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rickudon

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Everything posted by rickudon

  1. Israel has killed more civilians in Gaza than any other war in the last 20 years. Over 40,000 mainly verified deaths, with some estimates that as many as 10,000 more are buried under the rubble. 70% women and children. US health workers who have worked in Gaza estimate that starvation and disease have killed even more - maybe over 60,000 (mainly infants and young children. Another 5,000 have died due to lack of medical care. Hardly a proportional response.
  2. Very dubious. A sibling 36 years younger - possible, but unlikely unless 2 mothers, A daughter of 57 years of age? so she had her at 64? That would be a record!
  3. Start learning Mandarin or Russian, the new order. Thanks Trump.
  4. Well, we cannot shoot them .... but treat them like a resource, to be mined and monetised.... 1. make illegal entry a crime, fine 2,000 GBP. 2. detain illegals until asylum status is decided. Charge them for their keep. 3. provide work. labour battalions, let them pay their way. 4. no benefits for 10 years, for ALL migrants. 5. They have to pay for right to remain status, like legal migrants, but must pay off debts first. 6. can ask for a ticket back to home country at any time. 7. If illegals refuse to work, they will never be released from detention, and they will only get the minimum for survival. 8. Illegals will only be allowed to live in defined areas until they pay off all their debts. I agree that the UK is full. We need to dissuade migrants, unless they are people with skills we actually need. If we allow migration to continue at the current rate, UK will see quality of life decline and environment degraded.
  5. We know why. But why did Israel kill 43,000 Palestinians in retaliation, destroy most of Gaza and deny aid of all kinds to refugees. Also sabotage ceasefire talks, and spread misinformation (from Netanyahu's own office). Not to mention what has been done to the West bank and Lebanon. Also chilling to listen to a Jew who said we should resettle Gaza, and send the Palestinians to Europe..... I think all that is pretty much Ethnic cleansing. What Israel has been encouraging (at a snails pace) for the last 30-50 years.
  6. Unwra has /had over 3,000 staff, mainly recruited within Gaza. It is impossible to prevent Hamas sympathies within it. Maybe Israel will pay for 3,000 mainly Arabic speaking non Hamas affiliated staff? Obviously impossible. Meanwhile Israel starves, kills and ill treats hundreds of thousands of Palestinians (and has done for years) with only minimal protests from the western world. Now, how would you react if on the receiving end? Without justice, this war will never end.
  7. All countries use money these days. it may be paper, digital or whatever. Reality - if all these currencies become useless, so will gold to a large degree. Back to barter. Food, weapons, tools and other materials will be what you need. Cannot eat gold or make a decent weapon out of it. The OP does not take into account interest on money. Adjusted for inflation, My GBP with interest when converted to Baht buys me about the same as 10 years ago. My pension goes up nearly every year. Gold doesn't grow, current high value just due to war and other lesser conflicts, will probably loose a third of its value if all the international conflicts stopped.
  8. Next target, Netanyahu. Just might end the middle east wars.
  9. ESPECIALLY Aseannow. More nutjobs than Bedlam.
  10. USA has been drinking the Israel Kool-aid for a 100 years. Time to actually see the issues from the other sides point of view. A more balanced approach is needed.
  11. CD is the miserable one, hoping everyone else is even more miserable. My first marriage in the UK didn't end up well, but had 2 kids and stayed until they left home; I might have stayed longer because i had my dream home, but the ex-wifes financial incompetence (and nagging) meant it had to be sold to pay off the mortgage. I just so happened to also be made redundant (at age 55) a few weeks before moving, and knew getting another job would be hard. Downsized, mortgage free and just enough income so that work was not essential. Younger son left for university 3 years later, i told wife to divorce me and moved to Thailand. Intended having some fun, but it was short lived, as found a really good girl quickly (actually, 2 but had to choose). She was just happy to get the buddhist wedding and the promise of support, never asked for formal marriage. But, she quickly became pregnant and i was a Dad again. Then the visa rules changed, so needed the Marriage visa to stay - only had a modest pension which would last me until State pension kicked in, but not enough for retirement. So, got married as good for daughters future as well. Not regretted it. Bars not really my thing, not a big drinker. I had my daughter, my fish ponds and vegetable garden and computer to keep me busy. 10 years later have slowed down a lot, but still desire the wife! I chose carefully, and do not regret it. She never stopped me going out, just wants to know where. Could life be better? well a nymphomaniac Mia noi on the side who just wants the sex and costs me only peanuts would have been nice, but i am a realist! Only gripe - now my friends are going one by one - dead, left Thailand, no longer mobile. Would like a few new friends in my social life, but family WILL look after me.
  12. Carbon capture and storage as a technology is a dead end. Every plant set up so far has been expensive, inefficient and uses up lots of energy to capture the carbon (and where's that energy coming from?). The only efficient way is to enhance natural/geological processes which capture carbon - i.e. plants or weathering of rocks. Let nature work for you.
  13. Do not worry about the rising population, category 5 hurricanes, floods and droughts will soon cull the excess. Or we could just have a nuclear war, even faster - and nuclear winter will reverse the warming!
  14. Odd that Israel keeps assassinating people in Iran, and expect no comeback.
  15. Was he drunk when he made that claim of dying for Putin? Has had an issue with alcohol for a long time.
  16. I would like to know why a group of Thai workers were in a military closed zone. Bet there were few if any Israelis working there. i guess Thai lives are of little importance to Israel (as are Palestinian lives).
  17. 2 biggest reasons - affordability and companionship. having got divorced at 59, little chance of much choice when it comes to companionship in the UK; already had interested females to choose from in Thailand. Leaving the house to ex-wife (thus preserving my pension) allowed me to live in Thailand, when i would have been basically homeless in the UK. Weather - not a big deal, cool season is OK for 4 months, rest of year too hot during the day. Other reasons - can have garden to potter about in, and my own fishing ponds. Thai language - i have poor hearing, so cannot get the Thai tones and was never good at languages (although i have tried to learn about 10). Can say a few essential phrases but gave up trying to LEARN the language about 7 years ago. The Thai alphabet doesn't help. Culture - do not like Plaa raa or chilli, so although i do eat some Thai food it is limited. Being back in UK for a couple of months, have to say Home cooking in UK is a lot tastier (not counting fast food); and Thais just cannot do bakery well. I am not a Buddhist, Temples are Ok for an hour or 2, but that is the limit. If i was a lot richer i doubt i would be here. i did contemplate alternatives but my pension was the limiting factor. Back in the UK now i find it incredibly expensive, prices have doubled, pension not so much. I have been contemplating the last year if i should go back to UK for long periods (pre-Covid did every year for a couple of months) but realise now that unless i win the lottery it isn't going to happen. maybe a few more trips to UK to see my children and then, for health reasons, do not expect to be able to do so in about 3 or 4 years. Then i will stay in Thailand (or just possible UK) until i die.
  18. As usual, 25% of the replies assumed it was an EV fire. If they actually read the original post, they would have kept there mouths shut.
  19. No, Iran has only retaliated to Israeli Assassinations.
  20. Actually 50 military helicopters where mobilised to do search and rescue and deliver aid. Read somewhere on a news site.
  21. Electronic devices to tamper with electricity meters - i wonder how that works?
  22. If Trump hadn't cancelled the Iran nuclear deal, the more moderate factions might have prevailed. instead, it gave carte blanche to the extremists to obtain control and restart their nuclear program, to which sanctions have little impact. The populace may suffer from the sanctions, but the country gets enough of its oil bought by Asian countries to keep up its military programs. It is not impossible they already have a working nuclear bomb. Expertise could be bought from Russia, China, North Korea or Pakistan if they paid enough. Iran was (maybe surprisingly) among the first to develop drones and use them on the battlefield, doing so in the Iran/Iraq war. But volume production was stifled by a lack of parts. During the last decade, trade with China has allowed Iran to develop a substantial drone industry. It may not be cutting edge, but the volume is there and they are cheap - cheaper than SAM's to shoot them down. Also, their missile tech is getting better too. Israel and the western press are telling you that nearly all those missiles were shot down in the last attack, but that is debatable. Up to 9 hits on one airfield were filmed by people close by. Also, mainly military targets were aimed at. Those that landed elsewhere where probably intercepted short of their targets. Iran doesn't want open war, Netanyahu does. Peace is achieved by negotiation, not by being the last man standing - because there are always survivors who are radicalised by the suffering they and their families have endured. To get peace, in return you have to give something up.
  23. I once caused an incident at Heathrow airport. My hand luggage was scanned (going to departure) and they kept looking and looking. I moved so i could see their xray screen, and sure enough, looked like a handgun. Out of the corner of my eyes i saw doors open behind and men coming out.... i was asked to open the bag. 2 very large men were about 2 metres behind me. In the bag, was my collapsible umbrella and a metal spectacle case at a 45 degree angle to it. They were rather disappointed.
  24. Conspiracy theories sometimes contain a grain of truth - the rest is just fantasy. Weather modification? Not said how much rain you can cause with a laser, but the actual volume of air affected by a laser beam would be very small, probably you just get a 5 minute localised shower. Reality? MAGA depends on lies sold by cynical shysters to the slow witted. Typically those who do not have the IQ to see through the lies. Make America Gullible Again!
  25. Whenever a ceasefire gets close, Israel assassinates a Hamas/Hezbollah/Iranian Revolutionary guard leader. Coincidence? Netanyahu needs the war to continue.
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