connda

Trump was elected and gained political support based on ending foreign wars. Yes. Now that he is getting more involved with continued funding of the Ukraine SMO, bombing Yemen, threatening to go to war with Iran, as well as China (and by extension all of the BRICS nations) - yep. On top of that it looks like the economy is going to turn into a cluster-foxtrot. He's going to lose a lot of his base - probably fairly soon. Prediction: 1. Congress flips Democrat after the mid-terms. 2. The POTUS flips back to the Democrats in 2028.

And I'm in 100% agreement with MTG.

Sorry forgot only reserved for foreigners pasty-white farangs. There, fixed it.

Obviously the luxury hotels don't hire 5 or 10 "security guards" to gang-beat the snot out of guests who skip paying their bills.

I've had my bank accounts of a long time. Wife has had those SIMs for a long time. Like I said, I'll fix the problem in short order if it comes up. Until then - we'll sail along as usual.

I'm not saying you're wrong. You're not. But I've got to admit, I could attribute those attributes to virtually every POTUS over the last 30 years. The proportions of those attributes may be a little different - more in some cases, less in other - and yet still, most US Presidents exhibit those same traits. Those traits are not unique to Trump at all.

I agree 100%. I've done my part. I left and the Native Americans can have it all back!

I order you to Levitate! juggle juggle juggle juggle juggle

Court Jester?

Although I've been accused of being a MAGA Trump supporter, I'm not. Didn't vote for him, didn't vote for Harris either. Some of his policies I support; many of his policies I don't support. However, I'm just at a loss at the level of angst, unease, dread, suspicion, worry, concern, disgust, horror, hostility, and hatred that people have for him. It's just the uniformity of these emotions between those who can not stop whinging about him that confuses me. It's like those who are triggered by Trump are part of a Star Trek Borg-Mind hive. There is so little that is unique about what those who dislike him are saying about him - It's like they all read from the same script. I find that fascinating! Don't get me wrong. Trump is a narcissistic megalomaniac with god-like delusions of grandeur, but for Pete's sake kids, most of the current crop of world leaders are narcissistic megalomaniac with god-like delusions of grandeur although Trump is beginning to out-trump them all. Literally, “I’d like to be pope. That would be my number one choice.", and “I run the country and the world.” Everybody wants to rule the world! -- Tears for Fears And Trump is convinced he's the ruler of the world. Freaking Amazing, 'eh? But realistically, Obama was a narcissistic megalomaniac, Biden was a narcissistic megalomaniac, "Dubya" Bush and is cabinet were narcissistic megalomaniacs, the Clinton's are narcissistic megalomaniacs. And no doubt, whomever is elected as the US President in 2028 will be a narcissistic megalomaniac. The third party candidates whom I vote for are not narcissistic megalomaniacs, but they don't get elected either. Go figure? Anyway, I digress. Here's the bottom line for me. Regardless of who is in office, I've never been so triggered as to completely lose my s**t and then spend the next four years consumed on social media or within my social circles being obsessed by whomever was selected to be the POTUS. Never! So watching it happen - for the second time - is just.....fascinating. So my terminally triggered Trump hating friends? What the hell is it that causes you people so much obsession and grief about this guy? I just don't understand. Clue me in.

I have a brokerage account that used to be Datek, then TDAmeritrade, and now Charles Schwab. I've got a couple of questions for those who still hold a US based account with a US residence address. Do any of you use your US address as your permanent physical address and your Thai address as a mailing address. The reason I'm asking is that I've obviously have had a brokerage account for a long time but I'm considering opening a bank account with them now too as I have to begin pulling money out of my IRA and I might as well bank it with Charles Schwab. Having a Charles Schwab debit card would be a plus with it's no foreign ATM fees. So I was curious to know if they would mail the debit card to a Thai address? Has anyone done that? I know I could open a Charles Schwab International account, but I don't believe you can assign a beneficiary with that account. That's important as I don't have a US "Will" and when I die those funds need to be transferred to my wife who is my beneficiary which is set up for my IRA and Individual brokerage account (TOD). So at this time I'm not looking at the International account. So just checking to see if anyone else with a US account and a US physical address has used a Thai mailing address to receive their debit card.

I seriously doubt it as I don't have a SIM in my name. The SIMs we have for our phones from True are in my wife's name, not mine. That has to do with the fact they are somehow linked and my SIM only costs like 100 THB/mo. No idea how the program works. I bank with two different banks but only use SCB online after they ditched their web-base portal. They haven't said anything about my SIM to date. As of yesterday, everything is working fine. If that changes, I guess I'll get a SIM in my name. I'm not particularly worried about it. If something breaks we'll make at trip to Big C and visit True and SCB to get it sorted out. I'd just shut up and let the wife do the talking. She's pretty assertive for a Thai gal.

bob smith has a new incarnation! 100%

Bondi strikes be as being Bill Barr 2.0. I'm not expecting much out of Trump's DOJ or USAG.

What happened in Canada? The Canadians were given a choice between "Dumb" and Dumber." The only winners? The wealthiest segment of Canadian society as well as millionaires/billionaires with dual citizenship and multiple passports. Who are their masters? That's anyone's guess. But they don't work for the benefit of the average citizens.

What's "democracy" in the West. Wealthy billionaire place a limited number of their candidates in front of the public to provide the illusion that they have a democratic choice. If a populist candidate raised their head, it is beat down with hundreds of million of dollars in "campaign ads" (propaganda) to make sure that the populist becomes worse than Hitler - and the average clones who vote suck it up with glee. Any visage of actual democracy is dead. It's probably better to simply have a system like China where there is at least long-term political stability. At least China doesn't pretend to be something it is not. Virtually all "democratic" Western nations are at best pretend democracies. Illusions at best. And judging by Europe, this trend is only getting worse as those claiming to embrace democracy actually are moving toward Fascistic autocracy, in the name of "Democracy" of course. Criminy - look at the US. There is no stability. After 6-8 months in office, virtually all candidate are focusing on the next elections in two years. The political system in the US is plain broken. Nothing of substance gets accomplish, policies change radically with shifts of power from one party to the other in two year elections cycles (General election, mid-terms, general election, mid-terms), and politicians are just proxies for their wealthiest donors. They system is totally unstable and beyond repair.

Their "All bars must close from 2PM to 5PM" don't help tourism at all. Tourist don't take alcohol breaks from 2PM to 5PM.

Highway Patrol cars in Thailand = VIP Escort cars in Thailand

"Ai Farang!" --Anutin

If I was looking for beaches I'd go to Vietnam.

People like you should relegate your tourism to Singapore and Dubai, and forget about Thailand.

Stop acting like every tourist is a Thai National Security risk from the second they get off the plane. Instead of security guards group beating tourists for disagreements over bills and payment, call the cops and let them do their jobs. Rein in the transvestites who also group beat-down tourists. If you want tourists to understand Thai custom, then create a TAT video on Thai customs and Thai government expectations regarding tourist behavior, and mandate that the video is played during all inbound flights to Thailand. During the mandatory video, explain to the tourist that zebra crossing/cross walk are not like those in their home country and there is no expectation that vehicles will stop, so keep your head on a swivel when crossing a road in a cross walk. Included in the video should be a warning that motorcycle driving tourist are required to have a valid home country DL with a motorcycle endorsement and an International Drivers Permit. Then, stop allowing motorcycle rental shops to rent out motorcycles to tourist who don't have the proper licenses instead of shaking them down at road blocks for money. Collect the fines from the motorcycle shops. (see *Clean up your corruption problem at home which directly affects tourism). Every tourist is not a criminal who needs to be watched 24/7. Rein in predatory taxi and tuk tuk drivers. *Clean up your corruption problem at home which directly affects tourism. If a tour boat operator takes divers into a zone where diving and interacting with sea life is forbidden, it's the fault of the tour boat operator. Charge them with crimes, not ignorant tourist (see *Clean up your corruption problem at home which directly affects tourism). Stop throwing tourist into prison for writing reviews on travel sites. If you can't put up with honest reviews, then turn those sites off at your national firewall. Poor customer service should be pointed out, but if you really really want to lose tourist numbers - remember that the media in those tourist's home country will rake you over the coals for throwing tourist in prison for pointing out poor customer service where it is deserved. Remember - every tourist who has a poor experience in Thailand will tell 10 of their friends in their home country on average. Stop shaken down foreigners for TM30 fines which are the responsibility of those establishments who rent to foreigners. Standardized immigration requirements and practices across the entire country. Immigration laws should correspond to those published in the Royal Gazette and be uniform across all offices by all immigration officers. Individual offices and officers should not be allowed to make up their own rules. I could go on, but that's a start. And remember, if you can't provide tourists with a joyful experience as opposed to a bad experience that is avoidable, then other countries can and will. Remember - if Thailand can't toe-the-line, then GOOD MORNING VIETNAM!!!

My prediction: They'll run Harris and AOC as primary candidates for 2028 Presidential Primaries, and with $200 million USD pumped into the various PACs and SuperPAC - AOC will be the DNC 2028 Presidential candidate - thus exemplifying the Peter Principle to the max. The war chest for AOC presidential run will be in excess of $3 Billion USD. I've come to the conclusion that the average American want's the loonyist of the loons running the country.

I've got a great Black Mirror episode idea. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have a new robot. Mr. and Mrs. Smith disappear but are found buried in the back yard. Comedy and hilarity ensures in conversations between police and "dumb" robot servant.