connda

I said it before and I'll say it again: Trumps's 'stances' are gamesmanship and pageantry. His narratives will start looking more and more 'main-stream' the closer we get to November. Personally I love the guy because he has jerked just about everybody's chain. If he can make the 'Establishment' cringe, what's not to love? Everybody hates him except disenfranchised voters. And imho, there are a whole lot of disenfranchised voters in the US. Stay tuned...

...and the charade goes on....

We're not allowed to talk about what really happened.

No, you're just not allowed to vent unsubstantied tin foil hat conspiracy theories because frankly they are extremely dull.

The phrases 'Conspiracy theorist' aka 'tin foil hat' nut jobs: Weaponed, pejorative terms used by shills or individuals not intelligent enough to research an issue that has been broadcasted by main stream news. Of course. Everything main steam news says is the entire truth. Look no further.

I may not agree with with MSM or alternative views, especially when it comes to an event like MH370, but I'll entertain all information and draw my own conclusions. Anyone who wants to infer that my own conclusions make me a ''tin foil hat' nut job' is essentially an low IQ moron or a shill. There you have it. Enjoy.

Here. Read something that's not from WaPo or the NYT: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-02-23/1967-he-cia-created-phrase-conspiracy-theorists-and-ways-attack-anyone-who-challenge

"Zero Hedge is just a bunch of conspiracy theorist."

Yeah, whatever.

I'm assuming that 'illegally acquired land in the hands of' anybody should face seizure? Am I missing something?

Too bad she isn't Hispanic. If my wife was Hispanic, a visa would be simple too. She isn't. It isn't. Lesson learned. Why bother going back? The US isn't the country I grew up in. It's something way different. I've no plans on going back, wife has no interest. There is a lot of 'world' outside of the 'exceptional nation'. I'll leave it to the illegals - they can have the whole country as far as I care.

Don't think I'll ever buy one of those.

No I don't. But with that said, I prefer my Thai wife over any of my farang ex-wives. If I had to do it over again, I would have made my first marriage a Thai gal.

Thai school officials will pay lip service to desiring NES teachers, but when the rubber hits the road, money and working conditions talk, all else walks. Decent teachers head for private work or leave for venues in other countries that pay a decent salary.

Between the low pay, lousy working conditions, and total lack of respect for qualified NES instructors -- why bother! Most individuals that I've taught with have either gone back to Uni to obtain teaching credential in order to teach at International schools, teach at higher paying private schools, or have left for Japan or S. Korea or similar venues. Imho, those who remain to teach grossly oversized classes for chump change are essentially glorified baby-sitters. The job may be OK if you're looking for a first-time teaching job to gain experience, but the schools get what they pay for. Sure there are exceptions, there alway are, but overall my impression of The Land of Smiles is that most public schools are low quality, especially rural schools, and they scrap the bottom of the barrel to obtain the resources that they need to fill their quota of teachers. If they changed their attitudes toward top-notch qualified instructors/teachers, they might be able to obtain resources whom chose to teach for the love of teaching. But combine low wages, oversized classes, and stifling status consciousness at the management/administrative level of the schools -- it ain't worth it.

If a free market was allow to function, the problem would solve itself.

What I really like about Trump is that he knows exactly what buttons to push. He pushes the progressive left's buttons, he pushes the liberal's buttons, he pushes the neo-con's buttons, he pushes the Republican's in name only (RINO's) buttons, he pushes the main-stream media's buttons who then get all excited and shower him with negative publicity which gets the attention of all the disenfranchised voters in the US who can't stand the current political system nor the corrupt main-stream politicians who are bought and paid for by Wall Street and friends, and all he has to do is spout nonsense to rile the aforementioned groups, sit back, and watch the fireworks. "I'm going to stop Muslims from entering the country." No he's not....

This is all gamesmanship and pageantry, and most fools buy it - hook, line, and sinker.

Even if he wins the presidency, I doubt much will change. But I laugh at how worked up so many people can get, and then he and his team simple play their game plan off the clamor, excitement, and over-reaction.

I wonder why, with all the shenanigans that happen inside the beltway, there is never an obstruction of justice charge filed against anyone.

"Because if one domino falls, they all fall."

Yeah, I knew that!

Nice start! Now move on to MBAs followed by political science majors.

The GOP's so divided and screwed up, I don't see how Billary can lose.

Trump can win, if we let him

It's lose/lose. My vote's going to the highest bidder.

Both the House and the Senate electees do the exact same thing, which is why the American political system is totally broken today. The American people unconsciously know this which is why Congress enjoys a 6% approval rating.

It time to change the model.

This whole issue is separating 'grass-roots' conservatives, i.e., voters, from main-steam, dyed-in-the-wool, establishment Republican who are Conservatives in Name Only (CINO). Time to split the party and roll it back to it's conservative roots. The Wall Street/Goldman-Saches backed neo-cons can go join the Democrats where they belong, or start their own Neo-con Party.

This so called 'divisiveness' is the best thing the American political system has seen in the last 100 years.

Vice President Christie? Or at least a cabinet position methinks.

If that is now his life-long mission, fine. Penance, penitentiary (a Quaker term for a place to do penance), penance, monkhood...same, same but different. However, the moment he leaves he needs to be tossed in jail.

The banks are sitting on 3 billion THB in loans and the government steps in to 'bail' them out.
That doesn't bode well imho.

PM acts against forest fires

BANGKOK, 9 May 2016 (NNT) –The Prime Minister has ordered helicopters be dispatched to assist in fighting a forest fire on Doi Suthep of Chiang Mai province while calling for the public to be more aware of fire hazards.

Prime Minister Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha has asked that the military take part in battling forest fires taking place in several areas of the country and authorized the use of helicopters in the effort.

On the fire in Doi Suthep, the prime minister revealed it was caused by homeless people setting fires to stay warm during the night. He said the public must become more aware of the causes of forest fires and desist from practices that can lead to blazes. He acknowledged that low income earners continue to be unaware of their contribution to forest fires and ultimately the haze problem in the northern region.

The premier has ordered serious action against forest fires both in the north and the south.

[nnt]2016-05-09[/

On the fire in Doi Suthep, the prime minister revealed it was caused by homeless people setting fires to stay warm during the night.

No doubt homeless Burmese migrants no less.

Whoever is gathering intelligence and writing the PM's Press Releases is doing him no service. It's not cold, even at night in the mountains this time of year (Hot Season). It's common knowledge in my neck of the woods rural Thailand that the fires are deliberately set throughout Northern Thailand this time of year by locals to stimulate mushroom and other forest 'vegetables' that are gather and sold during the rainy season. Or perhaps I'm wrong and all the smoke and haze this time of year is caused by hundreds of forest fires set by homeless people trying to stay warm on cold nights during the Hot Season. I'm sure that must be it.

I can not see the problem ever being solved if those who are in the position to stop the burning can't identify the problem accurately.

I expect finger pointing and pronouncements, and then back to business as usual.

It was mentioned on television that some locals set the grass alight while looking for mushrooms. Really can`t see how they`re going to put that out, especially as it`s so dry with no rain in sight.

Thais setting fires to the mountain forests to stimulate mushroom growth is a primary cause of all the smoke during the burn season. This is arson on a massive scale, the folks in Chiang Mai just get to see it up close and personal now. Now it's right in the government's face. Wonder if they do anything? Probably not. Just add to the hot air.

Obama said he wanted to use the crisis to make long-term improvements to the city, where more than 40 percent of residents live in poverty.

Let see...how about doing something about unemployment instead of cooking the figures. US unemployment is over 20% nation-wide and as stated, in the inner cities of the 'Rust Belt', is more like 40%. What happened to all those 'shovel-ready jobs'? Whoever puts America back to work will solve this problem. If people were working in Flint, the city would have the tax revenues to fix it's problems. And what about all the other cities similar to Flint? Easy for a lame duck president to spend other people's money, or just print and spend America's grandchildren's money too.

But the US is looking more like 1950s Soviet Russia, right along with big government, central planning, and lie after lie coming out of the government and propagated by a main-stream news cartel which rivals the Soviet Pravda propaganda machine.

Jobs for Americans. Put America back to work.

I use https://thailand.kinokuniya.com/t/books/english-books

They have a huge range of titles and the books arrive by courier usually within a week of ordering, Occasionally they have deals on free shipping but currently you only get the free shipping option on orders over 3,000 baht so it might be worth doing a bulk order if you want to save some money. I have found their customer service and delivery exceptionally good.

The search function is a bit rubbish on their site so if you are looking for a specific book use the advanced search and grab the isbn from Amazon to find it.

On the bright side - they have the book I'm looking for!

On the down side - it's out of stock...

If they ever get it back in, it's cheaper than Amazon and the shipping is free! Thanks for this link. Good stuff.

I had heard Amazon will not ship to Thailand now. Another was that they would using the site in England. Like I said a rumor.

They will not ship certain items. Books? I ordered two recently without problems. Digital orders? Different animal. They are worried about software piracy, so they toss the baby out with the bathwater and banned all shipments to Thailand .

Use a VPN and have a US (or Western) billing address and you shouldn't have a problem with digital downloads. I don't pirate my digital media, it for my personal use. But if you are sending items like software or ripable CD/DVDs or other digital media to a Thai mailing address, you'll find that most items are not allowed. I have items like that sent to my US address and have folks there forward them to me via snail mail. If all else fails, I make my purchase from a company with a friendlier end-user shipping policy. Amazon is convenient, but they are not the only game in town, which is exactly why I'm looking for books locally; I prefer to support the local economy, get better shipping rates, and not run into Machiavellian shipping policies. If the prices are similar, I'll order locally every time.

The news cycle is now officially over. No follow-up interviews in their home countries. This issue is now tossed into the bin of iniquity and cemented shut. No one will hear the outcome of any trial, because it's just not the way of things here in the Land of Smiles. All over, until the next woman is assaulted, raped, or killed on a CCTV link which get's 'leaked'.

Business as usual.

I do not understand why so many come here to dive off building ?? I have had plenty of "Self Made" set-backs in my 81 years but was never so far over the edge that I though Sky Diving without a chute was the way to go.

If you get that way please say a prayer or two, go see a Man of God and talk about it !!

A man of god... pffff religious people.. why is it so hard to understand that some people just want to die. We have the right to die no matter what religious people say. (i do feel its hard on the next of kin but if there are none of those why not I feel suicide is totally acceptable)

If I ever come to a point where I want to kill myself I will just do it. But not in a way that harms others, I would probably go by way of an overdose quick and painless. Or carbon monoxide something like that, nice letter on the door or a letter send the day before alerting people so nobody will be in shock when they find me. I am happy that back in my country we have the right to euthanasia.

?? at age 31????????

By age, young people are the most likely to 'check out early' with that number peaking in the teen years for Western females and in the mid-20s for Western males, and then both averages declining until people are in the late 70s and 80s where the averages trend upwards again slightly. So yeah, Western male 31 years old is not an anomaly. But here in Thailand? Who knows for sure.

I do not understand why so many come here to dive off building ?? I have had plenty of "Self Made" set-backs in my 81 years but was never so far over the edge that I though Sky Diving without a chute was the way to go.

If you get that way please say a prayer or two, go see a Man of God and talk about it !!

I don't understand either. I'd like to see the statistics on suicide methods of farangs in Thailand. Jumping from a high place seems to be a really common occurrence here in Thailand for farangs who 'check out early', but it is not the norm in their home countries. I've checked suicide method for males in the US, Finland, and Australia, and jumping from a high place is pretty much at the bottom of the list of preferred suicide methods in those countries. Same for females.

So we are suppose to believe that farangs who allegedly commit suicide chose jumping as one of their primary choices, which goes completely counter to statistics from their home countries. Personally I don't buy it. One thing I have noticed that balcony railing heights are lower than you'd expect to see in Western countries. My personal feeling is that many of these 'suicides' are actually accidents or deliberate murders, with actual 'jumpers' being in the minority of deaths by falling which would fit in line with International statistics gathered by World Health Organization. E.g., male jumpers in Finland approx 5%; male jumpers in US approx < 5%; male jumpers in S.Korea approx 11%. My guess is that if the figures from Thailand were readily available, the number of 'jumpers' would be significantly skewed upwards.

Yes sir, yes indeed ..here in Thailand I have been stereotype during my entire 28 years here.

I am white skinned and blue eyed and have a longer nose and having the more typical Caucasian features ....so I am stereotyped as a Farang

On the average I have more money than most Thais so I am stereotyped as being rich and greedy and a Cheap Charlie by the average Thai person.

I am also Stereotyped as being naïve and or stupid by Thai people because I am not Thai and therefore I am just another Dumb Farang and never capable of understanding Thai ways...so I am double stereotyped in their minds.

As a man I am stereotyped as being a whore monger because, according to the average Thai person, all I am here for is the women and sex so I am double stereotyped as a whore monger and a womanizer...before I even step off the plane.

I am also stereotyped as the exploiter of Thai people because I come here to use them and take everything and give nothing back.

And finally amongst other things....I am stereotyped as a trouble maker because the average Thai believes all the problems in Thailand can be attributed to the many foreigners coming here and creating the problems that currently exist....

Can not win, either way, no matter what...... I remain stereotyped and racially profiled by the Thais.....lol

Cheers

So you've never paid for cheap sex here?

Admitting you paid for cheap sex in Thailand is a bit like admitting you masturbate. Imho, there are two types of guys:

Those who admit to occasionally spanking the monkey; and,

Those who lie.

I'm pretty sure that paying for cheap sex here in The Land of Smiles fits into the same category.

Of course, there are a religious few who will adamantly deny that they are sexual beings in any way, shape, or form. I may reserve judgment on a fraction of that particular group.

So, is the stereotype of male farangs being rather obsessed with sexual pursuits here in Thailand accurate? I think that particular shoe fits most Western guys, so wear it with pride dudes!

Yes sir, yes indeed ..here in Thailand I have been stereotype during my entire 28 years here.

I am white skinned and blue eyed and have a longer nose and having the more typical Caucasian features ....so I am stereotyped as a Farang

On the average I have more money than most Thais so I am stereotyped as being rich and greedy and a Cheap Charlie by the average Thai person.

I am also Stereotyped as being naïve and or stupid by Thai people because I am not Thai and therefore I am just another Dumb Farang and never capable of understanding Thai ways...so I am double stereotyped in their minds.

As a man I am stereotyped as being a whore monger because, according to the average Thai person, all I am here for is the women and sex so I am double stereotyped as a whore monger and a womanizer...before I even step off the plane.

I am also stereotyped as the exploiter of Thai people because I come here to use them and take everything and give nothing back.

And finally amongst other things....I am stereotyped as a trouble maker because the average Thai believes all the problems in Thailand can be attributed to the many foreigners coming here and creating the problems that currently exist....

Can not win, either way, no matter what...... I remain stereotyped and racially profiled by the Thais.....lol

Cheers

That's OK because Thais are as dense as a box of bricks and totally unable to understand sarcasm which means they would smile and nod at my 'simile', and of course, I'd grin and nod back in bemusement.

But I've got my Thai Stereotype hat on at the moment. Most times I just take each individual for what they are. I normally don't don my Thai Stereotype hat unless I'm stressed out or in heavy traffic, then I take my Thai Stereotype hat out of the glove compartment and don it enthusiastically. Most of what comes out of my mouth is sarcasm, so my wife sits in the passenger seat, smiles and nods.