spidermike007

You speak the truth, and I agree with most of what you've said. And that's why it's incumbent upon us to treat women well, to treat women as if we would want to be treated, with kindness and respect. However if it's not working then it's time to move on. There is a decent way to do that and there's an ugly way to do that, like everything else.

As the national deputy director of the RTP, the nation's largest and most profitable pyramid scheme, the chances of big joke not being guilty would have to be less than 1%. The real question is, will they really go after him, and if they do, will there be a conviction, and will he serve the time in prison he so richly deserves?

The association’s secretary-general and chairman of the executive board, Alangkot Boonmasuk, pointed out that several factors contribute to this situation. The high household debt level, which stands above 90% of the country’s GDP, coupled with declining incomes and rising living costs, have all weakened the purchasing power for residential properties. I am confused. The administration keeps reporting on how good the economy is. How strong the nation is. How things are looking up. How an economic correction is NOT coming. So, which is it? Up or down? Why on earth would I distrust the government over reality?

I am happy here. Would I live here full time if I was wealthy? No. But, for those of us on a limited income, the quality of life here is quite high. So, at least half the reason I am here is financial. Thailand is still reasonable. It used to be cheap. Has not been cheap for a long time. But, it is still reasonable. I know people who pay 10,000 baht a month for newer 3 bedroom houses in nice towns. In major cities in the US? $3000-4000 a month. That is 140,000 baht! I had my motorbike seat recently redone on my scooter. 400 baht. A friend of mine had similar work done in the US. $275. I recently had a guy come over and insulate my ceiling. I bought the insulation and paid him 2000 baht for labor. In the US? $800 and up. I recently had an electrician do some work on the house. Nearly a full day of work. Paid him 1000 baht. In the US? $800 and up. An oil change for my scooter costs me 200 baht, with Castrol oil. In the US? $75. When I travel here I stay in nice four star hotels in Bangkok. 1800-2000 baht. In the US? $130 for a crappy motel. $200 and up for a nice room. I eat well here. In a smaller town you can get a three course meal for 200-250 baht. In the US? 2000 baht and up, plus tax and a nearly mandatory 15% tip. And I get attitude for leaving a $15 or $20 tip. Here, I get nothing but gratitude for a 20-40 baht tip. Recently I was in the US and wanted to order from a delivery service. Besides the meal costing $45 for two dishes, tax and delivery service fees was well over $12. So, $57 for two dishes? I made a sandwich instead of engaging in that foolishness. I visit the emergency room here to visit a specialist, and with x-rays I am out the door for 2000 baht, at a private hospital. In the US? $300-2000. Friends of mine, who are single, enjoy the company of a young, beautiful woman for a couple of hours, for 2500 baht. In the US? $800 an hour now for a decent looking gal, with ALOT of attitude. I could go on and on, all day long. I live at a level here, that I would never be able to live at, in the US, in most of Europe, in Oz, or Canada. Yes things are more expensive than they used to be. But, it is very relative. A quote from a friend recently: My neighbor told me she got a quote for a wood fence around her house. It was around $8,800 ($2800 for the materials, labor (2 days), $6,000. 2 days at 8 hours a day = 16 hours of labor). For $6,000 labor/16 hours that works out to be around $375 an hour labor. Another neighbor got some quotes to get the outside of his house painted. Average quote was around $5,000. He bought all the paint and supplies for $1500. Labor $3,500 and the house would have been finished in 1 day. $3,500 divided by 8 hours of labor = $437 an hour to paint a one story ranch house. That is sheer stupidity. Since when are laborers charging what psychiatrists used to get?

One has a choice in this life whether or not to consider oneself a victim, or not. Many seem to prefer victimhood. With this new generation, it is a new type of heroism. Whatever happened to real heroes?

You forgot the best one of all, embarrass them consistently in front of their friends and strangers. They are so utterly obsessed with face this will drive them away like the plague. Of course you can always do what real men do, and just tell them I'm leaving, this isn't working for me anymore, it's been nice knowing you, and I hope things work out well for you. Take care, goodbye. You'd be surprised how easily a lot of Thai women can get over a relationship.

Yes, this goon was the only person in Thailand that pays a million baht per month in rent! At least within the confines of his own warp mind.

Exactly, that's almost something worth looking forward to. In a twisted sort of way, I'm kind of hoping that things diminish into a form of anarchy, so we have a chance to go after the architects of our downfall. How much fun would that be and can you imagine the surprised looks on their faces. I thought we were untouchable, I thought we were above you plebs, I never thought any of our actions were going to have any consequences!

Thank you. You made my day!

Though you are likely correct, there is another potential scenario which is that nuclear winter does not happen, but rather we have a complete economic meltdown which results in total anarchy, and the disintegration of most governmental apparatus. That is a definite possibility and if that happens I would rather be in rural Thailand, than in urban America, that's for sure.

Well you definitely revealed which side of the aisle you're on, with an inane reply like that. Some of us are trying to keep this forum sane and rational.

It definitely sounds like something the numskull would ask. After all he's not the kind of guy who thinks things through, and he probably just assumes that Mar-A-Lago is not subject to radiation. Also, don't forget this is the guy who recommended bleach to get rid of covid, so he might think bleach works for radioactivity too.

The railing against socialism is just a PR slogan at this point, it means nothing in real life. In reality the politicians in the US are simply hawkers, salesman and promoters for Big Pharma, and they do everything in their power to ensure Big Pharma prevails over the consumer. After all Big Pharma doesn't control the US government and neither do corporations. They own the US government. I suspect the very same thing applies here but big Pharma doesn't seem to have quite as heavy a grasp on Thai society, as we seem to have access to alot of inexpensive generics.

According to A, he never had the opportunity to meet Aey in person or engage in a video conference with her. Aey consistently avoided face-to-face encounters and only shared pictures of herself. In these images, Aey appeared beautiful and alluring, which deepened my affection for her. First is all, the biggest variable when you meet someone online, is whether or not you will like them once you see them. Do you find them attractive? Do they find you appealing? Is there any chemistry? Is she emotionally developed, or a stunted, emotional retard? There is no shortage of women that fit that category here. Would you want to be with her any longer than an hour, once you meet her? If not, what do you do once you have made this rather grand and rather silly commitment of your time? Let it unfold in a rather organic fashion. There is nothing natural about meeting anyone online, and you know virtually nothing about them, until you have spent some real time together. Months, even years. For some of us, who are not millennials, the whole concept of striking up a relationship online, then chatting and spending dozens or hundreds of hours getting to know someone online, and texting to death, without ever meeting them, just reeks of desperation, and isolation. The few times I ever engaged in online dating, my rule was two emails or chats, then a Skype type video call, then an actual meeting of 20 minutes for a cup of coffee. Lets see where it goes from there. You do not want to meet so quickly? OK. Find another pen pal please. Homey don't play that game. I guess it comes down to self esteem. When I was doing online dating, I always limited the first encounter to 15-30 minutes, over a cup of coffee. And 90% of the time I was very glad I had followed that protocol. I also limited the number of contacts prior to that cup of coffee to three. I do not have any interest in having pen pals. And Thai women love to chat, and text, and you end up wasting alot of hours on someone you have never met, and more than likely are not going to get with once you do meet her, for a couple of dozen reasons. The numbers are not on your side, so why invest the time, once you have made the contact? What would Bond do?

This is one of the most ridiculous construction projects on earth. Though any sort of alternative transportation is desperately needed here, a project that takes 10-30 years (how long has it been under construction already? And they are only at km. 37, and completion is minimal to that point) on one of the most congested highways in the nation is sheer insanity, hubris, and poor planning. Heads should be rolling, and people should be locked up for this mess.

This is most definitely a topic most of us would prefer not to think about. A nuclear holocaust is something few of us would escape from, unscathed. I hope it never happens, and that even madmen like Putin, Kim, Netanyahu, and Xi realize there is no upside for anyone. After all, despite the best efforts of visionary men like Musk, we do not have any alternatives planets yet. We should stop behaving as if we do.

While you may be smart, or think you are smart, bragging about being rich does not make you appear to be smart.

The CDC, the FDA, the WHO, and the medical establishment does not appear to have any interest, nor incentive to beat cancer. There is just too much money involved. Surely there must be multiple cures out there. How many hundreds of billions have been spent on research? The translation: if you develop a new drug that cures people rapidly, then patients will not need to take the drug on an ongoing basis, and that limits the amount of money a company can make. The analyst asks: "Is curing patients a sustainable business model?" Pharmaceutical companies are developing new drugs in only two therapeutic areas these days -- cancer and rare diseases. Why? These are the only therapeutic areas where exorbitant pricing is tolerated by payers. How exorbitant are we talking about? Most new drugs for cancer and rare diseases are being priced above $400,000 a year per patient. Some drugs are being priced at $1 million per treatment. And prices continue to soar. https://www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/revolutionandrevelation/72407

Well, nothing ever happens in a vacuum. The reaction was intense, but it was at least to some extent prompted by ex-pats who simply do not behave themselves. Most of us treat our hosts, and our host nation with some respect. Granted I do not show much respect to the nation's leaders here on this forum, but that is a different story. They do not deserve respect. Most Thais I know feel the same way. I do show alot of respect and kindness towards most Thais. And that is what counts. They are only asking to be treated with decency and respect. I do not think that is an unreasonable request. And I do not think most Thais are xenophobic. I have felt that before, elsewhere. Believe me, it does not feel like this. I find most Thais to be kind, and hospitable, but they do not have much tolerance for foreigners who behave like total idiots, and there is nothing wrong with that. I don't either. Urs David Fehr was a complete butthead, and proved that over and over again. It is likely even his mother was thankful when he left Switzerland. Now, he may be heading back. I am hoping this publicity follows him around, like white on rice.

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 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 do not think their arrogance is a sense of entitlement. 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.

He is one of the highest profile men of the DNC. No, not the democrats, the do nothing crew. He would not be popular in Missouri, the show me state. A land where people prefer action over words. Real men act. Small men talk, declare, make proclamations, and make promises, that they never intended to keep. The most widely known legend attributes the phrase to Missouri's U.S. Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver, who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1897 to 1903. While a member of the U.S. House Committee on Naval Affairs, Vandiver attended an 1899 naval banquet in Philadelphia. In a speech there, he declared, "I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me." Regardless of whether Vandiver coined the phrase, it is certain that his speech helped to popularize the saying.

I completely disagree. He does not go for it. It is all a big show. I have never bought into his PR machine. He is a phony, and few he has ever gone after have served time. He hogs the limelight, just like he did as immigration chief. It is time to put this useless man out to pasture. Again.

Now it's time for everyone to claim they barely knew him, or his woman. We may have protected them before, but they are too toxic to touch now. Regardless, it a good result. Sometimes, being radioactive is a good thing! Bye, bye Urs David Fehr. Nobody is going to miss you, your lack of respect, your arrogance, or your bad attitude. You brought absolutely nothing to the table. You are a foul smelling, empty suit.

When the PT abandoned all pretense of ethics, morality and representation of the people, and jumped in bed with the ultra toxic army, it was a forgone conclusion that both Thaksins would be exonerated. It was part of the deal. This is the price Thailand is paying for the abandonment of democracy.

My guess is alot of Russians will be deported. I have spoken to Russians who have told me 90% of Russians with real money are involved in crime. I will certainly not miss them.