spidermike007

1 hour ago, Phoenix Rising said:

In the case of trump I would definitively add a shock collar.

1660 volts. Something needs to stop him. He cannot control himself. His advisors cannot control him, nor will he listen to advice. 

The best control, is eviction from the White House. Only a month to go. He does not know it, but he is careening towards the greatest humiliation of his sorry lifetime. 

If there is a second debate, Biden's camp should insist that the moderator have a power button for each mic. If there is an interruption, cut him off. 

Trump's people will not allow that, because they know he is incapable of civilized discourse. At that point Biden should announce he is done debating the clown. He will win regardless, and there is little upside for him, in trying to counter Trump's gutter tactics. 

Part of an ever changing world is more tourism. Thailand is not feudal China or Japan. This is 2020. 

We are not radioactive. We are people. Tourists contribute alot to the economy and so do expats. 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 business 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.

This hapless administration needs to develop some courage and initiative. They can't hide from the world forever. Extreme timidity from supposedly tough men is an amusing thing to witness. However, the pain they are inflicting on millions is not. 

As an expat living here I would not wear one. Never. Jail me. I will put up such a stink online, they would end up attempting to arrest me, like the American who complained about the Koh Chang hotel.

Inane nonsense. An administration run amok. 

Trump engaged in gutter behavior, and likely alienated some undecided voters. Biden held his own. Anyone moderating a debate with Trump should have a power button for the mic. Cut him off! 

My guess is Biden won and will pick up a few more points from it. Trump looked panicked, lost, abusive and rude. 

And why didn't he condemn the extremists? Because he supports them. They are his own. He is a racist. 

Samui desperately needs the help. Was recently there. More than 80% of the hotels were closed. 

Thailand needs courageous leadership. They don't have it. The army are major cowards. ANY person from ANY nation should be welcome starting tomorrow, if they are willing to subject themselves to a 14 day quarantine and pay excessive fees for that two week sentence. There is no downside or risk, and only upside for the nation. No begging from a local consulate should be required. That is utter nonsense. A covid free letter and a booking at an approved hotel. Nothing else. No insurance. No groveling. 

More nonsense. More arrogance from the incompetent. 

Thailand needs courageous leadership. They don't have it. The army are major cowards. ANY person from ANY nation should be welcome starting tomorrow, if they are willing to subject themselves to a 14 day quarantine and pay excessive fees for that two week sentence. There is no downside or risk, and only upside for the nation. No groveling from a local consulate should be required. That is utter nonsense. A covid free letter and a booking at an approved hotel. Period. No more Inane "Phuket or Thailand models". And no special health insurance either. Quarantine is enough of a penalty already. Stop being silly and stop the nonsense. 
 
And they should be begging foreigners who are already here, to stay. Foreigners who overstay their permission to remain in Thailand face fines and even possible jail. Huh? Really? You have got to be kidding. Wait a minute. Have you guys lost your senses? Have you forgotten your people, entirely? 
 
For the more than a hundred thousand tourists that are estimated to still be here on tourism visas, I suggest free unlimited visas, 10,000 baht hotel vouchers, and vouchers for many free, gourmet meals. And an immigration officer will come to your hotel to renew your visa, to show our appreciation, of your continued support. Perhaps half price air tickets for domestic travel.
 
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. 

Thailand needs courageous leadership. They don't have it. The army are major cowards. ANY person from ANY nation should be welcome starting tomorrow, if they are willing to subject themselves to a 14 day quarantine and pay excessive fees for that two week sentence. There is no downside or risk, and only upside for the nation. No groveling from a local consulate should be required. That is utter nonsense. A covid free letter and a booking at an approved hotel. Period. No more Inane "Phuket or Thailand models". And no special health insurance either. Quarantine is enough of a penalty already. Stop being silly and stop the nonsense. 

And they should be begging foreigners who are already here, to stay. Foreigners who overstay their permission to remain in Thailand face fines and even possible jail. Huh? Really? You have got to be kidding. Wait a minute. Have you guys lost your senses? Have you forgotten your people, entirely? 

For the more than a hundred thousand tourists that are estimated to still be here on tourism visas, I suggest free unlimited visas, 10,000 baht hotel vouchers, and vouchers for many free, gourmet meals. And an immigration officer will come to your hotel to renew your visa, to show our appreciation, of your continued support. Perhaps half price air tickets for domestic travel.

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. 

32 minutes ago, simple1 said:

I like that one 'little don', he's had business with the mafia in the past - confirmed by Australian Federal Police when seeking permission to operate a casino in Oz; he was refused - so an excellent put down.

Contrary to the self created myth, Trump can barely negotiate his way out of a paper bag. Just think of how many have gotten over on him, and taken advantage of his lack of skill and prowess, in the past few years. Putin, Xi, Kim, MBS, and countless others. Now, the leaked tax returns paint the rest of the sorry picture. 17 major business failures! Possibly a record. And financial losses for decades. Unless he is lying to the IRS too. Very possible. 

I disagree with the assessment. Tourism had been declining for years already. The numbers were up. But the quality of tourist was way down. And according to everyone I spoke to last year, the year before and the year before that, income was way, way down. So, this blame it all on Covid scenario is somewhat disengenuous. Sure, Covid is huge. And the drop now is stunning. But, my point is there were plenty of issues prior to Covid. 

Remember when Thailand used to get alot of well heeled Western tourists? They brought real money into the country, and in exchange, were treated with utter and complete disregard, scammed, disrespected, and abused. The issues pertaining to the air, the environment, the road safety, the corrupt cops, the scammers, and others, were never addressed. Eventually, most said no more. Thailand thought the country was something very special, the center or the known universe, and that nobody would ever say no, or find alternative places to visit. The fact is that there are countless other spots, many in this region, that offer better service, more expertise in food and beverage (especially wine service and selection at fair prices, which rich tourists demand), reasonable import duties to sustain a luxury goods market, better training, and far better English skills.

Thailand simply lost sight of the big picture, and had very little vision, with regard to big spending tourists, who need to be catered to, instead of scorned.

So, what happened? The Western tourists started to decline in number, and the genius minds at the TAT decided it was time to "lure" the Chinese and Indians. They came. They came in droves. And only the lower and middle income tourists came. But, they did not spend much money. Hotels, restaurants, gift shops, jewelers, galleries, spas, massage shops, bars, and countless other businesses suffered, from this extreme myopia, on the part of the officials in charge of tourism.

Oh well. Can't say they were not warned. Zero baht tourists are the vast majority who were visiting Thailand, prior to Covid. Sure, they spend some money in restaurants, at Tesco, and in 7/11. But, that is about it, for most of the super low budget Chinese and Indian tourists.

Most rich tourists stopped visiting Thailand, for a dozen good reasons. They have too many other options.

They say they want rich tourists. What sacrifices are the ministers willing to make, to get them? Rich tourists like to spend money when they travel. And they cannot do that here, as they do not like getting taken for a ride. Most wealthy people are smart with their money. Thailand could be making a fortune on a 25% luxury tax. Instead of the 100% or more, which discourages most people from buying. How many people do you see in the luxury stores here? They are almost always completely empty. Inane. Beyond inane.

2 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Political expedience rules.

Especially when morality, ethics, honor, promises, my word is my bond, and dignity mean nothing. Win at any cost. 

8 hours ago, Damrongsak said:

Let them kill each other, and their families.  As my son said, they are "proud and stupid". He tried. Just a young pup, but he tried.

 

 

 

Truly horrific. It was a mistake of historical proportions for America to demonstrate the extreme hubris to invade Iraq. And that fake WMD agenda made it all the more disingenuous. Now, after approximately 650,000 Iraqi lives have been lost, over 4,500 American lives and over 320 coalition lives, the real question is what was the sacrifice for, and was it worth it? The vast majority would say absolutely not. 

And nobody knows how much treasure has been spent. Many trillions undoubtedly. 

This is why I think all future presidential candidates should be combat veterans. Cowards make decisions based on ignorance and a false sense of bravado. Veterans know better.