Hanaguma

.........so no actual answers to very valid questions, then? Just feeble attempts at humour. But in all seriousness, I am not against EVs at all. But they are not the solution (yet). To put it simply, manufactuing an EV is far more damaging to the environment than manufactuing a gas powered car. There are also potential hazards due to the chemicals used. There are also political/social considerations as many of the major components of EVs are produced in countries with abhorrent human rights records. The hope is that, over time, that deficit will be made up and eventually the EV will, on a mile per mile basis, be more environmentally friendly. Again, that depends on how much electricity will be generated by more environmentally friendly means. At present in the US, about 75% of electricity is generated using fossil fuels. Makes it tough for the EV to make up the deficit. If/when the power grid becomes eco-friendly, the case for EVs will be stronger.

Absolutely not. I have never called Trump an "obviously decent man". He isn't. But the topic is Biden and the Democrats, not the former President. You and others don't seem capable of defending Biden's 'character' without reference to Trump. Classic whataboutery.

"If you take the vaccine you won't get sick" "I was appointed to Annapolis in 1965" "I was arrested at Mandels's funeral" "I graduated at the top of my law school class" "Neil Kinnock plagiarized ME" "My son died in Iraq" just off the top of my head.

Exactly! You are making my point for me, thanks.

She is wrong. It is ridiculous for the party to air its dirty laundry in public like this. The Democrats are at least more disciplined. I wasnt a fan of Speaker Pelosi by any means, but she would have had heads rolling on the floor before allowing this to happen.

Nope, on this point you are 100% correct. It is a sh!tshow and an embarrassment.

England was one of the first countries to legally END slavery. The Royal Navy fought the trade, and lost 2,000 sailors in the process. Ditto piracy. "Colonialization"? Not sure what that is. But yes you can see how terribly some of the former colonies are doing- Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Singapore, Hong Kong...

As a far right conservative myself, I am getting sick of this political theatre. Fully 90% of the GOP supports McCarthy, that should be enough to get him into the big chair and let him run the place. Then get on with the business of holding the Biden administration accountable for their actions. Letting petty personal grievances get in the way is what the Dutch call "ant f...king". Spending waaaay too much time on insignificant issues. Embarrassing.

Like the space and light, but... Is it just me, or is it weird to have a toilet directly accessing the kitchen? I have visions of toilet sounds (and even worse, odors) wafting into the kitchen as someone is preparing a nice meal. "Darling, could you pass the...BRRRRRAPPPPP!" Maybe better to use the space as a pantry.

Lovely. Now, is there infrastructure to support them and the increased drain on the grid? Where does the electricity come from? Are there facilities to deal with old batteries? Are emergency services equipped to deal with the toxic fumes and mess caused when the batteries rupture?

Embarrassing. I wonder if his district has any kind of recall mechanism that could be used? Failing that, other members of Congress should simply shun him. No chats, no greetings other than a curt nod and one word "morning", "'night". Certainly no socializing or buddy-buddy time. Remove him from the perqs of being in Sodom on the Potomac.

Yeah, poor Harry probably can't head down to the local Rub n Tug for a little stress relief without being noticed. Megs was just another mid-thirties childless unmarried woman seeking stability and fame. Her acting career was going nowhere, she was getting perilously close to her "sell by" date by Hollywood standards. So, hook up with helpless Harry (even though she was still living with another guy), throw him some quality horizontal happiness, and the rest is history.

She must be one helluva tornado between the sheets...

Like so many times when a despot leader is in power, the question arises, "now what?" Say Kim is "removed" from power. Who takes over the North? His lunatic sister? Next, what happens to the economy/society in the North? If it descends into chaos, it will inevitably flow over the border into South Korea. That will shatter the South's economy as they struggle to deal with untold numbers of refugees streaming in from the north. From what I have read, the South Korean leadership really doesnt want that to happen. They are hoping for a gradual end game where the North finally succumbs and some pragmatic leaders emerge.

...or perhaps they are undercutting the wages that a legal resident would have to be paid? Which does nobody any good. ...and is also why my solution would be effective. Simply keep people in detention until their final status is determined. Don't let them wander the country freely. Remove the financial incentive.

If Kamala won't go to the border, then the border will come to Kamala.

Nice try, won't fly. The problem is that Afghanis can't change the system themselves, and won't accept outside aid to change either. A real no win situation. Similar to when police arrive at a domestic violence call. A man is beating a woman so the police peel the guy off of her. Then, she starts hitting THE POLICE, screaming "let my man be!". You can't drag people into the 21st century from the 14th unless they are at least somewhat willing to be dragged. If you want to get through to the Taliban, perhaps cutting off international aid for a start? Or at least make receiving aid conditional on meeting certain human rights targets. Half the national economy is foreign aid. Farmers can't feed themselves. The only viable industry is 'poppies'. Nobody knows where aid goes- there is no accountability or clarity. Until there can be some progress on this, the place will remain a basket case.

Not Bangkok but Chiang Mai if it helps you (or someone). Bangkok Bank, Siam TV branch. No fuss no muss no bother. Nice staff and very professional. My wife and I were both on visa exempt status. What we did was contact an agency to help us get us Residency Certificates. We got TM30 forms from our landlord (we stayed in an AirBnb for a month) and sent them to the agency. Think it cost 3000 baht altogether. We did have to try 2 bank branches though. One wanted us to buy some bogus insurance for 5,900 baht each in order to open the accounts. But the Siam TV branch was smooth as silk. Just hinted that we needed the accounts for a future transfer of a large amount of cash for visas, condo purchase, etc. Dressed well, showered, had all the paperwork printed and neatly sorted.

I have to be honest, you may be right. It may not be for the name change. But then, what is it for? I have tried to find out, the trail has only been opened for 4 years so it obviously doesnt need renovation or improvement. So where is the money going? Devilishly hard to find out how or why Congress is spending so much. Just one rather egregious example of waste that was packed into this bill. It is a <deleted> process that both sides gleefully take part in. Fie on the Republican senators who voted for this- wonder how much in earmarks THEY each got?

You might want to ask Rep. Hank Johnson about it. He is the member who had the earmark added to the bill. Then again, he is also the guy who thought that the island of Guam would tip over if too many extra military personnel were stationed there.

The federal government managed to run a deficit of $250 billion in NOVEMBER alone. The national debt has now hit $31 trillion. With a "t". It is sad that the only time there is any bipartisan agreement in Washington is when they are trading financial handjobs.

I agree. Fair enough. Neither country is free. Better?

Not defending Russia at all, the place is a cesspit of corruption. Just saying that holding Ukraine up as a beacon of democracy and freedom is simply not accurate. A not free country invades a partly free country and....

Exactly. Like Rand Paul and Tulsi Gabbard...

Defence of freedom and democracy? Please. Ukraine is not exactly a haven of either one. Freedom House rates Ukraine as "partly free", below countries like Brazil and bulwarks of democracy like Tunisia. Ironically, also below Hungary, a nation that gets a lot of stick around here.