spidermike007

I wonder if Chinese money will be used. It seems the belt and road initiative had been a massive failure for them. Countries are defaulting left and right. Sri Lanka just stated they will not be able to repay the money loaned to them. Same applies to Italy and countless other nations. Just more hubris of power hungry, madman Xi. China is in financial meltdown mode. Their external debt is enormous. Domestic debt is off the charts. The real estate market has imploded, and China leads the world in ghost cities. And it is likely few are mourning their meltdown. The BRI also suffered from a lack of coordination. Beijing unleashed a funding bonanza but without a centralized function ensuring that the money was well used. Rapacious Chinese entities, both public and private, partnered with corrupt officials in borrower nations to advance their own narrow interests, leading to high-profile, low-quality projects that impressed voters and constituents in the short term but often were unneeded, poorly thought out, or defective. https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2024/02/27/tightening-the-belt-or-end-of-the-road-chinas-bri-at-10/ Moving forward, it is important that we apply the same level of cynicism towards other initiatives that come out of Beijing. In recent years, Xi Jinping has announced several new concepts: the Global Security Initiative (GSI), the Global Development Initiative (GDI), and the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI). Xi Jinping’s latest initiative, announced at the Belt and Road Forum, is the Global Artificial Intelligence Governance Initiative. Like the BRI, these initiatives can be flexibly applied and are effectively empty. Moreover, they are also more about branding and narrative, than concrete strategy. The GSI is anti-NATO, and aimed at tackling the US alliance structure; the GDI is about equating China’s overseas development agenda with UN sustainability goals; and the GCI is about Beijing’s moral relativism and its opposition to the idea that certain values like liberal democracy are universal. https://chinaobservers.eu/why-we-should-stop-talking-about-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative/ China has invested a total of $1 trillion US dollars in more than 100 countries. Its projects are building some of the world's largest infrastructure. Yet, despite this, China has failed to achieve its intended goals of spreading Chinese power and influence and bringing economic growth benefits to both China and the recipient countries. The result is expanding debt on a global scale. This, they conclude, has only served to increase distrust and opposition to China. https://japan-forward.com/chinas-grandiose-belt-and-road-initiative-has-flopped/

I find them sexy, as long as they are inventive and not the by the numbers type of tattoo. Would not want my gal to have them, and fortunately she has no interest. But, fun for play time only. In the West, they have become such a fad, and the whole thing seems very tired. Very formulaic.

It is still a good value. Without that, Thailand would cease to be a destination. The people are infinitely less angry and bitter than most Westerners. And they have humor, and fairly light hearts too. Tropical weather. Has to be a big draw when things are cold and dismal back in the US, Europe and elsewhere.

What I've noticed over a few decades is that the psychotic aspects only affect people with extremely weak minds, and people who are extremely susceptible to a breakdown. It's quite possible that something else would have triggered that along the way, most people with a strong mind have no ill effects whatsoever.

Well I sure don't get a smile when I'm greeted in America anymore, it's an incredibly rare thing unless you're in a small town. Just getting an American to smile or laugh seems like a major accomplishment these days, so I completely disagree that it's the same everywhere. It is different here.

Well I think for most of us we don't feel like locals, and we never have. If you live in a heavily polulated expat area, then perhaps you feel like one of the local expats. I'm very comfortable here, and I enjoy myself here on a daily basis, but I've never felt like one of them, and that's part of Thai culture. They don't really want you to feel like one of them, the culture is simply too tribal for that, which is fine for me. Fortunately I've never had the need to feel like I belong, even in America I didn't feel like I belonged, so even though I'm very comfortable here I know I'm not one of them, and I never will be, and it doesn't matter to me, it's all good.

Never take a drunk woman's word for anything, it doesn't even sound like she remembers what happened. For all we know he might have asked her if she needed help, and she said come on up.

I was more offended by how they got from Phuket to Bangkok in a speedboat in an hour. Or why they thought millions of people would buy into that nonsense. If anybody can figure out that trick could they please let me know? Sounds like the Mrs. is taking herself way too seriously, perhaps she needs to lighten up and maybe take some more laxative. Kazakhstan was offended by Borat initially, but now they've made him into a major tourist attraction, and they're using it to publicize the nation. So how's that for productive thinking?

Yes you can still go to the Thai line, you won't be able to use the e-gate and neither will your wife, but those lines are still really short and very convenient for those of us who are married to a Thai woman.

I know a lot of women that would like nothing more than to be with a man who has this condition, far too many men finish far too quickly for a lot of women. Of course if she's a professional this would be a big problem, but assuming she's a civilian and that she enjoys sex, this has to be a very desirable condition in a man.

It wasn't me, I swear it wasn't me, ignore the evidence, the evidence is incorrect, those cameras are very unreliable, and witness testimony is often unreliable. I didn't do it, you have to take my word for it. I am a man of honor, I would never do something like that, ignore the evidence, please ignore the evidence. It is all just fake news. It is a witch hunt!

I know a lot of conservatives who will not be voting for Trump, I know a lot of conservatives who refuse to back Trump, they consider Trump repellent, repulsive, non presidential, and extremely offensive, which he is by any objective definition.

The highest court in the land appears to not only be highly compromised and highly partial, but they also appear to be morally bankrupt.

War is a very messy and a very ugly thing, many mistakes are committed in the fog of war. Is every president responsible for every single strike made by the military? This is a debate that we could have that would last days if we were ever to sit down face to face. I could argue that the war in Afghanistan was infinitely more justifiable than the war in Iraq. Does that justify drone strikes that kill civilians? That's a tough question to answer. I am very much anti-war, and I think that we should only get involved when the situation is truly extreme and justifiable on countless levels. I am also an advocate of passing a law that any presidential candidate not only has to have fought in a war, but has to have children of age to serve in a war, and it should be a prerequisite that his children are sent to the front lines if he or she declares a war. How's that for a deterrent?

I could not possibly agree more. I think the Thai people are resilient, I think the Thai people are very optimistic in their outlook toward life, they've maintained their sense of humor, they've maintained their playful spirit, and I quite often see Thais playing and joking with each other and having a good time, even though they may be bored to death sitting in a store with no customers, they still seem to make the most of it. Their attitude in general is the polar opposite of the attitude of most westerners, and I find that so refreshing, and for me it makes living here very enjoyable. But one has to consider that the Thai people are relatively intuitive and they tend to react to the energy that we're putting out there, so if we have a sour attitude, if we are bitter, if we are not being warm and friendly, they simply respond to that and we therefore get a somewhat twisted interpretation of who they are based on who we are.

Well I think Bush Jr. was definitely guilty of genocide, the entire Iraq campaign was just a made-up artifice, the whole WMD thing was completely fake, and he knew it, and he was responsible for killing hundreds of thousands of civilians, so yes I think perhaps charging him with mass murder would be a good idea. Obama I'm not so sure about.

In my opinion even on a bad day he's infinitely more fit for the office of president then the alternative. Trump is an absolutely dreadful alternative, and the reality is that Biden was simply having a bad day. At the rally the next day he appeared to be on fire, and I think that his team simply wore him out with the prep work. As always the Democratic Party is in a bit of disarray, but abandoning Biden at this point I think would be a huge mistake. Though I thought it was a good idea to find someone else to take his place, the reality is that there's probably nobody with enough name recognition to succeed in beating Huge Don the pathological liar.

I think if people had any idea the extent of the operations being sponsored by the FSB around the world, and if they had any understanding of the extent of the hacking, cyber crimes, and mischief that the Russians are up to, people would be infinitely more concerned about them than they are now. There's no question that the Russians are up to no good, and I believe that the same applies to Iran, China, and North Korea, as being the foremost cyber criminals on the planet. They are utterly and absolutely malicious, ill willed and heinous in their intentions.

I nearly on a daily basis the US Supreme Court continues to demonstrate that they are highly compromised, and that they are a pale shadow of their former selves. This current Court is likely to be considered by historians to be one of the lowest quality, and most bottom of the barrel Supreme Courts in American history. These guys are bordering on being a laughing stock and they are anything but impartial.

Many Thai women are very clever at making it appear that they really care for "their guy". And on many occasions, that is true, especially in long term relationships. But, for short time gals, it is just a game, and they play it well. Many Western men who come here are emotionally vulnerable, or an emotional wreck, having endured years of near torture by uber-feminists. I have seen countless men lose their fortunes, or at least their financial stability here, by moving too fast, assuming she is someone she definitely is not, and projecting too much onto someone they have not bothered to really get to know, and allowing the woman to push the agenda. Always push back against a timeline. Always. It is far better to lose the woman, than to unnecessarily lose your money and feel like a fool. And how much more do these principals apply, when a man is dealing with a bar girl? Doesn't matter what her story is. They all have stories. Many times they have been well coached. I think finding a good woman requires a proper qualification process. Taking a long time to make a determination to see if she is worthy of your time, and devotion, is always a good idea. See what she is made of. See what kind of heart and soul she has. Many women like to push the timetable. It is up to us to push back. There are plenty of very good women here. Take your time finding one, and keep your standards high. You owe that to yourself.

I think relatively speaking it is still true. I was wandering around yesterday and noticing quite a few Thais talking to each other with big smiles on their faces, having a nice time, amusing themselves. You just don't see that in the US or Europe. Not often. The Thais have a way of being in the moment, much more so than we do, and they have a very playful nature. I think that most Thais are quite pleasant. I really enjoy being around them on a daily basis, and though things have changed, that can be said about any place on the planet. However I think Thailand has still maintained its lighthearted spirit and sense of humor.

Carabao, a relatively new entry into the beer market is decidedly better than any of the super low quality brands that have been on the market for decades. Also Beer Lao, whenever you can find it, is vastly superior to any Thai beer.

And this debate should be renewed, after all there was an adult in the room who actually spoke out, and made perfect sense. Alcohol is infinitely more dangerous than ganja, the only hazard with ganja relates to lowering one's ambition in life.

There are a few aspects of this story that are quite bizarre, first of all a real man when dealing with a relationship that's not working simply turns around and walks away, with his dignity and grace intact. A half man, or a boy, continues to try to fight to get the woman back, fight to make the relationship work, or do stupid stuff out of frustration, when the whole thing is completely dysfunctional. It's all so terribly undignified. The second aspect of this which is fascinating is he was charged with online revenge. I don't believe I've ever heard of that charge before, that's a new one but it sort of makes sense in today's world, with all these unhinged souls acting out online.

Despite these serious allegations, Election Commission Secretary-General Sawaeng Boonmee affirmed that all 200 senators will be officially ratified on Wednesday. Of course. The EC may be the most corrupt organization in a land famous for corruption, and moral bankruptcy within anything political.