connda

Phew - me too, I was worried about bob's wife suing me...................👨‍❤️‍👨

"There are points of no return. The next thing that Russia will have to offer will be the document about [the Kiev government’s] surrender." - Konstantin Gavrilov, Russian chief delegate to Vienna talks on military security and arms control “Russia has already lost this war.” - Jake Sullivan, US Security Advisor Kick back on watch the nuclear fun. Cue "Dualing Banjos" https://youtu.be/NFutge4xn3w

Mods - you can close this thread. Thanks.

Ok - so what about the Immigration laws that allow a foreign woman married to a Thai man to have a path to citizenship but not a foreign man married to a Thai woman? This is gender discrimination too.

The promised "Bird-flu Pandemic" will drive a stake though the heart of Thai tourism as well as any plans to be the "hub" of anything.

Your attitude is part of the problem bob, not part of the solution. But what should we expect from supposedly wealthy, bitter alcoholics?

They are just regular people like you and me Jingthing. Walk up, introduce yourself, tell them you would like to really know more about Russia culture, invite them to lunch, sit-down with them and talk. And remember you a talking with one person or family out of a population of 147 million people. Just like in the US, your gonna come across widely diverse opinions, but you may be able to catch common themes. I think you have a wonderful idea. We are not our leaders. So perhaps where are leaders fail at diplomacy we ourselves can promote grassroots diplomacy by talking to the people we are told are our "enemies." You'll come away better informed and many of your biases will be shattered. That's one of the reasons I've traveled the world when I was younger - to challenge my own biases about other cultures.

This article by world renowned economist Jeffrey Sach outlines the history of the conflict and Russia's attempt to negotiate security guarantees with the US since the breakup of the USSR. Professor Sachs has advised world leaders and US presidents. He provides a voice of reason. And I agree with him: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Why Won't the US Help Negotiate a Peaceful End to the War in Ukraine? For goodness' sake, negotiate! For the fifth time since 2008, Russia has proposed to negotiate with the U.S. over security arrangements, this time in proposals made by President Vladimir Putin on June 14, 2024. Four previous times, the U.S. rejected the offer of negotiations in favor of a neocon strategy to weaken or dismember Russia through war and covert operations. The U.S. neocon tactics have failed disastrously, devastating Ukraine in the process, and endangering the whole world. After all the warmongering, it’s time for Biden to open negotiations for peace with Russia. https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/role-of-us-in-russia-ukraine-war

I now say that the Atomic Doomsday Clock is about 15 seconds from midnight. We are wayyyy past where we were during the Cuban Missile Crisis when I was doing "duck and cover" drills under my classroom desk. That was futile - we lived on a SAC base and would have been vaporized. I "ducked" nuclear annihilation in 1962, I don't think we make it though 2024. Why? "Russia's bluffing," is going to get us all killed. Which in the minds of the billionaire psychopaths on this planet may actually be the point. If the airways still work after the first EMPs what you'd hear from the MSM pundits when shtf is "We never saw this coming...." Willful ignorance is bliss.

Everyone is patently insane. "Russia's bluffing." I don't think so. I don't think we make it to the end of the year without a nuke going off, and it one goes off? They all go off. Then it's "Goodbye and thanks for all the fish." Considering the war-like nature of the human population, nuclear annihilation is a fitting end.

I nominate you for "Best AN Come-back in 2024"

Usually the other way around.

Apologies accepted.

You are speaking rational common sense. TIT. This is Thailand. <laughs> I'm sure the government officials will thoroughly muck up everything. Just wait - see if I'm wrong. But I agree - I think in their "Pride" zeal they have completely overlooked the affect of the law on foreigner-Thai same sex marriages. I expect them to do something like make a law that foreigner-Thai same sex couples marriages will not be recognized by the Thai government or something inane like that. Again - wait for the screams. There are a significant number of same sex couples, Thai and foreigners, who want to be officially married. They could promote that for tourism: "Come to Thailand and marry your same-sex sweetheart." But? Never underestimate a government's ability to screw things up.

People are getting tired of "two party duopolies" where you can't tell the difference between the two major parties. Time to do the same in the US. Vote for anyone but Biden or Trump. Taylor Swift for President!

As usual there is no easy method. The GUI doesn't work - Color me surprised - it's a Microsoft issue. I'll leave this for anyone who may run into this problem in the future. Open Powershell Administrator (Windows + X) Then enter: slmgr.vbs /upk (uninstalls any residual key information) slmgr.vbs /ipk #####-#####-#####-#####-##### (installs your product key - but in my case it errored out) Sooooo..... slmgr.vbs /ato (forces the computer to attempt alternate MS activation servers) Reboot Check slmgr.vbs /dlv And Bob's your uncle! Good resource: https://www.howtogeek.com/245445/how-to-use-slmgr-to-change-remove-or-extend-your-windows-license/#first-open-an-administrator-command-prompt-window

Tony's special. Special people get special treatment. Tis' the way of the world I'm afraid.

Which passport? You think he only has one? <laughs>

@oldcpu Read the post above this post - THAT is going to "rock the boat." Now that same sex marriages are legal, they are going to have to rewrite the immigration law to include "same sex marriages." That will create significant friction as the Thai authorities will be forced to take a hard look at their immigration policies pertaining to Foreigner-Thai marriages. How do they make it equitable? 🤔

This should be interesting. So - if a foreign man marries a Thai man, will he be treated like a foreign woman married to a Thai man? And - if a foreign woman marries a Thai woman, will she be treated like a foreign man married to a Thai woman? Standby. This is going to create lots of sparks! 😁 Anyway you cut it, they will have to rewrite that section of the police orders pertaining to same sex couples - wait for the screams! 🙀

We are a national security risk to the sanctity of Thai culture and society. If the US handled visas and permanent residency like Thailand, the Thai community would be in an uproar and screaming "Racism!!!" at the top of their lungs. And they would get the attention of the government, especially in the Blue States who would side with them.

So wife and I will make a trip to the US and then throw away her passport and claim citizenship. Whoopee. Not.

Well bought the cheap key and no joy. Checked and double checked the key and checked and double checked that I entered it correctly (three different attempts). Verified the computer is connected to the network - soooooo. 🤔 Sent error screenshots to the vendor and we'll see how they handle it.

Really there is no "rocking the boat." The Thai government doesn't listen to any of us men married to Thai women. There really is no respect by the government for any of us. I'm sure they don't care what we think about the different treatment of foreign women married to Thai men and us. And they really have no respect for their own women. Patriarchal society. Women are an afterthought.

The only issue being that the foreign female can help to contribute to (very low) financial threshold required by the Thai man. Thai women married to foreign men can not. They don't bloster the economy with a financial threshold of 15k/month. Plus as BritManToo noted, they have an almost immediate path to citizenship. Us guys are temporary guest visiting our spouses year to year. I'm on year 17. And that's bringing in about 1 million THB a year and injecting into the economy (although with the new tax laws probably not anymore). From a human rights perspective the treatment is really a travesty. But not much we can do about it.