jas007

According to Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-11-19/ukraine-carries-out-first-atacms-strike-in-russia-rbc-ukraine

As for Gaetz? It's sort of a balancing act. Many people seem to think he has done a good job in his official capacity, and for that reason are willing to turn the page on any past transgressions in his personal life. As for Trump wanting to "destroy the justice department and avenge himself"? Have you not been paying attention to what they did to Trump? I won't rehash all that, but there are some bad actors that need to be rooted out. Most of the people in those agencies weren't involved and do a good job from day to day. Rooting out the bad actors will not "destroy" anything.

Just out of curiosity, what do you think I;m being optimistic about? Or are you being faceitious?

I'm far from "happy" about any of this mess. And I certainly didn't have anything to do with any of it. Ukraine was used. The country was destroyed and its soldiers sent to die for a corrupt regime that received billions in weapons and cash. And I'm sure you know about all the bankers lined up to "rebuild" Ukraine. Much Ukrainian farmland has already been sold, I believe, and trillions of dollars in natural resources are seemingly up for grabs. Of course, stopping the war will end those aspirations if there Ukrainians are able to retain what's left of their country. And that's what makes the situation so dangerous. The warmongers will do anything to "win."

You're right about the rule of law and its ability to make America a great place over time. I think you misunderstand Trump, though. If anything, I think Trump and his cabinet want to restore the rule of law. Unfortunately for him, he seems to be up against some of the most evil criminals the world has ever known. And they aren't going to just give up and go away quietly. So he might not achieve much in his remaining term.

I'm an American living in the Naklua area of Pattaya. As for the world oil supply? It isn't rocket science. Any substantial increase in the world oil supply will likely affect oil prices. Russia's existing customers would benefit from cheaper oil. Russia would see less revenue. None of this occurs in a vacuum, though, but will unfold over time. And yet the war is at a crucial moment. It will be over before any "drill baby drill" benefit kicks in. And don't forget the world Economic situation which is also at a critical juncture, of sorts. Wars must be financed, no? The USA is on the verge of bankruptcy and is about to have a new president and a cost cutting surge the likes of which has not been seen in recent history. It cannot afford WW III. Germany is broke. The UK is broke. France is broke. And the European NATO countries have militaries that can't do much independently over an extended period of time. Can those countries using fiat currencies continue to borrow money? Perhaps. Then again, maybe not for too much longer. China is floundering., as is Japan. Mountains of debt. Anyway, it''s all over for Ukraine. Their best hope is to stop the hostilities and come to an agreement with Russia. Maybe they'll retain what's left of their country. You might not like the alternative.

The deliveries are said to begin in December and continue for a nubbier of months. I'm not sure Russia would consider drones to be an existential threat, but this escalation isn't going to end the war. It'll only make matters worse.

It's not about "fault." Just an observation of how it could play out. It's an outcome I'm sure nobody wants. One sure way to end up with that outcome, though, is for people to sit around playing the blame game.

Propaganda?? It's true. If it all happens, though we probably won't be around to argue about it.

Supposedly, the decisions have already been made in Russia. Zelensky won't have to attack "deep inside Russia" or attack the Kremlin to elicit a Russian response. Any attack on any part of Russia (apart perhaps, from a few "contested" areas) using long range missiles supplied by the US will be considered an act of war. An existential threat for Russia. The response is certain. The Pentagon knows this, but the idiot Neocons seemingly running the State Department are either exceedingly stupid or absolutely intent on triggering WW III. And to make matters worse, the NATO leadership has come out and openly stated that NATO forces themselves will be operating the missiles. We can only guess at what the Russians will target if Zelensky actually fires those missiles. Kiev could be flattened. There are US military bases all over the region. Large European cities. Paris, London, Berlin. Poland will be hit. I'm sure the European people don't want to die. They don't want a war. But the crazy people in charge over there? What are they smoking? Of course, judging by some of Trump's cabinet picks, we better hope that it's actually Trump calling the shots when and if he is inaugurated, otherwise, we'll still have trouble. Trump just wants the fighting to end, and he seems to want to cut US ties with NATO, so maybe the continental USA might not be an immediate target. Anyway, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near Europe right now.

My new Mac mini arrived today, a day early. The initial setup was a breeze, but it took me a while to fine tune it. Sort of aggravating. Apple keeps changing things around in the settings menu. Anyway, it's amazing what they can pack into such a small computer.

The US doesn't know. Some Neocons just think they know. Unfortunately, they're gambling with the lives of hundreds of millions of people. Escalating a war that can't be won is the epitome of stupidity.

Trump won the election, but he has yet to be inaugurated. So, something is up, for sure. There's no need to give Ukraine long range missiles at this point. The war has already been lost. What's the real motive?

You can absolutely bet that this escalation isn't really about Ukraine "winning" the war. There are ulterior motives. The Deep State will do anything to keep Trump from becoming president again. Anyway, perhaps Putin will show some restraint. None of this nonsense is necessary and Trump will surely find a way to end the fighting.

I'm pretty sure it's not that simple. These are precision weapons that require satellite use and addition infrastructure as part of the targeting process. Ukraine doesn't control any of that.

I've seen a few of Sabbatical's travel videos. They're pretty good. They're not political at all. Mostly, a guy that shows up in a new place and wants an adventure. He travels all over the world. I don't know what happened in Russia, but if he's out of there, that's that. Usually, the Russian YouTube travel videos are interesting. I follow a few Russian girls. All things considered, Russia looks like a nice place.

I'm 73 and retired from the USA. I haver Medicare A and B, and I pay the Part B premium from my Social Security Check. Maybe around $175 a month. That insurance is only good in the US. I also have BCBS (Geo Blue) here in Thailand based on prior federal employment. My share cost me around $375 a month, with the government picking up the remainder of the monthly premium. I think their share is around $750 a month. These rates will all increase in January. My share will then be about $424 a month. So, in total, one way or the other, my health insurance will cost almost $1500 USD a month. That's 50,000 baht plus. It's very good insurance, though. The inpatient GeoBlue in-patient hospital benefits are UNLIMITED. And that policy works all over the world. Fortunately for the insurance companies, I never really use the policies. I had one in-patient hospital stay recently in Bangkok for eye surgery. 471.00 baht. Otherwise, that's about it, other than cataract surgery back in the USA about eight years ago. Mostly, I don't think about any of this. And if I didn't have insurance, I would just self insure. I'm in good health, so far, and I try to stay that way.

Partisan people? I chalk it up to the fact that what used to be the Democratic Party turned into a bunch of extreme left wing idiots. They pushed a little too far. They pushed their extreme agenda in everyone's face and people woke up. They didn't have much choice. Other people were trying to take away their rights. Their right to free speech, their right to bear arms, their 4th Amendment rights, etc. And part of the left wing agenda was to stir the pot. Stir up trouble. Divide and conquer. Keep people conflicted and fighting each other while their country was being stolen by unelected globalists. And it worked, to a point. But the peeole finally saw through the propaganda. The left could no longer control the narrative. The legacy media was dying and the truth trickled out. Thank Elon Musk if you ever get the chance. The same thing is beginning to happen around the world. Europe. Japan. Australia, China. Slowly, people wake up and that's the end of the globalist agenda..

Peace deal between Russia and Ukraine? You can bet with almost 100% certainty that that will happen sooner rather than later. Trump wants it for sure, and Ukraine has already lost the war, in any event. It's over. If Ukraine wants to retain what's left of their country, they'll take the hint and make a deal. The only fly in the ointment would be the new Neocons Trump seems to have chosen to run US foreign policy. A big mistake, but nothing I can control. Anyway, we can only hope those people don't drag the US into a continuing war in Ukraine that can't be won.

Sounds like it might have been a good video!

Back in the US, I had a cable modem provider that capped my monthly usage at too gb before charging extra for each 10gb. Anyway, I had my TV on streaming TV or other services probably 12 hours a day. Sometimes I exceeded the 100 gb level. But another time, in another city with another provider, I was just using my phone as a hotspot and was streaming through that . I used gigabytes like you wouldn't believe. It was costing me big $$$. I'm not sure what the difference was.

I'm not going to read this entire thread but there's a lot of chatter on the internet about a "secret" Tump has about the election, including something about the Brunson case.

The seems weird. I'm not from the UK, but from the USA. Usually, when stuff is shipped from Amazon, Amazon takes care of the customs problem. One time, I didn't ever receive an item, bit it wasn't because of customs. And Amazon refunded my money.

Not if you also have a 30 year lease that's recorded. I guess ideally all this could be negotiated as part of the initial lease structure. Or, leave yourself an option to amend at a later date.

Don't misunderstand me. I enjoyed most of the jobs I've had. Good co-workers, for the most part, and the jobs were easy. Going to work was fun. But the work was nothing I ever had a passion for. Some people are lucky, and actually have that. Art, music, design, architecture.. They start from an early age and are able to be superstars in their field. I guess I rebelled against "the system" at an early age. I went through the motions, to be sure, but only as much as necessary. It all seemed so ridiculous. Years of schooling during which you're expected to pick a career. You're supposed to fight a niche, get a job, and not buck the system. That's no fun. Necessary, sometimes, but not necessarily rewarding.