spidermike007

A blow to what credibility? I think they are living in a constant state of self created delusion. Thailand and this administration have very, very little credibility on the world stage. Only a small percent of the locals are buying into the army nonsense.

Reality can be cruel. The fact is kingdoms have been won and lost over lesser women! Men can be easily swayed by beauty. Some men. It has little effect on Bond types.

Chill and clan? A Gen Z phrase. I consulted the dictionary. Chill, yes. Clan? Often bruises and scars will identify you as a local, from a motorbike accident. We called them Samui tattoos. We left after paradise got way over developed. I don't miss the locals with their jaded attitudes. Though that may have changed, as Samui took quite a hit. It is a gorgeous island. Either on the beaches or up in the hills, once you get away from the Ring road.

Yes. A huge one. They are very expensive to use, many are used by Japanese and multi national firms, and the 1000's of blank ones at this time are a major indication that something highly dysfunctional is happening with the local economy here.

This could be government sponsored hacking. Though it is likely too small for the kinds of crimes Putin commits daily. Is there witness protection in Thailand? How does that work? Has anyone's life ever been saved with it? If this is Russian mafia, I would imagine the Bratva scums can get to you anywhere.

We were thinking about leaving last year too. My wife and I went overseas for 2 months. Inflation was raging, everything in sight was way, way over priced, people were generally grouchy, dour, unfulfilled, and humorless. I do not listen to screams of racism. I refuse to be a victim. It makes one weak. We decided to come back, and we are thrilled to be here. To each his own. I now ignore the ridiculous government here (other than griping on this forum, LOL), bury my head in the sand as much as possible, and just enjoy waking up here each morning! $6 for a very good meal. $300 a month for rent. $60 a nite for a four star hotel in Bangkok. I could go on and on all day. I love Planet Thailandia, with all it's bizarre aspects, and defects. Plenty to be happy about with this place, warts and all!

Really? Is the the best you got? As if Trump was coherent, smart or articulate? Please. Every time he spoke he made people all over the world cringe. Do you remember some of the things he said, or has time dulled those recollections? If we are going to discuss Biden, it is only fair to compare him to his predecessor. Trump on Mexico "I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will have Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words." Trump on September 11th "I think I could have stopped it because I have very tough illegal immigration policies, and people aren't coming into this country unless they're vetted and vetted properly." Trump on global warming "The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive." Trump on John McCain "[John McCain is]... not a war hero. He's a war hero - he's a war hero 'cause he was captured. I Like people that weren't captured, OK, I hate to tell you." Trump on family "She does have a very nice figure... If [Ivanka] weren't my daughter, perhaps I'd be dating her." Trump on beverages "I have never seen a thin person drinking Diet Coke."

Does it matter. Comparing Prayuth to Prawit, is like comparing Cardi B to Justin Bieber. P & P are both equally annoying, incapable and destructive. What Thailand needs is new blood, younger leaders, and people with vision who actually care about the nation and it's people. Imagine such a thing?

I have been a bit disappointed with Biden. But, his policy is decent, and he has been able to accomplish some good stuff. And frankly anything beats Ross, Acosta, Shanahan, Nielsen, Price, Shulkin, Perry, Pompeo, Barr, Bannon, Manigault, Mnuchin, Gorka, Pruitt, Flynn, Miller, Carson, DeVos, Huckabee, Priebus, Haley, Kushner, Ivanka, Eric, Don Jr. and hundreds of stunningly incompetent and inexperienced Federal judges appointed to lifetime positions. Not to mention Trump himself, the king of incompetence. One thing he was really good at was raiding the bottom of the barrel for appointees. Frankly, I do not expect anyone as coherent, intelligent or funny as Stewart, to ever run for the office. One has to take into account that the entire experience of running for president has to be a horrendous thing. And I think the best and the brightest have no interest in it. It also takes a huge degree of both megalomania, and ego. Stewart seems way too humble, and far too smart for the job. Though I would love to see someone like him running the nation, I doubt it will ever happen. Things appear to be moving downhill, and not improving. Popular American culture has reached a level of bankruptcy never seen before.

Though his cognitive skills seem to be declining, I am not nearly as concerned or worried about his mental health, as I was with Trump during his last year in office. He really seemed to be declining, and becoming less coherent, and increasingly scary.

Though I do not think this tax will affect the arrival numbers at all, it is a move in the wrong direction, and is being done with the wrong spirit. The officials should be figuring out a way of being more generous with international tourists, more welcoming, improving the overall experience, and being more gracious. Perhaps offering a free nights stay, a 3,000 baht voucher for restaurants, or at least talking the sourpuss immigration people into thanking tourists for coming? Can you convince an arrogant grouch into at least pretending to be nice?

I agree. I do not think Thailand has the clout to attract the top players. I am amazed they were able to attract Moto GP. That is likely the most prestigious international event Thailand hosts. It is a shame it was canceled two years in a row. Likely just another black eye for Thailand. Others were eager to host it, despite covid.

Only a "very well trained man" would utter such a spectacularly ignorant statement, as what that guy said. Sounds like it came out of an "all women are goddesses" feminist college textbook. So PC. So weak.

Never said the event was world class. I referred to Paradorn as world class. Top ten. No question the event is second class. But, that is all they can attract, right now.

It barely matters. Tourism here has been destroyed through recklessness, lack of courage, lack of vision, unwillingness to address any of the problems that existed long before covid came around, and maintaining the draconian restrictions far longer than was wise or prudent. Thailand is the land of the forgotten. It will take many years for the numbers to rise, and they will never return to what they were. Wow are the Thai people, with this kind of irresponsible and incapable leadership.

You have a lovely writing style. Ever published anything? It sounds like climate is not an issue for you. Perhaps it is time to look at the legal aspects of residency there? They might be more welcoming than we think, as the population is expected to drop. National Records of Scotland (NRS) estimates that the number of people in the country will peak in 2028 at 5.48 million and then fall by 1.8% by 2045. The drop is driven in part by a reduction in net migration - the number of people entering Scotland minus the number of people leaving. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-62741746

The baht really had no fundamental reason to stay so high. And now that it has been revealed that the central bank was propping it up, it is likely they are simply unwilling to continue to throw billions at the currency. I would like to see it drop to 45/usd. Gold and silver will likely bounce back. Too much worldwide demand. I like silver over gold. I think it has the potential to skyrocket when the dollar and the US economy starts collapsing. Which will likely happen in the near term. When that happens, all bets are off.

This guy just likes to throw things at the wall, and see if they stick. I don't think anyone pays attention to him. He is a sort of figurehead, without respect or honor. If he was serious, he would ask the agencies BritManToo speaks of, to simplify things for homeowners. However, that would represent progressive policy.

I have never met or even seen a 10. Since that represents utter perfection for me, I have never used it. I use a true Olympic scale. The hottest woman I ever spent time with was a 9.25. And she was French. Met her on vacation in Bali when I was quite young. Never even seen a 10. I doubt if that level of perfection even exists. Dated alot of 8's and a couple of 8.5's in NY back in the day. I hear that term 10 used alot. It is the pinnacle and a number not to be used lightly. This is a serious thing. LOL. This is my version of an 8.75

Good. Srichapan was a favorite of mine back in the day. He had an outstanding game, was the most accomplished Thai tennis player in history, won 5 ATP tour titles and made it to the 3rd or 4th round of every one of the slams. He is a great ambassador for the game and a good example for the youth. But why is Suwat referred to as his excellency? Prior political positions? He is an accomplished man. But his excellency?

This is great news. Now that daily cases are down to a trickle, there is barely any reason for masking anymore. However, I still see kids bicycling around with masks on and riding motorbikes with masks on. Will the extreme paranoia end? How long will it take people here to develop a comfort level, that allows them to leave a mask behind?

I would love to see the windbag Don sit down with Lazrov and use his exceptional negotiating and diplomatic skills to bring about a solution to this war, and stop the Russian maiming and killing of women and children. Now, that would be worth paying to watch. Somehow, I doubt the madman Putin would be convinced.

Good advice, in this day and age. Especially here with the weak and cowardly defamation laws. It is very easy to set up multiple Gmail accounts. Always wise to create some layers of insulation. If the owner or the authorities want to track you down, at least make it hard work for them.

There is nothing more sexy and appealing than women who are capable and willing to manifest the incredible dignity and beauty within femininity. I see many incredibly beautiful women in the US, that are made so much less attractive by their inability to do so. It is as if their own feminine qualities, buried deep inside, scare them to death. Thrilled to not have to deal with them any longer. And my heart goes out to the poor men who have no choice.

We all know what the emergency decrees were really about. Not much of a surprise here. The courts here are about as impartial and apolitical as the US Supreme Court is at this time. Hopefully the judiciary will be held to account at some point in the future. Never forget.