Lacessit

AFAIK Ukraine is not bombing hospitals and schools.

I beg to differ. Only an idiot would launch a war based on intelligence that told him what he wanted to hear.

So if the Chinese came for New Zealand, you'd be laying out the welcome mat?

No more than the Russians hiding in Thailand.

America produces one - tenth of the steel China does. Putting it bluntly, American autos are crap. They are now a byword for poor quality and reliability. That ship sailed quite some time ago. No need to boycott them, they do it for themselves. That includes Teslas. How many recalls has the Cybertruck had? Maglite torches make good clubs. I can buy something just as good for a fraction of the price in the Mae Sai markets.

Both sides have generals to direct operations. Putin's ex-KGB buddies assured him Ukrainians would welcome Russian soldiers, and it would only take a week to conquer all of Ukraine. Of course he is running the war, the buck stops with him. You think Zelensky needs a suit? What are you, the fashion police?

Over 1000 Western companies have left Russia. Starbucks, KFC and MacDonalds don't matter. What does matter are the companies that supplied the technical skills and equipment to keep Russia functioning. All the oil field technology is Western - Baker-Hughes, Haliburton, Petrolite etc. Russia needs about 1000 domestic aircraft to service a very large country. It has 400. It can't build enough planes on its own. The Soviet education system collapsed in 1986. The home-grown engineers, technicians and scientists are all at or past retirement age. ! million people have left Russia, including some of its best and brightest. A bank interest rate of 21% is stifling business investment. There is no foreign investment. If Russia keeps Crimea and the east, it is still in a death spiral.

You think Putin is a military genius?

Russia will think it has won. In reality, it is a pariah nation, with a ruined economy, and in demographic collapse. It's a Pyrrhic victory. The Chinese will move on eastern Siberia when the timing is right.

You are posting from New Zealand.

There is research suggesting moderate coffee consumption has cardiovascular benefits. https://www.heart.org/en/news/2021/02/09/coffee-may-help-reduce-risk-for-heart-failure#

Understood, I am just stirring the possum a tad. I'd agree Vietnamese coffee takes the crown. I am quite serious about maintaining anything I own correctly. Look after equipment, it will look after you.

Possibly. The shave test would determine who came out on top. I had two Recaro car seats upholstered in kangaroo fur, very comfortable. Say goodbye to sweat sticking the back of my shirt to me when driving. A guy who ran a knife sharpening business phoned me asking for the fur trimmings, even offered to pay for them. He said the best test for any blade was kangaroo fur. I declined payment, so he sharpened three of my Opinel knives for free. He put an edge on them I have never achieved since.

I buy Birdy Robusta in a tin. 17 baht. It's the only coffee I can find in the stores which is not laced with sugar. Pour into a cup, microwave 1 minute. Add one-tenth of a teaspoon of stevia, a natural sweetener derived from a South American plant. Zero calories. Not Kopi Luwak, but it suits me without the elaborate preparation this thread is describing. I believe in Keep It Simple Stupid.

So the US can do without Canadian oil and electricity? I'd like to see that. The only thing America is good at is the manufacture of weapons of war. I can't think of any other field where the US can compete on a level playing field. Take transport. China has 48,000 km of high speed rail. America has just 80 km. That's a demonstration of how dilapidated US infrastructure has become. Americans are paying a high price for personalized transport, in terms of environmental degradation and inefficiency. America is a mature market. China and India have far more potential.

Some people detest work, doing a job they hate. They can't wait to retire. Work to them is a burden. Other people love their work, look forward to every day. It doesn't matter if they are stablehands, truck drivers, or a professional in a specialist field. They enjoy their work. I was lucky to be in the latter category. I still enjoy creative endeavors, and feel sorry for those who drift aimlessly. That's not freedom. It's stagnation. When were you busted flat in Baton Rouge?

The dingo is a dog native to Australia. Other breeds were introduced by settlers. Scottish deerhounds and German shepherds. pit bulls and maramas. Do you have a problem reading posts in your mother tongue?

I use free Linux OS.

I guess if I was lurching into 2 or 3 tables on my way to my seat, a waitress might look askance at me.

Ask Sheryl by PM.

The only way to deal with a bully is to hit back twice as hard. TBH, I can't think of a single American product I either want or need.

It is. There was a natural balance of predator and prey. Dingoes hunt to survive. Wild dogs hunt in packs, for the thrill of killing. You think Labradors are nice cuddly creatures? They are the absolute worst in the wild, with a flock of sheep. Every station owner or hunter will shoot them on sight.

33% of the Australian population is of British origin. The British introduced foxes, cats, rabbits, and dogs. Three of which are predators in the wild. The loss of mammals in Australia is not due to convicts, who had nothing but the clothes on their backs. It's caused by the stupid upper-crust tw@ts who ruled over them.

The general kangaroo population is quite stable. Tree kangaroos are endangered due to loss of habitat. Wolves in Britain died out in the 1800's. I guess they were not cuddly enough for you guys.

Banderites are only a fraction of the resistance movements that grew in Ukraine during WWII. It still does not explain how a supposedly nazi regime has a Jewish president.