Lacessit

The average life expectancy of an Inuit/Eskimo is about 13 years less than those Canadians that don't live in igloos, or go fishing on ice floes. Permit me to doubt Wim Hof has any scientific evidence to back up his belief.

When you get to my age, cold is unwelcome. It was actually my GF that broke out the blanket,and women tolerate cold better than men.

Oxford Dictionaries defines religion as the belief in and/or worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods

Ouch.

Putin can react against civilians, certainly. His options are diminishing on the battlefield, sending untrained and unwilling conscripts who are not even sure they will get paid, to war with poor equipment and terrible supply logistics, will just lead to more reverses.

I have had a similar problem which has taken me a week to sort out. WISE insists the transaction must occur using my full name as shown in my passport. The bank I send it from uses my surname, plus initials. This causes the transaction to be rejected by WISE.

Even with the naughty bits blanked out, the wench in the picture looks quite tasty.

Really. Come to Chiang Rai for a swim in my condo pool, that will soon change your mind. Last night, had the thick blanket on the bed for the first time, and it's still October.

Centrelink will be assessing the income from the house rental against their income test. They may assess the value of the Thai residence IF the AverageBloke declares it, depending on which one they choose to regard as the principal place of residence. Yes, I know, some people don't declare their assets in Thailand. Meantime, the AUD is back above 24 to the baht, so the doomsayers are keeping quiet.

On ignore now, so neither of us waste our time.

One of the best books I have read is "Journey into Russia" by Sir Laurens van der Post. In it, he says the Russian psyche has been profoundly influenced by the great invasions from the East of the Tartars and Mongols, which kept it a society on the run. He also has a quote which is very appropriate for Putin and the Russians who support him: “Human beings are perhaps never more frightening than when they are convinced beyond doubt that they are right.”

Russia has done very poorly in exploiting the wealth of resources in Siberia, I have no doubt the Chinese think they could be more effective. They may be right.

Latest news: The Russian-backed leader in the Kherson region has ordered mass evacuations of civilians from frontline settlements, while the commanding Russian general has said all Kherson residents will be evacuated. https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/world/europe-news/2022/10/19/russia-evacuate-kherson/?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=PM Extra - 20221019

I've heard that police go on fishing expeditions.

This war is proving drones are the future of aerial war, Comparatively inexpensive, hard to shoot down due to their size. The Russians are using them indiscriminately against civilians, their utility against military targets has been proven by the Ukrainians.

I am beginning to think it is a waste of my time trying to help posters on ASEAN. Thanks for the confirmation.

Putin is getting very little help from Xi, Putin is sourcing weapons from Iran and North Korea. China is not sending any, for fear of secondary sanctions. Xi is smarter than Putin, a weakened Russia dependent on China for export income would suit his book admirably. There is also the Amur River border, the Chinese have taken note of the Russian military's abysmal performance in Ukraine. The riches of Siberia are a juicy prospect.

Three very good reasons he won't come to Thailand: 1/ He could be arrested, abducted or assassinated here 2/ It would make a coup in Russia against him simpler. 3/ He's a paranoid. It's now all about his survival. He won't even visit the troops who are dying for him in Ukraine, Zelensky does.

I don't know anything about them. This guy does.

Rules in Thailand are more honored in the breach than in the observance, handicap parking is no exception.

Someone who was not asleep in science class, kudos.

I understand 7/11 workers get about 9000 baht/month. Caddies at golf clubs were making 9-10K per month in high season, pre-COVID. Now, it is 2-3K per month. In the Chiang Rai area, an experienced masseuse with her own shop can make 15K/month. Thais in the rural village I live in part-time make 2500 - 3000 baht/month. Bartering foodstuffs is quite common.

I can remember a guy for whom big bikes were a passion, he used to compete in hill climbs. When I asked him whether he had ever used a Harley, he snorted "Weak bottom end."

I understand part of the title of this thread is the topic of religious discrimination. IIRC, a poster called Ivor Bigun has already had a thread going for quite some time, entitled " Do you believe in God and why." I see no need to duplicate it. I also don't take dictates from other posters on what I should or should not post. Do you?

If you can explain to me the rationality of believing in some entity that cannot be seen, heard, or felt, I'm all ears. The only significance of religion to me is how much misery it has caused, and continues to do so. Perhaps you are not aware both Trump and Putin have persuaded religious groups to support them. While I am not surprised by the cynicism of that, the naivety is astounding.