spidermike007

I left Samui almost a decade ago after living there for nearly a decade. When I arrived there it felt like paradise, and when I left it felt like it had become an old dish rag in a restaurant kitchen that hadn't been cleaned in 2 years. The overdevelopment was rampant, the lack of local pride was rather sickening, the unwillingness of the authorities to clean things up, to improve the aesthetic of the place, plus the overcrowding, massive traffic issues and price gouging were were more than I wanted to deal with. Some of the smaller towns here are still delightful and the quality of life is high, and the cost of living is low. For many of us Thailand is still very close to paradise. Granted most of us that are saying that are people who have limited means, and if we were wealthy enough we would likely be spending a good portion of the year elsewhere.

We cannot cower in the face of threats of defamation. These are laws written by small men, to protect criminals, miscreants, those unwilling to offer a good product or service, and other fools.

Criticism of the government, questioning of the authorities, questioning the status quo, activism, and desire for change and progress are always discouraged by those in power here. Sluggard dinosaurs.

And even bigger shock was caused by everybody who heard about this nut Job owner keeping 29 cats in one room. The real question here is why hasn't this person been institutionalized or given significant amounts of mental health assistance?

I honestly believe that America has never been this crazy. I think that society and culture in America is getting dumbed down as time goes along, and I do believe that America is not progressing as a culture, and as a nation. However having said that, I think a lot of the same can be said about the rest of the world, though Thailand seems to be just a bit less crazy, thankfully.

You don't think bombing Beirut is escalating the war? Really? Honestly? Sincerely?

I think when it comes to Aviation they know that they have to keep themselves up to International standards or the governing bodies will shut the country down. They're so dependent on tourism dollars that they would never want that to happen, but when it comes to something like traffic safety, especially if it were a road course as opposed to an enclosed course like they have in Buriram, that would have to be a huge concern. So I guess the answer is yes and no, all depending on the area we're discussing. In general the safety standards are very lax, most would agree with that.

If she was proactive and aggressive enough, she could get all the money back from this fool. She would just need to take action into her own hands, engage in massive public humiliation, and shaming by outing this guy on every level possible, and my guess is he would pay her off just to get his life back. I've used this technique before with great success.

He likely offered her a million dollars to do an interview. It's been a very, very long time since the former first lady has said anything nice about her husband, and one can certainly understand where she's coming from.

Corruption can be a rather heinous thing on a lot of levels, but when it's allowed to seep into areas of traffic safety, public safety and transport, that is where it drops to a depth that is unfathomable. The top officials in the land transport department should be held accountable for this, and losing their job would not be enough. I would suggest to 5 to 10 year prison term for a negligent homicide would be appropriate, it would certainly send a message, and not this kind of message: Paying 3,000 to 4,000 baht would hasten the process slightly while paying more would be considered as VIP treatment.

I was not of age to serve. What did Trump do?

Israel reminds me a little bit of Thailand, they're constantly pretending to be a democracy and yet they behave in the exact opposite manner, when it comes to criticism of the government and criticism of policy. If anything Thailand is infinitely more tolerant than Israel. If you don't love us, if you don't agree with everything we do, we despise you. There are no gray areas, it's all black and white with Israel. They could not possibly be more wrong if they think escalating the war in the region is going to solve anything.

Correct he served in a country where combat was taking place, however he worked in an air conditioned office drawing up press releases, not quite the same as being on the front line is it?

I worked in commercial real estate in New York City in the 1980s and though I never worked with Trump directly I knew a lot of people who had direct dealings with the man, they all said the same thing, they all warned everyone to avoid working with him on any level. The same result always happened, he was always very predictable, stingy, and dishonest. And he preferred a lawsuit to paying his debt to a contractor.

They're eating the dogs they're eating the cats, they're stealing your pets. That one statement summarizes the entire Trump cognitive decline situation. It also summarizes how weak this man is, you give him a compliment and he loves you for life, you insult him and your enemy number one.

Yes very few people who have worked with Trump have actually gotten paid, so they tend to have ill feelings toward him after he's robbed them of their money. It's easier to make a fortune when you have no morality.

Trump made infidelity and unwanted sexual advances acceptable. These days he is likely faithful to his wife, even though he likely does not get any action from her, and he is very likely beyond being capable anymore. Trump has lowered the bar for morality and ethics, so I'm not really sure if something like this even means anything anymore to his supporters.

I just don't know how they could ever adapt an international level of safety standards. There's such a lack of regard for safety here and there's so little discipline when it comes to adherence to high standards. I don't see it happening for decades, if ever.

This man has been "resorting to crime" since the late 1970s. He's made his fortune using crime as a tool. As a businessman it's so much easier to make money if you're willing to be a scam artist, a huckster, and if you're willing to shaft small contractors, and if you're willing to abandon any sense of ethics or morality. That is just who and what this man is. If he says it, it is a lie.

I guess I'm biased, there's no doubt about that, but to me Walz comes across as being sincere and earnest, at least as sincere and earnest as a politician at his level can be. Whereas Vance seems to be come across as being insincere, phony, pandering to his political master, and not very believable, nor likable. In addition he is a pathological liar, just like Trump.

It is truly remarkable that there isn't a more pronounced smell of feces emanating from these government institutions, after all they're not really doing very much work for the people, and there's an awful lot of nonsense, BS, and hot air coming from that direction. At least now the truth can be known and the public is better informed. Ha!

He is far less coherent than in the past, it is very hard for him to continue a train of though for more than 15 seconds, alot of rambling, complaining, playing the victim card, and juvenile name calling as usual. Even most of the CEO's he met with recently expressed shock at his incoherence. He is in the beginning stages of severe cognitive decline and it's a horrific thing to watch, he's an increasingly dangerous man and having him as the oldest elected president in history would not be a good thing. He rambles on and on. He is, and has always been the master of slogans, and memes, but the public is just getting tired of the same game, day in and day out. He does not possess the creative juice to adapt, and that is absolutely killing his campaign, at this point. He is headed for the greatest humiliation of his lifetime. He's old, he's tired, he's now the oldest person to ever run for president, he's feels like he's 85 or 90 right now, he seems to be losing interest, he seems to be losing the plot, his message is getting tired, he has no ability to dance on his feet and be creative, and adapt, and he just seems to be disintegrating before our eyes, which is a beautiful thing to watch. And now, he seems to regret his choice of Vance, and seems very stressed out over Harris. Can't blame him for that. He does seem to be imploding.

In my opinion he started to fade in the last year of his presidency. He may have had a minor stroke. Since then, it has been a steady downhill path. Far less coherent than in the past, very hard for him to continue a sentence for more than 15 seconds, alot of rambling, complaining, playing the victim card, and juvenile name calling as usual. Even most of the CEO's he met with were shocked at how lacking his message was. He is in the beginning stages of severe cognitive decline and it's a horrific thing to watch, he's an increasingly dangerous man and having him as the oldest elected president in history would not be a good thing. He rambles on and on, and it is easy to discern that he has a very hard time maintaining a thought for more than 15 seconds. He is, and has always been the master of slogans, and memes, but the public is just getting tired of the same game, day in and day out. He does not possess the creative juice to adapt, and that is absolutely killing his campaign, at this point. He is headed for the greatest humiliation of his lifetime. He's old, he's tired, he's now the oldest person to ever run for president, though he is 78, it appears as if he is 85 or 90 right now, he seems to be losing interest, he seems to be losing the plot, his message is getting tired, he has no ability to dance on his feet and be creative, and adapt, and he just seems to be disintegrating before our eyes, which is a beautiful thing to watch. And now, he seems to regret his choice of Vance, and seems very stressed out over Harris. Can't blame him for that. He does seem to be imploding.

Woody Allen is too old. Woody Harrelson would be great. But decent folks would have no interest in that job. That is why we're never going to see an excellent choice again in our lifetime, only inferior candidates are interested in that job.

Other than the speed traps, when was the last time you've actually seen somebody being pulled over for a moving violation such as illegal lane change or reckless driving? It just never happens. Why? The police are lazy, and the highway patrol are utterly useless. The government talks about safety only after these kind of tragedies happen, but they don't care one iota about the well-being of the common people.