Hawaiian

1 minute ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Trump gave us multiple examples of breaking the constitutional separation of powers 

 

Biden has done no such thing.

I'm quite sure there are many that will disagree about Biden doing no such thing. 

2 minutes ago, CharlieKo said:

The way I see it Democracy is already over in the States! neither side likes the other. maybe it's only a matter of time before there is civil unrest. America's best day's are behind it. The future looks bleak.  

This is what happens when the laws of the land, in this case the U.S. Constitution, is intentionally disregarded.  There are no checks and balances anymore as all three branches of government violate their own rules.  The civil unrest you talk about will most likely move on to race wars and armed insurrection.

4 minutes ago, earlinclaifornia said:

I recently have felt he is apt to quit this Summer

Maybe, maybe not.  His ratings went up after the classified documents flap.  He has also jumped ahead of DeSantis.

2 hours ago, placnx said:

Getting them out was also in aiding a democratic transition. Ilocos Norte is their territory in the old feudal system which persists today.

Here in Hawaii, most Ilocanos still subscribe to the Marcos cult.  They get totally bent out of shape when anyone tries to point out the atrocities committed by the Marcos regime and the billions he and his cronies stole.  One guy whom I spoke with was a member of the presidential guard and said "It's all lies."

Many of the delays encountered at both the state and federal level have been attributed to Covid19.  From workers on sick leave to the inability to replace people retiring has been a common excuse.

It took my girlfriend nearly  2 years to receive her federal income tax refund.  However, in this case the IRS was overwhelmed with the extra burden of administering Covid relief funds which, in my opinion, is not the job of the IRS.

23 minutes ago, nigelforbes said:

Did I say it never happens! I merely gave you a link to policy on the topic you were discussing. It is however not a simple matter to transfer money out of China, above and beyond the low monthly limits set by government. We have Chinese friends and neighbors who frequently have problems paying school fees here, for this reason. The casino's of Macau used to be a popular route but that has now largely closed plus there are onerous restrictions on bank accounts in Hong Kong for mainlanders.

 

 

Sorry.  Didn't mean to come on so strong.  I appreciate you providing the link.  I was basically saying that the adoption of crypto was an added layer of currency control to the already strict rules in place.  Supposedly, there are other reasons for China signing on to crypto currency, but that is a topic for another day.

2 minutes ago, nigelforbes said:

In China, companies, banks, and individuals must comply with a “closed” capital account policy. This means that money cannot be freely moved into or out of the country unless it abides by strict foreign exchange rules.

 

https://www.tradecommissioner.gc.ca/china-chine/control-controle.aspx?lang=eng

Are you saying that it never happens?  I recall reading that some banking officials were busted for violating the rules, but not before substantial amounts of money got through.  As I mentioned, digital currency is easier to track.

Corruption is widespread in China and Xi's one-man rule is supposedly meant to control it.  Much of the scheming goes on in outlying provinces and is not always discovered in time to prevent  a lot of money from disappearing

2 hours ago, Bim Smith said:

Believe nothing until officially denied. When the Domino effect kicks in no bank in the world will be unaffected. This is only the beginning of the demise of fiat currency. That's why the Fed along with the bank of Thailand and England and many others around the world signed up to digital currency two years ago. Few noticed in the middle of a pandemic.

I think the Chinese adopted digital currency to better keep track of money fleeing the country.

Wealthy Chinese have been selling assets and sending the proceeds overseas.  They believe the cash strapped CCP controlled government will either freeze and/or seize their assets, some of it

acquired through corruption.

6 hours ago, placnx said:

Ferdinand crossed a red line when he had Benigno Aquino Sr killed. That attack on the elite was too much. Marcos Jr seems to be threading the needle by having Duterte's daughter as his VP while taking a stand against China. 

Yet the U.S. rescued him and Imelda by flying them out of the country to be resettled in Hawaii.  There they were revered by the large Ilocano population which until today consider him a national hero who did no wrong.

3 hours ago, gearbox said:

You most likely will reach your destination but not at the date or time you expect.... cancellations and rescheduling are fairly common. Last year January/February my flights from/to Sydney with Jetstar were recheduled multiple times, with days difference. Nowadays as the flights are pretty full they reschedule mostly for technical issues. However both Qatar and Qantas did pretty much these same with my bookings as well,  so I have low expectations for pretty much any airline. I'm lucky to be able to handle these changes pretty easily, but if I'm on tight schedule Jetstar would be ruled out if possible.

A tight schedule for me would be having to make a connecting flight. This is one reason to use the same airline if multiple segments are involved since they are more apt to make things right, in some cases delaying the connecting flight if many passengers are affected.

3 hours ago, IAMHERE said:

President Duterte did. So will some future Philippine President or dictator. America is stupid beyond belief to once again knock on their door with a bag full of money. The next Philippine power person will want more and threaten to get back into bed with the Chinese to get it. 

Bong Bong's father, Ferdinand used the communist insurgency as leverage to milk the U.S.  He even created fake firefights with the New Peoples Army (NPA) to prolong martial law.

12 minutes ago, VinnieK said:

Thai drivers never slow down in the rain.

Motorcyclists even accelerate out of fear of getting wet. ????

Guess they're not familiar with the hazard of hydroplaning.

13 hours ago, WHansen said:

Stay away from the high tourist destinations and it is very cheap to live here.

 

For 6 months a year i work from hotels in the UK/Europe and what i get for £25/30 a night in Thailand would cost £100-150 a night in the UK.

A lovely Thai meal and a pint will be less than £5 here, at least £15 in the UK.

My home in Thailand including all bills £2,300 year, £9,000 in the UK.

For me, it's very cheap in Thailand.

Now, if only i could find a cheap place to play golf ????

Even if you found a cheap golf course it probably wouldn't have young, good looking caddies.????

18 minutes ago, proton said:

what airline? 45k on Emirates in August

When I have compared prices, travel aggregators offered much better prices than dealing directly with an airline website.  JAL wanted almost double for exactly the same itinerary as Priceline.

1 hour ago, proton said:

Not affordable looking at the airfares ????

The price I recently paid for two round trips from Hawaii to Thailand is about what I paid right before Covid hit 3 years ago.

9 hours ago, zoltannyc said:

Developed countries? I've been in NYC for more then 20 years, and let me tell you, I almost never buy anything from street food vendors. One time, I saw this hot dog guy taking a leak in a bottle, and then just sticking it in his food cart without washing his hands or anything. And another time, I saw a different vendor washing his dirty feet in the lower compartment where they keep the ice for the drinks. Plus, some of these guys hardly ever clean the hotplate where they cook the food, which is like right next to where they put it on the bun or whatever. 

How gross!  On my first trip to Thailand 21 years ago I stayed at a serviced apartment in Khlong San.  I often ate dinner at street food vendor a block away.  He was super clean.  Dishes and utensils were washed and then rinsed with boiling water.  He had a separate stove only for boiling water.  Most ingredients were precut and stored in containers or plastic bags.  In the back of his pickup truck were lots of water containers.

His menu was posted on a chalkboard, but since I cannot speak or read Thai I would let him pick a dish for me.  My only request was "mai pet." 

My point is, I could observe the whole operation, unlike a restaurant where you never know what goes on in the kitchen.

Never got sick in the few years that I ate there. 

1 hour ago, couchpotato said:

Just curious? Why would u stay in Chonburi..nothing there for a farang...

My girlfriend, who is Thai, has relatives in Si Racha.  And her friend of many years lives in Chonburi and will be taking us to Suvarnabhumi which is about an hours drive.  Not much traffic at 3 in the morning.

9 hours ago, Hawaiian said:

Just back from Laem Sing.  Fairly decent rooms with air con and breakfast started at $41.

Vacation almost over.  Have reservations in Chonburi for a "superior" room at $41 for 2 nights.  Convenient for our friend who lives close by who will be dropping us off at Suvarnabhumi in the wee hours of the morning.

8 minutes ago, placeholder said:

Well, why wouldn't we assume your comment was were directed at the topic of this thread which is:

 

Fauci on calls to prosecute him: ‘There’s no response to that craziness’

 

Apparently, your defense of your comments amounts to the fact that they were irrelevant.

If irrelevant, then why reply?

To all of the posters who replied to my post, no where in my post did I say that Fauci should be prosecuted.  What I was referring to was his comments made to anyone disagreeing with him about the origins of the virus.  No one has any concrete evidence as to whether Covid19 came from the Wuhan Lab of Virology or anywhere else.

One poster mentioned First Amendments rights.  They apply to everyone including me. 

The following link explores the ongoing controversy surrounding the origin of Covid19.  Notice the disclaimer at the bottom of the article:  https://www.factcheck.org/2021/05/the-wuhan-lab-and-the-gain-of-function-disagreement

If anyone continues to disagree with my right to post my opinion, well then, it's their problem.