Cameroni

Yes, a Thai girl told me this a few days ago, said in the provinces foreigners are still minor celebrities and the locals want to talk to them, watch them and touch them, just because they never see a foreigner. The difference in the West is of course they get Arabs, Turks, Africans and East Europeans rammed down their throat, even a small city will have a large number of them these days.

Doesn't matter, the guy that wasn't invited to the funeral whom nobody knows, says the guy who was invited and at the front row was ostracized and gets no respect. Another quality thread with quality information.

Yes, Promenda closed. It wasn't because of Covid. It was just not a vey good mall. Even before Covid almost nobody went there. Same with Kad Suan Kaew., just not very good. However, good malls like Central Festival and Maya are overrun with customers. Sure, an Icon Siam would not be bad to have here, I think Chiang Mai could do with one more mall, at least, especially now that Promenada is gone. The weather these days is 40 degrees now, as nice as organic neighbourhoods are, malls air conditioned numerous dining and entertainment options have a lot of advantages.

That's a fair statement to make. Thais are extraordinariily open to foreign people, relatively speaking. Obviously they will still idolize and respect their own people and traditions, but by international comparison they are open to foreigners. But yes, to be truly Thai, I don't think even people who speak perfect Thai or obtained citizenship willl be viewed as such by the Thais. I have also had the experience that in other countries I would feel more part of lthe local populace. You do feel an outsider quite markedly in Thailand, despite their openness and friendliness. It's a paradox. I suspect this has a racial componenent. If you are in a country that is racially not far removed from your own look, it makes it easier, whereas if you are clearly racially not part of a country, then that makes it generally a lot harder. Not pc, but probably the case.

Oh I have no doubt about that, it is probably among the deepest religions you can study, built as it is on the Vedas, Unpanishads, and folk custom from so many people, There is a lot of talk about Zen, Chan, but of course these are all mere refinements of the yoga meditation techniques. Just studying yoga could take a lifetime. And would be time very well spent. Indeed if one looks a bit deeper the things these various deities represent are interesting. Indeed some aspects of Hinduism have become all pervasive, karma, samsara, moksha, and these aspects are fascinating. I just could not bring myself to worship Vishnu or Shiva. It is too far removed and a step too far for me.

Indeed Mike, fair point. There is a reason for this. Whilst I have the utmost respect for Indian Philosophy and Buddhism, surely among the deepest products of the human mind in all our history, with Hinduism I have to say it is just too alien to me. Whilst the Vedas, Upanishads and Baghavad Gita make interesting reading, as does rebirth, the various deities just don't do it for me. It doesn't even seem like a religion, but more like contradictory custom and beliefs. So I left it out for that reason, not something I could subscribe to.

It does come with quite a lot of beneifts. I woudl not mind if they put up a few more shopping malls, though with Central Fesival and Maya there are two good options already. You can still go to organic neighbourhoods, Sanpakoi springs to mind. The centre still has its charm with the river walk. The congestion in San Kamphaeng is being dealt with now as they build new bypass options. All the tourists I date, I had another date with a Russian woman this weekend, they all love it here.

Doesn't matter, you're only a serf. My family tree in my office going back to the year 1178 is all the evidence I need. Now go harvest my rice.

I am descended from a long aristocratic line. My ancestors were rulers, whilst yours were serfs. You can admit it. It's okay. We need serfs like you too. You're useful.

I order NMN and Resveratrol from Donotage, which is a major UK brand, so that is fine. You can tell it's a quality product when it arrives. However, I also ordered NMN from some obscure US brand and I'm almost certain it was a forgery. There is also cheap resveratrol. I ordered Creatine gummies however, and they are fine I think. In short, if you get a quality brand, you'd be okay. Some obscure US brand, probably fake.

Pain he can take away, ie extra cards. You don't believe that yourself. China is in deep trouble. Impossible, the EU can't absorb both Chinese overproduction and all other countries who export to the US. The fact is there are only two developed mega-markets, the US and Europe, and thus companies have to be in the US market. I disagree. I think it is fundamentally different to Brexit. The US is not the UK. In the long run the US can benefit greatly from the trade war, already companies are coming in to build factories, offering the US to buy more American products in an effort to avoid future tariffs. The US could very well come out of this trade war a winner.

Of course not, because I would be your master.

How can a man that is already worth 5100 million USD even be corrupt? That doesn't even make sense.

You're the one who got drunk, got behind the wheel and was caught by Thai police, thrown in a jail cell and you have the audacity to talk about IQ? You wouldn't know high IQ if it slapped you in the face with a flounder.

Hindsight is 20/20. That's not how it works in real life. If he did the hard way it's still an achievement.

Getting 1 million dollars helped of course, but again he is worth 5100 million now. So there was a bit more to it than getting a hands up I suspect. Sure, he got the 400 plus million during the course of his life later, but well, 5100 million. Come on!

He could have done that. But then he would not have had the leverage he now has with the tariffs. Master negotiatior? I am not sure. Take China for instance. The tariffs are effectively a trade embargo on China. which China cannot afford. I would suspect most nations when faced with considerable pain will do something to make that pain go away. I am sure that will happen anyway, but the operative words are "as much as possible". Many companies genuinely depend on the US market. They cannot just stop exporting there.

You mean he created businesses worth 5.1 billion USD.. People talk about his business bankrupticies, but I do not see that as an issue, many businessmen fail, but Trump got up and succeeded again with other ventures. It is even more impressive really.

You mean that makes him someone who gives special privileges to LGBT people. At the cost of the tax payer.

"College students who are undocumented immigrants or identify as transgender may apply for state financial aid for college." I did not realise the people of Illinois sponsor transgender people with tax money under a bill Pritzker introduced. "In June 2019, Pritzker signed an executive order requiring schools across the state to be "affirming and inclusive" of transgender and non-binary students. He also asked the State Board of Education to take a lead on LGBT rights by making relevant resources easily accessible." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JB_Pritzker So more taxpayer money for the alphabet people. I guess that makes Pritzker the LGBT candidate.

No, just a normal amount. It was good. It was a US style Striploin cut.

Trump gets plenty of respect.. He's the most powerful man in the world, after all.

A nice start in business to be sure, 1-2 million dollars. The 413 million were received throught his entire life, including inheritance money. You can't blame a man for getting an inheritance surely. Just to be clear, his net worth now is 5.1 billion USD. That's 5100 million USD. Prettay prettay prettaayyy good going....

It is a tough trick to pull off to be sure, but Bessent and Co did author a paper on just how to do that. I think it basically involves getting other nations agreement to the devaluation whilst still retaining the dollar as the reserve currency. That maybe the strategy behind the tariffs. Perhaps worry free access to the market and other trade concessions will entice other nations to make that deal. Let's see.

Medium-rare Australian steak with french green beans and mash with mushroom sauce. Everything came out great. The Australian steak is not as flavourful as the American variety but still very good.