spidermike007

No it's actually quite simple, I would like to talk to just a few retailers who say their business is good, either in Thailand or in the US. I haven't been meeting many. I have friends who are real estate developers in the US, and they own shopping centers and malls, and they all say the same thing, retail is way down and a lot of the stores are really hurting and having a hard time making rent. Find a car dealer who's willing to be honest with you and ask him how many cars did you sell last month? Find any retailer that sells medium to high-end products and ask them the same question, how much business did you do last month?

Yeah in the US right now the economy is unbelievably sluggish, in the retail sector. The government is not letting on at all, they're still creating fake numbers, they're still lying about inflation dropping, and the unemployment numbers are probably fake too. The economy is in really poor shape and I have a very bad feeling too, I think it's only going to get worse. Here I think the economy is quite bad too, the government is not admitting just how sluggish it is, after many years of The Prayuth Decimation.

I think I would need 200 hours of therapy after looking at the granny section, that would be utterly frightening.

On your own plane or on someone else's plane? Is that service currently available, and what is the cost?

It is simply inane to see somebody walking outside in an area that's uncrowded with a mask on, it feels like an atmosphere of the zombie apocalypse, and it does create a sense of fear and dread in the population. It's just not necessary at this point unless it is within a hospital or used for pollution. And I happen to enjoy warm coats in the winter time.

How about limiting a run at the presidency to only veterans, only people under 65 years old, people who have never filed for bankruptcy, and people who have children that are of age to serve in the military. And a promise that if the president declares war, his children will serve on the front line! How's that for a qualification?

No worries. The biggest joke is not a serious man. He is a publicity hound. Name the last person that he went after that was actually tried and convicted. I bet you can't name more than one.

Very sluggish. New car sales are way down. Condo and home sales are down. Retail sales are way down. Debt is up. Homelessness is up. Defaults are up. The last administration was a disaster. When will the army ever admit their failures and inadequacies?

Do you really think that the Hamas top dogs are right in the middle of Gaza right now? I'll bet you they're in Lebanon or Syria or Saudi Arabia or New York City. So who does that leave, that leaves women and children being slaughtered on a daily basis. Is that morally correct, morally bankrupt or is that genocidal?

Way too old. And a terrible running mate. A decent man. But, past his prime, as is Trump. If Trump ever even had a prime.

And it should be the case, the degree to which Israel is engaging in genocide against the women and children of Gaza is completely out of proportion to anything that was necessary, or required. It appears that they simply want to cleanse the Gaza of Palestinians entirely and claim all the territory for it. The callousness and hatred being shown is intolerable. Isreal is losing credibility all over the world, and they deserve that.

It is not just China. If you want to put the blame in the place it belongs, blame Prayuth and Prawit. Call it what it is. The Prayuth Decimation. They are the architects of the downfall of Thailand, the increased suicides, homelessness, crime, unemployment, and unhappiness of the people. Let us never forget. Though alot of nations shut down, Thailand waited far too long, and displayed a huge degree of timidity, when re-opening, with draconian restrictions and quarantine. That turned off millions of potential tourists. Add in the ridiculous army's fake sense of purity, and their attempt to homogenize and pasteurized the nation, and destroy the nightlife, and you have a huge degree of self sabotage and inane hubris. If Thailand ever figures out a way to drastically reduce the power and influence of their toxic army, it might be able to move forward and become a better version of itself. Until then, woe is the nation.

My question is this. If the extremely toxic and dangerously timid army were unwilling to take any risks whatsoever, with regard to Covid, why are they spending 22 billion plus baht on submarines? Obviously there is some risk in operating subs, and even more risk if as they say, they are purposed to protect against terrorist threats and any threat in the South China Sea. No doubt, the Chinese subs are likely poorly made. Thankfully the Chinese navy is incapable of traveling more than 1,500 km., in ideal conditions. Likely more like 600 km. in war conditions. And they have very few deep sea ports. Their navy is a threat only to their smaller neighbors. Thai naval forces have not operated submarines for over 60 years now, while neighboring countries, particularly those with a major dispute at sea with Thailand, such as Vietnam, are all equipped with modern submarines. This government is a whirlpool of conflicting loyalties and interests. It's leader has to manage those interests, and effectively buy the loyalties of the various parts of the armed forces. The submarines are the price he has to pay for the navy supporting him. They will end up unusable and unaffordable, as did the aircraft carrier. There is no strategic justification for the submarines. There is really no military threat to Thailand, none of the countries with which it shares a land border have the capacity for anything other than the occasional cross border firefight. If you look carefully at all the military procurement of recent years, they are all to support ambitions, and thus buy the support of the various rival groups within the armed forces. They simply do not add up to any sort of a coherent modernisation or re-equipment of what remains a largely obsolete, immobile and under trained force, able only to undertake the most mundane of garrison duties, whilst it's bloated leadership occupies itself with playing politics or their own largely unregulated business ventures. The government however (or more realistically those to whom it reports) must rely upon the military to keep it in power. It was put into power for one core function; to prevent the nascent political, social and economic liberalisation of Thai society which arose with the arrival of new technologies and communications, which have allowed a (younger) population which has long been kept ill educated and dependent for any advancement on its elders and sponsors, to communicate, educate themselves and develop business independent of those elders and sponsors. The Covid crisis was in a dimension beyond that, and it's timid, chaotic "rabbit in the headlights" response to the challenges it brought were simply because it did not know how to react, other than to use some of the opportunities to exercise power, in pursuit of that core function, which the social and political restrictions they argue the disease has necessitated, and granted them.

So far every subsequent strain of covid has proven to be weaker and weaker, more feeble and more feeble, though the transmission rates are higher, the fatality rates are consistently lower. Why should they be making special preparations for yet another more people variation? Perhaps common sense is finally prevailing?

Been gone for a long time and it's a crying shame because alternatives to getting on those clogged highways is desperately needed at this time and yet there seem to be a complete absence of creative minds at the leadership level, who are coming up with alternative means of thansport. How about small plane and helicopter rides from Hua Hin to Pattaya? Why is Hua Hin one of the least utilized airports in SE Asia? What would that be a 30-minute flight? Come on guys you could be doing a lot better than this.

Proper planning requires vision, it requires intelligence, it requires foresight, and it requires an ability to put greed aside, and do some things that improve the lives of the people. When the only consideration is the worship and adoration of the golden calf, these kind of problems happen.

I could go on and on and on. The goons just do not get it. At all. Whatever happens, the numbers will be lower than before. Thailand's days as a tourist mecca are behind it now. They will have to live on scraps. None of the myriad of issues that existed long before Covid have been addressed, and the quality of tourist Thailand attracts has been declining for years. Nearly anyone in the industry will attest to that. Few tourists will be interested in visiting a Quaker state, built on a foundation of fake purity, stripped of its character, by fools who know nothing about anything. The recession that is likely coming next year will not help. But, a lot of Thailand's current economic woes are largely self inflicted. This exceedingly reckless administration engaged in multiple, highly selective economic shutdowns, that favored their cronies, and punished the masses. They also kept the nation closed off for far too long, and decimated tourism. Then they partially re-opened, with draconian restrictions. So, if you want to put the blame in the place it belongs, blame Prayuth and Prawit. Call it what it is. The Prayuth Decimation. They are the architects of the downfall of Thailand, the increased suicides, homelessness, crime, unemployment, and unhappiness of the people. Let us never forget. Though alot of nations shut down, Thailand waited far too long, and displayed a huge degree of timidity, when re-opening, with draconian restrictions and quarantine. That turned off millions of potential tourists. You do not just re-open after well over 2 years, and thing go right back to normal. Everything has changed, and Thailand is not the center of the universe. Perhaps, some of the officials are starting to understand that. So, how about making sacrifices? Thailand is a pale shadow of it's former self. None of the many problems that existed prior to Covid were addressed. None. Not one. And they have made alot of effort to pasteurize and homogenize and puritanize the place. The exact opposite of what most want. They want character. Thailand is NOT Monte Carlo, or Singapore. It never will be. Give up that stupid dream. Preserve the character, cherish the character, don't erase it! No humility has been learned. None.

It is all about a high quality of life, and milking every remaining day for what it is worth. I do not know how many days, weeks, months, or years I have left. I am so happy I am living here. There are many issues to consider. Going back to the US is not an option. I would not want to live there now, unless I was being paid over a million dollars a year, and then I would only do it for 3 years, and then leave. I travel back to the US often, and the prices and inflation are mind blowing. The cheapest lunch we have found was $30 for two. That is 1,000 baht, anytime you want something basic. A bag of groceries is 3,000 baht. A friend of mine is looking for an apartment to move to in LA, and really small, simple places are 70,000 baht per month. Nice two bedrooms are closer to 100,000 baht. Decent homes start at 125,000 baht per month. The cost of nearly everything has gone up dramatically. Runaway inflation? 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? $2000-3800 a month. That is 120,000 baht! For me, it is about quality of life, and my level of fulfillment on a daily basis, which I seem to have here in abundance. A big factor here, is the relatively light hearted attitude of the people. You just do not find that in the US, where most seem bitter, disenchanted, unfulfilled, and heavy hearted. Some of us live very good lives here. Some of us have been fortunate enough to find an outstanding woman, who is delightful to be around, on a daily basis, always has our back, and is fun, smart, and lovely. For me, that likelihood of finding that back in the US, would be very low. So, that is a big factor for me. The second factor is just the quality of life. Sure, I miss alot of the culture back home. The theatre, independent film (which I can download here with no issues at all, and a super fast 1 GB fiber optic connection, at under 700 baht per month!), stand up comedy, live jazz, etc. But I have a lovely home that I rent, for about 10% of what I would pay in California, I live very well on an income which is not huge, have access to great health care, at a tiny fraction of what it costs in the US, and do not have to put up with alot of the aggravation that I had to when I lived back there. It is a very personal choice. I have friends who seem to be dropping like flies. I could be dead next year. You just don't know. I am not extravagant, but I live very, very well. A nice house, a new car every few years, new motorbikes for my gal and I every few years, a great art collection, plenty of good wine in the wine cooler, a new 77" OLED TV, a world class home theatre, plenty of international travel, etc. For me, it is a great lifestyle, that I could only dream of in the US. Well worth the expense and very easy to justify. Life is way too short. I used to have more issues than I do now. I worked on my attitude, which was getting in the way of appreciating Thailand for what it is, and was clouding my experience here. Used to stress over stupid stuff, as you can see from some of my past posts. Used to allow the politics to make me angry. Now it is not something I take seriously, just something I comment on, without anger or an emotional investment. Now, I just tend to laugh it off. Spent some real time back in the US recently, and it allowed some clarity and perspective, that I am very grateful for. Now, I just chuckle at most of the nonsense. Water off a duck's back, so to speak.

I lived on Samui for nearly a decade. I knew people who bragged about being fugitives, I knew guys who had friends that were fugitives from the law. Samui was considered one of the best places in the world to stay if you were wanted by the law. I don't know if that reality still exists to this day, but it sure did for a long time. The police are your friends on Samui, as long as you have cash. They are some of the most corrupt in Thailand.

He might have taken his eye off the note for a moment. It is natural for people to become distracted. He could have then pocketed it, slid it under the counter, etc. That does not take magic skills. Sleight of hand is an easy trick.

If you are absolutely certain you gave them 1,000 baht note you do not leave the store, you stay in the store for hours if you need to, you call the police, you call your friends, you make a scene, you raise your voice, you do anything you need to do to embarrass them, and shame them into submission. Believe me, you'll get your change. In Thailand sometimes it's necessary to make a lot of noise and to create a huge degree of loss of face and embarrassment, in order to get people to do the right thing ,believe me I've done it many times, it works.

You are giving alot of credit to a man who definitely does not deserve it. Along with Cha Cha he nearly single handedly destroyed the Thai economy and tourism. And you really think he is sincere about this? Let us confer in 6 months, and see what this friend of yours has done to improve traffic safety.

It most certainly has something to do with the inability to visualize. Neither the future, nor the hypothetical. What will happen in this scenario? What about this? What about that? What are the inherent risks involved in piloting my bike, car or truck onto the safety lane of a major highway, in the wrong direction, with big trucks coming at me at 100kph? Or onto a lane of a major highway, with oncoming traffic going 120kph? Is it worth sacrificing my life, or my ability to walk for the rest of my life? How will my death affect my kids? Hold on, what about the lives of my wife, kids and sister who are in the vehicle with me, and I am responsible for their safety. Wow. That would be a big loss. An entire family. Maybe I should act like an adult, and be prudent and careful. What if I waited four seconds for the highway lane to be completely clear, rather than just barge into it now, and risk everything. I don't think many Thais ever ponder thoughts like this. Why, I can't imagine. It is likely something we will never understand about their nature. I often like to say the best way to understand these differences in attitude and intellect, is to realize Thailand is NOT a foreign country. It is a distant planet.

Glad to see King Vlad admit he has had his butt handed to him by the Ukrainians, who he grossly underestimated. He has shown himself to be infinitely less intelligent than many of us assumed he was, and It has been a severe humiliation for this genocidal, multi billionaire thief, dictator for life, liar and serial killer.

The "not let me go anywhere without her" alone would be a deal-breaker for me. I have no tolerance for possessive women, nor jealousy and when my woman and I got together we had many conversations about this and established over the years a very independent lifestyle where we spend significant amounts of time apart. With friends, we take trips separately, and there's never a complaint. We both love it. If it's not working get out, the sooner the better, don't waste another day of your life.