Hawaiian

3 hours ago, Tug said:

Oh god no the major reason we have such poor laws governing our borders is because the republicans like to use the issue to club the democrats otherwise an equitable solution would have been legislated years ago

So, when the Democrats controlled the White House and both houses of Congress why weren't the "poor laws" fixed?

3 hours ago, Longwood50 said:

The Democrats have the mantra that "no one is above the law' but the Hunter Biden saga shows they believe that to be a law for "thee and not for me"  

I know this, that if it was Trump who had the evidence on a laptop, the payments coming from Burisma, the money wired to him from the wife of a Russian mayor and deals linking millions in transactions with China he would be wearing an orange jump suit already.  

I agree that no one is above the law.  When laws apply only to some and not to others it undermines society and makes it essentially lawless.  The Hunter Biden story has seriously eroded public confidence that our regulatory agencies are not biased and undermines faith in them.  The same is true of the Trump story where the opposite has occured and agencies are used as weapons.  

Nixon and others used the agencies to target people with tax probes etc.  Herbert Hoover was known to keep secret dossiers on people to exert influence over them.  The practice of not prosecuting some and punishing others by concocting charges has gone on for a long time.  
You see the same here in Thailand.  It is a sad indictment of human behavior. 

 

Money lubricates the wheels of justice.

A world reserve currency controlled by dictatorships like China and Russia is highly unlikely.  While some inroads have been made, it is also highly unlikely that other economic powers like Japan and Germany will join in.  And I rather doubt India wants the dollar to be replaced by the yuan.

2 minutes ago, billd766 said:

And who broke the agreement with Iran limiting their uranium refining? It seems odd that the US trusted Iran until Trump came along and simply pulled the USA out of the agreement unilaterally.

 

Even more odd is that the agreement is still open.

 

Iran declared that it would no longer abide by the deal's limitations but would continue to coordinate with the IAEA, leaving open the possibility of resuming compliance.[21] In December 2020, Iranian officials expressed further willingness to rejoin the deal, provided that U.S. officials make assurances regarding lifting sanctions and also rejoin the deal

 

Why it was your hero Donald trump.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Comprehensive_Plan_of_Action#:~:text=Under the JCPOA%2C Iran agreed,uranium only up to 3.67%.

 

Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to eliminate its stockpile of medium-enriched uranium, cut its stockpile of low-enriched uranium by 98%, and reduce by about two-thirds the number of its gas centrifuges for 13 years. For the next 15 years, Iran agreed to enrich uranium only up to 3.67%. Iran also agreed not to build any new heavy-water facilities for the same period of time. Uranium-enrichment activities will be limited to a single facility using first-generation centrifuges for 10 years.

 

After the Trump administration twice certified Iran's compliance in 2017, in May 2018 the United States withdrew from JCPOA as Trump pledged he would negotiate a better deal. Trump left office without fulfilling that pledge and analysts determined Iran had moved closer to developing a nuclear weapon since the American withdrawal.

 

If you want to blame anybody blame the US Potus at the time, who just happens to be your hero, Trump the magnificent liar. (and pailed POTUS).

 

President Biden was not in power at that time.

 

A small tip for you, do some research before you post.

 

 

Who said Trump is my hero? 

  When it comes to oil prices OPEC probably has the biggest impact.

3 hours ago, Tug said:

You are mistaken the oil companies have plenty of places to drill without disturbing this natural wonder plus it will still be there for the future if needed.even now we are producing more oil than under trump.here’s a thought imagine if we could buy oil from Iran and have the Saudis competing with them to sell oil and as a bonus Iran wouldent be perusing nukes?….hummm…..?also both nations would be taking steps towards normalizing relations…….sad …….sad trump welched on the deal

Why do you think Iran can be trusted to stop their nuclear weapons program?  Normalizing relations with the mullahs......you got to be kidding.

4 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

I think the ramp up of sakes from strategic reserves had something to do with a short term disruption in international oil supplies.

 

Which is what the ‘strategic oil reserves are for.

 

Biden’s long term strategy is to move the US to more diverse greener energy sources and reduce reliance on oil and gas.

Long term strategy?  Biden's days may be numbered.  Come 2024, a new administration and a new Congress may not be so "green."  Then what?

The real reason for selling SPR oil was to reduce prices at the pump.  If the Keystone Pipeline was not shut down the Covid and Ukraine situations may not have been so disruptive.

On 9/7/2023 at 2:29 AM, Chomper Higgot said:

Good news, leave it in the ground.

"leave it in the ground" and sell more oil from our strategic oil reserve to replaced by more expensive imported oil.  Typical Biden strategy.

11 hours ago, billd766 said:

170 Systolic whilst resting according to my Microlife BP tester is in the high range and it is suggested that the person concerned sees a doctor fairly quickly.

 

This should have been picked a while ago if Thaksin or his doctor was monitoring Thaksin's BP on a daily basis.

 

At least if this is true, Thaksin is in hospital where doctors are on call and medicines are quickly available.

 

https://www.healthcentral.com/article/blood-pressure-high-hypertension

 

"Very High Range - Stage 2 Hypertension
Systolic (top) blood pressure 160 mm Hg or high
Diastolic (bottom) blood pressure 100 mm Hg or higher
If in this range you have hypertension (high blood pressure)."

A blood pressure of 170/100 falls into the very high range. You should definitely follow up with your doctor about your blood pressure to see what kind of medication and lifestyle changes you can use to lower it. Untreated high blood pressure can greatly increase a person's risk of having a stroke and other health problems.

 

https://www.fda.gov/drugs/special-features/high-blood-pressure-understanding-silent-killer

 

Normal pressure is 120/80 or lower. Your blood pressure is considered high (stage 1) if it reads 130/80. Stage 2 high blood pressure is 140/90 or higher. If you get a blood pressure reading of 180/110 or higher more than once, seek medical treatment right away. A reading this high is considered “hypertensive crisis.”

Seems as many posters don't know this.  I do.  Through medication I have been able to keep my readings below 120/80.  However, it did go over 165/100 during one emergency room visit.

Judging from my own personal experience I would say the report of Thaksin's "hypertensive crisis seems quite plausible.

58 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

It's the actual numbers of, and how they drive up the cost of living in tourist areas.  Not only for those living there, but for domestic tourists.

 

Planning an O&A, and the hotel prices at Krung Thep are just getting silly.

 

Not to mention the strain on the already lacking infrastructure, and damage to natural environment so the tourist have access to the beauty, while ruining it in the process.

Maya Bay in Krabi and Haunama Bay on Oahu are two examples of what can be done to protect these popular hot spots. 

2 hours ago, KhunLA said:

I'm not Thai, and the effect of all the tourist drive my crazy, if I bother to think about it.

 

Can't imagine being native Hawaiian and having to deal with all the howlies, especially if not working in the tourist industry.

Like any business, customers come in all shapes, sizes and attitudes.  The majority of tourists that I have met are polite and courteous.  It's the rude jerks that turn off the locals.

I have been visiting Thailand once or twice a year for over twenty years.

I have been to more than 40 provinces and everyone has been nice to me. 

On 8/15/2023 at 10:45 PM, Tropposurfer said:

How dare these 'uncivilised' island people dare resent the great white culture!

 

How ungrateful!

 

They should be grateful they were gifted by the invasion, grateful for their subjugation, humbly thankful for the disenfranchisement of their idyllic utopian culture.

I mean look at what the white man did to Waikiki - such 'progress'.

 

How could anyone object to, or find offensive, land prices being driven so high the native people cannot afford to live, loud mouthed (and please don't tell me Yanks aren't, arguably THE loudest most obnoxious tourists to be found), arrogant mainlanders tramping about, demanding as they go.

 

Idyllic utopian culture?  Not so,  according to history and stories from my grandparents and others.  Same as today, only the alii (elite) had it good.  Ever heard of the kapu system based on the ancient Hawaiian religion? 

On 8/15/2023 at 3:14 PM, Tug said:

A fully understandable opinion I’m my personal opinion having tourists wall to wall underfoot day after day year after year sucks now you tourists it’s time to earn your way back into the locals good graces by doing the right thing help out or preferably leave till you aren’t such a burden 

https://www.khon2.com/top-stories/visitors-implored-to-come-back-as-maui-job-cuts/

24 minutes ago, Jonathan Swift said:

Are you a doctor? Because unless a person is deathly ill or fragile and elderly minor variations in outside temperature aren’t going to affect health one way or the other. The human body is not a battery, it is an engine which runs on fuel (glucose from carbohydrates).  Energy comes from glucose/glycogen reserves, burned in the mitochondria of cells.  . As long as you are healthy and not starving your body will maintain internal temperature and metabolism automatically, If you are hot you sweat, if you are cold you shiver, If you’re tired you sleep, no one needs to “conserve” energy due to simply “not feeling well” and outside temperature not being ideal. We have doctors who can diagnose and advise us if need be. As a matter of fact, “common sense” as well medical fact says that if you’re cold you should expend energy (not conserve it) because that creates heat. If you’re hot you slow down because expending less energy creates less heat. If you would like to learn more about metabolism in sickness and health I encourage you to enroll in medical school.

www.mayoclinic.org/first-aid/first-aid-shock/basics/art-20056620

20 minutes ago, placeholder said:

It's an organization with a political axe to grind.

It receives most of its money from conservative sources. So it's only a grassroots organization,  if that grass is astroturf.

I also have a political axe to grind.  In 1954, the Democrat Party came to power in Hawaii.  They have become the party of corruption.  In the past few years the feds have been prosecuting dirty politicians and government officials  that Hawaii's AGs have refused to do. 

Since being elected a trustee of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Keli'i Akina has exposed a lot of corruption and graft in the organization and continues to do so. He just happens to be the President and CEO of Grassroots.  I don't care if he is a right wing Libertarian.  At least he has the you-know-what to do something few people in Hawaii are willing to do.

If you haven't already done so, read Land and Power in Hawaii by George Cooper and Gavan Daws.  I lived and experienced much of what was written.

10 minutes ago, placeholder said:

Thanks for mentioning Grassroots Hawaii, an extreme rightwing libertarian organization:

 

"The organization's stated mission is to "educate people about the values of individual liberty, economic freedom, and accountable government."[5] It promotes free market values and produces research on subjects like the Jones Act and pension issues. The organization is a member of the State Policy Network, a conservative and libertarian network of state-based think tanks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grassroot_Institute_of_Hawaii

 

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii is a member of the State Policy Network....Although SPN's member organizations claim to be nonpartisan and independent, the Center for Media and Democracy's in-depth investigation, "EXPOSED: The State Policy Network -- The Powerful Right-Wing Network Helping to Hijack State Politics and Government," reveals that SPN and its member think tanks are major drivers of the right-wing, American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)-backed corporate agenda in state houses nationwide, with deep ties to the Koch brothers and the national right-wing network of funders.[8]...

The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii has hosted writers from the ALEC-connected Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, which screens potential reporters on their “free market” views as part of the job application process.[11] 

https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Grassroot_Institute_of_Hawaii

So!