spidermike007

Yes, I live here. Quinoa, barley, wheat grass, oats, fruits, hydroponic herbs, the list is endless. Growing rice or sugar is simply an admission that you are conventional, conservative, lacking creativity, don't care about the environmental or your neighbors and haven't considered any sort of progress.

He is an African American.

I love being called a kid. It reminds me of my playful nature. Thanks for that compliment.

French toast, made with imported Challah bread. A 2 kilo South African lobster tail. And a bowl of grapes peeled by my gorgeous naked 22 year old lover.

He has certainly not worn his power and wealth lightly, he is becoming incredibly obnoxious, and he seems to be spectacularly ignorant when it comes to world affairs and politics. So yes, I would agree that he is an existential hazard to humanity.

Of course Trump is going to claim credit for the deal, but did he have anything whatsoever to do with this deal? Did he have any hand in the negotiation of this deal? I don't like Trump, I think that much is clear by now but a ceasefire deal was the right thing to do, and whatever it took to get Israel to stop the massacre was a good thing.

Joe will get caught, it's fairly easy to trace a local, unless the guy is wealthy and has the ability to flee overseas. He will likely be in prison for a very long time, where he will hopefully have time to reflect on his rash and ridiculous actions, and where he will make new friends who will greet him with tremendous warmth and affection. I certainly would not want the job of being a bouncer or a bodyguard here, there are a lot of volatile Thai men, who seem to fly off the handle without much provocation.

Yet it is absolutely necessary sometimes, leaving it to the legal system means years of aggravation and untold expenses paid to lawyers who will likely not bring you satisfaction. So what other option do you have other than just sucking it up and laying down like a sickly dog? Sometimes life requires risks.

I don't consider any of what you said to be relevant. I suppose if I had unlimited finances, I would probably leave. I despise the government and immigration here, and it does feel like the nation is moving backwards. But, considering the fact that I do not have a fortune, I will stay. There are many issues to consider. Going back to the US is not an option. I would not want to live there now, unless I was being paid over a million dollars a year, and then I would only do it for 3 years, and then leave. For me, it is about quality of life, and my level of fulfillment on a daily basis, which I seem to have here in abundance. A big factor here, is the relatively light hearted attitude of the people. You just do not find that in the US, where most seem bitter, disenchanted, unfulfilled, and heavy hearted. This is an entirely subjective topic, of course. But some of us live very good lives here. Some of us have been fortunate enough to find an outstanding woman, who is delightful to be around, on a daily basis, always has our back, and is fun, smart, and lovely. For me, that likelihood of finding that back in the US, would be very low. So, that is a big factor for me. The second factor is just the quality of life. Sure, I miss alot of the culture back home. But everything in life seems to be a compromise and no place is the same as what it used to be back in the day. I have a lovely home that I rent, for about 10% of what I would pay in California, I live very well on an income which is not huge, have access to great health care, at a tiny fraction of what it costs in the US, and do not have to put up with alot of the aggravation that I had to when I lived back there. It is a very personal choice. I have friends who seem to be dropping like flies. I could be dead next year. You just don't know. I am not extravagant, but I live very, very well. A nice house, a new car every few years, new motorbikes for my gal and I every few years, a great art collection, plenty of good wine in the wine cooler, a new 77" OLED TV, a world class home theatre, plenty of international travel, etc. For me, it is a great lifestyle, that I could only dream of in the US. Well worth the expense and very easy to justify. Life is way too short. Thailand is still reasonable. It used to be cheap. Has not been cheap for a long time. But, it is still reasonable. I know people who pay 10,000 baht a month for newer 3 bedroom houses in nice towns. In major cities in the US? $2000-3800 a month. That is 120,000 baht! The other variable is i just find the Thai people to be very pleasant and easy to be around, many have a great sense of humor, are playful and I wake up everyday here feeling pretty damn good. It's kind of hard to beat that. I find my native country America to be very dour these days I find most people to be fairly humorless and I find a lot of bitterness, frustration, and lack of contentment back there. No thanks.

You can likely order it from any Honda dealer in the country. I think it's a fairly standard and stock item. But it won't be cheap those seats are pretty amazing. And the local guys that do motorcycle seats might have a hard time replicating the design.

Another crop. Getting with the times. Progress. Creativity.

Correct. There are solutions. But, they require creativity, initiative, and a progressive leader. This PM is anything but. She is an empty suit.

Yes. Clean air at any cost. Save the people. Stop lung disease.

There are a dozen alternatives to classic revenge. There are so many ways to go after a bad actor these days. Shame, online humiliation, direct access to family members, etc. The list is endless. The worst thing in the world anyone can do, when they have been scammed for a large amount of money, is to just let it go. It just encourages the criminal. No thanks. I would devote my life to finding him, pursue him to the ends of the earth, and make his life a living hell, all the while avoiding the legal system. There is a whole subculture in this world, who absolutely refuse to work for a living, and instead like to prey on those who are vulnerable, naive, dumb, and easy victims. It is our responsibility to be careful, prudent, willing to do some vetting, some research, some due diligence, anytime we part with cash. Especially online. Dealing with Ebay, Lazada, Amazon is one thing. You have recourse. But, dealing with Facebook vendors, Instagram, Youtube, dating sites, or any other social media, the scammers outweigh the real deals. People get taken every day. I get junk emails offering me at least $100 million a month. Stay on her like white on rice. In the past I have had people who owed me money. Nearly always, I was able to collect. Rarely did I ever go to court. I kept up relentless pressure on them. I used social media, I used their relatives, their tenants, whatever angle I could find to increase the pressure, increase the hurt, the shame, the embarrassment, the guilt. It nearly always works. The last thing in the world you should do is take off the pressure. Keep on hammering her, in every way imaginable. She will likely succumb. The last guy who tried to steal some money from me, when he paid me back in cash, in full, a year or so later, told me that the only reason I got my money back, is that he needed to get his life back. I hassled him, his wife, his kids, and everyone he knew! It was pure humiliation for him, and it was totally unexpected. I think he just got used to taking people for a ride, and most of them being willing to let it go. Not me. Not for a nanosecond. It became a game for me. It was almost fun, by the end. A real challenge.

You either having an incredibly short memory or you are very partisan (subjective) in your beliefs. Tillerson was obsessed with relatively minor administrative tasks (such as approving embassy requests to hire Foreign Service spouses) while completely ignoring bigger foreign policy questions and neglecting to nominate under secretaries and assistant secretaries to assist him. Ambassadors in Washington preferred to call Jared Kushner to discuss issues of importance, because they knew that Tillerson was completely out of the loop. In the end, Tillerson found out he was fired while he was in the middle of a trip to Africa (where he was apparently trying to mend fences following his boss’s infamous “sh*thole countries” remark). How about Pompeo? Clinton?

I totally agree that would be a great solution but it would require a huge amount of government support and encouragement to convince the farmers to do that since it's a lot more work. And in the absence of that it's just a horrific lay destructive crop and the same applies to sugar.

If the spectacularly slothful and indifferent officials would do something about this situation it would not continue to plague the nation each and every year. However many of us know that the primary cause of the declining air quality this time of year is due to the burning of rice and sugar, two very antiquated agricultural products that have no business being grown in Thailand in the 21st century. The country would be much better off importing those products rather than growing them and causing hundreds of thousands of people to get sick and die prematurely. However, the reality is that they won't stand up to the super rich and the oligarchs that own the rice processing in the sugar refining plants, and they certainly won't stand up to the farmers who are callously burning their crops and their neighbors and the nation.

Very few things done every day are a good thing. Habit is the life of an automaton. People don't understand how sensitive and how important the liver is. Daily drinking is usually a sign of extreme boredom, a lack of fulfillment or some deep seated, unresolved psychological issues.

Wrong. Millions of Jews disagree with extremist Israeli policy. Many Israelis are appalled by it.

A fairly narrow minded approach to life. If you were seeking a life partner, maybe. But, it's just a date. Agree to disagree.

Bidens support of Israeli genocide was a pox on his administration. Trump will do the same, if not more. Nobody can say no to the richest lobby on the planet. It stinks.

That is one positive aspect of this hugely complex issue that you are attempting to over simplify.

Though this could be interpreted as racist, Africa is truly the forsaken continent. 20 of the nations with the highest birthrates in the world are there, amidst grinding poverty. Many nations are plagued with a strict interpretation of Islam, which has zero connection to anything of a spiritual nature. Disease, famine, wars, warlords, deliberate female genital mutilation, and the list goes on. Yikes!

In reality common sense is pushing the world's population down by itself. I've seen some recent studies that have China's population dropping to 650 million by the year 2060, multiple predictions also have shown Thailand's population to drop to 35 million within that same period. The people are just getting smart and many are deciding not to have children, or to have one child at the most. This is not a great time to be bringing children into the world, and people are wising up. I don't think they're going to be able to reverse that trend. And it's a good thing overall, though some pain will be felt, no doubt. World population needs to drop. What might appear to be an empty lifestyle to some, is bordering on paradise to many millions of us. Though I like kids, I've never had the desire to own any. One hour with one is plenty. It's a personal choice, we all have to make these kind of decisions. 98% choose to go the conventional route and have children. For me children were never an option. And I'm infinitely thankful for that. The best thing that's happening to the world right now is countries like China and Japan just saying no to children. I do not think children are that special, they're not really needed, they are way over rated, and thankfully it's a choice these days and not compulsory. A lot of people are saying no, I don't need the headaches, I don't need the nonsense, I don't need the expense, I don't need the responsibility, and the planet does not need any other kid. Nah, I choose to have a great life, I don't need kids. I did that and it was the wisest and smartest decision of this lifetime. I don't miss not having kids for a nanosecond. The declining birth rates are simply symptomatic of intelligent people looking at life in this day and age, looking at their financial situation, looking at the lack of state support, and just simply deciding that having children it's just not some place they need to go. If they're going to have children, many are limiting it to one child. There is nothing that could possibly be more positive for the future of Thailand, and the world, than a seriously declining birth rate. It's something that we need drastically. The last thing in the world this planet needs right now is an expanding population.

True. I consider social media to be the most destructive force in contemporary culture today. Children are growing up now in a world where they expect immediate response, gratification and notification. Their brains no longer have time to evolve; they must adapt to change in an instant, and the results are distressing. The difficulties of growing up have never been so public. Social technology provides a platform where things can run wild. Imagine the stress of high school – the competition for popularity, the pressure to fit in, the judgmental nature of social activities – at an accelerated pace. We try to protect our children from wandering off into the darkness on their own, and it turns out they are doing exactly that – online. When they get older and “ready,” we send them off to college, where they face more pressures. But social media has an infamous dark side and the more people share, the more serious this side becomes. As it turns out, living your life online has serious consequences for your self-esteem, your relationships, and your career prospects. And it is a strong indication of just how bent, warped and misguided contemporary culture and society is, that someone can be considered an idol or celebrity just because they have alot of followers on Tik tok, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.