mfd101

99 years does seem excessive. For practical purposes (as opposed to symbolism) you might as well not have a limit.

Buttigieg on 57% is interesting.

Medvedev seemed quite a reasonable person 20-odd years ago when he was first PM then Putin's 'deputy' as president of Russia. More recently he seems like a nut case.

So is Qdenga available in Thailand yet? in rural Thailand (Isaan)?

During my working life I used to have 5 or 6 espresso double shots a day. Now in old age I have 3. It's great to know how wonderful it is for my health.

Mostly a vote-against rather than a vote-for. But in any case a nice example of how, when more than 2 parties are competing seriously, first-past-the-post produces a seriously out-of-kilter result (in this case some 60%+ of seats from some 30%+ of votes). Time the UK modernized itself with preferential voting.

So the former police chief has just made a whole lot of heavyweight enemies, starting with Thaksin & the current PM ...

Barely readable. If they're going to roll it out to all offices, they might consider having it translated into English.

Yes, same here today. Very unusual in my experience. Transferring from Oz NAB to Wise yesterday went thru instantly. Wise to BKKBk went at usual time around 0930 here this morning. usually at BKKBk at 1402. Still no sign as at now 1710.

And what government anywhere in the world actually ever 'cut expenses' (ie reduced the budget for the next year to less than available revenue and stuck to it)? Hasn't happened in living memory. Too hard. The squeals - ignorant & hypocritical - from the great unwashed (previously complaining about their taxes) would be more than any politician could bear.

Saw Palmetto? Sold as 'Sametto' in Thailand. Available at every pharmacy.

Yes, early stage. Whence the need for fairly strict diet control (which I'm usually but not always reasonably good at).

I entirely agree. Saw palmetto (sold in Thailand as 'Sametto') certainly helps. And the change in diet as mentioned here is REALLY good. My personal experience (now age 75) is that if I'm strict on my diet as above - low low sugar is the key - then I have no problems and get up only once a night. But if I overindulge - my b/f likes to bring me chocolate or sweet cakes which I find hard to resist - then the next day I may have to piss every 15 or 20 minutes and up 3 times in the night. Then back to normal the following day. Can't help noticing - with this example and so many other health issues - how people get all caught up in the medical processes and drug taking, when quite simple changes in diet and physical exercise can cure and prevent a long list of ailments caused by 'modern living'.

The exception to your colour-coded theory of migration is Australia, which is 'green' because of the post-covid surge of migrants, currently running at over 500,000 p.a. instead of the norm of the last 20 years around 250,000 p.a. A significant number of these are tertiary students who later elect to stay and become skilled workers in a (mostly) booming economy. Australia is thus probably the only country on your map that is 'green' because of immigration rather than birthrates (which are the same low as those of other 'Western' countries).

The exception to your colour-coded theory of migration is Australia, which is 'green' because of the post-covid surge of migrants, currently running at over 500,000 p.a. instead of the norm of the last 20 years around 250,000 p.a. A significant number of these are tertiary students who later elect to stay and become skilled workers in a (mostly) booming economy. Australia is thus probably the only country on your map that is 'green' because of immigration rather than birthrates (which are the same low as those of other 'Western' countries).

The West's 'delusional fantasies' are standing up for the things we say we believe in - self-determination, freedom, democracy. If you're right about Putin's perceptions, how come he hasn't nuked Ukraine yet? or France? or the UK? or the US?

Supporting Ukraine's freedom and right to exist as an independent country is NOT the same thing as attacking Russia. Even if Putin tries to claim that it is.

Mmmm, so the nth-west basically ...

Fairly soon - as its population begins to shrink - Thailand (its people as a whole, led by an enlightened government) is going to have to transform its whole approach to life. Living behind high cultural, linguistic and legal barriers, shut off from the outside world, will no longer work. Change is already happening but very slowly and without explicit acknowledgement because of the dinosaur social arrangements. What Thais - and other Third World countries - will have to construct is immigration policies similar to those of 'Western' countries: importing skilled & high-tech workers to become citizens and drive a new economy with new population & cultural structures that reward work skills not birthright. But none of this can happen in a corrupt feudal state that regards all non-Thais as outsiders to be treated with suspicion and complex bureaucratic barriers.

Firing squad at dawn would be more effective.

BKK is famous for - or is becoming famous for - inferior infrastructure (roads, footpaths, personal safety ... ).

Farage is more interesting & amusing. And at least he's part of the C21st. R-M is just a ridiculous anachronism.

I see Rees-Mogg lost his seat. Oh dear! I am so sad. And Liz Ms Trust. Ha ha.

Mmmmm, well clearly the Tories deserved to lose. The future is yet to be revealed.

Have you ever observed the workers on roads & footpaths in Thailand? I doubt they have ever driven a motor vehicle in their lives. And, as I rediscover regularly with my peasant family here, lack of education of any kind does not help in imagining yourself in someone else's shoes.