zydeco

Nato promised to the Russians back in the '90's that it wouldn't push eastwards after the dissolution of the Warsaw pact.

All promises have been broken plus a 'missile shield' aimed at Russia.

Russia is angry and feels betrayed.

...so they are clawing back what has historically been Russian lands and to hell with the West.

A major shift is underway.

Russia+China as the leaders and a host of BRIC nations plus dozens of other discontents are breaking free of US hegemony.

...and talking of hegemony , the same goes for 'dollar hegemony'.

Interesting times ahead.

Will America accept its fate, like the UK and France did in the post ww2 era, or push for war?

All in the name of democracy and gay rights of course...

Whatever the "fate" of the US, it's the fate of Russia that this invasion has sealed. Russia's economy is almost all energy reliant, like Brazil, like Iran. Your BRICS are made of straw. And the straw is an oil glut that is making those BRICS crumble. (China of course crumbling because of different issues, which this thread doesn't allow us to go into.)

Light as a feather. Gravity 10,000 to 1. A baby could easily lift a fully loaded semi truck up there.

Now it is turned on it's side, sitting in a shadow under a cliff they say. The batteries will run down because of the limited sun exposure to the solar panels.

They may use some of the mechanical instruments to get it to float back up into a better position.

"Without anything to tether it to the comet’s surface, the probe bounced 1km into the air before where it floated for around two hours before making its way back to the surface."

Am I reading this right? Did their tethering device, the so-called explosive hooks malfunction or did they end up turning it into a giant pogo stick?

Comet lander up against the side of a large cliff

The Philae space probe has ended up against the side of a large cliff, something that may hinder its operations.

Scientists believe that the lander is resting on its side possibly with one leg extended out into open space.

http://www.itv.com/news/story/2014-11-13/comet-lander-up-against-the-side-of-a-large-cliff/

Well, I sure hope not. Too much knowledge to be gained with a fully working mission. If what you describe is true, they've screwed the pooch.

I think LawrenceChee and konying are one and the same person.

So, now it's "RACISM" that has made these women fat? Really? It used to be "big bones."

The USA is a country with shockingly severe economic inequality. Fast food in the U.S. is the cheap and convenient food especially for the poor.African Americans in the U.S. still represent a disproportionate percentage of the American poor. Have some perspective on this:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/11/12/the-disturbing-ways-that-fast-food-chains-disproportionately-target-black-kids/

Fast food restaurants blanket the country, but they are especially ubiquitous in the country's poorer communities. This reality, which has been called "food oppression," is a crucial component of a growing systemic problem in the United States, whereby America's richer communities are eating better, while its poorer communities are eating worse.

Poor black communities are especially vulnerable to this phenomenon.

"The same black communities that suffer more from diet-related diseases, like heart disease, obesity, and diabetes, tend to consume more fast food," said Dr. Jennifer Harris, the Director of Marketing Initiatives at Yale's Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity.

Convenient but not so cheap. And that's the problem with those lard buckets. You can buy a can of salmon, tuna and make it into a variety of different dishes. Vegetables are not that expensive either--but inconvenient if you need to take the time to clean and cook them. There is always pasta and homemade pasta sauce that can be fixed from little more than some olive oil and a can of tomato paste. The list goes on and on, but those buckets of lard are just too lazy to fix their own food. So they pay more to lap up yet more grease at McDs.

Somehow, it will all work out. It always does.

Hypothetical situation. You have been in Thailand working for an educational institution for a number of years. You have a visa conditional on your employment. Suppose your old contract expired, say, on September 30 of this year and you were given a new contract. The new contract, however, was found by the educational institution's lawyers to be "illegal" and "unenforceable." Essentially, this would make your contract null and void. Question: wouldn't this also make the visa null and void? As you are technically no longer a holder of a valid contract, shouldn't you report this to immigration? And wouldn't you then have seven days to leave the country from the end of the last valid contract? Meaning, anyone still in the country would, in effect, have been on a visa overstay since 30 September?

BTW, I think CNN has just closed its Hong Kong bureau--or at least moved its broadcast from Hong Kong back to Atlanta. They changed anchors again for the morning show. Unlike the rest of you, I don't need CNN, Fox, RT, the BBC or anything else. I have ThaiVisa.

I am not surprised it was discovered in the US..........

That's because the rest of the world was too stupid to notice.

Why couldn't Putin be satisfied with being a nice little dictator who only ruled his own people with an iron fist. Nobody would have bothered him. He and his people might even have prospered. The West wouldn't have batted an eye. He will bring about his own ruin, alas. Learn from Franco and Salazar how to rule people and stay in power for decades with nobody objecting.

The title of this thread is "Russian Currency Tumbles As Investors Panic."

Russia is in a world of hurts. The West put enough pressure on the Russian economy (along with Russia's own stupid moves) to break up the Soviet Union. The communist Soviet Union simply couldn't support all of those people any longer. The USSR simply had to let those countries go.

Spin it another way if you wish, but Russia can't survive with it's 1950's economy boosted by oil sales. It has very little else to offer to bring in money. Dollars. Now with its currency crumbling it will be even harder for it to get dollars which it needs to buy things for its survival. It couldn't buy anything with its currency before this collapse, and it sure as heck can't spend it internationally now.

Not too long ago oil was around $110 a barrel and very recently, $105. Last I looked it was $77. The US is pumping all-out as is Saudi Arabia.

It used to be that when oil prices dropped, ME countries stopped pumping to bring prices back up. They had a cartel which fixed the price. They can't do that anymore because too much additional oil has been discovered elsewhere.

Get a cup of coffee, sit back, and watch Russia.

Which brings us full circle. Russia just doesn't have anything besides its oil to offer the rest of the world. The degree of corruption in a country like Russia makes it all the more likely to be a house of cards waiting for a slight breeze to blow it into oblivion. Why Thailand would tie its future, even in part, to such an unstable mess is terrifying. The people making decisions in Bangkok always seem to be two or three steps behind world developments.

Bacon, bacon, bacon!

I would like to say 'they are only hurting themselves' but if they get into any position of importance/authority, then their ignorance will harm many.

Such as being the pharmacist you or I just happen to go to. Or physician? Sobering thought.

The German economy is having a hard time of it because of the sanctions so it looks as if it is working out well for the Russians. Anyway they don't need so many dollars now they have started closing MacDonalds.

The Germans should be a good object lesson for Thailand. This is what happens when you tie yourself too closely to a corrupt, autocratic regime whose only economic strength is based on energy--which is always bust and boom. Otherwise, Russia hasn't got much to sell, nobody wants their cultural products, their science, their industrial or engineering products. And most of all, nobody wants their tourists--except for Thailand.

Americans, its all about face.. only this has to happen and they explode.

why is it that I just knew that it involved negroes!

That is not an acceptable term except if you are writing in Spanish and can't spell.

"A mind is a terrible thing to waste."

Another thread about to be ruined.

God Help America if this lady becomes president,

God and America have been ignoring each other, for the time being.... in case you have not noticed.

I see no reason for not electing this lady....if Obama can do it, why not a lady?

She is one up on Sarah Palin, if that helps. I actually think she could get something done.

We need to get all this out of the way. We had our Obama, next we need a lady. After that, perhaps somebody who is actually qualified will have a chance.

You're forgetting the Latins. After the old lady, it'll be Latins saying it's their turn. And there just might be one Latin I would be interested in voting for. Considering how much the media hates Ted Cruz, he must be good.

I remember the 1980 election when Ronald Reagan was widely dismissed at 69 years of age as being too old. Hillary Clinton will be 69 on election day in 2018, and she is not aging as well as Reagan did--neither as physically fit or even in general health. I would be surprised to see if she can even manage the demands of a presidential campaign at her age and physical condition.