spidermike007

Try just a little harder to imagine a world dominated by Russia and China. Is that the world you really want?

Hopefully Trump will continue his losing streak, and will be denounced by the American people by an even wider margin than last time. And hopefully he will just slither away, rather than try to start a civil war with his nonsense and continual lies. Let us hope. I am not crazy about Biden, but I would take Pauly Shore over Trump. If he even participates, Trump will likely lose this debate badly, as his primary tool of interruption will not be available in this new format. He will likely back out like the coward he is.

Unlike you I consider this discussion to be light-hearted fun. I never did open the bar it was just a fantasy that I had with a few friends for a while. Some would argue that being a white man discriminating against white people is not racist, knowing you, you would probably say that I hate all white people, which would be about as ridiculous a presumption as you've already made in your last several replies. This had nothing to do with race preference, this simply had to do with aesthetics. I like lot of other men absolutely adore dark skin, does it mean we like dark skinned people more than white skinned people? It's just a sexual preference, that every human being on earth is entitled to make. You are also prejudiced, everybody on Earth is prejudiced, we all have prejudgments about people, it doesn't mean we're racist. Not in the slightest. Being prejudiced and being racist are two completely different things. Nobody lacks prejudice. Prejudice is an assumption based on a stereotypical perception of a group of people. The assumption can be either negative or positive. Racism is a more intense form of prejudice based on race that's often used to support a set of beliefs about the superiority of one group over another group of people. Prejudice can be based on stereotypes that are not necessarily racial, like those related to gender or nationality.

No, I lost interest in iPhones for a dozen good reasons, and I use a Samsung Galaxy Ultra (it blows away the iPhone). Thankfully Samsung stopped production in China in 2019, so I am enjoying a smartphone that's does not benefit a foul communist regime.

I completely understand that, and I get completely agree with everything you're saying, the specific issue here is that if you're with somebody who is unwilling to help themselves, and you put a sufficient amount of time and effort into trying to help them help, intervening and doing what you can to get them well, and convince them that they need help, and they still resist you at every turn and this person's happens to be your life partner, from my point of view the best thing you can do is walk away. That's called self love, that's called self-esteem, that's called knowing when to call it quits.

No, quite the opposite, unless you consider loving and supporting people of color to be a form of prejudice.

Hitachi makes many of their products in Thailand. Many brands are made here. Makes sense to support them over Chinese made units. Samsung refrigerators are made in South Korea, Germany, China, Hungary, South Africa, Luxemburg, Sweden, and India. LG’s primary production vendor for fridges and washers is stated to be in the Indian sub-continent. Samsung’s Washer Dryer combos and fridges are said to be manufactured in South Korea. Sharp -some of its microwave ovens and fridges are said to be manufactured in Thailand. Westinghouse: While some products are stated to be manufactured in Australia, including its ovens, others are imported from Europe, China and South-East Asia. In particular, some fridges are claimed to be from Thailand and some dishwashers from Turkey. Mitsubishi makes many products in Japan. Miele - made in Germany. I will keep trying to avoid buying any major product made in China.

I always hesitate to respond to one of Bob's posts, as it likely just encourages his bizarre behavior. Dreams are a form of mental diarreah. The brain just goes wild and creates bizarre fantasies. I too have many incredibly strange dreams. I dismiss them. They are supposed to mean something, but I cannot make heads of tails out of them.

Since illegal casinos seem to thrive here, and gambling is rampant, casinos would seem like a good idea. It would represent a kind of honesty, by bringing this filthy habit out into the open. I know some gamblers who are moderate in their gambling, and do it for fun. I know some others who are out of control. I used to know a guy who had a custom built, spectacular hilltop villa on Samui. This place was unbelievably luxurious and was probably worth well over $2,000,000. He was a ship captain who for decades piloted major ships and put a lot of his life savings into this villa for retirement. He married the wrong woman and she was a compulsive gambler. One night she was out gambling and she put up the house and lost. Some mafia guys came by a couple days later with the police and claimed the house. The husband had no idea what had happened. He consulted an attorney who said there was not much he could do, as these thugs would just have him taken out. So he divorced her, (a bit too late) and he decided to go back to work, he was nearly 65 years old, and he decided to go back to work as a captain, try to get back on his feet, and start all over again. A very cautionary tale, what's the moral of a story? Take your time, time is your ally, it's never their ally, but it's always ours. When getting to know a woman, if there are problems are going to reveal themselves over time, and if things are good they are only going to get better, so take your time.

I have certainly made an effort over the years. Not had much success, as they simply do not want to engage. They are extremely tribal people. I have friends who know younger Russians. And they say they are kind, friendly and progressive. I have no idea what percentage of the population these younger people represent, nor how representative they are of the Russian population. Personally, I have met very few friendly Russians. Anywhere in the world. The vast majority of Russians I have met, seem to have very, very few redeeming qualities. It is no wonder. I can only speak from my experience. Have run into alot of Russians both in the US, and on Phuket and Samui, 98% of them seem to be grumpy, unfriendly and gruff. Some of them are downright hostile. Likely a reflection of a very, very rough culture and environment. So, perhaps it is not a coincidence that the world is not standing up to support them and show them kindness? Just an observation. I think it is a reflection of the current culture. It was destroyed over a century of callous and murderous leadership. Stalin, Lenin, Khruschev, now Putin. They have become somewhat savage and crude. No grace, no finesse, no courtesy. Rather uncivilized. My family was from Russia a few generations back. I used to ask my great-grandmother when she was still around, why they didn't teach us anything about the old country. She would give me this look, and tell me "the reason we never teach you about the place we came from, is because the place we came from was the most horrific country on earth, it was the most destitute, horrible, oppressive place and we were thrilled to finally get out of there and leave it behind. That's why we don't teach you about the old country, the old country doesn't exist for us. There are a multitude of reasons why very few around the world have sympathy for the Russians. Those reasons are not limited to their serial killing, despot, thieving multi billionaire dictator for life. It is more about their nature, their history as ruthless, homicidal Cossack warriors, and their total lack of manners, and class. Not to mention the dignity, class, decency, civility, and social skills decades of Leninism, Stalinism, and now Putinism has stripped them of. And of course, the utter failure of their leader. This is a clear case of psychological projection: Putin dreamt and failed to create a dollar-free world and establish Russia as an “energy superpower.” He allowed corruption to metastasize through the state’s fabric, undermining its security capabilities. With its mass emigration, skyrocketing divorce rate, and low fertility, Russia, more than the West, demonstrates an immense collapse of family and social values.

I have been hanging out with dark skinned friends on Samui, and in Bangkok, and I could see they were getting treated quite differently than I was. There is a very deep seated prejudice against dark skinned people here. When I was living on Samui many years ago I came up with a concept of opening a bar called the Chocolate Bar. I would only hire dark skinned women, dark skin beauties, and glorify their gorgeous dark skin instead of making them feel self-conscious about being dark. I'd offer gifts, prizes, and free trips, all kinds of incentives to get the girls to perform well and become top performers. When light skinned women would come in for an interview I would take glee in telling them that they were disqualified because their skin was too light, and they weren't hot enough. The glorification of whiteness here is quite obnoxious, from my point of view.

A similar situation exists on Samui, though not as extreme as in Pattaya. Waste management has been ignored for decades, and much sewage ends up in the sea. The water quality is poor, and I usually avoided swimming in the sea, in the decade we lived there.

I was there. My ex-wife had some serious mental health issues. I did absolutely everything in my power to help her. When she accepted the help, her condition improved. When she spun out again, she again became impossible to live with. There is a not so fine line between being a good husband, and being a martyr. We make choices in life. Deciding to stay in a dysfunctional relationship, with someone who is sick in the head, and refuses treatment, is self torture, and the longer you stay, the lower your self esteem, and quality of life. And life is short. Very, very short. Not smart to waste it on someone who is not worthy of your devotion.

I agree to some extent. But, there are some choices we have. Avoiding the purchase of a Chinese car is a good start. There are some product lines which avoid Chinese production, or are dramatically limiting production in China, like Black and Decker, Dell, HP, Nike, Hasbro, Intel, LG, Puma, Sharp, Google, Go Pro, Sony, Blackrock, Nintendo, Steve Madden, Gap, and Under Armour. Every little bit helps, and every choice we make can impact the heinous leadership of China, and the horrific, genocidal CCP. Xi I allow no personal freedom to my people. We harvest organs for profit and punishment. We oppress our minority populations. We barely allow any imports and make it difficult for companies to sell their products in China. We ignore territorial boundaries and claim ownership of the South China Sea. We are nearly the only nation to subscribe to a zero covid policy, even if it means putting millions out of work. I have just been appointment PM for life. Or, close to it. Impressive, huh? Want to be like us? Respect must be earned, and never freely given. Same applies to goodwill. China, do something to earn some goodwill. You want credibility on the world stage? Start behaving like a responsible nation. Stop behaving in a ridiculous manner, and like that of a bully, in the South China Sea. It has been centuries since a nation insisted it's territorial waters extended a thousand miles or more, from it's border. We would refer to that as self applied egg on the face. OK? When you develop a vaccine intended for world consumption, try a little harder. Thy to obtain an efficacy rate that rivals the others, and is not at the bottom of the list. It just reinforces the notion that Chinese made goods are of inferior quality. Stop the harvesting of organs from political prisoners. Many practitioners have reported that, while they were in China’s extensive network of detention centres and forced labour camps, they were tortured. Evidence indicates that Falun Gong practitioners, Uyghur Muslims, Tibetans and other prisoners have been further subject to forced live organ harvesting. https://www.healtheuropa.eu/forced-organ-harvesting-one-of-the-worst-mass-atrocities-of-this-century/97035/ Stop locking up those who are different from the masses, such as the Falun Gong disciples, and the Uyghur Muslims. Behaving like a civilized nation might earn you some respect. With the US-China trade war showing no sign of abating, Stanley Black & Decker is also on the move. The industrial tools and household hardware maker permanently closed its factory in Shenzhen in November 2021 after 25 years of operation. Samsung Electronics is another tech business turning its back on China, and has announced it will invest $230 billion (£185.6bn) to build five chip factories across South Korea. The company shut its remaining smartphone factory in China in 2019, reportedly turning the city where it was based into a ghost town. https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/why-27-western-brands-abandoning-170200239.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAFab4wIRRaqAGklEQR6zNz5K3zPnu-5RlAQ2RI_nbUYueqrAqYToVDEFrYNzsM95E0HiaymjajWJI1bBCG0QK3FGlHUR0ar96jbpmDR2FkTXbCIQnFWCSOdD4loOPMVMcjFCG7ruiyK6hkzc11DARoUvEal14Y7yd5cyKBtJEtmW

Putin is an absolute desperado. He would have to be, to travel to North Korea, which is hell on earth. He is increasingly isolated, and if it were not for oil, gas and minerals, Russia would have already collapsed. He is a serial killer, and seems to enjoy inflicting pain, and slaughtering women and children. His increasing tens of billions of dollars in extorted fortune makes him feel great power, but he is a boil on the face of humanity.

I have found traveling around Thailand to be delightful, and I totally agree about the smaller towns, and regional cities. Especially when traveling with a Thai woman who is a good translator, and a good and clever traveler.

This kind of behavior demonstrates a high degree of moral depravity, and a complete loss of perspective. These people are in a position to make life better for countless souls who need help, not the polar opposite. House help, and employees provide necessary work, and it is hard work. They should be honored, not abused. This happens in many areas, the middle east being the worst, from what I hear, read and am told. No honor among thieves, nor most billionaires. There are exceptions, but not many. I hope these absolute heathens get locked up.

The water in the Gulf is not clean. Way too much runoff from the industrial estates up north, that filters into the Gulf. And way too much sewage runoff too. Thailand will eventually need to address this issue. Kicking it further down the road is not helping anything. Avoiding problems and hiding them, do not make them disappear. First world, or developing? The latter, for certain.

There seems to be one political certainty here. The greedy, corrupt and obnoxious army will continue to exert control over politics, until the people stop them and the greedy and utterly useless generals. That, and inconsistent policy, such as cannabis laws, will continue to inhibit investment. Which is good. Nothing like egg on the face to teach arrogant fools a lesson.

Total propaganda. Thailand is not a democracy, as they do not honor election results. Pita should be PM, not Srettha, the smiling puppet. Also, they have made no progress in the fight against corruption, no improvements in highway safety, zero effort to clean up the environment and the seas, and there are some bizarre laws here that need to be reformed. I could go on and on.

Totally false. Fake new. Why? Thailand is no longer attracting very many Western tourists for a dozen very good reasons. Right now it is predominantly Malaysian, Indian, Arab, Chinese, and Russian. One could argue that these are relatively low quality tourists, in terms of the amounts of money that they spend. Sure you have a few wealthy Russians and some wealthy Chinese, but most are lower to middle income and don't spend alot. This process will not be reversed until the authorities wake up and make some sacrifices such as lowering luxury taxes, lowering wine taxes, cleaning up the air, making the highways safer, allowing more private air travel, helicopter travel, high-speed trains and alternatives to the totally choked and extremely hazardous highways.

That is not only an obnoxious reply, it's a spectacularly ignorant reply. Your intolerance knows no bounds it would seem. You are NOT a tribute to humanity.

China is not wearing its new found power lightly, and they are becoming a major bully in the region. Claiming the entire South China Sea is beyond preposterous, and they need to be taken to task for this. Resist China in whatever way is possible, do not buy Chinese products if at all possible, let the Chinese know how obnoxious their government is.

The US is simply too compromised and the Saudis simply control too much oil. There will be consequences is a nice concept, but I don't see that it ever happened, on any level. Trump bowed down to him too. There is no question that MBS is a serial killer and a madman, but nobody's ever taken him to task. He is simply too powerful, and therefore untouchable.

As much as I would prefer another candidate, and as badly as the Democrats needed to field a younger, more capable candidate, I will choose Biden over Trump, just like I would choose Miley Cyrus over Trump, or Pauly Shore over Trump. Anybody but Trump.