KanchanaburiGuy

When both sides are guilty, "both-sideism" is the objective position. --------------- (A lesson from my father from when I was a teenager: "If you don't know both sides of an argument well enough to effectively argue either side......... you probably shouldn't be in the conversation, at all.") And my own observation about "both sides" from about the same time, fifty years ago, or so.......... "Do you see this glass as half empty or half full?" *** The correct answer is......... It is both. It is both half empty AND half full. If you only see it as one way or the other, you are ignoring half the pertinent information! --------------- *** (A question that entered the American psyche as a result of TV commercials for the Peace Corp, in the 60s. "If you see this glass as half full, you may be the kind of person we want in the Peace Corp!" [The Peace Corp apparently only wanted half-thinkers, not full-thinkers! Hahaha!] )

Gee, I ran this post through Google Translate and all it gave me were some really rude and demeaning adjectives......... *wink*

To most people, I think, the ["hee hee"] at the bottom of my previous post would indicate the joking nature intended. For others, though, "joking" is what happens when you get a piece of meat stuck in your throat, or when someone throttles you. It's the wrong word, of course, but when someone doesn't seem to know what joking IS ...... it's probably close enough! Cheers!

Yeah, and you think I'm supposed to take your word for that? ["hee hee"]

I find the law that says I cannot occasionally bury my wife up to her neck in an ant hill........ totally unfair! -------------- -------------- (Okay, okay. I don't know that such a law actually exists. But if it doesn't, they'd probably still get me for "animal cruelty." Cruelty to the ants, that is!) Cheers! *wink*

Come now, does either side really give a damn about truth and reality any longer? Honestly, I've seen little evidence of it. Nah, from what I've seen over the last couple of decades, people cling so tightly to their false narratives and deceptions.......... they no longer even have a suitable framework for recognizing the truth, even when it's placed right before them! (My favorite Trump lie, by the way, is when he said........ and repeated on several occasions......... "I have a particular fondness for Germany because my father was born there." [paraphrased] Except his father was born in Brooklyn! Even after getting castigated soundly for saying and repeating this obvious lie, he ALMOST said it again during one of the debates. He started to repeat the story........ stopped...... then changed direction to something that was actually true! LOL Yeah, I heard it myself. Pretty funny stuff, that; to come back to the same lie, even after getting raked over the coals for it!)

Protein & Carbs = 4 kcal per gram. Fats = 9 kcal per gram. Alcohol = 8 kcal per gram. From a caloric intake standpoint, drinking alcohol is roughly equivalent to slurping mayonnaise or melted butter, which are "100% fat." My 7-11 Pork Burger w/Cheese and Bacon is 370 calories and, probably, 50% fat. Not great, but still better calorie-wise than a couple of beers.* And the protein and carbs in the burger have some nutritional value, while the alcohol has none. (And the burger is eaten instead of some other meal......... while beer and wine are generally drunk in addition to eating a meal. ????) If you want to be healthier........... forget the beer and wine and have a 7-11 Pork w/Cheese & Bacon Burger instead! HAHAHA! Eat for enjoyment........ waistline be damned! ------------- * (Note -- My at-hand package of Tom Yum Mama says it's 350 calories. Without question, that 7-11 Pork Burger is going to be far fewer calories than a typical plate of Pad Thai, Pad See Ew or Keemow! Yeah, yeah, yeah........ I'm justifying rather than explaining........ but still! ????)

Well........ ???? Let's just say that if cannibalism ever becomes popular, I'm going to be the guy who looks like an all-you-can-eat buffet! *wink* (6 ft tall, 96 kg/211 lbs. Heavy, but not rotund. 37 inch waist. Of course, with one foot in the grave, that leaves me with only one foot to put on the scale. Then I'm only 48 kg! 555!)

Or his plan to have Mexico pay for the wall. Or his plan to release his tax returns, which he's now gone all the way to the Supreme Court to prevent. Or his plan to erase "Obama's $19 trillion National Debt"........ "in only 4 years"...........(which he then back-peddled to 8 years, soon thereafter.) [Instead adding an average of roughly $150 billion per month to the Debt, over 4 years time.] Or his plan to replace "the worst trade agreement in history"...... NAFTA....... which he then replaced with a new name, but effectively left the NAFTA trade agreement unchanged. Etc. Etc. Etc. Politicians....... on both sides......... say they have plans......... or they insinuate they have "better ideas than their opponent," by being critical of their opponent ideas. But they RARELY actually have a better idea....... and will ALMOST NEVER say what their "better ideas" are, beforehand! This isn't Republican. This isn't Democrat. This is just what politicking looks like! You have to make voters believe you have better ideas, even if you don't! Otherwise, why should they bother voting for you? Cheers!

I really like cheeseburgers. Love'em, in fact. On occasion, when I'm feeling a little homesick for America, a cheeseburger usually helps me get over it. ???? But where I live, 18 km north of Kanchanaburi City, in Lat Ya, there's not a single place that makes hamburgers/cheeseburgers. Not one! But then, about 2 years ago, I discovered the Pork Burger w/Cheese and Bacon, at 7-11 ----39 baht. (Now 40) Pretty tasty, pretty cheap. And satisfies the sudden burger craving just dandy! 400m walk to 7-11; 25-sec in the microwave. All for less than the gas would cost to drive into town for a 100-200 baht "real" cheeseburger! Yeah, since the Double Quarterpounder w/Cheese has made its appearance at McDonald's in Thailand......... (close to being my favorite fast food burger at home!)......... I've made the 18 km one-way trip about 8 times, or so. Cravings, y'know? Yum! But even for that, there's the Double Patty Pork and Cheese Burger at 7-11 (also 40 baht), available any time, only 400m away! (The Quarterpounders at McDonald's are a limited-time promo. The signs are still up for them, but last time I went a few days ago, they said "sorry, mai mee!") Gotta tell ya, I used to look down my nose at buying anything but packaged snacks and griller hot dogs at 7-11. I was a snob! A real snob! But those cheeseburgers, pre-packaged though they are? Well, they're good enough to not just stamp down a sudden homesick burger craving........ but good enough to enjoy all on their own, for their own sake! 40 baht at 7-11......... Cheaper than McDonald's.......... and better than anything McDonald's has for less than 100 baht! (Now, if I could just solve that McDonald's Hash Browns breakfast craving, I'd be set! ????) Cheers!

Not surprising. Even if they have some solid ideas, they'd never say them out loud. Generally, the party out of power never talks about the solutions they may have. The fear is that by revealing them....... (if they actually have any!).......... the opposition will co-opt those ideas and claim them as their own. Then, if they work, that becomes one of their bragging points to get themselves reelected! The opposition may complain a blue streak about the policies of their opposition, but they'll NEVER tell you what their "better ideas" are! Never! And it doesn't matter whether we're talking Republicans or Democrats. It works the same both ways. (Remember.......... Democrats were very vocal about their disdain for Trump's border wall and tariffs............ but they NEVER offered workable alternatives for solving the problems that Trump was trying to remedy! You just don't give away your "better ideas" for nothing. Nuh uh, y'just dont do it! ????)

401k -- Isn't what your 401k is invested in decided by YOU, not by Biden? But let's assume it's in stocks. For the first 10 months of the Biden Administration, the Dow Jones went up roughly 6,000 points. Up ~20%. Seems to me if you're gonna dole out blame, you ought to dole out credit, too. In the last two months, after a downward spiral to the mid 28 thousands....... (much of which may be attributable to "profit taking" from the previous extraordinary surge)......... the Dow has come back up 4,000 points to the mid 32 thousands in roughly 2 months. If he deserves blame for the drops........ doesn't he also deserve credit for a couple of pretty spectacular upswings? (BTW........ with corporate profits doing so well, those who have not been impressed with stock price appreciation [which requires selling to realize].......... ought to be very pleased with dividend performance [which doesn't require selling to realize!] Doggone that Biden! ????) -------------- Gas prices -- The price of oil........ and consequently the price of gas/petrol.......... is defined by the World Market, not by Biden. What Biden CAN do is encourage American oil producers to produce more. But because those producers will want to get as much for their oil as they can......... (just like everyone else!).......... they're not going to sell it cheaper to Americans than the price they can get for it on the Open Market! Even if Biden successfully gets American producers to produce a lot more oil, all the World Market has to do is cut back by a comparable amount, to maintain desirable price levels. Why would they do that? Because it's always better to sell less oil for more money.......... than to sell more oil for less money! Producing more oil........ costs more money. Getting more money through higher prices.......... costs nothing! (Look up the word "fungible," if you don't already know it.) Biden's ability to affect prices at the gas pump is negligible. He can make a hiccup happen from time to time, but that's it! Food prices -- Surely nothing more needs to be said about Supply Chain problems, does it? Biden didn't create these probelms, and he isn't the solution to them. Growers couldn't grow during the pandemic. Truckers couldnt truck. Miners couldn't mine. Smelters couldn't smelt. Just because the pandemic is over......... that doesn't mean that corn and wheat and pigs and cattle will grow any faster. That doesn't mean that laid-off workers on farms and in factories......... will rush back to do the old jobs they probably hated. Just because employers are willing and able to hire new workers to replace the ones they lost........... that doesn't mean they are instantly trained and ready to provide top-notch performance! There are many, many practical reasons why Supply is short and prices higher. Almost none of these have quick remedies. And almost none of them can be affected in any kind of positive way by Biden policies. (Unless, of course, you believe that Biden's policies can make the corn grow faster, or make HVAC specialists and IT Techs............ suddenly want to become truck drivers and cargo container crane operators!) Of course, Biden COULD follow Nixon's lead and institute a Wage and Price Freeze. But one need only look back at the inflation rates under Nixon's successor, Gerald Ford......... and see that the eventual outcome of that.......... was significantly worse than anything WE'VE seen, so far! ???? No, food prices are not Biden's problem, and they are not Biden's problem to solve! Cheers!

Hmmm. A little clarification of what some claim to "remember".......... The back-breaking inflation in the U.S. was in the 70s, under Ford and Carter. Yes, those high levels carried over into the early 80s, but only at the beginning. It takes TIME for new policies to take hold. By '83, inflation was returning to "normal" and stayed there for the rest of the decade. So, if you're "remembering" the "high inflation of the 80s"......... nah, youre really not. You're remembering the high inflation of the 70s. Here's a link. https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/historical-inflation-rates/ Same goes for "gas shortages and gas lines." That was the 70s, too, not the 80s. (OPEC, oil embargo, odds-and-evens, etc.) ON THE OTHER HAND......... Beginning with 1992 and holding FOR THE NEXT 30 YEARS, inflation remained LOW! Under 3% for nearly all that time. 30 YEARS! (For a big part of that stretch, apparently, the FED was trying to push inflation UP........... and failing at it!) The reason people need to refer back 40 years to "the 80s" to complain about high inflation........... is because, for all intents and purposes, inflation has been a non-factor for the last 30 years! So........ inflation is doing a little "catch-up" in the post-pandemic era, and we don't know how long it will last? Sadly, that's going to make it tough for a small segmant of the population. But that's how it works, isn't it? Y'get the bad with the good? Personally, I'm focused on how much better off I am now after 30 years of unusually low inflation........... than I would have been otherwise, if inflation had just been "normal." For me, being able to live in Thailand for less than a third of what it would cost me in America.......... more more MORE than makes up for it! LOL

I assume from your tone that you do vote/have voted, yes? Well, once you've voted, you've already had your say. Your guy is going to win......... or.......... your guy is going to lose. But once you've cast your ballot, any "political comments" you may choose to make afterwards......... are pointless. You've ALREADY had your say! Nothing you say after can make even the slightest bit of difference in anything that happens next! Your part in the decision-making process......... is done! So I wonder....... Do you continue making "political comments" AFTER you've cast your ballot? Why? I mean, wouldn't your post-voting "political comments" be as worthless as you imply a non-voter's views would be? Once you've voted, you're done! How can you possibly believe you have anything left to contribute? Or............. Maybe whether a person votes or not............. is a separate issue. See, the simple fact is, voting no more makes one entitled to offer political commentary.......... than not voting somehow limits one to silence! Seems to me, someone who has already cast their ballot.......... has already used up all their political capital! Why should anyone have to suffer through their continuing "political comments," then? lol

I am an Agnostic. I am neither an Atheist nor a Theist/Deist. I have no idea whether or not God exists. As an Agnostic, I've frequently been accused of being a "fence-sitter;" unwilling to take a stand for one view or the other. For nearly 50 years, now..... .. since I was 15, or so........... my response has been: "Those are not the only two choices. There is a perfectly valid THIRD choice. That third choice is to confidently say, 'I don't know.'" Given what I believe, which is......... Any time there is more than one credible answer to a question, no answer can be called "correct," I therefore also believe that "I don't know" is, in fact, the most honest answer I can give. Even though.......... many people can't seem to understand that "I don't know" IS a decision, not a stubborn unwillingness to make one! I tell you all this so that you'll have some sense of my world view; of how I look at things. So............ consequently.......... when I come across a person who says "I choose not to vote".......... I really can't come up with a reason to object to that! I've lived my life in full recognition that many things that seem to have only TWO valid choices............ frequently turn out to have THREE or FOUR or FIVE! -------------- When it comes to voting, I'd much rather someone who is not confident and convinced of a particular choice........... abstain, instead! Don't be a "Believer" or an "Atheist"........... [metaphorically speaking]......... just because someone tells you you're supposed to PICK ONE! NOT picking is a perfectly valid THIRD CHOICE......... Don't let anyone tell you otherwise! Not choosing IS a choice! -------------- Now, as far as I'm concerned........ any country that REQUIRES you to vote........... is only giving lip-service to the concept of "freedom!" Because if it was "freedom"........... you'd have the freedom not to! Unless a country has "None of the Above" on their ballot........... they have no business compelling their people to PICK ONE! Because.......... in the absence of a valid "None of the Above" choice........... SILENCE becomes the only remaining way to make that choice! And in a "free" society.......... shouldn't everyone have the right and opportunity to make the "Agnostic" choice............ to choose, as I do with religion.......... "None of the Above?" Cheers!

No, no "comparison" was made. I've merely shown why New York City, who's received "only 17,000 bused-in immigrants" in roughly six months......... (about 3,000 per month).......... might be justified in calling the situation "an emergency." Just like all those cities along the border, it really isn't a question of how many people coming in you have to deal with. It's a question of how many people you are PREPARED to handle, and how many you have BUDGETED FOR! If the numbers arriving greatly exceed the number you have prepared for and budgeted for............ then........... regardless of size or how often you have to deal with this........ you've got an emergency ! ... If you're the mayor of Martha's Vineyard and you have prepared to handle zero and you have budgeted to take care of zero............. then, yeah, fifty suddenly showing up.......... could turn out to be quite the problem!

A lot of the problem seems to be about basic math. Yes, the border States already have systems, personnel, and facilities to deal with immigration, legal and otherwise. Some of this the States themselves wind up having to pay for, and some of it is paid for by the Federal Government. The problem is, money is allocated to these things based on anticipated need............ How many people can be expected, and what will be their status? How many will be children or have children? Et cetera. Based on what they think will happen......... (which, frankly, is just another form of fortune telling!).......... they make budgets. Once they have a budget, they keep/fire/or hire workers, order supplies and food stuffs, build or acquire short-term and longer-term housing facilities, and so forth. But what they are able to do.......... everything they are able to do............. is dictated by that budget! That took-our-best-guess-at-fortune-telling budget! So......... what are they supposed to do if 10,000 more people show up than they had predicted? Than they had anticipated? Than they have budgeted for? THAT'S the problem! That's the problem they're dealing with in the border States........... AND............ that's problem their dealing with in the cities where the immigrants are being forwarded to! It's not that they don't have means and systems for dealing with newly arrived immigrants. It's that they don't have ENOUGH means and systems for the numbers they are now facing! * Who's going to interview them and process them? * Do you have enough people speaking the right languages? * Where will you house them? * How will you feed them? * Do you have enough food-flexibility to properly address food allergies and religious limitations? * Do you have enough qualified medical personnel for dealing with injuries, pregnancies, and disease? And on and on and on. Whether you're talking about border Cities and States........... or New York City or Chicago or Martha's Vineyard or Washington, DC.......... it's the same problem. It's the proverbial............ "Straw That Breaks the Camel's Back!" When the money has already been allocated based on expected levels of NEED........... what the hell are you supposed to do........... if 10,000 "extra" people show up? Where are you supposed to get the money for the additional officers you need? Where are you supposed to get the money for the additional housing you need? Where are you supposed to get the money for extra food, medicine, clothing, et cetera, that will be needed? If 10,000 more people show up than had been anticipated............ that doesn't mean a bunch of new budget money will magically appear in your bank account! It really is a pretty basic math problem............ Budgets limit the amount of money you have to spend............ but they don't limit the number of people who are trying to immigrate! And that's true whether we're talking about New York City or a New Mexico border crossing! The simple fact is, 3,000 a month extra in New York City......... AND ......... 3,000 a month extra in El Paso, Texas............ could both qualify as "emergencies"........... if it's 3,000 more than they are prepared and budgeted for! Because the math is....... If the coffers are empty........ you've got an EMERGENCY!

May I take a moment to point out that what happened in Uthai Sawan was not a drug buy gone bad. It wasn't about buying, selling or distributing drugs. It wasn't rivals staking out their territory, or taking over territory from a competitor. It wasn't about stealing drugs or customers, or trying to collect on drug-based debts. It wasn't about a drug addict committing a crime to pay for his next fix or two. It wasn't payback or retaliation for any kind of drug-related infringement, perceived or real. It wasn't a gang or a cartel, an international enterprise; an importer, exporter, manufacturer, or wholesaler of drugs. And......... according to a different thread right here on AseanNow........... they guy who did it, while having a history as an addict........... had no trace of drugs in his system when he committed this atrocity! So............... Why, exactly, is the tragedy that occurred in Nong Bua Lamphu being presented as a catalyst for a massive, widespread, and far-reaching drug enforcement crackdown? . You know, I'm tempted to scratch head and wonder. But my scalp is already pretty torn-up due to all the head-scratching I've already done over this whole confusing, messed-up situation! But let me just say, I'm not saying they shouldn't have a huge crackdown. Absolutely they should! I'm just saying there was just as much reason and justification for doing this sort of crackdown a day before what happened in Nong Bua Lamphu.......... or a week....... or a month........ or a year............ as there suddenly was three or four days after! Cheers!

Correct. There are specific tests for specific drugs that can give fairly quick answers. Usually, these are blood or urine tests that can give an answer in minutes or hours. Think: PCR and antigen tests for Covid, as a comparison. Those tests are designed to detect Covid......... and nothing else. But that's why we were able to get pretty quick answers about whether Covid was present or not. A full toxicology screen, on the other hand, where they don't necessarily have an idea what exactly they are looking for, so they have to fugure it out........... yeah.......... that can take 4 to 6 weeks. Yaba has quick tests available. It shows up a pretty purple color! Testing the guy's blood for the presence of yaba would have been a no-brainer. (The 72-hour window comes in because the body scrubs contaminants out of the blood. So anything taken more than 72-hours before the test was given........... [or in this case, before he died]........... may no longer have enough trace left in the blood to be detectable by a quick-test.)