spidermike007

I always like to say relationships are much like a ship, and every ship needs a captain. If the man's not willing to be the captain the woman has to step in and take over the helm. Someone needs to establish control. If a guy is too wimpy to assert control over his life, and make his own decisions, he gets what is coming to him. And that applies much more here than it does in the West.

Carlson would not know truth if it bit him on the ankles. He is a master of disinformation. One of the reasons he is being considered as VP candidate by Trump, as astonishing as that sounds.

Let things play out and see if China becomes a true world leader, at that time and only at that time will you be able to make a correct determination as to what China's intentions are. I believe they are aggressive, and not to be trusted, obviously you don't.

That is an insane and unhinged reply. Are you saying you would prefer living in Russia, North Korea, Cuba or Yemen, over the US or Europe? Go for it. It's a very high quality of life there. I dare you to move there.

Of course. They won the election. PT stole it and appointed a proxy PM, who is failing miserably. The people know when they have been smoked and disrespected. The day will come when the youth will control this nation, and the toxic, foul, corrupt army will be reduced to defense only, and prevented from entering politics, which they know nothing about.

How many people die every year from the flu? And how many of them were old and had issues? Some simply do not want to let this go, even though it became endemic long ago. I am over 60 and got Covid. I have had worse flu bugs and remain more concerned over getting a flu, than covid.

Anyone who is not willing to really take their time to get to know somebody and who is even discussing the possibility of marriage three months into a relationship needs serious psychoanalysis. It's just a problem waiting to happen. Try to do everything in your power to discourage him from moving that quickly. I always like to say if it's good it's only going to get better, if there are issues they're going to reveal themselves over time. You really don't know who you're dealing with until you're at least one or two years into the relationship. The next question I would have is who's making the decisions in his life? If it's not him it's going to be her.

The only reasonable way to deal with people involved in human trafficking, sex trafficking, or child prostitution is the death penalty. Carried out one way or another.

You are right, with China it's very much a one-way street. For instance trying to ship a product to China is an absolute nightmare. Unless their government is involved importation into China is nearly impossible. They are not a reasonable, nor a fair trading partner.

Well China's powerful but to say that they are the world's power I think is a great exaggeration. They have a handful of deep sea ports and they have no deep sea Navy thus far. The US has the most powerful deep sea Navy on the planet and far more deep sea ports around the world. The other big factor is that they're very afraid of having their currency traded outside of China, and therefore it's not a negotiable currency around the world. They will never be a major player until they give up that intense need for control.

Israel has the single largest lobby within the US, and this one of the primary reasons why they continue to get funding.

Exactly. Perhaps ex-pats should be given a bit more credit, in this formula? We do bring in alot of stable income. Even the rural folks benefit. Alot of the nicer houses in the poorer farming areas were built with money from expats. Alot of trucks, cars and income is from expats. Countless businesses, employing many. To say it is insignificant, is a blatant misunderstanding of Thai economics. Thousands of hotels, restaurants, countless airlines and many tour companies, also benefit. By comparison, an average ex-pat spends how much per month? I would say alot of us spend 50,000 to upwards of 100,000 baht a month. I know I do. No value in that? I know some live on less. However, since the average GDP of the nation is around $570, that means about 20,000 baht a month? I think xenophobia is utterly rampant, in all segments of the government here, from the feds right on down to the local amphur. However, I do not think most Thai people are that way. I think most either like us, or are indifferent to us. Which I can handle. I think ex-pats should be treated with the kind of respect and acknowledgement we deserve. If there was decency abs wisdom within the govt. they should say we have decided to change our policies, and we now realize how much you guys bring to the table. An immigration officer will now come to your home to renew your visa, to show our appreciation, of your continued support. You will only be required to sign one form, and we will give you a five year, multiple entry visa. Free of charge. And we will include a 10,000 baht voucher, good for any hotel in the country, for one year. Princely treatment. Thank you so much for helping to rescue our economy and our people. We appreciate it, and aim to show it for a change! We are past the era of thugs like the big joke. And we apologize for all of his abuse. We realize we have been moving the country backwards. And Covid has given us all some time to reflect. We are going to start changing things, and attempt to move the nation forward, instead of backwards.

Well whether I'm influenced by the US government or not, I do everything in my power to avoid buying Chinese products, supporting Chinese companies, and supporting the CCP, which I consider to be a heinous political organization. I believe they have nothing but foul intentions so they're not getting my support. At least as little as possible, as it's hard to avoid buying Chinese products entirely. But one can make an effort, if they care. I believe that if China were to become a significant world power they would not wear their power lightly, nor gracefully. If you need an example of that just look at the South China Sea.

Good point. OK, I stand corrected. Non Russian Westerners!

OK, time to go after the govt. ministers, the army generals who are misbehaving, corrupt customs, immigration and other officers. Or, perhaps as usual you are not being serious and sincere, Mr. Stretta?

Tens of thousands have left. I cannot provide proof of this but a dear friend of mine is very close to one of the top foreign attorneys in Bangkok, and he said that over the last 5 years he doesn't have enough time in the day to handle all the appointments that are booked by foreigners leaving Thailand and working to create some sort of legal disposition of their assets here. I am happy here. But many are not.

I completely agree. As a centrist dem, who is an American Jew, it is incredible how much flack I get for "not going along with the program". Being critical of Israel, their policies and now their extremism, is not encouraged, nor is it even permissible in some circles. I will not apologize for being critical of policy that generates hatred, war, the killing of thousands of innocent women and children, the disruption of the world economy, and prevents peace or a peaceful solution. And no, I do not support Hamas, for those who abhor rejection of Israeli extremism. I despise them and wish them dead. OK?

Funny. Guess you asked for it. Nearly every time I see someone complaining, or observing a shortfall within Thailand, some guy, who has not taken the time to think things through, nor to devote any focus or effort to a reasonable reply, says something like "Perhaps Thailand is not for you", or maybe you should leave, or I am concerned about you, or the top prize, "if you do not like it here, go back to your own country". Hard to even respond to such inane statements. Why? Because I have some issues with the place? The nature of a discerning mind, is to have issues. Though absolute contentment must be a beautiful state of mind, it is not something most of us are blessed with, in case you have not noticed. The fact that I complain, does not mean I do not love Thailand, nor most of it's people. I do. I love my life here. I have a very good life here. But, I do have some complaints, and there are some things I would love to see improved. I should leave because of that? Please. Next time you make a post, try to devote at least two moments of thought to it.

I have always found the Viet people to be a bit like cold fish. Not particularly fun to be around. With the Thais, many are fun and playful, and have light hearts, which I cannot get enough of. Many 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. Especially one who is younger, and quite pretty. 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 gbps 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 have never been a person of extreme thrift. To each his own. 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. Yes, I complain online. So what? It is a healthy form of venting. 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.

No. I will buy an American or European made product over a Chinese product, every single opportunity I get. Not only are they higher quality, but I get to deny the subsidized Chinese factories, and the heinous CCP. Call it whatever you like. Makes no difference to me. Never been particularly concerned with criticism, nor name calling. Why? Closer ties to China are not a good idea. They are up to no good. Their intentions are heinous. Their desire for power and dominnance knows no bounds. They cannot and should not be trusted. They are NOT a reliable ally, and are not a good or trustworthy world power. They are only one step above Russia, on the trust scale. Worldwide slavery, and organ harvesting? No thanks Xi. Perhaps the Chinese should educate themselves on what their own government is doing to the minorities in the West, and Falun Gong members. Falun Gong practitioners across China are subject to widespread surveillance, arbitrary detention, imprisonment, and torture, and they are at a high risk of extrajudicial execution. The party-state invests hundreds of millions of dollars annually in the campaign to crush Falun Gong, while simultaneously engaging in exploitative and lucrative forms of abuse against practitioners, including extortion and prison labor. https://freedomhouse.org/report/2017/battle-china-spirit-falun-gong-religious-freedom The Chinese government has imprisoned more than one million people since 2017 and subjected those not detained to intense surveillance, religious restrictions, forced labor, and forced sterilizations. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/china-xinjiang-uyghurs-muslims-repression-genocide-human-rights

Perhaps the issue is not spending real money, on a high quality charger? Devices like this are meant to tackle a variety of jobs. Worth the 4,000 baht.

I cannot wait for the rains. Not only is the heat worse than usual, but the air is horrendous. The rains will come to our rescue, hopefully. It is a bandaid, but it will be some relief.

The 2%. LOL. Never thought I would be part of the 2% I guess I made it by attrition!

Well from what I've seen there are some spots north of where you are that are quite beautiful, have the advantage of being on the Andaman, and have very little congestion. Granted you would not have access to some of the conveniences that you haven't in Patong, but the few times I've been there it's hard for me to wrap my mind around wanting to live in that town. It's just so congested and so chock full of low class tourists, frankly I don't see the appeal. But different strokes, right?

And I agree, less vehicles that are polluting the air the better, so getting vehicles that are old poorly maintained diesels off the road is a good thing. However we are experiencing a crisis at the moment with the air quality and by all accounts the government does not seem to be doing anything productive to improve it, nor to prevent it. They are completely unwilling to stand up to Big Agra which is a huge part of the problem. The burning of sugar, rice, and corn, if controlled, would go a long way toward improving the air quality here. And would save lives.