jaywalker2

No need to have this cumbersome system. In Japan, you are issued an alien registration card, which you carry as identification. You only have to report when you change your address or other major life events and reporting can be done at your local district office. Usually, no waiting at all. Once I was late reporting something. No fine. I just had to write a letter of apology. Japan had a strong bias against foreigners but it's immigration system was very humane.

Actually, I discovered that there are numerous online notaries now that are accepted in most states in the US including Florida. You do a video conference with a notary, upload your identification papers, fill in the forms online, and you'll get the documents returned in a pdf via email with the notarization seal. The going rate seems to be $25 for the first seal, $10 each for any others and $10 or $15 per witness when needed. A real estate attorney might also be able to provide the same service in case you're using one. The embassy, by the way, is practically useless. You need a month lead time, $50 per seal, you've got to find your own witnesses and they each have to have their own appointments. Thanks US government.

I don't think all Thais are poor and never said that. But prices in most markets these days tend to be driven by the high end segment, which is why housing has become unaffordable for ordinary middle-class people in most major markets. Real estate markets are notorious for boom/bust cycles. Just the other day a major developer clearly said that they were targetting the luxury market because most Thais were too indebted to afford buying a house and the lower end of the market was stagnating. As an aside, Trump declared bankruptcy with his companies six times. In fact, he said it was a smart business decision because you get to wipe out your debts. Many developers end up in bankruptcy at one point or another. And if the market is doing so well here, why the desperatioin to change the laws? When Srettha first tried to change the ownership structure to 99 year leases and 100 percent foreign ownership for condos, he gave as his reason the need to attract more foreign buyers. I don't even know why this would be controversial it's so obvious.

Housing is not a like a watch, so the comparison is moot, and to compare Bangkok to New York is ridiculous. The market is completewly different These condo projects force up land prices, which in turn forces up rents. Housing is a need, it's not optional. Even a 35 sqm condo downtown is renting for 25, 30,000 baht and how many Thais do you think can afford that. Vendors get forced back to the provinces and your middle class Thais get forced further away from the center and their jobs. Sure, there's the BTS and MRT (both expensive vis a vis Thai salaries) but people used to be able to live close to where they work There used to be communities. Not anymore. Maybe you've forgotten that the area around Lumpini, Chidlom, Ploenchit, Witthayu and lower Sukhumvit was once a thriving cultural area, replete with streeet food, vendors, affordable housing and entertainment options. Even places like Udomsuk now rent rabbit hutches for 20,000 as ordinary workers are forcesd out of the city. Look at One Bangkok. Is another megamall downtown wiith attached luxury condos that only the rich can afford what's really needed? The government has been trying to force out people living on public land in places Bon Kai and Makasan for years and eventually they'll succeed and we'll have more luxury condos in buildings that are only a quarter full bought with laundered Chinese and Russian money. And now the government is urgently considering measures to solve the traffic problem. Well, hey, maybe if you had affordable housing close to where people work and didn't swallow up the land with malls and luxury condos the traffic problem wouldn't be as bad and the city wouldn't feel increasingly sterile. Salaries in New York and London dwarf those of Bangkok, where the minimum wage is still around $10 a day. You can't even buy a burger in New York for $10. Even so, housing in major US and Canadian cities has become unaffordable for ordinary workers. No wonder so maany people still live at home and refuse to get married and start a family. Then everybody moans about the coming depopulation crisis. Yeah, well who caused that?

I've been watching outerbanks, a teen drama about class warfare in North Carolina, treasure hunting, teen love, the importance of family, and all sorts of other things. A completely unbelievable plot, but fast paced and there's something about it that's got me hooked even though I keep telling myself I'm going to stop watching. I'm on season 4 now. Available in the usual places.

This is bull crap. The problem is that developers have put up a huge number of ridiculously expensive condos and now can't unload them. Look at Sinhorn Lumpini. A 2-bedroom condo goes for 180,000 baht a month. How about buying a condo at The Embassy on Wireless Road? That will only set you back over 8 mllion for a 35 sqm. condo. Too small? Don't worry, upgrade to 46 sqm for just 14 million. It's scandalous what they're been allowed to do. And since Thais can't afford them, you have to change the law to attract those "rich" Chinese who have already lost a bundle in the real estate crash over there. Another problem is that these luxury developments drive up prices all through the food chain. I get pissed off just thinking about it.

The populists, all caught sitting at the table of Wall Street Exec Omeed Malik at Mar-A-Lago

Jimi died at 27. Who knows what he would have done had he lived? Jeff Beck didn't go full instrumental (and pickless) until he was in his 30's. The early Jeff Beck group featured Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood, a genuine supergroup, but it always had a difficult time and never produced all that much because of internal squabbles.

Musk is a smart businessman. His grasp of politics and human relations is infantile. He himself admits that he suffers from Asperger's.

An interesting book, by the way, with an insightful explanation of what is occuring in the political sphere right now is "Elites, Counter-Elites, and the Path to Political Disintegration" by Peter Turchin. "The lessons of world history are clear, Turchin argues: When the equilibrium between ruling elites and the majority tips too far in favor of elites, political instability is all but inevitable. As income inequality surges and prosperity flows disproportionately into the hands of the elites, the common people suffer, and society-wide efforts to become an elite grow ever more frenzied. He calls this process the wealth pump; it’s a world of the damned and the saved. And since the number of such positions remains relatively fixed, the overproduction of elites inevitably leads to frustrated elite aspirants, who harness popular resentment to turn against the established order."

He's not a populist and he doesn't care about the working man. In a way, he's like Thaksin, a rich elite who sets himself up as an alternative to the existing power structure by appealing to the working class. The people backing him are also outside that structure. They're using Trump to achieve their own agendas, which looks to be a neo-conservative libertarian society with few restrictions on their activities.

What they were already getting. They didn't want any major changes to the status quo. And most importantly, they didn't want Trump, a wild card that they couldn't control.

No, they're not okay. But that's why people turned against the Democrats and ran straight into the arms of Trump. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. HURRAH for revolution and more cannon-shot! A beggar upon horseback lashes a beggar on foot. Hurrah for revolution and cannon come again! The beggars have changed places, but the lash goes on.'

It means, loosening whatever restrictions remain on the rich elite controlling society. If "the people" happen to benefit from their policies but it will be accidental not intentional. These guys see the lower classes as serfs to do their bidding.

Do any of you realize how horrible these people are? Especially Peter Thiel, the so called libertarian who believes tech monopolies should be given free reign, who opposes Medicare and Social Security, who calls himself a corporate Nietzchean, and complained in 2009 that democracy suffered when the vote was given to women. Adelson, an uncompromising Zionist. Musk, of course, decried unions as "monopolies" that need to be squashed and now has free reign to use the government to bolster his business. Plus, he's nut. I think he wants to establish a white colony on Mars. Oh, well, maybe you live in interesting time, as the Chinese say.

Gabbard as head of intelligence oh, my God. Trump really doesn't care about any qualifications besides loyalty. I wonder what the intelligence agencies think of this (since they labeled her a Russian agent).

The problem is nobody in the military is going to take him seriously. Just as the bureaucrats in the intelligence agencies won't take Tulsi Gabbard seriously (they already think she's a Russian agent). The question is whether Republicans will confirm them.

That's my whole point. Bubble, bubble, everywhere. The rich are grabbing while the grabbing is good. It's musical chairs now. The question is what happens when the music stops.

But I wonder what he's going to do with Bobby Kennedy. My feeling is that he'll try to dump him as soon as possible or at least marginalize him. But Bobby won't take that lying down.

This is what you're going to see in the new Trump administration: all in support for Israel, no more government anti-trust suits against big tech, no meaningful financial market reform, pressure from Trump on Powell to lower interest rates, big tax cuts for corporations and the rich partly paid for by increased tariffs, which means increased prices for the middle class, further consolidation of tech monopolies, more and bigger subsidies for Elon Musk companies, further worker suppression (no increase in the minimum wage, no support for unions), a possible cut in social security, greater wealth inequality. Trump will continue to support Ukraine, as his Cabinet is stuffed with war hawks, but sanctions will ease on Russia. And the Deep State will thrive.

Politically, Trump is a creature of the billionaire class. His major backers are billionaire technocrats (Musk, Peter Thiel), Israeli supporters (Madeline Adelson), old money (Peter Mellon), and Paypal exec David Sacks -- all of whom have extensive ties with the "Deep State," the military, the financial class. What do you think these people want for their money?

No, he's not credible at all. One of the original anti-vax conspiracy theorists who claimed millions have died. Lives in Maui, I think, where he seems to spend his time ruminating on the apocalypse.

I need to have some documents notarized pertaining to the sale of a condo in Florida, which my sister and I inherited from my mother. I was wondering if anyoone has done this at the US Embassy. In particular, the documents require two witnesses, which might be a problem for me. The Embassy indicates on its web page that it might be possible to find witnesses in the waiting room (I wonder how feasible that would be). Has anybody ever done this ((of course I would compenste)? The last time I went there the waiting reoom was fairly empty. Otherwise, I have to find two witnesses on my own (presumably US citizens) and then they each have to make their appointments, which seems cumbersome and time consuming. I'm wondering about the best way to go about this. Any thoughts, advise, experiences welcome.

I still listen to Hendrix not so Beck. Jimi wasn't just a great guitarist. He was a singer, song writer, and a dynamic performer. Jeff Beck had no charisma and unless you were into long guitar solos, he didn't have that much to offer. There was a story about Jimi after he moved to London. One night Cream asked him to perform at one of their concerts. After the song was over, Eric Clapton left the stage shaking and said, "Nobody told me he was that Effing good."

Huge egos