spidermike007

38 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

As long as an insult is witty it makes my day.

Funny. When I used to live in New York, I was fond of saying that I did not mind the "attitude" of most New Yorkers, because they had the substance to back up the attitude. Most New Yorkers do. Alot of substance. When I moved to LA, I felt the opposite. There is a tiny percentage of the population of Los Angeles that has any substance at all. On any level. Attitude without substance is very annoying. It is like debris spewn from an empty suit! 

Saudi Arabia has no credibility whatsoever, at this stage. They have shown themselves to be disingenuous, liars, and anything but earnest. In addition they continue to spend billions funding the extremist Madrasas, which produce countless terrorists, and MBS has demonstrated that he is a gangster, and a serial killer. They are not an ally. They are the enemy. And creating fake scenarios to encourage a war with Iran would benefit them on many levels, not to mention to soaring price of oil. They are not to be believed. 

Please, please we hate competition. And we also hate change, and progress. They are the worst. Keep everything the same, forever. Do not let society evolve or progress. 

The fact is, that Uber, Grab, and Lyft has improved the quality of life for hundreds of millions of people around the planet. When I travel now, I do not have to rent cars anymore. Nor do I have to submit to massive overcharging by taxi companies. Using these services saves us money, and is an incredible convenience, not having to look for parking, fuss with insurance, and deal with all of the other nonsense.

Culture, and society have a way of moving forward. Progress benefits most. Those that are not creative, not able to dance on their feet, improvise, adapt, change, and progress fall behind. It is the way of the world. I have not one iota of compassion for these complainers. 

4 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

My ThaiVISA experience became so much better when I learned to use IGNORE.

Posters get to insult me once for free, then they're gone forever.

I've rid myself of around 30 now.

 

I'm happy for people to disagree with me, but I won't tolerate people insulting me.

I tend to do the same. Often I write a reply or a post with perfectly good intentions, and some of the replies are fairly bizarre. I have thick skin fortunately, as do many men with self esteem. So, water off a ducks back, as far as I am concerned. I cannot and will not take an insult from a stranger personally. It means less than zero to me.

Water treatment is not rocket science. The technology has been around a long time. The solution is to hold the headmen and the local politicians responsible for specific areas, where the treatment facilities have not been built, are poorly maintained, or do not work. There is plenty of money to build and maintain these facilities. It is just a matter of whether or not a community or area can get past the greed of the local authorities, and get them to spend the money, rather than amass a larger fortune. Major consequences have to be put into place. If not by the authorities, than by the local community. 

The primary reason for the horrendous death tolls on the road, is the toy police force. Nobody, and I mean nobody takes these guys seriously. There is absolutely nothing in the way of a deterrent here, and both the local governments, the central government (a very weak PM.) and the police do not take traffic safety seriously. Not even one iota. The safety of the public means less than zero to the small men in charge here. Nothing. They show that on a daily basis.

They will not do a thing. Why? They do not care about the people one iota. Not the common people. Not the average pleb. No way. Never have cared, and may never care in the future. It is all about protecting the elite, the super wealthy, those that are connected, and those in power. The rest of the population? They do not matter. The ex-pat community does not matter. And the police will not get involved unless an accident has already occurred. There is no prevention. None. When is the last time you saw the highway patrol here, pulling over a car for reckless driving? The idea of getting the police more involved, is an interesting one, and it would be an effective one. But, the issue is money. They are grossly underpaid, and until the government steps up, and spends a trillion baht on updating the police equipment, and paying each cop a living wage, it is not going to happen. Until then, they will just work the franchise. 

When I was growing up, we took drivers education classes. They showed us these horrendous films, of semi trucks crashing into cars, and literally obliterating them, and everything inside. Also, they showed very graphic images of head on collisions. Even as a young kid, it left a lasting impression, and I realized driving was no joking matter. Especially when you have your friends, or loved ones in the car with you. I am constantly astonished at the kinds of chances people take here, with their entire family in the car with them. Why? What is the logic? What is the reason? Why take those risks? Often, when someone cuts onto the highway in front of me, as I am doing 100kpm or more on the highway, I look in my rearview mirror, and there is nobody behind me for quite some distance. Which means, had they paused, and waited 2 or 3 seconds, there would have been zero risk to them, their family, or me and my family. What can one even say? All of this matters even more when driving a motorbike, where there is no protection. 

The only way to survive here on the road, is to be patient, have eyes in the back of your head, drive with caution, and always, and I mean always watch out of the other guy. Chances are, he does not have much driving skill, nor patience, nor reason, nor common sense. You cannot be too careful on the road here. Especially considering that the toy police offer no traffic safety, nor enforcement of the law. 

Just after one month on the job, Bolton gave Tump the final push he needed to withdraw from the Iran nuclear agreement, which at the time was (and still is, for now) successfully boxing in Iran’s nuclear program and blocking all pathways for Iran to build a bomb. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – as the Iran deal is formally known – was the biggest obstacle to Bolton’s drive for a regime change war, because it eliminated a helpful pretext that served so useful to sell the war in Iraq 17 years ago.

Since walking away from the deal, the Trump administration has claimed that with a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, it can achieve a “better deal” that magically turns Iran into a Jeffersonian democracy bowing to every and any American wish. But this has always been a fantastically bad-faith argument meant to obscure the actual goal (regime change) and provide cover for the incremental steps – the crushing sanctions, bellicose rhetoric, and antagonizing military maneuvers – that have now put the United States closer to war with Iran than it has been since at least the latter half of the Bush administration, or perhaps ever.

So, I ask, is Bolton the most dangerous man in the world, at this point in time?

3 hours ago, bizboi said:

So you’re siding with Iran on this then?

Back to the old George Bush Jr. "there is no gray area" argument? Really? Is that the best you can do? This is a discussion. Is the possibility of a dissenting view, one that opposes war, and the escalation of a conflict, for political purposes, really that upsetting to you? 

1 hour ago, thaiguzzi said:

Yes.

 

Hi Bizboi.

I note you are pro USA and pro conflict in all your comments.

I also note your "sad" emojis in all the posts where people write a sensible, non war mongering, conflicting opinion.

Go USA go hey?

We right, they wrong.

Nuke those godamm Muslims.

Trump! MAGA! and all that stuff....

 

You actually ever been to Iran, Asia or the Middle East?

Fascinating, friendly, hospitable, intelligent cultures and peoples.

Try it sometime, and don't listen to your right wing cretins which posture as intelligent politicians. Because they are not.

Peace.

Not war.

 

Thank you. A voice of reason is always refreshing. So is a voice of moderation. Alot of Americans get really excited when the drumbeat for war begins. It is actually just the government complying with the wishes of the corporations that own the government. After all, Trump never said no to any lobbyist. Yes sir! You want war? We can give you war. No problem, I want you to make billions, and use alot of American weapons. 

A conflict with Iran would be a worse idea than either Iraq or Afghanistan. How are those wars working out? More hubris from blindfold Bolton and the disastrous foreign policy of this administration.

There was a great movie about the Afghanistan war called Hyena Road. Highly recommend it. It shows the futility of the war, and the knowledge on the part of the officers, of the futility of the conflict. One of my favorite lines was:

Pete: Alexander the Great marched into this graveyard about 2,500 years ago. Easy to march in, hard to march out. His words. He and his mother wrote to each other all the time. One day, he got a letter from her saying: "What the hell? You conquered most of the known world in a day and a half, what are you doing bogged down in Afghanistan?" He grabbed a bag and shoveled it full of dirt and had it sent back to Greece with a message to his mother: "Take this dirt and dump it around the palace, see what happens." 

Pete: So Alexander's mother spread the dirt all around the palace. Later that night, a couple of attendants showed up to make sure she was alright. One says: "Go ahead, after you." And the other says: "No, after you." And the first one says: "No, I insist." And the second one says: "Don't you tell me what to do." They pull their swords and go at it till they kill each other. Alexander's mother watched all this and wrote a note to him saying: "Okay, okay, now I get it." And he wrote back saying: "Even the dirt is hostile." In Afghanistan, dogs fight dogs, birds fight birds, men kill men.

My favorite line in the movie is also stated by the character Pete. He is talking to a very earnest sniper, who thinks a properly placed bullet could change the course of the war.

But my sh++? Hearts and Minds?

They lap that stuff up

'cause it's got

a moral ring to it,

even if it's mostly just PR.

You believe that?

These people here...

they got no use

for what we have on offer.

They don't want Justin Bieber

and Tom Jefferson

and our ++++ing pornography.

They just want our money

and a little bit of stability.

- So how do we win?

- There is no winning.

There's just an end state

and that's gonna get laid down

by foreign policy, not by us.

There you have it. Same in Iraq. Will be exactly the same in Iran, if these nitwits keep the saber rattling going. Hubris. Cheney style hubris.

2 hours ago, lannarebirth said:

 

There is virtually nothing that is produced in China that America "needs". The customer has the power in this situation. That doesn't mean Trump won't blow it. That's certainly possible, but the US is holding the better hand IMO.  As awful as Trump is, I'm not going to fault him for going after China on trade, though I'm sure I won't like how he does it.

How about faulting him for picking a major global battle with China on trade, while picking a potentially global fight with Iran over fake demagoguery? Iran has nothing to do with nuclear power or nuclear weapons, and everything to do with regime change, and the horrendous degree of hubris that Blindfold Bolton, and Trump are using to blow all this hot air, and escalate the situation. It is all about politics. Nothing to do with nuclear weapons of capabilities. 

And this trade dispute is a two way street. Nearly 35% of US soybeans are sold to China. You want to know what else? Hundreds of products. And I totally disagree with you about what the American consumer "needs". 

Almost 1,000 other products are things you eat or drink. They include vegetables like cabbage, kale, carrots and beets, along with hundreds of types of fish, though industry lobbying removed some Alaskan-caught fish that are exported to China for processing and then reimported to the United States.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/10/business/china-tariffs-list.html

Besides, trump is beyond a hippocrite.

There are 268 items for sale on the Trump Organization’s online store. Of those, 41 are made in the USA and listed in a separate section highlighting US goods. That means American products make up exactly 15.29% of the Trump Store’s available merchandise.

During an April 2017 visit to the Snap-on-Tools headquarters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, president Donald Trump signed his so-called “Buy American and Hire American” executive order for US government agencies. More fake news from Trump! 

https://qz.com/1483890/how-many-donald-trump-products-are-made-in-the-usa/

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative published a list of Chinese goods that would be hit with new duties, ranging from artists' brushes and paint rollers to clocks and watches. The list also includes a wide range of sporting goods, from baseballs to fishing reels. And it dedicates several pages to agricultural products, from livestock to dairy, plants and vegetables. Staples such as rice and tea are on the list.

Last week, a soybean farmer in Virginia told NPR that his situation has only gotten worse, with falling prices and difficulties in getting loans amid an uncertain market. And that farmer, John Wesley Boyd Jr., said he hasn't gotten any relief from the government. "I haven't seen a dime of that money," Boyd said. "And I've been calling and calling USDA. And they continue to say that the funds are in process, and the funds are going to be sent to me."

https://www.npr.org/2019/05/14/723162537/u-s-prepares-sanctions-on-another-300-billion-of-imported-chinese-goods

1 hour ago, Morch said:

 

@spidermike007

 

There wasn't anything said about underestimating. The comments made were about scaremongering and blowing the threat represented by Iran out of proportion. If the likes of Iran are "not to be messed with", what's the point of being a military superpower?

 

Yeah, Iran can potentially do some damage in the manner described. The key word being potential. I don't know that treating potential as actual forms the right basis for decision making. I'd also be surprised if the alluded potential could be fully utilized while being on the receiving end of a major offensive.

 

There are much better arguments as to why the USA shouldn't get involved in yet another military conflict.

I agree there. There are virtually no justifiable reasons why the US should get involved in another armed conflict. How is Afghanistan working out? Last I heard nearly 70% of the country is under Taliban control. And this is after nearly 15 years of involvement and how many trillions of dollars spent? For what?

Plus around 4,000 American soldiers and contractors killed, over 20,000 wounded and how many from other nations? How many Afghan civilians killed? Conservative estimates put it at over 30,000. For what? What has been gained?

It is increasingly clear, that they do not want the democracy we are shoving down their throats. Nitwits like Bolton and Pompeo cannot even conceive of that idea. 

Well, it seems to have worked out quite well for both of them, so I am not sure this was what one would refer to a critical advice! Clooney is someone I admire, for putting his neck on the line, when it comes to important issues. But, here he was clearly talking nonsense. 

In other words, gross incompetence on the part of the army. And now the nation is forced to suffer another five years under these hapless fools. My guess is that we will barely recognize Thailand five years from now. After ten straight years of army rule, with the fabulously non visionary Prayuth at the helm, this country will be a pale shadow of it's former self, the entire tourism industry will be decimated, the ex-pat population will continue to shrink, due to their racism, xenophobia, and fear mongering, and the economy will decline. Too bad. Do the Thai people deserve this? Well, yes for allowing the 2017 constitutional charter to pass. And no. In reality nobody deserves the Thai army as a ruler. They benefit nobody other than themselves. They care not one iota for the common man.

14 hours ago, Morch said:

 

Again with the scaremongering. To date, Iran didn't exhibit much by way of the capabilities alleged in the rant above. The hype is rather similar to talk prior to the Iraq Wars (I'm reminded of that Bill Hicks bit about the Republican Guard...worth looking up).

 

The issue is not with military plans against Iran. And it is not true that the best plan is "no plan". The issue is more to do with goals defined. If talking about regime change, agreed - didn't work out well elsewhere and no reason to expect otherwise. If a more limited goal - say, taking out ballistic and nuclear related targets - maybe more feasible (but similarly, needs to have the next, diplomatic step, in the ready). The worst would be getting into a military conflict situation with no plan whatsoever, and no predefined goals.

 

As for "formidable" - the USA's military might is built to address direct threats from the likes of Russia or China. Iran isn't quite on that level.

Nearly everyone underestimate the cyber capabilities of Iran. They are not to be messed with.

Another scholar stated, “Iran represents a qualitatively different cyber actor, they’re not stealing our intellectual property en masse like China, or using cyberspace as a black market as the Russians do…what Iran does use cyber for, including elevating its retaliatory capabilities abroad, makes it a serious threat.” James Mattis ominously described the Iranian cyber program this way: “if we’d talked three, four, five years ago, I’d have said it’s not a big threat. Today I will just tell you I would liken it to children juggling light bulbs filled with nitroglycerine. One time they’re going to do something serious and force foreign leaders to take it into account.”

According to a report from the Government Accountability Office, nearly all the critical infrastructure industries lack adequate cyber security metrics. The Defense Science Board Task Force on Cyber Deterrence issued a report this year stating “regional powers (e.g., Iran and North Korea) have a growing potential to use indigenous or purchased cyber tools to conduct catastrophic attacks on U.S. critical infrastructure. The U.S. Government must work with the private sector to intensify efforts to defend and boost the cyber resilience of U.S. critical infrastructure to avoid allowing extensive vulnerability to these nations. 

https://www.secjuice.com/iran-cyber-capabilities-implications-for-us/

"I made clear to Foreign Minister Lavrov ... that interference in American elections is unacceptable. If the Russians were engaged in that in 2020, it would put our relationship in an even worse place than it has been," said Pompeo. "I'd encourage them not to do that. We would not tolerate that."

I do not believe they meddled, thinks Pompeo. My big boss says they did not meddle. His devotees believe they did not meddle. But Mueller, most of the American public, and 90% of the planet believes they did. I know they did. And I know Trump colluded. Without a doubt. But, I guess Pompeo felt the need to at least appear not to be Russian fealty, on the world stage, so they figured why not include one statement about meddling, just to hedge their bets. 

6 hours ago, lannarebirth said:

 

I'm assuming you haven't followed these past 4 + decades and are only going by his inconsequential term as VP?

No. His record of public service is impressive. Also, his lack of personal wealth gain, from his time in public office is too. He was one of the few senators who refused to use insider trading information to amass a fortune, as it was legal until recently. Very impressive integrity. He is the right man for the job. He just might be able to correct a quickly sinking ship.