OneZero

Did my one-year report at CM Imm drive thru window wo problem in minutes. All I gave them was TM95 & passport.

"..beating the competition", to the degree it may have validity sounds too positive. "Undercutting the competition" may more closely describe the current insidious situation where unfair trade practices (CCP subsidies, high population low wage situations, etc) are probably also at times involved.

About the only thing I agree with you on is to Not Underestimate the duplicity of the CCP. The Sources Of The Chinese Communist Party’s Strategic Duplicity | Hoover Institution The Sources Of The Chinese Communist Party’s Strategic Duplicity Selected quotes: The Chinese Communist Party’s strategic duplicity is profoundly shaped by the fusion of Warring States-era realpolitik (e.g., Sun Tzu) with Marxist dialectical thinking. Each of these intellectual traditions brings a unique perspective: Warring States realpolitik emphasizes pragmatism, deception, and unprincipled flexibility, while Marxist dialectical thinking provides a framework for understanding and manipulating contradictions to drive progress. Together, these two perspectives offer the CCP a toolkit of strategies for managing complex and conflicting interests both domestically and internationally, enabling a highly adaptive and multilayered approach to governance that frequently is duplicitous." "The Warring States Period (475–221 BC, to include Sun Tzu) taught Chinese leaders that the most effective approach to power was to use deception, exploit weaknesses, and form opportunistic alliances without regard for strict principles or ideological commitments. This period, marked by intense competition and survivalist tactics among rival states, gave rise to a form of realpolitik that valued flexibility and strategic ambiguity as essential to statecraft. In the CCP’s strategy, this ancient pragmatic thinking complements Marxist dialectical principles, which view contradictions as inherent to social and political life and as engines for change. In practice, this means the CCP can hold contradictory positions—appearing committed to ideological principles while adapting to practical needs—without seeing these contradictions as weaknesses. For example, China’s “socialism with Chinese characteristics” combines market practices with socialist rhetoric, a synthesis that seems paradoxical but is framed as necessary for China’s progress. This synthesis is possible because dialectical thinking allows the CCP to see capitalism and socialism not as irreconcilable, but as forces that can coexist within a managed contradiction, which the Warring States tradition further allows them to exploit through unprincipled pragmatism. "The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leaders are experts in strategic deception. Dr. Henry Kissinger, America’s primary CCP whisperer for decades, understood this well. He aptly observed that Mao Zedong had “an almost instinctive ability to misdirect his opponent, creating illusions of weakness where the strength lay and vice versa”; and that Zhou Enlai’s brilliance was “in his ability to leave his interlocutors uncertain of his true position, ensuring that China retained the initiative,” and that “China’s intervention in Korea was a masterpiece of strategic deception, executed with precision and patience.” But what explains this CCP strategic wile? Understanding the sources and inner logic for this CCP strategy is crucial for our dealing with the China threat.

... and a police /government scam to purposely look the other way initially, so as to be able to grab all the proceeds later.

Michelle is not as bad publicly, but she lurks in the background to influence what the messiah himself says in his sanctimonious lectures. Upon Obama's election Michelle made the statement that for the first time in her life she was proud (or glad) to be an American. That statement, whether deserved or not, reveals pent up underlying resentment. Obama & his "Hope & Change" programs has been a catalyst for US social polarization.

Dr Siri at Sriphat Suthep Rd Soi 1, Thurs AM. ph 053-934 733

The following post-election link, dtd 08Nov2024, suggests Obama leave US politics: How Trump crushed Obama's legacy - UnHerd The links first half rambles far too much. I've quoted /copied pertinent parts below: Barack Obama, campaigned very publicly and hard for Kamala Harris, often overshadowing the candidate herself. Obama’s role in the Harris campaign was truthfully less strange than the fact that the former President somehow remained in Washington after his time in the White House was over, instead taking meetings there in his Kalorama mansion ($8.1 Million), which is hardly the most valuable entry in his bulging portfolio of luxury properties — which also includes high Gilded Age mansions in Hawaii and Martha’s Vineyard. But it was surely the most important, serving as the center of his unprecedented Shadow Presidency. As the leader of the Democratic Party, Obama was hardly a pretender to power in Washington. Rather, between 2008 and the evening of 5 November 2024, he was usually the foremost power in the land. After serving two elected terms in the White House, Obama then set up and captained the so-called “Resistance” to Trump — an activity that was contrary to all prior American norms and practices. After Trump left, Obama stayed in Washington and continued his role as unelected Party Leader during what had been advertised as the Biden Presidency. Obama’s method of avoiding scrutiny from the pliant DC press was entirely in character, alternately drawing back into the shadows and then, out of whatever ego weakness, announcing that he was the true mover of events. Free from normative oversight or responsibility, he and his retainers could also avoid answering questions about the size or sources of his personal fortune, which was rumored to amount to somewhere between $500 million and $1 billion. As a private citizen, Obama didn’t have to answer questions. He could have it both ways — state power, with no public responsibility. Until he mis-stepped. By compelling Biden to withdraw in favor of Harris, who turned out to be an even worse candidate. It made it impossible, if only for a week or two, to maintain the fiction that Obama was simply living in Washington DC while staying out of politics. If Biden was senile, then who was actually running the country? Who had enough clout to order the President’s removal from the ticket? The answer in both cases was Obama. And now he was on the hook not only for Kamala Harris, but retroactively for the more general mess that he and his operatives had helped to make of the country. Now, in one night, the Obama machine, which he built on the model of the Chicago Democrat Party machine, & which he used to run the country, including the prestige institutions and the media, through a combination of bureaucratic capture and social pressure, accentuated by control of large tech platforms, was finally melting down. No wonder the press was in shock. None of the lines that they had been given could be reconciled with the numbers onscreen. A reckoning will surely come. At the very least, the time has now arrived for Barack Obama to leave Washington and exit American politics, now that his Shadow Presidency — which proved to be even more counter-productive and chaotic than Trump’s first term in office — has gone down in flames.

Now that his shadow Presidency has gone down in flames, the time has arrived for Barack Obama to leave Washington and exit US politics. If Obama would finally just get out of the way, & stop stirring the pot, US society could more easily heal & move on. I make no secret of my contempt for Obama's presumptuous & DEI ambulance chasing style. He continues to peer over & hang on US society's shoulders, like a worn-out suit. His apparent, but certainly not admitted, egotistical purpose is to perpetuate & defend his faulted legacy. Obama will insert his sanctimonious, pontificating snout into any situation where he smells a narcissistic opportunity to remind people that “Hope and Change” is an Obama legacy, not proxy Biden’s. He also apparently assumes he has the right to lecture minority groups, especially the "brothers & sisters", on the virtue of his sermons, particularly about what & how to think. Obama is a catalyst for polarization in US society. The Death of Obamaism and the Historic MAGA Opportunity | Opinion - Newsweek Josh Hammer Discusses Trump's Dominant Win & The Political Realignment Accompanying It (rumble.com) How Trump crushed Obama's legacy - UnHerd Is Obama's Kingmaker Era Over? (tomklingenstein.com)

I am a bit ahead of final US House of Representatives 2024 election results. But we already know that Republicans may win, or only slightly lose, the Speakership. All legacies are imperfect /flawed to a certain degree. But the US electorate has chosen this year's 2024 winner in the ongoing Trump (MAGA) vs Obama (Hope & Change) legacy battle. President - Senate* - House. Executive - Legislative - Judicial. Barack Hussein Obama - Strike 3 & you are "Out" (at least temporarily). Senate*: With 53 senators & a tie breaking VP, perhaps Republicans can finally break the Susan Collins & Lisa Murkowski Senate RINO uncertainty. This is now. But how will future historians view the long-term impact? As Trump himself stated, it depends upon MAGA's Success. President Trump - In your own legacy self-interest - Speak & Act "Presidential". It's absolutely necessary to defeat any fair or unfair "Hateful" /"Ego" labels that would detract from an otherwise positive difficult to disparage policy legacy. Conservatives - don't waste this very short 2 year "Window of Opportunity" to accomplish your goals. Quickly get your political appointments in place. Future change is inevitable, & any "honeymoon" could evaporate in an instant. Be prepared for Democrat Party & Bureaucratic slow walking /sabotage, as well perhaps for even more impeachment threats over minor events. Will the Democrat Party's Messiah - Mighty Casey - Barack Obama - Finally exit stage LEFT? I personally doubt it. Barack Obama's ego demands that in future he remain to Sanctimoniously "Stir the Pot", & to designate new proxies to defend his imperfect legacy. So many questions remain. What will happen to Joyful, but Forgettable, Unqualified & Phony Obama proxy Kackling Kamala? What of her & Uncle Tim's "Strength through Joy" theme? Is Michelle Obama once again not proud to be an American? Joy oh Joy, where did all the Joy go? Strength Through Joy - Wikipedia Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright; The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light, And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout; But there is no joy in Mudville—mighty Casey (Obama) has struck out. meaning and origin of the phrase ‘no joy in Mudville’ – word histories The American-English phrase no joy in Mudville denotes a sense of pervasive and shared disappointment. It alludes to the defeat of the baseball team of Mudville, a fictional town in Casey at the Bat. A Ballad of the Republic, Sung in the Year 1888. This ballad was written by the U.S. poet Ernest Lawrence Thayer (1863-1940) and first published under the pen name of Phin in The Daily Examiner (San Francisco, California) of Sunday 3rd June 1888: The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Mudville nine that day; The score stood four to two with but one inning more to play. And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same, A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game. A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest Clung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast; They thought if only Casey could but get a whack at that— We’d put up even money now with Casey at the bat. But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake, And the former was a lulu and the latter was a cake; So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat, For there seemed but little chance of Casey’s getting to the bat. But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all, And Blake, the much despis-ed [sic], tore the cover off the ball; And when the dust had lifted, and the men saw what had occurred, There was Johnnie safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third. Then from 5,000 throats and more there rose a lusty yell; It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell; It knocked upon the mountain and recoiled upon the flat, For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat. There was ease in Casey’s manner as he stepped into his place; There was pride in Casey’s bearing and a smile on Casey’s face. And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat, No stranger in the crowd could doubt ’twas Casey at the bat. Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt; Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt. Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip, Defiance gleamed in Casey’s eye, a sneer curled Casey’s lip. And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air, And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there. Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped— “That ain’t my style,” said Casey. “Strike one,” the umpire said. From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar, Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore. “Kill him! Kill the umpire!” shouted some one on the stand; And it’s likely they’d have killed him had not Casey raised his hand. With a smile of Christian charity great Casey’s visage shone; He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on; He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the spheroid flew; But Casey still ignored it, and the umpire said, “Strike two.” “Fraud!” cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered fraud; But one scornful look from Casey and the audience was awed. They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain, And they knew that Casey wouldn’t let that ball go by again. The sneer is gone from Casey’s lip, his teeth are clenched in hate; He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate. And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go, And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey’s blow. Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright; The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light, And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout; But there is no joy in Mudville—mighty Casey has struck out.

Well, I would certainly favor increased Japanese as opposed to Chinese CCP influenced involvement. Reason: CCP influence.

7 Essential End-of-Life Choices Every Pet Owner Should Know (barkandwhiskers.com) How do you know when it's time to say goodbye? As pets get older, the human-animal bond gets stronger, so it only becomes more difficult to make that final decision. This seven-point scale can help you know when it's time to stop asking your pet to bear the burden of living and unbridle his body.

On AN there are the never-ending accusations of brown bag-patronage-corruption co-dependencies in Thailand, & despite being accusations they have legitimate basis in fact. I recently watched a video interview with Erik Prince where he claimed direct observation-discussion with CCP military officials providing him evidence of CCP appropriations of money for brown-bag payoffs to foreign military officials willing to do CCP bidding.

The Thai government should use its limited resources to put Thais to work on infrastructure projects that will contribute to future direct foreign investment. Yet their military folks have convinced the gov't to still consider purchase of a CCP submarine (an extremely expensive life cycle operational proposition). Some Navy bigwigs want to feel important without any hint of a deep water strategic need. The sad thing is the long-term strategic political & military implications (CCP blackmail). Yet, the apparently blind Thai Minister of Defense, Phumtham, stated that the diplomatic relationship with China was a good reason to purchase the damn thing. What nonsense. Thailand will be dependent upon PRC submarine model specific Doctrine, Organization, Training, Logistics and Materiel upgrades, & thus subject to CCP unreliability /blackmail. Undoubtedly there will be PRC advisors in Thailand for these functions and they will be doing their CCP required intelligence gathering while here.

I now tend to agree and have lost all sympathy for the female Thai Dr & her lawyer that won't let it go (victims of lost face?).

Every other day we read about 50 new steps that must be taken prior to final decision. Never ending. Meanwhile there are still some asinine gov't decision makers that feel a highly expensive life cycle CCP submarine is what the Thai people require. Ridiculous.