23 hours ago, Pedrogaz said:

What does the US do for Thailand? What did it do for the Thai people when the last coup was staged? Or the coup before that? Absolutely nothing. All America wants is bases, bases, and more bases, like the Viet Nam war. They want U Tapao because of the long runway for bombers. 

Thailand should prepare to cut ties to the US and enhance ties with China who supply lots of tourist money.

Without taking sides on this, do you think China has granted loans to Thailand  and has financial involvement in Thai infrastructure projects out of the goodness of their hearts?

 

Benjamin Zawacki, a human rights specialist consultant who lives in Bangkok explains quite a lot about the changing relationship between Thailand/USA US and Thailand/China in his book: Thailand: Shifting Ground between the US and a Rising China

 

 

https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Thailand.html?id=jfwwjwEACAAJ&redir_esc=y

1 hour ago, from the home of CC said:

we still feel Trumps' boot on our throat from nafta 2, it taught us well about 'fair weather friends'...

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/10/world/canada/g-7-justin-trudeau-trump.html

So you want to free load a little longer. Sorry.

2 hours ago, Mung said:

US needs friends right now, it's in tatters emotionally, financially, sociologically, and mentally 

It does for sure. Just one small problem, it is leader is a sociopathic narcissist. In order to make friends you need empathy, narcissists are incapable of it. (Read the manual)  Trump has no friends - he has rabid followers, certainly -but no friends. He has people he can bully, people he can bribe, people he can blackmail, people he can threaten, and people he can exploit,  but no friends - none. He almost certainly has no idea what real friendship actually is.

 

It doesn't bode well for any attempt the US might  make to "Win friends and influence people". He has thrown away his previous alliances with civilised countries,* who now despise him, and hangs out with dictators like Putin and Kim Jong Un, or religious nutters like Modi. 

 

The Ambassador's noble "Better friend" line is admirable, but currently unachievable.

 

* Sadly this no longer includes the UK, where the Tories are preparing to betray the country to the US, and would lick Trump's boots any day of the week, but that's by the by.

Edited May 31, 20206 yr by Nigel Garvie

On 5/30/2020 at 4:04 PM, BeltAndRoad said:

And like it or not they are (considering all sections) the best fighting force on earth

Based on what evidence?

 

They lost in Vietnam, made a mess of Afghanistan, made a mess of Iraq...

 

Seems they are not able to decisively win any war they start, but are capable in battle.

5 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Based on what evidence?

 

They lost in Vietnam, made a mess of Afghanistan, made a mess of Iraq...

 

Seems they are not able to decisively win any war they start, but are capable in battle.

I think what he should have said was the biggest, and most well armed fighting force.

 

On being asked why the British had had success against the communists in Malasia, but the infinitely larger US forces had been defeated in Vietnam, a UK Brigadier replied that the US soldiers would only fight a limited distance from the ice cream supply. I think it must have been part in jest.

On 5/30/2020 at 10:01 AM, Pedrogaz said:

What does the US do for Thailand? What did it do for the Thai people when the last coup was staged? Or the coup before that? Absolutely nothing. All America wants is bases, bases, and more bases, like the Viet Nam war. They want U Tapao because of the long runway for bombers. 

Thailand should prepare to cut ties to the US and enhance ties with China who supply lots of tourist money.

I think that is a baseless assertion. ????

39 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Based on what evidence?

 

They lost in Vietnam, made a mess of Afghanistan, made a mess of Iraq...

 

Seems they are not able to decisively win any war they start, but are capable in battle.

I say Grenada and you say Grenada. Let's call the whole thing off. 

6 hours ago, Nigel Garvie said:

It does for sure. Just one small problem, it is leader is a sociopathic narcissist. In order to make friends you need empathy, narcissists are incapable of it. (Read the manual)  Trump has no friends - he has rabid followers, certainly -but no friends. He has people he can bully, people he can bribe, people he can blackmail, people he can threaten, and people he can exploit,  but no friends - none. He almost certainly has no idea what real friendship actually is.

 

It doesn't bode well for any attempt the US might  make to "Win friends and influence people". He has thrown away his previous alliances with civilised countries,* who now despise him, and hangs out with dictators like Putin and Kim Jong Un, or religious nutters like Modi. 

 

The Ambassador's noble "Better friend" line is admirable, but currently unachievable.

 

* Sadly this no longer includes the UK, where the Tories are preparing to betray the country to the US, and would lick Trump's boots any day of the week, but that's by the by.

I've said for a long time that the vast majority of world leaders by default either have sociopathy, extreme narcissism or psychopathy. To get to that position in this day and age they need to be a certain mentality. Hillary is also nuts, how she laughed like a mad woman in an interview about them hunting down and killing Gaddafi shows that. If I was a US citizen I wouldn't have given either of them the vote, both disgusting human beings  

Edited May 31, 20206 yr by Mung

8 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

Thailand: Shifting Ground between the US and a Rising China

It's inevitable that Thailand will gravitate towards China, eventually there will be little choice as China exercises it's aggressive expansionist programme! They are sabre rattling now on a daily basis. 

On 5/30/2020 at 2:26 AM, brommers said:

Who would want that nation of thugs and covidiots as a friend!

When China claims the Gulf of Siam and starts sinking Thai fishing boats, that's when. 

9 hours ago, Morty T said:

When China claims the Gulf of Siam and starts sinking Thai fishing boats, that's when. 

No worries, Thailand has Submarines to protect them!! 

On 5/31/2020 at 7:53 AM, OneMoreFarang said:

"We" don't know that!

Trump can't be charged for a crime - that is why he is not charged. And that was all over the news.

If you read those docs you would know that.  The under-oath testimony was the opposite of what the same folks said on TV - Clapper, Crowd-Strike, etc. 
Trump knew the case was bogus, since he had access to those docs the whole time - but played victim of the "Evil Democrats" so his base would rally around him.  Did I mention I'm not a fan?  I'm not a fan of either half of the 2-party-duopoly - don't buy into the relay-race / baton-passing games they play.

Edited June 2, 20206 yr by JackThompson

4 hours ago, JackThompson said:

If you read those docs you would know that.  The under-oath testimony was the opposite of what the same folks said on TV - Clapper, Crowd-Strike, etc. 
Trump knew the case was bogus, since he had access to those docs the whole time - but played victim of the "Evil Democrats" so his base would rally around him.  Did I mention I'm not a fan?  I'm not a fan of either half of the 2-party-duopoly - don't buy into the relay-race / baton-passing games they play.

I'm not much of a fan either.  When I actually see leadership that controls spending and printing of money and leads by example then I'll jump on the bandwagon.  Sadly, we do live in a duopoly and we can either choose one of the two candidates from the main parties or pretend we made a difference.  Despite all his flaws (don't start me) Trump is a better choice than Biden or the current batch of democrats.

 

16 hours ago, jimmybcool said:

I'm not much of a fan either.  When I actually see leadership that controls spending and printing of money and leads by example then I'll jump on the bandwagon.  Sadly, we do live in a duopoly and we can either choose one of the two candidates from the main parties or pretend we made a difference.  Despite all his flaws (don't start me) Trump is a better choice than Biden or the current batch of democrats.

 

I was willing to buy the lesser of evils GOP game (which they played with the awful Bushes), until recently.  Trump's fake "immigration ban" last week, which kept the work-visa holders coming in at record numbers, to spite 40 Million Americans being put out of work by the shutdown, made me sick.  Then he stabbed Jeff Sessions in the back, by supporting the pro-mass-immigration Tuberville candidate.  Sessions is a decent and principled man, unlike Trump. 

 

In 2016, based on policy-proposals, we had a clear choice.  I just cannot do this "lesser of evils" thing again - not after all these betrayals - and not when the ongoing mass-immigration under Trump gives the Dims a permanent majority in the electoral-college in a few years, regardless.  With Jared and the Swamp calling the shots in a "Trump" WH, the country is wrecked forever, either way.

Edited June 3, 20206 yr by JackThompson