TroubleandGrumpy

I am sure you think your points and thinking are 'correct' - but it is truly illogical and ignorant. One day when you grow up (I hope) you will realise that your delusional mentality is what makes gay Uni students in USA protest in support of Hamas - who would kill them if they entered Gaza. I used gays and trans as an example - and your woke responses to that (I hate them and have trouble with them and other insults) shows your woke mentality for what it is - hive mentality demanding others think the same. I dont 'have a problem' with them as you claim - that is your delusional thinking because I dont think about them the same as you do. I tolerate them and have them as friends - and yes I live here - and yes they are everywhere here - but you clearly do not. They are not woke here. The people tolerate each other here - it is not enforced as if it is some human right that they can demand. Thais chose to accept them - and others - there is no woke agenda of enforcement like where you clearly live in the west (west coast?). Your statement - "people should be treated as though their views and lives are as important as anyone else’s, as long as they mean no harm." is inherently woke thinking and delusional. No your and my views are not as important as others - in any given circumstance. Example - the man with the gun is to be obeyed - whether you like it or not. Example - where does the gorilla sit - wherever he effin wants to. You are the type of woke fool who the man with a gun shoots to shut you up and the gorilla picks up and throws out of the window. Think about that. And there are many many more situations where a person's views are just not as important as anyone else. Example - the brain surgeon thinks he should do this, but the ignorant nurse thinks he should do that. And on and on and on it goes - that is real life - rarely is it completely even and fair and equal. I will not even start on bias thinking which skews it all into other dimensions. No - other people's lives are not as important as mine - or yours - in terms of circumstances - but more so because of reality. Sorry - but if it is you or my wife - my call is that you die - someone will say you should live (I hope). Sorry - but if it is you or me - then you die - and I dont give a fig what anyone else says. Sorry - but if it is you or an innocent child - you die. Sorry - but if it is you or any wealthy famous person - you will be the choice of the vast majority of people of who they choose is to die. It is delusional and silly to think we are all the same - it would be nice - but someone has to be Captain Kirk even on the Enterprise. Someone has to be in charge and someone has to fix the toilets. That is life mate - grow up and get on with it. Get out of that basement living woke mentality and achieve something in life - you will not get that demanding we are all tre3ated equally. As Pink said - "I am all right Jack, keep your hands of my stack". Dont wake up to reality when it is all too late and you are living off welfare in a cheap small flat in a 3rd world country chasing cheap beers and girls.

Same reason we are returning home in a few years time - medical expenses here are much higher now than 15 years ago and getting higher every year.

You can also buy some expensive medications online from India that are manufactured in India and exported to Thailand and the West - at far less prices than here in Thailand. Best to either go there and bring them back with a letter, or get a Thai GF/Wife to buy them online and get them sent to her address.

Who would have thought - tourists consuming alcohol and cannabis are getting into serious trouble when they get 'mentally deranged'. The sort of idiocy that makes a person think it is OK to try super strong cannabis, which they have not or rarely ever done in their lives, while drunk in Pattaya - is what makes them think because it is legal here they can take a bag load of it home with them. Care Factor = Sympathy = Zero. Same as those who never ride a bike and then come here and do so - without insurance or licence. Those who regularly consume cannabis do so for medical/social reasons and know what they are doing. 2 week millionaires should be banned from getting it - and I agree with what the Thai Govt has done to stop that happening. Any local Expat with reasonable experience will be able to find a Dr who will prescribe it for pain or anxiety or any relevant 'medical ailment'.

And on top of that, a lot of Thai exports to USA are re-packed products from China. USA wants that stopped and me thinks Thailand's elite Thainese business families do not. Thailand is nailing shut its own economic coffin for short term gains that have serious long term consequences. But since when did Thais think and plan ahead much. The Baht will collapse (soon I hope) - they have been propping it up for a long time now and the decline is inevitable. They dont give a rat's rear about farmers or tourists - if they did they would lower the Baht. The Thainese wealthy elite want the Baht to remain high. It might even collapse as much as in the 90s when the same greed and corruption caused the collapse when it was massively over-valued. They are smarter now at keeping it high 'legally' - but the never ending Thainese greed is going to make them come undone again.

You dont understand. So I will try to explain. Woke means many things - but at its core is a delusional belief that everyone is nice and deserves to be treated like they are important and that their views are important and their lives are important. What that results in is rules and social behaviours that 'ban' or 'discourage' any acts or views that do not accept that belief. In many ways it is like a Religious belief which is entrenched and enforced thought laws and rules - like Christianity used to be - and like Islam currently still is. Yep - being woke is like being in a religion - it is all about beliefs. Part of that woke 'enforcement' is the way kids in school are taught - and that has been happening since 1980s - and another part if rewriting history to make it align with 'modern beliefs' and 'the message'. That is why I used the word to describe what has been happening about the history of Islam in Europe - find a history book written before 1980 and it will be very different to what is written now. I do not agree with homosexuality and I do not think it is a viable lifestyle, but I will accept someone who is one. I played golf for over 20 years with 3 blokes and one of them was gay. But I will never accept the 'woke' message that his lifestyle should be taught in schools because it is 'equal and valid' - and get this - he was adamant that it was wrong too. He hated all the BS marches and 'equality' BS - he said it was radicals and deviants that had taken over the agenda. Likewise, I will never accept that it is OK for transsexuals to be preaching or dancing to kids in schools. That is NOT teaching tolerance - that is woke enforcement of acceptance and it is unacceptable. But the woke message of equality and diversity and forced acceptance is what I have been against for a long time and which more and more People are against now too. Tolerance is the answer - not woke compliance. The People made it legal. The People started to tolerate, and it was enforced in the workplace. The move to enforce it is our lives was due to woke mentality and it was a step too far. At work all people are entitled to be treated equally and fairly - but that is NOT the case in real life - but woke people want that. Sorry - but the team selected to play football for my country at the world cup is not going to be 50/50 male/female with all races and religions also represented - it should be the best players irrespective of their age, sex, race or religion. Stick to that Principle and you too will realise that the Woke are trying to force their own views on others - like all religious fanatics have done throughout history - and they will use any means they can at their disposal. Religious fanatics will kill others to live in Peace - they justify themselves doing the worst things because it is all 'for the cause'.

All of it is a fable. They are a group of people within what is now Jordan - many still there too. They never had a 'homeland' - that is like saying Mormons in Utah have a homeland. They are a group and in large numbers - but they are in USA. People in Gaza killed by the war is on Hamas not the IDF. Hamas are a terrorist organisation that took over Gaza after Israel gave the PLO their own 'state' as such. They do not want to live in peace - they want all Israelis removed or killed - 'from the river to the sea'. They claim to be 'freedom fighters' but they are terrorists who use their control over Gaza to enrich themselves (their leaders all have millions and live outside Gaza) and to wage a terrorist war against Israel. When their children are very young they are taught to hate the Jews and that they are their enemy - the majority of the society in Gaza has been corrupted and turned evil for almost 20 years. Israel should have been more forceful and strong in the past - they are now making up for it. You believe what the woke lefty MSM says about Palestinians - there is no facts or logic or reason that will change your mind - I am debating with a fool. PS - You think it ends in Gaza? Israel and USA are going to send the main supporters of Hamas (and the others) back to the stone ages where they belong. They tore apart Iraq and they are going to do the same to Iran. USA and Israel have accepted that you cannot negotiate with them - you take them down and try to keep them down. Theyu dont care about their own People - only the western media and EU/UN do - and the fools who believe all their 'we are oppressed' BS PR.

Unfortunately I do not think they are - and in fact he is probably better off if they are not listening. There is one single factor that is holding Thailand back more than any other - by a long way. That is the defamation laws - not as such with the Royals - but as it is used and abused by wealthy powerful Thais to shut down dissent and criticism. The enemy of corruption is public exposure - whether it be a scammer in a local village or a multi-national causing a building to collapse. Because of the defamation laws here, public criticism is extremely limited and very easily shut down or ignored. Many Expats criticise the media for not 'investigating' stories but the reality is that they cannot. Some years ago a BBC journalist (Head) was threatened with 5 years in jail and had his Passport taken and detained in Thailand - but after agreements it was dropped. Likewise, UK journalist Andy Hall was charged and found guilty and sentenced to 3 years in jail for reporting about a Thai businessman that had been found guilty of human rights abuse in Court - he left the country under an agreement. That is THE issue here that Thai journalists all know - defamation is a criminal matter handled by the Thai Police AND the fact that a story is true is irrelevant here - if a person is defamed it is illegal whether true or not and many people have been arrested and detained - an American tourist wrote a very negative online review about a Thai Resort and spent the weekend in jail - and likewise, he withdrew the post and quietly left the country. Would you visit or invest in a country that does that - and there are so many other corrupt things here. The defamation laws are but only one of the many issues that is causing Thailand to decline and IMO the fall could make the decline of Argentina look small. There is more 'wrong' here than that, and more they delay, change and cover it up, the more they ignore and gloss over it, the worse the end fall is going to be. IMO the best solution is to change the defamation laws - make it a Civil case, like the rest of the 1st world, and make Truth a legitimate defence, like in the rest of the 1st world. The second solution is to remove the Constitution that the Junta put in place as a means of entrenching the power and control of the Thainese elite. But IMO that does not mean what the ignorant Thai politicians in People's Party think. They have to win a majority in both Houses at the next election (doable) and then they can unilaterally change the defamation laws (leaving the part related to the Royals intact). Once they have done that, and only after they have done that, then they should declare the Constitution enacted by the Junta as illegally done as an integral part of an illegal coup and have all involved arrested and charged with treason. That will result in much 'discussions '- and if they do it right will result in a total amnesty for all those involved in the Junta and all those in opposition political Parties who were suspended/banned. Plus it will result in the rewriting of a new Constitution that will be written by 'both sides' (approval by a minimum of 70%) and made permanent with Royal Ascent that any attempted coup/change is Treason against the King - it can only be changed by a vote of the People. THEN, the country can Move Forward. If they put that plan to the Thai People at the next election Move Forward will win in a landslide.

You been watching Ben?? Me too - he is right - Thailand is going downhill badly.

All the things already said - PLUS the Baht is far too high. The Baht is being manipulated to keep it high and to make loan repayments less - it is at least 25% over-valued - and that is making a trip to Vietnam far cheaper and a trip to Japan is not that expensive anymore. But the Baht will drop when the new BOT Boss is appointed and does what he/she is told by a Govt desperate to get past all their current problems, and who see to kick-start the economy as the best way forward. Thailand was flavour of the month - but that was last month. Their best chance going forward to increase tourism is to lower the Baht. Over the next few years they will mainly get cheap charlie Indians, an increase but the same Chinese type, and the wealthier Arabs (once).

That is one view on history - but it is neither realistic or true - that is the 'fable' propagated by the PLO and foolishly believed by the western media. Admittedly Israel was not a perfect angel, and the whole creation of Israel after WW2 was done without due regard to Muslim issues, but the terrorist organisations like Hamas and Hezbolla etc. have brought the current retribution upon themselves through their despicable terrorist atrocities. I know you are not saying what they have done and did was OK, and I am not saying nothing Israel has done nothing wrong since invading Gaza, but it is a war and bad things happen during a war. All Hamas has to do is surrender all the hostages (alive or not) and surrender all those that raped and killed when invading Israel to stand trial. If they do that the war is cease soon afterwards. But Hamas is playing by the old book, and they always run and hide after committing terrorists acts, and then blame Israel when 'innocents' are killed when Israel pursues them. Not anymore - Israel has declared war and invaded - they are going to raze a large part of Gaza to the ground, until they find the hostages and capture the rapists murderers. Hamas made a huge mistake - but like all terrorist murderers, they will not accept that and surrender. Hamas would rather all Gazans die before surrendering - so Israel will keep going until one or both things happen.

That you dont know what 'unwoke' means and that you think it is a stupid word, says a lot about where you are coming from. What is also clear is that like most woke lefities you dont read/listen, but respond with emotions as soon as you think you 'understand' what someone is saying. I said that in the 'modern' context (or words to that effect) that The Crusades is seen only as the invasion of the Holy Lands. However, in the past the events that started basically in France and then Austria in the 8th century, where the beginning of the 'crusade' to liberate Europe from Muslim rule and it took hundreds of years. In fact it was almost 1000 years from the 5th to the 15th Century when Islam was extremely 'involved' in Europe - a period of time that is often called the 'Dark Ages'. Surely they taught that in your schools? The Dark Ages basically started (no exact date like most big things) when the Roman Empire finally and fully collapsed in 5th Century. A few hundred years later of 'dark ages' and the Islamic forces started conquering major parts of Europe. The 'crusade' by Christians to drive Islam out of Europe, was what convinced the then disparate Christian Nations to join forces to drive Islam out, or be conquered and their Religion removed. Nothing creates impetus and commonality amongst Religious peoples than the threat of destruction of their faith. It was NOT an immediate event - in came and went in waves - culminating in the invasions of the Holy Lands and the eventual removal of Islam from power in many parts of Europe.

Is this the beginning of a long term commitment to Thailand by BYD, or a desperate move to get publicity to sell cars, or part of the necessary kickback system that BYD was required to undertake to remain licensed and tax supported in Thailand. Is not Buriram the 'boss' of Thai football (and MotoGP) - where Bhumjaithai 'rule'??

If it is not in the Lazmall group of sellers, then it is not an 'official store' for any product being sold on Lazada.

Really?? Who would have thought ...............

Total PC khrapp is mostly all you will find on Wiki. Islam used to rule many parts of Europe and they did that through conquest/wars - or do you deny that truth. Islam no longer rules those parts of Europe aside from Turkey - do you deny that truth. Call it what you will but the Muslims were driven out by force over a long period of time - I call it the Crusades as it was taught many decades ago - not just the invasion of Holy Lands - it was a 'crusade' to remove Islam from Europe and it succeeded. PS - those offended by history need to get unwoke - it was what it was - there is no need to tear down statues or rewrite history to appease and not offend. PPS - it is not racist to criticise Muslims - they are not a race - if anything it is Islamophobic - and on that matter I agree with Rowan Atkinson (it is fully justified to be scared of a violent religion like Islam taking over).

A fable made for the foolish - there is no such thing as 'Palestinians' who controlled or ruled a Palestinian State - the majority of the Arab and Holy Lands were Palestine - from the Mediterranean to Iraq was called "Palestine' and all the different Peoples living therein. Named by the Romans initially as a punishment for the Jewish State they basically destroyed after the 2nd Jewish/Roman war. The 'palestinians' are a group of people who lived within were Jordan/Syria for a long long time - they never had a State or a Government. Do the research - the history of Jordan Syria and Palestinians - but be aware there is a lot of woke re-writing of history. What was in the text books in the 1960s/70s and what is on the web today are not that close to the truth - it is a bit of both - but a lot of the old school stuff is factual. Here is something for all Hamas/Palestinian supporters to consider. In a 1970 interview with Thames TV: Golda Meir: "When were Palestinians born? What was all of this area before the First World War when Britain got the Mandate over Palestine? What was Palestine, then? Palestine was then the area between the Mediterranean and the Iraqian border. East and West Bank was Palestine. I am a Palestinian, from 1921 and 1948, I carried a Palestinian passport. There was no such thing in this area as Jews, and Arabs, and Palestinians. There were Jews and Arabs. Interviewer: "You deny that there was a Palestine Arab people before, but there is now a Palestine liberation movement, and the history of liberation movements are that they grow, won't this one grow and become in the end in fact your biggest enemy?" Golda Meir: "I don't say there are no Palestinians, but I say there is no such thing as a distinct Palestinian people."

Again and again and again. The Hamas Leaders are on record (search youtube) stating that the death of civilians is expected and is a price they are prepared to pay for the Hamas cause. Meanwhile the Hamas leaders are very rich and live mainly overseas - again do the research - easy to do. Stop listening to the gaslighting anti-Israel MSM - Hamas are evil terrorists and immoral unhumans.

Good - I hope they continue to ignore the woke liberal BS spewed out by the MSM and UN/EU etc etc and continue their course of action. Drive them back to the stone ages where they belong - never to raise their terrorist murdering inhuman heads again, and be unable to commit such heinous acts of inhuman torture and murder ever again. Human beings do not rape and burn alive babies and little girls, and Hamas and their supporters deserve absolutely no sympathy. That any people could claim that was justified because of a religious belief are evil - pure and simple - they do not deserve to be left alive, not should the society that created remain in existence. I was stupid enough to take a look at some of the videos they posted on the web - dont - just dont do it.

None of the 'Mall or Street' Dentists are recommended for implants. For serious dental work by experienced professional dentists using first class equipment and components, IMO the 3 big Dental Hospitals in Bangkok are street ahead of those local cowboys. There are also very good Dental Clinics in Chiang Mai and Phuket who are used to working on 'medical tourists'. In Bangkok I believe that Thantakit Dental Hospital is the best.

Watching the Open (biggest Golf event) in Nth Ireland and they have done several 'blurbs' about the history of the Irish people and the country's past. Funny - not one mention of the many thousands of Muslim invaders that have illegally entered the country - nor all the protest marches. IMO it will start when they burn down and destroy the Mosques. Muslims are not a 'People' they are a religious cult who at its core is a conquering violent religious army. If you remove their ability to perform and do what is required under their religion (as was done a long time ago in Europe) they will leave. They are not a People - they will never change or adapt or integrate - they are a Religious cult. There could we be a civil war - and like many in the past - it will be based on Religion. Islam and Christianity cannot live side by side - in fact Islam cannot live side by side with any other Religion - in fact they cannot live peacefully side by side with other Islamic Sects. Christianity can live side by side with Buddhism, Hindusim, and many other beliefs. 1000 years ago Christians were not tolerant or accepting - our history is of the Church running the State - but that changed and we have 'civilised'. Islam is not yet civilised and the Church rules like it did 1000 years ago. IMO force them back to Arab lands and leave them alone, until they have civilised and will accept living with and tolerate other Religions. Not asking they accept beliefs, but they need to accept the customs and values and laws of others - starting with Israel. When they do that and control their own violent sects (like we did) then invite them to enter Europe again - in small manageable numbers.

Mostly woke revision of history as taught in woke schools. Some truth - but a lot of PC BS aimed at appeasement and not causing offence.

Historial non-woke reference?? Hey - I know google 'Crusades' The Crusades were a series of religious wars, primarily between European Christians and Muslims, focused on reclaiming the Holy Land and other territories. These campaigns, initiated by the Papacy, aimed to regain control of sacred sites like Jerusalem from Muslim rule. Part 2 - coming soon to a Europe near you.

I dont think Thailand has performed well at all since the Junta left and Covid started. GDP and overall Economic Growth have been stagnant ever since Covid ended - while other countries in the Region have been booming. The Thailand SET has dropped a lot over last 2-3 years and is one of the worst performing SXs in the World. I dont see any improvement in all of that since Thaksin came back and the Thainese Shins have taken over power in Thailand again. This speech sounds like a desperate PR statement by a politically dead family Head. Things are going downhill for the Shins and they are desperate for positive support - IMO this BS aint gonna work - it will only re-enforce how out of touch they are with ordinary Thais. The other uber wealthy Thainese families have the sense to stay quiet and only do their usual thing behind the scenes. But the groundswell is growing and it is slowly moving - Thais have just about had enough and things are going to happen. I hope so and IMO the sooner the better.

Do you mean to say that the Trump Admin would do the same thing that the Biden White House did when he was clearly suffering dementia and other age-related illnesses that drastically affected his ability to be POTUS ?? Are you claiming Trump's Team will be as illegal and immoral as Biden's was?? Do you also claim they will give everyone and anyone, including family members, full Pardons using auto-pen?? If it was not for double standards the looney lefties would have no standards (as well as no morals).