Cameroni

Well, the 50% threshhold is unrealistic in modern society. There should be a system which guarantees the party that got the most votes can actually have a prerogative for government formation. Disenfranchising the biggest voter block was a recipe for disaster in 1929 and it's not a good look in 2024.

Actually in the 1929 election in Thuringia, the NSDAP was only the third most successful party and got only 11.29% of the vote. By far the biggest party was the SPD which got 32.30%. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thüringer_Landtag_(Weimarer_Republik) So really the parallel here and now in 2024 is with the SPD and the AfD. Just like the SPD the AfD got the most votes. Just like the SPD was ignored then the AfD will most likely be ignored now, and parties that got far less of the vote will form the government. Through back door dealing. Since this was already going on in 1929 and led to disastrous results, it is quite interesting indeed that in 2024 this formation of a state goverment by the backdoor repeats itself. But it should be made clear that in 1929 Thuringians did not vote for the NSDAP mostly, the party that got the most votes was the SPD. I hate to burst a good "history repeats itself" bubble, but in the following election you will see that the NSDAP received far more votes than in Thuringia in about 20 other voting regions. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationalsozialistische_Deutsche_Arbeiterpartei#Wahlerfolge_ab_1930

Online dating is different, with some disadvantages over bar dating. However, it has one key advantage, the girls you can meet online are not exclusively bar girls. Nothing against bar girls, and respect to those guys for whom it has worked it, yes it can, however, for actual dating not everyone wants a bar girl only.

Yes, there have been failures, and he's tried a lot. However, against the failures there's his media company, which has added between 5 and 2 billion to his wealth of late, depending on the stock value. There's his real estate projects that worked. His TV show that worked. His success in becoming president. The achievements are too many to deny.

Well, it could be anything from discussing the plot in a film or series, some current affairs event, or anything really. It's nice to have a meaningful conversation

Well, neither you nor I have been at any meetings with Trump and talked to him, so we can't really verify what any third party has said. Of course he's a politician, so he'll lie and pander to specific interest groups, just as Harris is doing with the abortion issue. The felon thing is a joke, calling a payment to a laywer a legal expense is a felony, I mean ...come on. 34 times because each pay slip is felony. Allright. It's nonsense. As for rape, you will find the jury in the Carroll trial found him not guilty of rape. He did not rape her under New York law. One can sling mud at a person endlessly of course, but ultimately his achievements are what they are.

He did get a start with 400 or so million USD, that's a fair point. Like most businessmen he's had failure, true. He always came back from bankruptcy, however, you don't respect that? If someone asks a politician "you've called women" this and that, insert whatever objectionable things it was, and he comes back and still makes everyone laugh and deflects the disdian on Rosie O'Donnel, that, you have to admit, is evidence of media genius. How else to describe it?

Look, I understand that a man who is a billionaire, a real estate moghul, had a hit TV show on prime time, was elected president of the US, recently created a media company worth billions out of nothing, and who has the media and political establishment in obsession mode, all this can be intimidating, I understand that, even to the extent you may not like such an overachieving person. However, even with a political bias, you would have to concede that he has all the above achievements, and his comebacks and media peformances are evidence of real genius. If Kamala Harris had an ounce of that, I would admit it. Sadly, she really does not.

As people get older, it is always the case that they become less willing to compromise, take things more seriously, even smaller things and are generally less fun. Both male and female. I think that's fair to say. There are exceptions of course, but on the whole that's the case.

How could they form a coalition when all parties vowed to boycott them? It's impossible. If you have elections and the party that wins the most votes is bypassed after the elections, then there's not much point to vote. All the people who voted for the AfD may as well have thrown their ballot down the toilet. This has nothing to do with democracy. Precisely because it's rare for parties to win the outright majority and most only get around the 30s when they do well, there should be some reform to stop politicians from forming state governments by the backdoor. This is not democracy. How do you think people feel who voted for the AfD, know they got the most votes, but are, once again totally ignored?

Turns out my brain predicted things correctly though. In Thuringia the AfD won more votes than any party. Will they form the state government? No. Even though the AfD got the most votes, the CDU, BWS and Linke will form a coalition government, bypassing the will of the voters. Since most parties only get votes in the 34% plus if they did well these days, due to the fragmentation of society and the plethora of parties, there should be an electoral reform. The way things are now governments are formed by backdoor political negotiations. It's got little to do with democracy.

The Realme 12+ pro 5G is better than the Google Pixel. A question of price. https://versus.com/en/google-pixel-vs-realme-12-pro-plus-5g

Slightly less, but she'd still be an older woman. I much prefer her not working, it simplifies everything and ensures she can take better care of me in every way. How is she going to learn to do anything if she's out of the house doing a job somehwere and focused on that? No, that wouldn't work for me. Besides I can easily afford to pay for her Boat noodles, it's not an issue. In the end you decide what you spend. It's much worse, if she's working, she'll be ogling guys who are actually working with her. Yes, less time on tik tok, more time ogling guys at her work. It's a physical fact that men and women are attracted to good looking people, it's just the way it is. Highly educated conversations are nice, but yes the behaviour of the woman is key. But that's why a younger woman is much better, her behaviour is less set in her ways, she can still be formed and she approaches life in a want to please way, in a lighter way, a more fun way. A working Bangkok woman would be my personal nightmare.

I'm the same way, I much prefer younger women. That joy, that lightness of being, the desire to please, not to mention the physical attributes, just make younger women preferable. Plus there's far less issues with ex boyfriends. For that privelege you can forego some of the advantages which older, more mature women undoubtedly offer, mroe sexual experience, more understanding what a woman needs to do. After all you can train the young girl to do that.

Oh yes, Redbox and Chef House will set you back 10,000 to 15,000 depending on what you order. The food and service are excellent, but of course nowhere near 30 times better to say Idin Klin Krog or Rock me Burger or Je Hua. That's why I don't have a problem with service sometimes not being on point, because the prices normally are way below what one should pay for it.

You can't make such blanket statements, it completely depends what restaurant you go to. There's very well run restaurants like Idin Klin Krog, where you just get up, and they have already have your bill ready when you arrive at the till. Same with Sukishi. Then there's uber-well run restaurants like Red Box or Chef's House in Chiang Mai, where service is out of this world excellent, because you pay 15000 Baht for two people. Then there's the run of the mill places where the girl walks up, walks away, but makes sure to repeat the order carefully. The most obvious issue, that does repeat, is that meals do not come at the same time, but whenever they're ready. So organization is often off. That's the only thing I find can be improved, well and the English of course.

It seems to be that way in Thailand from friends I talk to. I have to say it was different when I was with a Filipina before, again there was that shared interest, ability to talk about things and that was as much about her personality as it was because the English was quite a bit better. However, sadly she was a liar and completely unreliable as time revealed. My experience in Thailand has been different, the girl is more reliable but less able to speak English, so I thought that might be the reason this connection building takes longer. But I feel a lot more safe in the sense of being with someone who is not a liar or unreliable. Just my personal experience so far. I think the connection is getting better, we're getting closer. Just quite slowly and carefully, and I'm not sure if there'll ever be that full meeting of minds that was possible with someone who spoke much better English.

Thanks for your honest answer, much appreciated. I've just come out of a 20 year marriage to a woman who spoke my language well, and with whom I shared interests, and could have fairly intelligent conversations. The downside was that she eventually thought she was so smart that she should take over our business and thought her way was always the best. Eventually I hit the exit button. Now, since last year, I'm with a Thai girl who is exactly like you say always says "up to you" and expects you to take the lead on everything, we have completely different tastes in flms, food etc, and she longs for visits to her family. Even though she went to uni, speaks ok English and manages well to convey meaning, it's not the same as talking to a highly educated person who speaks English like a native. I do miss that closeness, the shared interests in films you can talk about and so on. i just don't feel all that close to my current Thai gf, though she's cute and affectionate, just that "connection thing" seemed missing. I was hoping it could come, but it looks like without major language training it's not. Ultimatley, it looks like it's not necessary and you can still be happy. It's just a different type of living I suppose.

"MSNBC host Chris Hayes erupted in frustration on Friday after new polls indicated that former President Donald Trump could secure a victory in the Electoral College, despite trailing Vice President Kamala Harris in the national popular vote. Hayes, the anchor of “All In with Chris Hayes,” took to social media to criticize the Electoral College, calling it a “suicide pact” in a scathing post. The latest polling data, released by prominent pollster Nate Silver, showed Trump leading in the Electoral College while Harris would win the popular vote if the election were held today." https://www.businessupturn.com/usa/chris-hayes-criticizes-electoral-college-after-trump-gains-poll-lead/49676/

Can I ask, since you've been together for so long, do you feel the two of you have a real "connection"? Do you watch the same movies, have long conversations about serious things, etc? Because I am wondering, if the girlfriend speaks mediocre English and the bf speaks mediocre Thai, if building this "connection" is possible. Or does it come anyway after so many years?

He's a world leader of media and free expression.

Actually, you're factually incorrect. See above.

This post displays an alarming ignorance. In fact Philippines, as well as Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei, had long before China started doing so, engaged in exactly the same artificial islands building. All the countries involved have been doing this, most of them long before China started doing the same. Chinas has just been doing it better on a grander scale with more resources. The militarisation of this region was done by other countries long before China.

Bit harsh on Piers Morgan.

Netanyahu. Marine Le Pen. Viktor Orban. Guiseppe Conte. Andrzej Duda. Mariano Rajoy. Piers Morgan.