BigStar

Manchester?

Thank you. I have a good opinion of your reasoning on various topics as well. It's shocking how some of our intelligent members whom I respect, who seem capable of rational, independent thought otherwise, can suddenly foam at the mouth and spew ignorance and MSNBC hatred when it comes to their political beliefs. So I'll give you a more thoughtful view that should stretch the thread out 5 more pages. Reminds me of Morpheus' observation to Neo that You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it. Mixed blessing, ain't he? We'd probably all wish for better choices. Trump, now, seems to have the best chance, among the Repubs, of getting elected. People prefer Trump from common sense, not ignorance or cultism or Bible-thumping or any of that other nonsense. Quite simply, things were better under his presidency. He did some major things right, as Jamie Dimon, CEO of J. P. Morgan Chase, no idiot, an Obama donor, said recently: Jamie Dimon has a warning for Democrats: Don’t dismiss Trump supporters as people who are exclusively attracted to his personality. Former President Donald Trump was right about some critical issues, the JPMorgan CEO says. --Jamie Dimon: Trump was right about key issues and bashing MAGA will hurt Biden He has the most charisma of the candidates and great, often annoying--if amusing--presence. Biggest problem is that he often doesn't deliver on his promises, and he does tell some porkies, indulge in childish name-calling, engage in conspiracy theories for his own benefit, etc. Where's The Wall? Can't have too much faith in politicians, eh. Lies and hyperbole are the coins of that realm. Indeed. 'Course, politicians gon' deny they lost their elections. Nothing new, 'cept Trump's the loudest monkey in the forest. Democrats Have A Lengthy History Of Casting Doubt On Election Results The road ahead for Trump is not only to regain the presidency but then also to straighten out Biden's mess, domestically and internationally. Note that Only one-third of U.S. adults say they approve of President Biden’s job performance — a record low for his presidency and for any president in the last 15 years. --https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4408318-bidens-approval-rating-drops-to-new-low-poll/ What makes the latter struggle harder is that he's so antagonistic that the Deep State, the legacy media, the leftist universities, and liberal tech, all benefitting from government largess, are arrayed against him. Even during his presidency, he was thwarted in more ways than one. Deep State Thwarted Trump’s Afghanistan Withdrawal Now gov't spending has already created inflation and astronomical debt. That limits his fiscal options considerably. Despite all the tough guy talk, he was too weak in critical instances. Reagan, by contrast, made the hard choices. He, for example, brought on the recession needed to tame raging inflation. One may hope Trump's p*ssed off enough and tough enough now to get done at least PART of what needs to be done; and to choose better advisors and staff this time. The Repubs have been known as a gentlemanly, country club party. No longer viable; it's a war now. They gotta get down in the trenches and face the lying, thuggish opposition with force and their own lawfare. That will mean pain and a LOT more hysteria (including here, LOL), as if it couldn't get worse. But, despite the affirmative action bimbos, he's got solid constitutionalists on the Supreme Court. At least he's not worried about being re-elected. If his party wins both houses, he needn't worry about more impeachment hoaxes. Perhaps getting away from leftist news media and the regime talking points will be helpful. Hard to find; Google ignores alternatives. But brainwashed ain't no way to go through life, son. Here's a news aggregator. You can find more objective news and some intelligent, highly educated commentators there: https://newsammo.com/ I read Victor Davis Hanson, among others, fairly often. Here's his Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/VDHanson How things have ended up under Biden: A Culture in Collapse This should address your morals concern; perhaps the morals on the other side should be of greater concern, esp when transgressions are ignored and politically privileged. Lawfare Against Trump Is Running Out of Gas Those jobs under Bidennomics: where do the majority come from? The Welfare-Industrial Complex I trust that'll do. :)

This. Resubmit if there's time. The email was probably sent out automatically.

Take into account for what, exactly? To submit an initial application? To issue a policy--whoa. If they don't ask you about pre-existing conditions, you should tell them anyway up front. They may have a list of things they won't cover that are somehow related to the pre-existing condition, not the condition itself. Know what you're paying for, best you can.

No example will suffice. Not falling for that bait. You know what's really funny.

Not sure where you learned that all Oxford grads are Dons. Must be one of those low myths. "Riveted" is the usual poor attempt to trivialize by exaggeration. Fail.

No. I have a great and subtle sense of humor, so you may stop lying about that to comfort yourself. I liked British fine until I encountered those who've washed up in Thailand--and discovered immediately most of them dislike Americans. Now I did happen to meet an Oxford-educated Brit once, in Thailand of all places. Urbane, bright, witty (none of those low forum faves), no footy blather, knowledgeable on a wide variety of topics. Spoke English. We had a number of pleasant and memorable conversations, with some good laughs.

No one's begging except in your imagination.

Only posters here are upset, for bashing purposes. Tourists do need a bit of educating sometimes that Thailand has its own culture too.

Jomtien did have a sign describing the dress code. 'Course, this is Pattaya where farang might waddle in wearing a wet Speedo and clutching a Chang before they belly up to the IO desk. I haven't heard of anyone being expelled for not following the dress code, and it's obviously not always followed. Someone will be along shortly to sneer and confirm. I haven't been to the remodeled Jomtien yet.

Do search on Aliexpress for your specs. Plenty there, cheap. Check the ratings and reviewers, lots of Russians. You can filter on "orders" as well as price.

Well, if they test OK, I'd use them. Spend the money saved on hookers and blow and call it a day. In my machines I have a stick or two of genuine RAM (just in case) and then filled out the other slots with generic. Lasted years, no problem.

Had a wonderful time in Thailand and hope to return next year. Highly recommended. We got caught sunbathing where we shouldn't have, hee hee!

That field has a bar? Name? Wats have bars?

So true. These foreigners have been targeted for persecution out of pure racism. When Thai women are out sunbathing in bikinis on that field or on the grounds of a Wat, it's perfectly fine, nothing ever said or done. Now please show us but one of the many photos to prove that very compelling, astute point. Our members are in strong need of the evidence behind their chants, though they don't realize it, of course, lest someone mistake them as mere bigots attempting to assert special privileges.

We're just having SUCH a hard time understanding that dress customs have changed dramatically since "then." In Thailand, not in our own countries, of course.

A little fantasy based on a wrong premise.

Wrong. On the beaches, women wear what they would at home and elsewhere, except for going topless, which isn't allowed everywhere, either. I see the skimpiest of thongs out on the beach in Pattaya.

Excellent. Going forward, let's make this a Bull Sheet-free forum.

Typical whataboutism completely irrelevant to tourist behavior at Thai Wats. I sometimes wonder how our forum members even managed to book tickets online. Travel agents, I suppose. There's no hate here whatsoever, unless on your part, while playing the victim.

Who also expect a cessation of behavior Thais find offensive at their Wats. If informed tourists still don't get the hint, the sensible adults will remove them from the Wat or more. Just gon' have to suck it up.

You would, of course, but be wrong as usual. Which doesn't matter, except to help make you feel superior. In the end, since you're in their country, you'll need to follow their priorities or, in the ultimate case, be deported. Your "priorities" may coincide with theirs. You like to drink Chang, they like to sell it to you. And so they do, unless the guests don't treat their hosts with humble respect. A common sentiment expressed by the disgruntled over the decades, in the Pattaya Mailbag long before there was Thaivisa.com. So the countless doom predictions over the years, all the tourist were going to Cambodia, farang were all heading for the exits, blah blah. Meanwhile, it's just another great day in Pattaya. :) Not at all, but the stink here is only in the minds of ANF Posters & friends. The Thais aren't really upset, just think tourists shouldn't be doing that; and some have suggested signage, as have some here. And so? Meanwhile, tourists will need to learn not to sunbathe on the grounds of Thai Wats. Plenty of other places to sunbathe. Saw lots of Russian hotties out on the beach just this afternoon. Rather, some Western tourists need to grow up. Not only Thais may feel so, BTW. Amsterdam campaign to tell ‘nuisance’ British tourists to ‘stay away’ from capital The nuisance British tourists themselves may be expected to disagree. So many things are predictable, aren't they.

Well, you just don't have any arguments to make, do you, petal? Let me know if you find any nonsense. Otherwise, we can assume you've seen the light of reason.

But they weren't just sitting on the grass, but sunbathing. Try to understand the issue. What you're doing is criticizing the Thais for their view that the sunbathing was inappropriate and shouldn't happen at the Wat. Their country, their culture, their religion, their Wat, their rules. They don't regard the sunbathing on the grounds as innocuous behavior. They have a perfect right to hold that view, it's widely held (social media), and it's perfectly reasonable within Thai culture. The cultural standards derived from a council estate in Blighty are, as usual, completely inapplicable and irrelevant, more about yourself than about the Thais here. So, as noted, you can set an example yourself by refraining from doing that yourself. Agreed, coming from the usual low bigotry we continually see on the forum.

Mistranslation. If the monk didn't agree, then he wouldn't agree to relay the message. Evidently he lacked the courage to do that. Meanwhile, Thai social media users thought the temple authorities, whoever they are, should have done more, that is, tell the girls to stop. And others suggested putting signs up. The expected, normal mental reaction of that monk or any is given in an interview with an abbot: Phra Phayom also gave his insight that Thai people should not be angry or insulted but gradually inform them with logic. “Temple officials may explain to them that Thai culture does not widely accept such behaviors. There would be no second time after being warned and given an explanation regarding appropriateness,” concluded Phra Phayom. Now that was optimistic. If necessary, though, the police can be called, as they were in the earlier incident, to enforce compliance. The incidents caused widespread anger and calls for the tourists to be held accountable on Thai social media although as stated temple and government officials have taken a softer tone, saying the tourists didn’t purposely mean to cause offense and it was better to educate tourists on why such an act could offend people versus push for legal action or deportation which could harm tourism. --https://thepattayanews.com/2024/01/16/controversial-bikini-sunbathing-by-foreign-tourists-sparks-cultural-debate-in-bangkok-and-chiang-mai-authorities-respond/ Not seeing any support here among Thais for your supposed victims. Their country, their culture, their religion, their Wats, their rules. Just gon' have to suck it up, after all the blathering.