spidermike007

It boggles the mind, I hear car sales are down you would expect that there would be some motivation to move a vehicle. One question for you, if you've driven the car around a bit what kind of mileage are you getting? That car is a consideration for me with our next car, but I can't seem to get any accurate information as to how much money I would save from the hybrid design. Do you have any idea how many kilometers per liter you're getting City and Highway? Thanks in advance.

One wonders if this guy was having a psychotic episode or if he was just sick and tired of his son mouthing off. Regardless sounds like he has a significant amount of time to ponder his recklessness and bizarre behavior and perhaps his fellow inmates can help him figure things out. At the very minimum they will offer him some very close and warm company. I bet his son never saw that one coming.

Which means two things, not only is he morally bankrupt to the extreme, but he's also extremely incompetent. It's likely that he's competent enough to run a county or statewide Boy Scout chapter, but a government division with 3 million employees? This will go down in history as one of Trump's greatest mistakes, and one of his most reckless and highly partisan (totally blind) selections. Anytime the head of a department is selected based on fealty without any regard to merit it's a terrible thing for the nation. It almost reminds one of the selection process within Thai politics.

Once again you are oversimplifying the issue, what I was complaining about was international overreach by American authorities operating within Thailand and using their influence within Thailand to prosecute sex crimes of a very minor nature. I'm very much against underage sex, I'm very much against human and sex trafficking, but there are very minor crimes that when prosecuted by overzealous authorities can ruin a person's life. There is a huge distinction and Hegseth has done is way beyond anything I'm describing. He would be serving 10 years or more, if anyone bothered to pursue him. And the only reason why he was approved was due to fear of the wrath of the new king. He was spectacularly unqualified. Very typical of a Trump selection. Sometimes it almost seems like he goes out of his way to find somebody who is as morally bankrupt as he is.

It is sickening, it is pathetic, it is emblematic of tremendous levels of sloth and indifference and incompetence. They literally just don't care one iota and the only reason why the hapless PM is even talking about this it's because so many people are complaining about the air. It is so horrendous. If the Chinese were able to clean up their air certainly Thailand could it, if they wanted to, if it meant enough, if it was a priority, if they had compassion, decency, pride, and empathy for the people, and cared about the environment one iota. They don't. Sloths don't have pride.

A while back they had a campaign and they had posters with phone numbers that you could call to report vehicles that were polluting. We were driving and we saw this truck that was pumping out huge black clouds of smoke and I copied down their license plate and I dialed the number, and handed my phone to my Thai woman and asked her speak to the department. She asked the person who answered the phone what can they do? He ask her why are you calling us and she said, well you have phone numbers posted to report polluting vehicles? The guy said well I don't know anything about that, nor who I would report it to, and she said well that's not really our issue is it? You're supposed to be monitoring polluting vehicles. He said OK, give me the license plate number and I'll see what I can do. My wife said are you going to do anything? He said, I don't know I need to look at the regulations first and see who I'm supposed to report it to, and then maybe somebody will do something. The smoke will die down when the dinosaurs are replaced with young and progressive leaders, who care about the health, welfare and well being of the nation, and the environment. The current crop do not have any initiative, nor any ideas. Dinosaurs are cursed with small brains.

Well did you ask her enough questions, did you qualify her sufficiently, and if so what were your expectations? Do you want a Nobel Peace Prize, do you want to be given sainthood? I mean we all make an effort to help people, some of it is of use to people and some of it goes right out the window. It's just the nature of life I would question why you are so frustrated? Water off a ducks back, baby.

There is likely some truth to that and then in addition they like to blame neighboring countries, and although I'm sure there is burning and fires going on in neighboring countries most of what we are experiencing is fairly localized within the region. Then there are the diesel vehicles, the trucks and pickups which are not being well maintained, and those of us that know anything about diesel know that it's one of the worst polluters if it's not properly maintained. What percentage of diesel vehicle owners in Thailand, especially truck owners properly maintain their vehicles? Why don't the authorities do anything about it? They shut down the nation for covid, yet they do nothing about plumes of black smoke, crop burning, highway traffic safety issues, and so many other things of importance.

I don't know if the central government is sincere, but the provincial authorities don't seem to care one iota, and even if they care they don't seem to be capable of policing the areas, and even if they were capable of placing the areas they don't seem to have the conviction to impose large enough fines to stop these farmers. In essence these farmers are practicing a form of terrorism against their own people, they are killing people, they are putting people in the hospital, they are shortening lives, and they are making life miserable for a significant portion of the nation, simply because it's easier and less expensive to burn. The degree to which the smoke is toxic is unfathomable. it is the absolute epitome of self-absorption and zero concern for others. These farmers need to be punished in a very expensive and convincing manner.

A bottom of the barrel, wholly unqualified, morally bankrupt man now leads one of the biggest and most important departments in the US government. Good job Don Don, you sure know how to pick them.

Death is probably a fairly extreme, but I do think massive penalties and enormous fines and perhaps even the forfeiture of land after the third offense. The real problem in this scenario is the unwillingness of the provincial authorities to get involved and to actually police the area and do real work. It appears they would rather sit at a desk and collect their salary and large bribes. I posted something similar elsewhere. But this is such a massive problem it bears repeating. There is a very simple solution to this problem. If the authorities were interested in solutions. The burning has to stop. There are alternatives, to this 19th century technique of burning after the sugar cane harvest. Either the government starts to encourage farmers to switch to more environmentally friendly crops, or they start to penalize farmers for burning. This heinous burning, is leading to a tremendous degree of environmental degradation, and alot of lung disease. So here is what I propose- 1. Fine the farmers 5,000 baht for a first offense, and give them a stern warning, that burning is now prohibited, and the second fine will be very harsh. 2. For a second offense, fine the farmer 100,000 baht, and warn them that if the burning continues, their land will be confiscated. 3. On the 3rd offense, confiscate their land. Period. No questions. No legal proceeding or appeals on the part of the farmers. Allow others to come in and purchase the land at a fair price, with the caveat that sugar is prohibited as a crop to be grown on that land. The news would travel faster than the toxic smoke, and farmers would change their ways overnight, and move into the 21st century. Progressive reform on burning - green harvesting https://youtu.be/thXstqQcdQ4?si=yExPfXaED66a4vyP This is an absolute travesty, and fall squarely on the tiny shoulders of the do nothing PM. They're absolute unwillingness to do anything about this situation is an abomination and the list of things that could be done to address this problem are countless. They could start by pulling over diesel vehicles spewing out enormous clouds of black smoke, but that would require the highway patrol to actually do some work, which they utterly refuse to do. If the government cared one iota which they don't they would start convincing Farmers to switch crops and start moving away from 16th century crops like rice and sugar, moving toward more progressive crops which are potentially more profitable. If they felt the need to stick with rice and sugar they could educate the public on how those crops can be processed without burning, and subsidize the purchase of the required equipment. Then they can move on to tackle the sale of diesel vehicles, and the government's enthusiastic support of such. It is inane in this day and age. Most nations are moving away from diesel for good reasons. When they are not well maintained, they foul the air, with large, nasty particles. And who properly maintains their vehicle here?

This is correct Trump's failure during the pandemic was absolutely Epic and is likely that he has the blood of hundreds of thousands of people on his hands through his inability to wrestle control of that situation. Having said that i don't like any of these three letter organizations, and the WHO, the CDC, Big Pharma and the FDA behaved like absolute animals during the pandemic and we're responsible for the loss of millions of jobs and millions of businesses worldwide, that were likely unnecessary losses. The covid narrative was skewed to an astonishing extent. And people are absolutely ostracized for even questioning any aspect of the narrative, is that not the very definition of fascism?

While this is technically true, the US was supplying massive amounts of munitions and supplies long before getting involved in the war, and without the US Japan would be ruling the entire Pacific region. The Pacific battles were absolutely epic, and the extent to which the US ramped up ship production Alan's the navy after Pearl Harbor was historic, and will likely never be repeated again, by any nation ever. But you are right the Allies made tremendous sacrifices, especially the UK.

Progressive reform on burning - green harvesting https://youtu.be/thXstqQcdQ4?si=yExPfXaED66a4vyP This is an absolute travesty, and fall squarely on the tiny shoulders of the do nothing PM. They're absolute unwillingness to do anything about this situation is an abomination and the list of things that could be done to address this problem are countless. They could start by pulling over diesel vehicles spewing out enormous clouds of black smoke, but that would require the highway patrol to actually do some work, which they utterly refuse to do. They could then get the provincial authorities to crack down on the heinous crop burning that's going on with sugar and rice, which is being perpetrated by farmers who have zero regard for their country nor their neighbors. Crack down on them hard and set an example. For the first offense with a small fine, much larger fines for a second offense and massive fines for the third offense. Word would get around and Farmers would start using more environment mentally friendly techniques even though they required more work. If the government cared one iota which they don't they would start convincing Farmers to switch crops and start moving away from 16th century crops like rice and sugar, moving toward more progressive crops which are potentially more profitable. If they felt the need to stick with rice and sugar they could educate the public on how those crops can be processed without burning, and subsidize the purchase of the required equipment. Then they can move on to tackle the sale of diesel vehicles, and the government's enthusiastic support of such. It is inane in this day and age. Most nations are moving away from diesel for good reasons. When they are not well maintained, they foul the air, with large, nasty particles. And who properly maintains their vehicle here?

Even if many people switch to public transportation it would be but a pinhead of the real smoke problem. Progressive reform on burning - green harvesting https://youtu.be/thXstqQcdQ4?si=yExPfXaED66a4vyP

This is an absolute travesty, and fall squarely on the tiny shoulders of the do nothing PM. They're absolute unwillingness to do anything about this situation is an abomination and the list of things that could be done to address this problem are countless. They could start by pulling over diesel vehicles spewing out enormous clouds of black smoke, but that would require the highway patrol to actually do some work, which they utterly refuse to do. They could then get the provincial authorities to crack down on the heinous crop burning that's going on with sugar and rice, which is being perpetrated by farmers who have zero regard for their country nor their neighbors. Crack down on them hard and set an example. For the first offense with a small fine, much larger fines for a second offense and massive fines for the third offense. Word would get around and Farmers would start using more environment mentally friendly techniques even though they required more work. If the government cared one iota which they don't they would start convincing Farmers to switch crops and start moving away from 16th century crops like rice and sugar, moving toward more progressive crops which are potentially more profitable. If they felt the need to stick with rice and sugar they could educate the public on how those crops can be processed without burning, and subsidize the purchase of the required equipment. Progressive reform on burning - green harvesting https://youtu.be/thXstqQcdQ4?si=yExPfXaED66a4vyP

Why am I anti Wahhabi? Why do I think all Saudis should be barred worldwide from immigrating to any nation? Why do I consider the Saudis so dangerous to mankind? But it is an ideology that divides the world into the realm of Islam and the realm of the infidel, or the realm of war. So it trains the readers that they live behind enemy lines – they must be passing through, they cannot take abode here. You only have two reasons for being in the land of the infidel. One is to convert people to Islam. The second is to acquire either money or skill which you can bring back with you to help you and others engage in jihad, and in this context, it is quite clear that they mean that in a military sense, because they go on to talk about tanks and bullets, and things of this kind. One of the things you certainly cannot do is become an American citizen, because no Muslim can be ruled an infidel. That is the particular ideology which is being taught. You must not have any good contacts, warm relations with anybody – not only with unbelievers, but with any Muslim who is not of the Wahhabi type; they are also often denounced as apostates. That is the major theme of concern in that report. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2005/05/03/the-global-spread-of-wahhabi-islam-how-great-a-threat/

You can make an argument that even though a percentage of foreigners never bother to learn good Thai, or to become part of the local culture, at least we are not a major detriment to society, we are not trying to tear society apart, we're not committing crimes, and we're not committing acts of terror. And certainly we are not propagating a philosophy that goes against the very fabric of Buddhism and contemporary Thai Society, unlike many extremist Muslims in the West. I am not anti-Muslim on any level. I am just anti-extreme Muslim and I'm anti-Muslims who refuse to assimilate or even make the slightest effort to assimilate, or embrace an extremist and hateful doctrine such as Wahhabism.

You are expressing such profound naivety it's hard to know where to even begin to such a reply as yours. Either you were kidding, you're not American, or you just have not bothered to look into this situation at all on ANY level, EVER. The US government, with assistance from major telecommunications carriers including AT&T, has engaged in massive, illegal dragnet surveillance of the domestic communications and communications records of millions of ordinary Americans since at least 2001. Since this was first reported on by the press and discovered by the public in late 2005, EFF has been at the forefront of the effort to stop it and bring government surveillance programs back within the law and the Constitution. https://www.eff.org/nsa-spying What stops the CIA from poring through the data looking for Americans’ information? Let’s be honest: nothing. The CIA’s internal rules from 2017 say the information sought must be “related to a duly authorized activity of the CIA,” as determined by. . . the CIA. The FBI has similar rules limiting its searches of data obtained under FISA Section 702. Year after year, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court finds that FBI agents have violated these rules—and that’s when there’s a court actually watching them. The CIA’s rules also say that CIA officers should document their purpose in running searches for Americans’ information. But according to staff members of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, these rules, despite having been finalized five years ago and released with great fanfare, have not yet been “implemented.” https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/how-cia-acting-outside-law-spy-americans I could go on all day but your statement about the wall demonstrates the fact that this is just not a subject that you're inclined to research, and that you've been watching far too many podcasts.

It sounds like a very accurate description of many governmental agencies of the US. The overreach is spectacular and there are over 20 agencies that were formed specifically to fight terrorism which are now intruding upon the lives of innocent Americans on a dozen different levels. Every day. Heinous and mind boggling overuse of power and authority, and a waste of billions.

I am a big believer in blowback and I think we're looking at a couple of centuries of blowback due to colonialism and extremist behavior on the part of the Israeli government. But there are a lot of other factors and Wahhibish was created long before blowback. Ha! The secondary aspect of this is just the utter and complete refusal of some parts of the population to assimilate on any level that is dangerous for society especially when you're talking about a population that propagates like rabbits, regardless of their financial status.

It depends entirely on the nature of the crime, human trafficking, having sex with a 15 year old, sex of a non-consensual nature, these are relatively serious crimes. There are a lot of sex crimes which are not and yet the American authorities pursue them anyway. And very powerful and rich people who are involved in Sex and human trafficking are getting away with it and not being pursued, while little guys are being pursued for very minor and very petty crimes. The American authorities are way way overzealous when it comes to the pursuit of sex crimes, and while I agree that serious sex crimes should be pursued, minor ones are not worthy of the resources.

It is the relatively minor sex crimes that I have an issue with, for instance having sex with a 16 year old while illegal and immoral, is not the kind of crime that should result in a 10-year Federal sentence. Likewise having photos on your phone or your computer of nude women of legal age is also not a crime and yet people are being prosecuted for it.

As far as I'm concerned one of the most dangerous, reckless, and poorly thought out policies that Trump has proposed, are even higher tariffs on many classes of imported products. Who ends up paying for this? American companies who are manufacturing in China, and the consumer, that's who. In the end huge taxes may encourage companies too pull out of China, which is a good thing, but how long will that process take, and what will the economic consequences be in the interim? If he enacts his import tariffs as promised it could spell disaster for the American economy. It is nothing but a massive tax hike on the American People, and could have a very negative impact on thousands of American companies that manufacturer overseas, without any true understanding of why they manufacture overseas. Trump manufactures overseas, every opportunity he gets, to save money. Bibles, baseball caps, and likely countless other things. So, calling him very disingenuous would be an understatement. Trump is not a socialist. He is a failed capitalist. It is fairly easy to get wealthy if you are willing to steal most of your fortune from unsuspecting small contractors. Yet he still went bankrupt. That requires a special kind of skill. Or another form of grifting. His tax hike proposals would end up being a disaster. If they were highly targeted tariffs, only imposed upon goods other states were subsidizing, making it impossible to compete, that makes sense and would be good policy. But, blanket tariffs end up being punitive for the American consumer and American companies forced to operate overseas due to the silly costs of manufacturing in the US. They are a tax. Trump lies when he says other nations will pay for them. He lies when he says companies will pay for them. Consumers will pay, so it becomes a tax. Be bold, big Don and for once be honest. It is a tax hike. And it could slow down the economy and result in a massive loss of jobs, and major inflation. Very dumb policy.

I suggest that a much higher threshold be put on potential Muslim immigrants worldwide then on any other group of people especially if these people are either Saudi or from a Muslim country that practices and extreme form of Islam. One can’t understand the global system underpinning extremism without surveying the pivotal role played by the Saudi government as well as private organizations and individuals within the kingdom. In recent decades, the Saudis have spent up to an estimated $100 billion spreading Wahhabism and perpetuating the notion that they are Islam’s caretaker. Their methods to persuade and influence run the gamut and include the funding of mosques, schools, textbooks, imams, imam learning centers and exchanges, cultural institutions around the world. The Saudis don’t simply want their extreme form of religious practice and belief to prevail. Religious forces in the kingdom, backed by the ruling family, want to destroy other, local traditions within Islam. To that end, they are rewriting history, erasing evidence of the past to favor their own narrative—a move that ideologically aligned extremists in many parts of the world have since copied. The relationship between the Saudis and extremism is not merely one of affinity. The Saudi government and Saudi individuals have directly supported terrorist groups in the Middle East and beyond. If you talking about the security of a Nation you need to be able to keep track of troublemakers and while they're at it they should definitely ban the the niqab and burqa. Both are offensive, and both show a deliberate unwillingness to assimilate. It might work back in your home nation, and it might have worked 700 years ago, but it doesn't work today not in the West. Something must be done to keep out the extremist super freaks. Their religion may work for them in Saudi, Kuwait, Yemen, Sudan or Somalia. That same ultra conservative fanatislcism, is not wanted, needed, nor desirable in Western nations. Only moderates need apply should be the policy. And there should be a standard of willingness to assimilate, and the burden should be on the family to prove the burden is met. I believe immigration policy should be reformed to the point where it should be staged, and all Muslim families should show a willingness to assimilate. I also believe that families with Muslim daughters who are teenagers can start by proving that they have participated in a bikini contest, and for teenage boys they must show a burden of proof that they're not affiliated with any of the local madrasas. Are we serious about keeping our nation's safe from extremists, or not?