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 The OP is a "nothing burger", and quite pointless.

The answer is that nobody, outside of the Kremlin possibly, knows.

A more useful article might have been to put forward the top runners

and riders for President, and detail their credentials, and, more

especially in view of the subject line, their respective political instincts

or leanings in respect of Thailand.

Did we learn anything useful from the OP? Nope!

10 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

The sheer fact that every country on the planet deliberately destroyed the economy for now and a generation ahead is clear signs to get on with life. The destruction far outweighs the disease

You would need to elucidate for a dummy like me.

The GDP of many countries has grown beyond the point of where they were at the

outbreak of Covid.

Where are these deliberately destroyed economies for now and a generation ahead and what is your reasoning?

What am I missing?

I have used Melatonin for a great number of years. 

I have never felt strongly that it helped my sleep.

It moderates one's internal body clock and is often prescribed for jet lag.

It is a prescription medicine in many countries.

I believe the biggest benefit to be for the elderly's mental acuity. As one

gets older, so the natural production of HGH (human growth hormone)

declines, to just about zero eventually.

Melatonin spurs the production of HGH, helping to prompt alertness and

sharpness. At 77 years old, I firmly believe my brain and mind remain

in top shape. 

Today, following a rush of blood to the (big) head, I abandoned a

long-standing rule and scrolled through the drivel written by the

self-promoting, self-described "journalist" calling himself rooster.

Fatuous nonsense would be my best description of the the diatribe

du jour.

No more!

Countries morph, move on, over time. I visited the USA in the 60's - NYC and Florida.

The people were open, friendly, hospitable and kind. Taxi drivers were fun; cops were

approachable, easy-going and evidencing a good sense of humour.

Perhaps not much has changed in rural America, but the big cities, like Gotham, are

tough-going for large swathes of the population these days, and unable to be faced with

a stoic smile, unlike in the days of the Great Depression or World War II.

So much has changed, much of it for the worse, irreversibly so, in America and the world at large.

Nostalgia isn't what it used to be!

A bit of synchronicity here for me today.

Earlier, I was dwelling on the opening lines of Rupert Brooke's "The Soldier", when, later,

I came upon this "Special Feature", which resonated somewhat.

Being British-born, I find the poem below much more evocative and decided to share it in

full.

Brits will no doubt relate to it; other foreigners will understand the meaning and adapt

it to their own circumstances, possibly.

To sell or not to sell is not really the question at all. It is next to impossible to time the market, or to guess what exchange rates will be in the future.

Better to dollar cost average going in, taking whatever is on offer.

The recent 0.75bp increase in the FedFunds rate should have strengthened the DXY, to the detriment of gold (XAU) and Bitcoin. Yet both have gained quite well over the past few days. My point being that neither of these assets performed as one would have conventionally expected. Short-sellers of both will have lost money.

Once the CCP relaxes shut-downs and lockdowns of its 1.3bn people (and counting),

due to enforced Covid restrictions, Thailand will have a bottomless well of tourists to

keep dipping into. I believe the Thai government has one eye on this enormous potential

on the doorstep, which will again be unlocked at some stage, and can be somewhat

blasé about the future of tourism for the country as a money-spinner and foreign-

exchange earner. 

Tourists from other countries will simply be the cherry on the top of the sundae.

The WHO, in their wokeness, are very concerned that people the world over

will equate the name "monkey-pox" with Africans, and have put forward

a proposal that the name or designation be changed. Any decision, however,

would seem to be pending at the moment.

I had cataracts removed and monofocal intra-occular lenses implanted, ten years ago. I don't

know what my corrected vision is, but it's pretty good. I read, watch tv and drive without any

problem whatsoever, and the surgery has been absolutely trouble-free. I am 77 years old.

The ophthalmologist cautioned, before I went ahead with the procedure, that there is a

failure rate of around 7%. I thought it was a chance worth taking, and have been thankful

since, with the results.

Prior to the surgery, I had struggled with severe cloudy vision, so my only regret was that I

hadn't gone ahead with the cataract removal, earlier.

Early in the day, a blind man walks past a fishmonger's and calls out, "Morning, girls"! . . .

For those on the forum who rushed to research the name "Patel" in order to 

observe that the name originates in Gujurat, I will point out that I once worked

alongside a certain Mr Bhikubai Patel, from India, who told me his name 

meant peasant or farmer. That's good enough for me!

The same respondents, however, in their desire to set me on the correct path,

totally missed the point of my post.

A person travelling on a false/ fake/ forged passport of any nation - Britain,

France, Germany, Thailand, even, cannot be attributed with any certainty as

being British, French, German or Thai!

If you want to argue with my last paragraph, go ahead.

If Mr Patel (it means farmer or peasant, in Hindi), holds a false passport,

then how can he be described as British in the OP? Fake British, maybe . . .

When interviewed, Mr Svetakov said, "no one knows the roubles I have seen" . . .

Quote: "Gold will not go as low as bitcoin, so it's still a good investment".

Not really sure what this means. 

Both of these assets are volatile. Ten years ago, Bitcoin was trading at below six US dollars

per coin. Today, it is in excess of $20k, having reached a high of close to $70k a few months

ago.

Ten years ago, gold was trading at 1585.00 per fine ounce, today at $ 1707.00. It reached a

high of $ 2074.00 in August, 2020. However, in ten years it has essentially gone nowhere.

Now, one can cite various arguments as to which one of these assets, one physical, the

other crypto, is better, and depending probably on what your reasons are for favouring

one over the other, given a choice.

Arguably, though, what would seem clear is that the days of gold being seen as a long-term

store of value are probably numbered, and perhaps more especially because of the era of

high inflation which appears to have set in for the western world particularly.

Bitcoin, especially when the next halving event comes around, even in inflationary times, is

likely to go a lot higher (but don't hold me to this, Lol)!

As globalism descends into its nadir, there is less and less incentive for political blocs

or individual nations to pull together to achieve common goals. Each is defending its

own turf in a new dog-eat-dog world unfolding before our eyes; a case of

survival of the fittest. Blinken is trotting out a theme which many don't, or never have,

really subscribed to.

The new world order does not allow for statesman-like visionaries to hold sway.

Many countries, and including the larger power-blocs, are led by inward-looking dwarfs,

(not to cast aspersions on the vertically-challenged in society), who cannot see beyond

their ego and grip on their own power-base. A common theme is a reluctance of such

leaders to relinquish hard-won power (lots of fatuous speaches, hand-shaking and baby-kissing).  We must not expect the US leadership to be any different, led, as it is, by a self-serving political hack.

The dynamics at play between rules-based order, or international laws-based order,

are unlikely to change for the foreseeable future, short of a world war.

In the latter scenario, if there is no outright winner, who is going to pick up the pieces

in a resultant power-vacuum?

I have traveled with Qatar Airways many times over the years.

In February, I bought a return ticket, the second leg of which (the return portion) I have

changed twice over the past 6 weeks.

Each time, I have paid zero for the upgrade, and, it seems, I am able to make further

flight changes, should I wish, at no additional cost, right up until 30th September.

I have always found Middle East airlines, including QR, to be of much better quality than

say, BA or Virgin, even though travel times are much longer due to stop-overs in the

hub country.

An added bonus is the hold-baggage allowance of 2 x 23kgs, around twice what most

other airlines allow.

For the record, I have never once had a gripe with Qatar Airways.

58 minutes ago, LaosLover said:

Google tells me that the term African American became popular in the early 90's, popularized by noted and frequent baby daddy, Jesse Jackson.

 

Black people in America are very tribal (no racism intended). American blacks do not listen to reggae. There's a big north/south divide. AA was a unifier and also a demand for respect. 

 

I grew up in a very Italian American neighborhood. Those nice people knew nothing of Renaissance painters, opera, or sauce that didn't have a head of garlic in it. You would have to poll approximately ten million Italian Americans to find one who could name the current prime minister of Italy.

 

Funny story, in the film GoodFella's there's a scene in where they're cooking in prison and one guy says you can't put garlic and onions in the same sauce. Many Italian Americans have repeated this back to me. But the director made it up. He's an Italian American.

 

Most so-called culture is made up. Partic in America. The term hillbilly was invented by a New York Jewish show biz agent. People where I live proudly call themselves hillbillies.

 

Being American means being joyously ignorant of the entire world, without singling anyone out specifically for ignoring. I recall a NY Post headline: Cinder Block Falls On Model's Head. And then a sub-headline, 50,000 die in Earthquake.

 

We don't know where in the world those people died. We only know for sure that they weren't that good looking.

 

 

Perhaps because of its vastness, or richness of local variety, the United States has long been seen to be particularly parochial. It has been my opinion that the majority of Americans would not be able to find Africa on a map (unless it was already identified as such). This would also apply to places such as Australia, China, Russia, and many others, in my view, and which the average European scholar, for example, would easily be able to identify.

8 minutes ago, CM Dad said:

What a stupid comment.  This man is enlightened.  What exactly do you mean with that silly term "woke"?

Enlightened. Woke. These terms have a "modernistic" ring about them.

Why try to pin a label on this man?

The values he espouses may be his world view, and ones he has held throughout his life! 

1 hour ago, VocalNeal said:

Anyone who has been to Laos knows they ask "race" on the visa application form.

 

My 6ft+ blond haired Dutch friend used to write "Master" and was never questioned.

Are you sure he wasn't German?

The protagonist in the video is entitled to articulate his viewpoint, as are we all, providing we don't live under a  censorial or totalitarian regime where

free speech is verboten. 

The fact that HE says he is angry doesn't make him "an angry white man", 

in my opinion.

I don't believe his message to be contentious in the slightest, whilst I do disagree with some of the things he is seemingly in favour of.

To me, his basic message is that of "live, and let live".

Who can argue with that?