impulse

The title says longtail boats. The body of the article and the photo call out longboat racing. Very different critters...

Let's see... Filling the car was relatively affordable, the border was secure, Russia was behaving, I could afford the nicer cuts of beef, the strategic petroleum reserve was pretty full, and.. and... But there were mean tweets...

What seems to be lost in this discussion about mask effectiveness are the downsides. Like long exposure to elevated CO2 levels, toxic chemicals used in the masks themselves, and the devastating effect that covering their faces has had on child development. Not to mention adult interactions. I still remember how great it was when we pretty much quit wearing masks in Texas, and you could actually divine facial expressions and see smiles again. And I get the biggest kick out of the guys and gals still wearing their masks driving alone in their car... CO2 exposure: Fresh air has around 0.04% CO2, while wearing masks more than 5 min bears a possible chronic exposure to carbon dioxide of 1.41% to 3.2% of the inhaled air. Although the buildup is usually within the short-term exposure limits, long-term exceedances and consequences must be considered due to experimental data. US Navy toxicity experts set the exposure limits for submarines carrying a female crew to 0.8% CO2 based on animal studies which indicated an increased risk for stillbirths. Additionally, mammals who were chronically exposed to 0.3% CO2 the experimental data demonstrate a teratogenicity with irreversible neuron damage in the offspring, reduced spatial learning caused by brainstem neuron apoptosis and reduced circulating levels of the insulin-like growth factor-1 There is a possible negative impact risk by imposing extended mask mandates especially for vulnerable subgroups. Circumstantial evidence exists that extended mask use may be related to current observations of stillbirths and to reduced verbal motor and overall cognitive performance in children born during the pandemic. A need exists to reconsider mask mandates. https://www.cell.com/heliyon/fulltext/S2405-8440(23)01324-5?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2405844023013245%3Fshowall%3Dtrue With additional data now coming out regarding the toxic chemical exposure from the materials used to make the masks: Titanium dioxide particles frequently present in face masks intended for general use require regulatory control https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35169246/ Just like the vaccines, it may be years before we have a full understanding of the long term effects of the mask and vaccine mandates.

Over a million Americans died with it. We'll never know how many actually died from it.

McCarthy said he would remove the $300 million for Ukraine currently in the Pentagon appropriations bill and hold a separate vote on the funding.“It would be out and voted on by itself,” McCarthy said when asked about the Ukraine aid in the Pentagon appropriations bill.

I don't have your answer, but you may want to specify whether it has to qualify to hold your 400/800K immigration moolah.

I think the scientific term is "Derangement Syndrome". Edit: And I've always wondered who would object to Making America Great Again?

She is his SISTER not his daughter ! Sister, daughter, it doesn't matter. Why would you hold her responsible when she hasn't been around in 9 years? SDS. The first "S" stands for Shinawatra.

Hey, it may go that way under a dedicated vote on the topic (though I hope not). But at least nobody will be able to duck responsibility by claiming they always hated that part, but voted for the bill as a whole.

Those are Aid Commitments. Kinda like all NATO countries committed to spending 2% of GDP on defense... Does anyone have a link for how much has actually been spent?

So what, exactly, is undemocratic about stripping that spending out of a bill and voting on it separately?

Putin never wanted Kiev, Karkiv, or Kherson. He went after Kiev and Karkiv in an attempt to scare Zelensky into fleeing to one of his many ill gotten mansions around the world. Kherson is on the wrong side of the Dnieper. Have a look at CNN's map(s) Lots of pink and very little blue in the 4 oblasts that Putin promised to "liberate". That's pretty much what Putin has. He's stated that's all he wants, so is it any surprise they're not expanding west? Ukraine isn't getting Russia out of that pink area without NATO boots on the ground, and that means dead Brits, dead Germans, dead Americans and probably WW3. They just don't have enough soldiers, no matter how much money the west throws at them. (sans Poland, because they're done...) https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2023/09/world/ukraine-war-counteroffensive-maps-guide-dg/ https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2023/08/06/Kremlin-says-it-only-wants-Ukrainian-territories-included-in-Russian-constitution

You can buy one on Orbitz and cancel for free within 24 hours. At least those are their published T&C's. I've never cancelled one to find out.

I'm only relaying my recent experience. Believe me or don't. Doesn't make a bit of difference to me.

I've never turned off my phone. I just don't use it to answer calls or take photos in the queue. I've pulled it out and looked at it a couple of times when the IO asked me how long I'd be staying, because it has my itinerary. But I've never had to show it to them to prove my outbound flight.

Asking out of curiosity, and because I don't know the answer. Not to make a judgement... Is there any risk of being charged with a crime if it comes to light that you're using a false residence address for banking or (especially) for NHS purposes or for other benefits, as recommended by several guys on here?

I bought Tramadol at Boots last week. Walk in, no prescription at all. Just had to put my name on a list of people who purchased it. Underneath several completely illegible signatures of others who had bought it. I don't remember the nice lady asking to see if the name matched my passport... I do have one script that can only be filled at a hospital, so your point is valid. Just not the details, if my experience was any indicator.

I don't guess it hurts that they're importing millions of future voters whose demographic has demonstrated a tendency to vote Blue... Instead of taking their chances with immigrants of a much higher education level and earning capability from, for example, Thailand. Or Malaysia. Or India. Or the Phils. But they'd probably be more likely to vote Red, and we can't have that. If the USA has a population problem, wouldn't it make more sense to open up and let in a lot more college educated and/or highly skilled people, even if we had to pay the $750 airfare to get them in? That's a whole lot cheaper than the $2000+ a month we're paying in bennies for families with no specialized skills and likely to stay on the dole for a looooong time. I'm all for increasing legal immigration. But the US is attractive enough that we can be very selective about who qualifies. And still get millions of highly skilled people who would give their eyeteeth to come. Or we can throw the southern border wide open and let just anyone in.

I can see where they'd want to know where you just came from, and what time your flight arrived. And if you had a boarding pass for a flight that arrived 8 hours ago, I suspect they'd have some questions... I've always just handed my passport and boarding pass to the IO.

As I said above, for me it's been a crapshoot. Sometimes I've been asked for it, sometimes not. If the flight was the first leg of a R/T ticket on the same airline, not surprisingly they already knew I had an exit ticket. It's also related to the type of visa. If you have a long stay visa, obviously they don't need to see an exit flight within 30 days. BTW, same with the 20,000 baht (equivalent). Some asked to see it. Some didn't. One asked if I had it, but didn't even ask to see it. YMMV. Do what you want, but at your own risk. I've also seen people get declined, step to the side and buy an onward ticket on their phone. Then all was good.

If you haven't snapped to the fact that "major news sources" are about as biased as RT, there's no use having a discussion. We'll never agree, nor convince each other. At least RT holds it out as an opinion piece. The MSM publishes it as if it's gospel. But includes words like "disproven" and "disgraced", when very often, neither is factual.

I'm not so sure it's been delegated. Rather, they're protecting their own interest because they're responsible for the expense of taking anyone back who isn't allowed in by immigration. Plus a hefty fine. In my own cases this year, it's been a crapshoot. About half the time, I'm asked to show 20,000 baht (equivalent) and not quite every time, asked to prove an onward flight. Not 100%, but often enough that I won't show up at the departure check-in without both. You may be right, it may be delegated. But in years past, I've also seen a lot of stories of immigration themselves asking for proof if they encounter a passenger that they don't like the looks of. (I hope my grammar teachers will forgive me) Edit: BTW, so far this year, nobody has asked me to show a hotel booking. Did that requirement go by the wayside, or was that a figment of my imagination?

So you like the echo chamber. Fine. I don't.

+1 I have been asked for both of those on various occasions this year. Never by immigration, but by the airline before boarding to BKK. I'm a US citizen, entering with no visa.

I didn't do it for the locals. I enjoy kayaking and especially kayak fishing. Also needed no-impact upper body exercise after my heart surgery. Best thing I could find close to home was renting canoes at Lumpini and QSNCC parks. No fishing allowed in either. But paddling around gets monotonous, so I looked for a way to make it more challenging. Best I could come up with was chasing down litter. Some of the recycling ladies actually got upset with me until they figured out I wasn't muscling into their turf, by giving it away when I landed at the dock. My rule was I didn't pick up bottles already on the shore, and I only picked up man made crap. No fronds, or other natural trash. BTW, no canoes or kayaks for rent last few times I went to QSNCC, and Lumpini now rents kayaks in addition to those goofy amusement park canoes and duck looking paddle boats.