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We're over the worst of it, we've stayed close to home while we're feeling rubbish. We can be found loitering around Dusit food basement, Tops supermarket for supplies, and Lumphini to enjoy the cats and never ending legs in tiny shorts jogging past us. We had one night 'off our faces' in silom 4, drinking, in the first few days here. We've got two weeks left here, we were going to stay two months but decided to rent an apartment in Pattaya for the second month. Bangkok is wonderful but two months here could prove a bit much for us and I wouldn't mind a paddle....

Personally, when young, I had no real view about capital punishment. At Oxford, however, Punishment, purpose, etc, was part of our Jurisprudence course. I heard an impassioned talk from Professor Rupert Cross, that convinced me that capital punishment was wrong. Interesting man, Cross, the senior law Professor, he was the Vinerian Professor, very eminent, and blind! Had Braille lecture notes.

That's a good point. Under our system, a candidate without a large base of monied supporters might not advance too far in politics. Sorry to be fussy, but when I hear "Green Party" I will never not think about Jill Stein in Moscow, dining with Vlad Putin and QAnon conspiracist Michael Flynn. More recently Stein claimed how Democrats spread flagrant lies about US immigrants, that Latinos should support her. Putin likely continues to love Jill and her Democrat-hating jargon. Yeah, I know, I complain about the Dems too. But Dems are nowhere as evil as Stein claims, and are a far superior choice vs. the GOP.

Oh dear, I hope the haze hasn't made it worse for you. Get well soon!

True same here And the white teddy bear on the lounge in the reception is good too ,I love cuddles from him 🐻‍❄️🐻‍❄️

We've been here two weeks. Both full of cold and cough so off to a slow start. We did visit Lumphini last Sunday afternoon. Very enjoyable. QS is a bit tired but the location is perfect.

You may have indirectly answered your own question, @lookin What US President actually has been honest? "Honest Abe" comes to mind. And Jimmy Carter. Which did not work out great for Democrats. Two of the three people you mentioned were historically transformative leaders. Arguably more important than many or even most elected Presidents or Prime Ministers. That may be where the action is. For all his flaws, Trump is the leader of a massive right-wing populist movement. What might have happened if Bernie had been elected instead, ushering in left-wing populism? Back in Trump 1.0 I somewhat arrogantly described Trump as the leader of a "failed peasant's revolt." And by failure I was not talking about Trump. I was talking about the peasants. And I was mostly right. There were plenty of news articles in 2020 about how these American shit holes in the Rust Belt that were bad in 2016 were actually worse off after four years of Trump. So far, once again, Trump 2.0 has given us massive tax cuts to the rich and even more enormous deficits. What did the peasants get? Let them eat cake. Well, okay, let them eat no taxes on tips. I'd be looking less for a new partisan leader, and more for a successful peasant's revolt. There are words for these things. The New Deal. The Great Society. The Civil Rights Movement. The War On Poverty. Led by the kind of guys you mentioned. I remember reading some post from a Sandernista several years back, when Biden was POTUS, basically saying all hope is lost. Her point was that 2016 and the Sanders insurgency was the one chance a New Deal-like populist movement had. And we didn't need Trump to crush it. The Democratic Establishment crushed it before it could even get to Trump, she argued. There's some truth to that. How's that for honesty and integrity on the part of Democrats? But I think that prediction will be wrong, in the long run. 2024 was a hot mess where Trump barely squeezed in in part because young Zoomers really had no leader. Trump went on some podcasts. And Joe Rogan proved he is a gadfly. And that was about it. Zoomers were pissed and Trump was the least bad option for many of them. Hey, it was at least worth a try. When he fucked up his first term they didn't even have pubic hair yet. Can you blame them? My guess is it may take a real crisis to get you and me what we want. Arguably, The Great Recession was that crisis, and Obama was that leader. As my conservative nephew likes to say, that apparently did not solve the problem. So who knows. I sure don't. But history may figure it out for us.

Yesterday I went to a Stop Ice rally and learned a few things. I stopped by the DSA table and asked them about Mamdani's need to raise campaign funds for the New York mayoral race and how he squared it with removing money from politics. They said he got his money from lots of small donors and that set him apart. I don't know who would donate to Jack Smith's campaign besides me. And I don't know if anyone could get elected President without spending a lot of money. I also learned from someone at the Green Party table that my Representative had voted for a bill to provide weapons that ended up killing Palestinian civilians. Another person reminded me of the importance of staying connected with my Representative. I've called once, went to a couple town halls and sent a few checks. The person told me that the other side is calling his office, so I'll plan to do more of that. Democracy seems like such a simple concept. Until ill-intentioned folks get their hands on it and turn it on its head.

Bezos has become a trump suck ass. I canceled my subscription to the Washington Post over the shit he pulled on it sucking up to Trump.

I like Jack Smith. From the beginning, he impressed me as a no-nonsense, effective prosecutor. He would bring integrity, no matter what the MAGA playbook claims about him. Would he choose that path, to run for office? Perhaps he could serve as AG under the next term, if not special prosecutor for Trump administration crimes. But after dealing with the current judicial system, e.g. Aileen Cannon, and also the Gavel Gang at SCOTUS, one might not blame Jack Smith if he washes his hands of the US political system.

I am looking forward to your report too. Safe travels, Christian!

On the issue of the law of the lands, I wonder what the lawyers who are members think of capital punishment. I think back to the days in the UK to two trials - before my time, I should add - of two of the last alleged criminals to be hung by the state. Derek Bentley had a reduced mental capacity due to an accident when he was four. Scotish law by this time accepted the defence of diminished responsibility but not yet England. Bentley and his accomplice (aged 16) had killed a policeman with the accomplice having fired the gun. The evidence brought foward at the trial also revealed inconsistencies. Even though convicted of murder, the jury asked the judge not to hand down the death penalty in the case of Bentley. The judge ignored the request and Bentley was hanged in 1953. He was 19 years old. In 1993 Bentley received a posthumous Royal Pardon. In 1998 the Court of Appeal quashed his conviction. There was also the case of Timothy Evans, a Welsh lorry driver convicted of having murdered his wife and daughter in 1950. The Chief Prosecution witness against him was his downstairs neighbour, John Christie. Aged 25 Evans was hung the same year. Three years after the murder of Evans, John Christie was discovered to be a serial killer who had murdered several other women in his house, including his own wife. While waiting for death, he admitted to having murdered Tomothy Evans wife. In 1966 Evans was granted a posthumous pardon. But extraordinarily in 2004 the High Court refused to quash Evans conviction on the grounds of the costs and resources that would be required being too high, even though it admitted Evans did not kill his wife. It claimed there would be no "tangilble benefit". So justice in England remains an issue of cash! In my view, this is a national disgrace for the English system of justice. As I suggested earlier, how do you justify the state killing an innocent man? What compensation can possibly make up for the loss of a life, especially a very young life?

Thanks, Folks, for all the thoughtful comments! I guess what's behind my fantasy of a truthful president is a desire to show our kids, our allies and ourselves that lying is not the path to a healthy society. For me, watching Jack Smith in action is a lesson that honesty and ability belong together. Conversely, Trump and his cohorts have been spreading the message that dishonesty is the path to greatness and there's no downside to lying your ass off. Replacing a dishonest president with an honest one seemed like a good start to me. These days, a US president has a giant megaphone and I thought it would be the best way to get the point across that the country has not lost its ability to recognize truth. In my opinion, Jack Smith could carry that message. But, if we can't elect an honest president, I can think of others who might be able to get the message across. Pope Leo has the ear of millions across the country and, while he has not yet been as visible as Pope Francis, he's still honing his communication skills. Gandhi started out as a lawyer until civil inequities in South Africa led him into politics. Martin Luther King, Junior, began as a Baptist minister before becoming a spokesman for the cause civil rights. I'm sure others will emerge to speak in support of honesty. In the meantime, I'm not quite done thinking about Jack Smith. 🤔

Sepp Batter was once a salesman of ladies undergarments. "Knickers" they were known when he was appointed President of FIFA in 1998. The World Cup is a massive money spinner for FIFA. Blatter was to become as corrupt as they come and led an organisation that was just as corrupt considering the number of executives around the world who were indicted for corruption. The marketing organisation for FIFA with its huge sponsorship revenues was handed to his incompetent nephew. It quickly went bankrupt. Not surprising, though, that Blatter was re-elected to the President's position no less than four times! Money spread around voting members talks. Surprisingly, perhaps, he was ejected from his post in 2015 and then had to serve not one but two six-year bans from any activity with the sport. He also loved his position where he could mingle and be courted by the world's elite, including President Putin and Sheik Tahim Bin Hamanal Talmi of Qatar. So he unilaterally changed the FIFA bidding procedures to favour his cronies. Where in the past only one location for a future World Cup following the next one had been announced, he decided to announce two at once. 2018 would be held in - wait for it - Russia, and 2022 - wait for it - in Qatar. Russia was much less of a surprise since it was already a football mad nation. Qatar though was sheer madness! It was not a footballing nation. It had one stadium when the World Cup needs eight. The World Cup is held at the height of summer when temperatures in Qatar for players and spectators alike would be impossibly high when trying to play 90 minutes of football - or 120 minutes in the event of a drawn match. The possibility of the death of a player rose like a spectre no one in the footballing world could ignore. 90%+ of the footballing world screamed corruption. But FIFA pays no attention to the rest of the world. It is its own profitable little kingdom. In the event, both Russia and Qatar were successful events, even though the dates for Qatar had to be moved to winter months forcing football associations around the world - the very constituents FIFA should be looking after - to change their entire schedules. Now, though, Blatter cannot keep his hands - and his mouth off the organisation he no doubt believes he should still be running. At the age of 89, he has warned soccer fans around the world to boycott the World Cup in the USA this summer. As Blatter's lawyer has just said - “For fans, just one piece of advice: avoid the United States! You’ll get a better view on television anyway. Upon arrival, fans should expect that if they don’t behave properly with the authorities, they will be immediately sent home. If they’re lucky …” Splitting the 2026 World Cup between Canada, the USA and Mexico was already a lousy idea for fans. Those football fanatics who just have to be there will have to spend a fortune, not only to get to North America, not only for the outrageous price of match tickets, but also for the clearly (to be) increased cost of shuttling by air between countries. It really is time that some organisation tackled the problem of FIFA and its propensity for corruption on a massive scale.

Can you be more specific? Are you making a distinction between the previous format when it had go-go boys on stage + shows? Do you mean to say the stage is now empty until showtime? Has the format of the shows also changed? It used to be B-Boys and big cock. Has it gone cabaret with drag queens?

Fetterman disgusts me..... He's a Dem liability, and the new Joe Manchin..... His endearing quirky shorts and tennis shoes on the House floor is now an oddity, and sign of anti social behaviors. He definitely has lingering cognitive issues. He must NOT be re-elected.

Someone decided that it might be an idea to make a movie about Melania Trump. The Donald perhaps? I have no idea how it will play in the USA after it opens on Thursday - pretty well in MAGA territory I expect - but in London sales are nowhere near box office jubilation. Melania opens on Friday later this week. Tim Richards, the Chief Executive of Vue one of the UK's leading cinema operators, has described the public reaction so far as "soft". Well, Mr. Richards, if the public reaction to Melania is "soft", what in your view is disastrous, I wonder? At Vue's flagship cinema in London's Islington, precisely one ticket has been sold so far for the first showing and two for the second. But never fear, things are looking up for the cinemas in Wandsworth and Broughton where - wait for it - four and five tickets have been sold for the first showings. But then the five in Broughton are all the cheapest seats in the back row! Poor Richards. Totally on the back foot he spins, "We do not play judge and jury to censor films." No doubt that is true, but there are plenty of examples of movies which were first denied showings in cinemas. Why this one? Stupid question, I guess. Ah! But then we should not forget. Amazon paid US$40 million for the rights to make the movie, a fair chunk of that no doubt going to its subject. Amazon is also spending US$35 million on a worldwide marketing push. At least one potential reviewer has labelled the movie "Must Watch!" and tickets "Selling out Fast!". That can hardly be of much consolation to the subject of the movie as those predictions were made by - the Donald! No doubt he will be waiting expectedly for the announcement of next year's Oscar nominations! https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/26/melania-trump-documentary-uk-cinemas-vue-soft-sales

I think he’s very cute

Then one might expect Senate Dems to block DHS funding, even if it means another shutdown. They either mean it or they don't. Elsewhere, John Fetterman, Bill Maher's favorite Democrat in the Senate, announced he will not support defunding ICE.

I didn't see it whilst wandering down soi 6 last night.. so probably no.