Lacessit

Award Winning Journalist is an interesting use of sarcasm. At least I can spell and use syntax correctly, tasks which are sometimes beyond you. Google the Owen gun. A WWII light submachine gun, It was renowned for its simplicity of design, ease of manufacture, and performance in the most arduous jungle conditions.

I do. I also know what dorks and d!ckheads are.

False. Ukraine had SFA help in the first month of the invasion. I don't see you volunteering to fight for Russia either. Although if you feel like supporting Russia, you can always buy Russian rubles to help their economy along. Fair warning, no-one else wants them, not even the Chinese. I don't have a connection to the White House, nor do I need one. The battle field figures tell the story. Russia has lost 6 times more soldiers in two years in Ukraine, than were casualties in 9 years of war in Afghanistan. Over 4000 of its tank fleet are smoking ruins, or have been captured by the Ukrainians.

I understand there's no negotiation with tyrants. Tell me who negotiated successfully with Xi, Hitler, Stalin, Ivan the Terrible, Genghis Khan and Timurlane for their freedom and autonomy. Of course, Yanks are extremely protective of their personal freedoms. American exceptionalism at work.

I suspect it would be preferable to being a Russian of conscriptable age, Trump can only end the Ukraine war by giving Putin everything he wants. You'd have to be as thick as two planks not to understand that. Giving Putin everything he wants includes winking at the genocide of Ukrainians. Which doesn't sound like a good thing to most people.

He can't. That does not mean he won't try.

Another Russian bot.

Modern military doctrine of combined arms dictates the first tactic is to establish complete air supremacy. America did it in Iraq. The second factor is logistics. The US is expert in the field, the Berlin Airlift came as a huge shock to Russia. They still have not learned the lesson logistics are vital to any military operation. The column marching on Kiev ran out of fuel first, then food. Russian military aircraft outnumber Ukraine's airforce by about 20 to 1. They are unable to achieve air supremacy due to inadequate pilot training, and Stinger/Javelin missiles. Their navy has been forced to leave Sevastapol, by a nation with no warships. In any war between NATO or American forces, the Russian military would be obliterated. They would only have nukes left.

Actually, I am better informed than Putin. I get information from a number of sources. He only gets his from his intelligence apparatus, who are terrified of giving him bad news. It's a feature of all autocrats. Putin's former KGB cadre told him the Ukrainians would welcome the Russians with open arms, and the "special military operation" would take a week. How's that for fantasy information? He's compared himself to Peter the Great, and says the fall of the Soviet Union is the worst thing ever to happen to Russia. Draw your own conclusions.

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26769481 IIRC you were saying eastern Ukraine is radioactive and bullet-riddled. In terms of arable land, it's the jewel in the crown. It has fed Russia and the world for centuries. Putin is concentrated in those areas because the Russian war machine has to. The combination of military corruption, terrible logistics and lousy morale of undertrained and underequipped troops has seen to that. There is a serious disconnect between what is actually happening at the front, and the information Putin receives. All autocrats only get told what they want to hear.

You seem to forget we have been spending Australian blood and treasure in supporting your wars, from Korea onwards. That dog won't hunt, your surveillance capabilities would have a huge hole without Pine Gap and North West Cape in Australia. We made ourselves a nuclear target with those two facilities. In 1996, BHP bought Magma Copper for $3 billion. Ten years later, every mine in the portfolio was shut down. The same company spent $20 billion on shale assets in the US in 2011, sold them about 8 years later for $10 billion. Now we have some cockamamie deal to buy second hand nuclear submarines for $350 billion. This is after buying helicopters from you that keep crashing. Americans must think Australians are mugs. It's hard to disagree with that viewpoint. Australia invented the Jindivik pilotless aircraft, the first of its kind. Atomic absorption spectrometers are a standard feature of analytical laboratories worldwide. An Australian scientist, David Warren, invented the black box recorder present on all passenger aircraft. Australia's PBS means nearly all prescription drugs ( month supply ) cost about $7. In America, you'll pay more than that for a single pill. Australia is a world leader in medical research. You have Howard Florey to thank, for the penicillin used to cure your clap.

Putin has repeatedly said he wants to restore the Soviet Union to its former glory. That means all the way to a divided Germany, and the whole of Eastern Europe under the Russian yoke again. You are in fantasy land if you think he will stop at Ukraine. Any temporary peace will simply be used by Russia to rebuild their war machine.

A daub is still a daub, irrespective of whether it is worth $1.3 million or $350 million. So who would the National Gallery sell it to, at the latter valuation? No-one can say whether Pollock was sober when he painted Blue Poles. He was an alcoholic for most of his adult life. Substance from a drunk? Spare me. IMO Pollock is not fit to clean the brushes of Australian painters such as Albert Namatjira, Sidney Nolan, or Pro Hart. If you get the chance, go to the Western Australian Art Gallery and look at Nolan's "Desert Storm", a seven panel depiction of the Pilbara. That's real art, not paint dripped at random.

The Australian National gallery paid $1.3 million for it. We are still unable to cure ourselves of the compulsion to buy Yankee trash.

I came here because I knew if I stayed in Australia after I retired, I would probably die out of sheer boredom. There were the common reasons as well - beautiful women, low cost of living. Thailand was on top of the list, having researched Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and The Philippines.

I have to wonder how a 1 yo can acquire a UTI, more usual with guys who barfine.

Probably accommodation in the Nimmanheiman area if the OP is looking for a party vibe. Out of town, San Kamphaeng Hot Springs, Doi Suthep and Doi Inthanon are all worth a visit. White water rafting at Mae Tang, Tiger Kingdom near Mae Rim. If she is broad-minded, IMO Chiang Mai Erotic Gardens is a real hoot.

There used to be a Thai woman in Chiang Mai who specialized in prostate massages, no sex before or after. IIRC 2000 baht.

A manual prostate check by a urologist here should not cost more than 1000 baht. A blood test for PSA will cost even less.

Reading the article, there are opinions by people who have spent a lot of time on the topic. However, there is no officially-sourced statement that says pensioners of any nation will be exempted from taxation.

You think Putin is going to give up Eastern Ukraine in any peace deal? What are you smoking, I want some.

It's tragic when people who never finished high school, and have no knowledge of the history of Ukraine and Russia, can post complete codswallop on social media.

Meaning what?

Can you post a link or the text of the article?

IIRC Trump said he could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue, shoot anybody, and get away with it. If Xi threatened the national survival of the US, you don't think the President of the time would not be doing the same? Trump has been Putin's ally all along, Zelensky is fighting for his nation to survive. The US has previous history, if you remember the plots against Castro, and Salvador Allende.