OneZero

Thank You very much. I will try to do the same.

Following quote from The next chapter: Moving from Skype to Microsoft Teams  | Microsoft 365 Blog quote: "After May 5, 2025, the Skype Dial Pad will be available to remaining paid users from the Skype web portal and within Teams."   I'm embarrassed to show my ignorance for what will probably be considered stupid questions, but ...... How do I sign into Skype using the web portal & what is UI?

Goes back even further to playing British & French off against each other so as to keep Thailand a buffer between French to the east (Indochina) and British to the west (Burma-India). Ever since the Thai's have been so proud of themselves for avoiding colonization, they have repeatedly made it a part of their foreign policy.

Real Politik Bismarck Kissinger Nixon Trump Thank God - a return to Real Politik ala Bismarck & Kissinger. Personal experience here in Thailand making our advisory efforts difficult : The unreliable & arrogant Obama /Kerry SecState (idiotic idealistic A-Holes) policy of pausing Security Assistance programs with Thailand only succeeded in turning the Thai's toward the CCP (e.g., potential Thai purchase of /involvement in an unnecessary, expensive & blackmail threatening CCP-Thai submarine program). Trump’s Foreign Policy Abandons Ideology for the Balance of Power | RealClearDefense https://assets.realclear.com/images/67/679489_6_.jpeg Trump’s Foreign Policy Abandons Ideology for the Balance of Power Twentieth century world politics saw the United States combine ideological abstractions with balance of power realities. President Woodrow Wilson sought to transform the geopolitical clash of the Grea www.realcleardefense.com Quote: "Trump appears to be channeling Richard Nixon, who during his presidency deemphasized ideology and prioritized the balance of power in conducting foreign policy. Nixon’s masterstroke was triangular diplomacy, which exploited the Sino-Soviet split to America’s geopolitical advantage. Henry Kissinger was right in the third volume of his magnificent memoirs, Years of Renewal, when he claimed that Nixon set the stage for Reagan’s victory in the Cold War. And Nixon did that by abandoning ideology in favor of the balance of power. Trump’s policy of negotiating an imperfect end to the Ukraine war and refusing to condemn Russia at the United Nations resembles Nixon’s negotiation of the imperfect end to the Vietnam War and his embrace of a de facto alliance with Communist China. Trump, like Nixon, is playing the long, crucial game of balance of power geopolitics instead of leaning on ideological abstractions like “democracy versus autocracy.” Nixon’s long game was designed to shift the balance of power against the Soviet empire. Trump’s long game is to shift the balance of power against Communist China. Trump, like Nixon, is following the geopolitical playbook of Walter Lippmann, the influential American journalist who understood, even in the age of ideology, the overriding importance of the balance of power to global peace and stability.

Israel: Exploit your successes before it's too late. Think of the blackmail of fanatical suicidal Mullahs with a nuke.

What about the planned large-scale maintenance operation (if I understand correctly) at Utaphao?

Many in the Thai gov't are either corrupt &/or blind to the intentions of the CCP. Reference the following aseannow link: My repeat comment to the above link: "Former Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai: Well, on this matter at least, I believe this fellow has his head on straight. In part he is warning against becoming so imbedded with China that the Thai gov't fails to see the long-term nefarious intentions of & blackmail by the CCP. Will Thai decision makers have the smarts & nerve to back out of the CCP submarine deal?"

Former Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai: Well, on this matter at least, I believe this fellow has his head on straight. In part he is warning against becoming so imbedded with China that the Thai gov't fails to see the long-term nefarious intentions of & blackmail by the CCP. Will Thai decision makers have the smarts & nerve to back out of the CCP submarine deal?

Silom station is near the Dusit hotel / King Rama VI statue gate. Lumpini station is near the clock tower gate. Google MRT stations. MRT Lumpini station - Google Search But the music venue is centrally located in the park so either entrance works. Just advising that both stations are equally convenient to exit MRT.

Besides MRT Silom exit, there is MRT Lumpini exit also. Enter Lumpini Park by the clock tower gate.

"The store’s owner, Mrs. Ratree, was visibly distraught as she watched the tragedy unfold. Overcome with grief for the animals trapped inside, she expressed her deep sorrow for the loss." Tragic. I understand her feeling for the animals.

The Rape of Britain - The American Conservative The events themselves are so horrible as to be almost inconceivable. From the late ’80s to the present, tens of thousands of young British girls, most between the ages of 10 and 15, have been raped, abused, and forcibly prostituted by gangs of Pakistani Muslim men in the UK. British authorities, from the local police to the town council to members of Parliament, were not only aware of the abuses taking place, but obstructed attempts to stop the horrific crimes, bring perpetrators to justice, or allow the public to become aware of the situation, all in order to prevent “racial unrest” from taking place.

Like you I had 3 ortho without satisfactory long term help with the bone on bone. Finally bit the bullet & over course of 2 yrs had 2 knee replacements while in my mid 70's. Recovery not pleasant but not as bad as anticipated - suggest doing many deep knee bends prior to surgery to get muscles stretched big time because that is where I sensed the biggest recovery pain (stretched muscles during surgery?). Oh yes, while resting be sure to keep leg elevated. Anyway, I have never regretted finally doing it as I exercise walking without any pain. Dr Chanakarn in Chiang Mai. Edit PS, I have heard that in Bangkok Dr panya has a good reputation.

Following is something I wrote on AN before, but I feel it bears repeating: 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. 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 problem is that some people's private actions inconsiderately overflow into other people's private spaces. You may not have a personal problem with that, but many other people do indeed have a personal problem with it. One can say that's a problem with condos. So, the condo owners have the option to vote for prohibition of other people's private space actions that inconsiderately overflow into their private space. Condo rules - a double-edged sword.

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.