accuse imaginary leftists as liars, but here you are posting absolute lies. The unauthorized immigrant population in the United States grew to 11.0 million in 2022, according to new Pew Research Center estimates based on the 2022 American Community Survey, the most recent year available. The increase from 10.5 million in 2021 reversed a long-term downward trend from 2007 to 2019. This is the first sustained increase in the unauthorized immigrant population since the period from 2005 to 2007. However, the number of unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S. in 2022 was still below the peak of 12.2 million in 2007. Please tell us how 10 million people came into the USA in the past 4 years when the population is still approx. 11 million Please tell us how they all went on some sort of public assistance when the reality is that for other than legal refugees, noncitizens living in the United States face significant restrictions on access to public benefits funded by the federal government, including programs such as Medicaid, food stamps (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), and cash assistance programs such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). This is particularly the case for unauthorized immigrants, who except in very limited circumstances are barred from all federally funded public benefits. Immigrants on temporary visas, such as international students or seasonal workers, are likewise barred. Even most legal permanent residents (aka green-card holders) face a five-year waiting period before they can qualify for federal benefits. These restrictions are longstanding, in many cases dating back to a 1996 federal welfare reform law.

Yes, that happened too. It is not a basis to dismiss or to ignore the 64.5 million. A President is President for all, not just those who vote for him.

Trump's final position will be a statement to current US allies and whether or not they should rely on any US undertakings; -Taiwan defense against China -South Korea and Japan defense against North Korea -Japan defense against Russia and China - EU defense against Russia - Gulf states defense against Iran and others - Australia defense against China If the US chooses to reduce its presence, as is its perogative, then it cannot expect to demand control or to retain a leadership position in international affairs.

I am not so sure. Israel cannot rely solely on the USA, and the support for Israel within the Republican Congress is not guaranteed. Israel needs access to EU markets too and needs to have security with its arab neighbors.

It is not just about voting for the President, but of voting for other offices too. State governments are important. US Congressional delegations are important. When Clinton was at his worst, it was reflected in the mid term elections. When the USA soured on Trump in his first term it was reflected in the mid term elections. The trend now is to vote against something, and not for something. People voted for Reagan because they bought into his platform, the same as when people voted for Roosevelt and his New Deal.

What is a "household"? Why not be more accurate; Among working-age individuals (ages 15 to 64), the most common type of retirement accounts in 2020 were 401(k)-style accounts (34.6%). About 18% of working-age individuals had an IRA or Keogh account, and 13.5% had a defined-benefit or cash balance plan. As you can see, the Median Value in those retirement funds is not very much. Even if there are large increases in the returns, the reality is that there will be chump change to play with. The have nots will remain have nots. people like me who are financially well off, will do much better.