Hawaiian

Choice: an act of selecting or making a decision when faced with two or more possibilities. What group do belong to? The group that resorts to all sorts of insults and innuendos when they believe they are right and everyone else is wrong.

Gang warfare? Hope they catch the assailants.

May the Lord be with you.

"other than some very limited occupations like military service there was always a choice to get vaxed or not." Either they had a choice or they did not. Which is it? No one was strapped down and forced to receive a COVID shot, but there were consequences for refusing. Over 8,000 U.S. service members were discharged for refusing. In January of 2023 the DOD rescinded the mandatory vaccine order because of a drastic drop in recruitment. Only 43 former members decided to rejoin the service.

Some people just can't help themselves.

Why didn't you ask for a discount because of the two small holes in your sheets?

Perhaps you have forgotten those employees that were suspended or terminate for refusing to get vaccinated. AFAICR, not that limited.

This is why the spice trade flourished. Europeans needed them for their rancid meats. Of course today there is refrigeration.

Have you considered that the bread was old when you bought it?

Still no excuse for some of the nasty remarks and ugly name calling.

By long stayers I was referring to those living in Thailand without the "proper" visa. The Norwegian IMO is a bona fide tourist. Agree, the ever changing and vague rules are why I gave up thinking about living in Thailand. Thankfully my Thai girlfriend likes living here in Hawaii and has no intention of moving back.

Was there in November and passport stamped for 60 days with visa exempt. Never asked about my return flight.

AFAIK the intent of increasing the visa exempt stay to 60 days was to allow bona fide tourists longer stays to generate more income for the country. Correct me if I'm mistaken. It is evidently being abused by long-stayers.

You need to find a better source for information; one with the latest accurate information. The plane's black box and flight recorder is being sent back to Brazil to be analyzed by the plane's manufacturer.

Not really sure how much greed contributes to inflation, but greed is becoming more than obscene. Bloomberg reports that 500 of the world's richest people now have a combined wealth of $10 trillion. Some of this wealth consists of intangible assets that can appreciate (or disappear) overnight. Would that be considered inflation?

Did someone refer to you as "filthy unvaccinated scum"? Not nice. Personally, I feel it is your body, your choice. By the same token the unvaccinated should also refrain from uncivil comments. Much of this blog is filled with uncalled for, petty bickering. Some, like myself, are here to learn and not to be chastised and raked over the coals for their personal beliefs. Have a safe and Happy New year.

This forum would be awfully boring without the entertaining clowns, although I've seen funnier clowns in the circus.

Their theories work until they don't. Like Keynesian Economics and the Laffer Curve.

Listening to Xi talk, the Chinese under the CCP are perfectionists at everything they do including having research labs that are accident proof. Yeah, right.

It will be a cold day in hell before the Chinese cooperate. Just look how they put off WHO investigators until they could destroy all possible evidence of a coverup.

Good that you mentioned fermented foods. We consume a lot of won bok and daikon kim chi which I make with fermented gochujang chili paste and loads of ginger and garlic. I also add fresh blueberries to Fage Greek Yogurt for dessert or quick snacks. As the household cook, I make sure processed foods have a limited place on our menu. I didn't know about fungal infections. So far I have not been plagued by them.

The de facto leader of the Muslim world, Iran, is not fairing very well. Israel has all but destroyed its air defense system and possibly damaged its electrical grid. Iran's warehouse (Syria) of terrorist armaments and much of its contents are gone. And Syria's new rebel regime will most likely distance itself from the mullahs in Iran. If Trump furnishes Israel with bunker busting bombs the Israeli air force could very well destroys Iran's nuclear facility at Natanz. If that happens, look for the Saudis to normalize relations with Israel with other Arab countries following. Iran will lose much of its influence in the Middle East and will eventually have to give up backing the Houthis in Yemen. The wild card here is Turkey. Will Erdogan lose his grip on power. If he does, look for radical Islam to take a back seat to the moderates. Will Pakistan make peace with India since being burned by India's archenemy, China. Only time will tell what happens next.

Happy New Year to you, too. First on my New Year's resolution list is to avoid online trolls.

Yes, if that will make you feel any better.

Thanks for the tips, but I have my own favorites which aren't perfect but quite reliable. I live in the blue state of Hawaii which is corrupt as hell. Besides following the local news online, I subscribe to an investigative news outlet whose reporters have received many awards for their journalism. They have uncovered all kinds of fraud and corruption. I like the comment section that helps to furnish even more first hand information. Both of my sons enjoy conversing with me about what is going on in the world since they do not have the time that I have. I try to give them the unadulterated facts without any political bias and because I'm a history buff I usually am able to answer most of their questions.