mauRICE

Who's that lady in red? Satan? I read from several credible sources that US soldiers, many of whom are from the Bible Belt and are not very highly educated, are psyched into thinking that attacking Iran and destroying Palestine would bring about the end of times and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Oh wait, it's the Bible and Christian pastors that guide US foreign policy (and, of course, Netanyahu and AIPAC), not common sense, compassion or their much touted constitution. Who needs the UN when you've got God whispering in one ear and Satan in the other.

Yup. Neighbours quarrel, even those in homogeneous neighbourhoods, as each household seeks to protect and advance its own interests.

Old colonial chestnut - all of them are the same, makes it easier to stereotype and dehumanise them. It's the same argument that Zionists and Westerners put foward when they say, "Why don't the Arab countries take in the Palestinians; they're all the same anyway." In fact, the Zionists and the genocidal Israeli regime conveniently say there is no such thing as a Palestinian - only Arabs - as they seek to erase any semblance of Palestinian identity and sovereignity. What else? Black people are all the same, Chinese, Koreans, Japanese are all the same...oops, sorry, "Orientals". Saudis are Sunni while the majority of native Bahrainis are Shia but their leadership is Sunni. I think Kuwait has got a 65-35 Sunni-Shia split with, again, Sunni rulers. They're not all the same. Even within each country there are different sub cultures and groups with differing rates of development and literacy and different perspectives on religion and modernity. And as far as I know, KSA and Ummarat get along. Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and parts of Myanmar share geographical borders, religious and ethno traits yet they have skirmishes from time to time. Could they be said to meddling in each other's affairs too despite their "sameness" in many respects? And why is that? Surprised you missed this one. The issue therefore is not whether they're the same ethnically, culturally and/or religiously but whether they have compatible geo-political and socio-economic interests. Each country wants to project and protect its sovereignity. I know it can be hard for some people but try not to view everything through a racial or ethnic lens.

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It's actually two words: modo randen. Origin: Swahili. It's a good word to use Olddaddy; makes you sound sophisticated. Pong2 uses it often.

Were the Romans, the Brits, the Dutch and the Portuguese short of water too when they went about to colonise and create havoc in various parts of the world over thousands of years cumulatively? Were they Middle Eastern too?

You rewarded him with 200 Baht for lying to you? Why didn't you try your little experiment as you did in the Jomtien hotels busy thread by doing the full monty in front of him? That would have scarred him for life and prevented him from lying and doing the same thing to others.

No, the blind kneading the blubber.😏

@jimmie50 may not like this. 😒🤷

A quick check on the Agate website shows their basic room rates dropping to 2,000 Baht on Friday and to 1,900 Baht from Saturday onwards till the end of March. You could book day by day as rates may drop further. I presume they will go up again during Songkran. Hotel Zing rooms are tiny and I personally don't care for that purple and all-white paint job but it sounds like a safe, budget-friendly option and vinapu likes their breakfasts. 😉

Should be popular with the gay guests. 😏

It's hard to say...the news and predictions we've been getting are very different from what the US mainstream talking heads have been feeding Middle America, mainly that this will be a swift victory for the Americans and their Israeli masters and that their troops have been welcomed and have successfully "liberated" the Iranians. Even Trump has admitted that this could be a drawn out war. Iran is not Venezuela. What Trump and Bebe have been successful at is sowing the seeds of vengeance in yet another generation of Iranians who will seek to avenge the death of their child, father, mother, lover or friend. I've already started preparing aid packages for the Iranians with our aid missions here - we've already had a lot of practice with the Palestinians in the last two-and-a-half years. Our main worry is that the US and Israel will again use starvation as a weapon of war and block aid from coming in. Meanwhile we do what we can. Apologies for going out of topic. Enjoy the rest of your holiday in Thailand and let us know what you think of Melaka. Remember to have a bowl cendol when you're there - it's a great thirst quencher in this hot and humid weather. I've attached a pic for you. It's a lot tastier than it looks - I promise! Keep safe. ✌️

If you're still experiencing this, then it could be because you haven't reached an equivalent level of connection with the person you're trying to connect with. Put it another way, he may be nice and affectionate towards you in various ways but it could also be that he doesn't feel as deeply about you as you do about him. Commitment doesn't always come after having a good time. Alternatively he may have been dropping hints as to what he's looking for which you haven't been able to pick up. I believe this is what is called asymmetrical expectations in a relationship. In my experience, farang tend to either read too deeply into a social situation or miss the cues completely. I remember when I was younger, some older farang would misintepret or miscontrue my politeness and kindness as some kind of romantic interest which - in their mind - my Asian upbringing prevented me from expressing overtly, when in fact I was just being kind and polite. My real Thai friends and contemporaries have no problems expressing their feelings to me, including- telling me off; the ones who are my juniors socially, professionally or simply stand to benefit from me in one way or another tend to choose their words more carefully when they're around me. In any event, wish you another happy and pleasant stay in Thailand @mima_bk.

Perhaps subconsciously you have a thing for GayinPattaya. 😏😆 How is he by the way? Don't see him posting anymore; he used to be quite active in the old forums.

A couple of...? 🤔

In dog years.

Happy Birthday, @floridarob. Long life and good health. 🥂🎂🎈🎉

Fine storytelling as always @jimmie50 but are you on Adderall or something? Paragraphs, please. 🙏🏻 By the way, I air dry my clothes on a line in the backyard. I hate dryers - they shrink my clothes - and most of my laundry is handwashed. We only use the dryer for big items like blankets and bedding during the rainy season and only sparingly.

Oh dear, can't imagine how disappointed you must've been. You were expecting a pearl necklace but he clutched his pearls instead.

Didn't that serial philanderer Bill Clinton also attack Iraq at the height of the Monica Lewinsky scandal? (To be fair, I'd fuck around too if I were married to that two-faced and triple chinned Hillary Clinton.) So this is nothing new. One of my favourite political satires is Wag The Dog (1997) which I believe is inspired by real life events and shows the extent to which these politicians are willing to go to cover up their own criminal behaviour and hold on to power. In fact there are eerie similarities with Trump as the president in that film had allegedly fiddled with a girl scout in the Oval Office which his minders were trying to cover up by starting a war with Albania.

Ohh no, I would never confuse Iran with the US or the genocidal Israeli regime. I think they are far worse. Do we really want to talk about the killing of the native Americans, the treatment of the Black slaves, the killing and brutality towards Blacks and immigrants today, the possibly hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have been murdered or displaced? I regularly speak to Iranians, currently and consistently, not "a few years ago". Many of the young ones study in my country and live in apartments and houses that I rent out. I often take my tenants and lodgers out for a meal and none of them have vilified their leadership as you have described. Just last week I held an iftar feast for all my tenants at a local hotel, some fifty of them, Muslim and non-Muslim, and most of the Iranian students were worried for their families and friends back home if the US and the genocidal Israeli regime were to attack. None said they they wanted an intervention by the US or its Zionist butt buddy. My whatsapp has been buzzing non-stop in the last 24 hours as the Iranian students seek a big brother to vent their worries and a shoulder to cry on. I try to do what I can but I've also engaged a mental health counsellor for them at my expense. As it is, quite a few of them are already prone to PTSD as a result of years of sanctions imposed by the US at the behest of the genocidal Israeli regime. I've also been to Iran several times and stayed in the houses of Iranians who are great friends of mine. A beautiful country - second only to Turkiye in my opinion - and a very hospitable people. Sure, there's some discontentment here and there but none have expressed the absolute hatred of their government as you've described. They feel change, if any, should come from within and in their own time and way. Incidentally, political and government leaders everywhere tend to live in affluent areas and upmarket housing. Do Thai politicians live in the slums of Klong Toey; do British MPs live in council flats? I think colonials need to remove their pith helmets and get rid of that misguided and misplaced saviour mentality. It didn't work 200 years ago; it's not going to work now.

I hope a Iran will have a strong leader who will pull the country together and stand up against the US and the genocidal Israeli regime and their illegal acts of aggression.

No. Here are some of the most recent pictures of Iranians in Teheran and Isfahan coming out to mourn the murder of the Ayatollah, the Imam Khameini, in contrast to the fake clips produced by the Zionist-Trump propaganda machine of a few Middle Eastern-looking men and women coming out on the streets to celebrate "Iran's" so-called freedom. These are a proud, strong, intelligent people who have roots in the land and a civilisation dating back to 4000-3000 BC, not some white imports from Europe claiming some kind of mythical ownership in the last 75 years. Moreover, Israel uses it's biggest proxy, the US, to fight her wars on her behalf. Most of Iran's retaliatory actions have been against American bases in the region. Meanwhile it has been reported that Israel dropped bombs on a school in Iran, instantly killing at least 85 people, most of whom were women and schoolgirls. Typical, isn't it, they always kill the children first. And if you want to talk about tyranny and corruption, why not start with Trump and his master and butt buddy Netanyahu.

You mean Bobby Ewing didn't die in that hit 'n' run and it was all a dream? We already know that story. 🙄

True but how many of us are as lucky as Olddaddy to have a variety of personalities to play with? 😏