geriatrickid

2 hours ago, Moonlover said:

The cracks are appearing in a number of countries now. Folks have, quite simply had enough of this now.

 

I've been of the opinion from the very early days that we should, once sensible precautions have been put in place to protect the vulnerable, let this disease run its course.

 

Mankind survived the flu pandemic of 1917/18 and collectively, our immune systems were probably the stronger for it. It's time to 'bite the bullet'.

These are not people willing to  follow basic simple precautions.

If people had kept their  distance, limited their gathering in large crowded  groups, not forced infected people to  go to work, not continued to circulate when infected etc. much of the spread could have been halted. There is a reason why some countries are having explosions in the  number of infections: Some people are selfish jerks.

What's the problem with some of you people? 13 pages of imagined slights.  Read what this guy wrote. Look at the timeline.  The restaurant tried multiple times to  deal with the  guy and he hid like a coward. He made multiple unsubstantiated claims. The restaurant doesn't have to take this kind of malicious abuse. The man's a bully who got a taste of  some bully cure.

13 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

Only in Thailand could this happen. No cease and desist orders necessary or blocking him and having the posts removed.  Not like tbe rest of the world.

They tried to have the posts removed. They tried to contact him.  He ignored them. He didn't expect that he would be held accountable.  You are applying your US laws to this bully. He wasn't in the USA. In Thailand you are subject to Thai law.

12 hours ago, Damual Travesty said:

Well, this is going to really help kick off the rapid return of tourists to Thailand.

With your  business acumen, you must be a stellar success.

There are hundreds of negative reviews on trip adviser and google about jetskis, hotels and other bonafide rip offs and yet thousands still flock to rent the jetskis and parasail etc.

4 hours ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Good point. Amy Coney Barrett is way too moderate. When I consider that Biden himself said he would nominate Obama for the supreme court if he is Potus(https://edition.cnn.com/2019/12/31/politics/biden-obama-supreme-court-trnd/index.html) which is the epitome of divisive impartiality, I would suggest Trump plays this ball with more snarl. Ted Cruz would work, Stephen Miller better, Judge Pirro? If they scream "impartiality" for no reason with Barrett, I say make them rush for their feinting couches.

 

The nomination of former President  Obama as member of the supreme court would be valid. The man, unlike the current president won his elections with decisive majorities,  and with the exception of the angry bigot segment, has the respect of most Americans.

The precedent was set when Republican President Warren Harding nominated, and the Republican dominated Senate approved, former Republican President, and conservative, William Taft, a Justice of the Supreme Court. He was then appointed Chief Justice. 

Ted Cruz doesn't want the job from Trump. Besides,  Trump needs Cruz in that senate seat otherwise it will likely go democrat. More importantly, Cruz  has no respect for Trump;

"I think people are asking themselves, 'How would we feel if our children came in repeating the words of the president of the United States if that president was Donald Trump? And if it would embarrass you to have your children repeat the words of the president, that's not a good thing. A president should unify us, should appeal to our better angels, should appeal to our shared values that make America who we are." 

Stephen Miller is unqualified to be a judge. Even  Thomas is better qualified than Miller

Miller has no legal training, no legal experience, no academic  credentials and no knowledge of constitutional law. Appreciably, you would like the USA to return to lynchings and mob justice, but it isn't going to happen just yet.

Pirro is not a judge. Stop calling her "Judge" She was elected to a minor county judge position in 1990 where she served for 2 years. She  is not a  legal scholar. hers is a history of financial scandal. As a reminder, Her refusal to reopen a murder case cost state taxpayers almost $42 million. A man was falsely convicted of murdering a child and spent 16 years in prison.

None of your positions display  any semblance of rational thought. One has the impression that you get a thrill out of tossing  extreme right wing notions for the chuckles. Unless you are taking your cue from the Russian sabotage unit. Whatever it is, you won't get the civil war you appear to want.

Putin  must be thrilled to see the USA in such turmoil. His  ongoing strategy of sabotage  has paid off.

21 minutes ago, donnacha said:

Having said, right there, that 99% of people from Northern Ireland, meaning from both traditions, are decent, I feel I'm on solid ground in pointing out that the tiny, ignorant minority of loyalists who would travel to faraway countries and feel it necessary to flaunt that implicitly racist flag, associated with centuries of oppression of the indigenous Irish, are precisely the sort of scum who would chop up and, apparently, gift-wrap their Thai bargirl.

I and all my people are deeply informed on this. It is not bigotry to detest bigots.

 

I would think that the descendants of the Anglo Norman people who had been in Ireland since their arrival in 1169, at the invitation of the (deposed) King of Leinster (of Ireland)  Diarmait Mac Murchada, have as much a right to be considered indigenous Irish as the Celts who were roaming about at the time. Using your logic, the Irish peasants who left Ireland for the opportunities of the USA and Canada could be disparaged since they are "newcomers".

You could have just voiced your view that the fellow was most likely a lowlife varmint and  pointed out the Chang in his hand and his uniform of a tshirt , shorts and flip flops as evidence, and no one would have disagreed. You could have even mentioned the  tacky tattoo and most would have snickered.   Raising the issue of a flag just distracts. We see Thais display their nazi regalia. That doesn't make them supporters. It just indicates their ignorance.

17 hours ago, Thomas J said:

Eric Loh

 

Ok I challenge you.  Trump stopped flights from China and was blasted for it while Pelosi was in China town which is on youtube welcoming people to come and visit. 

 

Now just exactly was Trump suppose to do.  The state governors control the actions in each of the states.  Some such as New York mandated that Covid patients be returned to the nursing homes they previously lived it to recuperate despite being Covid positive.  Others such as South Dakota instituted nothing.  No masks, no lock downs, no nothing. 

So just exactly do you say Trump should have done to protect the USA citizens when he does not control the actions of the states? 

 

Trump did not stop flights from China.

Flights continued and hundreds of thousands of people entered the USA between the "restriction" and the  time in April when   airlines suspended their  operations. More importantly, comprehensive screening measures including quarantine/self isolation were not in place. The NYT  did an analysis and arrived at 430,000 passengers on direct flights.  Toss in the  indirect flights and the number is larger.

The criticism of US state management of senior and retirement homes is an easy excuse that allows the federal government to escape responsibility.  Yes, the states had a degree of responsibility, but a closer review shows that the  results were not as simple as this;

a) States relied on US government assurances that Covid19 was manageable.

b) States were specific in stating that only medically stable patients were to be transferred. All facilities are required to have isolation capabilities and is part of the SOP in respect to other contagious diseases such as the  common gastro and flu outbreaks at the homes. Unstable patients were not transferred.

c) The crisis occurred at homes where  staff disappeared or abandoned their work positions. Understaffed, the homes left patients to starve and dehydrate. These were in most cases private business operations. The industry group has used its lobbying and political clout to escape tougher regulations. Staff in the homes are paid minimum wage, so it was to be expected that they would not stick around under work conditions that saw the homes not provide  sufficient PPE. 

d) Many of the infections in nursing homes were brought in by visitors and by staff who worked at multiple nursing homes. These homes use part time workers to avoid providing benefits. This requires the workers to work at multiple homes facilitating the spread of  disease.

e) In early April, once the public health authorities became aware of the problem, the states did order the nursing homes "incapable of isolating contagious residents to transfer them to other medical facilities and to stop admitting additional residents."

In respect to South Dakota, it had fared well initially because it is not a high population density state. Unfortunately, it is not doing well now. Your gloating is now going to bite your plum posterior. In the most current trend report ( past week); South Dakota has 2175 cases/100,000 of pop.  Compare that to  states you would call commie left wing states such as Oregon 747 cases /100,000 pop, Washinton 1,104cases/100,000 pop.

Even  New York state is doing better with 1,888 cases/100,000 pop. and it is a high density/high risk state.  

27 minutes ago, The Theory said:

They will be closed as well. It won't take long with future economy. Sizzler lovers need to look for an alternative.

 

No big loss if Sizzler Thailand closes.  Tops market offers a wonderful selection of salads. Some of the Tescos do as well. All as good or better than  Sizzler. I can  buy  Soup in a can and add corn starch to create the Sizzler soup exerience, and if I want jello, well I can   pick it up at  Tesco for satangs.

*Deleted post edited out*

That is a good question, and if you do not mind me butting in, I offer some reasons why many non US nationals have views/opinions. First, let's put aside the usual collection of nutters who will hate anything that the US does.  The US and many of its organizations and laws have a direct impact on how other countries operate and the quality of the lives of their nationals. This is why so many people have  vocal opinions. Here are some examples;

1. US laws on trade embargoes and sanctions: Sometimes the US is a moral leader and speaks out when others do not. In other cases, it is a bully, with  politicians  passing laws that pander to vocal voting blocs. Example: Cuba.  The US has  its laws that go beyond the USA and seek to interfere in the  foreign and commercial policies of other countries like the EU and Canada who trade with Cuba. It is particularly evident with financial institutions and insurance companies. It is quite something when the USA seeks to stop the  export of products such as toilet tissue or gauze to Cuba.

Ask Canada how it feels about the US actions on Huawei. It has 2 of its nationals held as hostages in china now while the USA  is MIA  after the USA required Canada to act on  an arrest and extradition request.

2. US laws on environmental protection: It goes far beyond the usual climate change issues. The USA wants to dump polluted waste water into a river or to over use the water of the great lakes, it will pass a law and make it legal. Ask the people on the Canadian border how they feel about US abusive  environmental practices.

3. Trade and Commerce Laws: Trump has packed his courts with judges who will push a specific foreign trade law agenda.  Previous agreements and undertakings in respect to tariffs, duties, and general trade practices are in tatters. These are agreements with former trade allies and with countries that had the US had trade surpluses with. Sometimes those judgments and law changes backfire on the USA. There are now growing movements to  boycott US products, when really, we should all be seeking to reduce dependency on  trade with China.

4. Social Policy:  Americans have a habit of exporting their social views. For example, it is American influence which permeates the evangelical movement in Uganda. This has resulted in discrimination against gay people and women, including their physical abuse. Groups and organizations in the USA act to suppress democratic activity elsewhere. (They can also encourage and promote violence.) If Americans wish to kill each other, that is their social convention, but the social and legal policies which encourage and promote the sale and export of  firearms to criminals in Central America and Canada presents a threat to those countries.

5. USA legal and Foreign Policy:  The US position on such things as supporting Putin while he rampages, or not speaking out against the Brazilian president's wholescale destruction of the Amazon is wrong. Yes, the USA has the right to its own foreign policy, but it is as bad as China and Russia when it comes to  moral leadership.

Also keep in mind that the USA is one of the  largest economies in the world. It got there  because of a social contract it had with other free countries, whether it was the UK, Australia, Canada, or Denmark. People put their trust in the USA to try and do the right thing. Even at the height of the movement to free eastern Europe when PM Thatcher and President Reagan had some sketchy  policies, people knew that they would not betray their fundamental obligations to democracy and human rights. Today, the free world has lost faith in America. Sad to say, but the Republican party has abandoned responsible democratic and fiscal principles in pursuit of power. The end result are wounds that will not heal for a long time. The world has turned against the USA because of the ongoing politicization of institutions and actions which should not be politicized.  The USA is consuming itself and fighting internally to the delight of China, Putin's Russia, Iran and others. When the USA is weakened we all suffer.

The US political and social policy has resulted in instability and disunity in America. enemies of freedom  are delighted. Anyone who supports freedom, civil and human rights and responsible management of  resources should be  worried if the USA is weakened, because then it becomes another China or Putin's Russia.

3 hours ago, Tippaporn said:

Nice to see Mitt come through and support President Trump (and the Constitution) for a change.

He has all along.  Hardcore Trump fans criticize anyone who isn't blindly obedient to Trump as wrong or bad.  I don't agree with Senator Romney, nor do I care much for his political beliefs. However, I do recognize that he is a decent, honourable and honest man who  follows his convictions and is not a hypocrite. He  represents the constituents who sent him to congress.