WDSmart

I looked at @bob smith's avatar and didn't get hard. I wonder why it affects you like that...

This, of course, is discriminatory, insulting, and appalling, but if that's the way South Korea wants its society to function, that's their business. It will only reduce my respect for them.

My understanding is you need to show you have kept the money (at least 800K) in the bank for 3 months AFTER the extension of stay, and then have that amount two months BEFORE the new extension of stay. Thai OA Visa Extension Based on Retirement - Copy.pdf

Yes! No more animal sales! Let them all go free.

Another example of the exemplary actions of pit bulls!

Lock him up!

None of these animals should have been there. They all should have been living out in the wild where they belong.

I've never lost money on either a deposit, withdrawal, or transfer in an ATM, but I have lost my card twice. That's a real hassle since, unless the ATM is actually in the bank, and sometimes even then, a private agency has been employed to service the machines, and they just cut up any cards they find. You'll never get them back.

I hope! I hope! I hope! But, there are five months left until the election, and a lot can happen in that time.

Finally, a good question! My simple answer is "yes," but below is a more complex explanation of that "yes." I think the Jews should be able to live in their own country, Israel, and I also think the Palestinians should be able to live in their own country, Palestine. The problem is, where would the actual borders of those two states be? It is my belief that the current (and historical) conflict between the Jews and Palestinians has been over just that question - where should those borders be? That's why I recommend that in addition to any agreements regarding the hostages, prisoners, ceasefires, withdrawals, etc., there should be a mandatory negotiation on borders. If this does not happen, this conflict will just continue on and on.

A quick Bing on the Internet says about 44%, but it doesn't say how many of them participated in demonstrations.

You're right! It's .0014 or .14%. Thanks for the correction!

That quote depends entirely on the tactics used. For example, here could be another quote: "Freeing hostages is ceasing genocide."

I'm not a "maths" teacher, but that is about .0014%. That doesn't mean that there is only that percentage of people in the UK who oppose Israel's current attempted genocide of Palestinians.

For an actual account of where, when, and how this war started, see this forum: https://aseannow.com/topic/1324728-why-did-hamas-attack-israel-on-oct-7th-2023-a-historical-perspective/

I agree wholeheartedly with #1 above. I'm utterly amazed at #2!

I think the first phase of the plan should be changed to be a return of most but not all of the hostages in return for a short-term ceasefire. The second phase of the plan could then include the return of the rest of the hostages after a full withdrawal of the IDF from Gaza. The plan's third phase should also include the beginning of discussions on a two-state solution. Participation and execution of all the phases should be enforced by a third-party (like the UN) peacekeeping force. This is basically the plan I suggested on another forum over six months ago.

I think a minimum universal income is a good idea from the capitalistic POV. Of course, from the socialistic POV, that would not be necessary since everyone's needs (not "wants) would be provided by the state as much as they could be with the assets available.

@Gaccha Thank you for your very well-written and detailed post above. My homeland is not the UK but the USA. However, much of what you say also resonates there. I am a far-left liberal, so I started responding to you point-by-point, but after a few paragraphs, your references to the UK and mine to the US just got too confusing, so I will respond only to your last point in your last sentence, copied above. I am not overly interested in or concerned about "economic resurgence." I am primarily concerned with "social resurgence" or, more accurately, "social evolution." And that, I think, is the main difference between those of the "far right" and those, like me, of the "far left."

I amended my post after you saw it. Now, I'll say: "Far-right," for me, is any movement that, governmentally, leans towards fascism and economically, leans towards capitalism. I consider myself "far-left," and governmentally, I lean toward democracy, and economically, I lean toward socialism.

"Far-right" to me is any movement that, socially, leans towards fascism, and economically, leans towards capitalism.

Four things... 1. This dog was not a pit bull. It was a mixed breed. 2. Even if it had been a pit bull, saying "Kill all pit bulls" would be like reading another current forum, which is about a grandfather killing his grandson and then saying "Kill all grandfathers." 3. The dog is said to never have attacked anyone before and was friendly with strangers. Why, then, did this happen? What was different about this incident? The article says, "In the evening, a relative brought her two-year-old son to join the play, unwittingly triggering the attack. 'The dog suddenly jumped and bit my granddaughter's head...'" How did bringing a two-year-old son to the group "trigger" the attack? Did the two-year-old interact with the dog? Could the dog have been protecting the two-year-old from rough treatment by the young girl? 4. I believe the fate of the dog should be decided by both the owner and the people who witnessed the incident and should be based primarily on whether or not the attack was deemed to have been provoked or unprovoked.

This trend to elect far-right governments is very disturbing. It also seems to be present, at least conceivably, in my home country, the USA, with all the unbelievable support for Trump. I certainly hope this trend disappears soon in the world, but especially in the USA.

The problem here is not people forgetting history - it's people misunderstanding and mislabelling history. But I agree that until we do understand and are able to correctly discuss it, we will be "doomed to repeat it." The greatest evil in the world, IMO, is human hubris. It's destroying our planet and will, I believe, eventually result in our extinction. Of course, hubris is part and parcel of capitalism, which encourages the exploitation of people and assets to make a profit. I don't know what "TDS" means. I looked it up online but found nothing that seemed appropriate. But today, no one yet resides in socialism. There may have been some societies in the past that did, or at least came close. One I've heard about that comes the closest was the American Indian tribes, but those accounts may have been too complimentary. And the stories in the Bible, which I consider legends, of Jesus' disciples would come very close to communism.

Again, the countries you associate with socialism and communism did not have those as their economic systems. And anyway, the problem was their governmental systems, which in most cases were dictatorships or autocracies. If you're proud of capitalism, I pity you. Capitalism encourages the very thing that divides us—the exploitation of others. I am definitely anti-Trump and a far-left liberal. I am for the inclusion of more socialistic programs in our (USA) present Bayesian (combination of capitalism and socialism) economy. And I can guarantee you, if there are ever firing squads implemented against political opponents (or anyone deemed "unfit" by the government), it would be under Trump, not Biden or any other Democrat or even Republican I know of.