spidermike007

The concept of Thai officials "learning something" is quite an abstract and hopeful idea. Even with the great humiliation brought on by the devastation of the tourism industry, the drop in exports, and the doldrums of the economy, one would hope the officials here might be capable of learning, adapting, and being more humble. But, I see no indication of that. Dinosaur brains are hard to educate. 
 
So, we have about 3 trillion baht missing from the economy, minus the little bit of domestic travel going on. 20%! Millions of jobs. How long will that vacuum remain? Will the army develop some guts, courage, creativity and stop the panic mongering? It is unlikely. And what about the people? They are not really a consideration. If you are not rich or connected, you do not factor in. Woe is the average Thai, who worked in tourism. 
 
What can one say? Desperation is setting in. Heads are going to roll. Just returned from Samui. Utter devastation. 90% of the businesses on the beach road were closed, and hundreds of hotels are closed and for sale, at half price. Trillions of baht are going to be lost here. Annually. Tourism will NEVER recover. Not in our lifetimes. Too much timidity. Too much cowardice. Too little juice and creativity. Such small minds. The longer they wait, the harder it will be to restore the industry. People have short memories. Thailand was already being forgotten by millions, before Covid, due to a dozen reasons. Now? Too many alternatives. This administration continues to see Thailand as the COTU (center of the universe). Say it ain't so! No humility seem to be getting learned as of now.

And now, the few remaining tourists here are being asked to leave? They should be given free visas, and 10,000 baht vouchers to stay! Commendation letters too. And for incoming tourists, free quarantine. All expenses, including meals, picked up by the army, using their multi trillion baht slush fund. Nonsensical stupidity. Lack of science. Fear mongering. Let us make your stay as uncomfortable as possible. And by the way, you cannot consume alcohol either, during your quarantine. Who comes up with this stuff, and why does the nation tolerate the nonsense, the utter incompetence, the malfeasance? How much longer will they tolerate the extremely regressive army? 

At some stage, hopefully sooner rather than later, the Thai government will have to re-open its borders and find a way to ‘manage’ the Covid-19 situation rather than remain in a travel bubble of its own making. The longer the government doesn’t re-open to something akin to general tourism, the harder it will be to re-boot the former Thai tourism powerhouse. My prediction, is that when Covid is dead and gone, it will be a very slow recovery. It will take many years. And even ten years from now, I doubt if Thailand will see 20 million tourists a year. The longer they wait, the harder they fall. 
 
 

President Trump on Thursday twice referred to Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as a "monster" following her debate performance against Vice President Pence the evening prior. Trump’s comments, made in his first interview since his coronavirus diagnosis, were made during an exchange about Biden’s fitness for office. Trump claimed that Biden “won’t be president for two months” if elected because he is not “mentally capable of being president,” before tearing into Harris. In my opinion, the word monster is a dog whistle for a powerful, successful woman, who Trump cannot deal with, on any level. They represent his nemesis. It may also be a misogynistic term, and possibly a racist reference. Either way, he lost even most votes with his insane ranting. 

Trump deserves condemnation as often as it can be dished out. At this stage, he is getting an exceptionally low number of decisions, statements, policies, and guesses right. And he has come up with absolutely zero in 49 months, to replace Obamacare with. I am not fond of Obamacare. It has driven up costs dramatically. But, if you are going to open you big mouth and criticize your opponent on health care, when you promised you would find something better, then did nothing, it sounds a bit inane and toothless.

Trump is faltering in a way I never thought I would see happen. He looks weak, feeble, feckless, anemic, and rather lackluster. He is going to lose badly. He is going to be humiliated in a way he never has before. I cannot wait to see that happens. The planet waits with baited breath.

Most of us who are level headed, and have not sampled any of the kool aid, believe there is less than a 1% chance of a second term. One cannot eat cheeseburgers as a dietary staple, avoid all forms of exercise (swinging a golf club, and driving around in a cart all day does not count one iota), and get away with that forever. Once the people saw through this tax plan, and realized it is just a massive transfer of wealth from the middle and lower classes, to the corporations, the top 5%, all bets were off. You add in the massive failures of Hurricane Maria, and Covid, and now the revelation that everything he touches fails, with his businesses, and people are seeing right through the self created myth of Little Don. 

After Trump is unceremoniously ushered out of DC in January, when he reluctantly and bitterly hands the reins over the a far more capable man, political scientists and opinion writers will spend years dissecting the mad experiment of the Trump presidency, when democracy was nearly lost to a wannabe despot ruler, who ignored the rule of law, at every opportunity.
He has succeeded on a few levels. He has made the US the laughing stock of the world. He has allowed the US to become the most radioactive nation on earth, with over 7 million Covid cases, many of which are directly attributed to his polices, his ignorance, his willingness to ignore multiple warmings by experts, and his hubris. Granted, the rest can be linked to the world's highest levels of heart disease, diabetes, and morbid obesity, combined with a horrific diet. He has severely eroded and nearly destroyed alliances that took decades to build. He has succeeded in allowing China to emerge from all of this looking strong and smart, and he has succeeded in making himself look like an out of touch fool, a relic, and a terrible leader. Barr has acted as his personal lawyer, and next year he too will unceremoniously depart Washington into a life of obscurity and ridicule.

Is Trump now totally unhinged? You be the judge. He is panicked. His numbers are dropping daily, and he is facing the greatest humiliation of his lifetime, and he is melting down before our eyes. And frankly, it is a fun thing to witness, knowing he is about to lose the election by 7-13 million votes.

Well, the concept of Thai officials "learning something" is quite an abstract and hopeful idea. Even with the great humiliation brought on by the devastation of the tourism industry, the drop in exports, and the doldrums of the economy, one would hope the officials here might be capable of learning, adapting, and being more humble. But, I see no indication of that. Dinosaur brains are hard to educate. 

I like Indonesia. But Bali is only fine from Ubud north, the north coast, and the NE coast. Once you get away from the southern third of the island, which is an absolutely horrendous hell on earth. The traffic and congestion there rivals LA and NYC on a Friday evening. If one could take a helicopter from the airport to Ubud, it would help. Denpasar is one of the ugliest and most congested cities I have ever been in. Otherwise, it is a beautiful island, the food is not as good as Thailand, but it is good, the people are quite lovely, and it does have it's attributes. The seas surrounding Bali can be gorgeous, and it blows away anything in Thailand, with the exception of small areas north of Phuket, which are remote. And Indonesia has countless destinations to explore. Also, Bali has alot of culture, unlike Thailand. Lot of live jazz, theatre, dance, fine art, etc. And some of the highest quality handicrafts in the world. 

There is no question that the immigration authorities in Thailand do not make things easy for us. The income Thailand takes in from expats annually reverberates out in countless ways. 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. And many of us feel as if we are taken for granted. The administration here is highly xenophobic, though I do not consider the people here to be so. Most I find friendly and helpful, and at a minimum, indifferent, which I can easily handle! 

The stringent regulations have caught many elderly expats used to a free and easy lifestyle off guard, with many fearing for their future. Here in Pattaya, a coastal city with a big retired community, the sense of desperation is palpable. "Life in Pattaya has been getting worse for people ever since the economic crisis and since a few years ago," said Leng Leng, who runs Mercy Pattaya, a local Christian charity.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Thailand-s-foreign-retirees-see-their-good-life-slip-away

Just two of the many requirements for a retirement visa in Indonesia, unless things have changed. 

Statement from Pension Fund Foundation or Bank from the country of origin (or Indonesia) of funds available, minimum of US$1,500 per month, from retirement income or investments to provide the applicant living expenses during the stay in Indonesia- Total US$18,000 per year. (Note: this amount is higher than many other countries' requirements - US$600/month in Panama). Married retired couples must both prove an individual income of $1500/month and apply separately.

Proof of medical/health Insurance, life insurance, and third-party personal liability insurance in country of origin or Indonesia.

https://www.expat.or.id/info/retirement.html

https://internationalliving.com/countries/indonesia/retire-bali-indonesia/

3 hours ago, hellohello123 said:

but will the hotel/tourist board ever realise this?

or will they care?

Well, it is likely they will see a drop in business, hopefully long term. And they will blame it on Covid, or something else. But, the Sea View Hotel in Koh Chang will not soon be forgotten. And the infamy is not the kind you wish for. They deserve it. Not worth pissing off a customer over corkage. It is such a petty thing. 

24 minutes ago, Silurian said:

The betting odds are just brutal towards Donald. Biden is smart to dictate the rules of a debate to be virtual. Biden doesn't even need to bother with debating the highly contagious COVID-19 infected Donald.

 

Betting Odds - 2020 U.S. President

 

True that. Trump is cascading toward a major loss. It is Biden's election to lose. Dignity returns! Decency will prevail. Out with the fascists! Joe is a real patriot! 

3 minutes ago, ballpoint said:

But they have The Fly!

That fly is an American hero. I am not typically fond of flies. However, I have alot of love for that wonderful fly! 

And what do flies typically like to sit on? 

Women are accustomed to men in positions of power interrupting them. When interrupted, a person is saying what you have to say is not important. I am far more important. Pence got major demerits for that heinous behavior. Now, Trump gets major demerits for labeling Harris a monster and a communist. It is coded language for a powerful and successful woman. And a woman of color. A coded racist diatribe. 

They just lost most of the remaining women who were in the fence. Good work Don and Mike. You are the best allies the dems could ask for. 

Just Covid alone is good reason to make sure Trump is evicted from office. Pence is another! 

Just now, blazes said:

 

Yes, you're quite right: 'ugly" could well lead one to suppose that I was referring to her looks (which would of course be mansplaining of the worst misogynist kind).

No, I meant that large swathes of Democrat voters had long ago concluded that she was an empty shell of a woman and deserved the boot.  (But, as usual, the big-wigs in the Democratic Party refused to listen to the message contained in those Primary votes.)

I had issues with some of her positions as AG in California. But, in comparison to either Trump or Pence, to label her as an empty shell, is quite extreme. She is very smart, and very accomplished. Something Trump cannot handle in a woman. We have seen that time and time again. 

Now if you want to talk about empty suits, we can discuss the current GOP leadership. 

Unbelievable stupidity. Reminds me of the dumb doctor. 

"If the country decides to take risks, everyone must rely on themselves because this is a war between virus and humans and people need to survive,” Chulalongkorn University Faculty of Medicine lecturer Thira Woratanarat added. 

Dumb and dumber. This numskull has been droning on and on forever. While collecting a fat salary. No regard for the masses. None.

So many distortions here. First of all this appears to be a fairly low grade virus. What percent of fatalities here were under 65-70 years old? What percent did not have underlying conditions? He makes it sound like a second wave would knock out the population. Millions of tourists were here in Nov. Dec. Jan. and Feb. Many were likely infected. Yet? 58 deaths. Less than two days on the highways here. Do they shut down the highways? 

Adults 65 and older account for 16% of the US population but 80% of COVID-19 deaths in the US, somewhat higher than their share of deaths from all causes (75%) over the same period.

May common sense and reason eventually prevail! 

Out with the fearmongers. Lock them up! 

The White House had the strength to respond until the Trump administration dismantled the pandemic prevention task force, alienated China, refused to learn from China's and Italy's mistakes, spurned the WHO's testing kit development program in order to produce one of our own that didn't work, took their bloody time establishing virus containment protocols, and waited until the absolute last minute to start producing PPE and ventilators, and then in not enough quantity to go around (and also used every dirty trick in the book to sabotage states' efforts to acquire their own supplies on the open market, possibly because our alleged president thought it was funny).

This is, by the way, an incomplete accounting of the scale and egregiousness of the current Administration's incompetent handling of the crisis, and they're doing it out of malice – you have to actually make an effort to be this bad at your job. That sums up Don and Mike.

And all of this comes on the heels of their biblical sized failure after Hurricane Maria. To label this entire administration inept and incompetent would be too much of an understatement. 

3 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

 

IMO neither "won" and neither "lost", but Pence certainly, IMO, was not "schooled". He wasn't the one getting flustered.

Hurricanes were the same 100 years ago? First of all, there was no satellite info available back then to track storms. Second, there is no data on storm intensity, nor storm speed. 

So, what does that mean? It means as usual, Pence was lying. He is slick. So he lies well. However, that talent does not fool us. Fake info. Fake data. Absolute denial of science. That sums up Mini Mike. 

3 hours ago, Berkshire said:

It's called desperation.  And he's demanding that AG Barr do it before the election.  Barr doesn't realize that whatever he does is never enough for this President.  It's "what have you done for me lately" all the time. 

Trump even criticized Barr and Pompeo in yesterday's diatribe. He is totally losing his mind. His sanity was in question before. Now? The stress of being so far behind in the polls is causing him to move from unstable to unhinged.

Thanks Don. You are our best ally. 

3 hours ago, heybruce said:

Pence regularly interrupted and talked over Harris during the debate (I have it on good authority that women hate that) and now Trump calls Kamala Harris a monster. 

 

Way to go after the women's vote Donnie!

Correct. Women are accustomed to men in positions of power interrupting them. When interrupted, a person is saying what you have to say is not important. I am far more important. Pence got major demerits for that heinous behavior. 

Now, Trump gets major demerits for labeling Harris a monster and a communist. It is coded language for a person of color. A coded racist diatribe.

They just lost most of the remaining women who were in the fence. Good work Don and Mike. You are the best allies the dems could ask for. 

President Trump on Thursday twice referred to Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as a "monster" following her debate performance against Vice President Pence the evening prior. Trump’s comments, made in his first interview since his coronavirus diagnosis, were made during an exchange about Biden’s fitness for office. Trump claimed that Biden “won’t be president for two months” if elected because he is not “mentally capable of being president,” before tearing into Harris.

Is Trump now totally unhinged? You be the judge. He is panicked. His numbers are dropping daily, and he is facing the greatest humiliation of his lifetime, and he is melting down before our eyes.

President Trump on Thursday twice referred to Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as a "monster" following her debate performance against Vice President Pence the evening prior. Trump’s comments, made in his first interview since his coronavirus diagnosis, were made during an exchange about Biden’s fitness for office. Trump claimed that Biden “won’t be president for two months” if elected because he is not “mentally capable of being president,” before tearing into Harris.

Is Trump now totally unhinged? You be the judge. He is panicked. His numbers are dropping daily, and he is facing the greatest humiliation of his lifetime, and he is melting down before our eyes. 

They are likely devotees of 44 (the 44th worst ever). Or zealots that were motivated by his consistently hateful, and divisive rhetoric.

President Trump on Thursday twice referred to Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as a "monster" following her debate performance against Vice President Pence the evening prior. Trump’s comments, made in his first interview since his coronavirus diagnosis, were made during an exchange about Biden’s fitness for office. Trump claimed that Biden “won’t be president for two months” if elected because he is not “mentally capable of being president,” before tearing into Harris.

Is Trump now totally unhinged? You be the judge. He is panicked. His numbers are dropping daily, and he is facing the greatest humiliation of his lifetime, and he is melting down before our eyes.