3 hours ago, BLMFem said:

I survived just fine, and the visitors seemed to have a great time. Might have something to do with the fact that they all stayed in Dem run cities, don't you think?

That is where all of the BLM"s hang out, go figure

Just now, Lacessit said:

Your reputation is 19% underwater on the number of posts you have made. OTOH, mine is 80% above.

Evidently, you still suck at statistics.

Bye now, my quota of suffering fools gladly is full for today.

One stat I'm a little off on and he brags and thinks it's sucking at stats.

Kinda like your troll sticking up for you and thinking you're in good company. He's the biggest narcissist here who uses constant assumptions, deflections and gaslighting, putting his actions on all others who argue with him or prove him wrong.

An excellent reputation here means just that. Guess you forgot how many things you were wrong about Australia. Dismissing them is a form of denial. Having more posts than rep points doesn't mean your reputation is underwater.

Edited July 26Jul 26 by fredwiggy

6 minutes ago, flexomike said:

That is where all of the BLM"s hang out, go figure

Perhaps you could inform me why you are downvoting my posts. Being American would explain it.

Just now, Lacessit said:

Perhaps you could inform me why you are downvoting my posts. Being American would explain it.

Just now, Lacessit said:

Perhaps you could inform me why you are downvoting my posts. Being American would explain it.

Just now, Lacessit said:

Perhaps you could inform me why you are downvoting my posts. Being American would explain it.

So sorry if your are offended, not saying you are wrong with your stats, they are correct but you have a very arrogant attitude.

6 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

Absolutely true. Life in the US changes but opportunities remain.

Those first immigrants who came to the New World suffered immensely to pursue a better life and promises of free land.

I'm pretty sure the native Americans would disagree, both on the "suffering immensely" and the "free land" parts.

6 minutes ago, flexomike said:

NO I think they are two of a kind, never want to be proven wrong. And you have to step into the p iss ing contest which makes you no better.

I'll admit when I'm wrong, per the life expectancy stat earlier where I was off a couple of years, but they'll harp on it like teenagers, insert the insults and him being the worst of the lot as far as assumptions and deflections, will never do anything but continue until he's warned and or banned once again. I'm a proud American, and don't like it when others demean a country they know little to nothing about, and point out silly stats which mean nothing to anyone besides a reason to put others down. I have nothing against any nationality, race, creed or country, and know full well America's shortcomings, so the argument was not worthwhile.

Edited July 26Jul 26 by fredwiggy

23 minutes ago, flexomike said:

So sorry if your are offended, not saying you are wrong with your stats, they are correct but you have a very arrogant attitude.

Not offended, just curious. So you downvote based on perceived attitude, not the facts? Interesting to know.

27 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

Thanks.

I'm here for the psychology lessons.

On AN!!!!😀

20 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Actually thinking he's some kind of policeman here, all the while being one of the biggest trolls and banned and warned in every username since his first.

Please post your evidence I have ever been banned on ThaiVisa or ASEAN. Warned yes, that comes with calling out idiots.

Just now, Lacessit said:

Please post your evidence I have ever been banned on ThaiVisa or ASEAN. Warned yes, that comes with calling out idiots.

I wasn't referring to you. And might take flexomike's advice.

Edited July 26Jul 26 by fredwiggy

Multiple troll posts removed @FigLeaf STOP STALKING OTHER POSTERS

On 7/25/2026 at 8:14 AM, BLMFem said:

So you never had to deal with ICE then. Good for you!

when have you dealt with ICE??

I've talked to plenty of ICE agents. They're just normal people and a lot of them are Hispanic or from South America.

At the end of the day, ICE is doing the job Congress created it to do, which is enforcing immigration law and removing people who are in the country illegally.

What I don't understand is why some people think it's okay for someone who entered or remained in the country illegally to just stay here indefinitely.

Do I think ICE has made mistakes or been too aggressive in some cases? Sure. No law enforcement agency is perfect.

But they also have people interfering with arrests, resisting or even assaulting officers which makes an already difficult job even harder.

ICE isn't new. Every recent president has used ICE to enforce immigration laws. So why is it suddenly treated like it's illegitimate? In the past, you didn't see elected officials openly encouraging people to interfere with immigration enforcement or creating sanctuary policies that makes ICE's job more difficult. If state and local governments simply cooperated with federal immigration law instead of protecting people who are in the country illegally, there would likely be far fewer confrontations.

6 hours ago, Lacessit said:

When people like you rail against the dangers of socialism, I can only marvel at your insular ignorance.

Maybe a genius like you should understand what "socialism" means before using it in a sentence. I can only marvel at your insular ignorance.

2 hours ago, BLMFem said:

I'm pretty sure the native Americans would disagree, both on the "suffering immensely" and the "free land" parts.

Historic U.S. legislation like the Homestead Act of 1862 famously offered 160 acres of free public land to immigrants and citizens who agreed to farm and live on it for five years.

6 hours ago, GammaGlobulin said:

You mean, the US has not changed much since the intentional or unintentional extermination of the Native Americans?

Do you mean to say all of the Native Americans are gone? If that is the case, who were the people that I saw on the Zuni and Navajo reservations? Ghosts?

4 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Not hard to explain in terms of America's obesity rate

As of the latest Australian health data (2022–24):

• 33% of Australian adults are obese (BMI of 30 or higher).

• 67% of adults are either overweight or obese.

• About 13.2 million Australian adults fall into the overweight or obese categories.

https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/overweight-obesity/overweight-and-obesity/contents/how-many?utm_source=chatgpt.com

3 hours ago, fredwiggy said:

You don't like being proven wrong

You are correct. He will soon let you know that he blocked you or something like that.

10 hours ago, papa al said:

Well no.

Many non-libs object to the Billions sent to Israel

to support genocide & stuff.

and buying-off Congress/Trump.

Endless war.

☮️ 🙏 😎

This mixes worldwide rankings with rankings among wealthy countries, so it's misleading.

For example, the U.S. is not #1 in the world for gun deaths or maternal mortality many poorer countries have much higher rates.

The U.S. does rank poorly compared with other developed nations in several areas like healthcare outcomes and incarceration, but claiming it's "#1 in the world" across the board simply isn't accurate. If we're going to compare statistics, we should compare the same group of countries consistently instead of switching between "worldwide" and "wealthy nations" depending on what supports your argument.

7 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Australia has had leftist governments since Federation. They have been the ones bringing in the major reforms.

Three years ago, I was treated for chronic lymphocytic leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. 3 PET scans for progression, 6 IV infusions and a years supply of Venetoclax.

The latter medication cost me AUD 100. In the USA , the same drug would have cost me USD 70,000.

As I type this, your health czar is moving to prevent MMR vaccination of infants. You are the worst among wealthy nations for infant mortality, so it is only going to get worse.

When people like you rail against the dangers of socialism, I can only marvel at your insular ignorance.

I'm glad Australia's healthcare system worked well for you, and I'm glad you were able to get the treatment you needed without being financially destroyed. That is a real strength of your system.

But you're comparing the AUD 100 you paid in Australia with the full U.S. list price of the drug. Most insured Americans would not personally pay the full $70,000.

In the U.S., health insurance plans have annual maximum out-of-pocket limits for covered care. Once that limit is reached the insurer pays the covered in-network costs for the rest of the year. Those limits can still be high $15,000 or more for a family, but patients generally are not paying the full list price of expensive medications or treatments.

Every healthcare system has tradeoffs. Australia's system does a better job of limiting patients' out-of-pocket costs. The U.S. has strengths in other areas including medical research and pharmaceutical innovation.

Out of curiosity, how much does the Australian government spend each year on developing new drugs and medical research? How many of the breakthrough cancer drugs used around the world were actually developed in Australia versus the United States? The U.S. funds and performs a significant share of the world's biomedical research and many countries benefit from those discoveries.

Your experience is a valid argument for Australia's healthcare system, but it doesn't prove socialism is automatically superior or that anyone who disagrees is ignorant.

1 hour ago, TedG said:

As of the latest Australian health data (2022–24):

• 33% of Australian adults are obese (BMI of 30 or higher).

• 67% of adults are either overweight or obese.

• About 13.2 million Australian adults fall into the overweight or obese categories.

https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/overweight-obesity/overweight-and-obesity/contents/how-many?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Those numbers are quite similar to the usa. Hmmmm.

4 hours ago, save the frogs said:

It's much easier for a smaller country rich in natural resources to provide a decent to good standard of living to its population.

The US has a much larger population. Way more mouths to feed. Many people are probably close to poverty.

But also more ingenuity and wealthy people and innovative industries -- Hollywood, Apple, Google, Meta, OpenAI, Tesla, Nvidia

But US also has the military industrial complex ... and violence probably worse than Australia. And no healthcare.

Australia > US in some ways and vice versa

no healthcare??? what are you talking about?

4 hours ago, BLMFem said:

I'm pretty sure the native Americans would disagree, both on the "suffering immensely" and the "free land" parts.

So when do we stop judging people today for what happened 200–300 years ago?
If we're going to hold every modern country responsible for how its borders were created then almost every nation on Earth is guilty of taking someone else's land at some point in history.

Pretending the U.S. is unique in that respect isn't historically accurate. Human history is full of conquest, migration and changing borders.

1 hour ago, ericthai said:

So when do we stop judging people today for what happened 200–300 years ago?
If we're going to hold every modern country responsible for how its borders were created then almost every nation on Earth is guilty of taking someone else's land at some point in history.

Pretending the U.S. is unique in that respect isn't historically accurate. Human history is full of conquest, migration and changing borders.

At least the people from countries with no history of colonialism and those not starting world wars are not the ones throwing stones.

6 minutes ago, temuFarang said:

At least the people from countries with no history of colonialism and those not starting world wars are not the ones throwing stones.

What countries are you referring to?

Can you name a few countries with a long history that have never been invaded, conquered, occupied, colonized or taken someone else's territory?

3 hours ago, ericthai said:

but claiming it's "#1 in the world" across the board simply isn't accurate.

who are you quoting here.?

I rest my case. Letting him ,by his own words, show his true self.

8 hours ago, ericthai said:

I'm glad Australia's healthcare system worked well for you, and I'm glad you were able to get the treatment you needed without being financially destroyed. That is a real strength of your system.

But you're comparing the AUD 100 you paid in Australia with the full U.S. list price of the drug. Most insured Americans would not personally pay the full $70,000.

In the U.S., health insurance plans have annual maximum out-of-pocket limits for covered care. Once that limit is reached the insurer pays the covered in-network costs for the rest of the year. Those limits can still be high $15,000 or more for a family, but patients generally are not paying the full list price of expensive medications or treatments.

Every healthcare system has tradeoffs. Australia's system does a better job of limiting patients' out-of-pocket costs. The U.S. has strengths in other areas including medical research and pharmaceutical innovation.

Out of curiosity, how much does the Australian government spend each year on developing new drugs and medical research? How many of the breakthrough cancer drugs used around the world were actually developed in Australia versus the United States? The U.S. funds and performs a significant share of the world's biomedical research and many countries benefit from those discoveries.

Your experience is a valid argument for Australia's healthcare system, but it doesn't prove socialism is automatically superior or that anyone who disagrees is ignorant.

The US also has some of the best hospitals, including the Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, Cleveland Clinic and the best burn units worldwide, The USAISR in Texas, JMS in Georgia and the Shriners for children.

7 hours ago, ericthai said:

I'm glad Australia's healthcare system worked well for you, and I'm glad you were able to get the treatment you needed without being financially destroyed. That is a real strength of your system.

But you're comparing the AUD 100 you paid in Australia with the full U.S. list price of the drug. Most insured Americans would not personally pay the full $70,000.

In the U.S., health insurance plans have annual maximum out-of-pocket limits for covered care. Once that limit is reached the insurer pays the covered in-network costs for the rest of the year. Those limits can still be high $15,000 or more for a family, but patients generally are not paying the full list price of expensive medications or treatments.

Every healthcare system has tradeoffs. Australia's system does a better job of limiting patients' out-of-pocket costs. The U.S. has strengths in other areas including medical research and pharmaceutical innovation.

Out of curiosity, how much does the Australian government spend each year on developing new drugs and medical research? How many of the breakthrough cancer drugs used around the world were actually developed in Australia versus the United States? The U.S. funds and performs a significant share of the world's biomedical research and many countries benefit from those discoveries.

Your experience is a valid argument for Australia's healthcare system, but it doesn't prove socialism is automatically superior or that anyone who disagrees is ignorant.

To be consistent, I will post the cost comparisons in US dollars.

92% of Americans have some form of medical insurance. In Australia, Medicare is universal. Every taxpayer pays a 2% Medicare levy on their taxable income.

I have private medical insurance, costing USD 2500 per year. It's a luxury, not a necessity. It ensures when I go back to Australia, I can have surgery within a month of getting there, and not have to go on a waiting list of 6-12 months.

My private health insurance re-activates the minute I set foot in Australia. I pay no premiums while I am in Thailand. There are no arrears to pay.

The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme ( PBS ) caps most medications at USD 5 per prescription. For a concession card holder like me, my yearly spend on medications is capped at USD 200.

As a side note, Trump and Big Pharma want Australia to cancel the PBS.

Australia has an annual spend of about USD 1 billion on medical rearch. We are noted for punching above our weight in the field.

CSL sells about USD 5 billion of medical products such as immunoglobulins, plasma, recombinant proteins and differentiated vaccines annually to the USA - products either America can't make, or are in short supply.

I have never claimed socialism is perfect. No political system is. I am, however, amused by the irony of a country railing against its evils, while maintaining a socialist organization at its heart - the American military.

10 hours ago, ericthai said:

At the end of the day, ICE is doing the job Congress created it to do, which is enforcing immigration law and removing people who are in the country illegally.

Did Congress create it to murder US citizens in Minneapolis, Houston, elsewhere, and kidnap children - yes children - and keep them and adults in conditions where more die?
ICE admits that many in detention are US citizens. They are arrested to meet Steven Miller's arbitrary quotas. Abolish ICE and prosecute the psychopaths who terrorize communities.

4 minutes ago, amexpat said:

Did Congress create it to murder US citizens in Minneapolis, Houston, elsewhere, and kidnap children - yes children - and keep them and adults in conditions where more die?

You have proof that ICE kidnaps children?

3 minutes ago, amexpat said:

Did Congress create it to murder US citizens in Minneapolis, Houston, elsewhere, and kidnap children - yes children - and keep them and adults in conditions where more die?
ICE admits that many in detention are US citizens. They are arrested to meet Steven Miller's arbitrary quotas. Abolish ICE and prosecute the psychopaths who terrorize communities.

Whenever a police force is created, it will surely have a few that are power hungry and controlling added to that force. This happens worldwide, with police using more force than necessary and killing some innocents that aren't armed. Sadly this does happen in the US and it needs to be stopped.

Most forces require a pre- hiring psychological but they aren't infallible. 37 states make them mandatory.

Trump's plan to oust illegals, especially criminals, wasn't a bad plan but how it was enforced has hurt some who were citizens and had families. Fine tuning is necessary in all police actions, and therein lies the problem.

Laziness and going into a new idea doesn't have all the kinks ironed out, and some suffer because of it.

No excuses whatsoever for a policeman to kill an unarmed person, or to use more force than necessary.

Like a bouncer in a club, they are there to subdue and bring to a holding area, but some use that control mentality and don't belong.

Edited July 27Jul 27 by fredwiggy