spidermike007

Absolutely fantastic news, this man should not be within a thousand miles of any ballot, and hopefully multiple states will follow suit, and he'll lose the election by a huge margin, or perhaps he'll drop out. What would really be sweet would be if Biden dropped out too, and then two more youthful and vigorous people who have full possession of their faculties could run for that office.

Did the shipment originate in New Jersey, I wonder? Infamous dumping grounds for the local mafias.

Israel is going to be paying for this horrific genocide for at least a generation to come. There's no question that Hamas is evil and there's no question that a response was required, but this is so grossly out of proportion and so poorly managed, that thousands of people are being killed and far too many of those people are women and children. And they are not the spouses of Hamas leaders, as the false tropes go. They are innocent women and children Palestinians. Israel has a horrific amount of blood on their hands this is not going to go unnoticed. Netanyahu and his extremist, "so called ultra orthodox" freak friends are savages.

Alot of people just do not understand how corrosive, damaging, degrading and nasty social media can be. There are an infinite number of scammers, predators and fraudsters out there. Most of us have the good sense to avoid them, and not get taken in by their unwillingness to do actual work for a living. It boggles the mind, to consider the number of people who fall for these scams. Someone calls you, or contacts you online, and you send them money? Someone you have never met? Someone you have not researched? What gives? Where are the survival instincts? How is a youngster supposed to have the wisdom to know? Granted being asked to send naked pics to a stranger is a bit much. But, I am sure it happens all the time. There is little chance of these people getting apprehended. Very little. And it is a strong indication of just how bent, warped and misguided contemporary culture and society is, that someone can be considered an idol or celebrity just because they have alot of followers on Tik tok, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Personally, I consider social media to be the most corrosive and degenerate force in culture today, and they can be downright dangerous, on multiple levels.

I have done it many times and I know many people who have done it many times. 90% of all immigration officers are corrupt. I've offered them tips, I've asked them if there's anything that I can do to move this along, I've asked them what can I do to expedite this? Most speak English. Most understand the anguage of money. Most are on the take. And almost invariably they give me a wink or a smile, and sometimes say up to you. Sometimes they give me an actual figure, so yes you can employ this anytime, anywhere, without any fear of any sort of reprisal.

There seem to be a lot of criminals and miscreants within the Thai Army and the Thai police. Is this just a coincidence, is it simply representative of a percentage of the population, or do those two institutions tend to attract bottom dwellers?

Go back to the original office that you used before, some offices are a real pain in the butt, and others are a lot easier to work with, and if the guy gives you a hard time offer him 1,000 or 2,000 baht. He will likely accept it, and sign off on the visa.

Absolutely not, like most Thai people they either like us or they're indifferent towards us. But they certainly don't fear and hate us, that's a certainty. I've been treated very well in clinics and hospitals throughout Thailand, both private and public.

I don't see it as a form of punishment, I see it as just a way of life. We have chosen to live here, and we have to accept the fact that we are never going to be one of them, we're never going to be accepting into Thai culture as a local, like we would in Mexico or many other countries after living there for many years. It's just the way Thailand and perhaps all of Asia is, they're not inclusive societies, and they are not melting pots, they are much more insular. There are some things we just have to accept here, and when we embrace that acceptance it does make the experience of living here a lot richer, it makes the heart far more content, and it gets rid of a lot of angst. Why carry around all that angst? I do not consider most Thais to be xenophobic, the government agencies maybe, but certainly not the people. I consider most Thai people to be fairly friendly and at the very worst indifferent towards us, which is a lot better than I've experienced in many other countries where they're downright hostile, Vietnam comes to mind.

An act of nobility and honesty on the part of both the waitress and the owner of the restaurant. Not sure how often this would happen in the US, Russia, or many other nations. Many locals here are very kind hearted. Same applies to many Burmese workers here.

I like what Mike Lister said. Almost every business in Thailand would have two price list if they could, many already do but you don't realise it. Go with the flow and accept the things you cannot change, you'll live longer.

And it has everything to do with victim culture. We can choose to be grateful for the low medical costs here, or we can be put upon, ungracious, unhappy, and moan and groan all day long. There is some water in that glass, after all. And the price difference is very minimal, so is the difference representative of gouging foreigners, or giving the local people a break?

Quite an accomplishment. When one considers the climate, the topography, the road conditions, the lack of accomodations (he must be a well versed camper), and the various government rules, etc. great kudos must be given to this guy for doing this. An amazing feat.

My woman has become a wizard at studying YouTube videos and then preparing amazing gourmet dishes. One of my favorites is pan fried Hong Kong style noodles with seafood. Just slightly crispy. Yum! She's learned to make spectacular pizza, baguettes, bruschetta's, and homemade pasta (she studied with a Thai woman who used to have a great Italian restaurant in our town and trained in Milano for 4 years), in addition to gorgeous Thai food.

I think having an attitude like that is just an invitation for aggravation, you can play the victim if you want, but I would rather pay a price that's 2% of what I would pay back in the US, than worry myself over a small premium that they're charging for a foreigner. It just doesn't make a difference. Water off a duck's back.

From my point of view those prices are still ridiculously reasonable, even with a small premium that they're charging for foreigners. It's not like the National parks where it's 10x more. I just had some work done Ramathibodi in Bangkok and it was not only excellent, but it was very reasonable. Where I come from in the US the tests and exams that I had done would have been 75 times more.

Any alternative to the ridiculously choked highways here would be welcome. We're looking at successive administrations over a period of the last 70 years who have completely ignored the transportation of cargo, resulting in highways that are ridiculously clogged with trucks large and small. Plus a nation that has spent no time, effort, or money developing alternative forms of transportation. Granted the MRT and BTS in Bangkok are exceptional.

My great grandmother was one of them, and when I asked her why they don't teach us about our heritage she said it's because we are not Russian, we are American. There's nothing that I need to teach you about that horrific cesspool that we came from, it was the most horrible nation on earth, and we were so thrilled to have finally gotten out and escaped hell on earth.

Until they start making some real sacrifices nothing of any substance is going to change. Drop the luxury taxes drop the taxes on fine wine drop the taxes on liquor drop the taxes on imported cars don't eliminate them, just reduce them to a reasonable level. That's what smart men would do.

How about a domestic route, like Hua Hin? Save us from the nightmare of that drive.

I'm a little confused, who is this man trying to get justice against? The idiot who was knocking on the door and creating a racket? I understand knocking on the door in an aggressive manner can be considered a problem and perhaps a crime, but was he responsible for the woman falling out of the window or falling off the balcony? This is a very bizarre case and a tragic accident. In my opinion it could have very easily been solved with a can of pepper spray.

Totally fake news, just returned from a few days there in Bangkok and though the Central area was decent, the entire Samut area to the West was dreadful, to the north and to the south is absolutely horrific with PM readings in the neighborhood of 150. Fiction does not change reality. Poor leadership does not clean up the air. Declarations don't have any effect on the atmosphere. Real men act. Small men make insincere promises.

No doubt Thailand is playing a very dangerous game, trying to stay neutral while spending billions on Chinese warships and becoming completely dependent on China for supplies, maintenance, technology, and perhaps expertise too. The entire South China Sea claim is completely bogus, China has absolutely no rights to any of that area, this is just a fiction that they've created in order to begin their aggression towards other nations in the region. China is a major bully. I suspect this is only going to escalate in the future and every nation has to push back against the heinous CCP, to whatever extent they can. Sretta, Prayuth and Thailand are attempting to maintain neutrality. However, Prayuth the coward showed his true colors with the Hague decision. Five years ago on this day, an international tribunal in a landmark ruling dismissed Beijing’s claim to much of the South China Sea. The Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague said on 12 July 2016 that there was no evidence that China had exercised exclusive control historically over the key waterway. Clearly the verdict has had little impact on China’s behaviour as its land reclamation and creeping militarisation continues unabated, while its vessels regularly intrude into Filipino waters. https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/whatever-happened-south-china-sea-ruling

Try to explain to this goomba that this is not the Cossack empire in the old days, where they went around slaughtering people for their fur coats. You may have that heritage but that doesn't entitle you to behave in that fashion here, and in this day and age.

What the media should really do is spread the story about how reckless this woman was with her money. She obviously did not have it while hidden, she didn't have it in any sort of safe or safety box, or any effective hiding place. How do you keep that much money in a hiding place where a kid can find it? That's what should be published, is the recklessness that this woman engaged in in her daily lifestyle. As a cautionary tale for others. A great easy temptation, you're going to become a target.