WDSmart

No, I understand socialism as an economic system. So is capitalism and communism. Democracy is a governmental system. So is a republic, dictatorship, monarchy, and plutocracy. You can mix most economic systems with most governmental systems. The only exception I know of is socialism and communism with a plutocracy since in socialism and communism, there would be no wealthy people. My country, the USA, has an economy that is a mix of capitalism and socialism. That's called Keynesian economics. The arguments are usually not for one or the other, but what the proper ratio of the mix should be. The USA does not have a democracy, but something closer to a democratic republic. However, the democratic part is restricted to only some but not all citizens, and the rules vary from state to state. And those rules tend to make the governmental system close to a plutocracy.

Here is the link again...Why National Socialism Was NOT Socialism – Resisting Hate IMO, socialism ONLY has economic aspects. It is a type of economy and can exist in virtually any type of government: a democracy, republic, dictatorship, or monarchy, but not a plutocracy. They took our debate down? Wow! I hadn't noticed. But, if they did because we were embedding our replies within a former comment, I'll quit doing that, although I thought that made the exchange easier to follow.

I justify it from what I've read about it. Also, here is a link with more details... Why National Socialism Was NOT Socialism – Resisting Hate

There is no record of mass murder in a country with a socialist economy that I know of. And even if there were, there are certainly records of mass murder in countries with a capitalist economy, like my own, the USA. My point is that mass murder or racism or gender bias, although it may occur, are not fundamental cornerstones of socialism or any other economic system I know of - even capitalism.

It did not result in a socialist economy. So, if it did start as a socialist movement, it wasn't successful.

I'm an "American" (citizen of the USA) and a lifelong Democrat. 1. Democrats are not insane; in fact, many, like me, are "woke." 2. Democrats do not want "open" borders, but we do want borders that accommodate refugees. 3. The economy under Democrat presidents has been better than that under Republican presidents for the past 40 years. 4. Democrats do attack Trump. That's understandable and will continue. I don't associate Democrats with "high crime, high prices, migrant gangs taking over cities." I do associate Democrats with "biological men in women sports" (and vice-versa), I call that recognizing the rights of transgender people. If you think Democrats have "as much appeal as expired milk," you would have to explain why about 47% of the voters in the last presidential election voted for the Democrat candidate.

I also got all four vaccine shots here in Thailand for free. During the pandemic, my Thai wife tested positive for about a week but had no symptoms. I wore a mask at home and never had any symptoms nor tested positive. If something like this happens again, I will go and get the vaccine shots.

Yes, and although I've not applied for an extension based on Marriage for several years (I've since switched to Retirement), I, too, have seen this problem, but my extension was always approved (by Chaing Mai) within the 30 days required. I think the first step would be to allow the Provincial Immigration officers to approve the extension, and then it can be reviewed by Bangkok or Chaing Mai officers. If all is okay, then no change is needed. If there is something wrong, then the applicant will have to sort that out with the local officers.

None of them are allowed in our house. We live on about 12 rai up in the mountains. We have two houses on the property, and the dogs live (sleep) in the open garage, which is under the large house, and on the porch, which is on the smaller house. During the day, they just roam around the mountains (unless it rains), although they generally stay close to the houses. They act as alarms because when anyone comes in a car or on foot on our property, they bark loudly. In fact, that scares some delivery drivers, like Flash, but they've never bitten anyone. In fact, after the delivery drivers come to the house, the dogs just want to play with them.

We have about 20 dogs, all of whom were strays we rescued. We feed them dry dog food in the morning and a mixture of rice and some kind of scrap meat (chicken or pork) in the evening. This seems to work well for all of them,

Yes, as he should. I abhor Trump, but he's the president-elect, and Biden should turn over the presidency to him with as good of intentions as he can muster.

I would just tell her, "Thanks, but no thanks." Work on improving the relationship you are in now.

I no longer search for meaning. I just live each day as it comes and enjoy doing that.

Trump's economic policies, like all of his policies, will lead to a catastrophic crippling of the USA's economic system.

My second SIM is from OneCardSim, which has a USA phone number. When someone calls that number, it records whatever they want to say and then alerts me there is a message. If that number is sent a text message (like a security code from my US bank), it forwards that message to my Thai phone number.

Lock 'em up!

Find whoever did this and lock them up!

OMG! And this is what we have to look forward to during the next four years.

That should be, "The human idea of mechanics is built around Newton's three theories of motion."

Ah! But that's all relative. You could say the Earth pulls you down, or you pull the Earth up because the direction is relative to whatever object you consider motionless. I say the Earth pulls you down because I, like most humans, assume the largest object in the area is motionless, but that's just a relative assumption that makes us (humans) more comfortable. So, when we think of the Moon orbiting the Earth, we perceive the Earth as being motionless. When we think of the Earth rotating around the Sun, we perceive the Sun as being motionless. When we think of the Sun moving around the Galaxy, we perceive the Galaxy as being motionless. In reality, all are equally moving and motionless. It's just a matter of perception. As an example, here is a video of a diagram of the Solar System assuming the Earth is motionless (Geocentric Model) which is just as valid as our usual one which shows the Sun as being motionless (Heliocentric Model):

That's true, but if there were no air and only a vacuum, the helium balloons would "fall" to Earth because of what we call "gravity."

No, there is no "equal and opposite force." Both the jumper and the Earth exert a force of attraction, but the Earth, with more mass, exerts a stronger force, so the jumper is drawn toward it. If the jumper had more mass than the Earth, the Earth would be drawn toward the jumper. That's my understanding of the force that we call "gravity."

No, the answer is "for money." In this case, they collected 7,000 baht."

90-day reports are easy for me. When I get a one-year extension on my visa, I pay my immigration office THB 1K, and they mail me the 90-day certificates. I usually get them about a week before the old one expires.

If you jump off a building, you will crash to the ground, but not because your body is denser than the surrounding air. It is because your body has much less mass than the Earth below, so the Earth exerts a great attractive force on your body. That force is called "gravity."