Expat Views from Thailand

Theatre of the Absurd, politics in America

2012-01-25T07:04:00.000+07:00

Theatre of the Absurd, politics in America is now beyond bizarre, it's like a bad acid trip and there's no antidote. After seeing this Obama singing for money last week, I have no respect for him and 99% of all politicians.

WAKE UP AMERICA!

2012-01-24T11:19:00.001+07:00

But here's a question for you, why do we still have asinine religious beliefs, maybe another way to keep people in the herd and thinking a righteous god exists and their vote counts? Doesn't matter which party is elected, they don't care about the people, they got their deal, i'ts all a big show, they are all puppets of the same master, WAKE UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP!

Bill Hicks Video at age 23, Comedic Genius lives on...

2012-01-23T13:14:00.001+07:00

awesome 40 minute set from Bill Hicks at age 23 (especially funny starting 13:45 into the set)

died at age 32, Hicks was sixteen years old when he started performing

(December 16, 1961 – February 26, 1994) Hicks' material was often controversial and steeped in dark comedy. In both his stand-up performances and during interviews, he often criticized consumerism, superficiality, mediocrity, and banality within the media and popular culture, describing them as oppressive tools of the ruling class, meant to "keep people stupid and apathetic".^[1]

Hicks was sixteen years old when he started performing stand-up comedy at the Comedy Workshop inHouston, Texas, in 1978. During the 1980s he toured America extensively and performed a number of high profile television appearances. It was in the UK, however, where Hicks first amassed a significant fan base, packing large venues with his 1991 tour.^[2] Hicks died of pancreatic cancer in 1994 at the age of 32. In the years after his death, his work and legacy achieved acclaim in creative circles. In 2007 he was voted the fourth-greatest stand-up comic on the UK's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups, and appeared again in the updated 2010 list as the fourth-greatest comic.

Bill Hicks Statment

2012-01-22T13:13:00.003+07:00

Bill Hicks American Fucking Hero

2012-01-22T13:11:00.000+07:00

Obama Joke Site

2012-01-21T11:55:00.001+07:00

Want a good laugh, click the below link (and no I am not a Republican)
http://obamaachievements.org/

Failure of American Capitalism & Social Economic System

2012-01-13T10:11:00.001+07:00

If capitalism and the social economic system in America is so great why can't I find a job at age 56 (age discrimination) and why do I have to have a job to get affordable good health insurance? Being unemployed I have to choose to either pay for housing and food or super expensive health insurance in America (decent health insurance rates for people over 50 are costing $1000's a month now). So if I have a major illness I will have to go bankrupt and loose all my savings. This is the great American Capitalist System, when we would rather spend trillions on teaching our young people to be soldiers instead of doctors, nurses, teachers and entrepreneurs? Because we place more emphasis on defense and building war machines, what are we defending, the right for Halliburton to win the war in Iraq? And charging people so much money to go to medical school or college while pharmaceutical companies price gouge, lawyers make millions in malpractice suits, and corrupt politicians make millions from special interests and special deals after they leave office, this is the wonderful reality of capitalism and our wonderful democratic system? How's that working out for you?

Epicurus Questions About God

2011-12-27T13:31:00.001+07:00

“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then he is not omnipotent.

Is he able, but not willing?
Then he is malevolent.

Is he both able and willing?
Then whence cometh evil?

Is he neither able nor willing?
Then why call him God?”
― Epicurus 341–270 B.C.
Epicurus believed that he could disprove the possibility of the soul's survival after death, and hence the prospect of punishment in the afterlife. He regarded the unacknowledged fear of death and punishment as the primary cause of anxiety among human beings, and anxiety in turn as the source of extreme and irrational desires. The elimination of the fears and corresponding desires would leave people free to pursue the pleasures, both physical and mental, to which they are naturally drawn, and to enjoy the peace of mind that is consequent upon their regularly expected and achieved satisfaction. It remained to explain how irrational fears arose in the first place: hence the importance of an account of social evolution. Epicurus was aware that deeply ingrained habits of thought are not easily corrected, and thus he proposed various exercises to assist the novice. His system included advice on the proper attitude toward politics (avoid it where possible) and the gods (do not imagine that they concern themselves about human beings and their behavior)...

Some Perspective Please for 2012

2011-12-25T14:16:00.003+07:00

My Unexpected Perspective; Health Care Reform, Politics, Sarcasm, Self Righteousness

I have no allegiance to either party in America, but want to find solutions to fix the system. I'm interested in lowering defense spending, training people to be doctors, nurses, teachers or entrepreneurs instead of soldiers. Creating jobs, taking care of our old people, reasonably priced health insurance, trying to fix or reform or social systems. Getting rid of greedy corrupt politicians and corrupt corporate leaders that seem to be ubiquitous now days.

I was never really a politically active person, but once the health insurance reform (or health care reform) debate starting taking off with the 2008 elections, that really got my attention. One of the main reasons I left the US was the high cost of medical insurance. As a self employed person, my medical insurance costs just kept going up and up every year. To the point where I had to decide whether to start depleting my savings, go without coverage or find a better option. Finally I decided I had no better choice (given my job prospects after my business slowed and being over 50) so, I moved to Thailand in Jan of 2006. The medical and dental here is 1/4 the cost as the US and very good quality care. Plus the cost of living is low and I don't need a car with excellent public transportation (so no auto insurance or car payments either). As a US citizen living in Thailand for almost 5 years, It dawned on me a couple of years ago, I realized some unexpected benefit of perspective (not say it's the correct or right perspective, but some perspective).

In these 5 years, I've watched American politics from afar on this health insurance reform debate and all the major issues, through my perspective here and discussions with many international expat friends here, I continue to be in shock and embarrassed how our country has become totally polarized and the venomous attitudes between the two parties, which is common place now. I thought we were the "United" States of America and now it seems, we have become the "Angry Hateful Revengeful States of America". The "I got mine too bad for you" States of America, the "Polarized States of America."

Instead of trying to create, now we are destroying our self's. Instead of creating goodwill towards men (and women), we have hatred and contempt for those with other religious, social or political ideas. No empathy, tolerance or even attempts at understanding someone else's point of view, only self righteousness creating polarization (internally and internationally).

This polarization manifests itself through sarcastic, hateful, angry political and social commentary that perpetuates the problem. This kind commentary is a means of judging and belittling others, how is this going to move things forward? This kind of venomous hateful thinking serves no higher purpose; it builds no one up. Is it possible to really move forward as civilized human beings as long as we continue to operate from a position of self righteousness, justifying this archaic way of thinking? I think not...

Top 10 reasons why there are no black NASCAR drivers:

2010-05-21T13:01:00.000+07:00

Top 10 reasons why there are no black NASCAR drivers:

# 10 - Have to sit upright while driving.

# 9 - Pistol won't stay under front seat.

#8 - Engine noise drowns out the rap music.

# 7 - Pit crew can 't work on car while holding up pants at the same time.

# 6 - They keep trying to carjack Dale Earnhardt Jr.

# 5 - Police cars on track interfere with race.

# 4 - No passenger seat for the Ho.

# 3 - No Cadillacs approved for competition.

# 2 - When they crash their cars, they bail out & run.

AND THE NUMBER ONE REASON WHY BLACKS CAN'T BE IN NASCAR...

# 1 - They Can't wear their helmets sideways.

Alan Grayson on Wars: We Won, Now Let's Go Home

2010-03-11T10:40:00.000+07:00

Siobhan Magnus hits the NOTE, I really like this girl

2010-03-04T21:28:00.000+07:00

Hilarious Tiger Woods Video

2010-02-20T11:38:00.001+07:00

Tiger's press conference with no questions and no press, just a lame attempt to save his empire and get the money train back on track. Yes he's sorry, sorry he got caught...

Andrew Garcia Sings a Great Song from American Idol Show

2010-02-12T14:33:00.003+07:00

Top 5 Real Estate Prospect Time Wasters

2010-01-28T11:32:00.007+07:00

Number 1, Champagne taste on a Beer Budget;

A prospect that is new to the city or a long time resident that has no time deadline and is looking for the perfect condo. They usually have Champagne taste and are on a Beer Budget, and make statements like: "oh I might be willing to look at that condo if it's really special". If they say anything like that, run, do not walk away...

Number 2, Can I rent this condo for 1 month?

This one drives me insane. Do you call people back in your home country that offer condos and apartments for rent on 1 year terms and ask for 1 month? Have you ever heard the concept HOTEL?

Number 3, Mamma's Boy

last month I had a young prospect looking to move into his first condo, he recently finished college and was starting work at his father's company here in Central Bangkok. I showed him a nice brand new condo with a great fitness room and pool near the subway at a great price and he wanted it. Told him to put down a small amount to hold it for 2 weeks because he had to run it past his parents first (they were out of town for a few days). He agreed but failed to follow up. Two days later another customer took the condo. The customer then called me back saying he really wanted the condo, but it was too late. I lost a nice commission, and was very frustrated and disappointed wasting time with this Mama's Boy.

Number 4, Discounters;

People that call up and want to see the condo but first want to know if I can discount the price? I ask them, You don't even know if you want the condo so why are you asking about if the price can be lower? Also, why are you calling if you can't afford the condo in the first place?

Number 5, I just want to look, but I'm not sure what area I want;

People that come to Bangkok and only know 1 thing "I can only spend this much on a condo per month". They want to look at everything that is in their budget range and don't give any consideration to location. I always question these people; where do you work, where do you go to school, do you know anything about this location where this condo is?

Ray Davies of the Kinks on Letterman, Great Version of "You Really Got Me"

2009-11-20T23:30:00.001+07:00

Medical Tourism Bangkok Thailand Costs

2009-11-08T21:30:00.001+07:00

Procedure	USA	Singapore	Thailand	India
Heart Bypass	130,000	18,500	11,000	10,000
Heart Valve Replacement	160,000	12,500	10,000	9,000
Angioplasty	57,000	13,000	13,000	11,000
Hip Replacement	43,000	12,000	12,000	9,000
Hysterectomy	20,000	6,000	4,500	3,000
Knee Replacement	40,000	13,000	10,000	8,500
Spinal Fusion	62,000	9,000	7,000	5,500

Thailand is not the only Asian country experiencing a major surge in what has recently become known as “medical tourism.” Singapore, Malaysia and India are also rapidly adjusting to the new phenomenon, albeit at a much slower rate than Thailand. One of the reasons why Thailand is so far ahead of many other countries in the world, and some experts would rightly name the nation as the pioneer in the field, in regards to the medical tourism industry is the fact that Thai hospitals and medical facilities are able to reduce their prices to levels much lower than those in other nations without sacrificing the high standards of quality and care that their patients receive.

Other Asian nations, primarily India, can offer treatments and surgeries at much lower costs than those that can be found in Thailand. However, the quality of care and standard of treatment in these nations are affected because of the extremely low costs. Doctors and hospitals in India are suffering because of these institutions’ desire to obtain a larger market share of the medical tourism industry.

full article here

Obnoxious UK idiot gets KO'ed in Thai bar

2009-11-07T11:18:00.000+07:00

Congressman Alan Grayson on MSNBC Hardball: Is Dick Cheney a Vampire?

2009-10-23T15:17:00.003+07:00

“Justice, justice, ye shall seek.”

- Deuteronomy,

chapter 16, verse 20.

Alan Grayson's Biography

There is right, and there is wrong. We in

Central Florida have sent someone to Washington who fights for what’s right.

Our Congressman, Alan Grayson, grew up in

the tenements in the Bronx . It was a hard life. He had to be a fighter to survive.

His parents were teachers. They made

great sacrifices, to make sure that Alan received the best education.

Alan was a sick child. His mother took

him to the hospital four times a week, for treatment. Without health coverage, he would not be alive today. He remembers that.

Alan rode the subway to school each day, and he worked hard. He was the valedictorian of his junior high school. By passing a test, he was admitted to an exclusive public high school. In high school, he achieved the highest test score among almost 50,000 students who took the test. Harvard College saw something in him, and admitted him.

For Alan, life at Harvard wasn’t easy. Alan cleaned toilets, and worked as a night watchman. Yet he earned a bachelor’s degree in only three years, with high honors, and he was Phi Beta Kappa. Alan graduated from Harvard in the top two percent of his class.

Alan took economics classes at Harvard, and he worked as an economist after college. But he felt a calling, to learn more. He returned to Harvard. In only four years, Alan received a J.D. with honors from Harvard Law School , and a master’s degree from the Harvard School of Government, and Alan finished all of the course work and passed the general exams for a Ph.D. in Government.

Alan’s master’s thesis was on the

important subject of gerontology – how to improve the health of older people. Alan called for the creation of an organization to support research on the health of seniors. Shortly after he left school, Alan formed such an organization: the Alliance for Aging Research. Alan served as an officer of the Alliance for 22 years. Alan’s Alliance has increased federal support for aging research by 500%, leading to breakthroughs in the treatment of blindness, weak bones, Alzheimer’s disease, and other afflictions of the elderly. The motto of the Alliance is “Living to 100 – and Loving It.”

Three Caution Flags Warning of a Market Correction

2009-10-04T17:54:00.002+07:00

by Mike Burnick 10-02-09

from: Weiss Capital Management

In a recent article, I said “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” This is a physical law of the universe, which also applies to financial markets.

Some investors call this “reversion to the mean,” which, simply stated, means that extreme market moves in one direction are often followed by equally extreme moves in the opposite direction.

The great bear market of 2007-08, followed by this year’s robust bullish bounce, is a perfect case in point.

So, it follows that one camp of analysts warns of how “overbought” stocks are and we agree. Recently, the S&P 500 Index traded about 20% above its 200-day moving average of prices — the first time that’s happened in nearly 30 years … since 1983 to be exact.¹

The sheer magnitude of this rebound has been extraordinary and the perception that stocks have extended a long way above average is realistic, but consider the extraordinary depths from which they came … see the complete article here:

http://www.moneyandmarkets.com/three-caution-flags-warning-of-a-market-correction-5-35680

The Economic Recovery is an Illusion

2009-10-04T13:41:00.002+07:00

"The big elephant in the room is the major financial bubble created from the bailouts and “stimulus” packages worldwide. This money has been used by major banks to consolidate the economy; buying up smaller banks and absorbing the real economy; productive industry. The money has also gone into speculation, feeding the derivatives bubble and leading to a rise in stock markets, a completely illusory and manufactured occurrence. The bailouts have, in effect, fed the derivatives bubble to dangerous new levels as well as inflating the stock market to an unsustainable position."

see full article here: http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article13941.html

Learn how to sell Currency FOREX Options

2009-09-28T17:13:00.006+07:00

There are only a few fx brokers that offer options, but make sure you find out if your broker will exercise the option or close if for cash at expiration. This broker offers options but they close the position for a cash loss or profit upon expiration: IG Markets www.igmarkets.com

There is only one other broker I know of that offers options and they will put the expired position into your account in currency if your option expires and meets the strike price. You can find more brokers and information on www.fxstreet.com

Learn to Sell Covered Calls and Hedge Your Stock Investments

2009-09-01T13:54:00.006+07:00

from InformedTrades.com: link to complete story:

http://www.informedtrades.com/f187/l

Note, in the chart above, the option quote circled is for the May 30 (price of the stock $30 per share see middle row, options are traded every week, 2 weeks or monthly) the 1.75 is the bid/offer and 2.00 is the asking price (multiply times 100 = $175 or asking $200). This is the amount you get after you own 100 shares of the stock and sell the call option (each option contract controls 100 shares of stock, a call option increases in value when the stock goes up, a put option increases in value when the stock goes down). This is a very liquid market and trades just the same as most high volume popular stocks or ETF's such as Apple, Microsoft, IBM, Goldman Sacks, OIH, SPY, EEM, EWZ etc...

I did a covered call on USO (Oil ETF) last Friday.

Bought USO at $32.55. Sold Jan $35 Call for $2.10

Since I will be in this trade for at least a few weeks, I thought I would go over it in detail in several posts. I have done many covered calls, although this is my first in a couple of months. I find them to be a great strategy.
I should probably state that this is not a trading recommendation. It is only what I am doing, and what works for some may not work for others.

I know some people do not know what a covered call is, so I will try to describe them in general. A covered call is when you sell (also called writing) a call option that is “covered” by an underlying security that you own (verses selling a naked call option).

What that means in simple terms is that you buy a stock, and then sell the right for someone to buy that stock from you for more than you paid for it. I bought 100 shares of USO for $32.55 a share, and I sold the right for someone to buy it from me for $35.00 a share anytime between now and the 3rd Friday in Jan. That person paid me $2.10 a share (100 shares, $210.00) for that right.

When you buy a stock call option, what you are doing is buying the right to purchase a stock at a certain price. Let’s say stock XYZ is selling for $10. You can buy the right to purchase that XYZ stock for $11 for only a small amount of money. Therefore, if the stock goes above $11, you get to buy it at $11 and sell it at the current price without having to originally put as much money down as you would if you just bought the stock ( I could write several more pages describing in general what an option is, but I would be just repeating what is on a thousand websites anyway. Therefore, if you do not understand what a call option is in my description here, or just want to know more, do a search on “call options” and you will get tons of info.) here is very good overview of option basics from the CBOE-

http://www.cboe.com/LearnCenter/cboe...mod_01_01.aspx

Retire Early in Thailand

2009-08-30T11:50:00.001+07:00

Why

Thailand

See my homepage for Condos and Apartments in Bangkok

In my mid 40's I begin to look for a warm, tropical, cost effective, safe place to retire when I turned 50. I checked out

Costa Rica

Jamaica

, and

Mexico

. Then I traveled to

Thailand

in the fall of 2005, returned home after a month, sold my house, car and basically everything except a few essential items and took off for my new winter home in January of 2006. Having owed 3 businesses for over 15 years, I wanted out of the main stream 9-5 life. The costs of living in Dallas was getting worse with yearly increases in property taxes, health insurance premiums, auto insurance etc.

Thailand

.

In Thailand you can get a renewable one year retirement visa at age 50, health insurance cost as little as $300 a year. I recently had my teeth cleaned for $15, you can see a regular doctor or a specialist for $15 (many expats don't bother buying it as medical costs are so low, and quality is very good). I don't need a car (and don't miss the trips to Firestone auto repair shop), in Bangkok there is excellent mass transit with the Sky Train and the underground subway, in Pattaya there are small buses every 2 or 3 minutes that cost 25 cents. There are many other benefits that I will go into later. I will post more soon on how to retire in Thailand with a little as $50,000 to $100,000 in savings that includes selling covered call options investment strategies with some margin usage. I will also be posting information on medical tourism, feel free to write with any questions, Paul...

Fox Blatent Bias Continues Airing "Lie To Me" Instead of the Obama Press Conference

2009-07-23T13:59:00.003+07:00

by Huffington Post NEW YORK — Fox became the first broadcast network to turn down a request by President Barack Obama for time, opting to show its drama "Lie to Me" on Wednesday instead of the president's prime-time news conference.

Fox will direct viewers interested in the news conference to Fox News Channel and the Fox Business Network, which will both carry it. ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC and CNBC are all carrying the 8 p.m. EDT event, on Obama's 100th day in office.

This will be Obama's third prime-time news conference as president, a schedule that has caused some private grumbling among network executives. Carrying a news conference costs the four broadcast networks an estimated $10 million-plus in lost advertising revenue.

Yet with an economy in distress, two wars and now a swine flu outbreak, the pressure on networks to agree to Obama's request as a public service is enormous.

Executives at Fox, owned by News Corp., would not comment on the decision Monday. It's not without precedent for the network; Fox didn't carry a prime-time speech by President George W. Bush in November 2001 despite a request from the White House. full story link here

Is the Health care Reform debate turning Rational Americans into Hate Speech Mongers?

2009-07-22T12:03:00.015+07:00

I recently exchanged emails from an childhood friend that I've known for over 45 years (now ex friend and confirmed Redneck) from Fort Worth Texas regarding the health care reform debate. And after expressing my views about what I see as out of control costs in the medical insurance industry and the lawyers that have driven up doctors' mal practice insurance costs, I was sent extremely abusive hate filled angry emails. It totally shocked me as to how hostile this debate is becoming and asking myself if this debate is turning rational people into hate speech mongers.

In Dallas, I started and ran a business employing a small staff and made a nice living. I paid my share of income taxes, property taxes and $1000's in self employment medical insurance premiums for over 20 years.

Now as American guy in my 50's, we need affordable health insurance for everyone especially older people, why should they have to take a menial job making minimum wage just to be eligible for affordable health care insurance? And waste time doing that when they could be going back to school learning a new career or starting a business using their skills do improve their situation instead of operating at a survival level of existence. And this applies for younger workers too, god forbid your boss is a jerk and you want to quit or change jobs, you're stuck, the job controls your life now because of sky rocketing health insurance costs. What kind of system is this, do Flag Waving Americans call this freedom?

I am not asking for free coverage, I am just saying why can't we do something about creating affordable medical insurance, if you want to switch jobs, you are not held hostage by the benefits (especially if you have a pre existing medical condition). If you want to start a business and be self employed or go to school, medical insurance costs will not be a such a huge barrier, especially for older Americans, the costs seem to go up exponentially.

Please, lets try to work together as intelligent Americans for this freedom cause, instead of attacking each other with hate speech.

Paul Rainwater

USA Healthcare reform, Scare Tactics and Ignorance

2009-07-22T09:09:00.004+07:00

from Marc Rubin Examiner.com "There can be no rational objection to a public option unless you want to defend the sky high profits made by the insurance and drug companies who provide exactly the same drugs to other countries at 1/3 the price and seem to be doing very well financially with their Canadian and European operations. Or to defend the insurance companies on the basis of capitalism which has no place in a health care system anyway which is why every other civilized country has a univsersal single payer system. Not to mention that, as Wendell Potter testifeid, the insurance companies can't be trusted".

See complete article here

"The patient now in the healthcare system which everyone agrees is very sick. The market driven system places healthy profits ahead of healthy people and makes costs and profits for insurance companies the most important thing. When it comes to most insurance, it's healthy people wanted, sick people need not apply. The insurance companies don't care if it costs you an arm and a leg even if its your real arm and real leg".

Jon Stewart Takes on Goldman Sachs

2009-07-19T14:44:00.000+07:00

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Pyramid Economy

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Joke of the Day

Let Them Eat Cake: The Elitist PR War Against Health Care Reform

2009-07-14T21:31:00.010+07:00

I once heard the comment about people dying in Africa “it was not a successful famine” not enough people died. The bottom line, this is all about Darwinism, survival of the fittest. If you have bad luck and cannot afford health insurance, and have a major medical problem, too bad for you, you die. We are not civilized human beings, we are animals.

excerpt from a letter to my friend back home in the USA (I am USA expat living in Thailand now for 3 years):

The stark reality of trying to make a living in Dallas and this health care issue is insurmountable. One major health problem and I am financially ruined.

I am sure the job situation has not changed for guys like me at age 54 with my background and the prospects for a good quality of life is bleak. So, I am making the best here, I pay about $450 a month (there are cheaper places) and have a nice place with good cable and internet. Don't need a car, walk to the sky train in 5 minutes, eat good on $5 a day. I can see the dentist and have cavities filled or cleaning work done for $12 including xrays. I can see a medical specialist, dermatologist (trained in USA) or general surgeon for $9. The doctors here care about people and not so much about money, often they come back from USA after working there because they don't like working in the USA medical system.

I want to do something about changing the attitudes on Health Care reform in the USA. I don't understand why we can't fix the system in the USA and Charles Payne of Fox News wants to perpetuate the unsympathetic bias that is pervasive in America regarding this issue: (see below post). Now with all the unemployment back home, I think there will be many people without health insurance and maybe we can rise up against the elitist unsympathetic pigs running this PR war.

Why does this issue have to be so adversarial? We have to ask, who stands to loose if we design a medical system that is affordable? But I think it’s all a moot point because the people in control who could make a difference love money and believe they are superior human beings “Let Them Eat Cake.”

Greedy lawyers have driven up malpractice insurance so high that you practically need to be a millionaire start practicing medicine.

Health insurance executives purposely create policy to stall paying claims and stall approving medical procedures. Their strategy is to clog the system and do everything they can to sabotage doctors and customers. They hire lawyers to write insurance policies that are so complex intentionally making it very difficult to understand what is actually covered in your policy. They are gouging the public and making huge profits paying themselves huge salaries laughing all the way to the bank while people are dying. This is beyond greed, it is pure evil.

Fox News Charles Payne Extreme Bias, He should be Fired!

2009-07-13T10:03:00.003+07:00

This interview was disgraceful.Charles Payne should be fired!

Have a look at this Fox Newsinterview with a socialist that wants free health care in America and the extreme bias pig interviewer employee of Fox News that would barely let the guy get a word in sideways, who only talked about how hard he works, his expensive cuff links and material things he wants, all the taxes he pays and to hell with people that are less fortunate. Instead of talking about what the solution might be. He just wanted to make the guy look like a fool, see the interviewer's email here if you want want to contact Fox News about him, Charles Payne: feedback@foxbusiness.com
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=14441261

I am a USA citizen. Now, after living in Thailand for 3 years and meeting many people fromEurope and Canada who are very happy with their health care system, I understand where this guy is coming from. People in those countries want to take care of each other and have a more community based way of thinking, what we are talking about here is caring about people instead of worrying about how much money the insurance companies and lawyers might loose or a few people that might abuse the system or how much more taxes will go up. The guy's point is if people are healthy they will a have better life and want to work and be productive. But yes, we should be able to construct a system without increasing taxes. The health care system in Thailand is so much more affordable and there are no malpractice suits,medical schools cost much less and no lawyers or insurance companies jacking up the prices on health care.

I don't know what the solution is, but there has to be a fundamental shift in the way we think about community in America. The way it is now, most people only think about "I got mine and if you are poor or need help, too bad for you, you're an idiot or lazy good for nothing and it is wrong of you to expect help, you should have planned better". Or "I wish there was something I could do, but socialized medicine will ruin America." Well what about all the billions that have been poured into bailouts ofAmerican companies that ought to be out of business anyway like GM. Hey if you don't know how to make a profit why should you be in business. There are many ways we could fund affordable health care in America. Plus the millions that are given to charities and religious organizations, where does all that money go? I don't know why this issue is so difficult to figure out except there must be some reason the greedy ultra rich that control America don't want it.

David Carradine’s ‘deviant’ sex games, by his ex-wife

2009-06-07T09:50:00.003+07:00

from: By MAIL ON SUNDAY REPORTER
Last updated at 11:43 PM on 06th June 2009

Break up: Marina Anderson refused to take part in the sex games

The ex-wife of Kung Fu actor David Carradine has claimed that she was asked repeatedly by him to take part in ‘deviant’ sex games.

Actress Marina Anderson, 56, said Carradine, who was found dead in his Bangkok hotel room after engaging in what is thought to be a botched sex game, routinely displayed ‘deviant sexual behaviour which was potentially deadly’.

In papers from their 2003 divorce posted on an American website, Ms Anderson, says her refusal to engage in the games caused their marriage to break down.

Police believe Carradine, 72, died of accidental suffocation after attempting auto erotic asphyxiation – a sex game where participants derive pleasure from being partially strangled.

David Carradine Death in Bangkok, Larry King interview with his Friends

2009-06-05T20:33:00.003+07:00

Phil Spector Sent to Hell, Sentenced 19 Years to Life in Prison, Justice is Served...

2009-05-30T06:34:00.002+07:00

MTV Shows

Watch Our for ATM Skimmers

2009-05-15T14:32:00.002+07:00

Complete Article from Popular Mechanics

Talladega This Weekend!

2009-04-26T14:05:00.009+07:00

The videos say it all, one of the best tracks in Nascar, Talladega!

Coed Video, Encounter with Craigslist Killer Suspect

2009-04-24T12:01:00.010+07:00

Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster defends site policy on illegal sex ads after murder of Julissa Brisman

see complete story

The chief executive of Craigslist has denied the website offers sex-related advertising.

In the wake of the murder of Julissa Brisman, a 26-year-old masseuse who met her alleged killer after posting an ad on the site, Jim Buckmaster said offers to exchange sexual favors for money are "strictly prohibited" and removed.

"I would not describe any section of our site as 'sex related,'" Buckmaster wrote in an email response to the Boston Globe.

Craigslist Killer Arrested

2009-04-21T19:43:00.000+07:00

Craigslist date with murder for N.Y. beauty Julissa Brisman, model & Internet masseuse shot in hotel

BY SARAH ARMAGHAN, KERRY BURKE AND DAVE GOLDINER DAILY NEWS WRITERS

SEE MORE STORY LINKS BELOW

Friday, April 17th 2009, 4:45 AM A gorgeous New York model who doubled as an Internet masseuse was shot dead at a posh Bostonhotel - and cops think her killer struck before.

Julissa Brisman, 26, was killed at the plush Marriott Copley Place hotel, apparently by a man who answered her ad on craigslist, police said.

A woman who came to the door of the Brisman family apartment on W. 107th St. said only, "Oh my God, Julissa ... she's dead. It's terrible. We are in pain."

Friends said Brisman's mom, Carmen, repeatedly screamed, "Somebody killed my daughter," when cops notified her. She was in Boston last night to identify the body.

"It's tragic," said Matthew Terhune, 34, a Queens photographer and friend. "It [stinks] that someone so young and so pretty could be killed like that."

The deadly drama unfolded when fellow hotel guests heard screams from her room on the 20th floor of the downtown hotel.

She was found lying in a pool of blood, with several bullet wounds and a plastic "restraint" on one wrist, cops said. A massage table was set up inside the 20th-floor room.

Brisman was rushed to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Hotel surveillance video captured images of a young, clean-cut looking man with blond hair whom cops called a suspect.

Cops think the same man robbed a prostitute a few days before at a nearby hotel.

click this link for complete story 2ND story here

Phil Spector Guilty of Murder, There is a God

2009-04-19T06:59:00.002+07:00

(I know this has nothing to do with Thailand but I have been following this case since before I left the USA)

Thank God there are a few people left in this world that sit on a jury with some common sense. This Phil Spector character is a real creep and I hope he rots in hell for killing this lady Lana Clarkson.

New York Times article about the the retrial and guilty verdict

LOS ANGELES April 13— Phil Spector, the rock music impresario behind hits like “Da Doo Ron Ron,” and “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling,” was convicted Monday of murdering a struggling actress at his mansion in 2003 after a night of drinking. Mr. Spector, 68, faces at least 18 years in prison. The jury, ending a five-month trial, reached its decision after 27 hours of deliberating whether he shot the woman in a fit of anger or, as his lawyers argued, merely witnessed her suicide.

Retire Early in Thailand

2009-04-16T07:36:00.002+07:00

Why

Thailand

See my homepage for Condos and Apartments in Bangkok

In my mid 40's I begin to look for a warm, tropical, cost effective, safe place to retire when I turned 50. I checked out Costa Rica, Jamaica, and Mexico. Then I traveled to Thailand in the fall of 2005, returned home after a month, sold my house, car and basically everything except a few essential items and took off for my new winter home in January of 2006.

Having owed 3 businesses for over 15 years, I wanted out of the main stream 9-5 life. The costs of living in Dallas was getting worse with yearly increases in property taxes, health insurance premiums, auto insurance etc, etc, etc.

Being single, 50 years old, without children, I had no reason to stay in the conventional middle class life. I always wanted to concentrate on my investments and not worry about making enough money to pay for all the expenses of living and doing business in a big city. So, I have found a simple and good life in Thailand.

In Thailand you can get a renewable one year retirement visa at age 50, health insurance cost as little as $300 a year. I recently had my teeth cleaned for $15, you can see a regular doctor or a specialist for $15 (many expats don't bother buying it as medical costs are so low, and quality is very good). I don't need a car (and don't miss the trips to Firestone auto repair shop), in Bangkok there is excellent mass transit with the Sky Train and the underground subway, in Pattaya there are small buses every 2 or 3 minutes that cost 25 cents. There are many other benefits that I will go into later. I will post more soon on how to retire in Thailand with a little as $50,000 to $100,000 in savings that includes selling covered call options investment strategies with some margin usage. I will also be posting information on medical tourism, feel free to write with any questions, Paul...