spidermike007

Well certainly doesn't sound like the behavior one would expect from people with deep inner realization, after decades of living as a monk and practicing the teachings.

Theravada Buddhism is very hard to understand. I've studied it a little bit, and it's really difficult to break down, they've absorbed elements of Hinduism, Animism, Tribalism and added to it some Chinese superstition so it's nearly comprehensible. Even to someone who's really sincere about trying to learn what it's all about. Frankly I'm not even sure if the senior monks understand it.

It's probably very clever strategy on her part, one debate will be enough, she'll shred Trump once, and then she could just get on with it. None of this matters anymore, the fact is Harris/Walz raised 500 million dollars in the last 30 days Trump raised 130 million, so Trump is finished. When your biggest donors stop giving you know it's over. There's a very very low chance of him winning this election, so just consider him dismissed. Which he will be as a two-time loser, that's for certain. He will mean nothing after November. He will just be a very bad memory and the 43rd worst president ever.

I lived on Samui for 9 years a long time ago, I was always astonished at how dirty some of the beaches were. Only the ones with the nice hotels who had their own staff go out and clean the beaches we're in really good shape. I calculated once that the island could hire a three-man crew working 5 days a week for about 60,000 baht a month, to clean four or five beaches a day and just circle around the island. This amount is literally nothing for an island like Samui, that generates billions, yet the leaders and the mayor are so greedy that they wouldn't even consider such a plan. On another occasion I was told by a friend who's best friend worked for the Danish Embassy, that the Danes had submitted a plan to create a free electric monorail around the entire Ring Road. 54 km. at no charge to the island, no charge to the government. It was to be a pilot program, and it was turned down because the local officials can't collect bribes on a free system. What can one say? If you get away from the Ring Road and up into the mountains, Samui is stunning, and some of the beaches are very nice, but the island has always been run with the absolute minimum amount of maintenance, and sometimes it felt like a 6-year-old dish rag in the kitchen of a very busy diner. I had some very good years there back in the day, but the island changed a lot, and I don't miss it for a minute.

None of this matters anymore, the fact is Harris/Walz raised 500 million dollars in the last 30 days Trump raised 130 million, so Trump is finished. When your biggest donors stop giving you know it's over. There's a very very low chance of him winning this election, so just consider him dismissed. Which he will be as a two-time loser, that's for certain. He will mean nothing after November. He will just be a very bad memory and the 43rd worst president ever.

Let's all boycott Disney for all the right reasons, how about the fact that their theme parks are grossly overpriced, how about a $50 lunch, how about 90 minute lines for their ridiculous amusements? I don't think so.

Talk about not being able to see the forest through the trees, it's an awful lot of bad publicity for this enormous company over such a petty amount of money, and such a petty excuse that they're using for not paying the money. Disney seems to be quite lost these days. I've never been a fan of either their theme parks or their movies so I'm not shedding any tears, but it does seem like this family deserves some compensation.

Talk about not being able to see the forest through the trees, it's an awful lot of bad publicity for this enormous company over such a petty amount of money, and such a petty excuse that they're using for not paying the money. Disney seems to be quite lost these days. I've never been a fan of either their theme parks or their movies so I'm not shedding any tears, but it does seem like this family deserves some compensation.

Talk about not being able to see the forest through the trees, it's an awful lot of bad publicity for this enormous company over such a petty amount of money, and such a petty excuse that they're using for not paying the money. Disney seems to be quite lost these days. I've never been a fan of either their theme parks or their movies so I'm not shedding any tears, but it does seem like this family deserves some compensation.

I doubt if anything is really going to happen to him other than continued dismissal. Maybe he'll be asked to pay a small fine. This man will never see the inside of a jail cell, he's likely just as corrupt as all the other men in the RTP, and all the other top officials, so he must have pissed off the wrong people. This has nothing to do with being Mr. Clean, that was all one big stage play. And he executed it perfectly up to a point with his giant PR machine. Alot of people bought into his nonsense. But something went wrong, somewhere along the line. And I'm certainly not shedding any tears over it.

Pita is exactly what this country needs right now and that's why he's not being allowed to run things. The people want him, but the oligarchs and morally bankrupt don't. And Thailand is not going in circles at this stage, it is going backwards. I think in this life if you're not moving forward you're moving backwards, it is just the nature of momentum. The Army is playing it smart at this point by establishing and maintaining a certain degree of control, that Thaksin granted them by selling his soul, his party, and his people in exchange for his freedom. The time is coming, when this will no longer be tolerated. Just wait. The army is on it's way out. It could take awhile, and it could get ugly, though it will never get to the hellish level of Burma, as the Thai parents would never, ever permit that kind of genocidal behavior from their sons. You take out one Thai, and you are forever disowned by this family. That is all it would take to bring about mass defections from the army ranks. That would sure be fun to witness. Are the pompous generals going to put themselves into harms way? Never. They do not have it in them, they are total cowards.

He is only interested in the well being of his supporters and the nation. Such selflessness and humility. He is a saint.

China is a one way street. It is extremely difficult to export to China. But, they dump anything they want onto the world market, and CCP subsidies are part of their strategy to cripple friends and enemies, neighbors and the world. They just don't care. The CCP and Xi are heinous.

When I visited Phuket last year, most tourists were Arab, Malaysia, Indian and Russian. And it seemed like many of them were low income types on a budget. The place was a pale shadow of its former self. And Bangla was absolutely horrendous. The talent level was the lowest I have ever seen, and the prices were sky high. Yikes. Never again.

You completely misunderstand the point, while I may be very critical of the candidate, I'm not critical of you, nor his supporters. Can't you make that distinction? I think it's a very important point of clarity, attack the candidate, don't attack his supporters. I do not engage in petty attacks on his supporters like so many others do with supporters of both Trump and Harris It's of vital importance for you to consider this point.

His former Secretary of State tried that, his former Secretary of Defense tried that, his former Chief of Staff tried that, his former attorney general tried that, a lot of his advisors tried that, and his national security advisor tried that. He never listened to any of them, he doesn't listen to anyone, he just does Donald.

I completely agree, as I've said many times in the past I have major issues with Trump and Vance. I do not have issues with his supporters, I do not have issues with conservatives, I understand why they want to vote for him, I understand that many of the issues they have are different than mine. And that is totally valid. Some of my best friends and some very close family members are conservatives, we have dialogues, and when we discuss politics it is done with mutual affection and respect. When we start degenerating into a hateful mob, reduced to insults and memes, that's when we really have a problem.

I think the reality is that they don't really want us here, I think they tolerate us, but they don't really want us here. After all we influence some of their women into asking questions, having open minds, and creative thinking! None of those are a good thing for a regressive regime. I think most Thai people are fine with us and don't have a problem with us it's the politicians and the incredibly toxic government that are xenophobic.

This guy is in deep now, China doesn't fool around with people like this, especially if they're not Chinese and not well connected. My prediction is the death penalty, which I don't necessarily have a problem with, for big time scammers like this.

If this is true it would be a real mistake on her part, she needs to debate Trump on Fox, she needs to give some interviews to hostile interviewers, and she needs to show that she can hold her own in a hostile environment. This is essential.

I hate it, I really hate it. I was planning on running against Biden, and I had a really good game plan, and then he just went about out like an incredibly gracious man, and Harris really took up the baton and ran with it like nobody expected. It just doesn't seem right, it just doesn't seem fair. I'm trailing in nearly all the polls now, very few people seem to be listening to me anymore, I can't seem to attract a good crowd anymore, everybody's making fun of me, I picked a terrible VP choice, he is flailing too, and everything seems to be going wrong. It's just not fair, don't they know who I am? Don't they know how great I am? Don't they know that I am the most incredible human being on the planet? Don't they realize I'm the smartest guy in America? Don't they know how handsome I am? I'm am so confused, flustered, unhappy and bitter.

The one thing that has always struck me as being very weird about politics in Thailand, is the possibility of a PM taking on an additional ministerial role, such as defense minister or finance minister. As if they don't have enough to deal with, as if defense minister or finance minister isn't important enough? What on earth are they thinking?

It has changed dramatically as you said, some of it's good, some of it not so good. I still really enjoy spending time in Bangkok, but due to the traffic, the population, and the air quality I'm thrilled that I don't have to live there. The changes in public transportation have been a fantastic improvement. I would never want to go there for more than a week at a time, but that one week, or even a few days can be alot of fun. I remember back in the days, during my first trip to Thailand in 1976, I don't think there was a single building over 10 stories tall. I remember things like Clinton Plaza, and how much fun Patpong was back in the day, and things like that. But the reality is that everything has changed, everything about the world has changed, nothing is the same, we're not the same and nothing else is the same. So it's kind of a crazy to expect sameness anywhere. It doesn't exist.

Well thank you Fred, but we really didn't need you to tell us about it, we see it every day. Both dementia and severe cognitive decline have affected this man, and those are not good qualities for a world leader. And of course there are the other 25 horrible qualities that also contribute to him being a terrible choice.

Fortunately this kind of assault on foreigners is still relatively rare here, however this publicity will not be good for Thailand if the authorities are unable to suppress it. It's never a good idea to get in a physical altercation with a Thai unless you're in a Muay Thai ring. If you win and kick his butt you've lost, if you get your butt kicked you've lost. There's just no upside. Most of the time puncture wounds to the neck result in death, so both the assailant and the victim we're very fortunate.