rickudon

Who got the cash? USA just as corrupt as Thailand.

Russia doesn't want any EU or NATO troop in Ukraine, because after they (with Trump's help, peace in our time) get the Donbas they will be ready to invade again with no Ukrainian defences in the way. Remember Sudetenland. Also this is Putin's 3rd invasion of Ukraine since 2013.

Mass starvation? how would we know, as Israel tries to stop journalists getting in. They bombed a hospital today and among others, killed 3 more journalists. Where do you think Gaza gets it food? there are aerial photos showing intensively cultivated fields which are now just parched brown or bulldozed; the farm buildings are all destroyed. Nearly all the fishing boats in the ports have been destroyed. Most of the water supply network has been blown up (IDF soldiers filmed themselves doing this). Food aid has been restricted for nearly 2 years, and was at near zero for 3 months. And of course, what food there is is not equally distributed. Many are too far from those wonderful GHF sites (all four of them) or to sick to reach them, where every day people trying to get food are shot. Israel denies starvation, over a hundred aid and medical charities say otherwise, also the UN and many countries. Israel is blatantly lying.

Easy to say, not easy to implement, and what would be the consequences. Net zero - how much has actually been spent. And what are we going to do, import more gas, coal and oil - because we no longer have much in the way of exploitable reserves left. Nuclear power is now the most expensive source of electricity. Wind and solar ARE the future. And maybe your eyes and ears are shut to the news of what climate change is doing - more droughts, more floods, bigger storms and more wildfires in the world. More coastal erosion - in East Anglia the rate of erosion is now up to 50 times greater than was predicted. Cut foreign aid - it has been cut. Where do you think the money for housing asylum seekers and illegal migrants comes from? You may not be aware that it is planned that very few new foreign aid projects will be funded in the future, current projects will be funded only in as far as they are currently planned. End illegal immigration - you are aware that this is only about 5% of all migration. How will you stop it? Sink the boats, drown the refugees? Sending them back is also a massive legal and logistical problem. Reduce the size of the state - every government for years has tried to cut the number of people it employs, but always find that the bureaucracy gets more and more inefficient if you cut it too much. I suppose we could scrap the NHS, police, state education - is that realistic? We have already scrapped most of the military. Bring back the workhouse!

you on Putin's bankroll?

Call Putin's bluff. Suggest that the Baltic will be closed to Russian ships, due to security concerns. Could also sell a couple of submarines to Ukraine, to use in the black sea against Russian ships.

He has hit the nail on the head. Canada geese, going feral in the UK have turned many an attractive park lake into a green sludgy mess by defecating in the water, and any grass nearby. That is, assuming these geese actually multiply.

Lots of greening up required to offset the burning. Also, these days water is more of a limiting factor for plant growth

More CO2..... in the future, you will be able to choose between forest fire tourism, floods and heatstroke!

Putin is using the Sudetenland gambit - demand the most heavily defended part of Ukraine to 'end the war' make peace and then 6 months later re-invade the now weakened state. Putin also insists that HE will provide the security guarantees and that no NATO troops within Ukraine's border would be allowed. We know how 'peace in our time!' worked out. And if Putin then went on to dismember Europe one state at a time, what will Trump do? We know the answer, TACO.

I do not use Wise since about 6 years after having 2 transfers fail (my UK building society didn't like them). I have a UK fee free credit card (Clarity) which i have used for about 10 years here for my transfers - I do a counter withdrawal (to avoid ATM fees) once or twice a month and get the Mastercard exchange rate, which compares well with Wise once you factor in Wise's fee which is additional to the exchange rate they show. Easy for me as i live 15 minutes from a bank which will do the counter withdrawals for free. Not all banks do. Also not convenient for those who live a long way from a bank. Also, you need to maintain a UK bank and an address (always advisable in case of unforeseen emergencies).

Israel still control the border crossings. Egypt would require permission to send in aid, which due to the blockade, is presumably denied.

That is only half the problem. 19 million registered workers - 50 million other Thais not registered. Not all of them are children or pensioners etc, Probably 20 million work in the informal economy. Tax department would need to maybe treble in size......

Obnoxious post. Not one iota of truth in it. Is everyone starving in Gaza? Probably not, but most are. Since the start of this particular war, Israel has committed numerous, calculated, humanitarian abuses - and not just in Gaza. Historically, ethnic cleansing in Palestine started a 100 years ago - at first peacefully, by financial inducements, but ever since WW2, by force and repression. Regrettably with the help of the USA, which helped arm the Jews . USA pressurised other countries to support the creation of Israel, giving them an unfair share of the land, which helped provoke the war after Israel's creation in 1948. Ever since, the Middle-east has been destabilized by Israel's thirst for land. Not just Palestinian land - also In Lebanon and Syria. The right wing, nationalist Jews want to recreate the biblical Israel. You may think Israel is the wests friend. Do not be so sure about that. They also have close ties to Russia.

I am on marriage extension, immigration visited first time, 11 years ago, never since.

A quick question about flooding and EVs ..... my village and some surrounding areas experience some flooding every year, up to about 30cm deep. How well are EV batteries protected from water? ( I am thinking next car will be an EV).

War with Cambodia seems to have been good for the baht? I would have thought not. Or maybe UK government is just doing badly as usual.

My daughter was born in 2011, I was not married at the time, but was named on Thai birth certificate. Applied for UK passport for her in 2023, just an application, no biometrics needed. Just my experience.

Depends where you are. In Udon Thani, we had a lot of rain in May-to July, ponds all in overflow. Now its August, height of the wet season, and in the last week just one short shower.... been looking for the watering cans that were not needed once in 3 months!

We live in hope....

The Israeli troll farm got onto this thread early, with there denials and misinformation. There is a reason why Israel denies most Journalists access to Gaza - because it would undermine their lies about what they are doing - Israel always - DENY DENY DENY Only works the first 100 times

Are you named on the Thai birth certificate? If not, hard to prove right to UK passport.

I am on Duodart - side effects for me have been minimal, Urinary frequency slightly better, main benefit is much improved urinary flow; emptying bladder still a bit of a problem, but maybe slightly better. Sex still possible.

In the UK lived just far enough from London so that i would survive the first strike. After that i would have headed west (prevailing wind would with luck keep fallout at bay for a time). Here in Thailand probably unlikely to experience a direct hit, fallout may get me, depends on how many bombs drop. I try to keep enough stuff to survive most disasters, we have land, food and fish, can keep going for a while. Pitcairn? You would never get there after the war started. If by some miracle you did, you would probably be considered as food....

Maintenance loans are higher for lower income households, but just means the student debt ends up higher. Most free grants no longer exist. Only advantage of student loans is that they get written off after 30 years, when you are 65, or die. Interest rates are also relatively high, but varies on when you started university, It has been projected that maybe as much as 50% of loans will never be fully repaid. University is a career choice but no longer a guarantee of financial benefit.