Forums

Isn't it easier and maybe even faster to take a train from Shinjuku to Osaka?

The one thing I will say in Hakeem's defense is that following Nancy Pelosi was going to be difficult if not impossible for anyone.  If I had to name the smartest Democratic leaders of my lifetime, it would be Bill Clinton or Barack Obama or Nancy Pelosi.  I could make a great argument that she should be at the top of the list.   All three made some big fuck ups, as well.  But especially if I factor in how bad were the fucks ups versus all their successes, Nancy's ratio of success is probably better than the other two.  She is the Democrat who mostly won things. I always had a theory as a community organizer that there is simply nothing like organizing Moms trying to protect their kids.  The non-literal phrase I have used a lot is that many Moms would slit their wrist to protect their children.  That could sound sexist or patronizing.  But having organized many Moms I just think it is a fact.  And that's not to say Dads are bad.  It is just to says Moms and Moms, and great Moms are great Moms.  So I always viewed that as part of Nancy's thing.   With Trump she has what I viewed as an appropriate instinct to protect us from this felon and rapist and predator at all costs. It stands out now in particular, as I said in a recent post, because Nancy was 1000 % like this with Trump.  She fought him fiercely, and I think did almost everything right.  Which is to say she went for the jugular.   Harris did that one time:  in the Sept. debate, which worked great for her.  Then she drifted into pablum.  Had Harris had Pelosi's instinct of going for Trump's jugular relentlessly, which she did not, she might have eked out a narrow win rather than a narrow loss.  Coulda woulda shoulda. But I agree with you about Hakeem.  At this point he seems to stand for nothing, and fight for nothing.   As a contrast to Ro, I read some anecdote about how Hakeem went to some meeting with Silicon Valley donors recently and talked about "mending fences".    That to me is the problem, not the solution.  Ro will say many of the richest people in the US live in my district.  And I will tell them to their face I want them to pay more taxes, now, to help the working class.  That is an actual solution, unlike Hakeem's seemingly empty rhetoric and fat cat fundraising.   In my view it was the fat cat fundraising and lobbying from Sinema and Manchin in particular that blocked Biden from doing things - like tax the rich and keep the child tax credits - that might have given more working class Moms and Dads a reason to feel in their gut that Democrats fought for them. That said, either Ro or Hakeem are better than Trump, who is now actively planning on how to screw the working class.  He is raising prices on cars, groceries, and lots of other things working class people buy.   He is planning to cut Medicare and Medicaid they depend on.   He is firing veterans.  And working class people know it.   Which is why Trump's approval rating and consumer confidence is already trending down.

Worth to mention that there is (or used to?) a free shuttle bus connecting dmk and bkk airport, if you have a boarding pass to make the connection. Ive used it before when im travelling to dmk from pattaya using the jomtien bus to bkk and taking the shuttle from bkk to dmk to catch my flight to vientiene. 

@Dannyxxx  I truly enjoyed that you shared with us: Your Tokyo guy adventure.  He sounds exactly like the type of guy that I would like to hire as I like his type of personality and the sex options are those that I am very much aligned with.  I had a similar adventure as yours in South Korea - back in 2017 where I employed 3 different Korean guys to be my tour guides and sexual masseurs during a 12 day period.  Each one was employed for 3 days each and the last guy - my favorite was employed for 5 days.  He was an amazing stud, gently, manly, sexy, and a great tour guide.  His massages each night before we went to bed after touring each day were so enjoyable.  Also, sleeping and cuddling with him was very emotionally rewarding.  But me - like you - I can get emotionally attached - and of course on the 5th day when I had to say goodbye to him I lost it emotionally and I cried -- even though I wanted to be more manly.  Oh well - I will always have his pictures and memories with me forever. Sharing with us about what happened to you at the Osaka DG branch is very thankful and extremely valuable.  This is what makes this forum great - as the expression = “Forewarned is forearmed”, can save a lot of us forum members from having to experience this awful experience.  So, I thank you for warning us and sparing us any uncomfortable and ugly situations. If I may, can I write you a DM to learn about how to contact your Tokyo guy?  I am already infatuated with him via your excellent storytelling skills and I do not yet know him......

From Reuters  HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam expects to sign pacts with the United States this week after its trade minister meets U.S. trade and energy officials, according to a government document reviewed by Reuters. The step comes after weeks of conciliatory messages Vietnam has sent Washington in an effort to avert tariffs by the Trump administration the Southeast Asian nation may face because of its large trade surplus with the United States. The March 5 document from the trade ministry features the schedule of Trade Minister Nguyen Hong Dien's trip to the United States this week. It also listed energy companies and government departments, from customs to tax, asked to send accompanying representatives. Last week the government said on its portal Dien, who is also in charge of energy and industry policy, would travel to the United States on Thursday to meet U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. But it gave no details of possible deals or topics to be discussed. Officials have publicly indicated Vietnam's intention to buy U.S. liquefied natural gas for its fledgling industry and to possibly revise duties on several imports, from ethanol and LNG to agriculture products. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/vietnam-to-sign-us-deals-as-trade-energy-officials-meet-document-shows/ar-AA1ABaq2