impulse

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.

It is now.

Russians have a dog in the fight. Last time I checked, the US border still ended at the western shore of the Atlantic.

Or perhaps Ukraine should stop sending old men (because the youths are mostly spent) to the front lines to die in an already lost cause.

Sanctuary cities all over are declaring states of emergency when they receive less than 1% of their population in illegal immigrants. NYC metro area has about 18 million population. Adams says that receiving 100K illegal immigrants will destroy the city. That's a little over 1/2 of 1% of their population. Martha's Vineyard declared an emergency and called out the National Guard when they received 50. That's about 0.4% of their population. Under Biden, between 5.8 and 8 million illegals have crossed the border. That's between 1.7% and 2.4% of the US population. I'd say it's time for Dem cities (especially sanctuary cities) to suck it up and take their fair share of the burden, instead of leaving it to the border states. But the Dems don't need more voters in already Dem cities. So that ain't gonna happen.

A couple of hours before dusk, I'd head over to Lumpini and rent a canoe to paddle around, using a litter picker to pick up trash off the water. Not so much for picking litter as to make paddling more interesting and hone my paddling skills. After an hour or so, I'd paddle back to the dock and give one of the recycling ladies the trash I picked up, for them to sell. Then buy a water and find a nice bench with a good view of the joggers going by. Used to do the same at the park by Queen Sirikit Convention Center, but that doesn't seem to have come back after the construction shutdown. In either location, a constructive way to spend an evening and I met a lot of nice people... One of the keys to staying sober (and being happy about it) is to expand your network of friends who don't live to drink. Not necessarily tea-totalers, but people who have a life outside the bars. And nothing vested in sucking you back in.

$325 million... I wonder how many poor Ukrainian kids' lives that buys, to get tossed into the meat grinder. Biden will fund the folly, down to the last Ukrainian.

Of course I can smell the borscht. Just like Grandma used to make when I was a kid. But I can also smell the cow paddies when I tune into Fox, and smell the smoke that CNN tries to blow up my butt. I don't want to live in an echo chamber where all I get is one side of a discussion. Even if I vehemently disagree with their interpretation of the facts, it's good to see what facts the different outlets do present (and which they leave out). Also good to see how they analyze what they've laid out, if only to understand an adversary.