spidermike007

I felt like the economy was nowhere near as strong as it appeared, and as they claimed, for the past year or two. Sure, unemployment numbers were healthy (if you discount the fudging of the numbers) and the stock market was strong (if you take into account the multi trillion dollar giveaway, in the form of a tax break). But, it was way overblown, and real estate prices were not sustainable. So, even before Corona, the financial system was stressed and overvalued. Now, we are seeing a long due correction. I predict the DOW at 15,000 to 18,000 by years end, a weakening of the dollar, continued low oil prices, and unemployment rising to over 5%.

And for certain, an end to Trump's time in office. That, is the silver lining in all of this. 

I am headed to Bangkok! Sounds like an utterly delightful week, to spend time there.

Already happened in AC. The entire country appears to be on near lock down. Will this happen here, and in Bangkok? 

Note to Prayuth. There is a great reason for the Thai people, and the ex-pat community to panic. You are the PM. Your army is in power. That is enough reason. Stunning incompetency, nepotism, corruption, the inability to handle basic day to day tasks, no follow up on any new policy, nothing being done to tackle the air pollution crisis, the traffic fatality crisis, the environmental crisis. Nothing being done anywhere. That is a good reason to panic. Corona is secondary to your staggering lack of leadership. 

Just like with the little Joke, and the not so big Oud, his ignorant and racist statements are coming back to haunt him. Chances are, like his predecessors he has been warned. So, rather than risk a very embarrassing dismissal, he is now pretending he never said anything, rather than apologizing, which a real man, with emotional development would do. This man is xenophobic, arrogant and a total loser. Not only that, he is a stunningly incompetent health minister, without any experience in the field of health, who was appointed based entirely on cronyism, and entirely without merit. The Thai army. BOB (bottom of the barrel) picks. That is who they are, and what they do. 

On 3/14/2020 at 1:58 PM, sanemax said:

Trump only closed down its Whitehouse offices 

The USA CDC did not get dismantled, its still active 

https://www.cdc.gov/

Total nonsense, lies and fabrications. Bolton presided over the closing of the pandemic division of the NSA. The entire budget of $30 million was withdrawn, in June of 2018, despite the adamant protest of many experts in the field of epidemiology, who stated at the time, that the next great pandemic was right around the corner. It was a tragic mistake, and a horrendous miscalculation, based on hubris, arrogance, ignorance and indifference to the health and safety of the masses. 

So, contrary to what Trump is saying, he knew this was coming, he was warned this was coming, and it is entirely his responsibility. And partly as a result, he will lose the upcoming election, and he will lose big. 

I am staying here. I feel very safe here. 

There are two major issues at stake here, in regard to being able to get back into Thailand. One is Corona. Two is the handling of Corona. Many other countries like China, South Korea, have done a good job with containment, and especially with regard to testing. South Korea developed their own test kit in 21 days! In the US, this has been severely bungled from the beginning. First, the administration turned down the emergency funding request from congress, back in early February, saying it was not necessary. Then Trump repeatedly downplayed this, comparing it to the common flu. His repeated denials caused a massive crisis in confidence, that triggered a massive sell off. Had he been smart, and truthful from the beginning, the sell off would have been milder, and $6 trillion dollars would not have been erased from the markets and people's savings. In addition, the US is badly bungling the test kits.

I was scheduled to fly back to the US in a weeks time, and was going to return here late April. The US state department is stating that Thailand will require a letter from a US doctor or hospital, stating you have been given a Corona test, been determined to be negative for the virus, and have a generally good bill of health. The US was just elevated to the next level. He told me even though he works at Cedars in LA, one of the top hospitals in the state, they do not have one test kit. They have been requesting them for weeks, and cannot get them. In addition, he said no doctor will write that letter, since they cannot determine if you are in the incubation period, even if you test negative. So, I cancelled my trip. What is the point of risking a mandatory hospital quarantine, when this thing explodes in the US? In addition, the State Dept. website said that Thailand may require you to provide proof of health insurance, at a minimum of $100,000. Does not apply to marriage visas, according to immigration. I called them. 

So, again the administration is lying. The test kits may be going out, but nobody knows where they are going, and they do not seem to be going to the major hospitals where they are most needed. Lying Pence, and Lying Trump. Causing a massive public health hazard daily. Cases increased in the US by 900 in the past 48 hours, and 60 deaths to date. Total cases now at 2,999 and climbing. Had Trump not allowed Bolton to dismantle the office of epidemiology, of the NSA, and withdraw that partly $30 million, the US would have been far better prepared. This is likely the election for Trump. Had he not been heading toward a loss in November before, it is a near certainly now, with this severe bungling. 

When questioned by a reporter about why the administration closed the pandemic office of the CDC, and withdrew $30,000,000 in funding for it, in June of 2018, despite warnings from epidemiologists that a pandemic like this one could be right around the corner, he accused the reporter of asking a "nasty question", and said he takes no responsibility for that. He said something rather vague about the administration inheriting some issues, and then went on to say he had no personal knowledge of that happening, and would have to ask his staff why they did that. Taking responsibility for tragic errors is what real men do. Boys and juveniles deflect, pass blame, and point fingers.

I have been saying for three years now, that Trump is one of the most dangerous men in the world. He is certainly proving that theory lately. 

In fact, all of Trump’s budget proposals have called for cuts to CDC funding, but Congress has intervened each time by passing spending bills with year-over-year increases for the CDC that Trump then signed into law. In 2018, Trump administration eliminated the position of senior director for global health security and biodefense as part of a broader downsizing of the NSC spearheaded by then-National Security Adviser John Bolton. Earlier this month, 27 Democratic senators sent a letter to current National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien urging him to reinstate the position and asking him to clarify how the White House plans to handle global health security threats.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-cut-cdcs-budget-democrats-claim-analysis/story?id=69233170

The cuts started in 2018, as the White House focused on eliminating fundingto Obama-era disease security programs. In March of that year, Rear Adm. Timothy Ziemer, whose job it was to lead the U.S. response in the event of a pandemic, abruptly left the administration and his global health security team was disbanded. That same year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was forced to slash its efforts to prevent global disease outbreak by 80% as its funding for the program began to run out. The agency, at the time, opted to focus on 10 priority countries and scale back in others, including China. Also cut was the Complex Crises Fund, a $30 million emergency response pool that was at the secretary of state’s disposal to deploy disease experts and others in the event of a crisis. (The fund was created by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.)

https://fortune.com/2020/02/26/coronavirus-covid-19-cdc-budget-cuts-us-trump/

It is impossible that Trump was not involved in these decisions. Just another lie. He just assumes we are not paying attention, and that required fealty will prevent fact checking. 

When questioned by a reporter about why the administration closed the pandemic office of the CDC, and withdrew $30,000,000 in funding for it, in June of 2018, despite warnings from epidemiologists that a pandemic like this one could be right around the corner, he accused the reporter of asking a "nasty question", and said he takes no responsibility for that. He said something rather vague about the administration inheriting some issues, and then went on to say he had no personal knowledge of that happening, and would have to ask his staff why they did that. Taking responsibility for tragic errors is what real men do. Boys and juveniles deflect, pass blame, and point fingers.

I have been saying for three years now, that Trump is one of the most dangerous men in the world. He is certainly proving that theory lately. 

In fact, all of Trump’s budget proposals have called for cuts to CDC funding, but Congress has intervened each time by passing spending bills with year-over-year increases for the CDC that Trump then signed into law. In 2018, Trump administration eliminated the position of senior director for global health security and biodefense as part of a broader downsizing of the NSC spearheaded by then-National Security Adviser John Bolton. Earlier this month, 27 Democratic senators sent a letter to current National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien urging him to reinstate the position and asking him to clarify how the White House plans to handle global health security threats.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-cut-cdcs-budget-democrats-claim-analysis/story?id=69233170

The cuts started in 2018, as the White House focused on eliminating fundingto Obama-era disease security programs. In March of that year, Rear Adm. Timothy Ziemer, whose job it was to lead the U.S. response in the event of a pandemic, abruptly left the administration and his global health security team was disbanded. That same year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was forced to slash its efforts to prevent global disease outbreak by 80% as its funding for the program began to run out. The agency, at the time, opted to focus on 10 priority countries and scale back in others, including China. Also cut was the Complex Crises Fund, a $30 million emergency response pool that was at the secretary of state’s disposal to deploy disease experts and others in the event of a crisis. (The fund was created by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.)

https://fortune.com/2020/02/26/coronavirus-covid-19-cdc-budget-cuts-us-trump/

It is impossible that Trump was not involved in these decisions. Just another lie. He just assumes we are not paying attention, and that required fealty will prevent fact checking.