TroubleandGrumpy

The fact that the only responses you have got is laughing emojis shows how ignorant so many Expats are about how things work in Thailand. You are correct - the Police have to pay for their travel and guns - they do not get given cars to patrol the roads. That is why they will gladly accept a few hundred baht cash via the passenger window to get off for a minor infraction. IMO they should introduce a separate National Traffic Police Division - with new uniforms and all cars/bikes provided. This current practice whereby they stop all the traffic on a highway to inspect registration and licence, is because they dont have the resources to patrol the roads. I certainly do not want the Nazi like approach in Aust whereby there are speed cameras hidden behind bushes and nasty pig-headed cops everywhere - but a little more visible policing would be useful here.

Fine him 1 million Baht (500K each death) and take away his house/farm/truck and anything else he owns - then sentence him to jail for 20 years each death (40 years in total). THAT is what will stop these arrogant ignorant ar***le male Thais drinking cheap rum and then driving home drunk. One harsh punishment will save many lives. I believe about 50% of all vehicles here are bikes/scooter, but they make up 80+% of the deaths. Removing most drunk drivers off the roads would make a huge difference - as would making them all wear helmets.

The election was as fake as the Russian Conspiracy. The Hunter Biden laptop story was also accused as being a 'conspiracy theory'. Dems and their MSM mate love to label anyone disagreeing with their lies and lunacy as 'deniers'. Yes he will. Yes he will. Yes they will. Landslide. There were 65.6 million postal votes accepted and counted in 2020 - the VAST majority were for Biden. The National Vote at Home Institute, which advocates postal ballots and is led by former Denver elections director Amber McReynolds, analyzed all states in 2020 and found that 32 states "are missing major pieces of policy or best practices that ensure a secure mail ballot process such as a sufficient data integrity process, signature verification processes and/or a signature deficiency cure process." Among these 32 states, 15 lack steps to verify voters' addresses before mailing them ballots, 17 states do not mandate a signature verification process, and 30 do not have adequate options to cure defects in voter signatures. Postal voting in the 2020 United States elections - Wikipedia Do some reading and wake up - there are grounds for saying the postal votes counted (65 million of them) election was 'not rigorously managed'. Yes the result is done and dusted - but I also do not believe that OJ Simpson was innocent - and I will point out that he was not found innocent (he was found 'not guilty'). Same for all the Court cases about the election - not one of them stated that there was no election fraud through postal votes - they all stated either 'no standing' to lodge a case, or thrown out for lack of Court acceptable evidence, or insufficient evidence to prove overall result was in error. I know how bad the US Election System is myself for a fact, because one of the Federal Agencies I dealt with in Australia for over 20 years was the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). Their senior managers all laughed when they would talk about the USA elections and how haphazard and open to abuse they are - everything from electoral roll management to on the day lodgement - and especially how postal votes are done in many States.

I love that Trump refused to officially endorse the 2020 election result - like many people he was very sceptical that so many postal/ballot box votes were cast in key States. But without any proof it is now all over - because the election has been officially signed off on in each State and accepted by Congress and the Senate. Trump has moved on (somewhat) and I am sure he thinks that the last 4 years has been good, in that it has shown the People of USA what the Dems are really like, and he will be returned to Office, and the GOP will be in Office for many years to come - while the radical lefties are running the Dem Party. Right now there is a new documentary/movie by Dinesh D'Souza - worth a look IMO.

Seems a staffer posted on Truth, and a staffer of JP Morgan denied it was officially true. Perhaps a private endorsement that the staffer posted without knowing it was not 'official'. I know it sounds ridiculous that a person who is campaigning to be POTUS has staffers who put some of his social media posts out, but perhaps he is that busy. I note Dimon has not said a word himself - perhaps he understands it was a staffer's error and has accepted that apology. Not claiming that - just being logical and thinking of why the post was made in error. I am sure if the CEO of CNN was quoted in a Trump social media post that he endorsed Trump that he would immediately and personally release social media posts/videos saying that claim was false? But then again he might be a reasonable person and call the guy's Head of Staff and get it sorted. Or maybe it was just a clusterpharrk of a mistake made by a staffer on the campaign because everyone is so busy and stressed out from the high workload and the long hours. I am sure, unlike Kamala's Team, that they are flat out dealing with all the preparations, speeches, travelling, meetings and all the media events/issues.

Will this be the catalyst that turns Thailand away from being the illegal and corruption hub of SEAsia and the resultant economic and social decline that has been going on for several decades? I certainly hope so - but me thinks that just like the Red Bull situations, that Mountain B night club fire that killed so many, the recent Doctor killed on a pedestrian catastrophe, and now the John Deer bribery scandal, this will soon be swept under the carpet that covers all the illegal and corrupt activities in Thailand - and nothing will change and the decline will continue because the elite/mafia are making money and dont give a rat's rear. Sad to think that Thailand is going to become the economic and social basket case (hub) of SEAsia, all because no one in authority is willing to tackle the ever growing corruption that has become more and more endemic. Nothing is going to change unless/until those responsible for the Red Bull manslaughter, the Pedestrian manslaughter, the Mountain B manslaughter, and this multiple manslaughter, and all the bribery scandals, are brought to justice and are severely punished.

The Law is clear - you cannot enter a country illegally and then apply for asylum without providing clear evidence that you are under threat of persecution. Trump will pass an EO banning the application of asylum to all people who illegally entered USA via the southern border. They could have applied for asylum in Mexico, and on that basis they will be all deported to Mexico and placed in a UNHRC camp there. The Dems will try to keep them all by using Courts and UNHR BS - Trump will veto that and force them back out. Only then will all those illegals who enter via Mexico know that they cannot stay and will be hunted down and deported if they do. Trump will remove all illegals - one way or the other. The world has had enough of the UNHR BS that has been abused by economic and social refugees from the 3rd world for decades. Trump will show them all the way out of this economic and social disaster - and that will include removing USA from the BS UNHR rules that are being abused. NATO and UN are just 2 of the many self-serving bureaucratic socialist organisations that have been feeding/growing off the USA funding for many decades - Trump is going to shut them all down.

It will be epic - I can see some Dem States trying to resist this move to take away their millions of voters they want to keep until 2022 - in which case Trump will send in the National Guard - and Defence Force if needed. If they persist resisting he will have the Governor arrested and charged with insurrection - now that would be epic.

Exactly - they are all truly PropBots that cannot see the media lies and distortions, and swallow down that work left wing propaganda like baby cows on the teet.

ROFLOL - unbelievable - the mindset is astounding - truly delusional. Do you remember when Trump spoke about 'nice people on both sides'? The media lied and distorted his comments and years later they still do not correct that lie. Kamala said it again at the debate (as did Biden) and yet the moderators never 'fact checked' her for that lie and several others. And I could give many more examples of where the media lied and distorted Trump's comments. But here we are where Walz makes a truly stupid gaff - and the media are all stating that he did not mean it, that it was a gaff, and that he was flustered. They never did that for anything they lied/distorted about Trump. To this day some very seriously 'damaged' people still think Trump said what the media claimed he said - because they did not immediately come out and correct the mistake - and in fact they kept repeating it - because they wanted it to be true - because they have TH (Trump Hatred). As many GOP Members and Senators have said - during election times (and 24x7x365 about Trump) the MSM are the PR wing of the DNC. I wonder what media laws Trump will implement regarding what the MSM states publicly - I reckon he will make an Executive Order and get DOJ to enforce the rule that to knowingly publish lies and distortions about political candidates and those in the House and Senate is election interference and/or insurrection - and get the DOJ to enforce it rigorously. The onus will be on the news/media organisation to show to a Court why they believed it was true - not on the victim to prove they knowingly did it.

I had to respond to this one - after another did and also took the appropriate action (block). It astounds me that those with Trump Hatred Affliction can make such comments, when it is about 80% of the posters here on AN that are woke liberals who also have THA - but the majority of AN members stay away from the political stuff. I also love the way they say 'we' as if they speak on behalf of others - they say it is a symptom of what is called the woke 'hive mind'. I believe that means that they think as a group because they are incapable of thinking by or for themselves. Hence their propensity to believe the media lies and distortions.

Agenda47 and what he did last time - you know - no wars and economy good and jobs and etc etc etc

There are many things Trump will change as POTUS - and I love that he is going to try and do those things as Musk just said - in order to 'save the Replublic'. One of the things Trump will try to change is how the States run elections for POTUS - which makes a lot of sense, given that it is a Federal position being elected. This situation came about after the appeal lodged by Texas in December was ruled inadmissible by SCOTUS, because no State has the right to challenge the result in any other State. Texas' position (as backed by over 100 GOP Members and 18 States) was that the States (Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin) had illegally changed their voting procedures prior to the election. They had made administrative decisions, allegedly to make it far easier for postal votes to be made and accepted due to Covid, when the law required such procedures to be changed through legislative means. That was in effect, the end of the legal challenge against the validity of the 2020 election - but it certainly was not as many Dems claim was proof that the election was all above board and no errors were made. IMO Trump is going to create a Federal Department of Elections - like the FBI - who will have authority over all elections in all States for all Federal positions in Government - including the POTUS. The same thing was done in Australia back in the 80s, due to all the 'misdoings' and errors made by State, Regional and Local authorities who ran the elections prior to then. It is about time that USA joined the 'modern world' when it comes to elections - The People have a right to know that an election for such a national position like POTUS is not under threat of being done 'incorrectly' in any one or more States/Regions. Certainly how a State elects their own Senators and Members is something that should be under their control, but for National/Federal positions, IMO they should not be able to either deliberately or accidently affect the result of a national/federal position - the elections for POTUS should be done equally and the same for all USA Citizens (and only USA Citizens). Texas v. Pennsylvania - Wikipedia

Obviously many of those students' 'negative behaviours' are caused by their parents - who think that their little Johnny cannot be slapped or have his hair cut. Oh the humanity - imagine them being yelled at and their phones taken away. I think the soldiers that kicked that one particularly annoying little sheeiit in the back, who probably told them to go copulate themselves, were very restrained. If the 'lessons' were conducted on a military base, there is nothing the parents can do - they are not subject to normal laws about using force to control someone with bad behaviours. The school might get into trouble - but lets hope the school bosses dont back down and they ignore the media hysterics and parent's outrage. Tell them to take their little Johnny to another school - we only tried to discipline them - which you have obviously not done.

The banking industry in Thailand is owned by the elite (lock, stock and barrel) and they dont give a rat's rear about 'the people'. Unlike western banks that have all to some degree undergone restructuring and controls to provide better services for a far more reasonable price, here they can and do charge whatever they like. It is like the petrol industry, and most others, petrol prices are the same at most stations - it is as if they somehow know what each other is pricing the fuels at on any day 🙂

Funny - I recall arguing with a bunch of people on here only a little while ago - they all claimed the higher Baht was all and only because of the USD drop. As I said then, the Junta/Thai Govt/Elite have been manipulating the Baht since 2014/15 to make it artificially high. They are doing that for many reasons - paying off loans, costs of imports, costs of military equipment, investing overseas, etc etc etc. They do not give a rat's rear that it make rice and other exports cost more, nor that tourists have to pay extra. There are many ways Central Banks can 'manage' their currency - interest rates and buying/selling currency reserves are just two of the ways they can do it. As the lady said - they underestimated how quickly and how far their 'interventions' would make the Baht increase. Expect a major lowering soon - it takes time for their actions to take effect and with a bit of luck they will 'overdo' it again. And for those who claimed that USA and IMF are monitoring countries to stop them manipulating their currency, that is rubbish., They monitor those that are artificially lowering their currency rate to make their own Exports cost less, and their Manufacturing/Investments costs less for overseas investors (and for Tourism).

And being a young Mother herself - the empathy feelings would have been overwhelming.

If this was a freak accident, then that is very sad and a terrible loss to all the families - may they RIP. BUT if it was due to bad driving, and/or poor maintenance, and/or anything that involves corrupt/incompetent people, then I hope the authorities throw the books at them all and throw them in jail for life. That is the only thing that will wake up these absolute idiots here who drive poorly maintained buses/trucks without any care for others - because there is never any consequences. But I fear it will be like that young doctor killed on the pedestrian crossing - after a short period of 'painting the rocks', everything will go back to what it was. Things like this are very hard to change in a society where the majority believe that their lives are in the hands of 'higher things' and that having an amulet or making merit will help appease those 'higher authorities'.

Me think he doth protest too much - far too much.

The woke syndrome is strong in you and will never be removed - sad days ahead for you.

All about 'face' here - Somchai wants his new pickup, rather than save his money and buy a home. My BIL bought a brand new top of the range pickup and then strutted around like he was KS. I had to work hard not to laugh at him - he saw my smile and thought that was good, and he was pleased. They are still poor - and now the truck is almost 8 years old and worth SFA - they just dont plan ahead here.

Everywhere he goes (outside of the Dem nutter States - but sometimes even there). Meanwhile, Kamala has SFA supporters outside of the MSM and Celebrities and the DNC 'system'. Remind you of anyone? She was also 'loved' by all the 'elites' too - and The People told Hillary to go to hell.

He is probably going to move all his businesses and family to Florida (or Texas) either while as POTUS or after the elections, and if/when any Washington or NY DA goes after him or his family again, he will tell them where to go.

So does your avatar.

Unfortunately there are far too many people who are sheep and will just go along to get along - and also far too many who are just ignorant and foolish. I recall when they changed from paying salaries in cash to bank account lodgements - at first it was optional - and then it was mandatory. The downstream outcome of that has been many actions that the Authorities can now make on your salary - everything from taxes to child support to fines and levies and beyond. If they do remove cash from all transactions. then they will have even more control over people's money - and of course they will say it is for all the good reasons - but over time the authorities will use that ability for things that are not in our best interests. I love Thailand for many reasons - one of them is that here cash is King.